~ Chapter 40 ~

Send a heartbeat to
The void that cries through you
Relive the pictures that have come to pass
For now we stand alone
The world is lost and blown
And we are flesh and blood disintegrate
With no more to hate

Is it bright where you are
Have the people changed
Does it make you happy you're so strange
And in your darkest hour
I hold secrets flame
We can watch the world devoured in it's pain

Delivered from the blast
The last of a line of lasts
The pale princess of a palace cracked
And now the kingdom comes
Crashing down undone
And I am a master of a nothing place

Emma surfaced first, she had been pushing her gift to its limits by keeping track of Oliver as they moved through the dark and murky water, and looking out for where their pursuers were. She wasn't worried about Oliver so much, though she could still feel the panic in him as he worried about what might still be following them. Oliver came up a second later, and immediately took stock of their situation. Even though Emma could tell him that all was well and that their pursuers hadn't continued the chase once they made it to the water, he proceeded to scan the uneven surface of the lake with a careful eye. They faced each other once Oliver was sure of their safety.

"We need to split up." She said quietly. Oliver frowned at her. "We need to warn the Caravelli's, and we also need to get ready to leave and prepare Zoey. I guess it's time for her to make her choice." Emma kept her whisper so low that her voice was almost drowned out by the lapping water surrounding them.

"Fuck, you think they're crazy enough to go after the family? How many of them are there?" Oliver replied with a combination of fear and surprise. If the family was in danger what could they possibly do? Not many covens could match the Cavavelli's, who were one of the more powerful ones in the world, as far as he knew. What Oliver did know was that the Caravelli's had settled the base of their power in Chicago, because it allowed them access to both the east and the west coasts, where they had a multitude of legitimate and illegitimate interests.

"I didn't get an exact number from them, but I did get the impression that they had basically an army of several dozen newborns and those wolf things. Whatever is going on, I don't think this is a random attack. Based on the flashes of thoughts I was able to pick up from their minds…I have reason to believe this is a long thought out plan, being precisely carried out. I dug up some snippets of information from several of them back there, that gave me the impression they are being actively recruited in large numbers, given at least cursory training, and set out on missions. That seems like a very specific organizational structure to me." Emma had spent most of the chase organizing the scattered images and jumbled sentences from the minds of their pursuers. All together it was a mess, but it painted a rather unsettling picture. The only other thing she got was a name, Dr. Tepes.

They made their way to the nearest non-commercial pier, shaking a little to rid themselves of extra water. "All right, we split up? Meet at Uriel's?" Oliver suggested reluctantly. He didn't like the idea of going their separate ways. It was the best option given their situation. His first impulse was to go to the Caravelli's since they weren't exactly friendly, and he didn't want to put Emma in excess danger. Warning them was almost a requirement given their history with the family, but Emma shook her head and motioned for him to go after Zoey. He frowned, and shook his head at her. She narrowed her eyes at him, and silently gestured him towards their apartment in a manner that brooked no argument. Begrudgingly he nodded once in agreement, before taking off.

Emma remained still for several seconds, watching him as he disappeared down an alleyway before turning and heading in the opposite direction. She knew this route all too well, she was making a b-line towards the edge of the home territory of one of the most ruthless coven in the world, and the most dangerous organized crime family in America. She expected to feel the minds of the wolves and vampires after them as she began to move, but none seemed to be lingering near the coastline, which meant they were outside of her limited range. She didn't like the implications of that. She wasn't sure where they had come from, or what was going on. As someone who prided herself on knowing everything that was happening around her at all times, it was not a pleasant experience to be this much in the dark. Once she was on the move she restrained her pace. She could move a lot faster if she needed to, all vampires could, but she sacrificed her speed for stealth and extreme caution. She moved through the canyons of skyscrapers towards Milton's just off of Walton, which was the closest friendly contact she knew of.

The bouncer gave her a sideways look as she approached, taking in her still sodden attire. Emma guessed that he must've been new since she had never seen him before, and she was a semi-regular here. Or it could be because she was still soaked from head to toe, but his casual attitude at least gave her a moment of reprieve. This was Nino George Milton's place. He was a Cappo of the Caravelli family, and one of the only non-family members to have ascended to such a high a level of position and respect. Also as an outsider who worked his way up from the bottom, which made him generally more receptive to freelancers and independents. Nino liked Emma, and had frequently tried to charm her away from Oliver. She had never told him that she and Oliver were only friends, because the thought of being mated to Nino was repulsive.

"Need to speak to Nino. Tell him it's Emma." Emma sighed and leaned against the doorstop to take a breath and calm herself down. Taking the breath didn't really help, because she smelled horrible from the lake water. The bouncer gave her another look that was just as curious, but tinged with a touch of hostility as well. She didn't blame him for the hostility. It was his job to be suspicious and guarded. He pulled out a cell, and texted with a deft thumb, not taking his eyes off of her for a second. For a big guy he was surprisingly dexterous.

She was surprised that he was human, she thought most of the enforcers under Nino's employ were immortals. She was tempted to read his mind but she'd been expending herself quite a lot already, and she was already feeling the need for blood. Shutting down that many minds was far more taxing than she thought it would be, she felt a the flames of thirst burning at her throat, but she pushed it aside. Deciding it was best to feed at home, when she was sure of the purity of the blood. A moment later the bouncer looked up and motioned for her to go inside. She started to gave him a seductive smile out of habit, before realizing that she must've looked a bit like a wet cat.

Once inside, her senses were assaulted by the combination of music with overly loud base, and the heavy smell of sweat and alcohol. Looking around the crowded area, she moved through the din of booze and dancing, working her way over to the bar, where she made the same inquiry that she did at the door. The bartender was even more out of the loop than the bouncer, and took a long time to call over a manager that showed her into a roped off backroom. He was also someone she didn't recognize, and human to boot. Although out of respect for Nino she didn't pry into this stranger's mind. The large space was set up as a small casino complete with roulette, craps, and several card tables. On the back wall was a bank of slot machines and a secondary bar, all of them were empty.

The manager continued past all the tables to another roped off door, that lead to a second secret backroom. This one was devoted to vampires. She'd been there several times, and had a good reputation among the 'blood dolls', since she never went too far. Direct feeding was off the table of course except by invitation of the owner. Especially since Nino spent a lot of time and good money insuring the dolls had some of the purist and richest blood in the city. They may have been slaves, but they lived better than most humans could imagine. They had gourmet food prepared by four star chefs, luxurious living conditions, and a personal groomer that took care of their every physical and fashion need, like one half personal trainer and one half professional valet.

It still disgusted her to an extent, but she understood the appeal for both sides of the equation. Not every vampire was okay with taking life, and most couldn't stomach the taste of animal blood like the famous Olympic Coven of vegetarians. She just always thought of it like a farmer caring for an animal before a county fair or something. Fattening them up, and treating them well so that their blood tasted better. It made her think of the old saying; 'You are what you eat', in this case literally.

Still the manager kept going, past the semi-private booths that were also empty, to a door marked Private. She looked at the manager again, a short round man with a thick wiry mustache and a bald spot that he tried to comb over. He gave her a nervous smile when he noticed her examination. His red face and rapidly beating heart set off a warning bell. There were too many humans here, and that made her nervous. The Casino which was never closed, was empty. And not a single vampire was in the back room, which literally never happened. She should've been more observant, but the safety of a known place made her oblivious to obvious warning signs.

She narrowed her gift from a more general wide sweep that would warn her if one of the vampires that attacked her was in range, to a direct focus on this small man. In the short five seconds it took to scan his thoughts she realized this was another set up. She pushed the pudgy man aside, sending him flying into the wall. It was enough to keep him out of any equation for the moment, but on the off chance Nino liked him, she didn't feel the need to squash him. Before the fat man's unconscious form sunk to the ground she kicked down Nino's office door. She could feel the vampire mind on the other side and wasn't in the mood to waste time. At the last moment she directed her gift directly towards Nino, to get a gauge of his mood. Except the mind on the other side of the door wasn't who she expected.

Nino's beheaded corpse was on the floor, and a figure was kneeling over his body stacking up the pieces of it in a tidy pile. Emma stopped and stared in disbelief, the sandy blonde hair of the woman was far too familiar. She pushed into the mind of this new vampire, and instantly pulled back. She had changed her name long ago, but it was definitely her. Emma backed up a couple of steps.

"So you're 'Emma'. I have to say I didn't expect it to be you. Escaping our ambush and gallantly coming to warn the vampire mob, tsk tsk, shame on you." Playful malevolence filled the vampire's voice, as she turned to met Emma's glare, which was filled with more hate than Emma ever thought she would feel towards her old friend. It had been far too long since they parted ways, and time had apparently festered Emma's memory of her.

"I have no quarrel with you. No matter whose company you prefer to keep." Emma took another subtle step backwards, she had no interest in fighting her old 'friend.' No matter how she felt about her now. She couldn't help herself from practically spitting out the word "company" though.

The woman didn't seem to respond for a moment, instead she aggressively dragged a wooden match across a strike pad, and flicked it at the headless body of Nino, which immediately went up like tinder. She regarded Emma silently for a few moments before smiling slowly. "Ah, that may be true. Unfortunately I do have a quarrel with you though. Anyone connected to the Caravelli's needs to be put down. That includes their pet do-gooder investigators. I'm sorry, it really isn't personal... well okay maybe it's a little personal. You want to tell me where your partner 'Oliver' is?" She asked calmly, but the moment she finished the question she didn't hesitate, and rushed towards Emma with a vicious growl.

Emma sighed inwardly, and slammed her gift into the other vampire's mind with such force that the woman literally collapsed on the floor mid-stride, and would've been drooling in a puddle of her own venom if that were possible. She ruthlessly wormed her way through the woman's mind without much restraint, forgoing her usual delicate touch. She knew the damage she was doing, and for once she almost took joy in inflicting the pain it caused. Of the many things Emma managed to derive from Harley's mind, most of it was inane and pointless. Like her new name, chosen for truly superficial reasons. At least Emma's own reasons for changing her name had personal significance.

"Harley? Really? That's what your calling yourself now? Oh! You thought your name was too nice and human. God, you really always were a stupid, selfish, insipid girl. I wish I had the time to wipe your mind clean, but I have other pressing business. Now look, I need you to listen to me very carefully. You will not follow us, you will not remember us, and you will never speak our names to anyone, ever. Do you understand?" Emma's voice echoed in the other vampire's mind and attached itself to her memories as an absolute command. Harley mumbled a 'yes' accompanied by a vague nod of assent. "Good, now sleep. I know it's hard, but you need it."

Emma sifted through what memories she could without tripping over her own implanted command, while she waited for Harley to lose consciousness. It was something that always gave her a lift. It wasn't easy to make a vampire lose consciousness, since it was contrary to their nature, but it gave her a perverse pleasure to do it no matter the trouble. Once she was unconscious, Emma took one last lingering look at Harley, pushing the sorting and organizing of the fractured pile of memories she managed to pull from her, to the back of her mind.

She normally would've been able to get a much clearer and deeper idea of what they were dealing with, but she was straining as it was. It was a testament to just how much she had overexerted herself earlier in the evening, that she was barely able to command a witless vampire into unconsciousness, and dig through her mind with none of her usual care and finesse. She sighed, and clenched her eyes shut for a moment, in an attempt to fight off the monster of a migraine threatening to form behind her eyes.

Then she left the club as quickly as she could without drawing attention to herself. Thankfully Harley didn't have any backup, since they were apparently otherwise engaged. Emma made it out to a parking garage ten or so blocks away, and immediately cloaked herself from view while she took stock of her situation. It wasn't the best defense in the world, since not every mind was susceptible to mental trickery, and it was even more risky when she'd over exerted herself so much already, but it worked in a pinch.

She finally got a better picture of the attack, the ambush set up for them was really was only one of many. She wasn't sure since she was connecting the dots from a dozen separate points of view, but it felt like it was directly connected to the rumors of the attacks they had heard were happening in other parts of the world. What bothered her was that the Volturi hadn't interfered, or if they had it wasn't common knowledge, which was unlikely given their reputation.

She brought the task she'd shoved on the back burner of her mind to her attention, and began to actively sift through the barely organized chaos of Harley's memories. Minds were impossible to predict, everyone had a unique way of organizing their memories, and each was a puzzle that needed to be solved. She didn't have time to work out all the details in the short time she had. So she went for surface information, and the only thing that had been dominating Harley's thoughts was the attack against the Caravelli's, which was already underway.

Emma knew she was probably already too late, but she had to try. So moved quickly towards the Caravelli family's main house, keeping as much to the shadows possible. Two blocks away she could see the fire, and the plume of thick smoke billowing up into the dark sky. She didn't have to get closer to know what that meant, and the numerous fire engine sirens blaring their mournful cry into the careless city, made her even less inclined to investigate. Yet, she did owe the family a measure of loyalty. They had been gracious with her on more than one occasion.

With a deep sigh she climbed up onto the roof of a nearby apartment building, and jumped over rooftops the final two blocks until she could see the once proud and expansive estate. The flares of purple fire were a telltale sign of it's true purpose, to destroy vampire remains. The house itself was engulfed in a blaze so intense that she could feel the heat from hundreds of feet away.

Without so much as a prayer for the fallen, she turned and made a b-line for Uriel's. She didn't know what Oliver was dealing with, although she hoped he was faring better than her, for Zoey's sake, but her obligation to warn the Caravelli coven was over. Now she had to look out for herself and her… family.

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The cool voice caused ripples of reaction through the group. It provoked different reactions in the people gathered around the fire. For the wolves it was almost as if a kind of primal rage washed over them unilaterally. The human snarls almost instantly gave way to wolf growls as five of the younger shifters phased and launched themselves towards the threat. Despite them being in a meeting with vampires, someone sneaking up on them still set them off. Even the elder wolves all fought that initial instinctual pull, but managed to remain in place.

Jacob frowned, and turned towards his pups with frustration and anger. His voice cracked like a whip, and rang with pure authority as he called out over even the sound of their snarls. "Heel!" The humiliating command forced the younger wolves to stop in place as if they'd suddenly run over a trap of superglue. More than one of them started to shift their weight back and forth slightly, their instincts to fight combating their instinctual need to obey their Alpha, though none of their fight instincts were strong enough to override the alpha's command. Still, even though there was ten meters of distance between them and the strange vampire, they began to snap and growl viciously at her.

Isabella reacted a split second before the rest of her Coven who all stood in unison and turned towards the potential threat. Isabella frowned in confusion as she stepped slowly around the fire to approach the figure, Alice kept to her side, pulled there by their joined hands. Eliza was moving a moment after her mother. Bree was right behind them, though she attempted to stand on her tip toes to see over the shoulders of those in front of her to see the new arrival first. Leah and Seth soon joined their respective mate's sides. Rosalie joined the ranks next to Eliza and Emmett followed right behind her.

Jasper took a more tactical approach, and began to survey the surrounding forest for any more unexpected enemies. Adara looked to her husband for a moment before splitting off from him to move to the opposite side that Jasper had taken, stretching out her senses to take in everything. Yet given the relatively low light, and the ambient noise of the people around her, she knew it was unlikely she was going to pick up much of anything beyond the firelight. The Council all stood but stayed in place, and the bulk of the pack all quickly surrounded them for protection.

Jacob and Tekali soon joined Isabella and Alice as they met the stranger's unflinching and clearly hostile gaze. The stranger stood still as the wolves threatened her, almost as if she didn't care or wasn't worried about the danger they posed.

They all took in her simple yet strangely menacing appearance. She didn't seem dangerous on casual inspection, but the nature of her posture and the deadly fire behind her eyes immediately belied that impression. She was of medium height and slender, her oval face and luxuriously glossy black hair was shadowed in the low light, and her dark crimson eyes flicked across the faces of all present as if she were judging their level of threat. She was darkly clothed, but her clothing was highly modified to include padding and armor. The stylized look was mostly for show, and to conceal weapons.

Isabella never could figure out how they had forged weapons strong enough to that someone with her skill could inflict wounds on vampires. It was those weapons that gave her pause more than anything, not that they were much more than a deterrent to her, but Mei was good enough that she could slow her down and turn the fight in her favor. Her very long hair obscured her face when Isabella met her eyes, but there was no mistaking that glare. Isabella almost shook her head in continued confusion, there was no logical reason for her presence especially here and now.

"Mei?" Eliza said with curiosity, and a bit of relief.

"Executioner." Mei nodded at Eliza once, and then turned to Isabella again. "Assassin." Mei nodded slightly in respect. "Call off your mongrels, now." Her voice was a soft hiss and there was nothing friendly in her tone or her gaze.

Isabella examined Mei's expression, and realized this wasn't any kind of friendly visit. There was hatred in her eyes. She took a step forward to address her as the leader of the group. Alice stayed at her side, unwilling to let go of her hand. When Isabella spoke, her voice was more cautious than Eliza's exclamation, "Mei, this is an unexpected surprise. I hope you don't find it offensive to ask what are you doing here?"

"Surprised that I survived the purge? Or Surprised I would come here?" Mei's voice hissed out, practically vibrating with rage before she seemed to calm herself.

"I would apologize for my interruption, but my patience is long exhausted. My manners fail me, yet honor demands me to claim vengeance against you. As is, I am giving you far more than you deserve out of respect to our previous associations, Assassin, yet that debt and those tenuous ties are nowhere near enough for me to forgive your despicable transgressions against my Coven. So without any undo malice, I challenge you to single combat to the death. If you have any honor left that is." Mei's voice was controlled, and far too formal.

"Why?" Isabella asked, ignoring Jacob's questioning glare. Isabella straightened her expression into a neutral one, even though she was wary and increasingly confused by her old ally's strange appearance. She had learned long ago to be cautious, and her instincts were brimming with the need to meet this challenge head on. Only her complete bafflement kept her from immediately engaging.

"You are the biggest threat at the moment to be perfectly honest, and though it's unlikely my vengeance would be sated by your death. If you promise to fight me honorably, then I will not be forced slaughter all your companions, vampires and curs alike." Mei's voice broke slightly, and the emotion behind her threats momentarily flooded her face with emotion, before going flat again.

Isabella stiffened and started to pull her hand from Alice's, expecting resistance, but Alice quickly released her and slowly stepped backwards, to disappear behind the group. Isabella could almost feel her move away. She wanted to ask why, but the situation hardly gave her an opportunity. Reluctantly Isabella scanned Mei's face, despite the other vampire's attempt to keep a mask of indifference and calm up, Isabella was intimately familiar with anger and it's power. She recognized the towering rage that was bubbling inside the vampire.

Isabella didn't want to think of the brutality Mei was capable of with that level of anger, and with this amount of rage she had no idea what Mei would do, or who would be injured or killed if this fell apart into a larger confrontation. While Isabella was confident in herself, if Mei could win in a fight against her, the rest of the Coven might be in moderate trouble. Well they would be if Eliza wasn't around. She was dangerous because Mei was bonded with... Isabella realized her mistake even as the one of the young wolves standing between her and Mei seemed to snap forward in preparation to launch himself in attack. Jacob opened his mouth to snap a reprimand at the wolf, but it was too late.

The young wolf leapt with a diminutive growl, its wiry legs pounding against the soft grass towards a very ambivalent Mei. Then a vicious roar so loud and intimidating, that even Isabella felt an instinctual twinge, erupted from the tree line at Mei's back. In the next instant, Isabella started to move in an attempt intercede knowing what was about to come, Jacob phased to take down his pup almost in unison with Isabella. Before either could cover even half the distance a giant figure leapt up beside Mei.

The creature stood six and a half feet at the shoulder, larger than any of the wolves, even Jacob. The beast looked like a tiger but it's coloring was unnatural, with black fur and white stripes, it seemed like it was a photographic negative of a white Asian tiger. The feline crouched in a defensive posture, ready to stop the solitary wolf from hurting its companion. Then the tiger seemed to notice the age and relative strength of the one charging and straightened up to its full height and issued a roar that was more of rebuke than outright challenge.

The pup froze mid-stride, and instantly cowered at the sudden appearance of this new and powerful shifter, its presence practically radiated age and strength. Isabella stopped as well, but for a very different reason. She didn't want to engage Mei's companion, before she answered the challenge posed to her. Jacob on the other hand only heard the roar, and jumped in front of the younger wolf and puffed out his chest to meet this newcomer. His own instincts took over as he let out his own growl of challenge at the tiger who examined him with a curious eye.

He was by far the biggest wolf the tiger had ever seen, and by its growl, it wasn't sure how much of a threat he posed. The tiger flicked it's eyes at Mei, in a silent exchange that not even Isabella and Eliza understood, though the tiger's attention never wavered from Jacob, as they sized each other up. After several more seconds it was clear that neither was ready to back down.

Isabella wanted to step forward and pull Jacob back by the scruff of his neck but she knew in this case it was probably useless, since Mei had threatened the pack, even though it was only by extension. Her thoughts were interrupted as Eliza's voice burst into her mind. "Her challenge is personal."

"I noticed. Could you elaborate, or did you just feel like stating the obvious?" Isabella said feeling indecisive. She was half considering accepting the challenge to defuse the situation.

Eliza sighed, before expanding on her remarks. "That means she thinks you have gravely wronged her in some way. Maybe you should ask her why."

Isabella didn't take the time to appreciate her daughter acting as the logical one for once. "Why are you challenging me now? I believe it is my right to know." Isabella asked as she stepped closer to Mei, even though she deliberately kept herself parallel to Jacob instead of out in front of him, even though she did take a few steps beyond his position.

She could see Mei's face clearly, her expression was still neutral, with a touch of grim determination, but she also looked a bit confused by the question. Her pale skin was flawless, except for two faint crescent shaped scars underneath each eye. The scars followed the curve of her eyes almost perfectly, and were mirror images of one another. Isabella had always been curious about them, but never had the opportunity to ask her about them. Still from what she could tell they were very likely ritual in nature.

"You and your… group of mongrels slaughtered my Coven, Assassin." Disgust and a look of betrayal framed Mei's eyes. Her expression had shifted into one of unrelenting hostility. She looked like she was ready to leap forward and strike at any moment. Her statement was accompanied by a snarl from the tiger at her side.

Isabella blinked in surprise at that statement. "I… did what?" She had no idea what Mei was talking about, yet the nature of her challenge couldn't be overlooked. Mei could've chosen a much more vulnerable situation to present herself. She wouldn't have tossed out an honor challenge without a valid reason.

Mei's expression faltered slightly to confusion and then to suspicion, her stance became more tense and wary. "I will not repeat myself." She said narrowing her eyes.

"The Oyabun is dead?" Eliza questioned, her voice breaking in shock, and her expression absolutely stunned.

"Yes, Executioner… we are the only Kyodai left." She lowered her head, pain etched on her expression for just a moment. Before her head shot back up, leveling a dangerous glare at everyone standing before her. Her suspicion breaking back into anger twisting her features with the fury she could no longer conceal, though there was a trace of confusion mixed in as well.

Seeing the confusion on both Eliza and Isabella's face she practically spat out, "You assaulted and utterly destroyed my coven. You left none alive. Why would you feign innocence now? I see proof right before my eyes!" Her voice broke a little from indignation, as she motioned towards Jacob. There was an accompanying growl from the tiger beside her.

Isabella's voice was sharp in response, and her eyes never left Mei's. "When and where did this happen?"

Now Mei's anger seemed to fall completely into desperation and confusion. She leaned forward, ready to strike but thought the better of it and answered the question. "A week ago, you razed our home to the ground. You left nothing behind but the smell of burning corpses. Thousands of years of experiences and relations all gone."

Eliza was quick to interject herself, "It wasn't us. We've not left this country for almost three months. And all of us have been here for weeks now. Why do you think it was us?"

Mei didn't let her guard down, but she seemed to calm a little bit. This raised more questions than she could answer, but it solved one dilemma in her heart. A part of her refused to believe Isabella capable of that kind of wanton cruelty or at the very least it was unlikely that she was capable of this kind of malicious deception, the Assassin was far too blunt and arrogant for that. "One of our members received a warning from the Volturi, detailing a threat of attacks on large Covens. The attackers consisted of groups of vampires, usually young bloods, and some wolves. We were told that the Mexico City Coven has already fallen. Though apparently the Volturi themselves foiled an attempt on another coven."

Isabella nodded slightly. "True, at the time." At Mei's puzzled expression, Isabella expanded slightly. "Eliza and I did the foiling here for the Volturi, working with the Quileute's." She gestured at the pack for emphasis.

Mei glanced around but didn't respond at first, before elaborating on her part of the story. "I was gone when we received this warning, dealing with another issue. I returned two days later to find my home in ruins and everyone dead. The only traces that Kira could pick up were from unknown vampires, young bloods, and the overwhelming stench of dog."

Isabella nodded again, "That sounds like the same kind of group that attacked the Cullens and Denali covens here last week. Shifters, newborns, and a few more mature vampires leading them. Eliza even told Aro to spread the warning that covens were being attacked. Though I'm curious, if you were gone when it was received, how you knew about the warning."

Mei frowned a little bit. "When the warning was received they sent a text message out to all of us on mission. They had all returned save me and Kira, we were... distracted. A prey we were chasing had been proving particularly problematic, and had been eluding us for weeks. When we came back and found… all that remained… of our home, I contacted the Volturi to find out if they had any more information about who had done this to us… to my family. Aro informed me about the wolf pack here, and that this was the only location they'd ever had confirmed reports. So we set out to avenge our coven mates. We have been in the area for days scouting. We found the coven in the house a few miles from here. Rather a large one, over 15 vampires in one place, all vegetarians, with scent lines of wolves crisscrossing their territory I knew we had found our target."

She glanced around at the group, her sentences returned to their rather formal and marginally clipped intonation. "Imagine our surprise when we slip by the house and see the Executioner and the Assassin. Clearly more was going on than we knew. Then Aro contacted us a few hours ago to say that some of his own coven members were betraying him and working with the wolves. Uragiru! One too many coincidences. Wolves and vampires, and two Volturi. We were going to attack the wolves tonight, but my coven owed you a debt, so honor demanded that I offer you combat before attacking." Her tone slipped back into one of accusation, as anger clouded her face again.

Isabella sighed a little bit, her voice almost musing as she began to talk to herself. "Convenient. Aro's all about not wasting resources. Sending you out here to eliminate the Quileute's would take care of a possible problem with no risk to any of his precious guard. Once his initial attack failed, he may have been hoping that you'd manage to kill one or both of us, and remove the threat we pose."

"That sounds like something he'd do." Eliza quipped in Isabella's head.

Mei was watching Isabella, though her expression seemed unsurprised, "Initial attack? Are you saying he has already made a move against you? Are you confirming that the Assassin and the Executioner are no longer members of the Volturi?"

Isabella bowed slowly at her waist and shook her head slowly. "I promise to elaborate further on my... relationship with the Volturi, but first I must apologize formally. I cannot accept your challenge. We are not responsible for the destruction of your coven… and if you can bear with me for a few minutes I think I can prove it. That is, if your partner's senses are as sharp as you always claimed."

Mei frowned and tilted her head curiously, once again suspicious.

Isabella paused and looked at the tiger, while she gestured at the Quileute's, "Kira, if you would use your senses and really smell our companions, I know you're just smelling dog, but if you can sense past that, I believe you'll find they have a distinctively different scent from the wolves whose traces you detected around your home. And by different, I mean the other's will have seemed almost unnatural or artificial. We don't believe they're natural shifters like you."

Jacob waited, hackles raised. Isabella glanced at him and sighed. "We need to let Kira do her thing." He tensed up a little and closed his mouth. The tiger looked wary, but stepped forward and sniffed at him anyway. After a few seconds of examination she stepped back and sneezed. Jacob barked once in petulant protest, Eliza could almost hear his cries of indignation.

The pack all waited for several long moments, their eyes all trained on Mei and her tiger, looking for the slightest twitch of aggression. Tekali tilted her head towards Eliza and asked in a whisper, "Not to seem intrusive, but who exactly are they?"

Eliza frowned and looked at her with a bit of hesitation before responding in a similarly whispered tone. "They're… Yakuza, lieutenants and enforcers from the fourth family no human knows about. We met them during a mission to Japan maybe twenty years ago. We worked together on an uprising of sorts in Toyko."

"So that's the debt she was talking about?" Tekali asked quietly

"Not exactly, there was a... situation that Mom decided couldn't be left the way the Volturi wanted. We went against orders, but it saved face for Mei and her family. That wasn't exactly an easy time for us, but it improved relations between the two covens so we were forgiven. Aro was relatively pleased, Caius was pissed for months." Eliza spoke very quickly, and Tekali only caught half of it. Still it answered her question so she nodded and went back to observing the situation.

The tiger finally nodded it's large head slowly at Mei who looked from her companion to Isabella with a look of disbelief. "So it wasn't these wolves. That doesn't really prove anything. Tell me Assassin, if it was not you… who is responsible?"

Isabella sighed a little bit, and her shoulder dropped slightly. It was only then that the people around her realized that she had been tensed up for a fight during the entire conversation. "The proof is minimal beyond my own extrapolations of events and my daughter's firsthand accounts, we don't claim to know his game yet, but I am certain the vampire who is directly responsible for these attacks, goes by the name Joham. If that is the case, I guarantee that his days are numbered, because he is my enemy as well."

"Our enemy." Rosalie piped up from behind Isabella. Rosalie's continued support caught Isabella off guard. Isabella wasn't sure if she felt more or less incredulous about it, the more it happened. Was she really showing loyalty and belief in Isabella, or was she trying too hard? Isabella didn't know, and wasn't sure she cared. If Rosalie wanted a fresh slate, and a chance to truly build a place for herself in the Coven, Isabella wasn't about to stop her. Still she couldn't let that distract her, so she quickly covered her momentary disquiet by taking another deep breath.

Mei regarded Isabella for almost a full minute before the slightest hint of humor crossed her face. "You never do things in small measures do you Assassin?" Isabella's quirked an eyebrow at Mei before she continued, "You're not only hunted by your former coven, one even we feared to cross, but you're also in conflict with this other coven who have been exterminating other powerful covens all over the world."

"We do seem to be gathering a collection of enemies. I wonder if there's a set of playing cards we could get with their faces on them!" Eliza grinned a little bit, now that the general tension seemed to be ebbing.

Mei turned her attention to Eliza, as the tiger beside her made a strange huffing sound. "I see you haven't lost your sense of humor Executioner."

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Eliza? And hey, Kira thought it was funny." Eliza motioned at the tiger with a tilt of her head as she grinned back, causing Mei to nod slightly in acknowledgement, and then shoot a slightly betrayed look down at the tiger beside her.

"Jacob, now that any danger has passed why don't you and the others go shift back and put on some clothes?" Isabella's serious tone brought the conversation back to topic. Jacob looked away from the tiger for the first time since he shifted, and then nodded once in acknowledgement before growling at the others who were still phased to follow him. Then he turned and trotted away from the group. Alice was suddenly there taking Isabella's hand as soon as Jacob disappeared beyond the tree line. Isabella scowled at her slightly, she had vanished at the worst possible time.

Isabella turned her head back to look at Mei, and tilted it curiously, "Now that you know the truth, what will you do?"

Mei frowned a little bit, for the first time she lost her rigid posture and she slumped slightly. "I… don't know. I accept what you say is truth. To be honest I was loath to call you enemy. However, I need to find this… Joham, because he will pay dearly for his actions. Which brings me to the other point. If you are the wronged party, if you were the one that is innocent of these charges, I also must redress Aro and the Volturi for their deliberate attempt to deceive us. Both must be dealt with as a matter of honor."

"Well… now that things are calmed down, and we know Mom doesn't have to kick the crap out of you, why don't you ask her if you can join us?" Heads once again whipped around to stare at Bree whose expression was earnest. Even Eliza made a fish face of astonishment, before she burst out in laughter. Even the tiger next to Mei stared at Bree for several seconds before making a huffing sound that could be interpreted as laughter.

Isabella groaned and ran a hand over her face in exasperation.

Bree looked around at the faces all turning to stare at her, an abashed expression crossing her face, though she didn't withdraw this time, instead she got slightly defensive, "What? Those Volturi people tried to blow us up and you said they'd be coming for us. Not to mention Dr. Tepes, or Joham or whatever his name is, doesn't seem like he's going to let things slide either. So won't they both be after us eventually? Besides Mom already promised to get Joham back for what he did to me, and Eliza. And Aro's already declared war on us. So like the enemy of our enemy thing should apply here? Right?"

No one answered her so she shrugged. "Okay then, I'll shut up now." Bree shut her mouth audibly, and pulled Seth close to her, seeming to shrink slightly from the silence. When no one reacted she seemed to lose a bit of the confidence she had displayed as she looked around nervously. Seth was taken a little by surprise, but after his initial surprise he didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

Mei stared at Bree for several seconds as the silence stretched. Finally an amused smile broke across her face. "I like this one, Assassin." Abruptly Mei's eyes narrowed and she stepped forward several paces, her eyes boring into Bree's, as she inhaled deeply. Isabella and Rosalie both tensed but Isabella allowed Mei to step close, so Rosalie didn't voice her objections.

Bree shot a frightened glance at Isabella before she looked up at Mei nervously, though she didn't back down even after the Asian vampire stepped back to resume her former position again.

Mei turned her head to regard Isabella, her expression curious again. "She is different, like you and the Executioner. Of course she shares Eliza's gift of diplomacy, and I can see the resemblance. Is this the daughter you referred to?" She asked half rhetorically.

"She is a relatively new addition to the family. This is Bree. Bree this is Mei, and Kira. They're… friends of a sort." Isabella said firmly, injecting pride into her voice so that Mei would understand her significance.

Mei nodded slightly in acknowledgement, and gave Bree a hint of a smile.

Isabella turned to glance at the tiger whose pose was now far more relaxed than it had been earlier. "We are going to be talking a bit, you know you can go ahead and shift back."

Mei actually looked abashed. "That's alright. We don't have a change of clothes convenient at the moment. While Kira isn't shy, and I don't think she'd mind, I'm not quite so prepared for her to be unclothed in front of so many."

Isabella nodded in understanding, and glanced back at Tekali who immediately caught onto what Isabella was asking. "If you don't object, we might have an extra set of clothes. If not, that's fine."

Mei nodded a little bit, after glancing at the tiger who nodded as well. Tekali dug into the bag she brought and pulled out a pair of shorts and a shirt stepping forward to hand them cautiously to Mei. "I'm sorry if those don't fit, they're sized to fit me…"

Mei looked at the jean shorts and light tee-shirt Tekali handed her, she looked Tekali up and down a moment, "They should be fine. My thanks." She turned and simply laid the clothes on the back of the tiger's neck, and then pointed away from the group. The tiger seemed to sigh slightly but it turned and walked slowly away from the gathering.

"We have to finish our council meeting, and then we can talk, and I'll give you all the information we have. We'll honor whatever decision you make afterwards" Isabella stated, and then paused and looked around, her voice rising. "I promise that no one here will harm you. That extends to both of you, while you remain here this visit you are under our protection.." Isabella made it a statement, almost daring people to question it.

"That's right. We promise, no fighting. Though I'm hoping you and…. Kira was it? Will be willing to talk with us a bit. You're the first… um… non-wolf shifter we've ever run into." Jacob said, as he returned to the camp fire, clad in just a pair of jean shorts.

"I accept your terms." After a few uncomfortable minutes while the rest of the wolves returned with clothes, and then finally Kira strutted out of shadows towards Mei. She seemed slightly younger than her companion, but had silvery white hair that flowed over her shoulders like mercury. Her eyes were so brightly silver they practically glowed, and her seductive smile seemed vaguely aloof and detached as if she knew exactly what was on the minds of everyone who watched her. Even in clothes that were loose on her, she screamed sexuality as she curled her arms around Mei's shoulders from behind possessively. She left absolutely no doubt as to the relationship between the two women.

Together they moved into the crowd and everyone parted for them. Isabella and Alice started to give their seats to the duo, but Adara and Jasper beat them to the punch. Jasper gave the newcomer a suspicious look, and didn't flinch when Kira looked back at him with a dangerous yet playful glare.

Isabella began to make introductions of everyone, speaking for Mei and Kira since they were now guests of the Swan Coven. Everyone was pleasant enough considering the drama, but were also on their guard.

After the formal introductions were over Jacob leaned over to Isabella, and half-whispered. "So missions, I get that. What happened that was enough to engender this much... trust. How exactly do you guys know each other?" It was clear that his whispering hadn't done much good because everyone was quiet as they listened for Isabella's response.

Isabella lifted her eyes and said somewhat evasively, "We provided some services as part of a... deal between the Volturi and the Ketsueki-ka. It's a long story, possibly best saved for later."

Mei however tilted her head curiously, and looked at Jacob and with a raised eyebrow. Her tone reflected slight amusement, "They have not told you why the Executioner is never allowed to drive a boat? Ever again?"

"That was an accident!" Eliza blurted out, looking embarrassed

Kira chortled, "Right, you sank two boats, and blew up half a pier. Oh and that tanker spent the next eighteen months in dry dock to patch up that hole you poked in its side. That could be written off as an accident, but I clearly remember the "Geronimo" coming from the water as the boat plowed into that yacht." Her voice had a very slight accent, but she could've been raised in America for all anyone in the group could tell.

Everyone was staring at Kira, then turned towards a very embarrassed Eliza, who mumbled. "I killed the bastard though."

"As I said, a story for another time." Isabella spoke up before anyone question Eliza further. As she realized that Alice had disappeared for a time, which meant only one thing... vision. The realization released some tension inside of her, she had been more than a little bothered by the fact that Alice had chosen to leave her side. Now Isabella realized that Alice was just trying to get some space between herself and the shifters for some clarity.

She turned and looked at Alice pointedly, who had been carefully avoiding everyone's eyes. The direct attention was too much though, and she reluctantly met Isabella's gaze.

"So Alice, what did you see?" Isabella asked softly.

Alice smiled, but she held back the excitement in her heart that Isabella was able to read her so well. She took a deep breath to cover her emotions, before starting to explain her vision. "Caius was having a screaming fit. Aro decided he's going to send a 'few' more of their recruits, and a person called Andres. Also, despite some reluctance on Aro's part, Caius insisted on sending someone named Cornelius? I got the impression that it was not a fight settled amicably." Alice ended with clear curiosity, she was clearly asking Isabella who he was to cause so much contention.

Isabella turned to Eliza with a thoughtful expression. "That last one is… unexpected."

Eliza was frowning and looking at her mother seriously, "Not so much. I'm sure he practically jumped at the chance."

Isabella frowned further, "He only leaves when he specifically requests to, and he only requests to because it might provide some entertainment, a break from the tedium and boredom of life there. Although I don't think he's left Volterra in four hundred years. "

"Exactly. You know how he feels. He's been waiting for this for years." Eliza countered, a trace of bitterness in her voice.

"Pardon me for being the clueless one, but who are Andres and Cornelius?" Jasper asked with more than a little concern.

"A couple of asshats from the Volturi guard." Bree spoke up, watching her sister and her mother for a reaction. She had managed to connect the names to memories that she had seen from the other two.

Eliza smiled at her sister, before expanding on her comment. "They are more than that, okay Andres isn't… he's well... he's… a giant idiot; but one that can hit really really hard." Eliza replied with a roll of her eyes and a look of disgust on her face.

"He's your basic strongman. He's way stronger than most vampires, but that's all he's got. He has none of Felix's speed or finesse. He's the kind that would use a sledgehammer to open a door before knocking or checking to see if it's unlocked." Isabella explained, giving both her daughters a slightly reproving look. Not for interjecting, but for getting the information marginally wrong.

"He is also a total pig who hates me because I laughed in his face when he tried to 'court' me. He just wanted in my pants. He's a favorite of Caius though, because he revels in cruelty. He's used to getting what he wants, by force if necessary, but he wouldn't try that with me because of Mom." Eliza narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "Cornelius though… he's a different story." Eliza met her mother's eyes, cringing inwardly at the thought of the bastard.

Isabella gave her a nod of approval, and Eliza smiled widely. It was a small thing, but she liked it when Isabella was proud of her.

Bree felt Eliza's cringe, so she looked deeper into their shared memories and shuddered. "Oh... he's nasty." She sent along the connection. Eliza squeezed her shoulder, she didn't like to expose Bree to their darker memories, but she wasn't going to hide her past from her.

"Care to fill us in?" Jacob asked with interest, his attention focused on Isabella.

Isabella shrugged lithely, as she looked around. "Cornelius is a fighter..." Her tone was pensive and she looked thoughtful as she thought how to properly explain his personality. "He's old, though I never found out exactly how old. He was turned somewhere between fifteen-hundred and two thousand years ago, which means he nearly has the strength and power of an ancient. From what I understand, he was a fierce fighter, who had a habit of pulling out the potential hidden within an individual, his trainees were some of the most deadly in history."

Isabella's expression grew distant as she thought back to her time with him, her eyes were far away as she stared into the fire. She still felt distracted and her voice reflected that as she continued. "He was a peerless and merciless fighter in life, and he became nearly unparalleled after he was turned. Combat, being a soldier and warrior was the only life he knew, and I think it was the only life he ever wanted. Aro turned him, and put him in charge of training his guard. A post he held for many years. He trained a lot of the Volturi Guard for hundreds of years. His gift for teaching translated into an actual power as a vampire. He was uniquely able to draw out the best qualities of his students, forging them into weapons without equal. It's one of the reasons Felix and Demetri are so deadly even without gifts of their own. He turned out a guard that quickly made the Volturi feared throughout the world, that was until he simply and rather abruptly stopped. He left the position over seven hundred years ago..."

"Left?" Jasper interrupted, his voice full of curiously and a touch of fear, as he watched Isabella trail off.

Eliza picked up the story, looking around as she spoke, "I heard he went to the Council and told them that none of the new recruits had the dedication he required of them, or the talent he looked for, and he refused to waste his time. From what I understand, both Caius and Aro objected strenuously, but he wasn't exactly someone they wanted to contradict, so they backed down. He remained as part of the Volturi, and would occasionally accept or ask for duties that he deemed challenging. Mostly though, he remained near the training compound, and sparring facilities. Watching, perhaps waiting for a worthy student. Aro was pleased with this because he hoped that it meant that Cornelius was just taking a break. He asked him repeatedly over the years to re-assume his position, or to accept the occasionally gifted student for extra training. He always refused… until Mom showed up."

Once again feeling eyes all trained on her, Isabella didn't notice them so much as felt their stares. So she sighed and picked up the narrative. "When I first got to the Volturi, they immediately put me into training, because I wasn't exactly... pleasant to deal with."

Eliza couldn't help but laughing out loud. "That's putting it mildly. Even after she started training, she was nearly impossible to deal with, she dismembered at least a dozen instructors over those first few years. With one of them I think she knocked his head off half a dozen times."

Isabella's eyes fixed on Eliza in a slightly scolding tone, "It wasn't that I was a better fighter, I wasn't. I was barely more than a savage at that point. I just kept overwhelming them with sheer ferocity. Cornelius made the decision to step in. He... humbled me, repeatedly. He showed me I couldn't always count on being stronger and being angrier than the other person, that it didn't always translate into coming out on top in a fight. Then he agreed to train me."

Isabella looked around with a slightly guilty look on her face. "I was his project for the next few years. I don't think either of us left the training room for more than a few hours during the time. He helped focus my rage to an extent. I won't go so far as to call us friends, but we were friendly. Until we had a falling out."

"A falling out?" Rosalie asked, her expression suspicious.

"They had a falling out because of me." Eliza said quietly.

Isabella shook her head quickly, her eyes flashing with compassion. "No. You were mine, and I didn't care what anyone thought, but his objections weren't because of you. We had a falling out because he proved to be the opposite of what he preached. He couldn't adapt, and I could. I quickly over took his skills, and started to best him. He didn't like that at all. It wasn't just strength or speed, I was able to match him in skill and execution as well, and that made him cautious. I don't know if it became a self fulfilling prophecy or what, but he became more tentative in battle and it affected him."

Eliza looked around, and explained more to the people there than to argue with her mother. They'd had this argument before, and it never went anywhere. Eliza still felt guilty about the whole thing. "She won't admit it but it wasn't that. He was proud of her until I came along. He had the same views as Caius. He saw me as an abomination that should be destroyed. The very idea of a half-breed filled him with revulsion. When the council agreed to let me live, he was furious. He privately issued Mom an ultimatum. She needed to destroy me. Not that I know what that would have accomplished since she was changed too. But Mom obviously refused. As far as I know they haven't spoken since."

"Well yes, that's true. That was hardly the reason for his hatred though. As for his ultimatum, it resulted in him being thrown through the exterior wall on the north side of Volterra. Thankfully nobody noticed it since it was the middle of the night, but they had a time of it rebuilding the stone work. I think that was the final straw, I'd effectively rubbed salt in his wounds in being a better student than most of his other recruits. Then when I started training Eliza and she surpassed recruits that had been training for over a decade in a matter of months... actually she progressed to nearly my level after only a few years, still I think that cemented his beliefs that we were both abominations more than anything else. Not that I cared about his opinion anymore." Isabella smiled a bit, an expression of pride crossing her face.

Eliza said thoughtfully, she turned to Alice. "Did you happen to see when they might arrive?"

Alice shook her head. "Very soon, they're under orders to get here immediately. I can't see when exactly they arrive, which means they are avoiding specific travel plans, or they haven't been decided on yet, but I doubt they will allow us much time to get prepared, since their purpose is to kill you and Eliza first. Then they're to tasked kill the Quileute's and question the Cullen's and Denali. I heard Caius specifically request that Edward... and me... are to be brought back, and at least one or two of the wolves are to be kept alive for capture and study."

There were snarls all around from the pack at that, and Alice winced for not being more tactful in her dissemination of information. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

Jacob held a hand up to calm his pack. "It's okay, I know you don't want that to happen. Although I think it's safe to say we are not going to let that happen." There were nods of agreement all around the fire.

"Yeah. If we have anything to say about it, that is absolutely not going to happen." Eliza stated firmly. "This is where Aro's reach finally exceeds his grasp." She looked at Leah, an expression of protectiveness on her face. She shifted slightly to press closer to her, and Leah slipped her arm around Eliza's waist settled easily into the girl's embrace. Isabella raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. She knew from the flood of emotions she'd felt earlier that they were officially a couple now. Apparently they had no qualms about public displays of affection either.

Jacob noticed their closeness and grinned at Eliza, who blushed slightly. He was very relieved that his discussion with Eliza earlier had apparently paid off in such a positive manner. He'd been very worried about how she would handle it since she left earlier that afternoon, even though he'd had other things worry about since Michele showed up unexpectedly. Mostly he had just prayed that Tekali didn't find out about the conversation before seeing the results. Even still it was very likely that Tekali wasn't going to be thrilled with him, but at least he could claim that it worked.

Jacob broke eye contact with Eliza, and turned towards Alice. "What about the 'recruits'? How many of those are they bringing?"

"It doesn't matter. They won't be the problem." Isabella cut him off dismissively. Jacob opened his mouth to argue but Jasper beat him to the punch.

"If they send enough of them, they could cause problems." Jasper said, agreeing with Jacob's unspoken counterargument. Isabella snorted. That caused most of those gathered to raise their eyebrows at her in disbelief. "What about strength in numbers?"

"They won't be a problem." Isabella re-iterated.

"Overconfidence can come back to haunt you." Jasper's tone was faintly disapproving at Isabella's cavalier attitude, although he was careful not to sound like his was the voice of dissent again.

"No, Mom's right. If she says that they won't be much of a problem, then they won't be much of a problem." Eliza stated in a voice that had a steel edge that was hard to argue with.

"I think she's proved that hasn't she?" Bree added, raising her chin in defensive pride of her mother.

"You, more than anyone know that the Volturi shouldn't be underestimated Assassin. You are a strong fighter, but it could come to nothing if they send the combined power of their guard after you. You could all be helpless before the twins." Mei said quietly and seriously.

Isabella glanced at her, and then at Jasper before nodding once. "I'm not underestimating them. I know what they are capable of, I'm estimating the strength of Eliza and I alone. With the rest of my Coven, along with the Quileute's and perhaps your help... this attack will prove to be nothing more than the second step on the path to their destruction. If Aro is foolish enough to send Alec and Jane after us, he knows that he will lose them, since their powers have no effect on Eliza and I. They would die first before they caused pain to any of our family."

Mei looked at Isabella and Eliza with astonishment, though this time it was her partner Kira who spoke up, "You're immune to the witch twins?"

Isabella simply nodded at Kira, followed a moment later by a matching nod from Eliza.

"Oh, then yeah, I don't see the rest giving you a problem." Kira deadpanned, though her voice was slightly off by surprise.

Eliza grinned a little bit. "Yeah, like I said. They made the exact wrong enemies this time. They will fail."

"How can you be so sure?" Jacob asked plainly, though his tone had quite a bit more challenge in it than Jasper's or Mei's.

"Mom ought to know. She trained most of them." Eliza chuckled softly, "Or rather she spent countless hours beating them up."

Every eye in the circle turned to focus on her, and Isabella shrugged slightly. "I wasn't their official trainer, since no one liked my methods. I just spent so much of my time in the training facility that I fought against most of them. As my daughter might say, 'load of useless wankers the lot of them.' Most of them are between twenty-five and fifty years old, and none have any special abilities to speak of. There was always at least one, or a few, I sparred against, or perhaps most of them thought that no matter how often I wiped the floor with them, they were bad-ass world beaters that could actually best me if they put their minds to it. Fact is, even Bree could hold her own against a majority of them without formal training. Since she has intelligence, and an innate resilience that none of them possess."

Bree stared at her adoptive mother with such gratitude that it was hard for Isabella to bear it. Isabella turned to her and gave her a compassionate smile. "I wouldn't say it if it weren't true." The words sent through their connection were coupled with the sensation of a tight hug, that wrapped around Bree with a mother's love. Bree's face twisted with emotion, and she pressed herself against Eliza tightly because Isabella was too far away.

"There's something else too." Alice spoke up, with a thoughtful frown on her face. "Marcus seems to have disappeared."

Eliza and Isabella looked at each other in surprise. "He… what?"

"Aro was also raging that Marcus seems to have just vanished into the night. They've been looking for two days and haven't been able to find him. They're sending Demetri out to try and track him down. Demetri says Marcus is still alive because he can still feel him, and he's on the move. But they have no idea where or what he's up to. Caius is practically frothing at the mouth, and Aro's nearly as livid." Alice's expression was thoughtful as she spoke. "I've tried to see Marcus' future but I can't. It's like he's not making any decisions, and whoever he's with is just moving with him on a whim."

Isabella's brow was furrowed. "I know Marcus hasn't left the city in ages, and it's been centuries since he's done anything alone without being prodded into it. All of this stuff with Joham, and now the Volturi, and now… Marcus pulling a disappearing act? What the hell is going on?" True frustration leaked through Isabella's usually neutral mask, and her voice took on a touch of barely noticeable fear lost on everyone except for Eliza and Alice, and to a lesser extent Bree.

"Why is this Marcus such a big deal?" Leah asked as she gave Eliza a gentle squeeze.

Eliza looked just as puzzled as her mother felt. "Marcus is one of the trio of council members that are the head of the Volturi. He has the ability to identify relationships between people."

"That doesn't sound like a scary power for a group of powerful vampires." Jacob frowned a little bit, clearly not fathoming the implications of such a gift.

It was Jasper that spoke up in response, "That's because you're not thinking it through. Marcus doesn't just see romantic relationships, he sees all relationships. He sees the ties between family, friends, any sort of loyalty or devotion. He can tell if any given person would die for one another. Imagine that sort of advantage on the battlefield, or in viewing another coven. Knowing with one glance who to take out to make a whole alliance crumble."

Eliza piped up, "It doesn't sound all that scary, but it's something that Aro has used to great advantage. For example, if Marcus showed up here. He'd know that Jacob was Alpha of your pack, and he'd know that the best way to throw you all into disarray would be to eliminate him first." That seemed to shock the pack enough to make them all uneasy. Eliza noticed their discomfort but she continued. "What doesn't make sense though is him slipping out of his stupor enough to do anything. I am probably closer to him than anyone else in the coven, their coven... I hate when tenses change. Anyway, he has only ever opened up to me once and I sat with him for hours every day."

"So that's the zombie faced guy in the garden?" Bree asked looking for confirmation, the talk bringing to mind a memory she had seen in Eliza's mind.

"Yeah, that's him. I think he's the only person I'm actually gonna miss. It makes me kind of happy to know he's no longer there." Eliza said wistfully.

Isabella nodded in agreement, though she saw confused expressions around the fire. "Marcus was a kind man once, at least that's what I'm told. Until he lost his mate Didyme, who was also Aro's biological sister, after being slaughtered by a rival coven a long long time ago. He never recovered. The only thing that kept him from suicide was Chelsea making sure he felt tied to the Volturi. But… getting him to express interest in anything beyond his memories of her, has been impossible."

Eliza suddenly turned to Alice, "Wait, someone else is making decisions for him? Who is he with? Can you tell?"

Alice looked thoughtful, but shook her head. "I have a face, but not a name. I could draw her if you like?"

Eliza frowned, "Her? How are they acting towards one another?"

Alice unfocused her eyes and looked through her visions. It was impossible to gauge their future, but she could see their present. "Holding hands, Marcus is smiling I think."

"Holy shit." Eliza said in total shock. "You don't think?" She asked her mother in a short hand manner, though it was clear even to the people who weren't part their bond what Eliza was asking. Isabella looked at her daughter and shrugged, but Eliza's wide-eyed expression conveyed the gravity of the situation. The only person that could ever make Marcus smile was his mate, but… she was supposedly dead.

"You know that story better than I do, is it possible?" Isabella asked with genuine excitement. If she were alive, that would change everything. Marcus had wanted to leave the Volturi more than a millennia ago, and only stayed because Didyme had been killed. If this was all true, it threw a giant monkey wrench into all of the machinations of the Volturi.

"Didyme and Sulpicia and Athenodora were all captured, Didyme's life was threatened as leverage. Caius wouldn't give into their demands, even though Marcus and Aro wanted her back. She was killed, they stormed the camp and got Sulpicia and Athenodora back. Didyme's body was burn to ashes." Eliza explained quickly.

"That... sounds fishy. I never thought about it before, but what if Caius set up Didyme to die so that Marcus would stay?" Isabella offered with a bit of reluctance. It felt like she was reaching into the story and grasping for straws. .

"What if it was Aro, he would want to keep his sister alive, but conceal her or maybe imprison her?." Eliza countered.

"For nearly three thousand years? That seems unlikely." Isabella said, staring to pace.

"I don't know if this has anything to do with your suppositions Assassin. Our coven has held a prisoner for the Volturi for all the centuries I've been alive. Part of the debt you showed up to help fulfill. I don't know if it has anything to do with this development. I don't even know the identity of the prisoner, since I was never a guard or a warden. I couldn't even tell you if it was male or female. I assumed the captive perished in the assault on our coven. " Mei added with a slight smile.

Isabella turned that over in her head, her eyes narrowed in thought. "You were holding a prisoner for the Volturi? You didn't mention this before."

"We were never supposed to speak of it Assassin. A matter of honor for us. And in return the Volturi promised not to interfere on the entire island of Japan without direct invitation from us." Mei replied.

Eliza was grinning widely. "If that's the case Aro is probably going absolutely apeshit. He hates when he doesn't know what's going on, and if Marcus has been reunited with his long lost love... I can't imagine what will happen now."

Isabella managed a small smile and shook her head before she turned back and looked at Jacob and then at Quil. "Okay, back on topic for a bit. First things first. I was hoping to re-establish the alliance we formed, only this time we are a Coven that won't break our word. We may be new, but I pledge we will never betray you."

Colin's outraged expression said he was about to speak up, but Quil cut him off. "Don't even think about it Colin. Your continued behavior embarrasses us all. As much as I would like to believe Isabella, we have been burned once already. Do you truly represent all of your people?"

Colin was still sputtering when Isabella turned to her coven with the same question, although hers remained unspoken.

Alice, Eliza, Bree, Rosalie, and Emmett stood nearly in unison. Jasper and Adara followed a split second later. Together they all nodded, each with a slightly different expression. Alice was smiling ear to ear, clearly proud of Isabella. Eliza and Bree looked determined as they clasped hands with their respective mates. Seth's face was a bright red at how firmly Bree seemed to latch onto him, but his grin was even wider. Rosalie gave Isabella a look of confidence and a smile of friendship that was indicative of her continued shows of loyalty. Emmett just grinned widely, and the old friendly fire he used to have came back into his eyes. Jasper nodded solemnly, and Adara did as well although she seemed far more happy about the arrangement.

Isabella nodded to them all, and turned towards Quil. "We stand united. I do need you to understand fully though, the Swan Coven has declared outright war on the Volturi. They will be coming after us. That could put you and your families at risk. You will have to be on guard. They won't hesitate to slaughter anyone. Caius in particular has enjoyed ordering the destruction of entire towns in the past. If that weren't enough, we have Joham and whatever games he's playing, eliminating entire covens. Although his death is long overdue, he does represent a significant looming threat that you may not be subject to."

"You just make all sorts of friends, don't you?" Jacob asked, looking at Isabella, though the teasing tone in his voice took most of the sting out of his teasing.

"Gives me something to fill my spare time." Isabella shrugged lithely before turning her attention back to Quil.

Quil regarded Isabella thoughtfully a moment. "You defied your coven, and risked forfeiting your life to honor your agreement with our pack. I would say you've earned our trust. We agree to the alliance. Especially given the most recent development. It's not like we could just protect Eliza and Bree only, because of their respective imprints, and their connection to the rest of your coven, you are by our laws a part of our community." His gaze drifted to Seth for a moment. Seth blushed and glanced at Bree involuntarily. There were nods of agreement from everyone but Colin who sat there sullenly.

Isabella smiled and nodded slightly. "Thank you."

Quil stood up and reached forward to shake Isabella's hand. Not flinching from the coolness of her skin, while she was careful not to crush his fragile hand.

After they had shaken hands, cementing the Alliance, Quil spoke up, "You've had a long day, and it's getting late. I assume anything you need you can talk to Jacob about, but my wife warned me if I was out too late I'd be sleeping on the couch." Taking their cue from him, the council members all stood up along with several pack members to head back to their vehicles.

Jacob looked at Isabella and then looked at the house curiously. "What will you do now?"

Isabella looked at the house and sighed, "First, we're going to have a family meeting to iron out some details. Then we'll have a more firm plan in place for tomorrow. I'll let you know?" She glanced around at the vampires that were gathered around. Jacob hesitated for a moment, and then nodded.

"There's someone I want you to met when you get a chance." He said with a bit of hesitation.

"Would you come to our house when you've finished your meeting?" Tekali added, linking her arm through Jacob's. Her expression was full of pride.

"Sure, just me?" Isabella asked groping for an appropriate response.

"All of you might be a bit much, but you immediate family are welcome." Tekali answered, glancing specifically at Alice to make sure the invitation extended to her. The look wasn't lost on Isabella.

"So is it a surprise?" Eliza asked with a grin.

"No, not a surprise. Just a little unexpected." Jacob looked down in embarrassment. Tekali frowned slightly at him, and took picked up where he left off.

"We'd like to introduce you to our daughter, Michele." Tekali gave them all a proud smile, and turned Jacob towards their truck. The entire coven stood in mild shock, as they watched the couple go. Tekali turned back towards Isabella, "See you soon." Before they climbed in the four by four and drove off.

"Did you know?" Eliza asked her mother.

"Not a fucking clue." Isabella said with astonishment.

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Author's notes: WHOOO! LONG CHAPTER O_O Fun chapter :D

1) Another start to the chapter where you were probably like WTF! I know, but bear with us :D it totes plays into the story. All part of Samantha Minuet's FANTASTIC writing.

2) Yes, I introduced not one but two new OC's in this chapter. I'm sorry if you're unhappy with that. But i did say this was going to be global. If we messed up the japanese phrases we were going for, I apologize. Oyabun means "Family Boss" or leadership, and Kyodai mean "Big Brother" in this case enforcer. Yes we heavily implied that their coven was the organizational head of the yakuza. I do apologize if we butchered the culture or anything.

But I really wanted characters outside what we've seen in the twilight universe. and i wanted to introduce other shifters. So... yay we have one! :D I hope you really like them. They bring some differences.

3) For those who are curious, Mei has a visual reference, in a link that is in my profile! A fantastic piece of art by Dan Dos Santos.

I stumbled across the picture online, and then emailed the artist and asked if he minded if i used it for a visual reference for this story. He graciously gave his permission for me to use it! So he has my thanks.

Yes Mei totally uses bladed weapons. and there IS a reason for it that we will get into. :P

4) Also... Didyme?! Is it possible she's still alive? O_O SURPRISE! BWAHAHA. We'll see what role Marcus has to play in this going forward. If you're curious, Marcus had a slightly expanded role in the first chapter that was edited and put up last week, so check it out. it's pretty cool

5) A thank you goes out to MexG2, who went back and gave us a review for every chapter! We REALLY appreciated it! Helping us reach our super lofty goals of 5 k reviews! ^_^

6) Samantha Minuet's Co-Author's Note: I promise you guys won't be in the dark for long, Oliver and Emma's story will make sense very soon. Mei is totally Kathryn's creation, I kind of love her. What do you guys think? We got a bit too ambitious, or at least I did. So revisions on the beginning chapters are going to be coming out a bit slower than I hoped they would. I hope you all liked this one, and I can't wait to read your reactions.

7) Those of you shrieking for my head because you want to see some Bellice. SOOOOOOOON. But I hope you can see little ways their relationship is starting to develop. Even if there's no dedicated scene time for them this chapter.

8) Please Read and Review!

Next up - First Coven Meeting!