Back again with a little update for you guys. Thank you for your reviews, you guys are awesome :)

Sorry it took so long to update - some people claim that I have to work... (I don´t want to...)

This is a short chapter - we will soon get to the good stuff ;)

Enjoy :)

Heartache

I couldn´t speak.

How could we ever tell her? How could we ever explain her reasons?

Nobody answered Kate´s question and she started to get impatient.

"We thought she was with you when she didn´t come back with Edward and Bella," Carmen finally spoke.

"No, she ran off to warn Edward and Bella and was to leave with them and meet me back here," Kate said. She furrowed her brows and had pain across her face.

"Tell me what happened," she said.

I looked up at Edward. I wasn´t sure that I would be able to make her understand but Edward knew what Tanya was going through. He had been there himself.

He gave me a small nod to let me know he would explain.

"We don´t actually know what happened Kate," Edward began, "Tanya did come to warn us and to help us escape. We wouldn´t have been here if it weren´t for her." Pain crossed Edward´s face as he lowered his head away from Kate´s eyes.

"So she did find you," Kate said with relief. "But where is she now then? Why isn´t she back yet?"

"She won´t come back," Edward sighed.

"What?" Kate, Carmen, Eleazar and Garret all screamed at the same time.

Horror struck Kate at that point. She gasped.

"Is she… Is she…" she took a deep breath and continued, "dead?"

We hadn´t actually seen her die but how could she have survived with both Felix and Demetri on their way to find her fighting with Samantha in public? There was no way that they would allow such action to take place unpunished. We didn´t even know if she had won the fight against Samantha.

"We don´t know for sure that she´s dead," Edward explained. "To make sure you understand what happened and Tanya´s choice I have to start from the beginning."

"Her choice?" Eleazar asked.

"Yes. Tanya was a remarkable woman who lived her life mostly without regret," Edward started. "She was however not happy at all. She had once come across the greatest love she could ever imagine. That love was sadly a one-way kind of love. She wasn´t able to make her one true love fall for her. That is the only thing she ever has regretted prior to this day. She had come to terms with this a couple of years ago and had planned to end her life. She couldn´t bear the thought of spending eternity only knowing true love and never be able to feel it responded."

All of the Denali´s were in shock. Kate had fallen to her knees and was sobbing dry tears.

"She never told me," she let out between her whimpers. "Who was it? Who did she love that much?"

Edward looked down at me. I put my hand on his cheek and mouthed "I love you."

He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Me," he then said.

All eyes were on Edward now.

Flashes of different emotions crossed the Denali coven´s faces. Anger, resentment, pain, sorrow and grief.

"I´m so sorry," Edward said.

This was really hard on him. Because of his continued rejection of Tanya and his love for me they had now lost their precious sister. All though Edward understood Tanya´s reasons and had chosen to respect her decision he couldn´t help but feel that this was indeed his fault. Edward always took the blame and always felt like he could have done something more, this was no exception.

"When we left the town square she was just about to fight the female kidnapper," I said. Edward didn´t seem like he would be able to continue but I felt that they needed and deserved to know how brave Tanya was.

"You left her there? Alone?" Nessie cried out. She had tears streaming down her eyes.

"How could you do that dad? She loved you! How could you just leave her there to die?"

Edward flinched at the words of his daughter.

Rosalie went to soothe Nessie and soon had her cradled in her arms rocking her.

"We didn´t have a choice, sweetheart," I answered. "We didn´t want to leave her, you have to trust me on this."

"So we´ll go back there and help her," Kate said. "We will fight by her side."

"It might already be too late Kate," Carlisle said in a calm voice. "Tanya knew what she was doing when she sent Edward and Bella away."

"NO!" Kate screamed. "Tanya wouldn´t do this to me. She wouldn´t leave me like this."

"Tanya had already decided to provoke the Volturi sooner or later," Edward said in a small voice. "Today she found her perfect opportunity. She would not only end her miseries but she would do it while she was saving her loved one. She now had more purpose than mere selfishness."

Silence fell to the hotel room for a very long time. The only noises were Nessie´s cries and the Denali´s dry sobs.

I had my arm around Edward to let him know that he had my support. My love.

"I think that we have to leave Italy and go back home," Carlisle was the first to speak.

Kate just shook her head and said nothing.

"I doubt our presence has been unnoticed to the Volturi and I think we have to leave before anything else might happen," Carlisle explained.

"I can´t leave… Not without being sure that there´s absolutely no hope for her…" Kate whimpered.

"Alice?" Edward said

Alice nodded and placed her hands to her temples to concentrate.

Jasper came to support his wife and stroked her back soothingly.

We all waited more or less patient to the outcome of the vision. What had been Tanya´s fate? And was she able to destroy Samantha before Felix and Demetri shoved up?

"She´s not dead," Alice said after a while.

Before we had time to respond to Alice´s vision Kate was on her feet and heading for the door. Jasper reacted immediately and shot a wave of calm through the room so Edward and Emmet had time to restrain her. Kate fought against them as hard as she could trying to escape their hold, but was unsuccessful.

"Let me go. I have to safe her. LET ME GO!" she screamed while she was sobbing dry tears.

"Just hear Alice out before you decide to do anything Kate," Edward said trying to calm her down.

"You haven't heard why they´re still keeping her alive," Jasper said trying to explain. "This is very much unlike the Volturi not to punish straight away."

I looked up at Edward trying to decipher the emotions coming across his face. He looked troubled and deep in thought. Of course he had already seen the vision in Alice´s mind while it played out but he didn´t speak. He also had to struggle a little to keep Kate locked in between him and Emmet. Edward´s eyes never left Alice´s so it was obvious they were having a silent conversation.

Not getting anything from Edward I turned to Alice. She was shaking her head still looking at Edward.

"What did you see Alice," Jasper asked. He was still rubbing her on her back while he continued to send waves of calm to the rest of us.

Kate finally relaxed a bit and focused on Alice. Edward and Emmet released their hold on her but Emmet looked tense, ready to grab her again at the first sign of movement.

"Felix and Demetri got to Tanya while she was fighting with Samantha," Alice began. "Samantha didn´t really put up that big of a fight since she was not a very skilled fighter. Felix grabbed Tanya and was about to drag her to an ally to finish her off when Demetri told him to wait. Demetri had looked around the town square noticing the pile of ashes that was once Simon and concluded that Tanya wasn´t in on this alone. He caught Edward and Bella´s scent in the square and got suspicious. Demetri has been around long enough to know that Tanya wouldn´t kill Edward or any of the Cullen family so he figured Edward and Bella must have been there and that it wasn´t them in that pile of ashes."

I gasped and so did Esme.

Carlisle got up from the bed and sighed. He turned to face Kate, Garret, Eleazar and Carmen.

"I´m really really sorry but we have to get out of here as fast as possible," he said while pleading reason.

"WHAT?!" Kate screamed. "What are you talking about? We have to save her. They spared her life and we have an opportunity to bring her home. We can´t leave her here."

"We have to," Carlisle said looking only at Kate.

"We can´t abandon her twice in the same day," she spat out while glaring at Edward. If looks could kill Edward certainly would have dropped dead on the spot.

"Kate please listen to me," Carlisle begged.

"No I will not waste any more time arguing with you. Tanya would have done everything in her power to save one of you guys if you ever needed the help…."

"Really?" Rose asked while she looked at Kate with narrowed eyes.

Tanya just looked at her and said, "Yes she would. She just did."

"I remember a time not so long ago that she refused to help one of us in the time of need. In a time we all were marked as dead. Why would we risk all of us today when you heard she clearly wanted to die?"

Rosalie could be a real bitch about things when she was shutting her emotions out, but this hurt her too. She had loved the Denali sisters for the past decades and it was painful for her to lose yet another cousin to the Volturi. Shutting emotions out was just her way of handling things.

"We´ve already apologized for that one time and we have tried to make up for it ever since," Kate said in a pained voice. Rosalie´s words had obviously hurt her very much. "I don´t think it´s fair to let Tanya pay for our mistake."

"That is not even the case now Kate," Carlisle stated. "First of all you have already been forgiven for that time you chose not to come, second of all we have to get out of here to prepare ourselves. We cannot safe Tanya today. I´m sorry but we may not be able to at all."

Kate fell to her knees again sobbing. Garret ran to her side and tried to comfort her.

"What does this mean?" Emmet asked. "Prepare for what?"

Carlisle looked at Eleazar. He had figured the outcome out as well.

"If Demetri indeed has caught Edward and Bella´s scent in the town square he will use it to their advantage to try to get rid of the Cullens for good this time," Eleazar answered. He knew just too well how the minds of Aro, Caius and Marcus worked. He had also worked alongside Demetri so he knew very well what kind of thoughts that crossed Demitri´s mind if he were to come across our scents.

"So we prepare to fight?" Emmet asked again now with a little bit of anticipation and hope in his voice.

"At least we have to prepare ourselves for the possibility of a fight," Carlisle said.

Emmet jumped while cheering. Hardly an appropriate response, but that´s Emmet for you.

"What does this mean?" Jacob finally spoke up. "What will they do now?"

"They are probably bringing Tanya to see Aro as we speak. In a matter of hours Aro will know the whole truth about this," Eleazar said.

So Aro was going to use his power on Tanya to get the answers. Caius had been desperate to find an excuse to execute us all years ago, but this might finally be the one thing Carlisle can´t charm our way out of. Maybe this time Aro won´t be as willing to stop and listen to his old friend.

"We have to leave now," Carlisle said.

We all nodded and headed for the airport. Kate had willingly followed but was still sobbing when we reached the airport. Nobody spoke a word till we sat on the plane. Jacob had taken a seat next to Nessie and she spoke for the first time since her accusations back at the hotel, "Mom, dad, Jacob. I need to talk to you guys about something. This may not be the time, but there´s some things I need to know."

Please remember to review :)

Suggestions to the upcoming battle are also very welcome...