Stephenie POV
"No," said Nessie. "I'm not joining you."
Aro just turned to the rest of the Volturi. "Well," he said loudly. "What should we do to punish the Cullens for refusing to change or kill this human?"
No one replied, but there were lots of hisses, growls, and snarls.
"Brothers?" asked Aro to Caius and Marcus. "What do you think?"
"They have clearly broken the rules," said Caius, his face twisted into a mask of hatred. "Kill them."
"Marcus?" asked Aro. He just nodded unenthusiastically in agreement.
"Alright then!" said Aro. "Carlisle, my dear, dear friend, I am so very sorry. But I am afraid there is no other choice."
Carlisle didn't reply.
"Come on, then!" said Emmett.
It seemed that his words were the trigger. The Volturi started approaching us at a normal human pace. Final goodbyes and hugs were exchanged quickly and quietly.
The Volturi took their time. When the two groups collided, all hell broke loose. I wasn't sure what was going on, but there were the sounds of violence all around. Renesmee and Jacob were near me, Jacob fending off anyone who came near either her or me. Bella wasn't actively fighting, too busy trying to keep her shield around the right people, but I saw her push Jane away, where Emmett caught her and twisted her head off.
I looked away. Evil as they were, I had created these people, and they were like my children in a way. It was painful seeing them die. But if any of the Cullens got hurt…
A movement in the corner of my eye stopped my train of thought. I saw Aro, Caius, Marcus, and the wives leaving the battle, and in all the commotion, no one noticed.
"Jacob," I said, and pointed to them. He growled and telepathically warned the other wolves. Sam, Jared, and Paul all chased after them. Edward, reading their minds and seeing what was going on, sped after them, too. Bella anxiously glanced after him, but then Felix jumped on her.
"Watch out!" I said, but it was too late. He had her in a headlock, prepared to kill her.
I don't know what I was thinking, but I tried to pull him off her. Of course, I was no match for vampire strength. He shoved me off, and I landed hard on my back. I got up again and looked around desperately for help.
Luckily, Zafrina saw and blinded Felix. He lost grip on Bella, and Zafrina tackled him and ripped his body apart. I winced.
I stood up and grimaced in pain. Felix had knocked me down pretty hard.
I hoped everyone was okay. Among all the chaos, I wasn't even sure.
I stood around, feeling absolutely useless. The emotional and physical pain I felt grew, and I couldn't focus on anything but that.
Still, I tried to keep track of everyone in sight. It was a pretty even battle, from what I could tell.
An hour later, none of the numbers seemed to decrease.
Two hours later, I could see most of the guard had either died or retreated. Edward, Jared, Paul, and Sam still weren't back. I was starting to get worried, and I could see Bella staring anxiously at the forest, too.
Two and a half hours later, the last of the guard had left. We had won.
Still, no one was celebrating. Anika was sobbing tearlessly against Seth over Sahil's death. Carlisle was helping Rosalie reattach her arm, Emmett holding her other hand. Most of the wolves winced while holding cuts and broken bones together so they could heal. I saw the dead body of a gray wolf that I recognized as Leah. The other wolves, back in their human forms, stood silently in a circle around her. Nessie was hugging Bella and crying, wanting her daddy to be okay. Zafrina and Kachiri were kneeling over Senna's pile of ashes. Maggie was trying to reattach her hand. Kate hugged Tanya, glad that she was fine.
Finally, Edward, Jared, and Paul returned. But someone wasn't there. Sam.
"He didn't make it," said Paul, his voice hoarse.
The wolves immediately exploded into their other forms. They howled into the sky, mourning their dead leader.
Edward hugged Bella and Nessie tightly to his chest.
I went back to the Cullen house in a stupor. These characters that I had created and loved with all my heart, dead.
I just wanted to go home, more than anything. Just wake up like any other day, convince myself that this was all a dream, and move on.
But I couldn't.
A/N: This is not the last chapter :)