Cooking with Tanya was strangely domestic. It was something I wasn't used to when dating vampires. It was nice having her in the kitchen with me. She was good at following instructions.

"How did you find this cabin?" I asked, unable to contain my curiosity.

"I was hunting," Tanya answered. "Came across this cabin. It was abandoned when I found it but I fixed it up and here we are."

"I like it," I said.

She kissed me. "I'm glad you do. I didn't realize how handy it would be when I first found it."

I put the salmon in the oven. "We have about fifteen minutes and it will be done. Are you going to need to hunt before tomorrow?"

"No. I hunted before I got you. I'll be fine till after the battle," she assured me.

"Is that what the others are doing tonight?" I questioned.

"Yes, they're all hunting tonight," she said. "I went earlier so I didn't have to leave you alone."

"Do you think Victoria will try something tonight?" I wondered.

Tanya shook her head. "No, we're all confident she will wait until tomorrow, when everyone is distracted by the newborns. That's assuming she tries anything at all. She may not since we have so many on our side."

Tanya pulled me to the couch. "I want to go to college," I told her after a few minutes of silence.

"College," Tanya repeated. "I figured as much since you started putting so much effort into your schooling. Why are you telling me this?"

I pulled away from her so I could see her reaction. "Because I don't know where I want to go, and when I do decide, I don't know if it will be Alaska," I said honestly.

"Bella," Tanya sighed. "It doesn't matter where you go. I will still follow you. You should pick somewhere you want to go."

"That's what Kate said," I told her.

"Kate can be smart sometimes," Tanya said. I laughed. She did have her moments. "Stop worrying about making everyone happy Bella. Do what makes you happy."

The timer went off and I jumped up to get the salmon out of the oven. Before I got make it to the kitchen Tanya was already up and serving the food. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and followed Tanya back to the living room.

Tanya patiently waited for me to eat. We didn't talk. There really wasn't a need to talk. The silence was oddly comforting. The closer I got to finishing my food the more nervous I was. I wasn't sure why. There was no pressure of any kind for tonight. But the thought of the lingerie Alice picked out was at the forefront of my mind.

"How do you feel about sex?" I blurted out.

Whatever Tanya expected me to say, this was not it. I imagine if she was human, she would be blushing. "I happen to like sex," she said. I blushed. "But that's not what you wanted to know."

"Do you think about us like that?" I questioned.

Tanya turned to face me. "Bella, what is this about?"

"It's nothing," I said quickly. Tanya raised an eyebrow at me. "It's… something Kate said."

Tanya growled. I could hear exactly what she was saying but I caught some words. "Meddlesome… idiot… sister," were among those words.

"Don't be mad at her," I said before Tanya could start threatening Kate. "In her own, Kate way, she was trying to help."

"Help how?" Tanya asked. She looked like she was plotting ways to kill her sister. I hope I had a chance to warn Kate before Tanya found her.

"She made me think." I took a deep breath. This was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The thought of being physical had crossed my mind once or twice but I knew Edward would never go through with it. Tanya was the one vampire that could, and would, sleep with a human.

"Bella," Tanya said softly. "What are you thinking?"

"I want to be with you," I admitted.

I closed my eyes and held my breath, waiting for her response. A minute passed by and still she hadn't said anything. I opened my eyes and found she was staring at me. "Is this what you actually want, or what you think is expected of you?"

"I… it's what I want," I answered, although I didn't sound so sure.

"Bella…" she started.

I didn't let her finish. I kissed her and straddled her lap. I wasn't great at expressing myself. But I could show her that I wanted her. I should have known I wouldn't be able to take her by surprise. "Bella." I tried to move off her lap but she held me in place. "Bella, I want to know that this is what you want. Not what you think I want from you."

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too," she said automatically. She kissed me. "That didn't tell me anything."

I sighed. She wasn't going to let this go. "I won't say I'm not scared because I am. But I love you and I want to be with you. It's not some spur of the moment decision. I've been thinking about it for a while but I didn't know how to bring it up."

"Bella, you can talk to me about anything," Tanya said. "I would never make you feel bad for wanting to talk about something like this."

"I know," I said.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Tanya asked.

"I'm sure," I said.

She wrapped her arms around me and lifted us both off the couch. She carried me to the bedroom and gently laid me on the bed. She sat up and pulled her shirt off. "Are you still sure?" Tanya asked concerned.

I sat up and took my own shirt off. I pulled her down to me and kissed her. "I'm sure."

The next morning when I woke up, I was alone in the bed. My heart pounded in my chest. Tanya was gone, and I was all alone.

Before I had a chance to panic, I felt cold arms around my naked body. "I'm here Bella," Tanya said softly.

"Sorry," I said embarrassed. "I woke up and I was alone. I thought after last night…"

"Last night was perfect," Tanya assured me. "I made you breakfast but I didn't think of how you would react if I wasn't here. I'm sorry."

I stretched my muscles. I was sore but it wasn't painful. In fact, it was barely noticeable. My stomach growled and Tanya laughed. She kissed me and disappeared out of the bedroom. She returned not even a minute later with a plate full of food.

"Thank you," I said gratefully. I climbed out of the bed and quickly put my clothes back on. I glanced at Tanya and saw she was pouting.

Once I was situated in bed, she handed me the warm plate. "What time is it?" I asked, looking around for a clock. I didn't see one.

"Just after eight," she answered.

"How long do we have?" I asked hesitantly. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"Three hours," Tanya answered reluctantly. She stared at me as if she was waiting for me to panic.

I wasn't panicking. I was nervous. But I wasn't panicking. I trusted that they would be okay. I trusted that Jasper did a good job training them. "And Seth?" I wondered.

"He's around," Tanya said. "He's been here the last hour, running the perimeter. I cooked plenty of food for him but I wanted you to be dressed before I invited him in."

"Can he hear us?" I asked. Tanya nodded. "Seth come on in."

A couple minutes passed before the front door opened. "Honey, I'm home," Seth announced.

Tanya rolled her eyes at him. "He's too cheerful."

I laughed as Seth walked into the room. "Hey Bells," he greeted. He sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose in disgust. I blushed. "Is that food for me?"

"Yes, it is," Tanya said. "Go eat."

Seth didn't need to be told twice. He stormed off to the kitchen. Seconds later I could hear him shoveling food into his mouth. It was pretty impressive considering I didn't have enhanced hearing.

"Come on," Tanya said taking my plate. "I may have to cook more food for him."

I followed Tanya out of the bedroom. Seth had already eaten most of the food. There were only a few pancakes left. "Still hungry?" I asked Seth. He nodded; mouth full of pancake. "I'll make more."

"Bella you need to eat," Tanya reminded me. I glanced at my half-eaten plate of food in her hand and sighed.

I took the plate from her hand and sat on the couch. Seth grabbed the plate of pancakes and sat beside me while Tanya cooked more food. "Are you nervous Bella?" Seth questioned.

"A little," I said. He stared at me. "Okay, a lot."

"Don't be. Jasper did a great job training us," Seth said. "Look, I know you're worried and I know nothing I say will change that. But you gotta trust us. We know what we're doing. While they take care of the newborns, I'll be here to take care of you and Tanya." He looked at Tanya. "I'll phase before the battle starts so I can keep tabs on what's going on. I'll phase back if I need to pass anything along."

"I appreciate what you're doing Seth," Tanya said gratefully. She wrapped her arms around me. I sat the empty plate down and leaned against her.

The closer we got to eleven the more nervous I was. My heart was pounding in my chest. I knew they were both aware of it. But they were nice enough not to comment.

Seth was back outside running around the cabin in case a newborn made their way over. Tanya thought it was unlikely to happen but it kept Seth busy.

Seth reappeared as a human. "It's clear outside," he reported. "The pack is in the clearing waiting. They can smell the newborns."

I tensed up. This was it. It was starting.

Seth glanced at the door. "Go Seth," Taya told him.

"So, it begins," I muttered.

She wrapped her arms around me. "So, it begins," she echoed.

I don't know what I expected when the battle started. We were miles away from the clearing. Not even Tanya could hear what was going on. Seth was still outside. He knew what was going on. But he didn't come inside to report. I hoped that was good news.

"Everything's fine," Tanya said kissing my cheek. "Trust that and if you can't… trust that Jasper did everything he could to prepare them."

I nodded. I trusted Jasper. I trusted that he did everything he could for them. I also trusted he would keep them safe in the clearing. It was what he did. He was a warrior, a protector.

I didn't realize I had fallen asleep until Tanya shook me awake. "Bella, wake up, now," Tanya hissed in my ear. She was tense. I could hear it in her voice. Something was wrong.

"What's going on?" I asked suddenly alert. I sat up and looked around. Nothing had changed.

"Victoria," Tanya spat. "I can smell her. She's nearby. Get your shoes on quickly."

I ran into the bedroom and grabbed my shoes. I tied them as quickly as possible and ran back to the living room. "What are we doing?"

"We are leaving. There is someone with her. I need to get you out of here," Tanya said in a rush.

"What about Se—" Tanya clamped a hand over my mouth and I understood. Seth was hidden away from Victoria and her companion. Tanya planned on using him and did not want Victoria to know about it.

Tanya pulled me into her arms and took off running. It took me a moment to realize we weren't heading toward the others. We were going in the opposite direction. Away from town and away from help.

Finally, we stopped. It wasn't a clearing. It was a small wooded area. "Stay behind me," Tanya instructed.

Her eyes darted back and forth between the trees. Victoria must be close. I heard the crunching of leaves before I saw anything. When the figure appeared, I expected it to be Victoria. I expected red, wild hair.

But it wasn't Victoria.

It was a man, a man I recognized as Riley Biers.