R/N POV

"I'll stop you right there!" Bella's hand shot out in front of her cutting off Alice's speech.

Bella's contained anger was getting harder for her to control as Rosalie, then Alice began questioning mine and Bella's relationship.

My hand gripped the back of her shirt tighter. "You know nothing – nothing about my life or Nessie's life, so I suggest you stop with the assumptions."

My mind was in overdrive as I listened to their accusations. I knew I shouldn't pay attention to what these Cullens said but Rosalie's words made me feel even more worthless than I already did. They thought Bella had ruined her own life, and now was ruining mine, but that wasn't true. I knew it was my fault that Bella lost her life, and deep down I felt that Jake blamed me for that too.

I chanced a glance behind me. Jake was next to me evaporating power, hate and excitement. Jenna was behind me and as I turned she offered me a small smile. Justin stayed close to Jenna whilst Shane stood closer to Dawn, using his body to shield her, his sight set on Emmett should anything arise.

"For your information, human blood does not appeal to me and one drop has not passed my lips." Bella explained, causing Jasper and Carlisle's eyes to widen. I wasn't sure if she noticed as she carried on: "She's my family and it's staying that way, and if you dare come between us then I will kill you. I don't care that I once considered you family, you're not anymore."

The statement sounded final. It silenced the room; save for the beating hearts and the mixed rhythms of breathing.

Bella's voice was softer when she next spoke, "Coming here was a mistake; we're leaving."

She turned immediately and I jumped slightly. I tried to mask it and didn't think anyone noticed other than me. Her gentle hands turned me around. I didn't dare look back. I didn't want to.

But then she wasn't there anymore. Her hands left me and I felt the breeze of her whipping around. It happened so fast. I spun as well, but Jake pulled me back so I wasn't close to Edward as he practically begged my mom, "Bella, please. You have to know that I only left to protect you. I did what was best for you!" Desperation, frustration, grief... they were all there in his voice.

I couldn't see his face thankfully as Jake stood in front of me, his arms spread wide as my personal shield. I could see and feel him fighting to keep his body from vibrating, knowing that if he were to phase, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from attacking.

My hand snapped to latch onto Jake's forearm as Bella reacted sharply, pushing Edward away from her, "Stop it!"

He barely moved, but gave her a small amount of space as she delivered her speech. "The only thing you did was leave me broken. You, Edward Cullen, broke my heart when you left me alone in that godforsaken forest. You were the one I followed after you ran! You made me feel worthless and unloved..."

The emotion in her voice sliced through me like a carving knife, ripping my heart from its place in my chest. I knew most of her story now, but even then she'd been extremely reserved and controlled. It pained me to hear her like this. So I made my decision to leave. I needed some space and air to collect myself.

"You played me and I curse myself everyday for believing that you actually wanted me."

I opened my thoughts to Jake asking him to tell Bella that I loved her. I kissed his bicep then made my leave. I didn't turn back but I didn't run either; they were already suspicious of me. I didn't notice whether I had closed the door behind me or not. Regardless, I kept walking west into the forest – the opposite direction to which we came. The memories refused to be forgotten though. Currently plaguing my mind was every emotion on Bella's face when they were mentioned in the past, the way her voice sounded when she talked about them, or to them. It was because of them that the tears fell. They fell fast and caused sobs to rack my chest. I rested my head against the nearest trunk and hit it repeatedly, causing the bark to fly off in different directions.

"Nessie!" Jenna called. I didn't even hear her follow me.

I listened to her footsteps as she came closer. As she came around the corner, her footsteps stopped and she signed despondently, "Oh, Ness."

I looked up as she came closer, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and squeezing as she consoled me. My head slumped into her shoulder as she shushed and soothed.

"How-" my voice cracked. I cleared my throat, "How could he do that to her?"

I wanted an answer. I pulled back and looked at her, praying that someone had the answer, "How could he leave her like that?"

Jenna pulled her eyebrows together as she opened her mouth to speak. But it wasn't from her mouth that the voice came.

"Oh honey, has Daddy been bad again?" The voice was condescending. Nothing like what I had expected from the woman I saw when my head snapped up: medium height, barefoot, white fur lining her coat, a blaze of curly red hair framing her large, stout black eyes.

Jenna turned sharply and went to scream in surprise. The sound was captured by a hand that covered her mouth; a hand belonging to a weedy man, a little over twenty. It was a man with bright red eyes, more vibrant and alive than I had ever seen. A newborn?

"Let her go." I tried to be firm but my voice quaked with trepidation.

I stepped toward them but was halted immediately by his snarl. His arms tightened around her mouth and waist, locking her to him. Jenna's eyes were panicked, but I stayed put, not wanting to antagonise him further.

"You see, sweetie, your daddy has never been a good guy, and I've taken it upon myself to punish him." Her playful tone pulled my attention to her. She was casually leaning her weight on her right foot. "At first, your dear Mommy was just going to pay the price, but now I'm afraid that it'll have to be you."

Her eyes averted to Jenna, any element of amusement falling from her face momentarily. "And your mother's just a whore." Her voice was stiff, filled with jealousy and hatred instead of the haughty tone she used with me.

"I guess I'm effectively killing two birds with one stone," she grinned and giggled to herself, her pearly whites on full display, proud of her capture and suddenly back to her delighted mood.

I looked over at Jenna, whose eyes were filling with tears. The newborn had a tight grip on her and I feared that he was uncontrollable. I turned my eyes back to the woman just as she ran toward me.

I screamed... loud. I couldn't help it and I knew it would probably cause trouble, but it was a natural reaction. Her hand clasped over my mouth silencing the cry as her other hand went to my throat, cutting off my air supply. Her face was close to mine, her feral gaze boring into me.

"Don't do that again," she chastised. She lifted me off the ground by my throat, her sharp nails digging in and no doubt causing indentations. Then we were flying.

My hair flew in my face as she ran with me in her arms. My hands reached up to claw hers away from my face so I could breathe, but she didn't ease her grip. She stopped abruptly, her hand slipping from my throat. I gasped a cough, trying to regain my breath. My knees buckled as a wave of dizziness passed, but she caught me by the elbow, holding me erect like a child would a ragdoll. I sucked in oxygen, closing my eyes to get my breathing under control.

As I gained strength, I began to recognise where we were. The salted breeze kissed my skin as it blew around my face and lightly caressed my arms, the crashing waves below us signalled that we were high and stood close to the cliff edge. The clearing was only small, the rocky space big enough to fit six parked cars surrounded by a volume of high pine trees.

The vampire felt my strength returning and gripped my throat again to stop me from running, but not enough to cut off my windpipe, turning me so my back faced the open Pacific, her body still facing me. Jenna and her captor stood a little further away from us, his back protected by a rock that stood tall and stationary at one side. To the right of them the cliff split, creating a large gap between the cliff top where we stood and the other one roughly eight metres away. They were common around here.

I had no idea how far from the house I had ventured before the vampire had discovered us, but given that Jenna was able to catch up quickly, I hoped that we were still close enough for someone to be alerted by my scream before we were taken.

A wolf's call echoed through the trees and immediately my heart beat picked up pace, if that was even possible at the present time. Hope radiated in my gut.

The woman's head whipped around as she catalogued over surrounding before settling her gaze over my shoulder. Her mouth curling up into a sly grin. She was anticipating this, and immediately my hope plummeted. That's when I heard the footsteps – fast ones.

Timed perfectly, the woman danced around so she was behind me, her hand moving to cover my mouth whilst her forearm pressed into my left shoulder securing my upper body to her chest. She was strong. The only added addition was the glint of metal I could see from the corner of my eye.

The faces of ten vampires, plus one wolf, appeared from the trees, my mom the forefront of it. She took in the scene rapidly, her eyes going from me, to Jenna, to the knife and to the woman – different emotions flicking over her features each time she spied a different thing.

Settling on the woman, she growled and went to step forward.

I let out a rather loud gasp as I felt the point touch my neck, halting Bella from approaching. Jake growled, pawing at the floor like a bull. I could hear growls from behind me on the opposite cliff top. This confirmed my suspicion that we were on the treaty line.

"Ah ah aah," the woman sang. "I wouldn't come any closer." Her voice was light and teasing. I closed my eyes as I carefully gulped around the knife's tip.

"Victoria," I heard from a male voice. I re-opened my eyes and connected with my mom's.

Bella growled, "Victoria, it's me you're after, not her."

I froze as I felt Victoria's face close to mine. She ran her cheek against my own, much like how a cat kisses up to its owner. I shuddered in response. "Oh, but she could prove very useful. They both could."

My eyes went to Jenna then, whose tears had fallen down her flushed cheeks. Her eyes were locked onto Dawn who was being held back by Shane. Both wore equal expressions of fury and fear.

"They haven't done anything to you" Justin shouted. He stepped forward slightly, only to stop when Jenna whimpered. The newborn had stuck his face close to Jenna's, dramatically sniffing her hair.

"Riley, that's enough," Victoria commanded. Turning back to Justin, her voice took on a wispy tone. "Justin, dear, it's you who can sense me, isn't it?"

He remained silent but his eyes narrowed.

I heard the smile in her voice. "Yes, I figured it out eventually. That's why I was so pleased to learn that the girls had made friends. I could track any single one of you and it would lead me to all of you... Gosh, you look so much like your father."

"I'm nothing like him!" Justin roared in response.

"Oh, but on the contrary, you are... so much like him," she continued in a sickly sweet tone. "The looks, the personality, the anger. That's why I have a proposition for you."

She stepped away from me, but didn't remove the knife from my throat. I gasped as her hand fell away and began collecting more oxygen, tears filling my eyes. Bella looked at me and I nodded, signalling I was okay. I could see her hands clenching and unclenching in conflict.

"I don't care," Justin spat petulantly.

"Not even if it'll save your sister?" She tilted her head.

His face was conflicted but we all knew he'd do anything for Jenna – even Victoria.

"Justin, I want you to come away with me," She offered wistfully. "Stay with me forever, and then I'll let your sister go."

"You bitch!" Dawn shouted. "My children are not pawns in your game. The only person you should be angry at is James. He was the deceptive arsehole, not me, and certainly not my children."

"ENOUGH!" Victoria screeched. "Don't you dare speak his name."

She was crazed. "You seduced him! It wasn't his fault! You and you," she turned her attention to Edward, "took him away from me. And now it's your children that will pay the price for all of you."

"NO!" Bella yelled.

A scream slipped through my throat as Victoria yanked my hair back, pressing her face next to mine again. My head burned in the aftermath of it. The tears cascaded. I didn't trust breathing through my mouth, sticking instead to my nasal passage for oxygen.

"Oh yes! See, I want you to feel the pain that you put me through. Isabella," she addressed, "Edward hurt me by killing James, so you were my target. Then he would know how it feels to have you mate ripped from you forever. Only now you can't be hurt physically, but I can still hurt you emotionally. By removing your daughter."

"Don't you dare!" She screeched, launching herself forward. Edward reacted quickly too, wrapping his arms around Bella and pulling her to his chest, stopping her assault. Victoria's words cut through me. I may be half vampire but we, all of us, had no idea whether that side of me was enough to protect me forever, or if I was just as fragile as a human. I bled the same, so could I die?

Victoria laughed. She liked having this power.

"You Cullens are awfully quiet. I thought you were all about family, shouldn't you be reacting more?" Victoria taunted. "Edward, your daughter's life is in my hands and you're just going to stand there and watch? Ooh, I think someone's lost his drive."

I looked at all the Cullens to assess their reaction to what Victoria said. If they were shocked then they didn't show it. All of them remained poised to attack.

"Shut up!" Bella yelled through clenched teeth.

"Whatever relation Bella has to Nessie shouldn't matter, she's just a human!" Emmett (I think) shouted.

"Just a-" Victoria started before stopping herself abruptly. She erupted into laughter, a bell like sound that would be beautiful if not for the woman it came from. She paused for a long time creating an ominous silence before she spoke again: "You really don't know, do you?"

My mom and I stiffened simultaneously. "Bella, have you been keeping secrets?"

Bella sneered, her mouth pulling back to growl.

"This makes it so much better!" Victoria commented. "How could you not know that you'd fathered a child, Edward? This child."

My eyes stared at Edward for the first time. His eyes locked onto Victoria before they snapped to me. What he found as he looked at me confirmed what he could see in Victoria's thoughts, but not my own. If possible, he became paler, but that was his only reaction, not wanting to give into Victoria's satisfaction.

"That's impossible; nineteen years ago Edward was a vampire," Carlisle spoke. His voice didn't sound like he was protesting, merely stating a fact as if to gain more information by saying his immediate thoughts out loud.

"Vampires can't have children!" Rosalie growled from behind.

"No, but humans can," Victoria stated. "I found it unfathomable too when I first heard. Edward didn't strike me as someone to claim a woman's virtue, particularly not a human's."

Victoria grabbed my chin and turned my face towards her sharply. My heartbeat was loud and clear as it battered against my ribcage. I was forced to look into her eyes, but fear clouded my vision. I felt paralysed. Victoria's eyes studied every aspect of my face. Even though her eyes had left her enemies, she was in control. The knife at my jugular kept everyone from moving; calculating strategy and accurate timing for a possible attack.

"Flushed cheeks, full lips, a strong jaw," she listed slowly, "bronze curls, and the brown eyes of her mother in her father's shape."

Her eyes were bright with excitement, her mouth curling as if she was repressing a smile. Her thumb stroked my chin causing me to lurch my head away from her touch.

"She's the perfect combination of you both, aren't you, Renesmee Swan." She smiled at me then and brought her nose to my cheek, breathing in deeply, "Mm, she even smells just like you did, Bella." She turned towards my mom and licked her lips, "I bet she tastes good too."

Bella fought against Edward, who kept his tight hold on her. Growls rolled off the cliff tops in all directions. "Victoria, let her go! Please, let her go!"

I'd never seen Bella look as helpless as she did right now. Her body slumped in Edward's arms as she pleaded for my life.

Victoria laughed. She laughed. Despite my fear, anger flared. I closed my eyes, concentrating on my breathing, remembering Kachiri's words from all those years ago: 'there's vampire in you, Nessie, you just have to embrace it. Let go and just feel'. As I gave into my other senses, sounds became more prominent as did touch and smell. Concentrating on touch, my other senses drowned, I felt for when Victoria's muscles flexed and contracted.

"It's sweet how you think begging will change anything."

"She's just a child!"

Just as she went to reply, her muscles relaxed minutely, providing the opportune time for me to escape. I grabbed her wrist containing the knife and twisted out of her grip, delivering a kick to her gut to get her away from me. She stumbled in surprise, but it gave me enough time to run.

Unfortunately, my plan didn't include her sidekick. A sickening thwack resonated from a nearby rock and then I felt my hair get tugged back sharply, pulling me to the floor. I let out a scream.

Before I could pull myself up, Victoria recovered and held me by the hair, the knife now poised horizontally across my throat. I looked over in time to see Jenna on the floor, blood pouring down her face. As soon as he'd attacked me, he changed his attention and pounced on Jenna, unable to control his bloodlust. His teeth sliced into her throat causing her to let out a blood curdling scream. His rapid suckling audible to all.

"NO!" I heard myself scream. My shout was repeated by her family, and mine.

Shane broke away, ripping Riley from Jenna and sending them both over the cliff edge. I watched as two wolves from the pack on the opposite side of the cliff jumped down to join them.

Dawn ran to Jenna trying to hold her down as the venom began to spread. Jenna's screams sliced through the air as I watched the chaos unfold. Riley's screams of pain and the blunt sounds of tearing flesh travelled up from below, the cliffs acting as an amplifier.

Victoria growled in my ear causing me to look at Bella. She was walking forward tentatively, her mouth set in a hard line as she stalked towards her prey.

"Don't come any closer!" Victoria shouted, pushing the knife further into my neck. Her voice took on a tone of hysteria as she realised she was now alone.

Edward stepped to my mother's side. "It's over, Victoria!"

"No!" She screeched, getting to her feet and pulling me with her. "It's not over until I say it's over!"

I was completely unprepared for what happened next. Victoria plunge the knife into my throat, slicing it open in one swift movement from left to right. My eyes rolled back into my head as I felt the blood leave my neck. Barely any sound reached my ears, like noise was being blocked by cotton wool.

I couldn't see; I couldn't hear. I was barely aware of my surroundings. My legs weren't on the ground. I was falling, looking into the sky as I felt the chill of the wind hit my back. Peaceful for a time. Then it stung; an immediate, biting pain that ricocheted off of my back. Water enveloped me, wrapping around my body sucking me into an abyss.

Finally, my vision blurred until it was black and I could no longer feel anything.