the longest day, a twilight fanfic

The longest day

Following the clarification of Renesme's heartbeat to the Volturi, Alice's vision had been remarkably accurate, with the majority of the ensuing years being wonderfully uneventful.

Ness had reached adulthood within the seven years following her birth, as had been predicted, and although the years had come and gone in some kind of eccentric, yet amazing blur, it hadn't been an altogether enchanting journey.

Ness had been an attentive, compassionate and extremely diligent child; she was adored by her family and had benefited greatly from their years of accumulative knowledge.

Her beauty was captivating; she had the pale aloofness of her vampire father, and had also inherited his enigmatic smile, enhanced all the more by the fullest, reddest, most tempting lips.

Her eyes, a mix of deep chocolate with hints of golden caramel, which would always exude kindness and hospitality; whilst on her otherwise palled features there appeared the slightest hint of warmth, illuminating her face thus allowing her long dark and glistening hair to encapsulate it perfectly, while framing her wonderfully, mesmerising characteristics. Characteristics that were then carried by a body with the slightest of figures and unsurprisingly she possessed the distinct look of her mother.

If you could have stood on the borders of my life, looking in through a telescope, I could forgive you for reaching the misguided conclusion that my life was perfect; because I suppose on the surface that's precisely how it would appear. An only child with money, advantage and privileged yet, nothing could have been further than the truth. I was privileged admittedly, but I lived in a heightened state of emotional turmoil, not sure of whom I really was, nor who I wanted to be, as most of the most of the time I felt neither human nor vampire.

So instead of my genealogy creating the strong and self assured individual it should, it had in effect achieved only the opposite. My thought were at best chaotic with a undercurrent of malcontent, the only emotion left to me was beleaguerment I wasn't confident at all about the person I should be, I merely plodded along in the shadow of my family.

However the one thing I was sure about; my life wasn't the fairytale people believed it to be. My family had managed to keep to their part of the bargain; and to the best of their ability I'd been kept a secret. Hidden away from the public eye…to within the limits of what was humanly possible, anyway, as was the wish of Aro…although, I think that given half the chance, he, along with the remainder of the Volturi, would have much preferred the extrication of my head from my body…but luckily for me, they didn't get their way, and the fact that I tell you my story now holds testament to that.

Renesme

I don't blame my family for my eccentricities' I know that deep down my parents would have loved for me to have had a normal upbringing, to attend school and mingle with children of a similar age, but for obvious reasons that was plainly impossible.

I had grown at such an astronomical rate that it was unprecedented, even in their world, that was until recently anyway.

However, the rules, which had been applied to me by the Volturi, had to be adhered to in both worlds. The whole idea of me mingling had been impractical. I knew that. It simply wasn't worth taking any risks, but sometimes I felt our lives, along with everything in it, was too rigid and far too complicated.

Starting with my traumatic birth…although my arrival into the world was supposed to be unparalleled, we soon found out that there was in fact more than one vampire hybrid, although the exact amount would be impossible to state. Unfortunately though, I had been identified along with one other and the mere fact that we existed resonated through the vampire populous with incredible speed and trepidation.

However, it seemed it was only my existence that warranted the interest of the Volturi, but then it was only my family that could prove to be any real threat to them. In effect my birth had left my family vulnerable to everything including those wishing to grovel or be in favour with the Volturi; so that they may kiss the ass of Aro, foolishly believing they would be rewarded for their loyalties, but they too would only be treated with the same contempt as everyone else.

And it appeared to be twice as hard keeping me secret in the human world, as my family were both well known and respected, but time was never on our side, my family hadn't aged, and I had grown too fast. We lived in a world full if inquisitive human and we knew it would only get harder and harder to keep me under wraps. With each year came new births and more humans and I worried constantly about being found, about my family being discovered. The thought of being experimented on plagued me constantly both day and night, and make no mistake humans were every bit as cruel as vampires, especially to the unknown and there was no getting away from it, I definitely fell in to the category of unknown.

To my family I was worth every ounce of their heart ache and apprehension, a beautiful gift to be treasured. To the Volturi, however, I was as unnatural as werewolves themselves, and therefore I was considered to be just as dangerous; an immoral threat to their kind. It was ridiculous of course, because, 'I was their kind',

I just happened to have a heartbeat that's all. A peculiarity that, I thought would make me more fragile, and therefore less dangerous. 'Insane Volturi'

My family nevertheless, would take no chances. So they, along with myself, had stayed in the shadows, until I was far from the minds of those who meant to do me harm or so we thought. So, I in turn prayed that one day in the future if any such circumstances should rear its ugly head again, as it had in the past that I, would be able to demonstrate the same resolve and loyalty to my family and friends as they had all shown me.

The longest day

However it wasn't all doom and gloom, on the plus side, being kept a secret did allow for one otherwise impossible pleasure, we were able to stay near my Grandfather Charlie and Jacob of course; both were definitely worth staying around for and both had played an integral part in my life.

Charlie being a biological member of the family was automatically accepted as such, that went without saying, of course; but now, even Jacob had managed to reserve a permanent place at our table, and it all added to the flavour of our ever increasing, weirdly diverse and wonderful coven.

Speaking truthfully, I knew I was spoilt and it would be pointless to try and deny it, although, sometimes I tried to justify it to myself as deserved. Given to me to make up for my incredibly restricted childhood, but again that was through no fault of my parents as I had turned up like the bad penny and I loved my family unequivocally.

It was the other aspects of my life that were restricted and it was these constraints that had lead me to this conclusion and 'through assumptions only', that my feelings were an accumulation of deep rooted impossible desires, to become human only, and to enjoy all the things they did and things they almost certainly took for granted, every day stupid things, like sitting together and enjoying family meals or sunny days at the beach.

The fact is some parts of my life were implausible, but on the flip of that coin it was also eccentric and some times I wondered, all things considered how, had I turned out sane. Sometimes I even fantasized about who I could have been under different circumstances, different parentage? Who would a changed me, be like? Maybe a little less protected for a start, and a lot less reticent perhaps, surely all these factors would have produced a different me? As it was, I felt as though part of me had been consumed by the vampire in me, and the human side was kicking and screaming trying to break free.

I was so confused, and convinced that humans could never feel like this. I'd fallen in love with the thought of being a human; being normal, and I wasn't even sure what normal was. There was only one thing of which I was absolutely certain, and that was I would have given anything to have had the chance of more freedom, but the fact of the matter was this, for now I would remain the princess locked away in her ivory tower, waiting for a prince to come and rescue me. So my life, up to this point, and including that of my education, I could only imagine was far less typical to that of any human, and it was that thought, that always weighed heavily on my mind.

I'd fantasise regularly about living a 'normal life' because, I'd always felt wrong as a child, misplaced in both worlds, but especially hated in one of them. Was I such an oddity? Enough to incite hatred and fear in people, when all I really wanted was acceptance and friendship Siblings would have been wonderful; although, at times anyone's company, if they were of a similar age would have been acceptable it was the one thing I hungered for the most.

Susan McLatchie

I needed someone to share my secrets, my desires, and my fears with and I was at an age where my parents wouldn't cut it any more so any kind of juvenile social interaction would have been nice, even someone like me needed a friend and as you can imagine children in my world, were very hard to come by.

So there it was, amongst the deep chaotic jumble of my mind, I had a flotilla of troublesome memories, a yearning for much denied companionship, and no insight into my alter ego. All of, which, I was convinced, resurfaced from my seminal years.

I could forgot nothing; therefore the heady mix of visions, books, music and dreams plagued me, rather more frequently than I would have liked and often with alarming clarity…but the bad ones always occurred at night whilst I lie alone. My dreams would somehow engulf me and although, I knew they were from my own past, both the factual and fictional, they still managed to terrify me.

Each night I could feel my senses repeatedly being immersed with unease; my mind posting warning signs indicative only to me, like some warped premonition of things still to come, and with images playing so vividly, that they would make my heart pound hard into my chest, and causing my breathing to become increasingly laboured.

The dreams rarely altered in their severity, only their circumstances. Often 'I'd be looking out into the darkness were the only thing discernible was the edge from where I stood. My feet teetering over the side struggling to maintain my balance; ahead of me lay a vast precipice seemingly never-ending, spiralling out in every direction into the abyss and all I hear is Aro's hysterically, maniacal laugh at the prospect of my impending doom. There's no one there beside me, no family, no Jacob. No one to hold me, no one to keep me safe

During the day there's much of the same, I'd relive different events from my childhood, maybe not quite as graphical as those in my dreams but, some were grave enough to send shivers down my spine. Even then, I couldn't shut off, I'd spend hours contemplating what the bad thoughts were predominantly trying to disclose. And, I had almost convinced myself that they were my minds way of initiating unconscious theories. In fact a long while back I had also convinced myself that, my subconscious was definitely keeping my body in a state of high alert. Ready for some future event that was as yet unbeknownst to me, and was I right? Well, only time could answer that.

Even Alice's visions had been boringly tranquil for the past few years. It was so peaceful, had I really been forgotten, placed in the recesses of the Volturi's minds for good, or were we all being lulled into some false sense of security?

Unfortunately for me, previous events had taken its toll, thus provoking an ever increasingly suspicious nature, which was edging my thoughts towards the latter. Misguided? Oh I hoped so, for everyone's sake, but again, only time would tell, although sadly, my beliefs paired with my insecurities on this matter were all scarily significant, because the Volturi wanted me dead and they rarely forget.

The longest day

My demise would come preferably by their own hands, purely for their gratification, but if not it wouldn't matter, as long as they could see it was my head being be served to them on that silver platter and they could watch my body burned to ashes and scattered in the wind, because then, and only then, would they be able to indulge in their supremacy, enabling them to claim any prizes from my family that they deemed fit or so they believed.

It was undeniable, Aro and his minions were menacing to say the least, even at a young age I'd already sensed the treachery that lurked deep within them and scarier still, I could feel how much they thrived on it. Carlisle had once described them as refined, cultured and fare. Though, that wasn't how I remembered them at all in fact that hadn't even come close to the memories they'd imprinted in my mind.

And although my observations were limited I could still see that too many years as the vampire royalty had gone to their heads and I had quickly concluded that in reality, they were merciless, arrogant and apparently, untouchable.

Regrettably, the recollections of my seemingly divided family had played a large part in unnerving me that, along with an ever increasing awareness of my childhood innocence being swiftly worn eroded. However, the Volturi had managed to teach me one valuable lesson in life, and that was 'to trust no one'! A lesson paramount to heed, and heed I did, as it was all to clear that the Volturi and distrust, went hand in hand, effectively they were one and the same. It was precisely this that made my future transparent to me, I knew that one day all this would rematerialize, my existence, their unfulfilled conflict, but most of all Aro's greed that would unavoidably raise its ugly head again.

I just wasn't sure how far in the future that would be; but it was the same as I also knew that somewhere deep within me and, which currently lay dormant, there was a dark recognition that, one day in that exact same future I would also learn to hate.

However, not all of my life was doom and gloom, there were a lot of positives especially when I was small, in fact the vast majority of my limited but formative years were amazing and I'll admit to being absolutely and unashamedly sheltered from pretty much everyone and everything that life had to throw my way. Even during some of my darkest hours there was usually the odd, pleasant memory lurking around somewhere that, I could pluck out, in order to lighten my depressive mood.

Take my education for example, obviously I was taught at home by my family, but my lessons were carefully planned, meticulously executed, and quite often portrayed from their own first hand experiences. Each family member had their very own stories to tell, and each was told with their own set of particularized characteristics, with nothing left to the imagination. Their depictions were dramatic and vibrant, enough to conjure up images that were colourful and exiting, although, some days it could feel rather exhausting being me, it was like sharing quarters with a group of complex, intellectuals all were multifaceted personalities and all on speed.

Nevertheless, I believed that over time I had come to be truly blessed with a small piece of each member of my family, and although the journey was short, it was unquestionably exciting and experientially unique to say the least.

Susan McLatchie

Even forks itself, had some redeeming qualities, and could appear quite raw and exotic sometimes …but obviously I don't actually mean the tropical kind of exotic, you know… palm trees… coconuts and sun… especially not the sun. I mean just out of the ordinary - in effect all rather extraordinary.

So now I had reached the ripe old age of seven in human time and eighteen roughly in vampire, give or take a couple of months and while having enjoyed a degree of both my education and over protective upbringing', I knew I had began to change as over time I had begun to feel restless with an overwhelming urge to spread my wings. And even though my childhood had come and gone in a flash I felt not only ready, but almost compelled to embark on the next chapter of my life, although, I just wasn't quite sure what that next chapter was yet.

I had arrived at the age where I knew an impasse had been reached with regards my education. I had lost sight of what my family might possibly be able teach me, especially when the one thing I both wanted and needed, they were all unable to supply. Diversity and socialisation, with people of my own age, but of course they didn't agree.

It was hard for them; I understood that, keeping me a secret had been an essential part of their lives, but I wasn't the only one who had to be kept secret; their lives had always been kept pretty much, under wraps too, and they were comfortable with their way of living, with their commitments to one another, so much so that sometimes I think they'd forgotten that I still needed to live. Even my mom the newest vampire to the coven, had slipped into her role with ease and it seemed whilst doing so, she had herself forgotten what it was to have once been a human. Even though it was relatively a short time ago

I knew what I needed; I knew what was missing from my life! Because it had always been the same thing, how could they be so blinkered, why weren't they seeing it when it was so glaringly obvious? Had my arrival completed their lives to such an extent that they had slipped into complacency, and presuming that I wouldn't need anything different either They'd all had a life, admittedly, some had lived longer than others, but they'd all had their own experiences and in all fairness it was mainly due to the stories from their pasts, which had roused the need in me to create memories of my own. There was a big wide world out there, and I wanted to experience as much of it as I possibly could.

Some days I'd like to sit quietly in the corner of the room and watch my family go about their daily tasks. I loved watching them and their idiosyncrasies, as well as studying their interactions with one another; they were always so at ease in each others company, always so incredibly happy, so much so that sometimes I couldn't help but feel a little envious of what they had. Each couple so completely in love with one another, I couldn't help but fantasise about having that feeling, that overwhelming devotion to someone, and experiencing that uncontrollable thirst for their bodies.

The longest day

To keep them so close that if need be just as my mom had done before me, be prepared to die in order to get it.

Then I couldn't help but wonder if these feelings realistic to my age or gender nor had I been around adult and amorous vampires for too long? Would the feelings I had now be the same if I were human, would I still be lead down that same path, yearning for that one remarkable bond that would ultimately pacify my soul? Would that be my entire driving force, to find love and procreate?

There was so many feelings and emotions to come to terms with and in reality what the hell would I know about real life, there's not a whole lot of it you can experience in a seven year life span and hidden away, bar one, on studying my family, and with theses new feelings stirring in me, slowly I had began to realise that my feelings towards Jacob were changing.

I no longer saw him as that older brother or any other kind of family member, but I was so mixed up, I couldn't bare the thought of embarrassing myself by revealing my feelings for Jacob to my parents, for one I didn't really understand them myself, and two, I thought that they could never understand.

I knew that eventually I would manage to suppress my feelings and put some of those thoughts to the back of my mind. However I also knew it would only be a matter of time before they resurfaced again and with more intensity, but for now I would have to find myself something new to obsess about, and that didn't take long either.

I wanted to attend college, I'll rephrase that, I needed to attend college and purely for some of that social interaction I spoke of, as my intellect far exceeded the average. Plus if I went to college, and not wanting this to sound insensitive in anyway, I would also have some much needed time out from my family, and that house, because recently those four walls had started to feel as though they were closing in on me.

I had begun to feel like a prisoner in my own home.

I rarely dug my heels in to anything, but this time I wasn't prepared to take no for answer, so until I got a yes, I, rendered all other avenues of conversation redundant. There was a definite upside to being the 'startling enfant terrible' or 'freak of nature'depending on which side of the fence you sat or so to speak.

I also found myself using the only child 'ever' in the family card, again ruthlessly; but only because nine times out of ten I wasn't confident that my requests would become a reality, and so having been predictably selfish, with many discussions, and pleading on my part, it was agreed that if I shut up about it, then I could attend college, but only for the one and final semester.

With that in mind, it was also decided that I could only attend the college on the reservation, the one place they believed I'd be safe from prying eyes, especially from those loyal to the Volturi, as they would never enter land run and protected by wolves that would just be plain suicidal. The other reason for my attending this college was that if need be any member of either Quileute pack could track me as my odour was quite unique, but most importantly of all, Jacob would always be near to protect me if that need ever arose.

Then finally and as an added safe guard for those who didn't know me, I was introduced as the latest addition to the Cullen's foster children, and again purely because the truth was implausible.

Renesme

This in turn rendered the term mom and dad redundant as for all intense and purpose they had just became my brother and sister-in-law.

The Quileute tribe had lived and hunted on the La Push reservation for hundreds of years and the land was one of the most picturesque I'd ever seen. It ran from the shores of the pacific right the way along to the rivers of the rain forest, and attributed to that…well you only had to see the weather. Wonderfully wet and overcast… excellent weather for vampires, but not such a hot look on a wet wolf

The Quileute School was quaint. It was ideally located a short distance from the beach, and to my amazement it was a far more modern a building than I had imagined it would be. It had a modern, angular design, which dominated the skyline as it sliced through the clouds. The sky was mirrored by the large glass panels that in turn were surrounded by its beach tinted wooden exterior. All of which blended in well with the adjoining woodlands. It was set back just a little from the Quileute River, all adding to it's charmingly and tranquil scene, which again aided in it's resemblance to a picture postcard.

Bordering the building was a perfectly manicured lawn, its look and feel similar to a plush carpet also on entering the school grounds its boundary's were spotted with an array of fragrant, colourful flowers, and to welcome you, there stood a large totem pole symbolising its peoples pride and unity. It was all wonderfully remote, and beautifully un-spoilt, and with only around 700 pupils attending from the surrounding areas, of which I was now one.

So here I was school at last, and all I could feel was an overwhelming sensation of apprehension, not something I was to use to admittedly as I hadn't experienced it very often; but then I'd supposed that I wouldn't be human if I didn't feel some kind of uncertainty on my first day. Nevertheless my ever supportive family tried to assure me that everything would be fine, as my nature alone 'being so kind and caring', that my peers couldn't help but fall in love me too. I wanted to believe them, but still I could tell that, that uneasy nauseous feeling wasn't about to leave me any time soon.

By now it was late spring and remarkably a beautiful day even despite the fact I was scared senseless, but as I walked through the college gates, I felt a real karma, immediately sensing that not only was I going to fit in, but I was going to absolutely love it here as well. I don't know why I had doubted my family, as Alice had already seen it and therefore so had Edward. And I really did fit in easily, and could hardly believe that such a huge change in my life could be managed with such ease. I made friends effortlessly, even though I was the only one with; let's just say a very pale pallor in comparison to that of my class mates.

I hadn't remembered feeling the need to be noticed this much in the past; but now and in some farcically egotistical way, with it once again being all about me, only with different people…I simply couldn't get enough. The boys were kind of mesmerised…the girls… mostly inquisitive, some maybe a little jealous; but the whole pale skin, petite and sporty physique thing, was definitely a big hit.

The longest day

Although, all this new found attention didn't really help me to understand my feelings in fact if anything I would say it probably hindered it. However, you can't have everything, and I still couldn't help but wonder if this new batch of heightened senses was simply my age or the new found release for my suppressed and pent up energy's. Maybe this was more new and previously inexperienced emotions. Was being around all these new and many rather gorgeous looking guys, awakening a naïve, innocent sexuality, or was it simply the dormant human in me screaming to get out? I knew I'd been yearning for social acceptance, but this much, I wasn't quite so sure.

Nevertheless, they didn't all love me on the reservation, because due to the vampire in me, I was merely tolerated by most of the wolves both new and existing; but then who could blame them, when you considered everything that had happened in the past, none of, which was made easier by the demand to sign a new treaty, it was between the three main factions, who consisted of Sam Uley's and Jacob Black's packs of wolves along with us the Cullen's, but by being forced it had left a bitter taste in many mouths.

The treaty had gone against the wolves natural instincts and like it or not, the treaty had left them no choice but to abide by it. It worried me the fact that they were divided, all I could do was pray that if the need ever arouse, they would all stand together united as one. With all that being said the wolves weren't my only worry, there was of course that small matter of my touch. Well more the specific conveyance of my thoughts if I touched, which was as natural to me as breathing, it was my most

Fundamental instinct, which if used out of place could incur the greatest impacts and severe consequences.

And I couldn't help but worry again, what if I were to touch someone's face…just slightly…accidentally even…forget where I am momentarily, how would I explain the outcome, some freaky deja vu? An amazing illusion …Maybe I could abuse my powers a little, and beguile them with a 'final destination' type premonition'. And oh my god, there I was again, making a mountain out of a molehill, creating yet another problem before it's even happened. I needed to slow my brain down and listen to myself, I was at best being a little puerile and at worst injudicious, this wasn't what I came to college for, I came to formulate my creation, fulfil my dream, maybe learn a little more, but definitely to mingle with people of my own age, and stop this infernal psychobabble. I genuinely came to stop my brain doing this; going into over drive, to stop imagining stupid and scary things. And I had to accept that my gift wasn't commonplace, and it's wasn't something that could ever be explained away easily. In fact, from what I'd noticed about humans, they were scared of everything unknown, of what they don't understand, they're scared of their own shadows and more than anything else they're scared of their own mortality.

Nevertheless, I was worried, it was how I communicated in my world and it was acceptable there, but I had to remember that away from my house I wasn't in my world, at college and I was very much in theirs and I wasn't sure if I could change.

Besides all the trepidation, I loved class and my new human… group… interaction thing, although, large groups of human's all in one place, and surrounding me was still a completely new thing to me and more often than not a little overwhelming.

The longest day

I could feel myself grow though, my views had began to changed immeasurably, and incredibly in a very short space of time, each day began to far exceeded the previous and it was greater than any of my expectations. Slowly I began to believe that, maybe, just maybe, my life could turn out perfectly. I could become more human,

I'd only been attending college for a short time when I, along with ninety-nine percent of my fellow female students noticed another newcomer to our school.

It wasn't hard really; it only had a small proportion of students, so the slightest change stood out like the proverbial sore thumb. With that being said, everything different stood out, because it was all so beautifully compact, which had been the whole point of my attendance there in the first place.

The other reason he stood out was his incredibly good looks. He had shoulder length wavy, jet black hair, which he invariably tucked behind his ears and for some reason always wore a baseball cap, as though he wanted to hide his face. His skin was that lovely russet colour, the same as Jacob's, and along with the vast majority of the reservation. He also had the most amazing aqua coloured eyes, which were incredibly uncommon therefore extremely appealing and if you looked into them for long enough you could feel yourself being drawn in, being completely mesmerized, and all much to Jacobs disgust and mistrust.

And believe me when I say distrust, therefore Jacob in his wisdom decided it would be wise to try and find out more about him, for a start he said 'the timing of his arrival was off; and far to suspect as it corresponded worryingly, with my introduction into mainstream society. And, it was obvious to Jacob and Jacob alone, that it wasn't a coincidence at all.

So he embarked on his investigation as a super sleuth, but bless him, a P.I. he was not, basically he snooped around a bit, but that was fruitless, all he'd established was that his name was Eli, and that he, along with his mother had travelled here from Tuscany in Italy, but apart from that he drew a blank. In fact there was no information about him anywhere, and thinking about it now that, should probably have set everyone's alarm bells ringing, especially, as he'd virtually materialised over night, to me what was peculiar still, was the fact that only Jacob had appeared concerned about it in the first place.

However Eli didn't't help himself much either, he gave nothing away, with the exception of his name and age, which we had already appertained through Jacob's super sleuthing, his full name was as Eli Bouchell and he was seventeen and soon to be eighteen. Basically that was it, information that was freely available to anyone who showed an interest, and information you could acquire about anyone, so that was that, avenue well and truly stymied. So for now Eli would remain an enigma, which I had to admit I found strangely arousing.

As time passed, each day I could see Jacob's anxiety levels being challenged, being put more and more under strain, constantly worrying about me and my safety. I felt so sorry for him. Jacob would never have obsessed about things that outwardly seemed so trivial prior to my commencement at college.

Renesme

I wished I could tell him to stop worrying, but that would be fruitless too, in fact the only thing within my power to stop all this would be to leave college, and I had waited my whole life for this tiny bit of freedom so as selfish as it sounded I just couldn't do it.

However, prying into other people's lives and treating it as an everyday occurrence? That wasn't the Jacob I knew, and it wasn't who he was supposed to be. Now everyone and everything unknown to him was a potential threat, it was like walking on egg shells around him and that wasn't good.

At least it wasn't the life I would have chosen for him., but his reply would always be the same, as he constantly reminded me that his life wasn't exactly normal anymore anyway, and he wouldn't want it any other way, because I was his life. The sentiment I'd always believed quite maudlin, but then Jacob never could hide his feelings very well, he always had worn his heart on his sleeve.

Each day after school Jacob would be waiting for me in the lot, right on time, he was never late, you could set your watch by him, and every day it was our ritual to drive down to the La Push beach and go for a long walks. Whether the day had been good or bad was incidental, it had just become part of our daily routine, the same as eating breakfast and brushing your teeth. Some alone time, but just us together, and come rain or shine, we always enjoyed it.

We'd spend hours talking about anything and everything, from the sort of day we'd had, new songs that were out, to what dreams we had for the future, even though we thought we knew the latter was impracticable. Except today, Jacob seemed preoccupied, more burdened than usual, which made me study him for a while, and I waited to see if he would divulge the reasons for his rather subdued demeanour.

In stead he just looked at me inexplicably, forcing the odd fake smile and sigh. Unsure of what he was about to say, if anything at all. I held my breath with eager anticipation, but by the time he'd thought of something remotely interesting to say we were almost at the beach, although periodically he'd take the odd glance at me, but then all I got was "What?" Eventually it dawned on me 'how stupid am I' it was so blatantly obvious what was eating at him, but as I thought his name, Jacob had gathered the courage and spurted it out.

"I don't trust Eli and I don't like him, he's strange."

'And there it was' I couldn't help but look at him bemused, mainly because Eli hadn't been part of any previous conversations that we'd had, well not since Eli had first started the college and definitely not since I upset Jacob by saying how good looking he was, but potential problems were always dealt with by my family and Jacob, he'd never involved me before, so now, intrigued, I thought I'd run with it

"How…strange" I asked in quizzically.

He shrugged his shoulders at me.

"There's something…I'm not sure what, I can't put my finger on it, I just know he's not good for us" I couldn't help but be confused.

"We don't know him, how can you possibly" And He cut me short

"The fact that he's a closed book for one It's the way he stares at you for another, I've watched him, he's not who everyone thinks he is"

The longest day

There was a slight snigger in my voice.

"The way he stares at me that sounds familiar, him and about ninety nine percent of the reservation you mean. Really Jacob is that the best you can come up with" I answered him callously for cutting into my conversation mid sentence I hated that

"I'm deadly serious" He snapped "He looks at you with intent, like he has something planned for you."

"Well I do stick out a bit on the reservation and I am a little 'unnatural'Jacob, aren't I, I mean to be fare? I'm neither one nor the other, not really human, not really vampire, and truth be told, neither lineage would willingly accept me as one of their own given the choice"

There was a moment's silence

"Nearly everyone on the reservation does the exact same thing, so tell me why he should be any different?"

Then I waited for some kind of sarcastic remark, but instead he just muttered

"The trouble with you Ness, is you're far too trusting, and one day…well one day, I swear you'll be the death of me"

It took me aback, and I stopped dead in my tracks as his words physically startling me.

I couldn't digest what he'd just said; I genuinely had no concept as to what was running through his mind. I grabbed his arm, and we stopped walking, I was shocked, sad and hurt all at the same time, but most of all angry. Angry that he had allowed himself to become so fixated about him, especially as there was nothing to substantiate his paranoia

"Don't say that Jacob! Never, say things like that…why would you even?"

I couldn't even finish speaking, as tears welled in my eyes and I wasn't even sure what emotion had triggered them.

Normally Jacob would have apologised for upsetting me, but he merely lowered his head, and went to carry on walking, all the while seemingly deep in thought. I stepped in front of him instantaneously, which shocked him a little, I'd never used vampire time in front of him before, but slowly I raised his chin just slightly with my finger tips, so I could look deep into his normally sparkling black eyes, but not this time; there were no smiles there to comfort me. In fact of the two of us I couldn't quite interpret who looked the most in pain.

He scared me, I could never remember a time when he looked so down, so worried, and it was his persona, which made his words appear all the more harrowing. And that look, I knew it would ominously plagueme for a long time to come, another nightmare to add to my collection.

Carefully I took a hold of his hand, clasping his fingers tightly, and interlocking them with mine, but there was nothing more to be said. Jacob very rarely expressed himself to me, which I had supposed was due to being so young, the baby in the family, but today he clung to my hand with the same intensity as I with his, and for the first time ever we continued our walk in silence.

Jacob had, lived an unassuming and happy childhood, within a loving, caring family unit.

Renesme

A family that had been cruelly ripped apart by fate His mother's death being the hardest of all to take; his father Billy suffered a life long battle with diabetes, which eventually ravaged his body confining him to a wheelchair. And Jacob, like me had been given no choice but to grow up, long before he should. And that's what he did, with no protest nor qualms, just huge responsibilities, and then I added to his burden, but he was my kindred spirit to whom nothing exasperated, until now.

I would often wonder how he always managed to stay so incredibly upbeat, but apart from Carlisle and Edward, he was one of the most chilled out people I knew. He'd always been that good guy, totally calm around me anyway, and he was easy going as he was polite. He was an amazingly strong person and an exceptional wolf, who loved life to the full, this in turn was the reason why people could help but loved him back, and it was why I loved him. He'd always been my Jacob. Although, just lately even that felt different, as though we were drifting apart, and I wasn't sure why I had to presume it was his insecurities with regards Eli and he was allowing them to dominate his thoughts, or could it just be me, and the influx of my recent profusion of new and assorted feelings coursing through my body. Either way I was watching it pull us apart and I felt powerless to stop it.

I wasn't very good at judging my feeling or what they meant that was plain for all to see, but I had always known how I felt about Jacob, until lately. I had begun to notice different thing about him, things that I had obviously taken for granted in the past. Like his beautiful smile especially, when he spoke fondly of someone or something; his whole face would light up, which had a habit of becoming contagious. He also a had distinct warmth about him, which was quite tangible, maybe it was down to his overly high body temperature, that constant 'eighty eight Fahrenheit', but deep down I knew it wasn't that, he had an inner glow, where all his warmth emanated from; he was just naturally hot and compassionate.

Then again, when it came down to Jacob, I knew I was blinkered and probably even more so of late, but again, I couldn't be totally sure if this was due to my fears of loosing him, or thoughts of desire, but the one thing I was sure of I was definitely honing in on his more personal attributes. And it was really quite scary, I was noticing things I never thought I would, and definitely thought believed I shouldn't.

Like just how ruggedly good looking he really was, how his face was still slightly rounded with his young and unflawed complexion, although not child like anymore. He had quite high cheek bones, and a chiselled chin but even these characteristics hadn't harden his features…they stayed gentle and extremely alluring.

His body was toned with a sculpted athleticism, his arms large, muscular and ripped. His skin was smooth…like silk, inviting you to caress it.

His eyes were mysterious, dark and smouldering, but they'd light up like the brightest moon on a cloudless night when he saw me, and sometimes, only sometimes, I thought I could feel them almost burning into me with a suppressed passion. A passion that until now I had never recognised

His laugh…so Contagious like a cheeky giggle, but then, when he speaks quietly, his voice would ooze with deep seduction.

The longest day

His hair, which he had now decided to keep short was as dark as midnight, and was just long enough to entice you to run your fingers through it, or maybe that's just how I perceived it now, although…I hadn't actually tried it I hadn't the courage!

Oh, my, god, I couldn't believe I was thinking like this, or where this train of thought had even surfaced from. I pinched myself 'what are you thinking'.

It really was quite frightening and yet…childishly exhilarating all at the same time.

I stood in the middle of the college grounds shaking my head, like the dogs you get for the backs of your car, paying no mind as to how stupid I must have looked, even with all the peculiar stares I'd received. I couldn't help it though, I was in a state of mental shock and disbelief, and because this was Jacob I was thinking about after all.

'What on earth's going on?' I pinched myself again, harder, trying to change my entire thought process, then I remembered that counting sheep was one way, but then 'oh no, that was for when your trying to fall asleep, oh my god' I could just tell this was going to be a very long day.

As the weekend began it looked as though it was going to hold its usual and uneventful bouts of activities, although today the sun was shining, which was a rare, but welcomed occurrence for Forks, which was positively documented for being the cloud and rain capital of Washington. Consequently this meant that the sun's arrival was under no circumstances allowed to be wasted, and it really was a beautiful day. So I, who loosely translated, meant, we, as I was rarely by myself, decided not to squander it. We decided, Jacob and I that we would rambled through the woods, closely pursued by my parents.

We meandered through the thickets and trees until we reached Bella and Edwards favourite meadow, which I had to admit was particularly striking this time of year, with it's multitude of naturally wild flowers, all in their unarranged colour confusions, and all in full bloom, themselves appreciating the very sporadic warmth. So when the sunlight hit the morning dew that had readily accumulated on their petals they glistened like diamonds…as did my parents! In fact, with each visit we made there, the more I became aware of why my parents loved it so much. It was fragrant, peaceful with only us and the birds for company.

The conversational topic was mainly to do with my attending college, you know, the normal what was I doing? How well was it going? The usual and familiar pleasantries which, was nice, it kept the conversation light hearted and we talked for what seemed to be the longest time, but we were all we happily soaking up the rays, so time didn't really matter.

Every so often, Jacob would look across in my direction and catch me staring at him; he'd smile at me with his beautiful yet, now confused smile, as he'd pull that face at me, like, what's wrong? But I was convinced he'd somehow sensed that lately I'd started to find him attractive. Stupidly, I'd lower my head quickly, praying he hadn't caught me looking, even though I couldn't have made my 'wanting' any more obvious if I'd tried, while deep down of course I knew he'd caught me. In fact one part of me was actually glad that he had, as I'd hoped it might make him want me too.

Renesme

The down side was my involuntary acknowledgement to this cat and mouse game I was playing, because the blood would rush to my cheeks resulting in an over bearing blush. And this was happening rather too much for my liking recently, and it always ended the same way, me feeling stupid and hapless, especially as I felt I no longer had any measurable amount of control left over my own bodily functions.

I could only pray I wasn't giving to much away especially to my parents, because as things stood you really didn't need to be a mind reader to guess what I was thinking; and I was positive I couldn't endure that indignity along with everything else as well.

It was coming up to lunch time so Jacob and myself decided we would go grab a bite to eat, then head on down to La Push beach for a spot of swimming. My parents encouraging it whole heartedly, but that was really just an excuse to go do their own thing, and, I was more than happy for them to go as well, because they still behaved like a couple of loved up teenagers, and trust me it's not a good look when it's your parents, whatever background you come from.

The beach was incredibly busy, which of course was due to the normally non-existent sun that now…was not only present, but gloriously hot to boot.

Scattered all around were small groups of scantily clad and some extremely red people.

All were enjoying their own mini parties and each group were listening to their own particular styles of music.

The air was infused with an array of various aromas mainly due to the vast majority of barbecues cooking. Well…more burning really. Then this in turn combined with an abundance of fragrances created by the many different sun lotions; which appeared to me to not be working very well either. Everyone was laughing or singing, and many others were playing games like volley ball, or throwing frizzbies to and fro. Then of course there were the other usual beach pass times in progress, such as building sandcastles and swimming.

As we walked across the shingle and amongst the crowds, just over to the left, I saw arms flailing frantically in order to seek our attention; sat there were all of Jacobs's ever growing pack, there were the main ones of course like…Seth, Leah, Joseph, Lucas but there were a few newer recruits as well. I raised my hand in acknowledgement, and we headed over to join them.

We hadn't been there long when I noticed set back just a little from where we were, there was that familiarly, solitude figured…it was the new guy Eli, 'great' I thought, 'this will set Jacob up in a wonderful mood', and obviously Jacob, had noticed him, but he immediately turned so he didn't have to acknowledge him. Luckily it hadn't seemed to alter his temperament and I was so glad, because it had turned out to be a perfect day up to now.

I glanced over at Eli and offered him a polite smile but it wasn't reciprocated, so I to turned away and carried on chatting with our pack and not giving Eli a second thought. Leah, had watched us and appeared immediately intrigued. She'd also tried not to make it seem too obvious, but she failed at that completely.

The longest day

As she looked over at him, totally in awed, I had to admit, the more I saw of him the more appealing his features became.

Now there wasn't a prognostic bone in my body and I certainly couldn't predict the future like my aunt Alice, but for some reason it seemed obvious to me that Eli and Leah would end up together, maybe it was another one of my unconfirmed premonitions, but they just appeared perfect for one another in looks and their equally stand offish demeanour, they complimented each other completely.

"Who's that?" she asked with a casual upward flick of her head. 'There it is' I thought

"Oh, that's Eli, the new boy at my college" I replied, trying to answer with total disinterest.

"He's always on his own he doesn't really socialize with anyone very much…not that I've noticed anyway".

Jacob turned his head to glare at Leah, and with a rather unmistakable growl to his voice said.

"No Leah he's neither fit nor available, not to you anyway". Personally, I thought it a little harsh, but said nothing, however I felt obliged to look up and acknowledge them…while still bemused from his comments. I couldn't help but wonder where this conversation was about to go because, Jacob may be a pack alpha, but Leah took no prisoners either, I wasn't sure who I'd put my money on.

As for me, I'd been content being able to say 'at my college'then couldn't help but think that, that was a little sad even for me. I hadn't helped matters either when I burst out laughing, even though it genuinely wasn't meant for them. I was merely laughing at my own pathetic milestone. They weren't pleased though, and the last thing I needed was to antagonise Leah, she still hated me for being born.

Leah's dislike of me had always hurt a little; I'd tried my best to befriend her and on numerous occasions as well. I was aware it was the vampire in me that she hated, but a small part of me had always hoped that she could of eventually look past that, and rise above the mortal enemy thing, but recently I'd concluded it wasn't looking too good for that either.

I supposed that at least her hating me all over again for laughing had at least swayed their attention from the Eli situation, and although things remained a little tense between the two of them the subject had now switched; that was until Seth, in his normal adolescent, brotherly, fashion proceeded to take great pleasure in totally embarrassing her, for a further and solid non stop ten minutes and that was a record even for him.

I could see she'd had enough even though Seth obviously hadn't as she turned punching him hard on his arm. He got the message and at last let her be. Although he then proceeded to sulk for the following half hour, but it soon quietened down eventually A part of me felt bad for Leah though, but for the life of me I didn't know why, she would never show me the same compassion, yet I couldn't help myself, deep down we all knew she would probably stay miserable and uninvolved unless the day came when she to could imprint on someone or at the very least, find herself another love interest.

Renesme

Unfortunately, with things standing as they were, with Jacob hating her wannabe love interest it wasn't looking promising for any time soon.

I'd never really spoken to Jacob with regards to Eli, not since the beach incident, as the mere mention of his name caused a reaction that I'd personally never seen in him before nor wanted to again; but he really had taken a very noticeable dislike to him, which had just been confirmed by Leah's interest in him, and I didn't have clue why? And to be honest with you, I wasn't convinced whether Jacob knew why himself, one thing I was sure of, it certainly wasn't going to be me who questioned him on it.

Anyway, who was I to distrust Jacob's animal instincts? I could barely understand mine. Although, occasionally I'd cut myself a little slack, I wasn't doing to bad for someone who had spent the entirety of their brief life with all bar humans, without realising that at some juncture in my life it would have to show. The same goes for my other genetically fuelled sense, because I clearly wasn't at ease with those either.

In fact my mixed hereditary and endocrine system had both bombarded me with the ferocity of fork lightening, so no wonder I was confused, when the reality was that I'd had the equivalent of seventeen years hormones in surged throughout my body in under half that time span. I really didn't think I was doing badly though; for a pre, stroke, post, pubescent adult with the strength and capabilities to slaughter half the town in a night, as or when the hormones instructed me to do so. Luckily, for them my parents taught me I should never play with my food. Some days it had been hard controlling large quantities of what I was genuinely beginning to believe were superfluous emotions, especially while trying to stay sane all at the same time.

The weekend was soon over and Monday morning had flown back around but on a plus side, it meant School was back on the agenda, and call me a geek! But I loved it. Jacob dropped me off just as he'd done everyday since I started here and today was no exception, I leant over to give him his usual kiss on the cheek and he drove away.

I don't know what made me scan the area, but I did and just along by the pedestrian entrance was Leah and she was acting very strange.

She was crouched on the ground as if tying her shoe laces; except she didn't have shoe laces, which only left me with one assumption that she must be trying to avoid someone, and it was obvious who that someone would be. Of course it could only be Jacob, instantly, I had a flash back to the beach, and recollect another of my intuitions, and I couldn't help but think to myself that 'this is going to be interesting, very interesting indeed'. It didn't take long either for my presumptions to be confirmed; it was all so predictable, she had absolutely no reason to be here, she hadn't attended college for a long while now and neither had her brother Seth. There was another thing I could be absolutely certain of too, she definitely hadn't come to see me, and she'd already hidden from Jacob, so that left only one person in the frame, and that had to be the allusive Eli.

I smiled to myself again and shook my head with amusement; 'her forte without doubt wasn't deception' she couldn't have looked more suspicious if she'd tried.

The longest day

I held back for a minute or two, I had to see the outcome of this, I scanned the horizon once more, and just coming into view towards the top of the hill, was Eli, I couldn't help but give myself a waist high air punch, I knew it 'two for two girl, your on fire today'. I didn't need to see anymore and headed off to class.

Unfortunately for Leah I knew Jacob wasn't going to take the news with quite the same enthusiasm as me. I couldn't read their thoughts, but it didn't take a mind reader to know that this this would cause friction between them, and if Jacob had his way I knew an argument would ensue. Personally I had neither the intent nor desire of becoming involved; though for some reason I had a bad feeling about it. Then I decided I'd worried enough about things and so I put it all this to the back of my mind and thought no more about it.

Slowly but surely I had started to appreciate the candour and efficiency of my vampire world and therefore I'd reached an important decision, I was going to stay with the vampire me, as I was atrocious at mastering this human one, it definitely wasn't as easy as it looked.

2. Unions

Jacob and Leah

Jacob hadn't mentioned the school visit to Leah, which I had readily guessed would be the case. Unfortunately, for all those around him this situation had left him sulky and irritable; he was akin to a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off.

He was 'literally' chomping at the bit and couldn't wait to catch up with her for no other reason other than to appease himself.

Therefore, later that evening when the chance arrived, he seized upon it.

Leah was expecting him of course, and was waiting with eager anticipation at the end of Billy's driveway, pacing - back and forth, like some expectant father.

Leah had spent many hours pondering over this whole predicament; just trying to come up with some kind of half baked excuse for her meetings with Eli, but in the end she just thought what the hell, why should I? It was time to tell the truth and accept any consequences that came her way, and if that meant an argument then so be it, she was ready to stand her ground in fact, she refused point blank to conceal it…any of it anymore.

Then the more she thought about it, the more she couldn't understand whyshe had to justify herself to Jacob at all; none of it made any sense and if she was totally honest she was being made to feel rather like a ten year old all over again and that was completely unacceptable. She'd spent the vast majority of her life being answerable to men, and now…well now, she'd absolutely had enough!

Of course Leah was no stranger to trouble, she had 'intentionally' over many moons caused a fare share of turmoil within Sam Uley's pack; but there again that was only due to her own deep rooted issues which were marred predominantly by her broken heart; and in all fairness even this wasn't caused by Leah single-handedly; no, the fact of the matter was a sizeable proportion of any suffering could be placed directly at Sam's feet.

He could never quite muster the energy to be honest with her, not once had she ever received anything resembling a plausible or at the very least a half baked explanation with regards to his unbelievably self-centred behaviour. He thought it reasonable to simply disappear, slipping quietly into the background with no answers given and she had been expected to accept it.

Sam couldn't tell her that he'd phased into wolf…she understood that; she'd often admitted that to herself, but …to just leave… in her opinion if he'd truly loved her that should have been a whole lot harder to do. However no one could have imagined, not even Sam that just a few weeks down the line the exact same thing would happen to Leah, she would phase into a wolf, life could play such cruel ironies.

In the ensuing months Leah tried relentlessly to will herself to just stop changing, but to no avail and if truth be known it seemed to have quite the opposite effect, as every time she concentrated to not phase, the quicker it would actually take place.

The longest day

It did eventually become painfully obvious that every time she tried to stop she became so irate that she actually phased more frequently so in the end she simply stopped trying to stop.

Leah had never felt so alone, abandoned; she couldn't even sit and have a girly chat with another female wolf because there just weren't any, none that she knew of anyway. In addition to that and just to make things a little harder to accept, as far as everyone was aware, she was also the only female in the Quileute history that it had ever happened to…she simply couldn't catch a break, when she felt as if life couldn't really throw any more misfortune her way somehow, it always managed to.

Some nights she would cry herself to sleep, wondering what she'd done wrong in a previous life to of made this one so brutally cruel. 'Well!' there was one thing for sure, whatever it was, she was certainly paying the price for it now and regrettably Sam hadn't done very much to help with any of it either.

It always seemed that at her lowest points, when she needed moral support or at the very least a little understanding there was no one there, 'he wasn't there'.

Sam believed he hadn't deceived Leah and probably, hypothetically speaking Leah knew that was true he hadn't lied, but he hadn't been truthful either. He hadn't informed her that he'd imprinted on someone else; Leah found that out in the brutes of manners, one day she simply heard his thoughts, only to find out later that the other woman was her best friend Emily. And so in a short space of time she had lost her man, her friend and in her then fragile state of mind, her entire reason for living.

It had all been far too much to take in and she thought they had acted down right immorally and now, more than anything else she hoped, that together they were proud of themselves and that they fully understood the consequences of their actions. She also wished more than anything that they would one day feel every bit of her pain, and they realised just how much their relationship 'amongst other things', had left her feeling totally betrayed…discarded, and worst of all so very, very lonely.

Leah often asked herself could she have misunderstood her relationship with Sam.

It hadn't been a casual fling had it? And if it was meant to be that, why hadn't it been mentioned to her? Well as far as Leah was concerned it hadn't been casual, but then whatever it had really been, it was glaringly obvious that it had only been one sided.

Leah had given him her heart, and in return he had ripped it out and thrown it away.

For Leah, the betrayal had cut much deeper than anyone could of ever imagined; and to such an extent that she couldn't even remember the last time she'd laughed, or for that matter since she had simply smiled, a none fictitious smile, she only knew that she needed that particular ghost to be exercised, put to rest so she could at last move forward with her life. As

Jacob drove up the path, Leah stood with her hands in her pockets, her head lowered in order to see in through the car window, she waited until their eye's met, then glared at him.

Unions

At which point they were already reading each others thoughts, but even so those things needed to be said…out loud, so there could be no misconceptions regarding herself and Eli. In Jacobs eyes Leah, was to be made totally clear on the subject 'once and for all', and recognize that Jacob's decisions were to be final.

For some reason Leah suddenly felt that same desperation all over again, her emotions tugging at her very core. She didn't want to disobey Jacob he was her superior…the pack alpha and furthermore, she had began to actually liked him …a lot and far more than she would ever let on, and she'd grown to have immense respect for him. She had always been able to relate to him on some level, their spirits seemed…companionable…similar in so many ways, especially before he'd imprinted on Ness. In her mind they'd somehow seemed united by sorrow and dejection, not the best kind of union admittedly, but…a union all the same.

The trouble was, now it looked as if that very same combination of events from her past were currently hindering her ability to fully understand Jacobs mind set.

She couldn't for the life of her fathom in the slightest what his problem was?

Or why Jacob actually had a problem with Eli in the first place? But what was more important to her was his lack of compassion; she couldn't comprehend why he would want to sabotage any chance of happiness she might have found at long last? Leah pondered momentarily, what was the worst that could happen?

She'd maybe end up with a broken heart at the end of it. Well if that was all, she was use to that.

In any case, if Eli was such a huge threat to them, why hadn't anything happened already?

In fact why should anything happen at all Eli was no threat to his precious Cullen's.

In deed, she needed to be shown where the justification was for any of this? As far as she was concerned it was absurd.

Everything had been quiet for years, and there was absolutely no reason why any of that should suddenly change.

Leah understandably just wanted her life back, she didn't want to be confronting, arguing all the time, and as for being a 'werewolf', she certainly didn't want that.

She wanted what they had, Sam and Emily, a chance to love someone and with a bit of luck next time to be loved back, surely that wasn't too much to ask for was it?

There was no reason in her mind anyway, why they couldn't discuss this whole thing through like adults. So she bit the bullet, she forced a half smile and gestured with a small but vigorous hand wave, which was twinned together with a reasonably polite

"Hi Jake"

Jacob too was cool, calm and collected, which actually surprised her; she'd been expecting him to jump out of the car yelling and screaming. Instead he just shook his head as if he were disappointed; though somehow she found that rather more disconcerting and thought she would have actually preferred the shouting, that way she could have at least retaliated accordingly.

Susan Mclatchie

Although, as he started to speak, there was a definite and much recognized undertone, the presence of a deep growl had become horribly and unmistakably noticeable.

"I asked you not to see him Leah, didn't I?"

Leah replied passively at first.

"I know you did, but I like him Jake, why have you got such a big problem with that?"

She stared at him quite menacingly,

"So"? Thus provoking an immediate response

"It's not because you like him Leah" he answered with a snigger. "I don't trust him; I can't explain why, call it my wolf instinct".

He did look genuinely perplexed. Leah paused momentarily then simply replied

"No".

"I'm sorry" he began "I wasn't asking you not to see him, I was telling you, your not; there was no request, I defiantly don't remember there being a request"

She could tell, he was angry now, as he took deep breathes in order to calm himself. The last thing he wanted was to phase, especially now during an argument he knew that wouldn't resolve a damn thing.

Leah knew it was now or never, she couldn't hold back anymore; she had things she'd wanted, no, needed to say for a long time, and now, she could control it no more, it all came spurting out.

"How dare you…your such a hypocrite!"

Jacob was a little shocked at her outburst, but carried on listening, which was just as well because, she had no intention of stopping, and she was on a role.

"Seth and I stood by you, defended you, when you left Sam's pack…to save Bella! Whom, I seem to remember was carrying a vampires baby at the time… our mortal enemies, Jacob".

"But she was human Leah, we protect humans" he interjected.

"So is Eli Jacob…so is Eli, but that doesn't count does it? Because he's not your human! In fact when I think how you behaved" she took a deep breath.

"When we helped did we question you? NO! Did we judge you? NO!

We respected your decisions, because we knew…well we knew you loved her"

She paused once again but briefly.

"Oh and it didn't end there either, did it? Ooh no, because then she gives birth to the child, who kills her. And you! You stand by and watch while Edward proceeds turning her into a vampire…our mortal enemies. Have I finished? Nope. The baby, who should have been destroyed, again by you…was she? Ooh no…of course not, instead youuu do what every werewolf in the world absolutely, positively would never have done, you imprint on her"

"That's not fare that wasn't my fault, it wasn't by choice" He snapped.

Leah simply glared but carried on talking all the same.

"So then we all had to fight, and not just fight our own kind, no, but Sam Uley and the rest of our friends in order to protect her" she stopped to take breath and as if all her fight had gone she resumed talking quite calmly.

"I somehow seem to remember, you wasn't quite so self righteous then, was you Jacob? Well, were you?"

The longest day

She stood in front of him for a moment, waiting for a response but, there was only silence.

"Shall I carry on?" she added sarcastically.

Jacob stared at the ground a while, his eyes closed, and then he took a deep breath.

"I told you not to join me, you wouldn't take no for an answer, remember?"

Leah shook her head with disapproval.

"So what are you trying to say? This was entirely my fault then?"

"Your wolf instinct didn't work too well then did it?" with that she went to walk away. So Jacob instantly started to talk.

"I'm sorry Leah…really I am, I know what I did was stupid, reckless even, and above all selfish, I know everything you've said is true but, I also knew deep in my heart I would never be able to just walk away, just let go, not easily anyway. That's why I told you and Seth to go back to Sam. I don't want to dictate to you or anyone for that matter…I know it's wrong, that's not who I am…its not who I want to be. Nevertheless there's something not right, I'm not sure what…but there's something there, I don't trust."

Leah looked closely at him studying his facial expressions fastidiously, which in a strange way seemed to calm her once she realised he was no longer angry.

Now as she spoke she felt able to smile at him.

"It's ok Jake, I know you can't control how you feel, you can't choose who you love, it chooses you, I get that, really, I do, and I know your just watching my back, and I'm grateful for that…truly I am, but I'd like the chance to find out for myself what and who, he is that's all, can you understand that?"

She touched his shoulder and lowered her head slightly, as if a little submissive.

"I am an adult Jacob, and if that's not enough well"…she pointed her finger at him signalling him to come closer, as he did so, she whispered in his ear.

"Don't tell anyone but, I'm a werewolf."

He tried hard to stay serious but he couldn't contain himself as he unexpectedly erupted into laughter while at the same time pushing her away playfully. She automatically pushed him back, and couldn't help but laugh with him.

She felt really good, so much so she couldn't put it into words, although enlightened seemed to be the word that sprung to mind and all by off loading her pent up anger and emotions, she actually wished she'd done it a long, long time ago.

"Seriously, I'm sure I can handle anything that comes along, what possible damage can a mere human do to me?" she smiled in a gloating manner, she looked at his face but he'd stopped laughing and could only muster a forced half smile, as he shook his head and with a little of what almost appeared to be sadness in his voice he added.

"You'll be surprised Leah, how much hurt and sorrow they can bring…werewolves and vampires, they don't have the monopoly on that. Humans, seem to manage that one just fine all on their own".

She placed her arm around his shoulders and looked at him sombrely with an eerie quiet, becoming almost deafening.

Unions

They looked at each other once again and as if practiced they frowned and nodded at one another, acknowledging each others preceding sadness, at which point their moods appeared to match the weather perfectly, cold, wet and gloomy.

Leah suddenly felt the need to lighten the mood and began to goad him.

"I knew you'd come round you know… you're such a hopeless romantic"

"Yeah, yeah" He blushed.

Immediately Leah stopped him in his tracks, she stared at him and with the utmost sincerity she informed him.

"I love you, you know" Jacob suddenly looked horrified and almost choked himself, thus provoking her to respond instantaneously.

"No, no, not like that, as if you should be so lucky! I mean like Seth; I love you as my brother".

Jacob composed himself and couldn't help but smirk, but if he were to be totally honest he would have to admit that he'd actually grown extremely fond of her too, in that sister kind of way; not that he would ever have admitted it to her; he looked at her intently.

"Be this on your head Leah, if things go bad, I'm not going to sort it out for you".

She nodded in agreement.

"Jake…what could possibly go wrong? I'm going on a couple of dates that's all"

And with that she started to walk off, when suddenly she stopped, turned and ran back to him, kissing him on his cheek, amidst hugging his body tightly and whispering.

"Thank you, thank you so much for understanding".

As she was leaving him, just a little way along the drive she turned to face him once more and shouted.

"Hey Jake, you really are that good guy, you know that?"

Jacob however, wasn't quite so convinced. He knew his feelings were justified; there was just a lack of evidence to quantify his judgment. So, for now he would just have to stand back, observe, and pray that he was totally wrong about everything

Especially for Leah's sake it was time for her to move on, be happy with her life, the majority of it anyway or at least the bits she could control.

He too was glad they'd cleared the air. Leah had been right, everything had been hanging between them slowly souring, stagnating like a cesspool and for such a long time they'd both forgotten how to return to any kind of civility, but now at last it was done, and they could both move forward with their renewed alliances to one another.

Eli and Leah

Leah woke to a beautifully sunny day, which matched her mood Perfectly, and as warm sunny days were so rare in forks she could only imagine it to be a good omen; though truth be told she couldn't have really cared less about the weather; there could have been hurricanes and tornados whipping around her and still her mood couldn't have been dampened, she would have stayed positively ecstatic.

The reason for her heightened spirits was because today was the day when at long last she would be meeting Eli for a date, and what made it all the more perfect was, now everybody knew about them.

The longest day

There was no need to skulk about hiding behind cars or buildings anymore and most importantly, there was no need to deceive anyone either, she couldn't have been any happier. She felt like a child again, only this time in a good way with only one exception, and that being, butterflies had taken up residency in her stomach and in the exact same place where her internal organs once were, however, somehow even that was managing to feel good.

They were to meet by the La Push beach at around six, and from there they'd head down to Port Angeles and go for a nice quiet romantic meal, 'she hoped', as she crossed her fingers. Then if that goes well she thought that maybe they could go catch a film, although she hadn't got a clue what was showing and wondered if Eli would have thought to find out; then another wave of excitement ran through her, as she recalled she hadn't been to the pictures in years, all she could think about was, six o'clock, and it just couldn't come round fast enough for her.

Eli was rather tall, he stood at about six foot four and for a human he was incredibly muscular, well for his age anyway…in fact if you didn't know any different you would have sworn his stature resembled that of the male werewolves. He did however, exude a distinct air of superiority and not just in the way he spoke either, but it was all of him in his entirety, his persona and mannerisms.

It was easy to see how people found him hard to approach or decipher. He certainly wasn't forthright and he constantly looked irritated, however, he wasn't really like that at all to talk to; once you made the effort to do so anyway. In fact he was one of the most composed people Leah knew and he was very unassuming.

He wasn't an academic, yet, when talking to him he came across as being very well read, which, was a little strange; again for someone of his age…just eighteen years old. Then there was his attending the reservation school! She had to admit again that he did come across as a little too refined. Well whatever it was, there was a definite air of mystery about him; in fact, she was convinced it was this that had attracted her to him in the first place.

Indeed there was only one other person she knew to have these kind of unique qualities and that of course was Ness but she wasn't completely human anyway, so that couldn't really count either, could it? There was one thing she was absolutely sure of and that was, Eli was no vampire even she would have sensed that straight away.

Eli had arrived early and waited anxiously for his date to pull up. He was aware that Leah liked him, but exactly how much, he wasn't sure. Therefore, there was no guarantee she would show; because if there was one thing he had learnt about women that, was they could be slightly unpredictable. Add to that the fact her friends obviously disliked him 'a lot', anything was possible.

He looked amazing though, if he had chosen his clothes to impress he had definitely achieved his goal. His crisp white shirt almost gleamed against his russet toned skin, his jet black hair was groomed meticulously and cap free thank god.

Unions

You could actually see his eyes clearly for once, they were truly an arresting shade, sensual as if drawing you in closer, beckoning, come to bed eyes, the likes of, which Leah had never seen before.

Then the scent he wore was totally intoxicating, defiantly not the eau de wolf she was used to anyway. He spoke with a very noticeable Italian accent, but his voice was deep almost sultry and like his odour, incredibly stimulating.

From what Leah had observed of Eli she assumed he would be horribly comfortable interacting to the fairer sex, or maybe, it was the fairer sex that just melted every time he opened his mouth or simply looked into his eyes? Either way, it was a trait she found somewhat disconcerting. The only thing she could do now was to try extremely hard not to envisage just how many women he had actually used his silky smooth charms on? Luckily for her, she genuinely didn't have time for all that now, she had to try to make herself look attractive, or so she thought anyway.

By the time she'd finished Leah had also excelled herself, and she looked stunning. Well, after a few attempts anyway. She had tried to curl her hair - but hated it, she thought it made her look like a poodle gone wrong. So she tied it up and, as the shorter strands of her dark hair fell around her face it left soft ringlets which, complimented her features completely and, if you knew no better you would have sworn it had been done purposely.

She applied very little makeup but, it was enough to change her normal image which had been her ultimate goal. She didn't want to be the old Leah anymore; she wanted her gone, once and for all, she needed a new and improved version to take her place.

She wore a Chinese design dress in deep red, which hugged her figure revealingly. The red against her raven hair was flattering in the most desirable way. In actual fact no one had ever seen her before with such a demeanour, and come to think of it, neither had she. She was a truly striking young lady, far more than she had ever given herself credit for. The sad reality was Leah had been unhappy for so long, she had forgotten how to look any kind of good, let alone this good, but no more, from now on she was determined she would only be moving forward, yep! Onwards and upwards now her face was alight, with a new energy. The new and improved version of the 'she wolf' or, if you preferred 'Leah 2.0', then she stop herself laughing in case she smudged her mascara.

Leah's car pulled up and parked just a little way along from Eli. She exited the car and slowly turned to face him, all the while taking deep breaths every one of them full of trepidation, wandering how he would now react to her, but she needn't have worried, Eli couldn't believe his eyes, Leah looked absolutely stunning, she really did, and he was totally intoxicated in fact, almost hypnotized by her beauty.

Leah hadn't been out of the car for more than a moment when she saw Eli suddenly behave very odd, and for a split second there she thought he was about to pass out.

Eli had lowered his now sickly olive tinged, yet flushed face into his hands, at the same time he hunched, as if to stop himself from falling.

The longest day

Leah ran to him, with the utmost concern, and slowly he began lifting his shoulders, she grabbed his arms to help steady him, during which, she met his gaze. As their eyes fixed, he seemed to mesmerize her quite unexpectedly, generating the most bizarre feelings, so strange they almost took her breath. She trembled a little then brushed it off as nerves, although, momentarily it had made her feel distinctly ill at ease.

She mulled briefly, realising she'd been nervous many, many times in the past, yet, she couldn't for the life of her, ever remember a feeling as intense as this one had been.

Leah took a deep breath to not only mentally but to physically pull herself together, it was only then she felt able to inquire as to his wellbeing.

"Eli are you ok?"

It seemed the longest minute, before he replied, and she couldn't help but think 'he's going to bale, say he's too ill to go out, how stupid was she to think that someone like him, would like someone like her? Slowly he stood upright, and took another deep breath, by which time he'd regained his wonderfully rich russet skin tone that, was far more palatable than the previous green.

She waited with abated breath for his reaction, and found herself pleasantly Surprised; well it was certainly different from the one she had been expecting anyway.

"Wow…wow si sono bellissime".

Leah didn't really understand Italian and initially was a little irritated she seemed to only hear the word Bella, and had immediately thought to herself 'I can never get away from that woman she's even on my damn date' however, she just smiled graciously.

"I'm sorry Eli, I didn't quite get all of that, I'm not very good at Italian".

He smiled at her politely.

"Then let me translate, I said you look". Then without another word he pressed his index finger and thumb together, took them to his lips and with an elongated kiss on them he uttered "mmmwah".

Ah…now that she understood, as she beamed like a Cheshire cat, and she gave him a small mock curtsy.

Eli in kind took her hand, clipped the heels of his shoes together and half bowed. They both giggled.

"Seriously" she reiterated "are you ok? You went a little weird on me there".

"I'm fine". He replied "I haven't been on a date in a long while is all, I've been very, how you say nervoso, ah nervous?"

"Oh good" she smiled "I'm glad it's not just me then". All the while she was secretly thinking 'thank god I don't have to compete with infinite amounts of women, which had to be a good thing, right.

There again, the more she thought about it the more her insecurities began to resurface, she'd also concluded, it was a little strange that someone as gorgeous as him wanted to be with someone like her, but in the end she decided she needed to let the date run it's own course before, she made any rash decisions about his motives.

Unions

She always over thought things and allowed her imagination to run away with her, but this time it had to be different or she could see herself as ending up a lonely, dried up, bitter pooch and she couldn't allow that to happen, so she closed her eyes briefly and whispered to herself 2.0, 2.0, and they headed off towards the car.

As they entered the small colloquial Italian restaurant, it was indicative of entering the twilight zone; everyone immediately stopped what they were doing in unison, with the sole purpose to observe the potential patrons, which drew Leah a little off guard. The premises themselves were nicely decorated and the music subtle and ambient. The lighting was attached to those slow rotating fans which unhurriedly distributed the wonderfully mouth watering aromas emanating from the various dishes.

Each table was adorned with red and white gingham cloths and matching serviettes, then in the centre of each table they had small white vase containing two fresh red roses, which in turn had burning candles alongside them. Eli being the perfect gentleman pulled out the chair for Leah to sit on. She couldn't remember the last time a man had been so chivalrous with her, and she liked it, that warm feeling again, she'd missed it.

Leah hadn't an extensive knowledge of Italian food as with, the language.

Her favourite dish was the good old, 'spag bol' however, after careful consideration she decided against it, in case half of it ended up in her lap, not the kind of impression she was aiming for on their first date.

In fact, there were many things in life that Leah was unsure about, but even she knew that wearing one's food would have been a total faux pas, thus provoking her to opt for the safe, but, 'tasty all the same', lasagne.

Luckily, for the chef Eli wasn't quite so boring in his choice of food, as he quickly and eloquently rattled off what sounded like a veritable feast.

"Vorrei ordinare per cominclare bruschetta pizzaiola poi I tortellini ai formaggi con prosciutto e piselli per favore"

'How sexy was that' she thought as she let her imagination run riot

"Ooo can I have the same please that sound lovely"

"You have a big appetite for a small lady" he teased

"I know, I have a very fast metabolism" and no more was mentioned.

It was probably at about the same time that she realised that if nothing else, she was definitely and absolutely in lust with him.

It was also at this point it seemed as much as she could do to stop herself drooling all over the spotlessly clean and well starched table cloth.

At least this was one part of her animal instincts that 'luckily' she found herself able to control. Well it certainly wouldn't do if she'd started to dry hump the poor guy's leg in the middle of the restaurant now 'would it?'

During their meal the conversation was light-hearted, you know, exchanging general information about one another.

The longest day

For the best part, Eli dominated most of the conversation, reminiscing about his beloved Italy, how wonderful the countryside was walks he would take through the vineyards and olive groves.

Visiting Florence with some of the most beautiful scenery in the world and of course Rome with its history and culture, then the weather, how it was admittedly cold by the Alps in winter but, on the Ligurian and Neapolitan coasts it often stays warm and mild, then in summer it was hot like the blood that flowed through it's people.

Leah was intrigued he obviously loved his country.

"Wow very passionate, it sounds amazing, it really does maybe one day I could see it for myself" announced Leah.

"But if your family loves it so much what made you packs up and come to Forks? I'm sure there are many nicer places you could have moved to".

"Yes, but we had no choices in this, it had to be, so here we are, it's very long story and I don't want to discuss it"

And that abruptly concluded that line of questioning, a bit rude she thought, but that is what Eli is renowned for as well.

"But I would love for you to come see it with me one day" and there in that one short sentence he'd absolutely redeemed himself and Leah could do nothing but grin widely from ear to ear for the rest of the meal as she fantasised of what could be, or at least, what she wanted it to be.

Maybe it was the wine but, as the evening progressed the talk became a little more flirtatious, well quite a bit flirtatious really and the body language was unmistakably suggestive. Although, once they headed out to Port Angeles this quickly waned

Nevertheless, both had become very aware of an unquestionable chemistry now awakened between them.

Leah couldn't be sure how Eli felt of course, but there in that precise moment, she believed she was without a doubt the luckiest girl in the world and asked for nothing more than the bubble not to burst at any time in the very near future.

The cinema was a multi complex that presently was showing four quite dissimilar films. In one and three there was: The Riot Act, this was a romantic comedy. In two and four The Delinquent, I think the title says it all for that one. In another was a psychological thriller.

Then for the pies de resistance, The Legacy Wonderful! a vampire film 'just what she needed, she just couldn't catch a break', was there no getting away from them, not even for one night. She began to read, set in Transylvania, of course, but in the twenty first century. 'You couldn't make it up, could you?' She thought sarcastically.

Leah watched Eli studying the film descriptions and willed him not to pick that one he must have read her mind because just as she was thinking it, she heard him say

"I don't like vampires".

"Mmm, I know that feeling".

A little bewildered he gave her an inquisitive glance, but that was all, thankfully.

She mused…then frowned,

Susan Mclatchie

"I'm confused; you don't like vampires, or vampire films?" He didn't answer immediately…then smirked

"De film of course, how many vampires do you know?"

Leah laughed nervously, slightly confused for a second…she couldn't help but feel a little alarmed as the conversation was becoming particularly spooky, and she couldn't help but momentarily think of Jacob and their conversation.

Eli snapped her from her train of thought as he pulled her close to him.

"I think we should see the comedy, don't you?" he inquired. And Leah quickly concurred.

The film was extremely funny with only the slightest of romantic undertones.

Nothing too heavy perfect for a first date, for Leah the whole evening had turned out to be a whirlwind of re-ignited and new feelings, excitement, anticipation, longing all mixed with a little consternation; throw some sexual energy in the cauldron, and the brew promised to be one formidable potion, to say the least. Then all too soon the evening had come to an end.

"Well, there you go, home, safe and sound just as I promised"

"It's been a wonderful night Leah truly; I hope we will do it again, soon?"

"Me too very soon"

She began to answer when Eli reached over and took Leah into his arms, and slowly…very slowly, began to kiss her. Leah couldn't remember ever being kissed like this before, with such intensity…such passion, and with every touch of his lips on hers, her heart seemed to skip a beat and her insides performed summersaults, then as she melted a little more it was safe to say Leah was hooked, line and sinker.

Jacob and Ness

My next meeting with Jacob was a little uncomfortable to say the least, for me anyway. I knew I'd been acting incredibly strange around him of late, what with my anxiety levels climbing through the roof, and those stupid things called feelings.

I didn't have a problem being in love with Jacob, 'I supposed' and I didn't care that he was a werewolf, not at all. However, the possibility of it causing a rift between us bothered me a lot, and I would never forgive myself if that were to happen.

My family had never expressed any opinions on the matter to me, but I'd always believed they'd accept my choice of partner unreservedly… as long as there was love and above all trust.

Sadly, I was completely aware that many of the vampires out there 'especially' the Volturi, wouldn't be quite so understanding of any such union and although my immediate problem wasn't them, I didn't have a clue how I was going to approach the subject with Jacob, I mean I didn't know how to do it without making a total arse of it, or myself.

Of course I knew Jacob loved me that had always been unequivocal, he'd constantly make me very aware of it. He always made me feel safe and protected; however in all those years of knowing him he'd never once shown me that he was in love with me, and it was that small yet understated difference that scared me.

Unions

The thought that maybe any new and unrestrained affection could somehow alienate myself from him; or merely jeopardise any other and consequent situation that may occur from revealing my true feelings

I knew I may live to totally regret my decision to tell him, but I decided to bite the bullet, figuratively speaking, ignore any inner apprehension eating away at me, and go for it anyway. I knew it wasn't exactly something you could slip into your lunchtime burritos 'you know'

"Is your chicken good and oh yes, I've suddenly discovered that I've got the raging hot's for you, so what do you say we go do something about it?"

No, I definitely had to be more subtle than that, so instead, me being the level headed individual I liked to believe I was, decided to devise a game plan, maybe talk about other peoples love lives, or, quote a piece of romantic poetry, either one should do the trick"

I imagined that if anything could trigger a response one of those would, even a negative response should initiate some kind of conversation. So that's what I decided to go with, even though it was going to be as awkward as hell, I knew I really needed to expose his true feelings for me, get them out into the open. So keeping my fingers crossed, I began to put my plan into action.

Jacob turned up at our house bang on time for his second breakfast, as he had done everyday since my birth. He seemed in an exceptionally up beat mood, far better than it had been for a long time.

'This is helpful' I mused, thus immediately setting myself at ease.

I even began thinking that today could be the day when I started putting my plan into action. My mom was cooking breakfast, whilst chatting away to me about what I hadn't a clue; I was totally transfixed on my impending revelations to Jacob, just as he bounded in.

"Hey Jake, stupid question are you hungry?" Bella said sarcastically, in a fun manner.

He laughed, and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hey Bella, always hungry… hey gorgeous" was said as he turned to look at me.

I felt my heart kick as it skipped a beat and replying with a croaky wisp in my voice;

All I could do was smile coyly, the only thing I'd achieved was embarrassing myself, like an immature juvenile,

"Morning Jacob are" I cleared my throat again "are you good?"

"Sure am looker, what do you want to do today? I'm all yours"

'I wish you were' the thought suddenly popped into my head, and then I prayed I hadn't just said that out loud.

OH MY GOD, my thoughts were going into overdrive, at this point I could hear my own heart beating and my body must have been secreting oestrogen at a very unwanted but considerable pace. My legs felt as though they wouldn't be able to hold me, as if they'd lost all bone density; I knew I daren't try to stand, for sure.

Luckily, he wasn't paying any more attention to me; instead he laughed and joked with my mom, reminiscing, during which time she just carried on cooking the food.

The longest day

As I watched them my imagination drifted and I couldn't help but fantasise about him kissing me passionately…just as he had once kissed Bella.

Well…that image soon helped sober up my thoughts and quickly too; in fact, I suddenly found myself feeling incredibly jealous of her, even though I knew the truth behind the kiss. What the hell was wrong with me? Now I'd managed to lumber myself with guilt, adding 'immensely ashamed' to my emotional dilemmas.

I could tell straight away she knew that look; I don't suppose you needed to be a mind reader to recognise certain signs, you intuitively know especially if you've been there yourself.

I was, however, very grateful she wasn't able to read my mind.

As I caught her gaze for a second time, I quickly tried to cover up my edgy demeanour, while all the time knowing it was pointless.

I hurriedly excused myself with the pretence of getting ready and quickly retreated to the sanctuary of my bedroom where I threw myself face down on the bed, mumbling incoherently while taking in deep breaths in order to quell my emotions and stop myself from crying.

"Stupid…stupid"

I didn't even hear my mom enter the room, I just felt her gently stroke my hair, and I turned to face her, she simply smiled at me.

"You know it was inevitable Ness, he's an enormous part of your life, of all our lives, and he is completely lovable".

That comment hadn't alleviated a thing, because now I felt completely miserable.

"That doesn't really help mom, I mean, what if he was to rejects me?"

She shook her head

"That's impossible you're too beautiful, too clever and more importantly his entire reason for living".

"Well that's the other problem isn't it; if I chose Jacob as my partner wouldn't I be sentencing him to death?"

"Your Aunt Alice hasn't seen any imminent deaths or heartbreak". She affirmed.

I knew she was only trying to put my mind at ease, but unfortunately it didn't seem to be working quite as well as she would have liked.

"But Aunt Alice can't see the wolves, or what they do, or what they say for that matter". I uttered sulkily

My mom now sat beside me, she smiled softly as she touched my cheek then slowly put my head to rest on her shoulder silently comforting me.

Eventually, we immerged from my room and thankfully I was a lot more composed than when I'd gone in; I don't think Jacob had even noticed we'd been gone, as he was still munching his way through a tower of pancakes and syrup.

I sat opposite him, initially with every intention of eating my breakfast, but my anxiety levels obviously hadn't dropped quite as much as I'd hoped, because, my stomach felt as though it was dancing the conga; so I settled for a coffee instead.

Unions

I loved talking to my mom, she was kind, caring, and always knew the right thing to say, even when the subject matter couldn't have been easy for her.

She'd chosen my dad yes, and she adored him, but I suspected there was still a tiny piece of her that was in love with Jacob and maybe always would be.

So this time was no different, our conversation as limited as it had been, had helped me decide conclusively what I needed to do. I looked over at Jacob, took a deep breath and bit that bullet.

"Jacob" I paused for a moment, arguing with myself, 'should I, shouldn't I, stop being such a baby' he was staring at me rather oddly, still waiting for my sentence, I started again, "Today, we can do whatever you want, anything…you decide"

That shocked him, he wasn't use to me giving him options and to be fair, I rarely did.

It didn't take long for him to decide either, and that 'shocked me', but he wouldn't tell me what he was planning, 'he wanted it to be a surprise', which momentarily made me wander had he, been considering this surprise before today? Had he been waiting for the right time the same as me? My chain of thought altered 'don't be so stupid',

But he interrupted me as he told me to go wait for him in his car.

The car was now a rather flashy and completely ostentatious BMW 4-series convertible, and I knew this off by heart, because it was mostly what he talked about, but I didn't mind really, I loved listening to him, the purr in his voice always made me feel at ease.

The car was given to him for his birthday but I knew it was also a 'keep my daughter safe or else' gift as well; and in all fairness it was far superior to any thing he'd ever driven in the past, let alone owned. He loved it though and even that's an understatement, I swear he moved with a dance in his step for almost a week after receiving it, he even hugged my dad.

We celebrated Jacob's birthday every year as we did mine and in truth he didn't age a whole lot different to me. It was common knowledge that if wolves continued to phase they didn't physically age they stayed static, so while he stayed eighteen, and for every one of his years, I'd aged by about two and a half until now, now we were pretty much the same age bodily anyway, sometimes I wasn't quite so sure about mentally.

In the past few years the wolves hadn't needed to phase too much, but occasionally we would get a fresh batch of unknown vampires trying to feed their way through Fork's territory. It was usually contained by Sam's pack but if they couldn't convince them to leave, then there was always Jacobs pack, and when the vampires were totally obstinate and refused to leave then Sam and Jacob packs would join forces and together they made a significantly formidable team.

I sat in the front seat watching him through the rear view mirror, waiting impatiently for Jacob to stop talking with my parents; the conversational topic must have been quite important as they all appear to have rather serious facial expressions, nothing as nonchalant as it had been at breakfast anyway. I couldn't take my eyes off him though, admiring his wonderfully masculine body form.

Susan McLatchie

At last…they smiled, and all nodded in agreement with one another, then my parents waved us goodbye as Jacob jumped in the car and we sped off, still none the wiser as to where we were going, but I just felt content that we were together and alone at last.

We'd been driving for a while before eventually pulling over to park, it wasn't our normal place but we were definitely along the perimeter of the woods, and Jacob had suddenly become most enthusiastic.

"Come on then, let's see where this takes us?" as if on cue.

"Sounds good to me" he was actually making me quite exited by his overly keen demeanour, so we took off strolling at a leisurely pace talking, making mental observations of everything we could see.

For some reason everything seemed louder today, the birds, the insects, the slight whistling noises of the breeze through the trees, even the droplets of dew falling from the leaves, I felt all my senses heightened as if I were aroused, I didn't know why but today the vampire in me was more alive than I can ever remember it being in the past, and the reason? Still not a clue

Slowly, I realised…I recognised this place, it wasn't the usual way we came in, but I knew the route all the same, the only difference was we'd entered the woods from the other side. We were heading towards the meadow; I couldn't hold back

"Really, Jacob we could do anything you want…go anywhere you want, and we end up here at the meadow". I shook my head in disbelief.

"Trust me". He replied, looking quite smug with himself as he peered back at me, but I couldn't hide how incredibly unimpressed I was.

We walked past the last tree then on to the open field; there, in the middle, sat a small tent with lights surrounding the entrance, next to that, a table with two chairs, which were also decorated with lights and an abundance of wild flowers.

On the table were two glasses, drinks, chocolates and various other treats, and honestly, I didn't know what shone brighter the lights on the table, or the smile on my face. It was all so incredibly perfect, it sent my emotions into overdrive, as I felt my eyes well up; it was all I could do to contain myself.

"What's this for?" I squealed with delight.

"I don't know what to say Jacob It's so beautiful"

I blurted out half crying half laughing…so this is what you were conspiring with my parents about was it?"

"Yep mainly, this and a couple of other things"

"Like what?" I replied quizzically,

"Nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about"

I hated that, when they still treated me like an infant and I think my facial expression must have betrayed my thoughts.

"Don't be mad" He pleaded, "I'm trying to cheer you up, not make you angry, you've looked so sad for the last few days and I hate seeing you like that"

The longest day

How could I stay angry at him?

"I know you are, but…don't treat me like a child or keep secrets ok, I hate that".

He smiled at me with only the slightest of acknowledgement; nevertheless I'd only managed to make myself feel like crap again, weighing myself down with yet another emotion, this time it was guilt because I wasn't exactly being honest with him either.

Now was I?

We sat opposite one another, while in the background the radio softly played love songs on smooth America, he poured us a drink as I served us up the treats, at the same time our glasses clinked together, I felt as though I was in a different world and happily sank into his dark yet wonderfully hypnotizing eyes. All the time realising how it could all be construed as incredibly crass, like some cheesy romantic story out of an unpopular magazine, nevertheless I loved it, and all this was exactly how I'd pictured an ideal day, it was almost perfect, and I could only think of that one other thing that would make it absolutely complete.

Unfortunately though, basing my next theory on previous experiences, I knew the 'content bubble' would soon burst, at the first sign of any happiness I seemed to hit a self destruct button and I'd spoil everything for myself.

I genuinely felt as though my head and my heart weren't coupled by the same body, and before my head or my heart had time to think, my mouth had already engaged and was blurting words out, as soon as I heard myself I instinctively knew it wasn't going to go well.

"So Jacob what's happening with Leah and Eli these days, have you been keeping track?" He took a big gulp of his juice.

"I've been trying not too actually, but it's not easy". He paused. "Mm she's quite mentally vocal, and yeah, she seems all loved up".

"I'm really pleased for Leah, and maybe he's not as bad as you first thought then?"

"Oh he is…I just can't prove it"

"You're really hung up on the poor guy huh".

"Ok…firstly I'm not hung up on him, he's not the good guy everyone seems thinks he is, and really Ness? Poor guy… please…your killing me, and since when did you become an Eli fan?"

"I'm not, I'm just saying he seems nice enough to me that's all, and he's very good looking" as the words left my mouth I cringed, as I thought 'that'll do it'

"Ahh is that what this is all about? Are you trying to tell me you really like him, do you want him too?" I was completely taken aback.

"WHAT!…where did that even come from?" All the time knowing exactly were it had come from, my stupid mouth.

I sensed my parents were near, I knew my dad would be panicking, reading Jacobs thoughts, but I also knew my mom would be far more lenient, and holding Edward back, she knew Jacob would never hurt me and I think my dad knew it to, but secretly he wanted me to stay his little girl.

They both knew only we could sort this out for ourselves, it was time for them as parents, to allow me to be the adult that I had so quickly become.

Unions

I hated arguing, but sometimes he made me so mad, I just wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine, although as I said it, again I immediately regretted it.

"Do you still want Bella? You're very giggly when you're round her" I challenged.

"What?" he snarled at me.

Then pressing my self destruct button again

"Do you think of Bella when you're with me? or maybe it's Leah now? You seem particularly protective of her lately"

"You know it's not like that…where this crap is even coming from?" he demanded

"How do I…how do I know what your feeling or thinking? I'm not a wolf…I can't read your thoughts. All I see is you and the passion you held for my mom, you have a passion for your damn car, you protect Leah and despise Eli.

Where the hell do I fit in? So to paraphrase, no, Jacob, I don't know".

I looked at him side on, blinked giving him that, 'WHAT EVER!' look

A look that hadn't gone unnoticed

"You know, you're all the same, what's got into you lately?" all the time his head shaking with condemnation.

"Really, us vampires not good enough for the high and mighty wolf now?"

He glared at me furiously.

"Actually, I meant women…you can all be real vipers cant you?"

"I am who I was made to be, I have a heart that beats, and flesh that bleeds…and I,

I have feelings Jacob, not that you've ever seem to notice"

His manner switched, from being angry and shouting to a kind of despair.

"You know Ness, I can't do this again, I can't do this with you, I can't…I'm done…I've tried to please you…make you happy. But I only seem to mess it up, to make things worse. Like history repeating itself, so I'll go…leave you to love who ever the hell you want to, but I'm gone"

He was panting heavily and I knew he was trying hard to control his emotions, trying not to phase, his head was stooped, his fists were clenched, but he looked so sad.

"The people I love all disappear, all leave me in one way or another, and I'd sooner hurt now and walk away then to have it destroy me later"

'No this was all wrong', not how I'd imagined it would go at all. I only wanted to tell him I was in love with him, not make him believe he was nothing, insignificant to me, and especially not to have him believe I wanted Eli.

How could I let him leave? I couldn't survive without him. I was in far too deep for that, so as he started to walk away I heard myself cry out.

"You can't leave me!"

Unions

He turned to face me

"I'm bound to you, I know that…but I only have to protect you, I don't need to be with you every waking minute of every day, that won't be good for either of us"

I couldn't let it end like this, oh god! What I really needed to do was learn to shut my mouth or at least become skilled at what to say.

"I'm sorry, Jacob, please, don't go, don't…don't…leave me". My voice waned almost to a whisper.

He stopped and stood perfectly still, with his back towards me, his head still stooped, standing in absolute silence, waiting to hear what I had to say.

Instantly, I caught up to him, standing directly behind him. It was the second time I'd used vampire time with him, and although I didn't like to, this time I'd felt the urgency to do so.

I gulped hard, and took a deep breath; this had to be the decider, so I plucked a little courage and placed my hand on his shoulders. Slowly I ran them down the side of his arms, and then with a pull of each sleeve, his T-shirt ripped, effortlessly, from his torso and not quite knowing where it came from I started kissing his shoulder along the base of his neck and around the other shoulder. My hands now moved slowly round his body, from his muscular chest, again to his back kissing it sensually as I caressed his soft, perfect skin.

Again, instantaneously, I stood in front of him, kissing his neck, slowly moving up until my mouth met his, suddenly he pulled me in tight, which sent a thrilling sensation through me as I pressed into his now pulsing body, and he kissed me passionately, hungrily his tongue exploring the sweet contours of my mouth and I have no choice but to Submit to the pleasure.

I stopped momentarily to look at him, and then I whispered softly in his ear

"It's you Jacob…I'm in love with you, and you've made me realise I always have been, and I always will, while there's blood running through my veins and with every beat of my heart, I'll be yours for as long as you want me"

My hands gently cupped his face revealing the morning's events and the conversation that had unfolded between my mom and me, and better still I revealed how he made me feel. So when I showed him how long he had been making me feel this way physically I had to admit he looked a little taken aback.

"I wanted to tell you before, but I was too scared, and now I feel so stupid"

Poor Jacob, he appeared to be in a state of ecstatic shock. He stood bewildered. There were no words presently that could even begin to express the emotional whirlwind coursing around his beautifully toned body. In fact this whole scenario was definitely new to him; he was usually the pursuer, definitely not the pursued. Jacob had never seen an assertive side to me before; actually he'd never heard me so much as raise my voice, none that sprang to mind anyway. And now, all of a sudden, as if from nowhere, I was initiating some kind of sexual dominance and although a little stunned, he had to admit to himself, he was finding it particularly arousing.

Then all of a sudden he succumb to his urges he could resist no longer and still with no words spoken, he simply lifted me effortlessly, while I willingly allowed him to carry me into the tent.

Unions

The kissing had became voraciously impassioned, all the while I unwittingly pulled at his thick, soft raven hair, clasping it tightly between my fingers, allowing my body to surrender to their wanton desires. He stopped to look at me, then once again closed his eye's tight kissing me, possessing my mouth, then he delicately took her bottom lip just slightly between his teeth biting gently, slowly, pulling with gentle sucks on my bottom lip, 'so erotic' and yet there was apart of him that still couldn't believe that this was really happening. We knelt dead centre of the blankets, and Jacob slowly undone my shirt allowing it to slide back over my shoulders, as it dropped to the ground, I could feel my body being rendered into some heavenly, motionless state, with not a mind to stop him.

Jacob took a firm hold of my hair in his hand, and gently pulled it back revealing my pulsing neck and slowly he mouthed his way around my body, and kissing all the way down, his large hands touching anywhere, everywhere, unleashing a powerful sexual prowess that I hadn't known existed, but as every hair on my body now stood to attention she knew there would be no going back.

His leg pushed firmly between hers until his groin partly met with her thighs and he pulled her harder against himself causing my breathing to become very erratic, my body intoxicated with the need for him, so I began touching him with that same sense of urgency as he thrust against her even harder.

My hands ran slowly down his body until I'd reached the top of his trousers, then gently, I pushed my fingers down, just slightly at first, then gradually, slowly down, below the buttons, until I could feel how much he wanted me. And it was then I began unbuttoning his trousers and he, likewise with mine, our breathing as erratic as our heartbeats and with an intenseness that neither of us had ever experienced before.

At that precise moment in time there wasn't a strand in our bodies that hadn't now become chemically charged. 'I'd pictured this moment so many times; over and over in my mind, like any school girl does and it felt every bit as perfect as I'd imagined it would. In fact, I believe it had actually surpassed my original dreams.

"Jacob" I managed, intermittently, between the kissing and breathing rather heavily "Are you sure about this?"I spluttered

"Really…are you kidding me?" He replied dreamily, and then stopped suddenly

"Are you?"

"I've never been so sure about anything in my entire life, can't you sense how much? "But" He said cautiously "Why is there always a but?"

"You know, don't you, we're sealing our own fate, if we do this…I mean if certain people find out".

"By that do you mean certain people? Or certain Italian based blood suckers?"

"Mm…hmm…the latter"I managed, sporadically, after I had already resumed kissing his hot muscular chest.

"I know were bad for one another, but if it means being with you, then there's no question to answer, I'd die for you, your worth every ounce of my condemnation".

"That, was all I needed to know"And I pulled his body down to meet mine.

There was no human, no werewolf, no vampire in here, just our bodies merged, fused in explicit ecstasy.

Susan Mclatchie

The eroticism was incredible, my body so sensuously alert, that each hair on my body stood to attention, he made me feel alive in ways I'd never dreamt possible, and all I could do was pray.

Pray I could feel this way over and over again. A small part of me couldn't be sure if these sensations were in part due to the fact that our relationship was totally forbidden, Jacob my forbidden fruit, which made it so incredible. Nevertheless, I knew it was fantastically primal, the most basic of instincts, but fuelled by the purest of love.

It was of course inevitable that the inertia of it all would eventually take hold and as we lay in each others arms; on the one hand wonderfully content; it rapidly began to sink in…to comprehend the magnitude of our illicit actions.

There was no turning back for me or Jacob; we had indeed sealed the fate of our futures.

Jacobs's world had at last taken on a whole new meaning. Now, his entire universe shone a whole lot brighter than it had just twenty four hours ago. The man, the wolf, his spirit within, had at last reached absolute contentment, not only with the person he was, but who he was becoming. At last everything seemed as though it was slotting perfectly into place with 'his now practically', perfect life.

He couldn't wait to see me the next day, his heart pounded at the mere thought of it; he couldn't get to her fast enough, although, he wasn't looking forward to seeing Edward quite as much. Jacob knew exactly what Edward thought of the whole, pre-marriage, sex thing, totally old school, but everyone knew that. Therefore Jacob also knew he wouldn't approve in the slightest…and after all it was his daughter.

Jacob hadn't been flippant about any of this either, he'd played the scenario over and over in his head, well for the greater part of the night actually, and although he hadn't meant for it to happen, he was so ecstatically happy that it had; even though it had been stupid o'clock in the morning when he concluded, and quite rightly, that he would confess his everlasting and undeniable love for me, and would gladly marry

Me, if that's what was required of him.

It was glaringly obvious on his arrival that I had been waiting for him with the same eager anticipation; in fact he hadn't even turned the engine off when I was virtually on his lap and kissing him.

"Gees babe we're vamp timing now? And has anyone told you lately that you're insatiable" I stopped and looked at him momentarily and smiling.

"I didn't say stop" He laughed, as I kissed the tip of his nose.

Then as fast as I had entered the car, I was out, and standing at the opposite side of the door. He frowned, he just couldn't get use to seeing me in the vampire alacrity; I normally took my time over everything, until yesterday anyway.

Still he had no intention of complaining as he was revelling in my new found liberation.

There was one question he was dying to ask me before he entered the house.

"Had your dad read our thoughts yesterday?"

"Actually, Jacob only yours" I replied

The longest day

"How, why me, I mean, how only mine?" Slightly flustered was an understatement, as I shook my head and laughed

"You're stuttering …so I'll put you out of your misery"

"Edward…can only read some of my thoughts, we're not sure why, but we think it's because of my mom and her vampire shield.

That, and me working on using the blind spots of his mind, I've adapted it quite well, so now nine times out of ten he only see's what I want him too, good yes? Impressed yet?…unfortunately for me and you, I don't think I could make it work on the likes of Aro and his crony's and in all honesty, Jacob I'm only hoping I never have too try.

Jacob saw the worry on my face as I spoke of the Volturi and purposely broke my chain of thought.

"Oh great Sooo…just my lurid and depraved imagery then, guaranteed to make me popular". He garbled under his breath "Way to go Jake".

"Your safe Jacob they went hunting this morning, aaand won't be back for hour-errrs" I informed him with a definite song in my voice, and twinkle in my eye, as I led him to my bedroom.

"Oh well, in for a penny in for a pound, as they say"

And I couldn't help but laugh at him

"You worry far too much Jacob, my parents won't bite you, you know".

He grabbed my sides and began tickling me

"Yeh that's easy for you to say, it's not you they'd bite"

There was no more talking as I swung him round throwing him on to the bed, and this time there was no hesitation. He knew that I wanted him I had made that glaringly obvious yesterday and now today as well. Everything was slotting into place nicely, my bubble felt complete it had been a wonderful relationship before, and now to make thing even better we had at last consummated our relationship with the most phenomenal love making. Even Jacob couldn't't see how things could be improved from this, everything was already unparalleled. And here's something he never dreamt he'd be thinking that 'The karma sutra could probably learn a thing or two from me. There was something else that I'd made him realise as well, that compared to me Jacob was incredibly unfit, as once again, I had left him completely breathless.

They we face to face, our heads resting on each others opposing hands we gazed intently and deep into each others eyes, and it dawned on Jacob just how much he actually loved me.

It wasn't merely the whole imprinting thing either, it all felt so different to the emotional turmoil that he had been made conscious of through Sam and Leah's love triangle. Recent events had confirmed to him undeniably, the purpose for his existence was lying in front of him right now; it's what he'd believed all along.

He understood, he'd been put there to love and protect me, but along with his charge came a real danger, he knew his happiness now stood hand in hand with his fate.

The longest day

It was also his belief that Bella had been sent there to stop the feuding factions, to unite the cold ones with the wolves a nigh on impossible task, but at present in Forks things were good between the two clans, that fact was irrefutable.

As his closed eyes momentarily, he felt extraordinarily privileged to be the one lying with her now.

"I love you so much Miss Cullen do you know that?"

"And I you Mr Black, with all of my heart, and if I had to live forever, I would only want it to be with you" I smiled at him sweetly, realising at last how my mom had felt for my dad

"Do you think we'll be the next Romeo and Juliet?" I asked

"What an unrivalled passion or dead?" I looked slightly shocked by his answer, but with that we both laughed and in complete unison said

"Unrivalled passion"

Suspicions

Leah would often patrol alone especially at the break of dawn; even at such an early hour she could feel the warmth upon her face. She closed her eyes momentarily; all the while dreamily surrendering to the soothing qualities of the sun.

As her body absorbed the heat she allows herself a moment of utter contentment.

She loved it at this time, its quiet tranquillity, so beautiful, particularly on a cloud free day with just the wildlife for company. She found, she could quite often clear her head as she watched the sunrise surfacing over the trees.

Problems while not always solved, often gave the impression of being far less challenging.

It was on one such morning as the sun bled deep crimson warmth into the sky; Leah decided it was time to tackle her two biggest problems, which at present were, Jacob and Eli. She had of course concluded long since, that it was never going to be an easy alliance, but as she was officially dating Eli now, she wished for nothing more than Jacob to make some kind of effort, or at the very least show willing, with some attempt to befriend him, and if for no other reason, then solely because she was a senior member of his pack, and that in her mind should at least warrant some kind of loyalty, shouldn't it?

Eli himself had expressed his desire to meet with her friends, and on more than one occasion. In fact, he had seemed most insistent about it. That being said, convincing Jacob was never going to be quite that straightforward; allowing her to date Eli was one thing, arranging Jacob to meet with him was quite another.

Leah had deliberated during many such sunrises, wandering what the best plan of action would be…or… how she could execute it? She always ended up with the same idea, namely some kind of bogus social event, she'd even contemplated getting Alice to organise it, purely for it to have some kind of relevance. However, every single time she thought about it, she just as rapidly dismissed it.

She concluded that alcohol, mixed with an incalculable abundance of testosterone, fuelled mockery, was an absolutely terrible idea, which had once again become a resounding no.

A shiver washed over her; basically with each sequence of events she visualised, the prediction of, 'what could be' plagued her, in her minds eye he was doomed, regardless.

'Poor Eli', she shook her head, he wouldn't stand a chance against a werewolf, let alone being put in a room full of them, that, and a few vampires to boot, just didn't bare thinking about. Leah knew what a kind sensitive soul Eli really was; the others well, they couldn't see past his false façade of narcissism and superiority, because it was only intended to keep strangers at bay.

So with each scenario marred, it all seemed hopeless, yet again, just one traumatic ending after another. She'd practically given up when, and as if from nowhere imagery reappeared as though summoned from her subconscious mind; none of which were her own, just pieces of broken flashbacks, her eyes widened suddenly; there it was, Jacob and Ness in the throws of passion.

The longest day

It was only then…at that precise moment, she decided quite cunningly that maybe, just maybe, with a little tact and careful planning, she could utilize Jacob's new found and extremely explicit love life to her own advantage. In fact she was very pleased with herself; she couldn't help but smile at her newly invented idea, so sure was she it would work, she even blessed the daybreak.

However, her self gratification only last momentarily as she slowly came to her senses, what a sorry state of affairs it was developing into, she couldn't believe it; it wasn't possible…that she…Leah, was prepared to stoop so low…so low in fact, as to use a friend and colleagues love life as a tool.

She couldn't help herself though, she was so eager not to loose everything again that it clouded her judgement, was her own mind playing tricks to torment her. Her stomach knotted, she hadn't felt this way about anyone in such a long time, that sheer desperation seem to be her overwhelming force; thus destroying any rational thoughts that may have occurred in the beginning.

It was that same desperation, which enabled her to proceed with her impending actions; as for guilt it had transpired into no more than some warped self validation.

Leah felt their connection…it was so strong, she just knew that Eli and herself were meant to be; although secretly she could only pray that Eli felt the same way too.

The mere thought of being discarded or betrayed again, was more than she could bear.

It was all becoming so sinister and underhanded, what was she thinking, the cloak and dagger route wasn't the one she would have taken a month ago. And Leah was far from stupid, she was fully aware of the ramification's if she were to take this course of action, and it all ended in tragedy, she could loose everyone she ever cared about, but at this point, all she could see was a way to convince Jacob that Eli wasn't the monster he believed him to be, and sadly the only way forward that she could see was if she involved his beloved Ness in the equation.

The afternoon soon came round and with it, time for Jacob's patrol.

He arrived a little late and was eating as always, he checked his watch; Leah was still there, unusual, as she never stayed back. In fact, she would usually do the exact opposite and leave at the first opportunity; she wasn't known for her fondness of the Cullen's that was for sure. A little miffed and genuinely surprised it rang some alarm bells for Jacob as he gave her a rather suspicious look.

He definitely noticed a distinct hovering; which always caused him some when it concerned Leah. It was almost always a bad sign and she was being very careful not to convey her thoughts to him, but then he thought in all fairness he was doing exactly the same with Leah. Actually, he was starting to think that Ness had been right about Eli, and, that he needed to stop being so suspicious of everyone, but no matter how much he tried, something would always kick start the obsessing all over again, and always about Eli. Then just as he had suspected, it wasn't long before Leah approached him. She said 'she wanted to talk to him face to face', again…and he couldn't help but think they seemed to be doing that rather a lot lately.

Suspicions

"Hey Jake"

He waited a minute.

"You dog you"

And yep there it was, he shook his head in despair

"No…no Leah don't do this"

"I'm just saying it was loud and clear; clear enough for all of us to see, seems our little miss prim and proper, isn't so prim or proper after all huh"

"Leah please…don't"

"Well you should really learn to control your thoughts then, don't you think?"

"Hmm, like you, you mean?"

Leah lowered her now, awfully blushed face. Jacob shook his head yet again; with an additional shrug with his shoulders and in a very discerning manner.

She quickly recovered.

"Well I was thinking" As she was rudely interrupted.

"Please don't…think, I mean. It's dangerous when you think" She gave him a defiant stare.

"Yeh ha, ha very droll….anyway, as I was saying, I think we should all go on a double date; how's that sound to you?"

"Absolutely not, no, not a good idea"

"Why?" she queried, as if she really didn't know why.

"Me and Eli together for a whole evening, really, are you serious?"

"Look Jake I know it wont be easy at first but if you make an effort…with Eli, I, well I'll make an effort with yours…I mean Renesme."

Jacob still didn't savour the idea of having to spend time with Eli; but if it meant Leah and Ness could become friends then he had to concede that, it would make life a whole lot easier. Well a touch less fractious anyway; and if nothing else, it was without a doubt worth some consideration.

And Leah, having now planted the seed in his head, was quietly confident that Jacob wouldn't be able to resist the idea of her befriending Ness. Leah understood his mind, his way of thinking had become part and parcel with the wolf telepathy; she knew what made him tick. He believed if you protected something or someone through fondness or love you'd work twice as hard to protect it. Defending due to fewer options wasn't really defending at all.

To Jacob, it was Leah's lack of options that had always been a constant source of worry, she stayed because Seth was there and because she needed to be part of a pack; in truth there was no guarantees that someday a better offer wouldn't come along, maybe from another pack. Leah had already deserted Sam's pack, so who's to say she wouldn't show the same disloyalty to his.

Edward had been following the Leah, Eli, Jacob trilogy for a while now; well ever since Jacob had made him aware of his suspicions, regarding Eli.

The longest day

Edward had never been one to pre judge someone, but the fact that Jacob neither liked nor trusted him, had definitely triggered alarm bells in Edward; that, plus the fact he couldn't actually see any of Eli's thoughts. These accumulations of everything had now captured Edward's curiosity with Eli, which had far exceeded any original interest he'd had.

Edward had asked Alice if she'd seen anything involving Eli, but she could see nothing untoward, well, none that predominantly involved their family anyway; but then she had neither seen nor met Eli, and therefore she wasn't convinced that she would see anything relating to him. And normally satisfied by her visions or lack of visions in this case, she hadn't been able to pacify Edward's doubts in quite the same manner as it ordinarily would of. Edward knew the only way to find things out was if he were to meet Eli for himself then, and only then, could he be sure of not only his lineage, but his intensions for moving to Fork's in the first place.

It was indeed a sorry state of affairs, all so unfortunate; but the truth of the matter was since my introduction to the Volturi, there were no longer friendly visitors, nor welcomed new residents to Forks, only uninvited…and possible threats.

One of those sad facts was Eli's family and the enigma that surrounded them, it merely exacerbated any remaining apprehensions; and Edward, well, he was as committed to discovering the truth, as Jacob, and by any under hand measures either of them deemed suitable.

The Cullen's were sat round the table as though at a council meeting; all heartily discussing their many options of finding out Eli's genuine intensions; and of course, being the vegetarian, hippies of the vampire world, it almost always involved very passive preferences. That was bar one input, which of course came from Rose.

She may have mellowed since my birth, but she was as distrusting as both Jacob and Edward put together.

Consequently she sided with torture, which in turn was quickly vetoed by all; unless deemed absolutely necessary. It produced a couple of sniggers, except from Carlisle because he knew as did we all that in truth, she was probably deadly serious.

I didn't like it, it was all beginning to sound ludicrously fanciful; Jacob really had set the cat amongst the pigeons, he wanted an instantiated modern day witch hunt, which made Esme and Bella actually feel sorry for Eli

"The poor boy" Exclaimed Bella

"There's only one way to meet him, or have you all forgotten" She said whimsically

"Humans love to eat…socially… sooo, why don't we invite the four love birds here for dinner one evening? It would be a great way of welcoming Eli to Forks…and at the same time we would be showing Leah that she's appreciated… very much, by the whole family for all the help and protection that she's previously and still does, demonstrate towards us"

Everyone eventually agreed; it wasn't like there'd been an abundance of options to choose from anyway, it had been the only reasonable suggestion all evening, and so it was decided, and the finer details of the evening would be left to the women.

Suspicions

Although, in fairness, all of the women 'with the exception of one' believed at this point that they were simply accommodating Jacob's, and now Edward's, misplaced apprehension regarding Eli.

Edward already aware of their thoughts could only pray they were right, but at this moment in time Jacobs's thoughts were screaming louder.

So it was decided, they'd all prepare and cook the meal, then serve them as if it were at a restaurant. Alice could arrange the house to fit the occasion and hopefully they'd all feel relaxed…welcome, like being at home, only not.

They could see only up sides, the four would enjoy a nice meal and everyone could at last be conscious of one another's intentions, everyone's actually meaning Eli's, it was a win, win situation with no violence.

There was a definite buzz of excitement around the house; they entertained so rarely for obvious reasons. In fact the last time they had done so was at Edward and Bella's wedding. Since then, so much had come to pass, and in such a short passage of time, that now it all seemed a distant memory, a lifetime ago.

We all decided it was best not to put the plan into action until the idea had been discussed with the relevant parties, Jacob, Leah and Eli and though the reason for this was glaringly obvious to myself and Jacob, the ulterior motive wasn't to be mentioned in any way, mean, or form to anyone else in case it was over heard and divulged to the wrong people.

Firstly they reaffirmed that it would be ok with me; an evening with Leah wouldn't be many peoples idea of enjoyable as from memory she'd rarely been forthright with pleasantries; and relations between us was still as strained as it had always been. At least I knew it was nothing personal, Leah wouldn't discriminate, she'd always had an aversion to Bella so of course it made sense for her to have that same aversion to me, Bella's offspring.

Unfortunately it hadn't had the same positive response from Jacob, but then, that came as no particular surprise. Jacob had been, and still was, very vocal with his views regarding Eli and that was never going to change, no matter how many conversations Leah had with him. Therefore a whole evening with him was tantamount to privation.

So there was a big thumb's up for the invite, but the task of asking Leah was left entirely to Jacob; for when he thought the time was right. Although left to Jacob alone they knew the invite would never materialise. Unfortunately for Jacob, everyone had their hearts set on it now, and was really quite exited. I hadn't been on a double date before; what's more, when I thought back, I hadn't even been on a single date before. You couldn't include my time spent with Jacob, well not pre sexual depravity anyway; well actually not post wantonness either.

I'd never actually had a girly chat with anyone other than my family before either. And now, here I was about to swap notes with the ultimate badass she wolf.

And trust me there were extensive notes to swap, well, as far as she was concerned anyway.

The longest day

So sadly I'd secretly worked out a mini agenda of questions to put to Leah, but as I reread through them they were probably and more specifically aimed at Eli.

Thus concluding, with things the way they were at the moment, it might not be such a good idea, so I binned them instead.

Although it had all reached a stage where I needed to see for myself what all the fuss was about, I mean was Jacob right?

Could Eli be a complete monster, lurking in the murky back ground with some sinister ulterior motive, waiting to pounce at the first convenient opportunity?

Or was Leah right? And he's the perfect gentleman, totally misunderstood…because really underneath his hard and egocentric exterior, there actually lay a soft and selfless individual that would do anything he could to please.

Either way, only one of them was right and at present all that could be done was to live in hope that it was the latter.

Jacob had began to wish the whole invite thing had never been brought up in front of me; he thought that sometimes I could act like a spoilt brat, continually pestering until I got her own way; but he could take no more of my incessant chitchat and eventually caved in under the pressure.

"STOP, please stop, I'll ask, ok, I promise, if you just shut up" I smiled with an obvious and triumphant gloat; it worked every time, as he gave his solemn promise that he would ask Leah as soon as he saw her next, but… only if I didn't mentioned it anymore.

At the same time though he let it be known in no uncertain terms that he would do so begrudgingly, let's just say he couldn't seem muster the same enthusiasm about the whole double date scenario as I seemed to.

Jacob, was as ever, good to his word and on next seeing Leah he invited Eli and herself, along with me and himself, to the Cullen's for an evening meal at their most convenient date. And to Jacobs surprise Leah was actually over the moon and couldn't wait to tell Eli.

As Leah arrived home Eli was stood by the front door waiting for her, she was so excited she could hardly get the words out quick enough.

"We've been invited for a meal with Jacob and Ness what do you think?"

His response wasn't quite what she had expected.

"I'm not sure. Where are we going to eat?"

"Does it matter? You've been bugging me for ages about meeting my friends and now your not sure, what's wrong?" she waited on the doorstep for an answer, holding her keys with no intension of opening the door until she got one.

"Well I want to meet your friends properly for the first time. It's big for me Leah, you know this, I want to make a good impression, how can I do this if there are too many people, I wouldn't feel comfortable"

She smiled at him; she knew there'd to be a justified reason for not wanting to go, she simply needed to hear it that was all.

Suspicions

"I'll talk to them tomorrow and make some other arrangements ok?"

"You are gorgeous and understanding; what more could a man want, how lucky am I?" She approached him seductively.

"Yes you are" And she kicked the front door shut behind them, with her foot.

It had been two days since Jacob asked Leah about the meal, and he still hadn't had an answer, not that he was overly concerned or particularly bothered, he'd like nothing more than for them to decline. Although he did consider it slightly surprising based purely on her prior enthusiasm. In fact she hadn't spoken to him at all, through mind or speech and Leah loved to talk.

This time it was Jacobs turn to hover, which wasn't too difficult for him, the two loves of his life were located there, me and his car and he always said 'time flies when your having fun', which for him was with a monkey wrench in one hand and a ratchet in his other, that was his very own slice of heaven, and luckily for Leah it left him totally oblivious to her god awful timekeeping. Not that she really cared what he thought at the moment, because at that point her world was perfect. She was totally besotted and incredibly loved up. Hence her very amiable demeanour, even after two very late nights and no spare days to catch up.

"Hi Jake"

"Leah" He took his head out from underneath the bonnet of Emmet's truck.

"So is this meal on then or what?…How come I haven't heard from you, I thought you couldn't wait to get us all together so we could all become best buds?"

"I think it may be too much for Eli for his first date; you know all of the Cullen's if you get my drift"

Jacob looked at her cynically, he almost sighed with relief, but then thought he should cunningly make himself seem a little let down.

"You said he was dying to meet all of your friends, in actual fact, your words were he had been most insistent on it, sooo…what changed?"

With that comment her demeanour was about to change for a start

"Your right Jacob he did say that, but the Cullen's aren't my friends are they?"

"They're not your enemy Leah….so, just out of curiosity how do you explain away the amount of hours you spend here?"

"I don't, he's never asks me what I do here, and he's usually at college anyway"

Jacob looked at her quizzically and tried to delve a little deeper into her mind.

"You've asked him here before, not on a date but to meet me"

"And your point being" She gave him the same rhetorical attitude

They stared at one another simultaneously, fully aware of each others thoughts; it was so blatant in fact that everyone could tell they were communicating; just not as secretly as they would maybe have liked.

"So many excuses Leah…is Eli aware that the Cullen's are vampires?"

"Don't be ridiculous, how on earth could he possibly know that? I try not to bring it up in polite conversation, you know…I work with vampires, and oh yes, I forgot to mention you're dating a werewolf….I found it usually puts people off a bit, how about you?"

The longest day

As usual Jacob had managed to offend her, but it had to be asked, even though he thought it a relatively stupid question himself.

How could he possibly know Forks' deepest darkest secrets, he had only been here a few weeks, and although Jacob neither like nor trusted him, he hadn't imagined him being anything as glamorous as a spy.

He could have left it there, but as ever Jacob had to push just that little bit further

"Well you can't say I didn't try, I was prepared to conform to all the niceties expected of me, for the sake of everyone else, even when I didn't want it in the first place, as well you know"

She just closed her eyes momentarily, took a deep breath and turned her back to him, she really didn't want to argue, she was tired of defending herself …and Eli.

She wandered over to the trees and sat in silence, but Jacob was on a roll, and just couldn't help himself, he had to keep pushing

"Reprieved, there really is a god, thank you, thank you, thank you".

Leah received that loud and clear. She turned and glared hard at Jacob with such disappointment, it seemed to render her bereft from further control.

Her emotions now shredded into pieces, she had what appeared to be tears in her eyes, a sentiment everyone had taken for granted and stupidly believed she hadn't the capability to posses. She wasn't about to stay and receive further provocation, she was tiered and emotional, she didn't want to talk anymore she hadn't the energy; she simply phased and ran off into the woods.

Jacob often appearing to be the big bad wolf was actually by nature, more your lovable puppy. He hadn't seen Leah cry before; she'd always seemed so strong, just one of the lads, but obviously he was wrong, and now racked with guilt, and feeling her pain he knew he had no other choice but to find her and at the very least try to rectify the situation that he had ultimately caused.

He conveyed his apologies, forcefully and relentlessly, all the while quite conscious of his being heard, but to no avail. Leah had no intensions of listening or for forgiving; all she wanted was space, to be alone, no men, and no wolves. She simply needed time to think. Should she doubt Eli? Was she blinded by her feelings for him? Was Jacob's senses right had she cause to be worried?

What had become apparent was somehow Jacob's relentless jibes of suspicion had started to taken its toll, seep into her veins, his subterfuge had worked; the seeds of doubt now firmly planted. And as for Jacob, he'd been left with the stark awareness that this time it was going to take more than an apology to placate the situation.

Edward was, as always, aware of their telepathy and saw the whole conversation unfold through his own mind's eye. Contritely, he relayed it, word for word to Bella and me. Their awkwardness quite apparent; that, mixed with a large degree of sympathy for Leah, which she, herself found quite surprising as she'd never been Bella's favourite person.

However, it was becoming more and more evident that the whole Eli/ Jacob thing was beginning to wear Leah down. She looked drained, as if she were loosing some of her fight. And for maybe only the second or third time in her life Bella was totally unimpressed with Jacob.

Susan Mclatchie

Bella was only too aware of just how tenacious he could be. Even so, his attitude at present had shocked her. Jacob needed to cast his mind back, remember how he'd felt whence in a very similar situation. In addition to that Jacobs, distain and accusations at Eli, had up to this point been unsubstantiated, therefore Eli, for all intense and purpose was innocent, and what's more he had done nothing to suggest otherwise, or that he would in the in the future. It also occurred to her that maybe they shouldn't accommodate Jacobs's whims quite so freely, especially if it meant he would act so maliciously.

I slowly walked over to Jacob, whom was still trying at this point to obtain any kind of response available from Leah, even a bad response was better that none.

"OH Jacob….sometimes you just don't think" He gave me an unsavoury look.

"Not helpful Ness" He paused "I need to go find her, I'm sorry, I have to" I interrupted him

"Go, go" Then shouting as an after thought "And be kind this time" But by now he'd already phased and ran off into the clearing, readily tracking her most recent and undisturbed scent.

He'd seemed to be running for ages, even though it was a trail he knew only to well. Although he was close to her now, he could sense her, hear her thoughts with clarity. Only now, for some reason, his attention was being sporadically diverted, his sight detracted by the flickering of lights. Illuminating then dissipating and all to the left of his peripheral vision

As twilight fast approached, he initially believed he'd imagined them. It had always been a curious time of day as far as he was concerned, predisposed to playing tricks, on the mind, and thus provoking one's lateral thinking. He also initially considered alternative sources for the lights, like the lighthouse, 'but he couldn't remember seeing them this far down before' the lighthouse was much further away, therefore rendering that particular idea as impossible.

He slowed considerably in order to catch a fleeting look for the light; he peered over to the left, then the right, feeling torn, between his curiosity and his need to find Leah. But this was Jacob! And rather predictably his wolf'y senses won, with the urge to investigate taking over. He covertly headed back through the woods, then gradually made his way up towards the cliffs edge, at least from there he'd get a better chance of seeing approximately where the 'now intriguing', flashing lights were coming from.

He could hear rustling, which resembled human footsteps treading on the broken branches all unrecognisable due to the blanket of dank leaves; the closer he drew, the less visible the lights seemed to become, until suddenly they stopped completely.

From the perimeter of the tree's he could make out the figure of a human; obviously male and with an instantly recognisable physique; it had to be one of Sam's pack, although instinctively he was absolutely convinced it wasn't.

However, night time had the habit of falling quickly here, so now, the only discernible light source was that emanating from the new moon, which due to its position had now turned him into a dark silhouette. Unfortunately this still rendered him completely unrecognisable.

Suspicions

Jacob paused for a minute deliberating whether he should approach the silhouette or leave to continue his search for Leah. And yet again his instincts badgered him; his subconscious overwhelming him screaming 'this is all wrong' especially as he was no nearer to discovering from either what or where the lights had originated.

Then suddenly from nowhere and completely deflecting his train of thought it seemed as if some kind of morphed shadow passed between them and at an extraordinary speed, so much so, it took Jacob completely by surprise, which in turn triggered his retreat back to the woods.

As he reappeared, from the cover of the trees, he did so guardedly and only after he'd fully composed himself. His gaze automatically returning to the direction where he'd previously seen the silhouette, only it had gone

How the hell could it disappear? Where could it have gone? Then the only logical assumption he could come up with quickly managed to cause a distinct feeling of panic, immediately Jacob phased back as he ran to the edge, praying he hadn't been seen, and apprehensively, he teetered forward, if it was one of Sam's pack messing he was going to be totally pissed with them 'Jumping off the cliff during the day was one thing, but at night it was suicide, and falling unexpectedly was quite another'.

The disorientation alone could kill, and if that didn't then there was the deluge of tidal surges, each one culminating in your body being smashed wildly and relentlessly against the rocky face, and there was no way they could possibly have survived that.

Jacob braced himself as he peered over, to his amazement there was Eli, hanging, precariously and by his finger tips alone

"HELP ME…HELP ME PLEASE, I can't hold on much longer"

Jacob instinctively dropped to the ground and reached over as far as possible, but his arm was just too short to make contact with Eli's hand.

"Push up, I can't reach you" Jacob yelled

Eli swung his body as much as was humanly possible, trying to increase his upward momentum

"Nearly, a little more, try again" Eli took a deep breath, then another, the adrenaline now coursing through his veins, as he propelled himself upwards once more, and with such a force he almost lost his grip on the rocks as his hand smacked onto Jacob's arm, both gripping onto one another for dear life.

By now Jacob was almost hanging off the cliff himself, and with only his left hand digging into the pebbly soil to partially anchor his body weight, he still somehow managed to reach down that little bit further, whilst Eli pushed up, until they were both able to grab each others elbows. Carefully, Jacob proceeded to slowly haul Eli up and over the top.

They both fell on to their backs exhausted on what was now, the much appreciated terra firma, both panting, both sweating, and both very grateful they hadn't hit the wild and dark surging sea, which still pounded the hidden rocks below. Jacob looked over at Eli.

"What the hell were you doing standing on the edge of a cliff, especially when it's pitch black?" Breathlessly Eli answered

The longest day

"I'd just been walking…lost track of time… I didn't realise it was that late.

Then from nowhere I felt something touch me, I got spooked I lost my footing and" He made the gesture of falling over the edge with his hand and a decreasing whistle "Thank god you were there or I'd of been gone for sure" He paused momentarily.

"Why are you out in the dark?"

Jacob paused, he certainly didn't trust him enough to tell the truth, and at this point he probably trusted him even less now.

"I usually jog through the woods a couple of times a week, keep's you fit…you know"

Jacob scanned the horizon, out at sea he noticed a boat, well lit, but far out, he wondered if that had been the light source? Eli stood up, which instantly distracted Jacob's attention.

"Could you point me in the right direction for home?" I don't fancy any more near death experiences, I make it a rule, only one a night, is enough, no" He smiled at Jacob.

"I'll do better than that, I'll walk with you, it's time for me to head back anyway, and I only save one person a day that's my rule"

He smiled back at Eli, although it hadn't been given quite so freely.

The conversation whilst walking was fragmented at best, but in truth, for Jacob, it was positively laboured; all the while, Eli seemed most ingratiated, but then Jacob had just saved his life.

The small talk did open one avenue of conversation, which caught Jacobs otherwise waning attention; pack animals and particularly 'wolves'. This was way too freaky for Jacob, Eli knew an awful lot about them, and far more than he had already mentioned. Jacob listened to Eli's stories intently, as if waiting for the punch line, which he instinctively knew wouldn't come. Eli was 'good' far too clever to incriminate himself. For Jacob, it was merely another tick in the ever growing box of mistrust and dislike of him.

As it neared for their departure Eli offered out his hand, Jacob looked at him and took it cautiously.

"You don't trust me do you Jacob?" Eli uttered as he stared straight into Jacob's eyes.

"Not one bit" Jacob replied as he reciprocated the stare but then shook his hand regardless.

"Would you care to expand on the reasoning for your distrust?"

"Nope …and you know what Eli? I think, you already know" Eli gave a half hearted smile, as they turned away from each other to continue on their separate paths.

Then, Eli, for some reason known only to him, shouted back

"Jacob your right you know; about me I mean, trusting me…Don't" And with that he simply turned, and in his usual nonchalant manner carried on walking.

Jacob was stunned, shocked at his candour, transfixed to the spot as he watched Eli walk away, it all seemed so incongruous to the prior situation.

The longest day

Jacob's stomach churned momentarily, followed rapidly by an overwhelming smugness, which arose from the knowledge that finally, at long last he'd been vindicated. He never once doubted his instincts as they were rarely wrong, and he couldn't help it if that made him sound conceited either. Anyway from what he'd gathered lately it seemed women happened to like that in a man. Well they had in Eli anyway.

Unfortunately, for Jacob, his complacency was short lived as he played Eli's conversation over in his mind and his arrogance made him cringe.

Jacob's thoughts even more confused and plagued with uncertainties, if that was even possible. "Wonderful" He unwittingly garbled.

Why would Eli warn him? Was that the reason for the 'pack' talk; was it some kind of wolf in sheep's clothing, deal? Or, was he really revealing the true extent of his insouciance? Jacob wasn't sure how, but somehow, Eli knew Jacob was a werewolf.

There was simply no way of proving it.

From the moment Jacob first saw Eli he had been plagued with niggling feelings of trepidation and nothing since then had transpired to contradict them. In fact as far as he was concerned Eli had just confirmed it.

There were a couple of things he felt reasonably convinced of; one was, Eli would never repeat to anyone else what he'd just divulged to him, and the second he'd prayed that Edward had heard their whole conversation, thus redeeming Jacobs views about Eli and confirming it to all.

As he approached the house, Edward was waiting for him and it was obvious by his manner that he'd kept track of Jacob's thoughts, which in turn had left Edward feeling ill at ease. He instantly appeared at Jacobs's side just short of the clearing, Jacob shook his head you really got to stop doing that, or at least give me a heads up, make a noise or something. Edward smiled; he loved the idea that he could still rile the hell out of him, but decided it wasn't fare to aggravate him further

"Your right Jacob there's definitely something about him, I can't detect what it is, but he's not human, I couldn't distinguish any odour from him"

"None at all" Jacob looked worried

"It's definitely unnatural. I don't like it either."

"Vampire" Jacob quizzed, although he already knew the answer, the odour wasn't there

"Absolutely not, but why no scent How" Edward replied

It suddenly dawned on Jacob.

"When did you see him? Was that you who ran between us?" He demanded sounding more than just a little fractious.

"Of course it was who else can run that fast? I had to see him for myself; we couldn't keep on speculating whether you were right or wrong. And he was clearly avoiding us.

I just thought if I saw him, I might be able to read him"

Suspicions

"For Christ sake Edward, you should've let me know you were tracking him; you nearly scared the crap out of me and almost killed him to boot" He huffed.

"I didn't touch him Jacob, he jumped over as I passed; he knew exactly what he was doing" Now Jacob and Edward looked as troubled as one another, the whole situation was turning out to be far more serious than either had originally thought.

"Couldn't you read his thoughts?" Edward shook his head but said nothing

"Is he like Bella, some kind of weird shield or something?"

"No, he's no shield, but he's good Jacob, he has complete control over his own mind, and I can't infiltrate it. How? Why? I don't have a clue, but the scary version, he's been prepared. By whom, I haven't a clue, but if I were to take a stab at it, and hazard a guess, there's only one name I'd come up with".

They both looked at each other at precisely the same time, while simultaneously stating the words.

"The Volturi"

Their name hadn't been mentioned for years and now all of a sudden Jacob, had heard it twice; and in as many weeks, frighteningly true or a scary coincidence. Now all he wanted was to be unreservedly wrong.

Nine months earlier

The Volterra was a superb building, its architecture a pleasant mix of Baroque, fused with some Italian Renaissance and though, open to the elements it had withstood the test of time remarkably well. Internally, there were Byzantine corridors intricately merged with a multitude of secret doors and meandering stairways.

Directly beneath the vaults, along one such corridor there stood five, normally redundant cells. Redundant due purely to their lack of necessity, it would of taken either an extremely 'brave' or extremely 'stupid' vampire to purposely provoke the Volturi, and if there were such a vampire, they would seldom live long enough to see inside or indeed need the use of any such cells.

The same for humans, they were simply harvested, fresh from the streets, free range populace as it were, and neither Aro or Caius could enjoy them any other way, they simply didn't taste the same once they'd been imprisoned and force fed.

However, of late there'd been an awful lot of comings and goings from those exact same cells; there was definitely something afoot and it was obvious that Aro was behind it. He'd waited patiently for years to seek his revenge on the Cullen's and at long last he could start to put his painstakingly devised plan in to action. It also meant the cells would at long last be having some guests, some very important, incarcerated guests; it was the chief and his son from the age-old Lupo Mannaro.

There was a fundamental beauty to his strategy; he could deal with the werewolves and nobody, not even the Cullen's would give a damn as, bad blood came as part and parcel to both feuding parties and it helped as Aro's rule was to always keep wolves impersonalised, and anyone caught using a wolfs name would be dealt with quite severely.

The longest day

Situated along the corridor just down from the cells, stood a brand new state of the art laboratory, which had been erected for what would turn out to be the vital ingredient to Aro's plan. Regrettably for the remainder of the Volturi as with Aro, they were soon to learn that with every positive, there'd usually follow a negative; and their negative happened to be the nauseous mix of werewolves and modern technology, as they found out when the odour from the captives cell quickly permeated up through the vents, thus suffusing the entire building with that awful musky dog smell they all found so repellent.

Of course many moons ago there'd have been no need for the air conditioning, the wolves would have been killed instantly, but times had changed, and along with it the need for more modern day tactics. Aro had used his cunning to formulate what he believed could be a unique way to use the Lupo Mannaro against their own kind.

For obvious reasons Aro couldn't be involved in the more intricate details, he therefore left those to his subordinates.

This time around Aro couldn't help himself be anything other than arrogantly smug. He was convinced that this time he'd cracked it, at long last a plan had been hatched enabling him to defeat the Cullen's once and for all. They would all be gone bar the gifts he desired so much, 'Alice and Bella'.

Cautiously, there had been many complaints about the odour, and none more than from Caius, who had a profound aversion to wolves. And it hadn't taken long for many Volturi to follow suite, endorsing a consensus that not all mod cons were such a good idea, even when it had become an absolute necessity, not that the complaints would do them any good, Aro paid attention to no one.

Unfortunately, for them this was the side effect, and completely unavoidable; whilst Aro's neglect for the others opinions had been noted, he had hoped it wouldn't last too long. So regardless of their whining, they simply had to live with it, it was all fundamental to the work being carried out in the lab.

There had been another change to the Volturi, and one that the clandestine nature of it alone, had caused quite a stir, something, exceedingly rare.

Aro had recently invited to the Volterra, two very well distinguished professors to come and work for him. Both were well respected, and distinguished in their particular fields of biology.

Professor D. Fischer MR FRCpath, was a long standing professor in the physical and chemical makeup of tissue and organ anatomy; secondly

Professor M. Schmidt BSc FRCpath, he was renowned for his ground breaking work in the study of the endocrine systems and there complex chemical composition.

The hope was that between the two of them they could figure out a way to disrupt certain chemical flows in the bodies of the werewolves. An agreement had been struck between the three of them. The professors would work at the Volterra, and in return they would be granted immortality.

Stratagem

Aro had initially jumped at the chance, believing that such intellect could surly create some wonderful gifts.

On the other hand Aro despised and distrusted newborns, but he was unable to muse for any amount of time, he couldn't afford to have his thoughts familiarised so he thought no more of it, until it was time to cross that particular bridge anyway.

The professors worked fastidiously, and almost round the clock, stopping only to eat, sleep and wash; even then it was mainly carried out in shifts. Each day they would set a time convenient for one another, they'd assemble and discuss their findings.

And all their hard work eventually paid off, because within five months they'd achieved their goal and a meeting had to be set up to discuss their findings.

Aro, being informed thusly, then summoned them to the atrium for an up to date briefing.

"Ahh professors, welcome…I hear you have some news for me"Each bowing their heads in compliance.

"Indeed we do Aro…shall I?" Professor Schmidt answered as he pointed to the paper work he held in his hands.

"Please" Aro waved his hand for him to continue

"We worked along a two line stratagem. Creating a Pheromone shutdown, which was achieved in two parts? The pheromones are naturally occurring chemicals that send subconscious scent signals around the body; a substance called PMID: 15374642 was used to free recipient cells, plasmid specific glycopeptides. This induced bacterial clumping and specifically activated the conjugative transfer of the corresponding plasmid thus starting the pheromone inhibitor".

"It all sounds deliciously complicated" Aro interrupted.

"Along with the quantification of Apocrine secreted odour-binding proteins on intact human skin. We introduced (ASOB1) and (ASOB2) they first dealt with odours to the surface of skin flora, and the second on in vitro intact. Tests were performed using radiolabel and non-radiolabel analytical techniques. Skin from the laboratory and the livestock specie were evaluated using the same methods. All combined they work remarkably well, the hardest part was adjusting both enzyme inhibitors to last for a reasonable amount of time before the next dose, and as you can smell it's taken extremely well"

"So we're good to go" Aro scorned

"Indeed we are…as soon as you turn us"

"Shouldn't we wait a little longer before we turn you? It would be a lot to deal with. The thirst…coming to terms with what you've become…what if you're still needed for your tasks and you couldn't concentrate?"

Aro wasn't expecting his quick reply. And Professor Schmidt wasn't about to be messed with.

"Aro, I have incurable cancer, I'm already on death row. I've lived for my work, and I still have much to do, I can not afford to die"

The longest day

Aro was unimpressed; when Caius stepped in

"How dare you threaten us?"

"That was most imprudent" Aro endorsed

The professor continued speaking, with no acknowledgment to either Aro's or Caius's outbursts.

"I know what gift you have Aro, its well documented around the vampire sectors. However, it would be foolish, even detrimental to you, if you tried to double cross me.

Do you think I'd walk into a coven of vampires blind, with no safeguards to protect myself, do you believe I hadn't anticipated your reading my thoughts, then killing me?…No my findings, along with the serum formula, will die, with me.

All my work is encrypted, and it's unique only to me, and only I know how to decipher it …only I can follow it"

"Well aren't you the clever one" spat Aro, in his deep growling voice.

"In fact we only made enough serum to run the tests. You turn us, feed us, and then, only then, will we make your serum, and make enough to suppress thousands of wolves scents"

Professor Fischer interjected

"Its not all bad Aro, Professor Schmidt and I, we discussed it at length, the reasoning behind our employment, and after reaching our own conclusions; we thought we'd do you another service. There's no point in suppressing all these chemicals, if you can read their minds"

"Go on, you have my attention"

"Well, we have a friend, his name is irrelevant, but he's a renowned neurosurgeon; he has his M.B.B.S F.R.C.S, so you can rest assured he's more than capable and exceptionally skilful"

"Capable of what" Aro was fast becoming agitated

"He can operate, on the young one. The boy could have surgically implanted electrodes. It would be the same method of surgery that he quite routinely carries out on epilepsy sufferers. The electrodes would be implanted deep, within the brain.

In the boy's case, it would be inserted in parts of the temporal lobe. The surgeons then generally test as they implant, that way they can pinpoint the site that needs correcting. For your patient it will be the section that triggers thought.

Of course he will need some post operative training, as he'll still need to exert some self discipline, but I think he'll try harder if you are looking after his father, don't you? Now, our neurosurgeon; how shall I say? Has never expressed a desire to live for any extended amount of time so for that reason, he knows nothing of your kind; he only has one rule, which is he won't operate anywhere other than his own surgery, therefore the boy will have to be taken to his private practice"

"So why would he do the surgery for us then?" Aro looked bemused

Professor Schmidt cut in

"For money Aro, why else, than for that other root to all evil"

Aro had been out manoeuvred, and wasn't happy, although, there was a small piece of him quite impressed by their cunning and potential malevolence, either way he had been given no choice.

Stratagem

Aro, pointed at Caius, making a hand gesture as he did so, within a split second Caius, had bitten and released his venom into Professor Fischer, at precisely the same time Aro, performed likewise releasing his venom into Professor Schmidt, Caius and Aro looked at each other, as the two Professors dropped to the ground each holding the locations of their excruciating wounds, and yelling in pain.

Aro and Caius had fulfilled their part of the bargain; done what was expected of them, so casually they returned to their seats continuing to watch both Professors writhing in agony, and enjoying every last bit of it.

His operation took place that same week, it ran smoothly, which was unsurprising, he was after all, young, fit and otherwise immensely healthy. It all ran like clockwork with everything going to plan with no unexpected or hidden complications.

The patient stayed at the clinic for the full extent of his recovery, and then for a further two weeks, for the sole purpose of learning how to utilize his new implant and optimise it's functions.

He was then returned to the Volterra and temporarily reunited with his father.

In the following weeks he was instructed on how to inject himself with the serum, how to tell if was wearing off, what quantities were needed to suite his particular metabolism, along with any other factors he'd need to take into consideration.

Then the day arrived that he'd been dreading, he was summoned to meet with Aro.

He walked slowly from his dark gloomy cell, situated in the depths of the Volterra, to what would now be a dark and gloomy meeting. He was escorted by four guards, the reason for which he hadn't a clue, 'what could he possibly do?' He was in a vast building with far too many blood suckers; although, the fact that they felt the need to use guards in the first place, had given him a bit of the feel good factor, the thought of him intimidating them in any way helped him immensely.

They entered the atrium, where the atmosphere felt almost tangible, even though the room itself was light and airy. Aro sat alone looking almost lost on his middle throne; legs crossed and his fingers interlinked together, his hands casually resting on his knee.

Strangely though, there was no Marcus or Caius, their presence had been prohibited along with all other Volturi, Aro was taking no chances with regards to his plan, if they weren't involved in any of the details, then they couldn't divulge any information. And that was probably as considerate as Aro would ever be towards his beloved Volturi. However, the real reason was far less noble. It was crucial that Alice had no insights into the unfolding events, they couldn't afford for her to receive any visions, if the Cullen's were to find out about this any time soon then the whole thing would be disastrous, and the plan would have to be terminated before it had even begun.

Aro was reasonably good at controlling his thoughts, he'd had many years to practice that, and the two other Volturi involved were only privy to their individual elements of the plan. Aro half smiled, mainly to ingratiate himself, even though he hated everything the boy stood for.

The longest day

"You've had all your treatment, yes?"

"I have" The boy answered crossly

"So you know what you have to do then, if you succeed your father lives, and if you fail he'll meet with his demise its all very straight forward even for a wolf, now go"

As Aro flicked his hand at the boy thrice, he was then escorted from the Volterra eventually emerging into the warm Italian sunshine, where he just stood momentarily, allowing his skin to enjoy the warmth; he'd been locked away for so long he'd forgotten how good it felt. He looked down as a car pulled up in front of him.

Already sitting in the back seat was a face he recognised immediately, it was his moms.

He watched as the tears welled up in her eyes, her emotions in turmoil, a mix of blessing that her boy was alive, but immense sadness that they still held her dearly loved husband. 'He hated what they'd done to his family, and he hated that their survival had been laid on his shoulders; and he vowed that even with their implants, and their suppressants, there was one thought he'd never be able to suppress, which was soon he would return to the Volterra and he free his father and kill Aro'.

However, that was for the future, but for now the boy simply smiled thoughtfully at his mom as he was ushered into the car, she couldn't contain herself any longer as he put his arms around her, she spoke softly to him

"Mio caro ragazzo, m cosi felice la vostra Cass forte mi sei mancato cosi tanto Eli"

He hugged her tightly as the car hastily drove away.

Back in the Volterra, the two Volturi who had aided in Aro's plan were asked to convene with him in the atrium and they done so willingly, where, Aro, Marcus, and Caius were once again reunited.

"Ahh my dear, dear brothers come in, come" Aro smiled at them giving them a sense of ease "You have indeed served me well and I shall be eternally grateful"

The two Volturi smiled and bowed their heads

"It's been a grate pleasure to serve you Aro"

"Mmm, yes unfortunately you know too much and therefore you cannot be allowed to live" His voiced deepened but he still carried on smiling sweetly at them.

"But, but Aro we would never"

It was too late Felix had already came up behind one, snapping his neck with one powerful twist, the decapitating his head from his shoulders, the one remaining Volturi had now resigned himself to his fate, he dropped to his knees as Felix casually walked behind him ripping his head with one fell swoop, their bodies then taken away to be burnt. Aro looked at Marcus and Caius as he sighed

"It's such a shame, they were quite loyal, but what is one to do"

He climbed the few stairs, while shaking his head back and forth while he calmly retook his seat

"Now brothers, all that is left to do is wait"

Betrayal

Present day, Forks

All in all, it had turned out to be a strange evening, where everything that could go wrong had, and pretty much from the instant that Leah had arrived. Jacob, already appeared tense, well, more preoccupied really, but he'd gone out of his way to provoked Leah and in an exceptionally nasty manner, which was completely out of character for him.

However, I'd caught the gist of what had recently taken place, so I kind of understood the reasoning behind his pushy behaviour. And, being tactful had never been an endearing quality of his. Nevertheless, he shouldn't have done it, but my dad had also returned with a manner that was completely out of the ordinary for him as well. I observed them for a couple of minutes, they were fidgeting, trying to suppress their needs to confer with one another regarding their presently topical, and uncomfortable silences.

At which point I knew there'd be nothing discussed until I disappeared, although, I still couldn't fathom why? They knew my hearing was just as sensitive and every bit as intense as theirs. I soon bored of it though, waiting for someone to speak, and so decided to retire to the sanctuary of my bedroom.

The phone was ringing as I approached the front door; I ran in reaching it just as it went to answer phone "Shit" I hate when that happens. I pondered for a second; shall I call back or leave it? All the while thinking to myself 'if it's important I'm sure they'll ring back', knowing the whole time that, I'd have to eventually phone them, I wouldn't be able to leave it. You could put it down to an aversion of the unknown, but personally I knew it was more of an obsessive thing really.

I pressed the call back button immediately, but that went straight to their answer phone, so I gave up…well temporarily gave up, but we all knew that wouldn't last long either. I made myself wait a full half hour before listening to the messages, and couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed when all that inner turmoil was for a lousy message from the college secretary.

It wasn't even important; they'd only called to let me know that my morning classes had to be changed, so instead of the reservation campus, I'd have to travel to Port Angeles instead. It happened from time to time the lecturers would alternate travelling between the two campuses, I presumed it was mainly for the fair distribution of the time spent travelling and on their pockets.

The morning's lesson was science and the tutor who normally took the class couldn't make it to the reservation. Hence, going to Port Angeles It wasn't a problem though, when it happened the times prior to this, I just had to inform Jacob, to let him know, invariably he would still take me unless, of course he was busy, then the responsibility was shared between himself and my family, but there was always one of them available to drive me.

I could drive myself of course, being as proficient a driver as every one of them, they simply harped on about not trusting anyone, and if I was to travel on my own and something happened to me they'd never forgive themselves. So it was just easier to go with the flow.

The longest day

I left it a while before contacting Jacob; he'd ended up talking for ages with my dad before he left for home, by which time I'll admit I'd become engrossed in my secret project. It definitely helped blank out their incessant drivel regarding Eli, which had started to bore me now, and more than they could possibly imagine. By the time I picked my phone up to call Jacob I'd decided I wasn't in the mood to talk so I sent him a text instead.

Hey baby class venue changed again 2moro, can u take me?

Hey looker, strange coincidence but no, I just had a call, a job came up for the morning xx

Will you come get me? Xx

Do you need to ask, of course I will, meet me in the usual place k xx?

Ok see you there thanks babe, I love u xx

I love you to see you 2moro sweet dreams xx

Mmm, like that would happen, although, I had to admit, I always felt better after speaking to Jacob, well, when it was just him and me that is, and to the exclusion of all others. We'd come a long way him and I, and in a very short space of time. Some days I could hardly believe it for myself at just how our relationship had spiralled from a caring one, to level elation, and I felt so privileged to be able to say he was now all mine. Although sometimes it was difficult for both of us, especially trying to keep it all a secret; but for Jacob I think it had all began to take its toll on him not only physically but mentally as well.

Jacob had always been protective of me, he'd had no choice in that, he was bound to protect me, his genetic makeup told him so, but now; since the relationship had become extremely carnal, and his protection had intensified tenfold. This in turn, yielded the occasional argument, and it was during these times that I couldn't help but feel stifled; like I'd swapped one lot of over bearing protection for another, and while it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, I would sometimes find myself still yearning 'only a little' but to escape, even though I knew deep down that I could never leave Jacob, anymore than he could leave me.

We may not have exchanged wedding vows, but our relationship was definitely 'till death do us part', an unspoken vow forged intimately between us. Undeclared yet, instinctively recognized all the same. And so, no matter what events transpired during any one day, every night his kisses warmed my heart, and soothed my soul, and tonight had been no different, even though his kisses had been sent to me via a text.

Betrayal

The following morning my body automatically jerked itself into consciousness. I'd needed to emerge from my normally disturbed sleep earlier than normal, purely to allow for the longer drive. It had also just became apparent that my body possessed an internal alarm clock of, which I knew nothing about, but it unconsciously woke me all the same whether I had wanted it to or not. Then again today, everything felt different for some reason, this morning I had awakened to a feeling of unsubstantiated trepidation, one that I hadn't experienced for at least two weeks, or since I'd declared my everlasting love lust for Jacob.

I sauntered slowly from my house, uninspired by the thoughts of my impending day, wishing only to see Jacob, but resigning my self to his absence. I had only just cleared the path, when I recognised the alluring aroma and immediately clocked Jacob standing there next to his car, and instantly I became aware of my body rapidly warming, almost teasing itself with sexual desire, and if only for a split second permitting all of my previous tensions to leave me. I studied his beautifully ripped body, while my heart instinctively skipped several beats with excitement and longing.

'I so wanted him right now' I could hardly control my thoughts as I prayed that his plans had changed, leaving him free, to be the one taking me to Port Angeles, instead of a family member.

I ran over to him jumped on him and hugged him tightly

"I thought you were working this morning" His warmth enclosed me.

He lifted my chin so he could look into my eyes

"I am, but I couldn't bare a whole day without seeing you, so I came to give you an, 'I'll miss you' kiss"

"Mmm, Leah's right you are a hopeless romantic, but, I love that you came to kiss me"

He pulled me tighter into his arms kissing me passionately, and so intensely, as though it would be our last kiss. I smiled at him lovingly

"I'm coming home tonight you know" I teased

"I know, I'll see you at four, gorgeous" But he begrudgingly let me go, right down to our fingertips still touching, then he winked at me, and I couldn't help but laugh at him; yet at the back of my mind something had been triggered, which reawakened those shivers down my spine, like ice cold water. I looked back to Jacob but he'd already taken off. I didn't want to call him. I didn't want to make him worry unnecessarily. Besides, it was only a feeling.

I jumped in to my Uncles car smiling, masking a whole cacophony of feelings, and hoping he wouldn't pick up on them as it was a long drive to Port Angeles, but I needn't of worried Emmett was cool, and always fun to be around, so slowly, subconsciously, all my pessimism diminished as he recounted some of his hilarious, bad boy tales about his life prior to meeting my Aunt Rosalie.

We arrived safely. I leant over giving Emmett a big kiss on his cheek

"I'll see you tonight ok and drive save" Which I knew would fall on deaf ears the minute he left the campus car park. I waved at him once more then headed to class.

The longest day

Jacob arrived at his job; the address was unfamiliar and placed in a kind of no-mans-land, which unnerved him slightly. It wasn't a place that either the Cullen's or the packs had frequented.

The more he thought about it, the more he realised that he really couldn't remember there ever being any building there either. He took the scrap of paper from his pocket, which had the address on it just to make sure he had scribbled it down properly, and was indeed in the right place, and after confirming he was indeed in the right place, he shrugged it off, paying no more mind to it.

He knocked hard on the door then stepped back, at first there was no answer, so he knocked it again, this time he heard a small voice bellowing from inside

"Hold your horses, I'm coming…I'm coming" His voice waning a little the second time around. The door eventually opened, revealing the reason why it had taken so long, standing opposite him in the doorway was a feeble, elderly looking man with a walking stick. Jacob smiled at him

"Hello sir, I've come to look at your car" The man studied Jacob's face curiously for a minute.

"Ahh, you must be the boy to fix the car" But he still looked rather perplexed

"Yes sir, I am…here…to look, at the car" But again he knew the man hadn't heard him, so his sentence faded as he felt rather stupid.

The old man brushed past Jacob, which took him a little by surprise.

"Well come on then follow me… you'll not get it done on the porch will you lad"

Jacob said nothing and followed the man compliantly. Jacob raised the hood

"Well can it be fixed?" He demanded. Jacob nodded

"I think so, but I need a better look at it, give me a half hour ok, and I'll let you know"

The old man snorted with derision, as he turned and headed back to the house, leaving Jacob to mutter under is breath

"Well he's pleasant" Shaking his head. Then paying no more mind to it.

Jacob then proceeded to do what he does best; he stuck his head under the hood and set to work on the car.

He fiddled with the spark plugs, then the battery connections, they were all fine. Next he turned his attention to the fuel gauge, all the while thinking it futile; but he was an old man, who lead to the strong possibility of him being a bit absent-minded and therefore, could have forgotten to fill it with gas, he couldn't rule it out, he'd known it happen in the past on more than one occasion. However, in this instance it wasn't the case.

He'd been working on the car for about half an hour, back and forth from the drivers seat to the engine, ticking off each item on his list, whilst systematically repairing any problems as they arose. In spite of this, he seemed to be getting nowhere fast. He came up from under the hood, his hands rested on the wings and his fingers tapping. His mind now assuming an almost meditational trance like state, so deep in contemplation that his eyes automatically closed as he visualized the methodical dismantling of the engine; and the possible faults. Then, there it was his eureka! Moment, quantifying all the symptoms of course, it had to be the head gasket that had blown.

Betrayal

All of a sudden, Jacob felt an almighty smack to his face with a moist cloth pressed across his mouth and nose with some considerable force; he'd been taken totally by

Surprise, this accompanied by the toxic smelling fumes on the rags he felt it severely restricting his breathing.

He hadn't even had time to open his eyes, it all happened in a flash and the harder he tried to fight his assailants off, the weaker and more disorientated he became, in fact there was only two thing Jacob was able to distinguish with any clarity and that was the presence of more that one person, one of them had that unmistakable odour of a vampire, however, not one that Jacob found discernable. And the other, well at first he was undeterminable, with nothing glaringly obvious standing out about him. That, was until Jacob heard him speak, he had that instantly recognizable drone to his voice, with that unambiguous enunciation, suddenly he'd just became clearly identifiable

"Don't struggle Jacob, you'll only make it worse for yourself" Jacob tried so hard to speak

"El…." Only the chloroform had taken its toll; and as if in slow motion, he saw the ground coming up to meet his body, ever closer, until their inevitable collision had transpired.

Jacob now lay unconscious; his thoughts had been confusing and complicated his mind only able to send patches of incoherent babble to his pack along with Edward. Although there was one thing they'd all received loud and clear, and that was the depth of Eli's betrayal.

Eli and the vampire bound Jacobs's hands tight behind his back, followed in quick succession with his legs. There was no need to gag him as they'd now administered him a rather large dose of diazepam; large enough to drug an adult elephant never mind a mere oversized wolf. Consequently there was no fear of him waking, well not within the next twelve hours anyway. Quickly they scooped Jacobs's body up throwing him in the boot of their car like a piece of discarded trash. And it didn't take long after Jacobs's abduction, for Eli, to feel ashamed of his betrayal, and the pangs of immeasurable guilt. The treachery to his own kind, all beyond measure, it had wounded him deeply, but what options had he been given. None, so in the small hope of finding some kind of inner karma he covered Jacobs's body with a blanket, and then removed his own jacket, rolled it and placed it underneath Jacobs head for comfort He slammed the boot shut, jumped in to the passenger seat and the car the then sped off towards the beach and to the next drop off point.

It was early morning and overcast, so La Push beach was deserted, an ideal beginning to the plans success. Just out of view there was a small rowing boat, which they slowly headed towards, driving as near to the boat as possible, just in case anyone suddenly appeared with their dogs or a surf board.

They opened the boot and hurriedly unloaded the cargo, wrapping it once again with the same blanket, and did so without delay. Eli was at the bow end of the boat preparing to row, while the Vampire casually walked into the sea, pushing the boat as he travelled forward until he could no longer stand. Once out far enough, he jumped effortlessly from the sea and so elegantly, like an arrow that had just been drawn from it's quiver and fired, he then instantaneously, but just as gracefully landed into the stern of the boat, quickly sitting poised, comfortable and silent. .

The longest day

This in turn prompted Eli to start rowing, which he did vigorously and as fast as his body would allow him, because there was one other thing his body was now telling him and that was to get the hell out of Forks as fast as possible. The consequences of him staying, he knew all to well.

It hadn't taken too long before they were moored next to the ship, it looked almost new, with no signs of rust and it's white shiny paint, partially glistening, from the meagre hint of sun reflecting back off the water, with it's aptly named 'NEFARIOUS' standing out in large black letters. The ship had been manned by humans purposely, the same as it had been anchored in that specific place for the best part of three weeks, all cleverly part of the ruse. All entirely premeditated and what's more it had worked. It had unconsciously, become an accepted part of the scenery, and with no questions asked. That was with the exception of one, and that one, now lay, bound, and drugged and aboard the Nefarious.

The anchor had been reeled in and the ship ready to set sail the moment the three were on board. Jacob was taken below deck, just in case the wind caught his odour carrying it back to shore. The captain punched in their destination and they were underway, full steam ahead to the port in Seattle.

The journey itself would only take about three, to three and a half hours, but there was no hurry, as it was now obvious that the first part of the plan had gone surprisingly well, and without any glitches, and as for Jacob, he still remained unconscious and, luckily unaware of the unfolding event that were drawing him ever closer to his probable demise.

As the 'Nefarious' came in to harbour it docked at the quayside, initiating an instant hive of activity, with people shouting orders in different languages, the roar of the engines, as cargo was loaded and unloaded by fork lift trucks driving back and forth. The ship itself belonged to none other than the Volturi, whom for many, many, years had been working in the import and export business of fine arts and antiquities, and their business was thriving. Today however, it seemed they were dabbling in some human trafficking as there was one piece of stowage being removed from the ship rather more guardedly than usual, and that of course, was Jacob.

As his still limp and drug addled body was off loaded from the ship, he was transported directly to yet another waiting car. He was then driven in quick succession to the airport, where he would undertake the final stages of his journey. An eleven and a half hour flight to Florence, Italy, in the Volturi's private plane, to become another one of their uncharacteristic guests However, as uncharacteristic as Jacob was as a guest, Aro had already established that he would indeed prove to be an exceptional bargaining tool for the Volturi.

Jacob eventually began to stir, at just about the same time as the flight had neared the end of its journey.

Betrayal

As he roused the first thing discernable was the mumbling of voices in the background, although, he couldn't quite detect what they were saying nor how near they were to him. Slowly he began to open his eyes although; they still couldn't focus on anything as his sight had remained incredibly blurry. In fact is whole body felt extremely groggy, as though he'd been hit by a truck?

Quickly he closed his eyes again before his captors noticed he was stirring; as he certainly had neither the energy nor the inclination to argue, fight, or interrogate, he knew he was in no fit state to even try and contemplate a basic escape, let alone some convoluted plan that would need a large degree of intellectual capacity for the kind of attempted escape that this would take.

Jacob needed to get a grasp of his predicament, and, as he had no clue exactly what that predicament was, he couldn't help but think that he was already fighting a loosing battle. Even so, it wasn't in his nature to quit, and therefore he was left with no other choice but to go all out and devise a plan of escape. Although presently he didn't seem to have much going for him in that respect either. Indeed he only had one thing on his side, and that was that they still presumed he was unconscious. So Jacob remained still, hoping that if he could listen in on their conversation then maybe he'd be able to discover exactly what their plan for him was and why he had been taken in the first place? The trouble was, the more lucid he became, the more a foreboding feeling took a hold, consuming him from deep in the pit of his stomach.

In fact there was only one that he didn't need to guess, and that was who had taken him, only now he had to find out why? 'Surely they couldn't have found out about himself and Ness', not that quick, not in such a short space of time?

No…it was impossible…wasn't it…not unless we were betrayed. Unfortunately for Jacob, Eli wasn't playing the game, and his silence only exacerbated Jacobs's frustration.

He racked his brain…he remembered the chloroform…the stench, of the vampire; but most of all…he remembered Eli's voice; consequently the mere mention of his name managed to leave a bad taste in Jacobs mouth. And even though he'd been the one kidnapped, he couldn't help but feel a wave of remorse for Leah. He just knew that once she found out about all this, that she'd be devastated.

Jacob's train of thoughts were gradually diverted, from that of Eli and Leah, to the tell tale signs of the planes descent. Namely the imposing pain accumulating in his ears as the cabin pressure decreased leaving him next to no choice but to reveal that he'd at last began to wake from his drug induced state.

Eli must have been watching Jacob closely, because the moment Jacob moved, Eli, was already next to him cutting the bind from his legs enabling him to sit in a more comfortable position. Jacob didn't acknowledge him; what's more he couldn't even bring himself to look Eli in the face. Eventually the plane came into land, and once again, Jacob, was frog marched to yet another car; but at least this time it was only for a short journey directly to the Volterra.

As the car pulled up to the main building, they were greeted by two rather large members of the Volturi, who were totally intimidating, for the obvious reasons.

The longest day

Both were there purely to escort and guard Eli, and Jacob, to their first port of call, which was to the main atrium where Aro, sat waiting patiently for their arrival.

So they were led down to the belly of the Volterra, and into the large expanse of the atrium. Confronting Jacob and Eli, and occupying the centre of the floor, there stood three throne designed chairs and each contained their residents: Marcus, Aro and Caius.

Aro sat and studied the two men standing before him, and wearing no particular expression on his face, just his head moved from side to side, like the toy dogs you put in the back of a car. Aro then slowly rose to his feet and walked over to Eli, his demeanour, now revealing he was less than pleased.

"Forgive me Eli, I may not have been alive for a long, long, while, but this is no girl! Where is the girl?"

Jacob turned his body to face Eli also waiting for his explanation with abated breath.

"I couldn't get to the girl Aro, she was too well protected" Aro, pondered momentarily

"Mmm…and what may I ask do you think I can do with yet another wolf" He stood one arm across his body, with the other arm supported by it, and this spare hand rubbing his chin, as if in quandary.

"He's not just any wolf Aro, this is Jacob Black" leading Aro to become ever more impatient

"Am I supposed to know who or what this means? You're vexing me Eli, truly, you are"

"He….Jacob" As Eli points towards him "This is Renesme's boyfriend, I just thought if you wanted the Cullen's, then Jacob, is just as good a prisoner as the girl"

All the while in the background Caius, was hissing and tutting with vehement disapproval, which had also began to irritate Aro tremendously, he turned his head to face Caius.

"Something bothering you brother" Announced Aro sarcastically, as he glared at Caius.

"Did you not hear him Aro, a vampire, cavorting with a wolf, its heresy; I told you, we should have sorted this out when we had the chance"

"It is indeed worrying brother, I grant you, but the girl is half human too, is she not? And we know only too well, how fickle humans can be, do we not, brother. And so lucky us! Because now it seems as if we're going to see our beloved Cullen's after all. And, shortly too it would seem" He smiled gracefully at all present, as he walked back to his throne, then ordering in his baritone voice

"Take them to the cells….oh Eli" Eli, turned in compliance to face them once more, Aro simply couldn't help but rub just a little more salt into his wounds, he announced

"Just think Eli, the new wolf can become acquainted with your father, and, you can all snuggle in your new room together and become the best of friends"

He couldn't help but emit a small giggle, as he was feeling particularly pleased with himself, then he waved his hand at the guards repeatedly, signalling them to escort the prisoners away. So with no more to be said Eli, lead the way to the cells accompanied closely by the Volturi guards.

Betrayal

It was becoming obvious to Jacob how the unfolding sequence of events had brought him to Italy, but he still couldn't bring himself to look at Eli in the face.

He simply followed him quietly down to the cells, but he was grateful it hadn't been Ness abducted. The guard opened the door to their cell, smiling cruelly, as he studied

Jacob's and Eli's faces for some kind of reaction, unfortunately for him they didn't bite. So he waved his arm with a 'mockingly' politely gesture for them to enter. Then he closed the door behind them, but opened the small port hole in the door.

"We've allowed your father to wake boy, we thought you'd enjoy conversing with him. Telling him of your heroic tales in the futile pursuit to save his life"

And with that he slammed the porthole closed, but he could still be heard laughing as he walked away. Eli ran to his father's side, taking hold of his hand as Jacob, still silent, casually walked over to the opposing bed and sat down; watching and trying to listening to Eli and his father's conversation. Eli rubbed his fathers hand as he stirred.

"Papa, si prega di svegliasi"

Eli's father very slowly regained consciousness as his son's presence began to take hold.

"Eli ragazzo mio dove stato" His father then catches a glimpse of Jacob out of the corner of his eye, and fixated on him.

"E chi e" Eli looks at Jacob, then again at his father.

"Papa, we need to speak the English, he doesn't speak Italian" His father replies

"Ah si, ho capito" Then he signalled for Eli to help him sit up.

"I'm sorry…is very rude of me"

Jacob waved his hand, and shook his head, "It's no problem sir"

Eli intervened and introduced them formally.

"Papa this is Jacob Black from America. Jacob this is my father, Josiah"

"Why are you here my boy, why is an American werewolf in Italy?" Josiah asked looking quite confused. Eli, rubbed his face with his hands vigorously, he obviously didn't want to answer.

"I, brought him here Papa, so they would release you"

Jacob sat upright and alert, he wanted to hear all of this convoluted explanation; with a hope that at long last he would get some resolve to his unanswered questions. And all the while he remained oblivious to the fact that both Eli and Josiah were wolves. He'd heard enough, Jacob tried but could contain himself no longer as he butted into their conversation, it was the first time he'd spoken to anyone since his kidnap and even took Eli a little by surprise.

"No…no Eli you fool, do you really believe that your dad will walk free…that any of us will be allowed to walk away from here alive. Eli turned to him.

"I'm sorry Jacob, truly I am, but it's my father, I had to try wouldn't you have done the same for yours?"

Jacob said nothing, as he once again resumed his silent stance; although it was plain to see he was torn. Josiah, pulled his son round fiercely

"No Eli you didn't…tell me you didn't…how could you be so stupid, you haven't saved my live, you've only given Jacob a death sentence along with us"

It wasn't difficult to see that Josiah was angry, as he growled a deep throated warning snarl at his son.

The longest day

Then almost immediately struck out at Eli catching his face with such a force, that Eli flew across the room with only the wall to break his flight

"You idiot boy" Josiah inhaled, slow, deep, breaths regaining control of his temper.

Eli slumped in the corner, his mouth bleeding from the hit and slowly he gazed up at his father.

"Would you have let me die without trying to rescue me papa?" Josiah, walked over to Eli, and offered his hand, pulling him up from the floor, and embraced him tightly, as the tears welled in their eyes

"No my boy I wouldn't, I would have moved heaven and earth to get you back, I'm so, so sorry I struck you…please forgive a stupid old fool Eli"

It may have been Jacobs's soft heart or simply the fact it was all done for Eli's father, but as he watched them holding each other, he couldn't help but think of his dad, and how far he would have gone to rescue him. So he answered Eli, now trying to put his mind at ease

"Yes Eli, I would have done the same for my dad too…if that's any consolation to you" Then Eli turned to face Jacob

"No Jacob it's no consolation, but I tried to warn you…about me, I mean, I couldn't risk telling you outright they would have killed my papa for sure"

Jacob began to pace the cell, not frantically, but methodically, while deep in thought

"You know we wont leave here alive don't you" They both nodded in acceptance

"What I don't understand is why the Volturi are using humans to do their dirty work"

At which point Eli looked at Jacob, confused

"We aren't humans Jacob, we are the same as you… my father is the chief of the Lupo Mannaro, mm, I mean… we to are the werewolves too"

Jacob stood with his mouth opened, speechless, and looking extremely puzzled

"How's that possible, there was no scent, there is no scent" Jacob lifted his face and sniffed the air around their general direction

"It's impossible I would have known, and, Edward too"

Eli nodded

"Ahh yes…Edward, he made it very hard for me, I nearly phased that night at the cliff top. I had to throw myself over the side to stop it, it was …very…very close.

However, we do have scents the same as you and every other living creature, but, they have been suppressed by a 'pheromone blocker' created by the Volturi's newly turned scientists"

"What!" Jacob exclaimed as he shook his head with disbelief. Unable to digest what he was being told

Eli knew there was only one way Jacob was going to believe him, so he wasted no more time quickly undressing, he took two very large, deep breathes, then phased.

Jacob jumped back with the shock, mainly by the phasing he'd witnessed, and Eli actually transforming into a wolf, as he really hadn't believed him; but then he became in awed by the beast itself.

He was a good foot taller than those of the Quileute packs. His fur was as black as night, but when the sun hit it, through the window it glistened a deep, deep blue.

Betrayal

His neck was extremely large and emphasised more by his long, lion like, mane, which contained one thick blue-grey blaze running through its centre, and for maybe the second or third time in his life he found himself absolutely speechless. In fact he couldn't find a single thing that he could fault about him, and much to Jacobs's disappointment.

Jacob was more confused than ever and had a string of questions he wanted to ask although; he thought he'd leave that until Eli had put his clothes back on.

"I'm confused Eli, why all of this elaborate scheme and all done so suddenly?"

Eli reciprocated the look, not quite sure if Jacob was being serious

"What do you mean Jacob, all of a sudden? None of this was sudden. They've been creating this potion, and me, for nearly the best part of a year, whatever they did 'the Cullen's I mean' to piss off the Volturi, it worked one hundred percent. Aro especially he's desperate to reap his revenge"

Jacob looked ashen as he dropped back down on the bed

"They want to kill Ness…Bella and Edward"

"No Jacob, they're not going to discriminate that much, they want to kill all of the Cullen's except, Bella and Alice. I believe at one point they were fifty, fifty on Edward as well, but Aro decided he couldn't take the risk of both Bella and Edward together, their powers united are far to powerful and he would never be able to control them" Eli looked glibly at Jacob

"So why did you take me?" Jacob asked still confused

"They wanted Ness, but I couldn't do that to her, she's very sweet and, as I already said she was far to well protected, so you were the next best thing because, you're her boyfriend"

"Oh Eli, don't you see what you've done, you may just as well brought Ness here, they know I'm a wolf. And, I was there that day, the day, the Volturi want so much revenge for, I stood in front of them protecting Ness they'll kill us both now, for sure, and if there had ever been a possibility for them to reprieve her death sentence, they won't allow now; not now you've told them she's in love with a wolf"

Eli lowered his head, ashamed and woeful at his betrayal

"I'm so, so, sorry Jacob I don't know what to say"

Jacob shook his head with thoughts bombarding him

"We have to be shrewd, try to keep one step ahead of the Volturi; we need to contact the Cullen's"

"How's this possible?" Eli mused

"I don't know yet… I'm thinking"

Back in Forks

The Cullen's were always busy and today had started out no differently.

It began with Emmett driving Ness to her classes in Port Angeles, while Bella and Edward had left early that morning to hunt, which they preferred to do while Ness was at college that way they could be there for her of an evening. Carlisle was working at the hospital as per usual; and Alice, Rose and Esme, were at home preparing flowers for a function that Alice, had planned for a clients wedding.

The longest day

The whole family blissfully unaware of the unfolding events; events that were about to devastate their world

Rose and Esme were cutting back the stems of the ice white and fragrant calla lilies, while Alice, engaged herself with artfully arranging them with just the right amount of greenery for a perfect display in there various oasis and vases. They worked in human time, sticking to the old motto 'if a jobs worth doing; it's worth doing well'.

And, as they always strived for perfection, it seemed the only logical way to proceed.

On the other hand, and, as fastidious as they all were, they couldn't remember ever seeing anything written down about 'not having fun' in the work place; therefore, as they under went their tasks, the three also indulged in regaling one and other with some immensely pleasurable and rather risqué banter. Thus inciting bouts of uproarious laughter on themselves, but fatefully their fun was about sixty seconds away from being short lived.

Alice reached over for more flowers when she was abruptly stricken by the unexpectedness of some old feelings, those sensations that once again rendered her somewhat light-headed and almost too weak to stand. Initially and absurdly she considered it to be due to laughing too much, but that idea dissipated quickly as her surroundings rapidly rushed in towards her, closing her in from all angles. When suddenly she recognised those recently unfamiliar feeling

Rose, automatically reached out for Alice as she realised her destabilized condition grabbing her arm for support then lifting her to rest on the kitchen unit. Esme stood, stunned, at the pace in which the change had taken place. Alice's visions had practically become a thing of the past and as such they had all grown blissfully unaccustomed to them. The laughter in the room had ceased immediately and replacing it was a sudden eerie quiet, with an atmosphere that didn't require a sixth sense to recognise. Alice now wore that old and disturbed expression on her face with eyes that portrayed a vacantly troubled look, and from that point on her visions ensued thick and fast, as her worried spectators could only stand by helplessly awaiting its dreaded conclusion.

Edward stopped dead in his tracks, immediately visualising the blow by blow account of Alice's untimely and unwanted visions, as it's contents resulted in Edward's face appearing 'if it were even possible' to turn a paler shade than his already bloodless face. Bella stopped almost immediately when she realised there was a problem, she studied his face, and instinctively knew there was a problem. She could only pray it wasn't their precious daughter. She reached out to him and held onto his shoulders and stared deep into his eyes, eager and waiting for the explanation, but as Alice's vision ended he instantaneously grabbed Bella's hand and pulled her to run as fast as she could

"Come we have to get home, now!"

"Edward what is it…Renesme…tell me?" But he didn't answer; he simply picked up the momentum, running back to the house at warp speed practically pulling at Bella to hasten her pace.

Betrayal

Alice was in the lounge standing by the grand piano, surrounded by the family. Edward and Bella entered the room, followed closely by Carlisle, who had been told he was needed at home. Bella couldn't wait any longer

"Alice what's wrong, tell me is it…?"

"Edward answered no it's not Ness she's fine"

"Thank god" She stood shaking her head with the relief on her face clearly visible

"Then what, who" Carlisle added

"It's Jacob, he's been taken….Jacob has been kidnapped" Alice exclaimed with her own degree of shock and disbelief quite evident in her voice

"Who" Asked Rose wanting some clarification that she'd heard right. And who at this point seemed genuinely concerned for him, even though he was a wolf. She had actually grown quite fond of Jacob

"The Volturi have taken him" Alice answered

"But why, how can you be sure it's the Volturi?" Bella asked full of disbelief herself

"They're not hiding it anymore, I can see Aro's plan, it was meant to be Ness taken but, she was to well protected"

"Thank god…. thank god" Bella repeated"

Alice continued

"Everything all information had been kept from Aro, until now. Because now he has a hostage, and he no longer cares whether we can see his intentions or not, he wants us gone we've become too strong, he see's us as a real threat to his Volturi"

"But that's not true; we just want to live a peaceful life"

"He knows that Esme, but as far as Aro is concerned we won an argument, which made them look foolhardy but he doesn't forget and he never forgives, he's been biding his time. And now I think we've been left with little or no choice but to fight" Carlisle revealed despondently

"Alice, why didn't we see Jacob being taken?"

"He must have been unconscious; I didn't see anything. Well not until now"

Then Edward interjected

"He was drugged, but this morning I heard him say Eli's name, then it all went quiet, I presumed he'd started to concentrate on his work or started a conversation with Eli, but then Bella and I, went out of range on our hunt"

Everyone now sat in a stunned hush, all trying to decide the best possible course of action, or more to the point, if there was any course of action even possible. Until the silence was broken by Rose asking the question that everyone was thinking, but no one wanted to say

"This isn't going to be good, and I don't like asking, but who is going to inform Ness?"

There was some heavy hearted sighs, followed by more deafening silence, until Bella stood up.

"I'll tell her…we'll tell her, Edward and me, it's our reasonability we're her parents, but not until she's home from classes agreed?" They all nodded in a compliant and more unnerving silence. Then Jasper stood up

"I'll fetch her from college, she'll be expecting Jacob, but I can control her mood, so it will be easy for me to distract her, change her thoughts from Jacob"

The longest day

Again they all agreed in that same eerie quiet, and all trying to figure out not just what but how exactly had things gone so disastrously wrong.

That dreaded time of day had came around all too soon, and Jasper had mentally prepared himself for any questioning on the journey back home and, he was now waiting in the college lot for me to emerge from the building.

I soon came bounding out, full of smiles at the thought of seeing Jacob. I'd been waiting all day to kiss him, to return his passionate and possessing kiss in the exact same way he'd kissed me that morning.

I scanned the area, soon spotting Jasper, and my heart sank as I couldn't help but feel a little depleted as my smile waned some, but it hadn't occurred to me that there was anything amiss, why would there have been?

I made my way over to the car and jumped in, leaning over to give my Uncle a welcoming kiss

"Hello uncle Jasper, I'm surprised to see you" I paused for a moment or two, I didn't want to sound rude or ungrateful

"Where's Jacob, I thought he was picking me up?" I asked in a low passive voice

And even though he was expecting the question he still looked slightly alarmed.

"I'm not sure Ness; I think he got a little tied up at work"

He couldn't believe he'd just said that, he could have kicked himself. Luckily for him his subconscious were far more on the ball and emitting happy and calm emotions and all giving out the feel good facture

"Oh it doesn't matter, you're probably right, I'll phone him when I get home"

We looked at one another and smiled, and the conversation remained light hearted for the remainder of the drive home. Jasper pulled up outside the house and I instinctively looked around to see if Jacobs's car was there, to discover he wasn't and then feeling decidedly disappointed all over again.

As I entered the house the first thing I noticed was the quiet, our home was usually a hive of activity, with all the hustle and bustle that occurs in every normal household. However, there was no conversation, no music, and come to think of it, there was no family with the exception of Bella and Edward.

They stood at the far end of the lounge; both fidgeting uncomfortably, Edward lifted his head but barely managed a glance at Bella. Bella, in return lifted her head to face me. That's when I instinctively stopped walking I studied their expressions for what seemed to be the longest time, and I could tell she was trying to muster a comforting smile. I could also tell by her expression that both she and I knew that, that was futile. It was so blatantly obvious that they'd been awaiting my arrival, and it was even more obvious that the news wasn't going to be good.

Stupidly I hadn't even given it a second thought as to why Jasper hadn't followed me in. How slow can you be? It hadn't so much as sparked an ounce of suspicion that there was anything wrong? Although now without Jasper by my side, my emotions were imminently about to take one spectacular nose dive, it was now so apparent, so obvious that they had bad news and that whatever they were trying to tell me, it was something serious.

Betrayal

Bella began

"Sit down Ness, there's something we need to tell you" I looked at her quizzically and already felt the need to cry, but somehow controlled the urge

"I'm fine mom tell me whats wrong?" My heart was pounding so hard I could hear the thudding through my ears.

"Well there's no easy way we can break this to you so, I'm just going to come right out and say it ok"

"Mom your frightening me, please, just tell me whats wrong?" Bella sighed

"It's the Volturi Ness, they've taken Jacob"

"What, why, why would they take Jacob…I don't understand"

"All we know for sure is that it was meant to be you…you were supposed to be the one taken, and we're not exactly sure why, we can only assume its revenge, a long awaited revenge but, it's the only explanation we can come up with"

My mind was unable to absorb the information, when suddenly the very intimate conversation we'd had in the tent all come rushing back, 'you know, don't you, we're sealing our own fate, if we do this…I mean if certain people find out'. I felt sick

"Oh my god, I've killed him haven't I, this is my fault" And as the tears welled in my eyes I could no longer suppress my pain as the magnitude of the situation hit me; my body lost all it's physical strength and I could feel myself drop to the floor, all of my energy, all of my emotions gone, I was now stripped of any reasoning, void of any capability to function normally. My world had just been devastated. Ripped from me with one crushing blow, as it occurred to me that as fast as I had found my life, he had also been ripped away from me

Edward and Bella both rushed to my side, lifting me to the couch, a crumpled mess, my life suddenly felt worthless without him. I don't know how I managed to mummble the odd coherent word, in amongst the sobs, and excruciatingly painful breaths

"How Did It. Happen? How Did. They Get. Him" There was a stoney silence

"We're almost sure it was Eli that was the last thing your dad heard him say before he was drugged"

"THEY DRUGGED HIM?" I repeated loudly as my tears continued falling, my grief, uncontrollable and the pain. Oh I'd never felt so much pain. If there had ever been any doubt in in my mind as to whether I truly loved Jacob then, it had just been substantiated. Only love could hurt like this.

The next thing I knew I was waking up in my bed, still feeling that devastatingly, rupturing pain in my heart, but now it was mixed with anger. So much anger

I couldn't understand how it had happened so easily, how had Eli managed to take Jacob so easily? And Eli, 'such a betrayal' I'd defended him to Jacob.

I needed answers, I wanted revenge, and I was adamant I was going to get both.

I blamed myself for not listening to him. Why didn't I trust his instincts? Why did I dismiss him so lightly?

I walked over to the window and looked up at the moon

"If you can hear me baby, keep safe, please, please do what you have to do to stay alive, I'm coming for you, I'm coming to get you"

The longest day

I walked out of my bedroom and into an empty living space, the lights were on and the fire roared, merely for the aesthetics, but there was no one there. I couldn't remember falling asleep or even being put to bed for that matter. I must have passed out with grief and exhaustion.

I hadn't realised how late it was either, but I must have slept for a considerable length of time, as the night had already taken hold long before I woke, leaving only the moon and stars for an initial light source.

The blackness made me shiver. I wasn't sure whether it was with the cold, slowly penetrating my bones, or just a substantial amount of anxiety, but I suddenly felt the need to hug myself, firmly, as if in some vain attempt to either, warm or pacify my soul, but it failed miserably on both counts.

Before today I had been so happy, and had no perception to just how much pain could upset your equilibrium. Destroying your life in one fell swoop, and now adding a further attack to my very fragile self-esteem, unnervingly, it appeared that I'd suddenly became afraid of being alone in the dark. In fact, for the first time ever I just felt genuinely scared of having no one there with me; it seems my dreams had almost come full circle, and now they were coming back to haunt me for real. I needed company. I needed my family around me, even though that meant walking through the woods, which also and suddenly felt very oppressive.

I hurried myself through the forested path and up to the big house, where I knew they would all be congregated. I'd hardly stepped out of the front door when I could hear them talking, and with some fine-tuning on my part, I was able to hone in on the full conversation. The topic was obviously about Jacob, and their imminent conflict with the Volturi. Although from what I could hear it seemed to me that they'd already given up, resigned themselves to the fact that this time they would have to fight, and would die doing so, I had never heard them being defeatists before, it was so unlike them, and that scared me even more.

"We can't win this time, as loyal as our friends and relatives are they won't loose their lives to save a wolf even if it is Jacob; we know this. I think it's time to accept the consequences of our actions, the consequences for our alliances with the Quileute packs"

It was soul destroying hearing the despondency in Carlisle's voice.

"So that's it, we just give up?"

"What other choice do we have Bella?"

"Well we could try to rally some friends, some allies; you don't know they might help"

"No this is our conflict, it's bad enough that we have to fight and loose lives, let alone putting other people that we know and care for in a position that makes them feel they have to choose between us, and the Volturi" Carlisle lowered his head and the room was once again rendered full of that god awful silence.

That was it, I'd heard enough, I could contain my self no longer, and as the scared turned to anger, there was so much rage, I rammed through the doors like something possessed.

"WE WILL FIGHT AND WE WILL WIN" Their heads turned to face me, all shocked at the uncharacteristic manner of my entrance.

Betrayal

"It's impossible, we are out numbered by far too many, we don't have the upper hand, we don't even know where or when they will attack, it's impracticable Ness" I took a deep breath to calm myself

"Carlisle, we're not going to wait for them to come here, and attack us, like lambs to the slaughter. No, not this time, enough is enough. We do know when and where the attack will take place. This time we catch them off guard, this time we take the fight to them; we go to Italy, and we attack them in the Volterra"

If nothing else my statement had managed to create yet another silence in the room, probably due to shock, but, at least I'd caught their attention, which if nothing else it had managed to intrigued them, even if it were to only question my sanity

"And just out of curiosity how do you think that will work then?"

"I'm not sure yet, I'm thinking"

Back in the Volterra

Jacob stopped pacing, as he faced the wall, which held the only window in the cell, if indeed it could be described as such, it was long, but only about five inches in depth and was situated near the top of the wall, in fact it wasn't to far below the ceiling, and it held just enough glass to make out that it was twilight outside. How he'd grown to hate this time of day, it rarely seemed to bring anything but trouble, well just lately anyway.

He stood motionless and staring intently at the moon, as if he were willing it to relay some message, his jaws clenched tightly together and he closed his eyes 'If you can hear me baby, keep safe, please, please don't think of coming here, I need to know your safe at home'.

He took a deep breath and turned to face Eli and Josiah

"I have a plan; it's risky; complicated, and I have no idea whether it will work; so what do you think, are you up for it or not? Josiah smiled

"If it means we get to reap some revenge on our less than accommodating host's then you can count me in"

"And what about you Eli, do you want to give it a go?" Eli looked closely at Jacob, his expression initially, giving nothing away, until he smiled

"Jacob, you had me on board at risky"

Before Jacob uncovered his rather elaborate plan, along with its intricate details, he had to be sure that they were fully aware of all the facts; they needed to be informed just how daunting this assignment would really be. And, that just as Eli had been one of the main conspirators in Jacobs capture; the impending double cross would also and essentially have to be laid back at Eli's feet. He would once again have to be the fore runner to aiding their escape. He was the only one with insightful knowledge of both the Volturi and the packs. So Jacob proceeded very quietly

"Josiah for this to work I need you to accept me into your pack; we must to be able to communicate easily without some certain undesirables listening in"

Josiah walked across to Jacob and took hold of his hand

"Jacob, we would be honoured to have you as one of our pack would we not Eli?"

The longest day

Eli smiled and Josiah had barely finished the sentence when Jacob, received an almighty influx of new sights, new voices and a new language, of which he hadn't a clue, what was being said. Although, it wasn't all bad it wasn't too long before he gained some degree of control over the thoughts he allowed in. Consequently this enabled the primary communications to be solely between Eli, Josiah and himself.

Eli drifted off, deep in thought, as he allowed his mind to wonder momentarily thinking of Leah and not giving Jacobs new pack status a second thought.

Jacob stilled himself, his senses temporarily confused, not sure if what he was feeling was real. He seemed to be experiencing an unexpected deluge of love and devotion towards Leah. He was experiencing Eli's feelings for her.

Poor Leah! Jacob had all but forgotten the part their relationship had played in this whole miserable scenario. It all seemed so irrelevant now. Though he was about to find out more, so much more, as he watched it all unfold it became only too apparent it was an irrepressible part of the wolves ordinance, confused at first, because of the language barrier, but it didn't take long to recognize those tell tale signs and Jacob knew it all too well.

"You imprinted on Leah?" Eli looked so unhappy at the mere mention of it

"Yes…and it's killed me, I've fought against it with every fibre of my body, but to leave her, was too much, if we survive this Jacob, then I will plead for her forgiveness, and pray she will accept"

"Yeah, well, good luck with that one" However; the sarcasm had been totally lost on Eli. From that moment on all ensuing conversations between the three of them would only be executed telepathically:

"Eli our freedom lies with the Cullen's, only they can help us now" Eli stared at Jacob

"I thought we'd been through this, it's impossible…how?"

"You must ask to see Aro…I cant speak to him, he'd easily read my thoughts, but you, they've helped you train your mind…you've perfected your mental abilities, only your capable of telling Aro what we want him to know"

"And what exactly is it; we want him to know Jacob?"

"You must tell him, I want to send a message to Ness, pleading with her to come and beg for my release. Tell him that I'm scared, and I don't want to die"

"Jacob he'll never fall for that, and even if he does, it would be suicide for me to go back to Forks, I can send another pack member?"

"No; no other pack members, the Cullen's would never believe them, after you and this abduction. The Cullen's will think they've been sent by you to take Ness. You'll be safe if you find Edward first, you must let him read your mind, all of it, or they'll never believe your there to try and save us. The last thing you want is for them to think you've returned for their daughter again. And as for Aro well, that depends on you. And just how good you are with your mind control; now doesn't it. It's up to you to show him, to convince him, that you're telling the truth… Eli I can't stress this enough it has to work, or we're all dead, we may as well kill each other here and now"

Eli was quiet and understandably nervous. Aro was no push over. And the Cullen's well they would sooner kill him as look at him; but he knew Jacob was right and that it really was their only hope for survival. He took a deep breath but his thoughts were loud and clear

Double cross

"No pressure then" And Jacob merely nodded his head with agreement

It took Eli a little time to put his thoughts in order, after all, he knew that in the next couple of hours his actions and his alone, would be the game changer, in one way or another. He knew he was about to undertake the second biggest challenge of his life.

His conversation would have to be word perfect, as would any visualisation he was to present to Aro through his minds eye, there was simply no margin for error.

Eli calmed himself and walked slowly to the cell door, and then taking an almighty breath he knocked hard, twice, raising the guard's attention, slowly the small port hole in the door opened and Eli spontaneously went into auto pilot.

"I need to speak with Aro, on a matter of some urgency"

The guard said nothing but slammed the port hole shut again, all they could do now was wait. Wait and see if Aro would indeed be intrigued enough to contemplate another meeting with Eli, or not. The time passed so slowly as both Eli and Jacob, paced back and forth consistently, in their small, confined space, and even though only a couple of hours had lapsed since telling the guard, it had seemed like an eternity to them. Then the port hole opened again. They both stopped dead in their tracks to hear the verdict, and their relief obvious as they heard the guard say

"Aro will see you now"

His words were quickly preceded by the clattering of his keys turning in the old rusty lock, and on the other side of the door there stood another four guards, just as before and waiting to escort Eli to the atrium. As Eli left the cell he spoke 'mentally' to Jacob once more, and this time his apprehension was only too clear

"Jacob, if you pray then do so now, and, if you don't, then now seems like a really good time to start" Jacob was a little unnerved by his comment, but remained ever the optimist. Although, it had provoked a sense of concern and much to his disgust; because lets face it, it was due to Eli, that he was in this mess in the first place. Nevertheless, Jacob needed Eli now, as much as Eli needed him, so all he could do was offer a small piece of advice

"Eli, you can't over think this, you must keep it simple, easy to remember, now just go do it and get us the hell out of here"

From then on it was all another waiting game. Jacob knew that if Eli was brought back to the cell then they'd failed miserably and Aro hadn't believed him. On the other hand, he knew that if he wasn't brought back to the cell, then there was only one, out of two possible outcomes; firstly, Aro has fallen for the ruse and Eli would be transported back to America forth with. The second, Aro, had seen through their ruse completely and would end Eli's life there and then. And now neither Jacob nor Eli's father could have any further contact with him. Eli's mind had now disconnected from all outside influences, his thought processes isolated just as it had been conditioned to do. This and with the help of his implant he would stay totally resolute on his task ahead. It was going to be a long, long night.

Aro, was his usual nonchalant persona, with a little or no time for anyone, or anything, let alone an additional conversation with a disgusting wolf

The longest day

"So Lupo, what more could you possibly have to say to me…. to us" he waved his hands in a gesture as to include his colleagues. "That we have not already discussed. Or what's more to the point, what could you have to say, that I…we" He gestured again, "We would find of any importance?"

Aro inquired as he descended from his throne and down the steps.

Eli calmed his nerves he was fully aware that this is it! Everything was dependant on the outcome of this discussion and he was only too aware of the ramifications if it were to go wrong.

His mouth dried as he tried to speak, he couldn't remember another time when he'd felt this nervous. Even his past deeds hadn't required his trying to dupe the Volturi. This is it, he bite the bullet and went in feet first

"Aro" Eli bowed his head to show him some respect; he remembered how Aro loved good manners

"I think I can get Renesme…here…I can get her here after all" he studied Aro's expression

"Ooh…" Eli, knew then he had Aro's full attention

"Jacob is the key; I've had to listen to his incessant whimpering all afternoon… he's like a whining dog. 'With… how he doesn't want to die… this is all her fault, it shouldn't be him here, and it should be the Cullen's in his place'. I'm ashamed to call him lupo mannaro"

Aro instinctively took a hold of Eli's hand, which instantaneously provided him with an insight into Jacob's, very impressive acting skills. Aro then released his hand and took a long hard look at Eli, this was it, this was the moment of truth, had he, or had he not fallen for their ruse?

Back at Forks

I had been pacing for a while now, conjugating and deliberating. I'd always assumed this day would come, I just hadn't anticipated it being quite so soon. Even though my dreams, my nightmares had acted out many, many, similar scenarios, reoccurring and inundating me, night after night for years. Now I had been given the reality check, I had no other choice but to realise that my 'nightmares' were indeed as I had always suspected them to be; subconscious premonitions, insights or predictions of my fate.

Whatever name they were given, the time had come for me to confront my fears, it was time to make a stand and become the adult my family had brought me up to be. Then I remembered that prediction I'd had as a child, which was sadly one day, I would learn what it was to hate; and make no mistake, every action I was about to undertake to avenge Jacob abduction, was fuelled by an abundance of pure hate.

I turned to face my still silent family, whom, were studying me fastidiously.

I smiled at them, which I think was purely to reassure them that I was indeed still sane, and that the day's events hadn't rendered me into some sub state of psychosis; because now, I needed them to not only trust me, but to trust in me. I needed them to see me as a strong, autonomous woman, with an intellect to rival their own, and that I wasn't just their precious little girl anymore.

Double cross

She'd gone. Partly due to my growing, partly due to my loving, but now, today, mostly due to the hatred coursing through my veins

"Before I tell you my plan, answer me one thing, Carlisle why is travelling to Italy so impossible?"

"The weather for one" He looked at me worryingly, like I'd genuinely lost the plot

"We need it dull, overcast and preferably raining, but you know this"

"Ok….so if I were to tell you I had an answer to that particular problem, what would be next in your list of impossible?"

"When would be the next on my list, because we don't have much time" It was time to put them out of their misery and let them know what I had planned

"It's vital we attack on the longest day, we need to use the sun to optimize our advantage, so everything would have to be in place by the summer solstice, June 21st"

I could tell by the way they looked at me that they thought the whole idea was fantastical, and I suppose it must have sounded that way with only half the information so I decided to back track a little, in a hope that I could convince them.

"When I was small, I hated that we could never do things together; simple things like going to the beach, any beach, even the ones not included in the treaty. So I decided I should try and find a solution to the problem. So that's when I began to study make up, all types of make up, every day, theatrical, what variety of minerals were used in their various series of composites"

I glanced up at everyone and they were definitely intrigued, so I carried on

"This was another reason I wanted to go to college" I stated

"I needed to study certain sciences and that way I could utilize the knowledge of the tutors and their lab facilities. I have to admit, my studies took me down a very bizarre route, and I ended up studying the first roman concrete, well, the original volcanic aspect anyway. I was examining the super fine glass shards that were left post eruption, and we found that if they were reheated again at around 900 degrees Celsius, then super cooled at the crucial point of it's process 'known only to me' it could be added to a measured blend of cosmetic grade iron oxide, some kaolin clay, magnesium silicate better known in the business as (mgsi03) or pharmaceutical grade, all of this was then combined with a solidifying agent, which was a modified formula of clear silicone, it then turns into my super gloop invention" Then I pulled an air tight container from my pocket

"It reacts to cold, in fact, the colder the object that it comes into contact with, the faster and harder it sets, similar to concrete and water. Clever yes I've tried it on my skin but I had to keep putting my arm in the fridge to get it cold enough"

They all giggled, but I could tell they were impressed

"I was hoping to get more time to perfect it, but appears were all out of that, so; who wants to be my guinea pig then?" I was stunned to see all four women jumped up, instantly holding out their arms. Then Rose enquired

"Won't we need to wait until tomorrow to apply it?"

"No, it can be applied now, then in the morning you can just walk out and into the sunlight to check for yourself, the paste will stay on for roughly forty eight hours, within a couple of hours each way.

The longest day

The only thing to remove it initially is boiling water; so basically your just loosening the compound and starting the reheating process all over again, but apart from that it will just wear away naturally over a period in time" They stared at me with disbelief in stunned silence

"Oh, my god, Ness, if this works in the way you've described it, do you know what this means, do you understand what you will have created?" My woes temporarily dissipated as I smiled excitedly I nodded eagerly

"All weather day walkers" I laughed "but, it may still have a draw back, it's translucent and light enough to not be seen because it's effectively filling the pores, but don't forget its base is made up from microscopic shards of glass and as I've not been able to test it properly yet, you should take it easy with it's application and only use it once, maybe twice a week to start with, apart from that though, you're good to go"

The room was now filled with a heady buzz, as each of them indulged in applying my compound. The house had once again, but temporarily burst back into life, and everything just momentarily felt normal again. It was pleasant watching them full of excitement with that welcomed, recognisable glint of optimism, which at least had taken their minds off the real reason they were testing my product it in the first place.

I woke early the next morning, after having a terrible nights sleep. If it could indeed be called sleep, but I knew it was futile to even try to dozing off again, I had far too much on my mind, so I pottered to the kitchen to get some water. I lifted my head to take in the beautifully calm outlook, just in time to witness the sun beginning to rise above the equator, it was a breath taking view from this window, and it never failed to look anything but celestial.

That's when I heard their voices, immediately averting my gaze in their general direction and there was my family, all of them hovering around outside, and I knew exactly what they were waiting for, so I decided to go and join them. Still in my pyjamas, I simply threw my jacket and willies on, and sauntered over to them.

Rose ran and grabbed my hand pulling me into her arms, squeezing me tightly, with a little squeal of delight, they were all so exited. It really was lovely to see, as they all stood eagerly awaiting that one ray of sunshine to break through the clouds. My stomach churned with anticipation; and there it was, as we saw that first shaft of light emerging into a cloudless piece of sky. I held my breath and I crossed my fingers, arms and toes. I'd worked so hard on this project, for so long, and now everything depended on this one single moment in time, but most importantly of all Jacob depended on it.

The sunbeam hit their skin and they simply stared at each other, motionless, silent at first… but it had worked…there were no glimmers…no sparkling diamonds…just ordinary, but pale looking skin. Then they endeavoured to erase it, they wet each other with warm water, and they scrubbed but nothing; everything they attempted to take it off with, failed. Then it hit them, the enormity of this substance and the consequences it held, their pleasure was insurmountable, and they could contain themselves no longer. They laughed, hugging each other ecstatically and Emmett practically threw me in the air.

Double cross

I was so happy for them. I knew this would change their lives, allowing them more freedom, which had been my entire reasoning behind formulating it in the first place.

Unfortunately I remained in turmoil, on the one hand I was phenomenally proud of my creations now confirmed success and remarkably happy for my families renewed freedom, even though it could turn out to be very short lived, which left me incredibly sad. Sad that my compound, which had been created through the love for my parents, was about to be used to aide a battle that could ultimately result with their demise

As they slowly disbanded couple by couple, it was decided that we should all reconvene at the big house, where I would join them later; once I had dressed, and eaten breakfast 'like I had the stomach to eat'. All the same I was alone again, and as I wandered into my bedroom I scarcely had the energy to do anything but slump down on the end of my bed, where I stared vacantly at my wardrobe of clothes. I hadn't even the energy to get dressed. And the thought of food only made me feel even more nauseas then I had already.

All I really wanted to do was be by myself, curl up into a tight ball and cry, but I knew I had to pull myself together. The last thing I wanted, was to turn into a blubbering heap of mess, especially, in front of my family and my self pity wasn't about to save Jacob, either. I realised I had to use both my sorrow and anger to a positive end. And now at least there was some glimmer of hope; it was at least looking far more optimistic for my rescue plan to take place, as my family definitely appeared to be far more positive with regard to travelling to Italy. Well… more confident about it then they had been eight hours ago anyway, and maybe with just a little more persuasion it could get the thumbs up. Although I think that was mainly due to this morning's compound test results; which I think I had aptly named 'Revamp'.

By the time I was ready to leave I noticed it had taken me nearly two hours to muster enough energy to throw on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. That, and to force feed myself with one measly slice of toast; before I felt ready to head up to the big house. My mind, was eager to discuss methods of attack, and I wanted leave right now, this instant to rescue him; but my heart was conflicted, in order to save Jacob I was about to put the lives of my entire family in jeopardy and in honesty, I wasn't wholly convinced I could do that either.

I was rather preoccupied as I walked away from my front door and caught sight of Leah. There she was casually, sauntering along without a care in the world, as she emerged from the clearing in the woods. I glared at her automatically, unable to control myself

"What?" she snapped

"You knew didn't you?" I fumed, as I instantaneously confronted her

"Knew what; what are you on about?" she growled at me in response and as we now stood nose to nose

"Don't you dare play innocent with me" And I lost control not knowing what had possessed me, because I obviously wasn't thinking when I lashed out slapping her face and hard. She stared at me shocked. Although, no more shocked than I was. Even then, I wasn't about to give her time to defend herself.

The longest day

"I always knew you hated us, my mom, my family, me, but to do this Leah, to have your boyfriend deliver Jacob to the Volturi, that's got to be an all time low, even for you" I wasn't expecting her response

"What do you mean, I don't understand, where's Jacob, where's Eli, I haven't seen either of them and I can't hear Jacob" She really did look scared. Then I realised, she was being honest, she really was totally unaware of what had happened, unaware of all the horrible details, and I watched her demeanour change in front of my eyes; suddenly turning from the happy carefree person she had become since meeting Eli, to the demoralised mess, now standing in front of me

"NO, NO" she cried as she dropped to the ground "how could I have been so stupid, why didn't I see he was using me? How could he love someone like me?" she sobbed at which point I believe I had actually watched her heart breaking in front of my very eyes. It was soul destroying, as she cradled her tear sodden face in her hands. I felt dreadful, appalled at my presumptions, and then more so by my behaviour, and I pulled her into my arms

"I'm so, so, sorry Leah, forgive me, please" I begged as I cradled her. She said nothing, but then she placed her arms around me, which then triggered my tears and we both knelt, crying uncontrollably embracing one another.

I wasn't sure how long we had held one another for but, we had seemingly cried ourselves out of tears and I really had to go, my family were still waiting for me, I studied her for a moment

"Are you ok, will you be alright if I go now?" I asked her, genuinely concerned

"Yes thank you Ness" she snivelled "I'll be fine, but what will happen to Jake?" there was no hesitation to my answer

"We will go to Italy and rescue him of course" I looked at her as if she should have already known that "We will let you know I promise" And I really meant it, it had appeared that we had managed a connect with one another, it was just a pity it came in such dire circumstances.

It was only a short walk from my house to theirs, but it was long enough to allow me time to think, and there was plenty to think about, there was the plethora of tactics acting out in my minds eye, bordered by thoughts of the consequences we would unquestionably incur due to the severity of our actions. We were all still compelled to go, even though we were under no illusion that this would be a one time event, and that the chances of us returning to Forks were slim, but to make it count, and to ensure our deaths would make a difference, the planning had to be meticulous, there was no margin for error we simply couldn't afford to get it wrong.

I had taken for granted who would be present in my family's house, assuming it could only be them, therefore I hadn't taken much notice of whom was predominantly talking amongst them. There conversation was a little muffled at first, although I was convinced I could hear an unfamiliar voice.

Double cross

I shrugged it off; but no, there it was again, surely my imagination had to be playing tricks on me, because….for one moment there, I couldn't be sure…but, I thought I heard…. Eli. I dismissed it of course, that simply wasn't possible. Then I stopped; and there it was again. I had heard right, it was his voice.

How dare he show his face around here after everything he's done? And why were my family entertaining him for that matter? It had triggered something inside me!

I didn't recognise myself, as my rage knew no bounds, my head no longer had control over my body and before I knew it I was already in their house, I'd past my family and had attached myself to Eli's throat.

He was now suspended, unceremoniously two foot from the ground, with his legs dancing the Tyburn jig. My left hand squeezed hard, not hard enough to kill him; but only because I didn't want that yet, nevertheless it was enough to severely obstruct his breathing. My right hand hovered above him, anticipating its descent as to when it should rip his head from his body. The next thing I knew I had cold hands touching mine, they shocked me at first, but then it initiated not only the comprehension to my behaviour, but the gravity of my actions. I was essentially fighting against my family, I had Edward, Emmet and Jasper each trying to pull me back, all struggling to release my grip from Eli.

Carlisle rushed behind Eli, that way he had eye contact with me, he knew he had to calm me down, and quickly too, Eli was gradually turning blue. Carlisle spoke softly to me, as he touched my arm gently, it seemed it was the last resort for Eli; it was the only way they had left to persuade me to let him go.

"Renesme…NESS…don't do this, you have to stop, please, remember who we are" But that didn't seem to be working at first, either

"Ness, he has a message from Jacob" The mere mention of his name and I automatically stopped, loosening my grip from his throat and he dropped to the floor, like a ton weight, choking and gasping for his breath. I turned to face my father with a look of either contempt or disbelief, I wasn't quite sure which, although, I could see it hurt him. He stepped back and touched my face and I instinctively lent my head into his hand for forgiveness.

As I calmed down I couldn't quite believe the ferocity in, which I had attacked him, and Leah for that matter. What was wrong with me today or more to the point, what the hell was happening to me. I felt so ashamed and prior to today I was hardly aware that I even had the propensity to such behaviour. My family on the other hand were stunned; they had just witnessed a very petite young lady with 'normally' not a wicked bone in her body, singularly, fend off not one but, three very strong male vampires, and baring that in mind the three still hadn't managed to release my hold on Eli. Edward then stepped up and with his usual appeasing manner; he was able to defer everyone's attention from me, and back to the situation at hand

"Eli has come back with a message from Jacob" Edward began

"Eli wouldn't have needed to if he hadn't taken him to the Volturi in the first place" I seethed "So forgive me if don't ingratiate him, won't you"

"That's not helpful Ness" Edward replied softly and I bowed my head

"No, its ok I deserve it" Eli croaked, his voice still a little guttural from my choking him

The longest day

"How do you know he's here to help us, and it's not just another ploy to take one of us, and how did he get to the house in the first place for that matter?" Edward once again feeling the necessity to explain to me

"He was waiting on the main road when he spoke to me, far enough away to escape if the need arose. He showed me Jacobs's message. He showed me everything, and I thought it only right that he be given the chance to come and explain himself, in person"

I scowled at Eli, waiting for his wonderfully fictive explanation. As he began

"I was sent by the Volturi to capture you" He pointed at me, as he rubbed his throat, and I blushed with embarrassment

"Over a year ago the Volturi persuaded two very renowned scientists to go and work for them, to create a serum that could interfere with the scent glands in wolves…in me. And, if the scientists were successful they would be turned, made immortal as their payment, and if they weren't successful …then they would die. I knew one of them was already terminally ill, therefore, he had nothing to loose"

"And the other one" I asked

"I'm not so sure about him, he rarely spoke" He rubbed his throat again, and I blushed some more

"Next, Aro had two of our pack members wives abducted and both were with child. The price for their lives and freedom was my father and I. Aro knew my father would never let them die in his place. So that's how and where we were held for they the best part of the subsequent year; and that's where my father remains still, along with Jacob. During that time they proceeded to experiment on me, day and night, until the formula was perfected, that along with my cranial implant and weeks of encoding" He touched his head as if he were in pain and I noticed probably for the first time just how weary he looked.

I felt sick, as my heart sank and his words ate into me; that had always been one of my biggest nightmares, the fear that either I or my family would be captured and tortured. He broke my train of thought as he continued

"I completed the mission they required of me… for my father to be freed. Although, I think I always knew that it was futile and that it would be irrelevant whether or not I succeeded in my mission, my father would die. As would I, avenging him"

There seemed to have been a lot of silences in this house over the last couple of days, but I supposed this one was as poignant as the one subsequent to Jacobs's disappearance.

"And, Jacobs message?" I asked quietly and with a lot more respect

"To find Edward, to tell him everything, he said you will know what to do, to help us devise an escape plan. Aro believes I'm here to fetch Renesme; it turns out that Jacob, can act. He convinced Aro anyway, with only a little help from me"

"So where do we go from here?" Bella interjected

"Ideally we could do with having someone on the inside, a collaborator to help us"

"Like that's going to happen" Carlisle mused, while, Edward looked deep in thought

"Actually, it might not be impossible" He smirked

"Bella, Alice, do you remember when you came to the Volterra to stop me from showing myself to the humans?"

Double cross

Bella shuddered

"As if we could forget, why what are you thinking Edward?"

"When you pleaded for my life, it triggered some memories in Aro. Marcus was married to Aro's sister?"

"Yes that's right, Didyme" Carlisle confirmed "Marcus was devastated when she died"

"That's just it Carlisle, that was the memory Bella triggered, I saw Didyme pleading for her life, she didn't just die, she was betrayed, murdered by Aro and Caius. I take it Marcus doesn't know the truth now does he, well what if he was to find out; do you think we would have an ally then?"

Carlisle was clearly shaken by the revelation, as he considered carefully

"This could work Edward, but he would need convincing" Carlisle nodded positively

"We need to get word to him, requesting that he meet with us in private. He needs to be assured that the information we have uncovered is not only genuine but it will change his life, and we cannot stress enough that any meetings we arrange must be held in the strictest of confidence, not just for our safety but for his as well.

"And then?" I asked

"Then we wait for his reply" Carlisle respond calmly

"Well, if we must exit this world it's only fitting that we do so trying to save an honorary member of our family" Edward uttered as he smiled at me

"And we should definitely go out in style" Just as he finished saying the word, there came an almighty bang on the door, instantly breaking everyone's concentration simultaneously, by startling them half to death.

"I'll get it" I announced, as I bounded out of the room and down the stairs. Where Sam, Paul and Leah were stood opposite me and through the glass door it was clear to see that both, Sam and Paul were every bit as distraught as Leah had been on receiving the news about Jacob. I invited them in, and surprisingly all three not only accepted but willingly followed me sombrely, up the stairs, not one of them appearing too bothered that they were about to be outnumbered, three to one, by vampires and totally out of their comfort zone.

I entered the room first, expecting to find a very nervous Eli, or maybe it was more gloating really, secretly wanting to see Leah so she could finish what I had started. Unfortunately Eli was no longer there, so I said nothing, but it was obvious that Edward had warned him of Leah's arrival and had subsequently given him an escape route.

Carlisle stepped forward to shake Sam and Paul's hands, and they reciprocate, Carlisle then turned an placed his hand affectionately on Leah's shoulder as he smiled at her sympathetically, and to everyone's surprise she neither cringed nor withdrew in order to avoid him. It was only then that it really registered to me, precisely how much Leah had been affected by Jacobs's abduction, but then he did have a habit of growing on you, so she was probably as surprised herself.

We offered them a seat, but they declined politely, it was clear they weren't totally at ease being surrounded by my 'family', not just yet anyway, not enough to completely let their guards down, but it was a start.

The longest day

Sam spoke first pulling no punches he went straight to the point

"Is it true what Leah told us?" Leah glared at him in disbelief. So Edward answered

"Well that all depends on what you've been told, Sam, doesn't it" Of course Edward knew fine well what Leah had told them, but he thought he'd make Sam say it, if only to pacify Leah's own indignation at Sam.

"Is it true that the Volturi have taken Jacob?" Sam reasoned a little less offensively this time

"I'm afraid so" Edward replied again.

"Where have they taken him, do we know?" His distress unmistakable

"Yes, he's in the Volterra, the Volturi's residence in Italy" Sam and Paul simply looked at one another

"Carlisle, be honest with us" Sam inquired "what are his chances of coming out alive?" Carlisle looked over at me, and I acknowledged him with one simple nod of my head, and he continued

"If we don't go to get him, he has no chance, the Volturi would never release a captured wolf, not a live one anyway, Jacob would simply become a statistic, one less werewolf to worry about. However, if we do go to get him…the chances of all of us coming out alive, are at best remote…and realistically? Nonexistent I'm afraid"

"So what will you do?" Sam asked curiously. This time I answered

"We will do exactly what I told Leah we were going to do earlier today, we will go to Italy and we will free him"

And there was that awful and uncomfortable silence again, where everyone briefly stared at each other, and nobody knew quite what to say or were exactly to go from here on. Eventually it was Sam that broke the silence.

"Is it wise to travel to Italy, to attack them in their own territory, wouldn't it be safer to fight them here?"

"NO, not at all, in fact, I believe it to be the shrewder of the two, to execute the exact opposite. By going to Italy we will have the element of surprise. They would never expect us to go there and confront them, especially during daylight! They cant leave the Volterra while the sun's up high and hot, this way we will pick them off one by one" I heaved a sigh of satisfaction at the thought of revenge, and smiled a broad grin of contentment to myself.

"How can you attack during sunlight, you'd be exposed straight away?"

Then Rose stepped in

"No, actually we won't, thanks to Renesme's hard work and ingenuity" However, she wasn't prepared to divulged any more than that; she obviously thought that on a need to know basis, they didn't need to know. Consequently, it left the three of them looking even more confused than it had in the first place, and wisely, they decided not to pursue that particular line of enquiry; the less they knew the less they could give away.

Leah stepped forward, as all eye's turned to her, she had been very quiet during this discussion, even though, out of the three of them, she had been the one to have lost the most, and it was time for her to intervene…

Double cross

"Seth should be pack leader in Jacobs absence but he's far to inexperienced yet, therefore, we have both agreed and formed a kind of coalition, we will both lead the pack, furthermore, the pack has also agreed 'unanimously' that we will travel with you when you leave for Italy"

"This is very dangerous Leah, we cannot guarantee your safety, and do you understand we will all probably die, we are outnumbered even with your pack"

"Then Carlisle, we will die with you, by your side fighting for what is right, fighting to free our chief" She replied and Carlisle nodded in acceptance as he smiled at her graciously. Sam then stepped forward

"I have also spoken to my pack and we also decided to accompany you and help rescue Jacob"

"You are all so very kind it means a lot to us…to me, and Jacob well, if he were here he'd be blown away by the enormity of your self sacrifice" I myself was moved by their selfless acts of kindness, and it chilled me to the bone to think that shortly anyone of us could be the one not returning home. I carried on talking, and quickly too before I started to cry again

"We're hoping to recruit an internal informant, but we cant rely on it, only time will tell, we just have to be a little patient with that one; but if we can get our hands on that pheromone inhibitor, well…that could be a game changer, none of you would be detected, it would gives us the edge and the Volturi wouldn't have a clue that there were wolves invading their precious mausoleum, the Volterra. Plus, the beauty of it all, they would die with us using their own creation. Mmm, now that really would be divine retribution wouldn't it?" I smiled again

"You've changed Ness" Leah proclaimed looking at me a little unsettled

"I know, the Volturi have seen to that" I spat bitterly "But you've changed too" I stated

"I have" she replied "And I have all of you to thank for that" She smiled. Then Paul's voice interrupted snarling from behind her

"Wow, back up a minute you two, I'm still stuck on the pheromone what?"

"You caught that then, ha" I couldn't help but smirk just a little, but Carlisle, being his kind, caring and diplomatic self, felt the need to explain. Yet again

"The Volturi employed …well more recruited really, two very distinguished scientists. Aro's plan was to come up with a method of suppressing wolves scent glands; his objective was to then send an undetectable intruder and infiltrate us. Us as in this family and you the wolves packs and it worked too" Carlisle glanced sympathetically over at Leah

"Eli was held captive for the best part of a year, he was tested, tortured, experimented on, or whatever you prefer to call it, and then he was sent here to kidnap Ness"

Leah looked at me, and then at Carlisle, and it was plain to see she was mortified. I hadn't informed her as to the details regarding Eli. I hadn't seen the point in distressing her anymore than she already was at the time, but now, I think that her hearing all the details in this way was repentant, it was so hard to watch as she tried to choke back her tears. I walked over to her and for the second time in one day, I held her as she emotionally fell to pieces

Double cross

"It wasn't his fault Leah, he underwent months of non stop experiments, mental torture and a brain implant to modify his thought process.

His motivation to comply was the imprisonment of his father, whom they still have as hostage"… 'What was I doing?' I couldn't believe I was defending Eli to her, but then, Leah was so sad, which only augmented my urge to pacify her.

"Are you telling me Eli is a wolf?" She quizzed

"He is" Carlisle replied "The Italian werewolf or the Lupo Mannaro as they are better known, are one of the oldest packs to have survived in Italy, they go way back…for centuries they always seemed to be one step ahead of the Volturi, well, in the days when the Volturi fought fare. Eli's father Josiah is their chief. And we will rescue him too"Leah looked ever more confused

"How do you know all this about him, he did take Jacob, didn't he?" She enquired curiously

"Yes he did, but he's returned, he's back in Forks. And, their plan to double cross the Volturi has began, as is the wish of Jacob, Josiah and Eli himself, and was only made possible by Jacob's apparent acting skills and Eli's ability to control his own thoughts"

Everyone gave a smile as they recognised it was definitely the kind of thing that Jacob would do. Everyone smiled, that was except Leah

"It means you will have to work with Eli, Leah do you think can you handle that?" I felt mean but I had to ask

"Yes of course I can" She retorted, although, I wasn't entirely convinced, and as I looked around the room it was plain to see that nobody else believed it either. So for the time being, we decided it would be best to keep them separated for a little while longer. Maybe when she'd had a little time to calm down and get her head around all this, she might actually be able to forgive him. It was a lot to take in, and all in one day, but I genuinely hoped that one day she could learn to forgive him, if only for her own sake.

All we could do for now was prepare for the messengers visit to Marcus, and believe me, that in itself was going to be no easy task, and as you can imagine it was impossible to decide who would be the best candidate to go, when more realistically we were looking at who would be the least likely to die, especially, as this mission was itself fraught with it's own dangers. If Marcus was unable to be convinced of the truth then we suspected that their chances to return home would be most unlikely.

It was vital that the message was not only coherent but that it contained enough information to convince Marcus that Edward had in fact read the situation through Aro's thoughts, and not by using Carlisle's extensive database of knowledge about any such incidents. Although, Carlisle was convinced that he had already left the Volturi long before any of this happened everything depended solely on whether Marcus believed them or not; then and only then would we be able to decide the appropriate plan of attack.

And so, temporarily there really was no more we could do but watch and wait.

The longest day

We had to be extremely cautious, watching for anything, everything, and anyone out of the ordinary to Forks. The chances of us being spied upon by the Volturi had just increased enormously.

Although I think we were at some level constantly aware of them scrutinizing our every move, even if it was from a far, as they had always had an unhealthy interest in us, but at least we had Alice's visions on our side not to mention the two wolf packs.

It was time to set the wheels in motion, all fully aware of the ramifications that our actions would initiate, but there was no turning back; we all knew we had effectively just sealed our own fate, and now the fate of the wolves. We shook hands with Sam, Paul and Leah as they left, while myself and my family were all totally in awed and indebted by their voluntary alliances with us.

As the eerie silence fell on our home once more we could hear the wolves as their howling filled the air, echoing from Washington, New Jersey, New Hampshire through to Maine, but it didn't end there, the howling carried on relentlessly for hours, relaying over to Iceland, the United Kingdom, then over to Switzerland and France and eventually ending in Italy with the Lupo Mannaro, they in turned howled to Josiah he turned to Jacob and smiled

"Jacob my boy, it has begun" And Jacob punched the air "Yes"

The longest day

Carlisle sat me down, adamant that we needed to talk and as usual he was followed in close pursuit by the entourage, but, that was me being petulant. I hadn't been feeling quite right just lately, and that was before Jacob had even been taken. I was being hateful to my family, for no reason, other than they were there, and in all fairness to them they only ever have my best interest at heart. Not that I would ever admit it to them, so to save a little face, I managed to shake my head at them, trying to show a little derision at the impending inquisition. As usual that achieved nothing except a fly by; as it went over their heads, which scarily included my mom. Just how long had she been a vampire anyway?

My mind wandered again and this time it must have been glaringly obviously that I wasn't listening to a thing they were saying, as I almost immediately stared out into space, but was quickly brought back to earth by a loud clap of hands

"Ness, concentrate this is important"

"What?" I jumped; startled as now I tried to remember if I'd done anything wrong.

Poor Carlisle, he'd obviously drawn the short straw again, the one nominated to do the talking, but then I suppose it made the most sense, he was the patriarch of the family and always composed

"You attacked Eli" He said gently

"I know, I was there" I replied, somewhat bolshie, but then regretted it, and tried hard to cover it up by making it sound light hearted. That hadn't worked either, as both my parents cut me an infuriated look, followed quickly by a harsh rendition of my 'full and your in trouble'name "Renesme"

"I'm sorry Carlisle that was uncalled for and rude of me" He shook his head and hand to dismiss it, and smiled at me

"The thing is Ness we've never seen you behave, let alone do anything like that before, and you were extraordinarily strong"

"I am? Mm, I suppose I was, maybe it was a one off thing. Umm maybe it was adrenaline, I've never really given it much thought to be honest with you Carlisle" But it made me stop and think

"We all want…No, we all need to see what your capable of; what your strengths and weaknesses are before we can let you fight" I'd never paid any mind to my capabilities before now, but then I couldn't remember a time in the passed when I'd ever been as angry as I was then either, and now the subject had been broached, I couldn't help but feel somewhat curious myself

"I think that's a good idea actually, when?"

"Now, it's as good a time as any and we don't have much time to prepare for the battle so shall we?" He gestured that we step outside, I nodded in compliance and we all sauntered off.

I felt a little stupid now, standing here like I was about to qualify for some important sporting event, but my family were right as usual, we really needed to know my capabilities and I needed to be aware of my limitations. I never used vampire time as a rule and never in front of my family for some reason, well not since I was a little girl, not until the Eli event, and come to think of it, only Jacob had been privy to that.

Cohesion

The fastest member of our family was Edward, without a doubt; in fact he was exceptionally fast, and it was for that reason and that reason alone, that it made perfect sense for me to run against him. Then if need be, I would work my way through each family member until I was matched with the equivalent speed.

So there we were my father and I, standing side by side waiting for the countdown we glanced at one another, each smiling, but for some reason I couldn't help but feel tense, although I wasn't sure why? Maybe it was because of the implications if I were incapable, nevertheless I felt my guard was down, hence allowing my dad to read my mind for the first time in ages, he winked at me and lovingly brushed my cheek, immediately leaving me at ease

"Three, two, one, go" And off we went, running through the woods and along the all to familiar route to my parents meadow, I was constantly anticipating his imminent speed increase to over take me, but we were neck and neck all the way and as hard as he tried he couldn't pass me.

I'd shocked myself, I wasn't out of breath nor had I broken a sweat, in fact I felt so comfortable with our current speed I looked over at my dad and cheerfully smiled at him. We ran past the largest of the trees, which had been our goal point, and suddenly we were on our way back to the house. Though, this wasn't showing me my limitations and it was obvious to me that I could increase my speed, so I decided to crank it up a notch or two, I glanced at my dad again, this time challenging him

"Catch me if you can" I sang, and I took off, with my speed increasing tenfold.

I managed to reach my family by a whole minutes and a quarter before Edward appeared, and believe me in vampire time that's a lot. It was also a very rare occurrence therefore; I couldn't resist goading him sardonically, I stood with my arms crossed, looking at my watch and tapping my foot

"Hi, Dad, I'm so glad you could make it" My families' faces were a picture

They were all totally dumb founded, and my mom had actually believed that my dad had let me win so as not to hurt my feelings, until he'd returned that is. Then it was hard to say whether he was really proud of me as his daughter or really pissed off because I was faster than him, personally I think it was a bit of both. Although none of which concerned Carlisle, as he had immediately took hold of his stethoscope and listened to my heart. As his greatest fear had been that my heart wouldn't be able to cope with that amount of exertion being forced on it, in order to circulate the necessary amount of blood it needed to sustain the body, but, yet again, my body had defied all the odds, my heart rate had hardly increased at all.

Next came the test I'd been looking forward to the most, my upper body strength and of course it went without saying or even the need to ask, just who was going to be first up for this challenge. As Emmett stepped forward for his legendary arm wrestle the settings were exactly the same as when my mom had been tested as a new born. Emmett appeared excitedly from the woods, and carrying the largest slab of rock I think I'd ever seen; god knows where he'd got it from. I watched it fall as he dropped it directly between us, then I looked up at him again, raising my eye brow and smirking

"Our bench, I take it?"

"That's right sweet cheeks, are you ready?"

The longest day

He smiled at me, as the rest of the family goaded him, and his absolute requisite to always conquer, while I received all of the affectionate motivation.

I tried really hard not to giggle, but then he gave me his cheesy grin and I couldn't hold it in any longer, I couldn't help but giggle, the more serious he became the more I laughed. His face was stern as he shook his head at me, but when it came to his muscles it was no laughing matter, he genuinely took his physical strength way to seriously.

I took a deep breath to compose myself, then another, now we were both serious, as we stood opposite one another our left arms behind our backs, our right arms bent, elbow to elbow on the rock surface, and our hands were firmly clenched together as we stared into each others eyes, he reiterated again

"Are you ready for this sweet cheek?" I cleared my throat with a small cough

"Absolutely Uncle Emmett, bring it on" As we heard all the women simultaneously say

"Oooh, you go girl"

Then came the countdown

"Three, two, one, go" Emmett immediately started to push down, and I could definitely feel it, but it wasn't making any real impact and I hadn't even started to push back yet. Slowly I let him push my arm towards the rocky surface, I certainly didn't want to entirely emasculate him, well, not straight away anyhow. Although, my conscience had also urged me not to give him too much false hope either, so I decided to put him out of his misery.

I pursed my lips and with a small sardonic smile, I looked at him

"Uncle Emmett"

"Yeah…sweet…cheeks" He gasped

"I'm sorry, but this has to be done"

He glimpsed up at me, with exertion etched on his face, and I mercilessly slammed his arm down with force, which instantly broke a large chunk off the rock formation. Bless him, he never stood a chance, and I could tell he was mortified, so I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. I looked up then turned to face everyone, and Rose was laughing hysterically

"Oh, Emmett" He turned and frowned at her dolefully

"Babe, please" He whined, which didn't help his cause one little bit

"Would anybody else like to have a go, I'll use my weak arm if you like?" I invited mockingly, and was shocked when Uncle Jasper came forward "Really?" I asked

"And why not Missy" He huffed in his very southern twang; I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head "No, no reason" I mused.

Then Emmett stepped forward, very insistent that he deserved another try

"I knew I didn't have hold of your hand properly" He said indignantly, not thinking it through at just how sulky he sounded, nor the level of teasing he was about to get because of it

"You want more Uncle Emmett?" I tormented, but happy to accommodate

"I'll tell you what, I'll take both of you on at the same time, one on each hand and that way it will give you both a fighting chance" I giggled again

Cohesion

"Bring it on, sweet cheeks"

Huffed Emmett who was already in the poised position and ready to roll I stepped forward taking the stance once again, Emmett took a tight hold of my right hand, which was the stronger of the two, and then Jasper clasped my left hand, both blissfully unaware that I had no intention of toying with them, not this time

"Do you both have hold of my hands properly?" I emphasised 'the properly' especially for Emmett, although they both affirmed indignantly

"Carlisle can you count down please"

"Three, two, one, go" And that was it over, immediately I smacked both hands down, both were defeated, and all within two seconds. I raised my hands with a victorious punch in the air, jumping at the same time "Yes" This was accompanied by the women in my family, but needless to say there was a lot of dropped jaws; while I, was really getting in to the feel of things, and had become quite excited by the thought of my next trial

"What else shall I do Carlisle?"

"Well how far do you think you could go Ness?"

"Truthfully Carlisle, I haven't a clue, but right now all I can say is I feel empowered; like nothing before, and if I were to be honest, I don't think we've nearly touched on my true strengths, I think I could do more, much, much, more"

"I think your right" Carlisle agreed, and I could tell he was considering what the next challenge should be

"We could do a grip test I have a dynamometer, but you'll easily exceed that, the same with any endurance tests we could perform"

"Is this normal Carlisle?" I asked when, strangely he turned to Jasper

"What do you think Jasper?" This only left me more confused, but surprisingly Jasper answered him

"I think it's extremely possible Carlisle, and to me it's the only plausible explanation"

"What is Jasper? Carlisle" They seemed to be quickly turning my empowerment into despondency

"Ness we will do a couple more tests then I will give you our conclusion ok?" I agreed, but it wasn't like I had much of a choice anyway

Carlisle appeared from his house as quickly as he had entered and was brandishing two dynamometers

"You need to squeeze this, then we'll check the results" So as requested I squeezed and straight away the mechanism broke, I handed it back to him

"Sorry, Carlisle"

"It's ok, I had expected that"

As he handed me the other one, which seemed far superior, it was a lot heavier for a start and even the Kg meter was vastly larger, I studied Carlisle's face and then squeezed

"Well it didn't break" I announced as I handed it back to him, although, I was unsure whether that was a good or bad thing. He took the dynamo from me and pondering momentarily over the reading, he showed it to Jasper.

The longest day

"Ness did you squeeze hard or just normally?"

"Just a fraction harder than normal, but I can squeeze a lot harder if you like" I replied "Why?" But he ignored the question

"There's just one more thing I want you to do, ok" I nodded

"I want you to take the two heaviest of us, one on either side, and then throw us as far as you possibly can

"Really" I wasn't so sure about this, it seemed an absurd request, but I concurred

"Ok, you're the boss; so it's probably Emmett and either you Carlisle or Edward" With that Emmett automatically stepped forward, followed by both Edward and Carlisle

"I'll do it Edward" Carlisle insisted, I want to feel the power for myself, that way I can ascertain the force utilized, Edward agreed and stepped back. Carlisle and Emmett now stood in front of me for my last test, and both were at ease, more than could be said for me

"You can push us as far back as possible, or if you prefer and feel strong enough you can lift and throw, whatever is more comfortable for you, the last thing I want is for you to hurt yourself by exceeding your capabilities ok" He smiled at me

"Ok Carlisle don't worry" I semi bent and put my right leg back a bit further for better stability and stance, then I took a hold of their tops one in each hand

"Say when your ready" Carlisle announced

"And you two as well, you both need to be ready ok" They both gave a quick forward nod "Right" I took a deep breath in "Carlisle count down please" I inhaled another twice and big breaths, then I felt them both leaning forwards, and into my hands

"Three, two, one, go" And they did, I threw them both simultaneously and they flew, upwards and outwards, by at least twenty five meters.

They looked so graceful, everything was in unison just like a professional trapeze act, they even landed at the same time, both went on to their right knee supported by their left fists clenched, they looked up at me and both smiled and all in unison, as they stood up I felt an urge to clap my hands for their performance. This was it for me judgment time, Carlisle stood next to Jasper as everyone gathered round, Carlisle looked at me

"Now Ness you understand that we can't know the exact answer, not for sure, because there simply aren't enough of you to analyse accurately"

"I understand that Carlisle" I confirmed

"Well Jasper and I are in agreement, but I need to explain, newborns are immeasurably strong, we all know this. It's because their blood lingers in their bodies, but this only lasts for about a year. You are far stronger than any newborn that, either I or Jasper has ever come into contact with, and we think it's because your blood pumps around your body continuously, and therefore blood constantly re-nourishes and rejuvenates your muscles and internal organs. So instead of your human half causing you susceptibility to weakness and pain, it has in fact accomplished the contrary, by making you infinitely strong. Jasper and I have also studied the test results, and calculations compared to a normal vampire that is, and the amount of physical strength you've used to achieve each task, we've estimated that you have the force of around four male vampires. Ness, your power is of an unprecedented magnitude, and unique just like you" He smiled lovingly

Cohesion

"Wow" This was huge news and totally surreal, I couldn't help but wonder if their findings were erroneous, I mean were they really talking about me, the same person, who only two days ago had been sweet, meek and mild.

As for my family they were both ecstatic and shocked, at the same time, but my parents in particular were very proud. I however, just stood myself, in a stunned silence, being hugged and kissed by everyone, but even that played out in slow motion.

Slowly though it all started to sink in, my test results had confirmed one thing; one very key thing, my powers had allowed me to travel to Italy and confront the hostile, narcissistic, Volturi, and it was this news, and this alone that gave me the smile on face and a deep satisfaction in my heart.

"It's time to think Edward, we need to know every last piece of information, anything and everything you can remember if this is to work" Stated Carlisle

"My thoughts are disorderly at best Carlisle" Stated Edward, as he looked deep in contemplation, "I need to think, I need to get it right, otherwise it's pointless, but it all seems a life time ago now" Though gradually it had started to trickle back

"I saw Aro and Caius in the Volterra's atrium, but I couldn't see Marcus in the picture, he was nowhere to be seen. They were conspiring…something about Aro's sister…but for the rest of that particular conversation I can't quite discern it, and I won't hazard a guess" Then Edward paused, still looking as if he was in a trance like state; he continued

"Then Bella cried out, a soul destroying scream, she was pleading for them to kill her instead of me" He shivered as he recalled the events of that day, while the rest of my family including me, turned to look at Bella, it appeared they hadn't included that information in their original story. Edward interrupted the gaze

"It was that pleading that triggered Aro's additional thoughts, it reminded him of his sister pleading for her own life"

Edward visualized it just as Aro would have heard and seen it

"She's crying, please Aro don't do this, why would you want to harm me? She was staring at him; her eyes tear sodden and betrayed. Please Aro, I am your sister does this mean nothing to you? His reply was callous, sadistic; yes Didi I know. Your gifts such a disappointment However, I was willing to excuse them, but now you want to leave the Volterra and take Marcus with you. Tut, tut, tut, he waves his index finger in her face, she pleads again 'I promise you, we wont leave, we'll stay with you at the Volterra' she cried. His reply, cold

'Ah if only I could believe you'" Edward shook his head a little, as he came back to us

"That's how I saw it, there's probably more, but like I said it was a long time ago what do you think Carlisle?"

"We may need more, I'm not sure, but that alone paints quite the picture doesn't it, it's fairly in-depth. Besides we have no choice in the matter Edward, we have to try. The next question is who do we send?" I immediately stood up, and was immediately told to sit back down

The longest day

"Why?" I snapped, scornfully

"Sometimes Renesme for an intelligent girl you can be very stupid" I glared over at my dad

"Think about it" He insisted

"Eli was sent here to take you for ransom in the first place" I blushed with embarrassment, I had genuinely forgotten about that, so much had happened between then and now, I could hardly keep up. I acknowledged him with a silent and affirmed nod. That's when Carlisle stood up to speak

"There are two Volturi, both of whom I've know well and for more years than I care to remember, their names, Xander and Cain. They are not well known by anyone other than the Volturi, and they've always kept themselves inconspicuous, but I've kept in touch and have spoken with them on many occasions in the past and after leaving the Volturi. Both remain unbiased, their loyalties lying with neither myself nor Aro, even during the Renesme hostilities. However, Cain is the one I trust implicitly and it is he who has agreed to deliver our letter to Marcus. The letter is to be left at the hotel reception, where he will pick it up and similarly redeliver any reply that Marcus may send"

"Aren't you the dark horse" Rose giggled "But we're still no nearer to knowing who the lucky rep is?"

"Well we know it cant be Alice, Aro has wanted her gifts for a long time now, and I fear that since he's discovered Bella's gift that she's on his most wanted list as well, so there's three we cant risk sending straight away"

"And it's pointless you going Carlisle he won't believe anything that he hears from you"

"And the same with you Edward, he'll think you're making it up to avenge Aro's attempt at abducting Ness"

"Wow, this list of unsuitable candidates seems to be increasing rapidly" I added "Anyway, I thought we weren't going to see the Volturi, just Marcus?"

"We are, but we also need to be shrewd and cover our backs, what if Marcus sets a trap?"

Stupidly 'again' I hadn't thought of that, "Will he Carlisle?" I asked anxiously, already sensing that unwelcome, agitated, sick feeling beginning to creep slowly from my stomach to my mouth. It was that repetitive nightmare back again, overwhelming my thoughts. The capture, the experiments, I took deep breaths trying to gain control of my panic, and willing it to subside. I may have the physical strength of four vampires, but I almost certainly hadn't their mental endurance. I tried my best to conceal my weakness in front of everyone although, I knew I hadn't succeeded, but they were all to kind to mention it. Then it was Emmett's turn to stand up

"I'll go" He snapped, but Carlisle quickly cut in

"No, I think he may see you as a threat, you can come across quite intimidating sometimes and that's the last thing we want" Emmett smiled as he chose to see that as a compliment "That's cool Carlisle" He answered

"But were running out of people that we can send there" I stated

"I think it would be better if Rose or Esme were to go, they would appear far less menacing"

Cohesion

It was quiet as everyone contemplated, because the magnitude of the task was huge, it wasn't just a meeting with Marcus, this could be construed as treason, and we all knew the consequences imposed for that. Then Rose stepped in

"I'll go" She offered with a half smile, half frown

"I haven't been to Italy in years"

As Rose went to board the plane it was evident that everyone's mood suited the weather inestimably, overcast and miserable. Emmett took one long last hold of her hugging her tightly and kissing her adoringly

"It's all going to be fine, you're going to be fine" He assured

"I'll phone you later and we'll be there ourselves in two days" He whispered once more. She hugged him back tightly, not wanting to let go, she couldn't remember the last time that she and Emmett had been apart. She released him and giving him a last kiss on his cheek, she proceeded to climb the stairs, slowly, begrudgingly, as though she'd suddenly changed her mind, wishing she hadn't offered to go in the first place. She stopped in the door opening, and turned, offering a forced and non convincing smile; she gave another wave, and then disappeared inside.

It was both clear and understandable, that Emmett was upset, although he tried hard to disguise it. So my mom and I took a hold of Emmett's arms, as I goaded him ruthlessly about his feeble attempt at our arm wrestling, and trying hard to distract him. Anything, to stop him thinking about Rose, and I think in the end we'd covered it pretty well, as I talked incessantly, but whether it had worked or even helped for that matter we really had no idea.

Unfortunately, none of us could be certain as to how Marcus would react to the news or if he would even meet with Rose in the first place. Not even Alice had envisaged that answer yet, but I was worried, we all were, and everything depended on this. On Rose

It was late by time the plane landed, and her transfer car with chauffeur was ready and waiting to drive her to the hotel. The warmth was nice, she closed her eyes and lifted her head with appreciation, as though her cold flesh was about to absorb it. She hadn't felt heat like this in years and she had clearly missed it.

The chauffeur distracted her nostalgia, as he opened the car door for her

"Madame" He smiled as he indicated for her to enter the back of the vehicle, and it's very plush, spacious seat.

"Mmm" She almost felt torn, wanting to remain there, trying to recollect that long lost feeling of being a human in its heat, but she knew it was impossible and so returned to her task at hand. As she acknowledged the chauffeur politely, but it was unwillingly that she left the night's warm air.

It wasn't long before they pulled up outside the hotel and the driver chivalrously walked around, opening the car door for Rose to clamber out. He then handed her luggage from the boot of the car to the porter, and she thanked him once again. The hotel was sleek, modern and of a considerable size, which had been the primary reason behind booking it.

The longest day

One vampire amongst five hundred humans, all busily coming and going would merely blend into insignificance.

Rose headed over to the reception to collect the key for her room, while at the same time placing a letter in her mail box, ready for the arrival of its courier.

The porter then proceeded to escort Rose to the very lavish, rooftop suite, where he placed her luggage on the bed and proceeded to show her a couple of the plush amenities; like the Jacuzzi bath, and the built in TV at the foot of her bed, he then considerately inquired as to her needs from room service, she declined appreciatively, and tipping him generously, she then bade him a goodnight.

The first thing she wanted to do was open the sliding doors, allowing herself to once again, be immersed in the warmth and humidity; it was such a stark contrast to the air conditioning, that even her cold, insensible flesh, could appreciate it. Secondly she started to run herself a very hot and much needed Jacuzzi bubble bath, and while it ran she retrieved the cell phone from her bag, jumped into the middle of the extremely large, sumptuous bed and dialled Emmett's number. And, as she waited for him to answer, all she could envision was how perfect this evening would be if he were lying there beside her.

Emmett's Cell rang and his face lit up like a Christmas tree, we certainly didn't need to guess very hard who was on the other end of the line, as he promptly disappeared into their bedroom. We'd also concluded that her demeanour must have altered significantly since boarding the plane, because when Emmett finally emerged after some considerable length of time it was obvious that he was back to his usual and jovial self.

He headed towards Carlisle, smirking as he offered him the cell

"Carlisle, Rose wants you" Emmett then gave her another warm goodbye and handed the phone over to Carlisle

"Carlisle, I'm in suite 609 and I've left the letter in my mailbox ready for him to pick up"

"Thank you Rose, I'll message him now, and hopefully Marcus will reply before daylight; but keep us informed if there are any sudden developments ok"

"Of course" She relied. Then after a short discussion of the normal pleasantries she ended the call, and not wanting to wallow in her loneliness, she took herself off to luxuriate in her 'now' extremely bubbly Jacuzzi.

Rose flicked through the TV channels, rather erratically and definitely impatiently, she couldn't believe that the majority of the channels were in Italian; it was a language she hadn't really cared for, and consequently she lacked the proclivity to learn it.

The reasoning behind this she believed was due to the Volturi loving both the language and the country so much. Although, she had to admit, that up to now it seemed to be growing on her as well.

However, it was precisely at times like this, when she wished more than anything, that she could place her head on the incredibly sumptuous pillows and simply fall asleep, just once more, and if only to pass the time away.

Cohesion

The whole night; as with the journey, was full of so many uncertainties, with the exception of one, of which she was absolutely positive, that it was going to be a very long night.

She eventually found a very cheesy film channel and left it on for background noise, 'at least it was American cheese' she thought to herself, and she could understand what they were saying. And more importantly, she didn't feel alone. She missed Emmett; in fact she missed all of her family, and far more than she ever imagined she would.

She walked back out onto the balcony, taking in the warm night air once again, it felt so intoxicating, along with the sound of the crickets scraping their wings, creating that unmistakable chirping noise, she closed her eyes momentarily, enhancing symptomatic thoughts of the tropics.

Rose must have stood on the balcony for hours, listening, watching the comings and goings of both the clientele and staff, all going about their business. Slowly she began to realize that the surrounding homes were all turning off their lights and retiring to their beds. And although, she could have stayed on the balcony a lot longer, she decided it was best to follow suit, and she also retreated to her bedroom.

Rose, lay on the bed, her head melting into the deluxe pillow; and instinctively she closed her eyes, as she allowed her mind to wander, surprising herself, at just how relaxed her body was. It had been years since she'd felt this comfortable, her days now were always filled with family and, her nights… well, they were always blissfully full of Emmett. Although… 'Mmm'she could definitely get use to this me time; it was a small piece of tranquil heaven. Then her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a very loud thud on the door, so loud it made her jump, literally, and within a second she had opened the door.

Stood in front of her was a very tall 'about six foot four' man, he had mousey brown hair and soft features, he was wearing sun glasses, and so she automatically presumed he had that all familiar tint of scarlet red in his eyes and, even though she hadn't seen them, it was all too obvious that he was a vampire; she only hoped it was Cain

"I'm sorry to trouble you at this late hour Miss, but Marcus insisted that his reply were given to you in person" Rose was a little shocked, and it must have shown, she really had been far more relaxed than she originally thought.

"Thank you" She reached out and took a hold of the note "Does he want me to reply now?" She enquired

"Preferably, if it is convenient, however, you can contact me through Carlisle, if you would rather" Then it dawned on her, Marcus was testing the water, making sure it was only her there. She opened the letter carefully; it had been sealed with red wax, which had in turn appeared to have been stamped with his personalised stamp.

Rose continued to read

100

The longest day

Miss Rose Cullen,

I cannot imagine

What information you hold that could possibly have

Any Influence on me, and certainly not enough for me

To alter my life, however, you have unquestionably gained

My attention, therefore, I will be happy to meet with you

So please name the time and place and return your message

To Cain for it's safe keeping

Regards

Marcus

"You're Cain?" Rose affirmed. He nodded silently

"I'm so sorry I'm being very rude, please come in, you can wait while I write my reply? Yes" And obediently he followed her into the lounge

"Are there any cafés in this area?" She questioned

"Directly at the bottom of this hill, we use it sometimes when the need arises; they are very tolerant of our kind in there"

"It sounds perfect, we'll meet there then" And she set to work scribbling her reply.

Marcus,

Thank you for taking the time

Out of your busy schedule to listen to me

It is very much appreciated. Cain has informed

Me of the small and accepting café a short distance

From my hotel I hope that later today about twelve noon will

Be suitable for you, I will be seated outside awaiting your arrival

Regards'

Rose Cullen

"Thank you Cain, for doing this it means a lot to us, to Carlisle" And with that she handed her reply back to him, he said nothing, but once again he nodded, only this time in recognition, but still in silence. Rose smiled at him

101

Cohesion

"Until noon then" She walked him to the door, politely opening it for him. He smiled graciously and in a flash he was gone.

And, without second guessing she immediately picked up her cell and messaged Carlisle with the details of their impending meeting.

Only now it was all happening, it suddenly became very real, and she couldn't help but feel those nervy twangs of trepidations. For all she knew it could be a trap, maybe she was being lured to her own end; but then she thought about Ness, her niece, whom she adored as if she were her own, and the thought of her being harmed, well; Rose shook her head and shivered, it simply didn't dare thinking about.

So Rose slowly walked back into the bedroom and opened her case, pulling out Renesme's creation 'Revamp'she stared at the tub momentarily, and then began applying it, methodically, over every inch of her body that could potentially come into contact with the sun. It only took seconds to dry, but that was long enough for Rose to contemplate its effectiveness. She knew this was going to be the real test, her sitting out in the hot midday sun. And, if it didn't work, she would have violated their secrecy laws, and she was as good as dead anyway, whether or not she met with Marcus, she kissed the tub for luck, then dwelled on it no more.

It was eleven forty five, when Rose emerged from her hotel, the heat hitting her as she made her way through the big glass doors and down the hill to the café.

However, she had decided to be brave and had only donned a short, strappy, summer dress with sling back sandals of a matching colour. So if 'Revamp' didn't work it was all about to fail spectacularly.

At first she didn't dare look at her skin, but then two hotel guests passed her, smiling and offering a very friendly good morning and she automatically relaxed.

And of course she replied hospitably as she carried on walking, but it was only then she mustered up the courage to check both her arms and legs. No twinkling diamonds. She squealed excitedly under her breath as she suddenly felt euphoric, and immeasurably liberated, so by the time she reached the café she had a decidedly joyful spring in her step.

Twelve noon, and as she had stated in her message to Marcus; Rose was indeed sitting outside the café, enjoying the warmth, blissfully awaiting his arrival. She still couldn't believe it; that this was all actually happening, and so much so she occasionally she would rub her arm to check that it wasn't about to melt and wipe away. She grinned to herself, she'd even applied a small amount of blusher and lipstick that morning, and she really did feel almost human again. Then her attention was distracted as a very large black car pulled up along side the café, its windows were also tinted black so it was impossible to see in, but Rose was under no illusion as to whom the passenger in this car was.

Marcus stepped out of the car and was immediately shaded by a parasol held over him by Cain; Rose stood up and offered him her hand to shake by way of greeting him. She could tell instantly by his expression that he wasn't use to this kind of contact, but graciously he took a hold of her hand anyway and shook.

102

The longest day

Marcus studied her for a second, realising something wasn't quite right, although it didn't take long for it to became apparent, she was stood in direct sunlight, uncovered, and no iridescent skin, and she knew instantly what he was thinking

"I'll explain everything Marcus, shall we" As she smiled and waved her hand offering him to walk in side, but Cain stepped in front of them both and held the door open for the two of them. Rose had only one thought now and that was 'This is it, its show time'.

They took their seats to the rear of the café, there were no windows there, and it was a quiet, secluded corner, away from any potentially prying eyes. Rose took her seat opposite Marcus, she liked to see the face of whomever she was talking to, but this face was sad, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him, as she feared her news was about to make him a whole lot sadder.

Marcus looked at Rose and tried hard to smile, but he hadn't quite managed it; not sincerely anyway, because all Rose managed to see was a more pained expression on his face, but she was there for a reason, and she decided it was time to initiate their conversation. She cleared her throat

"You must be wondering how my skin wasn't glowing, I saw you were intrigued?"

"Yes, I must admit I am somewhat curious, I find it quite bizarre"

"It's a new compound created for us Cullen's by Renesme; Edward and Bella's daughter? My niece"

"Ah yes" He replied drolly "I know that name only too well, she must be very clever"

"Oh yes, she is, we're all very proud of her" Rose could tell he wasn't really interested

"Mm, as interesting as all this is, I must insist we get down to the matter at hand, I don't want to be missed by Aro"

"Of course, I'm sorry Marcus, I didn't mean to waist your time" She replied sweetly, but she was struggling to remain polite, especially, as she was usually so outspoken.

In fact she was renowned for it. She counted to ten, human time, as she remembered the tales Carlisle had told about the Volturi's intolerance and un-forgivingness; at least she had taken note of that. And so she began

"Before I tell you what I know, I will first explain how I know it, is that ok?" She asked politely

"Very well" He replied, exhaustedly

"Some years ago Edward came to see you 'the Volturi' to plead that you end his life"

"Edward, ahh, yes I remember" His voice again answering wearily

"Well as you already know, Edward, as with Aro, can read minds"

Marcus remained silent, but he now stared at Rose, intently, and she studied him back

"Marcus I will not lie to you, and I will not beat around the bush. What I have to tell you isn't pleasant; it's about your wife"

Marcus sat upright, and his expression changed completely

"Be careful Rose; choose your next words very carefully"

She felt slightly panicked, but knew she had no choice but to continue, this was after all the entire reason for her being here

"Your wife didn't die the way you were led to believe"

He interjected abruptly

"And I suppose you do?"

103

Cohesion

"Marcus…I trust Edward with my life, he wouldn't lie, he has no need"

And there was a pregnant pause

"You were told that she was slaughtered by wolves, yes?"

"I was told this; and she was killed this way, I saw her ravaged body"

"Forgive me, but no, she was delivered to two captive wolves; and they earned their freedom by killing her and never divulging this information to anyone"

"Who…who took her to die, everybody loved her"

"No, you'd think, but not everyone, her brother Aro tolerated her for your sake; it was Aro and Caius who took her"

Marcus raged

"You talk treason to me young Rose, she was his sister, and he would never have harmed her"

"I can assure you Marcus he did, Edward saw it all, and he watched your wife pleading for her life. To her brother, he told her how she was a disappointment and, she couldn't be allowed to take you away from them, so you see; he planned it, and they both executed it, Aro and Caius" There was silence and Rose couldn't be sure if he still raged or if he was in shock

"Everything you've told me could have been initiated by Carlisle, maybe to reap revenge on Aro, and his kidnapping attempts. However, I have no intention of being made the scapegoat and put in the centre of their feuds"

"Why would he, you know as well as I do, that Carlisle would never do anything like that"

Marcus knew deep down she was right, but he cared to ignore her, and stood up ready to walk towards the door. Rose knew this couldn't happen, if he walked out know, then they were all as good as dead. Then, she remembered something else that Edward had told her, even though, he thought it would be of no consequence

"Did you get her message Marcus?" She asked wryly

He stopped, and slowly he turned to face her once again

"What message?" He enquired

"Your wife asked Aro to give you one last message, did he?"

"I received no messages from anyone, why would I when Aro did not kill her, what was this message supposed to be?"

Rose stood up as she prepared to leave herself

"It was 'Es Tu Cor'" And, suddenly Marcus froze, he closed his eyes tight as he clutched the medallion that hung from his neck, a medallion that until this moment in time had meant everything to him, his Volturi elder pendant

"How could he, she was his sister" The distress in his voice now unambiguous

"Can I ask you Marcus what does it mean?" Rose whispered to him

"It means, you… you…are my…heart" His voice breaking, he was clearly suffering

"Oh no, I'm sorry, I know the Latin translation, but it obviously means so much more then that to you, can you say?"

He sat back down, holding his head in his hands. With that she walked to him placing her hand on his shoulders to comfort him

"It was a private thing between Didi and me.

104

The longest day

Nobody, and I mean nobody, knew of this. She would always tell me 'she didn't need a heart to beat inside her, as I was the only heart she would ever need"

It was clear to see he was in shock, and Rose was very apologetic, but she wasn't really sure what she could say to him that would make him feel any better.

Her thoughts, however, were far more pragmatic, her grey matter mentally performing the conga, 'thank god it was mentioned, because due to those three words, she now believed quite confidently, that they had just provided their family with their inside collaborator'.

Marcus looked up at her, but this time his typically sombre and vacant eyes had gone, they had been replaced instinctively with irreverence and vengeance, his despondency now gone for good. He coldly demanded

"Tell me what do you need from me Rose?"

Forks present time

Everyone had once again congregated up at the big house, all waiting for Alice's visions to materialize in order to monitor Marcus's decisions. Although, I had to admit we looked more like we were loitering with intent. One or two of us paced, and some of us chattered, unremitting, and incoherent babble. Basically, we were saying and doing anything to pass the time away. Whereas, poor Alice, she could hardly move before we'd all stare at her, still and silent, like we were playing musical statues. The whole room was filled with a cornucopia of pent up frustration, with all of us near ready to burst by time the meeting was due to take place. However, it came round all too soon, and our tensions heightened.

Then there it was, that all familiar expression that adorned Alice's face, as she watched Marcus beginning to leave the café "He's really angry"

She looked at us disheartened, and shaking her head from side to side

"He doesn't believe her; he's blaming you Carlisle, he's accusing you of fabricating malicious lies to suit your own end" Edward was now clearly enraged. He'd emphatically seen the whole graphic scenario play out in Aro's mind

"How can Marcus be so stupid? So naïve, so blinkered"

Even Carlisle appeared hurt as he spoke

"We will have to inform Sam and Leah, that there will be no serum, and if they come with us to Italy, we cannot guarantee their safety. In fact, their chances of survival could be the same as ours, slim to none"

The atmosphere in the room was now depleted, and at an all time low, as was, our moods. No one could speak any reassuring words for one another, and there wasn't a thing you could say to restore confidence either, let alone consider the best way forward.

We all stood stony faced, and void of conversation, when Alice, was hit with another vision; as once again quiet and uncertainty hit the room, even Alice had appeared bewildered at first

"Rose is about to leave the café, she's stopped abruptly, she's remembered something Edward said"

Edward smiled, as he knew exactly what Rose was about to say.

105

Cohesion

Alice continued "Rose wants to retest the water, she wants see if there's any reaction, she calling out to Marcus 'Es Tu Cor'. Oh my… that seems to have paid off" And Alice smiled at us "I think Rose has just conscripted our defector guy's. It appears Marcus will help after all"

We all smiled with a heavy sighs of relief, there was even a couple of very hushed Yeses, we were all as happy as could be expected; it was our small victory, but we still had to face our very strong and gifted enemies, we still had to fight our war.

Carlisle had just finalised the travel arrangements; Sam and Leah's packs were to make their own way to the airport; if indeed, they still wanted to go, but once there we would all meet up, and fly to our final destination together. It made perfect sense as we had a jet at our disposal, but it was only used for those 'if and when' needed occasions, to which, these circumstances unquestionably counted as such.

It had been decided that Eli, was to travel with us for the entire duration of the journey, for his own safety more than anything else. The other reason was I wanted to keep him precisely, where I could see him at all times, because no matter how much I tried, I still couldn't completely trust him. Then of course there was the added worry of Leah and Eli's reunion, I couldn't help but be concerned about it, as it was to be their first encounter with one another since Jacobs abduction. And, Leah was another one who was prone to be totally unpredictable, therefore, just because Leah had promised to behave herself, it actually meant that there was no guarantee she would do it.

The journey to the airport was quiet and to such a point it bordered on awkward, but the drive itself was smooth, uneventful, and in another sense all too short.

As we arrived it was obvious that our procession of cars hadn't gone unnoticed, as the mere quantity of cars alone caused quite a stir, but then it really wasn't a vastly sized airport to start with.

Slowly we began emerging from the vehicles; one by one the mass exodus of tall, tanned, extremely muscular, and under dressed bodies filled the walkway. These were followed in quick succession by our car, and its contrary passengers, of chalk white, but hypnotically enticing vampires, and then me. We had without intention, managed to attract some surprised if not totally allured looks too. Edward was as usual, the only one who smiled, but then, it was only he, who could read all of their thoughts.

We stood patiently in a long line waiting for Carlisle to lead the way, as it appeared that even the wolves were looking to him as their chief for the looming fight. Leah was the last of the wolves to surface from their cars, and, as predicted the moment her feet touched the terra firma, she immediately, almost instinctively honed in on Eli. Then momentarily she paused, as did everyone else, as all eyes now watched her with abated breath, and all were trying hard to anticipate her next move, but initially, there seemed to be no advance and so for now, it was all looking good.

All we waited for now was the shuttle bus to take us to the private hanger, which seemed to be taking forever; but at least now as we had all collected into our small and familiar social groups, we had began to relax in each others company.

106

The longest day

In fact all you could hear were loud pockets of various discussions, mixed with the normal male bravado and banter.

As the packs talked I studied Leah's demeanour, avidly, it wasn't a conscious decision to do so, but she had made staring at Eli so blatantly obvious, that she'd managed to put me back on edge. Her facial expression had continued to look vacant, never mind, her body language, even when she was spoken to directly, she plainly remained consciously unaware of their words, and not once had she averted her gaze from Eli.

Then the moment I'd been dreading, my stomach churned and my body froze, as I watched Leah slowly, heading over and straight towards Eli. Seth tried grabbing at her arm in a vein attempt to stop her, as he tried to pull her back, but she shrugged him off with ease, and still she showed no flicker of emotion. While, both packs had been silenced yet again, everyone watched her draw ever closer to Eli, surely she would remember where she was; the terminal was busy with numerous amounts of people. I think it was at that point that I secretly prayed, would she be able act like a human and control her temper, because the alternative…just didn't bare thinking about.

Then there she was stood in front of Eli, her stare burning into him, with dark and angry eyes; Eli, looked down at her uncomfortably, not knowing quite what to say, or even if he should say anything at all, but his expression, which was now etched meaningfully with remorse, spoke volumes.

Leah had wanted to say so much, and she had wanted to hate him, but as she looked up at him, it had all become too much, and all too obvious that she wasn't in control of her emotions at all. Even now, with the depth of his betrayal so abundantly unequivocal, she still loved him, and it hurt, so much. She tried to speak, but instead of words, she simply had tears welling copiously in her eyes, it was all so unbelievable, it was still all so raw, and before she had time to think about her actions she had already, unwittingly, struck out, smacking Eli's face and hard. His reaction was regimented, he neither recoiled nor retaliated, but with a glimmer of his former self briefly resurfacing, he simply lowered his head in shame.

Leah, then turned her back to him, she took a deep breath and walked away, still silent, still crying, but not, and believing that if nothing else she had at least left with a little of her dignity intact. And I could at last breathe a sigh of relief, and it was then miraculously, with almost perfect timing the shuttle bus arrived to take us to the hanger.

The flight was laboriously long; and much too lengthy for Leah to be able to leave things unsaid. The last thing she wanted was someone's death on her hands, or conscience, for that matter and especially due to the lack of concentration, because she couldn't put her demons to rest, with regards Eli.

She passed Sam's pack as she walked towards the front of the plane, once again en route for Eli, only this time it was far scarier, this time we were all in a very confined space, and if she were to phase in anger, we may not have to worry about the Volturi at all. And, I think this time many of the wolves felt the same way, as she had managed to acquire Sam's full and undivided attention as well.

107

Cohesion

Leah looked down at Edward, who was sat along side Eli

"Edward I really need to talk to Eli, it's important" Edward looked at her tersely

"As important as at the airport" He questioned sarcastically

"Mmm, I'm sorry about that, it won't happen again, I promise I'll behave, really, I just want to talk"

Edward, looked at Eli for his approval, and Eli consented

"But…only if you promise not to hit me again" He smiled half-heartedly. Then Edward took himself off to mingle elsewhere, although, Leah remain firmly in his line of sight at all times.

However, Leah began calmly as promised "Why did you do it Eli?"

"You know why, because they held my father prisoner"

"And now" She questioned, knowing full well what the answer was

"He is still captive along with Jacob. How exactly is this helping you Leah, I don't understand"

"So you thought it would be fun to ruin my life along with everyone else's? You used me to get to the Cullen's"

"I won't lie to you they was my plan originally, yes" She stared at him coldly

"And they say vampires are cold and heartless" She snapped angrily

"I said that it was my original plan, but that wasn't what happened. I really liked you surely, you must have realised that, with your wolf instinct and all, so talking about deception, when was you going to inform me about that?" He scowled.

She gave him a deprecating snigger

"You…are asking me that…I don't remember you being exactly forthright yourself with that one"

I glanced over at them, once again studying their body language, only this time I felt consumed with overwhelming pangs of sorrow engulfing my body, and yearning for Jacob. I couldn't even begin to express how much I missed him.

I wanted to bang their heads together, they could still make it work, they could still have each other to love, all that stood between them and happiness was, a little hurt and a lot of stubbornness. I knew they'd never admit it though, even if it was blatantly obvious just how much they were still totally besotted with one another.

Although for now we had to be grateful for small mercy's, because, they were at least behaving rationally, and like adults, only for how long, we had no clue, but I wasn't about to let their stubbornness be the death of us, so I continued to monitor their conversation for myself

"I'm so sorry Leah, really I am, I hope one day you will be able to forgive me" But this only enraged her more

"You betrayed my trust, worse still, you betrayed me and my love for you, people are going to die because of you, my friends are going to die because of you Eli, how could I ever trust you again, let alone forgive you?"

"I don't have that answer Leah, I wish I could turn back time and change it all, but I can't, I can only hope and pray that you will understand why I did, what I did" She studied his face for a moment, but she looked as cold, her emotions were numb

"Yes well, don't hold your breath Eli, hell might freeze over first, and I will be the first to damn you there"

108

The longest day

He replied quickly "You really don't need to Leah, I'm already there"

But with that she stood up, at last she felt vindicated as she walked confidently back to her seat, even though, inside, she'd felt a small piece of herself had just died.

Eli turned his face towards the window, his pain transparent, I could tell he was hurting far more than he would have ever let on, and for the second time in as many days I couldn't believe that I was actually feeling sorry for him again. It was a good job there was no turbulence outside the plane, because we seemed to have more than enough inside.

As the plane broached its destination the jovial repartee diminished, turning into a reflective and very quiet contemplation; not that there had been any holiday spirits to begin with, but reality had finally started to kick in. In fact it was hard to believe that as I looked around the plane, some of these faces may not be on the return flight home, well not in the seats anyway, and the thought of that simply didn't bare thinking about.

Once we had all disembarked from the plane we steadily made our way through the airport, although having our visa's stamped had taken quite a while, and mainly because there was so many of us, but we all waited patiently for one another as we had all made a pact, we vowed we would travel together, there and back, dead or alive, we would all come home together.

So we reclaimed our luggage then headed off towards the exit, one by one we emerged into the large foyer, and there along the dividing barriers stood that all familiar and very welcomed face. Rose was waiting for us with her welcoming smile and large white card reading 'Cullen's party', which she had obviously meant as a joke. However as we looked at her face that had clearly just back fired, when she realised there were around thirty of us to transport to the hotel.

Emmett could hardly contain himself as he ran towards her, reaching out he lifted her into the air, spinning her round at the same time, Rose shrieked with delight

"Wow, I need to go away more often" She laughed. And he nuzzled his face gently into her hair

"I've missed you so much" He whispered sweetly "It's only been three days but you look so different; your looking hot" And she did, he wasn't wrong.

She looked healthy and happy with a new warmth to her face, in fact, she appeared positively radiant, and when Emmett eventually let her go, we all had a chance to see and greet her properly ourselves. Eventually it was my turn for a hug, and she pulled me in to her, squeezing me especially tight, and in a soft voice she whispered

"I've walked in the hot, midday sun, in amongst everyday people, all wishing me a good day. You've made it possible for me to look alive, but more importantly still, you've made it possible for me feel alive, again. And, there are no words that could suffice, none that could express the way you've made me feel, and you will never know how much that means to me. I can only thank you with the whole of my once beating heart; and I want you to know you and you alone have reincarnated a small but dearly missed piece of my life that I'd never dreamt possible" Then she cupped my face between her hands, and kissed both of my cheeks.

109

Cohesion

Her words had provoked a multiplicity of emotions to surface, as my heart swelled with gratitude for her kind words, my eyes welled with tears.

She smiled lovingly at me once more as she wiped my tears; then she took a hold of my hand, straightened up she looked around at all the expectant faces

"Well, I don't think I've brought enough transport for you all" She laughed, immediately lightening the mood, then Eli, stepped forward

"Please if you will all follow me, I contacted a couple from my pack" Leah, unable to help herself, interrupted inadvertently and sarcastically out loud

"Of course he did" Everyone turned to looked at her angrily, except Eli, who ignored her completely, as if she wasn't even there, which appeared to have vexed her far more

"They are outside now. Please" He indicated towards the doors. As once again we all followed in unison.

Although it was night time the warm air still managed to sweep over me and with it was the accompaniment of a wonderfully light breeze. Plus, if were at all possible, I would have sworn that I could actually smell the heat, it felt almost enlivening, which in turn helped bring Rose's words to fruition.

It really was quite blissful, until my subconscious meditation was distracted, I looked across the lot, where I could just about make out two large vehicles, they were already parked, but it was only on seeing us they turned on their headlights.

Eli stepped forward and the doors to the vehicles opened, in synchronization and their passengers emerged, there were four of them altogether and, it was staggeringly evident that they were wolves. They were all extremely muscular, just as our wolves were, but they were a fair bit taller, and not all had the black hair I had come to associated with our wolves.

The first two to make their way over bore an uncanny resemblance to Eli, the same length hair, facial features and those amazingly azure coloured eyes. Eli made his way to meet them; they stood still for a minute in the middle of the road just staring ay each other, then in unison they grabbed one another, holding on tightly, patting each others backs and at the same time holding back the tears. It was easy to forget that Eli hadn't seen his family or his pack members for the best part of a year; once again my heart had tugged for him a little. Then Eli brought them over to introduce to everyone

"These are my brothers" He smiled "This is Zacchary" He stepped forward to shake Carlisle's hand, then Edward, and so on, until he had worked his way through everyone

"And this is Caleb, Zak's twin, but, believe it or not I'm the youngest" He stated, as Caleb, also worked his way through the sea of people, each relaying their names to one another, yet bizarrely they both acted quite strange when they reached Leah, only now, I hadn't the energy to wonder why, I was exhausted; with travelling, with crying, and most of all with worrying about Leah and Eli, when I should have only be concerned about Jacob. Thankfully, and at long last we all boarded our transport and headed off to the hotel.

The sun seeped through a small gap in the curtains, and before I'd even opened my eyes I could tell it was a glorious day outside.

110

The longest day

And what a wonderful way to be woken up The windows were open slightly, the birds were singing their dawn chorus and people were already chattily going about their business, all as that heavenly warm breeze, once again washed across my body.

I didn't want to open my eyes and I certainly didn't want the realism of today's agenda to kick in. I felt comfortable and safe, but I knew that was only a fleeting sense of security; so I pulled myself from my bed repentantly, and trudged into the bathroom.

As I stood eye's closed beneath the reviving water I chanted my mantra for the day 'no tears, I will not cry today, I will not cry', but as the day was about planning our attack, troubleshooting any foreseeable problems, and finalising an achievable battle plan, I had no choice but to disbelieve myself.

After my shower I made my way down to the dinning area for breakfast, fully expecting to find it empty, but it was crowded, Sam's pack were already tucking into a hearty meal and Jacob's pack were just having their orders taken. So I headed over to Leah's table, pulled up a chair and sat next her, Eli, was nowhere to be seen 'thank god'; I didn't mean to be unkind, but I wasn't sure I'd be able to cope with more of their heartache quite so early in the morning. Although, I didn't want to come across as unfeeling either, and plunged in with 'the question'

"How are you this morning, did you sleep ok" I enquired delicately. She smiled and nodded "Yes thank you, and you" Her mouth may have been able to lie to me, but her eye's told a very different story, but again, as cruel as this may sound, initially, I was grateful when she was the one who changed the subject

"Do we have a plan Ness, or are we going in blind" Her question startled me a little, as it was somewhat out of context, we seemed to have gone from sleep, to war, in around sixty seconds, but it seemed that now it was my turn to lie "Of course we have a plan" I assured

"Now eat some breakfast it's going to be a long day" And she actually giggled at me

"Yes mom"

We had all arranged to meet at the wolf's complex, it would be secure there, and you wouldn't catch a vampire within a hundred foot of their land; except us of course. We always managed to find ourselves in awkward situations; it seems we had a knack for pissing people off, even when we'd done nothing wrong. Then again, I had to admit we wouldn't dream of entering there dens ourselves if it wasn't for Edward and Alice's, ability to confirm that it was completely safe.

It was nine thirty precisely and just as I took the last bite of my food, when our transport arrived to take us to Eli's home, to the wolves' lair. I was quite looking forward to this, if for no other reason than intrigue, I wanted to see where he had originated from. It wasn't too far away either, so it shouldn't take long to get there with the drive only taking around half an hour and that was from the hotel where we was staying, and that again was about another half hours drive away from the Volterra; so it was all in very close proximity, and we arrived at our destination in no time at all.

111

Cohesion

It was all so pretty, and for some reason I appeared to be pleasantly surprised, although, for the life of me I couldn't imagine why I hadn't remembered embarking on the journey with any pre-conceptions, as too how his home would look. 95

Their houses were all very similar in size and appearance with the one exception, but they were all situated in a kind of cul-de-sac layout.

There were lots of trees, all producing a variety of fruits and olives, and all were slotted in amongst the greenery and flowers. It was unkempt, but still all naturally beautiful in its simplicity. My heart sank as I took in the fragrance and scenery, and my whole body ached to be back at home. It all reminded me too much of my parents meadow, and I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever see it again, which almost triggered the abandonment of my days mantra, and so early in the day.

Eli waited patiently at the curb side as we all pulled in, he seemed almost eager to escort us into his home; it was the larger of the houses and already appeared far more elaborate with its marble and Ionic pillars, which supported the complementary canopy. Inside was just as ornate with it neo classical décor and matching furnishings, it was in keeping with the area and I guessed it was his parents home as it was far to cultural for either Eli or his twin brothers.

The house may have been beautiful, but it was far too small to entertain thirty odd people, let alone thirty incredibly muscular ones. However, Eli didn't stop walking, as we followed him through the lounge, then through some very large French doors and into a somewhat sizeable garden, 'not the best idea for me, as the warm sun, and my attention span, rarely worked in unison with one another, and unfortunately the sun bathing would win every single time' although, even that thought was short lived, as we continued to walk.

At the bottom of the garden stood a shed, it wasn't the smallest shed I'd ever seen, but then it wasn't the biggest either, and if we couldn't all fit in the house there wasn't a cat in hells chance that we were going to all fit in the shed. I look at Eli, confused

"Where are we going" I asked him quizzically, and purely because I still didn't totally trust him. Then I almost choked as I thought he'd read my mind

"Trust me" He said "We are here now" And, with that he opened the rickety old wooden door and entered, everyone initially remained outside, all probably as distrusting and confused as me. Then he proceeded to move what appeared to be an old kitchen cupboard, this in turn revealed a large concealed door in the floor; readily he lifted it, and it opened on to a small set of steps, he then retrieved a torch, which hung on the wall, and opened a tiny flap that had been somehow built into the wall, this exposed a keypad that he began to enter an awful lot of digits on, and very quickly to. This was followed by a few beeps, then the screen asking if he wanted to continue and it showed a

(Y) or (N) both of which he ignored, instead he typed something entirely different, then pressed enter and, an opening began to emerge just below his feet.

It was like something out of a James Bond movie, as more steps led down to what I could only describe as the mother of all panic rooms; with each step he trod on, the more lights turned on automatically in the room, and I couldn't believe my eyes, it was huge down there, its sheer expanse had to of cover the entire span of their garden, and could probably house at least a sixty people with ease.

112

The longest day

There were seats dotted all around, but it was clear they had prepared for every eventuality, as in the far corner of the room there were stacks of folding chairs piled high. We initiated a chain and passed them along until we were all seated in a class room like set up, and now all facing Eli, who was stood in front of a rather large wipe board, which had been carefully pre written.

I studied the board and noticed it was a detailed floor plan of, which I could only assume was the Volterra. Listed along side the plan were the names of some of its residents, a few were familiar to me, others not so much, but what was abundantly clear was the numbers we would have to deal with. I had quickly counted at least a hundred and felt sick again, I knew I shouldn't have eaten a big breakfast, food, war and depression weren't a good mix.

So Eli introduced himself to those who weren't entirely sure who he was, although, I couldn't help but think he was about three days too late for that, but I said nothing and he began

"I'm sure by now most of you know who I am, and why we're here" 'Damn, that's the second time he'd appeared to answer my line of thinking', which I was beginning to find just a little disconcerting. And, Leah she just sat glaring at him, 'nothing knew there then'.

"Eli there seems to be an awful lot of Volturi on that list, won't most of them be trained fighters" I asked as I took deep measured breaths to try and quell the sickness and overwhelming panic. Eli smiled at me

"Don't worry Ness, my fathers pack will be joining us any time now, and we have all been trained to fight, as men, as well as wolves" His words for some reason held little comfort to me, but I smiled back at him anyway. And, he wasn't lying, it really wasn't long before they arrived, a seemingly never ending procession of footsteps, one by one emerging from the stairwell, and they just kept on coming; ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty five, and still they arrived, we all sat there open mouthed, shocked by the sheer enormity of his pack, it was truly astounding, sixty one in total that I had counted alone. Sixty one that Eli had introduced to us, and, had used all of their Christian names as they entered They lined themselves up against the back wall, all stood in a kind of relaxed fashion, but in military stance 'wow' it appeared they really were all trained fighters. Then only I would ask a stupid question

"Why are there so many of you"

"Well, as Carlisle knows, we are one of the oldest and longest surviving packs in Italy, we go back for hundreds of years, to when the Volturi chose this place as their home, the more vampires there are, the more wolves will phase. Our numbers are in proportion to the amount of vampire inhabitants"

"Thank you for the clinical clarification" I added, and then I shut up.

Eli looked at his brother bewildered "Where are Peta and Luka, they are our cousins and should be here" He explained. Caleb answered "They said they had an errand to run and would be joining us in due course"

"Do I need to worry Caleb" Eli enquired sternly

"Of course not, don't panic, they will be here shortly" Eli acknowledged him with a nod, but it was perfectly clear that he didn't like surprises and after what he'd been through, who could really blame him.

113

Cohesion

My concerns about Eli's double, doubled deception to us had, in my mind at least been proved unfounded up to now anyway and, I finally felt that I could relax around him a little more now.

Although, there was one thing I found a little strange, which was, if Eli was the youngest of the brothers, why then was he the one in authority; and it appeared that I wasn't the only one who had initially distrusted him. Alice had brought out a piece of paper from her pocket; I watched her carefully unfolding it, then studying it's contents against the information on the wipe board, I was dying to know what she had written, I couldn't remember her informing us about any subsequent visions, maybe it was something else to worry about? Oh, but I sincerely hoped not.

However, the time had come to obsess a little less, to work a lot more, and somehow try to rectify the reason as to why we were here in the first place.

We had to identify the number of our opposing force, to set up the terrain, and figure out how best to deploy our units, all of which were no mean feats. And, so the very diligent Eli, started us off

"Carlisle do you remember the original blue prints to the Volterra"

"Vaguely" He answered, then deep in thought "But I think by the time I'd left some of it had already been built up" Eli pointed to various parts of the floor plan

"Carlisle's right, but during their remodelling they decided to save some money and leave one of the original corridors untouched, which in turn left two concealed but still usable entrances"

"And, that's good because?" Asked one of Sam' newer members

"Well the entrances have been long forgotten, and therefore defenceless; who would be stupid or arrogant enough to break into vampire central"

There was a sudden wave of eager chatter, as Eli's words had seemed to offer some much needed optimism. Then Sam enquired guardedly

"How did you come by these plans? If you don't mind me asking, because, I don't suppose the Volturi were giving them out freely to the wolves, at the summer fete" And again, Eli gladly accommodated him "It's Sam, yes"

And Sam gave a single nod

"The plans were copied from the originals, and were 'lets just say acquired' around the same time as the Volterra's alterations, and they have remained in our safe keeping ever since, just in case a situation like this" He chose his word carefully

"Rebellion, were ever to arise"

My heart stopped as Leah stood up 'please don't make a scene' I repeatedly played in my head, mantra number two of the day, but she merely asked a question

"Even though they're disguised entrances that doesn't mean they're unlocked, so we still have the same problem, how do we get in"

Then Rose stood up "I have recruited some help. The door furthest from the main entrance" Eli then pointed to its position on the plans

"Will be left open for us, and later on today I will be collecting your 'walk in vampires Ville scent free' potion" She smiled "That's when you say thank you guy's" And she re took her seat, and Eli continued

"We are as many as the Volturi if not outnumbering them, and with the P I, we will have a major advantage

114

The longest day

"P I" Paul quizzed

"The Pheromone inhibitor I told you about it at the Cullen's home"

Eli paused momentarily

"We may outnumber them, we may have chemicals on our side, and some very gifted vampires of our own, but if we don't stay focused, then we will die, and I don't know about you Paul, but I'm not ready for that yet"

Paul was clearly angered by Eli's telling off; he clenched his jaws tightly together and growled, but Eli, remained unmoved

"Save it for the battle Paul, you're going to need all of your hate and anger to fight them, never mind defeat them; they have never lost a battle yet"

And remarkably it worked Paul was silenced, and while I couldn't help but think 'he's good, Eli, is really good' I was slowly beginning to see why he was the pack alpha in the absence of their father.

There followed an awkward silence that was eventually broken by Seth

"So what about tactics, what's the plan there then, and how's it all going to work"

And we were back to the wipe board.

"I think one option is to split into three groups so we can each take a stairwell" And he pointed to three of the four staircases indicated on his floor plan.

I intervened again

"Do you think it's wise to split up, if we divide into smaller factions, we could end up as easy pray" He responded quickly

"We are planning to attack their Volterra, they have even less inclination that we are in possession of the P I," He looked sarcastically at Paul "I mean pheromone inhibitor, but we will be practically undetectable, and a formidable fighting force"

But still I wasn't convinced so I walked over to join him at the wipe board. I pointed to the positioning on his floor plan

"If we head up the main staircase overpowering the guards, here, here, and here they will still be crippled, and we would remain a strong and united force"

Then Leah stood up "Well, I agree with Ness, we shouldn't divide our forces"And that did shock me. 'Wow', I could hardly believe my ears, four days ago she hated me and now it appears I was her BFF, not that I was complaining, but it would just take some getting use to that's all.

And, it also come to light that put under pressure from a woman, that Eli, would concur; then a voice shouted out from the crowd

"Tell me again why we don't attack until the day after tomorrow" And this time I answered "Because, looming is the summer solstice, June 21st the perfect time to execute an attack, it's the longest day of the year and we can utilise the extra hours of sunlight, use it to our advantage"

There was a long pause, along with a lot of unconvinced faces, but whether they agreed with me or not, we were committed to fight, and if there was anything out there that we could use to give us an advantage, then we had to try it. It was around that point that another set of footsteps emerged from the stairwell, and I recognised him as one of the men that met us at the airport that last night.

He approached Eli and immediately began whispering Italian in his ear so I didn't have a clue what he was saying, but Eli looked at him warily

115

Cohesion

"It seem's we've been summoned to the derelict piece of land that lies directly behind us"

He looked at my family "You can stay here if you like, the sun will have burnt away any lingering clouds by now, and it will be very bright out there" He expressed considerately, but my parents stood up

"No we're good to go, we're sheltered from the sun" And not having a clue what they were talking about he merely shrugged and smiled

"As you wish" So with no further ado we all followed Peta and Eli, to this open stretch of land. It was a good job it was on the packs own ground, as there were at least ninety wolves following, 'give or take a few' and a couple of hand's full of vampires to boot. All heading off to see what was of such importance.

We followed them slowly staying well at the back, so we obviously didn't trust them completely, but that also meant that we were the last to see what had just made everyone suddenly grind to a halt, so inquisitively and politely, we pushed our way through the crowd of wolves and made our way to the front; where we too stopped dead in our tracks. Now Stood in front of us there was what appeared to be an army of unknown wolves. Everyone was in shock as Luka, took Edward, Carlisle, and Eli over to meet them, and I instantly knew it was good news even before I saw the extremely large Cheshire cat grin, that Alice now wore upon her face.

They had only talked for a few minutes, before they began exchanging hand shakes, then they made their way towards us to introduce themselves. They were indeed, and unmistakably werewolves, in fact, they were a collective of the Loup Garou, and all were from several different regions of France, and each pack had sent wolves of various ranks and fighting abilities.

To say we were surprised if not slightly shaken would have been somewhat of an understatement, and I felt compelled to ask that burning question

"Forgive me for asking Sir, but how do you all know about what's happening here" Silence prevailed, as the largest of the men stepped forward

"We heard it; your plight has spread far and wide, from region to region, from borders to countries, a relay of one pack informing another. And, it was decided that we would not let another innocent wolf die at the hands of the Volturi. You needed numbers to fight and now; numbers you have.

He looked around at the crowd of wolves already assembled, then at me, and again at my family and it was obvious he was confused. He knew they were vampires he could smell that, but they didn't look like vampires and nor did they act as such. Which in itself brought another satisfying smile to each of my families faces.

For the first time in hundreds of accumulated years, they had once again all walked in the hot midday sun without having to hide or be in fear, they looked normal; as undistinguishable as you and I, and their test's had all been passed, they had mingled with humans, under that hot, unclouded sky and were wonderfully inconspicuous.

So there we were in Italy, in the hot midday sun, at the height of summer, all stood in the middle of a very large field, a mix of over maybe a hundred and fifty odd people. A cohesion of allies united in one cause, to free Jacob and Josiah, and teach the Volturi a much needed lesson in humility.

116

Solstice

It was time for Rose to go and collect the P I formula for the wolves, it was only mid afternoon, but she knew she had to be there long before twilight, or risk the chance of being seen.

Although, she had to admit to herself that she had felt an initiated twinge of mischief almost overwhelm her, and the fact that she could walk in the sun unnoticed, had only provoked an imagination of possibilities to surface, but she wasn't stupid, she knew that's all they were, remembrances of her once youthful bravado, and she hadn't been that person for a very long time.

A car had been prearranged to drive her to and from the Volterra and, even though she didn't want it, she had no intention of deviating from the plan.

The last thing Rose wanted was to be the reason for this rescue to fail, she owed it to Ness, it was the least she could do for her, as Ness had already given so much to all of them, and she didn't only mean the 'Revamp'.

So Rose decided to only walk for the first mile instead and, in human time of course, this would enable her to not only enjoy, but to take full advantage of another beautifully sunny day; because another reality was, it could be her last.

Things had finally started to fall into place. Carlisle had spoken to Cain, who had in turn relayed messages to Marcus. The P I serum had been deployed in an obscure place just beyond the abandoned entrances, readily waiting for Rose to retrieve; and Alice had seen exactly where they had been placed, enabling her to draw a small map for Rose, so she didn't have to loiter about hunting around for it. This way she could be in and out promptly.

Time was no longer on our side, as the next phase of our plan was critical; it had to go off without a glitch. Because, tomorrow was the solstice, the day when all of our hard work, and planning, would come to fruition, in the morning our lives would change forever. We would infiltrate the Volterra, and instigate a war on the Volturi, an act from, which there would be no return, there had to be a winning side and that meant that it was them or us. Unfortunately, there could only be one surviving force, and I was determined it was going to be us.

As twilight fast approached we all headed off to Eli's very own 'sub terrain, fort Knox', where Rose would hand over the vials of serum, and Eli would inject it, into each and every wolf. The serum itself, I had to admit was amazing, it worked within twenty minutes of being injected, and you honestly couldn't smell a thing. And luckily for our unexpected guests, there was more than enough to go around, whom I might add were, not only very welcome, but if truth be told, very much needed too.

There was another added bonus to our sudden numeral increase, it meant that we could divide our forces into two splinter groups if still desired, although, we had allowed the final strategical decisions to be left to Eli, within reason of course, and it really was just as an added precaution. That way we knew that in the eventuality of any new born's created, that if they were given the gift of mind reading, we would at least be unable to impart with any of our own secrets. We weren't about to become complacent and take risks, not now we had all worked so hard, not now we had come this far.

117

Solstice

As for Eli, well, the Volturi had themselves, made sure that his thoughts would remain impenetrable, if they tried to escape their translucent skin, would put paid to that, and their very own P I serum, created to kill us, would in effect only assisted us in sealing their own fate.

It was then as if, but by the grace of god we seemed to have been given another helping hand, when we discovered that a large summer festival was to be held around the grounds of the Volterra on the solstice, the Volturi loved these events it was like going to the supermarket for their fresh produce, but this day it would totally work in our favour, it would ensure that hundreds of humans would be parading through the streets. Whilst inside there would be a profusion of genetically induced, undetectable, wolves. So the Volturi were not in the best predicament. There were no possible means of escape for them, they had boxed themselves into a corner, with no choice but to fight, and if everything unravelled as planned it should be full proof, turning out to be less of a battle and more of a massacre.

It was only five A.M, when the dawn began to break, and even though the sun had only just peeked over the horizon, you could immediately begin to feel the benefits from its rays, which I had to say, were very welcome after a long, dark and practically sleepless night, but it was still a little early to get up, so I closed my eyes again briefly, and must have drifted off into a deep sleep.

The next thing I knew, my family were all in the lounge chatting away after having returned from their hunt, which had been to power up for battle, and this was critical, if they stood any chance of taking on the Volturi and winning.

Even so it was still only seven thirty, but those two hours sleep had made all the difference, I now felt revived, alert, and sick, nevertheless, I got up and once again I traipsed into the bathroom for a shower. I then donned a very comfortable, black, and full length jump suit, which pretty much summed my mood up copiously; I quickly dried my hair then went to join my family.

As I entered the lounge they all stopped speaking and turned to stared at me

"Good morning" I said cagily

"Good morning" They all answered in unison

"Are you ok Ness?" My aunt Rose asked, and I had to admit she did appear somewhat concerned

"Yes" I replied slowly "Why" Although I think they knew I was lying

"You look pale honey that's all" As she came over to me and stroked my hair, she smiled at me "You're the one who looks like the vampire now" I smiled back at her

"I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night that's all, really I'm fine, don't worry"

"Ok" and she touched my cheek "Me and your mom will come to breakfast with you"

"Really" I asked enquiringly, but at the time thought no more about it.

As we reached the dinning area the array of different aromas didn't so much waft, as punch my senses, which I tried hard to hide, but again not very successfully. I sat down, and pondered over the menu, knowing full well I wouldn't be able to eat the majority of what was on the list, so I opted for what I thought would be the safe option and I ordered the pancakes with maple syrup.

118

The longest day

I looked up at my mom and Rose

"So what's up, you never come and sit with me at meal times; so spill"And I waited, all the time they said nothing, then my food arrived.

I looked down at my steaming pancakes as the syrup trickled over the sides, and I gulped, positive that the first mouthful would be the worst, it usually was. So tentatively I chewed, and probably for a lot longer than I ought, because as I swallowed, it didn't seem to be working quite as well as it should, and I felt myself turn green.

That's when my mom took a hold of my hand "Renesme, are you ill?"

"Mm, I think I have a stomach bug is all, different water, different food maybe, but apart from that I'm fine" I replied.

"Well, before we go to the Volterra would you let Carlisle examine you?"

"Really, that isn't necessary mom"

"Ness, we're worried about you" My aunt Rose nodded in agreement. I knew that they were worried, but I had neither the time nor the patience for this right now.

"Look, I know your concerned, but what can I say, the love of my life has been taken hostage, and I don't know if any of my family are going to survive the day, have you even considered that, that's, what's wrong with me, so please, just stop fussing ok"

My mom sat back in her chair

"You looked ill before Jacob was even taken, just get checked out with Carlisle, for me, please, and I promise I won't mention it again, ok"

I felt bombarded; because they'd left me with little or no choice, but I knew arguing would be futile. It really was simpler to give in

"Ok ok, I'll go now, before we leave, satisfied? I'm going on my own though" They didn't answer me, I simply got a smile instead, but at least that had given me the reason not to eat my food.

I took the lift back up to the apartment, and entered sheepishly, again all eyes were immediately on me

"Can I talk to you Grandpa?"

He smiled "Of course"

"Alone, please", which straight away raised eyebrows we both walked into the bedroom and Carlisle shut the door behind him. Then I whispered faintly

"Carlisle can you examine me without letting Alice or my dad know?"

"Of course I can, I'll mess with their blind spots, but why would you want me to"

I looked at him intently

"If you examine me, you'll know" And, as ever true to his word, Carlisle examined me without publicising the diagnosis, and we both immerged from the bedroom smiling "See I told you mom, it's just a tummy bug, and I'll be fine in a couple of days" Then they all turned to Carlisle for affirmation, as I knew they would

"It's just a virus" He confirmed "She just needs to drink plenty of fluids. It looks worse than it is, but then she's been under a lot of stress for the past few days, so her immune system has taken a bit of a battering that's all" Alice saw nothing untoward, and Edward hadn't read anything different in Carlisle's thought, so for now everyone appeared to be pacified.

119

Solstice

Then it was time leave for the Volterra, the time, and day I'd been dreading the most. I wasn't scared, although, I wasn't relishing the thought of fighting either, I was merely apprehensive, but like the flip side to any coin, I had never wanted anything so much in my entire life. It was my driving force, and it seemed I was able to run purely on adrenaline, which was just as well because my body seemed to be rejecting all other forms of sustenance at the moment, food simply wasn't cutting it; and ill or not we'd all endured day's of accumulated anticipation, D-day had now arrived and it couldn't possibly be postponed.

To ensure we wouldn't create any unwanted attention to ourselves we travelled to the Volterra separately and in three smaller group's; each making there way discretely to the pre-selected rendezvous point, which was just far enough away from the old and disused entrance, so as not to be seen from any unwanted or prying eye's.

Marcus had, as ever, been true to his word, and the doors had been unlocked. Although, we never let our guard down; we entered three at a time, each three travelling a little further down the passage, then signalling the next three that it was safe to enter, then they would push forward, and so on, until we had all approached the first set of stairs, which led up to their newer basement.

I looked at Eli and he indicated for me to proceed; so we cautiously and silently pressed on, and up to this point we had still remained together. Finally, we'd reached their basement, and from here, there were four paths in, which we could access the upper floors to the Volterra, we had progressed well, but it was from this point that things would also become especially dangerous.

The first encounter with two of the Volturi guards was easily taken care of. We stood at the base of the stairs and automatically looked up. Straight away you could see the backs of the two guards. Eli signalled for all to remain still with the exception of Zac, to whom he made some obscure hand movements and Zac automatically stepped forward to be by Eli's side.

They looked at one another, giving a double, but small nod of recognition, then in unison they both placed their right foot on the first rung, they placed their hands on the third step and proceeded, side by side, slowly they began to incline to the third step, but as they reached the fourth, they phased together simultaneously, silently, and all while they still walked, again both in wonderfully rehearsed unison. Their training had just become most apparent, and their self control unbelievable. It was an amazing thing to witness; I really was totally in awe of them.

They had reached the top, unheard, un seen, and no scent, it was all so quick, that the two guards hadn't time to as much as hear a beat from their heart. Then it was all over in a flash, the guard's heads were ripped clean from their shoulders with one enormous bite. They stood still for a moment, looked at each other and phased back, all so nonchalantly, clearly it had become second nature to them. They flung the dismembered bodies back down the stairwell ready to be burned, but only when there were more of them. And as impressed as I was, I couldn't help but wonder what poor unsuspecting fools had been victims to their expertly executed prowess. Then came the signal for us to follow them once more

120

The longest day

The corridor appeared vast, and as I scanned either side I could tell that we were roughly about halfway down and if you looked carefully you could see the four staircases that Eli had pointed out to us on the floor plan.

It was at this point we were told we would be splitting into two squads, each to take the furthest set of stairs, and then all meet in the middle of the upper floor, but it was on the next floor that we would encounter more guards, because, it was this floor that held our two captives, Eli's father Josiah, and my Jacob.

As we climbed the stairs my stomach lurched, I was so near to Jacob I could already feel him as my heart beat a little harder. And, the closer we came to the landing the more voices became apparent, I lifted my hand for our ascent to pause, and everyone stopped immediately. I pulled a compact mirror from the top of my boot, I flicked it open sliding it out gently from the base of the wall, and I counted the guards and their precise positioning in relation to us. There were two guards just along from each stair well, then an extra four safeguarding one door in particular.

Again, I knew that any action to be taken had to be not only carried out, but also completed with haste. I signalled for Zac to join me, after observing his ability to fight once today already, I knew that if anyone could devise a strategic plan with me, it would be him, and for some reason, I felt completely safe in his more than capable hands.

Zac glanced at my mirror still positioned at the base of the wall, still showing that the Volturi guards were blissfully unaware of any unfolding events, as they carried on talking and laughing with one another. Zac pointed to four of his pack members, and quickly made the same gestures as Eli, had given him, and sure enough, they stepped forward no questions asked, and preceded towards the corridor.

I was enthralled watching the mannaro in action, it was simply amazing, Eli's pack members were just as controlled, and prolific, in the art of combat as the three brothers, as again, and within seconds all four had phased together whilst still moving, calmly, silently, and covertly. I took one last glance through the mirror, picking it up, I signalled to go, and they did, immediately, as did the rest of us on their tail. They made light work of the first two guards, just as they had with the two, on the lower floor, while Edward and Emmett overtook them and effortlessly ensured the demise the two guards situated at the top of the next stairwell.

I passed my family and could see Eli's, detail in front of us, and now the four guards outside the cell door had no chance of survival, as Eli, Jasper, and Rose, ripped into their bodies. And I, was about to make my first kill, something I would never of dreamt of a week ago, I had never felt the urge to hurt anyone before, let alone kill them, and it was far too easy for my liking, as I took a hold of the last guard standing, grabbing his throat, squeezing, easily and with tremendous force, until the snap of his neck rendered his life extinct, and more frightening still twelve lives had just been taken out, and all within the matter of around sixty seconds, or less.

Eli had taken the keys to the cells from his victim, but he hadn't opened the door yet. I could only stare at him, praying this wasn't where he suddenly betrayed us again, but then he handed me the keys

121

Solstice

"Really" I said, quite choked by the sentiment. He rattled them in front of me

"I know how much this means to you. So here, please"

I fumbled with the keys, in and out of the lock trying to find the right one, and getting more and more frustrated, until the one key turned in the lock, and the door swung open. And there he was standing by his bed, his arms held out ready to hug me.

"Hey looker, what took you so long?" I ran and jumped into his arm squeezing him tightly

"I'm never leaving you alone again"I laughed and cried all at the same time

"You only went to fix a car; you could have told me you were going on holiday and I would have joined you sooner" He laughed at me and we eased our grip from one another, Jacob looked across at Josiah, who was also being crushed by his three sons. Jacob tapped him on his shoulder

"Josiah, I'd like you to meet Renesme Cullen, my fiancée" I looked up at Jacob

"Really, you want to marry me" As I now cried for a whole different reason. Josiah took a hold of my hand and kissed the back of it, like a real gentleman, and as he lifted his head to smile at me and immediately the family resemblance was unmistakable, and it was easy to see where his three sons got their amazingly coloured eye's and incredible good looks

"I'm so pleased to meet you at last Josiah"

"And you have no idea how pleased I am to see you Renesme, Jacob, has told me all about you" I simply blushed.

From there we quickly introduced everyone, but we only had the time to do it vaguely, we daren't stay in one place too long, it was far too dangerous, and we still had to make our way up to the atrium. When I saw Edward emerging from a door further down the corridor and he was brandishing a large bag. He raced over with a large smile on his face

"Edward, what is it?" I asked

"Courtesy of Marcus" As he pulled from the bag, four long black capes, identical to those worn by the Volturi "How? Never mind" But he answered me anyway

"Marcus had wondered whether we would find them or not, I just heard him, as Alice saw us in them. I raised my eye brow

"Wow, he really is pissed off, huh"

"Mm, just a bit" He acknowledged

Marcus's gift couldn't have come at a better time, as the next floor housed a number of the Volturi guard's private quarters, and although it would be precarious we were relying on the guards still being present in their rooms for an early elimination. We were hoping that it would still be too early for them to be out and about scouting for their food just yet. Especially as the festival wouldn't be in full swing for at least another hour or two, Carlisle came over and shook Jacob's and Josiah's hands, and then he touched mine

"We must go, now" And the three of us stepped into the passageway, and curiously everyone looked at me, and I in turn, for some reason turned to Eli

"We should divide into two groups again, yes?" Eli smiled at me in affirmation, which for some reason seemed to empower me

122

The longest day

"So the same as last time guy's, each squad to take the furthest stairwell, take out all the Volturi along the way and we're meet again in the middle, it's as easy as that" I quipped, and then Eli interrupted me

"We can't go if we don't inject my father and Jacob, they'll be detected straight away" And he quickly pulled two vials of the serum from his pocket and wasted no time injecting them

"But you must stay at the back until the serum works, ok" Both acknowledged him at the same time.

Eli took his father with him, plus Emmett and Jasper, both adorned in their new Volturi uniform, Rose and Alice for obvious reasons also followed Eli. I, of course, took Jacob, along with Edward and Carlisle, whom also wore their new Volturi paraphernalia, and we also kept Bella and Esme, both sides had an equal number of wolves as we all headed towards our next set of stairs.

We stood at the base of the second to last staircase, and all the wolves had now phased with the exception of Jacob and the Mannaro, but as we all knew only too well, by now that the Mannaro really didn't need to, such was their self-control. There were no guards at the top of the stairwells, as we had predicted, but then, as the entire passageway was already full of them there really wasn't any need.

Cautiously, we climbed to the top, where I was once again able to make use of my mirror, I scanned the hallway, and there were no guards loitering, but all of the doors to their quarters were open, and if the amount of noise was anything to go by, then the majority of the rooms were still full of their residents.

I signalled for Zac, Edward and Carlisle to join me, I'd had an idea, and if it worked, 'fingers crossed', we could be looking at zero fatalities on our side. I needed Zac to relay the plan across to Eli, and the Mannaro wolves, as it was imperative that both squads timing was impeccable.

From Eli's side Emmett and Jasper were to step on to the corridor, both wearing the Volturi uniforms, hoods up, and enough to cover their faces. From this side, Edward and Carlisle would replicate their moves. The idea was for them to let us know how many Volturi was in each room.

As both sides stepped onto the corridor, they slowly began to walk, their capes gliding over the marble floors. It actually appeared as though they were on an escalator, it really was quite bizarre. Edward was on the left hand side, and Carlisle on the right, both had their inner most hands discretely behind their backs, and in plain view so those walking behind them could easily see their hands and numbers. Then as they passed a room, each would indicate how many guards were in there by holding out the appropriate amount of fingers, and again Eli's force would mirror these actions implicitly, room for room, but from the opposite end.

All four approached their first set of rooms, in unison, and I was on tender hooks, if this didn't work we would have to bombard the floor with force, but that would be noisy, nasty and extremely detrimental to our ultimate, zero fatalities plan. Jasper's hand indicated three; Emmett's hand indicated four, back to Eli. Edward also indicated four, and Carlisle indicated two, to our squad and all four of them carried on to the next room.

123

Solstice

The wolves entered the corridor slowly following behind my family, from both sides, warily they dropped, and there haunches almost to floor, as they began to crawl, with all the stealth, of the big cats hunting their prey.

Each set of four wolves, had to leave, one complete room's distance, between them and whom ever they were behind at the time, and all were under strict instruction not to breach this rule, as it was put in place for the sake of their own safety.

So as the first eight wolves broke away, they would enter the first set of rooms, four turning left into that room, and the other four into the opposing quarters, then the next eight would enter the adjacent set of rooms and so on, until all of there inhabitants were eradicated, and until we all met in the middle.

While it had to be said that I had great faith in the wolves fighting abilities, even I was surprised just how quickly they were managing to work their way through the guards. And, it wasn't purely down to the surprise of the attack, the wolves could jump, and clear a good six foot or more, with ease, and it was as they leapt that they would clasp onto the throat and neck of their victims, instantly rendering them speechless, and ultimately rendering then dead, in one fell swoop. And, then the wolves were so many they almost overflowed through the narrow passage, like rats through flooding sewers, and picking off the Volturi menials with ease, as they continued, there were heads and arms flaying, being ragged and torn from the guards ice cold bodies. Once the guard's demise had been confirmed, the wolves would phase back to their human form, and clear the rooms, throwing the remains down the stairwells to the cleaners, and it didn't take long before the bodies had started to mount inestimably

There was only one thing the wolves had insisted on, and that was they all wanted their fare share of the kill, and who was I to deny them that. So I left it to them to rotate their tasks. It really was running like clock work, and before we knew it, this floor had been made devoid of its entire population, and we once again met in the middle.

It had only been half an hour, since we had infiltrated the Volterra, and we were already heading on up to the next landing. We all knew this floor wouldn't be quite the pushover as our last, purely because we were so near to the Volturi elders, which in itself demanded their protection as paramount. So near to Aro, Caius and Marcus, yet still so far away. However, I kept forgetting about our added bonus, our newest conscript to the Cullen's, 'Marcus'. We could knock Marcus off our list of threats, I think we all knew that he now had his own agenda, when it came down to Aro and Caius. No, Marcus was no longer a threat to us. Even so, with each floor we had climbed the more gifted the Volturi guards had become. Although, I was still quietly confident that with our numbers as high as they were and the adept fighting abilities of the Mannaro's, we could ensure a victory.

There wasn't as many rooms on this floor, but there was far more activity, as I witnessed once again, through my very dependable and new must have accessory compact mirror, although, I also realised 'immediately' that our previous tactics were going to be of no use to us at all on this floor, so we had to rethink and think of something fast.

124

The longest day

There were only two set's of stairwells on this floor instead of the four that we had become accustom to, but we still thought it best if we kept to the two groups and entered from either side, as it was imperative that at this stage of our plan, that there were no escapee's, we couldn't risk any one going to warn Aro of our presence. Therefore, Carlisle suggested that one vampire from either side of the corridor, should still take 'the walk' purely to assess the situation, and we all concurred, that it was good idea.

Edward wanted to walk from our side and Emmett from the opposing end. Then we started to move out, when Carlisle stopped Leah from clearing away her kill, and he took a hold of one of the dead guard's dismembered arms and gave it to Edward rub onto himself, then Edward passed it to Emmett to do the same, by which time Leah just looked at them, as though they'd all totally lost the plot, and Carlisle smiled at her

"You wolves, may have no scent Leah, but unfortunately we do, and like Eli, we're not ready to die today either"

"Oh I know you have an odour" She smiled

As they both stepped on to the corridor you could feel the tension, even though they were still adorned in their Volturi capes. They set off slowly, with that weird gliding, drift thing, they do on the marbled floor, and they'd almost reached the middle too, without brining any attention on themselves at all; when they were called. Both tried the ignorance card, and continued walking, but that hadn't worked as they were then demanded to stop, leaving them with no other choice but to capitulate. That's when we knew we had to act and fast.

"Should they attack?" Carlisle turned to Zac and I, but we had been left with no other choice, and so my thoughts told Edward 'to quickly meet with Emmett in the middle, and we'll be right behind you'.

Zac informed Eli through their wolf telepathy, 'in English' so all the wolves could understand. And, so it had began, I took two large, deep breaths, and within seconds we had, as promised, jumped out from the staircases, invading the corridor, ready to fight for our lives.

We still out numbered the Volturi by at least two to one, but this fight was far harder than the last, it was easy to see that these Volturi were trained in the art of mortal combat, as we tried to achieve bodily contact, the guard's were base jumping off the walls, expertly avoiding the wolves bites, and continually performing an array of acrobatic manoeuvres. This wasn't good, for every Volturi that died; we seemed to be loosing one of our wolves. I stopped momentarily to scan the horizon, trying to locate my families and our wolves' positions.

Bella and Edward were at the other end of the passage, and Bella was in the midst of shielding the majority of our family, along with some of the Olympic wolves.

I had only taken my eye off Jacob for a split second, but as I turned back around to face him, I saw his attack. It came from behind and he didn't stand a chance, as I watched two guards, ripping into his back and side, each tearing away too much flesh for his body to possibly be able to survive.

125

Solstice

He instantaneously dropped to the ground, landing face first, revealing the true extent of his near fatal wounds; revealing his body pumping blood copiously from his wounds, on his limp but not quite lifeless body.

I screamed his name, and ran towards him; going through the guard's who had struck him down. I jumped at the first, kicking him hard into his chest, as he flew backwards I caught a hold of his hair and clenched my legs around his neck, so tight you could already hear it cracking, then I twisted his head as easily as opening a bottle top, rotating it clean from his shoulders; then on to the next, I used the dead guards falling body to elevate myself once more.

I somersaulted over the top of my next victim, my head was upside down, but parallel to his, only he still stood on the floor; I grabbed his mouth from either side taking a firm hold of his cheeks, and as gravity pulled me back down to the ground, so his cheeks ripped clean from his face, and I had pulled his body over the top of mine, in order to watch him as he died. I took a hold of his hair, making sure we had eye contact at all times, and especially as I punched my fist into his mouth, and straight through the back of his neck, pulling my arm back around and removing his head as slowly as I possibly could, in the hope that his demise was as full of the pain, that I was feeling now.

Immediately, Edward saw and run towards Jacob, grabbing Carlisle as he did so, in the hope that they could somehow save him. I reached him at last instantly dropping to the floor beside him, lifting his head and resting it on my lap, I grabbed a Volturi cape ripping it to size and tying it around his torso as firmly as possible in some futile attempt to stop the bleeding, but in reality, I knew it was pointless the wounds were far too deep and the bleeding too extensive. Nevertheless, I refused to give up on him, as I

babbled at him incoherently trying my hardest to encourage a response…any kind of response from him would have been encouraging, but even that appeared to be fruitless. His condition now so poor I was left in no doubt as to the seriousness of his situation. All I could do was sit rocking him, trying to stem the flow of his ever decreasing blood levels.

Remarkably somehow Jacob heard my voice and with it I received a warm smile even in his weakened state I had in someway at least managed to make him smile, which in turn seemed to compel him with the need to see me one last time. Struggling he opened his eyes, their blurriness slowly receding as they fixed on his beautiful, forbidden love. He tried so hard to speak; he needed to say how he truly felt…how I had always made him feel. And that 'in the short time he had, of being in love, it had been the happiest of his entire life, and if he were made to choose all over again, either to live without me, or to die having loved me, then he would choose the latter, every single day, and twice on Sundays', but, his blood loss had taken its toll on his body, his voice gradually diminishing, and leaving his thoughts unspoken, for now anyway.

Edward smiled at Jacob's thoughts, yet he was himself awash with emotion, there was a distinct wisp of sorrow in his voice as he had to inform me, his heartbroken daughter that I would have to wait to hear Jacob's dying thoughts.

126

The longest day

If Jacob had any chance of survival they needed to find a way to replace the blood loss and fast, because with each minute that passed his life slowly ebbed away.

I lowered my head next to his and whispered to him

"Jacob, you are the love in my heart…you are the passion in my soul and you complete me" "Jacob" I repeated, as I shook his shoulders my tears blinding and unstoppable

"You can't leave me, please…don't! I need you now more than ever"

Edward and Carlisle were also at Jacobs's side and had all the while been working on his broken body; Carlisle was now trying fervently to bring him round, but it was to no avail, his blood loss irreversible, it was just too great.

Then the moment I had been dreading the most, both Edward and Carlisle looked at me and by the expression on each of their faces, there were no need for words, but as Carlisle spoke them anyway, each resonated in my mind like a battering ram, yet still they barely registered.

"There's no more we can do…Ness, we can't replace that amount of blood his loss is too great and we haven't the means to transfuse" I lifted my tear sodden face, now far paler than my parents

"He…he's dying?" I repeated, as pain ripped, once again through my heart, as if I'd just been stabbed. I clutched my chest once again inhaling sharply and repeatedly, this pain alarmingly visible.

Bella had arrived to shield us, she knelt down next to me holding me tight, but this pain would never subside, how could it? I had only just truly found him, and now he was being taken away from me, why was life so cruel.

I looked at my mom intently as if waiting for her to make things right as if waiting for approval; an approval for something I hadn't yet done, but she knew. Bella knew instinctively what was coming next and she closed her eyes, as if to dissociate from the forthcoming suggestion, but she was too late, I had already calmly and quietly referred

"There is one thing I could do"

Edward shook his head vehemently, but still he spoke softly

"No…no Ness you can't…not that… he's not a human… you can't turn him you'll kill him"

I looked to my dad, but momentarily only, and cried

"He's dying already, I can't let him go without trying everything… he would never give up on me, you…would never give up on me, and I…we, owe him that at least…don't we?"

I looked at my family once more, only this time it wasn't for approval

"We've done this too him… you…and me" I came round to lie by his side, putting my face next to his; I kissed him gently on his lips. Slowly I moved to his ear.

"Jacob…if you can still hear me, then please, please forgive me, for what I'm about to do"

There was no hesitation, no chance for anyone to advise anything different, as I plunged my teeth deep into his neck, then again into his chest as near to his heart as I could get, injecting him with my venom. I closed my eyes tight and kissed him once more, gently, although, fuelled with passion.

127

Solstice

Bit by bit I studied his now motionless body, remembering all our times together and I couldn't help but smile, even through my tears. I kissed him once more and whispered

"Now, Jacob Black, it is irrefutable…you are a part of me, as I am a part of you…so please…please come back to me baby, in beg you"

Edward turned away suddenly; he couldn't bear to look any longer, as this scene became sadly all too familiar; it was as if he were watching himself and not that long ago either.

His mind bombarded with flashbacks of his daughters birth, and his beautiful Bella, laid dying, that helplessness he felt then, had once more engulfed the fibres of his very being. Now each strand of his mind, body and dubious soul, watched history repeating itself and there wasn't a damn thing he could do, there was nothing within his power that could stop it.

Carlisle abruptly interrupted our train of thought, everything that could be tried to save Jacob, had been done, all we could do now was wait, only time would tell if the venom had been successful.

Nevertheless, it was plain to see that this act had troubled Carlisle, he had a strong suspicion that Jacobs's body would react disastrously to the venom, the way in which his body should respond to it, like the threat it was meant be. Toxic to the wolves, Carlisle had also made it crystal clear that if his body was to reject the venom, then we had just subjected Jacob to a far more excruciating death than it had already been, a thought that weighed heavily on my heart.

During this entire unfolding trauma we'd all remained quite oblivious to the carnage still taking place around us, and it was easy to do so, as we had remained sealed within the safety of Bella's bubble of defence. Everything I cared for most in the world was momentarily cocooned in here with me; but that was all about to change, rapidly.

I stood up and looked around, taking stock of the situation, and I remembered thinking that 'the Volturi were not going to take anything else from me, not now, not today, not ever', and from that point on I couldn't be sure what happened to me.

I felt as though something inside me had snapped, as I ran from my security, from my family, and into the thick of the fight, and by the looks of it, 'for Leah', I was just in time.

Leah was hanging in the air being lifted by her neck and throat, while another guard flanked her, ready to rip the flesh from her stomach, it seemed as though she was being hung, drawn, and quartered; it was ludicrous, their battle tactics were archaic, inflicting old school killings on their pray and by old school whacko's, but for them it was just another kill.

However, to me Leah had become part of my family, regardless as to whether she liked me or not, and I wasn't about to let her die, not if it was within my power to do so. Then as my anger surged, my mind went blank and everything from that point on played out in slow motion, I approached the guard who held her, and I jumped at his legs snapping both his femurs', he immediately fell to the ground automatically releasing his hold from Leah's throat. I then grabbed his arms breaking both of them at the same time, all before I took great delight in plucking them from his body, followed quickly by his head.

128

The longest day

Leah had twisted on her descent, leaving her at just the right height to remove the head from the second guard, with both now dead we acknowledged each other, and then carried on.

ran through the Volturi guards, like some crazed animal, breaking their arms and legs, wherever possible, leaving them incapacitated, like some warped form of torture, unable to protect themselves from the onslaught of the wolves. I knew Carlisle wouldn't agree with my tactics, but I was so hell bent on revenging Jacob's death, that I didn't really care. In fact, I was so blinkered at that point that, I hadn't noticed my assailant move in stealthily behind me.

It seemed the Volturi, loved to attack from behind in a cruel, unorthodox stab in the back, like 'real hero's'. Nevertheless, that's exactly what he did. I felt a sharp pain between my shoulder blades, slowly ripping down and across my back, just as they had done to Jacob. And, although half of me was vampire, my human half was about to show it's fragility, my wounds were severe and I had began to bleed profusely, as I dropped to my knees.

Then I heard my name being screamed out by my family, but they couldn't get to me, still in slow motion I smiled at them and mouthed goodbye, then I closed my eyes as my head dipped forward, my chin resting on my chest; then I waited to die, I waited to join Jacob, and I was ready, it was all so perfectly serene.

Just as I was jolted back to life, reality, and pain, as I felt my body being pulled away? I momentarily managed to open my eyes, and there, stood above me was Eli, tapping my cheek; at first I couldn't hear a thing, I just saw his mouth moving, when it all abruptly came to fruition

"Renesme…..Ness…..look at me"

I shook my head and tried to pull myself up, but I was too weak, as still I continued to bleed.

"Ness, you need to bite me, you have to dink my blood" He held out his wrist out for me to bite, but I pushed it away

"Are you insane, I don't drink blood, that's disgusting" But I was fading in and out of consciousness, and this time when I opened my eyes Leah and Rose had appeared to join Eli, and both looked very worried

"Please Ness, you will die if you don't drink my blood, you can't repair you haven't eaten properly in days, and you've lost too much blood, your too weak"

Leah looked at him surprised that he would have noticed something as trivial as that, and she almost smiled at him for caring. Then Eli went to ask again when Leah stepped in

"I'll get this Eli, you keep watch" And they changed places, but Leah wasn't quite so polite

"Bite now, Ness"She demanded, with Rose backing her up. I knew they were right, but even so it went against my mind set

"I can't bite you it's to dangerous I might….inject you….with…my, ven" I passed out

Luckily for me Leah wasn't about to give up on me either, she looked at Rose and said

"Bite me" And Rose looked horrified

"Leah I can't! What if I taste your blood and don't stop what then?"

129

Solstice

And Leah simply replied "Then Ness dies" So again Leah pushed her wrist towards Roses mouth, this time Rose complied biting into her wrist, but withdrawing instantly before she could taste the blood. Leah opened my mouth letting some of her blood trickle in. It tasted good, as I unconsciously took a hold of her wrist to suck harder, and slowly I felt my body strengthen, and with every mouthful I could feel my body rejuvenate bit by bit. I had never felt as invigorated as I did right now, and it had been the only time in the past few weeks that I hadn't felt sick either.

Leah looked a little pale, but she only needed to rest a while; her body would soon replenish its blood supply, I had only taken the minimum necessary to mend, because even though it had tasted good at the time, it wasn't something I would ever want to get use to.

My mind and body now repaired, it was time once again to push forward, and while my feral attitude had been curbed, my need to kill Aro hadn't. Our battle for the middle floor had at long last been accomplished, but it hadn't been the walk in the park I'd expected it to be, and unfortunately we had lost at least fifteen of the wolves.

And in my mind, they weren't about to have died in vain, there were only a handful of the Volturi left and we were about to take them out.

It was with pride that I now took the lead along side Eli and my parents, closely pursued by the rest of our family, they in turn now shadowed by the wolves, quietly…slowly, and they made there way to the upper quarters of Volterra.

Thus far our attacks had been swift, maintained and executed methodically, with even the phased wolves managing to kill without so much as a whimper. And, while we had suffered losses it had been deemed deadly for the Volturi.

I glanced back at our rebellious army, the tensions almost perceptible, yet at the same time and perhaps wrongly, it was physically stimulating, although emotionally overwhelming, but I couldn't help be touched by their loyalties, never mind the sheer enormity of their numbers and all willing to risk their own lives in order to save two others whom the vast majority of wolves had never even met. I stood silently observing them and completely in awed.

Upon nearing the top of the staircase I waved my hands signalling the wolves to hold fast, it was of the utmost importance that we kept the element of surprise especially if the wolves were to get anywhere near the remaining Volturi and before they had a chance to tuck tail and run. It was vital they stayed out of ear shot or the Volturi would hear their hearts beating. And, even thought the vampires were vastly outnumbered now, the wolves could still suffer more losses to their packs, which was something I desperately aimed to avoid.

The atonement I hungered for was so close I could almost taste it, a revenge that was going to be savoured; a life for a life and for me only Aro's life would do, indeed, that part of my plan was crucial. I wanted to finish what the Volturi had started; 'what Aro had started', and what had began as a want, had become an absolute need for me, because now, more than ever before my hatred was all-consuming.

Aro was such a fool; he'd allowed his greed for the Cullen's gifts to mar any rational judgments that he'd once had.

130

The longest day

His gluttony now made him injudicious and foolhardy; what's more, he truly believed that there would never be 'trial nor retribution'.

Aro's had never kept secret his feelings with regards his 'sovereignty' in his mind, and not reality! There could be no abdication on his part.

Unfortunately for him, he had stupidly made enemies on both sides of the fence, and I along with others now had other ideas. Today Aro was to receive his absolution. They were about to be unceremoniously dethroned with their hierarchical regime being crushed like mere parasitic cockroaches as I believed they were.

It was just us Cullen's that entered the main antechamber where we now stood united, confronting not only the remainder of the Volturi, but their deadliest, the wolves did as requested and stayed out of sight, and earshot, remaining still and silent, with the exception of a hand full.

Now unified and standing either side of Bella and Edward were Eli and Sam, then behind us all stood five extra wolves, all un-phased, and indubitably none had gone unnoticed

"Welcome…my dear, dear, friend Carlisle, and his portentously diverse coven"

He waved his arms dramatically pointing at us; along with a half smile and antipathy, all the while glairing at Sam, and Eli, but especially Eli.

His voice now deepened immeasurably

"Clever"

He exclaimed, but receiving no acknowledgment of what he meant, he continued.

"I mean using our very own creation against us 'the Pheromone inhibitor' its amazing yes. Although, I'm eager to discover how you came by it, as it was locked away in our laboratory? Then having it at your disposal! And I'm surprised you mustered such a meagre pack against us; really Carlisle…you insult us"

Aro paced a while, then turned to study Carlisle's demeanour fastidiously, Carlisle however, failed to show Aro the same interest; he was giving nothing away, much to Aro's displeasure. He held out his hand for Carlisle to take hold of, but once again Carlisle paid him no head, he simply continued to watch the Volturi's movements.

"So much disrespect Carlisle" As he tutted thrice "Do not think you can call on old alliances to save you Carlisle, there can be no mercy here today, this is the second time you've stood against me, you and your family"

"Disgraceful" Caius added, provoking Carlisle to break his silence.

"It pains me also Aro, that such events have yet again transpired, and leave us with little or no choice, but to stand against you once more…and you need not worry, I will call on no such alliances, but in return, we will allow you the same leniencies"

'Infuriated', Aro retorted "We will ask no quarter"

"And none will be given" Carlisle snapped again.

Aro then walked around us and the wolves, stopping directly in front of me

"Ahh young Renesme" He smiled eerily "As beautiful as your mother, but are you as deadly?" He scorned "It seems to me that there are far too many hearts beating in this room for my liking, and risky for you, so what possible reason could you have for being here?"

I ignored his comment with regards the hearts "Why Aro, I thought you knew! You have something I want" And I smiled sweetly at him.

131

Solstice

As he glared at me, it was easy to see he was unimpressed

"So you thought a vampire could live with a dog, breeding litters of pups and the Volturi would condone your heresy, or maybe you thought Carlisle and I could sit and come to some agreement on your behalf" He stared deep into my eye's

"Aro please, I wouldn't want Carlisle to lower his standards by asking anything of you. When we all know that your word is so…now what's the word I'm looking for…ah yes…unreliable"

He said nothing and circled us again, this time stopping in front of Eli

"And here you are again, young Eli, I can see you have acquired the talent for treachery"

Eli acknowledged him, as if it were a compliment

"Indeed Aro, you taught me well"

Aro knew he would have only one chance to attack us, and that's while we were oblivious to his scheming and could catch us off guard, he also knew he had to get to Bella first, if the Volturi were to have any chance of using their gifts as a defence against us. And, this time he was clever enough to keep his thought jumbled, so Edward couldn't read them. It seemed Edward, had already acquired far more of Aro's thoughts than he ought, but in truth, Aro was blissfully unaware to the half of it.

He began circling us once again. Only this time his motives unbeknownst to us were far more sinister, he continued his walk slowly, this time stopping as he paralleled with the five wolves that stood directly behind us. Then he simply waited there, contemplating; even Alice had been locked out of his mind. It appeared that Aro had also been doing his homework when it came down to mind control.

Stupidly, we waited for him to head back round; wondering who he would try to intimidate next, but evidently that wasn't what he had in mind. At first I thought he'd fell, and paid him no heed, but without actually turning to see him things weren't very clear, and I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of acknowledgment, although, very soon I'd wished I had.

I wasn't at all sure of his mindset, but honestly, I believed that this time he had genuinely flipped, and had started to perform the Kalinka, the male Russian folk dance. He had crouched down, balancing his hind quarters on the calf of his left leg, leaving his right leg extended as he twisted clockwise. In vampire time, as he did so he smacked into one of the wolves legs, which lifted him clean off the ground, but as he fell back towards the floor, Aro widened his hand like a claw, ripping out the wolves throat, and killing him instantly. Then he jumped onto his right leg, repeating the routine, and the butchery at, which point Alice's vision kicked in immediately alerting Edward, he grabbed us to turn just in time for Aro's leg to change over once again.

Jane stepped forward and looked at Edward "Pain" and she proceeded inflicting her pain on him, through her devilled stare, knowing full well that Bella would come to his rescue and shields him, thus allowing Aro to continue with his twisted form of the Kalinka. Only this time they hadn't counted on me being quite so proactive.

I threw myself to the floor, sliding quickly through Roses' legs, kicking out as I reached the other side, and I had just enough stretch and force, to impede Aro's crouched leg from properly reaching the floor this time, so he jumped, high back flipping over all of us, and landing perfectly between Caius and Marcus.

132

The longest day

Aro looked pleased with himself, thinking that he had just diminished the numbers enough to win this fight, and he signalled Jane to stop her pain infliction. Poor Aro, he had absolutely no idea what he was up against.

We all stood confronting each other again, but I'd had enough, I didn't want to play his wicked games anymore, and so I nodded at Eli, whom in turn, told the wolves to enter the atrium.

Gradually you could see the Volturi's gloating smirks begin to wane, as the wolves entered the atrium two at a time, one veered off to the left and the other to the right, their bodies were in the attack posture, their heads were stooped, their mouths snarling, as the saliva dripped from their teeth at the mere thought of killing the last of the Volturi. Aro, Caius, Felix, Jane and Alex formed a circle, back to back as the wolves began patrolling around them, herding them together. I walked over to Aro and wiggled my fingers at his face

"You wanted to read Carlisle's mind, but here's mine instead…please, take it, I insist" He looked at me with a defiant stare

"I knew I should have killed you when I had the chance, we should have known you'd be trouble"

"Your right Aro, you should have killed me when you had the chance, but all of this" I waved my arm around the room "Is all due purely to your greed…your need for more"

And I grabbed his hand

"Here let me show you"And I touched his face with my spare hand, showing him exactly what I knew he wouldn't want to see. Jacob and I in love, I refrained from showing us in the throws of passion, although the errant side of me secretly wanted to, I then revealed Carlisle confirming my pregnancy with Jacobs baby, but it wasn't quite enough, I wanted to gloat in his despondency, so I showed me biting Jacob, in a bid to save his life, and it was that look I savoured the most, that mix of alarmed torment, I stopped touching him, and turned away, but I had to admit that I was sadistically enjoying his pain, so slowly I turned back to look at him once more, and I smiled

"Oh yes…before I forget, there's something someone else wants to say to you" And I stepped aside. As Marcus stepped forward, and Aro looked at him perplexed

"Before I die Aro, I want you to know it was I who allowed the Cullen's in, and it was I whom supplied them with the pheromone inhibitor" The shock now abundantly clear on Aro's face

"Why, brother, why would you betray us, your family?" A comment that awakened Marcus's wrath

"Do not talk to me of families, when you betrayed yours with such ease"

"My dear, dear, Marcus I don't understand, what are you implying"

"I imply nothing Aro, I know the truth, it was revealed to me, and you took my beautiful Didi, your own sister from me"

"I can assure you Marcus it was not I, who sank my teeth into her, ripping her limb from limb"

"Semantics, Aro, mere semantics, you delivered her to the wolves. Enough with your lies my life here has been an endless cacophony of betrayals, and your incessant scheming has made me weary.

133

Solstice

I have no need for life, you saw to that, so this is my repayment to you, and now I can die in peace" And he ripped the medallion from his neck, throwing it at Aro. With that he unceremoniously dropped to his knees, holding out his arms like Christ the redeemer; he was almost looking forward to his demise.

Rose and Bella approached him, each taking a hold of one of his arms, and Marcus closed his eyes, but he was shocked as they lifted him from the floor

"Not today Marcus, it's not your turn to die today" And they escorted him back to his seat. Aro took this as an indication that there maybe a glimmer of hope, with some way of working things out.

Emmett and Jasper took a hold of Caius and brought him round to face his partner in crime, Aro. Emmett kicked the back of Caius's legs, dropping him to the floor, and they he kept him there his arms outstretched as they held him by his wrists, with their other hands pressed firmly onto his shoulders

"Is there anything you wish to say, before you leave us Caius" I asked politely, but he looked at me with despise and made a spitting gesture at me instead

"Obviously not" I mocked

I took a hold of his face and as he tried to pull away I performed a hands free cartwheel twisting his head a full three hundred and sixty degrees, and removed it far too easily, as my uncles relieved him of his arms. Aro closed his eyes as he couldn't bear to watch.

We couldn't take our time with Alex, his death mist was far too potent to mess with so Edward and Carlisle, extinguished his life before he even had a chance to see it coming, but it was too quick and painless for my liking, he deserved far worse. It all became too much for Aro so he decided to try and talk his way out of his forthcoming termination.

"Let's not do anything rash Carlisle, you are but one coven of many, and there are those out there who are loyal to the Volturi, and they will see this rebellious act as treason. However was I to live, I could reason with them, tell them that this was a necessary act to rid the Volturi of conspirators?"

I had been sitting in Aro's chair my legs crossed and my arms extended along the plush fabric, while my fingers tapped the gilt wood, and I had to admit I liked watching the Volturi as the victims, but I liked watching Aro's persecution the most.

Then Carlisle interjected

"I thought we were not to call on old alliances Aro, we were to ask no quarter, and none would be given"

"You must understand Carlisle I do not ask this for myself, I do it for all the Volturi"

I shook my head in disbelief

"What Volturi Aro? There is no more Volturi" I walked down the steps, looking at Felix "For feigning ignorance" I spurted at him

I went in front of Jane, and brushed her chin with my fingertips "For every ounce of pain you've inflicted"

Then I walked round, stopping at Aro, and I lifted his face so I could look him straight in the eyes "For every unnecessary life you took, it's time to pay for your sins"

However, Felix had no intention of giving up without a fight, it took four wolves to pin him down, but still he struggled.

134

The longest day

Josiah paced slowly, back and forth, studying Felix's movements, until just the right moment, when he went in for the kill, one large accurate bite to his neck in two concise moves and Josiah spat his head away, as the remaining wolves dismembered him. Jane was far simpler, Eli lunged at her knocking her to the ground, and from there he brusquely relieved her of her extremities.

Then Aro foolishly believed he could make a run for it, presuming that everyone was too preoccupied to notice that he was still alive. He saw a window for escape, and he headed towards it, aiming to make his way through the large double doors. And he was shocked that the wolves parted for him giving him clear access, which he foolishly believed to be a sign of their weakness.

I stood in front of his throne watching him cut through the sea of wolves, allowing him a clear pathway down the centre of the atrium, but as he neared the doors I shouted to him

"Going somewhere Aro, and in the middle of our gathering, how rude" Aro stopped dead in his tracks, then turned to look at me

"An easy victory for you young Renesme, when you have an army to back you"

"Don't fool yourself Aro, rest assured that I need no army to stand against the likes of you. And the mistake you made by letting me live, I will not be repeating with you" with that there had been enough talk, and I ran at him full speed, as did he at me, jumping at me trying to take a hold of my head, but I managed to somersault over the top of him kicking his back on my turn. We both landed in the squat position, and both instantly turned to face one another, as he quickly made another jump at my face, so I threw myself to the ground sliding beneath him in the opposite direction, barely missing any immanent contact. This time it was my turn to jump, and he wasn't expecting my speed, I caught him off guard kicking him square to the centre of his chest and sending him flying towards the wall, but he recovered well and landed on his feet.

I knew Aro would be strong, a force to be reckoned with, and I wasn't wrong. Therefore I also knew if I wanted to defeat him I would have to pull something quite special out of the hat. There had been a lot of jumping athleticism taking place, and we could have been there all day doing that, consequently, I decided I needed to up the anti. Once again I flew at him, and this time I grabbed a hold of his neck as he gripped mine, and that's where we remained, in a crazed stand off, revealing to one another who could squeeze the hardest; only I had the edge, as my neck wouldn't crack or crumble under the pressure, Aro had no other choice but to jump away from me and he used my body to do so.

He had been weakened, and it was then I saw my chance, back flipping in the opposite direction, landing in front of the marble steps. I turned to kneel in front of them, mustering all of my anger, all of my hatred, for him, it surged inside me as I punched the bottom step, hard with both fists clenched, and breaking it into a multitude of sharp, shards of marble. Then I heard Aro heading back towards me, as I had anticipated he would, and I picked up two of the larger chunks of the serrated edged marble, I waited, motionless, until I felt the breeze from his speed reach me, then I jumped, high performing a double twist, as my body went left my right hand slid across one side of his throat, and as I twisted right my left hand slid across the other side of his throat.

135

Solstice

I landed, turning to face him as those tell tale signs of his decapitation took a hold.

I walked over to him and knelt in front of him, I wanted to be the last thing he saw as his head rolled away from his body, that's when my mom strolled over to him.

And she placed her foot where his head had once been attached and she pulled hard, until she heard that distinct sound of them ripping, that's when she let out a huge sigh of relief as they finally detached from his torso. There was only one thing left to do, and that was burn him, and at least he wasn't on his own, he had joined the rest his friends and loyal colleagues on their mass funeral pyre, which I imagined by now was fully established.

The wolves had now phased back to their human form, and we all stood around suddenly looking very lost, none of us really able to take in the magnitude of what we had just achieved, but for me, the world already felt lighter and brighter than it had in a long, long while. Then Cain, Xander and the two new born professors were escorted into the atrium to join us, they had lived because they refused to fight, and it was this trait that we desired the most in vampires, especially if they were to head a new Volturi.

Our time here was spent, there was no more we could do, and I needed leave, I wanted to get back to Jacob, I needed to know if he had survived my venom or if he was lost to me for good. My family and I shook the hands of all the wolves and congratulated them for their victory, and then I came face to face with Eli

"I'm so sorry I put you through all this, Ness" He spoke softly. And I smiled at him,

"This part I had no problem with, Eli, I just wish that you'd approached us sooner, it would have saved the whole Jacob incident" He lowered his head

"I know that now, but it didn't seem that simple at the time, things got complicated with me and Leah" I looked over at her, and while all the wolves talked and smiled she stood alone and sad

"I know, and I forgive you" I reached up and held on to him tightly, and I kissed his cheek "As for Leah, if you go to her she will forgive you" I whispered in his ear

"I don't think so Ness, she made that abundantly clear on the plane"

"You don't know much about women do you Eli? You hurt her deeply, but she can't take her eyes off you, or you with her for that matter, she's in love with you. Don't be a fool, don't loose her" Then I let him go.

We made our way to the atrium doors and I looked back one last time. Eli had taken my advice, and was now talking to Leah and although she had tears in her eyes, I knew she could never let him go. Then I turned my attention to Marcus, who was staring at us, looking almost confused that we were leaving

"I thought you would all stay, and take over the newly acquired positions that have recently become vacant" And, he smiled

"No, it's up to you now, to fill the voids. Rebuild your Volturi, make it modern and caring" Then Carlisle weighed in

"Marcus, times have changed, and just because things had always been conducted in certain manner, it didn't necessarily mean it was the right way" I stepped in again

"Make things right Marcus, make us vampires proud of who and what we are. Work with Josiah, make new alliances, build bridges, we really don't need to be enemies, I think we all proved that here today"

136

The longest day

And I turned to walk away

"Renesme" Marcus shouted "I'm sorry for your loss, I know how hard it is…love should never be taken from us, under any circumstances" And we smiled at each other, but he still seemed concerned

"I don't know what to do, or even where to start" I whispered to my dad and he disappeared

"There is only one place you can start Marcus, and that's at the beginning, the Volturi is in your new charge now" Then, Edward reappeared

"Here try this" And I threw him a jar of my Revamp that my dad had kindly gone and got for me "Set tongues wagging, start a rumour that there's a real descendant of St Marcus coming back, and is thinking of taking up residency here. Then you can reveal yourself at your festival and make sure you shine, only in an acceptable manner of course. Why don't you start there?"

He looked at the jar of Revamp

"Wear it with pride Marcus" I laughed "Only the good guys get that" And with that, my family, our packs and I, left them so they could start the lengthy process of rebuilding their futures, as we headed out to resume ours, starting with me telling my family the truth.

I sat at the edge of the water digging my toes into the moist sand, then allowing the calm, ebb and flow of the tide to gently wash it away again. The sun was delightfully warm and the scenery picturesque, Esme Island had turned out to be the perfect sanctuary in which to hide my pregnancy. And the decision to come here had been unanimous, but it had been a long, long, ten months away from Forks, our home, and our families.

I turned to look at the house where Rose and Bella, both sat on rocking chairs, each cradling a baby, mine and Jacob's babies and I couldn't help but smile at the picture of contentment that both baby's had once again brought to our family. Everyone queued to take a turn at cuddling them and I'd become aware quite early on that the cribs we had bought for them were going to remain redundant for quite some time, well in the very near future anyway.

They were four weeks old now and thankfully they seemed to be growing at the same rate as a human, as had my pregnancy's gestation, the whole long-lasting, forty weeks. I had given birth naturally, and without any complications, to a healthy six pound seven ounce, baby girl, then followed thirty five minutes later by a healthy seven pound one ounce baby boy. And it had been decided early on that in the same tradition as my mom, that we would name them by merging certain family member's names. Our son was named Jed, after Jacob and Edward, and our daughter was named Sarbela, after Jacob's and my Mom, although it hadn't taken long for them to abbreviate it to Saba.

Jed had taken after me a little, his hair was a mousey brown with caramel coloured eyes and a paler skin tone, although he was still far darker than me, and he was quite long too. Saba on the other hand resembled her dad, her skin wasn't as dark as Jacobs yet, but it was clear to see that it would end up so.

137

Solstice

Her hair was as dark as night and her eye's a deep chocolate brown, and she had the cutest little button nose, but both were beautiful and of course it went without saying that they were both adored equally.

I turned back to face the sea and pondered some more. Just nine months ago I was uncertain of who or what I was. I struggled with all of my emotions constantly, believing that the vampire in me had dominantly suppressed my human half, but that day at the Volterra, everything changed. I found myself that day, as I realised that scared little girl was the human me, and that the vampire in me had been my alter ego all along.

I grew that day; I embraced who I really was, who I was supposed to be, and more importantly who I wanted to be. And now I had changed, I was sexy, smart and exceptionally strong both in body and now in mind, and what's more I liked her. At last I felt comfortable in my skin.

I also felt incredibly privileged to have fought along side the wolves, to which I ultimately owe my life, and that of my babies. The only regret I have was the amount of fatalities sustained by the Mannaro and Garou .Especially as there should never have been a necessity for good people to die in the first place, which made me a little sad.

Then I heard my name being shouted, with perfect timing to, as it thankfully prevented even more maudlin thoughts. I turned to see Leah and Eli walk through the clearing and waving at me. I smiled and waved back, I had been shocked when I found out of Eli's imprinting on Leah, back in Fork's and at the very beginning. He had turned out to be an exceptional wolf, man and adversary, his self control was second to none and then to leave his family and pack to whom he was dedicated, it had to hard. They also had a baby boy, Isaac, who was just one week older than my twins, which also meant that Leah went to fight, and allowed me to feed from her knowing all along that she could die and her unborn child along with her had secretly made her my hero.

I jumped up to meet them, stealing her baby for a cuddle, as I wasn't about to be allowed access to either of mine anytime soon. Isaac was another beautiful baby, with his jet black hair like his parents, their skin tone, and his father's hypnotic azure eye's. I couldn't help but feel truly blessed, with both my paternal family, my own family and our newly forged friendships.

Jacobs pack had travelled to the island with us for our protection, and Sam's pack had returned home to Forks, in order to resume there visual, although we were quietly confident that now the Volturi were gone, than so was the threat of many unfavourable vampires. Then I heard my name shouted once again, and I looked up, and there he was, Jacob returning from his patrol.

My venom had restored him and he lived once again, and he was as gorgeous as ever, in fact maybe even a little more so. He was fractionally paler, but really, barely unnoticeable, and there was no glimmer. His strength however, had increased immeasurably, he could still phase to wolf or he could become this unknown specimen of two legged animal not quite vampire not quite wolf, but his capabilities were at present unparalleled.

138

The longest day

His personality hadn't changed though he was still the kind and loving Jacob we all knew, and he adored his babies, giving my family a run for their money when it came down to cuddle time. However, what Jacob had become? In reality, we couldn't be one hundred percent sure; we had no way of measuring his capabilities because we simply didn't know what to start looking for.

There was one thing of which we were all certain, Jacob was unique, the only vampire wolf in existence and as for our twins, Saba and Jed, they too were peerless, unequalled in their lineage, part human, part wolf and part vampire they were a new breed. Hybrids, incarnate and the story wasn't about to end here, this was only their beginning. This was the dawn of a new era; this was a whole new saga.

139