"Will they show up in their human or wolf form?" Garrett asked, not taking his eyes from the lines of trees.

Ruby shrugged, staring up at the night sky. "Probably in their wolf form."

Most of the Cullens and Garrett were waiting for the pack in a clearing, on their side of their territory. Alice, Jasper and Rosalie were keeping an eye on Bella and her house. Jacob had relied on the message to Sam and had agreed to meet on a clearing.

"Behave," Esme said, motioning between Ruby and Emmett. "Both of you, please?"

"We will be on our best behavior," Ruby crossed her fingers on top of chest, where her heart is. "Promise."

"Only if they do," Emmett frowned. "I don't want a repeat of last time."

"There is no river," Ruby said to her brother. "So there won't be a repeat."

The big muscle vampire let out a snort, ruffling her dark hair. She smacked his hand away, while she fixed her hair, ignoring Garrett's laugh.

It wasn't long before the wolves started to emerge one by one from the forest. The first one to appear was the black wolf, clearly the leader of the pack.

Ruby noticed Garrett beginning to move a bit more closer to her, standing almost in front of her. She was touched at how protective he was acting towards her. His hand brushed against hers, but didn't grab it. She noticed the tension on his shoulders at how big the pack of wolves was. She took his hand, brushed her thumb lightly over the back of it. Slowly he relaxed but he never took his eyes off them.

Her eyes narrowed upon a certain wolf when it emerged from the trees. She remembers clearly that the grey wolf was the one to throw her in the river when they tried to get Victoria. The wolf locked eyes with her and they both glared at each other, but didn't attack. She felt Garrett giving a light squeeze. She stared up at him and gave him a slight smile.

Carlisle began to walk with Edward close to the wolves. He smiled gently at them, eyeing each and every one of them. "I'm grateful that you all showed up. I'm sure you are up to date with the situation?"

Edward's eye snapped towards the black wolf. "They are aware of the situation and agreed to work with us to control it."

"We do not know who came to Bella's house," the doctor said, "But my family and I came to an agreement that it must be the same vampire or vampires doing the attacks in Seattle. If we do not stop them, the Volturi will make their presence known."

"They want to know who the Volturi are."

Carlisle sighed heavily. "They keep the order for our world. They won't hesitate to eliminate those that threaten our exposure to humans. They will stop at nothing."

Edward turns to look at his adoptive father. "They are wondering if there is a great chance the Volturi would know about their existence," he motioned towards the pack, "and what would they do if they do find out about them?"

Carlisle hesitated for a moment before answering the pack. "Caius, one of the leaders of the Volturi, will probably want to attack all of you. He is not very fond of wolves. He might even attack us since we are all on thin ice with them."

The black wolf turned its gaze at the nomad and grunted. Edward let out a snort and answered the wolf. "He is a friend of Carlisle. He heard of the attacks in Seattle and came to help."

Not long after, all the eyes of the pack turned to look at the nomad. Ruby narrowed her eyes at them. She felt a sudden pull of protectiveness towards Garrett when she heard one of the wolf's low growls. She took a step forward and stood halfway in front of the nomad, the same way he did earlier. A snarl left through her lips, a warning to the wolf. She heard Garrett let out a low chuckle, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Ruby slightly relaxed, and returned the motion.

"He had kept his promise," Carlisle explained in his usual calm tone, wanting things to go smoothly as possible. "Garrett has not tasted any human blood since staying with us. He has hunted animals like we do. My daughter, Ruby, was the first to take him on a hunt."

"She did," Garrett looked down at the dark haired vampire, who was standing next to him again. "And I will continue to keep my promise as long as I'm staying with them."

The leader of the pack seemed satisfied with the answer. He turned to look back at Edward.

"He is asking if the other vampire might also be a newborn or older? And if he is older, what is the difference in killing them?"

"Newborns are stronger than an older vampire. But it's only temporary," Carlisle frowns slightly. "My son, Jasper, has more knowledge on gaining the upper hand on newborns. Garrett has fought with other vampires and also knows some tactics on newborns."

Ruby raised an eyebrow, not knowing that bit of information. She knew of the human battles he participated in because he had told her before. But she didn't know about him fighting other vampires. Garrett just grinned at her, and winked.

"Jasper and Garrett have both agreed to help us in case there are more than two vampires."

Edward hums in agreement. "Jacob is asking if there is a possibility that the people going missing have been turned into vampires and not been sucked dry by this newborn or older vampire?"

"We do not know," Garrett explained, glancing at Carlisle. "But it's better to be prepared if there are a handful of them."

The wolves turned at each other, growling and moving around. The black wolf let out a growl, and they all calmed down.

"They are interested in learning how to defeat them," Edward informed Carlisle. "They want to know as soon as possible. They don't want to be catched by surprise."

"We can start tomorrow night," Carlisle smiled slightly. "I'm sure Jasper and Garrett will want to demonstrate to us first."

The black wolf turned to look at his pack for a moment. He turned to look at Carlisle and Edward, giving them both a nod. He then signaled his pack and one by one they left towards their territory. Except for one brown wolf. It stared at Edward for a while before leaving quickly, to join its pack beyond the line of trees.

Edward let out a frustrated sigh, turning towards Carlisle. "I'll have Bella drop off at the line in the highway towards their land. Apparently, she has forgotten to mention she was going to spend the day with Jacob tomorrow."

Carlisle nodded and they followed him out of the clearing, towards their home.


Edward approached his sister, after he dropped off Bella. His sister was helping Esme make a list on what to buy for the graduation party that is next week.

"We are going to need more snacks," Esme frowned. "Maybe two more boxes of pizza?"

Ruby scribbled on the piece of paper of the list of groceries. She turned to look at her brother and waved at him. She tilted her head, confused on why her brother looked really nervous. "Did something happen when dropping Bella off?"

"Everything went fine," Edward shrugged. "Even if Jacob started to hug Bella the moment she crossed to their territory."

"That's what friends do Eddie," Ruby snorted. "It's a very common type of greeting."

Edward rolled his eyes in annoyance, noticing the sarcasm on his sister's tone. "Jacob looked way too smug when he hugged her. And it lasted for a long time to be considered a hug among friends."

Ruby wrote a punch bowl on the paper and smiled when Esme hummed in approval.

"Make it two punch bowls and different types of sodas and juices," Esme tapped on the paper.

Ruby began to write the different drinks, turning slightly to let her brother know she was talking to him. "Well what do you expect? Jacob still has a crush on her. It will take time for it to fade away."

"They are going to have a bonfire before they meet with us. He will be very close to her around the bonfire."

Ruby let out a laugh but quickly quieted at the serious tone Esme told her to stop laughing. But she sent a smirk towards him.

Edward narrowed his eyes towards her.

'Maybe they will start cuddling by the bonfire.'

Her brother let out a snarl, after he heard her thought. He threw a glare at her before leaving Esme's office.

Rolling her eyes, Ruby went back to the list. She felt eyes on her, and glanced up. She grimaced at the stern look her adoptive mother was giving her. "I know, I know," Ruby put the piece of paper down, "I'll go and apologize."

Esme gave an encouraging smile before her adoptive daughter left her office. Ruby sighed heavily, heading towards her brother's room, trying hard not to think of any apology. Just in case her brother would read it in her mind before she made it to his room.

She knocked softly on his bedroom door and waited until she heard the soft "Enter" from the other side of it. His back was turned towards her, he was standing in front of the glass wall, towards the direction of the forest in front of him.

"I know I can be overprotective when it comes to her," Edward grumbled. "But I am afraid that she would change her mind and choose Jacob or someone else."

"Well, you're an idiot." Ruby went to stand next to her brother, after she closed the door. "She loves you and is willing to give up her humanity for you. That should tell you that she picked you over him or anyone else."

"But what if she changes her mind," Edward grimaced, still looking out towards the forest. "What if she realizes that Jacob is the one she wants and decides to be with him."

"You really are an idiot," Ruby snorted, punching her brother lightly on his arm. She rolled her eyes at the surprised look on his face. "If she didn't want to be with you, she would have rejected you after she saved your ass in Italy. She literally stopped talking to him for a while to spend lost time with you."

"She could-"

"He was there for her when we left," Ruby reminded him, ignoring the flinch from her brother. "Jacob picked her up when she was at her lowest. You can't expect Bella to stop caring about him. He is her friend."

Edward stayed quiet.

"You have to stop worrying about her leaving you, cause it's not going to happen," Ruby gave her brother a brief side hug. "Hell, she even set a date when she wants Carlisle to turn her into one of us."

Edward hummed and gave his sister a small nod.

"And we are leaving Forks soon anyways," she shrugged. "I'm sure Jacob is not going to follow you guys to Alaska."

He let out a snort, picturing a brown wolf getting lost in Alaska. Ruby patted his back and turned to leave. She was halfway out of the bedroom when her brother spoke again.

"I'm going to ask Bella to marry me."

Ruby turned to look at her brother in surprise. She saw him grinning at her, and her eyes narrowed. She didn't know if he was joking around or if he was serious. She was about to ask when the bedroom door suddenly slammed open. The impact was strong enough to make a big crack on the wooden door, making it bounce on the wall that it also made a hole on the wall.

"Can I please plan the wedding?!" Alice rushed next to Edward, bouncing on her feet in excitement. "Please! Please! Let me plan it!"

"Is everything okay?" Esme stood by the entrance of the bedroom. She heard a loud squeal from downstairs and a second later a loud crash in her son's room. She thought that Ruby and Edward might have started fighting and were going to get themselves hurt.

Edward continued to glare at Alice. "Everything is fine. Just Alice breaking her way into my room."

"She broke the door in her excitement," Ruby shook her head, pointing at her brother's bedroom door. "I'm guessing she saw a vision of Edward proposing to Bella."

Esme smiled at him and went to give him a hug. Edward coughed out of embarrassment but returned to hug his adoptive mother. "I'm very proud of you, Edward."

"I haven't proposed yet," Edward stepped out of the hug. He ran his fingers through his hair, turning his attention to his sister. "You still got mother's ring?"

Ruby scrunched her nose. "Of course. It will need some polishing."

"I'll take care of it."

"You sure she will like the ring?" Ruby curiously asked him. "It's not very modern and it's not that good looking either."

Edward huffed in annoyance. "It's an heirloom."

"It is."

"And Bella likes old things."

Ruby nodded. "You are right about that." She gave her brother a pointed look. "She likes the old stuff."

They could hear Emmett's booming laugh from outside, making Ruby laugh too. But her laugh turned into a surprised yell, when she saw Edward run towards her. She soon ran out of the room, with her brother chasing her down the hall.

"Don't break anything!" They both heard Esme from his bedroom.

Ruby ran down the stairs, and headed outside, where the others were at. She quickly located Garrett, who was also smiling in amusement, and ran towards him without thinking. She hid behind him, poking her head to the side.

Garrett let out a loud laugh and stood protectively in front of Ruby. He looked back at her and winked. "I don't mind if you use me as a shield."

Ruby let out a snort and glanced at her brother, who was standing not far from them. Edward let out a growl, narrowing his eyes at the nomad. "Garrett is a guest and Carlisle's friend," Ruby reminded her brother. "You can't attack him."

Edward took a step towards them.

"I won't tell you where the ring is."

He let out a deep frustrated sigh, looking up at the sky. After a moment, he looked back down at his sister and gave her a nod.

"It's in the jewelry box, inside my closet."

Edward nodded again and walked back in, with Alice trailing behind reminding him if she can plan the wedding.

Ruby peered up at the nomad. She softly smiled at him, "Thank you."

"I don't mind being your knight in shining armor," he threw her wink, snaking his hand around her middle and pulling her close to him. "It will be an honor."

She let out a snort. She took a step back, but felt Garrett's arms tightening around her. She frowned and looked up at him, with a questioning look on her face. The grin on his face was gone. There was a more intense look on his eyes than she had ever seen before.

"Forgive me, for what I am about to do."

Before she could respond back or even react, she felt his lips upon hers. Her eyes widened for a moment but soon closed them, and began to kiss him back. She felt him pull her even closer to him. One of her hands went up to his dark brown hair, running her finger through his soft hair. Her other hand clutched the back of his borrowed shirt. She broke the kiss when she started to hear the whistles and a 'get a room' from Emmett and Jasper.

She opened her eyes and noticed the smile on Garrett's face. She cleared her throat and glanced towards her siblings. Rosalie gave her a subtle nod and dragged Emmett and Jasper inside the house. Emmett made a fake gagging sound as he left.

Ruby felt Garrett's thumb brushing the side of her right cheek. "That was...nice." She mumbled, smiling slightly as his low laugh.

"I have met different female nomads in my vampire life," Garrett continued to caress her cheek, "But none have captured my attention like you have. When I saw you in that open field, I was immediately taken by you."

If she was still human, Ruby knew that her whole face would have blushed at his confession. She bit her lip and shyly looked away.

"Have I overstepped the boundaries between us?" Garrett frowned in confusion.

She shook her head, turning back to look at him. "The moment you kissed my hand, you piqued my interest. It grew as we continued to talk and get to know each other more and more."

Garrett threw her a grin. "Does this mean you want to be my significant other?"

Ruby smiled and nodded, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She laid her head on his chest, and closed her eyes. For the first time in a very long time she felt warm inside. She felt a kiss on top of her head, and let out a hum.

Garrett smiled and looked towards the house. He spotted everyone, minus Carlisle who was working, staring at them from the balcony. Esme and Alice were smiling at them with Alice doing some type of victory dance. Emmett and Jasper sent smirks towards him but quickly gave him a serious glare. Rosalie narrowed her eyes at him but gave him a subtle nod. Then Edward is giving him the death glare.

"It looks like we don't have to tell your family about us."

"Are they looking at us?" Ruby mumbled, keeping half of her face hidden on his chest.

The nomad lets out a low chuckle. "Yes."

She sighed heavily and turned to look back at her family. She gives her mother a pleading look, ignoring Alice's little dance.

"Let's give them some space," Esme softly tells her children, giving Ruby a soft smile. They had a while before Carlisle came home, and they will all be heading out to practice with the pack.

Before heading inside the house, Jasper and Emmett make a signal to Garrett that they are watching him. Rosalie snorts, shaking her head and walking inside the house with the boys following right behind her. Esme and Alice turned to look at Edward. He was glaring at the nomad, gritting his teeth. Alice rolled her eyes at his protectiveness. Her and Esme pulled him inside the house, before he could do anything about it.

"You're definitely going to get the whole 'if you hurt my sister' speech later," Ruby chuckled, looking up at Garrett. "It will probably be a lot worse than the one I gave to Bella."

He let out a snort before giving her a kiss on her forehead, "For you, I will bear it."