All right, this is the sequel to Northern Twilights. As usual, alternating POV's between our two favorite characters. I really hope I've been able to write this as well as I think I have.

Prologue:

I watched my favorite sister tease the patriarch of our coven, the father of the family, as she won the game of chess yet again. It always infuriated the rest of us, because her extra ability gave her an edge against the rest of us, even the psychic. But she was also genuinely good at it.

A human scent reached me and my nostrils flared at the honey flavor. 'No,' I thought to myself. 'He is your brother. He is your sister's mate. You can't hurt him. You can't!'

The human crossed over to where my sister sat and kissed her lips. I could see how she had to restrain herself, for fear she may harm him in her enthusiasm. If only she were willing to change him. Everything would be so much more easier.

I didn't need to be an empath to see the connection the vampire and the human shared. A blind man could sense that. But it was also easy to see my sister's fear that her human mate would soon die. And we all dreaded that day.

Perhaps, a time will come when my sister will change her view and allow our father to change him. But till then, I fiercely vowed to myself, that I wouldn't allow any harm to come to him. Because that would result in my sister's demise. 'No harm.'

Ch. 1- The Beginning Of The End- BPOV

Alice bounced on her toes as we waited for Edward to arrive. I was already feeling impatient and her constant fidgeting put me more on edge. "Alice," I began, but she interrupted. "Yes, I know, but I can't stop. This is how I naturally am." Then she lithely danced out of my reach, before I could move to muss her hair.

Our argument was disrupted by the now-familiar sound of the silver Volvo and the scent of honey that always accompanied it, and I braced myself for the burn that I always felt. Edward parked his car next to my precious Audi and jumped out, immediately smiling at me and my sister. "Good morning, love," I greeted, a smile spreading on my face. It was an automatic reaction. I couldn't help it. "Morning," he replied, giving me a quick kiss.

Alice started speaking as only she could. "So, Emmett and Rosalie are coming back from their honeymoon this evening, so…" "So soon?" Edward asked, smirking. Alice rolled her eyes and I answered for her. "Rose missed the family." "Anyways," Alice interrupted again. "We're having a welcome party, as always. You're invited. No arguments. You can drive over with Bella at six in the evening. Bells, I'll take your car and don't freak, I won't crash it. Now, till lunch, see ya!" And skipped off to her class.

Edward stared after her, then turned to me. "Will I ever get used to her?" I laughed. "No, I don't think so," I answered, shaking my head. "At least, I haven't; and I've had nearly half-a-century to do so."

The drive was mostly quiet, our hands entwined, while I drove with two fingers of my left hand, as I always did. Until Edward broke the silence.

"Have you thought about what I asked you at prom?" His voice was quiet. I tensed slightly, needing to remind myself not to squeeze to hard and break Edward's fingers. "Yes, I've thought about it, but I don't need to. My answer hasn't changed." Edward turned to me, his green eyes bright with anger and annoyance. I realized with a pang, that both emotions were directed towards me.

"Why?" He asked, frustrated. "it's my choice. I'm dying anyways, Bella. There's no way around that." I cringed, but if he noticed, he ignored it. "Since you love me as much as you say you do, what the hell are going to do when I die? Because I sure as hell wouldn't be able to live without you."

"I'd find a way to follow you," I mumbled, but my eyes were resolute and he didn't question me. "Why would you do that?" He asked, his voice miserable. I shook my head, a bitter smile on my lips. "Because, I can't live in a world where you don't exist. And if your life is under risk because of me, then I won't hesitate to leave, because life away from you, knowing you are alive and safe, is better than keeping you by my side and eventually killing you. And that's exactly what will happen if I let you be changed. You'll die. You will lose your soul." As I talked, my eyes were drawn to the pearly white, crescent-shaped scar on his right wrist. The mark of James' teeth.

The end of my tirade was met by silence, as I reached the drive-way of the house. "Now, please, let's not talk about this," I begged Edward. "This is a party and Alice would really like everyone to be in a good mood, alright?" Edward glared at me briefly, before sighing. "Alright," he relented and got out, coming over to open my door. "Just one more question?" He started, fingering the camera he had brought on Alice's request. I looked at him warily and he went on. "If I take pictures of you and get them developed, would you show up in the film?" I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing and I could hear my family doing the same inside, their amused thoughts reaching me. Chuckling at Edward's successful attempt at lightening the mood, I took his hand and led him inside.

"Hey, Em, Rosa," Edward greeted my siblings. Both smiled at him, while Rose swept in and quickly pecked his cheeks. I noted with some concern that her eyes were the color of burnt sienna instead of light amber, but decided she was well in control. "Still look the same as ever, bro," Emmett boomed. HIs thought, however, were directed towards me. 'You know, Bella Bear, I was kinda hoping you would have changed your mind by the time Rosie and I came back. But, no, he's still human.' I growled to show him my displeasure and he chuckled. "Relax," he muttered. The whole conversation had been too fast and too quiet for Edward to catch and the rest of the family had no idea what we were talking about.

The rest of the evening went well, till the point where everything was ruined. Till today, I ask myself how everything would have gone differently, if what happened next could somehow have been prevented.

Alice was taking photos on Edward's camera, when she found a file lying on the sofa. She picked it up, weighed it in her hand for a brief second, then handed it to Edward. "Here," she said. "It's a file of Jasper's history work. You can use it, if you want. Mr. Burns won't notice the similarity." Edward took it from her, moving to place it on the table. As he did, the edge of the paper sliced the tip of his index finger and a single drop of blood bloomed there.

Seven pairs of eyes focused on the red liquid, as Edward, oblivious to everyone's sudden scrutiny, muttered, "Shoot, paper cut," and lightly placed the finger inside his mouth to wipe it clean. For a split second, my mind's eye saw him as a prey, before reminding myself of who he was.

Everything happened next too fast for a human to understand. Alice and I moved to restrain Jasper, our arms quickly locking around his stiff figure. A part of my mind wondered why Emmett and Rosalie weren't helping when I realized Jasper was in complete control. Then, I heard the thoughts. 'Blood, I want blood. Oh so sweet. I want it!'

I whipped around in time to see Rosalie lunging at my mate, her eyes black, burning with a fierce primal need, all semblance of humanity lost. Emmett was there before anyone could react, pushing Edward away from her reach. Jasper broke free of our grasp and dashed to Rosalie, grabbing her around the waist, trying to restrain her thrashing form. I tried to process what happened, when I realized the scent of Edward's blood was suddenly more concentrated.

Appearing at his side, I saw that Emmett had miscalculated and had pushed him too hard. His shove had thrown Edward right onto a pile of glass plates, placed by Esme for cleaning. The glass had cut into his arm, creating a long trail of blood from the crook of his elbow.

Carlisle suddenly appeared next to me. While the rest of us, except Rosalie, were holding our breaths, he was completely calm and unaffected. "Let me take him to my office, Bella. He might need stitches." Stiffly, I moved aside, letting Carlisle carry Edward upstairs. Jasper and Emmett together dragged the still fighting Rosalie away into the forest, while Esme began wiping the blood off the floor. Alice, who had been standing frozen in shock, moved to go help Carlisle. I began following, when I heard Edward say, "Bella, I know you're there and you're on your way here and you're listening. Please, go to the forest and check on Rosa. Don't torture yourself by coming in here; Carlisle can handle this."

Alice looked at me, pity and regret burning in her eyes. 'He's right. Carlisle can do this. If I can't handle it, I'll come out too. But Edward doesn't need you to hurt yourself by constantly smelling the blood.' Carlisle's thoughts were the same, so I gave in. With a longing glance upstairs, I sped off into the forest to find my sister and forgive her, while planning what I knew now was inevitable.

There's the prologue and the first chapter. Let's see how many of you can guess which POV the prologue is. Tell me in your reviews, please.