"It's not that funny." Emmett groans, his expression surly, as he dusts himself off and extracts a twig from his collar. I can't help it. I'm laughing so hard it's difficult to catch my breath. I collapse over into Jake's side, his eyes - even in wolf form - twinkling with mirth.

"It really is..." I gasp. "She...it was like...Rose threw you like a ragdoll."

It feels good to laugh after so long, even in the midst of all this preparation for the fight. And the look on Emmett's face as Rosalie flipped him and hurled him into a copse of trees was just too much. Tears slide down my face and even Rosalie starts to chuckle.

"I really did," she taunts with a grin, making a show of dusting her knuckles and examining her manicured nails.

Emmett growls and moves as if to lunge for a rematch, but Jasper steps between them. "Enough!" he chides, but he's winking at me. "We have more work to do."

It seems like we've done nothing but work. Or at least, the Cullens and the wolves have, training more or less nonstop as the hours bleed into days. I feel completely useless. Sitting out here in the forest, wrapped up in an absurd number of layers at Alice's insistence, and praying the people I care about will eventually be okay. I've lost track of time a little. It was Carlisle who called Charlie and asked if it would be okay for me to accompany Alice on one of the family's "camping trips". It seems the good doctor still has some sway with my dad.

With such a short amount of time until Alice believes the newborns will arrive, Carlisle has only been able to contact a small number of reinforcements. Garrett, a nomad, is the first to arrive. His long sandy hair is tied back and his bright red eyes take in the wolves with caution. However, it's not long until his adventurous streak appears to win out, and he takes to quizzing Sam every time he is in human form about the tribe and its history.

Carmen and Eleazar are the next to arrive, and bring the distressing news that the rest of the Denali coven will not be joining us. Carmen is apologetic, gripping Carlisle's hands in her own. "Irina is hurt, mi hermano. She loved Laurent more than any of us realized, and she cannot come here and be among those who killed him." Carlisle nods silently, but it is easy to see that the sisters' decision had wounded him deeply.

Eleazar, too, is fascinated by the wolves, but regards them far more warily than Garrett. He spends a long time having a heated conversation with Jasper in Spanish before he is willing to join the others in preparing for the fight.

"Eleazar is cautious because of his background," Esme explains, as she puts a plate of pasta in front of me that evening. "He was with the Volturi for a long time."

I suck in a sharp breath. "What?" I demand, struggling in my head to picture the beautiful dark-haired man outside wrapped in a long, ashy cloak.

Esme puts her cool hand on top of mine to comfort me. "Eleazar believes very strongly in the law. He felt he had an important part to play in upholding it. The Volturi are not, perhaps, the villains you think them to be. I know your time with them was very scary, Bella. But in our world, they command a great deal of respect. It is considered very...prestigious...to serve in the Guard."

I shake my head to clear the vision of Aro's chilling stare. Prestigious or not, they took Edward from me. I cannot think of them as benevolent rulers.

Peter and Charlotte arrive as night falls, each drawing Jasper into a tight embrace. This unexpected display of emotion makes a thick lump rise up in my throat. So many people I love, putting so much on the line. And despite their almost constant reassurance, it still feels like on some level this is my fault. If I'd never left Phoenix, never met any of them, would this confrontation still be inevitable?

The increased number of vampires makes the wolves extremely restless and uncomfortable. They will only phase into human form when absolutely necessary to communicate, and will not come anywhere near the house.

I tug a woolen hat down over my ears, pack some leftovers, and set out to find Jake. When he sees me trudging along the tree line he disappears briefly, returning human, barefoot and shirtless.

"It's so cold!" I protest, more uncomfortable at being in such close proximity to him with only his shorts on, than worried about his health. He runs a hand through his close-cropped hair with a small shrug. We sit together on the rough bark of a fallen log, looking back at the bright lights of the Cullen homestead through the trees. He devours the food I brought him in minutes.

"Five more?" he asks, and I know he is being diplomatic by refraining from calling them leeches. Or worse.

I nod. "Is it going to be a problem?"

He shrugs again. "We've never seen anything like this. The elders are worried that it might mean more of us will phase. Seth has, and he's so young." He reaches for my hand and I let him take it. I am wearing thick mittens, and the touch doesn't seem intimate, but my spine still stiffens a little. We haven't spoken about anything but the forthcoming battle since his declaration the other night. I'm grateful that he hasn't pressed me, but instead of being a source of comfort, being around him now makes me feel guilty. I haven't been honest with him, and I feel like I'm leading him on in some way.

"Jake, I..." I'm not sure what I want to say. That I care about him too, but not in the same way? That I need him to be safe, that I need this to be over. That I miss the time when it was just the two of us, the rain on the barn roof and the smell of brake fluid on his hands.

"Jake!" I'm interrupted by Jasper, calling as he strides across the lawn with Peter and Eleazar trailing behind him. "Can you ask the wolves if they are fed and rested? We need to start up again."

Jake nods, and gives my hand a squeeze. "Catch you later, Bells."

Before I can say anything further he has slipped away into the trees.

Esme brings me another scarf, and walks with me to the clearing where the others have been training. We sit together as Peter and Jasper run through more details about newborn fighting techniques and strategy. Despite my protests, I start to feel cold and tired, and am thinking about heading inside when the vampires around me suddenly freeze.

A shrill cry comes from behind us and Jasper whirls on his heel with a hiss, as Alice barrels through the trees, launching herself into his arms. Her face is a mask of confusion, eyes wild, and he squeezes her close, smoothing her hair and trying to calm her.

"What is it? What's happened?"

Jasper's calm is flooding from him and reaching all of us, like a suffocating blanket that makes it difficult to focus.

"They're coming," she whispers, her voice tired and broken. "They're all coming."

I don't understand. That's why we're out here in the frost, running drill after drill. Because the newborns are on their way.

"The Volturi," Alice clarifies. "Aro, Caius, Marcus, every member of the guard, even the wives."

Peter drops the tree trunk he has been wielding with a surprised thud, and Esme lets out a gasp. I don't understand what has happened. The vampires seem to be devastated by Alice's news.

"This is good, right?" I ask, confused. "They must be coming because of the army?" I don't understand. If the Volturi are coming, there are more reinforcements. It must mean that these newborns will be dealt with easily. It must mean that my family will be safe.

"The wives never leave Volterra," Jasper contradicts in a flat voice. "Never. Not during the southern rebellion. Not when the Romanians tried to overthrow them. Not even when they were hunting the immortal children. Never."

Alice clutches at him, grabbing handfuls of his sweater as he pulls her close again. "It's strange, Jazz" she whispers. "It's like...the decision has already been made, but they're waiting on something. They're waiting for their reason."

Jasper is shaking his head, his brow furrowed. "It doesn't make any sense. Why would they all come? They have a unit of the Guard on its way. Why would the Volturi leave Italy for this?"

Eleazar suddenly lets out a groan and slumps against a nearby rock, his face contorted. Carmen is quickly at his side, crouching beside him. "What is it, mi amor?"

Everyone moves quickly to circle them. Eleazar doesn't seem to be in pain, but rather, deeply shocked and unhappy. "My God, my God," he murmurs. "Carmen, what have I done?"

Carlisle kneels at his side. "What is it, old friend?"

Eleazar looks paler than I thought possible for a vampire, his gold eyes wild. "I was trying to understand why so many of the Volturi would come to deal with this problem. It's not their way. Certainly, if Alice is correct, this is a large number of newborns, but the Guard have easily dispatched larger."

Carlisle nods, waiting for him to continue. The wolves are pacing behind us, their breath fogging in the still night air.

"Aro does not often personally attend an expedition," Eleazar says. "You know this as well as I do. But in the past, when Aro wanted something in particular, it was never long before evidence turned up proving that a coven had committed some unpardonable crime. The ancients would decide to go along to watch the Guard mete out justice. And then, once the coven was all but destroyed, Aro would grant a pardon to one member whose thoughts, he would claim, were particularly repentant. Always, it would turn out that this vampire had the gift Aro had admired. Always, this person was given a place with the Guard. The gifted vampire was won over quickly, always so grateful for the honor."

Cold dread starts to creep around my heart. I think back to our time in the Grand Hall in Volterra, and the bargain struck as I screamed in vain. A bargain struck so that Aro could have Edward's gift within his retinue.

"I can only think that the reason Aro had decided to come himself, to bring so many with him, is because his goal is not punishment but acquisition," Eleazar says. "He needs to be there to control the situation, but he needs the entire Guard for protection. He cannot leave anyone unattended in Volterra, so they all come together. How else could he be sure to preserve the gift that he wants? He must want it very badly."

My mouth falls open. All I can think about is the way Aro had asked after the Cullens. Edward's cold and measured responses. My heart begins to pound.

"Even if this is true," Carlisle is saying, and his voice seems far away over the throb of blood pulsing thunderously in my ears. "It was Edward that Aro wanted, and he has him. I don't see..."

"Alice..." My voice is hoarse. Everyone turns to look at me, expectant. My tongue feels thick, and it is hard to form the words. "In the Grand Hall, in Volterra. It wasn't just Edward's gift that Aro remarked on. He kept asking after Alice."

Jasper snarls protectively, imprisoning his tiny wife in his arms. Alice's eyes are bright, but her stare is vacant. She bites at her lip briefly before focusing. "I can't tell. I can't see their reasoning at all." She kicks out at the icy ground in frustration. "And I can't see what happens when they get here because..." She waves at the wolves surrounding us, quiet on their haunches.

Eleazar gets slowly to his feet, addressing the whole group. "I think the Volturi were waiting for this – for some pretext. They couldn't know what form their excuse would come in, but the plan
was already in place for when it did come. That's why Alice sees their decision before
she sees what will trigger it. The decision was already made, just waiting for the justification."

"If the Volturi are abusing the trust all immortals have placed in them..." Carlisle sounds as horrified as I feel.

"It doesn't matter," Eleazar concludes. "Who would believe it? And even if others could be convinced that the Volturi are exploiting their power, how would it make any difference? No one can stand against them. We cannot stand against them."

There is a sudden rush of movement around us, and Sam and Jacob step back into the clearing, having phased.

"Is he right?" Sam demands of Jasper. "Will we be so outnumbered as to lose?"

Jasper is thoughtful, stroking a calming hand up and down Alice's arm as he considers this new information. "We will be outnumbered, absolutely. But if Eleazar is right, the Volturi need a reason. They won't risk word getting out that they are acting outside the law. They will need an excuse to punish our family."

And in that instant, a sudden wave of clarity floods over me. I can see the tendons in Jasper's neck strain as he tries not to turn in my direction. I can see the rise and fall of Jake's chest as he breathes. My throat is dry, and it makes it hard to swallow to speak. "It's me," I finally manage. "I'm the reason."

Esme is instantly at my side, but I shrug off the arm she tries to put around my shoulders, taking a rapid step back into the center of the clearing. Alone.

"You know I'm right. They will say that you harbored me. That you broke the law by revealing yourselves to me."

Their faces are contrite, but none of the Cullens makes a move to disagree with me. Except Alice.

"Bella, no! That was the deal Edward made!" she insists, tugging free of Jasper's embrace. Stepping toward me and then faltering. Her voice falling an octave as she murmurs, "That's why he stayed!"

There is a long silence, which only Carlisle is prepared to break. "If Eleazar is right, Alice, Aro is not honoring that bargain."

His words are like the final piece of a puzzle being pressed into place. A certainty of conviction wells up inside of me. I feel resolute and whole, like I have a purpose for the first time since we left Europe.

"Then you need to change me, Carlisle. We need to take away their reason."

Unexpected delays were unexpected. Thanks for hanging in there with me. Four chapters and an epi to go. Let me know what you think!