A/N: All original Twilight characters are © Stephenie

Meyer. Original Perfect Forever characters are the sole property of MissP1987.

A/N x 2: It has also come to my attention that several of my current and/or former students have found this story. I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO READ THE TWILIGHT SAGA FIRST! 6th grade and above may read and enjoy! 5th grade and below must have parent's permission first! Sorry, teacher first, writer second.

Chapter 20

"Promises and Goodbyes"

Bella and Jacob sat leaning against the backrests of their motorcycles on the cliffs overlooking the dark stormy waters where Bella had taken her fated cliff dive not so very long ago. It seemed like an eternity since she had been pulled out of the icy cold water and her lungs had been filled with life-saving breath by a boy who at the time was completely in love with her. Things were so different now…so much less – yet in many ways, infinitely more – complicated. Jacob loved Renesmee more than his own life, but it wasn't the kind of love that a man has for a woman. Not yet. Renesmee was still a young child, and Jacob loved her as she needed to be loved for now…as a brother would love his sister. But, Bella knew that someday, Jake's love for her daughter would transform into the kind of love that Edward had for her. She knew that Renesmee and Jacob were destined to be together forever. They were soul-mates in every sense of the word. That knowledge comforted, yet troubled her beyond measure.

What if things during the battle went terribly wrong and Jacob didn't make it back to Renesmee? How could Bella ever face her daughter knowing that she would face an eternity without her Jacob? The thought of seeing her daughter in so much pain tormented her. But, she would not ask him to stay out of the fight. Jake was her best friend, and she knew him as well as she knew herself. The guilt would destroy him if even one of his brothers or sisters did not make it through the battle and he had not been there to help.

"Bells, what ya thinking about?" Jacob asked. As a swift breeze blew up from the ocean, a couple of strands of his long dark hair flew into his handsome russet face and as he tucked them behind his ear, his deep brown eyes searched her face curiously.

"I was just thinking about Renesmee. I worry about her if something were to happen to you tomorrow." Out of habit, Bella pinched her bottom lip between her teeth as her brows furrowed.

Jacob groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Not you too, Bella. Look, I have every intention of making it home to Renesmee tomorrow. I've never allowed myself to think any other way. In my mind, I see us all going back to Camp Cullen to celebrate our victory together. It's the power of positive thinking!"

Jacob's smile stretched all the way across his face, his eyes twinkling like stars and his teeth sparkling like new fallen snow. He was still her sun. Very little could ever dampen his optimism. She had to admit, it was a bit contagious. She loved him for that…she loved him for a lot.

"Thank you, Jake."

"For what?"

"For always being you… for being my best friend…for being Edward's friend… and, for loving my daughter. I love you, Jacob Black."

Jacob looked at her for a long time, his eyes brimming with unshed tears and his throat constricting with the effort to speak.

"I love you too, Bells."

Jacob reached back for his helmet and began fiddling with the chin strap before declaring, "We'd better head back. I promised Nessie I'd take her for a ride on the bike before I drop her off at Charlie's."

"Promise me one thing before we go, Jake."

"What's that, Bells?"

"Promise me if things go badly tomorrow that you'll run. Get Renesmee and take her somewhere safe. Tell Charlie whatever you have to and get her out of here. Promise me."

"She'll be safe with me, Bella. I promise."

Later, as Bella stood in Edward's arms watching Renesmee – sitting in front of Jacob wearing the adorable Hannah Montana helmet that Alice had ordered specially made for her and strapped into a special harness anchored around Jacob's waist because her arms were too short to reach around and hold tight if she sat behind him – speed off in the direction of Charlie's house, Bella knew she would be…safe with Jacob…always.

The night air was unusually warm after the thunderstorm from the night before as Seth led Tahla across the forest floor to his secret spot.

Sitting back in a grove of pines stood a pair of majestic oaks, and sitting high in the treetops of the largest oak sprawled a spacious tree house.

Without missing a step, Seth jumped from the ground up to the first branch of the tree and began swinging effortlessly from branch to branch until he came to rest on the tiny porch outside the entrance of the tree house. Tahla giggled and followed closely behind mirroring his every move. As the two hunched down on all fours and crawled through the door, Tahla grinned.

The space was most definitely Seth's. In one corner of the one room hideaway sat a small gas-powered generator that he used to supply electricity for a small television, an X-Box 360, and a mini-fridge sitting directly in front of the generator. Along with the X-Box game controllers, at least thirty games lay scattered all over the floor in front of the television. In the opposite corner from the electronics sat a make-shift shelving unit made of blue milk crates stocked to the hilt with his favorite snack foods. Oatmeal crème pies, cheese puffs, Slim-Jims, king-sized Reese Cups, and Vienna sausages were just the tip of the ice-berg – all evidence of the bottom-less pit that was Seth's stomach! Then, in the middle of the floor facing the television screen sat three over-stuffed bean bags. Three large sleeping bags were rolled up against the back wall.

Seth grinned sheepishly at the incredulous look on Tahla's face.

"Me and Collin and Brady spend a lot of time up here. Sorry if it's a little messy. Hey, you want something to drink?"

Tahla shook her head yes and Seth opened the mini-fridge to retrieve her drink. Tahla burst out laughing at the sight. Bottled chocolate Yoo-hoos and canned Mountain Dews were crammed into the fridge stacked haphazardly atop the other. Seth laughed too as he pulled out a Yoo-hoo for Tahla and a Mountain Dew for himself. Tahla was touched that he'd remembered her addiction to the chocolate drink. Every stop they had made on the way to Forks from Cantwell had meant a purchase of another Yoo-hoo.

Seth slumped comfortably into one of the large army green beanbags and took a huge gulp of Mountain Dew.

"Do you want to watch a movie? I don't have any chick flicks, but I've got a few comedies," Seth said between gulps of his drink.

Tahla moved over to Seth's beanbag and kneeled down on the floor facing him, wedging herself between his legs and propping her arms on his knees. Looking up at him with round innocent doe eyes, she sat her Yoo-hoo down and took his Mountain Dew from him and sat it down on the floor next to her chocolate drink.

Speaking softly – a little unsure of herself – Tahla took Seth's hands in hers and peered up at him shyly through long black lashes and said, "Actually, I was hoping we could just talk and stuff."

Seth swallowed hard. He knew the stuff Tahla was referring to, and he wasn't exactly sure she was ready for it yet. She was definitely scared and in need of some comforting and reassurance, but sex would only complicate things more at this point. He wanted their first time to be a result of love and passion not of fear and anxiety.

Seth cupped Tahla's soft face in his large gruff hands and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Lala, I know you're scared. I'm scared, too. And, it isn't that I don't want to do stuff with you tonight…I do…a lot. I just think we should wait until the battle's over and we have all this crap with Dallas and Felix behind us."

Tahla laid her forehead on Seth's strong chest, tears spilling from her eyes.

"What if we don't make it through the battle, Seth? I can't…"

Seth shushed her by gently placing his hand over her mouth. He pulled her into his lap, wiped the tears from under her large brown eyes with his thumbs, and kissed her one more time.

"We'll make it, Tahla."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"I love you, Seth Clearwater."

"I love you too, Lala."

Soft moonlight filtered through the window of Edward and Bella's bedroom in the cottage as they lay wrapped in each other's arms. Various articles of clothing had been scattered hastily across the floor as their need to be as close to each other as possible had trumped neatness during their first real moment of couple time in almost a month. Edward had had his hands full keeping the boys who had been sleeping in the cottage under wraps while Bella had been busy chaperoning the girls who had taken over the second floor of the Cullen mansion. Tonight, the girls would be maintaining possession of the second floor while the boys would be taking over the first floor in order to give Edward and Bella a long awaited night alone in their home. So far, they had taken advantage of the time alone on the rug in the living room floor, against the wall in the hallway, and now in their bed.

Edward sighed with contentment and balanced himself on one elbow, looking down at Bella. Never taking his eyes off of hers, he ran his hand slowly down the perfect curve of her waist and over the gentle slope of her hip before sliding it down around the firm swell of her bottom, pulling her into his chest.

"You are without a doubt the most beautiful creature I have ever seen."

Edward's voice was thick with lust, but his eyes were filled with love.

"I was nothing but an empty shell before you entered my life, Bella. You gave my life meaning. Loving you gives me purpose."

Bella showered soft kisses across Edward's bare muscular chest and made her way slowly up to his Adam's apple where she lingered, kissing the flesh on either side, before moving to his lips and drawing him into a long slow kiss. As she pulled back from the kiss, Bella smiled wickedly and shoved Edward playfully onto his back, straddling his hips and pinning his arms above his head, lacing her fingers through his.

"I want you again…now."

Bella's sultry voice was almost Edward's undoing, but he wanted a promise from her before they lost themselves in the moment again. So, he gripped her by the hips, suspending her just above him, and looked sternly into her eyes.

"Isabella, wait. Promise me you'll be careful tomorrow. No unnecessary heroics. I mean it. My existence would be pointless without you."

"Your existence will never be pointless, My Love. I promise."

Edward relaxed his grip on Bella's hips, and for the fourth time that evening – the second time in their bed – they took advantage of the alone time they had been provided.

Eventually, they lost count as they continued to satiate their hunger for each other until the moonlight outside the window was replaced by sunless daylight.

As day broke over the forest and the light trickled slowly into the tent where Ethan and Leah had spent the night, Leah lay draped comfortably across Ethan's chest completely spent and utterly satisfied…almost.

Ethan was watching her. He hadn't taken his eyes, or his hands, off of her all night. His appetite had been voracious… almost as if he was trying to fit a lifetime of making love to her into one final night together. It was as if he was saying goodbye.

Leah forced the panic that began to rise in her throat, threatening to choke off the air to her lungs, back into the pit of her stomach where it had settled the day before. She refused to allow herself or Ethan for that matter, to believe that this was the end. She had secretly been making plans with Carlisle to explore the possibility of having Ethan's child when all this was over. And keeping anything truly secret among the shape-shifters was truly an amazing accomplishment. Given time, Carlisle believed that her body would return to normal if she stopped phasing, allowing her to conceive and carry a baby to term.

Leah wanted to have Ethan's child more than she had ever wanted anything in her life.

"Are you all right, Baby?" Ethan's question broke into Leah's thoughts, and she started slightly before smiling into his troubled eyes.

"I was just thinking about something that I'd like to hear your opinion on, actually." Leah spoke tentatively, tracing the outline of Ethan's collarbone with her index finger.

"Okay. But you know what I always say. Opinions are like ass…"

Leah rolled her eyes and kissed him to shut him up, but that only succeeded in derailing the conversation as the kiss turned into yet another round of love making.

Finally, as Ethan sat with her in his lap running his hands hypnotically through her long black hair, Leah took a deep breath and asked the question that had been on her mind for weeks.

"How would you feel about me having a baby?"

Ethan's hand froze in mid-air.

He looked at Leah for a long time, searching her face.

"You're serious. You really want to try and have a baby?"

"More than anything in the world."

"Leah, you know I would give you the moon and the stars. Hell, I'd lasso the sun if it would make you happy. But as much as I want to, I don't think I can give you a baby. Honey, your body…"

"No, it's okay. Carlisle says there's a chance. We just have to give it time. So, what do you say? After we win this battle today, we start trying to get pregnant?"

Ethan looked into the hopeful eyes of his beautiful wife and knew he would never be able to deny her anything.

"Anything you want, Wolf Girl. Anything you want."

"I love you, Ethan."

"I love you. More than anything in this world or the next."

By noon, the Cullen mansion was overrun with pacing shape-shifters and immobile vampires. As Bella watched the wolves and the cats constantly bump into each other as they jockeyed for floor space while the vampires sat frozen stiff, she would have thought the whole thing quite comical if the situation weren't so impossibly… terrifying.

All goodbyes had been spoken… all promises had been made. Now, they were waiting. Waiting for Edward to give the signal that would call them into action and lead them into the forest for battle.

Moving only her eyes, not her head…not her body…Bella looked around the room at her large extended family. Who would survive this day? Who would be lost to them forever?

She looked over at Carlisle and Esme, seated next to each other holding hands on the sofa. The thought of never seeing her surrogate parents again…to never talk to them again…made her eyes sting with tears it was impossible for her to shed. Her mind wandered back to the events of the morning.

Carlisle had held a meeting with Esme and his six children. He had given each of them a black leather portfolio with their name and the Cullen crest engraved on the cover. Found inside every portfolio was a detailed financial history and the passwords to every bank account around the world, a list of reliable business contacts as well as trustworthy friends, and a letter addressed to each individual family member with instructions to read it only in the event of his death.

Emmett, usually the most optimistic of the Cullen children, had been visibly shaken and had refused to accept the portfolio. He finally relented after Esme scolded him for making things harder on Carlisle when he was only doing what he thought was best for the family.

While Bella sat watching and wondering, Edward sat listening. Everyone's thoughts were filled with the last words they had spoken to their loved ones, and Edward heard them all.

He heard Rachel's tearful goodbye to Paul as she begged him to stay with her instead of going to battle. Then he heard Kim's stern warning to Sam that if Jerod didn't come back to her in one piece, she'd never forgive him.

He heard the Ahtena twins, Kale and Kylee – who had discovered their gift of twin telepathy at an early age – make a pact to end the other's suffering if one were gravely injured. Then he heard Drew and Dayson, the Quileute twins, promise their little sister that they would be home in time for her piano recital at the music school on the reservation.

He heard Sue Clearwater telling Seth and Leah how proud their father, Harry, would have been of both of them before she thanked them for protecting their tribe. Then he heard Billy Black telling Jacob what a good man he had grown up to be before he told him how much he loved him.

He heard Emmett promise Rosalie that they would go away on a long vacation when this was over…just the two of them. Then he heard Alice promise Jasper that she would climb the Himalayas with him in the fall.

On and on their thoughts raged in Edward's mind. More than ever before, he wished he had some way of turning them off…just for a moment's peace.

Then he heard them… Thoughts that made him stop cold.

What is that God awful wet dog smell? It's worse than he said it would be.

So many heart beats. It must be the large cats he told us about.

I can't wait to see my Katie Girl! I hope she's cooled off a bit by now.

"Garrett has returned! And, he's brought reinforcements!" Edward shouted in jubilation as he rushed out the back door with Kate and the other vampires right behind him. By the time the Quileutes and Ahtenas meandered outside, Kate was in Garrett's arms kissing him with uninhibited exuberance.

As the two reunited loves had their moment, the members of Camp Cullen got acquainted with the American nomads. Peter and Charlotte had been to Forks to serve as witnesses during the stand-off with the Volturi last year, and Mary and Randall had also returned to lend their support. In addition to four old friends, Garrett had brought along five new males that none of the Cullens had met before. Incredibly, Garrett had managed to round up a team of ten, bringing the Forks army to a total of fifty-two.

Finally, after several well-meant throat clearings, Kate and Garrett pulled slowly away from each other and Garrett clasped his hand over first Edward's, then Emmett's, and finally Carlisle's hand in greeting, smiling widely.

But his wide smile quickly disappeared as Garrett's eyes panned across the group and fell on the Ahtena warriors. He stood motionless, silently processing the grief and pain… and hatred behind each pair of wise-beyond-their-years eyes.

Garrett spoke with cautiousness in his voice, a tortured expression replacing the usual happy-go-lucky grin on his face.

"There are no words to adequately describe how truly sorry I am for your loss. I will spend the rest of my life…if that's what you call it…trying to make up for what happened in Cantwell."

Chan sprang forward with a guttural growl, his furious face inches from Garrett's, and asked in a voice shaking with barely contained fury, "Which time, Bloodsucker? The night you murdered our fathers, or the day you massacred our little sisters and brothers?"

As Ethan moved up beside Chan and grabbed his arm to pull him back away from Garrett, Emmett – who had quickly bonded with Chan when he'd discovered his interest in martial arts – pulled Garrett out of the way and stood in front of Chan, his hand on his chest.

Emmett's voice was firm as he warned, "Not now."

Ethan tugged on Chan until he had him completely out of harm's way and added, "Emmett's right, Brother. This is not the time. We have bigger issues today than this one."

Alice, who had been very quiet for several minutes, scowled and looked over at Garrett with a furrowed brow.

"Yes we do. Like, how come I didn't see you coming today? I should have seen you coming, right? You're not with Dallas and Felix, so the power blocker wouldn't…unless…"

Alice gasped as Edward held up his hand to silence her and turned to face the forest. As everyone else turned in the same direction, the figure of a sandy-haired wolf could be seen pacing anxiously back and forth. Seth, Kale, and Benjamin had been on lookout all morning, and Seth had run in to relay a message to Edward.

"It's time." Edward said with finality. "They've split into four separate squads just as Garrett warned us they would. Team leaders, take your positions. Ethan's on the south, Sam's on the west, Garrett's on the east, and mine and Jacob's on the north. Drive them into the clearing as quickly as you can. Let's go!"

As each combat team headed off in their assigned direction, the only sound echoing among the trees was that of clothing being ripped apart as twenty-five shape-shifters transformed in mid-stride. Taking one last glance behind him, Jacob couldn't help but laugh. Thanks to Alice's propensity for designer clothing, it looked like Saks Fifth Avenue had exploded all over the Cullen's back yard.

As the clash between the shape-shifters and their allies, and the vampires who sought to destroy them began, Carlisle knew there would be no civilized stand-off such as the one that took place here a little over a year ago between the Cullens and the Volturi. No one was concerned with appearances today.

Today was about more than the survival of an entire race – though Carlisle knew that was enough for any of them to risk their lives for – today was a fight for the survival of the human spirit. For over three centuries, Carlisle had based his whole life on the philosophy that basic human decency – even among vampires – would always prevail. That philosophy had gone virtually unchallenged until now. There was no decency in murdering school children. There was no decency in the massacre and destruction of an entire village leaving seven teenagers totally orphaned and homeless. And, there was certainly no decency in targeting one species for annihilation simply because they existed. Carlisle abhorred violence and had dedicated his life to the purpose of healing in hopes that he would never be put in the situation he was thrust into today. But, the moment the Volturi decided to sanction this mission – putting the lives of his family in jeopardy in the hopes of destroying them as well – they had unleashed a fury in him that burned white hot.

Perhaps that was why the first kill of the battle seemed to be so fitting.

As Ethan and his team intercepted Dallas's squad in the south quadrant of the battle field, Carlisle set his sights on a tall, broad- shouldered male with black wavy hair and leapt into action. Catching the young vampire off guard, Carlisle quickly rendered him powerless by locking his arms behind his back and ripping them from their sockets in one swift motion. The black haired male's screams were the first to be heard – setting the tone for the rest of the battle – as Carlisle locked his arms around the man's chest and sank his teeth into the flesh at the base of his neck. In a flash, the ground around Carlisle was littered with severed limbs and the head of the first casualty – eyes wide and blinking furiously – until a flash of red flame set the pile of stony flesh ablaze.

In the meantime, across the battle field in the North quadrant, Edward's team collided head-on with Bryce's squad. When Bella turned to confront a stocky blond-haired male, she was caught from behind by a smaller red-headed vampire who wrapped his gangly arms around her chest and held her in a vice grip. As she twisted her body in an attempt to break free from the smaller male, the larger vampire took hold of her head and prepared to wrench it from her body. Bella searched frantically for Edward – she didn't want him to see her die – but couldn't see him anywhere. So, she closed her eyes and held her breath, waiting for the end to come. Then, out of the corner of her eye, Bella caught a flash of yellow gold fur and ferocious white teeth as Tahla's lioness leapt onto the larger vampires back and ripped his head from his neck with one bite. Bella used the opportunity to sweep her left leg around the smaller male's left ankle to anchor herself and throw her head back, bashing in his skull. As his screams filled her ears, Bella flipped him over her shoulder and sent him crashing to the ground on his back. Jumping on top of him with a primal growl, Bella bit into his neck with her razor sharp teeth leaving a gaping hole where skin and muscle had once been. In the next instant, his head was detached from his body and his limbs lay twitching in a pile beside the writhing limbs of the larger male Tahla had dismembered.

Over to the west, near the cliffs overlooking the ocean, Sam's team fought with Felix and his soldiers. Just as Sam's mammoth black wolf was tossing the pieces of the upper torso of the first muscle bound soldier he'd killed into the fire, another hulk straddled his back like he would a horse and wrapped his hands around Sam's neck, squeezing with all his strength. As Sam struggled for breath, everything around him began to grow dark, and the sounds of battle became muted mumblings in his ears. He thought of Emily…her radiant smile…her contagious laughter. Did she know how much he truly loved her? As Sam closed his eyes and began to succumb to the overwhelming desire for sleep, Emily's scarred but beautiful face was the last vision he saw before everything went black.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Chan's massive Bengal tiger plowed into the over-sized vampire sitting atop Sam's back and tackled him to the ground with a ferocious roar. In a blur of orange fur and black stripes, Chan sliced the large-muscled vampire into such tiny pieces that throwing the remains into the fire seemed like overkill, but Chan liked to hear the hissing sound the vampires' flesh made as it burned. Once he was confident that every piece was burned sufficiently, Chan turned to run back over to Sam and make sure he was all right. But the huge black wolf was not where he had left him. Frantically, Chan scanned the pyres…praying that Sam's body hadn't been thrown into the fire.

Sam! Sam, are you okay? Where are you?

I'm all right, Chan. Just getting my second wind. Thanks, by the way.

Anytime, Brother. Glad I could be of service.

Over in the east against the bluffs, Garrett's team was locked in a skirmish with Scott's dwindling troop. The American nomads – most of them fairly young males – had made quick work of finishing off all but four of the twelve soldiers. But Scott and the remaining three were members of Felix's elite squad that had been trained in Volterra, so Garrett knew it would take his team working together to bring them down.

As he and Randall went after Scott, the rest of Garrett's team split into sets of three and turned their attention on the others. Within minutes, the nomads had overtaken them and the metallic sound of vampire teeth ripping into vampire flesh mingled in the air with screams of agony as one by one Scott and the others fell.

As he watched Scott burn, Garrett replayed the day in Cantwell in his mind. Nothing would ever erase the horror of being forced to take part in the murder of innocent children. He would never be able to forgive himself for the role he played in their suffering as long as he lived. His only consolation was that they had died quickly. Garrett had ordered that their necks were to be broken and that no blood was to be shed. Scott and Bryce had followed his orders without question, but the looks on the faces of the kids as they realized what was about to happen haunted Garrett. Only when he watched Bryce, Dallas, and Felix burn would Garrett truly feel that he had made amends.

By the time the battle reached the clearing and all four teams from Camp Cullen converged into one, the day had turned to night. Standing over her latest kill, Bella took a second to look around the field and survey the damage before she gathered the pieces to throw on the pyre. As far as she could tell – it was difficult considering everyone was so far spread out and constantly on the move – there were fourteen soldiers for Dallas still standing. Bella quickly located Edward, who was definitely winning against a tall dark-skinned vampire with dreadlocks pulled back into a pony-tail. Then, she searched for Jacob and found his huge rust-colored wolf in the middle of the field assisting Meekah's blue gray minx in gathering the pieces of her most recent kill. One by one, Bella located the members of her immediate family. Alice, Rosalie, and Esme had a red-headed female cornered at the edge of the clearing. Bella knew instantly it was the power blocker and wondered how much Alice would enjoy killing her.

Carlisle and Jasper were each sparring with an opponent but looked to be in complete control. Emmett was… Where was Emmett? Bella gasped as she finally located her big brother. He was fighting with Felix.

Although it only took seconds, it seemed to Bella that it took hours. Time slowed to a crawl as everything around her began to happen in slow motion. Emmett had gotten the upper hand on Felix and was just about to deliver the bite that would virtually end his life, when one of Felix's Volterra-trained specialists came from behind, seizing Emmett in a choke hold. In an instant, a second specialist had joined the first, and between the two of them, Emmett was driven to his knees, his arms held out parallel to the ground. As Felix took hold of Emmett's head, Rosalie screamed out his name in panic and began running toward Felix. Just before Rosalie made contact with Felix, he turned and back-handed her with his right hand sending her flying through the air and crashing into the trunk of an oak tree twenty feet away. In the same moment that Rosalie's lifeless body crumpled to the ground, Jacob's russet wolf – fire shooting from his eyes – slammed into the first Volterra specialist while Edward – eyes wild with fury – tackled the second.

From one single horrifyingly senseless incident, no one could have anticipated the firestorm of rage that it would ignite, spreading through the Cullen camp like wildfire and ending the battle within moments.

But, Bella still did not move. Her eyes remained fixed on Emmett.

She had never seen a look like the one Emmett had on his face as he ripped into Felix. It truly frightened her. He hadn't stopped until every inch of Felix's body had been shredded and burned to a char.

Bella stood glued to her spot as she watched everyone spring to action around her. Alice and Esme were at Rosalie's side even before Carlisle and Emmett reached her. As Emmett dropped to his knees beside the love of his life, he gathered her in his arms and began to rock back and forth – the sudden silence of the forest punctuated only by his heartbroken wails.

"No! Not my Rosalie! Not my Rose! No! No! No!"

Edward approached Bella with caution. She still had not moved, and her amber eyes were wide with shock. All around her, other frightening sights and sounds were beginning to assault her over-heightened senses. As Edward reached out for her hand, she flinched away from him.

"Isabella, it's over. Come, Love. Our family needs us now."

Edward gently but firmly took Bella by the hand and pulled her to his chest. Bella made a choked attempt to speak, but couldn't make the words form in her mouth. So, trusting that Alice had gotten rid of the power blocker, she opened her shield to allow Edward to read her thoughts.

So many, Edward. I… I can't bear it!

No matter in which direction she looked, Bella saw the carnage that she had not allowed herself to fathom.

To her left, Leah's sleek grey wolf lay motionless as a grief-stricken black panther laid his mammoth head across her chest and nestled his head in the crook of her neck.

As Bella looked to her right, she saw Seth's sandy-haired wolf splayed unnaturally across the grass – a strange rasping sound pushing from his mouth with each panting breath. Tahla's yellow-gold lioness lay next to him resting her head on his chest.

Directly behind her, Bella could hear agonized screams. As she turned her head to see who it was in such pain, she saw Paul writhing naked on the forest floor, two crescent-shaped bite marks on either side of his neck. Jared's brown-coated wolf stood protectively over his fallen brother.

Bella shut her eyes tight. There was too much. She couldn't look any further. This wasn't real. This wasn't happening.

Please, Edward! I…I can't…I can't do this!

Edward cupped Bella's face firmly in his granite hands and forced her to look into his ocher eyes.

"You must, Isabella. I cannot do this without you."

Finally, the desperation in Edward's voice broke through Bella's shock and disbelief. Yes, she could do this. With Edward by her side, she could do anything. Taking his hand in hers, she steeled herself with a deep cleansing breath and began walking toward the nearest fallen member of their family.