CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

(JPOV)

Edward looked as if he was questioning my sanity and given the demand I'd just made, I couldn't say that I blamed him, but I wasn't fooling him. Not in the least.

"You can't be serious? That's not possible!" He doubted, reading my thoughts as his nervous golden stare caught sight of the all too eager pack above us. They were teetering on the edge of the embankment, and I could hear Sam trying to keep them in line, something he hadn't had to do in a long time now.

They were getting rowdy and stepping out of formation with snarls of rage.

"Dead serious." I huffed back. "You know Volterra. Take me with you."

"-and do what exactly once we arrive?" He tersely hedged. "Start a fight within the city? Demetri would never allow that to flourish. He'd end us before we could cause too much noise. That's how it works. Trust me, I know all too well."

"Are you telling me there's another option here I don't see? Something I'm missing? Cause waiting here for them to show up and spread through the Reservation isn't one I'm particularly comfortable with. If that's option A, I'm telling you, we skip to option B. You know how much I don't want to ask you for your help here, but I am anyway."

His gaze went back to mine at this, the sincerity clear in my thoughts to him.

"Because there's nothing you wouldn't do for her- for Bella-..."

"Nothing."

Edward looked almost pained as he tried to hash out a plan, his golden irises darting to and from while he pondered things over.

"You don't know what you're asking of me, Jacob. Carlisle will tell you himself when they arrive in Forks tomorrow. What Demetri has skillfully built, it's solid- concrete even. One would be hard pressed to dismantle what he's put in place now. What you're demanding, is a suicide mission. I'd be leading you all to your deaths, like Lambs to the slaughter. Even given your numbers, I assure you, it wouldn't be enough. You would lose this fight."

"I won't let them hurt my family. Demetri may have built the Volturi back up, but what we've built here is strong enough." I vehemently countered in thought to him.

"Jacob, I have no doubt that your family here is committed and strong. We share that likeness, as unfathomable as it may sound. The family you were born into is as solid as the one Carlisle pieced together with all of us, but that doesn't mean either are invincible. If I take you to him, there's a real chance some of you, if not all of you, wouldn't return. Think of the heartache that would leave behind. For Bella, for your children."

His returning words caused a whine to leave my muzzle and Gentry nudged himself into my side for support, his angered glare still fixed on Tanya and Edward while they remained as still as statues there with us.

"Waiting here is playing right into their hands. They'll come for her. You know it." I challenged.

"Could be years from now-"

"-...or weeks."

"There's no sure way of telling that. Alice has tried to read the timing in her visions, but Demetri knows of her talent. He covets it. We've never had the element of surprise there."

"You don't know me at all if you think I'd be okay with waiting for that shoe to drop. What kind of future would that leave her with? Always waiting for them to show. No way."

"I understand-"

"Then take me to Italy."

"You'd never make it out-"

"If you're not willing to help me do this, than what good was it for you to come here with a warning?" I angrily questioned.

"We want to help, but the approach you're proposing won't work. I know you want them gone, so the threat isn't there anymore, but the only solution to this is one that involves all of you remaining in tact. Anything less would be devastating for all involved."

I snarled and tried to keep my wits about me but that task was proving impossible.

"Tell me- why now? After all this time?" I insisted.

"Time is meaningless to us, Jacob. A mere inconvenience at best. Demetri has far more years of experience than my family and I. Carlisle is the only one who comes close to his timeless abilities. The best way is to wait. To try and predict their arrival through Alice's visions."

"The visions that we poke holes through just by existing you mean?" I hedged, "Those visions- that's what we're relying on?"

Edward hissed at this and I stepped forward with matched irritation.

"It's the best source of information." He argued.

"It's faulty at best and not reliable! She could miss the timing of their arrival altogether and that could cost us! I'm not putting Bella's safety on the line for it. End of discussion. You can either help me or-"

"Demetri's interest doesn't stop at just Bella." He suddenly informed, the new information causing my hackles to rise instantly.

"What do you mean?"

"Demetri has knowledge of your kind. He knows what a threat you and the pack pose to him. He witnessed it first hand with Aro before and this left him with an appetite to acquire your specific skills for himself. His new guard is lined with unique talent, one of them can even control the elements, but none of them posses what your kind do. As you can imagine, this has fueled more of Demetri's curiosity."

My wolf gaze narrowed as I approached them further.

"He wants to use us...-"

Edward lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose in concentration, as if trying to recall more details.

"In a sense, yes."

"Alice has seen this?"

"Her last vision, though blurry at best, was of you and Bella, inside Volterra. It cut out before the reasoning could be verified as to why, Jacob. But your ancestry has intrigued him. He's researched you- all of you. He knows how you think now. He's spent time gathering new pawns to add to his ample chess board of defense. This new Volturi is larger and more lethal with unparalleled senses. To him, there is more options than just losing this fight coming, there's the real possibility of capture and enslavement. He wouldn't kill Bella, he'd keep her for his own, change her against her will and if you didn't lose your life fighting for her, he'd force your alliance to him in much the same way. This has always been what the Volturi do- they use those around them and discard them once they have fulfilled their purpose, both human and vampire alike."

"I'll destroy him-"

"I have faith you can, but not without our help. You see, the Quileute Legends are sacred to you, but it's no more than a challenge to him. Demetri is an opportunist by nature. Your whole family has potential use in his eyes. Not just Bella. So, our strategy has to be air tight. There's no room for gaps. No place where he could slip through the cracks and get to her somehow."

I was seething pissed, my insides shaking as he waited there for my response to what he'd just told me. There was no room for error here- that much we agreed on.

I swallowed my pride and met his gaze.

"When do the rest of them arrive. Carlisle and the others?"

"First light tomorrow. Not long from now."

I huffed and looked to Gentry, his rumbling growl of irritation echoing out over the surrounding tree tops then.

"Alright, you have my attention. What's your plan?"