Bella.

Edward and I had spent the remainder of the evening in our room, never moving from the comfortable embrace of each other's arms. Through the window, we stared in blissful silence as the sun dipped low in the sky, and the darkness enveloped us as neither one of us flipped the lamp on. We spent those long hours without light, but I didn't mind. And when the sun rose over the rocking tips of the trees beside the house, Edward welcomed the new day by pressing a long kiss to my throat.

But unfortunately, we couldn't stay like this forever, despite how badly I wanted to. I could hear Carmen and Esme downstairs from where we sat, discussing Tanya. Apparently, she was stopping by to announce her decision of whether she'd fight alongside with us or not. I wanted to my roll my eyes at the very thought. It would be fairly simple to just tell us her answer over the telephone. We didn't need to make a production of it.

Edward sensed my annoyance, and chuckled. He nodded in a silent agreement.

"I'm just grateful she's even considering it."

I sighed, dropping my pride and smiling in defeat. I had expected a war to come from Tanya, but not Kate. And I had expected the war to be fueled by some kind of jealous rage, either Tanya's, or my own- but not this. I couldn't even fathom how my own mouth, which was usually very polite and weary, had created all of this animosity and hatred. I had cost us two fighters, which might end up costing me two family members, if not my own life. But I had also cost myself two potential friends. The Denali's and Cullen's were close, but how close would they remain now? I knew Edward well enough to know that he wasn't going to speak to Kate or Irina unless the wedge between us was gone. But I didn't know how I was going to destroy that wedge if Kate wouldn't let me speak to her.

Maybe I could write a letter. I could explain my side of the story, and enclose my deepest apologies. I could probably have it written and send it back with Tanya. If Kate was as wonderful as the Cullen's had ranted about, then hopefully she'd accept the letter and accept my apology. I smiled to myself, proud that I was making an effort. Wriggling out of Edward's arms without an explanation, I fumbled around in some of his cabinets, unsuccessfully finding a scrap piece of paper. I frowned.

"What are you looking for, Bella?"

"A piece of paper. I'm going to write Kate a letter of apology, and hopefully she'll forgive me," I explained, still searching random nooks and crannies. I watched Edward from the corner of my eye, probably by the fact that I was writing a letter of apology when he believed I was at fault for nothing. But he knew me well- and held his tongue, nodding silently. I smiled.

"I'm going to grab a piece from Carlisle's study," I suggested, and moved towards the door, opening it quickly. I jumped, startled in surprise as Alice stood on the other side, smiling softly. She shook her head, before sighing and leaning against the doorframe.

"She won't even open it. She'll rip it to shreds the second Tanya hands it to her."

My spirits fell, along with my face. Alice nodded, grimacing apologetically. I groaned in frustration, and threw my hands back. I knew that what I said might've been extremely offensive, but it'd be mature to listen to what I have to say before she completely pegs me for a horrible person.

I opened my mouth to recite my current aggravations, but Edward rose from the bed, placing a hand on my lower back. I looked up in confusion, and he smiled down at me.

"Tanya has arrived. Carlisle wants us to gather downstairs to meet with her," he explained, and I groaned once again. Both Edward and Alice laughed at my expense, and I grumbled as I followed them both down the long staircase. As I expected, the stunningly blonde vampire was here, perched on an armchair with her legs crossed and her lips pursed. I didn't greet her as I took my seat next to Edward on the couch, Emmett on my other side.

"Good morning everyone, good morning Bella," she announced, and I winced. Why was I acknowledged separately? My eyebrows burrowed in anger, my annoyance for the blonde vampire rising. Okay, maybe I didn't hate Tanya, but the way she treated me lately was getting on my last nerve. Edward stiffened next to me, before dropping one arm around my shoulder and throwing a sided glare at Tanya.

"I'm going to get straight to the point. I've thought about it, and going against Kate and Irina's wishes, I have decided to fight with you and the wolves," she announced proudly, raising her chin defiantly. I felt a bubble of excitement and admiration grow within me, and I had to resist the urge to lunge from the couch and hug my once almost enemy. I grinned, watching as Carmen jumped from the chair and wrapped her tiny arms around Tanya's neck in a grateful hug.

"We cannot thank you enough, Tanya," Carlisle beamed. I nodded furiously, my grin never falling as she whipped her head to look at me. Suddenly, her face grew cold and she shook her head. My dead heart fell to my chest again at the sight of her angry face. I tried to reverse my words, trying to find the culprit of her sudden bitterness, but I hadn't spoken since I was upstairs.

"My decision to fight has nothing to do with you. I am fighting for the Cullen's, because they are my family. I am not fighting for you."

Ouch.

I was still wincing as I lowered myself further into Edward, who was shaking with anger. I opened my mouth, ready to recite my new meaningless apology, three voices cut me off at the same time.

"Stop being such a bitch!"

"She is a part of this family!"

"You will not speak to Bella that way!"

A human would've missed all three voices, and all three shouts of anger. But with my new improved hearing, it was if each one rang in my ear at different speeds, allowing me to hear each one crystal clear. I recognized Emmett's voice responsible for the first shout, Alice's tiny but shrill voice created the second, but I was mostly astonished to realize who the last voice belonged to.

Carlisle was on two feet now, Esme at his side, whispering words of comfort to him. I lowered my face into my palms, feeling the humiliation as it crept up on me yet again. I had never seen Carlisle like this before. He was Carlisle. He was gentle, and kind, and unbelievably level-headed. He was nothing like the onyx eyed, golden haired, chest heaving man who stood before me.

Nobody spoke. Carlisle's outburst had all of us stunned to silence. If I could cry, the tears of embarrassment would've flooded the house. Edward's grip had gotten tighter, and if I were still human, all of the bones that structured my arms would've been crushed by now. I had to say something. I had to apologize, explain, defend, something. I opened my mouth a few times, but never found decent enough words to actually speak. I closed my eyes after a few moments, and let whatever popped into my head to pop out of my mouth.

"I'm sorry," I began, my voice resembling a desperate whisper. I took a breath to continue, but my plea of desperation had only contributed to Carlisle's sudden anger. I gulped as he shook his head, throwing a disgusted look at Tanya.

"Bella, I don't want to hear you apologizing. She has absolutely no right speaking to you with such hostility. You are a bigger part of this family than she is," he bellowed, before rushing up to me. I cowered, but didn't move back. Despite what it looked like, Carlisle would never hurt me. I knew this, and even if something possessed him to actually do so, Edward would see it coming.

He yanked my left hand towards him harshly, but I felt no pain. Grasping my fingers, he held them out to display for the rest of the vampires in the room. I heard Esme gasp excitedly from behind us, Rose and Alice were giggling, and Carmen was cooing gently at the sight of the magnificent ring that Edward had blessed my finger with last night.

"Bella and Edward are going to be married," he announced, and I was grateful to hear that his voice had lowered several octaves, and his calmness was slowly but surely returning. "If you consider us to be family, you will also consider her to be family as well. If not, I would much rather you didn't participate in the fight," he suggested, before lowering himself back down onto the chair. I bit back the urge to flee from the room, and stayed completely still.

My eyes were focused on the ground, and I didn't dare look up to see what kind of rage was filling Tanya's flawless face. But then I heard her sigh. It wasn't an angry sigh, or a frustrated sigh. It was just one that made my head snap up without further hesitation. She wasn't fuming. Her face wasn't contorted into different types of anger. She wasn't heaving with rage, or trying to keep herself calm. She was calm, and she wasn't angry.

I officially had no idea what was going on.

"Bella," she called out gently. I locked onto her gaze, and for once, I didn't feel intimidated. "I- I apologize for my behavior. I'm acting very childish, and it's very inappropriate. I will understand if you choose not to speak with me anymore," she apologized. Her voice hinted that she wasn't finished, but she stopped regardless. I sighed, trying to conjure up a coherent sentence.

"I just .. you, Kate and Irina are really special to my family, and I want the same chance to know you like that as well," I mumbled pathetically. Somebody's hand crept around my shoulder, but I couldn't tell who it belonged to. Tanya surprised me by smiling, and I almost had to take a few steps back.

"We have an eternity for that," she responded, and though I tried to fight it, I couldn't help the smile that tugged my lips upwards. I heard Alice giggling from my other side, and I quickly learned that it was her arm around my shoulder.

I could feel the tension lift dramatically. I nodded once, feeling a heavy weight roll off of my shoulders. I was vaguely aware of the chatter that began to stir around me, but I couldn't focus on any one conversation. Alice was at my side, tugging annoyingly on my arm, and I surrendered my attention to her.

"Let me see!" she exclaimed happily. I sighed as I extended my arm to her, and she grasped my fingers quickly. She let out another audible, high pitched squeal when the ring came into view, and suddenly, Esme, Carmen, Rose and Tanya were at my side, admiring it's beauty. Though this moment was completely cheesy, and girly, I couldn't erase the stupid grin that took over my face.

Edward.

Today had been a day of ups and downs. I had been on the edge of taking a snap at Tanya earlier today. I had a good look into her mind as we stepped into her room, and I immediately suspected the trouble. I could hear the words that she had shared with Kate before she came here. Kate was encouraging the hatred for Bella. She was filling Tanya's head with ideas that Bella would ruin the Cullen family, and split everybody apart.

If Kate's words weren't enough, Tanya actually listened.

And it wasn't until Carlisle yelled at her- which was a very rare experience- that she let go of those crazy notions. I had spent my entire existence, never showing a preference for any female that I crossed paths with, and that was always a mystery to the Denali's. Tanya didn't believe my relationship with Bella was strong enough for marriage, but the second she saw the ring, every single one of those beliefs and thoughts disappeared.

I was extremely relieved that the tension had been broken. Sure, Tanya and Bella were still cautious of each other, but Tanya following behind us as we ran quickly to the clearing for our meeting with the wolves was proof that she actually was sorry.

We arrived to the clearing ten minutes prior to our scheduled gathering. We all sat soundlessly on the ground, awaiting the arrival of our four legged allies. Bella sat beside me, her head resting softly into the curve of my forearm. Her eyes were trained on the sky, and I watched as her gaze moved furiously through the stars. I chuckled, and she craned her neck to look up at me.

"Hard to keep count?" I asked sarcastically. She rolled her eyes, but lowered her head. It was a gesture I knew well, that was usually accompanied by her beautiful human blush.

"Oh, hush. I'm bored."

I chuckled again, and we sat in silence for a few more minutes, before I heard a howl rip through the forest. We all stood, waiting for them to charge through the forest. They weren't close enough for me to hear their thoughts, but we could all smell them coming as well.

It hurts .. so bad .. so much pain.

I frowned at the lone voice that stood out. I moved forward, but a figure emerged from the forest entrance. It was a small wolf with soft grey fur. I recognized her immediately as Leah Clearwater, the older sister of Seth. She was limping, and her whine was loud and agonized. I gasped loudly.

Help.. the others.. help me... please.

And then to my horror, she collapsed.

Uh oh! What on earth is going on? I tried to clear some of the negative feelings toward Bella and Tanya, but to do so, I had to create more. But I think I did okay. Oh, and please don't PM me to let me know how Bella would really react to things. I got so many last chapter. I know how Bella reacted to the real proposal. I've read Eclipse about fifty times. But this is fanfiction- meaning that I, the fan, can write the fiction any way I choose. I'm not Stephenie Meyer, so of course this isn't going to be exactly the same. And if you paid attention, I mentioned that the reason Bella didn't overreact to the ring was because she was already a vampire. She didn't have to freak out because of what people would think of her- because she didn't have anybody but the Cullen's. There was nothing standing in her way, so that's why she didn't cause a huge uproar about it. She's mature and handling things nicely. Yeah. Haha. But anyway, I'm done with my rant. Let me know what you think of this chapter, please!