Chapter 35

Alice had assured everyone that Lake Superior would definitely not be the location that Olivia was waiting, nor the area that Peter was taking Luciana. She had taken it upon herself to call Renesme and Jacob to let them know of the place she was leading the rest of their family.

"We're heading to Kennebec county, Maine," she told Jacob over the receiver as she continued to run along a rocky gorge.

"Maine," he said back, "Got it."

"Call Edward," she said, "Meet up with them. We've already crossed by your area. He and Bella stayed back with Carlisle,Esme and Alexandra and left a little later than we did."

"Okay," he said before hanging up the phone.

Alice's group continued to head east while the the Quileutes and Renesme and Masen waited for the remainder of the Cullen family. It wasn't long before they were united and on their way, not far behind.

Carlisle's phone rang and he knew the number was Aro. He looked over at Esme as they went and picked up. Concern filled her face at his uneasy expression and she concentrated to hear both ends of the conversation.

"Hello," he answered, making everyone else stop and stare in his direction. Consquently, Carlisle stopped also.

"Where's my daughter?" Aro's angry, yet concerned voice spilled through the cell phone.

"Olivia.. we're on our way to find her."

"Where is she?"

"Maine. Kennebec County." He was about to elaborate on the situation when the receiver went dead.

"What? He hung up?" Esme asked.

Carlisle nodded and put the phone back into his pocket before instructing everyone to continue their journey. He grabbed Esme's hand, though she still wanted answers.

"It'll be fine," he assured her, "He just wants Lucy to be safe."

She squeezed his hand firmly and continued on the journey.

He removed the phone from his pocket again and called Alice to warn her of the Volturi's presence.

"How'd he know?" Esme asked.

"Olivia must have phoned him," Carlisle told her, "Michael had said all along she wants to cause him pain and doesn't care if she dies in the process."

"We need to destroy her," Edward called from just ahead of them, "Like Victoria. She won't stop unless she's destroyed."

"Peter too," Alexandra said.

Carlisle looked over toward his daughter, then back strait ahead again. He knew she deserved justice but felt bad that she had to feel such hate in her heart, especially this early in her life. It was something he knew he had to turn around in her mind once things settled down again. He hated knowing that she lost faith in people and in love.

"We'll get him," Masen assured her, catching up to where the rest of them were.

"I want to get there before Aro does," Carlisle said.

Esme seemed uneasy by the urgency in his tone, wondering if Aro had threatened him in some way that he hadn't shared with her or the rest of them.

"Aro's going?" Seth asked. His voice was steady, though his facial expression was leery and fearful, "We have to get her Carlisle."

"We will," he said, "We'll get her back."

Seth's eyes switched over to meet Esme's in search for some comfort. She gave him a sympathetic look and forced a small smile, "She'll be okay Seth. Be strong honey."

If he wasn't running, his posture would have slumped. All at once he separated himself from the group and phased into a wolf, running up toward the front of their group ahead of Edward and Bella.

Jacob phased soonafter and a few others followed in similar patterns. Sam had been in his animal form all along, preferring it that way to stay in a particular mindset. He huffed and snarled at the very point of their pack and ferociously lead the way, following the scents that Alice and the rest of them had left behind.

They traveled for miles and were closing in on New England when they were forced to take a break to hunt and the wolves to eat.

"Fill up," Edward call out to everyone, "This is our last break. We're almost there." He stayed close to Renesme and Bella, decided a meeting up point for everyone and went on to feed.

Esme hunted side by side with Alexandra, as Carlisle and Masen went in a different direction.

They traveled over a large wooded area on the west side border of New Hampshire. There were lots of deer in the immediate area, and Edward was able to track down a large, full grown moose. Bella still found herself amazed watching him take down such large animals. She'd sensed a bear nearby but stuck with the deer, not feeling up to the challenge of tangling with a brown bear, no matter how small the challenge was. She knew she needed her strength for the day to come.

Leah made he way to Esme as she was nearing the end of her meal. It was rare for Leah, but she felt as if she could cry at any second.

"Are you okay?" Esme asked, "What's wrong?"

She looked at Alexandra and then back to Esme, "I need to talk to you."

"What is it?" she said her down, sensing it was what she needed.

Alexandra looked concerned and listened intently with her hands on her hips.

Before Leah could say anything, Esme listened hard and her jaw dropped, "Leah..."

"I just realized. I don't know how I didn't know before."

"What?" Alexandra asked. She looked at Esme, then to Leah.

"Esme, I don't know what I should do." Leah told her.

Alexandra looked at them like they were speaking some unspoken language in their minds. "I'm totally lost. What's wrong?"

"I can't phase," Leah said, "I don't know what will happen if I phase?" She looked into Esme's eyes, who were filled with a sympathetic concern.

"Are you?" Esme asked. She listened again, leaning toward her future daughter in law. There were definitely two separate heartbeats coming from her body.

Leah nodded, "I-I think so. I think I'm pregnant."