CHAPTER 31

-:- A House Divided Amongst Itself Cannot Stand -:-

2016 -:- Present Day

It was odd and vaguely familiar smelling Charlie's blood, and I smiled even if it was somewhat inappropriate. He'd dropped like a rock and everyone had been too shocked to stop his head from hitting the side-table on the way down to the floor. He had a deep gash on his forehead which was bleeding profusely. Alice was holding her breath, pressing a towel to his head to staunch the flow while we waited for Carlisle to get his suture kit. The others vacated to the kitchen, not wanting to tempt fate being so close to fresh blood. Only Alice and I were left with an unconscious Charlie, and an overprotective Seth keeping watch.

It was quite a mess, and maybe Emmett was right, disaster did follow me and Bella wherever we went.

"I saw her..." Charlie said, coming to.

His skin was deathly pale and his eyes were unfocused, but his pulse was steady and strong. We helped him sit up, keeping his back leaning against the wall. Carlisle warned us he might go into shock, which was understandable for a man who had just learned of the existence of werewolves and vampires and seen the ghost of his daughter.

He was doing fairly well considering.

"She was standing at the end of the hall..." He trailed off and then his eyes searched the room. Seth gave me a worried look, and asked what Charlie was rambling about.

Carlisle returned, with kit in hand and concern in his thoughts. I was grateful for his ability to stay calm in such a crisis. There had been no time to decide what to tell Charlie or Seth, and I needed Carlisle's guidance before Charlie became too lucid and started asking questions I wasn't prepared to answer. He was going to need a few stitches, which was obvious, but Carlisle reassured us it looked worse than it was. Head wounds bled a lot, he reminded the three of us.

I can give him something to keep him groggy, if you need some time, Carlisle thought silently while he prepped what he needed, but I don't think that's wise given his condition. He may have a concussion. He's in shock so we can use this if you still want to keep Bella's existence a secret. He's going to have one nasty headache, and we have nothing here other than Esme's willow bark. She's brewing some tea now.

"Doc, I'm okay," Charlie said, his voice a little thick. "Just a bump to the head. Nothing to it."

"Well, we're going to have to stop the bleeding first," Carlisle said and chuckled. "Just a couple stitches. Nothing to it."

Charlie's eyes went wide at the mention of blood and glanced to Seth. His heart started racing and he looked panicked, sweeping his eyes from me to Alice and lastly to Carlisle.

"S'okay, Charlie. Relax," Seth said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Everything's good. We're good." His eyebrows were raised and he turned to me. We are good, right?

Charlie pulled away from Alice, and the blood started to run down the side of his face again.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm okay." His eyes locked onto the bloody compress Alice had been holding against his scalp and his skin blanched further. "I'm sorry."

"It's quite all right," Carlisle said.

"But... how can you stand it?"

"Many, many years of practice." Carlisle gave him a warm smile and lifted Alice's hand back up to his head, pressing the towel to the deep gash again. "Helps, too, if you don't need to breathe." Charlie's eyes went wide again and he sort of half laughed in disbelief with a slight bit of horror.

"Really? You don't need to breathe?" Seth asked me, and I gave him a brief nod. "Cool."

I've given up stitching one Swan for another, Carlisle joked with me. They are so much alike.

"This is going to hurt," Carlisle said aloud. "I don't have anything to numb it and there's no ice to dull the pain. I wish I didn't have to stitch it up right away, I'd like the swelling to come down some, but I'm sure you can understand the circumstances and why I must do this." He smiled again at Charlie who, in turn, gave his consent.

I could hear Jacob outside and switched my attention to him. Bella had run as soon as Charlie saw her, and Jacob went after her leaving us to pick up the pieces. Bella had only wanted to hear Charlie's voice. His scent had drawn her in, so she had moved into the hallway, hoping to get a glimpse of him. Her curiosity got the better of her, but it was in the worst possible way. We had no idea how Charlie would react to the truth of what we were, or that he would relive the guilt of Bella's death the way he had. When he stepped out into the hallway, everything happened in a matter of seconds. Bella was just as stunned as her father. She did the only thing she could do. She ran.

Luckily Jacob was quick to react. He followed her and convinced her to stop before she had gotten too far. They were slowly walking back to the house and were standing on the other side of the creek bed. While Carlisle stitched up Charlie's head, I listened to their conversation. Jacob was at least affording me that privilege. I owed him, I realized, and even though I was thankful, I hated being indebted to him.

"I know I don't know you, Bella," Jacob said, "maybe I never did, but I know Charlie. He's like a second father to me, to a lot of people. And I have to say... I've never seen him like this. I'm not trying to be a 'horse's ass' like you so eloquently put it the other day, but you, well you only spent a couple of summers with him when you were a kid and then a few months before all this happened." He raised his arms as a gesture to their surroundings. "He's your dad and all, but I've known him my whole life and trust me when I say, my whole life his thoughts have always been about you. I may not be able to read his mind like some people, but I know him, Bella."

"You said it wasn't a good idea to see him. You agreed with me."

"I did. It's not easy for me to say this, but I was wrong."

"Jacob—"

"Look, I have no idea what you've gone through, other than what you've briefly shared with me and the others. I'm not gonna pretend I have a handle on all this, 'cause I don't. From the looks of you... whatever it was, it wasn't good."

Through Jacob's thoughts, I saw Bella try to turn away from him, and even though it went against everything in his nature, he touched her, placing a gentle hand on her arm to stop her.

"Maybe... and just hear me out," he said, "maybe you need to see him more than he needs to see you."

"No," she whispered.

"He's your family, Bella. The Cullens have claimed you as theirs, maybe you are, but Charlie is yours. There's nothing more important in this world than that. That's all there is. We've all lived through this nightmare and we survived. Billy and Rachel are all I have left. We lost Rebecca, or we think we did, there's no way of knowing. It's just us now. I'd like to think she's out there. The 'not knowing' is hard for my dad. It was the same for Charlie. Family is family, no matter what. I have my wolf brothers, but they're not my blood."

"But don't you get it? I'm not his blood!" she yelled. "There's no blood in these veins!" She held out her arm and patted it with her other hand. "We're no longer blood. Even Edward said it, 'everything that was once human is gone.'"

My stomach flipped. I had been so careless with my words. Bella didn't want to see her father, not because of the pain she might cause him if we didn't return, but because she was ashamed of what she had become. An emotion we all knew too well, and nothing my family could say would help her get over that feeling.

"I know you don't believe that," Jacob said. "And you know how I know that? Because you loved that bloodsucker in there when you were human, so whatever part of him it was that you loved, that human side of him? That part is still in you as well." Jacob's voice had a hint of anger to it. He was trying to control his emotions, so to help, he kept talking. "Do you think you'll hurt him, is that it? Would you... you know... try to..." Eat him, Jacob finished in his head.

"No!" She laughed despite her anger. "I can control that part of me."

"Then what is it?" He tried another approach. "So, this warrior Bella is just scared then," he teased.

Bella rolled her eyes. "I'm not scared."

"Yes, you are. Hell, I was terrified enough telling my sister what I am—and I had Billy and Paul with me. But Leah? Man, definitely not a conversation I want to relive. It was a horrible way to find out, but I'm relieved she knows now." Jacob continued to tell Bella about Leah, and I knew he was just talking to soothe her worries. He was trying to make her laugh at his story of a wolf getting his ass-kicked by a human girl. He was trying to chip away at that hard edge Bella had built up again. I was envious of his easy going nature. As much as I hated to admit it, he had a way with her... with people in general, even if I never really got to see that side of him. He'd gotten Bella to laugh, and I was jealous once again of another man. He had managed to convey everything she needed to hear with simple words, something I wouldn't have been able to do. If I had said the words, they wouldn't have reached her. I had no family, no blood, no ties to this earth other than the people I proclaimed as 'family.' Only Jacob could have gotten through to her, and my heart and head were in a battle over that knowledge. Jacob was my enemy, just as I was his, but in this moment I suppose I needed him and the knowledge of that quite simply... pissed me off.

What is it, Edward? Alice asked. I must have been frowning, for she was looking at me with concern. Where did she go? I briefly smiled letting her know everything was okay, and it was. It was only my insecurities that were the problem. I left the conversation that was happening outside, and came back to the one happening inside. Carlisle had almost finished up. He was looking Charlie over, just to make sure he didn't have a concussion, and checking to see if there was anything else he needed to be concerned about. Esme had brought in some of her willow bark tea and she was trying to convince Charlie to drink it, despite its terrible odor.

Charlie rested his head up against the wall. He looked so incredibly exhausted having spent the entire night awake. The sun was up in the sky; he'd been up for twenty-four hours, and they hadn't been easy hours either. He closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

"I know it's not possible," he said with his eyes still closed, "but it was her. It was Bella." He shook his head slightly and winced from the pain.

We can't do this to him, Alice said to me. She had her hand on his shoulder and was rubbing soothing circles trying to comfort him. He should be told the truth. It'll be okay, Edward. Trust me.

I wanted to trust Alice. I agreed with her, but it wasn't our decision to make. It wasn't just me Bella needed time with, it was everything and everyone. Her life was moving too fast for her. She'd spent almost ten years living the same miserable existence, and now it was sensory overload for her. She hadn't been given time to digest what had happened to her in less than a month. We were slowly working through her tough exterior, trying to get her to see reason, but to undo ten years of suffering would take more than a few weeks.

Hearing the family name coming from Jacob's thoughts, I turned back to the conversation happening outside.

"As much as the Cullens go against everything that's ingrained in my makeup, I realize they're good...ah... people. I still don't trust them, not sure if I ever will—it's a genetic thing, I guess—but I can respect them and what they're trying to do. Telling Charlie was the right thing. I see that now. We need him on board if we're going to survive any of this. He sees logic and reason, when others—namely me—tend to act on impulse. Your father," he said and paused, giving her hand a squeeze, "is a survivor. He's a good man. You should go to him, get to know him again. You saw how he blames himself. It's not fair. Of all the people in this world, Charlie deserves some peace."

None of us had been able to break through to her when it came to Charlie. She had turned from Jacob and walked a few paces away, taking the space she needed.

"No matter what I've become," Jacob said, "or what I've done, I'll always be Billy's son. I know Charlie, and you'll always be his daughter, Bella."

She kept him waiting with her back to him, and just when he was about to give up and leave her to her thoughts, she turned around. We both saw the doubt in her expression. I wanted to be with her, to comfort her, and from Jacob's thoughts he wanted to do the same. For a brief moment, he wanted to pull her into his arms and ease her worries, but those thoughts quickly left his head when she raised her eyes to meet his. She really wasn't the girl he remembered. He was desperately trying to suppress the wolf side of him, and I waited in anticipation while he struggled. I was ready to run after them if he changed his mind, but then he surprised me once again.

"You call that Garrett guy family, don't you?" She nodded. "It's not what runs in your veins, it's more than that. You know that." Their eyes were locked, until Jacob had to look away. "Charlie will still love you, Bella," he managed to croak out. "Family runs deeper than that."

If I hadn't heard it, I wouldn't have believed what Jacob had said. His head was full of battling emotions, but for Charlie he was willing to push it aside. The respect he had for him far out-weighed any of the legends that existed between our kind.

When he finally looked back at her, she was staring at his feet, and twisting the edge of her shirt. It was unexpected to both of us how vulnerable she seemed. With a quick nod of her head, Bella gave in. A genuine smile crossed my face. It wasn't right to let Charlie continue to blame himself for her death. Jacob knew Charlie best, and if he thought he was strong enough for this, then we should all be willing to trust him.

Alice and Esme saw my reaction and understood what my expression meant. Relief swept through the room and Esme left Carlisle's side to wrap her arms around me.

It will be all right. We'll get them through this, Esme said.

Jasper had joined us, still not willing to part from Alice for long, which was a blessing because the room was going to need his talent. Jasper shared a look with me, and then his thoughts rang loud and clear.

How do you want to do this? I'll do what I can, but this isn't going to be easy on either of them. My eyes settled on the scar next to his eye, and I realized how much I'd missed my brother. Since his return, I hadn't had time to truly thank him for everything he'd done for me. Another time, I thought. He gave me an inquisitive look—a smirk, no less—and I briefly wondered if we'd ever have simpler times again.

Carlisle moved closer to Charlie, bending down to look him in the eyes. We wanted to be sure where his head was at and if his heart could handle the shock before we introduced him to Bella, his long-lost vampire daughter. He was still sitting against the wall. The color was returning to his cheeks as he slowly become more responsive. His eyes snapped open, staring at me frantically and his voice was a little shaky.

"Her eyes were red," he said, before looking to the others. "It was her, but it wasn't. Did you see her? Or am I just a crazy old man hoping for something so badly I'm imagining things now?" My family waited for me to answer, sharing looks of concern. He'd mistaken their expressions, and turned his attentions back to me. There was sympathy in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Edward, I shouldn't be talking this crazy talk. I'm an old fool who's seeing ghosts 'cause he can't let them go."

"Charlie," I said, "I saw her, too." I met Esme's eyes, looking for guidance.

I'll tell him, she volunteered. It might be easier coming from me.

"You saw her ghost?"

"No..." Esme said, and moved to hold his hand. "Not her ghost. Bella's with us. She's one of us." The confession would be heard best coming out of Esme's mouth. She had such a tender and soothing way about her, it might be easier hearing the truth from her. It also helped to have Jasper manipulating Charlie's emotions, but it didn't seem to matter much. Charlie sat there with a confused look while Esme went on to explain where Jasper found her—the real story of what he found down in the South. She left out a lot of the details, most of them, to spare him from the worst of it even though he'd already heard a great deal of it earlier. It didn't seem like Charlie comprehended anything she was saying. His mouth hung open, and his eyes were vacant. It didn't look like he was breathing, but his heart was beating, if not a little erratically.

"She's here?" Charlie asked with doubt in his voice. "W-what? Where? Where is she!" He started to rise but Carlisle placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him from getting up.

"Charlie," Carlisle said, still worried about his present condition. "Please, just take a moment."

"Don't!" He shrugged away from Carlisle's grip. "Don't touch me." He turned, using the wall for leverage and shakily stood up while he held his head in one hand. "You've been lying to me? You kept her from me?" He winced from the pain as he turned to look at each of us, confusion and betrayal playing on his face. We all heard his pulse quicken and Carlisle stayed by his side, fearing he'd topple over again.

Seth stood in the corner of the room with his arms folded and his head down. He was angry with all of us for the pain we were causing Charlie. His jaw was clenched and for the first time, I noticed Seth was a man, not a boy like we'd assumed he was. Jasper noticed the tension coming from him.

Are we going to have a problem? Jasper asked.

"No, he's processing," I said low enough so only he would hear.

"Did you know?" Charlie asked, shaking his head. "Did you know she was... alive?" He looked at me accusingly.

"No," I said, without any expression.

"All this time she was in that place!" He looked at Alice.

"We never knew," Alice pleaded. "I never saw it. I'm sorry, Charlie." She buried her head into Jasper's side.

Charlie nodded slowly, but he had shook off all reason and started to panic. Everyone turned to me for confirmation, but he'd shut me out. Jasper tried to calm him, but even he was at a loss. How would someone take the news of hearing their daughter who had been dead for over a decade was now standing outside, but her heart was no longer beating?

"We thought she was gone... we did," Esme said. "We never would have stopped looking for her. Everything we discovered led us to believe she was dead. It was a miracle Jasper found her."

Charlie frantically looked about the room, searching each of us out, then his eyes finally rested on Carlisle. "You weren't going to tell me." His anger was back. Seth pushed away from the wall, moving to Charlie's side to join him. "Where is she!" Charlie yelled and his chest was pumping up and down. "You were going to keep her from me! Who do you think you are? What right do you have? If I hadn't come here demanding answers, you wouldn't have told me." Seth was about to join the argument, when we heard a voice from the hall.

"It was my decision," Bella said.

Charlie's heart missed a beat. We all heard it, even Bella. I ached for her, knowing how difficult this was. I wanted to go to her, but I doubted she would welcome me. This, she needed to do on her own. Through Jacob's thoughts, I could see her wringing her hands, squeezing them tightly, and then she dropped them, righted her shoulders and stepped in to the room to come face to face with her father.

"Hi, Charlie," she said so low, I wasn't sure with his human ears he would have heard her.

It took two strides for Charlie to reach her. He wrapped her in his arms and buried his head into her hair.

"Bells," he whispered over and over again, until his emotions overtook him and his voice wouldn't work. But he didn't let her go. He held her as his whispers turned to sobs, and from what we could see Bella was hugging him back.

Let's give them their time, Carlisle said to me, patting my chest. He led the family, including Seth, toward the door. I gave Bella and Charlie one last glance, before following the others outside, where Jacob was already waiting for us. He was next to the creek, standing with his arms crossed looking at the pile of logs Emmett and Jasper had gathered from the standing deadwood in the area. They'd been felling trees and dragging them to the house so the others could split it into firewood for the compound. This was our part to help keep everyone warm for the upcoming winter.

I took a deep breath, swallowing my pride, and went to stand next to him.

"You doing this for us?" Jacob asked kicking one of the logs and then swept his arm to the large pile of firewood we'd already stocked.

"Alice thinks it's going to be a tough winter."

"She's working again, then?" he asked.

"No, but it's best to trust she's right. And she usually is."

He only nodded, his arms still crossed, and then looked around at some of the other stuff we'd been experimenting with. Esme's make-shift greenhouse which grew many of the herbs Carlisle needed to replace his dwindling medical supplies. Emmett's water filtration disaster, and even Rosalie and Alice's ridiculous idea for producing biodiesel. Our efforts were all laid out in the daylight, exposed, for him to see.

The wind had picked up; it was well past morning and the trees were creaking. The silence between us was almost laughable, as neither of us had the conversation skills to hide our lack of contempt for each other.

"I was wro—"

"I was wro—"

"What?" we both said, speaking at the same time again. We gave each other a short, quick smile and I gestured for him to go ahead.

"We'll never be friends," Jacob said matter-of-factly.

"No, I don't suppose we will."

"But I can respect what you're doing for my people."

I nodded slowly. "I can respect what you did for Bella and Charlie."

"You aren't going to win this fight, are you?"

I let the silence stand for a few moments before I finally answered truthfully. "No."

Now it was his turn to think, and I watched the scenarios fly around through his head as he weighed all of his options and the options for the people in the compound. Eventually he turned to face me.

"I never understood what was between the two of you. It's hard for me to accept it now, but I do. She's not the Bella I remember. I hope Charlie can see past what I can't."

"She's not as different as you think."

"She's one of you, now." He said it with disgust, but I didn't take offense. His statement was a measure of pride for me.

"She always was."

He scoffed, shaking his head as he kicked a stone as hard as he could into the shallow creek. He was pensive while he watched the murky water flow past us. It was minutes before he spoke.

"I suppose she was."

"Jacob, thank you." I said it as sincerely as I meant it. "It pains me to say this, but I owe you."

"Let's call it even," he said and kicked the log in front of him again. "I'm sure you hate being indebted to me as much I as do to you." He laughed a little, and I joined him as we headed back to find the others.

-:-

THERE WERE DAYS LIKE I was having today when I couldn't remember my life without Bella. The hours floated into days and before we knew it, we had settled into a routine. We trained at nights, away from the prying eyes of Charlie and Seth who were desperate to be included in our plans. It was one of the conditions set forth by Bella. Her father was not to be involved in any of the planning, other than what she thought was necessary for the safety of the people in the compound.

Charlie came to the house every day, and every day it was a struggle to get him to leave before the dark set in, but that was another condition Bella made Charlie agree to. She wanted him safely behind the compound gates by the time the sun had set. He wanted her to come to the compound, meet the rest of his family and see her old friends, but this was something Bella would not budge on. Her stubbornness came through with shining colors and she made it adamantly clear she wanted nothing to do with the humans in the compound. It hurt Charlie, more than he let on, he wanted to shout to the heavens his daughter was alive, that she was here with him, but instead he was forced to stifle his excitement and even his happiness. To be near her again he was reluctantly willing to pay the price.

Bella and I were on our way to meet the family and the wolves at the training grounds we had set up. The sun was setting leaving the sky dark grey, threatening the evening with rain. With the smell of winter on its way, the air hung heavy, crisp and cool. We walked hand in hand with a comfortable silence stretching between us. What leaves were left had turned brown and most of them lay under our feet, crunching while we walked. Bella stopped suddenly, dropping my hand while looking off to the West where the sun was disappearing over the horizon.

"Do you smell that?"

"What is it?" I asked in alarm, obviously having missed what she was sensing.

"I've missed this," she said so low I wasn't sure I heard her correctly. She took a deep breath and raised her arms away from her body.

"Missed what?" I followed her eye line to the West.

"This." She kicked at the ground and the leaves rustled around her foot. "Smell it."

"The dirt?"

"Not just the dirt," she said, a little short-tempered. She took a deep breath and I did the same. I inhaled the smell of decaying fall foliage. "It's sweet almost." She smiled with her eyes closed.

"You're happy," I said with as much content as she was feeling.

"Why do you say that?"

"The Bella I know would never stand amongst the trees smelling and smiling. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen you this, I guess the word is... peaceful."

"It's not that, it's just not so stifling here, out from Charlie's thumb. It's not that I don't love being with him, but it's like I traded one jail for another."

"You think that? We have you in a jail?"

"No... not really, but I still don't feel like I have my life back. I've never felt my life is my own, even now."

I pulled her to me, wrapping her in my arms. "Soon, Bella. All this will end one way or another and if we survive, I promise we'll do whatever it is you want to do. Anything."

"And what about Charlie?"

"Charlie will just have to learn to share." I kissed the top of her head. "He doesn't want to let you out of his sight. I think I can sympathize with the man."

"I'm beginning to think the pits weren't so bad." Slapping my chest, she pushed away from me. She gave me a quick kiss on the lips, and then took off running through the trees expecting me to chase her, which of course I did.

I let Bella think she could outrun me, but the truth was I enjoyed watching her. With every stride, and every move she made to avoid something in her path, she amazed me. I never realized how much I wanted this with her. I'd tried so desperately to deny it, but having her with me at my side as an equal surpassed all of my expectations and desires. She was stunning in every way and she was mine once again. If Maria's army tried to take her away from me, I would destroy every last one of them. This, I was absolutely positive about.

Watching her long brown hair—now clean and shiny thanks to Alice—flowing behind her, I was reminded of the smell of strawberries once upon a time. It was little things like the scent of her long forgotten shampoo that would bring me back to the present and what we faced in the days ahead. Every training session was daunting, but necessary. Bella had been pushing us as much as she could, and the wolves watched in awe at the rigorous exercises she put us through. Between Bella and Jasper, our nights were planned until dawn.

We were the last ones to arrive at the clearing, which was usually the way. My family had been kind enough to give Bella and me our space; what little alone time we had was precious to us both and they respected that; unfortunately it didn't mean I could escape the endless taunts from Emmett and Jasper. In their thoughts I was still fair game.

Emmett heard us first, nudging Jasper to let him know we had arrived. The two of them smiled, and so began the wisecracks.

I think you've made a good dent in that missing decade, Emmett said silently. Look who's finally smiling after a hundred years.

My system can't take any more of this, Edward. I'm trying hard to keep everyone focused and you're making it... difficult, Jasper thought. All that… what's the word? He laughed. Lust?

Both of them were grinning at me, and the two fools were smart enough to keep their comments between us and away from Esme's hearing. I'm sure she would come up with some kind of punishment for their behavior. She had become quite protective of Bella and me, and between her and Charlie, I could understand why Bella was feeling the way she was. She'd been without anyone for ten years and now she was being thrust into an unconventional family with two fathers and a mother who were also making up for lost time. Overwhelming and stifling, to say the least.

I chose to ignore Jasper and Emmett as always, and instead joined Carlisle.

Everything okay? he asked. And it was for now, so I nodded, smiling.

Alice had rushed to meet Bella, grateful for any extra time she got with her. She embraced her and the two settled into their own conversation.

"Are the wolves joining us tonight?" Carlisle asked aloud.

"Jacob said some of them would, others are patrolling."

Carlisle nodded in understanding. "That 'hive' mind is fascinating," he said in awe. "I'd love to know the inner workings of it."

Since we started training, only some of the wolves would join us, and that was all that was needed. Their shared minds meant whatever one wolf learned, the others would know instantly. It was fascinating, if not a little frustrating for me. The last thing I needed was for Jacob to see me get my ass handed to me every night by Bella. Much of my tactics and the way I fought depended on my ability and anticipating my opponent's moves through their thoughts, but with Maria's army and Emilia present, I wasn't going to have that luxury. The only person it was beneficial to train against was Bella. And I wasn't exactly going to fight her like I would Emmett or Jasper or even Carlisle. She knew this, using every opportunity to land me on my backside.

"I wonder if the wolves would be affected by Emilia," I asked.

"Interesting thought," Carlisle looked off into the trees, "I wouldn't think so. It's part of what they are, their genetic make-up I'm assuming."

Just as we finished our words, the wind shifted and we smelled the wolves coming from the West. It was Jacob and a few of the young ones I didn't know, but they weren't alone.

"They're back," I whispered. My family stopped what they were doing and looked at me in question.

"Who's back?" Bella eyes were filled with excitement.

"Garrett and Kate," I said, turning my attention to the direction I knew they were coming from. Before we even had a chance to process what it meant, they appeared where I was looking. Bella rushed from my side and threw herself into Garrett's arms. No matter how much I tried to reassure myself, it still hurt, even more so when my family shared my thoughts. I swallowed my pride again, and slowly walked to meet them.

I was the first to embrace Kate and welcome her home, only to be met by the same sentiments I was feeling. She let me see how close she and Garrett had become, so watching Bella's reunion with him was almost as painful for her as it was for me.

The family joined us, letting Garrett and Bella be for a moment. In the midst of hearing about their journey, I heard the sound of flesh meeting flesh.

"How could you!" I heard Bella yell, and watched as her hand connected with his face again. She turned to me with accusation in her eyes. "Did you know?"

"Know what?" I asked in complete and utter confusion.

"You smell of her," she said and pushed Garrett away.

I looked from Bella to Garrett to Kate, appalled by Bella's behavior.

"Bella," I said with my arms raised walking toward her. My voice was soothing hoping it would calm and hoping Jasper would help me out.

"Did you know?" she asked me again. "Was this part of your plan?"

"Bella, I don't know what you're talking about."

"He didn't know," Jasper said stepping between us. "Garrett and I planned it."

Bella stepped forward and stood face to face with Jasper. The look of betrayal was clearly written across her face as if I could read her mind. We all watched in shock and confusion at what was happening. No one said a word, no one was breathing. It was as though we were watching a film in slow motion. Bella raised her hand for the third time and slammed it into the side of Jasper's face. She spun on her heel and took off into the trees.

"What the hell?" Emmett asked, breaking our silence. He asked the obvious question the rest of us were too stunned to ask.

Jasper rubbed the side of his cheek and I stood rooted to my spot, just as confused as the others. Both he and Garrett let me see what their plan had been. It had nothing to do with Kate and I was ashamed for jumping to that conclusion and doubting Bella's reaction.

"Garrett went back," Jasper said without remorse.

Alice turned to Garrett and Jasper, her expression furious as she narrowed her eyes at her husband's cheek. "You deserved that."

"Men," Rosalie said. "Why do you think by keeping things from us you're protecting us?" Her arms were crossed and she was glaring at all of the men in her life.

"Don't lump me in with those three. I'd have told you if I knew," Emmett said with his arms raised up in defense.

"It had to be done," Jasper said, not apologizing for his behavior. "We had to know what Maria was up to."

"In and out. That's all I did," Garrett tried to explain. "She didn't even know I was there."

"Or so you think," I said surprising myself at how furious I was with them. Not for the act itself, but for leaving me out of their plans. Now I understood why Jasper had been avoiding me. I thought it was to give us our space, but it was to keep his secret from me.

"Don't you see?" Alice looked first at Garrett then to Jasper, and finally to me. "We'll never win with all these secrets. I thought we were done with all of that. There was a time in this family when secrets weren't possible. We were our strongest then." She let her statement stand for a moment. "We can't continue this way. No more!" She turned on her heel and ran after Bella with Rosalie close behind. Emmett called after them but stood where he was. He knew when to pick his battles with Rosalie, and he was too curious to know what Garrett had been doing.

"Someone better start talking," Emmett said.

"Yes, they had," Esme agreed in a clipped voice. She glared at Carlisle accusingly, disappointed, waiting for him to explain.

"Carlisle didn't know either," Jasper said. "It was our idea and ours alone."

"I went back to the caves. To Maria."

"Why?"

"We had to know what she was up to. Whether they were on the move or if she was staying put."

"And?"

"Are we really going to explain this twice?" Garrett turned back to the trees. "We don't have time for this!" he yelled. "Nix! I know you can hear me. Stop being unreasonable and come hear me out."

The girls hadn't gone far. We could still hear them while they tried to comfort Bella in between their curses at the rest of us. For once I wasn't to blame for this and I had to admit, it was a relief. We waited a few minutes, and finally the three appeared through the trees. We could see by their expressions, none of them had calmed down and by the time they reached us, the tension had to be defused by Jasper.

"I'm not to be left out of any future decisions." There was no mistaking Bella's tone—even I felt the chill from where I was standing—but Garrett didn't seem bothered by it.

"Hey!" He grabbed her by the shoulders, and instinctively I wanted to stop him, but Kate held me back.

Let them settle this, she said silently to me.

"You are not responsible for me," Garrett said, shaking Bella. "You got that? I make my own decisions, have done for hundreds of years before you came along. I know what I'm doing, so stop carrying that damn weight of responsibility around with you."

"If something were to happen to you—"

"Then it happens. You're not my protector. And you sure as hell are not responsible for me, or for any of these people! Get that through that thick skull of yours." He tapped her forehead with his finger. "We've been around a lot longer than you, and despite what you think, we do know some things."

Emmett shifted beside me and sucked in a breath, we all did, while we waited for Bella to fight back, but she didn't, so Garrett continued.

"From now on I promise you'll be included, but we did what needed to be done. We weren't keeping things just from you. No one knew, not even little Alice." Bella was looking at her feet, and he still had a hold of her by the arms. "Can you understand that?" She gave an imperceptible nod and he chuckled as he kissed the top of her head in return.

She stepped away from him and wrinkled her nose. "You smell of that place. You smell of death." We could all smell it. Jasper had smelled the same when he had come back. Maria's plague could not spread to here, and we all understood why Garrett had gone, even Bella.

"You're so stubborn," Garrett said. "Do you want to hear what we found out or not?"

"Well, I do," Emmett said, breaking the tension as was always his way.

Garrett threw a grateful look to him before sharing the information.

"They're staying put, but not for long. She's getting ready to move. She needs you, Nix, and Isaac says she's coming to get you." He turned to Jasper. "And now she knows you're all connected, she'll use the rest of you for leverage."

"She has Emilia, so why me?"

"She's been scouting for the Volturi ever since that vamp showed up. Remember him?"

"He was mad," Bella said in confusion. "She had him killed."

"Maria's never been stupid. Always cautious. She would have sent scouts out to discover the truth. If there was any shred of evidence they were on this continent, she would search them out," Garrett said.

"I take it from the excitement rolling off the two of you," Jasper nodded at Garrett and Kate, "she found them."

"Maria needs both you and Emilia to defeat the Volturi," Garrett said.

"They're here?" Emmett asked.

"Yes."

"How?"

"We'll soon find out. They're on their way here with Carmen and Eleazar."

.

-:- Bella's Journal -:-

FOR THE PAST FEW months Maria has had us above ground on nights when there is a new moon. At least she's limited it to the nights when the humans can't see what invades their dreams. We raid under the cover of darkness, but that doesn't mean it's any less conspicuous. It's like she wants us to draw attention to the unnatural ways we can break through the barriers of these settlements, like she wants someone or something to notice what we've been doing.

I've heard the rumblings of the others, not that they speak to me directly, but through Isaac I know who they fear. The little Haitian vampire was the only one who would talk with me openly, maybe because he knows so much about fear, and what others fear the most. He realizes I'm not a threat to him, especially if someone is going to offer me a small amount of kindness. He says I'm strange, different he calls me, says I fear nothing, but I know that's not true. I have fear, but unlike the others, I don't fear Maria, I fear what she's going to do to the world and I told him so. He laughed, it was almost like a school-girl giggle it was so high-pitched, and then he took hold of my hand and looked into my eyes like he was searching my soul, if I had one. His eyes rolled back into his head, and just when I thought he was going to pass out, he dropped my hand and clucked his tongue, sucking in a deep breath. He was looking for what my 'true fear' was, not my speculations of what the world was becoming. He said I was a 'puzzle,' at least that's what I thought he said, it's hard to understand him sometimes with his thick accent. I told him it didn't surprise me he couldn't get into my head, and I left it at that. Even I don't know what my 'true fear' is, but I'm fairly certain it has something to do with you, Edward. That's all I needed was for Isaac, who only looked out for himself, to know that deep seated secret. For once, I guess I'm grateful for my broken brain.

I asked Isaac what it was that Maria feared, and he looked at me like I really was crazy.

"Unly one ting da missus fear," he said and left my cavern. He never finished his sentence, knowing damn well he would be a fool to betray that information to me.

It wasn't difficult to guess, not when she was planning these raids, and wasn't exactly being discreet about them. Last night, I finally understood what it was all about. She was baiting someone to come find her, hoping she would finally have her answers.

"What happened to subtlety?" I asked her. "Keeping it low-key?" Maria and I were standing together, overlooking the damage we had just done to the latest settlement. The fires burned brightly against the dark skies, and the screams and wails could still be heard as loved ones started to realize who amongst them were gone, or dead, ripped apart by savage beasts that looked a lot like men, but weren't.

We had come to an understanding, the two of us. I needed her to trust me, and she wanted to trust me. Neither of us did, but we met somewhere in the middle of that trust.

"It happens," Maria said, her eyes cold and unfeeling as she surveyed the destruction below. "They get a little bloodthirsty. Who am I to deny them who they are?"

"Maria," I said, "this won't go unnoticed. Someone, the Vol—"

"It's been ten years, Phoenix!" She whipped her body around at an unnatural speed and turned her venomous gaze on me. "Who exactly is going to find out? There's only us. There is no one else."

I fought to stay composed, but my insides were turning at an alarming speed. I felt my rage building, and that little ball of fire had started to burn. Ten years. I had no idea ten years had passed. Sometimes it felt like months, other times it felt like decades, but not knowing allowed me to live the lie.

Life was carrying on without me. I should be twenty-eight now. I should be married maybe with a child, and another one on the way. I should be living in a house with a porch swing and a bright red door, and I should be kissing my husband goodnight as we settle in for the evening. This is what I should be doing, but I was never destined to that life. Never. I always knew that. I was born to be something else. I'm a fighter, destined to fight.

"This one." Maria's voice brought me back, reminding me of my reality while I dreamed of the 'should've's.' She had grabbed hold of a human by his hair, and when his eyes landed on mine, I saw the defiance and hatred there. "He's a fighter." He struggled against her grip. "Now, now," Maria scolded him. "You made me a promise. I can still take that wife and precious boy of yours—what was his name? Christopher? I'm sure he'll make a nice playmate for my Emilia."

"You leave my son alone!" he yelled, and his struggles ceased.

"So predictable." She laughed. "These humans and their pitiful love. Such a wasted emotion, but truly a motivating one." She patted the man on his head. "You'll do well in my arena, scrapper. I see promise in you." She licked the side of his cheek and pushed him on his way to join the other prisoners she had taken from the settlement. True to her word to me, she had only taken some of the men, and none of the women or children. It was the only way I had agreed to participate. She was willing to keep Emilia back at the caves on our night raids, which made me think Maria was having a difficult time controlling her tiny prodigy. Perhaps even Maria saw the monster Emilia had become. She didn't need Emilia to control me though; the threat of Garrett's life and these humans' were enough to keep me in line.

Maria was watching the man she said 'had promise' and a slow smile spread to her lips. "That one," she said, still staring at him. "I'll save a special treat for him."

"What's that?" I wasn't even sure why I'd asked, I knew I wouldn't want to hear it. Just when I think Maria shows a shred of humanity, she raises the bar on being evil.

"When I turn him, I'll bring him back here to finish what we started. He'll be bloodthirsty and he'll finish that little family of his." Her maniacal laugh echoed on the night air, and the chill of her words went straight to my spine. "Love." She spat the word out like poison on her tongue.

"You've never loved someone?"

She snared my chin with one hand, turning her lip up in disgust. "Have you?"

"Yes." I didn't even hesitate. I wanted to push her, find out what really made her tick. I think I already knew the answer, nothing made her tick other than the need for power, but after all these years on this earth, human or vampire, she must have loved someone.

"Of course you have. You're weak." She squeezed my jaw with her hand, then shoved me away. "Love is a weakness we can't afford, Phoenix."

Her statement wasn't far off the mark. I thought of Garrett and how his love for me had crippled the both of us ten years ago. And now it's my love for him that weakens us and keeps us here.

Love is a flaw. I want to believe love keeps us sane, keeps us human, but Maria's right, we are not human.

Seeing these horrors and being near someone like Maria, I understand more than ever why Carlisle is who he is. It would be easy to give in to the madness. It's a struggle every day. We all need something or someone to hold on to, human or vampire. Somewhere along the way, Maria lost this. Like any madman, Maria thinks she is invincible. She fears the power of the Volturi, but her fear drives her hatred of them as well, and this could possibly be her undoing. If the Volturi do exist, they are looking like the only chance we have of destroying her.

-:-