A/N: Yay for updates! I'm hoping to get another chapter out this weekend so stay tuned! Also, to understand the end of this chapter, if you haven't read the latest Now or Never oneshot, I suggest you do so now or else you might just be confused.

Thanks to my wonderful reviewers -- old and new:

She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Maiqu, this-is-such-a-drag, Edward desirable Number 1, Samantha, Darkslilangel, moonlitroses733, BellandGinny, MysticStoryteller, wingedspirit, Mich051, Tamper with my memory, EdwardCullenEqualsLife, junayd, snookiepooh94, oh-my-edward, flamingo1325, lolly12, Ophelia Immortal, jacob lover, EdwardCullen-CedricDiggoryluv, debisue, barbiedoll123, neo dreamer and Nightscript.

And to my lovely beta: Jellicle-in-the-box.

Enjoy and be sure to review!!


Chapter Twenty-Seven
Monster

The group of werewolves stood their ground, staring at the scene that had just happened.

So the vampire bleeds, Sam snarled, not caring about the blood that was discoloring his claws.Guess you're not so immortal after all.

"Bella, don't be rash!" Edward shouted from the second floor. The werewolves looked up at the stairs just in time to see a blur of brown come flying down them.

Looks like you just pissed off the wrong Mama bear, Embry snickered.

"How dare you lay a hand on her!" Bella screamed as she slashed at the snarling wolf.

Jacob glanced towards the pack before taking a few steps towards Hope. However, he ended up being blocked off by a hissing Edward.

I'm not going to hurt her, Edward, Jacob told him. I just want to make sure she's alright.

"She's fine," Edward spat. "I don't trust any werewolves now. They only hurt people."

Filthy bloodsucker! Sam snarled. All heads turned to the fight scene between Bella and Sam just as Bella got kicked away and sent into a wall by the fuming werewolf. Bella snarled before standing back up and charging back at Sam. If no one else was going to kill Sam Uley, she would be the one to murder him.


Alice winced as she heard a loud crash from the ground floor. "Esme isn't going to like this," Alice murmured as she made her way to Carly's room.

"What's going on?" Carly asked, standing up from her position on her bed. Cassie and Ryan, with worry etched onto their faces, remained in their spots on the bed.

Alice let out a sigh and said, "Pack your bags. I'm sending you to La Push."

"What about Bella and Hope?" Ryan asked in a shaky voice.

"They'll go too. I had a vision. You'll be safe on the reservation. Definitely."

"Will everyone be okay here?" Cassie asked, glancing out of the corner of her eye at her twin brother.

"Of course," Alice giggled. "We're immortal. This fleabag doesn't have a chance of winning. And of course I'm not going to send you unprotected. A few of the werewolves and I will go with you." Alice winced again at the sound of another loud crash. It was obvious that Bella was having a field day fighting Sam. "Since Bella and Hope are both newborns, we'll take my Porsche while you three go to La Push on an airplane," she said before turning her full attention to the battle.


Bella hissed as she brought her hand down on Sam's fur-covered face, digging her nails into him. The werewolf yelped out in pain as the blood oozed from the wound.

Behind the two, Embry let out a snicker, distracting Bella and allowing Sam to pin her to the ground.

Your time on Earth has ended, Leech, Sam thought, snarling. His remark had both Edward and Jacob snarling viciously but Bella had no idea what Sam had said. Sam Uley lifted his paw, ready to tear Bella to pieces.

Think she can handle herself? Hope asked as she put pressure to her slowly healing wound.

Not so sure, Edward answered back, turning to his daughter.

"Dad, I'm fine," Hope grumbled as Edward poked and prodded at Hope's sliced pale flesh.

"Let me just –"

"Dad, seriously. Stop. I'm alright."

Edward's examination came to an abrupt halt at the sound of a loud howling. His head turned to the sound of the howl and his eyes widened in shock. Bella pushed a howling and whimpering Sam off of her. She stood and could only glare down at the fallen werewolf. Blood fell in a pool to the ground from his chest and on his neck were a great number of teeth marks from where Sam had been bitten.

Bella's expression said that she didn't care about Sam anymore, yet she was a bit remorseful for having to kill the one Jacob had once looked up to. Quickly, Bella turned to Jacob and her scarlet eyes met dark ones. "Jake, I'm --," Bella began but she stopped as the Newmans and Alice walked down the stairs, luggage in tow.

Tell her it's alright, Jacob told Edward as he walked over to the dying pack leader. If she didn't do it, I would've.

"Jacob said he would've killed Sam if you didn't," Hope murmured. She winced as Edward went pack to examining the wound.

"Where's Carlisle?" Edward asked Alice, who had come over to examine the wound.

"About thirty miles away with Rosalie and Jasper," Alice replied, making a face at the bloody mess of torn flesh and muscle. "Why? Do you need him to stitch her up or something?"

Edward nodded. "I don't know how well it'll work but she just won't stop bleeding. By the way, I think it's a good idea you head to La Push. Vitani will try here before there."

Alice looked over at her brother. She couldn't help but notice how serious he looked. "Edward, no," Alice whispered in a scolding voice. "You can't abandon Bella again."

"I'm not," Edward snapped. "I'll stay behind with Rosalie and Carlisle until Esme and Emmett get home. Then we'll meet you in Washington."

"Bella's not going to agree to this, Edward."

"Like hell I'm not," Bella snapped at the two whispering vampires as she approached them from behind. "I'm staying here, Edward."

Edward let out a frustrated sigh and turned around to face his mate. "No," Edward said. "You're not. You need to be with Hope and I'm not letting her stay here. It'd be safer on the reservation. We can't send you back to a highly populated city like New York or let you stay here in Los Angeles. Who knows what could happen."

"But shouldn't it matter whether we stay together or not?" Bella asked. The hurt was evident in her voice.

"Of course," Edward replied, stepping closer to Bella. "Esme and Emmett will arrive home tomorrow afternoon. We'll leave immediately."

"Liar," Bella spat, stepping back from Edward. "You said you'd find me sixteen years ago and you never did. How is this any different than before?"

"It is," Edward said. "It definitely is different, Bella. I know where you'll be. You'll have my brother and sister. We'll be reunited again. I promise."

Bella glared at Edward, still not completely believing everything Edward had said. She couldn't even gaze into the beautiful topaz pools. Her biggest fear since getting back together with Edward was coming true. He was abandoning her once again. "Fine," Bella said in barely a whisper. "See you tomorrow."

Edward smiled and kissed Bella gently but there was no emotion behind Bella's kiss.

Once Edward stepped away from Bella, the woman looked at their child and said, "I'll be upstairs packing your things, Hope." Hope gave a slight nod and watched as her mother disappeared up the steps.

"Looks like someone's in the dog house," Rosalie snickered as she, Carlisle and Jasper climbed over the debris of the house. "Honestly. La Push? Whose bright idea was that?"

Alice slowly raised her hand and answered, "I had a vision of us there. It's safe."

"Carlisle, can you fix Hope?" Edward asked as Carlisle walked over to Edward and Hope.

"She's not a toy, Edward," Jasper teased, trying to cover up the sadness and anger that radiated from the werewolves and Bella.

Edward shot Jasper a look before turning back to Carlisle and Hope. "Well?" Edward asked as Hope whimpered in pain.

"How is it even possible for a vampire to bleed like this?" Carlisle asked as he softly wiped the dried blood away from Hope's skin.

"How is it even possible for a seven-year-old girl to hear Esme twenty miles away?" Alice asked almost in a daze.

"What?"

"That girl… the one Emmett and I met in the meadow before removing to Alaska…" Alice trailed off. She appeared to be in deep thought, remembering a long forgotten memory.

"Edward, go to my office and get me my medical bag," Carlisle ordered. Edward nodded and trotted upstairs, never once taking his confused stare away from his sister.

Alice looked into Hope's eyes and studied her painful yet confused expression. "It was you, wasn't it?" Alice asked just as Edward came back with Carlisle's medical bag. "The little girl who didn't know who her father was. The little girl that had a keen sense of hearing whose mother said you inherited from your father. The little girl named Hope was Hope Cullen, just like Emmett and I thought at the mention of Bella. Of course then we thought you were Jacob's child."

"It looks like Emmett was right," Hope said. "In thinking that maybe we would meet again someday… we did."