As always, reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I am NOT Stephenie Meyer and I don't own any of the Twilight series characters or stories. I borrowed the dialogue and storyline from New Moon, but the rest is my own take on the story, as seen through Edward's eyes.

EPILOGUE

"Girl, got busted, huh?" Emmett chortled as I strode through the door. Emmett and Jasper sat in front of the newly replaced television competing in one of Emmett's mind-numbing video games. Alice sat at the top of the staircase, dangling her feet over the edge, watching the digital melee below.

I shrugged. "He was bound to find out eventually. She was already grounded, so there wasn't much more he could do to punish her. I don't think he would have had the audacity to forbid her from seeing me, especially after she threatened to move out." Not that it would stop me anyway.

Jasper cocked an eyebrow at me. "Your emotions are not what I expected," he observed. You're not sad or brooding. Are you…happy?

"I think content would be a more apt description. Bella is back in my life, which fills me with unimaginable joy, yet I hurt for her because she is in pain. However, the fact that she is forbidden to leave the house, except to go to school or work, does work to my benefit."

He looked at me puzzled, but his confusion was quickly replaced by understanding. The wolf?

I nodded. "If she is relegated to the house, she won't be able to go to La Push. I shudder to think of what would happen if she suddenly felt the urge to go to him. The treaty would forbid me from following and there would be nothing I could do to protect her."

"Nah, we can take 'em! If she gets in trouble, just say the word and we'll come running. Treaty or not, no one is gonna mess with my little sister!" Emmett boasted, his eyes gleaming at the prospect of getting the opportunity to tangle with some werewolves.

They would pose a much greater challenge than the average grizzly bear. Yet, it wasn't his enthusiasm that struck me, but the use of the word 'sister'. It pleased me immensely that my siblings had so willingly accepted Bella as a member of the family. Even Rosalie, with her reservations, was beginning to come around.

"He's upstairs in his office," Alice offered. I looked up at her and she winked, answering the question I was about to ask. I climbed the stairs, passing Alice along the way and reaching out to ruffle her hair. She playfully smacked my hand away and went back to watching Jasper and Emmett.

Carlisle looked up as I entered the room. He sat at his desk with his feet propped up, a large volume of medical text across his lap. "What can I do for you, Edward?"

"We have a problem."

"Oh?" he asked with a hint of surprise in his voice. "What seems to be the trouble?"

My jaw flexed as I thought about Jacob and his stern reminder of the terms of our treaty. Carlisle set the book down and sat up in his chair, sensing the tension in my body.

"Last night, when I was taking Bella home, Jacob was there. He came as an emissary for the pack."

Carlisle eyes widened. "What did he say? What did he want?"

Other than me out of the picture so he can have Bella to himself? "He wanted to be sure we were clear on the terms of the treaty. He wanted us to know that the treaty would be broken if any human was bitten."

Carlisle rubbed his thumb across his bottom lip thoughtfully. "So the wolves know of our arrangement with Bella?"

"If they didn't know before, based on Bella's reaction, they do now. I think they wanted to warn us, to warn Bella. I'm afraid that if we continue as planned, we will have a war on our hands. Jacob cares too much for Bella to stand idly by. If she is changed, he will retaliate."

I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose between my fingers. I should have been pleased at this development; this may be what I needed to convince Bella to remain human. But the small voice in the back of my mind reminded me that she would not give up so easily. Wolves or not, I doubted that she would be deterred from her decision.

Carlisle thought for a moment and looked up. "Have you discussed this with Bella?"

I shook my head. "The encounter with Jacob upset her and I didn't want to cause her further distress by discussing it last night. She's been through too much."

He nodded in agreement. "You know Bella best. How do you think she will respond?"

"Bella is determined and she is stubborn to a fault. When she has made her mind up about something, it would be nearly impossible to amend it. I'm afraid that she will want to proceed as planned, regardless of how the wolves feel about it."

"But you wish she would change her mind," he discerned, saying it as a statement rather than a question.

"Of course I wish she would change her mind, but it has been made clear to me that this is no longer my decision. I am at her mercy. The only hope I had was encouraging her to postpone long enough for me to show her everything she would be leaving behind, everything she would be missing out on."

"Well then, if Bella wishes to proceed as planned, we will need to come up with a contingency plan to deal with the wolves."

I nodded in agreement. "As of this moment, the plan is to wait until after she graduates from high school. Perhaps we can convince her to wait until she leaves for college. We can all move at that time and put as much distance as possible between us and the Quileutes."

Carlisle pursed his lips. "That sounds reasonable, but are you sure the wolves would not follow?"

"I honestly don't know, Carlisle. It's possible. Jacob believes that he loves Bella. I know that if I were in his position, I would not give up so easily. I wouldn't allow a few hundred, or even thousand, miles to keep me from her if I believed she was in danger."

Carlisle stood and stepped out from behind his desk, coming to a stop in front of me. He laid his hands on my shoulders. "Everything will work out, son. Bella chose you. She loves you. The rest is semantics. If Bella wishes to be turned, I will do as she asks. And if we have to evade the wolves in order to fulfill her request, we will gladly do it. We all want Bella to be a part of this family as much as you do. Jacob may not want to give her up, but remember that we love her like a daughter and are willing to fight for her if necessary."

A swell of emotion formed a lump in my throat and I was momentarily speechless. "Thank you, Carlisle," I whispered.

He smiled and leaned in to hug me. We stood in silence for a moment, father and son, locked in a warm embrace. My tension melted away as he comforted me. He patted me on the back as he released me.

"It will work out, Edward. I promise."

I nodded and turned to leave the room. I strolled down the hallway to my bedroom. There was much to think about, but for the moment, I wanted to rest my mind. I walked over and turned on the stereo, instantly filling the room with the soothing sounds of Chopin. I lay on the leather sofa and closed my eyes, allowing the music to take me away.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I slowly opened my eyes to see Alice leaning in the doorway, lightly rapping her knuckles on the wooden door.

"May I come in?" she asked.

I nodded and she danced over, stopping to sit beside me. She lay her hand on mine, smiling warmly. "I could see that you were going to ask me to answer some questions for you, so I thought I would save you the trouble."

I sat up, looking into the grinning face of my favorite sister.

"Do I even need to ask? Or would it be superfluous since you already know the questions?" I gave her a wink and she smacked my shoulder.

"You were going to ask me about Bella. About her decision," she began.

I nodded.

"I have to be honest, Edward. The visions keep changing. One minute, I see the same vision I've had for months, of Bella in a white gown – human. Then the next minute, I see her with Carlisle after graduation, preparing for her change. It seems that she can't decide what she wants."

"Is any one vision more prevalent than the other?" I asked anxiously.

She nodded. "The vision of the wedding does appear more often. I believe that, in her heart, Bella wants nothing more than for you to be the one to change her. Yet, she is uncertain because she knows how you feel. She wants to accept your terms, but still clings to…plan B."

I nodded. It was understandable for Bella to be hesitant. Not only did she have reservations about the institution of marriage, thanks to the example set by her parents, but she knows too well how I dislike the idea of her becoming a vampire. She may fear that I will change my mind or refuse to follow through. But I am a man of my word and if I make a promise to the woman I love, I intend to keep it.

Alice lowered her eyes and bit her lip. She was blocking her thoughts, but I could see by her expression that something was bothering her.

"What is it, Alice?" I asked.

She hesitated. "There's something bothering me. Something I've seen…"

"And?"

"There's another vision that I haven't told you about and it upsets me greatly," she muttered.

I sat up, eyeing my sister with concern. "What is it, Alice? What did you see?"

"Why do I keep seeing you and Bella in a chapel in Las Vegas?"

At that, I burst out laughing. Alice glowered at me, but I could not stop the eruption of laughter that was coming out of me. She huffed and crossed her arms, waiting for me to regain my composure.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"What do you mean, 'is that all'?! Edward, you cannot seriously be considering eloping to Vegas."

"If it's what Bella wants…"

"Bella doesn't know what she wants," she retorted. "If Bella doesn't have a proper wedding, she will regret it. Maybe not now, but someday, she will look back and wish she had done it right."

"I'm not going to force her, Alice."

"But, Edward!" she pouted.

"I will try to encourage her, but I cannot make any promises. If Bella agrees to marry me, she can have any kind of wedding she wants. All I want is to make her my wife, I don't care how. Being together is all that matters to me."

Alice fluttered her eyelashes and smiled slyly. "Can I talk to her?" she asked.

"Absolutely not," I replied, shaking my head vigorously. "Wait until I get the ring on her finger, then you can discuss wedding plans."

She furrowed her brow in frustration. "I guess now is not the time to tell you I've already ordered her dress."

"Alice!"

"Well," she stammered. "I've been seeing the same vision for nearly a year. One has to be prepared. You can't blame me for that!"

I shook my head. Only Alice would plan so far ahead without the consent of the bride-to-be. We looked up as Jasper peered in the door.

"Can I borrow Alice?" he asked.

"Coming," she replied, waving her hand to shoo Jasper away. "Please, Edward," she pleaded as she rose to leave.

"No promises, Alice. We'll just have to wait until Bella makes a decision, then we'll go from there."

She nodded in defeat and turned to follow Jasper. I sat on the edge of the couch, running the vision of the wedding over and over again in my mind. I smiled at the image of Bella standing before me in a gown of white. My heart leapt at the thought of my blushing bride, taking my hand, and agreeing to be mine – forever.

I stood and crossed the room. Opening the bureau, I pulled out a small wooden box. I returned to the couch and placed the box on my lap. My fingers ran over the smooth mahogany surface of the box containing the few small tokens that remained from my human parents.

I opened the lid and my eyes scanned the contents. After my parent's deaths, all of their possessions had been left to me. Much had been discarded over the years, but a few articles remained. I inherited quite a bit of jewelry from my mother and had given many of the pieces to Esme, Alice, and Rosalie, but a few cherished pieces I kept for myself.

The one item I kept from my father was his golden cufflinks, engraved with the letter M. The two items of my mother's I kept, not only because they reminded me of her, but because I wished to one day give them to the woman who would be my wife. I fingered the small diamond heart pendant. I had already given my heart to Bella and, one day, I would give this one to her as well.

My fingers trembled as I picked up the other piece that I longed to give to Bella, my mother's wedding ring. I studied the delicate gold band in my palm, its rows of glittering diamonds casting dancing rainbows in the morning light. My mother gave me this ring with the intent that I would give it to the woman I would marry.

One day, Bella would wear this ring. One day, I could place it on her finger and proudly display to the world that she belonged to me. That day would come soon, I could feel it. With a smile on my lips and a song in my heart, I placed the ring in my pocket.

One last time, THANK YOU to all my wonderful readers! I could not have made it through this without all of your encouragement and support. PLEASE, if you haven't reviewed yet, take a minute to do so. It takes hours and hours for me to write all of this and only a few seconds for you to tell me what you think. I am very good about responding to all signed reviews. Don't be shy…I don't bite.

Many of you have asked about the next installment. Yes, I am planning on continuing with Edward's perspective in Eclipse. I am going to take some time now to refine and polish Moonless Night before I tag it as complete. And in preparation for Eclipse, I need to take some time to research. I try as hard as I can to remain true to the canon and that requires meticulous attention to detail. I need to re-read Eclipse and take notes and am also planning on reading Wuthering Heights for inspiration. So, please be patient. Eclipse will come soon, but I need to prepare if I'm going to do it right.

If you're interested in reading my version of Eclipse, either add me to your Author Alerts

or add Moonless Night to your Story Alerts. As soon as the first chapter of Eclipse is posted, I will add a chapter to Moonless Night as an Author's Note linking to the next installment. I am also working on a playlist for Moonless Night that I will either post in my profile or within that Author's Note.

Finally, if you have any suggestions for a title for Eclipse in EPOV, please either PM me or give me your ideas in your reviews. I would love to hear what you all have to think.