Chapter 34

The Cullens parted ways officially with the Denali coven in the morning following William and Maddy's wedding. They saw the children off on their honeymoon and exchanged a few more last minute words before the Cullens made their way back to Washington.

Kate and Garrett chose to stay with the rest of their family in Alaska, at least until the kids returned. It was their intention to permanently move back upon their arrival back to the States, leaving their current house as a wedding present for the two of them where they could enjoy their privacy, at least for a little while.

"Same cars?" Edward asked, standing by his own with Bella, Jacob and Renesme.

Carlisle shrugged and looked around, "I guess that's the easiest way."

Cassandra and Nicole said their goodbyes as if they wouldn't be seeing each other for weeks. Esme smiled at Alice, who shook her head with a grin and guided her daughter into the car first.

"Sure you got enough sleep?" Masen asked Leah as she yawned and adjusted in the back seat of Carlisle's car.

Leah smiled and brought his face to hers so she could kiss him on the cheek, "Yep." She wrapped her arm around Cassandra, "But this one kept kicking me all night."

Cassandra smiled up at her mother and leaned up against her.

"Feel free to sleep all the way home," Esme told them, entering in the front seat.

Leah yawned again and insisted that she wasn't that tired, though within twenty minutes of the drive, both she and Cassandra were out cold.

"I knew it," Masen said, staring at the two of them.

"Let them sleep," Esme said to him. She glanced over at her granddaughter and smiled.

"It's because Masen had them up all night knocking on the door and running away," Carlisle told her.

Esme laughed, "What?"

Masen chuckled, "Yeah before you got upstairs, Cassie was knocking on the door to your room and running down the hall."

"Don't blame it on just Cassie," Carlisle told him, "You were the ring leader."

"It was actually Alex."

He shook his head and smiled, "I find that hard to believe."

Masen looked out the window with a grin, "Believe what you want."

"I think Alex did help him and Caleb fall asleep last night, though," Esme said, looking down at the now calm baby that rested on her chest.

"Oh, yeah. It worked, then?" Masen asked.

Carlisle nodded and looked at Esme with a smile. She looked back at him almost admirably, then gave the same look to Caleb. She sighed and looked out the front window, feeling Carlisle's hand take ahold of hers. Something about how peaceful the two of them looked the night before made her feel safe and secure inside. Again, she glanced over at her husband as he drove. His eyes shifted to hers for a moment and a closed mouth smile hung on his face when he realized she was looking at him. He squeezed her hand in his own, never letting go as they went.

For hours they drove, though they were still nowhere near home. Somewhere along the highways their family's cars lost each other, though everyone knew their way back. The sky progressively got darker as they went on, ultimately leading to snowfall as they got further south.

Carlisle took it slower as the roads become more covered with fluffy, white powder. Every so often he checked in on Leah, Cassandra and Masen in the back seat. Caleb had been more or less quiet for most of the ride, though Esme had a bottle ready for every time he stirred or became uncomfortable. She found herself wondering how magnified the thirst must be for a baby, especially considering they couldn't possibly understand what was causing it the way adults could.

The song Esme heard on the television the night before was stuck in her head and she began to search for it on her phone. In the middle of her browsing, the phone rang.

Carlisle looked over at her and she turned it so he could read the name.

"Alice," Esme told him, then answered the phone, "Hello."

"Something's happening," she told them, "With a few of the wolves."

Esme's eyes immediately landed on Leah, as she whipped around, "Who?" she asked with worried words and eyes.

Carlisle and Masen's attention were now fully on Esme. Leah had fallen back to sleep over the course of the ride, and Cassandra wasn't paying much attention. She had her headphones plugged into her I-phone.

Esme listened to Alice's words, and she put a hand over her mouth. Carlisle turned the music completely off on the radio and tried to focus on his driving and her conversation at the same time.

"Has it happened yet?" Esme asked.

Masen leaned himself forward between his parents with a hand on each of their seats. His head was only a few inches away from Esme's and he tried to listen to every word of the conversation that was going on between her and Alice.

"Mom..." Masen said, "Is it something with Leah?"

Esme looked at her son, then shook her head and mouthed the word "no". His posture loosened up slightly, but he remained on edge as his mother's expression still looked sad and horrified.

"Nothing about Cassie, right?"

Esme shook her head again. Masen looked over at Leah, who's eyes were closed as she leaned her face against her arm on the window.

"We're going to get there as fast as we can," Esme said to Alice. She shook her head with a face full of distress.

Carlisle continued to study Esme's face and caught most of the dialogue on Alice's end. He sighed and put a hand on his forehead, gripping the steering wheel tightly with the other hand.

"What?" Masen asked to him in whisper.

Esme continued to get details from Alice, looking more sad and less anxious by the second. "Do Seth and Jacob know?" she asked, "Does Sue? Billy?"

"Is it Nessy?" Masen continued to guess, "Lucy?"

Carlisle turned to face his son for a moment, "It's a few of the Quileutes."

"Who?" His eyes scanned his father's expression, "Dad, who?"

Snow continued to whip around them, and Carlisle refocused on the road. He glanced at Leah and Cassandra in the rearview mirror, causing Masen to turn to them, too.

Esme hung up the phone and placed it in the empty cup holder between her and Carlisle's seats. She looked back and forth the between him and Masen.

"Jared and Embry?" he asked quietly.

"They haven't told Jacob or Seth yet," she responded, then looked back at Leah, who remained asleep, "And obviously not Leah."

"It's already happened?" Carlisle asked.

"She thinks so," Esme said, shaking her head, "I don't think we're going to be able to change the outcome of this."

"What?" Masen asked, a little louder, "What about Jared and Embry?"

Carlisle sighed and looked at Esme, who looked back him with sad, sympathetic eyes. He took it upon himself to tell his son. "Jared and Embry were... provoked... ambushed."

"Okay..." Masen said, "What's that mean? By who?"

He decided to get right to the point and tell the truth, "They may be dead, Masen."