Edward couldn't remember the last time he had seen Bella look this genuinely happy. Sure, they had a lot of fun in La Push over spring break, but there was something different happening today, some kind of light in her eyes that he was sure he had never seen before. All remained a mystery to him until Rosalie got within range of his gift, her mental voice joining the never-ending, discordant chorus of thoughts that he dealt with on a daily basis.

His mouth formed a small 'o', and Bella, who was walking across the parking lot towards him, increased her pace and reached up to grab him by the jaw before he could say anything.

"I washn't gonna shay anyfin'!" he said, raising his arms to swat at her.

She stared him down, refusing to release her grip.

"I shwear! I'll kee' 'y 'ig 'outh' shut!"

"Absolutely incomprehensible," she said, letting go of his face.

"I said, I'll keep my big mouth shut," he repeated, rubbing his jaw. "I know when my opinions are and aren't needed."

"Never stopped you from running your mouth before," said Rosalie.

Edward mimed zipping his lips, locking them, and then throwing away the key.

"Good. Well, how was your night at Jacob's?" Bella asked.

"We, uh, played a lot of Mario Kart. Like, an excessive amount."

"That's not a euphemism for anything, is it?" Rose asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"You told me to shut up, so now I'm telling you to shut up," he said, eyes narrowed. "No, it's not. We fully played Mario Kart for like three or four hours. Seth even came over for a bit. It was intense competition."

"Wow, nerd," said Bella, shoving him with her shoulder. "I'm glad you had fun, though. Did Billy bother you?"

"No, he seemed fine. I think he's coming around, slowly but surely."

"Good. Good to hear."

They started to walk up to the center of campus. Bella's backpack weighed heavy on her shoulders. She had slipped on her schoolwork since they got back from spring break, and now she only had a few weeks to catch up before finals started. She was turning in late assignments for partial credit and starting work on essays whose due dates were inching closer every day.

"You guys don't seem stressed out at all," she said, looking at Edward and Rosalie, who were going about business as usual.

"Well, this isn't the first time we've been through college, and it certainly won't be the last," said Rosalie.

"Yeah, at this point we're just going through the motions," said Edward.

Bella groaned and tugged on the straps of her backpack. Rosalie gave her a pat on the back.

"Hey, if it's any consolation, this is only your first time around. You'll have plenty more chances."

"I honestly don't know if that helps or not."

"Well, we're always here to help if you need anything."

And she did. Bella ended up spending a lot of time with Jasper, whom she shared several classes with, going over essays and getting a lot of assistance from him. She never directly cheated, but it was certainly helpful to have a vampire with two centuries of life experience under his belt to explain things to her for her history papers.

Bella threw herself into her schoolwork. She was lucky that she had always been good at distracting herself with assignments. When the world around her was in chaos, it was a good idea to tackle smaller problems that could be easily solved with a bit of thought.

And she felt better in general, about everything. She felt that she had stabilized her relationship with Rosalie more than enough, and she had faith that between the pack and the Cullens, the looming threat of the Valenti family would be dealt with.

Bella was feeling surprisingly "normal". So normal that she was taking more time to hang out with her human friends in and outside of school. She still felt bad about what had happened with Angela, so she was making it up by being extra nice to her and indulging her in a lot of her hobbies. On Saturday, she ended up on something of a double date with Leah and Angela, walking some trails near Second Beach so Angela could finish up a project for her photography class.

"One day you'll be doing this for Nat Geo," said Bella, sitting atop a big rock ledge and swinging her legs. Angela was crouched beside her in what had to be an uncomfortable position, doing her best to catch a tiny beam of sunlight streaming through the trees. "And Leah can be your trophy wife."

"Bella, I will strangle you," Leah deadpanned.

"You can absolutely try."

"Ladies, ladies, you're both pretty," said Angela without taking her eye away from the viewfinder. "Please be quiet for like ten seconds."

Click. Click. Click. Click.

"Do you always take four shots?" Rosalie asked.

"You noticed that?" Angela asked, looking over her shoulder at her.

Rosalie seemed a bit flustered; she had definitely just done a vampire thing by noticing such a tiny detail. "Uh, yeah, I… uh…"

"Sometimes I take more, but I always like for it to be an even number. It's just a thing I do."

"Yeah, like, I always eat two gummy bears at a time," said Bella. "Even numbers are good. Sexy, even."

Leah helped Angela to her feet, making sure she didn't stumble forward and fall off the ledge they were all standing on the edge of. Angela dusted off the knees of her jeans, and they continued forward. Bella linked arms with Rosalie and shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

"So what's the theme for this project?" Bella asked.

"The keyword for the assignment was 'hope'," said Angela, stopping and raising the camera to her eye again. Rosalie could see that she was trying to capture the distant ocean. "So my project is 'Sun After Rain', which is very tired, I know, but the challenge is in getting the exact right weather conditions. Today is perfect. I need a vibe that's like, overcast but with breaks."

She was right. There was intermittent sun, which made things a bit risky for Rosalie, who was wearing a hoodie and sunglasses just in case she were to be exposed. They were under the cover of the forest, though, so there was no direct sunlight.

"I think it's a great idea," said Leah, who thought everything Angela did was a great idea.

"It's definitely got some merit. Absolutely something that a lot of people can relate to," said Bella.

"You can only do so much with a word like 'hope'. You know what Ben's doing? He's doing portrait shots of inpatients at the hospital."

Bella snorted and almost tripped.

"I think I heard Carlisle talking about that," said Rosalie. "He said something about some dopey kid with a camera talking to the executive staff about taking pictures of people. Had to fill out a bunch of forms and shit. Said he was a real annoyance."

"Harsh words from Dr. Cullen!" Bella said, unable to contain her giggles.

"It's in poor taste," said Leah.

"Oh, for sure," said Bella. "Also just so, so funny."

They arrived at a fork in the trail that was begging to be photographed (and surely had been by hundreds of folks before Angela). She stopped them and stepped back, turning the camera vertically and framing the shot. After a few minutes of figuring out how she wanted it to look, she lowered the camera.

"Bella, would you mind being a model for a hot second?" she asked.

Leah pouted. "Not me?"

"No, I just… Bella has this vibe."

Bella raised her eyebrows. "Oh? What kind of vibe?"

"One that I want. Come here."

Angela grabbed Bella by the shoulders and guided her to the center of the trail, placing her squarely in the middle of the fork.

"Okay, face away from me, looking out, and cross your arms over your chest."

Bella did so, but she stood up straight and lifted her shoulders back.

"Too posed. I need this to look candid. Relax. Slouch, like you usually do."

Bella glared at Angela over her shoulder. "I know I have bad posture, but you don't have to call me out on it."

Angela raised the camera again. "We all have bad posture. Slouch."

Bella sighed and let her shoulders drop. She did not hear the click of the camera.

"Is there a problem?"

"Something's still off. Look… look up."

"Like, at the sky?"

"At the treetops."

"So, not the sky."

"Just look up. Don't tilt your head back too much, though."

"Maybe you should apply at Vogue."

"Very funny."

Bella turned her eyes towards the canopy of greenery looming above, keeping the spontaneous sunlight from bearing down on the four of them. She did her best to keep her pose relaxed, trying not to think about the fact that she was posing for a photo.

Sunlight, mediated by cloud cover, leaked through the pine needles like honey, casting a soft, golden glow on the forest floor.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

"Alright, that was perfect! Thanks."

Bella didn't leave the spot right away, staring up for a moment longer, admiring the view.

-X-

As Edward had said, he was just going through the motions. He would finish his assignments and wind up with a lot of spare time, leaving him so bored that he would voluntarily go on patrols around their territory to keep an eye out for any troublemakers. Of course, it also left him with a lot of time to spend with Jacob, who was in a similar yet wholly opposite situation.

"Yeah, they pulled me into the office on Monday and told me that I was gonna graduate no matter what. With honors," Jake had told him over the phone. "Which is great, not gonna lie, but it just feels… I don't know."

"I think I get it. You feel like you didn't earn it."

"Sort of? I mean, goddamn, I've earned something with all the work I've been doing, but I don't know if that's a high school diploma."

"Try not overthink it. You deserve it. It's not like you were a terrible student before or anything."

Edward laid back on his futon. He raised his arm and stared at the back of his hand.

"You're right. So, I'm exempt from any exam I can't attend, which is looking like most of them. I hope I'll be able to at least make it to the graduation ceremony." Jacob sighed. "The thing that really bugs me is just that… no one at school really knows. They don't understand why me and the other guys are getting this special treatment. I don't think anyone is exactly talking shit about us, but… I hate all the secrecy."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're never really gonna get away from that. And you even get to tell some people. Like, most of your close friends and family are well aware of what's going on. You can take some comfort in that."

"Once again, you're right."

"I'm a vampire of infinite wisdom." He sat up. "Listen, what if we do something on Friday, then? Just the two of us."

"I do think I'm off wolf duty on Friday… Sure. It's a date."

"A date it is."

Jacob didn't have the best memories of the Park. The one bonfire party he had attended had gone so far south that it had crossed the border, and it had been exceptionally hard to get the events of that night out of his mind lately. But, some local band was playing the grassy clearing on Friday night, and Edward insisted that they attend.

"Is this a secret concert?" Jacob asked as they walked through the woods. Edward hadn't wanted to drive, so they were taking the long, scenic route down from the Cullen house.

"Sort of. Nothing's really a secret in this town."

"Oh, you better hope a few things are," said Jacob, laughing.

"Okay, maybe some things are a secret. But, yes, this is a 'secret' performance, except everyone knows about it." Edward shoved his hands in his pockets. "Small towns have to get good at practicing plausible deniability."

Neither of them knew anyone in the band, but "secret" flyers had been floating around PC all week, and they were a small name in the area. They had played a few legit venues in Port Angeles prior to this, and they had garnered a following in the locals. Edward was mostly interested in seeing just how good they actually were, as he hadn't yet been able to scope them out.

The Park was set up in much the same way it had been for the bonfire, but instead of a flaming pyre in the center, there was a ramshackle stage set up closer to the treeline. Eric was still manning a folding table laden with plastic handles of liquor and store brand 2 liters. Folks were still filtering in, but the band was already playing. Edward took Jacob by the hand without thinking about it and led him to Eric instead of the growing crowd around the stage. Jacob flushed; he had never held his hand in public before.

"Eric, my man! What's the cover?" Edward asked, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet.

"Eight bucks."

"Pricey!"

Edward let go of Jake's hand to start counting out sixteen bucks.

"It's a concert, not a party. What can I do you for?"

"I'll have a gin lemonade. Jake?"

"Uh, is there beer?"

"Rainier, PBR, and Busch," said Eric as he opened a cooler beside the table, revealing a variety of beers buried in a nest of ice.

"Rainier, please."

Eric skillfully poured up Edward's drink (he was getting pretty good at bartending) and plucked a can from the ice for Jacob, then accepted the wad of bills. Edward took a sip from his cup, thought on it for a moment, and then nodded.

"Good work!"

Eric rolled his eyes and smiled just a little. "It's Gordon's and powdered lemonade, man."

"And it's mixed well."

Jacob popped the tab on his beer and took a long swig. He had grown up watching his dad drink Rainier and he was starting to see why he and Charlie stuck so closely to their favorite brand.

The band was standard fare for the PNW: a group of three guys and one girl, all dressed in varying shades of plaid and earth tones. The lead singer (who also played guitar, apparently) had a faded undercut, a beard, and was wearing a pair of Chelsea boots. He sounded like any other indie folk vocalist.

"So far, they're… okay," Edward said into his cup.

"Think you could do better?"

"Oh, absolutely. Have I not played enough for you?"

No, never enough, Jacob thought, knowing full well that Edward could hear him.

"This isn't even an original song," Edward said. "It's a Fleet Foxes cover."

"It sounds nice."

"It's fine."

Jacob knew he was mostly here to listen to Edward harp on every minute thing the musicians were doing wrong that he didn't understand, and he was content to do that if he was allowed to make his own snide remarks about Edward's snooty musical opinions every so often. Jake had to admit that he learned a thing or two from it all, and he enjoyed seeing Edward behave so passionately.

After an hour or so, the Park was absolutely packed and they were having a hard time getting back to the bar, so Edward decided it was time to bounce. The two of them slipped out behind the stage and disappeared into the trees, leaving behind the moody band and their knockoff folk tunes. Once they were far enough away, Edward broke into a sudden sprint, flitting up a hill and stopping atop a fallen tree.

"Hey! I can't move that fast," Jacob called out, running up the hill behind him.

"Oh? How do you expect to ever catch a vampire, then?"

Edward stuck out his tongue and disappeared again just as Jacob reached the crest of the hill. He bounced across a small valley and stopped again several hundred feet away. Fed up with his antics, Jacob pulled off his shirt, kicked off his shoes, and leapt into the air, destroying his shorts as his body exploded into a mass of russet fur. The giant wolf tore after Edward, who took off yet again, leading him on a zig-zagging chase up the side of the mountain.

Get back here, idiot! Jacob snapped at him.

"Absolutely not!"

They played a ridiculous game of supernatural tag to the top of the mountain, where the air grew cold but neither felt the chill. Edward slid to a stop at the edge of a cliff, and Jacob almost ran into him.

The world was laid out before the two of them. To the southwest, the lights of Forks were gleaming through the trees. To the east, there was nothing but peaks and valleys. Above, the night sky was surprisingly clear, allowing the stars a peek at the land below.

It's beautiful.

"Yeah. It really is."

Jacob could hear the distant thoughts of Embry and Jared as they ran their patrols around the border of the reservation, but he was far enough out to muffle them a bit and focus on the here and now. It was strangely comforting to know that Edward could hear his thoughts. There was nothing more frustrating about being a wolf than the fact that he couldn't speak properly, but Edward could hear him loud and clear. Nothing would be misinterpreted, nothing would be left unsaid.

The two of them stayed there for a while, sitting in what would seem like silence to an outsider.

They were in for an unfortunate surprise when they eventually descended the mountain; about halfway down, Jacob caught the scent of an unfamiliar vampire on the wind. Edward could smell it too, and while he couldn't place it exactly, there was a sharp edge to it that identified the intruder as a Valenti.

"It's not Lucrezia, but it's one of her underlings," he said before taking off at a speed so fast that Jacob found it hard to keep up with him. "When we get close, you hang back. We'll make them think it's just me out here, and when they think they have the upper hand, you pounce. Alright?"

Got it.

Jacob peeled off from Edward and slowed down, letting him get well ahead. Edward tore down the mountainside at breakneck speeds. He hit a cliff edge towards the bottom and used it to launch himself into the air, breaking through the treetops and soaring above the forest before spotting the Valenti underling and aiming his descent directly at the invading vampire.

The Valenti agent rolled out of the way at the last second, causing Edward to create a sizable crater in the earth, dirt spraying up into the air around him as he landed.

"You smell like shit, asshole," she spat.

"Shut the fuck up," he growled, leaping at her.

The two of them wrestled, clawing at each other's faces, trying to get a grip on anything that could be torn off, be it a limb or a head. Jacob, who was watching from a safe distance, thought it looked a bit like two feral cats fighting, what with the way they swatted and scratched each other.

Edward managed to get his arms around her waist. He planted both feet on the ground and spun, throwing the agent a few hundred feet. She collided with a large rock, causing a large crack to split down its center. Edward wasn't expecting her to get up as quickly as she did; the agent charged him mere seconds after she recovered, pinning him down and putting him in a chokehold.

Jacob took that as his queue. She definitely heard him coming, his massive paws thundering against the forest floor as he ran to join the fight, but she clearly didn't expect him to be there at all. Jacob jumped up and knocked her away from Edward, who rolled over and was back on his feet in no time. The two of them circled the agent, whose eyes darted back and forth between the two of them.

"Okay, clearly I'm in over my head here," she said, raising both hands defensively. "But if you let me go, I'll… I'll send a warning to Madam Lucrezia."

"I think she's been warned enough," said Edward, his voice low. Jacob snarled in agreement.

Edward made a quick motion with his right hand that Jacob barely caught, but he reacted instantly, leaping onto the agent's back and pinning her under his paws, putting his full weight on her. She tried to raise herself up, but Jacob pressed a paw into the back of her head, holding her firmly to the ground. Edward knelt down in front of her, scratching his chin. He was trying to read her thoughts, but she was too scared to give him anything useful. For a moment, he considered restraining her and going to get Jasper, but it was too risky. Vampires were notoriously conniving creatures, and she could easily worm her way out of this.

"Move your paw to her back and hold tight," he told Jacob, and he reached down, taking the sides of her head into his hands.

CRRRRRACK.

-X-

Alice was waiting for them back at the house, sitting on the back deck, anxiously tapping her feet. When she saw Edward and Jacob walking through the trees, she bolted across the yard to them, crashing into her brother and wrapping her arms around hi,

"Oh thank god," she said, releasing a breath that she had no doubt been holding for quite some time. "I hate not being able to see you."

Edward smiled sadly, wrapping one arm around her and patting her head softly. In her thoughts, he could see the blurry visions she had been having for the past hour. Alice was getting better at seeing the wolves in her visions, but Jacob still threw her off quite a bit.

"Sorry Ali," he whispered. "Didn't mean to make you worry."

Jasper stepped outside. "You get 'em?"

"Yeah, we took care of it."

He frowned. "Things are looking worse than we thought."

As Edward held Alice and filtered through more of her thoughts, he understood what Jasper meant. Nothing was clear, but he could see what Alice had seen. Hazy images of plans, decisions being made and unmade, the dictating of responsibilities. He let go of Alice, letting her go to Jasper's side.

"She's fucking insane," he muttered. "All this, just for revenge. Just for Bella."

"Vampire tunnel vision," said Jasper. "Doesn't surprise me at all. I saw far too many fall victim to strong emotions back in my day. She won't stop until she gets what she wants."

Then we'll have to stop her, Jacob thought, and Edward nodded.

"It'll be fine. Can't say for sure, but it looks like her following is getting smaller from what I could see in Alice's visions. She's losing her influence."

"But she still has some, not to mention she knows how to create and control ghouls."

"I don't know how far she can go down that road without her Volturi funding," said Alice. "It seemed like that was something that took a lot of time and resources."

"Still, we don't know," said Jasper. "I hate to be the pessimist here, but I've got to be. Better to prep for the worst than assume the best."

"You're right," said Edward. "But we can't be so pessimistic that we start to feel like we're going to be fighting a losing battle. Besides, we've got wolves on our side."

He smiled and placed a hand atop Jacob's head, running his fingers through his thick fur.

"A double edged sword. No offence," said Alice.

Some taken, Jacob thought, knowing only Edward could hear him.

"Alright, enough moodiness. We were having a good night before this. I think it should continue," said Edward, waving his hand in an attempt to dispel the negative energy in the air. "Someone text Rosalie."

"Way ahead of you," said Alice, already tapping away on her phone.

"As always."

Miles away, Rosalie's phone buzzed. She was sitting on the windowsill in Bella's room, looking out into the woods. She read Alice's message and sighed quietly, glancing at her mate, who was fast asleep, blissfully unaware of the potential danger lurking in the dark.

Rosalie wished she could stay like that forever.

-X-

Jasper had grown very fond of Bella. In the beginning, he tolerated her presence. It was hard for him to truly be friends with a human being in his current state; he was still plagued by bouts of bloodthirst, spending most of his time at school holding his breath and trying not to talk too much. Admittedly, he had gotten a lot better in the past few months. He was proud of his progress but careful not to be overconfident in his self-control.

Since Bella had unfortunately traded her pleasant, lively aroma for a more familiar and macabre one, she had become drastically easier to be around, and Jasper enjoyed the time he spent with her. They were the type to sit in silence together, enjoying each other's company and occasionally sharing some deep and meaningful conversation about personal struggles. She didn't shy from a whiskey bottle either.

Unlike the rest of his family, Jasper's new life had begun in a world of blood and war. He was taught not only to fight, but to strategize. Already a soldier, he was an adept student of the ways of vampiric warfare in his early days. He absorbed as much as he could from Maria, and that knowledge would never fade from his mind. While Carlisle was smart and knew many of these things just as well as Jasper did, he was a peacemaker first and foremost, and so it fell to his oldest son to take the lead in battle strategies. Thankfully, this was rarely ever asked of him. The Cullens avoided conflict like the plague, preferring to live in reclusive peace, for the most distancing themselves from those of their kind who didn't share their ideals.

Every so often someone would force their hand. A group of rambunctious nomads. A small coven of territorial troublemakers. And, now, an ancient, established vampire family. Jasper knew little of the Valentis, and this was by design; they were a historically secretive bunch that had rode on the coattails of the Volturi for centuries and hidden in their massive shadow. The Volturi had always funded vampire researchers, but the Valenti family had consistently been working with them from the beginning, and yet much of their research went unpublished or was never made public. Knowing what had happened recently, Jasper wondered how much of that research that the Volturi themselves even knew of.

It was clear that Lucrezia was extraordinarily ambitious, and ambition was not something that Aro was fond of. Anyone making big moves ended up squashed under his heel like an insignificant insect and subsequently wiped away as if they had never been there at all. But he had let her walk free, all because Bella hesitated to condemn her to death.

Deep down, Jasper knew why. He had heard the rumors, just as everyone had, about the Volturi's penchant for tearing covens apart and mercifully pardoning one or two members only to rope them into the guard and tie them down tight. Why not let a woman scorned do the dirty work for them, only to swoop in at the last second to clean up the broken pieces?

It wouldn't happen. Jasper wouldn't let it happen.

All these thoughts ran through Jasper's mind as he sat through yet another chemistry class, barely listening to the teacher go over things he already knew. As it was the end of the year, the professor let them out early, reminding them that their finals would, in fact, be comprehensive, and warning them to go over material from the start of the semester. Jasper would not do this; he remembered the material from the start of the semester, and the semester before that, and before that, and so on. It was old news.

He was walking alone when he caught the scent. None of his family were nearby, nor was Bella herself (she was in her music appreciation class with Edward). Jasper just barely recognized it, as he rarely let himself breathe easy in the presence of so many humans. Yet the scent prevailed, a sharp note among the dull musk of humanity. It made him stop in his tracks, inhaling tentatively to confirm and getting the full body of the scent this time, the aroma of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Jasper's nose was more his enemy than his friend, but it was infallible. He was not gifted in the art of tracking like one such as Demetri, but he had earned the skill with years of practice. Fighting down his base instincts, Jasper broke into a brisk stride, pushing other students out of his way. He followed the scent out of the building, into the courtyard, and broke into a slight jog when it led him up the hillside behind the school, into the trees.

The scent was faint. The source was far. But the trail was there.

A vampire—a Valenti—had been at PC.

Jasper found Alice first and told her, and the information spread from there. They made the decision not to tell Bella until the school day was over; she had been in a particularly good mood lately, and they wanted to wait as long as they could before they were forced to ruin that.

Bella, of course, did not take the information well.

"What do you mean 'here'? Did you see someone? What were they doing?"

"No, I didn't see anyone. Just a scent. Very faint. I think they probably came around, smelled all of us—and maybe Leah too—and decided that it was too risky to stick around. But they were here," said Jasper.

Bella held her hands over her mouth, eyes unfocused. Edward didn't need his gift to know that her thoughts were running out of control.

"It's alright," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Nothing happened, and there's way too many people around here for them to do anything."

"Yeah, but they had the gall to show up here! At our school! This isn't just about me anymore, guys, this about everyone we know! Anyone could be in danger!"

"Bella is, unfortunately, right," said Alice. "And we can't keep a reliable eye on everyone we know. I mean, we could, but we'd be spread too thin."

"Is she actually planning something?" Bella asked, leaning towards her.

"Nothing concrete. I think she knows that going at you directly isn't going to work, and she can't get at Charlie. She's scoping out her options," said Alice. "And not making any decisions about it."

Bella sat down in the trunk of Edward's Volvo, her arms crossed and her head hung low. No one said anything. She raised a fist and slammed it down on the inside of the trunk so hard that the SUV bounced from the impact. She was breathing hard, her chest clearly rising and falling rapidly.

"What the fuck are we supposed to do then?"

"All we can do is wait, and be on our guard," said Jasper. "I'm really sorry, Bella, but we can't make any moves if we have no idea what's goin' on."

"Can't we stop playing defence and go on the offensive? Hunt her down instead?"

"We have no idea how many of her 'family members' are left, or if they're even stationed anywhere near here. They could be in Seattle, or even further than that for all we know," said Edward, looking at her apologetically. "We can't just wage an all out war on a threat we don't fully understand."

"It's unfortunate, but we have to admit that they have the drop on us," said Jasper. "But—and this is a very important 'but'—this is our territory. No matter where they decide to strike, we have the upper hand. And, with the pack, we might even outnumber them."

This did little to assuage Bella's fears and frustrations, so Jasper leaned in with his gift, but he found it harder than usual to push down her anxiety because he was struggling with his own.

The six of them stood in a circle in the parking lot, no one daring to meet another's eyes, because they all had to admit that, even if she was overreacting, Bella was right. They had been overconfident. The Valenti threat wasn't something that they could laugh off while they did their human dances.

"We should head home," Edward said quietly. "It's getting late."

"Yeah. I'll touch base with Carlisle when we get back. We should have another meetin' with the pack soon, go over our strategies," said Jasper.

Everyone nodded and they piled into their respective cars. Bella sat with Rosalie in the back seat of Edward's Volvo, leaning against her shoulder and loosely holding her hand. Edward put on some somber music. No one spoke.

-X-

Bella couldn't decide if the days were passing quickly or slowly. They simply happened, time passing her by whether she cared to pay attention to it or not. Before she knew it, it was Thursday.

"Don't forget about the cookout tonight," Charlie said as he passed by her in the kitchen that morning.

She had forgotten. Bella felt as though nothing good or fun was allowed to happen anymore. She had spent the past two days moving in a fog, to the point where she was sure those unaware of her current situation had started to notice that something was up. Jessica—who Bella thought barely paid her any mind—even asked her if she was feeling okay the day before.

And, for the first time, the Cullens were no better. Alice and Emmett still did their best to keep up their chipper attitudes, but every now and then Alice would go catatonic, overcome by a vision, and Edward's already sullen expression would fall further, and no one would say anything, but the entire family's mood would hit rock bottom in an instant, knowing that whatever she had seen couldn't be good.

"The cookout, right," said Bella as she poured herself what would be her fourth cup of coffee that day (she hadn't slept). "The pa—I mean, the, uh… Billy and them are coming over, right?"

Bella mentally scolded herself for almost slipping up and using "secret words" in front of her father. She was having an increasingly hard time separating the supernatural world from her normal day to day. For a second, she was stunned by the fact that Charlie didn't, and couldn't, know that his daughter was constantly in mortal danger. And so was he.

God, I don't wanna think about this right now!

Charlie gave her an odd look before saying, "Yeah, Billy, Sue, and the kids. The usual. You'll be home on time, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure."

"You sure you don't wanna invite any of your friends? Maybe Rosalie?"

Bella's phone was sitting on the counter, opened to a group chat conversation with the Cullens about how they were having a meeting with Sam that night.

"No, they have family plans tonight. We'll have a good time without them, I swear," she said, forcing a smile.

Charlie chuckled. "Damn right we will, kiddo. Alright, I'll see you this evening! Stay sharp!"

He shot finger guns at her as he walked out the front door, and Bella fired back, making a few "pew pew" sounds for emphasis. Charlie pretended to have been shot as he closed the door. She heard him stumble down the front steps.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes once he was gone. She didn't have the mental energy to participate in a good ol' cookout with her dad, but she didn't have much of a choice. At least Jacob, Leah, and Seth would be there too, and they would all be just as worn out.

She took a sip of her coffee and decided to fix another cup in a travel mug for class.

Bella had been on top of wrapping up her spring semester, and she hadn't yet fallen apart after Monday's terrifying revelation, so she was determined to power through to finals and wrap up her first year of college with flying colors. She reminded herself that she had finished her senior year of high school in the midst of what she had previously considered the worst period of her life, so she found it fitting that she was having another major crisis now (only this time, the threat to her life was not coming from inside the house).

She was not surprised, but startled when Angela and Jessica asked to join the Cullens and Leah at lunch. They ate together sometimes, but not often. Bella could feel everyone growing exhausted with the thought of having to put on a show for these two humans, but there was no way they could turn them down without coming off as weird at best and incredibly rude at worst.

"Yeah, sure," said Bella, scooting over to make space.

"It's just, you guys have seemed really down lately, and we don't wanna pry, but we thought we could just… I dunno, extend the olive branch," said Jessica.

Not what that means, Bella thought.

"Oh, yeah, it's just, uh…" she looked to the Cullens for help.

"We had a death in the family," Alice said. "Carlisle's brother passed on Monday. Lung cancer."

"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry!" said Angela. "Again, we really did not mean to pry."

"No, it's really nice of you to be concerned," said Emmett. "We were, uh, very close with him growing up. He was a bit of a funcle, y'know."

"Yeah, it was always a party when, um, Pete was around," said Edward. "He visited a lot. Bella got to know him quite well."

"It's been tough. I only met him a few times, but I feel like I really got to know him," said Bella, toying with a balled up straw rapper and trying not to smile at the Cullens' antics. "Good ol' Pete."

"I know how it is. My mom's brother died a couple years back and…"

Jessica launched into one of her long stories and they just let her go. When it was time for some of them to head off to class, Angela pulled Bella aside before she could leave with Leah, Jessica, and Jasper to head to Spanish.

"Hey, hold up for a sec. Listen, if you ever need anything, you can always ask me, okay?" she said quietly.

Bella was surprised by this. "Um, yeah, totally."

"I know you rely a lot on the Cullens and that's fine, you are dating Rosalie. And I know you have your friends on the rez, but I just…" Angela blushed a little. "I don't know. I want you to know that we're here for you too. You can always ask us for help if you need it."

I really wish I could.

"Thanks, Ang. That means a lot to hear, seriously."

Angela smiled and gave Bella a quick, light hug before letting her go.

"See you later!"

Bella waved as they parted ways.

She found it hard to pay attention in Spanish, her mind wandering down a thousand different trails, but she steeled herself and focused on the final review. When class was over, she went down to the parking lot and curled up in the back of Rosalie's open convertible to wait for her mate to get out of class.

Thirty minutes later, Rosalie found Bella sleeping peacefully in the backseat. She didn't wake her until they were back in Forks.

"Did I really sleep the whole way here?"

"You really did, babe. It was impressive."

"Thanks for letting me sleep."

"I couldn't bear to wake you." Rosalie gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Have fun at your cookout."

"I don't know if that's possible, but I'll do my best to make the others suffer with me."

Bella went up to her room to drop off her bag. She peeked out the window and could see Charlie down in the yard, making sure the grill was all ready to go. She stepped into the bathroom to take a look at herself in the mirror. If she was being honest, she didn't look that different. The dark circles under her eyes were no worse than they usually were. She rubbed her face, then splashed some water on her cheeks. She couldn't feel the shock of the cool water on her skin like she used to, so it did nothing to help her readjust.

Charlie offered her a beer once she came outside, and she gladly accepted, popping the tab and taking a long swig.

"How was school?" he asked as he kneeled and made sure the propane tank was securely in place.

"It was school. Finals and all that."

"Everything going alright? Grade-wise, I mean. I know I don't check in on that stuff much, but that's because I trust you're doing good."

"Yeah, it's fine. A little stressful, sure, but I'll pull through. Sometimes it's easier than high school, to be honest."

"Really?"

"I mean, it's just gen ed. Nothing too complex. Yet."

"Well, that's good to hear. I hope it all goes smoothly, and then you can transfer on out. Any idea where you wanna go?"

Bella tilted her head back and forth. She was getting better at coming up with these kinds of lies.

"I mean, U-Dub seems nice. A lot of people are talking about transferring up there, so why not? It's not too close but it's not too far either. I could still come down here and visit everyone."

Charlie stood up and put his hands on his hips. "Cullens thinking about going there too?"

"Uh, yeah. They actually have a place in Seattle, so it's kind of ideal."

"And you're thinking about staying with them, right?"

Bella got a bit flustered. Her loosely theoretical scenario was getting out of hand.

"I… uh… guess?"

He scratched his chin. "Well, y'know… That's alright. It'd save you some money if you had a place to stay, and I'm sure they'd be glad to have you. You practically live in their house sometimes. If I didn't know it was okay with them I'd be scolding you for taking advantage of their good graces."

"Trust me, dad, they've done so much for me that it's made me uncomfortable more often than not."

He laughed. "Ah, like father, like daughter. I've never been one for all those kinds of luxuries. A simple man with simple tastes." He took a drink. "A nice cold can of Rainier on a muggy evening in April."

Bella saw Sue's car coming down the road. She walked around the side of the house to greet them while Charlie continued his set up. Sue had brought Billy along with her. She was helping him get into his wheelchair while Seth and Leah carried all of Sue's food offerings. Jacob was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Jake?"

"He'll be along in a bit. Drove separately," said Billy. He looked around to make sure Charlie was out of earshot. "Just in case. He's at Sam's right now, with Carlisle and the others."

"Right, right."

Bella led them around the back, where Charlie happily greeted all of them and also questioned Jacob's absence. Billy gave the simple excuse of a school assignment he had to finish up before coming.

"Well, he better get here before these burgers get cold!" Charlie started laying patties on the grill.

Sue had, of course, bought fish fry with her, as well as some baked mac and cheese, and a package of store bought cookies from Ateara's.

Bella got some lawn chairs out of the shed and set them up in a circle for her, Seth, and Leah, putting them a good distance from where the adults had gathered around the grill to talk about adult-y things. She set an empty one aside for Jacob's eventual arrival.

"How're you holding up?" Bella asked Leah.

Leah sucked in air through her teeth. "Barely. Tribal Council can't exactly secure exemptions for me from PC like they can for the boys in high school, so I'm losing more sleep than most. I'm, uh, really lucky that Angela has been helping me get my work done."

"Pray tell, what does she think you're doing that's giving you such a hard time?"

Leah chuckled just a little. "I told her that I got a part-time job working nights at the resort because we're short on money. None of which is true, but I went so far as to get Jared to corroborate my story in case she goes asking around. To be fair, Sam is in the same boat as me with classes, but he's on a flex schedule so he's not exactly driving all the way up to Port Angeles every day like I am."

"Jake's taking some dual enrollment classes through PC, right? At the Forks site?"

"Through the Tribal School, so he's still getting out of those too."

"I'm just going to school like normal," Seth pouted.

Leah smacked him on the arm, hard. "Oh, boo hoo, you've actually got to learn things. You're not running yourself raw in the woods every night."

He rubbed the spot she had hit. "Sorry…"

"I know you wanna be a hero, Seth, but you really don't."

The three of them looked up to see Jacob standing over them, arms crossed. He shook his head and took a seat in the empty chair.

"I know, I know," said Seth. "It's easy to romanticize something I'm not doing myself."

"How was the meeting?" asked Bella, pivoting the conversation.

"It's not over yet, but Sam let me go early and promised a full recap later. I sat through most of the important parts; Jasper's just getting into the minute details right now. To sum it all up, we're going to try—keyword 'try'—to go on the offensive. Everyone's sick and tired of sitting around waiting for something to go wrong, so we're putting together a united front to start scanning the surrounding area. Scouting groups of three will start going out tomorrow to see if we can locate Lucrezia's hideout. If they find anything, they'll send a signal, and—if it's feasible—we'll attack." He scratched the back of his neck. "I like that we're taking action, but this is a huge shot in the dark. We've got no idea where they're coming from, and their base could be hundreds of miles away. We can't do this every day, either, because it would leave huge gaps in our perimeter security. The pack can't leave La Push defenseless. We're barely able to help the Cullens patrol Forks as we are now."

"It's a ton of ground to cover," said Leah, looking at the ground. "But at least we're doing something."

"Yeah. That eases my worries a little. I just… I just want this to be over with," said Bella.

"You're valid, man. This is hell," said Jacob, leaning back and putting his arms behind his head. A patch of blue sky opened up above them. "I want it to be over just as much as you do. I want us to just be able to hang out and have fun without thinking about our impending doom. I want all this—" With one hand, he gestured to the yard and the small cookout taking place. "—to be enjoyable again. I don't want to have to think about evil vampires lurking around every corner, waiting to eat my friends and family. I want…" He paused, watching the clouds above close up, that familiar grey blanket enveloping the world once more. "I want to feel normal again, even if I'm not."

Bella closed her eyes and nodded. The four of them were quiet, letting Jacob's words hang in the air until they were blown away by Charlie, approaching with a big smile on his face and a paper plate full of cooked burgers.

"Order up! There are more coming, but I thought I'd give you kids first pickings. You're all working hard with your school stuff. You deserve it."

They couldn't help but smile. Bella took the plate from her dad and took it over to the picnic table, where a spread of toppings and condiments awaited them. They decked out their burgers, filled their plates, and ate as happily as they could. There was no sense in stewing in their misery when their family was trying so hard to lift their spirits, even if some of them had no idea what was going on.

As they sat and ate, Sue came around to check up on them.

"Doing alright?" she asked, ruffling her son's hair.

Seth shook his head and smiled. "We're okay, mom."

"Could be better," Jacob said through a mouthful of food. "Mac and cheese is killer, though."

"Thank you, Jake." Sue glanced over her shoulder. Charlie was engaged in a heated conversation about sports with Billy, paying her and the kids no mind. "You kids deserve a break. Going through all of this, at your age… I don't have the words, honestly. I can't even begin to imagine what it's like, but I know that it hurts my heart to see my own children out there risking their lives. I wish there was something we could do to help you, but…"

Bella had been so caught up in the fact that her own father was unaware of her plight that she had almost forgotten that, for most of the pack, their parents knew what was going on. Billy was always so stern and serious that it just seemed like business as usual, but hearing Sue say that shifted her perspective. Here was a widowed mother, watching her two children go through unimaginable trauma and stress. One misstep and she could lose them.

Bella looked at Charlie, laughing and drinking beer with Billy, totally oblivious. She imagined what he would be like if he knew. They wouldn't be having this cookout, that's for sure. He'd probably be keeping her locked up, standing outside her room with a shotgun that wouldn't do any good against the enemy they were fighting. He'd be losing sleep, not eating, looking tired, getting more gray hairs…

She forced the scenario out of her mind. It wasn't doing her any good to imagine things like that.

Sue put a hand on Bella's shoulder. "I know I'm worried for my own children, but… Bella, I really can't begin to understand what you must be feeling right now. I know we didn't exactly get off on the right foot when you moved back here, but I hope you know that I love you, and I care about you. I have since you were little, just like I love Jacob over here." She ruffled his hair as well and he smiled and pushed her hand away. "You two are just as much my kids as Seth and Leah are."

"Hey, I didn't ask for more siblings!" Leah protested.

"She already treats me like shit!" said Seth.

"Language, young man," said Sue, pointing at him. "Now, Bella, I want you to remember this, okay? I know you've gotten deep in with your bloodsucker family, and I'm willing to accept that, but you can't forget us, and you can't forget Charlie. We will always be here for you, no matter what you choose. That's what family means."

Bella always hated crying in front of people. Deep down, she knew this was because Renne always scolded her for doing so. Her mother would make her cry, and then tell her to buck up and stop crying, that it wasn't that bad, that she was just being manipulative and trying to get her way with tears. Crying was embarrassing. Crying was showing her most vulnerable state to someone, and she had almost always been reprimanded for that.

Now, she couldn't cry anymore, no matter how much she wanted to, but the feeling, the motions of it were still there. No tears would grace her cheeks again, but she still felt that lump in her throat, her face still twisted up, her lip still trembled, she still shuddered when sobs wracked her body.

Sue kissed her forehead, gave her a hug, and gently rubbed circles into her back.

Bella cried.

-X-

Friday began with better attitudes all around. The meeting between the pack and the Cullens had gone well, and they had reached a more active solution that they felt would be better for everyone. Cooperation with the wolves had hindered Alice's gift as usual, but what glimpses she got seemed hopeful. She had a feeling, at least, that they would find something today.

Alice was unaware that they would lose something as well.

Angela's absence was not out of the ordinary, and it was regarded as trivial that morning. Humans missed class, often suddenly and without warning. People got sick and had other emergencies. Things happened.

It was only in the afternoon, when Leah came to Bella and Jasper saying that she hadn't heard anything from Angela all day, that they grew concerned. She had sent several texts and tried to call her multiple times.

"I would call her mom if I had her number," she said.

Leah was breathing hard and looking around as if Angela would appear at any moment. She was clearly freaking out. Bella skipped her Literature class to help Jasper calm her down, if only because Bella was starting to worry that something had gone wrong.

"She didn't say anythin' about bein' gone today?" asked Jasper.

"No, she didn't. The last time I heard from her was last night after I got home. We talked on the phone for a bit and she even said she would see me today. She sounded fine."

Leah was trembling. Jasper was doing the best he could to relax her, but there was a wolven instinct fighting back against his super-empathy. She was about to blow. Jasper gently laid an arm over Leah's shoulders and led her up the hill and into the woods, far away from the view of any wandering students. Bella followed, typing out messages to the rest of the Cullens about what was going on. They were all in class, but they all said they would try to sneak away to help the moment they go the chance.

"I can't hold it anymore," said Leah, shaking. "I know something's gone wrong. I can feel it. I have to go find her."

Jasper could feel it too; in ways he didn't quite understand, he was privy to those deep, instinctual, bonded feelings, and he could tell that something was not right. There was nothing he could do to keep Leah here. He removed his arm just before she exploded into a furry mass and immediately broke out into a run.

"Shit, we gotta follow her," said Jasper, extending a hand to Bella, but Bella was already gone. She had started sprinting after Leah the minute she had shifted, and she was actually keeping a good pace. Jasper flitted after her.

Bella wasn't moving anywhere near as fast as a vampire could, and the gap between her and Leah was steadily growing. Jasper had a feeling this burst of speed wouldn't last, so he ducked down and caught Bella in a fireman's carry.

"Hey!" she yelled, hitting his back.

"No time for stunts! Sorry!"

Leah was running mad. He felt the rage and fear radiating off of her and had to work to prevent it from infecting his own feelings. She had let instinct almost completely take over, and he could tell that she was running mindlessly. He cursed under his breath and wished that Edward would catch up with them to help figure out what was going on in the wolf's head. He would have to figure it out on his own, so he leaned in and sped up until he was running alongside her.

"Leah! Let's go to her house!" he shouted at her.

She glanced over at him and narrowed her eyes. Her head dipped slightly, and he prayed that was a sign of acknowledgment. Jasper fell back and followed the trail she was blazing as they tore through the woods, heading south to Forks.

No one was home. All the cars were missing from the driveway, meaning that Angela had left to go to school, and that her parents were most likely at work. Jasper sat Bella down and raised a hand signaling for her and Leah to stay hidden in the forest while he got closer to investigate. Leah stomped a massive paw on the ground.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doin'," he said. "No need for you to risk exposure."

Utilizing his superhuman speed, Jasper dashed around the perimeter, stopping to sniff the air, to see if he could catch any unfamiliar scents.

And he did. A familiar unfamiliar scent. The same one that he had caught on the wind at PC just a few days prior. He looked over at Leah, locking eyes with her, and raised a hand, waving for her to follow him. Leah took off without Bella, who just managed to keep up with her.

The trail was hours old, no doubt from that morning, but it was still clear enough to be easily traced. Whoever had come here hadn't made any effort to cover their tracks. Jasper skidded to a stop, Leah almost crashing into his back. Bella caught up a few moments later, not able to muster up the speed she had earlier.

"This has got to be a trap," he said. "We can't just rush in."

Leah reared up and slammed both paws on the ground, snarling.

"God, I wish I could hear what you were sayin'," he muttered. "Listen, I know you're scared, and I know you're angry, but if someone has got Angela, we gotta be careful. If this is a hostage situation, they could kill her in the blink of an eye if we make one wrong move."

"I think I speak for Leah when I say we need to save her," said Bella.

"I agree completely, but what I'm sayin' is I need the two of you to sit here for a second. I'm gonna go up this hill and see if I catch any other scents. I wanna get a read on this situation before we charge in headfirst. I'm gonna bet they know we're comin', so if we can find a way to get the drop on them, we better."

Jasper kept his hand raised towards the two of them and crept up the hillside at a slow, human pace, his eyes closed and his nose in the air. He could smell more than one scent now. As he got higher, he could identify that of another vampire and that of a human—Angela.

And then another, very familiar vampire scent. Jasper opened his eyes to see Edward, the speediest of the family, sliding to a stop right in front of him. Jasper raised a finger to his lips, then pointed at his temple. Edward got the hint and picked up the relevant details from his brother's thoughts.

Edward then raised a finger to his lips and sunk low to the ground. He also tapped his temple, then pointed up the hill, implying that he was going to see if he could get closer and catch their thoughts. Jasper nodded, and Edward snuck up the hill.

Jasper went back down to Bella and Leah.

"Edward's here, and he's doing reconnaissance. I can definitely smell Angela, but there are two vampires with her."

Fur bristled. Leah let out a low growl.

"If Edward can catch their thoughts, we'll have the upper hand. Bella, I need you to stay back. I know you've got some blossoming abilities right now, but we can't risk you getting in the way."

"But I can help! I can be a distraction or something!"

"No. They're after you, so if they get a chance to nab you and run, that might ruin everything."

"If it means helping Angela, I want to do what I can. It's my fault she's in this situation to begin with. I owe it to her."

Jasper looked her in the eyes. He could feel determination rolling off Bella in waves, but he also felt fear and anxiety in equally great amounts. He closed his eyes, pondering how she could play into this situation until he heard footsteps approaching.

"Let's see what Edward has to say."

"There's two of them alright, and there's two ghouls. And Angela's down there. Scared to shit, of course. No idea what's going on. Obviously, it's a trap meant to lure us out, though it doesn't seem like they factored in that Leah would show up. They're not expecting the wolves at all. They purposefully picked a spot far away from the pack's territory. I got a lot of useless snippets—they seem like they're getting really bored. They expected us to figure it out sooner. No idea where Lucrezia's main hideout is, but I get the feeling that she might not be far off."

"Do you have any good news?" asked Bella.

"Yes, actually: the ghouls are guarding Angela. I know that doesn't seem good, but they aren't exactly sentient. I don't know how they're being controlled, but I don't think they could execute a quick kill with the same precision as their masters. From what I could glean, they're not exactly standing that close to her, and she's just tied up with some rope and tape. And, again, the agents seem quite bored, so they're not exactly on their guard."

"So we do have the element of surprise. Is there any way we could sneak around and get them from behind?" asked Jasper.

"You bet there is. They're down in a small ravine. When you peek over the top of the hill, you can see it. I think our best bet is actually to approach it from both sides, and then have someone slide down the end Angela is on to free her and get her out."

"I can do that!" Bella said, raising a hand.

"I don't know if you'd be able to get her out fast enough," said Edward.

"Actually, I think Bella might be the best choice. It's just the three of us, and we're up against two vampires and two ghouls. Both of us will have to take the vampires, and Leah can handle the ghouls, so that leaves Bella for the rescue."

Leah snarled. "She's getting tired of waiting," Edward translated.

"Okay, okay. Let's go up there, take a look, and then swoop in. We gotta get this done as quick as we can. Stay quiet."

Jasper led them up the hill. When they reached the top, they laid down, Leah doing the best she could to flatten herself against the ground, and looked over the hill.

Below, as Edward had said, was a small ravine, mostly likely put there by heavy rains or the uprooting of a large tree. They couldn't quite see to the bottom, but it was clear that someone was there. Bella could even hear the distant snarling of the ghouls and their ragged, rotten breaths. She started to get scared, but she felt Jasper pushing back on that fear. There was no room for error.

Jasper pointed at Bella, then at the right end of the ravine. There was a slope leading down into it, and she assumed that's where Angela was being held. He pointed at Leah, and then made a gesture that she should approach from this side. He pointed at Edward, and made a circling motion, indicating that he should go around and approach from the opposite side. Finally, he pointed at himself and the left side of the ravine. He tapped Edward on the shoulder and motioned for him to go around and wait for a signal. Edward disappeared in a flash and reappeared moments later, high in a tree on the far side of the ravine. Jasper held his open palm in the air for a moment, waiting to see if there was any reaction to that movement from their enemies. When nothing happened, he closed his fist, and they charged forward.

Bella flung herself over the hill, barely seeing Jasper or Edward move but certainly hearing Leah thundering down the hillside. She concentrated everything she had in her legs, forcing herself to move as fast as she could. It was no match for the vampire brothers, but she moved quickly enough. As she reached the right end of the ravine, she could see that the chaos had already started. Edward was on the back of one of the agents, arm locked around his neck in a chokehold, and Jasper was grappling with the other. Leah had successfully attracted the attention of the ghouls and drawn them away from Angela, who was tied up with a strong rope and gagged with duct tape, sitting at the deepest part of the ravine. She was squirming and struggling against her bindings.

With no hesitation whatsoever, Bella threw herself down into the ravine. She had tried to slide down the steep slope on her feet, but her foot caught on an exposed root and sent her tumbling down, colliding with Angela at the bottom. It took her a moment to get back to her feet, but the first thing she did was rip the tape off of Angela's mouth. She gasped, taking several deep breaths before shouting, "Oh my god, Bella!"

"I'm so sorry, let me just…"

The rope had been tied tight with complex knots, and there was no way Bella was getting this untied. She fumbled with the knots for a moment before she grew frustrated and grabbed the ropes with her hands, pulling apart as hard as she could. For a moment, she thought her efforts were in vain, but she saw the rope starting to fray, so she pulled harder.

Come on, Bella! You've torn through fucking steel before! This is life or death!

She grunted—no she growled—and pulled as hard as she could. There was a tearing sound, and the tension disappeared, her arms flying out to either side as she shredded the rope. Angela started to fall forward, but Bella grabbed her by the collar of her hoodie and pulled her back.

"We gotta get out of here!"

One of the ghouls had slipped away from Leah and was sauntering towards them, its shoulder blades threatening to break through it's pasty, pale skin with every step it took. Bella looked over her shoulder at the slope she had come down and immediately knew it was far too steep for Angela to climb.

Bella took a deep breath to steady herself and shoved Angela behind her, readying herself to confront the ghoul. It pounced, and Bella suddenly remembered how she had so easily flipped Edward when they were play-fighting on the beach during spring break. Time slowed for her, and she sidestepped just as she had then, grabbed the ghoul by one of its emaciated arms, and used its own moment to flip it over, slamming the monster into the dirt.

Behind her, Bella heard a sound akin to that of breaking glass and crumbling stone, and a gust of wind blew past her. She expected to see Jasper or Edward coming to her aid, but instead, there was a flurry of fiery red hair.

Victoria jumped and landed on the ghoul, one foot on its chest and the other on its face. It's body collapsed under her feet with a sickening crunch. She stood up straight and dusted off her hands, smiling.

"Bella, Bella, Bella," she said, cracking her neck. "Seems like you keep getting yourself into these messes, hmm?"

Bella turned around to see that Edward, Jasper, and Leah had all successfully dispatched their targets. Jasper was starting a fire for the bodies.

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked.

"Same thing I assume all of you have been trying to do: find Lucrezia Valenti to give her a piece of my mind, and my fists." She punched her palm. "She deserves it after what she did to James."

Angela was trembling, leaning against the side of the ravine. Leah phased back into her human form and ran to her, not caring that she was completely nude. She pulled Angela into a tight hug and turned her around to shield her view of the gruesome burning that was taking place on the opposite side of the ravine.

"I'm so, so, so sorry," she muttered into Angela's neck, tears streaming from her eyes.

Angela was in shock, unable to process anything that was going on. Jasper sensed this, and he gestured for Victoria to help Edward finish burning the bodies while he went over to calm her. Bella followed her, nervously looking over her shoulder to make sure that Angela was okay.

Victoria picked up the second agent's body and began to tear off his limbs to toss them into the fire.

"Lots of these fuckers out here. You've got an infestation. Lucky for you, I'm a happy and willing exterminator. I've been thinning their numbers quite a bit." She picked up the agent's head and tossed it on the pyre. "But you still have a storm brewing out here. I don't know exactly where, but it's there."

"We're thankful to have your help," said Edward, watching the flames rise. "You should go see Carlisle when we're done here. I'm sure he'd love to hear what you've been doing."

As Victoria moved to start tearing up one of the ghouls, Bella decided she could no longer stomach the dismemberment, and she walked back over to where Jasper, Leah, and Angela were now sitting in the corner. Jasper had given Leah his jacket to cover herself. Bella stayed a good distance away, not wanting to get too close. This was her fault, and there was nothing she could say to fix what had happened.

"It's a lot, and I can't even begin to explain it all right now," said Leah, desperately trying to figure out how to explain what had happened.

"Those guys, the… vampires? Th-they said they were after Bella?"

"Yeah, they were—are, they are. There's more of them, but you don't need to worry about that! You're safe now. I'm not gonna let them get near you after this."

"Y-you were… a w-wolf."

Leah blushed. "Yeah, I, uh… It's a family thing? Sort of? That gets a little too complex for right now. I'm not the only one, and all of us are here to protect people. That's all you need to know for now."

Angela looked past Leah, at Bella, who was leaning against the opposite side of the ravine.

"Bella, thank you for saving me. I… Are you alright?"

Bella looked at Angela for a second before turning her head. She didn't respond to the question. Instead, she said, "Jasper, we need to get Angela home before anyone notices she was gone. This would be really hard to explain."

Jasper frowned. "Right. Come on, let's get you back."

He lifted her bridal style and hopped out of the ravine with ease.

"I'm going to go find some of the clothes I hid out here, but I'll be back," said Leah. "I swear, Angela, I'm not leaving your side, and I'll explain everything."

Jasper took off with Angela. Leah wiped her eyes and shrugged off Jasper's jacket, handing it to Bella.

"Give that back to him. Tell him I said thanks," she said before leaping into the air and phasing again. She ran off before Bella could say anything, if she had anything to say to her at all.

"I'll make sure the fires get put out. You two can go," said Victoria. "I'll make sure to stop by your place later."

"Thanks again," said Edward. "Be seeing you."

Edward slipped an arm around Bella's waist and jumped, lifting her out of the ravine. He brushed some dirt off her back and pushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face.

"I'd ask if you're good, but I can tell you're not," he said, smiling sadly.

"No, I'm not. God, Edward, this is exactly what I didn't want to happen."

"Yeah, that seems to be how things have been going for us. I'm reaching a point where I just expect the worst outcome by default." He shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked at the dirt. "But we pulled that off. No one got hurt."

"Angela got hurt."

"Angela's alive."

"It's all my fault."

Edward rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, it is. But there's not much we can do about it now, is there?"

Bella closed her eyes.

"No, not really."


this chapter was actually supposed to be two separate chapters, but i've found that my outline is kinda sparse and short for certain chapters, so i put these two together since there was really no reason for them to be separate. with that, there's only THREE more chapters left! and the epilogue, so technically four! i will say that the next chapter is going to be the calm before the storm, but it's also going to be Super Depressing, so prepare yourselves for that! it's okay, i promise there's a happy ending at the end of all this. i DID say in the description that things can get better, but sometimes they have to get worse first!