I was wondering if Carlisle had any information from Marcus Volturi about the venom, so after lunch the following day I wandered up to his study to ask, that's when it hit me, I'd seen Marcus once before, Edward had shown me Carlisle's study just before the disastrous birthday party. He called them the three kings, pointed out the portrait with Carlisle in the background. Thank god I thought I was going all Alice there for a minute, so laughing I entered at Carlisle's invitation. I explained to him my revelation and so I had just been putting together stuff I already knew, with stuff my subconscious wanted me to know. "Yeah, now everything's as clear as mud!" I told him.

He laughed shaking his head telling me, "You're crazy sweetheart, but I liked you despite it all, Bella" I huffed at him and asked about the venom. Turns out that it's not usually an issue but there have been a couple of times in the past when a vampire mated with a human, then the human showed a pronounced power improvement, but it was only a short term thing as they were changed soon after anyway. It was thought to be mate driven, the need to protect, so the venom from their mate was syphoned to the power as a temporary enhancement.

"So it's not going to hurt me? Or make me go mad, get aggressive or anything like that?" I was double checking here. "Marcus says not but has no real idea of how prolonged exposure will affect you!" he replied, "So cut back on the sex or get changed sooner! Well, we better start planning my change right away then!" I said laughing and he just shook his head.

I asked if Edward and Bree had returned yet, he laughed saying "Not yet, Alice keeps putting clothes out for them, on their path home and Bree just gets dressed and Edward rips them off her again. I think she's created a monster, he's now totally obsessed with sex! So Alice is away again leaving them more, she should just let them return naked!" he says seriously. "Emmett would never let him live that one down!" I say and he nods.

"I just felt Bree wasn't as hungry in my presence yesterday! I think I'm shielding my scent from her? Have you noticed a difference?" I ask, "Actually Bella, you smell more like Peter than you do yourself, so I think that might be the answer!" he informed me, well shit, scented inside and out! Fine by me really. When I was once more in the lounge all the guys, well all but Edward were there.

"Peter! Carlisle says we need to cut back on the sex or change me!" I say to him with as straight a face as possible. "Okay angel, where do you want me to bite you?" he answers with an equally straight face and everyone is cracking up at us. "I noticed neither of you considered giving up the sex!" Emmett said still laughing, we both looked at him as if he'd grown a second head and this just set everyone off again.

"Okay, down to business darlin', what does your shield feel like to you? When you use it, is it solid or fluid? Stretchy or rigid? What?" asked Jasper. So I explained that it felt firm, but became elastic when I wanted to use it like I could throw it out but then mould it solid around a person or object. It was clear but if I wanted to strengthen it, it seemed more opaque to me. I felt like I was contradicting myself but he seemed happy with my explanation.

So we started getting me to cover Peter first of all and try to stop Jasper reading his emotions, he asked Emmett to touch Peter at this time and he could. Then he wanted me to stop Emmett at the same time as shielding Peter's emotions, I felt as if I was using two different shields for this. Like the main shield was for physical attacks and then a smaller inner one for the mental attack.

Jasper and Carlisle as he had rejoined us believed the smaller shield was the one I'd always used to stop Edward reading my mind, it too was now stronger and I was able to utilise it when needed. So he asked me to cover him and Peter but still stop him feeling Peter's emotions, this meant Jasper couldn't feel my emotions either so he surmised that the inner shield was a permanent feature for me that I could share or use to enhance the larger shield, but the larger one I only deployed when I needed it.

So nobody with a mental attack ability could affect me, also I could shut out the physical ones that used mental properties, like Jasper's by using the bigger one at the same time. The stopping of Alice seeing my future was because I perceived it as an intrusion, so classed it as an attack and therefore shut her out. It seemed confusing, he also wanted to know if I felt anything when someone was using their power on me, I had never thought about it before.

"Yes! It's like a little nudge, a probing sensation, minor but yes I feel it when you try to change my emotions, I think I always knew when Edward was trying to read my mind, but never connected the dots before. Thank god it sort of did all this itself with only a thought from me or I'd be exhausted, like I was now, just thinking about it all.

"Basically, then two shields, which she can combine to make one impeachable barrier, also when being attacked she can use the outer shield as a weapon, is that about right?" asked Carlisle. Jasper nodded and smiled, "You're our secret weapon darlin', brilliant. Last test then! Can everyone come in here? Right, Bella, I'm goin' to make them all lethargic, when you cover them it should dissipate and they will stand up, okay everyone here we go!"

I watched them all fall to the floor as if almost asleep, I automatically saved Peter first, then Emmett and Carlisle, next was Rose and Alice and lastly Esme. Jasper was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, Oh dear Alice was rubbing off on him. "Not only coverin' you all but in tactical significance too. Peter well, part mate part best fighter, but everyone else was spot on! Did you do that subconsciously Bella?" he asked and I nodded.

"What about Edward and Bree? Where would they go?" asked Alice, "Edward just behind Emmett ahead of Carlisle, for his speed and gift and Bree between Rose and you Alice, her gift is not that useful in a fight, well except for her!"I said and they all looked at me strangely. "What gift suga', we didn't think she had one!" asked Peter. I nodded slowly and thought about it again, "Yup, it's a defence one, self-preservation, she placates really!" I explained.

"Rose when you captured her what did she say?" I enquired, "That she didn't want to be a vampire and was distraught!" she told us, then I asked Emmett "That she'd rather be home safely playing on her computer!" next I asked Carlisle and Esme, "That there had to be a better way of surviving, than killing innocents!" he said "She just wanted to be at home with her mother!" Esme concluded. "There you are then, each of you got the perfect, tailor made answer for you, to the questions you asked," I said.

"I assume she would have told Jasper she wasn't a fighter, didn't want to be a soldier and was afraid of the other newborns! I don't think it's intentional, but she knew exactly what to say to each of you to stop you killing her" I concluded. Peter scooped me up and hugged me saying "God I love you, you're amazin' angel, you couldn't be a more perfect mate for me!"

I was so overwhelmed by this outpouring of feelings from him, I promptly burst into tears. He just gathered me closer and set off back to the cottage for our final night alone, before I had to return home to Charlie's house. It was back to school for me the day after.