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I slowly nodded to Jacob's intense words.

"When you say Alliance, do you mean the Blood Alliance?" He asked.

"I-I don't know." I couldn't help but stutter. "I left for them to discuss everything privately. They would know more."

Jacob grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards the house.

"What are you doing?" I gasped. His heat burned my skin.

"Getting some answers." He grumbled. Renesmee came out of no where and jumped on his back.

"Are we going home now?" She asked him. He just nodded and half dragged me to the house.

Jacob stormed into the house and looked at the Cullens. They were still huddled in the small group I left them in.

"Whose idea was it to let the wet dog in?" Rosalie grumbled. I realized he did smell pretty bad.

"What Alliance are you talking about?" Jacob demanded, ignoring Rosalie's words. No one responded. Shock was heavy in the air. "Tell me! Are you talking about the Blood Alliance?"

"How do you know about them?" Carlisle came over to him. Jacob was taken aback by the question. He hesitated. Esme came over and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You're not in trouble. We just want to know how you know of them." She smiled. Jacob nodded slowly and swallowed.

"Shannon means a lot to our family." Jacob began. "She stayed with us when she wasn't here. I was really young so I don't remember her much but I do remember she was real nice. Billy adores her. But the last any of us saw or heard from her was when she left the town to be a complete member of the Blood Alliance. I know nothing of this Alliance but Billy probably does." Jacob shook his head and then looked at Renesmee who was yawning. He picked her up and cradled her in his large arms. I watched him rock her to sleep. He was deep in though and it seemed he forgot we where there. He finally turned and looked at Carlisle. "I'm going with you guys."

Carlisle nodded. "I figured you'd want to and I won't say no."

Alice looked at Carlisle hopefully. "So we are going?" He just nodded. Alice Shrieked and danced around some more.

"When do we leave?" Jacob asked.

"Tomorrow." Carlisle replied quickly. Jacob nodded and turned to me.

"You should take Rensemee to her bed." I knew this was his excuse to leave and for me to get some answers from Edward. I carefully took Rensemee from him and held her close to me. Jacob quickly went out the door and disappeared into the storm. Edward was at my side in an instant. He placed on hand on my hip and gestured with the other to the outside.

"Shall we?" He smiled. He knew what I wanted to know and wasn't going to delay it.

We rushed to the cottage. I didn't want Renesmee getting too wet. I tucked her into her bed when we got there and kissed her lightly on the forehead. I left the room and Edward was waiting by the fireplace. He came to me and wrapped hit arms tightly around me.

"Tell me everything." I mumbled. He sighed and pulled me into out bedroom. This slightly confused me but I didn't care. I just wanted answers. We sat down on the bed and faced each other.

"Where should I start?" He asked aloud.

"The beginning is good." I smiled and he smiled back.

"It was soon after Alice and Jasper joined us. We were out on a hunting trip in Canada but weren't having any luck. We wandered a little farther than expected looking for any kind of prey at this point. We should have known that the mudslide a few days before would scare most of the animals away but we were too hungry to really think about it.

"That's when we found her. The sent of fresh animal blood caught Jaspers attention and he darted off in the direction it was coming. The rest of us followed. It didn't take long to find the source. In a small clearing there was a carcass of a moose and a small woman bent over it. As we approached she snapped her head up and growled at us. Blood covered the bottom half of her face and stained parts of her clothes. Little by little we forced ourselves to stop. In her green eyes you could see anger mixed with fear. Everyone looked at me expectantly so I forced myself to look at her thoughts. It was hard. It felt like she was pushing it back, almost like reverse tug-o-war. Eventually I was able to get in her mind and didn't like what I saw.

"She thought we were there to kill her but wouldn't run because she was too hungry. She would rather fight all of us and lose than look for another kill. It was hard to describe that to my family. When I got it out right Alice came up with the idea of being friends with her. I laughed at the idea. Leave it to Alice to try to make a friend out of a bad situation. But Carlisle liked the idea. He saw something in her but at the time didn't tell us what.

"Alice took that as her cue and she gracefully walked to the woman. The woman stiffened and growled some more. She told Alice not to approach her but Alice ignored her. When Alice was about one foot from her and the carcass she squatted down and looked her square in the eyes; a smile planted on her face. Alice explained we didn't want to hurt her and she really wanted to be friends. The woman looked at her suspiciously but after a while her features softened and the woman smiled back. In an instant Alice was by the woman's side, introducing herself and the family as the rest of us approached. She introduced herself as Shannon and apologized for her behavior. She excused herself to finish her meal while she told us her story."

Edward looked away from me at that point. I didn't press for more knowledge. I knew this was going to an odd subject to talk about and by the sound of it, it was a hard subject for him. A small tap came from the front door had us up on our feet in an instant. Alice was in the bedroom doorway soon after.

"I thought I'd help you pack." She smiled. "Carlisle said we might be there for a while."

"This could be the last time we see Aden." Edward nodded. "Both Esme and he will want to be there till the end."

"Alice, will you pack for me?" I looked out the window and watch the sun peak through the early morning light. "I want to go and tell Charlie about our 'vacation'."

"Yeah, sure, but you might complain about what I pack for you." Alice smiled.

"I'll live." I walked passed her and headed quickly to the house to grab my car. I figured if I drove a little slower than usual and drove aimlessly, Charlie would be awake by the time I got there.

I pulled up to the driveway as the sun peaked over the trees. I pulled my Ferrari into park and slowly got out. Charlie's cruiser was in front of the house so I knew he was still around. I knew I didn't have much time so I quickened my pace and knocked on the front door. I listened as Charlie stumbled out of his chair and over to the door. He unbolted it and slowly opened it. When he saw me he flung it open.

"Bella!" He exclaimed.

"Hey dad." I smiled.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to say good-bye." His face darkened. "Oh no, not for good dad!" I sighed when I saw how confused he was. "Let me come in and I'll explain."

We walked into the kitchen and he pulled out a chair for me and then for himself.

"So what's going on?" He asked me.

"We're going to visit a friend and stay for a while." I began. "She's real important to the family and there seems to be something wrong so Carlisle wants to be there for her."

"Who is this person?" He asked.

"Her name is Shannon…" I paused as Charlie's eyes darkened with concern.

"Is she ok?" He asked.

"She's fine; it's someone else close to everyone who isn't." I said skeptically. "How do you know her?"

"She's really well known in the community." Charlie's eyes brightened at the chance to talk about something positive. "She was quiet but she was always willing to help anyone that needed it. She left about ten years ago to follow a clue about some possible family members living in the states. Everyone in the town was sad to see her go. The Cullens and the Quileutes Elders were especially upset. She'd gotten real friendly with them both but failed to get them to like each other." I smiled as Charlie spoke. This Shannon person seemed like a really nice woman. "You'll tell her I say hi, won't you?"

"Of course I will." I nodded. I looked at the clock and stood up. "I have to leave. They'll be wondering if you kidnapped me if I don't show up soon.

"Well alright, if I really have to let you go." Charlie chuckled and got up. We walked to the door and he kissed me on the cheek. "Have fun dear."

"Thanks dad." I gave him a nice hug and headed to my car. I climbed in and within seconds I was racing off to the house. The forest flew by and within minutes I was pulling up to the long drive but I didn't go to the garage. I saw Billy's truck in the drive and I started to get uneasy. I stepped out of my car and could hear the soft beating of many hearts. Tension clung heavy in the air.