-MAISIE-


I sped all the way to the Cullen house, barely putting the car into park before running for the front door. However, when I tried the handle, the door resisted me.

"Dammit!" I hit the door in frustration, knowing it would do me no good. The door was only ever locked when everyone was gone. Carlisle and Esme had gone back to work as soon as we returned from South America. I had no idea where everyone else was. Hunting, maybe?

I couldn't very well show up to the hospital or Esme's office, though I knew where each of them were.

I cursed my stupidity some more, sliding down to the porch and sitting with my back to the locked door, trying to think what to do. Irina had told me basically plain as day, but I didn't even make the connection. What the hell was wrong with me? Not even my own idea about tipping the Volturi off about Joham had made me think about, let alone connect the dots, of Irina's threat.

We were doomed. All of us dead. If we didn't find and stop Irina, our fates were sealed.

My blood rushed through my veins, pounding in my temples as hot, angry tears started to roll down my cheeks. I was so occupied in my fear and frustration that I didn't recognize the sound of my phone ringing at first.

"Hello?" I answered numbly, out of habit, the screen sticking to my wet face.

"Maisie!" Gunner's voice, cutting through my headache. "Where are you? Sam called Leah and said you went running like something bad happened."

How to even put my idiocy into words? I took too long trying to construct an explanation, because Gunner yelled my name into my ear once again. "Maisie!"

"I'll meet you at Leah's," I said after another pause. Using my sleeve, I dried my face and walked back to my car. Why hadn't I thought to try to call someone? Until my phone ran from Gunner's call, I had forgot it existed. My singular thought had been to get to Jasper. Now, as I waited for the vents to blow warm air to counteract my chill despite the summer day, I dialed Kate's number. She answered on the third ring.

"Hey," I greeted her, my voice breaking over that syllable. "Where are y'all travelling around to?"

It was loud, wherever they were. I could hear voices in the background. "Hey! Garrett, it's Maisie."

"Hey, Maisie!" Garrett dragged the greeting into a singsong. A guitar riff sounded somewhere. They must have been at a concert.

"We're in London!" Kate shouted over the line. "You sound congested!"

"A summer cold," I lied. "Sorry to interrupt the fun. I'll let y'all go, I was just wondering if you'd heard from Irina lately?"

"We followed her overseas! But we're taking the slower route! She left us in England yesterday, for France!"

"Oh, fun!" I made myself say. Lies, lies, lies. "I just wanted to see how she was doing! See y'all soon!"

I felt bad for lying to Kate, but Irina had been telling her own lies as well, it seemed. Jasper's words ran through my mind as I pulled out of the Cullens' driveway. I'm guilty; I've broken the rules.

If Irina made it as far as Italy, to the Volturi, I had no doubt a death sentence would be handed down on Jasper. Not to mention everyone else around us, as he had explained to me. Had that argument really happened just two nights ago?

I sped all the way back to La Push, anxious to be with Gunner and Leah if I couldn't be with Jasper. Luckily, Leah's mom was also at work, because words were tumbling out of my mouth as soon as I was through the front door.

"I messed up," I told Gunner. He stood from the couch, rushing to the door and catching me by the arms when I stumbled over the threshold. "I really, really messed up."

My tears came back, burning down my cheeks. I only realized I was shaking when I reached my hands out to grab hold of Gunner, my hands clammy against his much warmer skin. "What are you talking about?"

"I forgot about Irina! I'm such an idiot. She told me! She told me, and I ignored her because I was too stupid to put it together and understand what she meant."

Gunner winced. I thought for a moment that it was because I was yelling, but the apology died on my tongue. He let go of me, slipping his fingers underneath my hands to try to pry my grip on him loose. "Maisie, you're hurting me. Calm down."

I let go immediately, diverting my eyes from the red marks I had left on his skin. You could see a perfect outline of my hands on his forearms. "I'm sorry."

Leah swooped in, then, taking my hand and pulling me to the couch. She plopped herself down next to me, motioning with her head for Gunner to take the other side. Maybe she thought the barrier of their bodies would calm me down. "Irina's the one we've been catching scent of around the territory lines, right?"

"Yeah, one of the Denali sisters. The Cullens call them their cousins. Remember, she was there that night the pack took out Laurent at Rosalie and Emmett's wedding."

"But what does she have to do with…this?" Gunner made a wide sweep with his hands, not committing to put any labels on the mental break I was currently having.

"She told me, in Alaska, that she would go to the Volturi, but I didn't understand!" I watched in frenzied annoyance as both Leah and Gunner's brows crumpled in confusion.

"Volturi?" They asked in tandem.

"Murderous vampire overlords!" I shouted, throwing my hands up. "Who will definitely kill Jasper and probably a whole bunch of other people when Irina makes it to Italy, which…could be…tonight."

My words slowed toward the end of my outburst because my breathing had quickened into desperate gasps. Leah's hot hand framed my face, forcing me to look at her.

"Deep breaths," she instructed, beginning to breathe slowly herself. It took several tries on my part, but eventually, I got my breathing under control. "How do you know Irina could be in Italy where these Volturi are tonight?"

"Because I called Kate." Leah was holding my face so securely it was hard to move my jaw to get the words out, leaving them muffled.

"Who's Kate?" There was so much that Leah didn't know, I realized. The disconnect was making all this harder than it needed to be.

"Irina's sister! You met her in Alaska. They're both in Europe right now, but Kate's in England and Irina told her she was going to France."

"Okay, did you tell Kate what you think Irina is planning?"

The rationality of the question threw me. My heart was still pounding, my face crumpling under her hands. "No, because I'm a dumbass, okay?"

To my credit, though, I pulled away from Leah to take my phone out of my pocket. My hands shook so much I nearly dropped it while I pulled up my call log.

"I'll bet you didn't call Jasper, either," Gunner remarked, pulling his phone out of his pocket, too.

"Shut up." I glared at him as he stood up, walking toward the kitchen while lifting the phone to his ear. My first call to Kate went unanswered, making me swear as I ended the call before it could go to voicemail. I was certain that Leah's being beside me was the only thing that kept me from throwing my phone across the room when my third attempt was equally futile as the first.

By then, Gunner was back in the living room. "C'mon, we'll meet Jasper back at the Cullen house."

"I have to talk to Kate first," I argued, even as Gunner hooked his hand under my arm and forced me to my feet with him. He led me back to the car, holding his hand out for my keys.

"Drive mine back?" He asked Leah, tossing his to her. She caught them easily in her palm while I tried to call Kate a fourth time. Blessedly, this was the time she picked up.

"Maisie? What's going on?" It was quieter now, in the background, all the concert noises muffled. Maybe she had stepped outside. I opened my mouth to tell her, but no words came forth. "Maisie?"

"You have to stop Irina," I forced the plea out, my voice scratchy. "She'll go to the Volturi."

"What? Why would she…" But her sentence dropped off as I imagined the realization dawned on her.

"Laurent," we spoke the name at the same time. An eye for an eye; Irina made it no secret that she blamed me for the death of her lover. "We're on it, Maisie. I promise you."

The phone line went dead, and I let Gunner guide me into the passenger seat.


Jasper was waiting for us outside the Cullen house when we pulled into the drive. I threw the door open before Gunner even had the car fully in park, making a beeline for Jasper. He caught me as I wrapped my arms around him, standing on my tiptoes to bury my face in his neck.

"I messed up, I ruined everything," I murmured against his skin.

"You could never," he tenderly murmured back to me, cradling the back of my head in his hand. I felt his lips press to the top of my head. His calm began to spread through me, and I didn't fight the warmth of it. "What's going on?"

"I was kind of having a mental breakdown, but I'm okay now." I must not have been convincing; Jasper gave me an incredulous look as I untangled myself from him. "Really. Gunner and Leah helped me."

He cupped my cheek, running his thumb over my lips as he looked at my brother for confirmation. I turned my head just in time to catch Gunner shaking his. Traitor.

"It's Irina," Gunner told him plainly, continuing his betrayal.

"Irina?" Jasper echoed, pulling me closer to his side reflexively, even though the threat was a whole ocean and a country or two away.

"She's going to go to the Volturi." I couldn't force my voice above a cracked whisper. The small amount of composure I was able to gain as Gunner drove us here disintegrated. Even with the borrowed calm from Jasper, I began to shake again with the weight of this reality. Jasper, on the other hand, went completely still beside me. I don't even think he was breathing.

The calm I felt from him now was no longer comforting, taking on a chilling and foreboding tone. Peeking up at his face, I saw a hard mask of his features. Cold and stoic.

"How do we know that?"

"She kind of told me," I confessed. "Right before summer, before we left Alaska. But she didn't tell me outright. She told me, 'Italy is lovely in the summertime'."

"Maisie." He chided with my name. Only then, when his frustration was plain in his voice and the swell of his anger pressed against my already raw emotions, did I start crying again.

"I know," I told him, turning my face again toward his chest. To my surprise, he still wrapped his arm around me, holding me to him even as he spoke to Leah over my head.

"Could I burden you with a favor, Leah? My siblings are hunting in Okanogan National Forest."

"Don't worry," Leah told us. "I'll go get them."

The ripping sound of a Quileute shapeshift filled the air, quickly replaced by the pounding of Leah's paws as she began her run.


A/N: I know this chapter is very short, but I'm hoping that helps convey the frenzy Maisie is in over the thought of Irina going to the Volturi.

And, yes, our girl is making some mistakes here, isn't she? I promise I still love Maisie, I hate to put her through things!

Let me know what y'all think! Much love to you all.