A/N: Hi Readers! I'm so happy to see you again! I know I said no more A/N's, but after such a long delay, I felt I should just mention once again that I'm very sorry it's been so long since updating. I absolutely love writing these stories, but, and I know you hear it often, real life is just crazy. I will persevere though, so if you bear with me, we'll get there on this and all the other stories. Thanks!

If you need a refresher – Last chapter was in Edward POV after Bella's rescue from James. He revealed she was changing into a vampire – very slowly. He also recollected the details of her rescue. Onward...

~Bella~

Dear God, I know you haven't heard from me before, but if you can please make sure I stay human, I'd be really fucking grateful. Amen.

God probably dropped his morning coffee in shock hearing a prayer from me. I'd never acknowledged his existence before, believing myself forsaken ever since my mom was taken from me. But with each heartbeat that pushed my overly warm blood through my body, I screamed inside myself for it to stop. Edward's tortured eyes had told me all I needed to know when I'd woken up earlier in the night. If there was anyway to stop this, he'd do it. And, while his cool hand sliding through my hair felt lovely, I knew it was doing nothing as far as holding onto my humanity. If he couldn't fix it, then that left only God.

Fully awake, I was reluctant to open my eyes. There was a lot to be faced today: Edward, my dad, my descent into undead-hood. Until I opened my eyes, I could pretend it was all a hideous nightmare and wake up to my old life. Do I really want that back?

Given Edward's super senses, I knew he'd be aware I wasn't asleep anymore, and I appreciated him giving me these moments as I gathered myself together. Inwardly I cringed, remembering my anger at him after James had taken me. One night was all I'd gotten with Edward before our fledgling relationship was put to the ultimate test. All the ambiguity I'd felt towards him before was nothing compared to now. How could I blame him when I'd been targeted by James long ago? If it weren't for Edward, I'd either still be in that cage right now or dead. I'd lived almost my whole life expecting to die at the hands of that monster. In the years following my moms death, whenever I was feeling particularly macabre, I'd try to imagine how it would be. What exactly would it feel like to have every drop of blood sucked through a torn gash in my neck? Immersed in vampire lore as I was, I'd come across a significant number of stories that spoke only of pleasure instead of pain. Sexual pleasure wrung from a stupefied victim moments before the kill. Would that be my lot—to have my one sexual experience be with the undead? Ha. And now, here I am, lying in bed with the undead, and unless there's a miracle, soon to be undead myself. Maybe this was my path all along.

Ugh, Bella, focus. You're supposed to be analyzing your feelings for Edward, not thinking about what's going on under your skin.

My subconscious was really not ready to accept the status quo yet, and I was more than happy to indulge her.

Concentrating, I tried to determine what I felt for the being beside me gently running his hand through my hair. At first sight, I'd hated him. Then, I got to know him and found him to be exceedingly likable. The whole love thing snuck up on me out of nowhere during our one night together. Had it really been only a matter of seconds between the time I realized how much he meant to me and when disaster struck? Now, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get that feeling back. It wasn't that I hated him again, or even that I only liked him. Completely opposite in fact. It made no sense, but in the time since I'd been taken till now, he had somehow become entirely essential to my existence. The thought of him not being next to me was literally inconceivable. Simultaneously, though, I wanted to rail at him with angry words and hammering fists. I wanted the power to make him feel as hopeless and destroyed as I did right now. Well, actually, I did have that power; I could leave. Too bad leaving would only destroy me as thoroughly as it would him. Somehow, my understanding of what he felt for me was all of a sudden crystal clear, because I felt it, too.

Fuck, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep myself in denial. Edward's words from when he'd revealed his feelings to me were neon lit in my head, "In the short amount of time we have known each other, my whole world has become solely about you. It's the vampire way; when we mate, it is as heightened as every other aspect of our kind."

If I could have felt this way before I'd been licked and bitten, I'd be ecstatic. Now, it was tainted. The feelings weren't mine; they belonged to what I was becoming. It wasn't about my heart or my head, or even my soul. This bond was entirely supernatural, like my free will to choose who I loved had been taken from me every bit as much as my beating heart would be.

But you were falling in love with him before all this happened.

None of that mattered now. Yes, I may have been falling, but he didn't catch me; I landed on him and shattered. Like something out of a horror movie, I'm being put back together by forces that can only be described as evil. And if I was watching that movie, I'd be screaming at everyone that came near me to run away. I was unholy.

"Ssh, Bella. Please don't cry. I promise, we'll get this figured out. Shh." Edward whispered in my ear sweet platitudes that meant nothing. I couldn't figure out why he was talking to me all of a sudden, and then I realized my face was wet with tears.

Angry with him for trying to placate me, I lashed out, spitting words I knew would hurt him and make his dead soul bleed. "Oh yeah, Edward? And exactly how are you going to fix this? I'm turning into a fucking monster. Do you know what that thing did to me when I was with him? Do you have any idea? He burned me with his tongue, Edward. His fucking tongue. I'm sorry, but it matters nothing to me that you only feed from animals. You're capable of everything he did to me. Matter of fact, you'd probably love to have me in a cage, too, wouldn't you? I'd be like your own personal blood fountain."

His hand had dropped from my hair and his eyes turned bleaker and bleaker with every single thing I said. Part of me felt vindicated, while the other felt like a worse monster than James was for hurting someone as kind and love filled as Edward. Was this the eternal being I was destined to be?

"Edward, no, I'm sorry; I take it all back. I'm being a fucking cold cunt bitch. Please don't listen to me!" I shouted at him and grabbed his hands trying to put them back in my hair as if I could turn the clock back.

His eyes went from bleak, to confused, and then to understanding.

"Love, I know things must be very hard to focus on in your head right now. It's okay, say whatever you want, I won't go anywhere."

He was being way too nice. No one was that nice; he must want something. Frantically, I tried to figure out what his possible motive could be, then it hit me. Sex. He wanted to fuck me while I was still all warm and soft. If he waited too long, I'd be a statue like every other female vampire. Probably only reason he'd attached himself to me in the first place. Fucking, please, and I nearly fell for that mating bond bullshit. Well, the joke was on him. He was hot, and I was more than ready.

I twisted myself till I was no longer lying down and then quickly straddled him until I was sitting between his legs. He looked surprised, but I didn't spend much time considering what that meant before I mashed my lips to his and tried to gain entrance to his mouth with my tongue. Vaguely, I noticed his colder temperature and hard skin no longer repulsed me. Mostly, I concentrated on doing whatever I needed to get him to fuck me senseless. I didn't want to join the undead a virgin, after all.

It took a moment, but I finally realized he wasn't kissing me back, and he was gently using his hands to prevent me from ripping his shirt off.

"What? Come on, lets get it on before I'm not worth your time anymore." I tried again to yank his shirt over his head but he still deflected me.

Holding my hands in his, his eyes were sad now, and I would have thought he was ready to cry if I hadn't known he was incapable.

"Bella, my love, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I retorted angrily. "I want to fuck. Now. What's wrong with you?"

"You know I want to be with you, too, but this isn't the time. It should be romantic and beautiful, not born of anger and desperation."

I snorted at him. "What the fuck does it matter now? I'm turning into a fucking blood sucker. I can't get sick or get pregnant; I can't even die. Sex means nothing anymore; any respect I had for my body is dead and gone. I'm a new Bella now, and all I care about is getting what I want as soon as I want it."

Even as I said the words, part of me was shouting in my head they were complete bullshit, and I didn't mean any of it. It was as if a tornado had taken over inside my mind and was whirling everything around and then randomly taking ridiculous notions and slamming them out of my mouth with horrendous force.

Again, Edward grabbed my hands and tried to settle me down. "Yes, you're turning into one of us. I didn't want to admit it, but you're right. All night long I could see the change coming over your body. It's taking longer than normal, and I'll be forever grateful that you're not in the same pain that the rest of us experienced, but, you're absolutely right—eventually, you'll be a vampire."

I felt all the air leave my body when I realized all along I'd hoped he'd refute my statement and come up with some other explanation for what was happening to me. He didn't stop to notice and kept right on speaking.

"It's a newborn trait, one I think you're experiencing a bit early, to go wildly from one thought to the next. It will stop eventually; you'll see. I'm so sorry, love, but it will get easier, I promise." While he spoke soothingly to me, he kept my hands in his lightly stroking his thumbs on my skin.

He was being incredibly kind, gentle, and patient, and all it did was further piss me off.

I snatched my hands out from under his and pushed myself off of him till I was standing on the floor in front of the bed. In a fit of anger, I kicked the bed, stubbing my toe on the leg.

"Ouch! That fucking hurts!" I started hopping up and down, upset at my own stupidity and lack of control. Of course, then I promptly fell down landing on my ass on the floor. I looked up at Edward and he stared back at me, a very incredulous look on his face. I could tell he was concerned, but he was also trying very hard, and failing, at trying not to laugh. Really, I couldn't blame him, and my anger left my body like air from a balloon when I first started chuckling, and then full on laughing. Edward took that as his cue giving him permission to join in, and we both had complete laughing fits there in the room. It was awesome and exactly what I needed.

After a couple moments, we settled down, and I felt much calmer. I smiled at Edward and scooted forward on my knees until I could place my arms in his lap, folded, and rest my chin on them. Lifting my head, I looked up at him, and he smiled down at me while using his hands to bring my hair behind my neck to settle down my back.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered.

Amazingly, I believed him. I could see in his eyes that he meant it. To him, I was beautiful, no matter how many fits and tantrums I threw and no matter how many times I acted like the world's biggest skank. He was going to love me forever-human or vampire—his love was eternal.

Again, I launched myself at him; this time it wasn't out of desperation but affection. I captured his face with my hands, staring him in the eye for a moment before gently placing my lips on his. His arms wrapped around my waist while his lips moved against mine, returning the kiss. Warmth spread through me and I could feel that delicious tingle in my nether bits. He pushed himself off the bed while keeping our lips locked, and joined me on the floor. Somehow, he twisted us both around until he was lying underneath me, and I was stretched out on top of him, my legs on either side of his thighs. I liked this position.

I broke our kiss to better observe the satisfied look on his face. "Pretty proud of yourself, aren't you?"

"Yup."

Thankfully, he didn't pop the P or I would have lost all respect for him.

It seemed silly to keep talking, and I couldn't wait any longer to taste him again. I brought my lips back to his, savoring his sweet, tangy flavor. Wanting more, I licked his lips with my tongue, and he thoughtfully brought his out to join in. It was a few moments of tongue twisting before I realized my hips had started to grind against his, my body seeking something to move my tingling parts against. His hands grabbed my ass bringing me even closer, and I could feel him hard and long beneath me.

Frustrated, I wished he could read my mind so I could demand that he rip my clothes off at vampire speed without breaking our kiss. Since I was still a mental mute to him, I settled for grinding against him harder and whimpering in my throat, hoping he'd get the hint.

The message must have made it through as I felt his hands moving up my back, under my shirt, taking it up and exposing my skin. I'd just lifted my body up a bit to allow it to come off easier, when his hands abruptly disappeared from my skin and his head slammed down to the floor. A bit shocked at the loss of contact, I could only look stupidly at him, wondering what was going on.

He closed his eyes and whispered in a pained voice, "Your father's here."

"Ugh, you gotta be kidding me."

Shaking his head, he finally opened his eyes again, and I could see the frustration all over his face. I gave him a little grin and shrugged, "'Daddy's little girl is about to get some radar, I guess."

He laughed and brought us both up to our feet. "He's still at the top of the driveway; I'd say he's been exceptionally patient so far given the circumstances."

"Can you read his thoughts yet?"

"He's still in shock and not sure how to handle the situation. Esme explained about the door hitting him, and he's hesitant to think of her as a liar, but the story doesn't gel one hundred percent to him. Then there's the fact that in your entire lifetime, it seems he's never once had to discipline you, and now he has no clue how to handle this blatant transgression. So far, he's only managed to decide you're grounded for the rest of your life."

I laughed. "Grounded? What exactly is he going to do? I never go anywhere and I don't do anything. How do you ground a practically agoraphobic shut-in? Tell me I can't go to school? Oh, the horror."

Edward laughed along with me. I'm not exactly sure how we were both able to be light-hearted at a time like this given all that had gone on. Of course, leave it to me to remember that I actually shouldn't be laughing right now. Heck, I didn't even know what had happened after I was rescued or what happened here after I was taken.

"Hey, can you tell me what's been going on? What exactly did Esme tell my dad? What happened to James?"

Edward's eyes narrowed, and the expression on his face turned angrier than I'd ever seen it. For a moment, I was scared.

"When I realized you were no longer moving toward the car, I flung the front door open too fast. It came off the hinges and your father saw it happen. I'm sorry, but Carlisle had to knock your dad out. When he woke, he was told that the door had been broken, and it hit him when it came off the hinges. Esme also let him know that you and I ended up getting upset about the whole thing and flouncing off on our own in typical angsty teenage fashion."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Excuse me; I never flounce."

"Well, now you do."

"Continue." I was still waiting to find out why he looked angry. Nothing was all that bad so far.

"That's it for your dad. Esme assured him that while she agreed we were behaving without consideration for their feelings, she knew we were both responsible and mature enough to handle one night away from home as far as keeping ourselves safe was concerned."

I felt myself flush. "You mean safe, as in safe sex?" I couldn't imagine Esme having that conversation with my dad.

"More like safe from bandits and the like."

"Okayyy, and my dad was really all right with that?" This didn't sound like my dad at all.

"No, not really, but there wasn't much he could do. According to what he heard from Esme, they trusted me but couldn't reach me and had no way of knowing where we'd gone. Searching for us would only make it worse, and she kind of let him know she wouldn't appreciate the police going after her son, even if he was with your dad's daughter. She can be very convincing when she wants. Plus, he was still a bit out of it from the hit to the head."

I winced; I'd forgotten they'd knocked him out.

"What about you guys rescuing me? How'd that happen?"

If anything, he looked even angrier now. I couldn't understand why.

"We tracked you."

I waited, but he only stared back at me.

"Well, come on, there's got to be more to it than that?"

He looked at me a moment longer, and then bowed his head into his hands as if the thoughts in his head were breaking him. I didn't understand what was wrong, but I hated to see him this way. I put a hand on top of his head and rubbed lightly, hoping it was soothing.

"Hey, what is it? It can't be that bad; I mean, it can't be worse than what I endured before you showed up."

After another moment, he finally raised his head and met my eyes again. They were bleak and more lifeless than I'd ever seen them.

"He's here, Bella."

Dumbly, I stared at him, unsure—or unwilling—to recognize who he was talking about.

"It's—it's—I don't know what the fuck is going on." He spit out the words and then abruptly spun away from me and grabbed at his hair as if he would pull it all out by the roots along with the answers. "Alice and Jasper won't let us kill him. Alice thinks he's her true mate, and Jasper refuses to kill something she loves. It's all fucking bullshit, but there's nothing I can do. The vampire mating bond is sacrosanct. I'd take you and just go, but we can't until we know exactly what's happening to you."

I was stunned. This was something I'd never expected.

"He's here? In this house?"

He turned back to me and nodded, the anger in his expression turning to sadness at having to give me this news.

I sat on the bed, dumbfounded, and tried to work my way through what I'd just been told. James, the vampire who had killed my mother and brutally tortured me, was a guest in the same house as my—I still didn't know what to call him, boyfriend? Mate?

Edward had turned away and was writing at vampire speed on piece of paper. He spun back to me and knelt before me, handing me the paper to read.

Everyone in the house can hear us right now. Including James, Alice, and Jasper. James has the ability to cloak himself from anyone who hunts him. He doesn't have complete control of it; it's like the talent takes care of itself, it makes it so I can't read his mind, and so none of us can smell him. But James does have to concentrate on the talent for it to work. Right now, the talent has manipulated Alice into believing James is her mate, since that was what was needed for us to not kill him. No one knows this yet but me. He and Alice were intimate earlier, and he inadvertently dropped his concentration just long enough for me to see it all. He doesn't realize how much I saw. It's enough information for me to convince Jasper that it's okay to kill him. As soon as James is dead, Alice will no longer love him.

I finished reading and looked up at Edward, relieved that he had a plan, but still really fucking freaked that I was in the same house as James.

"I promise, as soon as we figure out what's happening with you, we'll leave. This will never be our home as long as he's here," Edward said.

I was confused for a moment, but Edward was writing again, and I looked back down at the paper.

It will seem suspicious if we're not talking.

I nodded at Edward showing that I understood. "Where will we go?" I asked before grabbing the paper from Edward and writing words of my own.

How will you convince Jasper without the others knowing? Won't Alice see if Jasper decides it's okay to kill James?

Alice can't see any of our futures right now since you're here. She had trouble seeing you before since you were so mercurial. Now that you're changing, you're not fully human, but not fully vampire. You're blind to her, and so is the future of anyone with you.

Okay.

"Probably Alaska, where the other animal blood drinking vampires we know live."

My head was starting to hurt from trying to maintain two conversations at once. Abruptly, I remembered a moment ago my father had been at the top of the driveway. It was surreal how much had changed in the time it took him to make the drive from there to the house. Now that I knew James was here, my only thought was to get my dad as far away from here as possible.

"We need to get my dad to leave. Quickly. How do we do that?" I got up and started pacing, forgetting what eighteen years of clumsiness should have taught me; walking and trying to think at the same time was plain stupid for me. Thankfully, Edward caught me before I fell into his mirror.

"Careful." He sat me on the bed, and then started pacing himself. He was almost a blur as he swept from one of the room to the other.

He stopped for a moment, looked at me, shook his head, and then kept going. If the situation hadn't been so dire, it would have been comical watching him trying to think things through. But, dire is as dire does, and at that moment, there was a distinct knock at the door. The sound carried even up to Edward's third floor room.

"Nightstick." We both said at the same time.

Edward reached down to give me a hand up but then stopped and, his eyes unfocused for a moment before he grinned, and then he sat down next to me instead.

"Carlisle's got this. He told me we should stay up here. You're dad will be pissed, but at least he'll go. Carlisle's going to tell him they'd been monitoring my credit cards and a charge from a hotel in Seattle showed up. Esme has left to go talk some sense into us, but if the Chief wants, he can certainly join Esme in the retrieval of their wayward offspring."

"And what happens when he gets there and we're no where to be found?"

"Stolen wallet, happens all the time."

I breathed a sigh of relief. There'd still be a reckoning, but if we could push it off till later, then all the better. Honestly, I'd rather deal with the psychotic vampire than my sure to be disappointed and angry father.

Edward listened a bit longer and then let me know my dad was gone.

With my dad out of the picture for a bit, it was time once again to consider the James and Alice issue. Unfortunately, right then another presence made itself known. I turned bright scarlet when my stomach chose that moment to remind us all quite loudly that I was still mostly human and in need of food from time to time.

Edward smirked. "Good thing we don't make noises like that when we're thirsty. The gig would have been up long ago."

"Shut-up. It's been like twelve hours since I've eaten. I'm entitled to a little gastronomical interference."

He reached over and ruffled my hair. "Of course you are. Let's go see if we can hunt you up something to eat."

I nodded, and we both headed out the door to go downstairs. I paused a bit before entering the hallway. Edward's room had felt like a cocoon of sorts, our own special place. Now, I was entering space shared by the rest of the people in the house, including James. Thankfully, Edward could sense my reluctance and gave me a sweet kiss before wrapping an arm around me and whispering, "I've got you." Indeed, he did.

Slowly walking in tandem, we headed down the two flights of stairs to the lowest level. Edward showed me into the kitchen and guided me to a stool before dashing to the fridge. Looking very human, he opened it up and looked in, exactly like my dad would do when he was hoping for something to have magically appeared in there when he knew we hadn't gotten anything different from the last time he checked.

With a chagrined look on his face, Edward shrugged his shoulders. "Completely empty. The shelves haven't even been unwrapped and installed yet."

"Were you really expecting food to be in there?"

He looked sad, and I was very confused until he replied. "If Alice was herself, there would have been food in there. You'd have clean clothes in my room and a toothbrush. She would have seen that you were going to need all sorts of human things and would have loved the chance to shop for them and make you feel at home."

His expression turned pensive before he continued. "All the times she's interfered with what I thought was our best course, or even little shit like calling me while I was on my way to one hunting spot to tell me to go to another-I always thought I hated it—I wanted to do stuff for myself. Now that she's not doing those things, it's like she's not here anymore, even though she's right upstairs."

I was about to reply, when the hurt look on his face was replaced by one of anger.

"And now?"

His eyes looked to the ceiling for a moment before coming back to meet mine. "I've just been informed that I need to get used to the fact I no longer have a willing servant to guide my every move, and I need to learn to live without."

"James?" I asked, understanding that someone must have communicated to Edward in thoughts.

"No, Alice," he muttered, still upset.

I could tell from the way he was acting, they must have been close before all this happened. His feelings were hurt. It wasn't that she wasn't doing things for him; it was that her influence on his daily life was missing. He missed her. She was a fucking idiot if she couldn't see that—or in denial.

Wanting to distract him, I was about to suggest calling out for pizza when his expression grew even angrier, and he moved like lightning to stand in front of me, before dropping down into an aggressive crouch and growling. Not being a total idiot, I figured out what must be about to happen real quick, and pressed myself to his back, keeping my eyes pointed to the floor so I didn't have to see what walked through the kitchen door.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my little human and her protector. Hasn't this gone on long enough? I'm part of the family now, after all. I can find it within myself to share, I'm sure. Can't you?"

James. He talked to Edward like I was a toy to be shared among children.

"Manipulating my sister doesn't make you part of the family, you bastard. Leave. Now."

A new voice chimed in. "Stop it, Edward. Look, I know you're not happy about this. At least he's one of us, though, not some week little human. Don't you think it's time you found yourself a real mate and stopped playing this sick, disgusting game with your food?"

Alice turned to me then, the look on her face was dark and menacing. Her eyes were pitch black, and as I watched, her tongue darted out to lick her lips as her gaze traveled up and down my body.

"She's small; won't be enough in her for more than a taste for each of us, but she smells scrumptious."

She turned to Edward then. "You owe me, big brother. Give her to me."

Edward growled low and deep in response. I could feel the floor vibrate with it. Before he could say anything, though, several more bodies entered the kitchen and got between us and them. It was the rest of Edward's family, save Jasper, and I was very happy to see them align themselves in a stance that offered even greater protection for Edward and I. The kitchen had seemed very large only moments before; now it was filled to the brim with crouching, growling vampires. They formed a line in front of Edward and I: Esme and Rosalie on the ends, Carlisle and Emmett in the middle. I could no longer see Alice and James, which provided much comfort.

"Alice." Carlisle spoke her name with great sadness, but resolve. "While greatly disappointed in your treatment of Jasper, I'd still been hopeful you'd see the error of your ways regarding your intention of going to a traditional diet. I will always consider you my daughter, but this home is not welcome to you if you intend to feed on humans, especially if you're going to be a danger to your brother's mate."

I heard her gasp. "You're going to choose the human over me, your so-called daughter? How can you say we're family when you feel that way? Do these humans you love so much often forsake their children for the cows in their pasture?"

"Oh, cut the shit, Alice." Rosalie. "You make me sick. How could you do this to Jasper? I even heard you fucking him with no care for your real mate who was right down the hall. And now you think you can convince us all of a sudden to turn our backs on our humanity? Look in the mirror, bitch. You're not going to see the image of a cow looking back at you. We were human once, and that's why we don't feed from them. You know this!" She screamed the last, obviously angry and hurt with her sibling.

"Yes, we may look like them, but no one here can deny they are what we're meant to feed from." James had broken in with his slimy, disgusting voice. If vampires ever needed a used car salesman, he'd be it. "Our appearance is our camouflage, nothing more. It's not meant to keep them safe from us, it's meant to make it easier for us to feed.

"Darling, Rosalie, you beautiful, vivacious creature. You've been brainwashed terribly. Join us and see what being a vampire is meant to be. Alice has told me of your constant sadness and longing for a child. That will all end if you start feeding on human blood like you should. You'll finally see the glory of being a vampire, the incredible strength and power flowing through your body. Never again will you long for something as trite and commonplace as a human whelp. You can't tell me that doesn't tempt you?"

She snorted. "You think you know me simply because my traitor of a sister told you a bit? Obviously, she mentioned nothing of my love and loyalty for this family. They are what keep me sane; they are what sustain me. Not blood. I have all I need right here, and she did, too, until you came along and manipulated her. Make no mistake, she's going to come to her senses. And when she does, we're going to end you."

I could have listened to Rosalie berate him all night long. Her voice was strong and sure, without a hint of doubt. The disdain she had for him had to have been like a stabbing dagger to his inordinate haughtiness.

"Suit yourself," he said. His words must have been meant to be indifferent, but his frustration was clear in his voice. "We've another matter to discuss, however. The human back there cowering behind the red-head belongs to me. Her blood calls to me like no other; clearly, she's my singer. Or, as the Volturi call it, mi tua cantante. Now, many vampires are aware of our main law, that of never being discovered by the humans, which you've clearly broken already. Lesser known, perhaps, but no less valid, is the law governing singers. When a vampire finds his singer, he has ultimate ownership over that human, and no other vampire can claim a stronger bond. I know this as I've been to Volterra to research since discovering this girl as a child. You'll turn her over to me now, and we'll be on our way. Deny me, and we'll be on the first plane to Italy to inform the three of your lawlessness."

Carlisle replied, "That may have all been true, at one time. However, the law regarding singers no longer applies. Bella is already in the midst of her transformation into vampire. I'm surprised you aren't able to tell, given how strongly her blood calls to you. I would expect the differences to be obvious. Maybe she's not your singer after all, hmm?"

It was strange, the words were in Carlisle's voice, but it was a tone I'd never heard from the genteel man before. Albeit, I hadn't known him long, but he almost sounded taunting, instead of the calm, urbane manner I'd come to associate with him.

James started to argue back, but Carlisle continued speaking right over him.

"You know what, Jasper?" Carlisle said, using a more conversational tone to address the missing vampire of the group. I didn't now where in the house he was, but knew he'd have been able to hear all this no matter where he was located. "It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if this vampire's control over your mate wasn't related to his talent and not her true feelings at all. Watching him now, listening to him speak, seeing how he moves and reacts, it's clear Bella is all he's still concerned with. All the rest is camouflage for his true intention—and camouflage is his talent, is it not?"

Edward squeezed my hand, acknowledging that Carlisle was speaking aloud what we'd surmised privately in Edward's room. The four in front of us started moving forward, forming more of an arc instead of a line, and I was finally able to see what they were doing as they started to push James and Alice towards the far wall.

"I'm completely in control of my own mind, Carlisle. James is who I want; you're trying to make me jealous and angry of the human girl. It won't work."

"Alice, look at me." Jasper had entered the room to the side of where Alice and James now stood. He sounded broken and despondent but ready to grasp onto the small branch of hope Carlisle had extended to him.

"Why, Jasper? So you can see for yourself how I no longer feel anything for you?" She'd turned to him, and was looking at him with contempt, like he was something she'd dragged in on the bottom of her five hundred dollar shoes.

Jasper tilted his head to the side a bit, analyzing everything he saw in her face. She started to look a bit unsure, and turned to James as if for guidance.

"Look at me!" Jasper roared at her, snapping her attention back to him. He stalked forward then and grabbed her chin with his hand. James moved to intervene, but Emmett and Rosalie quickly had him pinned. I could feel Edward practically buzzing next to me, wanting to get into the fray, but my attention was riveted on Alice and Jasper. It was almost as if you could see an electrical current going from one to the other.

"Emmett!" Edward suddenly shouted out to his larger brother. "Break his concentration! Rip an arm off or something."

Emmett grinned widely, and did exactly as Edward asked, yanking up and away on the arm he held till it separated from the body. He threw the arm behind him and instead grasped James by the throat, keeping him immobile. James's cry of pain went completely ignored as we all watched to see what would happen with Alice. We weren't disappointed. Her face crumpled, but she leapt into Jasper's arms and took his face in her small hands, alternating between frantically kissing him, telling him she loved him, and apologizing over and over, all at hyper vampire speed. Jasper practically shone with joy at having her back with him.

The rest of the family needed no other prompting; James was quickly dismembered like he was nothing more than cardboard and the pieces thrown out into the yard where they were shortly fed to a quickly built but roaring fire. Euphoria flowed through my body, and I copied Alice by jumping into Edward's embrace and kissing him with everything I had, desperate to show him my love and happiness. Finally, it was over.