This is the second-last chapter in the story. Yeah, I know I'm wrapping everything up in one chapter, and moving on to a short epilogue. So sue me. The epilogue's hopefully coming this weekend, I've got it all finished and everything.

DISCLAIMER: Me no own Twilight, as awesome as it would be.

WORD COUNT: 4447


Tuesday, March 13th, 2035

We were speeding home on the highway when Alice had another vision. She gasped and gripped the inside car door handle so hard that her fingers left grooves in the plastic. "What's wrong?" I cried, reaching forward from the rear and shaking her shoulders.

"They know."

"What?"

"The Volturi. Demetri is blocking Edward and the others from following the tour, and Aro's going to touch Elsie. They'll know everything. He'll send for us and have us all executed; wolves, vampires, all of us, for telling Elsie and creating you."

I sank back into my seat, stunned. What would we do now? How could we possibly come out of this alive? What would happen to my best friend? "Is she still alive?" I asked softly, dreading the answer.

"Yes. If he kills her, he'll lose the proof he needs to justify wiping us all out. After the trial twenty-eight years ago, the vampire population has become more liable to question the Volturi's motives. The last thing Aro wants is another scandal. Caius doesn't care."

"So what are we going to do?"

"We go to Volterra," Rosalie stated grimly, "If we refuse, it'll look like we're the belligerent force, and nothing will stop Aro from going ahead with his plans."

"I'm going too, right?" I wouldn't be able to bear it if I couldn't help save my best friend.

"It would be a bad idea if you didn't," Alice replied, "We need to prove you're not the first of some human-vampire-shifter-hybrid army."


Wednesday, March 14th, 2035

It was only a day later that I was boarding a flight to Italy. We'd told Maman and Papa that Esme had won a free trip for ten (Embry was staying behind to hold down the fort; Dad and Seth were only going because I was) to Rome, and couldn't I go? They seemed uncertain at first, but I had a sneaking suspicion that Jasper had taken care of putting them at ease.

I was restless throughout the entire flight, constantly worrying about my best friend. It was my fault for dragging her into this whole vampire thing. She was going to die because of me, along with my long-lost family. It was all my fault.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder, and realised it was Seth. "Don't worry," he whispered, "Everything will turn out all right, I promise."

I shrugged his hand off. "You don't believe that. You're just saying that to try and cheer me up."

He sighed. "Well, you can't blame me for trying. I don't like seeing you upset."

"We are not having this conversation. Not now." I stared out the window, looking down at the choppy Atlantic Ocean far beneath us.

I didn't know why he was so hard to resist. Yes, he was kind, funny, and undeniably sexy, but after three years of telling myself that if I gave in to my craving for him, it was the next step to losing my humanity, you'd think I'd manage to get over him. But there was always something pulling me towards him. I still wouldn't give up my humanity, as tempting as it was to do so.

No matter how much it hurt.


I was bummed. Miriam was worried about Elsie, and you didn't need Edward or Jasper's talents to realise that she was blaming herself, which was ridiculous. The O'Laskeys would've gone to Italy anyway. And as for the fact that the rest of us could turn out dead – all the way dead – the next morning, that was going to eventually happen one way or another. The Volturi were going to come after us at some point; it wasn't her fault, just her bad luck that she would be dragged down with us.

I could tell Jake was extremely nervous; not for himself, but for Miriam and Nessie. He didn't show it, but he didn't have to. Our pack has been together for so long, we could all read each other like an open book. He couldn't imagine life without his wife and daughter.

Miriam was on the top of the list of my worries, too. I didn't want anything to happen to her. There was no doubt I'd imprinted on her the moment she'd climbed up to me in that tree three years ago. I'd identified that from hearing Jacob, Sam and the others describing finding their imprints. It seemed we were all finding soulmates left and right. There was Sam and Emily, Quil and Claire, Jared and Kim, Paul and Rachel, Jacob and Nessie... even Leah had found her own love! But it was like Miriam didn't want to accept it. That was actually okay with me, as long as she was happy. If that meant standing aside while she went out with another guy, then fine; but if he made her cry, I'd be ready to kill for her.

That would probably come in handy very soon. Killing a human – even if the world would be better off without that human – would be something I'd eventually regret, since we wolf shifters exist to protect humans. As for a Volturi parasite, however, all bets were off. I'd have no problem killing it whatsoever, even if Miriam's life wasn't at stake. Should any of them try to harm her, though, I would rip them apart and slowly burn them alive.


It was nearly impossible to walk instead of running, but I kept my pace slow as we made our way through the cobblestone streets of Volterra. Our plane had landed in Rome, and as soon as we were joined by the rest of the Denalis (with Kate and Garrett already there, they were definitely not going to stay out of it) and made it to the edge of the city, we actually ran the rest of the way to Volterra. Dad and Seth had to transform, and Mom and I rode on their backs. There, we met up with Grandma, Grandpa, Kate, and Garrett. Then we continued through the small city, pushing our way through the red-cloaked crowd. Thankfully the weather was on our side, overcast enough for the vampires to walk out in the open.

"What a stupid festival," Seth commented, "These people have no idea what's really going on. They're celebrating the so-called 'expulsion of the vampires' while the two most powerful vampire covens clash beneath their feet."

"Would you rather they know the truth, freak out, and declare holy war on us?" Grandma replied.

I couldn't speak at all the whole way there, for fear of throwing up. This could possibly be my last day on this earth. All the horror stories I'd heard about the Volturi had me terrified over the outcome of our meeting. I remembered that a major reason my family had survived last time was the sheer number of witnesses. Carlisle had said that Aro was extremely concerned with their reputation as blameless enforcers of the law, and had had to hide his intentions of wiping out the supposed 'threat' of the vegetarian covens. But this time, we'd be meeting them in their own palace; they could do whatever they wanted to us. It was only by Alice's visions that I knew they hadn't killed Elsie yet. She'd seen more of my best friend, but refused to tell me anything. I could only guess that it was bad.

I was in such a worried daze, I didn't even register that our group was indoors until we came to a stop. In front of us stood a teenaged girl with bright red eyes. "Jane," Mom whispered to me.

Carlisle stepped forward. "Alice saw that you'd be expecting us here," he stated, "So we came."

A small smile appeared on Jane's face. A person who didn't know any better would think it was sweet and innocent. But I knew enough about her to see past the façade of sweetness, to see the sadistic pleasure and anticipation behind it. She knew we were goners, and she couldn't wait to see it. "I'm glad to see you all made it," she said in an almost childlike voice. Her ruby eyes darted over to rest on me. "And you must be Miriam. Elsie's told us so much about you."

Anger sparked in my chest. I stepped forward, but Mom held me back. Jane stared at me for a second, then glared at Grandma. "You love to spoil my fun," she spat, "Don't you?" I then realised that Grandma was shielding me, and probably the rest of my family.

"Are we going to see Aro or not?" Tanya interrupted.

Little Jane's glare turned to her, flickering towards Dad and Seth for a second. "Most of you will be going to see Aro. But your pets can stay outside."

Dad growled at her, calmed only by Mom's hand on his shoulder.

"The wolves come with us," Carlisle insisted, "If not, then Aro can come up here. Seth and Jacob are part of our family, and we will not leave them behind." The rest of us nodded in firm agreement, Mom and I taking Dad's hands to emphasise the point.

Jane looked like she was going to argue, but then I guess she remembered that her gift was of no use and that she was currently outnumbered seventeen to one. "Very well," she conceded bitterly, "But the dogs had better be on their best behaviour."

It really ticked me off, how she was talking about the wolves. I'm half-wolf, after all, and sure didn't appreciate her insulting my heritage. But Grandpa, who of course could see and hear all of my thoughts – particularly a little fantasy about ripping Jane's head off – placed a restraining hand on my shoulder. "Not a good idea," he whispered to me, "There's no way we'll make it out alive if you do that." Frustrated, I put that thought out of my mind; or rather, I saved it for later.

We followed Jane through a grand set of double doors and into a large chamber filled with vampires. I recognised the three Volturi leaders from the painting in Carlisle's office and the images Mom had somewhat unwillingly shown me from her memories. They hadn't changed in the slightest, of course. Caius looked sour, Marcus looked utterly bored, and Aro's demeanour seemed almost friendly.

He stood and spread his arms out wide in what I figured was supposed to be a welcoming gesture. "My dear friends!" he greeted us, "How wonderful it is to see you again!" Emmett and Garrett snorted, and Carmen muttered something to Eleazar in Spanish. "I wasn't expecting you to arrive so quickly."

Carlisle gave him a grim, forced smile. "Well, after we heard that you'd met a certain friend of ours, we felt compelled to come and ensure her safety."

"Ah, yes. I assure you, Miss O'Laskey remains unharmed in our care. We certainly did not desire to start off the meeting by informing you that she was dead."

"Bring her out," I insisted. All eyes suddenly riveted onto me, but I refused to be intimidated. "I want to see her, safe and sound."

Aro snapped his fingers, and two grey-clothed vampires swiftly left the room through a small side door. "So," Aro said, "This is the new young hybrid. How interesting." He seemed more fascinated in me than wary or disapproving. I remembered Grandpa describing Aro as a collector, and couldn't help the feeling that he was staring at me like some shiny new toy. I shrunk back a little, sticking closer to my parents. "Truly unique… one of a kind." Mom caught on to the tone in his voice as well, and put her arm around me protectively while Dad and Seth moved so that they were at the front of the group, between me and the head vampires. Caius glared at them with an expression of revulsion – or maybe it was fear. I recalled hearing that he was actually terrified of the near-extinct European werewolves.

"She's not interested," Grandpa warned, obviously answering a question in Aro's mind, "She's not an object you can put up on a shelf for display, so just forget that idea."

Aro shrugged. "Of course, young Edward, I understand. She's your granddaughter, and you want to keep her close. I was simply fascinated that such a creature could exist. Her mother's birth was a marvel in itself, but to imagine human, vampire, and shapeshifter blood combined in one... I highly doubt there could be another one like her."

"There isn't. So don't get all paranoid that we're creating an army."

"I never thought that."

"You did, but I was actually talking to him." Grandpa nodded towards Caius, who glared at him. "But of course, you wouldn't know, since he hasn't allowed you to touch him in the past twenty-four hours. He's worried that you might try to hold him back if he tried to use that angle against us."

Caius and Aro exchanged glances. The former looked like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar (if it weren't for the current situation, I would've been bent double with laughter at his expression) and the latter had the shocked air of a person who'd just learned his best friend had betrayed him. The rest of the Volturi seemed uneasy about this. They all whispered amongst themselves, except for Marcus, who still didn't look all that interested.

The tense atmosphere was broken when the side door opened and the two vampires re-entered, holding a dishevelled Elsie in between them. She had blood spattered on her clothes and face, and bruises on her arms. As they got closer, I was able to distinguish the hand-like shapes of those deep purple marks. I sucked my breath in, shocked, hearing the others do the same.

She gasped when she saw us. "No!" she whimpered, "Guys, I'm sorry! I swear, I didn't say anything, but Aro..." Elsie drooped in her captors' arms, clearly exhausted. On an impulse, I shrugged Mom's arms off, pushed between Dad and Seth, and ran over to her. The vampires let her go, and she collapsed into my arms. Pulling her to my feet, I half-carried my best friend over to the group. Esme, ever the mothering type, bustled to her other side while the others closed up around us, shielding our fragile human friend from any more potential harm.

"Elsie?" I whispered. She had a glassy, dazed look in her eyes, and seemed to be drifting in and out. That scared me. "Elsie, please, talk to me."

She looked up at me. "Mom..." she murmured, "Dad... those little kids, all of them... they're all gone, I saw them die... I watched it." She started sobbing, and I hugged her tightly.

A hot fury began burning up inside of me. Mr. and Mrs. O'Laskey were like another set of parents to me, and they meant the world to Elsie, their only child. I never liked the way the Volturi – and any other regular vampires – killed humans thinking of them as only dumb animals for slaughter, but to do that to someone I knew... It was unforgivable!

I stood, letting Mom fill in my spot, and turned to face the Volturi leaders with white-hot anger. Again, I just felt like going berserk on them. A sudden wave of calm rushed over me, but I resisted it. "Stop it, Jasper," I said, "If I don't let off some steam right now, I'm going to blow!"

The attention was back on me. Aro regarded me pensively. "She does seem quick to anger," he mused out loud, "Perhaps she does pose a danger."

My family moved to stand protectively around me, but I wasn't scared anymore. In fact, I didn't give a flying rat's ass whether I was going to die or not. It was just a simple, irrelevant fact. What mattered was giving those demons what they'd had coming to them for centuries.


I knew right away that Miriam was angrier than she'd ever been in her entire life. I can always tell how she's feeling. Of course, I wasn't the only one; Jacob and Nessie's parental instincts and Edward and Jasper's talents probably picked up on it only a split second after I did. The others were quick to follow.

In fact, Aro seemed to be the only one who didn't notice – I'm not counting Marcus. Instead he simply gave her a puzzled look. Then Caius rolled his eyes and muttered: "Foolish girl."

She snapped.

Miriam, screaming in rage, dove at Aro. That was the spark meeting gunpowder, and then the whole room seemed to explode. There were suddenly angry psycho bloodsuckers fighting all over the place, but I kept my eyes on Miriam. Felix had managed to pry her off of Aro, and was restraining her easily, holding her a foot off the ground with her arms behind her back. Then, with an unnecessary grunt, he tossed her into the nearest wall.

That did it for me. Jumping forward, phasing in mid-air, I tackled the biggest Volturi to the ground. His rock-hard head made a satisfying crunching sound upon impact with the floor. I could also see a male vamp, whose name I didn't know, getting his head snapped off by Bella through Jacob's eyes, as well as Rosalie bitch-slapping Chelsea, and Nessie making a run for the doors, carrying a bleeding and screaming Elsie in her arms.

I quickly chose my next target – Aro. Take out one of the leaders, and they all fall apart, right? Growling, I dashed towards him. Suddenly, I felt compelled to turn around and go check on Miriam. Why was I continuing to fight while I didn't know if she was okay or not? When I got to her, she was getting to her feet. A tiny trickle of blood was coming from her forehead, but she was otherwise fine, thanks to her vampire resiliency and shifter healing. It was then that I suddenly wondered why I'd changed course like that. I looked over at the leaders, who were just standing and watching the chaos, and spotted a female vampire crouching behind Aro. Renata, his bodyguard. The shield. Dammit, I'd forgotten about her! How could I get to Aro when she was interfering?

Miriam ran past me and jumped at Aro again. I expected her to be diverted as well, but Renata seemed to have no effect on her, just like her mother and grandmother. She slammed into him and knocked him to the ground. Marcus and Caius tried to pull her off, but I was having none of that. I grabbed Marcus's arm and tossed him to the side and bit Caius on the shoulder. My least favourite Volturi vamp snarled and took a swing at me. I felt a bruise forming right away, but ignored it. It would heal up in a couple of minutes, anyway.

Caius ducked his head down to bite me, but Bella came out of nowhere and punched him in the face. I let go and took out another vampire trying to sneak up behind her.

"Careful, Seth," Jacob warned me, "That was a little too close. You KNOW that stuff is poisonous to us."

"I know, I know. You just watch YOUR back." My point was proven when Afton tried to tackle the other wolf, only to be intercepted in mid-air by a very angry Tanya.

I ducked as Demetri took a swing at me, then jumped up and grabbed his head in my mouth. If any of us got the chance to escape, they'd fare much better in the aftermath if the Volturi didn't have their precious tracker. Emmett came out of nowhere and tackled Demetri, taking down all but his head, which was still clenched between my teeth. Well, that was simple. I dropped it, disgusted that I now had the taste of vamp in my mouth. The Cullens' scents were a little annoying, but I was long-since used to them, and non-vegetarian vampires were much worse.

"Miriam!" Esme shouted. I looked and saw my imprint trapped in a chokehold by Aro, gasping for air.

I dove towards her, determined to get that creep off her. There was the faint tugging on my mind, urging me to go elsewhere. I almost submitted. Then I saw Miriam's face again, and got my focus back. I guess imprinting is stronger than ever Renata's gift. I slammed into Aro, biting and clawing like mad, not even paying attention to the world around me. It only took two seconds for his head to go flying, rolling down the steps of his elevated platform.

And just as quickly as the fight had erupted, all went silent.


I ripped the stone-stiff arms off my neck and staggered to my feet. Seth was beside me in wolf form, tensed up but not moving to attack. There was a similar stillness in each and every vampire in the room. Some were laying in pieces on the floor; I was relieved to see that, by some miracle, no one in my family was included among them. Tanya and Kate were standing over the dismembered body of Caius, their grudge for Irina's murder finally satisfied. Everyone was just staring around in shock, watching and waiting for a clue as to what would happen next.

Carlisle was the first to move. He straightened up from his half-crouched position and made his way towards Aro's head, though keeping on alert for another attack. Esme was the first to flit to his side, followed by all the other Cullens and Denalis. Dad loped over to my side, and I hugged him around his huge furry neck, shaking.

It was then that the shrieking started. A frail-looking female vampire sank to her knees and shrieked. I learned later that she was Sulpicia, Aro's mate. How someone so cruel and manipulative could have a perfect match is still beyond me. None of the Volturi vampires moved to comfort her or to stop the grating sound of her wails. Dad was in fact the one who silenced her, letting out a loud growl.

Only when silence had been restored, aside from Sulpicia's whimpers, did Carlisle speak. "We are done here," he announced gravely, "This did not have to happen, but maybe it will convince you that we will not stand for any harm coming to our family. We shall take our leave now."

As a group, we started to move towards the door, but two Volturi blocked our way. There was a moment of heightened tension as we stared each other down.

"Let them go." I barely heard the soft voice. Turning around, I saw that Marcus had stood up, his expression as bored as ever. "It will not do to continue these useless battles, to lose any more lives for a coven rivalry so trivial." Jane looked like she was going to protest, but he cut her off. "As the only Volturi leader left, that is my command." He looked me in the eye and nodded. I nodded back, then slung an arm over Dad's massive neck and walked out with my family.

Perhaps Marcus, at least, wasn't so bad, after all.

As we reached the tunnel to the outside, we had to leave Dad and Seth for a little while. Alice quickly ducked into a store and bought some new clothes for them, and then they rejoined us, now in their human forms. I hugged them both, still not completely recovered from my shock.

When I touched Seth, I didn't fight the pull this time. I was no longer scared of my 'inner animal'. It was fierce, and reacted purely on instinct and emotion, but it really did know what mattered most. In fact, I no longer felt like it was a separate part of me; it was who I was, and who I was born to be. I realised then that clinging to my humanity was just an illusion, because I was still the same old me, just not as afraid of myself and what I felt.

I held tightly onto the one I loved and didn't let go.


"Elsie!" My fear level was back up at the top of the meter. Despite being not quite as fast as everyone else, I was the first one to crash through the warehouse doors. Mom wasn't too far away, cradling my best friend in her lap. I rushed over, fearing the worst.

Grandpa had found Mom's thoughts and led us there. He also told us that when the fight had started, Jane had darted over and, on Aro's orders, bitten Elsie.

Elsie was whimpering and moaning and occasionally crying out in agony. Her eyes were strangely blank, and I realised that Mom must've been feeding comforting images into her head to try and ease the pain. However, that wasn't enough for me. "Can't you do something?!" I cried.

Carlisle, kneeling down beside her, shook his head. "The venom's spread too far. All we can do now is wait until the transformation is complete. Then we'll have to help her adjust."

I gasped and looked down at my best friend. It wasn't her becoming a vampire that bothered me. Rather, it was the suffering she would have to go through during and after the transformation. I knew all about newborns and their undying craving for blood during their first year. Getting her adjusted to a vegetarian lifestyle would be difficult, and for her, very painful.

I felt a pair of strong, warm arms wrap around me, and leaned into Seth's embrace. "It'll be fine," he assured me, "She's going to be okay."


Well, that's pretty much it. I know it seems unrealistic that everyone would survive the battle against the Volturi, but I couldn't bring myself to kill anyone off.

Epilogue coming this weekend, and then you'll have to wait a LONG while for the sequel.

'Till then, it's been fun writing this for you guys!

PS: One last thing, Read and Review plz!