Chapter – 25

It's funny how your senses can heighten at critical moments. Jake was losing it fast and as a precaution he stepped back and away from Lily. Emmett immediately zoomed over and wrapped his arm around her waist. The Volturi's eyes immediately locked on them, she spoke up to bring the attention away from them. She got the attention alright, Emmett pulled her against his body, Jake growled and the Cullens hissed as Aro walked over to her. Then the moment became completely unreal, so many things happening at once yet seeing them unravel in slow motion. As Felix, the Volturi guard, reached out to touch her face, a tingling current ran from the top of her head to the bottoms of her feet, somehow connecting her with the earth and channeling its power to her. She was a true witch with immeasurable power and for the first time ever, she didn't doubt it.

It happened at the exact moment Jake lost control. Rage can give you unbelievable and indescribable strength, Jasper and Alice didn't have a chance, no one could stop him. No one but her. Lily spun counterclockwise, dodging Felix's touch, removing Emmett's arm from her and taking a leap to meet Jake. She raised her arm, stopping Jake midair and brought him down as she lowered her hand. She reached up to place her hands on his face as she channeled the wolf's telepathy.

"Don't do it" she thought to him "You attack him and it automatically declares world war 3. I know it's hard but you can do this. Just focus, ok?"

Jake looked profoundly into her eyes, took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself and nodded. He returned to Jasper and Alice's side as Lily walked to Emmett. By that time Felix and Demetri were in crouching stands protecting their master but Aro seemed completely amused.

"Sorry about that" she smiled to Aro "A little overprotective"

"I could certainly understand that" he smiled as he placed a hand on each of his guard's shoulders, who automatically stood up but didn't quite relax. "Loyalty does not measure danger"

She was about to answer but from the corner of her eye, she saw Bella focusing very hard on Jake, she was shielding him. Lily conveyed her senses and immediately picked up on who she shielding him from, the blonde version of Wednesday Adams. Fury washed over her, the protectiveness went both ways with soulmates, and no one was gonna get away with trying to hurt Jake. Her gaze narrowed as she raised her palm, sending Wednesday's attack, right back to her. She couldn't help the smile that crossed her face when the little twit let out an ear-piercing cry and squirmed in pain on the ground. Ground that due to her anger was trembling.

The trembling was something her side was used to but it certainly got a reaction out of the Volturi. And when they saw their little twit drop, they nearly lost it. Lily just wanted to give her a taste of her own medicine, more than a few seconds would just be sadistic, she would've stopped even if Bella hadn't squeezed her hand. Dropping her hand and shifting her gaze, the earth stood still and so did Wednesday.

"Once again I'm sorry" she said to Aro "But you should warn short-stuff over there that if she tries that with any of us again, I won't be so forgiving"

Aro didn't say anything. He looked back and forth between Jake and her with a blank expression. Bella, Emmett and Lily turned to a smirking Edward for answers.

"Just figured out neither 'human' we allegedly exposed ourselves to is actually human" he breathed "He knows what Jake is but can't quite figure Lily out. He didn't get her thoughts from me, she has powers, her scent is different but he hasn't put his finger on it just yet"

It was a little awkward to have someone staring at you like you're a puzzle they're trying to figure out. The vampires behind her immediately realized what was going on and shuffled around, trying to cover Nicky and Maggie, unfortunately that only brought the attention to them. Aro narrowed his gaze on them. It didn't take him long to realize Lily's weren't the only thoughts he didn't get from Edward. As much as she wanted to remain calm, her eyes betrayed her and turned on like sunrays. That was enough for Aro to figure out what she was. His eyes widened as he took a step back.

"Ding ding ding" Emmett whispered with a light chuckle.

"Yes, she is" Edward answered Aro's silent question

"What is it?" the white-haired Caius asked "Is she a half-breed as well?"

"No, my brother" Aro answered "It seems that not only have they recruited a battalion of vampires and children of night, but witches as well"

"Recruited?" Lil snorted "This is family. That big wolf that was about to rip your boy to shreds, he's my mate and just so happens to be Bella's bestfriend since childhood. The white one over there" she pointed with her head as Jess took a step forward and cocked his brow "He's my brother, and not brother the way you call yourselves brothers, but flesh and blood brother, like those two back there are flesh and blood cousins. The Cullens and the rest of the wolves are my family as well, not by blood but certainly by heart"

Aro glanced over to the other black cloaked vamp, Marcus, who nodded slightly. A big cheesy smile crossed Emmett's face as he wrapped his arm around Lily's waist once again and kissed her cheek.

"Such loyal friends you have" Aro smiled at Edward

"Won't be so loyal after they sink their teeth into them" Felix chuckled "Bet you taste as sweet as you smell" he inhaled deeply in Lily's direction and then winked at her.

"Highly doubt that" Lily answered casually "Emmett? You were what, sick for two days?" he nodded moving his head like 'yeah, sounds about right' "And I would tell you to ask the newborn who did this" she said pulling he collar to show the dual teeth marks on her neck that Manny had made when he bit her, practically non-existent to human eyes but not to vampire eyes. "But he's dead"

"As you can see, Aro" Edward stated, changing the subject so Jake who was ready to charge could calm down "We have not revealed our secret to any human. The wolves and the witches need to maintain their existence a secret as much, if not more than we do. They keep our secret, we keep theirs and as friends and fellow members of the supernatural world, we can be ourselves with one another"

"And there is no immortal child since Nessie is obviously a half-breed" Lily added "Which means that the motives that brought you're here, cease to exist"

"If it were only that easy" Aro answered "I would like nothing more than for us to leave without reason to tarnish the friendship I hold so dear" Edward's teeth grinding and Maggie's hiss was due to the huge lie that statement was "But the truth is, we don't know anything about this child. We don't know if she will grow, or if she will learn, meaning we do not know if she can be trusted to keep our existence a secret"

The vampires that had been staying at the Cullen house began to testify of Nessie's growth, intelligence and understanding. Some pointed that she was a 'vegetarian' like the rest of her family and no danger to humans (not that they would care for human life). One of them even pointed out the difference in size from Irina's vision, proving she grew. Garrett, the vamp who'd volunteered to be zapped by Lily, took the opportunity to call them bullies, taking advantage of their power, making it obvious that to them it was either 'with us or against us'. Others pointed out the Volturi's only reason there was for a fight they would surely find. Rather than anger Aro, the speeches seemed to amuse him. He appeared to be listening and taking everything in consideration but everyone knew it was all an act. Those who had labeled themselves as 'witnesses only' gave their testimony, excused themselves and made a run for it. The low, delicate steps coming from behind could only be from one person or pixie as she was always called. Alice walked to stand between Lily and Bella.

"So it is my understanding that if you know for certain what Renesmee would grow to be, there would be no reason to continue this discussion or need for further action?" she asked in her soft voice.

"Of course not, my dear Alice" Aro answered sweetly.

"Then if you take my hand you shall see I came to find Renesmee is not the only of her kind" Alice said extending her hand to him "I left my family in search of answers and I believe I found them"

Aro took her hand and seemed lost in her thoughts for a few seconds. Edward looked at Alice and Lily, figuring out that Lily had been shielding her thoughts from him "My, my" he smiled "You do give me a lot to ponder" He took a good look at their group, the 37 vampires, 17 giant wolves and 3 witches that were all ready to fight to the death. He walked back slowly with his guard at his heels, and then stopped to address his group. "We are outnumbered dearest ones. We can expect no outside help. Should we leave this question undecided to save ourselves?"

"No, master" they answered in unison "We are not afraid"

Aro smiled and turned to Caius and Marcus "Brothers, there is much to consider here"

"Let us counsel" Caius said eagerly

"Let us counsel" Aro and Marcus answered

….. ***** …..

The moment of truth had arrived. The cloaked draculas were finally gonna make a decision and it was gonna determine whether things remained peaceful or not.

"You do not mind if we counsel ourselves, do you?" Lil asked with a smile.

"Of course not" head Dracula smiled but gave his guards a 'watch them' look.

The look that crossed Lil's face was one he knew very well, she was up to something. The suddenly all hell broke loose on the other end. Their faces, which usually showed no emotion, were scared and totally confused.

"Listen up!" Lil yelled "Bella, time for mental shielding"

"What's with them?" Emmett asked

"We're concealed" Lil smiled "As far as they're concerned, we just disappeared"

"Amazing" Edward smiled as he looked around the bubble.

"Ok, Edward, give us the run down, what gonna happen?"

"First Alec and Jane will try to incapacitate us, and then Chelsea will try to break our bindings"

"Bella, you got that covered" Lily interrupted "Edward, the moment they decide to attack, you give me a signal, I conceal us and while they can't see or hear us, we destroy. Bella, we need you to continue to shield until Alec, Jane and Chelsea are dead"

"I'm all over it" she smiled

They quickly got in formation again. Lil took Nessie from Bella and sat her in Jake's back. As Nessie held on by grabbing his fur with her little hands, Lil tiptoed to his ear "You're job is to get her out of here. Run like hell and we'll catch up to you later" Jake felt the ice cold chill of horror run down his spine. "I promise nothing will happen to me, or any of us. I swear it" he whined "I love you" she whispered as she pulled him down to kiss his nose "Alright people! Here we go!"

The cloaked vultures were probably more startled when they reappeared. The irritation was obvious in Aro's face despite the false smile he sported. Edwards smiled everytime, Jane tried to hurt someone, Chelsea tried to break binds she couldn't find and Alec tried to anesthetize them. Jane had obviously never failed and she was pissed, screaming and snarling, ready to attack. The Romanians were chuckling with dark anticipation.

"I told you this was our time" one said to the other "Just look at the witch's face"

"Hey!" Lily, Nicky and Maggie chorused

"Sorry, dears" the other smiled "So easy to forget what you pretty things are"

The vampires on the Cullen's side were each claiming who their kill would be while Head Dracula watched patiently as the attempts from his squad were in vain.

"Before we vote" he began. Then gave a stupid speech about how things could remain peaceful regardless of how the vote went and how any of them would be gladly welcomed to join their group, Bella, Benjamin, Zafrina, Kate, Alice, Lil and the wolves, claiming they had many choices to consider. Yeah, cause imprisonment sounded like a deal of a life time. He glanced over the group and realized it wasn't gonna happen. "Let us vote, then" he said in apparent reluctance.

Caius claimed Nessie was an unknown quantity, a risk that should be killed along with anyone who protected her. Marcus believed she was no immediate danger, safe enough for the time being and could possibly be reevaluated later. He wanted to leave peacefully. Head Dracula's face gave away the glow of triumph he felt in destroying the Cullens, a coven he envied.

"Aro?" Edward interrupted before he had a chance to speak "As Alice has said, my daughter is rare but definitely not one of a kind. Alice, why don't you introduce Aro to your friends"

From the trees appeared a young man, slender, tall, dark brown skin, long black hair, braided, and from the sound of his rapid heart and slight sparkle of his skin, he was a half-breed as well. Next to him was a small, olive-toned female vampire with dark burgundy eyes. With a big smile, Tink waltzed her way to stand between Bella and Lil.

"This is Huilen and her nephew Nahuel"

"Speak Huilen" Aro commanded "Give us the witness you came to beat"

The little woman looked nervous as she looked at Tink, who gave her a nod of encouragement. With a deep breath the woman told the story of her sister Pire, how a century and a half ago said sister claimed and angel found her in the woods and would visit her at night and ended up pregnant. Similar to Bella, the sister carried bruises and had to drink blood and died while giving birth to Nahuel as he ripped his way free of her. She was turned by Nahuel as he bit her when she tried to carry him. She had been carrying for him since and never left far from home until Tink found them and told them about Nessie and the situation they were in.

Aro stared at the young man who bowed to him. HE was asked how old he was, when he fully matured and what his diet consisted of. Approximately 150, around 7 and blood as well as human food. Nahuel claimed he hadn't changed much since the age of 7 and then shocked everyone as he informed that he was able to turn his aunt but his sisters, didn't have the same ability. He then went on telling the story of his father and how he is trying to create a super-breed.

"Is your daughter venomous?" Aro asked Bella

"No"

Aro stared long and hard at the group, lips pursed until he rested his eyes on Bella. It was obvious he didn't like the decision he had to make.

"Brothers" he said softly "There appears to be no danger. This is an unusual development, but I see no threat. These half-vampire children are much like us, it appears"

He held out his hands almost apologetic as he gave Doc a speech of how glad he was things could be resolved without violence, how pleased he was to call him a friend again and that he hoped there were no hard feelings.

"Leave in peace, Aro" Doc said stiffly "Please remember that we still have our anonymity to protect here, and keep your guard from hunting in this region"

"Of course, Carlisle" he assured him "I am sorry to earn your disapproval, my dear friend. Perhaps, in time, you will forgive me"

"Perhaps, in time, if you prove a friend to us again"

The backed away like the cowards they were but by Lil and Bella's faces, they were still holding their stances.

"Seriously people" Tink laughed "They're not coming back. Everybody can relax now"

Suddenly they were in Lil's concealment bubble once again.

"Just in case" she shrugged as they turned to her.

There was a moment of silence and then it hit them. Cheers erupted, deafening howls filled the clearing, friends patted each other, families, hugged and couples kissed.

Doc was thanking all the friends as Jake ran to his friends, they gave him the shield he and Seth needed to phase and do what they were in desperate need of, hold their girls in their arms. Lil giggled as he nearly knocked her over with his embrace and kissed her in every inch of her exposed skin. (He would get the rest later). She jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist and gave him a kiss that nearly set the clearing on fire, or maybe that was just him.

"There was a good possibility that they would lose" Edward was saying when Lil walked over with Jake's arms tightly around her "They've never dealt with that possibility before. They didn't deal with it well today"

"Hard to feel confident when you're surrounded by horse-sized wolves" Emmett laughed punching Jake's arm.

"It was the wolves that stopped them in the first place" Bella added

"Damn straight" Jake smiled

"Absolutely" Edward agreed "Shocked them completely. Then Bella and Lily terrified them, they're a lethal combination"

Lil winked at Bella and they shared a smile.

"We're gonna get going" Jake said as he carried Lil over his shoulder "We all have things to do"

Edward and Bella laughed. "Yes we do" Edward added as he took Bella in his arms

"We also have packing to do!" Lil yelled as Jake took off "Plane leaves tomorrow at 4pm!"

"We'll meet at our house at noon!" Tink yelled back.

Everyone knew the vultures would be back someday. Bullies never like to lose. But there was no point in talking about that and ruin their victory. If they returned, Tink would see it and once again they would unite as the family they were and maybe take them out once and for all.

Lil's giggle was music to his ears as he ran through the woods. The out of nowhere she sank her teeth into his butt, causing him to stop. She laughed at his shock and jumped of his shoulder.

"Come on, big bad wolf" she smiled flirtatiously "You gotta find me"

She vanished into thin air as she concealed herself and even though he couldn't see her, he knew exactly where she was. He extended his arms to grab what seemed like air and instantly felt the warm, soft touch of her velvety skin. He ran his hands down her arms to grab a hold of her hands and pulled her into his arms.

"That's easy" he smiled placing her invisible hand over his heart "You're always right here"

A loud giggle filled the air as she appeared to him and as their lips touched a bubbled concealed them both.