Author's note: Hey everyone! I'm so sorry, but the time between chapters is getting alarmingly long. I don't mean for it to happen and really hope it won't become a habit. I promise to do all I can to ensure it doesn't.

Chapter thirty six

Peace. Everything was just so peaceful and I hadn't felt such calm for a long time. There was nosound, no light and no sense of feeling; I simply...existed, resided in an ocean of nothingness and it felt so good. I had no cares, no thoughts and absolutely nothing to occupy my mind. At that moment, I wasn't sure I even had a mind or a body. I didn't appear to have any eyes, either, but must have had a consciousness of some sort. How else was I able to conduct this monologue?

I didn't think about it all that hard, too happy floating through contented peace and quiet. It wasn't until you experienced true silence that you realised just how noisy life was. Even in times of quiet, the background noise was deafening in comparison to the place in which I currently resided and I let that silence envelop me. The time passed languorously and I continued to bathe in the emptiness, unaware of how utterly exhausted my entire being was until then. It was nice, it was simple and it was, above all, safe.

A gentle prickling sensation began in my lower left. I didn't know what it was or the cause, but it wasn't too irritating, so let it be. Soon, the prickling spread and started to intensify, becoming an annoying itch. I wanted to scratch it, but remembered that I seemed to have misplaced my body. The itching steadily grew worse, morphing into an infuriatingly sore rash and the prickling began to feel like heavy needles being jabbed into my skin. All peace and tranquillity left me, as I started to panic. What was happening? The sensation got worse and worse, until it felt as though my entire indefinable body was burning up.

For a while, it stayed at that level, getting neither worse nor better and I began to wonder if I had suffered the worst of it. I knew there was a saying that perfectly described my situation when, seconds later, unbearable agony overwhelmed me, but I was unable to remember what that saying was, as I was engulfed by fire.

000

The second I heard that scream, I knew exactly what was happening. It was a scream Carlisle, Alice, Jasper and I had all made once upon a time and there was only one explanation for it. I span on my heels and rushed into the building, charging into the room that had previously been an incubator for grief. Carlisle was still on the floor, holding a now-convulsing Isabella in his arms and his head whipped up upon my entrance. His hair was dishevelled, with blood staining his hands and clothing, but his wide eyes were fully focused. Gone was the tragic despair, to be replaced by determined rationality.

"We need to get to the house now!" he said.

I was about to turn, when one of Isabella's spasms positioned her face right into my line of sight. Her mouth was wide open, her face alabaster white and her eyes rolled so far back into their sockets, that the irises were barely visible. Her back arched with every involuntary movement of her muscles and there was no telling what kind of pain she was in. During one particularly bad spasm, her eyes managed to roll back into place and, for the briefest second, I could have sworn she recognised me, because her right arm attempted to reach out to me. I was about to advance towards her, but she was gone as quickly as she had come, lost once more in that indescribable well of suffering.

Carlisle scooped her up in his arms and we both flew down the stairs. Outside, our two companions were nowhere to be found, so I took out my phone to call Alice as I ran. She didn't pick up, so I left a message. Placing the cell phone back into my pocket, I looked behind to see there was a significant amount of distance between Carlisle and I. Although the weight of a slender human was hardly a challenge for a vampire to carry, people weren't exactly the easiest of shapes to hold and Isabella's constant seizures did nothing to ease the difficulty. We travelled through the thick cover of trees, hoping to avoid all contact with other humans, but her howls were so loud that I wondered if our efforts were in vain. If people didn't see, you could be damn sure they'd hear.

An electronic melody rang from my pocket and I pulled out my cell to see Alice's number flashing on the screen.

"Where are you?" I asked immediately after pressing the answer button.

"Almost at the house," she replied. "I left as soon as I heard Carlisle say he wanted to bring Bella here to get a room ready."

"We won't be long," I said, not bothering to sign off properly, before ending the call. This still wasn't the time for pleasantries. It was a time for urgency.

Although we moved at an incredibly fast pace, the journey to the mansion still felt ridiculously long to me and it was probably a good thing my heart didn't beat anymore. Eventually, the glassy surface of our home became visible above the tree tops and a surge of relief swelled in my chest. We were almost there! Through one of the higher windows, I could see the blur of Alice's form rushing around, preparing the room for Isabella and my relief only intensified when we actually entered the building.

Reaching the bedroom, Alice was waiting inside the doorway and the moment she saw her friend, her face instantly crumpled in misery. She moved towards Carlisle, but I grabbed her arm to hold her back, knowing he wouldn't want anyone or anything to get in his way. I quickly surveyed the room and even I had to be impressed with how fast it had been arranged. Before we left, it had been a bare spare room, but now it had a bed, a desk and a chair by the window. On the desk was a large bundle of towels, a bowl of water and several other items that I assumed had come from Carlisle's medical supplies.

Isabella was placed on the bed, whilst Carlisle went about ensuring the windows were shut, before closing the blinds. In the corner behind me stood a tall lamp and I switched it on, bathing the room in soft amber light. The mellowness of the lighting was at odds with the violence of Isabella's actions. Her limbs trembled, sweat soaked her skin and her cries were interspersed with incoherent garbling. Part of me wanted to decipher the words, but the other knew the gist of what she was trying to say. It had been a long time since I underwent my transformation, but time hadn't lessened the excruciating memory of it in the least.

Footsteps came bounding up the stairs and Jasper stood outside the room. Knowing I could offer little aid to Carlisle, I walked over to Jasper to find out what had happened.

"She's changing," he remarked and it was neither a statement nor a question, more a way of him to voice his thoughts aloud.

"Yes," I replied and we both took a moment to observe the scene. How had things become so bad? It seemed to have escalated so rapidly. Placing a hand on Jasper's arm, I manoeuvred the pair of us towards Carlisle's study. There were things we needed to discuss, but I didn't feel it would be appropriate to do so in the vicinity of the other three. "I take it you didn't catch him," I said, having no need to voice Edward's name.

"Lucky for him," he growled. "But unfortunate for us. I tracked him as far as the border, but he slipped out of my grasp like the slimy snake that he is. We can only hope the wolves might have caught him, but, with so many inexperienced members amongst their ranks, it seems unlikely."

"God only knows what he'll do now," I murmured, shaking my head. "After what he's done, it would be a suicide mission for him to return to Forks."

"But returning to Volterra won't bode well, either," Jasper said. "He was sent here to investigate and stop the Seattle Ripper, which he doesn't appear to have done, yet."

At that moment in time, the ripper meant little to me. He or she was a very small concern in comparison to what we were facing.

"That is, of course," he continued, his voice taking on a thoughtful, yet still angry quality. "If we assume that's why Edward was really here in the first place."

My eyes flew up to meet Jasper's and I studied the expression within them. We were beginning to chart dangerous territory with this conversation, but, unfortunately, I couldn't say it was something I hadn't considered myself. This whole thing seemed too well planned to be spontaneous and Edward had never done anything without thinking it through thoroughly. So, that begged the question of whether his sole purpose for being in Forks was centred on revenge. If it was, that brought up other even more disturbing questions that I wasn't even sure I wanted to think about.

I decided to change the subject. "Did you see any of the tribe, before coming back here?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I called Alice after losing Edward and she explained what had happened, so I didn't want to waste time. You're going to need my help."

That was most definitely true. He had, by far, the most experience with newborns and would be the best to aid Isabella's adjustment to her new life.

If she survived.

I wanted to hit myself. That thought should not have strayed into the forefront of my mind. It did absolutely nothing to help any of us and we had no control over stopping it. Jasper could sense the anxious turn my mood had taken.

"She's young and as healthy as any human should be," Jasper said. "She has every chance of making it through the transformation."

"But she was dead when I got there."

"Clinically, perhaps, but not completely. If she were biologically dead, the change wouldn't have even begun."

"Is there anything we can do to ensure she survives?" I queried, desperate to never see Carlisle in his previous state of despair ever again.

"If there is, Carlisle will already be doing it."

I sat on the edge of the sofa and placed my head in my hands. Everything had gone spectacularly wrong and I was sure I experienced my first ever vampire headache. There was too much to do, to think about, and to work out. Isabella's transformation would take several days and nobody could go missing for that long without being noticed in this town, especially when that person was the daughter of a prominent member of society. Oh, poor Charlie! What would we tell him? If she died, it would destroy him, but even if she lived, he would never be able to see her again and there was no way we could explain what had happened. And he wouldn't be the only one we'd have to hide her from. Her disappearance would set the whole town alight with rumour and gossip and we'd undoubtedly be involved, given the amount of time she spent with us. A police investigation would certainly lead to us being questioned, whether we were under suspicion or not and, even in my short time here, I could already identify those more than willing to point the finger at us.

"We will have to see Charlie soon," I said, voicing my concerns aloud.

The look I received in return told me Jasper shared those concerns. "I know," he eventually replied. "I haven't spoken to the tribe, yet and, with Bella's current state, I'm not comfortable leaving her right now."

"That's understandable. She will need all the help she can get. I'll speak to the tribe first thing tomorrow," I decided. "Once I have learnt all I can from them, I'll have to figure out a way to explain all this to Isabella's father."

"Do you think it's wise to speak with him?" I could see the unease in his eyes, as though his thoughts were once again following mine.

"It will look suspicious if we cease all contact with him immediately after his daughter's disappearance. Although there is nothing to even suggest we are involved, you know what people can be like. The strangers and oddballs are always first in the firing line and I would like to do all I can to remove us from the list of suspects."

"I say we just wait out the transformation, then get the Hell out of here," he suggested, which showed how weak a connection he had to the outside world. His comment may have made him come across as a heartless bastard, but he wasn't. He simply had a very exclusive list of those he trusted and earning that trust was no mean feat.

"It would be easier," I agreed, not wanting to show how displeased I was with his disregard. Not to make excuses for him, but much of the detachment in his personality was a product of the time he spent with Maria. He had started to get better over the years, mainly thanks to Alice, yet there was still quite a way to go. "But there are others to consider, including Isabella, herself. It's going to be hard enough for her to reconcile with the idea that she is no longer human-something that was done against her wishes-without having to tell her she can no longer have any contact with her family or friends."

"Then her tale will be no different to ours."

"But it is different. For a start, she has a support network none of us did and it would be wrong of us to let her suffer, knowing there was a way to avoid some of it."

Jasper was silent for a moment, as he considered my statement. I knew his words were not born of malice, but it seemed hard for him to understand choosing sentiment over logic. For him, the safest and most sensible thing to do for everyone involved would be for us to leave for good, meaning Forks would be safe from whatever Edward and the Volturi might have planned in the future. However, I didn't want to have to be the one to tell the poor girl that the life she had previously known was forever lost to her, and she would never see those she loved ever again. It would be a devastating blow and memories of Sapphire came unbidden to my mind. The last thing anyone wanted was for history to repeat itself.

Jasper's thoughtful pause was followed by a quiet sigh. "Then we'd all best get thinking," he remarked, before his eye flew to the doorway.

"What?" I asked, following his gaze.

He allowed a second's delay, before answering. "Listen," he instructed.

I did so, but heard nothing of note. The house was quiet.

"I don't hear anything," I replied.

"Exactly," Jasper said, getting to his feet and heading for the door.

I trailed closely behind, as he made his way to the room Isabella occupied and that was when realisation sank in. When we left, she had been screaming the house down, but now she was silent. I wasn't sure what that meant, but it must have been significant for Jasper to come running back here. Inside, I saw her lying on the bed, but she was perfectly still, although her chest heaved with shuddering breaths. Her eyes were closed and the sweat still remained, but the blood was gone, exposing the horrific neck wound caused by Edward. I didn't spare it any more than a half-second glance, but that was still enough to burn the terrible image into my memory.

Carlisle had repositioned the chair to be beside the bed and he sat there, holding one of her hands, whilst gently smoothing the hair away from her forehead. His gaze scrutinised her ashen, clammy face intently, watching, I assumed, for any sign that something was wrong. Having initiated one change and facilitated another, Carlisle would know better than most what he was doing and having Jasper around could only double the odds in Isabella's favour. Alice entered the room just after me, carrying a small bundle of clothing and walked over to the bed.

"Thank you, Alice," Carlisle said, his gaze never leaving Isabella.

The pixie's eyes were large and round, full of worry and sadness. The hopelessness seemed out of place on her delicate features that were normally brimming with joviality. She looked Isabella up and down, doing her own assessment of the damage and it wasn't until I followed her gaze that I realised the full extent of Edward's torture. Her left leg was fully extended, with the knee resting at a funny angle, meaning it had been broken and a tinge of aubergine was just visible beneath the hem of her vest, revealing the beating her stomach had endured. One of the worst injuries by far was the deep and angry puncture of her left shoulder. Although I was unsure of the exact weapon used to cause the injury, from the minute splinters imbedded in her skin, I could ascertain that it had been wooden. What purpose Edward had thought a savage beating of an innocent woman served was so far beyond me that I felt a terrible urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Again, I found myself asking why he did it, along with a barely repressible surge of fury.

My fists clenched and I realised that I couldn't stay in the house any longer. The only transformation I had ever experienced was my own, so I knew there was nothing I could do to help and Jasper and Carlisle were perfectly qualified to guide Isabella through it, so I made my excuses and left. If the transformation process was due to take at least three days, I didn't want to spend the entire time idly waiting around the mansion, listening to every scream and whimper made by the poor girl. I decided to make a visit to the tribe my first priority, to discover what had happened in the hours since Isabella's disappearance.

000

Looking up at the sky, I cursed the abundance of clouds, as it hindered my view of the moon and meant I wouldn't be able to use the satellite as an estimation of the time. I would have tried to recollect how much time had passed, but so much had happened that it was impossible to figure out. Giving up, I waited at the border of Quileute territory, knowing my presence would be detected quickly, if it hadn't been already. True enough, a wolf emerged from the trees and spent a long moment glaring at me, before disappearing. A few minutes later, Sam approached in human form, but I didn't miss the fact that he remained behind the invisible line of his lands. We may have started cooperating, but that didn't mean we had fully gained the tribe's trust.

"Have you found her?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied. "She was kept in an abandoned house on the outskirts of town. Sadly, we were unable to catch her kidnapper, but we know his identity very well, so providing you with a description shall be no problem."

"Good," he said, his head nodding briefly. There were a few seconds of silence, before he asked his next question. "How is she?"

My lips pursed of their own accord and I could predict his reaction to my answer. The only question would be of whether he ripped my head from its shoulders. "She..." I hesitated and part of me was wishing I hadn't come here. From the expression on Sam's face, he could tell that I wasn't offering good news. "She...received quite a few injuries," I said, bracing myself for the second half of my response. "And...she's been bitten."

The alpha's face went blank for a moment, before immediately contorting with rage, disgust, disbelief and sorrow.

"WHAT?" he roared, crossing the territorial line. His lips curled in a snarl and I was tempted to take a retreating step, if only to keep my limbs intact. Three wolves made their presence known behind him.

Holding my hands up in a position of surrender, I elucidated my statement. "The kidnapper bit her, just before we were able to reach her." I could have left it at that, but decided to keep talking in the hopes of keeping Sam's mind occupied. If he was distracted by listening, he would be less inclined to attack me in a fit of rage. "We heard a scream, but as we reached the building, the kidnapper escaped out the back. Jasper and I followed, but we were unable to catch him and, by the time I returned to the house, it was too late to reverse the change, so we took her back to our home, in the hopes of making it as easy as possible for her."

Sam had only taken one step forward so far, but his limbs were trembling ever so slightly and his fingers curled and uncurled into fists. He took deep breaths, making the broad expanse of his chest swell to an intimidating size. He was trying to control the rage and, it seemed to be working, but that could have been wishful thinking on my part. Eventually, the alpha did manage to control himself, but he was far from happy.

"So..." he began, pausing for a final few steadying breaths. "Bella will become a vampire?"

I nodded.

"And you are allowing this to happen?"

The question was asked through gritted teeth and I tried not to let my offence at what he implied show on my face too much.

"The only other choice was to kill her and none of us were arrogant enough to feel we had the right to make that kind of decision for her."

Sam had no reply for that response, so changed the subject a little. "You said you know who the kidnapper is?"

"Yes. Edward Masen. He was one of the original members of the coven when they first came to Washington."

"We had wondered about his absence when the other three first returned. Why has he done this?"

"There are a couple of theories, but none of us knows for sure. The best person to explain would be Carlisle, but, as you can imagine, he is busy right now."

"Yes," Sam replied gruffly, before looking away.

Silence returned and I felt it was as good a time as any to enquire about Isabella's father.

"He is still sleeping," Sam explained. "Whatever Edward gave him was pretty strong. I'm sure you're already aware that we need to figure out some kind of story to tell him when he wakes up. The only one I can come up with so far is that the Ripper took her. It will be hard for him to hear, but is the most plausible, given recent events."

It was my turn to be left speechless, weighed down with depression. I had never been more tempted than at that moment to simply break the laws of secrecy and tell Charlie the truth, but it was far too risky. There was every possibility that he might turn against us and start telling everyone, which put him and everyone else in tremendous danger. The alternative would crush him, but at least he would be safe.

There was a lot to think about, so I decided to call an end to the meeting. I needed to think and a solitary run would provide the perfect opportunity.

"We will continue to keep a watch on the Swan house," Sam declared, his voice taking on a cold, impersonal tone. "And will need to speak with Carlisle as soon as possible. Be sure to tell us when Bella's transformation is complete. We'll need to be prepared for any...accidents."

The last sentence held the potential to make me sick, but I said nothing in reply, settling for a brief nod, before turning away. I didn't run immediately, but spent a few minutes moving at the pace of a determined walk. As I increased the distance between me and the territorial line to almost thirty feet, my pace picked up and I broke into a run. The trees began to fly past me, the wind whipped against my face and the grass disappeared beneath my feet, as an agonised howl echoed through the night sky.

My frozen heart broke once again, as I mourned with Jacob Black.

A/N: So, as far as I can remember (it's been a while since I read the books) there's no real description of exactly what happens during the transformation process, so I've made it up. I tried to make it seem as "correct" as possible, if you know what I mean, so I hope it reads okay :) I'm pretty sure you were all expecting this to happen to Bella, anyway, although pretty much every one of the reviews for the last chapter was filled with panic lol.

As always, thanks for taking the time to read and review, it really makes it all worth it. See you all soon for the next update.