Author Note - Stephanie Meyer owns all things Twilight. Lucky wench! =P

Chapter Eleven

Hunting The Huntress

I hadn't actively hunted my kind for a while- About a hundred or so years - So the prospect of hunting one that had evaded the Cullens before and the La Push wolves was a little daunting. I took the challenge willingly because part of my family was at stake. The 'other' red head would not lay one undead finger on Bella.

"You seem pretty adamant there, Kali." Edward quipped, reading my thoughts as he loading another bag into the Volvo.

"You are going away for the weekend. How many more bags do you think you will possibly need?" I retorted, pointing to the two bags still on the porch. We both looked at each other and the answer because blatantly obvious.

"Alice." we chimed at the same time before we giggled. Once the laughter died down, Edward sighed longingly.

"We will catch her, Edward. I promise." I stated, staring into his eyes and hoping he saw the determination there.

"I know you will. Your gift will help enormously."

"How so?"

"It will help you find her and predict her movements. If Alice's vision holds, there will be no other minds present except for the family and hers." he clarified, leaning against the bonnet of his car.

"Edward, Bella is my sister. As her sister, it is my job to destroy anything that threatens her. I will use every weapon at my disposal to bring her down." My hands fisted at my side at the mere thought of the vampire on a vengeance kick. Edward smiled at my declaration and nodded.

"What are you smiling for?" I asked.

"It's wonderful for me to hear that you claim Bella as your sister." He explained. "It makes me happy."

"I'm not claiming anything, Edward. She accepted me without batting an eyelid and I can tell she likes me. I love her and I will protect her with my life if that's what is takes." I said. I took a quick glance at clock on the wall of the garage. "And if you don't shift your arse, you will stand my sister up!" I shoved him playfully towards the drivers side of the Volvo and launched the last two bags into the backseat for him. I stood, watching him pull out of the garage and down the driveway, praying silently to myself that I... we could do what he needed us to tonight. I turned around and headed back to the house to start planning.

I was running now. I mean, really running. I bolted through the woods with Emmett and Jasper behind me. I was trying to get a fix on the unfamiliar voice that I could hear in my head. Images flashed through it of the Cullens in full baseball regalia and Bella near the back of the crowd. Flashes of forest chased through my brain and the smell of wolves filled my nose as the thoughts showed me this vampire being chased through this part of the forest by the wolves before. And visions of fire. Endless fire and a unremarkable, plain looking blonde vampire. The thoughts in my head coddled this vampire and held him on a cushion of love, lust and grief.

"Emmett, is that what James looked like?" I asked quietly as we steamed through the trees.

"Blonde? Kinda ugly?" he asked

"Yeah..."

"That's the one." he confirmed.

"How the fuck do you get an ugly vampire? That's not possible." I joked, despite our situation. Emmett's laugh, though suppressed still boomed off of the passing trees.

"Can you two please try and focus?" Jasper almost growled. I shook my head and focused more on the thoughts of the psychotic red-head who I could tell we were getting closer to. Her thoughts became more disjointed and panicked. Her head swung from left to right, searching for us as she ran. Abruptly she stopped, held her breath and rocketed skyward into the trees. I focused, trying to see something that would give her away.

"Jazz! She stopped!" I almost yelled. My voice held even as I ran. I may as well have been standing right next to him.

"Where?" Emmett asked, eager to get into a fight.

"I'm not sure. She shot up into the trees and stopped about half way up a massive spruce."

"There are a grouping of spruce about three minutes from here. Follow her scent Emmett and Kali, focus on her mind."

We all nodded and continued running. I managed to focus on her scent and her mind at the same time. She had a bitter tinge to her scent. Cinnamon and cloves and something really sharp and not very pleasant. I took a step back and ran with my brothers. The trail we were on was less than five minutes old so we increased our speed and I smiled slightly when I hear Carlisle, Alice and Rosalie running about four hundred feet away and closing in at a perpendicular angle to us. The cinnamon and cloves smell increased dramatically and we stopped. The wind shifted and Victoria registered our scents and shifted on her branch. I zeroed my sight onto her position and motioned to Jasper to follow me. Jasper signaled to Emmett to stay where he was and make a lot of noise while myself and Jasper scaled the tree behind her. Her mind was a whirling, bubbling mess of hate, grief and loss. I climbed higher so that I was above her head. Emmett was doing a nice job of distracting her and the others were still heading in this direction Jasper was still positioned about twenty feet below her, ready to make a grab for her if she got away. I nodded once and I launched myself at her.

Diving through the air like a missile, I fell towards her. She turned her head just in time to register my presence as I grabbed her hair, wrapping it around my hands and throwing her out of the tree. Jasper grabbed her as she fell and shoved against her, spearing her body. She impacted with the ground to the sound of a deafening CRACK. Jasper landed on top of her pinning her to the ground. He leapt off her as I flew out the tree and headed straight for the spot Jasper had vacated, aiming for her head. Her eyes flew open and she shot through Jasper's clutching arms and dodged Emmett's grabbing hands and took off like a bullet into the woods.

"Fuck! I should have ripped her fucking head off!" I screeched as I hit the ground and bolted after her. Jasper and Emmett were at my tail and I could feel them pushing harder to keep pace with me. Carlisle and the girls must have heard the altercation from before because they were falling in behind me now and running flat out, trying to keep up. I re-focused my mind on hers and saw that she was heading for the Quileute border.

"She is heading for Wolf Land. We have to get to her first." I muttered as the others pushed harder. Her scent was thick in the air as hints of putrid wolf started to lace through the wind as we pushed further west.

"God the smell!" Emmett complained, rubbing his nose as he ran.

"Grow a set, hold your breath and move your arse!" I yelled at him as I pushed as hard as I could.

"Be careful." Carlisle called. "We are too close to the border to attack her."

We broke into a loggers clearing and the wolf stench escalated to painful levels. I had one half a second to react as I saw Victoria dance across the border and over the heads of the wolves. I shuddered to a stop when I was about ten feet from the treaty line. I turned to stop the others behind me and Emmett barreled straight past me

"Emmett, STOP!" I screamed. He stopped on the spot about two feet from the treaty and, in turn, about five feet from the large grey wolf from the first time I had saw them. The wolf snarled viciously and clawed the ground as I rushed forward to pull Emmett back. The other wolves started to snarl at us as I tried to pull Emmett back. Carlisle, Rosalie and Alice broke the tree line and stopped next to Jasper. Rosalie saw Emmett and bolted forward and stood in front of him, crouched down, hands curled and her face promising instant and rather painful death to anyone who touched her mate. I grabbed Emmett's arm and tried to pull him back but he was furious beyond reasoning.

"Emmett, calm the fuck down and move back!" I yelled over the sound of the buzzing voices in my head. I needed to focus on them. I needed to help diffuse the situation.

"Fucking leech nearly hit Paul! Treaty is broken!"

"Guys, cool it. We should be going after the other red head."

"He fucking Hit me!"

"Paul, shut it, no he didn't. It was close, but he didn't get you. He was aiming for the redhead!"

I scrunched my eyes and shook my head. There were too many voices. It was so painful, I could barely stand it.

"Kali, are you alright?" Carlisle thought, coming to Emmett's other side to take his left arm. I nodded once and tried to focus.

"Kali, I need your help to calm everyone down. If you focus on the family, I can focus on the wolves. They are the hardest to placate." Jasper was still planning, ever the strategist. I pushed Edward's gift to the back of my mind and focused on Jasper's. It took me a second as I struggled to get a hold of something that intangible. When I finally got a grasp of whatever the hell it was that Jasper had, I felt like a truck had hit me. My breath was shoved from my lungs in one massive rush as the hate and anger and worry from the surrounding bodies pressed down on my chest.

"Jesus Christ! I huffed, trying to get a handle on something calm. Jasper nodded to me once. I knew he would feel what I felt so he knew I had it. He forced out a massive current of calm that I knew would crash off the trees surrounding the clearing and hit every single person in it. I focused on his emotions and copied his wave of calm. I sent my own, significantly smaller wave around the clearing, mines chasing his like a weird cat and mouse game.

"That should do it, Kali. I've got it." He muttered quietly. I nodded and switched back to Edwards gifts, hoping the calm wave that jasper was still projecting would help ease some of the battering that my head would receive.

"Fucking mutts. I'm going to punch Jasper for his calming shit and then I'm going to rip those dog's fucking heads off!" Rosalie's thoughts were tainted with wild anger. I tried to hear Emmett but even with Jasper's 'Valium' effect his thoughts were a muddle of hate and anger. He had no coherent thoughts. The only thing that registered in his brain was to take parts off of the wolves.

"Emmett, if you don't calm down, I will have you giggling like an eight year old girl with a new doll. Now back away!" I warned him.

"FUCK YOU!" he yelled in my face.

"If you move back from the treaty line, I might. Now shift your arse!"

My comment stunned him enough that Carlisle and I managed to drag him back a good fifteen feet.

"Sam," Carlisle began, beckoning Jazz and Alice forward to take hold of Emmett with me. Rose was still in front of him, silently promising violence to anyone who even looked at Emmett the wrong way.

"Sam, we are tracking Victoria, the vampire who is after Bella." Carlisle was explaining quickly, the words spilling out like running water. " She evaded us by crossing onto your land. With your permission, we would like to continue tracking her on your land."

The noise in my head was deafening. Jasper grabbed my arms, holding me up as the noise threatened to crush me. My head felt like it was going to explode. The number of 'no fucking ways' and 'over our dead bodies' only added to the sound of their snarling and howling. I put my hands to my head, shaking, trying to focus on one voice.

"No, I don't think so, Bloodsucker." I knew the sound of Sam's mind from before and anger and venom instantly surged at his disrespect.

"Watch your tone, wolf." I spat, turning the last word into a curse. "There is no need for name-calling and you would do well to remember to apply some manners when you are speaking to any of us."

"Kali, enough." Carlisle chastised.

"You can't hear their minds, Carlisle." I sneered, glaring at the wolves again.

"Holy shit, there are two mind-readers!"

"How the fuck is she doing that?"

"Did that one read your mind, Sam?"

I smiled at them, tapping the side of my head and tilting my head, challenging them to take a guess as to what I was doing.

"There's two of them?" My smile grew at their confusion.

"If we aren't allowed to hunt her on your land, will you?" I asked. Well, not really asked. If they weren't willing to help us, then I would tear them apart and then go after the crazy bitch. Another crashing wall of calm broke around us.

"Thanks, Jazz" I muttered. The Sam wolf nodded once and the other wolves shot back into the forest, heading in the direction they came from. Sam followed them out, howling. We followed on our side of the line as much as we could, but it became clear that Victoria wasn't coming back tonight. Alice had a vision, confirming this for us and we went home.

"Fuck! Edward is going to be pissed!" Emmett yelled, still unhappy about the fact he wasn't allowed to rip the wolves into bits.

"Don't worry, brother." I said, releasing his arm again and placing a hand on his massive shoulder "We will find her and when we won't waste time next time.

"Emmett, you will NOT pick a fight with the wolves. Do you understand me?" Esme scolded. She had the 'Death Glare' back on and her hands looked like they might form permanent indentations on her hips. I felt like running for cover. We had been having this argument since last night. Edward was due home soon and Emmett still wanted to stuff and mount a couple of shape-shifter heads for the living-room.

"They started it! That stupid grey mutt snapped at me!" Emmett argued, his hands balling into fists.

"I don't care. You will not cause all-out war because you are angry!"

"Em, it won't do any good to cause a fight." I said. "As much as I want to hamstring the whole stinking lot of them, it won't help."

"You didn't get snapped at." He muttered. I rolled my eyes and wondered how a seventy-odd year old vampire could actually pout before turning into a nine year old girl with pigtails. Alice giggled at my side when she got that visual.

"Alice, when will Edward get home?" I asked, wanting to deflect Emmett's attention.

"Forty-three minutes." She replied confidently.

"Will he be bringing Bella?"

"No." I felt instant relief at that one. I didn't want Bella to know that Victoria was even in the state, let alone so close to town.

"Good." I stated, nodding my head. "She doesn't need to hear this." I waited for someone to argue about it, but thankfully no-one did.

"Best to avoid theatrics as much as possible." I continued. Six heads nodded in agreement.

"She will be nearly hysterical if we do and then she will be rather upset that we didn't tell her sooner." Alice confirmed. We had been discussing this, going in circles all day. Emmett wanting to cause a fight, Rosalie getting pissed by his 'war-mongering' as she called it. Carlisle was playing peacemaker, Esme scolding us when things got too heated, Jasper altering the moods of the room when it got too much for him. Alice scanned the future, looking for Victoria and trying to find when she would attack next. I sat, mostly quiet, torn between wanting to help Emmett tear some dogs apart and keeping my family safe.

"I'm going to get changed." I announced. I hadn't gotten changed since the hunt and I felt horrible. "And Alice, no."

"I didn't say of think anything!" She protested.

"You don't have to." She stuck her tongue out at me and turned away.

"Kali, can I speak with you for a moment?" Carlisle asked, rising from the armchair he occupied next to where Esme was standing.

"No problem. Can I get changed first? Seeing me like this is killing the pixie." The aforementioned Pixie hissed quietly as Jasper and Emmett suppressed their laughter.

"Of course. I'll wait in my study for you." He glided up the stairs and I heard the door click. I followed him up and quickly showered and changed. With my hair still dripping wet and my recently applied jeans and t-shirt bearing the water spots from the drips, I padded over to the study. I knocked gently on the door twice before I was beckoned inside. I closed the door behind me and sat on the sofa on the west wall of Carlisle's study. He sat next to me and was still for a few moments while he organised his thoughts.

"Kali, without Edward here, you were our best hope of knowing what the wolves were thinking last night." He said softly. To any other vampire, it would have sounded like mumbling. His face was tense as he spoke.
"Honestly, I'm still feeling it. Their minds are so loud. How Edward doesn't have a permanent migraine, I just don't know." I grumbled, rubbing my temples with my hands. My head still ached from the onslaught of individual minds and the pack-mind and Victoria's swirling mess of incohesion and our families frantic thoughts. He placed a hand on my knee as comfort.

"I'm sorry about that, Kali." He offered. Sincerity washed over his words. "The thing is, after last night and the 'unfortunate event' with Emmett and the grey wolf, I wanted to make sure the treaty isn't damaged."

"I think it's okay. Some of the subordinate wolves were pretty adamant that the treaty was broken, but the Alpha insisted that it was intact. It was close though, Carlisle. We won't get away with something like that again."

"What about the chances of the other members of the pack acting outside of the Alpha's orders?" Carlisle looked concerned. I could tell he was worried about the grey wolf - Paul- acting out.

"From what I saw of their minds last night, if the Alpha gives an order or declares anything regarding the treaty, then his word is Law. In short, what Sam says, goes." I was dumbing it down for myself just as much as I was for Carlisle. I had spent all day processing thoughts and feelings and actions. Simplifying things helped a lot. It had gotten too much by the time I had gotten back to the house and had to shove any and all thoughts of Edward's gift to the back of my mind and keep them there. Jasper helped by projecting peace at me for an hour solid while I worked to free my head and make it my own again.

"Thank you, Kali. I know you didn't sign up for any of this when you decided to join us." Carlisle's tone was apologetic and it instantly riled me.

"Carlisle, I have already told you, this is where I belong. This is my family and I will do whatever it takes to protect you all. If a headache is all that it costs me, then I get off lightly." I was shocked by his statement. How could they still be doubting my commitment to them? I grasped my crest pendant and waved it at him.

"This means everything to me. Everything that I was, everything that I am and everything that I could be belongs to this family. I will protect every member of my family and if it costs me everything I have, even my own life, I will gladly give it. I will look after this family or I will burn trying." I rounded off my little 'soap-box speech' with a huff.

"Kali, I am not doubting your devotion or your commitment. I am just sorry you have to deal with all of this when you are just getting adjusted to us." He said, patting my knee again.

"Carlisle, If this is the price I have to pay to be a part of this family- If ripping apart a psychotic vampire on a vengeance kick is what I have to do to enjoy my new life- then I will. It is nothing compared to what I would be willing to pay." I would have traded everything for them. My cars, houses, money...myself.

"Okay, okay. I believe you." Carlisle said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I am sorry I offended you. It was never my intent."

"I know. It's just been a rough day." I muttered, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Now, all we have to do, is inform Edward that their is one nutcase of a vampire still on the loose and the wolves are pissed at us."

"Good luck with that." Carlisle teased, standing up. I followed him and walked towards the door.

"Hell, I'll tell him. I'm the only one who will be able to read his mind to see just who he is going to dismantle for all the cock-ups this weekend." I shrugged, opening the door.

"He won't hurt anyone." Carlisle stated, his whole body stiffening.

"To quote the ever-eloquent Emmett... 'Bring it!'" I stated, fisting my hands and raising them to my face like a boxer. Carlisle composed expression cracked and loud rumbles of laughter escaped from him, shaking his whole frame. It took him a few moments to compose himself for speech again.

"Alright, Alright. I am sorry again and thank you for everything you have done this weekend."

"Don't mention it Dad! You ain't getting rid of me that easily." I teased again.

"We wouldn't dream of it." Carlisle confirmed, sitting behind his desk and folding his hands together. He opened his mouth to speak and was instantly cut off by the sound of a Volvo sized engine screaming up the driveway. "Everyone fill their heads, please?" Carlisle was asking them to keep Edward out of their thoughts and understandably so. Less than two minutes after we heard the car turn onto the driveway, Edward was in the front room and glaring at everyone. I let my mind drift towards my Bentley back in London. I focused on the colour, the shape, the horse-power, the engine specifications down to the last millimeter. We had been blocking him for about thirty seconds when he lost composure.

"Emmett, I don't need to know the roster for the Miami Dolphins in order of shoe size." He turned to Rosalie "Nor do I need to know which BMW performs best in subzero temperatures." He growled when they smirked at him. They knew they were pissing him off and they found it funny.

"Jasper, I don't need you to re-enact the Battle of Gettysburg from the confederate point of view. And I really don't need to know all about this years up and coming Swedish designers, Alice. Not to mention how much I don't need to know about the best methods of removing jam stains from clothes, Esme and I certainly don't need to know about all the blood diseases you are aware of, Carlisle." He rounded on my with his face displaying the confusion, anger and annoyance that his voice was betraying so readily for us. "Kali, if you don't tell me what happened this weekend, I will personally, fly to London and turn the Bentley that is currently occupying your head into an ashtray!" He bellowed, losing his temper. It was unfortunate for him that I lost mines as well.

"You listen to me, mind reader," I spat. "You best think again before threatening anything that belongs to me. This whole family put themselves in great danger for you this weekend and your outburst is uncalled for and completely disgusting. Now, be patient and we will tell you what happened. If you don't, you get fuck all!" I took a step towards him, pointing a finger into his chest " And if you lay one, stone-cold finger on my car, I will drive the Vanquish off of a cliff and you will be left with nothing but a broken steering wheel. Do you understand me?"

"Holy shit, she just put his ass in a sling!" Emmett whispered to Rosalie, who giggled silently. Esme looked horrified at the language I had just used and the temper that both myself and Edward had just displayed.

"Well, that was different." Jazz commented. "Edward, she was serious, man. Back away." I thought that to be rather prudent advice considering that I was being deadly serious. I shook my head a little, trying to calm myself down. When I regained the ability to talk, I addressed my brother.

"Edward, I understand that you want to protect Bella. We all do. It has been a rough weekend for us all, some more than others and I will happily tell you about it. But you can't just barge in here, demanding answers and threatening people like that."

"My apologies, everyone." He said. He looked like a little boy being caught doing something naughty. "Especially you, Kali. I had no right to threaten you like that. Will you forgive me?" I must have been becoming a push-over in my old age, because as soon as his face had changed and exhibited some sort of remorse, I had already forgiven him.

"Forgiven and forgotten, brother." I told him, placing a hand on his upper arm. "Why don't we go for a quick drive and I will fill you in?"

"I think that's a wonderful idea." Esme declared, throwing a set of car keys at us from the sideboard. I caught them and felt my eyes bug out when I saw what car they belonged to... Aston martin. DROOL!

"Come on, before anyone gets ABBA songs into their head to block you out. You don't need that kind of torture." I teased gently, leading the way into the garage and tossing the keys behind me. Hopefully, being in his 'baby' would stop him from wrecking his immediate surroundings when he heard about this weekend.