AN: Okay, a few things. I know some people are confused by the whole virgin/pregnant thing. I had meant to explain last chapter, but it slipped my mind. I couldn't remember if it was canon or something I read in a fic, but it was a theory that the reason Edward got Bella pregnant was because he was a virgin when he turned, thus he still had some human 'essence'. I hope that makes sense for you guys.

Okay, now that I explained that, this is the final chapter! Can you guys believe it! There is going to be an epilogue though, so that will be up soon!

Chapter Twenty Seven

Finale

Emmett was angry. I had never truly seen him angry, and although the sight was unsettling, I found myself preferring it over facing my brothers. I used Emmett's anger as an excuse to run, what else could I do? I wasn't ready to face my brothers – not after all this time. Emmett and I headed into woods, away from the prying ears of our visitors. To my dismay, I heard Esme welcome Darren and Alistair into the house. I wouldn't be able to avoid them forever.

I was so lost in thought, I almost ran into Emmett's back when he stopped suddenly. "What the hell, Alex?" Oh yes… he was very mad. "Since when do you have brothers?" He turned on me, hurt clear in his honey eyes. "We're not supposed to have secrets – not anymore."

I couldn't stop the guilt that flooded me. "I know, Emmett…" I sighed, wondering how I was going to tackle this mountain. "I haven't seen them in nearly a century… I never thought I would again."

"That's not the point Alex!" He ran a hand through his dark hair. "You know everything about my life – even the time we spent apart. I'm beginning to feel like I know just as little about you now as I knew in the thirties!"

That hurt. "Emmett, I didn't intentionally hide this from you!" I was getting upset, which only seemed to fuel his anger.

"What next, Alex? You're going to tell me that your ex showed up too?" Guilt drenched me like ice water. It must have been obvious on my face. "Seriously? Who?"

"I never dated any of them per say…" I breathed. "I had a… thing… with Alicde… and Derek… And Ty."

"Tyler!?" I was sure everyone back at the house could hear us now. "You slept with your delta?" His accusatory tone made me bristle.

"Oh I'm sorry, are we not fucking living with your ex-wife?"

His temper seemed to cool immediately. Sighing, his face softened. "I just don't… Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because there was nothing to tell!" I hesitantly took a step forward, taking his cool hands into my own. "I have always loved you, Emmett. Anyone I might have been with in the past knew it was never anything more than that, because it couldn't be. It was always you, Em."

With another sigh, he closed his eyes and pulled me into his chest. "I'm sorry, Doll. I just… I hate not knowing something about you. I don't want there to be any secrets between us."

"I understand that… I'm sorry, Emmett." Nuzzling into his chest, I felt my heart rate calm down. "I still love you."

He snorted, lifting me abruptly and tossing me over his shoulder. "Love you too, Babe. But you're going to need to face your brothers." With a slap on my backside, he started walking back towards the house.

I never knew silence could be so deafening. Usually, I reveled in quiet; it was a luxury I seldom came across these days. I had never wished for noise before this moment. My brothers sat across the table from me, their accusatory eyes darting between Emmett and myself. Where do you begin when repairing a bridge that was destroyed nearly a hundred years ago?

"So…" Alistair spoke first, always level headed and exact. "You imprinted on a vampire?" Darren snorted at his side, but said nothing.

"Emmett was human when I imprinted on him." His cold hand wrapped around mine. "He… had an unfortunate accident. It resulted in him being turned."

"And you're okay with this?" Alistair gestured between the two of us, his eyes not giving away anything.

"He's still my imprint." I met Emmett's eyes briefly, a small smile pulling at my lips.

"Leave it to you." It was the first thing Darren had said since they first showed up. Unconsciously, my hand tightened around Emmett's. "Are you going to tense up every time I speak to you?" He looked annoyed with the situation. It was almost tempting to just pretend nothing had happened between us.

"Well, the last time we spoke, you were blaming me for our mother's death."

If I thought the silence was deafening before, this one threatened to crush us all. A low hiss nested in Emmett's throat, his deep eyes latching onto my brother's guilty face. It was then I realized that I had not told Emmett about that particular part of my past either. It intrigued me that he didn't even know the story, but seemed to be taking my side. I reminded myself to keep my face hard, and be touched by his loyalty later.

"I know what I said…" His light eyes fell to the table before meeting mine again. "I was angry, Alex… After that, I didn't know how to make it right. How do I say sorry for something like that?"

"You could have tried!" We were drawing a small crowd now. Esme tried to shoo the wolves and vampires gathering in the halls, but a few – namely Matt and James – seemed too stubborn to move.

"I know… You're right." Well, that wasn't what I expected. I had gone over several scenarios in my head of how this meeting would go, and in none of them was Darren forgiving and asking for forgiveness in turn. "Alexandria, you're my baby sister. I beat myself up every day for what I said."

"He really did." Alistair chimed in. "It was rather annoying at times."

"I wanted to make up with you, but I didn't know how." Darren sighed. "That's why I sent you Chase. I knew he was looking for a pack and that he would watch out for you."

I glanced at the doorway where the rest of my pack had gathered. Chase's gaze was level, but there was a pride behind his deep eyes. I couldn't bring myself to be angry at him for calling my brothers. Though, I would definitely have a word with him later. With a deep breath, I looked back to them. "What do you want now Darren? Do you want us to make up and pretend nothing ever happened? What about you Alistair? You left with him… You shut me out too."

"I want to make it right, Alexandria." Alistair's words were calm. "We both do. We came to fight for your cause. What we did is unforgivable… But it's also undoable. All we can ask now is your forgiveness."

I stood, my expression like stone. Emmett was joining me before my chair even stopped sliding. "We'll see."

As the weather grew colder, the tension became nearly unbearable. The wolves snapped at the vampires, and most of them chose to stay outside of the house. At one point, I physically had to pull Derek off on of the visiting vampires. Bella seemed oblivious to all the tension, her worry completely focused on her daughter.

"It's cold out." Emmett's deep voice pulled me from my thoughts as his arms encircled me from behind.

"I don't feel cold any more than you do." I let a fleeting smile pass my lips as I shifted my weight from the porch railing to his broad chest. "I'm just thinking about tomorrow."

The date was practically here, but it seemed like a dream. There was so much going on with each of us internally, that the big picture had become hazy. "Well, I have something that will amuse you." I rose a brow, turning in his arms.

"I find that hard to believe." Even as I spoke, a smile stretched across my face at the sight of his familiar dimpled grin.

His hands moved to mine, his thumb tracing where my ring should have been. With me phasing every other hour, it was too dangerous to carry it on me. Before Alice had left for reasons only known to her, she had been trying to help me come up with a way to have my ring without it getting in the way of a phase. Unfortunately, all we could think of was a long chain. That idea didn't pan out.

"Well, I just thought you would like to know that Darren, your older brother that hates anything with metaphorical fangs, just imprinted on my ex-wife."

I was laughing so loud, I was sure everyone could hear it. The idea of Darren with a vampire, especially Rosalie was amusing. "That's hilarious!"

"See I told you!" His deep laugh seemed to echo around me as he pulled me into his cold chest. "Maybe now, you can get some sleep. I need you on top of your game tomorrow." Before I could protest, he scooped me up in his arms, his lips silencing mine. "Let's get you to bed, Doll."

The next morning was solemn. The visiting wolves went with Jacob's pack to meet Sam's, but mine stayed behind to travel with the Cullen's. While the rest of my pack, along with the visiting wolves would be hanging back, Jacob and I would be front and center. With our imprints in the line of fire, there was no way we were going to sit back and watch.

I quietly watched as Emmett pulled his unneeded jacket on. I didn't bother changing, I would phase here anyway. When he caught me watching, he let his arms drop beside him. With a small smile, he closed the distance between us, wordlessly pulling me into him. I breathed in his scent, so different from the others.

"I love you." It wasn't a goodbye on my part. If anything, it was a demand to stay safe.

"I love you too, Alex." His dimples returned. "And when all this is over, I'm going to marry you."

"Well, we better not waste any time then."

We all ran in silence, caught up in our own thoughts. I couldn't imagine how loud it must have been for Edward. I caught the side glance he sent me at that thought, but shrugged it off. As we ran, Emmett stayed at my side. I realized that he must have been as worried for my safety as I was for his. My brothers joined my pack for this battle, but when it was all over, they would have to decide what to do. Darren's imprinting on Rosalie meant that I would probably see a lot more of them.

They flanked the Cullen's, their coat as stark-white as my own. The snow helped to conceal us, but it didn't matter. We would be meeting the enemy head on. The field – our battle field – was so peaceful, it was hard to picture the snow marred with blood. We hoped it wouldn't come to that, especially since vampires didn't bleed. Emmett ran a hand through the fur on my neck as he headed out with the other vampires. The packs were staying behind to brief each other; lift morale and all that.

'It seems like I've been giving more of these pep talks since we joined the Cullen's.' I thought as I turned to my large pack. Not far off, Sam and Jacob were beginning speeches of their own. 'I'm not going to pretend that we're all going to walk away from this unscaved – that's the best case scenario.'

'Your pep talk isn't very peppy…' Darren shook his fur out as an image of Rosalie passed through his mind. 'Aren't you supposed to be rallying us and what not?'

I growled at him, causing him to take a step back. He might not have been an official pack member, but he would respect my position as alpha while with me. 'I'm being honest.' I growled out. 'I want everyone to be careful. As always, watch out for your brother or sister beside you. I would trust any of you with my life... I just hope I won't have to. When this is all over, we'll rest. For now, I need all of you on guard.'

I was met with agreement, without so much as a catty remark from James or Matt. 'They're here…' Sam thought loud enough for every wolf to hear.

Jacob, Sam, and I headed out first, quite enjoying the shocked looks on the faces of the visiting vamps. Our packs followed, falling back a bit. The visiting wolves were last. Jacob took his spot next to Renesmee as I joined Emmett. Behind me, I could feel Darren move into position next to Rose. I tried to pay attention to the words that were exchanged, but a major part of me was aware that Emmett was in danger. And then, we were moving.

The head vampire – Aro – had gift like Edward's, and he wanted to 'see' Renesmee for himself. Bella asked Emmett to join her – something I really wished she hadn't. I didn't even have to consider it before my paws started moving. Jacob – who stood on Bella's other side sent me a look, one that meant he would have my back if something went down.

We waited in tense silence as the creepy leech watched the images Renesmee provided. One of the lesser vamp's watched me and Jacob like a hunter tracking his prey. It made me uneasy. Sensing my discomfort, Emmett's hand grasped my fur again, causing the vampire's eyes to flicker to my imprint. A growl rumbled in my chest, only to be echoed by every other wolf in the field.

Aro's laugh pulled everyone's attention to him. As he spoke, we backed up my eyes glancing back to them every few seconds. As he went on and on about the danger Renesmee posed, it was becoming clear that he had no intention of letting us go. We prepared ourselves for the inevitable fight when Alice and Jasper joined us… and they weren't alone.

There was another? How on earth did Alice even find him? Only Edward knew what Aro saw when he touched Alice's hand. It must have been a long vision, because the silence dragged on. His face contorted into several different expressions before he pulled his hand from Alice's like it was on fire.

… And then they were leaving…

'Wait… that's it?' James seemed disappointed. 'What a rip off!'

When the Volturi was gone, I waited a few more seconds before shifting back. As per usual, Emmett's jacket was thrust into my arms. "That was kind of anti-climactic wasn't it?" I asked with a laugh as everyone celebrated.

"You sound disappointed…" Emmett laughed as he moved towards me. Before he could get too close, Alice cut in front of him, pulling me into a hug.

"We can plan your wedding now!" She cheered and hugged me tighter. "And I've even solved your ring issue! We'll tattoo your wedding rings on!"

Laughing, I shook my head as she released me. "That would work for me, Alice, but not so much for Emmett." I smiled as she laced her arm through mine, pulling me in the direction of the house. Emmett fell into step on my other side without issue.

"It will if you bite him first."

Emmett laughed before what she said sunk in. "Wait… what?"

Smiling again, I paused to place a quick kiss to his lips. "We've got a wedding to plan!"

The End