Jasper dropped my hand, catching Esme as she flew at him. She buried her head into his shoulder, rambling about how much she missed him and how sorry she was that he had left in the first place. He rubbed her back, reassuring her while she began to relax.

I was in the perfect spot to be hidden from the rest of the crowd, just behind the touching scene of mother and son reuniting for the first time in fifty years. However, that meant that I had about a half a minute more to freak out, which was way more than enough. My hands were shaking as I watched Esme slowly lift her head from Jasper's shoulder as he set her down on the ground. She pulled herself together, straightening her shirt and her hair just before peaking around Jas, intending to introduce herself for the first time to the mate that everyone had heard about courtesy of Carmen.

It was almost as if the last minute of my life was on repeat as Esme took in what she was seeing, eyes widening, jaw dropping. This time, though, she didn't move so quickly. She took small tentative steps toward me, reaching her hand out only a few feet from where I felt glued to the ground. I heard a door slam somewhere in the house, but paid it no mind as I placed my hand in hers.

"Bella!" Esme breathed. She pulled me in for a hug that was more motherly than any I had received from Renee during my human life. Her hand went to the back of my head, stroking my hair that just barely reached my shoulders, as I had cut it before my change. I felt like crying, and I knew that I was only holding it together with the help of my husband as I hugged her back fiercely.

I heard footsteps coming quickly toward us as I pulled away from Esme. I hardly had time to look up before I was completely engulfed in another hug, a deep, contagious laugh rattling my whole body as Emmett spun me around. "No way in hell!" he set me down, holding onto my shoulders as though he thought it was still likely for me to get dizzy and tip over. He pulled me in for another quick hug before releasing me and moving on to Jasper.

I heard the questioning start as Jasper tried to calm down an overly hyped-up Emmett by feeding him generic answers when a hand came down lightly on my shoulder. "I can't begin to explain how happy I am to see you, Bella." Carlisle gave me a light hug. "I would have never expected you to come back into our lives this way, but I am grateful all the same."

I breathed a massive sigh of relief. I was petrified that I was going to be rejected by the people who I once called family. At first, after Edward left, I had been angry with them, but after Jasper explained what had truly happened, I forgave them almost instantly. They are a loyal family, which is one of the things I love so much about them. That reminded me… Edward.

Surprisingly, my nervousness was never focused on seeing Edward. Of course, I knew that it might be stressful, but I hadn't honestly thought about what it would be like to see him again. I looked up from our reunion to see Rosalie standing near the porch with two other beautiful blonde vampires, looking completely passive about the whole situation, but Edward was nowhere to be seen. And, I noticed, neither was Alice.

I made eye contact with Jasper, noticing how he almost glowed even though the sun was settled deep behind the clouds. I moved toward him, slipping my hand into his as the Cullens continued to take in every word he said with such an interest you'd think he had just announced a trip to Jupiter.

A woman with deep brown hair and a bright smile approached our group, giving Jasper a hug. "I'm so happy you're here, Jasper." She touched his cheek, and I could tell by her motherly actions that it had to be Carmen. "Please, come introduce your mate to the rest of the group."

We all followed her toward the group, Jasper and I at the front. Heads turned our way expectantly, and Jas gave a little laugh as he took the spotlight.

"I am Jasper, for those of you who don't know, and this is my wife," he smiled and squeezed my hand, "Bella Whitlock."

I have been Isabella Marie Swan Whitlock for half of a century, but hearing Jasper introduce me as such to his closest friends and family sent butterflies off in my stomach that I didn't even know I could still feel. I felt a wave of love pass over me as my mate felt my pride and happiness about simply having his last name. Our little bubble popped as a male vampire began to turn the group's attention back to training.

"Where are Edward and Alice?" Jasper finally asked the question that I had been building up the courage to ask myself.

Esme looked at Carlisle, a silent conversation happening between the two, "Alice and Peter left a few days ago to gather some more allies. Edward is here, somewhere." Esme nodded her head toward the house.

I leaned up to kiss Jasper's cheek as I turned toward the door of the Denali home. I looked over my shoulder to make eye contact with my husband one more time, a silent encouragement, and barely caught Rosalie pulling away from his embrace. I was relieved that she wasn't angry with him, knowing that they had been close when he was still with the family.

I dragged my hand up the railing as I made my way up the stairs at a human pace. I knew that delaying this meeting would not make it any better, but I slowed down every movement all the same. I followed Edward's sweet scent to the last room on the third floor. I was fully aware that he had to know it was me outside the door, yet I still knocked lightly. "Edward?"

"Yes, Bella?"