Chapter 4

Over the next couple of days, the clouds smattered the sky and the wind brought even cooler temperatures. A powdering of snow swept over the region over the next days and Alice was elated by how festive the snow made her party decorations appear. Much of the family decided to go shopping on the mainland in British Columbia mainly to get out of dodge. Alice was on a mission to make her party the best holiday party of the year and made it clear that no one was to ruin that for her. Carlisle was in his study reading when Tanya entered. He smiled warmly at her and put down his book.

"I thought you went to the mainland to shop with the others," he asked as she looked around at the books in his collection.

"Ben and I wanted to have some peace and quiet before the festivities began. Besides, I wanted to check on you."

"Check on me?"

"How do you do it, Carlisle? You have such a big family with so many strong personalities and now you have teenagers running around. Dealing with Garrett is hard enough. I do not envy you for dealing with teenagers," she confessed and he laughed.

"Well, for the most part I get to be the doting grandparent. It is very rare that I have to be more than that. When I do, it is not fun, but necessary."

"Is that why you haven't spoken with Zach since the party," she asked as she sat down.

"We have both been busy. I am sure he is with his mate as we speak."

"Yes, but he values your opinion of him. It hurt his feelings that you were disappointed."

"Are you here to check on me or stand up for Zach," he asked with an amused smile.

"I just see how much he looks up to you and he mentioned that you weren't happy with him at the moment. It must be hard, having all that power and yet still learning how to grow in this existence. I made plenty of mistakes when I first became a vampire and I was actually an adult at the time."

"Do those mistakes involve breaking into the Volturi castle?"

"No, mine were a bit more R-rated, X-Rated on a good day," she teased.

"So you think I have been too hard on him?"

"I think he is an amazing young man with amazing powers but no amount of power will equal how much he looks up to you."

"I will be sure to speak with him before the party begins tonight."

"Good, I still don't want teenagers in my coven though," she informed and he chuckled as she walked out.

Josh smiled when he saw Charlie and Sue enter the main house on the island. He jogged over to them and gave them a hug before taking their luggage.

"There's one of them now, are you at the top of the Volturi's Most Wanted list yet? Your girlfriend was already up there, right," teased Charlie and Josh rolled his eyes.

"You two heard about that, huh?"

"Renesmee and Bella give us all the updates. I also spoke with your mother about it. She doesn't seem too happy with Natalie at the moment," informed Sue.

"Yea, I know the feeling."

"How is Natalie," asked Sue and Josh shrugged.

"We haven't really talked about it. She went for a hunt last night. I just don't know what to do. I feel like we are in limbo or something. I get why she did what she did, but it feels like every time we move in the right direction, she does something to take us steps back," explained Josh as they entered the living room and sat down.

"I am sure my daughter is going to be upset with me for saying this, but you have to be patient with Natalie. She has gone through a lot and even if you want to be there for her, that doesn't mean everything she has been through will just go away," informed Sue and Charlie nodded in agreement.

"When your grandmother and I first got together…."

"Ew, I don't want to hear about that, but thank you," said Josh as he covered his ears. Charlie pulled his hands down.

"We were both hurting in different ways. She was mourning the loss of your Grandpa Harry and I still hadn't recovered from Renee. We worked because we understood how much time and space each other needed. Natalie needs time and space too. Trust me, this world, the island, and the lavish things you get to do can be overwhelming. It will take her time to get used to it," said Charlie.

"What if she never gets over it? What if she doesn't want to live in a cottage on the island or to marry me? Then what," asked Josh and Sue cupped his cheek.

"Sweetheart, she loves you. She is here because she loves you, but you have to give her time to find her way. You just met her this year. A bit of patience will do you a world of good," giggled Sue and Josh groaned.

"But I want it all now," he whined and Charlie winked at him.

"Kid, you practically live on an island, jet across the world whenever you want, and also happen to be faster and stronger than most humans can even fathom. I think you have it all," teased Charlie. Sue slipped her hand into Charlie's.

"One of the reasons I fell in love with Charlie is because he was what I needed when I needed it. He was there for me and never pressured me. I knew he was the only man that could give me what I needed," said Sue as she gazed lovingly into Charlie's eyes.

"Ew," said Josh as he scrunched up his nose and hopped up. Sue and Charlie laughed as he ran out of the room. He skidded to a halt when he saw Carlisle coming down the stairs and smiled sheepishly at him.

"Hi," said Josh and Carlisle clapped him on the back.

"Josh, one of the people I was looking for. Have you seen Zach," asked Carlisle.

"He is helping Rose in the garage. I think it is his way of getting back on her good side."

"That and I wanted to make sure Seth didn't suddenly think he was mom's favorite," said Zach as he and Rosalie entered the house.

"Alice called and said you wanted to speak with us," stated Rosalie and Carlisle nodded.

"Yes, I wanted to apologize for snapping at you when we were in Volterra," admitted Carlisle and Rosalie smirked.

"Is that what you call snapping," teased Rosalie and Zach chuckled.

"Yea, grandpa, that wasn't my finest moment and I deserved for you to be disappointed in me."

"But I want you to know that I am not disappointed in you. I understand why you did it, I just hope in the future you will think about the consequences for everyone involved and not just your friends. You are a wonderful grandson and I am proud of the choices you make for the most part. You are still growing up and are going to make mistakes, but I will always love you," said Carlisle as he hugged Zach.

"Thanks, grandpa. I love you too and I am sorry for putting you in a bad position," said Zach. Rosalie smiled at their exchange and kissed Carlisle's cheek.

"That was really sweet of you, but you do not owe him an apology. Zachary, if you ever do something like that again, your grandfather will be the least of your worries. Don't let that mate of yours or your friends get you into trouble," warned Rosalie and Zach gulped.

"Yes ma'am," nodded Zach.

"Hey, I resent that. I happen to usually be a responsible, respectable young woman," informed Allie as she and Natalie walked in. Rosalie smirked.

"Recently or…." teased Rosalie and Allie huffed.

"You know you love me," teased Allie.

"Do I," giggled Rosalie and Allie nodded as she hugged her.

"Yes," giggled Allie. Zach hugged them both and Carlisle's phone beeped. He glanced down at it and smiled.

"It seems some of our first guests have arrived a bit early. Marcus, Didyme, Alexander, and Lena are landing," he informed and they walked outside to greet them as the stealth jet landed on the front lawn. Marcus and Didyme hugged them each in greeting.

"We are sorry if we are too early, but we wanted to make sure we had time to give these gifts before the festivities got underway," informed Marcus. Alexander handed him a sheathed sword and he held it out to Natalie, much to everyone's surprise.

"I am not sure if you have a place to put it yet, but Didyme and I wanted you to have this," said Marcus.

"A sword," questioned Natalie.

"As Zach knows, I have a collection of antiques. This one is a favorite of mine because of the story behind it. It was told to me as a child quite a long time ago. There once was a great prince named Waldemar and he was gifted with this sword, Asger. Asger in Norse means spear of God and this sword was the root of Waldemar's power. The holder of the sword wields great power, so it is no surprise that Waldemar went on to be a great ruler. However paranoia was his downfall. His kingdom was so grand that he began to believe everyone around him wanted to take it away. One night, when his paranoia got the best of him, he accused his brother, the one person that has always been loyal to him, of conspiring against him. They fought drunkenly and he killed his brother with the sword. He was so beside himself with grief that he took this sword and shoved it into his own heart. This sword is a reminder of what tragedies can come when people with great power do not trust those around them. I am not your enemy, Natalie. I understand if your past will not allow us to be friends, but I never want us to be foes," explained Marcus. Natalie eyed him carefully.

"In your story, which one of us is the paranoid one," she asked.

"You," said Allie.

"Definitely you," said Zach.

"As your mate, I can't exactly say you, but I can imply that it was probably you," said Josh and Marcus chuckled.

"I think we both have allowed paranoia to get the best of us and with good reason. We both were betrayed by Aro, but he is gone. Now we must decide what we do moving forward," answered Marcus. Natalie smiled at him and took the sword before giving him a hug.

"Thank you," she said. Didyme beamed with happiness and Josh sighed in relief hoping that Natalie was finally starting to accept that the Volturi were no longer under Aro's reign.

"We have one more gift that we personally want to give the recipients. We were told the Denalis are around," said Didyme and she giggled as Alice darted onto the front lawn with Garrett, Kate, Zafrina, Keegan, Carmen and Eleazar in tow. Tanya and Benjamin exited the main house and joined them.

"What's going on," asked Tanya and Didyme kissed her cheeks.

"Tanya, I hope you know how much we value the friendship of your coven. We apologize if the books were seen as a threat to that friendship," said Didyme.

"Of course not, Didyme…."

"Speak for yourself," grumbled Garrett. He jumped when Kate zapped him in the arm, causing him to pout.

"It's true," he whispered to her and Kate rolled her eyes, but kissed her mate. Marcus chuckled at their display.

"While we know Tanya has forgiven us, we also know that some in her coven are still a bit put out by what happened. We hope this gift will get us back in your good graces," announced Marcus as he looked up at the sky. Suddenly, a stealth jet appeared and Alice laughed as Garrett squealed in delight.

"Please tell me that is for us," exclaimed Garrett and Didyme nodded.

"We hope it is to your liking," said Didyme. Gavin landed the jet before exiting with Bianca.

"It better be. I had it built myself and even included some upgrades that not even the Cullen jet has," informed Gavin.

"I'm calling dibs," shrieked Garrett as he ran toward the jet.

"On what," asked Keegan.

"All the dibs," shouted Garrett as he got into the jet. Keegan and Zafrina joined him in the jet as Kate groaned.

"You just had to get him all riled up, didn't you? He is going to never want to be home now," whined Kate and Marcus smiled sheepishly.

"We are just the gift givers. We are not responsible for any coven or mate arguments that ensue because of the gift," informed Marcus. Carlisle winked at Tanya.

"I may have to worry about teenagers, but now you have Garrett….with a stealth jet," he laughed and she shook her head in amusement.

"I suppose I spoke too soon," she conceded as she, Benjamin, Kate, Carmen, and Eleazar started to look over their gift.

"Hop in, let's take this for a spin," shouted Garrett. The others laughed at his excitement as he truly looked like a child in a candy store.

Hours later, Alice buzzed with energy as she flitted around the party greeting the arriving guests, handing out holiday gift bags, and mingling with Jasper beside her. She clapped happily when Natalie walked into the backyard wearing a green and black dress. Natalie laughed when Alice darted over to hug her.

"I guess Allie was right and this is the best olive branch I could give you," giggled Natalie and Alice happily nodded.

"You are wearing the dress I bought you. It is official. All is completely forgiven," announced Alice. Roman, Iris, Leonardo, Sofi, and Caleb walked over with amused looks.

"I know you are all about fashion, Alice, but are you really going to forgive her because she is wearing something you like," asked Caleb and Alice shrugged.

"When you have eternity, it's the little things that make it wonderful," she informed before skipping away. Renesmee, Nahuel, Seth, and Kaya came to greet the siblings, but Roman's eyes were trained on Natalie.

"You gave the guards quite a scare. We wanted to be at the party but were on a mission. You can imagine our surprise while undercover when we were alerted to a potential breach at the castle," said Roman.

"And that the Cullens were involved," added Iris. Natalie slowly nodded.

"Definitely not my best moment," she agreed and Sofi smiled kindly at her.

"It all worked out though, so no worries," said Sofi, but Caleb guffawed.

"Actually, I agree with Roman on this one. Leave it to this coven to have drama at a holiday party. Don't you ever have a calm, peaceful day around here," teased Caleb and Josh wore a knowing smile as he walked over to Natalie. He wrapped her securely in his arms and she smiled at him as he spoke.

"Well, we can't all come from the peaceful background that you have, Caleb. Should we rehash all the times you were almost killed by the Cullens for trying to harm them or go straight to the wolf pack days of rage," asked Josh and Caleb bowed his head.

"Touché," conceded Caleb. Josh winked at him before pulling Natalie away from the group. She giggled when he twirled her around.

"You look absolutely beautiful tonight, Nat," he praised and she tenderly kissed him.

"Thank you and thanks for standing up for me even though I know they were just teasing."

"I will always be here for you. I know we are still trying to work through some stuff but I know how much I love you," assured Josh and a dramatic sigh made them turn around.

"Young love, so beautiful even when it is tumultuous," said Tess and Josh's eyes widened.

"Tess, don't you dare….."

"Leave us to our girl talk," said Tess and Josh nodded as he immediately walked away. Natalie groaned and crossed her arms.

"I am really not in the mood for any mind games you are trying to play," warned Natalie and Tess giggled.

"People rarely are. Come, let's talk," said Tess as she motioned for Natalie to follow her. Zach and Allie were about to walk over to them, but Alice stopped them.

"All is well, nothing to see here," said Alice as she tried to shoo them away.

"Aunt Alice, I thought you forgave Natalie. You really trust Tess around her," questioned Zach.

"You really don't after all Tess has done for the two of you," challenged Alice. Zach and Allie glanced at each other and nodded.

"I suppose you are right," conceded Allie and Alice scoffed.

"Suppose, she supposes I am right. These kids have no respect for what I do around here," she grumbled as she walked away. Zach and Allie watched from a distance, but did not stop Tess from speaking with Natalie.

"Are you going to try to make me marry Josh or something," asked Natalie as she eyed Tess.

"My, my, Alice is right. You truly are paranoid and suspicious of everyone."

"I have some pretty good sources that would agree with me being suspicious of you. What type of Jedi mind trick are you going to use on me?"

"Now I know you have been around that boy for too long. No, I am not going to Jedi…whatever or another…but you are going to marry Josh because you are in love with him and not even the scared, most vulnerable side of you can disagree with that." Natalie looked down and sighed.

"Marriage is a big commitment," she informed as she looked out at the ocean and Tess scoffed.

"What are you talking about? The day you meet your mate, you are in for the biggest commitment of this existence. The marriage is just a technicality. Look at Nico and I, we met, knew we were made for each other, and now we are married," said Tess as she wiggled her ring finger at Natalie to show off her stunning diamond ring. Zach and Allie darted over to her.

"You are married," exclaimed Allie

"Since when," asked Zach.

"We weren't even invited to the wedding," shouted Allie.

"He didn't even get my approval to ask you," blurted out Zach. Tess, Natalie, and Allie all arched an eyebrow at him.

"I mean, not that we are in ancient, oldie-timey days where you would need to get a man's approval to get married. I just meant as your….friend…I would have liked to have been in the know," said Zach and Allie smirked.

"Nice save," she said with a nudge and Tess giggled as she showed them the ring again.

"You Cullens and your penchant for weddings, there was no big wedding. There was a vampire priest, a friend of Nico's, and an amazing honeymoon after. Simple. That is not the point though. The point is that you vowed your life to Joshua the moment you two laid eyes on each other. Just because you two are dancing around the ritual of it all does not change that. Marry the boy. If you do not say yes soon, then you will leave me no choice but to use my influence to make sure you are making Joshua happy." Josh ran back over to them and shook his head in disbelief.

"Tess, what the…."

"And that's my cue," said Tess before darting away as Josh groaned. He placed his hands in Natalie's.

"I don't know what she said to you or why but you don't have to listen to her. I can take you over to Bella and we can make sure she blocks any…."

"Josh, it is okay. I don't think she Jedi mind tricked me," assured Natalie and Josh sighed in relief.

"Good because Tess is a handful," said Josh.

"I am sure she is, but she may also be right," said Natalie before walking away. Allie squealed happily and Zach chuckled at his mate's response.

"What, what is she right about," questioned Josh and Allie shook her head.

"Nothing, just….yay," exclaimed Allie.

"What did Tess say to her? I need to know these things," whined Josh and Zach winked at him.

"Tess did what she always does, she was looking out for you. Don't worry," assured Zach before pulling Allie back toward the dance floor.

"Thanks for all the help. Just a guy trying to win over the girl here, thanks for all that you do," called Josh as they continued to ignore him with bright smiles on their faces.

Marcus smiled when Edward walked over to him and began to read his thoughts. They stood in comfortable silence, watching their mates greet each other and chat. Edward's eyes widened when he delved deeper into Marcus's mind.

"That is a diabolical plan. I am glad you are on our side. Didyme still wants to renovate the castle and do away with that wing though," said Edward and smiled as Marcus spoke to him through his mind.

Oh I know she does and I understand why. I believe we will get to that point very soon. Its purpose will hopefully run out soon enough.

"Until then, the books are back in the study, where you want them to be."

Precisely.

"How did you know? We didn't even know they would do that," asked Edward in amazement.

I have learned over the years that a plan is only as good as its ability to adapt to ever-changing situations.

"So, you didn't account for them doing that?"

Did I account for friends of mine breaking into my study and trying to steal from me? No, it wasn't exactly part of plan A.

"But you wanted the book to be found, you wanted its presence to be known."

You know what I admired about Aro? His ability to thrive under fear. I cannot do that and neither can Didyme. Carlisle and Esme are like that as well. We all thrive under compassion, but fear is easier to control. No one constantly challenges those they fear. They constantly challenge those they believe will be compassionate though. It is quite annoying.

"Yes, I suppose it can be, but you wear your annoyance well," assured Edward.

I have a second chance, but do not be mistaken, Edward. For centuries, I was part of the most brutal reign the vampire world has ever seen. I try not to think about the atrocities committed during that reign, but I have learned from it.

"I bet in all your centuries, you never thought you would use that knowledge to protect a Cullen," teased Edward and Marcus chuckled.

Aw yes, if Aro could see us all now.

"Thank you for always keeping an eye on things for us. I know you deal with things the others don't even know about, but it is appreciated." Gavin briskly walked over to Marcus and whispered in his ear. Edward's eyes widened when he realized what they were talking about.

"If you will excuse me, I have some business to handle before I can rejoin the party and my mate. Don't let her talk Bella into a shopping spree. She will give Alice a run for her money," warned Marcus and Edward grabbed his hand to shake it, which made Marcus smile.

"Thanks, Marcus. I don't know what else to say, but thank you."

"How about happy holidays," teased Marcus before leaving with Gavin.

Joaquin rolled his eyes as he raced through the castle in Volterra with Gavin yelling into his earpiece.

"I told you it was Isaac, but you didn't believe me," ranted Gavin.

"I told you we didn't have proof," reminded Joaquin.

"I was so sure that it was him at the party. If Zach, Allie, Natalie, and Josh wouldn't have gotten to it first…."

"I don't have time for this right now. I am approaching the study. I will check in once it is done," said Joaquin before turning off his earpiece. He noticed the door to the study open and stealthily crept in to see one of the guards taking pictures of the books from Aro.

"Doing some light reading, Isaac," asked Joaquin as he closed the door behind him and Isaac gulped as he put the books back.

"Joaquin, I thought you were headed to the party the Cullens are throwing."

"Well, with Marcus, Didyme, Alexander, Lena, and Gavin gone, it was important someone high in command stayed behind to keep an eye on things. What are you doing in here, Isaac?"

"I was just looking. I was curious."

"Isn't that what killed the cat," he questioned as he began to circle Isaac.

"Look Joaquin, I…"

"I don't think I ever got around to telling you how I came to join The Guard. Marcus and Didyme saved me after I was reported by a group of terrified vampires. I made the mistake of showing them what I could do and the next thing you know, Alexander and Lena are asking me to come with them. I thought I was going to die. I figured they thought what Aro would think. I was too powerful, too dangerous, an abomination, but Marcus and Didyme took me in. They gave me a life and a purpose. That is why I have no tolerance for those that betray them." Isaac profusely shook his head.

"I mean no harm to Marcus or Didyme. My issue is with the Cullens. They are dangerous. You saw how defiant Zachary was after he broke in."

"He is a teenager and apologized. What exactly is your excuse?"

"Joaquin…" Before the guard could finish, Joaquin closed his eyes and clenched his right fist. The guard gasped and crumbled to the ground as his body turned to rubble. Joaquin walked over to the fireplace in the study and started it before tossing the rubble into it. He turned back on his earpiece and sighed as he watched the flames engulf the remains.

"It is done, Gavin."

"Good. I know you hate doing that and using that part of your powers, but…."

"I know. It was necessary, but not enjoyable," said Joaquin.

"Well, I could always put the castle on lockdown mode and ask Connell to come get you so can enjoy the party," suggested Gavin and Joaquin slowly nodded as he dusted off his hands.

"Yes, I believe some holiday cheer will do wonders for me right now. I will go let the others know," informed Joaquin before turning off the fireplace and exiting the study.

Alice's holiday extravaganza was a success that continued into dawn. Roman, Iris, Leonardo, Sofi, and Caleb decided to stay to celebrate the holidays with the Cullens, as did the Denalis, Charlie, and Sue. Connell and Tia promised to return for Christmas and Allie sighed in relief once the last of the guests departed. She slipped her hand into Zach's as they strolled toward their cottage, while he looked up at the sky and smiled serenely.

"I can't believe it will be Christmas in a couple of days," he said.

"I can't believe we have had two celebrations already and Christmas is still two days away," she giggled.

"Yea, well the first one didn't count since we got into trouble."

"Speaking of that, I have a bit of a surprise for you."

"Oh yea," he said as she led him around to the back of their cottage. He chuckled when he saw Christmas lights strung around their patio, along with lit candles.

"What is all of this," he asked as she turned on some music.

"I am romancing you," she informed. His dimples were on full display as he grinned.

"Romancing me?"

"You are not the only one in this marriage that can be romantic, Mr. McCarty Cullen," she informed as they began to sway to the music.

"I never said I was, Mrs. McCarty Cullen." She rested her head against his chest as they danced.

"I can't believe everything that has happened this year. A year ago, I was a human trying to figure out how I could ever compare to the beautiful vampire women in your life."

"And we weren't sure if Drew would forgive us for being together. It has been a crazy year, the best year of my existence."

"You know, I have been thinking about what Tess said tonight. I know she was talking to Natalie, but I feel like she was talking to me too. Zach, I knew the moment I saw you that you were going to be special to me. Everything else is just a technicality. I have always been yours and I never want you to think anything but that. I know I should have told you about Natalie's plan. I guess I just wanted her to know I support her and I jeopardized you knowing how much I love and support you in the process. You are everything to me, Zach, absolutely everything." She tenderly kissed him and he smiled as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you too, nayeli….even when you get me in trouble." She laughed and nodded.

"Good because I have a feeling between Josh and Natalie, this will not be the last time we get into trouble."

"Yea, I figured as much. Just promise me we will always find a way through it together."

"Deal," she agreed as they watched the sun begin to peer over the horizon and color the night sky in shades of purple, orange, and streaks of blue. She sighed in relief knowing in that moment no matter what happened over the past few days, they were happy and ready to spend their first holiday season as husband and wife.

AN: The End….for now! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to review and message me with your feedback. It is always appreciated and gives me a chance to see what readers enjoy, want more of, or feel is lacking. Also, in the name of the holiday spirit, don't forget to think about donating to Alex's Lemonade Stand, Saving Innocence, or The Marine Toys for Tots Native American Program. Each cause is wonderful and helps try to ensure that kids can grow up happy, healthy, and safe. If you want to donate and receive a Twilight themed thanks from me, just PM me the receipt or verification of your donation and your address. I will be sure to send out everything next year after the holiday season wraps up. Until next time, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

~Emmettroselover