Chapter 28: Spirit Guide

(Bella's POV) "Battlefield" by Svrcina

The Denalis were stationed in the Cullen house in Forks. Annie and a nomad named Garrett were looking for Jillian, the final Saturno. Peter, Char, Maria, Jude, and Alanna were back in Italy, observing the Volturi and devising offensive strategies and tactics. Lysander was also in Italy, masking the presence of the others by frequently morphing and leaving foreign scent trails everywhere. Zafrina, Kachiri, and Senna of the Amazon coven teamed up with two nomads, Mary and Randall, to patrol Jacksonville in case any more Volterran allies tried to stir up more trouble. Benjamin and Tia were channeling their grief and anger over what Amun had done into a new assignment—they were accompanying Siobhan, Liam, and Maggie of the Irish coven around the world, all of them trying to dispel the rumors the Volturi had spread about me. The disaster in Jacksonville had only driven away two allies: European nomads Charles and Makenna swore they had no intention of betraying us as Amun and Alistair had, but they refused to fight beside us while we broke exposure laws and sheltered humans. We wished them well and they wished us luck. All of our allies were equipped with new cellphones. Carlisle purchased them all as soon as he finished tending to my mom, programming them and passing them along to Alice and Irwin for distribution. My mom was unharmed, and her unborn baby was safe and healthy, but we knew she'd be traumatized and terribly confused when she awoke. I could still clearly remember Edward's gaze across the parking lot right before Tyler's van came screeching toward me; my mom would never forget the moment her not-so-dead daughter leapt out of the shadows to protect her, sparkling like a thousand diamonds in the Florida sun.

"Bella, she's waking up." Carlisle was ready to tend to her medical needs, and Rose had appointed herself my mom's personal guardian, but my mom needed to see my face when she woke. She had only met the Cullen's briefly, and that had been after my funeral, when she believed Alice and I had both been lost in a fatal car accident. Rose left the room as I entered, Jasper following me in and moving to stand out of sight. Looking at my mom curled up in bed, wearing fresh new maternity clothing Rose and I had dressed her in, I thought of all the years I'd referred to her by her given name and winced. There before me, with my half-sibling still growing in her belly, was my mother. Most vampires I knew barely remembered their human lives, and most of those who could remember their human parents looked back in anger, or with indifference. It was probably easier that way, to leave the mortal dead behind, but in this case a clean break was no longer and option. Because of me, my mom had been dragged into the supernatural world… into a supernatural war. That fact should've filled me with so much more guilt than it did, but selfish as it was, I was glad I'd been given a second chance. I hated the fact that I was thinking in such a way, and I had yet to confess my feelings to anyone but Jasper, but I was happy to have my mom back. I only dreaded having to tell her why I reappeared when I did, and why I'd been unable to save Phil…

"Stop beating yourself up over it," Jasper murmured softly. "You've missed your mother. I'm sure you miss your father and your human friends too. You did a great job pretending you were leaving nothing behind, but that show was for the Volturi—had you even hesitated to sever your ties to the human world, they would have killed us all. You have so much more love in your heart than you've allowed yourself to remember."

"I don't want to change her," I whispered anxiously. "She's pregnant! She's really ready to be a mother now, and it's not like we can change the baby! Before we left, before we staged my death, things were finally falling into place for her. She was happy and finally ready live a mature adult life. I can't…"

"I know… Don't waste that time beating yourself up over feelings you can't control."

My mom stirred and groaned softly. I started toward the bed, but I stopped myself a couple feet short, wary of overwhelming her. Jasper remained out of sight. "Mom?" I whispered, "Mom, it's Bella." Her eyes fluttered slowly open. "You're safe. The baby is fine. You remember Doctor Cullen, right? He took care of you after… after you passed out."

"Bella?" Her voice cracked. She didn't move, but her gaze was a tangible thing, skittering all over my body, lingering on my face, then scanning me from top to toe again. "Bella? How… H-How?" Her lower lip trembled and tears welled in her eyes, infusing the air with a subtle saltiness I could taste.

"The accident was staged, Mom. Alice and I are fine, but we—the Cullens and I—some bad people were after us. They were going to hurt you, us, everyone… we had to do it, Mom. I'm so sorry. We tried to protect you from all of this, but it wasn't enough. We had to come back for you."

"Bella?" My mom blinked and slowly shook her head. "This can't… Wait a…" She absently ran her hands over her belly. "The noise. I remember checking around the dumpster. Phil and I came around the fence. There was nothing there… but then you were there, not alone… there were people behind you…" Each breath, each heartbeat came faster and stronger. Her eyes dried as confusion and panic set in. I felt the gentle wave of calm Jasper sent out to take the edge off, but I kept my eyes on my mom. She'd torn her gaze from me, looking down, so I moved closer and carefully sat on the edge of the bed. Her eyes snapped back up to my face.

"I fell down two flights of stairs and through a window. You came to visit me in the hospital. You wanted me to move to Jacksonville with you, but I wanted to stay in Forks."

"With Edward."

"With the Cullens, including Edward, and with Dad. When Edward dumped me and the Cullens left, I got really depressed. You and Dad⏤you and Charlie were so worried⏤but the Cullens came back and I started dating Jasper. Do you remember that?" My mom nodded, her eyes glued to me.

"You look different. Your eyes are gold. Your hair looks thicker. You're even paler than usual, but you don't look sick. Are you wearing gold contacts? Bella… Why? Phil—where's Phil?" My mom looked around, her breath quickening. "Where are we? Where's Phil?"

Before I could find words to comfort my mom, I was distracted by a soft, resonant thumping noise emanating from her swollen belly; the baby was responding to her distress, the heartbeats of mother and child accelerating, pounding until a heavy wave of calm blanketed them, putting them back to sleep. My mate's gift rolled off me like water over marble. I felt calm and furious, wounded but somehow invincible. There had been a shift, and without stopping to question it, I stood and left the room without a word.

Jasper followed me as I walked at human speed to Carlisle's office. Moments before we reached the door, I heard three soft thuds⏤Irwin had teleported into the office with two others. Carlisle opened the door for me, his expression sympathetic, and Jasper and I joined Irwin, Alice, and Peter inside. The new arrivals didn't seem alarmed or angry, so I assumed the two seers had come for the conversation to follow. I turned to Carlisle and squared my shoulders. I would not back down again. I had not come to express an opinion. I was issuing and order.

"We're telling my dad and Angela what's happening, and we're hiding them with my mom. Aro will target them, and whether our allies approve or not, it's clearly a safer move to take them now. If we wait to defend them from an attack, we're just spreading our forces thinner than we need to and traumatizing two innocent humans more than necessary. I'm going to Forks to speak to them."

"It's good that you're finally makin' demands, sweet pea," Peter interjected. "You'll need that confidence and conviction going forward, but commanders keep their allies by makin' deals and compromises too. Now, Major, don't go tearin' my arms off when I say this, but as much as Maria's changed, she's still a battle legend in her own right and that mess in Jacksonville gave her some ideas Char and I both agree are pretty inspired. In a nutshell, she thinks we need to take advantage of every skill and weapon at our disposal, including Bella's venom."

"Oh, she thinks those Volterran allies were under Aro's control?" I laughed disparagingly. "It's too much of a stretch that they'd act like that just because of a few rumors?" I sighed. "Sorry—really, I'm sorry," I said, instantly regretting my acerbic comment. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful or disrespectful or anything, but we all already came to that conclusion and as great as it sounds in theory, there's just no way we could've held all our attackers still while I bit them and waited to see who felt like talking."

"No. Bitin' is impractical and dangerous," Peter continued. "There's only one of you, after all. You can only do so much, but your venom can replenish itself after being injected or extracted."

"Extracted? Drawn like blood?" I glanced over at Carlisle, confused.

"Needles won't pierce your skin now, but venom pooling in your mouth or dripping from a wound can be collected," Carlisle murmured, clearly deep in thought. He turned back to Peter. "Collected and repurposed? Made into a weapon of some sort? Those under Aro's control won't willingly absorb or ingest Bella's venom; I'm sure he's told them to avoid any exposure to it."

"Maria suggested coatin' knives," Peter offered, watching Jasper and me warily. "Bite or tear to make an open wound, then stab to force the venom into their system. I thought some custom paintball guns might do the trick; we'd have to make the bullet casings strong enough to hold the venom, but fragile enough to break upon impact. With paintball guns, we'd have a number of target areas to choose from⏤open wounds, mouths, eyes⏤and we could shoot from a distance, improvin' our chances of avoidin' a real fight with the target altogether."

Jasper's hand was on my shoulder, gripping tightly, but he'd remained silent throughout the exchange. When I turned to him, his expression was ambivalent. "I hate the thought of using you in such a way," he finally murmured, moving his hands to cup my face tenderly. "It's an awful mess we're in, but…" Jasper struggled for words for a moment, then he growled softly in frustration and pulled me into a crushing hug. His hair brushed my brow as he shook his head. He wanted to say no.

"But?" I prompted. He sighed and shook his head infinitesimally. I pulled back just enough to look up into his dark eyes before I continued, "But if it weren't me, if it was anyone else, you'd approve. It will give us a great advantage in battle, won't it? If it weren't me…?"

"Do it," Jasper choked out. "Not just to save your human family and friends, but for all of us. Fight poison with poison, before Aro controls too many." I nodded, hugging my mate close again.

"We could save lives this way," I quietly agreed. "Freeing instead of destroying, our enemies could surrender and walk away⏤some might even join our side." I pulled away from Jasper and turned to face Peter and Carlisle.

"My dad and Angela will be introduced to our world and hidden from the Volturi and those loyal to Aro. To arm and protect our allies, I will dispense my venom for weaponizing and medicinal use." I felt an odd chill as I remembered addressing the wolf pack similarly before my change. It felt like yesterday and forever ago all at once. As I had shaken Billy's hand that day, I shook Peter's. Carlisle was already gathering syringes.

"Irwin," Carlisle said, "please bring Char, Maria, Jude, and Alanna here."

"Find Lysander too," I interjected. "I know he's been running around alone anyway, but I don't want him to be completely alone in enemy territory." Irwin gave me a warm smile and nodded.

"Annie and Garrett will find Jillian today," Alice told me, taking her mate's hand. "Having our third Saturno will comfort our allies too. Your family will be safe, Bella." I nodded, smiling gratefully, and then Alice and Irwin teleported away. Peter made a quick exit as well, running off toward the garage, taking a shiny black credit card Carlisle offered as he went.

"I want you to know I share your feelings in this matter," Carlisle sighed, approaching me with six large, metal syringes. "It absolutely disgusts me, the mere thought of using you in any way, much less for the crafting of weapons, but I cannot deny the relief I felt at the prospect of saving and sparing our enemies instead of destroying them."

"I understand," I said, forcing a smile.

"We understand," Jasper amended.

"Obviously, harming you to extract the venom is out of the question, so we'll have to collect venom pooling in your mouth. We'll get large quantities faster if you take these with you while you hunt. Don't give over to your instincts completely while you're out there⏤you'll need to draw a sample of venom each time you smell decent prey, before you attack. Go now, both of you. I'll check on your mother…" Carlisle hesitated. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart, about all of this. I should have listened."

"You did," I said softly, shaking my head once. "You listened to me and to everyone else, and you tried to make the best decision."

"Very forgiving and diplomatic, Bella, thank you, but I knew it was a risk—"

"So did I, but I gave in when I could have argued my point further. We all screwed up, and now Phil is dead and a coven was broken… Please, just help me take care of my mom now. I could barely speak to her."

"It will get better," Carlisle assured me, hugging me gently. "We'll figure it out. Go on with Jasper now. I'll need that venom before you go back to Forks. Your mother will be safe with me. I promise."

When Jasper and I returned from our hunt, venom-filed syringes in hand, we didn't even get a chance to check back in with my mom. When we came close enough the house for Jasper to feel the fear, disgust, and fury flowing out of Carlisle's office, we rushed inside. Irwin and Alice were back with Char, Maria, Jude, and Alanna, but despite the fact that I had not yet been properly introduced to Maria's coven, my eyes went straight to Lysander⏤he was soaking wet, holding a dismembered arm.

I was aware of everyone talking around me, asking all the obvious questions, and I subconsciously absorbed it all. I heard Lysander telling everyone he'd found the arm inside his cave, a clear warning from the Volturi that they'd known his location for who knows how long, possibly since he'd first occupied the cave. Silently observing, I saw another layer to the taunt: Over and over, my mind screamed, 'There's no venom! The arm has completely dried out!' I moved forward without making a conscious choice to do so and the talking around me ceased abruptly. I took hold of the stony arm as if it were made from spun glass; Lysander released it and simply stared as I held the arm to my chest.

"I'm so sorry," I murmured softly. It was Amelia's arm. It had to be. Aro really had scattered her unburned pieces. She would never die. Aro had subjected Tristan's innocent mate to a fate worse than death, just because he wanted Tristan to help him hurt me.

"It's Tristan's mate, Amelia," I announced to the room. "Aro told me he forced Tristan to serve him by tearing her apart and hiding the pieces. They captured Jane because they started to tear Alec apart in front of her, Aro threatening to do the same thing with him. I don't believe he was really going to do that to Alec, but…" I turned to face Jane's mate, addressing him for the first time ever. "If I could've freed her sooner, if she'd met you, she might've escaped with us. Even freed from Aro and Chelsea, she couldn't let them do that to her brother. I'm so sorry."

"I've heard many accounts of what happened," Jude said softly, his own calming gift reaching out for me. "I know you did everything you could to save her. Aro won't destroy her. He needs her."

"We will find her and take her back," I vowed vehemently. "I'll get her out of there and bring her to you, I promise. With stores of my venom to give out to everyone, we can free her and as many other innocent vampires as possible. I only wish there was a way to help Amelia too."

"When it's over, if we can defeat Aro, we can try to reassemble her," Jasper offered. "We'll leave no stone unturned, you and I will comb through every square inch of Italy if you want to."

"And none would dare get in your way," Maria interjected, giving me the same appraising, approving look she'd given me at the wedding in Volterra. "You're so much like Jasper, Bella. I can already sense it. You're strong enough to survive all of this. We're with you and Jasper to the end."

Official introductions were made at last, but I was more anxious than ever to make sure my dad and Angela were safe. I also needed to check on the pack. I'd had little contact with them since I'd returned to the States, only by phone. Jake… I had to save my best friend too.

"Long time, no see," Jake was waiting for us when we teleported to the boundary line. I ran into his arms as soon and my feet hit the ground. Okay, he smelled horrible to me, and I to him, but our friendship had always and would always transcend time, space, and specie. I was prepared to ask him about the new wolves, how everyone was getting on with the Denalis, anything to avoid talking about Jacksonville, but I was immediately distracted by an unfamiliar scent on Jake's shirt.

"What's that?" I asked, openly and deliberately sniffing his shoulder again. Jake looked over my head and nodded in greeting to Jasper. Irwin had already teleported away. "That's definitely a human scent. Who smells like lavender and lemon?"

"You can smell that through the wolf stench?" Jasper chuckled.

"Yeah, okay," Jake snorted. "Act like that's a big deal when I can smell a human scent through your stink too…" Jake trailed off and his smile fell. "Sorry, Bella. I guess that must be your mom⏤okay that's worse⏤I really didn't mean to bring any of that up."

"Just tell me who smells like lavender and lemon. I was told I smelled like lavender and freesia as a human, so I'm curious…?"

Jake smiled again, but I could see wariness in his eyes. He seemed to be weighing his words, but then with a shrug he simply said, "Angela."

"Oh," I blinked at him. "She… she smells good. So, were you just on protective detail? I didn't know you were doing more than guarding her from a distance. You're all hanging out with her now? I guess that will make it easier to talk to her about all this." Jake snorted again, loudly.

"You could say that," he said, grinning. Meanwhile, Jasper had moved closer to the two of us, laying a hand on my shoulder.

"Jacob, I appreciate your effort to keep Bella calm and happy," he said patiently, "but it's unwise to leave her in the dark right now. It's not as though any recent surprises have been pleasant." Jake's smile fell, but he didn't seem upset. He sighed and kicked the ground lightly.

"We were only bringing Charlie over to the rez at first, watching Angela from a distance, trading shifts with the vamps you sent back here, but things changed when a wolf on guard duty imprinted on her. Don't be mad at your friends. We haven't actually told them yet. It only happened ten days ago, and with everything going on, we figured we'd keep this bit of drama to ourselves for a while. Leah's going to kick my ass for telling you now, but I'm with you on the no-surprises rule. It feels like we're all getting sucker punched on a daily basis."

"Leah?" I asked, "Did Seth?"

"Nope. She did," Jacob said. "The first female wolf in our tribe's history and she imprinted on a girl. Go figure, right?"

I laughed, not even trying to hold back. I laughed at the irony, the drama, the absurdity of it all, and I kept laughing as it sunk in that my closest fully-human friend was gay, or at least bi, and I'd somehow missed it. True, on some level that made me feel like I'd been a bad friend, but I was also ridiculously relieved to find out Angela had been keeping a big secret too. We could reconnect and bond over that, if nothing else. Maybe one day we'd both look back on all of this and laugh.

"She knows you're all wolves then, and she knows I'm a vampire? That all the Cullens are vampires? How did that go over?"

"Well, it might've gone over a little more smoothly if someone other than Leah told her first," Jacob admitted, eyes twinkling with humor. "I mean, it's not like Leah hates you or anything, but things were really awkward when she joined the pack, since she and Sam were together when he imprinted on Emily, then seeing how quickly Seth took to you⏤he talks about you like you're some kind of badass, super-powered demigoddess⏤Leah might've enjoyed describing things like your cold, undead body and your special diet a little too much. Angela's taking it all in stride, but don't be surprised if she pays really close attention to your eye color, okay?"

"Jake!"

"Really, Bella, it's fine," Jacob laughed, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "It was a joke and Angela knows that. As soon as she sees you for herself, it will be like nothing ever happened. She's taken to this supernatural stuff almost as well as you did, like a duck to water, you'll see."

And I believed him. Angela had always been so accepting and understanding. I wished for better timing⏤if only this hadn't happened when there was a supernatural war going on⏤but I couldn't deny the joy and excitement threatening to burst from my chest. I was going to get my friend back.

About two hours later, Jasper and I stood waiting on the rocky shores of La Push. The beach brought back memories of my awakening to this world. It seemed like the right place to meet Angela, the next girl from rainy little Forks to get caught up in this whirlwind. Jasper and I had already met with most of the pack and the tribal council, updating them on the new plan to protect my parents and Angela, the weapons being made… I wished they hadn't been so excited by the latter, but I understood their desire for weapons. As soon as the meeting adjourned, I heard many of the mated wolves talking about borrowing paintball guns from someone so their imprints and families could practice shooting; they were thrilled to hear that if it came down to it, the people they loved most could actually fight a vampire and stand a chance of surviving the encounter.

Leah didn't attend that meeting, but Seth was confident she'd be all for arming Angela with my special venom. "Everyone with an imprint has been teaching them to ride wolf-back," he'd said. "Leah's only had Angela for a little over a week, but they do more riding practice than anyone. I can totally see her training Ange to shoot trees she runs past. They aren't practicing so they can run. Those two want to fight."

They wanted to fight. Angela Weber wanted to charge into battle with Leah and fight vampires. Like a duck to water, Jake said. Like me. I could only hope no one like James would trick her into sacrificing herself. I would never forgive myself, Leah would kill me, Jasper would kill her, and Aro would probably call off his Guard and watch us, smiling while we all destroyed each other. No, I couldn't let my mind go there, especially not with Angela's lavender-lemon scent wafting toward me. She was just about to step into view, with Leah beside her of course.

"Bella?" Angela's shocked exclamation came out as a strangled whisper. After the initial shock of seeing me wore off, she beamed at me, positively glowing. Without hesitation, she sprinted toward me, Leah fighting a smile as she followed. With great effort, I resisted the urge to meet Angela halfway. I held still until she threw her arms around my shoulders.

"Ooph," She muttered as her soft body hit my unyielding form just a little too hard. I chuckled and gently hugged her back, keeping an eye on Leah to make sure she wasn't too upset by the exchange.

"I missed you, Ange," I said quietly, "So much. I'm sorry."

"I know why you did it," Angela sniffed, her eyes glistening as she pulled back. "Everyone's been filling me in. I'm just…" She started to cry. "I'm so glad you're alive! I can't believe you were caught up in all this all along. Edward, the van, all the attacks, the tracker, these vampire kings after you now⏤it's too much!" Angela's burst of energy left her almost as quickly as it had come. "I can't imagine what that time was like for you." She shook her head slowly, eyes downcast, and I knew exactly which time she was referring to. "You couldn't tell anyone the truth… Bella, I'm so sorry." She hugged me again. "I know we all have this huge, extremely dangerous mess to deal with now, but I'm so happy to have you back, to understand…"

"Me too, Ange," I said. "I'm so glad to have you back, but… You know why I've come back here now, right? They told you?" Angela nodded somberly, and I saw fear in her eyes for the first time, I could smell the adrenaline in her blood. "Ange, they killed my step-dad, and they tried to kill my mom. Aro threatened to come for you and my dad too. Seth told me you want to fight along with Leah and the pack, but being my friend and an imprint makes you an even bigger target."

"Leah," I said, turning to the tall, muscular girl watching me with guarded eyes. "I know better than to ask you to part with your imprint, especially when the bond is so new, and I know you want as little to do with vampires as possible, but please consider coming to our Vermont house to stay with my parents. We'll make sure you're constantly under the best protection. I can't let Aro harm either of you."

"He won't," Leah said cooly, arms crossed. "I'm perfectly capable of protecting Angela and helping my pack. Once we get these weapons I heard about through the pack mind, we'll be able to handle ourselves just fine. You think I'd put her at unnecessary risk? I'm staying because I know we're both strong enough for this."

"I'm not questioning your abilities, Leah, but you were all lucky Edward was able to distract Tristan last time. Half the Guard is gifted, and Aro is controlling a lot of vampires outside of the Guard now. All it takes is one long-range, powerful gift thrown into the mix and you might not be able to get close enough for a good shot, assuming we can even make venom bullets that will work properly. We've only just begun the experiment."

Angela bit her lip, shooting Leah and uneasy glance. "You know I'd like to help," she told Leah, "but not if I'll put everyone in more danger by trying. Maybe we can consider it?"

"You'll feel safer on the other side of the country, surrounded by who knows how many lee–vampires you don't even know?" Leah spoke through gritted teeth. "Vampires standing guard outside your room? Watching your every move?"

"It wouldn't be like that," I interjected. "My parents will be there, and Carlisle and Esme will always be there. She's met Carlisle before, and it won't feel so invasive. If you want them to keep their distance, they will, within reason. They won't even show themselves unless they absolutely have to."

"You're welcome to come along with her or stay here," Jasper offered gently. "With Irwin's teleportation, you'll really only be seconds apart. We'll make accommodations as needed. We just want to help you keep Angela safe from the Volturi."

Leah was silent. It was clear she wanted to tell us where we could stick our offer, but each time her gaze flickered from us to Angela, I could see her resolve crumbling.

"Let's think about it," Angela offered, taking Leah's hand. "Let's see how things go with Chief Swan and go from there." Unable to disregard the voice of reason coming from her imprint, Leah nodded. My dad's reaction to all this would bring them to a decision. No pressure or anything.

Jake decided it would be helpful to change into a wolf in front of my dad first. He'd been spending the day on the rez anyway, out fishing with Billy, so when they got home⏤boom⏤Jake shifted and let his father scramble to explain before my dad started shooting. A little over an hour later, Jasper and I were knocking on the weathered door of the Blacks' house, listening as my dad's heartbeat stuttered and accelerated.

"It's okay, Charlie," I heard Jake murmur encouragingly. "You've got this. It's just Bella. She's okay. You'll be okay."

Someone opened the door⏤Sue Clearwater, there with her husband, Harry, and Leah and Seth. Jake vacated the spot next to my dad on the small couch, moving to stand behind Billy's wheelchair on my dad's other side. Jasper sent a gentle wave of calm into the room and I tried to soak it in. "Hey, Dad," I choked out lamely, my smooth and clear voice not quite managing to mask my anxiety.

"Bella?" My dad's voice cracked and his eyes welled with tears. "It's true? It's all true?"

"I'm so sorry I hurt you," I cried, taking a few steps toward him, noting the rigid postures of the others around me. "At the time, it was the only way I could protect you. Everything's changed now. The people I was trying to save you from are coming for you anyway. They already killed Phil and almost got mom… I'm so sorry, I… I really thought I was doing the right thing."

My dad stood on shaky legs, his eyes never leaving mine, and stepped closer. "What everyone here told me you did⏤trading your human life, your freedom to keep the people you love from harm⏤Bells, it'll take me a while to adjust to all this supernatural stuff, but I'm damn proud of you." His voice cracked and he shook his head once. "I thought you were broken beyond repair for a while there, but you've got to be the bravest person I've ever known. My daughter's a hero."

We sprang at each other. He moved slower of course, and I was careful to keep my speed and strength in check, but I locked his fragile human body in my stone embrace as his warmth and his homey scent enveloped me. He didn't even flinch when he touched me. He had his daughter back and I had my dad, and nothing else mattered in that moment.

It all went better than I'd dared to hope it would. Though shaken, both Angela and my dad had taken their introduction to the supernatural world very well. They seemed comfortable when I introduced them to the Denalis—the look on Angela's face when she saw the Denali women up close was priceless. Angela found my speed, grace, and physical strength hilarious given how clumsy I was as a human, and my dad could talk to Jasper for hours about the civil war and other historic events he'd lived through. A part of me wondered if my dad dove into those conversations as a coping mechanism. Those conversations were all about humans, after all, so the details were a little easier to swallow. Either way, I was immensely grateful for his effort, especially when he made it clear to Billy Black that he wasn't going to adopt his old friend's prejudices. Vampires, wolves, Saturnos, special powers, secret wars⏤if he was going to embrace part of it, he was going to embrace all of it. Jasper was loving it, smiling and laughing whenever my dad was around.

"He's so much like you," Jasper said to me more than once. "Angela too, but Charlie has that same stubborn fearlessness you always showed around us."

"I can only hope he'll be able to help my mom through all this," I said. "I'm afraid the stress of it all is going to make her sick, or that it will somehow cause permanent damage to her or the baby."

"She'll be fine. They both will. Just give it time."

Leah was less-than-thrilled that Charlie's easy acceptance of the situation meant Angela was a little more willing to move to Vermont for the duration of the war. Imprints came first, so as much as Leah wanted to stay and fight, Angela going to Vermont meant Leah was going with her. "The lee–vamps passing through will learn real quick to stay away from us," Leah said. Angela smacked Leah's arm whenever Leah started to use 'the L word' or any other slurs against vampires. She made it clear she wouldn't tolerate trash talk or name-calling from either side. If only that was all we had to worry about.

It happened all at once.

A surprise enemy, an old rival of Maria's, had crossed her path in Vermont and chosen to follow her back to the Cullen house. Witnessing practice sessions with the first weapons made with my venom, the vampire ran to a gas station down the road and called the front desk in the Castle Volterra. Focused on so many places and people at once, Alice had seen none of this. She did see Aro ordering simultaneous attacks on Stowe and Forks. This was followed by a vision of Marcus Volturi himself boarding a flight to Seattle with twenty Guards. Peter saw that Stowe would be attacked by more Volterran allies than Guards, expendable pawns Aro could afford to lose in his attempt to destroy our weapons. In La Push, Aro's decision to send twenty-one vampires to the reservation was a weapon in and of itself. Boys and girls as young as twelve shifted. Men and women in their thirties and forties shifted. I happened to be visiting my Dad at Billy's when Billy shifted.

"Whoa there, you okay?" Charlie asked Billy when he groaned and wavered as if dizzy to the point of sickness, then Billy cried out and doubled over in his chair. I lunged for my dad and pulled him away from Billy in the time it took him to draw a breath. My dad blinked, confused and alarmed as he found himself pressed against the wall furthest from Billy, one of my hands holding him in place behind me as Billy fell forward out of his chair, rolling and writhing on the ground as his body tried and failed to change into a strong, healthy wolf. My dad struggled, only hearing Billy's cries of pain, but I could hear so much more. I could hear the cracking and thudding of bones warping and shifting, the tearing of old and little-used muscle, and the noisome squelching of soft tissue and blood.

"He's shifting, Dad," I warned. "Stay back."

"I thought only teens and a few kids could change!"

"Almost everyone in the tribe has the gene, but it's not supposed to kick in like this. Shifting may kill Billy, but there's nothing we can do now."

As I spoke, Billy's grunts of pain turned into one long, piercing howl and he transformed. Russet fur like Jacob's covered his form, but tufts of grey fur gave him a speckled look. He was smaller than the other wolves, pony-sized rather than horse-sized. His hind legs dragged uselessly behind him as he tried to stand and walk. He wrinkled his nose as he looked across the small room at me, reacting to my distinctive scent but showing no signs of hostility. He no longer whimpered in pain, but there was a deep sadness in his eyes that broke my heart.

"Billy?" I whispered, "Can you hear others in the pack mind? Are they coming?" He nodded his big head once. "Is there anything I can do?" My breath caught. If I were human I'd be sobbing, shaking. My Dad trembled behind me. "Do you think you can change back?"

"He'll die the moment he does," an unfamiliar voice called from outside. I pulled my dad far from the door, darted over to crouch protectively in front of Billy, and loosed the most threatening growl I could muster as the scent of an unknown vampire reached me. A second later, I realized I could smell Jasper too, along with a few wolves, including Jake. By the time the door opened, I was standing normally, confused but convinced the newcomer had to be an ally, an ally allowed across the border no less.

"Bella, this is Jillian," Jasper said as he approached, sending gentle waves of calm into me, my shell-shocked dad, and the broken wolf behind me. Jillian, our third Saturno, stood strangely close to Jacob, significantly shorter than my friend but about my height, modest curves. She had long, curly, fawn-brown hair and delicate features. Looking at her, I felt certain she'd been a freckle-faced human. She somehow managed to look vampire-beautiful and human-average at the same time. She had kind eyes⏤gold eyes⏤and an inviting presence. She had called to me from outside.

"I thought the same, but how can you be sure it will kill him?" I asked, stepping aside as she and Jake both moved to kneel beside Billy, both stroking his fur soothingly. In the distance, I could hear several wolves approaching the house in wolf form.

"Taha Aki told me so," Jillian answered simply. Billy swung his head in her direction, wonder in his eyes.

"Taha Aki was the first in the history of our tribe to take wolf form," Jake explained. "My ancestor, and one of the last great spirit chiefs, thirteenth-century."

"That's why you allowed her across the border," I thought aloud. "She can speak to the dead, to your ancestors."

Jake choked out a wry laugh, on the verge of tears. "She can come and go as she pleases because I went and imprinted on a vampire. Her connection to our ancestors will make this easier for all of us." With that, Jake moved a few feet back and shifted, joining his father in the pack mind.

"He needs to say goodbye," Jillian explained. "Taha Aki, the other chiefs, sons of chiefs… they're all gathering here for the passing of the torch. The way the wolves heal, Billy's body will never be the way it was again. My other gift, my healing power, is no help here. If he tries to change back, he will die an excruciating death, but he cannot remain like this either."

"This is happening because of us," Jasper murmured in the slightly deeper tones of his alter ego, "because Aro found out we're making weapons and sent a third of the Guard this way. Bad enough that a bunch of children turned, and now this. The least I could do was offer my services."

Jasper clenched his jaw tightly as he bit out the word 'services'. The Major was coming forward to guard his heart while he did something terrible. Meanwhile, the entire pack had gathered and stood in silent vigil just outside, all in wolf form, listening to their dying chief.

"I only hope you can forgive my request," Jasper continued, "but I'll need your help. It will take our combined power to…" Kill him. It hit me all at once, and I wanted to scream, cry, break things. My mind was reeling, but then I looked over at my own father in the corner, ashen-faced and frozen in fear. His brown eyes met mine, questioning, pleading.

"Our venom poisons them," I said to no one in particular, bracing myself. "If I amplify your gift, you can sedate him enough to keep his body from healing, and he won't feel the bites or the poison working. The pack won't feel it through the pack mind."

"I'll bite him," Jasper insisted. "I won't let you take that on yourself. The very thought of involving you in this at all… Bella, I'm so sorry."

Billy and Jacob we're nose-to-nose on the floor. Jillian had moved to kneel beside Jacob, her fingers in his fur. I took Jasper's hand and pulled him down beside Billy. "It's the least we can do."

"I give you this one thought to keep: I am with you still, I do not sleep." I was about to amplify when Jillian started to sing, her voice warm and sweet. "I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the swift, uplifting rush of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night." Jillian locked eyes with me, nodding in encouragement. I amplified and Jasper poured peace and lethargy into Billy. "Do not think of me as gone. I am with you still in each new dawn."

Jillian's song died with Billy Black. While I held Jasper's hand, he bent over Billy and bit his neck on both sides, biting him twice more just behind his front legs, near his heart. We only had to wait a couple minutes after that. I rested my head on Jasper's shoulder, still amplifying, and I heard my dad slowly approaching, felt his warm hand grip my shoulder. Another beat of silence, then Billy was gone and howls of grief surrounded us, a farewell chorus in the night.