Chapter 48: Payback

We arrived home to see Esme waiting near the back door, looking confused and slightly suspicious.

"What went on there?" she asked us.

"Rowan wanted to have a talk to the both of us." Carlisle replied.

"Why?" she asked, looking suspicious.

"He…he wanted to get an idea of what the three vampires that assaulted me looked like. It was so no other people got hurt." I lied quickly and smoothly.

"Then why didn't he ask only you to follow him?" she asked. I knew she was becoming suspicious that something was being kept from her.

"Because he knew that it was painful for me and that because Carlisle helped me before you guys got to the scene, I felt more comfortable with him being there to help me." I replied. She didn't have anything to say to that.

"He also wanted to know, if I was with her when the vampires attacked, why I didn't protect her." Carlisle added, playing along with my charade.

"I'm also intrigued as to why you didn't protect her." Esme asked him.

"I was keeping Natalie away while Kristen brought an animal for William, who'd just woken as a vampire. When the three vampires arrived, Natalie had tripped and fallen. I looked away to make sure she was alright, but by the time I looked back, they'd taken her, and William was struggling to figure out what had happened." Carlisle explained and Esme nodded. I took a deep breath and held it, attempting to get my mind off what had happened. Carlisle appeared to have noticed my expression and sighed, looking apologetic.

"Sorry Kristen, I didn't intend to make you remember it." He said softly and I smiled slightly at him, nodding.

"I'm alright Carlisle. Thank you, though." I said softly.

"Carlisle, if he wanted to ask the two of you about…it, why couldn't he say it in front of me?" Esme asked her husband. It was obvious that she knew that we were hiding something, and she was pushing us into telling her.

"I find it difficult to talk about the incident in front of other people, but because Carlisle was there, he knows what happened." I replied, edging away from the subject that would give anything away. If Carlisle thought she should know, he would tell her himself. I wasn't going to do the honours for him.

Esme nodded, defeated. There was nothing she could say to my reply. I walked away to check on the dogs and to find Natalie and William. I needed to talk to them. I found the dogs in the living room; Jumpy and Hera were lying together, Hera's head resting on her mate's back, both watching the pups, which were playing with Dalmatio and Reggie. I smiled as I turned away, just as a yelp reached my ears. I spun around and saw Hera licking Dingo's head gently, the pup quivering in obvious pain. Jumpy was standing opposite Reggie, a low growl escaping Jumpy's throat as Reggie crouched down, his ears pressed against his head and his tail between his legs. I knelt down by the injured pup, stroking Hera to let her know I wasn't going to hurt her son. She whined softly as she backed away from Dingo.

"It's okay Hera." I said softly as I gently patted her head. At that moment, Peter appeared next to me, kneeling next to the pup.

"What happened to him?" he asked me softly.

"I'm not sure. Dalmatio and Reggie were playing with them, and I turned away, when Dingo yelped, obviously with pain. Jumpy was facing Reggie, so obviously Reggie had accidentally injured Dingo. I didn't see how." I explained and he nodded, gently pressing on certain points on the animal's side. "Is he okay?" I asked, concerned that Dingo was still whimpering. I could see the pup's whimpers distressing Hera, who was continually approaching, before backing off.

"He'll be okay I think, but you might want to calm Hera down. Dingo's whimpers are obviously distressing her." Peter replied, not looking up from the pup. I stood up and approached Hera, stroking her head gently to calm her. As I stroked the dog, I watched Peter tend to the pup. I saw him expertly run his hands over Dingo's side, pressing on a few points as he did so.

Definitely a vet. He knows what he's doing. I thought, just as Peter looked up. Dingo was no longer whimpering, but he was lying still, looking up at his mother.

"I think he wants his mother." Peter said, smirking and I allowed Hera to approach her son.

"Is he alright?" I asked, walking over and kneeling next to them.

"He's fine, Kristen. Don't worry." He said and I smiled slightly.

"Did you figure out what was wrong with him?" I asked and he smiled.

"Yes, I did. All Reggie managed to do to him was cause him to pull a muscle, causing him pain. His muscles were obviously stiff to begin with, and Reggie must've excited him a bit much and caused him to pull a muscle. All I had to do was massage the muscle a bit to relax it, and he should be fine in an hour or two." Peter replied and I smiled.

"Thank you Peter." I said, and he smiled in return.

"No problems Kristen." He said as I got to my feet and headed up the stairs and towards the room Natalie and William shared. Hopefully I'd find them there, and not involved in anything too extravagant.

I knocked and the door opened to reveal Natalie standing in the doorway, thankfully fully clothed. There was no sign of William in the room, as far as I could tell.

"Hi Kristen. Is there a problem?" she asked and I shook my head.

"No, there's no problem. I just need to talk to you." I said and she nodded, inviting me inside. We sat opposite each other.

"What's wrong Kristen?" she asked.

"Um...I need to ask you how much of the incident you actually remember. Rowan's planning on finding the three vampires, and I want to make sure there isn't anything I should know that may put his life at risk." I explained and she sighed.

"Well, I wouldn't really know. I mean, I am only human. All I know is that they're inseparable, and they'll work together. I wouldn't let Rowan go alone, if I were you. And I'd also make sure that only the men go find them. We both know what may happen if a woman goes." She explained and I shuddered. I did know what would probably happen if a woman were to go.

"We will keep the other women away, but I'll be going with them, because I know what they look like." I said and she looked concerned.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? I mean, why not have William go, instead? He knows what they look like just as much as you do." She suggested, but I shook my head.

"William will be staying here to look after you." I said seriously. "He's got the best self-control of any newborn vampire that I've ever seen. He's better off here." I explained and she nodded, resigning.

"I understand. I'm just worried that something could happen to you. I wanted to die, because I thought I'd lost William, and then you showed up and gave me hope. Carlisle as well, but mainly you. If you hadn't come to my aid, I probably wouldn't be alive, let alone found William." She said and I smiled.

"It wasn't really much, but I am glad I found you. It's good to have someone else who knows what I'm going through at the moment. We're both able to help each other through it." I said and she nodded, smiling.

"You're right." She said.

"Anyway, thanks for letting me know. I'll need to talk to William, though, to get his point of view. Do you know where I might find him?" I asked her and she tilted her head to one side.

"Um I think he's gone hunting. I'm not sure." She said and I nodded, thanking her as I left the room, running downstairs and out into the forest.

It didn't take long for me to catch William's scent, and I began following it at a sprint, finding him a minute later, with his teeth in a kangaroo's throat.

Natalie was right; he has gone hunting. I thought to myself, just as William looked up, assuming a defensive position. He straightened up when he realised it was me.

"Hi Kristen. Can I help you with something?" he asked me and I smiled.

"Not really, I just need to talk to you. Are you done hunting?" I asked him and he nodded.

"Yeah, what was it you wanted to talk about?" he asked me and I smiled.

"I just wanted to ask you if you know anything about the three vampires that attacked you. Rowan's planning on finding them, and I want to make sure that he'll be alright. Natalie's already told me that they're pretty much inseparable and will work together, and to make sure that there aren't any women around. Do you know anything else that may help?" I asked.

"I think that's pretty much all you'll need to know. They are fairly strong, however, so I'd make sure that no less than four people go along with him. They do use their environment to their advantage a fair bit, which makes them fairly formidable. Other than that, he should be alright." He explained and I smiled, thanking him. I began running back in the direction of home, when Carlisle caught up to me, looking worried.

"What's wrong Carlisle?" I asked him, concerned.

"Alice's seen that the three vampires are coming here. They've found the scents of the women and are following them." He said and I froze for a second.

"We'll need to intercept them halfway. We'll go find Rowan and some of the others. I've decided that I'll go with you, but William will stay behind." I said, repeating what I found out. Carlisle sighed, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"I can't let you come with us, Kristen. I need you to stay with the family." He said to me softly, but I shook my head.

"Carlisle, I'm coming." I said firmly and he sighed, a pained expression on his face.

"Kristen." He groaned. "I don't want anything else to happen to you." He said softly.

"Carlisle, don't worry. Nothing else will happen to me. I refuse to just stand back and watch. And besides, I know that you and Rowan won't let anything happen to me. Remember that Rowan can hear their thoughts, so he'll know when they're going to attack me." I said and he sighed. There was pain evident in his eyes and my heart broke. It killed me to see him in pain. "Carlisle, just please trust me. I'll be fine." I said and he took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before he released it slowly.

"Kristen, I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. I love you." He whispered and I sighed. It was becoming difficult to resist him.

"Carlisle, nothing will happen to me – I promise. I can defend myself, especially now that I know what they're capable of. Please don't worry about me." I said and he sighed deeply, looking around and pulling me into his arms.

"Kristen, I just don't like the idea of you getting hurt." He said to me and I looked up, the temptation to kiss him becoming too much. I quickly pressed my lips against his, before I pulled away, turning to face the other way.

"I won't get hurt, Carlisle. I promise that I won't let myself get hurt. Please Carlisle; I want to fight alongside you." I said and he I heard him sigh deeply.

"Kristen, I'll allow you to accompany us, but I'm not letting you out of my sight until we've dealt with them. Do you understand me?" he asked, resigning.

"I understand Carlisle. Thank you." I replied, finally turning back to face him. He was still looking pained. I turned away again, as the temptation to kiss him again was becoming too difficult to resist. I needed to clear my head. "I'm going to find Rowan and let him know what we've decided." I told him, sprinting into the distance.

I breathed deeply while I ran, the clean air clearing my lungs and head of Carlisle's scent. I was now completely in control of myself, at least until he caught up with me.

I found Rowan a few minutes later, pulling him into a hug. He hugged me in return, surprised.

"Is everything alright, Kristen?" he asked me softly and I sighed deeply.

"I'm alright. I just needed a hug." I said, then deciding that I'd better tell him that I'd lost control and kissed Carlisle. "By the way Rowan...I know you told Carlisle and I to make sure that nothing happened...but –"

"Let me guess, you lost control and something actually happened?" he asked me, interrupting me and I sighed, burying my face into his chest.

"Um yeah. Don't worry it's not like we had sex or anything like that. But I did lose control and kiss him. I'm sorry." I replied and he sighed, kissing my forehead.

"I forgive you, Kristen. I – I just hope that nothing else happens between you. I'm still your boyfriend, remember?" he said and I nodded slowly.

"I know, Rowan. I just couldn't help it." I said, just as Carlisle caught up to us.

"Rowan, I'm not sure if Kristen's told you or not, but Alice's seen that the three vampires that attacked Kristen are now on their way. Apparently they've caught the scents of the women and are following them." He explained and Rowan looked horrified.

"She didn't tell me, but thank you Carlisle." He replied and Carlisle nodded once.

"By the way Rowan, Carlisle has agreed to allow me to accompany the two of you in fighting these vampires, but he's not letting me out of his sight." I told my boyfriend and he sighed.

"I'm not sure that was the best idea, Carlisle, but as long as we can keep her safe, I'm okay with it." He said and Carlisle sighed.

"Sorry Rowan. She convinced me to allow her." Carlisle replied and Rowan smirked.

"Was it the kiss that convinced you?" he asked and Carlisle looked surprised.

"Did you see it, or something?" Carlisle asked him and Rowan chuckled, shaking his head.

"No, but Kristen told me that she'd kissed you." He told Carlisle, who looked somewhat relieved.

"Well, I should probably admit that the kiss did play a part in convincing me. Other than that, I'm sure you've noticed how persuasive her eyes can be." Carlisle said and Rowan smiled, nodding.

"Believe me; I know how persuasive her eyes can be. I don't she realises it, though." He replied, still smiling slightly.

"Is there anything that we should know before we fight with these vampires?" Carlisle asked me.

"Um, they'll all work together as a team, which I'm sure you've figured out already, Carlisle. And William told me not to have any less than four people accompany Rowan. We should also try to keep the other women away. I think we all know what the consequences will be if we don't." I explained and both men nodded gravely.

"Rowan, you might want to get the family together. Have them meet in the kitchen." Carlisle told Rowan and he nodded.

"Done." He said shortly afterwards and we all sprinted to the house, meeting Esme, Alice and Jasper, who were already in the kitchen.

The remainder of the family assembled in the kitchen shortly afterwards, looking confused.

"Alright guys, Alice has seen that the three vampires that had attacked William, Natalie and Kristen are on their way. Alice do you want to explain your vision to the others?" Carlisle asked Alice and she nodded gravely.

"I saw them running towards this house, following a scent left behind by one of the women living in this house. We can all guess what it is they want." Alice said and everyone nodded. Everyone was looking worried. Rowan had me in his arms; Carlisle had his hand tight on Esme's shoulder; Jasper had both his hands on Alice's shoulders; Edward was holding Bella to his chest; William had Natalie's hand in his; Emmett had his arms tight around Rosalie, and the single men had subconsciously herded the single women together, and were standing around them.

"Alright, what we've decided is to intercept them halfway. Alice, do you know if they're expecting a large amount of men?" Carlisle asked Alice and she shook her head.

"I think all they're expecting is you and William. I can't be sure, though." She told him and he nodded, smiling slightly.

"That's good to hear. Okay, we're all going to have to figure out who will be coming with us, and who will stay to defend the women, should the three of them manage to get past us."

"Carlisle, I don't think it's a good idea to allow Kristen to accompany you. I mean, remember what happened last time?" Edward said to Carlisle, who nodded.

"I know, but she persuaded Rowan and I to allow her to come." Carlisle replied, sighing. "Rowan, you'll also accompany us; Jasper, could you please also accompany us; Emmett, Sero and Peter, could I also ask you to accompany us. The remainder of you please stay behind to defend the women, should the three vampires get past us." He said and Emmett, Jasper, Sero, Peter, Rowan and I stepped forward.

"Alice, do you see how long we have?" I asked Alice.

"Ten minutes before they get to the house. Get me a pen and paper and I'll draw you a map of the route I can see them taking." Alice replied and Jasper soon returned with a pen and paper, handing them to Alice.

I could see that she was drawing a quick sketch of the house and surrounding forest, drawing a dotted line to show the route the three vampires were taking to the house. "I suggest you intercept them...here." she told Carlisle, tapping on a point on the paper, showing a small clearing. Carlisle nodded slowly.

"Sounds good Alice. Alright guys, let's get going, before they find us first." Carlisle said and Rowan, Jasper, Emmett, Sero, Peter and I all followed him out of the house, running in the direction of the clearing.

Arriving in the clearing, five minutes later, we saw the three vampires run into the clearing shortly afterwards. They stopped running, seeing the seven of us and taking a step closer together. It was obvious who the leader was. The blonde, Adam was giving off the vibes of a leader. The other two, Phil and Troy, flanked either side of him, still a step behind him. Adam looked around at us, smirking when he saw me among the men.

"So, lady, ya managed to get together an army of men? I can smell another woman around here, so where is she?" Adam asked and we all snarled. The sound reverberated off the surrounding trees, making it sound louder than it actually was. "So there is another? Why don't ya take me to 'er? I promise that these two won't go anywhere near 'er." He said with false pleasantness

"You will not go anywhere past us." Jasper spat, his voice quivering with obvious anger.

"Okay, how 'bout we make a negotiation? Since the burly man has the woman's scent all over 'im, how about he fights me, and if he wins, we leave the lady alone. If I win, though, I get 'er. How does that sound?" Adam suggested and Emmett snarled. It was obvious to all of us that they'd been following Rosalie's scent.

Emmett leaned further forward in his defensive crouch, his teeth bared.

"I'll kill you if you dare threaten my wife again!" he snarled and Adam smiled, beckoning Emmett to attack. I knew what would happen if Emmett attacked. Phil and Troy would both attack Emmett, and we'd lose a member of this family. We couldn't risk it.

"Emmett, don't attack! They'll all kill you if you do!" I told him, but he leaned even further forward, tensing to attack Adam. "Carlisle! Help me hold him back!" I told Carlisle, who nodded, both of us grabbing Emmett's arms and holding him back with all of our strength. I could feel Emmett's enormous muscles relaxing under my grasp, and I could tell Adam could see it. His smile turned into a grimace and a growl tore up his throat.

"Ya don' think he and I should fight for the female?" he asked me, abandoning his false pleasantries.

"I see through your filthy plan, Adam." I snarled and he shrugged.

"Maybe I could find another way to convince ya." He said, taking a step towards me, his cronies right behind him. At that point, everyone snarled, Rowan appearing in front of me, leaning forward in a defensive crouch. "So we've found your mate, 'ave we lady?" Adam asked me and I snarled again. I let go of Emmett, and all of us leapt at the three of them.

It appeared William and Natalie were right when they said that the three of them work together and use their surroundings to their advantage. Even with my telekinetic ability and the strength of seven vampires at our disposal, we soon discovered that we were still at a disadvantage. The vampires had managed to separate Peter from our group, and as he hadn't been taught how to fight properly, he was still using his instincts. That's where the problem lay, as the vampires obviously knew how to deal with newborns.

One of them threw Peter away, tearing his arm off in the meantime, throwing it in the opposite direction.

"Kristen, go help Peter." Carlisle whispered to me and I nodded, running away from the fight and towards where Peter's arm had landed. Picking it up, I sprinted around the outskirts of the clearing towards Peter.

"Here Peter. Just a tip when fighting, don't just trust your instincts, as these vampires have obviously learnt how to deal with newborns that use their instincts to fight. Use your speed first, not your strength. Because you've only been a vampire for less than a year, you're faster and stronger than them, but don't just go in for a head-on attack, or they'll be able to get you down. Keep dodging and weaving their attacks until you can get an attack in. And go for the throat. If you can take their head off, they won't be able to move. But they won't be dead until they're burned in a fire." I told him and he nodded. His arm had reattached itself and he stood up to rejoin the fight. "Go rejoin the fight, I'll get a fire started." I said and he sprinted back into the fray. I started a fire, before also rejoining the fight. I helped Rowan and Carlisle take down Troy. I tore his head off, throwing it away and burning it while Rowan carried the body and threw it into the fire after the head. Now there were only two left. However, these two had obviously received more training than Troy, and were therefore harder to get down. While I was fighting Adam, I heard Rowan yell. I looked over to see that Phil had pushed him into the fire I'd made. I screamed as I sprinted to help Rowan out of the fire, but he was too far in. I stood on my toes and reached in, my arm burning as I did so, and I could tell I was falling forward. Suddenly, I felt strong arms grab me around the waist and drag me away from the flames. I struggled hard, hearing Rowan's dying screams, but those arms wouldn't loosen their grip. I tripped over my own feet and fell backwards, landing on the ground, as Rowan's screams died away. I stopped fighting whoever was holding me, sobbing dry sobs.

"I'm sorry Kristen. I know you wanted to save him, and believe me I wanted to as well, but there wasn't anything we could do." I heard Carlisle's voice consoling me nearby and I realised that it had been him that had pulled me away. I curled up; clutching my chest where it felt like my heart had just been ripped out, leaving an empty wound. I couldn't breathe, but I knew I didn't need to. Rowan was dead – there was nothing else to it.

It suddenly became clear that because Phil had killed him, he should die. I got to my feet, snarling as I leapt at Phil, fighting harder than ever, fury flowing through my body like acid. My grief at Rowan's death had turned into fury, but I also knew that it wouldn't last. Eventually, after the two remaining vampires were dead, the fury would die down, and I'd be left with an empty space in the centre of my chest.

All of a sudden, in the middle of the fight, Adam disappeared. As we were so busy taking Phil down, none of us noticed.

When Phil was dead, however, that was when we realised that Adam was nowhere to be seen.

"His scent is leading towards the house. We may not catch up to him in time, he's too far ahead." Sero said, sniffing the air as we ran.

"I don't care if he's that far ahead that we won't be able to catch up to him in time, we'd still be better off trying." Jasper said the growl audible in his voice.

We managed to find Adam a minute later, however, fighting with Alice. Alice was continually dodging his attacks, laughing, while he was looking increasingly frustrated.

"Missed me again." Alice laughed when she dodged one of his attacks. "You guys took your time." She said to us as she continued to dance out of reach of Adam's attacks. "I've been stalling him for the last ten minutes." She said, just as Adam managed to grab onto her wrist, dragging her towards him. He held her there, his teeth at her throat.

"Any of ya move one muscle, and she dies." He said to us, and I prepared to use telekinesis to pull Alice to safety and Adam to his death. "And lady, if ya try usin' that telekinetic ability ya have, she dies." He added to me and I inhaled deeply, glaring at him.

It appeared, however, that Alice didn't need our help, as she turned her head and bit Adam's throat, forcing him to let go of her, before she kneed him hard in the nether regions. He fell to the ground; his hands clutching his groin in obvious pain and his mouth open in a silent scream. I never actually realised that part was still that sensitive on a vampire as it was on a human. I supposed that it didn't help that it was a vampire that hit him there.

With Adam immobilised with pain, we moved quickly, Alice starting a fire while I lifted him up and threw him into the flames.

"Are the others dead?" Alice asked and we nodded as Jasper pulled her into his arms in relief.

"I think we should get back home." Carlisle said to us and we followed him, relieved that the ordeal was over. At least, it was for most of us. For me, it had just begun.