Bella

"He's a tracker," Evie was saying, "and Bella is his mark." The words were like ice down my spine.

"Carlisle, what are we going to do? We can't let him harm the girl." Esme's maternal voice sounded as worried as I felt.

"No, of course we won't." Carlisle answered. "We'll take her home with us, keep her safe."

"He'll wait!" Evie was yelling now in her panic. "He will not stop until he has her."

Carlisle was deep in thought. Evie was studying him, probably listening to his thought process. She kept shaking her head, and I assumed she was dismissing his ideas as quickly as he was coming up with them. "He will follow us no matter where we go." She told him grimly.

Emmett was looking back and forth between the two of them. "We have to kill him." He said finally, interrupting their silent exchange.

Everyone stared at him.

"It's the only way." He said matter-of-factly.

"Emmett, you know we can't do that. It's forbidden." Carlisle told him sternly.

"Not if it's in self defense." He countered. "If he is dumb enough to go after Bella, he deserves what he gets."

Carlisle was shaking his head. "No. We would have to wait for him to make the first move. It's too risky."

"What other option do we have?" Evie asked quietly. She turned to me, her eyes brimming with emotion. "I won't let anything happen to you, I can't lose you." I nodded, unable to find words. She turned back to Emmett. "How are we going to do this?"

"We draw him out away from his coven. Then we pen him in, and let me at him." He grinned with malice, cracking his knuckles in his palm. I wasn't sure when I'd gotten on Emmett's good side, but I was glad. Even if he was only using me as an excuse to start a fight, he seemed to have my back.

"Where are you planning to lead him?" Esme asked. "We can't use our house, the lab…"

Carlisle thumbed his phone and started speaking into it too swiftly for me to catch any of the words. The call only lasted a few seconds. "The Denali coven is travelling. They have given us permission to use their home." he told us as he shoved the phone back into his pocket. "Eva, you take Bella there as fast as you can. The rest of us will try to head them off."

"Wait!" Alice said suddenly. "I can't scan ahead for you." She told me and Evie. "But if I go with Bella, and you go with the others I will be able to see for all of you."

"No, absolutely not!" Evie cried. "I'm not leaving you," she told me, taking both of my hands in hers.

"Think about it, Ev." Emmett told her gently. "After the way you protected her, this psycho is gonna assume that wherever you are, she will be."

"Alice's sight would be quite valuable in this situation." Carlisle told her.

Evie stood still for a long moment, her eyes dark as logic battled against her desire to protect me. Finally she nodded. "Very well." Then she turned to Alice. "But if you lay so much as a finger on her…" The warning in her voice was severe, and I was suddenly afraid for Alice. Why was Evie threatening her?

"I would never do anything without your consent." Alice told her stiffly, chin raised in defiance. "Besides, I don't even know if I could do it. I would never take that chance."

"Good."

Jasper, who had been standing off to the side of the group farthest away from me, stepped forward now. "I will go with Alice and Bella."

Evie bristled at this. "You don't have enough control yet!" The panic was overwhelming her now.

"Jazz, I love you but you are the best fighter. They will need you more than I will. I can take care of myself and Bella." Alice told him gently.

"But if you are with her you won't be able to see for yourself." The worry in his voice was evident.

"I will just have to take that chance. Besides, I will be watching ahead for all of you. I will be able to see what James is doing. If the vision goes blank I will know he is coming to us and we will leave immediately." Jasper didn't look convinced by Alice's words, but he did not argue.

"Okay, here is what we're going to do." Carlisle brought everyone's attention back to him. "Esme, you can go to the Denali house with Alice and Bella." Esme nodded. "Emmett, Jasper, and Evie will lead James into the mountains. If he attacks, you will dispatch him. If he flees, you will let him go." He stared at each of them to make sure his point was understood. "Rosalie, you and I will lead the other two into town. I am confident I can reason with both of them once they are away from James."

Rosalie crossed her arms and glared at Carlisle. "What is she to me? I don't understand why we all have to risk our necks for one human." She sneered at me.

I decided to speak up before Carlisle could respond. "I agree with Rosalie." I said, and everyone gaped at me. "None of you should have to risk your lives for me."

"Bella what are you saying?" Evie was on the verge of hysterics.

"You have saved my life three times now." I told her. "You have welcomed me into your home and trusted me with your secret. I couldn't live with myself if any of you were hurt because of me."

Emmett laughed now, dispelling the macabre mood. "Not to worry, kid. We can handle ourselves."

"He's right, Bella." Jasper added. It was the first time he had spoken to me directly. "This mission is well within our abilities."

"You are one of us now, Bella." Carlisle told me. "We take care of our family."

His words filled me with warmth from my toes to my fingertips. "Okay," I said, trying in vain to keep my voice steady through the waves of emotion. "I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Good," Carlisle smiled warmly at me. "Give me your jacket."

I removed my raincoat and handed it to him, perplexed. He handed it to Rosalie. "Put this on." He told her. "No arguments," he added before she could protest. She shrugged my jacket on, glaring at me the whole time. But her animosity could not break through the happiness I felt at being welcomed into Evie's family with open arms.

"Eva," He continued with the instructions. "Carry Bella to the Jeep. Try not to let her touch anything on the way. Then Alice and Esme will drive her up to Denali while you and your brothers seek out James. Remember what I said." He cautioned her sternly. Her mouth was set in a tight line, but she nodded to show she understood.

"Ahh," Alice said. "I can see now! This will work. The tracker will pick up the scent of the jacket and follow Rose and Carlisle toward town. The other two are not with him."

"Excellent!" Emmett cried. "We'll have a clear shot. Let's do this!" His enthusiasm for the fight should have been frightening, but instead I felt comforted. Then before I knew what was happening my feet were being swept out from under me as Evie lifted me into her arms. I didn't have time to marvel at the fact that she carried me as if I were weightless, because we were currently running through the trees at breakneck speed toward the Jeep.

I squeezed my eyes shut as the landscape blurred around us, tucking my head into Evie's shoulder. She bent her head down to mine, pressing her lips to the top of my head as she ran. "I'm going to keep you safe," she told me. "I will do whatever I have to to make sure he can never come after you, no matter what Carlisle says."

I opened my mouth to tell her not to do anything stupid, but she already had the door open and was buckling me into the back seat of the Jeep. "Stay close to Esme," she told me, her fathomless golden eyes burning with intensity, and then she was kissing me fiercely. Before I could say a word she was gone, leaving only the taste of her lips on mine.

Esme gunned the Jeep forward while Alice sat shotgun, her eyes unfocused as she scanned ahead for the others. "Rose and Carlisle left a clear trail for him to follow. It won't be long now." She said out loud. I felt tension rising up inside of me as we began the long drive toward Alaska. Alice seemed to be taking a break from her visions, so I jumped at the chance to ask her a question.

"Alice," I began.

"Yes?" She turned around in her seat to look at me.

"Why is Evie mad at you?" I had no idea if she would answer, but I had to try.

"I may have suggested that turning you into a vampire would solve many of our problems. Our current situation strengthens my point." She answered pragmatically as if we were discussing the weather rather than my mortality.

I stared at her in shock. It had not even occurred to me that that was an option. "Would that work?" I asked.

"Well, James wouldn't be able to eat you for one thing." She told me. "Also, it would be easier for Evie to be with you, and easier for all of us to be around you. And, well, the truth is I am hoping that once you are turned I will be able to see you, and perhaps Evie would hear you as well." She said this as if vampirism was a certainty for my future.

I sat back in stunned silence. Was that what Evie wanted for me? To be like her, so she wouldn't have to keep protecting me all the time? The idea of spending eternity with her was enticing to be sure. But then I recalled her warning to Alice. She didn't want Alice to turn me. She was angry that Alice had even suggested it. She must not want to spend forever with me after all. My eyes were stinging with tears as we sped along the highway.

Alice was still watching me closely. "She loves you, you know." She told me assuredly.

I looked up at her, surprised. "How do you know that?"

"I've lived with the Cullens since I was turned. It's been almost a hundred years, and never once have I seen Evie act like this. With anyone, ever. You're good for her." She grinned at me then, and I felt a little better. She turned back around in her seat and resumed monitoring the others.

As we drove, I stared out at the emerald trees that whirled past us and thought about immortality. What would I have said if Evie had been the one to bring it up? Did I even want to be immortal? I wanted to be with Evie, more than I had ever wanted anything before. But did that mean I would have to leave my life behind me? It was suddenly all too much, and I felt as if the Jeep was closing in on me. I forced myself to calm down and focus on surviving the day. I could worry about eternity after I made it home tonight.

Evie

I was running hard through the forest, harder than I'd ever run before. The trees flew past me in indistinct blurs. Maybe if I ran fast enough, my tormented mind would be left behind and I would be free. How could this have happened? After all this time, I finally find the one person I want to spend my existence with, only to have her ripped away from me. It was all my fault! If I hadn't convinced her to come out to the mountains today, if I hadn't challenged James by protecting her…

"You're wrong, you know." Jasper, running beside me, cut into my reverie.

"What are you talking about?" I snapped.

"I can feel what you're feeling, remember?" He told me kindly. "It isn't all your fault. If she hadn't been with us, they would have found her later unprotected. You did the right thing."

I wanted to believe him, wanted to with all my might.

"Hold up!" Emmett called from behind us. "I found the trail."

I wheeled and ran back to where he stood. Sure enough, the forest floor held miniscule traces of recent footfall that emitted a distinct scent: vampire. Emmett charged ahead, following the trail. He was almost as determined to destroy this tracker as I was. Almost. Bloodlust raged within me anew, only this time it wasn't for my soft human prey. This time I hungered to sink my teeth into the flesh of my own kind.

The trail led us back to the clearing where we had played our baseball game a mere hour ago. Sure enough, the tracker had stopped to examine the spot where we'd all stood discussing what to do, then took off in the direction Rosalie and Carlisle had taken into town. The jacket ruse had worked. We followed slowly now, knowing we were closing in on our quarry as he believed he was closing in on his.

The trail skirted around the edge of town, similar to the way Alice had seen the visitors approach last week. We followed warily, unsure when we would come upon him. My muscles itched to spring ahead, my fangs ready to rip and tear. I could feel Jasper using his power to try and calm the urge to kill, but I fought against him. I needed to stay sharp. I cast my mind out around us, searching for his thoughts. Now that I knew his mind, I should be able to find him easily.

We came to a halt at the edge of the forest. I tensed, instantly suspicious. I knew this part of the forest very well. We were behind Bella's house. I picked up on the thoughts of Carlisle and Rosalie nearby. They had come this way because it made sense for Bella to come here. But where was James?

My instincts were screaming at me to run, that something was wrong, that this is a trap. I froze, rooted to the spot. My phone buzzed in my pocket: Alice. I moved to answer it, but a strong hand reached out to stop me. Carlisle and Rose had joined us silently, and now his thoughts were screaming at me as he held my arm still. The woman! He warned, and before his next thought even registered I heard her mind: she was inside Bella's house.

Eva, stop! Carlisle commanded before I could run in and tear her throat out. He still held me by the arm. Charlie has not been harmed he told me, but I still didn't relax. She is hiding. She knows we wouldn't dare attack her there in front of him. He still has no idea she is there. I was furious. She was using Bella's father as a human shield.

I scanned her thoughts to confirm what Carlisle was saying. It was true. Her power was hiding and escaping. She was a coward, only concerned with her own survival. I despised her instantly. But I swallowed my disgust and searched her mind further. Sure enough, I was able to catch bits of their plan.

"James carried her here to cover her scent, like we did with Bella." I whispered to the others. "Then he left her here." I turned to look at them all. "He's travelling along the rooftops."

My phone had not stopped buzzing. I pulled it out of my pocket and thumbed it open. "Alice." I said.

"He's on the move." She told me. "I can see that he will be at the school next."

"What about the other two?" I asked her.

"Laurent is still in the mountains. It doesn't seem like he wants anything to do with this."

"And the woman?"

There was a long pause on the other end. "Oh no." She finally said.

"What is it, Alice?!" I had to force myself to keep my voice low.

"I can't see her! She must be following us!"

"No, that can't be right. We are looking right at her Alice, she's here at the Swan house."

"She's at Bella's house?" Alice cried, and now I heard Bella shouting unintelligibly in the background. "Why didn't I see that happening?"

"Alice, tell Bella her father is fine, we are watching him." I heard her repeat what I said. Then something occurred to me. "Alice, it's Bella's father!"

"Yes I realize that he is in danger but you just told me he's fine!"

"No, I mean Victoria is there with Bella's father, and that is why you can't see her!"

"Are you telling me that Charlie is also immune to our gifts? Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I never realized…" I immediately tried to read his thoughts. I heard nothing from him. "It's true, I can't hear him either. It must be something genetic." How could I have missed that? How many times had I passed by the police chief in this tiny town and never once did I notice that his thoughts were hidden from me? I had grown far too complacent here.

"Well that's just great." Alice launched into a tirade of obscenities that would have made a sailor blush.

"Alice, we need to focus!"

"But I'm completely useless!" She cried in despair.

"No, listen, you have to keep tabs on James. He is the one we have to find."

Carlisle plucked the phone from my hand. "Alice, listen, Rose and I will stay here and watch over Charlie." He shot a glance at Rosalie to make sure she understood. "Keep in contact with Evie, focus on James and nothing else. We need you." He must have calmed her down because he hung up the phone and handed it back to me. "She will be calling you with the next update. Please then relay the information to me. Now get going if you want to catch him before he leaves the school."

I didn't have to be told twice. I shot out of the forest at a run, keeping to the edge of the trees out of sight of the house, Emmett and Jasper on my heels. We ran to the school, stopping at the edge of the parking lot to evaluate the situation. I could hear his thoughts, but could not figure out where he might be hiding. He was smug, knowing that he had fooled us for the moment by taking to the rooftops. He was lying in wait, the anticipation filling him with elation. He considered himself a master hunter; all he asked of life was a challenge, and we had presented him with his most interesting challenge yet. A large, strong coven protecting one of the most delectable humans he'd ever found. He was positively euphoric. I felt like I was going to be sick.

Then Alice called again. "He's inside the gym."

We were on the move again, circling the building until we arrived at the door to the gym. We waited outside, listening. His thoughts were louder now, closer. I nodded to Emmett and he burst through the door.

James stood at the top of the bleachers, waiting for us, grinning. Before I could stop myself I lunged forward with an animalistic shriek. He laughed as I practically flew up the stairs to get to him, and the second before I reached him he fell nimbly back down to the floor. He was taunting me.

Emmett and Jasper were there, circling him with bared fangs. He feinted left and Emmett jumped for him, but his arms closed on empty air. Then Jasper snuck up behind him, but he whirled around and jumped on him first. I screamed, running full out toward James' back as he attacked Jasper. Emmett got there before me and landed a brutal blow to James' head. Jasper, who was more adept than James, had easily twisted out of his grip and landed a bite on his forearm that tore flesh from the bone.

James howled in pain, and a vicious anger now clouded his thoughts. He sensed that he was out of his league. He would not stay and fight us, that was not his goal. He had something else in mind...this was a diversion. My phone was ringing, but I had no time. James raced for the door, impossibly fast, and the three of us followed close behind him. He burst through the door into the night, and as we raced to catch up the door suddenly slammed shut in front of us.

It was Victoria.

Her fiery red hair framed her face in unruly tangles, and her expression was triumphant. She brandished a blowtorch and aimed it at us. We jumped backward in one smooth motion. Emmett was growling in frustration, and Jasper's eyes were darting around the gym anxiously searching for another way out. There wasn't one.

We fanned out. I stayed in front of her just out of range of the torch while Jasper and Emmett flanked her. She backed up, pointing the torch at each of us in turn. Without taking my eyes off of her I answered my phone, which hadn't stopped ringing.

"Alice." I said.

"Carlisle and Rose are on their way." She told me hurriedly. "Keep Victoria occupied until they get there!"

"And James?" I asked, my voice thick with hatred.

"He's on the move. He hasn't decided yet where he's going, so I can't see it yet. I'll call back when I do." She hung up and I pocketed the phone.

"Our friends have James," I told Victoria, putting as much arrogance into my tone as I could. "Laurent has fled. You are on your own and outnumbered." I strode toward her slowly, forcing her back against the door.

She pulled the trigger on the torch and flames surged toward me. I dropped to the floor, feeling the waves of heat above me, and rolled back out of range. When I looked back at her, her eyes were wild and her thoughts spinning out of control. She was afraid now. Good. I nodded to Emmett and then Jasper, and we slowly closed in on her.

We were too far apart for her to torch us all at once. She swung the weapon in a wide arc, spewing flames in a semicircle around her. Each time she moved she exposed one of her sides, and either Jasper or Emmett would dart forward toward her. She moved the torch back and forth in between them but couldn't keep up a steady stream of fire.

Jasper's hand almost closed around her arm when she suddenly shot forward, right at me. She had tried for unpredictability, not knowing I would hear her next move before she made it. I was already leaping upward, somersaulting in the air above her before landing behind her. It had worked. The three of us crashed through the door and collided with Carlisle and Rosalie. We bolted the door behind us, hoping it would hold her in for a few minutes.

As I shoved a piece of metal through the door handles, I caught her last thoughts before we turned and ran after James. She was thinking about the next part of their plan. In her mind's eye I saw an address: the address of the house in Denali.