Happy Holidays! I cannot express how ecstatic I am about the many awesome reviews I have been receiving. I love to hear how much you are enjoying the story. I know many of you hate the cliff hangers but I gotta get you guys interested in wanting to read the next chapter!! Please keep reviewing and letting me know what you think of this chapter.

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Enjoy!!!

I immediately walked out of the classroom. I could faintly hear my teacher calling after me. I tried to find Annabel's scent through the hallways but could not pick anything up. I was thankful for the absence of students and teachers because I could move as quickly as I wanted. I made it to the parking lot, where I could still faintly pick up her scent. It seemed that she never made it into the building. She was in trouble. I could feel it. I headed back into the building moving as swiftly as I could to Jacob's classroom.

"Jacob and I have to go home. We have a family emergency," I said to the teacher. My eyes were intense and she was taken aback by the urgency of my voice.

Jacob got up and walked out of the classroom with me without waiting for her to respond. We walked back to the parking lot and drove home in silence. He didn't have to ask me what was wrong…he already knew. We could hear the yelling coming from the house miles before we reached the long driveway. I ran up the stairs of the porch with Jacob following closely behind. As I opened the door, I was surprised by the altercation I saw.

"How could you let this happen? I thought you were watching her!" Seth shouted at Alice. Jasper was standing protectively in front of her while Seth continued to yell. Alice looked utterly distraught by the situation.

Seth stood there trembling, his hands closed tightly in a fist. My father, Leah and Emmett were in front of him holding him back. Everyone else was in the far corners of the room, watching Seth shake uncontrollably. My mother moved to stand protectively in front of me when I entered the house and Jacob took my father's spot controlling Seth so he came to stand by me as well.

"Seth, you need to calm down," Jacob said vehemently.

His eyes were fiery, burning with anger and desperation. I was taken aback by the murderous stare he was giving my family…especially Alice.

"I can't!" he screamed. He trembled once more and the clothes he wore started to tear against his quivering body. In his fit of anger, he grabbed the dinning room chair and threw it through the window. The crash of broken glass made me shudder.

"Get him outside!" my father shouted to Leah and Jacob.

"I have to get her back. I…I just have to." Seth moaned. In the brief moment that overwhelming sadness took over blinding rage, Leah and Jacob took the opportunity to push him out the back door. As soon as they got outside, I saw Seth burst into his wolf form and take off running with Leah and Jacob following closely after him.

It was silent for a moment. The rest of the people in the room were probably a bit shaken after taking in the sight of seeing a werewolf shift for the first time.

"Alice, look at me," Jasper said as he turned to her, taking her face in his hands. "It's not your fault. You can't be expected to catch everything."

"I should have seen it. I should have been watching her closer," Alice whispered.

"What did she see? What happened to Annabel?" I asked as I looked at my father. My eyes were stinging with tears that threatened to fall.

"Annabel is on a plane to Italy…to Volterra," he said.

"What? How? How do they even know about her?"

"They don't, at least no yet. Apparently Christian is taking her there," my mother said.

"Christian?" I was shocked. It didn't make sense. I couldn't even fathom it.

"We don't know how Christian knows about the Volturi or if he even knows anything about vampires," Rosalie said.

"So why are we still standing here? Let's go and get her," I said to my family.

"It's too late to catch her before she reaches Volterra and we can't just show up there. It would be suicide," Jasper said.

"Then what do we do? We just let them have her?" I said exasperatedly.

"She is a part of our family, Nessie. You know that we are not just going to let them have her. But we can't just go there with no plan," Carlisle said.

"What are they going to do to her?" I whispered.

It was silent as I looked around the room. Everyone's eyes were to the floor, no one, not even my parents meeting my stare.

"They are going to try," Alice said quietly.

"Try?"

"They are going to try and change her to a vampire."

"Will they succeed?" I choked out.

"No."

My stomach dropped as I realized the implications of them trying to change Annabel. I looked around still unable to catch anyone's eye.

"Will she be in pain?" I choked out.

"Yes, immense pain."

I took my father's arm immediately, pulling him so he would look at me.

"We have to go immediately. I don't understand why we are just standing around," I begged him.

"Please Nessie; I know how much she means to you. But we must be smart about this. They will not be able to change her but Aro will still want to keep her. He will fight to keep her and we are going to have to prepare to fight back. He may use this as a perfect opportunity to wipe us out."

I looked around at the faces in the room. The only eyes that didn't avoid my stare were my families'. I realized that none of the others would go to Italy to fight with us. I became angry because I didn't understand why; if they came all the way here to discuss a potential war then why was it so difficult to go fight now.

"Nessie, this is not their fight," my father said.

"We would be on their turf. The chances of survival are very slim," Jasper said.

The grave faces of my family looked upon each other with such sadness. The fear in their eyes was so apparent. I saw my father look longingly to my mother. I remembered these faces…from so long ago; back when we thought that all hope was lost. But a miracle had come then! How could there not be one more miracle granted? If everyone came together, fought together our chances would be higher.

I looked sternly into the faces of those whose eyes avoided mine.

"Without your help, you are pushing my family to their death," I told them. "Will you fight with us?"

Silence rang deafeningly loud in my ears. As anger over took me I realized I could not stand here any longer. I stormed out of the house and slammed the door.

"Let her go, Bella. She just needs to cool down," I heard my father say.

I ran fast through the woods not knowing where I was going. I could feel tears of anger being pushed by the wind on my face. As the anger grew, it also redirected to Christian. I began to hate him. Pity was now replaced with blinding rage and loathing. If I ever got my hands on him I would tear him to pieces, crush him hard. How could he do that to someone who he supposedly loved? How did he even know about Volterra? Did he know anything about vampires? Did he know exactly who he was bringing Annabel to?

. I found myself making my way Christian's house. I looked at my watch. School had not gotten out yet. His parents would not be home and would probably not have discovered the fact that their son was missing and nevertheless in Italy.

He lived in a typical colonial home in a classic suburban neighborhood. With it still being daylight, I didn't want to get caught breaking into the house. I listened to the surrounding noise and it seemed that most people were at work or carrying around in their house. I looked around and discreetly made my way to the back of the house trying to find an entrance. It looked like there was no obvious place for me to break in. I lightly pulled the back door on the deck and to my luck, they had seemed to forgotten to lock this door.

I closed the door lightly behind me as I made my way in the house. I quickly looked around and spotted the stairs. Swiftly making it up the stairs I stopped short to stare at the family photos that were on the wall. There was a picture of Christian when he was young and an older girl. I had never seen a picture of his sister before. She was beautiful with those striking green eyes set against her skin tone which was slightly darker than Christians.

I easily found Christian's room by his scent. His room was at the end of the hall, the door slightly opened. His room was a typical room of a teenage boy. The walls painted blue with flannel bed sheets to match in disarray on his bed. There were CD's and clothes scattered among other things on the floor. I walked to his dresser taking note of a few framed pictures of Annabel.

Not knowing what I was looking for I began rummaging through his things. I found a small box in his sock drawer but when I opened it, it was empty. I knelt on the floor looking under the bed. I pushed around some books and magazines that had found their way down there. Again, I turned up with nothing. I shook my head in frustration at myself. What exactly was I planning on finding here? I was hoping for some sort of clue; something to tell me why he took her and why Italy of all places.

I had been through every inch of the room, about to give up when something caught my eye. The vent on the floor of his room had been not been put on correctly. The side of it stood slightly askew. I walked over, pulled the vent cover off and reached my hand inside. My fingers brushed against a small box. I carefully pulled the box out. When I opened it I found some letters addressed to Christian with a return address of Italy but no name. All of the letters were tied together with an old pair of shoelaces. I untied the bundle and opened the letters reading each one quickly. I stumbled upon one particularly interesting letter.

Dear Christian,

Hope all is well. Italy is absolutely beautiful…amazing! One day when you are older you must come and visit me. I will show you around this great country. I am currently staying in the city of Volterra. The food is great and so are the people. I even met someone special. I wish you could see me now. I am like a silly love sick fool and I walk around with a stupid grin on my face all day. I can't wait for the day that you meet him. He is angel and absolutely beautiful. His name is Felix. I know its weird hearing about your sister's love life, but I feel compelled to tell you, to tell everyone! I think he is the one. Yes, I said it…THE ONE! Felix is helping me get settled here and is even helping me get a job as a receptionist at the company he works for. I am thinking of staying here permanently. I know you are surprised to hear that, since it seems I could never stay in one place. I really feel I found what I have been looking for in this great city.

Love you,

Gianna

I rummaged through the other letters, scanning them quickly until I found something of interest. Most of them talked more about Italy and her new love Felix. Soon the letters started to take a weird turn. The name of the company she worked for was The Volturi. She also began to talk about her desires to become like the people she worked for…absurdly beautiful. It was clear to me in the letters she sent Christian, she knew exactly what these "people" were, but knew she could not tell her little brother. My eyes were quickly scanning another letter when something caught my eye.

Dear Christian,

This may be my last letter, I do not know. I have not been honest about who I work for. It is a secretive company. They are amazing people…angels, miracle workers or real life gods. I know that this may be hard to believe. You may think I'm going crazy here but I promise, everything I say is the truth. They have the ability to give immortality and beauty. Felix is one of them.

Only few are chosen to receive this great gift. Only those who are believed to be special, people who have extra abilities. I have seen the people that they have chosen. These are people who claim to see the future, speak to spirits, and are telepathic, among other abilities. I believe that I may be next. I have prayed every night that they choose me and though it seems to them I have nothing to offer, Felix and I have grown closer. I am hoping that his will to keep me for forever, will change their minds. We would live all of eternity together. I would be just like him...just like them…perfect. I promise you; in a year I will come for you and give you this gift as well. If you do not hear from me after this year, just know that I love you.

I grabbed the letters and quickly made my way out of the house. I was home before sunset. My family and the Denali Clan were still in the main room of the house, discussing and arguing about plans of action. It seemed everyone else had left. I didn't bother asking why. I spotted my father at the conference table. He was sketching something that looked like blue prints. I quickly walked up to the table and placed the letters in front of him.

"I know why Christian took her to Italy," I said.

He looked up at me while the rest of the people converged around the letters I had brought. All of them listened intently to me.

"His sister worked for the Volturi when she was human. He may not know exactly who or what they are, but he knows what they are capable of. I don't know what happened to her…I assumed they killed her."

My family opened the letters, read them quickly and passed them around.

"Gianna? Why does her name sound so familiar?" my mother asked.

"You've met her before, love. When you came to save me from myself," my father said softly. His eyes were sad as if he was recalling a painful memory.

"Hmm…the memory is too blurry," my mother said shaking her head as if she was hoping that would make the memory become clear.

I heard the back door open and watched Jacob walk in. He looked beaten and worn out. There were fading cut marks all over his arms and a gash on his cheek that was starting to heal. I quickly walked over to him, examining each of the cuts.

"What happened?" I asked my eyes still on his arm.

"Um…it took a bit too calm Seth down," he shrugged.

"A bit?"

"How is Seth doing?" Carlisle asked.

"Not good. Leah is with him now, making sure he doesn't do anything stupid. I came to find out what the plan was."

"We are leaving tomorrow afternoon," my father said.

"Tomorrow?" I asked.

"Yes, while you are at school."

"Wait… what? You're going without me?"

"Yes Nessie."

"But that doesn't make sense. I need to go. You guys need me to go. I can use my pow-"

"No Nessie. We are doing this without you," my father said in a stern voice cutting me off.

"But mom can shield me and then I can borrow pow-"

"No."

"But-"

"No!" my father yelled at me. His angry eyes narrowed as he locked onto my stare. My eyes started to water over. I had never been yelled at by my father. I could feel my heart beating fast.

Not wanting to witness a family squabble, the rest of the people in the room quietly filed out, leaving only my parents, myself and Jacob.

"Nessie, we can't bare to put you in that sort of danger. You don't understand what it would do to us if something should happen to you," my mother said as she tried to put her arm around me, trying to calm me down. I shook her arm off.

"Well I can't bear everyone going without me," I urged angrily.

"Jacob, Seth and Leah will be staying here. You know the wolves cannot go. The Volturi will not honor any agreement we make, should we be able to come up with one, with the pack."

"It still doesn't make sense to go without me. I can help."

I felt a strong need to go. Annabel and I were best friends…sisters even. I could not sit here and wait to see what happens. I had to be apart of it. I had to help.

"I have to go," I stated once more, trying to calm my voice. "You can't leave me here and expect me just to sit around and wait to see how this plays out."

"Absolutely not," Jacob said. I turned my head to glare at him. He stared at me with saddened eyes. "I won't let you go without me."

"Well it's too bad because I'm going without you," I said to him. "You know I'm much too important of an asset not to go. They need me."

"I need you." His voice was becoming angry.

"You'll survive," I shot back at him.

"No, I won't."

"I have to go! It's not fair for me not to go! She means more to me than to anyone else that is going!" I screamed at him.

"Your. Not. Going." His eyes were intense, furious as he spoke to me. His hands were trembling at his sides. I watched him take deep breaths to calm himself down.

It infuriated me that he was siding with my parents.

"Tell me that I would not useful on this trip. Tell me that the chances of all of them coming back would not be greater if this trip included me," I continued.

"For God's sake, Nessie! You are just a child!"

His words shot through me. I immediately felt heavy tears stream down my cheeks. I tried my best to hide them, but couldn't. Child? He still thinks of me as a child…just a little girl? He tried moving closer to me, reaching his hands out.

"I didn't…Nessie, that's not what-" he tried to say.

"Do not touch me," I cut him off.

I walked out of the room and headed towards my bedroom upstairs, slamming the door behind me. I was angry…absolutely maddened. I grabbed the closest object to me and threw it as hard as I could. I looked over to see my I-pod sticking out of the wall, headphones still attached. I flopped down on my bed and buried my face in the pillow.

Throughout the rest of the evening, I had several visitors, Jacob the most frequent, coaxing me to open the door. I refused them all. Even when I was so hungry that human food started to appeal to me, I did not open the door.

The next thing I knew it was morning. My alarm clock rang violently to announce it was such. I looked down at myself realizing that I was still in yesterday's clothes. I took inventory of myself and recognized that I was still furious, which was unusual since I usually slept away anger. I dug through my closet looking for just a plain t-shirt and the worn through jeans I loved to wear. They were tucked far deep in the closet, probably thanks to Alice. When I found them I also stumbled across a small backpack from my childhood long ago. I opened it up to find tons of money and my passport. A thought flashed in my head but I quickly covered it up by remembering how angry I was. I hoped that my father did not catch it. I got dressed quickly and continued to stomp my way downstairs. I wanted to make it clear that I was still very angry.

As I made my way through the kitchen I found my family and the Denali clan standing around the kitchen island. Jacob was there, already dressed for school.

"You don't have to go to school today, if you don't want to. Esme can call you in sick," my mother said.

"I'm not just going to sit around here and worry," I said sharply.

My mother took me in her arms and gave me a tight hug. She pushed the hair out of my face and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"We will be home soon. All of us. I promise you," she said. "I love you."

"Love you too, Mom."

My anger subsided slightly as a new emotion of utter sadness started to creep up. I got passed around the family and embraced by their tight hugs and long goodbyes. My father was last.

"I don't want to leave here with you still angry with me. You must know that I love you so much that I can't bear to bring you anywhere unsafe," my father said.

"I know."

He took me in his arms and gave me a tight hug. He pressed his lips on my forehead.

"I love you very much, Nessie," he whispered.

"Love you too, Dad," I choked out. A single tear dropped from my eye. He let me go and I started to walk towards the door. I hesitated for a second and looked back at all of them.

"It is only you guys that will be going?" I asked.

Nobody answered me. Only Carlisle nodded his head. All of a sudden anger reappeared. I could not believe no one else would fight with them. Chances of them all coming back would be slim. I took a deep breath and turned towards the door.

"I'll drive?" I heard Jacob say behind me.

I continued walking to my car, not looking back.

"I'd rather drive alone," I said harshly.

I heard him stop walking. A pain assaulted my stomach as I began to feel guilty for hurting Jacob so much. I got in my car and sped down the driveway and onto the road as quickly as I could. I looked briefly in the rear view mirror. I saw him still standing in the same place, watching me drive away with those unbearable heartbreaking eyes. I focused back on the road when I couldn't look anymore.

I made it look like I was heading in the direction of school. But as soon as I knew that I was out of range from my father to hear my thoughts or for the rest of my family to realize that I had no intention of ever making it to school, I picked up even more speed and changed courses, heading directly for the airport.

I'm already working on the next chapter. Thank you, Z for getting this chapter back to me in record time. I'm impressed! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please continue to review!!! I really love to read what everyone thought of the chapter. Thank you to those you left me long reviews. I love to read them.