Everything twilight belongs to the awesomely talented Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 4 - Battle Lines.

With Bella and Edward safely on a plane, the rest of us made necessary arrangements. We would be ready for Victoria, we were sure she wouldn't have a chance to get away. Each of us had our specific places and tasks, Jasper would try and calm her into submission so we could take care of her easily, much to the displeasure of Emmett, who had been looking forward to a fight. I had checked consistently on Victoria's plans. I was convinced she would change it up occasionally.

Saturday night arrived in due course, Emmett had been more impatient that ever, Rosalie was having a hard time keeping him relaxed. Each of us wore neutral tones, which neither Rosalie or myself had been happy about, but it would help us blend in with the scenery. We didn't want Victoria to see us, therefore, it was a necessity.

"Okay, Alice, before we head out, have you seen anything new?" Carlisle asked, he was holding the door handle.

I closed me eyes and concentrated again, I had to concentrate to get anything from Victoria, most things seemed to come to me naturally, but with Victoria, it almost took an effort. There was nothing new, it was almost a repeat every time I saw it, like she'd been certain this was her chance.

"No, nothing new, she'll come over the treaty line exactly where I saw her come over the last time."

"Excellent," Emmett said, "then let's get going."

We headed out into the night, it seemed that once again we were fortunate, the wind was calm and the night was still, it would be no problem picking up her scent when she passed by. The ever so light breeze would create a perfect trail to where Rosalie would be located.

The running was calming and each of us were silent as we traveled through the night. I ran side by side with Jasper, we were more conscious of our footsteps than usual, making no unnecessary sound. We were naturally quiet creatures, but the occasional step on a twig or the disturbance of the bracken could sometime make more sound than we intended. This wasn't a problem when hunting for animals, but hunting a vampire was a completely different ball game. Victoria would be listening for us, she'd patiently wait for one of us to make a mistake.

We left Rosalie at the treaty line in a particularly dense part of the forest. The trees so close together would give her good shelter and she would be sheltered from any wind that decided to make an appearance. The rest of us, headed further into the forest. We would have to await Rosalie's decision before we could move. We each stood in silence as we waited. We would have about ten minutes from Rosalie catching the scent to position ourselves.

The anticipation in the air was tangible, Jasper was on edge and trying his best to wash a sense of calm over us. It dulled the emotions but never subdued them. This was pivotal, it would remove one of the threats towards Bella, Victoria was resolute in her plan to destroy Edward by taking Bella from him, we weren't going to let that happen. We'd seen the consequences to that and we weren't willing to risk both of their lives by letting it happen again.

I leaned against a tree and waited for Rosalie's decision. Jasper was picking the bark on the tree I was leaning on. As time moved around us, I had a feeling that it seemed to be taking longer than it should, I couldn't understand what was wrong. The moon was in the exact position it had been in my vision, she should be crossing the line any minute. The minutes, however, seemed to pass by, almost like the moment had come and gone. Something was wrong, I searched my mind for Rosalie.

"Alice?" Carlisle asked, his voice barely audible.

"Something's wrong." I answered, my voice at the same volume. We each closed in to a small circle so we could speak.

"What's going on?" Emmett's voice was worried, his wife was alone, and ten minutes away from us.

"I'm not sure, she should have crossed the line by now, but Rosalie has nothing, she's considering coming to find us. It's been too long."

Emmett's shoulders relaxed at Rosalie's name, he knew that Rosalie was a force to be reckoned with, and could quite easily look after herself, but as her husband, he worried. Any of us would feel the same.

"I'll go and get her," Esme offered quietly.

Each of us were silent as we thought about the plan. Carlisle nodded. He knew it would be the only way to let Rosalie know what was going on. With me blind, the only way to keep an eye out for Victoria tonight, would be to use our instincts, and our heightened senses. It would take longer, and possibly lead nowhere. But is was all we had.

"If she hasn't crossed by now, I doubt she will. I'm sure she's sensed something waiting for her." Carlisle offered.

Esme nodded and turned towards the direction we had left Rosalie in. Carlisle picked up her hand gently. I knew he hated to think of Esme in any kind of confrontation because of her nature.

"Be careful, my love, and try and give the path a wide berth, just in case she's running late. We would have no way to get a message to you. If Rosalie is not where we left her follow her scent. You will find us."

Esme nodded and kissed him gently on the lips. "You worry too much!" she whispered giving him a smile and disappearing into the trees.

I nibbled on my bottom lip as I looked, once again, for Victoria's thoughts. It was still the same, almost stuck in a loop, like she was planning this all along and would think of nothing but this as she acted on raw instinct. I knew she was aware of my talent, but just how aware I wasn't sure. Carlisle had tried to pull some information from Tanya and Irina on how much Laurent had known, but they had let their guard down around him and answered almost every question he had asked them, this was bad. He would know almost everything, it would take us going back through every conversation and action with Tanya's family to understand just how much they'd known to give him. Something we didn't have time for.

I was curious as to whether this was a test of some sort, whether she was testing my vision. I doubt I would ever know and I would hate to voice this to the family, I knew I would have to, but this was not the time. We were in our hunting mode, each of us were restless.

Rosalie's decision came to me quickly, Victoria had passed right by her, she'd come from behind and was fully aware of Rosalie's presence. Rosalie, instantly made the decision to chase her down. She followed her closely, Victoria was heading straight for us.

"Crap," I said as I turned my head to the forest. I knew that Rosalie and Victoria would get here in minutes. "Victoria's heading in this direction, she saw Rosalie. Rose is chasing her down. We have no time to rearrange they're almost here. We have to act quickly."

As soon as I said this I heard Victoria's light footsteps, a look of culmination filled each of my families faces, we had to act fast. Each of us began running, we were up to speed by the time she caught up with us. She was smarter than we gave her credit for. We were running along the treaty line and she was zig zagging across it. As Rosalie came close to touching her she disappeared through the trees on the other side of the line. We spread out along the line, I was sure she would cross back over at some point.

I smelt and heard them before I saw them. Victoria shot out from the tree line and was once again on our side of the line but she was being followed, by the wolves. I knew my family were further up the line from me and I panicked. It was what we had forgotten. Why hadn't I thought of it before. That's when I realized it was because I couldn't see them. What was the saying 'out of sight, out of mind.' How could I have been so careless?

I followed Victoria at full speed, she was ahead of me but she was no longer my main concern. I made sure to stay on our side of the line as I ploughed through the wilderness. Jasper was the first I came across. He was following Victoria, she had passed by him on the other side of the line.

"Jasper," I called quietly. He slowed waiting for me to catch up to him.

"The wolves, it's what I forgot." I whispered as we sped along the line. "We have to catch up with the rest of them before the cross the line, if she crosses it even by an inch and we follow, we've broken the treaty."

Jasper nodded and sped up. I followed behind, straining to hear whether or not the wolves were close. I could hear their feet as they hit the ground not far on the other side of the line. They were agile, but I could hear them clearly. I saw the rest of my family ahead. Emmett was close on Victoria's heels, I knew it wouldn't be a good outcome because he was so focused, if she crossed the line . . .

She did and Emmett followed diving for her, but she was too quick. Emmett came skidding to a halt exactly on the line, but one of the wolves was occupying the same space. The wolf spun on it heels and crouched low to the ground preparing to pounce. Emmett was quicker and dodged as the Wolf sprang at him.

I knew that Emmett would have a hard time letting that go and I was hoping someone would stop him before he broke the treaty by retaliating.

I stopped close to my family. Emmett was glaring at the wolf, but Jasper was speaking to him under his breath. My main concern was Rosalie. One action guaranteed to raise Rosalie's temper was to go after Emmett, she didn't take kindly to it, and her instincts would take control before her mind had time to process it. She was crouched, her eyes trained on the wolf, following his every move. This was bad. Rosalie, when focused, was dangerous, a ripping snarl was emitting from her chest, she was shifting ever so slightly on her feet. She was preparing to pounce. The snarling turned into growling, and a hiss was escaping through her teeth, it was a menacing sound. I shuddered at the sound, it wasn't often Rosalie lost her temper, but when she did, she was venomous.

On the other side of the line, the wolf was being flanked on either side by two of the larger wolves. One was russet brown with black eyes, his coat was shaggier than the others. The other was all black, but his eyes were calm. I knew that they would protect their pack members with their lives. It wasn't something I was looking forward too, but I had to calm Rosalie down. I knew how stubborn she was, but I was hoping that one second of a conscious mind would show her the three wolves that stood protective of themselves and their land.

I rested my hand on Rosalie's shoulder, her attention immediately snapped to me, I shook my head quickly at her and she nodded at me. I knew how she hated becoming so instinctual, I saw her shuddering beside me as she straightened up. I gave her a small smile, it had been easier than I'd anticipated.

I watched as Carlisle and Jasper approached the line slowly. Their stances showing their intention, they only wanted to talk. The black wolf and the russet wolf stepped forward cautiously and nodded towards Carlisle. I could feel the calm that Jasper was giving off, I let it wash over me. The tension in my body dissipated a little.

Carlisle spoke slowly and calmly, each word came out deliberately.

"Please, we need to calm down."

The black wolf nodded slowly.

"I apologize for any misunderstanding regarding the line."

The black wolf nodded once again.

"I think we should focus on the larger problem here, the rogue vampire that is running the line."

A rumble emitted from the small gathering of wolves on the other side.

"We would like to continue chasing her, she is as much a problem to us as she is to you. She's headed west again and I think we should stick to our individual sides and try to catch her. You may take the line, I understand that our scent will distract you."

Each of the wolves looked to the leader and waited, he nodded slowly and the wolves headed back in the direction of that Victoria had come from. Whilst we had been in conversation, we'd heard her double back on herself, avoiding our gathering. She'd taken the opportunity to slip past us.

We ran the line back towards the west, giving the wolves the lead, they needed her scent to follow and ours would just confuse their senses. She was visible ahead of us, she was dancing the line once again, being careful to avoid the grasp of any of us. Esme joined us quickly, she'd heard us coming and had waited lying low, she had intended to spring on Victoria as she passed, I saw her make the decision and tried to slow the family as Victoria closed in on Esme's location.

As Esme sprang, Victoria darted across the line to the wolves side, they had been moving quietly among the trees, waiting for an opportunity to spring at her. Esme slid and caught her footing before crossing the line, she recovered quickly and was once again amongst us as we gave chase.

I was starting to believe that Carlisle had been right in assuming that elusiveness had been a strong talent of Victoria's. She seemed to time her crossing perfectly. Whatever side got too close, she would jump the line, if both sides were too close she would disappear into the tree lines, until she came out further ahead.

As we approached the coast, we had to stop. We had no choice. Victoria disappeared down the line of the Quileutes land and towards the ocean.

Jasper and Emmett approached the line, most of the pack had taken off after her, attempting to follow her into the water. We knew that we would be the only ones able to follow at her speed.

"May we pass, to follow?" Jasper asked calmly.

The black wolf had stopped to hold the line, he hadn't wanted us to cross in a moment of instinct. He shook his head and followed the rest of his pack down the coast line.

A long string of profanities escaped Emmett's mouth as he shoved at a tree causing it to crash to the ground. The smell of damp soil filled the air as the roots of the tree dangled above the earth. Carlisle shook his head and tried to straighten out the tree. We were almost alway conscious enough to clean up after ourselves.

"Emmett!" Rosalie didn't appreciate the language he was using. He looked at her apologetically and crossed his arms over his chest. His anger and frustration was shaking him. He gaze was still locked on where Victoria and the wolves disappeared.

"What now?" Rosalie asked as rubbed Emmett's back lovingly, trying to calm him.

"She's gone." I said shaking my head. "She won't come back tonight."

"What happened, Alice?" Carlisle asked, his head tipped to the side in curiosity.

"I'm not sure, but I had the distinct feeling she was testing us."

"How?" asked Roslie, she was now wrapped in Emmett's arms. Her hand rubbing his chest gently. his expression was relaxing a little from her touch.

"I'm not sure." I said honestly. "It could be our abilities, our arrangement with the wolves. Even the boundary line. She's doing this for a reason, but she's very clever about it, she's holding it away from herself. I think we need to keep Bella closer until we have her. She's more cunning than I originally thought."

"Yes, you're right, Alice. We also need to understand what she's testing." Carlisle said as he took Esme's hand and started back to the house.

I looked around and saw Jasper still staring after Victoria and the wolves. "Jazz?" I called, as I approached.

His head snapped towards me and he smiled grimly.

"What's the matter?" I asked running my hand up his back gently as he wrapped one of his arms around me.

"I should have been more prepared."

I wrapped both of my arms around my waist and held myself close to him. "Jasper, I should have paid more attention, we couldn't plan for something we had no idea would happen. I had no idea she was testing us, none of us could know that."

Jasper sighed and wrapped his other arm around me, kissing the top of my head gently. "She's tricky, it makes me want to catch her all the more."

"I know," I sighed. "Emmett feels the same way."

I guided him with my arms, that were still around his waist, and started for home. I knew that he needed something to occupy his competitive side, Victoria had turned the chase into a game. Something that would definitely keep us frustrated unless we released it. There was only one option, and it included all of us.

I released myself from Jasper's grasp and headed toward Rosalie, she was in the safe enclosure of Emmett's arms, still trying to calm him, he was as worked up as Jasper.

"Hey, Rosalie," I said matching my steps with theirs so I could keep in line with them. "Can I have a quick word?"

Rosalie looked up at Emmett and then nodded at me. She wriggled free from Emmett's arms and let me pull her away from him.

"What's going on, Alice?"

"I have an idea, everyone is so worked up right now. Maybe we should continue the wrestling tournament, it'll be a perfect release for this tension. I know Emmett's been waiting for a rematch with Jasper. I know Edward's not here, but we can work around that, he can make up for it later. It's just that Jasper is so frustrated, and I can see Emmett's just as annoyed. It'll work out some of the energy."

Rosalie thought for a second and looked between each of us. Even Carlisle seems distracted by the frustration. Her lips formed a perfect grin. "Sounds like a good idea."

I stopped with Rosalie and the family looked at us curiously. I looked at Rosalie, I knew she'd want to do the honors.

"Okay, Alice and I have discussed what we should do for the rest of the evening and we've decided on continuing the family tournament. We know Edward isn't here, and he can make up the matches he misses out on, but Alice and I feel we need to get rid of some of the energy. It's just going to keep eating at us all for days, unless of course we go hunting, but I think this will be more entertaining." Rosalie finished.

We looked around at one another and nodded. This was going to be fun.

A/N: Okay, that was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be, but it was also more fun. I wanted to keep true to Edward and Jacob's versions. Hope I did it some justice. I'm not sure whether the wrestling is out of character or not but I know when I'm really frustrated like that I need something to take my mind off of the problem. They also seem to be pretty competitive as a family :)

Thank you for the Reviews and alerts from the last chapter, YOU GUYS ROCK! -HUGS-