And here's chapter three… the battle ensues! Thank you to those of you who review, and those that follow/favorite and those that just read and remain silent. Reviews are wonderful, but I'm glad to have a readership at all. You make my world go 'round… really and truly. I switch to Edward's PoV in this chapter to see his end of the battle. I likely won't return to his PoV as it's not as fun to write as Dean's and Bella's. But I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3

Dean PoV

Morning arrives and it is eerily silent all around the hotel. Not even the birds are chirping. The ocean's nearly smooth as glass. It's like the calm before the storm. Outside, I can spot a pair of brown eyes watching the hotel. One of the wolves, I knew. There's supposed to be one other out there, as their rules are to always work in pairs. Kinda how hunters worked for the most part. There are those lone rangers like Rufus and that Gordon character of course, but most hunters worked in pairs.

Bella tossed and turned all night, I know because I was in her room with her trying to console her. So neither of us got much shuteye. "I'm so sorry Dean. I kept you up all night."

"It's no biggie, sugar. I'm no stranger to insomnia. Been to hell and back, literally… a sleepless night or two doesn't even register on the scale of unpleasant things."

She scrambles out of bed. "Wait, what do you mean you've literally been to hell and back? The literature nerd in me wants to yell at you for misusing the word 'literally' but I have a feeling you actually mean it."

I nod. "Yep, sweet cakes, I did a turn in the pit. Only a few months up here, but down there it was decades." Her eyes go wide.

"Okay… on that note… I'm gonna make some breakfast. Eggs and bacon?"

"Sweet thang, you had me at 'breakfast.' I can't remember the last home cooked meal I had. Anything you make'll be awesome. I'll shower while you're busy." I kiss her cheek and head back to my room. Sammy is just waking up when I get there. I can't believe he slept through all her antics. Boy could sleep through a hurricane.

"Bella's making breakfast," I tell him.

"What?!" he exclaims. "Like real breakfast? Not pop-tarts or diner crap? Dude, we gotta keep her around!"

I laugh. Funny how all it takes is a home cooked meal and we're both willing to fall at her feet. Though I'd have done that anyway. Another thought was running through my mind though. Bella said she didn't want to go to college, didn't want to stay here, and knew she'd never have a normal life. Could she come with us? We'd train her and she could be a hell of a hunter. We'd be the dynamic trio. I could see it either being the best idea ever, or the worst. I guess we'd have to see what happens after this battle today.

After we both have showered, we smell the bacon sizzling from the room next door. I knew she'd picked up some groceries at the store down the way, but I didn't know she'd gotten eggs and bacon.

"Hey guys! Almost done here." I look and there's a mountain of scrambled eggs that she's stirring on the stove. Like seriously two dozen eggs. At my confused expression she says, "Oh, the wolves eat a lot. I'm taking a couple plates outside so they can eat, too." I also see a gigantic pile of bacon resting on the stove. She swats my hand away before I can swipe a piece. "You'll wait until we can eat at the table together."

"Yes ma'am," I say with a salute. She laughs and plates up at least half the eggs on two huge platter size paper plates. She adds a heaping pile of hashbrowns that were in the oven, and a ton of the bacon. I open the door for her so she can carry both plates outside. "Breakfast!"

The two wolves come out of their hiding places, having smelled the delicious food. One of them licks Bella's hand as she sets down the food. "You're welcome Seth," she says patting his head. "Connor? Want some breakfast?" The other wolf slowly makes his way towards her, weary of her. Maybe they aren't well acquainted.

Bella backs away to give the wolf some space. He then takes one edge of the plate in his mouth and drags it away from the door and back into the woods. Miraculously, not one morsel of food falls off the platter during his stunt.

I see the Seth wolf shake his head, clearly annoyed by the other wolf's attitude towards Bella. She turns, still smiling and heads back into the room. At the table, Sam, Bella, and I all dig into our meals. "These have to be the best eggs I've ever had," Sam says with a full mouth. "And this bacon… oh god the bacon!"

"I'm glad you like it, Sammy," she says and he stiffens, but then cocks his head at her like a confused puppy.

"Normally, this is where I say only Dean's allowed to call me that… but for some reason, I don't mind it from you, Bells," Sammy says.

"Oh! I'm sorry… I just… I heard Dean call you that. And the pack's alpha is called Sam…"

"Bella," he says, covering her hand with his. "I said it's okay. I don't mind if you call me Sammy." She smiles at him and goes back to her meal.

Once we're done eating, Sam and I are cleaning up the dishes while Bella showers and prepares for the day. According to the fortune teller's predictions, the newborn vamp army should be arriving in their clearing any time now. Part of me is itching to get in on the action, but a bigger part needs to stay close to Bella and ensure her safety. And her safety is as far away from the battlefield as possible.

At the same moment as the hair on the back of my neck stands up, the two wolves howl outside and I toss Bella into the bathroom, telling her to lock the door. "Do not come out until you hear my voice tell you to, Bella. Under any circumstances. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Dean," she replies quietly.

"Looks like Bella has been busy," the red headed shark says as she approaches the door. The wolves are in front of her, blocking her access, but not attacking. Why aren't they attacking? I realize quickly the reason as two more bloodsuckers come slinking out of the shadows, flanking the ginger bitch. These are different bloodsuckers than we're used to, so I hope the machete covered in wolf spit will still do the trick. If not… we're fucked.

Sammy and I step out onto the porch and size up the two sharks flanking her. They look positively rabid, their eyes focused on me and my brother. I suppose since we're fleshy and not dogs, we smell pretty tasty.

"I must say, I'm surprised little Eddie-kins isn't here keeping her safe," she purrs. I feel like rinsing my ears out with bleach, the sound of her voice is so nasty. At some unknown cue, the wolves charge the minions and start tearing off pieces of marble flesh almost in unison. That's some high-class training right there.

Paying her recruits no mind, the ginger bitch inches forward eying me and Sammy like we're a couple of prime rib sandwiches. The dogs are busy tearing up the noobs, so they can't come to our aid. I think for once though, the fact that we are simply humans will work in our favor. This chick has no idea the tricks we have up our sleeves.

She saunters up towards us, and we both act like she's got us under her thumb, drooling like idiots. "She's in there isn't she? Thought she'd be safe with the wolves. Well, I guess you two will be dinner and Bella will be a most tasty dessert." She's right next to me now, her cold sweet breath in my face. It's all I can do to not barf.

"In your dreams, Bitch," I yell just before raising the machete that thankfully hacks off her arm with a clean slice. She screams bloody murder and clutches her stump while Sammy and I get to work hacking her to pieces. Before taking off her head, Sammy picks her up by the hair and carry her inside. She's nothing but a torso and head now, still screaming to high heaven.

"Bells, unlock the door," I call out.

"Is it safe? I hear something screaming," she replies.

"Seriously? Would I tell you to unlock the door if it wasn't? And if it wasn't, don't you think the vamps would be able to break in there if they wanted?"

Deciding my logic makes sense, she comes out and sees Victoria hanging limply from Sam's arm. "Thought you might want the honors," Sammy says, holding out his machete. She looks at him and then at me and then at Victoria. Determination sets in her features and she moves forward, taking the blade from Sam.

"You've made my life hell for a while, y'know," she tells the bitch. "Because of your stupid mate biting me, I was venom-bonded to Edward, against my will. I never wanted to be with him, not really. And you had this sorry idea that I was his mate and therefore you were going to kill me to hurt him. And killing me probably would have hurt him for a while… until he finds his true mate, which I'm so happy to say isn't me."

Victoria's eyes are flaming with disbelief. "Liar! You're his mate! I know it! I see how he looks at you, and you him! You're so in love it's sick."

"Maybe it seemed that way before a certain Angel of a pal of mine removed the scar." Bella slides her sleeve up her arm and reveals that the marks left by James and Edward are gone without a trace. "Edward has manipulated me for months, preying on my insecurities and nearly successfully molding me into the mate he thinks I should be.

"But no more. And since I know you'll stop at nothing to see me dead even after I've told you all this, I'm going to have to take your life as well." She pulls back, holding the machete like a baseball bat. I glance at Sammy and can see that he's hoping she's got good aim. She swings as hard as she possibly can and the machete slices through the she-bitch's neck like butter.

Dropping the blade, Bella collapses in a fit of tears and screams. She's in shock. Sammy and I quickly bring what's left of Victoria out to the pile the dogs had already made of her minions. "Did you get all the pieces?" I ask them, not wanting to chance the idea that this species of vamp can regenerate. The both nod and with that I toss a matchbook from the hotel onto the pile, watching as the sickly sweet purple smoke wafts above the limbs. Sammy goes back inside to check on Bella while I make sure every single bit is turned to ash.

I thank the wolves for their help and go back inside myself once the pile of ash has started to blow away in the wind. Sammy is sitting on the bed next to Bella. She's rocking back and forth, shaking with sobs. "It's okay Bella, we're here for you," Sammy says, rubbing his hand against her arm. He looks at me, a panicked expression in his eyes. We're not used to staying behind after a hunt and consoling the survivors.

"I… I killed her," Bella whispers. "I took her life."

"Yeah, but she kinda had it coming, sweetheart," I tell her sitting on her other side and putting my arm around her. "This is our life Bella. What you witnessed today is what we do every day. Granted it's not always vampires and huge wolves. The ingredients are different, but the recipe is always the same. Find the monster that's murdering people and kill it before it can kill you." Sammy nods in agreement. Yeah, that's hunting in a nutshell.

"How do I move on from this?" she asks. "I mean... I know way too much about this world to go back to civilian life. I don't want to stay with the Cullens though, after all they've done to smother who I am… But I'm not like you guys… It was pure dumb luck that my swing took off her head and didn't slice up your arm, Sammy." Sam winces at this; he'd been worried about that. "Normally, I trip over my own two feet. You saw that at the diner. Nothing but smooth linoleum between me and the bathroom, but somehow I found something to trip on."

"Well sweetums… how would you like to come with us?" Sammy offered. "We'd love to have you along. We'll teach you all we know about hunting and then you can decide if the hunting life is for you or if you want something else. A good bout of training will get rid of your clumsiness, just ask Sammy. He was as awkward as awkward gets as a kid." Sammy rolls his eyes at this. "But if you decide not, then that's okay too. You do whatever the hell you want, hotcakes. The world is your oyster and all that shit."

She smirks at me. "You weren't kidding when you said you and Sammy would have a bunch of nicknames for me."

"I never kid," I reply. Sammy shoots me a look. "Okay, sometimes I do, but not about that."

Bella takes a deep breath. "Well, I suppose I'll have to let Edward down as easily as possible. He's going to throw a fit. I know that he plucked a thought out of Seth's head and is thinking I'm going to accept his marriage proposal. When in reality I'm going to break up with him… kinda the opposite."

"Mr. Fang proposed to you?" I ask, astonished. She nods.

"Edward is about as old-fashioned as they come. Once we agreed that I'll be changed, he started all this hullabaloo about marrying me first and won't have sex with me until then. Blah, blah, fucking blah," she complains. "I changed so much for him, so much I don't even recognize who I am anymore. And yes, a lot of it probably had to do with the venom, but in the beginning… before I was bitten, I was so enthralled by him and his family. I wanted nothing more than to be part of it and belong with them.

"Then after the bite, my desire an obsession. I wanted to spend every waking moment with him. To the extreme that I cut off all my other friends. I wanted him with me always, even at night. Vampires don't sleep, so he'd just lay next to me on my bed while I slept all night. In fact… when we first met, he'd come into my room uninvited and watch me sleep. Dear gods! And I found it romantic. What kind of sickness is that?" She has a point. That is several kinds of fucked up. "Yeah, I'm so done with him and the rest of them. The only ones I'd even consider talking to again are Jasper and Rosalie. Mostly because they were never anything but honest with me.

"But not Edward, definitely not Alice, and even the parents: Carlisle and Esme. All of them manipulated me. Emmett only likes me because I'm human and therefore hilarious, apparently. Yeah, those five can go straight to Hades." My mind is reeling with the fact that this chick surrounded herself with seven vampires and a pack of werewolves. On purpose. And lived. She's something else, that's for sure. And the fact that she's good with the weird stuff will help make her an epic hunter. He'll they'll write songs about her. AC/DC's Hells Bells will take on a whole new meaning.

"Well, let's get this show on the road," Bella declares. She steps outside and sees Seth and Connor both hanging out on the porch in human form. "Hey, you guys coulda come in. We're just chatting."

Seth shrugs. "No biggie. I didn't want to hear the conversation in case it had something to do with your surprise for Edward." The way he says the word indicates he knows it's nothing to do with what Bella led him to believe when she asked for his help.

"Indirectly, yes, so I'm grateful for your forethought, Seth," Bella answers, ruffling his hair. "Do we know how the rest of the battle went? I assume since you're in human form that it's all over?" Seth nods.

"Yeah, it was a cake-walk for the others. The rest of the pack is on their way back here, now. We're the ones that actually saw the best action to be honest. Did you hack off her head yourself, Bells?" She nods, blushing. "Damn, wait until the others hear about that. You've become a slayer!" She winces, but the nods again.

I step up then. "We prefer the term hunter." Seth smiles and nods.

"Let's go over to the Cullens', then," Bella says. "You guys mind coming with? As long as you recite song lyrics or poetry in your heads, Edward won't know your deeper thoughts. So the surprise won't be ruined."

"But what about your thoughts, Bells?" Sammy asks.

She smirks again. "He's never been able to read mine. Completely silent. Which may or may not work in my favor today. We'll just have to see." I make a note to have Seth or Connor slobber on my machete again… just in case this little break-up party turns into a brawl.

The three of us humans pile into Bella's truck while the wolves hop in the bed. And with that, we're on our way to vampire central… part of me is intrigued to see what these veggie vamps are like, and another part of me wants to tear them all apart for how they've treated Bella.

We pull onto the driveway and Bella signals to us to start humming songs in our heads to thwart Edward's ability. The wolves in the bed will Keep Alice from seeing anything, too. The douche in question is standing on the porch awaiting Bella's arrival. He narrows his eyes at me and Sammy, but then smiles brightly when he sees Bella. "Hello my love… I hear you have a surprise for me."

"Sure do," Bella responds, grinning back at him. Oh if only he knew.

Edward PoV

(I won't do his PoV again, I don't think, but I decided his would be best for the battle on their end since he can hear everyone's thoughts.)

We're waiting in the clearing and I'm just close enough to the wolves that I can hear their group thoughts. The two youngest wolves, Seth and Connor have been charged with staying on the Rez to watch the people there, and my Bella I assume. Whoever is behind this should have no idea of her exact whereabouts, considering I don't even know.

This irks me to no end. I also don't like how defiant my Bella has been the last few days. It's like she's a completely different person. Perhaps it's her time of the month, she does get a little moody during that time. My focus is brought back to the wolves as the two left on the Rez are being served breakfast by my Bella. She steps out of what looks like a hotel room and puts a huge platter of food on the ground for Seth and then offers the second plate to Connor. His thoughts are hesitant.

"She's the vamp girl. Can I trust her?" Collin thinks.

Through Collin's mind, I see Seth roll his wolfy eyes. "Dude it's just Bells. Yes you can trust her. Plus she makes awesome food. Shut up and chow down. Enjoy it, too because you know our brothers aren't getting this royal treatment right now, freezing their asses off up there waiting for all the vamps to show up."

I notice Seth was also thinking about a short trek he took with my Bella in her truck the day before. Something about surprising me and Alice. The more Seth thinks about it, the more of the memory I get to see. My Bella is in her truck answering a question he asked. "Oh no, Seth. I can't risk Edward plucking it out of your brain. It'll be bad enough that he'll know a surprise is coming. Suffice it to say it has to do with a question he asked the other day."

A question I asked her… does she mean… Is she going to say yes? Yes! That has to be it! No wonder she's been so distant! She's been mulling this decision around in her human little brain for days and decided to attempt to surprise me when she says yes! Acting all rude and cold to me on the phone in an attempt to throw me off the scent, as it were. And of course that's why she's insisted on staying at the Rez. I can't go there and Alice can't see her when she's with the wolves. So Alice hasn't had a vision of my Bella deciding to agree to marry me, so I really can be surprised! Well, if my vampire intellect hadn't ruined it anyway. But I'll be sure to act as surprised as possible. I am so happy I can barely contain myself. Jasper quirks an eyebrow at me, clearly feeling my giddiness, and I simply wave him off. No need to spoil my Bella's surprise for everyone.

While my mind is on possible wedding locations and who all we'll have to invite, Alice signals that the newborns are approaching. Half of them to us and the other half right towards where the wolves are lurking. She can't see the outcome of that fight, though, but can see that we'll all walk away unscathed. I'm bothered that she can't see me with my Bella yet, but it has to be because my Bella hasn't yet decided to leave the Rez. And I know she won't until I call her and let her know the crisis has been averted.

The fight has begun and I keep one corner of my mind focused on the wolves' thoughts, so I can be sure my Bella is safe. Three newborns are coming at me shrieking, and I hear in their thoughts the plan to attack me from all sides. Just as they're about to be on me, I jump, causing them to collide into each other. The very volatile nature of newborn vampires kicks in and they start fighting each other instead of focusing on me. While they're distracted, I swipe in and rip limbs off here and there, throwing them into the already growing pile that my family has created. Checking on the scene where Bella is, I see vamps approaching the wolves.

That's when it hits me. Victoria. It was her all along. She and two of her newly made lackeys are approaching the hotel my Bella is in. Seth and Connor are there staring her down, waiting for orders from Sam to make a move. I concentrate harder and can see that there are two human men standing on the porch just outside my Bella's door. Who the hell are they? Why wouldn't the wolves ensure no humans were around?

Another newborn comes at me and I rip it apart without even having to break my concentration on the scene unfolding at the Rez. Sam gives the order and the wolves rush the two newborns, tearing off chunks of flesh and dodging blows left and right. Victoria advances. She's speaking to the human men, but the wolves are so focused on their own fights, they're not paying enough attention to her. My Bella is in that hotel! Someone needs to help her!

I run to the other end of the clearing, fully intending to run to the Rez and protect her myself. Treaty be damned. "No Edward," Alice says, stopping me in my tracks. She shows me a vision of me having a conversation with my Bella. The news is on in the background and I can see the date is tomorrow. "She'll be okay. But if you go to her, that conversation doesn't happen. I don't see her or you anymore at all if you go."

Realizing the gravity of her words, I jump back into the battle happening here. Clearly Alice meant that in whatever way I involve myself in the fight at the Rez, I die and my Bella dies. I won't live in a world where she doesn't exist. I rip newborns apart left and right, tossing all the pieces into a huge pile in the middle of the clearing. I am ruthless and filled to the brim with rage. How dare that red-headed shedevil attempt to take away my happiness?!

I watch through the wolves again as they finish tearing up the newborns and the human men are slicing victoria's limbs off with machetes. I have no idea what kind of metal they could be made of to do that kind of damage to a vampire, but I am grateful to them for their help in keeping my Bella safe. I watch as one of them takes Victoria by the hair and carries her inside. All that's left of her is her head and mangled torso. The wolves watch, having gathered all the newborn bits and pieces. I still can't hear what's going on over the din of the other wolves' thoughts, but it takes a few minutes before the man walks back out with Victoria's head having been removed from her body.

They other man is carrying the torso and together they toss the remains onto the pyre and throw a book of matches at it. Okay, either the wolves had informed them about vampires, or they already knew. If they already knew, then who are they? And why are they with my Bella?

Alice gasps then, and I turn to her thoughts, concentrating on the vision she's seeing. The volturi are coming… and fast. "They won't honor a truce with the wolves," Carlisle says. "Sam, get your pack together and get back to the Rez as soon as possible." Sam hesitates a moment, but once he sees the pleading look in all our eyes, he knows he's gained an alliance with us.

Moments later, three figures in black cloaks come floating across the clearing towards us. I recognize Jane, Felix and Demitri. Jane is scanning the area, looking for my Bella. When she doesn't find her, her eyes fall on me. "She's not here," I tell her.

"You're separated from your mate?" she asks, cocking her head in confusion. "How?"

"For her safety. The pain of separation is far less than the pain of what could have happened if she'd been here," I answer. Truthfully, the separation bore no physical pain for me, but that is merely because my mate is still human. Once she's turned, being away from each other will be actually rather painful, or so I've been told.

"Who were these newborns and why were they created?" Jane asks, no longer interested in my love life. Her thoughts tell me she's bored and wants to go home.

Carlisle steps up, as head of the family, he will take over the interrogation. "A nomad called Victoria held a vendetta against our family," he begins. "We killed his mate, James, who tried to kill Bella. She created this army with the intent of taking us out. Clearly she failed. Our Jasper here has experience in fighting newborns, and trained us before the battle. They never had a chance."

Jane smirks, knowing exactly who Jasper is and who he used to call his Mate before Alice. The Major had quite the reputation amongst vampires. "Any survivors on their side?" Jane asks, scanning the clearing again.

"No," Carlisle answers." When no more newborns were approaching, Jasper and Emmett ran a perimeter and searched for any scent trails that might indicate some got away. There were none." This wasn't entirely true. The wolves were the ones that ran around searching for stragglers, but we can't tell the Volturi that.

"Very well, seems you've done our work for us. We'd been made aware of the situation in Seattle. Though we had no idea they were created just to take you out. I'm sure if Aro had known, he'd have interfered far sooner." Right, like he'd ever have done that. Aro sees our coven as a threat to his own power. He'll likely be upset that we were so successful in destroying them.

"And Isabella, she is still human I presume?" Jane guesses.

"For the moment. It wasn't long after we left Volterra when we learned of the situation in Seattle. We thought it prudent to not have to deal with our own newborn while handling these as well."

Jane tilts her head again, pondering Carlisle's words. "Yes, I suppose that was a good idea. But you are planning to turn her? I'd hate to tell Caius otherwise, you know how he is about second chances."

I decide to answer this time. "Yes, the date has been set. We will inform the Volturi as soon as it happens and plan our visit at that time as well." Jane nods her agreement and just as quickly as they arrived, they vanish into the mist.

My cell phone rings then and I see it's my Bella. "Hello love, are you alright?" I ask.

"Yes, Edward, I'm fine. We all are. How is everything on your end?"

"We survived with no injuries save a bite or two. The wolves are all fine as well, I know you'll care about them."

"Yes," she replies. "Seth told me everyone in their pack is fine. "We're on our way to your place."

"We'll meet you there, love," I tell her.

We race back to the house to await her arrival. After a few minutes, I hear the telltale roar of her decrepit truck. As soon as she accepts my proposal, that truck will be the first thing to go. I'll tear it apart myself if I have to. She'll not be driving it again after today. I can hear the minds of two wolves, both replaying the battle in their thoughts. But there are also two other mental signatures in the car. One is reciting the latin incantation for an exorcism over and over, and the other one is going through the lyrics of various classic rock songs.

Who is with her?

As they appear in my line of sight, I realize it's the two human men that I saw in the minds of the wolves. They'd slashed Victoria to pieces, keeping her away from my Bella, and for that I would be eternally grateful to them.

"Hello my love… I hear you have a surprise for me," I say as she climbs out of her truck.

She grins back at me. "Sure do."

A/N: I made Edward a wee-bit childish here. In his own mind, he's still the 17 year old boy that was changed back in 1918. Outwardly, he puts on a good show that he's far more mature due to decades of immortality. Also he keeps calling her "my Bella" … I have a reason for that, too :)

Up next will be the break-up scene to end all break-up scenes. We'll learn where certain vampires' loyalties truly lie, and of course Edward's reaction to Bella's "surprise." Let's just say Dean will be glad he thought to have Seth coat his machete in saliva again. ;)