*slight trigger warning: vaguely describedsexualassault*

The name alone itched at the very corners of her soul, leaving an aching wound that practically matched that of the loss of her son. Emmett stood behind Elisabette, a goofy grin plastered on his face. If Elisabette was more acquainted with him, she could probably believe that the expression was normal. She let out a deep sigh, one he couldn't have missed. Turning on her heel, she noticed his broad arms crossed against his muscular chest. It was a defensive position and she knew that, even if he didn't.

"Can I help you with something?" Her tone was snarky, still he smiled.

"If you're game, then yes."

"And if I'm not?"

He simply shrugged, a cocky way of telling Elisabette that he didn't believe she would deny him. A tugging in her brain told her to leave. If she was smart, she would have listened to the feeling that told her that whatever was going to be proposed to her was not a good idea. Luckily for Emmett, Elisabette hated herself enough to stay, to listen to a possible threat to her life.

"Fine," she conceded. Every second that passed gnawed at her, chewing at her soul like a rabid animal. It was similar to how she felt, defenseless prey under attack by a predator much larger than herself.

"There's an army." Suddenly he was serious, which worried her.

"Where's your soldier?" Now her arms were crossed.

Emmett sighed, "Training us. Alice saw you, though, and he wanted us to ask you."

It was the moment that he looked down that Lissa realized he was talking about Jasper. Carlisle personally asked for Elisabette's help. Her throat felt like it would close, and her brain fell into a black hole.

She managed to stutter through an answer. The smile Emmett had donned was no longer there, replaced by a grim, almost regretful, face.

"Edward's found someone."

"Good for the little leech," she replied sardonically. Any remnants of positivity had long vanished with the knowledge of Carlisle's invitation.

"She's human."

Elisabette scoffed, "As if Edward could ever find a vampire to put up with him, let alone a human."

Upon seeing the chestnut locks and deep brown eyes of Bella Swan, Elisabette was convinced that Edward was an idiot. She was pleased to learn that Rosalie was in agreement. It was sort of annoying to Elisabette the way that Bella's heart sped up when they crossed paths. Suddenly, Lissa was no longer the prey, she fell into the role of predator, and she quite enjoyed it.

"Stop!" Edward's hand wrapped around Lissa's throat, his red eyes glaring with a familiar anger. Lissa had seen that absolute loathing in the mirror countless times before.

Lissa smirked, an antagonizing move, "Don't like them, don't listen to them." To emphasize her point, she licked her venom coated incisors, Bella's fearful eyes locked on her own.

"E-Edward please j-just put her down," her timid voice was enough to soften Edward's grip, but never his eyes.

"Son, put her down." A pale hand on the shoulder and a calm authoritative voice was enough for Edward's hand to completely drop, leaving Lissa a victim of gravity.

Carlisle extended an arm, which she ignored. As she stood, Carlisle spoke again, "We greatly appreciate your presence. Jasper is extremely skilled in his training, but your strategy outplays his." After a brief hesitation, he added, "We need you."

Lissa looked up, meeting his own scarlet eyes, soft in their own way despite their harsh color. "You need me?" It was more desperate than she had intended, but she truly didn't care. Carlisle needed her again. He put a hand on her shoulder, providing his own version of a response. The lack of usual attention to her person reminded her of Esme's existence. She was bitter again, but pushed the thought away. He needed her. His own wife could never satisfy this need. She knew that; he needed her.

"Please," he motioned towards the stairs, "let us talk with Jasper in my study, privately." She gave a curt nod, looking in the direction of Rosalie's disappearing frame, a farewell.

"We've already decided that the wolves give an advantage. The newborns won't know they exist," Jasper said.

"That was smart. Have they been attending your training sessions?"

"Only watching." Elisabette frowned at Carlisle's response.

"Have they ever fought an actual vampire?" Her arms crossed.

Jasper thought for a second, "Yes, actually. They killed a nomad who threatened Bella's life while we were gone." Gone? At her confusion, Jasper shook his head, "I'll have Emmett explain later, this takes precedence."

She rolled her eyes, "So they've never fought multiple at once?" Both men shook their heads at her. "Have any of you trained as a group?"

"I've been training them one on one."

"Is battle one on one, Major?" He shook his head, his eyes falling to the ground.

"You no longer have the time to properly train them as a group, we'll have to take what we can get. All of you are viciously underprepared." She was looking at Carlisle, his presence represented the majority of them, who had never had to fight, not for survival, anyway.

"If that's the end then-"

"It's not," Lissa interrupted Carlisle, "I have one last thing. We'll need to surprise them with numbers. If the main perpetrators won't be at the forefront of the battle, there's the slight chance their 'soldiers' have no idea how many they're up against."

Jasper nodded, unsure how the thought had never crossed his mind. Their army was simply a distraction, they would never have properly trained them. It was a death sentence for the newborns, not that Elisabette was there.

That night, Lissa was sentenced - at least in her mind - to listen to the steady heartbeat of Bella. The human had fallen asleep on the couch, a light blanket covered her body, courtesy of Esme. Lissa had to fight the urge to roll her eyes when she saw the motherly action. Then she had to face the hurt. She had been a mother, and now she couldn't even name her son. A hole reopened in her chest, burning her frozen veins, making its way up her throat, where the burn started. She left the house, knowing Carlisle would hate her if she killed Bella.

Lissa ran until mud caked her shoes, branches and leaves clouded her hair, and water soaked her clothes. It only took a second for her to smell the blood. Fresh, a cut or scratch. She followed her predatory instincts to the source of the smell: a fallen hiker.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay?!" She rushed to him, kneeling beside him, concern painting her face.

"I fell from the ledge," he managed to speak through the pain.

A grip to his bleeding arm, cut by the jagged rocks he lay on, told her all she needed. His hand tightly gripped the honey blonde hair of a girl, no older than fifteen, the fingers on his opposite hand digging into her pale skin, a few bruises having already formed. She screamed at him to stop, tears flowing from her light eyes, her own nails leaving scratches on his forearms. Lissa grimaced and her mind didn't need to be made.

"Can you help me? Call 911?" His face was contorted in extreme pain, not allowing him to see the vampire's amused face.

"Oh, so sorry. No can do."

"What-" She exposed her fangs, dripping with venom, before she took his surely broken arm in her mouth.

After she finished, she made sure to cover her tracks, taking a jagged rock to her victim's arm, covering the bitemarks. Since she hadn't drained him completely of blood, it wouldn't be too suspicious when an autopsy was done. It would be believed that the fall killed him, the missing blood probably washed away in the approaching rain. It brought an almost sadness, to know that people would think he died so innocently, rather than killed to atone for his atrocities. She almost laughed at the thought, that she was so righteous, like it wasn't just happenstance that he was dying and horrible.

"Hello, 911?" Her bell-tone voice rang through the phone, "I was walking through the forest, and I - a man - looks like he's fallen from the ledge! I think he's dead!" Faux fear bled into her voice. It had been hours since she'd fed. Lissa had been sitting by the body, wishing for something different. A different life, timeline, fate. Some part of her wished she'd just been fed on by her murderer, some hopeless soul lost in time. The burn of the venom was enough to singe whatever heart she'd had. She hoped she'd been kinder to her son than she'd been to herself. Cloudy tears fell onto her face, and she was so annoyed with herself.

By the time the emergency responders had actually responded, she was long gone, perplexing the police who needed her for questioning. Only one of them took notice of the faint scars of scratch marks on his arm, a chain reaction. Elisabette smiled from her spot in the tree, knowing he would truly be tried, even in death. Some other poor girl would, hopefully, receive her justice.