War Party

Chapter One

Blood, the smell, the taste, the mere sight of it, is there anything better? When compared to this particular flavor, the answer is yes.

Blood covered the hallway of the Cullen home. "Bella", Edward shouted. "Are you alright"? Dusting myself off I replied, "yes". "What was that? It moved faster than I could track". "I don't know how, but that was a werewolf", Edward hissed. Alarm coated my face in an instant. "Why would that be? Was it one of Jacob's? Oh God, please tell me you did not just kill one of Jacob's wolves. If this was a member of Jacob's pack, then they were our friend, our family and we knew them". My throat felt like it would swell shut. Edward came to my side. "No Bella. This was a real werewolf, not one of the Quileute shape shifters. This is one of the children of the moon. But it is unlike any I have seen in my two hundred years. The children of the moon are fast, but not that fast. They are strong, but nothing compared to this one. Had this thing gotten to us outside of the house, it would have had the advantage and we would be the dead ones".

Edward began educating me on the details surrounding the assault. "They are never in control of themselves. They have no capacity for rational thought or logic. They are killing machines, nothing more. But this one, this one spoke to me before he attacked". I lifted an eyebrow. "I didn't hear him speak" I said. "He spoke to me in his mind Love". Edward turned his head slightly and continued. "What's more, he spoke to me, directly. He knew our names Bella. He knew I could hear him. And most importantly, he had a plan. He was armed with a lot of information about all of us, information that only an acquaintance of our family would know. He showed particular regret that Alice was not here. His plan went awry but he was determined to follow it through. He had no way of knowing that Jasper had left for a few weeks to see Peter and Charlotte. He also had no idea that the others were with the Denali's for a few months. He was committed to killing us, but he had no intention of harming Alice. He was here to take her. I do not know where to, but it was all part of a carefully laid out plan". I looked at him with confusion. "So, this werewolf was intelligent"? "No Bella, this werewolf was intelligent and fully in control of himself. There is no such thing as a free thinking child of the moon. He plotted his moves and his plan would have been executed flawlessly if our luck had not played out the way it did. I think we should call Renesme and Jacob then leave, immediately. We can go to Alaska. We will be safer if we have our family all together in one place".

The fear started to spread like a fever now. I am thankful that Renesme and Jacob were at La Push and not here visiting. "How were you able to kill him", I asked? "I heard him coming when he was within a mile of us. I heard his plan. However, I did not realize that he would close the distance between us in half the time a vampire could have. I could not determine his species by his thoughts either. He moved silently and his mind had no pattern I have ever experienced. By the time I turned to defend, he was on me. I realized that I could not protect you Bella. I could only slow him down enough for you to escape. However, I am afraid he would have caught you quickly after he killed me. He was that fast. After we crashed through the wall into the hallway, he made a mistake and exposed his throat. That was the only reason we are still alive. We are no match for that kind of power".

I looked at him, my husband, and my soul mate and saw something I have not seen in 100 years as his wife. Edward Cullen was afraid. Sure, he was fearful when the Volturi threatened to destroy our family and friends, but that was not fear for his safety. Edward was scared of this thing. Now his fear hit me full force.

Alice greeted us at the end of the road leading to the Denali house. Her visions had shown her everything. Apparently the werewolf was not immune to her gift as Jacob's pack was. She rushed to my side. "Are you OK", she said frantically? I clutched her in a hug that might have crushed her if she had been human. "We were lucky this time" I said, "but we need to gather the family and discuss what is happening. Is Jasper back from his trip"? Alice smiled with delight while retaining her sense of concern. "Yes, he is gathering everyone now. Come inside". With that, we followed Alice to the house at full speed.

Carlisle, Tonya and the rest were all sitting in the living room with worry staining their faces. Edward began the story immediately sparring them no details. "He was dispatched to destroy us. I know it makes no sense, but he was ordered to eliminate all of us with the exception of Alice". "Well, it is obvious why she was to be sparred", Emmet said. "It is obvious who is behind this as well. The Volturi are making their move in retaliation for our last confrontation. It took them long enough", he gloated with a sinister laugh. "I don't think so", Carlisle said. "How would they convince the children of the moon to do their bidding? And why would Caius allow this, given his extreme aversion to werewolves"? "Aro was fascinated with the idea of guard dogs", said Edward. "When the Quileute gave him their resounding answer, the children of the moon were the next best thing. I think the question is not whether Aro is behind this, but how".

"Do we gather all of our allies together once again", Rosalie asked? "No", Carlisle said enthusiastically. "I believe that we are the targets and it has nothing to do with misplaced justice. The Quileute pack is the only ally that will involve themselves without question. Their tie to us demands it. As much as I am obligated to discourage them, we all know what their position will be". "We are no match for the Volturi, Carlisle. You know that", Esme whimpered. "No, we are not. Not in a full on confrontation. However, we are a match for them one to one. Bella, you could overpower Jane and Alec while shielding any of us in the vicinity, Emmet, you and Jasper could deal with Felix and Demetri. One by one, each of our talents are more than a match for them. The Quileute wolves will have nothing to do. No chance of danger to their pack". "You seem to have forgotten the children of the moon Carlisle", Jasper added. "If what Edward and Bella experienced is not an isolated incident, we are all in danger and it would be suicide to go to Italy".

"What would you have us do son", Carlisle asked? "Should we stay here and wait for them to come attack us with an solid plan to destroy our family? Would it not be better to meet them with some element of surprise in our favor? Aro was my oldest friend. I know him. He is preparing his next attack as we speak". "How do we take them by surprise", Emmet asked? Carlisle responded hesitantly. "That will have to be worked out. We don't have much time until the next attack, and given Edwards information, Aro will not make the same mistake twice. He will send multiple werewolves and they will be from a stable of his best trained assassins. Also, he will surely send the most lethal members of his guard. He knows that Alice will see them coming, so his only choice is to attack with overwhelming force, a fight that we could not possibly win. They will also have multiple layers of strategy and alternative tactics. We must strike first. Call Jacob and inform him of the situation. We will need to meet with him and Sam here in Alaska. We have much to discuss. How do we all get to Italy together, how do we infiltrate the castle, how do we get them alone and will we be able to determine how Aro is doing this? There is a unknown variable here. This is not normal. We will need to begin our planning immediately. We also need to come to terms with the high probability that some of us will die, pack included. There is even the possibility that we will all be destroyed. We have no idea what they have in store for us. But as I see it, we have no choice here. Whatever is to be, it will find us together". Carlisle looked at everyone in the room, trying to gauge the mood of his family. To his suprise, there was no fear. "Yes", said Alice. "We will live or die, united". "No" Jasper exclaimed! "If we are to be destroyed, our last act of defiance with be to deny Aro the object of his conquest. I will not allow my wife to be enslaved by Aro like some kind of pet" Alice looked him directly in the eyes, her face a stone interpretation of her own defiance. "And I will not see my husband die and leave me here to mourn for eternity. We are soul mates Jazz, where you go, I go. That includes death". "Women", he mumbled.

The room filled with low murmurs of love and loyalty. We would fight for our family once more, perhaps for the last time.