Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight Stephanie Meyer does.

Chapter Twelve

Keyria POV

Beautiful, soft light seeped under my sleeping eyelids and I rolled into the hard, large lump beside me. Emmett. In my bed. OUR bed. I still hadn't quite gotten used to the fact we were in the same room now; but another week of waking up in his hulking arms and it would be perfectly fine.

I fluttered my eyes open, greeted by his lop-sided smile and a pair of almost black eyes. But since he had just hunted last night, I knew his eyes were dark for a whole other reason.

"Mornin' baby. We're playing today, so it's time to get moving. I already called Bella and Carlisle's gonna pick her up on his way home. He got called out early this morning. Esme's got some breakfast ready for you and we'll head to the field when you're done eating. Should be a pretty good day for the game too; forecast was mostly cloudy and overcast. No chance of sparkles if one of us get too far away from you." He smiled and kissed my cheek; pulling me with him gently as he slid from the bed.

"Ugh... You're so... morning person. Is there coffee? Cause I'm gonna need some if you want my brain to be at the game today." I laughed a little and stretched, noticing his nod at my question.

"Sweet. So, is this just a casual thing or do I need to wear something specific? You know, like a certain color shirt or something?" I was rummaging through my dresser when his cough made me pause.

I looked over my shoulder at him; in his arms was a grayish outfit and he had a small grin on his face. I shook my head and leaned against my dresser.

"You have got to be kidding me. An actual uniform? You guys go all out for these ball games, huh?" I laughed a little and stepped toward him, holding out my hand for the clothes.

"Yeah, it's kind of a tradition I guess. Winning teams get to go on a vacation wherever they want for two weeks. I'm hopin' we're on the winning team today. There's a Comic-Con in Miami like a week or so after graduation and I figured with your gift and stuff we'd actually be able to go." He looked at his feet and I swear he would have been blushing if he could.

I crossed my arms and cocked my head to the side.

"And what makes you think I want to spend two weeks at a Comic-Con? Maybe I wanna go somewhere else." My brows were raised and I was having a hard time keeping the smile from my face.

Emmett's face fell and he turned away slightly. I felt horrible instantly and rushed to him, wrapping my arms kinda around him and burying my face in his stony chest.

"Baby, I'm sorry. I was only teasing you; I didn't mean to upset you. I've always wanted to go too and just never had the chance. Of course we can go. I'm really sorry, Mac." I rushed it all out in a teary whisper; lifting my watery eyes to his face.

He cupped my cheek and wiped a stray tear from my eye with his thumb, kissing my forehead softly.

"Don't apologize, Ria. Honestly, I shouldn't have just assumed you'd be alright with it. Glad you wanna go, though; but it's only in for a week. If we are on the winning team, we can do something else for the other week." He smiled at me, biting his lip almost nervously.

I felt relieved though; at least he wasn't mad at my stupid teasing. Man, I have seriously got to work on that. But now his lip-nibbling had me a little worried; not to mention a little something else. I pulled my head back and gave him a wide-eyed little smile, hoping it wouldn't show any kind of being serious.

"What? Don't tell me there's another nerdy event going on after that. Cause I might just wanna go to that too." I winked and giggled, making sure he knew I was okay with going to things like that.

He smiled sheepishly, shaking his head softly.

"No, it isn't anything like that. It's a surprise, though; so I can't really tell you. I promise that you'll love it; and you'll never forget it either. Esme helped me with it too, so you'll have to thank her when we get back." He was smiling brightly and his darkened amber eyes were glittering.

I looked up at him and brought my brows together slightly.

"When we get back? You're pretty damn confident our team's gonna win this thing. You make it sound like it's already a done deal." I giggled softly and kissed his cheek.

He smiled and turned me around slowly, swatting my ass lightly as he laughed.

"Go change or we'll never get out of here. And this particular week is gonna happen whether we win or lose. It's already been arranged and paid for; we leave the evening of graduation. So, the ball game doesn't really have much to do with it." He explained his certainty in taking this trip while I changed into the uniform; which fit me very well.

A week's vacation that's already paid for and planned; that doesn't involve winning or losing today's game? Well, I couldn't say the idea wasn't very appealing, but now it had me wondering why we were going.

Bella's POV

I ended up getting picked up by Carlisle earlier than I thought I would. Apparently he had been called in to the hospital early this morning, and it would be easier for him to just get me on his way home. It didn't matter much to me who brought me; I was still worried about actually playing. Edward, of all people, knew best that I wasn't exactly the most coordinatidely gifted. I was actually beginning to wonder if Alice had seen something happening. There was just a feeling I was getting about everything that wasn't sitting right with me.

Keyria's high-pitched giggle brought me back to the game. It was cute, actually; watching Emmett spinning her around at super-speed. I couldn't stop myself from smiling at them, wishing things could be that way with Jasper for a moment. My smile turned into a blush when I caught Jasper looking at me.

"Bella? Ready to play?" Esme was beside me smiling, one hand resting lightly on my shoulder.

"Um, a little nervous really. You guys sure you want me to play? I'm not exactly the luckiest person when it comes to stuff like this." I looked at my feet and picked at my fingers; feeling more nervous when she laughed softly.

"It will be fine, Bella. We need a good umpire, and there isn't any reason to worry about getting hurt. Alice has been keeping a steady check on that for us." She smiled and stepped toward the rest of them.

Keyria rushed forward then, a pouty Emmett standing a few feet behind her.

"Don't worry, Bel. You'll be fine. Esme's catcher, so she would stop anything that might happen to get struck-out or thrown wrong. I'm pitching, so that really shouldn't be much of a problem. Jasper says that pitching will help hone my skills for speed. Not sure if it's gonna work, but at least dodge if I happen to throw a good one." She winked at me and ran off, stopping in the center of the field.

I trudged over to Esme and smiled weakly, taking my spot behind her. I saw Edward in the outfield, smiling at me. I shuddered a little, then focused back on the game.

Carlisle stepped in front of us to bat, pointing out toward the woods with a smile. Keyria watched for a moment then nodded, taking a deep breath before she drew back. I couldn't even see the ball when it left her fingers; and the look on her face told me she didn't even mean to pitch that hard.

"Whoo- hoo! Yeah, baby! That's my girl, right there!" Emmett was grinning broadly and jumping around, patting Edward's shoulder and pointing at her.

Carlisle his the speeding ball with a thunderous crack that rumbled through the field. He took of in a blur and the boys rushed off to catch it. Esme was smiling and I just watched in wonder.

"Stop!" Alice cried out, rushing toward the boys slightly.

Everyone retreated back to Esme and myself; Emmett carrying Key as he ran.

"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle spoke softly, looking to see where me and Keyria were.

Alice shook her head; her brows drawing together.

"I'm not really sure. I know there are three nomads coming this way right now, but I don't know why I didn't see them before. Or what they want." She actually looked nervous.

She looked back at me, then turned to Keyria with a slight frown.

"We need to try masking their scent. These are human feeders, and I don't think they'd be too nice if they knew about them." She tipped her head in mine and Keyria's direction and everyone automatically got closer around us.

I looked at Keyria and she just shook her head. The chances of both of us getting out of here safely weren't too good. Esme tucked me under her arm; Carlisle stood on my other side.

They emerged from the woodline, coming quickly to a halt a few feet from us. Two of them were white; a man and a woman. The third, the one in the middle, was a black man and he was smiling. He brought his hand up, holding our baseball.

"I believe this must be yours? We were passing through when we heard you; thought we would stop to say hello. I am Laurent. This is Victoria and James." He gestured to the red-headed woman and then the sneering blonde man.

I didn't like it. I didn't like the way they looked at us; or the way they were all smiling.

"My name is Carlisle and this is my family." Carlisle spoke very clearly, but also slightly roughly.

The three of them looked at each of us, stopping a little longer on me and Keyria.

"Could you use three more players? We would love to have some real competition at the game." Laurent spoke with a heavy accent; but I couldn't place where it was from.

Carlisle sighed deeply, looking around at us.

"Sure. A few of us were leaving anyway, so you could take their place." Carlisle smiled slightly, tipping his head toward Emmett.

Keyria POV

"Come on, babe. Me, you, and Bells are going back to the house. It isn't safe here for you guys now." Emmett whispered in my ear and I nodded.

We all broke apart slowly and started heading to the jeep. I took Bella's arm and pulled her next to me; both of us walking in front of Emmett.

"We're going to the house. Walk fast and don't look back." I whispered to her softly, pushing her just a little to walk faster.

Emmett grabbed my arm tightly and we stopped. I looked up at him and that's when I noticed the wind blowing. I knew what was wrong. The others could smell me and Bella; their growling quickly confirmed it. We were too far from the jeep to still make it safely, even if Emmett carried us both. All we could do was turn to see what unfolded.

"You brought a couple snacks. And they both smell delicious." James licked his lips; crouching beside his other companions like they were going to attack.

"The girls are with us and they are none of your concern." Carlisle pushed himself forward, both hands up in a sign of peace.

"Humans?" Laurent's confused question acted as some type of command to the others.

James rushed forward as he growled deeply; allowing Victoria to rush around our family and come toward us. There was a scramble as everyone reacted to the sudden attack. Jasper turned quickly with James' throat cracking in his hand; his eyes locked onto Bella's with fury and pain mixing together.

"Run, now. Run!" He screamed at us before whipping around as James whirled himself from his grip.

I was frozen for a moment, watching Victoria get closer to us as everyone else fought with the other two. It was all happening so fast; I couldn't really make out who was who.

I came to my senses though, turning and following Bella. We were both running as fast as we could, but Bella wasn't heading for the jeep. She was moving toward the trees, and that was not where she needed to be. I darted quickly to the side and grabbed her arm.

"Not the woods, Bel. Too easy to get caught." It was a breathless whisper, but it got her moving the right way.

I dared a glance behind me as we ran. Emmett was right behind us, keeping himself between us and Victoria. The rest of them had moved closer as well, and there was no longer any space between us and them. Emmett growled at me, pointing toward the cars.

"Don't even think about it, Keyria. You and Bella get out of here now. You aren't ready for this." He was harsh, but not mean.

I nodded once then stumbled to a halt when Victoria tackled him to the ground. I was frozen in place and I fought with myself about what to do. Do I keep running like he told me and try to save myself? Or do I stay and fight for the man I love more than anything? My mate. My life.

My feet started moving before my mind even decided what to do. I couldn't run for my life when part of it was being attacked. I rushed forward, lunging for the woman.

Murphy had other plans for me though, and my feet tripped over the rocky ground. My body fell in slow motion while everything else was in fast-forward. Emmett howled in fury and flipped himself from the woman; taking her head with him.

I couldn't get my hands out in time when I fell, but I did turn my body enough to not land on my face. Maybe that wasn't a good idea. If I hadn't twisted around, I would have seen the rock that busted my head. It didn't hurt though; but I couldn't move either. I was trying to get myself up, but I just couldn't get my body to move.

The two nomads still alive changed course toward me; I guess there was blood too. I couldn't see where Bella was, and I only hoped she kept running. I saw Jasper blur off past me alone; Bella must not have kept going for the cars.

"Emmett, you have to do it. She isn't going to make it if you don't. Her neck is broken, body paralyzed. She's losing blood very quickly. Now, son. I know you can do it." Carlisle's voice drifted into my muffled ears.

I couldn't be sure of what he meant. I knew I was hurt, but I didn't think it was that bad. I finally managed to lift a hand when Emmett reached me and I cupped his cheek.

For a brief moment, I thought I saw tears in his eyes.

"I love you, Keyria. Forever." He whispered softly in my ear, holding me tightly to his chest.

There was a sharp sting in my neck and I think I winced. Liquid fire poured through my body soon afterward and I clung to Emmett with the little strength I had left. Everything was burning inside me. I felt as thought a volcano was beginning to erupt from me. My vision was a blur; nothing was a clear shot anymore.

From over Emmett's shoulder, I saw Alice holding the head and something else from the dark nomad. I wasn't sure, but I was certain she was smiling at me as I faded away.

A/N: Yes.. Everything is beginning to happen... And not all will go as people think, either! Read and review! Let me know what you think!