A/N: We own nothing but the plot. Reviews appreciated. Happy reading.

~o0o~
~ Bella's Point of View ~
~ By ncbexie25 ~

The thirty-six hours before the preparation of the battle site ritual was spent tying up loose ends. After training the rest of the day before away, and then sleeping, they woke for another full day of training.

For the most part, the training had intensified as plans had been made for them to camp at the site until the battle just to make sure that the preparations held up.

More focus was put on training each person for their individual talents. Bella focused on controlling her shields to block the enemy but protect her allies at the same time as separating the shields to protect each individual. Of course, this extra control would work more for Peter's favor since she would only be using her shield on herself and him, but in being able to separate her shields to cover only each person individually she and Peter could split up and work more effectively.

Peter worked on his fire-wielding, but they found he could project fire only from his hands while projecting energy from all over his body. This energy he then used to shock and throw enemy off him, weakening them quickly and working greatly to his advantage.

The warlocks and witches worked on their spell-casting skills, most particularly in the area of protecting their allies by attacking the enemy for them at times. It would rest on their shoulders to protect the rest of the chosen allies as Bella's shield was only for herself and her mate, Peter. They were also practicing—Bella and Peter included—the spells they would need to perform on the battle site.

It turned out that Angela and Ben were most prepared for the situation. They had the candles ready and had already looked in the Book of Shadows the Observer had sent to Bella and Peter for the prayers they would need to speak together. This would be a ritual only for the warlocks and witches. Alice, Emmett, and Rosalie weren't telling anyone what they were going to do, and Jessica and Lauren hadn't volunteered anything of their own.

Peter's knowledge and experience with meditation also proved most useful. Many of the warlocks and witches, including Bella, had trouble with it or had little experience. He coached them in half-hour sessions in the morning and at night until they were all able to meditate as one entity for several minutes.

But there was a shadow forming over Bella, and it was becoming increasingly obvious. Ever since the letter from the Observer that Emmett and Rosalie had delivered, she had been on her best guard so that she could fulfill her role as Peter's mate and protector. At all times, she observed their surroundings, her instincts ready for her shield's activation at a second's notice. She had taken to shield them when they were asleep as well, an experiment she had taken up one night when she had laid away as Peter held her in his arms, fast asleep. She had been restless but trying not to move in Peter's arms, even as her instincts reacted like a live wire to the complete and utter vulnerability that she could see her mate was in due to his state of unconsciousness. It was only when she realized that she was on her way to a panic attack that she relented and activated her shields.

It had been for the best, as she had calmed almost immediately, and only minutes later, with a smile on her face, she was asleep. Peter had woken her the next morning because she still had them encased in her shields and he needed to get up for the toilet. She'd laughed, delighted that it had worked, that she could truly protect him even through sleep, and had immediately let up.

Of course, that glee vanished when they had vacated the house and once again stepped out into open ground. Anything could hide in the thick clumps of bush and tree, waiting to attack and kill her mate. It was driving her lioness insane, the animal within her clawing for freedom, for control, to eliminate the possibility in the one way she understood: violence.

But at the same time, the lioness was scared and needed reassurance. She had noticed that ever since Bella had broached the subject of Peter's fire perhaps being a way for him to mark her—a thought she had purred at in rampant satisfaction—there was a certain degree of constraint in her own mate, that he was not allowing himself to be completely free with her. He had started taking more stock of his emotions, and indeed so when they were intimate. It hurt, and at the same time, worried the lioness. She could understand why her mate would not mark her, even though Bella could.

Bella sighed and shook her head, rolling her shoulders and wincing at the kink in her neck. With her head cocked toward the trees, she noticed a fast-travelling sound that was getting louder and louder coming towards their home. Thinking it a plane or helicopter, she looked up in the sky with a smile on her face and looked for it. But that smile turned into a frown and a gasp as she saw a dark flying object flying straight down at rapid speed.

With a purely femininely animalistic growl, she unleashed her shield, stretching them like a dome over the lands she knew her Peter and the rest of their followers to be in. She was half-crouched, staring up at the object with rapid concentration, trying to determine if it was indeed something threatening. It would be clever for the underworld God Osiris to attack in the one way they never would have suspected—overhead.

She held her shield tight at the object got closer, only releasing her tense pose—though she could feel eyes on her, and indeed Peter's body heat just centimeters away, behind her—when the object seemed to fizzle from the contact with her shield. She sighed, but was still tensed as she stood straight from her crouch, and she spun into Peter's arms.

The palms of her hands and the tips of her fingers glided over every inch of his gorgeous skin, feeling for any injuries though she knew that she had protected him well. With a smirk on her face, she purred as she rubbed her cheek against his chest, up his neck and against his own cheek. Peter was gripping her tight to him, feeling her frenzy and knowing he needed to help her through it, reassure her, even as he was at a loss as to exactly how to go about it.

Bella launched herself into his arms, gripping him tighter than she ever had. She was shaking, tears welling in her eyes as she thought of what could have happened had she not looked into the sky to see the presumed 'plane' fly overhead. She trembled harder at the thought.

"Inside. Now," she gasped into Peter's ear. She couldn't help herself. One way or another, she would have him now. She had to know he was okay, that he was perfectly fine.

Wordlessly, Peter grabbed her up in his arms and took her inside. They barely made it to the bedroom, Bella latching her arms and legs around him, pressing sweet but insistent kisses to every inch of his skin, leaving wet trails of her salty tears behind. She had come so close today. It was always so close. Why could she never protect him to the best of her ability?

She swore to herself then and there that she'd keep him wrapped in her shields whether he liked it or not until this whole fuckery was over. Osiris, hell, no-fucking-body would touch what was hers but her.

She'd unleash her beast on them if they dared to try. The thought alone caused a growl to rip from her throat, and before conscious thought could halt her, she'd ripped Peter's shirt off his body and buried her face in his neck, breathing in his scent over and over to reassure herself that he was here and he was perfectly fine.

"Bella," came the whisper from his lips. She swallowed but didn't respond, too overwhelmed by her emotions and the fact that her mate had come close to being quite possibly very seriously hurt. "Baby, I'm right here. And I'm perfectly fine." His arms closed in on her and he took her over to the bed, laying her down and climbing on top of her as she reached for him, whimpering with the need for him closer.

He undressed them as best he could with Bella clinging to him. She was shaking in his arms now, and when he withdrew and look into her eyes, he saw the unshed tears swimming in her beautiful brown eyes.

"If I hadn't heard it…" she whispered thickly, her hands coming up to his face, her eyes searching his. "Oh, god, Peter…"

He hushed her, kissing away her tears as she wrapped her arms around him once more. He flipped over, and rested her on his chest, holding her close. "It's okay…"

"It's not," she whispered, lifting her head from his chest, resting her chin down on it instead and looking into his eyes, pain within them. "Peter I nearly killed our chances of fulfilling this prophecy… you nearly died, I—"

He cut her off. "It's not your fault, Bella. Hell, I didn't even know until you reacted to it. No one did." He sat up, gripping her chin and staring deeply into her eyes as he told her, "Bella, you saved me, you protected me. You did what you were supposed to do. It doesn't matter how close it came, which really wasn't even that close. We never would have expected an attack of that kind."

She sighed and shook her head stubbornly out of his hold, not answering him. He sighed as well, knowing that she still blamed herself and probably would for a little longer. But he could feel her need for him—the same as how he felt. The need for reassurance of wellbeing, to know that the other is okay, that they as a couple would be okay.

"Peter," she whispered, clenching her legs around his waist. He settled his hands on her lower back, his forehead against hers. Wordlessly, he answered her call, lifting her just a little and slipping into her. Bella barely held in the whimper of relief, and Peter closed his eyes, swallowing hard at the feel of her around him.

Their movements were slow, their caresses sweet and brushing, meant to reassure and explore. Bella's face stayed burrowed against his neck the entire time, and as they came together, he could feel her tears against his neck, sliding down his chest. He clenched his eyes closed, swallowing against the lump in his throat, holding her tighter to him as he breathed in her scent as she did him.

Sometime later, and Peter and Bella were on the bed, the sheet hanging at their waists. Bella was on her back, looking up at Bella as he silently looked back from his position on her right, propped on his left elbow. His right hand was free to explore, to trace, to feel and he did so, relishing in the sweet sighs that fell from his Bella's lips as he traced invisible patterns on her skin, the same heart and ankh combination over and over.

The positioning of her neck saw the whole right side of her neck exposed to him, and his fingers itched to touch her there, to suckle on and explore that bit of skin behind her ear. He'd heard it was sensitive—okay, so Emmett had been nagging him and giving him 'tips'—and he wanted to see if it really was. He eyed that patch of beautifully creamy and tempting skin, seeing the same pattern he'd etched on her skin a thousand times since he'd first been with her, only this time he imagined it glowing that lovely color of their marks.

Unable to resist, he reached out and traced the symbol onto her skin, right from behind her ear to the base of her neck. His eyes were connected to hers, so he had no idea of the sweet fire that seeped from his fingers and onto her skin, marking her as his forever. She gasped at the heat of his touch, stronger than ever before, but it wasn't burning. It was a sweet fire, a good fire, a fire of promises and love and forever. Her hand flew to her neck, encountering his still lingering fingertips on her skin as he leaned down to kiss her. But as she felt the familiar texture of the marks on her wrist and chest now on her neck, she gasped his name and got out from under him and onto the bed.

She heard him behind her, still on the bed, calling her name, asking if something was wrong. But she couldn't answer as her eyes narrowed in on the now glowing mark on her neck, a mark made her mate to claim her. The beast inside her purred and even externally, she felt the tears well in her eyes, the tightening of her throat, the hitch of her breath. He had marked her. He had claimed her as his, just as she had done previously. She felt the craze of her need to claim him settle within this knowledge, her beast content and almost sleepy with the satisfaction and calm that was washing over her in waves.

She felt him come up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder as he looked to connect his eyes with hers. She smiled at him, tears still in her eyes, and settled back into his arms, her own dropping to meet his. But by then his eyes had already fallen on his mark on her skin and he froze.

"Bella?" he whispered, eyes frozen on the mark that he had drawn onto her skin, forever etched as a sign of his devotion, his love, and yes, indeed, his ownership of her heart and soul. Instead of the horror, the worry, the remorse, he had expected to feel, he felt nothing but positive emotions: happy, calm, sated. He had marked her with his fire, but it hadn't hurt her, hadn't maimed her, nor even killed her. She had been right. But then again, that shouldn't be a surprise to him still; about most things Bella was right.

He had now marked her in the same way she had, and both bodies held that symbolism of love, devotion, and ownership of heart and soul.

As they would forever.

This time, when they made love before they would have to face the others again, it was slow, soft, and sweet. There was no need for marking, no need for restraint. They fell into one another completely and unapologetically, joined forever as one soul, one heart in two bodies.

A little later, they heard their names being called and grudgingly got up and redressed, pulling themselves away from one another. Despite their obvious annoyance and reluctance, the entire gathering could tell that something had changed between them, something profound. There was now no tension in either of them, and they were closer than ever before, orbiting like magnets, like one entity.

"What's this?" Bella asked Alice as she reached them.

Jasper stepped forward to answer. "There is some noise disturbance up ahead about a mile or so. Carlisle has gone to investigate."

"If one more supernatural turns up outta the blue and declares their servitude, I think I'm gonna scream. This place is too fuckin' crowded as it is," Peter groaned, resting his chin on Bella's shoulder. He glared over at Jasper, only half meaning the anger in his gaze. "He dragged us out of bed for a 'noise disturbance'?"

A rustling of leaves ahead brought the conversational murmurs to a stop, especially when Carlisle revealed himself with seven tall, Native American women in simple sun dresses with no shoes on.

Their eyes moved over each and every person in the gathering, but it was only when they landed on Bella that they stopped. All at the same time, they came to stop before her, and seemingly ignoring Peter, they let out growls from between clenched teeth and revealed their marks of the Phoenix.

"Who are you?" Bella asked softly, smiling down at each of them. She felt a strange affinity with each and every one of them; something she recognized in the very fabric of her being. Her lioness's interest was piqued.

The tallest spoke, "We are the pack of Navajo reservation. We have been marked with the sign of the Phoenix, and have dreamed of you, our Goddess Ra and Alpha, our entire lives. Our loyalty lies with you and your mate in pursuit to save our world from the darkness of Osiris. We ourselves also shift into the form of the lioness, and are designed to protect you and yours so that you may achieve your prophecy. We are here to answer the call of your own lioness in search for the pack that she commands. That is us.

"My name is Leah. I have been the acting Alpha for this pack until we were to meet you, our true leader. These behind me are Emily," she gestured to the girl to her right, and turned to do the same for each girl's name she called, "Rachel, Rebecca, Claire, Sue, and Sarah."

Bella smiled and kneeled before them. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I thank you for your servitude and may I say that it is an honor to have you ladies in my pack." She stood and deftly elbowed Peter in the ribs when he grumbled under his breath about having more people around. He'd be able to accommodate.

"We are the children of the Phoenix, Goddess Ra. We receive our strength through the sun and yourself, just as the Children of the Moon receive theirs through the Moon and Osiris."

"What's this about Children of the Moon?" Peter asked, piping right up at the mention of Osiris. He had wondered if the other side would have strange supernatural creatures just as they did. He'd heard whispers of Children of the Moon during his time in that slate cell but he didn't know what they were—he knew nothing about them other than their name and the sound of their growl bursting through their lips.

Leah regarded him for a moment then spoke after a prompting nod from Bella. "They are a pack of werewolves that are controlled by the moon cycle. Every full moon, they shift, and they hunt in a particularly blood thirsty manner. Their main mission is to bring a glimpse of the sort of destruction that Osiris would cause to our earthly plains were he ever to be able to fully enter them. Something he could only do if he defeated you, my Lord and Alpha.

"If Osiris is to use them, as I would believe he is, then he would need to fight on a full moon as that is the only time that the Children of the Moon change."

"In a fight, you would oppose them?" Bella asked the girl. "You seem to be the opposites of one another, true enemies as Peter and I are with Osiris."

"It is true, my Lady, our main purpose is to handle the canine minions. But we are fundamentally different from them; we are not weres, we are lionesses, shapeshifters whose chosen form is the lioness. And we can change at will."

At that, Leah looked to her other companions and as a group, they began to tremble. Bella stood silent, holding her breath as she watched her pack transform from their lithe human bodies into equally as lithe and stunning lionesses. Each stood at around the same height that Bella imagined a normal lioness would, but the knowledge in their eyes held true to the fact that they were not merely animal, but human as well.

Bella herself, taking in the lionesses before her, began to tremble and she stepped away from Peter as it began to overtake her body. She gasped at the shocking pain that took over her body and when she reopened her eyes, she was staring down at the closer earth and stood on all fours, her paws in front of her and digging confidently into the soil beneath them.

She looked up at the lionesses in front of her, and with an animalistic grin, she threw her head back and roared. The answer call from each of her pack mates made her chest puff, and when she looked at Peter and saw the awe in his eyes, she purred and slunk over to him. As he kneeled in front of her, taking in the sight of her in front of him in the form she would protect him in, they felt the charge of their connection and his hand came up to rest on his lioness's face. She purred and leaned into his touch, before turning and slinking back toward her back. There, she was engulfed in a sea of others as they scented her and she them, before each shifted back at the same time. The bond as a pack was complete, and as a pack they were now ready for battle.

Jasper was the first to break the silence, and from his stance and the quiet but commanding tone of his voice, everyone knew he was in his element, already planning. "If we know when the next full moon is as soon as possible, we can start planning. We should find out immediately."

Bella sighed. "How? The internet is shoddy at best out here. Most days it doesn't even work."

"If someone were to run into the closest town, we'd get our answer right quick," Peter said, eyeing both Carlisle and the pack. "It shouldn't be that much of a run, surely."

Carlisle nodded. "I will go."

"No one is allowed to leave without at least one other person with them. It's too risky. From what happened earlier with the airborne weapon, we need to be on guard. Carlisle, I know you're a vampire and a warlock, but I'm still not comfortable with you going alone, and I know that Esme isn't either."

That caused Carlisle to look over at his mate, who was indeed obviously shaken at the possibility. He took her into his arms, kissed her forehead, and nodded. "Perhaps one of the pack?"

"Two," Esme interjected firmly, her Irish accent thick. "You're not going with only one other person; I don't care how impenetrable you are."

He nodded, and smiled down at her. "If it comforts you, then of course." He nodded toward Bella, who turned to the pack.

Leah and Sarah stepped forward. It was obvious they were the oldest of the pack, and from their size, they were strongest. They exchanged a glance. "We will go."

"All right then, that's settled," Peter said with a large smirk, smacking his hands together and rubbing them.

"If you will allow me the time to spell protection against the sunlight, I would appreciate it," Carlisle said. "The last thing I need is to sparkle like diamonds walking through the town for everyone to see. The risk of exposure is the last thing we need at this moment."

"Aww, I dunno, Carlisle," Peter said cheekily, "you're pretty enough to pull it off. And it'll bring those girls running to ya!"

Esme huffed at him, eyes narrowed, and then she turned to Carlisle. "I'll come with you back to the house to get ready."

Carlisle glared over her head at Peter. "Thanks," he mouthed, and then the two disappeared, Carlisle having picked his mate up to run back. Leah and Sarah followed after them.

"This seems awfully dangerous, are you sure it's that necessary?" Edward asked, looking nervously after his sister. "I don't want her hurt if something happens to Carlisle when we're going to be notified by the Observer of the date soon enough." He looked over at his parents, who were obviously feeling the same way, but had not wanted to bring it up.

Charlotte smiled at him and took his hand. "It really is. I know my brother. He's had a lot of experience in this area, and if we know all we can know sooner rather than later, it'll help us. And don't you worry about Carlisle. He's probably the strongest of us outside of the God and Goddess, considering he's a warlock and a vampire. He's practically impenetrable, and his enhanced senses would tell him if danger was coming, as it would especially with Leah and Sarah."

Edward looked at her and after a moment, he nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Charlotte."

She smiled and nodded, squeezing his hand. They pair looked over at Edward's parents, and they, too, nodded at Charlotte in thanks.

"In the meantime, I think we should continue to train," Jasper said strongly, causing most to groan.

Soon, Esme returned, and immediately, they set to work. The lionesses were eager, shifting into their animal forms to practice amongst themselves. They'd had a little experience with the Children of the Moon, whom they would be focusing on in the battle. This time, Bella followed, and they helped her learn the best ways to fight in her form. It turned out, though hardly surprising as it was, that she was a natural, her own lioness guiding her through it from the wisdom of past lives.

Sometime later, they heard the approach of three from the direction that Carlisle and the two lionesses had left. Esme threw herself into his arms, immensely relieved, and began to check him for injuries, fussing over him even as he tried to calm her. The reunion between Leah, Sarah, and the pack was far more sedate, with relieved smiles and nods, and a hug for each with Bella. Peter hugged her closer, squeezing his arm around her tighter, staying quiet as he leaned his chin on her shoulder, taking in his surroundings.

"The next full moon is in two days," Carlisle informed them. There was a collective intake of breath.

"So soon…" Bella murmured, biting her lip, unsure how to feel. On one hand, she was glad that all of it was nearly over, that they would finally be able to fulfill the prophecy—hopefully—and that Peter would get his closure from killing Osiris. Not that she didn't plan to help, oh, boy, did she. She wasn't letting him go into that alone, no way. And she definitely would be taking a swipe at him of her own for hurting her mate for as long as he had.

But at the same time, there was the possibility that in just less than seventy-two hours, she, Peter, and the people around her could be dead. It might be one or two, or hell, all of them. The weight on her shoulders doubled as she realized that it was all on her. As the Observer said, only she and Peter could do this, could defeat Osiris. But Bella had to protect Peter.

She took a deep breath, turning in Peter's arms to embrace him fully. She buried her face in his chest, taking a deep, long pull of his scent a few times before relaxing. Tears welled in her eyes, but she blinked them back as determination rose within her. She would not let anyone take from her or any one of their friends—as that was what they had become—the future that they deserved. Seeing the blossoming friendships and indeed relationships, it pained her just the thought of seeing that cut short. So she vowed that she would do everything she could.

And looking up into Peter's eyes, her resolve strengthened even more as he kissed her.

Tonight, they would complete the preparatory cleansing ritual, and then at the rise of the full moon in two nights time, they would battle.

Time moved quickly after they found out what little time they had. Before long, darkness had descended and it was time to complete the preparatory ritual on the battle site. The warlocks and witches with the most knowledge—namely Angela and Ben, whom they had all put unofficially in charge of any rituals that would involve magic—had packed everything needed, and Bella protected their grounds by leaving an impenetrable dome-like shield much like the one she had placed over the area that same morning when she'd thought them, quite rightly, in danger. With the shield blocking mental and physical attacks to their home, there was no way they'd come back to a place anywhere other than safe.

Gathering with everyone else, Bella stood next to Peter as they all joined hands. Before Alice could work her fairy magic and pop them to their destination, Leah spoke up, eyes on the pack's lioness Alpha.

"We would like to request that after your rituals, we are allowed to perform one of our own," she said quietly. "It, too, wards off evil spirits, and is relatively uncomplicated. We have all that we need so that we may go ahead, but we need your permission, Alpha."

Bella looked at each of her lionesses. "Of course you can. Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett are doing their own ritual, so there's no reason why you can't as well."

Leah smiled and nodded gratefully, and they all turned their attention to Alice. She smiled that elfin grin of hers, and her chiming voice told them to "hold on" before there was a rush of air.

When they opened their eyes, they were standing in the middle of the crater, which expanded more than two miles around them. It was an incredible experience.

For several minutes, the group simply took in the majestic surroundings. Bella was recalling the first time she had visited the site, and felt ashamed at finding the outing boring. It sure took her breath away now.

Silently, they all came back to focus and turned in on the circle once more. Quiet murmured words from Angela and Ben told the pack, the leprechaun family, and the three fairies in their midst that they would need the entire site to themselves, and as such, Alice popped them all out to stand on the raised land two miles out. They would know when the time came to rejoin them before instigating their own ritual.

In silence, the magic beings sat in their adopted meditation poses, and closing their eyes, they meditated for several minutes. They would know when it was time to move into the next phase of the ritual, and shortly after, they did.

They had all memorized the words of their protection prayer, and silently, holding hands, they spoke it, requesting that the evil spirits and negative energy stay away, inviting positivity and light.

They then meditated for a shorter period of time, focused on the task to come.

One by one, they each came out of the meditation, and one by one, they stood and received the two candles they would take for the ritual. The God and Goddess were the last to rise and receive. They each lit the candles, and slowly they walked to their own destinations, each taking the candles to their designated area, setting them down in their numerical placement. The candles all formed to take on the shape of the pentagram, with the magic ones standing in the middle to perform the last part of their ritual.

From there, the group gathered again in the center to join hands. As one, their mouths opened and out from their mouths came the words of the ancient cleansing prayers. When the ritual was finished, no one wished to break the incredible sense of oneness and therefore no one spoke.

They were quiet then, and sometime later, they were joined by the pack. The others all watched on reverently and paid their respects in their silence, as Leah spoke.

"The burning of a sage stick brings protection and wards off evil spirits. I will light the sage in the middle of this pentagram, and we will burn the stick for thirty seconds before blowing it out so it produces the smoke we need."

Bella held her silence. Her eyes remained on Leah as she brought out the materials she needed for the fire, and reverently lit the sage. The fire burned brightly and they all watched as the sage caught fire before Leah put it out, smoke coming from it. "First, we must purify every participant. You must rub the smoke that is produced against your body. Cup your hands to catch the smoke, then pass it over yourself, or rub it against your skin. Please start with the head and heart then move down your body. After that, we will walk around the area."

Each participant underwent what Leah had described, being fanned by the turkey feather. Bella found the smoke overwhelming, not having ever done so before, but she managed to quell her reaction some.

For the next time, each pack member walked the perimeter of the battle site quietly. They used their hands to push the smoke to every part of the outer ring, pushing away the negative energies, walking in a single line.

They all came to the center of the pentagram once they were done, and they watched the ashes cool. Once it was done, however, the ashes rose from the thick smoke into the form of a dove. There were murmurs of confusion as this was obviously not meant to happen, but the dove made for Bella and as soon as it touched her hand, it changed its form again into that of a letter.

She looked to Peter, who came forward now the ceremony was finished, and over her shoulder, he read the letter they received from the Observer.

Dear ones,

I congratulate you on finishing your rituals, and thank you for doing them in the correct order. I struggled to find a way to get this to you since the last one was nearly seized by the enemy, and so thought this may be a safer alternative.

I am to inform you that in two nights' time, at the rise of the full moon, you will battle for the fulfillment of the prophecy, and the greater good of the world. Should you fail, the world in all its plains will fall into darkness, and you shall be separated from one another for all eternity.

Blessed be,

Your Observer.

"But we haven't finished all the rituals yet," Peter said, looking toward the fairies. They smiled.

"We flew overhead and bestowed our own ritual after the magic ones did and before the pack. Not to worry," Rosalie said in her cute bell voice, smiling at them from her place wrapped in Emmett's thick arms. Alice, beside them, nodded in confirmation.

Bella sighed. "All right then. Well, I suppose there is nothing else to do here, so why don't we pack up and head back. Before we leave, I'd live to place a protective dome over the area so Osiris or any of his minions can't tamper with what we've done. I'll not have our ceremonies be for naught."

Soon enough, they were back home, and Bella kept the shield up. She had decided that until they were finished saving the world, she'd keep it up just so there was as little stress as there could be before the battle. They hardly needed any negative or nervous energy at the moment.

The group had chosen to eat outside over a bonfire, and so the night was spent with all but Peter speaking, laughing, and even dancing. Bella continuously looked back at her soul mate, a worried frown on her face, as she took in his sudden quiet and almost morose attitude. She said joke after joke, and left many a sentence unfinished for him to pick up on with one of his witticisms, but alas there was no reaction. Not even a smile.

She noticed his haunted eyes following her every move, and occasionally those of their allies. Every time she was within reach, he pulled her into his arms, holding her tight, squeezing her to him as if he was waiting for something or someone to snatch her away.

There was hardly a peep from him all night, and this continued as they lay in bed, naked together, having made soft and tender love, falling asleep in one another's arms. Those three precious words of love were the last she heard before she slipped into sleep.