We've hit the Twenty Five chapter mark! Goodness, I haven't gotten this far in some of my other stories. Alas, there are but ten more chapters to go. Never fret, for we do have a sequel to this enchanting Bellice fic. Meanwhile, my mind is currently working on a new Bellice fic, as well. ;)

I do not own the Saga. Never have, never will.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Carlisle leaned over the table, pursing his lips as he took in the information his children gave him. He looked thoughtful before he finally sighed, and turned to look out of the mirror.. "Tell me again what you saw."

"All I could see were about eight or nine vampires passing around one of Bella's shirts," Alice tightened her hold on my hand, rubbing her thumb against my skin.

"It's obvious they're using Bella's scent to track us. The question is," Carlisle paused, turning to look back at all of us, "are they after us or just Bella?"

Emmett grew a devious smirk, clenching his fist as he flexed his arm. "I don't care who they're after. I say we go in and destroy them."

Esme placed her hand on her son, giving him a meaningful look. "Emmett, reckless violence isn't cause for reckless violence."

"Esme's right," Edward agreed. "We can't go to Seattle and attack these monsters; think of all the humans who could witness the slaughter or get killed themselves."

"But don't you see?" Alice asked, her voice reflecting her emotions; full of worry and fear. "We won't have to go there. They're coming here! That's why they were passing around Bella's scent!"

"No need to jump to conclusions, Alice. Perhaps they just want to be prepared in case Bella or her pack decided to show up to Seattle," Carlisle asked, his tone convincing even if his eyes gave away his concern.

Rosalie shook her head. "As much as I want that to be the reason, Carlisle, I have to disagree. Why did they go after Bella's scent when they could have simply gone to the reservation? The smell of wet dog is so strong there, you wouldn't have to go within three miles to get a whiff," Rosalie sighed. "I'm afraid that either Bella is being targeted, or we are."

"Whoa, hold on," Kate said, looking at all of us before turning to Rosalie. "How do we even know they want to attack us? Maybe they are curious about why we're around someone who smells so bad," Kate turned to me, winking, "no offense."

"None taken," I grumbled. She didn't smell like a bunch of daises, either. I had gotten used to the Cullens smell though, so it was bearable and I could speak with them in their own home.

Jasper sighed, speaking for the first time since we had arrived. "I'm sorry, Kate, but it doesn't look like these are friendly vampires."

"They could just be a large coven like us, trying to survive," Kate shrugged, obviously trying to find some way to defend the ones in Seattle. Did she not hear about the bloodshed they've caused? They don't deserve to be defended.

"Our covens," Carlisle started, running a hand through his golden blond hair, "are the only ones this large, apart from the Volturi. I suspect it's because of our choice of abstaining from human blood that we are able to co-exist, as with your old coven in Denali. Most of the time covens consist of two-to-four vampires."

"And all the signs in Seattle point to a newborn army," Jasper said reluctantly, as if he didn't want to believe it himself.

Everyone's eyes widened, save Kate and mine. Before I was even able to ask what a newborn army was, Kate interjected. "A newborn army? How can you be so sure?"

Jasper sighed, staring lovingly at his mate with a weak smile. "You know I avoid a certain topic you question me weekly, correct?"

Kate nodded. "I know; you should really let me know about your past. But how would that have anything to do with it?" Kate didn't know about Jasper's past? How long had they been together?

Alice let go of my hand and walked over to Kate, placing her hand on her arm. "Kate, Jasper doesn't like to talk about it, so I'll tell you. Before he and I joined the family, he…" Alice took a deep breath looking to Jasper as if asking for permission, and he nodded, "he was created for a newborn army."

"Alice is right," Jasper scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sure you've noticed the scars on my body whenever we're being intimate, and those were a result of my upbringing." Surely she should've realized the scars were battle scars and not bother asking questions about it.

Carlisle put his hand on his chin, rubbing it as he gained a thoughtful expression once more. "Are you positive that this is the work of a newborn army?"

"You said so yourself that covens who feed off of humans are usually in small numbers, but this," Jasper shook his head, "this looks like the work of twenty, maybe twenty five vampires."

Emmett smirked again, his eyes twinkling with the hope of a big fight. "Hell, we definitely need to go down there and kick some ass!"

"Even if we went down there, Emmett, you have to remember that these are newborns," Jasper sighed. "I'm afraid even your strength is no match for a freshly turned vampire, let alone twenty of them."

"A newborn army?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. "Are you sure it's not just a bunch of vampires killing humans for blood?" I didn't want to believe an army was being created, I just couldn't. I mean, why me? Why now?

"Even vampires get full off of blood, Bella," Jasper glanced at me, his eyes reflecting the emotions that was felt through the whole room. Man, I forgot he could sense emotions. He must feel what everyone, save Emmett, was feeling; worry. "The sheer number of victims is proof alone. If that wasn't enough, the time in which they were done shows that this is the work of a vampire creating an army, and fast."

Carlisle scanned our faces once more, taking in what Jasper just told him. A newborn army? Surely that couldn't be right. Why was one being created to get me? Who was behind it? Was it someone I knew?

"I don't know the answer to that," Edward said, turning his gaze to me. "The only thing I know is that we as a family are being targeted, or you are."

Alice growled, her lip twitching upwards like a dog would bare his teeth. "The bastards, they won't get their hands on her."

"Alice, I can protect myself," I whispered, wrapping my arms around her. "It's you who I'm worried about."

"I'm worried about everyone," Jasper spoke truthfully, his eyes darting towards Kate. "Eight vampires against twenty newborns? We'd win, but at what cost?"

Everyone casted a glance at their respected mate and their family, worry etched into their features. There was something I could do; I just knew it, but what? What could I do against an army?

I snapped my fingers, turning to Jasper. "Nineteen is better than eight, right?"

Jasper nodded, smiling a tad. "Nineteen is a lot better than eight."

Alice's eyes widened as she understood what I said, turning to me in a flash. "No," was all she said, placing her hands on my shoulder.

"What if the pack were to help? Would that minimize our risk of being killed?" I asked, ignoring Alice.

"If the pack agreed to fight with us," Jasper paused, calculating the outcome. "We'd have a good chance of everyone getting out of there alive."

"Absolutely not," Alice hissed, her grip getting tighter on my shoulders.

Carlisle looked to Jasper, who nodded, before turning back to me with a smile. "You think Sam would be okay with this?"

"No, Carlisle!" Alice quickly turned around to face her father, fury in her eyes. "They can't fight! No!"

"Alice, if they don't fight, one of us will die," Carlisle sighed, "most likely Bella. She is the target."

A small growl erupted from Alice, and she turned to me in an instant. "You can't fight, I won't allow it."

I ignored her, looking to Carlisle who was still waiting for my answer. "Sam might, and if not, Jake and I can talk sense into him."

Carlisle nodded. "Well, I won't keep you here. You need to talk to Sam straight away."

I turned around, heading for the door as I tried to anticipate what Sam would say. Hopefully he would be okay with it, and if not, I'd have to make him.

A/N: Like I said before, Alice is very overprotective over her girlfriend. Bella knows this too.

Hmmm, what shall I ask today? Oh, right. If you know of any good Beta's out there (or you'd like to Beta for me) that could work with me for my upcoming new fic, please leave a suggestion in your review.

And I really appreciate your reviews. I never expected to get over 400, and I want to give you all a gift, but I'm poor so I can' give every single one of you a gift. My gratitude is enough. So thank you. :D