Chapter 32

Carlisle walked into the house and into the laundry room where Esme was pouring in a cup of detergent as the machine started up. He hugged her from behind and kissed her on the cheek.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Out playing a game," she told him, putting the lid down.

"Is he here?" Carlisle asked, referring to Peter.

Esme looked at him with a slight nod, "Alex is going to take things up with him today."

He felt a rumble develop in the bottom of his throat and Esme put a hand on his shoulder. She didn't like seeing him so on edge. Carlisle never got worked up to the point where he would so easily let out a growl. Peter's antics were beginning to bring out the animal side of him.

"I know," Esme told him gently. She ran a hand through his hair and gently touched his face, "Rosalie spoke with her and I'm sure she'll make a smart decision." His body relaxed slightly but he still had an expression on his face that did little to hide his emotions.

"And if she doesn't?" he asked.

"Then we'll handle it like we do everything else. We'll guide her the best we can."

Esme could sense that he didn't feel much better about the situation. She held her arms out and motioned for him to give her a hug.

Carlisle sighed and returned the gesture, still wanting to be angry, though finding it impossible with her arms around him. He pulled her in tight, "I just can't see this kid's face again. I don't know what I'll do."

"What you've done for your whole life," she said, "Self control."

He smiled, "I've never felt this type of... I don't even know what to call it."

"Hurt? Anger?"

"Yeah, but it's different."

"I know thebfeeling," she explained, "We just have to have faith in our daughter. She's smart. She'll see through it on her own."

Carlisle kissed her forehead as Esme continued to coax him out of his tense mood by continuing to rub his back.

The back door opened and Seth paraded into the house. He quickly made his way into the laundry room with a slight worried look.

"Seth, what's wrong?" Esme asked.

"Is Lucy here?" he asked, sounding out of breath.

Carlisle and Esme looked at each other before Esme shook her head, "No. Wasn't she with you guys?"

"Yeah. We can't find her."

A few others entered the house and made their way to where the three of them stood.

"She here?" Emmett asked.

"No," Seth shook his head, "I don't know where she could be."

"Peter's missing too," Edward said, "The girls can't find him."

"Where's Alexandra?" Carlisle asked, his voice full on concern.

"I'm right here," her voice called, joining the rest of them.

He let out a visible sigh and Esme squeezed his shoulder. "What's going on?" he asked.

Edward's facial expression changed as it appeared as though he were reading a puzzle in his mind.

"What Edward?" Carlisle asked him, immediately recognizing his change in posture.

"Luciana... her thoughts.. I thought it had something to do with the game."

Seth spun around to face him, "What Edward?"

He darted out of the laundry room to where Alice stood with Jasper in the kitchen, reading her thoughts as they came to her.

The entire family was now gathered in the kitchen as Edward's face continued to make everyone edgier and edgier. Alice's expression was still focused on a picture that the rest of them couldn't see.

Bella tugged on Edward's arm, "Tell us, Edward. What's going on?"

He made eye contact with Jasper for a moment and turned around, "This is all my fault," he said.

"What is?" Seth asked urgently.

"Spit it out!" Rosalie yelled.

Alice snapped out of her daze and looked around, "He's taking her to Olivia."

"What!?" Emmett asked.

"He has Lucy?" Seth asked. The pitch of his voice shocked everyone, as they'd never seen him so upset. It was heart wrenching. "Where are they? Where's he taking her?" His chest heaved up and down and everyone cleared out of the way.

"Seth!" Leah said, though it was too late. His hysteria got the better of him and he phased in the kitchen, sending miscellaneous items scattering about, though no real damage was done.

Everyone stood back, startled by his transformation, though wanted to hear the rest of what Alice was going to tell them.

Seth whined and growled and let out a howl as Alice went on.

"I have no idea where he's taking her," Alice said, "I don't know the place."

"Could you draw it out?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes," she told him, "But I don't know how much it will help."

"Anything will be worth a try," he told her.

She nodded and proceeded to sketch out the area in her vision.

Edward's face was solumn and Bella rubbed his back. "It's my fault," he said, "I let him win the battle. I let him get the better of me. And it was my idea to play that stupid game. Me and Emmett were going to-"

"Stop," Bella shouted, "He's a manipulative guy."

"No one's ever been able to do that. Now Luciana's life is danger because of me."

"Stop," Alice shouted, as she continued to draw, "That's not helping Edward."

Masen made eye contact with Alexandra before going over to give her a hug. A small sob escaped her throat and she abruptly left the room with her brother right behind her. Esme looked at Carlisle and made her way after them. He stayed to see what Alice could map out.

Seth continued to huff and puff in his enraged state, pacing the living room and the kitchen. His massive frame bumped into walls, sending pictures and a vase to the floor in a shatter.

Carlisle looked over before walking over to clean it up. "It's okay Seth," he told him, knowing what he was thinking.

"Does anyone recognize anything from this photo?" Jasper asked.

Everyone looked at the drawing, though nothing stood out right away.

"We have to find her," Leah said.

"We will," Emmett assured her. He looked at William and Maddy, who leaned solumnly on the kitchen table.

"Call your parents," William told her.

She removed the phone from her pocket and stepped onto the porch with William by her side.

"This isn't Edward's fault, it's my fault," Alexandra's voice came from upstairs, "I'm so stupid. I can't believe this is happening."

Carlisle and Rosalie made eye contact before Rosalie decided to go to try calming her down. He gave her a slight nod, thinking that she'd be more helpful than him at the moment.

"Seth," Carlisle said, speaking to the massive wolf in their living room, "I need you to try to stay calm. Stay level headed. We're going to figure this out, but you have to stay in control. Luciana needs you more than anybody. We're going to track them down and find her."

Seth bowed his head and let a few long breaths out. Carlisle patted his head and nodded before returning to the kitchen.

"Alice, Jasper" Carlisle said, "Come upstairs with me to my office for a minute."

"There's more Carlisle," Alice explained.

He stopped his stride toward the staircase and turned to listen.

"This is going to put us at ends with Aro and the Volturi. He holds us responsible for her safety. There are going to be problems."

"We already proved we can take them," Emmett said with his hands out.

"But at what cost," Carlisle told him, "I won't lose any member of this family. There's no winning thing about that."

Emmett shrugged and agreed.

"You're both right," Alice said, "We do have the ability to take them, but it won't be without loss. I've seen it. The Volturi's advantage is the fact that they don't care if someone were to die fighting - at least not in the way we do. If Felix died, they'd be angry that one of their enforcers was not there to play his role anymore. They'd get back to normal. If it were one of us.." she shook her head, "That can't happen."

"So what do we do?" Bella asked, still trying to get Edward out of his sulk.

"We need to come up with a way to find them first," Alice said, "Then we'll go from there."