DISCLAIMER: All characters and story world belong to SM. All lyrical references and quotes are property of their original artist. No copyright infringement intended.

[Beta'd by: UnBeta'd]
Special thanks to: Ocdmess

Last chapter I asked you what song got you pumped up for a fight.
My answer: Nine Inch Nails – March of Pigs. I actually listened to it for the entire first half of this chapter… on repeat.

Chapter Playlist:
Evanescence – My Last Breath

http:/ /www[dot]youtube[dot]com/user/BeautifullySacred

*Warning – violence. Mature readers only, please.*

Chapter 28
BPOV
Friday, September 8th, 2006

His hands caressing my lower back as he holds me close. The taste of him on my tongue. The promises we whisper late into the night to one another.

"All I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid," I whisper into his ear as we merge our bodies into one.

'Can you hear me? Can you feel me in your arms?' he asks as his thoughts penetrate my own, connecting us in every way.

"Holding my last breath…" I moan as the tension in my body melts away and is eased by his gentle touch.

"Bella?" Jasper asked, pulling me from my memories of the night before. I never imagined that song writing could be so erotic.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

He smirked and studied me for a second. "I'm not even going to ask where the lust is coming from, just try and focus, alright?"

If I were still human, I'd be blushing brighter than a cherry tomato. "Sorry," I mumbled again.

Edward's eyes flashed to me curiously as he squeezed my hand. I took a deep breath and nodded once for myself. I'm ready. I can do this. We can do this.

We had spent four days training night and day. The wolves watched at first, then, as they grew more comfortable around us, they began sparring with Garrett and Jasper for "paws on experience" as Emmett called it.

We were ready.

We had to be.

Laurent had gone missing the night the wolves arrived and never returned. Irina was crazy with worry, but we couldn't waste the time to search for him. She left, despite Carmen and Eleazar's pleas for her to stay. Two days later, she returned, heartbroken. She had followed his scent to the Southern shore of Alaska, and traced it south until it reappeared off the coast of southern British Columbia.

He had returned to Victoria, and he had every detail of our plan, down to how many of us there were and what our talents were. We had changed plans quickly enough, but the added tension between families was hard to ignore.

Kate and Garrett hardly talked when they weren't practicing. She felt indebted to her sister and spent her time trying to think of alternate reasons Laurent could have left in an attempt to ease her sister's heartache. Garrett voiced his opinion that it wasn't worth our time. Laurent was gone, and we had to devise new strategies.

The wolves, and Rosalie, were furious as to be expected, but we moved forward.

The new plan was to strike before the camp usually left to hunt on Friday nights. If we struck at dusk, we could catch them off guard and hungry. The more hungry the newborns, the less focused their fighting tactics would be.

It was our only chance.

If we waited until after Sunday, Victoria could strike at any time. They would be expecting us midday on Sunday if Laurent had truly sold us out, so we had to act sooner. Surely, they would be expecting us sooner, but we had little option.

Hunt or be hunted.

We were fighting for our lives – for our love.

"The pack will take the East, rounding up any scouts and taking them out quickly. We will strike from the North West, moving in on the buildings. Take out the blond female quickly before she has the chance to charm you. Do not make eye contact with her, or let her touch you," Jasper said quickly as he pointed in the directions with focused eyes.

"Remember, the obvious kill is the one they will expect. There could be fresh newborns, they won't know any other tactics. Hit them from the side, work together and use the element of surprise. Keep your eyes open and keep to teams of two when possible," Garrett added.

"Bella and I will work at throwing confusion and fear at them, but they could be in such a frenzy from their hunger it won't affect them as strongly as we are hoping. Stay within the two mile radius; any further and you risk losing Bella's shield," Jasper continued and I nodded.

"Edward will call any plans they are making that could be a threat. If anyone sees Victoria, call out the direction. If you are close enough to attack, remember to act as a team. She's quick and good at escaping," Garrett added.

We all nodded and glanced at each other. I didn't need to check with Jaspers ability to know everyone was anxious and worried. Well, except for Emmett, but I'm sure under his excitement he was concerned.

"Any questions?" Jasper asked.

We all looked around at each other. No one spoke up.

"Let's move out. Eyes open, everyone," Jasper said.

We had already made our way to Deadman Lake; a small area just forty miles North of the encampment. I took one last fleeting look at the wolves before I joined the others running. It would take us less than twenty minutes to reach our destination and my anxiety was already skyrocketing. A wave of calm flowed over me from a few feet ahead and I took a deep breath.

Thanks, Jasper.

I gripped Edward's hand tighter in mine as we ran side by side. The trees seemed to fly past and I tried to focus on everyone's presence in the back of my mind. I was shielding them with my secondary, except for Jasper. Once we reached the encampment I would shield him with my primary and utilize his talent to give our family a better chance of surprising the newborns.

"Nearly there," Edward whispered.

I held my breath as my body tensed, pushing my feet into the ground with more force.

This is it.

"They've handled two scouts," Edward informed us, referring to the wolves actions and translating.

The wolves were only a few miles west of us so he could maintain a connection to their mind.

"They are turning west and heading toward the camp," he said slightly louder, the tension building in his voice.

I reached out mentally and shielded Jasper with my primary. The familiar chill ran through my body as I became hyperaware of everyone's' emotions. We had just reached the outer wall of trees surrounding the encampment when the first scream pierced the night.

Then, everything happened at once and even with vampire speed and sight, I found it hard to focus on everything. My concentration on everyone's shields waivered and I stilled for a second as I shut my eyes tightly. I drew in a deep breath and the scent of blood burned at the back of my throat.

They have humans here.

My thirst practically begged to be quenched and for a split second the idea crossed my mind before I remembered what we were here for.

Hunt or be hunted.

I opened my eyes, strengthened my shield around each person, lunged through the trees and into the clearing.

They were everywhere.

At least half a dozen humans were mid change, and their bodies were writhing. Another half a dozen frenzied newborns were crouched near the center building and growling fiercely. A large group was flooding into the clearing from the tree line while a few others were surrounding the West building. I realized that something was incredibly wrong with the entire situation and fear ran through me.

Why can't I hear their screams?

"There" Edward said, pointing toward a newborn standing over the humans. "He's a sound manipulator. Distract him."

I pulled on my connection with Jasper and sent every bit of fear that I could manage along with anguish and directed it at the blond boy hovering over the humans. He stumbled backward and hunched over, shutting his eyes tightly. A sudden barrage of screams rang throughout the clearing and everyone's heads turned. We could hear the humans changing, and it was overwhelming.

Emmett lunged, quickly landing on the boys back and pulling his arms behind him. They ripped away from his body and a guttural scream joined the symphony of writhing humans. Rosalie twisted the boys neck and tossed it toward the center of the clearing before moving toward the group of newborns crouched by the building. Emmett, Carlisle, Esme, and Alice joined them; cornering the half dozen, fear stricken, red eyed immortals.

The wolves broke through the tree line and immediately dove after the transforming humans. I turned my head and shut my eyes.

So many innocent lives.

We had discussed the possibility of finding some mid change, and while none of us liked the idea of it, we all agreed that they should be disposed of. The wolves agreed to dismember them to ensure the burning wouldn't take days or prolong their suffering. Severing the arties connection to the heart and mind would cause the venom to grow weaker and still in their blood stream, allowing the fire to consume their bodies easier.

A sudden burst of anger came from the west building and I opened my eyes immediately. A tall, thin, olive skinned man flew out of the building, heading straight for Edward and I. Edward turned and lunged at him. He twisted as his foot left the ground and grabbed the man's wrist in midair. Their bodies seemed to dance around each other slowly as they fell back to the ground and time returned to normal. My stomach dropped as I grew anxious watching my love fight with a more experienced vampire.

Due to Bree's previous list of details about each individual at the camp, I determined that Edward was fighting with Mark – the newborns trainer.

"Bella!" Garrett called and my head snapped to the direction of his voice.

The wolves were being attacked by a wave of newborns I hadn't previously seen.

Dear, God. How many are there?

I quickly focused on Jasper's bond and sent a large wave of fear and confusion toward them. The chance of it affecting the wolves at the same time was high, but it was a risk I had to take. A few of the pack seemed to freeze momentarily due to the emotions, but I recognized Sam and Paul as they spun around, mouths wide open and bit into the newborns that had caught them unaware. Two bodies immediately fell to the ground and the pack descended on the remaining vampires as they came out of their stupor.

I quickly turned around and searched for Edward. He and Mark were still squared off, side-stepping and waiting for the other to make the first move. I peeled my eyes away, forcing myself to help the others and trust that Edward would be okay.

Bree had joined Garrett and Kate while they started a fire near the corner of the camp. Eleazar, Carmen, and Tanya were fighting a small group near the tree line that must have returned from somewhere deeper in the woods.

Where is Christy and Victoria? Where is Laurent?

I scanned the emotions of those around me and realized that there were a few still hiding in the half collapsed building.

"Emmett! The fallen building!" I called out over the screams, snarls, and thunderous clashing of bodies.

He turned and sprinted toward the structure, Rosalie and Alice on his heels. He plowed full force into the building, throwing his shoulder forward and collapsing what was left of the fourth wall. Alice flipped gracefully in the air, doing a side kick and spun horizontally over the ruble while Rosalie leapt on top of one of the still standing walls. The three of them quickly lunged and disappeared behind the debris, their strong connection to the back of my mind my only reassurance that they were okay.

I turned again, this time toward the South and searched for the missing members of the camp. As I moved, my heel dug into the dirt and a weight pulled back on my shoulders.

"Bella!" a voice called out.

I panicked, threw my weight forward, tossing forward whatever had grabbed me, and projected a large wave of pain and fear. A guttural growl came from directly in front of me and I looked into the blood red eyes of Laurent.

"Glad to see you could join us. We've been expecting you," he sneered as he bent down into a crouch.

I dove to the side, throwing my body toward the ground and strengthened my shield around my mind involuntarily. I felt everyone's presence slowly fade. A pressure at the back of my mind told me that someone was trying to get through my shield to me, but I didn't focus on who.

A snarl from behind my ear startled me as I hit the dirt and I rolled over quickly. I put my legs and hands up and pressed as hard as I could.

Laurent flew back and hit the tree directly behind him. A loud crack echoed through the clearing and I jumped to my feet and leapt for the branch above me. He got to his feet and launched himself directly toward my dangling legs. I swung back and let go just seconds before a large jaw caught him by his torso midair. A snarl, crunch and shriek rang through my ears as a large chocolate brown wolf landed a few short feet in front of me. He shook the body between his jaws recklessly before tossing them to the side and lunging for Laurent's shoulder. In two swift bites, his lifeless body was resting in four pieces and scattered at my feet.

I took a shaky breath and stared into the wolf's eyes.

"Thank you, Jake," I whispered.

He nodded once and huffed before launching himself back into the action. I glanced around and gasped at the amount of limbs strewn across the dead grass. At least two dozen vampires had to have been dismembered if I counted those that were still mid change.

"Gah!" I heard someone shout as a crack caught my attention.

A tree shook before slowly falling to the ground in my peripheral vision. I jumped back and followed the trunk toward the two bodies nearest the tree. Mark had Edward's wrist pinned behind his back and one hand at his neck.

"No!" I screamed and ran toward them.

Mark grinned deviously as he flexed his arm and tightened his grip on Edward's wrist. I pulled Edward and Jasper into my primary shield and sent every bit of anguish I could manufacture at Mark. I didn't want to take the chance of effecting Edward by accident. Mark stumbled backward but didn't release his grip while Edward thrashed and snarled as he tried to pull away.

The overwhelming impact of hearing everyone's thoughts hit me a second later and I collapsed to the ground, holding my hands over my ears. It would do me no good, but I refused to let go of my connection to Edward.

I had to protect him, and it was the only way I knew how. I felt useless, powerless, and terrified.

'Bella, stop!' Edward thought.

The incessant chatter grew louder in my head and I screamed, dropping my shield from Edward instantly. There was a ringing in my head and I was disoriented, but the voices had stopped. A loud scream followed by a crack and roaring howl pulled me from my daze, and I glanced up.

Mark was lying in two pieces at Edward's feet, but something was wrong. Edward was hunched over with his eyes shut tightly and his hand clutching his shoulder. I got to my feet, ran the last few steps left between us and gasped.

His shirt had a giant tear across his arm and upper chest, and a massive gouge ran from his bicep to his clavicle. I kissed him frantically before looking down and inspecting his wound as I trembled.

"Oh my God, Edward," I whispered through a shaky voice.

"I'll be fine," he groaned. He winced slightly and stood upright. "Any sight of Victoria yet?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"No. No Christy, either."

"Bree!" someone hollered and we both spun around.

Only two paces behind Bree was a blond female with outstretched hands. Time seemed to slow down as I watched the female dive forward, teeth bared, and wrap her hands around Bree's upper torso. Just as Bree turned her head to look behind her, the female's teeth sunk into her neck and ripped it off. The expression of shock still lingering on the fifteen-year-old face as it hit the dead grass made my heart drop to the pit of my stomach.

There was nothing we could do.

We were too late.

"No!" we all shouted in disbelief.

Faster than I could think, four bodies were hurtling toward the blond with fury in their eyes. The small mass of the woman was soon obstructed by my family as they tore her limb from limb. Edward clutched my hand with his good arm and pulled me toward the commotion. Over a dozen pieces lay scattered across the ground as Garrett, Esme, Carmen, and Carlisle stood over the fallen body of the newest member to join our family.

We all knew that the possibility of being harmed or killed was present, and we all agreed that fighting was our only option. Bree felt indebted to Edward and our family for rescuing her from the same person who happened to take her second life away just seconds ago.

The pressure of tears built behind my eyes, but they never broke the surface. I stood silently over the small body in utter shock and disbelief.

She's dead.

The silence was eerie and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. A distant crackle of the fire caught my attention and I looked up slowly. The rest of my family was gathered around, but as I took count of our numbers, I realized that one more was missing.

"Where is Irina?" I asked quietly.

Esme glanced at Carlisle and her face fell into a grimace as Carmen gently sobbed.

"She didn't make it," Carlisle said softly.

There was a tugging sensation at my cold, dead heart and my breath caught in my throat. It was silence once more as the loss of our families hung over us. Subtle crunching of dead grass from beside me alerted me to the pack. I turned slightly and counted them; they were still six strong and all seemed to be uninjured.

My eyes wandered over the vast wasteland of innocent lives lost. My heart hurt as I looked over the sight, and I began to wonder if we had done the right thing. Perhaps there was another way that we hadn't thought of before that could have prevented this from being the final outcome… the final day for Irina and Bree.

"We should…" Jasper's voiced trailed off as if he were uncertain how to finish the sentence.

There was no sensitive way to say what we all knew needed to be done. Another moment passed before we all, at our own pace, turned and began collecting up the tragic evidence of the evenings events. The sun had set just before the fight began and the fire at the edge of the camp was our only light. My heart was heavy and it felt like we had lost, despite the numbers weighing heavily in our favor.

Edward stiffened and stood upright. He slowly turned his head South and stared at the tree line.

"Edward, wha—"

He quickly held one finger to his lips, but didn't turn to look at me. He stared for another moment before he glanced back over his shoulder at the rest of us who had all stopped to watch him.

He connected eye contact with Jasper, Emmett and Garrett and waved before he took off running.

The four of us followed. We weren't as fast as he was, but we could keep up for the most part. Once we were easily two to three miles away from the clearing, I pulled Jasper and Edward into my primary shield.

What is it?

'Victoria,' Edward thought.

I stifled my gasp and mouthed the name to the others as we ran. Jasper narrowed his eyes and pushed himself faster to catch up with Edward.

'Which way is she running?' he asked.

'South West, toward the shore line. She could smell the wolves as she was coming back to camp and took off. She doesn't know we're chasing yet,' Edward replied to me.

I pointed South and hitched my finger toward the West. I pinched my nose, then hitched my thumb over my shoulder, implying that she smelled the wolves. The three of them nodded as they pieced together the charade mentally.

'What's the plan?' Garrett asked.

'Surround her before she gets to the shore. You go with Garrett. Keep connected to me so we can relay information,' he responded.

I nodded and reached for Garrett's hand as we ran. Edward nodded to Jasper and Emmett, and we split up.

I could vaguely hear Victoria's thoughts. She was concerned about how many might have managed to escape or if we lost any on our side. As we drew closer to her, her thoughts intensified.

'All that work. The planning, the changing, the babysitting. Laurent swore they would wait until after – that they wouldn't be ready this soon. He messed up the plans when she was human, and he messed them up now. He better hope he's already dead because if he isn't, I'll be arranging a pyre for him soon.'

I nearly gasped at her confession. Laurent had been working worth her the entire time. How is he responsible for messing up the plans before?

'I don't know,' Edward answered. 'Focus. We are closing in on her. She will probably notice any minute.'

Garrett and I pushed ourselves harder as ran through the clearing of trees and neared a giant lake. There were few trees up ahead and I knew I our cover would be blown any second.

As if reading my mind, Victoria glanced back over her shoulder and her eyes opened wide. 'Shit.'

Emmett let out a deep growl as he leaned lower to the ground and sped up. Garrett was keeping tabs on Victoria in case she made any decisions he could alter while Jasper, Edward and I merged closer together.

Victoria cut left quickly and Garrett cursed under his breath. Emmett lunged to the side toward her and missed her by a few feet as she spun to the side. His shoulder hit the ground and a large mound of dirt flew into the air as he slid, cursing loudly.

We kept running, not stopping for anything. Victoria was exhibiting her more agile maneuvers as she twisted to the side and feigned directions. A few steps behind me, Garrett snarled furiously. He hadn't been able to change any of her decisions – she was making them too quickly and last second.

Jasper cut to the right and leapt across the lake in front of us at the thinner section instead of running to the left to go around until it was close enough across to jump like the rest of us had. Victoria spun on her heels and changed directions, heading straight South instead of slightly West.

'Go left, Bella,' Jasper thought in a rush.

I split away from Edward and veered left as Jasper continued his wide turn around the lake on the right. Emmett had caught back up to us, his entire side covered in dirt and a seriously pissed expression.

Edward and Garrett stayed in the center and sped up, both watching and listening for her next move. Everyone's thoughts were focused and mainly on the path in front of them.

I heard the thought a split second after Garrett sensed Victoria's next move. A long growl rang through the night as Victoria launched herself toward a tall tree. Garrett pulled at her decision and for a split second she stilled while clutching onto the branch. It was just enough time to stall her momentum and buy us the necessary seconds to catch up.

Emmett crashed full force into the tree as Jasper lunged for the branch she was hanging from. He gripped her ankle and tugged her down with him, along with the entire branch. As they fell, Edward sped up and caught her arm just before the three of them collided with the ground and the tree began to topple over. Emmett continued to drive into the trunk as it teetered over while Jasper and Edward simultaneously pulled in opposite directions, each ripping a limb from her.

She flew to the side and rolled just seconds before the tree landed behind her. Her screams were drowned out by the thunderous noise of the tree hitting the ground. With one arm and one leg detached, we all knew she wasn't going anywhere very quickly.

We surrounded her as she cried out in pain and I strengthened my shield around the four men beside me. Jasper and I winced as the pain rolled off of Victoria in waves.

"Are there more?" Edward asked with a serious but fierce tone.

"Why does it matter?" she cried, spitting at his feet.

Emmett gripped her by her severed arm and squeezed the mangled, dead flesh at her shoulder.

Jasper and I winced once more as an even more intense wave of pain rolled off of her.

"Are there more?" Edward repeated with a snarl.

'Just the two camps, but I merged them when Laurent arrived,' she thought with a whimper.

"Was revenge worth this many lives?" I asked. I was still in shock that she would go to such lengths to get her revenge.

"Justice is worth everything. You deserve to burn for what you cost me," she said through clenched teeth. Her eyes narrowed and she inhaled deeply through her nose, a low rumbling emitting from her chest.

"But to take so many lives? All of them had a family, a life, people that loved them," I argued, still unable to understand.

"My life, family and love were stolen from me because of you. Their loss is no concern of mine. They're all just cattle with a purpose, and their loss is on your hands, not mine," she said with a harsh tone.

Her words stung and I realized that part of what hurt was the truth. It was my fault all of these people lost their lives. So many lives changed the day I went to an open field with my boyfriend and watched him play baseball with his family. I hurt Charlie more than an apology would ever make up for, and I destroyed so many lives and futures.

Her blood red eyes bore into mine and I was forced to see the outcome of this disaster.

I did take her mate from her and because of me she's felt loss I never want to imagine. I felt it briefly before, but to live knowing it's for eternity and not just a human lifetime?

'Bella, stop. It's not your fault. Don't do this to yourself. Let's kill her and be done with this,' Edward pleaded.

"You know it, too, don't you? It's your fault. You did this," Victoria seethed.

"I know. I can never take that back, and I'm sorry you lost something so important to you, but to take so many lives in vengeance? That's just cruel. That's not on me. That's on you," I replied. I clenched my fists and repeated the words to myself that it wasn't my fault she chose this path.

"You stupid bitch! If you had just died when you were human like you were supposed to all those months ago I wouldn't have had to create an army of dumb, selfish newborns. It's your fault!" she screamed. "I should have let you bleed to death by your own hand that day, but I wanted to see your life fade in my hands."

My heart clenched at the truth in her words once more. I had thought about killing myself that day. Out of the corner of my eye Edward shut his eyes and slowly exhaled.

'I'm so sorry, Bella.'

"Oh, he didn't know?" she asked, filled with curiosity.

'I knew. I never wanted to admit it to myself, and when we found you again, I put it behind me.'

"She didn't love you enough to stick around, Edward. Sure, she never moved on after you left because you had probably wrapped her mind in so many lies, but she was only human. Why you kept a human pet for a lover when you could have had any of those Alaska girls was beyond me. Does she make as good a vampire as you had hoped? She made a worthless human – I never understood your interest in her. Even Laurent didn't get it. Three women waiting for you in Alaska, and you chose the depressing appetizer over them. He enjoyed playing with Irina, but he was never the kind to settle down. Poor little bitch is going to be devastated when she learns he never cared about her. Just like you'll be when you see how ordinary Bel—"

I grasped her chin and deep red curls at the back of her head and twisted so fast that I didn't even think twice. With a crack and deep crunch, her determined and spiteful expression fell out of my hands and to the ground.

I was done listening to her spiteful words.

I was finished with letting her hurt me and the ones I loved.

Edward wrapped his arms around me and I buried my face in his chest. My mind was flooded with apologies for everyone and everything. For Charlie and my mother for not having a better daughter they could live to be proud of. Irina, for getting pulled into the lies and deceit of Victoria and Laurent and losing her life over it. Bree, who we had tried to save, but failed. For all the lives lost because of me and my choices.

'Don't. Don't believe her words, Bella. You had no control over her choices. We had no way of knowing that she would handle her pain and grief this way. There was no way any of us could have known. Even Alice didn't see it. She planned all of this to the very last detail and she wanted you to suffer long after she was dead. She knew she lost; she just wanted to see you hurt.' He pulled me tighter and stroked my hair as I dry sobbed.

I hadn't taken a single life during the fight. I had been so busy keeping everyone shielded and distracting the newborns with emotions that I never truly entered the fray.

The only death on my hands was Victoria, but every life lost would hang over my conscience for eternity.

./.

Jasper and Garrett started a fire near the lake and disposed of Victoria while Emmett called Rosalie to let them know we were okay. When all that was left was ashes, we put out the fire and made our way back to the small clearing where our family was.

How did Irina die?

Edward squeezed my hand as we headed back to our family. 'She saw Laurent ripped apart by the wolves and stopped fighting. She turned to run after him, but the newborns grabbed her from behind and destroyed her. She didn't know what he had said to you, or that he had been lying to her the entire time. She truly loved him and thought he was innocent.'

My heart sank in my chest and I squeezed his hand tightly. Maybe it was better that she didn't hear the truth then. She died for love.

As we neared the previous encampment, I dropped Edward from my primary shield. I still wouldn't be able to handle that many thoughts at once; four was even pushing it for my sanity.

We stepped through the trees and looked over the large clearing. Everything had been burned or destroyed. The fire was dying down and both families looked as tired as their souls were old.

Carlisle held Edward's gaze, probably asking him something mentally, and Edward nodded as he glanced down at me. "It's done."

We all hugged while Carlisle tended to Edward's wound. He hissed and mumbled a few profanities I had rarely heard him utter before.

"I can't do much more until we get back home and extract some venom to heal it properly," Carlisle said after a few minutes.

"That's fine. We should get going. The wolves are headed back. They say they didn't find any more hiding in the area." Edward stood and his shirt fell from his shoulder. He tried reaching back to put his arm through the hole, but it stretched his wound and he hissed.

"Here," I said, rushing to his side. "I don't think you really need it anyway." I pulled his arm out of the other sleeve and tied it around my waist quickly. I glanced over his scar and sighed. At least it wasn't more serious. My fingers traced the contours of his chest gently and his stomach muscles tensed as he closed his eyes. I laid a soft kiss at the center of his clavicle and reached for his hand. "Let's go home."

He opened his eyes and smiled faintly at me as he nodded.

./.

The last day the pack spent with us went by quickly. I had gotten to know them better and I think an even stronger truce was made between our families over the week they spent with us. Quil and Embry were particularly amusing and they helped to lift the spirits at the Cullen house in the last few hours before they had to leave. Sam and Garrett had grown closer, and even Jacob seemed to accept things a little better.

"Thanks for taking care of her when we couldn't," Sam said to Garrett as they shook hands.

"I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had left her," Garrett said with a smile.

"You're a good guy, Garrett, I'm just sorry the way things turned out."

"The loss of Bree and Irina will be hard," Garrett said with a sigh. He glanced at the rest of us and his lips stretched into a smile and the creases at the corner of his eyes formed. "But we will remember them and learn, and we will move forward with our lives and love each other more because of this. Thank you for coming and helping us. I am forever in your debt."

"Consider us even." Sam turned toward Carlisle and paused hesitantly. "We would like to ask that your family not return to Forks, however. We believe that the presence of your kind initiates the gene in our tribe to transform."

Carlisle took a step forward and shook Sam's hand. "I think that is a fair request. Thanks again, Sam, for all of your help."

Sam glanced at the rest of his pack and nodded. They all turned and headed for the front door. Esme was driving them to the airport so they wouldn't have to run.

Jake paused and turned to look back at me. A slight smile crept across my lips and I took a few steps toward him.

"I'm sorry for what I said, Bells."

"I forgive you."

He nodded and scratched the back of his neck as he glanced over his shoulder at the pack. "I know that Sam asked you guys to not come back to Forks, but I think a day visit would be okay, occasionally. You know… if you felt up to it."

I nodded. "Thanks Jake. I'll keep that in mind."

"Well, bye Bells," he said awkwardly.

I reached out and hugged him as tightly as his bones could handle. "Bye, Jake. Thank you."

He held me awkwardly for a moment before letting go and nodding. Without another word, he turned and left, disappearing into the SUV and pulling out of the driveway.

A gentle squeeze of my hand pulled me from my train of thought and put a bright smile on my face. Edward wrapped his arms around me from behind, still holding onto my hand and gently kissed behind my ear.

"It's over. We have the rest of eternity ahead of us," he whispered.

I turned in his arms and stared into his eyes as I wrapped my arms around his waist. "What do we do now?"

He leaned down and kissed my lips very softly and whispered, "Anything you want."

A/N: One more to go, and then the epilogue. I'd really love to hear everyone's thoughts of the story so far - the journey, the characters, song, whatever you feel like sharing. Reviews aren't required, obviously, but they are more than appreciated. There isn't a word that expresses how awesome hearing from you guys is. Seriously.

Song question for the chapter: Ultimate love song. I'm curious how much Barry White, and Barbara Streisand I'm going to get, but very interested in YOUR opinion of the ultimate love song. (or songs...)