They came out of the forest almost floating in geometric regimented formation. Their cloaks were gray getting darker until the black of the ancients in the center. Aro, Marcus, and Caius had come themselves. Aro's eyes scanned the line of us and fixated on Alice and I. Somehow he had found out about us.

"Aro, my friend, it has been too long." Carlisle was trying to set a friendly tone.

"Too long indeed." Aro was stern yet polite.

"What brings you so far from Volterra?"

"I think you know Carlisle."

"I assure you I do not."

"If you want to play that way Carlisle."

Aro motioned with a flick of his hand and a newborn vampire dressed in rags was pushed forward for all to see. Apparently Alice and I had lost one of Victoria's creations. Alice and I exchanged glances. He must have slipped out before we had seen him.

"I have read the memories of this neophyte and have seen two of your number with at least twenty newborns."

"I know nothing about this." Carlisle spoke.

"Tsk, tsk Carlisle, lying to such an old friend as I."

"You need not do more than touch my hand to know I speak the truth."

"Go home." I spoke oily smooth but I couldn't feel their energy on the other side of the field.

"Shit." I whispered as no one moved so much as an inch.

"I know you are guiltless Carlisle. Two of your number however have committed egregious crimes against our race. I would like to meet your mate young Edward."

"Ask her."

"How rude of me. Dear Bella may I make your acquaintance?"

"Of course Aro." I motioned to Emmett and Aro to Felix, the hulking brute by his side.

We met in the middle between the two sides and he took my hand. His skin felt breakable to my touch.

"How extraordinary you are young Bella. You are the only exception to my talents. And your own talent is most amazing."

"Thank you Aro."

Aro began walking back and forth deliberating something. On his third pass by Edward and I he stopped and Edward smiled. I heard the padding of giant paws and saw ten wolves walk out of the forest. My family had not been idle while I was away.

The Volturie all crouched and Renata, Aro's shield, whimpered. All of the sudden I could feel the energy of the opposing side but not Aro or Felix. Renata had been blocking me. She looked weak but well protected.

"I wondered when your shape shifting friends would arrive." Aro seemed unconcerned.

Jacob came to stand behind me.

"They protect you? How very interesting."

"They protect human life Aro." Edward looked disgusted.

"Back to the facts of the matter." Aro was suddenly businesslike. "Alice and Bella have been seen with the newborns who threaten to expose us in Seattle. This cannot go unpunished. Tsk, tsk, you have been bad young Bella."

"No Aro, you should have seen who created the neophyte in his memories. It was not me."

"Indeed. Where is the red haired woman?"

"I killed her." Edward looked at me sideways.

"And her newborns?"

"They have done nothing wrong. Victoria created them without their choosing."

"Still they have exposed us to the humans."

"Enough Aro, they are guilty they must be punished." Caius walked up to his brother.

"We would hate to waste such talents as these, brother." Aro lingered in front of Alice in his pacing.

"I am sorry Carlisle but you have gone too far this time." Edward hissed as Aro spoke.

"Darius." I said quietly.

The guard crouched into ready positions waiting for the ancients to return to the protective formation. Little Jane looked at Edward and he crumpled in pain in my arms. Her focus shifted to me and I just snarled at her. Then the newborns jumped into a line in front of the wolves. They too were crouched at the ready. I saw the ancients' surprised faces. Newborns were never this regimented. Darius, Nathan, and Selena jumped to my side. Darius touched my hand and Edward glared at him.

At a signal from Caius the Volturie attacked. I jumped straight for Jane as she hit Edward with more of her pain. She had never taken the time to learn to fight because she had never met anyone who could withstand her sadistic gift. She lost focus and Edward jumped up. Alec was all over us. A thin fog was descending on the clearing and everyone was still, blind. I ripped Jane's head from her shoulders and went for Alec. He at least tried to defend himself is so doing he lost his focus. There was chaos around us but I had eyes only for Alec at the moment. He was fast, but I was more experienced. He too had not bothered to learn to fight.

I flipped behind him and snapped his head off. Emmett was locked in a battle of strength with Felix. Our newborns were doing well. Edward was fighting Demetri, no doubt hoping to give us an escape with him dead. Rosalie was fierce and Alice was frightening. The wolves were having good damn time at the all you can eat vampire buffet. Carlisle was involved with several of the lesser guard at once.

There were casualties I heard screams all around me and saw one wolf turn back into a man as he died. I was seeing red after that. I tore into every grey cloak that I could find screaming in fury. I ripped the head off of one Volturie soldier only to catapult myself onto the back of another to repeat the process.

I found myself in front of the ancients with my teeth bared. Their guard surrounded them and I knew it was death to try it alone. All of the sudden Darius and Edward were at my sides. They attacked and I jumped in a high arc into the center of the ancients. I was small compared to them, but they were old. They had sat up in their towers until their muscles had atrophied. Now was their time to die.

They hadn't lived for three thousand years and learned nothing of fighting however. They fell into a strange formation surrounding me on three sides. Two of them reached for my neck and I jumped back only to find that the third had grabbed my feet and was pulling me back. I kicked hard and sprung off of my hands to face them. They were dangerous. They worked as one, almost getting me every time I attacked. My luck could not hold out much longer.

Edward and Darius were still fighting the circle of guards. I was on my own. The ancients smiled serenely at me watching my every move. I knew that they didn't want to kill me. They wanted to acquire me and, with me, my talent. Edward had fought his way to my side. He could read their thoughts and they did not seem to be good ones. He snarled and jumped on Aro. Marcus and Caius grabbed him by the neck and looked to Aro for the kill order. Of course Aro would be upset if they killed someone he was interested him acquiring.

"Stop!" I could feel myself slipping into bloodlust and madness.

"No Bella!" Edward saw me move.

I jumped and tucked into a spin catapulting myself off of Edward's shoulders and rounding off until I was a foot behind Aro. Ranata was attached to him like Velcro and I killed her easily. Aro whirled around with a look of regret as his faithful guardian was in pieces at his feet. Caius and Marcus still had Edward, waiting for the order to kill. Darius hit Caius running at top speed. When he hit it made a sound like thunder and lightning. Marcus couldn't hold Edward alone and Edward quickly fought his way free.

The ancients looked uneasy as Edward, Darius, and I stalked them from three sides. I let my mind clear of the red haze and realized that Ranata was dead and my talent was once again useful.

"Stop!" I focused on the three ancients and they didn't move an inch.

I hadn't realized before that the battle was going our way. The ground was littered with grey cloaks. Some of the newborns had survived. Gena was twisting up and tearing off the head of a woman in dark robes. I didn't know what to do. Was I callous enough to kill the ancients, the royalty of our world? I decided that they had had their time and they had declared war on my family. They had to die.

"Jasper, Nathan, Darius." They came to my side and realized what I wanted.

Nathan quickly dispatched Marcus. Jasper knew that with one of the ancients dead the vengeance from the other two would be unimaginable, so he dispatched Caius. Only Aro was left and Edward stood in front of him.

"You tried to take my wife from me Aro." I gave Aro the ability to speak.

"I would have accepted both of you."

"You would have taken our freedom Aro." Edward ripped Aro to pieces without ceremony.

The remaining guard formed up around the wives and ran as fast as they could. I turned to Edward and he held me close as I rested, for once, on his shoulder.

"It's over love." He whispered.

Darius looked at us and I met his gaze. Edward glared at him for reasons unknown to me. Nathan and Selena were directing the new vampires picking up the pieces and building a giant fire in the center of the clearing. I wondered when the humans would come to investigate the forest fire. In typical Forks fashion it started to rain. The rain kept the smoke in a low haze over the clearing.

There were nine newborns that had survived. Amazingly, none of my family had been critically harmed. Emmett and Esme had bite wounds that itched and stung. The wolves were surrounding a body. I broke away from Edward my stomach sinking as I walked. I walked in between two wolves and sank to my knees.

Jacob had been bitten. He had turned human and blood was running down his neck.

"Carlisle!" I screamed. "Jake! Jake!"

"Hey bells." Jacob rasped.

"Hey Jake. You're gonna be alright. Carlisle will fix you up in no time."

"Nah Bells, I'm done. Venom is poison."

"Jake, no, come on."

"Carlisle!"

"I'm here Bella." Carlisle put a hand on my shoulder. "I can't do anything."

I shook off Carlisle and Edward and knelt down beside Jacob taking his hand. It was scorching hot in my icy grasp. I kissed his hand. He squeezed my fingers with unexpected strength.

"Love ya Bells." Jacob's eyes were on my face.

"I love you Jake." He reached out to touch my face.

"I've missed you Bella. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

"I'm alive Jake. I owe you everything."

"You got a funny way of showin it."

"I am so sorry we brought this down on you."

"S'nothing. I'll be happy now."

"I wish I could have made you happy Jake."

"I know Bells."

I sat with Jake for an hour. We stared into each others faces I smiled at him and his answering smiles got weaker. Edward kept his distance picking up the pieces to be burned, giving us our space. The wolves sat surrounding us in silence. I knew they didn't approve of my presence, but they knew how Jacob felt about me. Jacob had loved me for ninety years, and I him. I remembered wishing he was my brother so that I would have a claim on him without any complications. He had saved me from Victoria and from his pack. He made my entire life possible and I couldn't give him anything in return.

Jacob's eyes unfocused and I heard his huge heart stop beating. The wolves heard it too and howled in unison. I kissed his hand again and stepped out of the way. Jacob's pack turned human and carried him back to La Push. My whole body shook and I sobbed holding myself together with my arms like I used to when Edward left me. I had never cried in the ninety years I was a vampire. I cried now kneeling on the grass tasting the smoke of our victory and feeling the sting of defeat. I had been wrong. My family was not unharmed. Jacob had been family.

Edward came to my side and helped me pick myself up off of the ground. Jacob was gone and I had nine newborns to teach how to keep the secret. For the first time in my vampiric existence I was tired, mentally tired.

"Jasper, Please take over the newborns for me." He nodded and I walked slowly away from the clearing.

I wanted to be alone and I didn't at the same time. I had spent the last few weeks away from Edward and it had been painful. He followed me tentatively. I stopped and held out my hand. He took it and we ran back to the house. I had stopped sobbing and looked into his face.

"I love you Edward Cullen."

"I love you Bella." He kissed me. "And now I have forever to prove it to you."

"I can live with that."

We drove to the lake to find my plane and I flew it home where it belonged. When we returned, everyone was at the house. Jasper was explaining the rules of secrecy to the weeks old vampires. Even though the royalty was dead, secrecy was still our way of life. Gena was talking to Carlisle about our lifestyle. I walked up to our room to change my clothes.

"Edward?"

"Yes."

"Why were you glaring at Darius?" I took off my boots.

"He wants you. What can I say? I'm a jealous man." He shrugged.

"Thank you for leaving Jacob and I. It meant a lot to me." I took off my shirt.

"You are welcome." He looked at me like I was one hundred feet tall. "You are extraordinary Bella. You orchestrated our survival all on your own all the while protecting us with your secrecy in case you weren't successful."

"That's not true. Alice was there. And the wolves did a large part." I grabbed a dress to put on and Edward stopped my hand on the hanger.

"I can't let you put that on Mrs. Cullen." He smiled and I smiled back taking his shirt off with one fluid movement.

We had forever to be with each other and with our family. I also had forever to mourn my brother Jacob.