A/N: First off the disclaimer: I do not own any of this. The Twilight Saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer.
Now, this is going to take place in New Moon after Edward leaves and at least in the beginning will be mostly EPOV. Basically anything from the book other than him leaving and the birthday party didn't happen.
This is only my second story and is much more intense than the first so let me know what you think.
Chapter 1 Emergency
EPOV
It has been only six months since I last saw my Bella, heartbroken in the middle of the woods. Every day I have to forcibly remind myself why I left her. I replay her birthday over and over in my head. Sure I was able to protect her that one time but what if I wasn't there to protect her. I knew I had to remove my world from hers and that included removing me. I miss her more and more every day and will continue to do so until her last breath where I will follow her into whatever afterlife awaits me. If there is a God, I pray He will show mercy on me and let us be together in death. Of course I would never admit my secret wish because I know this is a dream too good to be true.
I'm currently traveling through South America, attempting to track Victoria. My tracking skills are subpar and I find myself reaching for my phone to contact Alice for aide in my search. I shouldn't bother her though; I've done enough to my siblings and parents. Not only have I taken their brother and son from them but also their sister and daughter. Alice and Esme are the most upset, although I noticed Emmett isn't his normal happy go lucky self. Jasper is feels extremely guilty and I tried to explain that it wasn't him but what he is, what we are, that steeled my resolve to leave her. I have never blamed him. Carlisle is upset but he understands the most out of everyone. Rosalie is well she's Rosalie and is just pissed she had to move again. She was one of the main reasons I left the family, though no one knows this. She kept telling me how much danger I brought down on the family by being with a human and exposing our world. She also started planning to make Tanya her new sister. She and Tanya got along well since they were both shallow minded and self-centered. She started making plans for Tanya to live with us the next time we went to high school again and Tanya was going to attempt to "seduce" me. Yeah, like I could be tempted by her when I know there is an angel out there. This brought my thoughts back to Bella. It didn't take much for me to think of her and then I'd have to fight the urge to jump the next plane to Forks.
I was currently calculating how long it would take to me to run back to Forks when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I looked at the screen and saw it was Carlisle. Lately, I only answered his calls, since everyone else would just try to get me to come home.
"Carlisle."
"Edward, we need you to come home and before you argue it's not a request." He was using his firm "leader of this coven" voice and I knew it was serious.
"Can you tell me what this is about at all?" I was praying it wasn't Bella. I had a sinking feeling it was though.
"No son, not on the phone. It is urgent for you to come immediately. We're in the house in Alaska. Alice managed to book you a flight that did not stop in Seattle. She knew you would protest and as much as I would like to see you return to Forks, we need you here." I knew this was serious now. I couldn't imagine what would warrant this reaction from him.
"I'm on my way." I hung up the phone and started for the airport. Within four hours I was on a plane back to my family but not back to my heart.
I was greeted my Carlisle when I landed. Everyone else must know what's going on and to make it so they didn't have to block their thoughts only he came. He had mastered shielding his thoughts from me and Alice was the only other person who came close to his skill level. We greeted each other but I could tell he was anxious to we just continued to the car in silence. He broke the silence when we were inside the car.
"It's good to see you again son. Esme is thrilled to have you home." He smiled at me but it didn't reach his eyes. They were clouded with worry that I have never seen from him before.
"Carlisle, please tell me what is going on. Did something happen to…" I trailed off not able to speak her name.
"I honestly don't know if something has happened to Bella and I'm not sure if this even has anything to do with her. We've been summoned to Italy, the entire family including the Denali's. We received an invitation to join the Volturi to celebrate St. Marcus Day. We all know that is just a disguise to get us there and we have no idea what they are really seeking. It could just be another attempt to acquire you and Alice or even just to check the status of our family and if there are any new members. Or worse case scenario, they know about Bella. Alice hasn't had any visions to give us any indication."
This was very bad. If it was about me or Alice or even just checking up on us, we'd be fine. If it was about Bella I would have to protect her but there was no way I could protect her while in Volterra. Another problem was if we come into contact with Aro, then he will for sure know about Bella. This was a lose-lose situation. Carlisle's thoughts were echoing my own and from them I discovered the entire family did know about this like I thought.
I only saw one way out of this. "Carlisle, I think we should all go to Volterra but when it comes down to Bella only I will be punished for this. I will not allow the family to pay for my actions. I need to know you all will do everything to protect her."
"Edward," he said sternly "we will work something out. No one will be hurt. I will protect both you and Bella." I could see he truly believed this could be resolved without violence but I knew better. I had broken the law by exposing myself to a human. Normally the vampire would be given a warning and human killed but I hoped my sacrifice would keep her safe.
We pulled up to the house and I heard my family's thoughts welcoming me back, sort of. Alice was stilled pissed for having to leave Bella and she was wondering if she should try to see her future and if I would get mad about it. I thought about and decided it was for the best, if we could determine she was safe, then perhaps this wasn't about her and we could just avoid touching Aro.
"Thank you so much, Edward. You finally made a good choice." Alice began searching for her future and I turned to the other thoughts. I knew if I saw Bella in her mind I would submerse myself and never come out.
Esme's thoughts were a string of "my sweet boy" over and over. I felt so guilty for hurting her like this. I wished I was strong enough to have stayed with the family but with Rosalie's planning, seeing the couples together and Jasper's guilt compounding my own I had to get away.
Emmett kept picturing a fightwith the Volturi. There was nothing he loved more than a good fight. He was so excited to be able to take down James but he was also proud of himself to protect his baby sister. From his thoughts I knew he missed wrestling with me and Jasper. I again felt guilty for taking her and myself from their lives.
Jasper was happy to see me back but like Emmett was thinking about confronting the Volturi. His mind wasn't on the fight though; rather he was running through several military strategies. He was trying to think of every situation we could find ourselves in, including what type of room we may be in when the confrontation started. His thoughts whirled with placement of people to protect our weakest link and how to use our abilities to our advantages. He even thought of a scenario that included Bella in case she was kidnapped to Volterra but I shied away from it. It was too upsetting to even think about right now.
Rosalie's thoughts were pissed, worried, smug and conniving. She was once again pissed off that I exposed ourselves to Bella and had a relationship with her. She was worried about going to Italy and what the outcome may be. She was smug that she was right all along and I should have left Bella alone or allowed them to kill her after the van incident. She was also thinking that once we were done with the Volturi, she was going to convince me to marry Tanya. She started shielding her thoughts when she started thinking about that. I did however catch a glimpse of it and just the thought started a low growl that I could not contain. She thought Bella would be killed by the Volturi and we would be given a warning. Once Bella was out of the way, Tanya was going to step in and help me "get over my grief." Little did she know I wouldn't live in a world without my Bella, no without Bella, she's not mine anymore.
I entered the house, despite not wanting to see Rosalie. As soon as I was in the foyer, I was wrapped up in a hug from Esme. She held me tight and sobbing with dry tears. I held her just as tight, relishing the comfort she gave me, though it was small. She whispered in my ear, "You will never leave us again." I just nodded my head to acknowledge her but I knew there were circumstances surrounding us and I could not promise that to her.
Alice hugged me next and when I went to release her she stayed attached. Jasper chuckled and pried her off me and gave me the one armed man hug. Rosalie just nodded her head and Emmett picked me up in a giant bear hug. I was slightly fearful he was actually going to crush me.
Carlisle came in the door and said, "The Denali's are on their way now. The invitation requested our presence in two so we have little time to plan." I nodded and made my way to my room to drop off my bag. No sooner than I set it down, my mind began to fill with disgusting images. This was Tanya's attempt to seduce me, showing me which ways she could bend. It was disturbing to say the least. I stayed in my room until the last possible second. When I descended the last step, Tanya launched herself at me hugging me with enthusiasm. I returned it half heartedly, attempting to remain polite. Carlisle and Esme looked at me with sympathy. When Tanya turned to kiss me, I reached my limit and forced her off of me and greeted the rest of the family.
Carlisle led us all to the dining room. There weren't enough seats for all of us but we allowed the women to sit while the men stood. Carlisle was still at the head of the table behind Esme where he faced the crowd.
"I know you all understand why we are here but we need to make sure we cover our bases. The Volturi have summoned us and we must go, there is no other option. Now the best case scenario is they wish to ask some of us to join the guard. I highly doubt this is the case but it is possible. Next, would be they simply wish to check up on us due to our size and eating habits. Aro has always been weary of us and perhaps they want more information. Now the worst case scenario is they know about Bella. I doubt they will harm us in any way but they may go after her. We will only know this after we meet with them and only if they haven't gone to her first." Everyone's thoughts turned to Bella facing the Volturi by herself and I had conflicting urges. I wanted to either lie in a ball and wallow in my misery or go to Forks and kidnap Bella myself to make sure she was safe. Neither was going to help our situation but the latter was very enticing, especially if Bella could somehow forgive me and still love me.
Alice looked over at me with a sad expression on her face. I tried to read her thoughts but she was blocking them. "Edward, I'm sorry. I'm been trying to look into Bella's future since you agreed but its black. There's nothing there."
"Alice, what are you talking about?" From Carlisle's thoughts I could tell he was worried what this meant for Bella and he was wondering when I agreed to let Alice look for her.
"When Edward came home, I asked if I could look into Bella's future to make sure she was safe and he agreed. I've been searching everything but it's all black." The thoughts surrounding me all consisted of an already dead Bella and the pain I felt was far worse than even the pain of changing to a vampire. I thought for sure I was going to die from it. My knees buckled from under me and I heard this awful anguished sound and realized belatedly it came from me. I felt arms surround me and smelled Esme's scent, while she rocked me on the floor in the dining room both of us shaking from the sobs pouring from our bodies. Nobody said anything and thankfully they even tried to block their thoughts from me, even Tanya and Rose.
Finally, Jasper spoke, "What about Charlie? Alice can you see him, maybe that will give us an idea so we don't jump to conclusions." He looked at me while he said this and I felt my heart swell with hope. I didn't know if it was from his gift or his idea.
Alice sat there with a blank stare and I knew she was looking but I refused to read her mind. I wasn't strong enough to see something bad right now. Her eyes unglazed and she smiled brightly.
"Charlie's fine. He's at work right now but this weekend he will be going fishing. He wouldn't be fishing if something happened to Bella." I was flooded with relief from her words but I was still worried about my angel.
"Thank goodness, but I still think we need to ensure she is safe. Alice, maybe you could call their house. Charlie likes you enough that even if she wasn't there, he would tell you where she is." Carlisle's thoughts mirrored my own, relieved and hopeful but still worried.
Esme and I were still on the floor holding one another, shaken by what we had just gone through. She knew I needed a mother's comfort and I think she also needed the comfort that I was still with her.
Carlisle resumed the meeting, "The next item we need to discuss is not allowing the Volturi to know about Bella if they don't already. This means no one can touch Aro. I don't want to risk it and put us in more unnecessary danger." We all nodded our heads understanding. From their thoughts they all understood and knew they would avoid it even if the Volturi knew of Bella, but Tanya was blocking her thoughts from me but I didn't question it. Hopefully she was just trying not to think about sleeping with me.
"We leave tonight and I want everyone to hunt before we leave. I don't plan to stay long so pack lightly." Carlisle gave a pointed look at Alice and she nodded her head seriously. From her thoughts she only planned on one bag for both her and Jasper. She was deciding what everyone should wear when we meet with the Volturi but other than that she didn't care what we packed. I don't think Alice has ever gone anywhere without at least three bags, even when we go on extended hunting trips she packs several bags.
Esme squeezed me tightly then rose gracefully from the floor and followed everyone out of the house to hunt. The only people remaining were myself, Carlisle and Alice. Alice pulled out her cell phone and dialed the all too familiar number.
APOV
I dialed the number to Bella and Charlie's house and searched the future to see who would answer, praying it would be Bella, but luck was not on my side. Charlie was going to reluctantly answer and miss part of the baseball game he was watching.
"Chief Swan." Ahh, Charlie will always first and foremost be the wonderful police chief to the small town of Forks.
"Charlie, this is Alice Cullen, how are you?" I said in my sweetest voice. I knew Charlie liked me but I still worried about his reaction.
I heard an intake of air and then he softly said, "Is that really you Alice?"
"It's really me, Charlie. I was hoping I could talk to Bella. I miss her so much." That was the understatement of the century.
"Alice, I'm really sorry but Bella left town after you guys left. Every now and then I get a post card but I haven't heard from her in a while." I started to panic wondering where she would go and why she would leave her dad.
"Do you know where she went? Is she with Renee?" I got up and started pacing, frantically searching her future.
"Alice, there's something you don't know about Bella. She's not actually my daughter. She was living with Renee as a foster child when I adopted her. After Renee and I divorced, we kept in touch as friends and when Bella came to live with her, I went there to meet her. Bella was so much like me and looked so much like me that Renee swore she was my daughter and Bella and I grew close. When Renee remarried and wanted to travel with Phil I suggested Bella live with me and I decided to adopt her. We told everyone she was mine from my marriage to Renee so that she wouldn't be involved with the town gossip anymore than she already was. It's amazing how you can plant memories in people's heads. No one ever met Bella and yet they all had stories from her childhood." He chuckled as he said this and I was completely shocked. I couldn't believe she wouldn't tell us this when we trusted her with our secret.
"If you adopted her, then why did she leave?" I still couldn't wrap my mind around this.
"She was so upset when you all left. She was a shell of her former self. One day she received a phone call and she seemed to cheer up slightly but it still wasn't the same. That night she told me it was her real mother who called her and after they spoke she decided to meet her. I tried to get her to let me come with her but she refused and was stubborn as ever. She said she wanted a fresh start and she thanked me for everything. She got her GED and promised to stay in touch." He sounded sad when he said this but yet happy for her.
"Wow, Charlie thank you for telling me all of this. Did she give any indication where she might be? Where do the post cards come from?"
"Well the last one was from New York and before that Chicago. She said she was given access to a trust fund her grandparents setup for her and she is now traveling before she will go to college in the fall. The last one said she was going to travel through Europe." I paled at this, praying she wasn't in Italy.
"Thank you so much, Charlie. Please feel free to contact me at anytime and if you hear from Bella please call me."
"I will do that, Alice, but I'm not sure if she would want Edward to know. You take care of yourself."
I hung up the phone and looked at Edward. He had the same expression on his face as I did, worry.
Carlisle spoke, "Let's hunt. We won't be able to help her if we're weak." We all ran out of the house and began the hunt.
EPOV
I didn't know what to feel as we boarded the plane. Part of me was angry with Bella for not telling me the truth. Why would she lie about being adopted? Did she not trust me? This led to painful thoughts; maybe she didn't love me at all? No, she did, I can't deny that. I also felt guilty for hurting her so much she felt the need to run as soon as the first opportunity arose. Of course, I don't know the whole story about her real mother or why she gave Bella up. I worried for her, for us, for my family. If Bella was already dead, I was going to ask the Volturi to end me and if they refused I was going to force their hand. If Bella was alive, I was going to give anything to protect her, my life included. If by some miracle, she is alive and we're allowed to leave Volterra and live our lives, then I would do anything for her to forgive me. If she couldn't forgive me, then I would at least make sure she was happy. Finally, if she was not in Volterra, I was going to find her.
I felt sorry for Alice and Jasper. They were trying to enjoy each other but Alice was hit by so many visions because of the numerous decisions being made every minute. Jasper was being hit with everyone's emotions and was trying so hard not to project it out. I was being bombarded with thoughts, each couple thought of their mate and I couldn't help but think of Bella. I remembered the time we spent in the meadow and lost myself in the memory.
We arrived in Volterra the morning of St. Marcus Day. The town was preparing for the celebration. When we pulled up to the castle and were greeted by two of the guards. I recognized them from Carlisle's memories as Felix and Demetri. Felix was the muscle of the Volturi and was probably stronger than Emmett. Demetri was a tracker and a good one at that. He picked up on the tenor of someone's mind and could find them anywhere in the world. He was always sent to greet newcomers in order to pick up the mind.
"Hello, Felix and Demetri. How have you been?" Carlisle greeted them.
"Volterra misses you Carlisle. You have a lovely family. Please follow us; the brothers await you in the throne room." Demetri said. I tried to read their thoughts but both were blocking me. This set me even further on edge.
We were led down a series of hallways until we passed through a large wooden door and entered a large circular room. The ceiling was at least fifty feet high and had a mural that rivaled the Sistine Chapel. There were large windows along the top of the walls with stained glass. In the center of the room were three thrones set atop a raised platform. Each throne was decorated with intricate designs I could not make out from the distance. The walls were brick and the floor was made of cobblestone. As we entered I noticed the guard stood along the walls, essentially surrounding us. Once we were inside the door slammed shut and we were forced to turn our attention to the brothers.
Aro sat in the middle of the two with his throne closer to us. He had a smile on his face as he watched us and I again tried to read the thoughts of any of the Volturi but all were blocking me. Caius sat to Aro's left and also smiled at us but his was much more sinister. Marcus sat to Aro's right and did not offer a smile just a bored expression.
Aro stood and greeted us. "Carlisle, it is so wonderful to see you and your family. Please introduce us."
Carlisle smiled but it was cautious, "Hello brothers. This is my wife Esme, our children Emmett and his wife Rosalie, Jasper and his wife Alice and Edward. I will let Eleazar introduce his family."
Eleazar stepped forward. "It's nice to see you all, you know my wife Carmen. And these are Kate, Irina and Tanya."
"Wonderful, we are so pleased you accepted our invitation to celebrate St. Marcus Day with us. First and foremost I would like to extend an offer to Alice and Edward to join us in the guard and of course Eleazar you are always welcomed back."
Eleazar spoke first, "No, thank you Aro."
"Thank you for the offer but I have to decline." Alice spoke.
"I agree with Alice, thank you for the offer but I also decline." I prayed by voice did not betray my emotions.
"Very well then, I can always hope for the future. I suppose we should get to business. There have been allegations against your coven and since you are friends we wanted to learn your point of view. Carlisle, may I?" He held out his hand to Carlisle but Carlisle did not react.
"May I ask what these allegations are?" Carlisle was walking a thin line right now. He didn't want Aro to touch him but defying the Volturi is certain death.
"Well perhaps we shall bring in the vampire who came to us about this." He waved his hand to a guard member and they moved to the door at the back of the room and opened it. I saw the red hair before I saw her face. Victoria walked in with a smug expression on her face. I knew she told them about Bella but what else I had no clue.
"Victoria here has claimed you have exposed us to several humans. Including one named Bella who I was under the impression was Edward's mate. Is that not correct since she is not here with you and the invitation said to bring all mates." Aro looked directly at me but I knew not to speak. My emotions would quickly take over and I could get us all killed.
Carlisle didn't speak just lifted his hand to Aro who greedily took it. Aro held it and closed his eyes for several minutes. I watched from his mind as he sifted through all of Carlisle's thoughts and focused on ones of Bella. He saw that Bella knew what we were and that we left her in Forks after her birthday. He also saw that we don't know where she is now and Alice's visions of her are blank.
Aro released his hand and looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, "Very interesting. I would like to hear from Edward now." He looked at me and held out his hand to me.
I looked at Carlisle who nodded at me and raised my hand to Aro. He again closed his eyes and concentrated for several minutes. This time I watched my thoughts and memories reflected back from him. He focused more on our relationship and why I left her. He released my hand and stepped back.
He looked back at Victoria and said, "It seems there are some discrepancies between your accusations and their actions. You claimed there were werewolves and other humans involved, though I see none in their memories. You seem to exaggerate the truth in your quest to seek revenge on your mate. You also forget I have seen your plans to create a newborn army if we do not punish the Cullens as you wish. False accusations and plans to break a law are enough for death. Felix." We all gasped as Felix attacked Victoria and killed her before she even realized what was going to happen.
"I'm sorry for that, dear friends. However, we do need to address the issue with concerning Isabella. You have broken a law young Edward, by exposing yourself to her. I do understand she is your mate but by leaving her you risk her exposing us to all humans. I can only see two options available to you and I will let you decide. You all may leave with a warning that this behavior will not be tolerated again and we will find Isabella and destroy her or we will find her and you can change her. You can assist us in finding her if you wish."