"Victoria?" I asked.

"Yes," said Alice. "She's still hunting for Bella, I think. She'll be here this weekend."

"Excellent!" Emmett growled. "I'm itching to rip her head off!"

"What do we do about Bella?" I asked. "Do we tell her about Victoria?"

"She already knows that Victoria has been looking for her," said Edward. "But I don't think we should worry her with this. She needs to concentrate on passing her exams, and spending time with her family since she's so determined to become one of us."

"Well, what about the tickets to Florida," Esme suggested. "Has she used them?"

"Not yet."

"So you tell Bella that you think it would be good for her to spend some time with her mother before graduation," I told Edward. "That way she won't worry about us going up against Victoria, and we don't have to worry about her wanting to be involved."

"That's good," agreed Jasper. "It might be better for Bella to be out of Forks anyway, just on the off chance that Victoria does get passed us."

Edward nodded. "I'll suggest it in front of her father if I can, that way she might be more inclined to go."

**TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT**

We were waiting in the forest, where Alice said her vision had begun. Edward had gone to Florida with Bella, but luckily we had Sebastian to help us now too.

"You're sure this is where you saw her?" Jasper checked.

"She's almost here," confirmed Alice.

My ears caught the sound of footsteps, sprinting quickly in our direction, much faster than a human pace. Alice suddenly spun around to face Emmett.

"On your left!"

Emmett darted off to the left, Rosalie right behind him. Jasper, Carlisle and Sebastian spread out, going wide in the hopes of cutting Victoria off. I took off after Emmett and Rosalie, Alice and Esme keeping up the rear. I caught sight of flame-red hair whipping in the wind as Victoria raced through the trees, leaping like a cat across the ravine – right across the Quileute border. I skidded to a stop between Carlisle and Jasper as the doctor held an arm out to stop Emmett and Rose. "Wait! She's in their territory now."

"She'll get away!" Rose protested, but Jasper nodded across the border.

"No, she won't."

Three wolves burst out of the bushes on the other side of the river, led by a huge black beast that I assumed to be Sam Uley, the current alpha. We kept up with the chase on our side of the forest, staying parallel to the wolves. A grey wolf snapped at Victoria's ankles, the red-headed vampire hopping up a tree and back across to our side in order to avoid losing a foot.

"All ours now," Emmett smirked.

Jasper leapt for Victoria, missing by an inch, and landed in the dirt. I knew he was fine from the growl I heard as I passed him, gaining on the bitch. Reaching out, I managed to grip her long her and spun, flinging her back towards Emmett. She let out a screech as Emmett caught hold of her head and shoulders, and they tumbled down. Victoria used the momentum to her advantage, kicking Emmett away from her and into a tree. She jumped back over to wolf territory and kept running.

Esme and I saw what Emmett was going to do a split-second before he actually did it.

"Emmett, don't!"

But Emmett didn't listen, flying over the ravine after Victoria… Only to be shoved backwards by Paul. There was a momentary stand-off where Emmett and the wolf growled at each other, the fury written over both of their faces.

I sighed, knowing that we'd just lost our chance to catch Victoria.

**TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT**

I growled, yanking my shirt over my head as I entered our bedroom. I tossed it into the hamper and grabbed my hairbrush on my way to the bathroom. I angrily tried to brush the knots out of my hair in the bathroom mirror, huffing when the brush got stuck in the curls. Gentle hands took the brush from me, calmly detangling my hair and ridding it of a couple of stray leaves.

"It's not your fault, darlin'," Jasper murmured.

"I should have just kept hold of her," I said.

"Throwing her to Emmett was the right thing to do," he assured, placing the hairbrush on the counter and turning me around to face him. "Emmett was the best choice to stop her from running; he just let his temper get away from him at the wrong time. We'll get her eventually."

"But how many people will die first?" I countered, leaning into his chest.

"I don't know," Jasper sighed, and rested his chin on my head. "But you can't think about that. Victoria will get her comeuppance; we'll make sure of it."

We hugged in silence for a while, just basking in each other's presence. Eventually, I pulled away from Jasper.

"I need to shower," I explained.

Jasper leaned over and twisted the handle, causing the shower to turn on, and the room slowly filled with steam as the water heated up. "So do I."

I grinned as Jasper tugged off his shirt and raised an eyebrow at me. "Well, who said I wanted to shower with you," I teased. "Maybe I wanted some alone time."

"Oh, is that right?" Jasper stepped forward, his hands resting on my hips before they slowly trailed upwards, over my stomach and around my sides until they met by bra. He snapped it open at the back and slid the straps down my arms, dropping the purple lace to the floor. He leaned forward, pressing butterfly kisses down my neck as my hands came up to rest on his broad shoulders. I let out a small gasp as Jasper nipped at my collar bone, not hard enough for the venom to leave a mark, but enough to feel good. I grinned as my husband guided me towards the shower, laughing as he pinned me against the wall, my jeans and underwear getting soaked through under the warm water. I quickly pulled them off and flung them into the corner. My fingers drifted down Jasper's sculpted chest and abs until I felt the waistband of his trousers. I undid the button and the zipper, shoving the material over his hips, and down to his thighs. Jasper did a sort of shimmy to get his jeans down to his ankles, making me giggle and I felt him smile against my skin. He kicked the wet denim into the corner, his boxer briefs soon following. His mouth moved back to mine, our tongues entangling as his hands hovered over my butt. His fingertips dipped into the waistband of my underwear, the purple lace matching my bra, and slowly slid them down. They dropped to my feet and I kicked them away. I could feel Jasper's excitement against my thigh and moaned quietly in anticipation. He growled lowly, the sound rumbling deeply in his chest, as he lifted me up so that I could wrap my legs around his waist.

"I love you," he whispered.

"Je t'aime tellement," I whispered back. I love you so much.

**TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT**

As I pulled my car into the space next to Edward's Volvo in the school parking lot, I noticed a confrontation happening in front of the school.

"Great," I muttered. Getting out of the car, I stood next to Jasper, his arm naturally coming around my waist, with Alice and Sebastian. The four of us watched warily as Jacob goaded Edward, letting slip that Bella had missed out on something whilst in Florida.

"Tell me what?" Bella demanded.

Edward sighed. "Emmett and Paul had a… misunderstanding. There's nothing to worry about.

"Listen to you!" Jacob scoffed. "Did you lie to get her out of town, too?"

I narrowed my eyes, a tiny bit of guilt seeping in as I remembered encouraging Edward to do just that.

"You should leave," Edward said. "Now."

"She has a right to know," the wolf shot back. "She is the one the red-head wants!"

"Victoria?" Bella frowned, before realisation came across her face. "Alice's vision."

"I was trying to protect you."

"By lying to me." Edward said nothing and Bella nodded. "We're gonna talk about this, but you!" She turned to Jacob. "Why haven't you called me back?"

"I had nothing to say," he shrugged.

"Well, I have tons," she snapped, taking a step forward.

Edward gripped her hand, stopping her. "Hold on, hey, Bella-"

"Edward, you have to trust me."

"I do trust you… it's him I don't trust."

Bella glared at him before Edward finally let go of her. She moved towards Jacob who was sat on his motorbike, climbing on behind him.

"Lose the grin, Jacob," she told the smug wolf. "We're just going for a ride."

"Hold on tight."

I exchanged a look with Alice as they sped out of the parking lot. "Well, that went well," I muttered, causing the others to laugh. Edward just shot a glare in our direction before storming off to class.

**TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT****TWILIGHT**

I was watching a random sitcom with Alice and Rosalie when Carlisle's phone rang. He moved a piece against Jasper in their game of chess before answering it.

"Edward?"

"There was someone in Bella's house."

I muted the TV, all of us turning our attention to Carlisle and Edward's conversation.

"A vampire? Did you recognise them?"

"I caught the scent. Can you send Emmett, Sebastian and Jasper to follow the trail?"

The three vampires stood up, instantly headed for the door.

"They're on their way," Carlisle said. "Bring Bella here until they get back. Is Charlie hurt?"

"No, whoever it was left him unharmed."

They hung up and it wasn't long before I heard Edward's car pulling into the driveway. Edward and Bella appeared in the living room, Bella looking a little winded from the sudden movement. She sat next to Esme on the loveseat as Edward paced, frustrated.

"Who was it?" Alice asked. "Someone we knew?"

"Just a stranger, I didn't recognise his scent."

"A nomad passing through?" Esme wondered.

Rosalie shook her head. "A passer-by wouldn't have left Bella's father alive."

Bella's heart rate picked up at the thought and Esme wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders just as the boys burst back into the house.

"His scent disappeared about five miles south of Bella's house," Jasper informed us. I stood up as he neared me and leaned into his chest, Jasper resting his chin on my head. I knew he was feeling extra protective at the thought of a strange vampire in the area.

"Someone's orchestrating this," Edward realised.

"Victoria?" asked Carlisle.

"I would've seen her deciding," Alice said, gripping Sebastian's hand.

"It has to be the Volturi," Edward stated.

The pixie shook her head. "I don't think it's the Volturi either. I've been watching Aro's decisions too."

"So we keep looking," Sebastian determined, Emmett agreeing with him.

"Another protection detail?" Rose snapped.

"Rosalie," I warned.

"No, she's right," agreed Bella. "You can't protect me… watch my dad… and search for the intruder. And for Victoria. And keep yourselves fed."

"I'm not leaving you defenceless," Edward told her.

"Well, I'm not gonna let you starve," she shot back. "And I wouldn't be unprotected, I have…"

"What?" asked Edward.

"She has the wolves." I caught on to Bella's idea.

"That could work," Jasper agreed.

Edward scowled, but eventually gave in to the idea of the wolves helping to keep an eye on Bella while we hunted for Victoria and the intruder.