Sorry for delay everyone. We just redid our kitchen & are having 15-20 guests this coming weekend, so trying to spruce the house up a bit. Thanks for the patience :)

Chapter 52

Alice could see that Aro's mind was back and forth about going to visit Luciana. He had been under a lot of scrutiny and stress, perhaps more than ever in his existence. His power had been question, and his coven had been compromised. Several of his henchmen were dead; other substitutes were out hunting the Romanians with such little success that he had debated just offing them out of frustration of their incompetence.

"He's still undecided," Alice said, crossing her legs as she sat down on the sofa. "I don't believe he's aware of where we're living, so we could all head up to Denali for a few days if necessary."

Esme was surprisingly not overly concerned about what Alice was telling them. Carlisle looked over at her several times throughout Alice's short discussion, but she just nodded and even flashed a closed-mouth smile at him once.

"I actually think it'll be even more beneficial if we do relocate just for a week or so, that way he won't know for sure where we are," Emmett said. "The less knowledge he has, the bigger advantage we'll have."

"Do you have any indication when we'll know for sure?" Carlisle asked. He glanced at Marshall in Esme's arms, then back to Alice.

"I'll know when he decides, but I don't really know when it'll be," Alice told him. She shrugged. "But it'll be in plenty of time for us to make a move."

"What about all of our stuff?" Rosalie asked, looking around the living room. "What if he makes a trip over here and sees all of our furniture and other things still here?"

"We've done it before," Alice said, "You know, just packed up and left."

"Yeah..." she leaned back on her hands and looked out the window as it started to rain.

"We'll go to Denali," Alice went on, "I've already spoken to Carmen, and she was totally on board."

Esme looked at Masen, "What are you going to do?"

"We'll all go with you," he told her with a nod. Leah and Cassandra both accompanied his nod with ones of their own.

"It'll be a vacation," Leah said, forcing a smile.

"Shane's never been to Alaska," Cassandra said with a smile.

Everyone seemed content with the situation, though Carlisle seemed the most visibly anxious. Esme put a hand on his knee.

"It'll be fine," she told him.

"I don't want him anywhere near you."

"Carlisle," Alice said, "This will be fine if he decides to come out here."

He glanced up at her.

"Trust me," she added, "You trusted me with our plan, and that was way harder."

Carlisle sighed, recognizing she was right. "Yeah."

"He's not going to hurt anyone, and he won't get near Marshall," Edward assured him.

"He's also considered having more children," Alice went on, surprising everyone but Edward, "I've seen him recently discussing it with Sulpicia. He's wants to replace Felix and Demetri and he's hoping that he'll have boys, or girls even, that will have comparable gifts."

Bella looked at Edward at the mention of Aro having another child. She felt a pain knowing that he might be trying to use the powers of the moon for all the wrong reasons, while she and Edward were attempting to extend their own family. He kissed her forehead and wrapped her snugly under his arm.

"Will he come after Delilah?" Caleb asked, looking at her just after. He realized he hadn't meant to be so open and bold with his question, but she didn't seem to mind.

Alice shook her head, "Caius is on another mission, and he doesn't think she's good enough at tracking." She looked at Delilah, "No offense."

"I'll purposely pretend I'm even worse at it," she told them, "And no offense taken... at all."

Carlisle looked at his son for a moment, who made eye contact with him, before Alice began to speak again.

"I just wanted this to be a heads up, that's all," she went on, "I don't want to put anyone into panic mode. We'll be alright. We won't have to fight."

"Won't he be able to see Lucy's thoughts?" Rosalie asked them.

"She won't let him read her thoughts," Alice said, "They have a deal, and it hasn't changed. He wouldn't ever kill her for not allowing him into her mind. Plus, I don't think he particularly wants to due to the... intimate nature of her and Seth's relationship. He's stopped even attempting to read her mind."

"Which means he won't be reading Seth's either," Emmett concluded.

"Right."

Emmett nodded. He looked at Esme, "I don't see a reason to worry then."

She shrugged, still fairly casual. "I agree."

Carlisle was still thrown off, but not unhappy, by her lack of worry. "We can go farther away than Denali," he told her.

Esme looked at him and put a hand gently on the side of his face. "Denali will be fine."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, then looked back to Alice for confirmation. When she nodded, too, Esme looked back to Carlisle. "We've never been steered wrong by Alice's visions. I'm perfectly content with visiting Denali for a week, or so." She looked to Alice again, "And Carmen said it wouldn't be a problem?"

"I spoke to her this afternoon," Alice told Esme, "We're more than welcome."

Edward looked at Carlisle again. "We won't be in contact with the Volturi at all. They've got bigger fish to fry with the Romanians." He turned his attention to his sister, "Right Alice?"

"Exactly," she said, "They aren't looking to pick a fight with us... right now."

"Right now?" Esme asked. Her voice sounded just slightly anxious for the first time.

"I haven't seen anything," Alice cleared up. "I haven't seen anything at all. I'm just saying, we all know how they are. Edward's right, though, their attention is fully on the Romanians for destroying their home."

"Well deserved," Jasper commented.

Emmett nodded and leaned his elbows forward onto his knees. He folded his hands and rested his chin on his knuckles. Rosalie began to rub his back.

"Will Aro be able to detect our scents in the area?" Bella asked.

"We'll have been gone for long enough where they'll have more or less faded," Alice said, "I'll make sure we have enough time to leave, and I'm not so sure he would even come here."

Everyone looked at her at the same time.

"Okay, maybe he would," she shrugged, "But he hasn't made up his mind, so why don't we just take it day by day."

"That sounds good," Esme said. She nodded appreciatively, "Thank you for letting us know Alice."

"Of course."

Edward and Carlisle kept making eye contact, appearing as though they were having a conversation inside their minds. Edward looked as if he wanted to respond to what was going through Carlisle's mind, but he didn't speak the words aloud.

Everyone sat together as the day's dark clouds covered the daylight hour's final fifteen minutes. The grandfather clock in the corner of the room began to chime as eight o'clock had rolled around.

The room darkened just slighty, leaving everyone in a quiet darkness.

Rosalie stood up and took it upon herself to switch on a light in the corner of the room. It illuminated just a portion of the room, leaving staggered shadows across everyone's faces.

"I don't want this to ruin the night for everyone," Alice told them, "We don't have any reason to be sad, or upset. The Volturi aren't coming here. Aro may or may not visit Lucy. We'll be out of the area. There won't be an issue for our family." She looked at Carlisle, waiting until he turned in her direction so she could look him in the eye. "No one is in danger."