Chapter 4 Happy Birthday, Bella Swan!

Months had gone by since the night I betrayed Edward by kissing Dylan, and though at times I felt twinges of guilt, mostly I was happy with the way my relationship with Dylan was going. Because of him I was completely off my medication, I no longer had to see Dr. Turner, and I was almost two weeks into my senior year.

It was my birthday, and for once, I didn't mind all the fuss that was being made. Charlie had flown down for the weekend, and that alone was reason to celebrate. I'd missed him even more than I'd realized and being close to him was almost enough to make me want to pack my bags and head back to Forks. Almost.

"Smile, hun," my mom said for the hundredth time as the camera blinded me with the flash. I was seriously beginning to worry my retinas would be permanently damaged by all the pictures she was taking to document the big one – eight. Today, I was legally an adult. And though I tried not to think about it, today I was officially one whole year older than Edward Cullen would ever be. My smile faltered at that. I hated that the oddest things forced his presence on me leaving me breathless with a dull ache emanating from my chest.

"Here!" Dylan flung a package wrapped in silver with navy ribbon into my lap. Needless to say I did not catch it; it more just landed on me. "I know, I know. You made me swear not to spend much and being good to my word, I did not." He smiled that smile that could melt girls' hearts from a mile away, and I couldn't help grinning back at him. I found that he could've spent a thousand dollars on me right at that moment, and I wouldn't have complained.

I tore off the paper and chuckled. My parents wouldn't understand why this was significant. I stroked the heavy leather of the diary and ran my fingers over the embroidered name and date. Inside was a brief message:

B.

Sorry I destroyed your last one, but it was time to let go of the past and make new memories. Happy birthday, woman!

D.

When I glanced up there were stupid tears pooling in my eyes. "Thank you. It's beautiful."

In three steps he strode across the floor, snapped me up, and planted a big kiss right on my lips in front of my parents and Phil.

"Alright, break it up, break it up," Charlie said, feigning irritation, but I could tell he was pleased and it was obvious that he wholeheartedly approved of Dylan. I'm still not sure why that was. As my dad, Charlie should be highly suspicious of any boy that lusted after me, but luckily Dylan was charismatic and wormed his way into everyone's good graces.

Without releasing me, he sat on the recliner reserved for moi, the birthday girl, and pulled me onto his lap. "You're going to be mad, but I have one more surprise for you," he murmured against my ear, my family looking on eagerly. Clearly they were already in the know and were okay with whatever he had planned.

I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself to be gracious and not be an ass. "Okay, lay it on me."

Laughter rang out in the room.

"Man, kiddo, you're the only girl I know that considers presents a hardship," Phil commented, smiling from ear to ear.

Dylan handed me a long, narrow box much like the one that Esme and Carlisle had given me, and my heart all but stopped, my breath caught in my throat, but I made my trembling hands reach out and take it, tearing the wrapping paper easily and tossing it aside. I lifted the lid and grimaced slightly at the sight of two tickets to Italy lying inside the satin lined box.

"Italy?" I breathed. Did this mean what I thought it meant? Was it finally time to deal with the vampire royalty?

"Yep, we're going during your Thanksgiving break. Just the two of us." Though he was smiling, I could see that I'd been right to be concerned. My time had run out, and my presence before the Volturi had been demanded. We'd known it was coming; Dylan had bought me quite a large chunk of time, but the last grains of sands in our little hourglass had fallen, and our reprieve was up.

I nodded, and realizing we were being watched, plastered a smile on my face and flung my arms around him.

He whispered so softly against my ear that the others would never hear, "It'll be okay. I swear it."

Have you ever notice the discrepancies of time? When you're excited about something it crawls and makes you wait and wait, but when you are dreading something it suddenly seems like it defies the laws of physics and flies at the speed of light? Well, that's what happened from the moment I received those accursed plane tickets until the moment I boarded that deathtrap of a private jet. Guess one doesn't really need ticket when they're being flown privately, it was more symbolic. But why had he been compelled to give them to me on my birthday? Why not just wait to tell me a few days before Thanksgiving break?

I asked him this as soon as we had a private moment, because I was wicked pissed about the whole damn thing, but mostly his piss-poor timing. He'd simply said that "it was important to keep up appearances and trips like this take time to plan, especially for twenty-two year old men that only earned thirty thousand a year."

I guess that made sense. My parents would have thought it odd if my middle class boyfriend could suddenly afford to spring a surprise trip for two to Italy for a week on short notice. On a private jet, no less.

The jet shifted as it began its descent. We were here. I couldn't ignore the fear gripping me. Dylan seemed at ease, which only infuriated me. This was a homecoming for him, but a possible death sentence for me.

The limo dropped us off in a grand courtyard where four cloaked figures waited in the shadows of the street lamps. We'd left at about ten pm, but with time differences it was around one am the same day I started on. Weird. I was finding that international travel was a little disconcerting.

The taller figures moved forward, one lowering his hood to show his long, flowing black hair and his perfectly chiseled facial features. Also, a set of the bloodiest eyes I'd ever seen. James and Laurent had been so hungry when I saw them that theirs' had been black, and Victoria never got close enough for me to appreciate the eeriness of her reddened orbs.

"That's Demetri and the other is Felix," Dylan whispered against my ear as he escorted me to them.

He nodded at Dylan then cast a curious gaze at me. "Welcome, Isabella. We have been most anxious to meet you," Demetri said graciously looking like some old world prince. I felt oddly comfortable in their presence. Being around vampires again, even those with the red eyes, calmed me, felt right.

Felix moved forward in a catlike glide encircling me as he took me in from every angle. I felt the weight of his gaze as though he'd used his hands to caress the bared flesh of my cleavage that was all but spilling out of the burgundy button-down shirt that was practically molded to my flesh. His eyes smoldered as they continued their descent down my body, lingering on the curve of my waist where my black fitted slacks began. No, I didn't buy this outfit; I would never. Dylan had bestowed it upon me - along with the knee length leather trench that I was currently wearing - yesterday. I'd been irritated that he'd picked out clothes for me, but damn, standing here with Felix all but devouring me with his eyes, I was wishing I'd thrown a huge fit and just worn one of my ordinary, safe outfits.

"Mmm, now I see what all the fuss is about." He caught Demetri's gaze and they shared one of those manly laughs that women never understand and most likely never wanted to.

Dylan looked murderous, but kept whatever thoughts he had about Felix's behavior to himself, though his grip on me tightened uncomfortably and that small movement did not go unnoticed by Felix, or Demetri, for that matter.

"Enough of this," a childlike vamp hissed as she glided closer glowering at all of us, making the three men near me nervous. Why would two ancient vampires and a human that called this place home be frightened of one little girl? I realized she wasn't human, but still, she was just a child.

"Aro is waiting," she warned and Felix fell in line by her side while Demetri offered me his arm. I took it, mostly so as not to offend him, and followed them into the imposing building where my fate was about to be decided.

My two escorts appeared to be communicating above my head with long meaningful looks, but not a word was uttered as we weaved our way through the labyrinth that they called home. The young boy that I hadn't been introduced to, Felix, and Jane, had already slipped through an ornate door providing us a few minutes to prepare.

"Excuse us for a moment, Dylan. I desire a word with Isabella." The tension between these two was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. I was lost, to say the least. Dylan had been calm the whole journey here, and suddenly, he looked almost frightened and something else. Guilty, maybe?

He brushed my cheek with his index finger before giving me a quick kiss. "I'll be right inside." It was both a promise to me and a warning to Demetri, it seemed.

We watched his angry form retreat down the hallway where he yanked the door open before disappearing from view.

Demetri leaned into me, his lips inches from my ear. "You may be able to save your vampires, yet."

My vampires? The Cullens? It hadn't occurred to me that they might be in trouble. "How?" It was all I could manage, because I was still so floored by the reality that the Cullens were clearly in danger.

"Aro is going to give you a choice – death or transformation." The smile on his lips was tender. Who knew that the non-vegetarian vampires could be so charming? "I know that you want nothing more than to be like us, but bear in mind, if Aro changes you, he will want to keep you."

I bit my lip worried that I had no real clue what I was getting into. All I knew about Aro was what Edward had told me that first time I'd gone to his house and the little bit that Dylan had mentioned. Carlisle himself had lived here, would it be so very terrible if I had to stay as long as it ensured the Cullens' safety?

"You said I could save the Cullens. Tell me how."

A/N: Not sure what happened with the posting of my last chapter, but it seems to be fixed now. Let me know what you think. If I'm going to do any rewrites to this story, it will probably happen starting with the next chapter. There are some things that happen in this version that might tick some readers off. I must have been feeling very anti-Edward when I wrote this. If I rewrite, it will take a couple of days. Thanks again for all the adds and reviews. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.