Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine.

Chapter 24

"What the hell Edward!" I screamed, spitting out something bad from my mouth. "What the fuck is your problem?" I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. It felt like my lips were stinging and a look of disgust crossed my face. Gazing into Dean's eyes I tried to apologize, tears ready to pour down my face at this humiliating scene. I should have listened to Jacob and Sam when they first told me. Instead, I had just been made a fool.

Edward struggled for a bit, tugging at Dean and Jake trying to throw them off, but he finally seemed to come to his senses.

"Bella, can we go somewhere and talk?" he asked, keeping his voice low, as he looked up at me from his lowered head, his bronze hair falling over his forehead and into his eyes.

"No," I said, shaking my head furiously, cutting my eyes with my amber brown hair. If he wanted to say something he'd better say it here in front of people, his family and my friends, because I sure as hell wasn't going anywhere with him now. I hadn't even wanted to go with him in the first place, he probably would have tried something, I thought looking back on it.

"Bella, why can't you understand?" He murmured, his head hanging back down.

"Understand what? How you're an asshole?" I spat. "What are you trying to do Edward? Drive me insane?"

Emmett snickered in the background, while the rest of the family watched on. No one said a word; they simply stared at us, waiting for something perhaps waiting for a real end between Edward and myself.

"I still love you Bella," he replied, "I didn't mean to hurt you in anyway."

"Well, you did. Many years ago, and I've gotten over you since then," I rushed. Dean stepped away from Edward, leaving Jake to hold him if Edward became frantic. A smile on his face, Dean sauntered over to me, proud that I had moved on with him. I put my arm behind Dean's back. It felt good to have Dean put his arm around me. I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder. Perhaps I was overdoing it, but I wanted to get my point across, besides what kinda right did he have in kissing me after four years. Four miserable years he had caused.

Edward saw this and he growled. What the heck was that reaction? "Get over your self," Dean muttered; rolling his eyes before kissing me on the forehead, a pleasant shock floating through my body as Dean basically admitted to everyone that we were together. Not like they couldn't have figured it out before now anyway.

"I've made my choice Edward. You dumped me all those years ago, now fuck off and grow up." I wished I could have stamped my foot at that moment to emphasize how much he was getting on my nerves. But I knew that would simply put me back in my recovery.

Edward's eyes only grew darker, turning a coal black, his grip becoming too much for Jake to handle. In seconds he had broken his restraint and was flying at us. Dean tried to stand his own, but with a vampire that was almost invincible against a human, there was little likelihood of Dean beating him.

He still tried though. Pushing Edward away from us, he would have a bruised muscle from that attempt. Edward didn't even budge instead he came towards me, reaching out to grasp my arms in his steel grip. Emmett and Jasper and Jake thankfully came to the rescue. Jake threw him away from us for a moment before he was back in seconds, Emmett and Jasper grabbing at his arms to stop him from doing anything rash. It was simply chaos, arms and legs flaying everywhere.

Dean wanted to punch him, I could see it in his eyes, his hand curling into a fist, but he resisted. Jake didn't.

Jake slammed into Edward's jaw, causing Edward to fall backward a step or two. "Back off!" he growled at Edward. "I'll do it again," he threatened, his voice menacing.

Edward started to crouch into his predator position, ready to fight Dean and Jake if necessary, before a voice rang out through the trees, echoing off into the distance.

"Stop it!" Esme screamed her voice so high. She never screamed or raised her voice before. Everyone paused. "Edward go." Her voice was commanding, and I respected her for it.

The clearing was silent, everyone absolutely still as we watched to see what would happen. Would Edward actually listen to Esme? Or would he fight Jake and Dean to get to me?

Edward stopped for a moment, considering everything, before vanishing, his white dress shirt quickly disappearing into the forest. I held onto Dean for dear life, my nails clawing into his muscular shoulder. Was he going to come back? What was going on? Edward was acting so possessive and jealous and he had been the one to break up with me all those years ago. I was so confused.

"Bella, can I talk to you?" Alice stepped up, her hands folded in front of her, her head cast down towards her Jimmy Cho covered feet.

Shakily I nodded my head. "Sure," I murmured. She walked off in the opposite direction that Edward had taken off in, barely making a noise in the wet undergrowth. Thank goodness for small favors, if I didn't slip that would be another favor.

I limped after her, trying to keep up with her quick clip and not fall before we were probably a half a mile away from the clearing. She turned to me then, her face saddened. "I have something to tell you," she replied, looking like a small girl ready to cry, her lip jutting out towards me.

"What is it Alice?" I soothed, even after the ordeal I had just been through. I had always been the martyr.

She paused, taking in a deep breath that was not needed she started. "I was trying to get you and Edward back together."

I stepped back, gasping at the idea of trying to do that, my hand flying to my heart.

"I wanted my sister back. I realized after he let you go that I needed you, that I missed you. So, when you came back into our lives I tried so hard to get you to fall back in love with Edward. He'd been in love with you for all these years." She stopped, letting out the last gust of air, waiting for me to have some type of reaction.

"Alice," I stepped back towards her. "When Edward ended it all those years ago… I broke down. I fell apart completely, but now… now I finally feel like I'm mending, all thanks to Dean. And," I paused, making sure to look her in the eye when I said it, "I am your sister when you don't act completely nuts. But if you ever try to do something like that again, I swear I'll rip you apart myself."

She grinned, as I came forward and gave her a hug. I squeezed her for a moment and then backed off. "And stop acting like you're five, you're older than I am."

Alice smirked, before putting her arm through mine and pulling me back to the clearing. At some points I stumbled, almost falling on my face, but Alice kept me up, keeping me from falling into a pile of old and deadened leaves. It felt like it took longer to get back to the group, longer than before to get back to Dean.

Jake was still around when Alice and I came back. He had told the others while we were having our girl moment. Emmett was stoked. "Werewolves and vamps working side by side how much cooler can that get?"

Rosalie just shook her head, "Cool is out babe." And went back to looking at her already immaculate nails.

Esme and Carlisle seemed pleased by the turn of events, and even Jasper seemed to be considering this a good turning point. Nodding his head he calculated, "Then there should be less. Of course we'll still do that so as to-"

"Do what?" Sam asked, his eyebrows rose in Jasper's direction.

Jasper stopped his pacing, looked up at Sam and said in the most practical voice, "Why use Bella as bait."

Jake roared to the left of me. "We're not using Bella as bait. That won't be part of the deal."

I stepped forward away from Alice at that. "Jake, I need to do this. If it will help get them distracted then there's less of a chance of anyone getting hurt." I tried to look as defiant as I could as I stated, "Besides, how else am I supposed to do anything." I glanced toward my ankle hoping he would follow my gaze.

Jake paused, his face scrunched up as he thought about it.

"Don't worry," Dean said, stepping in, "She won't be there any longer than she has to be." He walked over to me, kissing me on the temple as he put his arm around my shoulders. "Right Bells?"

I nodded, looking at Jake then at Dean. "See? No worries." I would say anything to get into the fight. They would need me there, even if they didn't think so.

"Well then-" Jake started before being cut off by a gasp to my right.

"Alice?" I whispered. Alice's eyes were staring off, looking into a different plane, a different place then where we were at this moment.

"Shh," Jasper shushed me, stepping towards his darling wife.

I closed my mouth waiting, standing as still as I possibly could.

"Darling what do you see?" his southern accent came out, as he petted his wife's arm, waiting for her to answer.

Her mouth hung open as she watched the future happen. "I can't see everything," she said, shaking her head, still in the daze, "but they will be here when the sun comes out."

We all looked at each other, shaking our heads. What could that possibly mean?

"Do you see anymore?" Emmett broke in, his voice excited by news of the impending battle.

"No," she replied, her gaze returning to normal. She looked at each of us in turn. "It is a sunrise, at least I think so. The rain will stop and they will come over those hills right there. It's all I got though." Alice frowned. "Almost like the person knows about my visions, or perhaps it's just the dogs helping us," she smiled. I laughed at her comment. Thank God she was kidding and not meaning it personally. At least, I hoped she was.

"Well, at least that's something," Carlisle said, stepping into our circle we had begun to create.

"That's right," Jasper stated. "Knowledge is power. We'll take them by surprise."

I nodded, "Good. Now what do we need to do?"

A/n: Sorry I haven't updated in two days! Thanks for the reviews and comments; they make me smile after all my real life drama. And no, I'm not telling you the game plan for the battle royal to come. That is a surprise for all of us. Only a few more chapters to go before I'm done!