On a Knife's Edge

"Mara? Mara!"

Mara groaned, her head pounding in a way that made her think she had just been hit with several cinder blocks. Or a train. She was fairly sure either would hurt mildly lesser than what she was feeling right now.

She opened her eyes, finding Embry's worried face filling her sight.

"Did we win?" she asked. He frowned and rolled his eyes, looking away and then back at her.

"What the hell were you thinking coming here?" he asked.

"But I helped, didn't I?" Mara pushed, though she grimaced. Just talking made her head feel worse.

"Christ, you're bleeding," he said. Mara lifted her hand to her face, feeling the small bit of blood coming from her nose. She pulled her hand back and stared at it a moment, vaguing registering Embry telling Seth to shift and get the others to stand guard around them.

Even though the fight was over, there were still a rather large amount of vampires around, she suddenly remembered. Embry gently lifted Mara up off the ground as she attempted to wipe her nose.

"But we did win," she said, looking up at him.

"Yea, we did," he said. He started walking towards the other wolves, though kept glancing down at her. "Did you… was that you?"

She smiled weakly and nodded.

"It worked. Thank god," she said.

"How… what the hell was that?" he asked. Before she could answer, Edward was running up to them, a concerned look on his face. Mara looked around, taking stock of who was still there. Whoever was left in Alessandra's coven had run off once the fighting stopped, it appeared. As it was, only the packs and Cullens remained in the clearing.

"The Volturi are nearly here. You need to get Mara as far away as you can. Now," he said urgently. Embry immediately put Mara's feet on the ground.

"It'll be faster if I shift," he said. He stepped away and went down on all fours, quickly becoming a large black and gray wolf. Mara had just pulled herself onto his back when Alice's voice rang out.

"It's too late."

"Get down, Mara," Edward said, his eyes fixed at something ahead. Mara slid off Embry's back and crouched down as the other wolves quickly surrounded her, mostly hiding her from view. He quickly ran over to the other vampires as Mara peered around the wolf in front of her - she wasn't sure who it was - gripping Embry's hair. She felt more than heard the rumbling growl that came from his throat and went through his body.

"Ah, once again you seem to have taken care of the problem before we were necessary," a happy voice rang out. Mara tried to see where it was coming from, but the wolves closed ranks around her even tighter, blocking her view.

She couldn't help but hold her breath, praying that they wouldn't discover her there. But part of her told her that it was impossible.

Cecily resisted the urge to turn and look back at the wolves, not wanting to alert Aro and the others to Mara's presence. Though she figured it was only a matter of time. Even with the wolves surrounding her and blocking off most of her scent, the smell of human blood was still strong in the air.

Instead, she stood tall, gripping Demetri's hand tightly as the Volturi stopped just a few feet away from them. Aro turned his smile to the couple.

"I was wondering why we had not yet received an invitation to the wedding," he said, settling his burgundy eyes on the two.

"Haven't gotten around to it yet," Cecily found herself saying. "The wedding, that is." She felt Demetri's grip tighten on her hand and for a moment, she worried she had said something wrong. But Aro only continued to grin brilliantly at them.

"Ah yes, you are still young. There is most certainly time enough for that," he said. His eyes then scanned the rest of the group and the carnage on the ground. "Well, it seems you have finally dispatched that small nuisance." His eyes fell on the smoldering remains of Alessandra. They then flicked back up to Demetri and Cecily. "Though I would feel much more at ease to have your reassurance that this threat is really and truly over."

He started towards the two, his hand out. Cecily couldn't help but look over at Demetri. As soon as she saw the firm set of his jaw and the look of determination in his eyes, she knew what he was going to do. Her stomach sank, thinking it was either really bold or really stupid. Probably both.

"As you can see, that is not necessary," Demetri said sternly. Cecily whipped her head back over to see Aro stop, a look of surprise coming over his features. Though he quickly covered it with another pleasant smile.

"Is that so?" he asked.

"There are only a handful left in the coven - no more than 10. I will personally hunt down and kill them, further nullifying the threat," Demetri continued. It was Cecily's turn to tighten her grip on his hand, preparing to speak out and say something. She wasn't about to let him sacrifice himself just to keep her gift from the Volturi. She'd say something before he did something truly stupid. "And in exchange for this one last charge, I ask that you release me from the Volturi so that Cecily and I can spend the rest of our immortal lives together."

Well, fuck that. Cecily looked back at him, eyes wide and speechless. If Aro had been considering letting them off, he certainly wouldn't now. What the hell was he doing? Demetri looked over at her, and she shook her head slightly. He smiled briefly at her and then turned back to looking at Aro.

"I told you, brother, their bond is strong," Marcus said lazily. Cecily looked over, seeing Aro was also peering at the aged vampire. Caius looked ready to spit fire, though somehow remained silent. The other members of the guard with them seemed unsure of what to do, though all were watching Aro. Cecily swore she saw Jane and Alec smirk at them. Aro turned back to study the couple, though glanced over at the Cullens.

"I know," he said. He tilted his head to the side, his eyes now fixed on them. Cecily was sure about now her heart would have been racing if she were still alive, nearly pounding out of her chest the longer he stood silent. His eyes then flicked over towards the wolves and then back at them. "Very well. You kill the rest of the coven, I will allow you to be released from the Volturi. Though, it would be rather nice if you did stop to visit from time to time."

Cecily couldn't help as her mouth dropped open. She was fairly sure that she wasn't the only one. Aro scanned the rest of the group, a smile still firmly on his face.

"It seems it is time for us to take our leave," he said. His gaze stopped on the wolves as his smile grew and he nodded towards them. "Until we meet again."

He then turned and suddenly they were gone.

Cecily stood frozen a few more moments before she felt Demetri pull her into his arms.

"Just like that?" she said, still dazed.

"I am sure there is something - Aro always has something," he replied. "But for now, I have gained our freedom." Cecily wrapped her arms around him, still not quite believing it.

Demetri pulled away from her slightly, grinning down at her. Slowly, her smile began to grow. Sure they had to get rid of the rest of Alessandra's coven, but surely that wouldn't be all that hard. Not for the world's greatest tracker.

"It's really happening," she said. He nodded before bending down and kissing her. Cecily then pushed him away.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his brow immediately furrowing. Cecily just laughed as she continued to smile.

"I just… it's really over?" she asked. Demetri nodded. "Like that? We get rid of a few vampires and we're free?"

"Best to take it while we can," he replied. Cecily stared at him a few moments.

"I think… I think it's time for that wedding," she said. Demetri's eyes widened a moment before he lifted her up and swung her around.

"Music to my ears," he said when he put her down on the ground and kissed her again. Cecily couldn't help but laugh. She finally pushed him away again.

"Come on, we should check on the others…"

"I swear, I'm fine," Mara griped as Embry took her face in his hands, studying her closely. "I was nowhere near the fighting. Though my head looks like a sonofabitch."

While he knew she was long used to his nudity, he saw her cheeks flush slightly as the other wolves began shifting around her and she kept her eyes trained on him. Sighing, Embry pulled her to his chest, holding her tightly.

When he had smelled her there in the middle of the fight, his heart had stopped. Mara, while bullheaded, wasn't one to put herself unnecessarily in danger. It hadn't even crossed his mind that she might attempt to come out to the fight because he was so sure that she wouldn't. But then somehow, there she was. And then just as he was attempting to make his way over to her, a large group of ghostly warriors had surrounded them.

It was enough to stop not only him, but everyone else on the field in their tracks. Though thankfully their side had been faster to recover, taking advantage of the distraction to take out as many of Alessandra's coven as they could. He had still been fighting his way over to Mara, seeing her standing with her eyes closed, her body growing pale and beginning to shake the longer the spectors appeared.

Then it was over and she collapsed on the ground, a worried Seth dropping to his knees next to her.

But she was alive and the Volturi were gone. He was certain they could smell her, but for some unexplained reason hadn't seen the need to acknowledge her presence, which had him worried. But for now, they were all at least safe.

He looked down at her, his expression a mixture of anger at her being there and awe at what she had done. Which she still hadn't explained.

"What was that?" he asked. Mara smiled up at him.

"Figured out a new trick," she said lightly, though quickly grimaced, her hand coming up to her head. "But leaves a nasty aftertaste."

"We should get you back and let you rest. Then you can tell me everything," he said.

"Dude, you're the one who needs to be looked after," Mara said, her eyes now scanning the various cuts and bruises on his body that were already starting to heal up. She then looked around the rest of the group. "I'm pretty sure Quil's shoulder is broken."

Embry looked over, seeing the others quickly taking stock of their injuries, though Sam and Jacob were currently glaring at them.

"And I'm not the only one unhappy with you showing up," he said, though he looked over at the vampires, seeing them excitedly gathering around Cecily and Demetri. The absolute last thing Embry had expected was for the Volturi to so willingly let the tracker go. Instincts told him there was going to be some sort of catch. There always was with vampires.

He also felt that this wasn't going to be his and Mara's last runin with the ancient vampires.

"YES! I GET TO PLAN ANOTHER WEDDING!" Alice squealed as she launched onto Cecily. Embry rolled his eyes and looked back down at Mara, who was wincing in pain again.

"Okay, that was painful," she said, bringing her other hand up and starting to massage her temples.

"I'm so sorry, Embry. I tried to get her to stay, but she-"

Embry put a hand up, stopping Seth, who had just run up to them.

"It's okay," he said. Knowing Mara, she probably threatened to come out on her own if Seth hadn't helped her get there.

"But you have to admit, it was pretty kick ass," Seth said, now smiling at Mara. "I mean, nearly shit my pants when I saw that other ghost in the living room earlier, but that… how did you do that?" Embry looked back at Mara, his eyebrows raised. Other ghost?

"A lot of concentration," Mara replied, still rubbing her head and grimacing. "Do you have to talk so loudly?"

"Think you can hold on? I can carry you back like this and we'd get there okay, but it's faster if I shift," Embry said, sensing Mara was getting to the end of her patience with the killer headache she obviously had. She hadn't been all that wonderful with the others she got the last few times she tried to push her gift. Mara started grinning, her brown eyes lighting up as she temporarily forgot about the pain.

"I get to ride a werewolf?" she asked. Embry rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Shapeshifter," he muttered, though he stepped away from her and shifted.

Mara clamored up on his back, getting settled. Embry then looked over at the others and woofed before taking off through the woods, Mara gripping his fur tightly, though he heard her laugh.

For now, he was going to take what they got. Mara was safe and this problem was over. Hopefully it would be a long time before something else came up.

Mara lay on her side, watching as Embry stepped out of the bathroom and headed to the dresser to get out a pair of pajama pants. The fight from earlier felt like it was ages ago - years ago - even though it had only been a few hours. After the wolves had a quick briefing at Sam's - and she had taken as many pain killers as she could without overdosing - Embry had loaded her up in the car, making the three-and-a-half hour drive back to Seattle in record time.

Or well, she had fallen asleep so it felt like a blink of an eye.

After she showered she had nearly fallen asleep yet again, but sensing his presence, she was now once again awake, pushing herself up to sit in the bed as he quickly dressed and crawled in next to her.

He was still slightly damp, but she ran her fingers over his chest, taking in the scattering of scars there. She almost couldn't tell that he had been in a battle to the death that afternoon.

"Think you could explain what happened now?" he asked softly. She looked up at him and nodded as he put his arm around her and pulled her closer. She settled her head on his shoulder.

"So, Dad left me a letter, telling me about… everything," she said, going back to Emily and Sam's living room. "And some stories about what others like us could do. One could conjure up the spirits of the dead. Communicate with them. I gave it a shot - brought Dad back."

"Holy shit, Mara," Embry said. She smiled softly and glanced up at him.

"I know," she replied.

"But… how did you… what made you come out to the fight?" he asked.

"Well, Seth came in and said we needed to move. That things weren't looking good and it just popped into my head," she explained. "If I could do that with Dad, maybe I could do it with others. More than one. I know that there used to be tribes all over this land back in the day. Seemed like more than enough to distract the vampires enough. To be honest, I wasn't completely sure it would work…"

"But you had to try something," Embry said with a sigh, already knowing what would be her reasoning. Mara nodded.

"And it worked," she said.

"But you almost gave yourself an aneurysm," Embry said. "Really should have let Carlisle look you over." Mara waved her hand in the air.

"The headache is gone. I'll make an appointment to get a head scan if you're that worried about it," she said. Embry just tightened his hold on her and kissed her head. "But I don't think I'm going to try doing something that big for a while. If ever. Should probably work on smaller stuff and build up to it."

The two were silent a few moments, allowing everything that happened that day to sink in. Everything truly was over with the vampires. They could go back to normal life. And then in a few months, they would go back up to Forks for Cecily and Demetri's wedding.

Mara couldn't help as she held Embry a little bit tighter. She had almost lost him today. Hell, she had almost gotten herself killed.

"You know it's going to be okay, right?" Embry said softly.

"I know," she replied. "But still… a lot happened today…"

Embry sat up slightly, pulling Mara up so that he was looking into her eyes.

"I won't let them get to you," he vowed. Mara swallowed and nodded. She wasn't sure if there was a whole lot Embry could do against a group of ancient, powerful vampires. She shivered slightly, remembering the brief moment she had looked between the wolves and made eye contact with the leader - Aro. She knew he had seen her.

She knew that when he said "Until we meet again," he was speaking directly to her. She had held her breath, her heart pounding. But then he just nodded towards her and then left.

Mara wasn't sure what it meant and that terrified her to an extent. There was no telling if or when they would come back or what they wanted with her. They had gotten there after the fighting stopped.

"Hey, Mara, I told you. It's over," Embry said, taking her face in his large hands. She hadn't realized that she started crying. She nodded, not yet ready to voice her fears out loud. She would - she didn't keep secrets from Embry, after all. But right now, she didn't want to dwell on the what-ifs.

Instead, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

"I love you," she breathed, not moving away from him.

"I love you, too."

So, finished the last chapter and decided to just post everything in one go.

Thanks for reading and following!