Chapter 17

Searching for Renesmee

Demetri and Renesmee's scent led us to the wooded area by the clearing where we often played baseball. Scarlett's scent at one point along the way, drifted to a different path, but we decided to follow the one that had Renesmee.

I heard a sound coming from behind Edward and I; it was Rosalie. I assumed hat Carlisle and Esme had stayed behind to care for Sue Clearwater, who had been severely hurt by Demetri and Scarlett when they came and kidnapped Renesmee.

Once I acknowledged that Rosalie was with us, I just looked straight forward and kept going. I felt as if I stopped even for a second, I would have a nervous breakdown. For a moment I thought that looking into Edward's eyes would possibly relax me, reassuring me that everything would be fine, but I was so wrong.

Edward was by my side, focused on nothing but tracking Demetri. I had never seen Edward so furious; his eyes were dark, full of anger. This was the first time in our lives, or should I say, in our existence, that I saw Edward for who he was, a vampire; a hunter.

Demetri's scent was getting stronger; we sped up. The scent led us out of the wooded area, into an off road track, and that is where the scent started to fade. We noticed tire tracks, which explained their scent fading away. There was now no way to tell how far they had gone, or where they had gone.

Edward and I looked at each other. We were both lost; unsure of what we should do.

"We will find her." Edward said trying to reassure me, but his voice was weak, as if he wasn't sure himself.

Rosalie took charge of the situation.

"We should go back and find Carlisle, he ought to know someone with the ability to help us find Nessie."

That seemed to be our best option at the time, so we followed Rosalie as she led the way back to the house. Carlisle would surely have taken Sue there as he had the necessary medical equipment to care for her.

We were about a mile away from the house when we heard voices nearby. They were familiar voices; it was Charlie, Alice, Emmett and Jasper.

"Dad!" I ran to Charlie and he gave me a hug, trying to console me. It was strange, seeing Charlie this affectionate.

"We will find Nessie. " He whispered, in a convinced tone.

I wondered how they knew about what had happened. "How did you know?"

"Alice had a vision when Demetri was planning on coming to get Nessie. We tried calling, but it was too late. We rushed back, getting on the first available plane."

"I am worried dad. They don't know how different Renesmee is. They don't know her diet, her sleeping habits… What if they make her feed of a human?!"

Alice, in an attempt to make me feel better, started talking about her vision. "It will be okay Bella. Demetri was never planning on hurting her. He really just wants his ability back."

Charlie looked at me, noticing how worried I was.

"Bells, we will get to Nessie before any of that becomes a problem… In Alice's vision, she saw where Demetri and Scarlett were staying before they got Nessie. They are probably going to the same place right now. Elizabeth confirmed that is where the Volturi stay when they come."

"But we can't be sure dad. Alice can never see Renesmee in her visions…"

I was so overwhelmed that I hadn't noticed Elizabeth's absence until Rosalie asked where she was.

"She stayed in New Hampshire, monitoring the newborns that were causing trouble." I noticed that as Charlie was saying that to Rosalie, he was gazing at Jasper as if he was giving him a signal, and I instantly felt more relaxed.

I didn't hesitate in welcoming Jasper's control over my emotions. I instantly felt more in control, as I could think clearly.

"How far is this place where they stay?" I asked.

"It is about one hour north of here." Charlie said.

Charlie had yet to see how fast the Cullen's drove. I gazed at Alice, "How long will it really take us to get there?"

"About twenty minutes."

Charlie looked puzzled, as if that was in no way possible, but he did not say anything; he just followed us back to the house. We weren't sure how difficult it would be to get Renesmee back; safe, so we decided that we should all go. We would need to take at least two cars.

Time was being wasted. We rushed back to the house to get the cars; more specific plans would be made on the way to the place where the Volturi stayed.

Carlisle and Esme were standing outside, by the front door, waiting on us. Carlisle looked concerned and panicky, which was a very unusual behavior coming from him.

Edward noticed Carlisle's expression and he must have been reading Carlisle's mind as he immediately looked just as concerned.

"Is Sue okay??" I asked.

"She is stable." Carlisle assured us. "I gave her some pain medication and she is sleeping."

"So what is the problem?"

"Jacob and his pack… They got to Charlie's house right after you left. Seth stayed behind while they followed whatever scents they were able to track. Minutes later, they came back to get Seth; they followed Scarlett's scent, heading north of here."

I froze in place. Jacob and his pack were likely headed to where Demetri was possibly taking Renesmee. I feared that if the wolves got there before we did, they would react on instinct, putting Renesmee in even more danger.

I looked at the others, ordering Alice and Edward to go get the cars, they were the fastest drivers. We had to get to Renesmee before the wolves.