No matter how many stars I wish on, I don't own Twilight or its characters, darn it! Twilight and its characters are property of Stephanie Meyer. All my original characters (Not many of them, but the few that are here) are the result of too many late nights and too many energy drinks! :) Take care all! ~AD

Chapter 21

Later, I'd wonder who was more surprised, myself or the Volturi. I felt Alec raise his powers a notch, saw the shadow of his power push against my shield.

My shield held, and he couldn't get through.

Jane tried then, or at least I assume it was her. She couldn't get through either, much to my relief.

Suddenly, the vampires and wolves surrounded me. They were so tightly packed, that I couldn't even see through them to what was going on. I could hear them, though.

"What is the meaning of this?" Aro roared.

"We have a shield," Eleazar informed them. "A very powerful one, it seems."

"We didn't come here to fight you," Carlisle said. "We only wish for you to listen to what we have to say."

"Then speak," Caius said.

"These wolves pose no threat to us, you or anyone else, unless they are threatened." Carlisle said.

"As long as vampires keep to the laws that you set,avoid hunting in this area," Edward said, "and stay off of their ancestral lands, they will have no reason to hunt our kind."

"We will have to think this through," Caius said. "We have been given much to think about this day."

"If you will humor us if we make two requests?" Aro asked.

"We will do our best to fulfill any reasonable requests." Carlisle said, cautiously.

"First, we would like to meet the one responsible for such a powerful gift," Aro said.

I couldn't help feeling that this was a bad idea. Not to mention the fact that there were still two distinct powers pushing against my shield.

"We will gladly introduce you," Edward said, "But first, you must tell Jane and Alec to stop trying to get through the shield, and I will make the proper introductions."

"A reasonable enough request," Caius said, nodding.

Aro must have agreed, because he turned to the two vampires in question. "Alec, Jane, you may stop. You're being rude." He was saying this as if he hadn't been the one to order them to start.

The pressure that had been pushing against me suddenly disappeared. It happened so quickly that I almost fell face-first to the ground from where I was kneeling.

Edward caught me, then helped me to my feet. I was still keeping the shield in place, I wasn't stupid enough to drop it completely until they were gone.

Slowly, I was led to the front of the group, and faced the Volturi.

"This is Isabella," Carlisle led the introductions.

"And is she one of yours?" Aro asked.

"Yes," He answered firmly. "She is a member of our family."

Aro nodded, satisfies with the answer given, apparently.

"That is a wondrous gift that you possess, my dear." Caius said. "Tell me, were you aware that you were able to do what you have accomplished this night?"

I shook my head. "I didn't even know that I had an ability at all until a few days ago."

"That is wonderful," Aro said. "To cultivate that much power in so short a time. Amazing, truly. It will be interesting to see what you make of yourself. We will be watching for you, Isabella."

I was unsure of how to respond to that, so I kept quiet.

"Your other request, if you please?" Carlisle reminded them. I was hoping that it would take the focus off of me for a while...I didn't relish the thought of the Volturi hanging over my head anymore.

"We would like the chance to get familiar with these wolves," Aro said.

"And how would you like to accomplish that?" Carlisle asked.

I was afraid I already knew the answer.

"Why, we would have to insist that they come to Italy with us," Aro said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "We have been far away from home for far too long as it is."

I was already shaking my head. There was no way in hell that any of the wolves would go with them...

"I'll go."

If it were still possible for me to get whip-lash, I'm fairly certain that I'd have given myself just that.

"Gabe," I called, "You don't mean that."

"Yeah, I do," He said, looking me in the eye. "What have I got to lose?"

"A lot, actually," I snarled.

"If I go with you," Gabe asked Aro, "Will you leave the rest of the pack in peace?"

Aro pondered this for a moment, then agreed. "Yes. However, if more wish to come with us, they are welcome."

Gabe nodded, and walked forward to stand with them.

"Gabe, please," I begged. "Please don't do this. What about your family?"

"My dad's dead, and everyone else would be better off if I'm not around," He said, bitterness beyond his years tingeing his voice.

"What?" I asked, stunned. I probably would have said more, but Edward gripped my arm tightly.

"Stop," He said, quietly. "Let him do what he feels he needs to do."

I turned panic stricken eyes on him.

"They have no plans to hurt him." He nodded towards the Volturi, "They honestly want him around to learn more from him."

I didn't care. I wasn't going to just let him walk into this without a thought to the consequences.

"He knows what he's doing, Bella," Edward assured me.

I wasn't so sure but, damn it, the deal was done. Gabe had made up his mind, and that was all there was to it.

For now.

Satisfied at his newest acquisition, Aro turned to walk from the field. The others followed, but not before Jane and Alec gave me one last angry glare.

Just two more members of my fan club. Goody.

The Volturi melted into the mists that they'd come from. At the last moment, Gabe turned to me. From across the field, in no more than a whisper, I heard him say, "I'm sorry. Tell mom, Marie and Reese that I love them."

Then he, too, was gone.

I held myself together until they'd gone completely from the field. I dropped my shields, and felt them close back on me like a rubber band being released. The force of the shield snapping back into place, that and losing Gabe, finally took me to my knees.

Edward was there, holding my tightly. "We'll get him back, Bella," He whispered to me. "I swear, someday, we'll get him back here, where he belongs."

I nodded. Gabe had done what he felt he had to do, and because of him, the other wolves would be safe.

And we, the vampires, would be safe.

...And all I could think about, was that I was going to have to tell Catherine, Marie and Reese that another family member was lost.

Epilogue:

After, we could only guess at the reasoning behind the choice he'd made but Gabe's reasons for leaving was still unknown. Whether it really was for the protection of his pack, or for the protection of the whole group, we didn't know. The moment he'd made the choice to go with the Volturi, his mental link with the pack had been severed, so not even the pack here knew what he was thinking.

My guess is that, his anger towards all things vampire was a driving force...kind of a keep-your-friends-close-and-your-enemies-closer thing. Maybe he was trying to get a better idea of how things were run in the vampire world.

Catherine didn't take the news well. She was still dealing with Jacob being gone, that losing a son for who knew how long, seemed to break something fragile inside her. The kids were having a rough time dealing with it as well. I didn't know how to help them after that, and actually feared making things worse.

Once again, Catherine insisted that I not take the blame for Gabe's actions. For all of our sakes, I sincerely hoped that was true.

That being said, I had promised to take care of Jacob's family, and the best way that I could do that was to stick around as long as I could. I secretly paid off most of the house, and had the bank send them a notice that they were "lowering the payments"...and the next time she made a payment, it would be paid off. I approached the grief counselor that they'd been seeing since Jacob's death, and took care of those bills as well. I left my information with the doctors, requesting that all further bills come to me.

I stayed in Forks for almost ten years, going from high school to the newly opened junior college there. Edward insisted on staying with me, even as the rest of the Cullens moved on to keep up their appearances.

Together, we worked with the Black family, mending their hearts as best we could, and eventually they were mended as best they could.. Marie and Reese finished high school, and because of the scholarship fund that had been set up for them by a "distant relative", they had the chance to go to the college of their choice.

After a couple of years after leaving, Gabe started sending letters home. He'd even called a time or two. He never mention why he'd left or where he was, but always wanted to know how the family was doing.

We eventually had to leave, choosing to join the rest of the Cullen family in Alaska. I was an "exchange student" staying with the family, and Edward was a "cousin" who'd been orphaned.

The rest of the pack eventually imprinted, married and had babies of their own. The next generation of possible wolves were looking great, and I was keeping in touch with most of them.

Edward and I are still working on our relationship. I'd like to say that we were back to where we might have been had the intervening years hadn't happened...but we're still working on it. What can I say? I really wish I were able to just forgive and forget...but I was never very good at forgetting things easily. I still liked to bring it up on special occasions...like in the middle of an argument that I really want to win.

I did find that Edward could hear my thoughts if he were actually inside my shield, so I will occasionally drop it. It comes in handy sometimes...and it's a good way to truely frustrate him when I won't let him in. I find it a good way to keep him in line.

What the future will hold from this point onward, I don't know. I do know that I'm grateful to have the Cullens as friends and my "new" family. It was nice to finally be around other vampires.

I keep holding on to the hope that someday Gabe will want to return to Washington. If he does, I'll run all the way there if I have to to welcome him back.