Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.

A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story for me.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Reading Breaking Dawn Part Four

Bella groaned at the title of the next chapter. Defection... who was defecting and what did it mean? She kept reading, feeling even more nervous as she read the first line. She couldn't believe that Alice would be the one that would defect, but why else wouldn't she come back? She realized quickly what other reason Alice wouldn't come back and that made her feel even worse. It felt bad racing towards Alice, not sure what they were going to find, but knowing that both options would hurt. She wondered what the other trail that Esme mentioned meant, but it mattered little now, she needed to know what happened to Alice.

Then they ran into Sam, and found that he had allowed Alice and Jasper to go on their land and he had a note for the Cullens. A note that said that she and Jasper had left them.

"I can't believe that she really left like that," Bella sighed. It never occurred to her that any one of the Cullens would leave if the family was in danger... that just didn't feel right. She thought of the Alice she knew and tried to think of something that would show signs that she had in fact left the Cullens like this, with just a warning, a list of things they should do and vampires they should get in touch with. It didn't make sense. "Is this for real?"

"You're just going to have to read to see," Edward said.

"Fine," Bella sighed, "but I'm going to choose to believe that something else is going on here until it's proven that I'm wrong."

She read again, it seemed the wolves were angered by Alice's disappearance and though she knew that they wouldn't listen she wished that they could have taken Edward's advice about this. It was dangerous and they need not be hurt or killed like they were sure to be when the Volturi arrived. Like her book self she was curious as to why Alice had ripped the page out of her book, so she was all for following this other trail, and even with not having Edward with her. It felt good that there was a note in the book, though of course she didn't know what the hell it was supposed to mean. It just felt like Alice hadn't truly abandoned her (them) if she was leaving a note like this.

"Is Alice using the fact that you can't read my mind as a way to try to tell me something that you shouldn't know?" she asked as she looked at Edward to see if he was going to tell her what it meant, but he didn't say a word. So she was left to reading the book to find out the answer. She was grimacing soon, however, feeling uncomfortable again when her book self was explaining a reason why Alice would want to leave... that it would be to protect Jasper. It was not hard to believe that she would do anything to protect Jasper.

When they got back to the house everyone seemed to be in motion. Carlisle and Esme were going to look up some of his old friends and ask if they would help them and Rosalie and Emmett were going to look for nomads. Edward, Renesmee and she were supposed to stay behind and explain what was happening to all the vampires that were hopefully going to help them out. This idea terrified her as much as it gave her hope. What happens if these vampires rejected Renesmee, wouldn't that put them in more danger? But then again, they were all going to be killed if they didn't have support... there was nothing else they could do but hope that everything would work out.

She grimaced when she learned that Renesmee already seemed to know about the danger that they were in, that Jacob had told her. She had wished that Renesmee could have been spared from this kind of worry, but then again her daughter was so observant, she would notice how worried everyone was and it was best not to lie to her.

Then she was trying to find out who this J. Jenks guy was, trying to keep it from everyone again. It was odd reading about her deliberately keeping something from Edward. She had always tried to be honest with him, of course she kept some of her more embarrassing thoughts to herself, but this was so different. It was intriguing to read about this, though she seriously hoped that she would never have to try to do anything like this in this reality... that she would never have the need to.

So Jenks was a lawyer, huh, how was that supposed to help? She knew right away that her book self was right, that Alice would know that she would want to save Renesmee, and that she would give her that way. It was heartbreaking reading about Renesmee comforting her, how the mother-daughter bond had reversed.

She went on to the next chapter, hoping that Irresistible was going to mean something good. She sighed immediately at all of her thoughts, mostly the one where she didn't know how to fight. She had hoped that if there was another threat to her family that she would be able to at least help, but it seemed that she wouldn't be of much use in this conflict.

She really wished that she could have been distracted like she had been in the book, and contemplated turning around and kissing Edward, but that wasn't really going to make things better and she wanted to know what was going to happen too much to do that.

"Do you have a problem with me knowing how to fight?" Bella asked Edward.

"I would prefer it if you were never in a fight," Edward said.

"Me too, but it could only help to know how to fight," Bella shrugged.

"That's true, but I really doubt I can be the one to teach you that," Edward sighed, "I will say this later in the book, but I can't help to agree with it. I can't ever think of you that way... looking for your weaknesses and ways to hurt you... I just can't do that."

"I understand," Bella sighed, "I suppose I just have to get Emmett and Jasper to help me..."

"I'm sure they will love to do that," Edward chuckled and Bella turned back to the book.

She shivered when Edward explained what Alec could do, how he could make it so everyone, not just a single person, was blind, unfeeling. It was unnerving, and surprisingly it wasn't too comforting knowing that she would be the only one immune to his powers. That to give her family any kind of hope she would have to find a way to destroy him. That didn't seem likely, not when before her stood the whole Volturi army, but she would have to try.

Then her book self was thinking about fighting Demetri, a fight that she had no chance at all of winning, and yet she knew that vampire had to die. He was the one that could lead the Volturi to them... to Alice and to anyone that was running from them. If nothing else Demetri had to be taken care of. The book Edward seemed to have the same idea, and though she knew it had to happen she wasn't looking forward to a fight between them. Would Edward be able to handle that fight?

She was shocked when she learned that Eleazar had once been part of the Volturi. She felt uncomfortable at the mere mention of the Volturi and the fact that Eleazar was one of them made her question him, but Edward seemed to trust him so that was enough for her. It was interesting hearing about what powers Eleazar had, being able to sense what gifts vampires could use. She could see how Aro would love to have someone like that around, using him to find powerful vampires to collect. She was really surprised that Aro had actually let him go, it seemed like Eleazar's gift was something that he wouldn't want to part with.

Then they were waiting for the Denali's to get there, she was with Renesmee and Jacob. Renesmee questioned were she belonged and Bella's heart sighed. It must be so hard on her daughter knowing that she was different from everyone, that there wasn't anywhere that she truly fit in. She felt worse when Renesmee blamed herself for the trouble that was coming for them.

"She had too much of you in her," Bella informed Edward. "Believing that she's the reason for something like this."

"Actually, I was thinking she was more like you," Edward chuckled. "You're the one that always seems to think that you cause the trouble that comes for my family."

"What about the fact that you're always calling yourself a monster for reasons that aren't remotely right," Bella countered.

Edward rolled his eyes. "There is definitely a basis for my thoughts, I have..."

"Edward, what..." Bella tried to interrupt, but Edward just shook his head.

"I don't think we're ever going to agree on this," he said, "so you might as well just keep reading."

"Fine," Bella huffed and then started reading again. Soon after that the Denali's were there and Edward was trying to explain to them what was going on. Making them listen to Renesmee's heartbeat and take in her scent, all in the hope that they would be able to see that she wasn't an immortal child, that she was a living, growing being.

They did not react well at all at first and Bella nervously read on as they seemed to go crazy over the fact that Edward had apparently made an immortal child.

"Is everyone going to react like this?" Bella fretted.

"Actually no, I think they probably took it the hardest," Edward said almost chuckling, but there was no smile on his face when he added, "given what happened in their past it's to be expected."

"I guess," Bella said, before starting to read again as they started to slowly listen to what Edward had to say. She was really glad that Carmen, who seemed to be the most open minded of the vampires there (even Eleazar was completely freaked out, but she supposed that had to do with the fact that he had worked for the Volturi and had seen what they could do first hand). Carmen seemed to have taken a liking to Renesmee and allowed Renesmee to show her memories of Renesmee's life.

It was remarkable how quickly everything settled down when Renesmee showed them her memories; they must have been so full of truth that no one could deny them. It was nice that at least one thing was easy, for even though the Denali's believed them there was still so much that had to be done.

Of course as soon as the Denali's found out that Irina was the one that had betrayed them the commotion raised again. They seemed to be appalled that their sister would have done this to the Cullens and were willing to stand by the Cullens in the upcoming fight. She quickly read on to the next chapter, confused by the title but didn't pay much attention to it.

"A shield?" Bella mumbled. "Is that what I am?"

"Yes," Edward smiled.

Bella continued to read this part, now fascinated to learn more about the mystery that is her brain. She was a little wary when Eleazar mentioned that she was something that Aro had him search the whole world for. She really hoped that she would never be able to come across Aro in this reality; she didn't want him to become interested in her ever.

"Will that work... will I be able to project my ability onto others?" Bella questioned looking hopeful. That would be awesome. She would finally have a way to help her family in some way if she could somehow protect them from the dangerous abilities of others.

Edward didn't answer but she could tell from his smile that it was true. She couldn't wait until her book self started exploring this more.

Her excitement waned a little when she listened to what Edward and Eleazar were talking about. She could tell it was something big even before Eleazar had said what he was thinking and she was disappointed. Apparently the Volturi have been using their stature as rulers to conquer weaker covens and talked the gifted members into serving them. It seemed despicable that they would abuse the trust that the vampire community seemed to put in them, but she couldn't help but think that Eleazar was right about this.

She didn't like the sound of this Chelsea, who had the power to strengthen or weaken the bonds that vampires have with one another. She had the ability to both strengthen the Volturi, making them to fight together easily, and cause anyone that her family got on their side and make them change their minds if she so wished to.

She was almost able to smile when she thought of Alice leaving because she wanted to make sure that Aro wouldn't get what he wanted, knowing that he was coming to collect members of her family and Alice was his top pick. However, the talk turned to how Aro could capture them and make them bend to his will. It was true, if Edward was ever under Aro's power she would have no choice but to do what Aro said, and she knew that Edward felt the same way.

Bella started to get nervous again when Peter and Charlotte came, hoping that they would accept Renesmee. She was pleased that the next chapter seemed to show that Renesmee had no problem convincing the others what she was and that everyone for the most part seemed to like her. She found it really interesting reading about all the different vampires from the different places. It was also fascinating to read about the different powers they had. Like the Irish Coven, Maggie, who could tell automatically when someone was lying. The Egyptian, Benjamin, who was supposedly very special because he was physically able to control the elements (his power wasn't in the mind like most vampire abilities were). Edward seemed to really like this vampire and Bella found that she did too. She didn't really like Amun, Benjamin's creator. Then there was Zafrina, who was able to make any powerful illusion that she wanted. Renesmee seemed to really like Zafrina and the pretty things she could show her, and Bella found that she would have liked to have seen these visions too, but unfortunately that wasn't possible for her.

The other good thing about the arrival of Zafrina was that Alice seemed to have sent her there and that was unexpected. It seemed to make Bella hope that she was right in thinking that Alice was up to something. There were plenty of other vampires there that didn't have special powers, but none of them really seemed to be featured much besides Garrett, who she found she really liked.

She read through the part where she was learning how to fight physically and she wondered how much she was really learning, how useful she would actually be in that fight. However, when it came to the mental side of her training, when she was trying to see if she could project her powers, she found herself getting excited. Of course she didn't really like that Edward was the one that had to pay if she made a mistake. She hated that Edward had to be hurt like that and she found that she didn't like Kate that much... she sighed, trying to remember that Kate was just trying to help her.

"Edward, do you think I could do this now?" Bella asked.

"Project your gift... while you're still human?" Edward said and Bella nodded her head. "I don't know, I suppose it wouldn't hurt if you try, but don't be discouraged if it doesn't work. Your gift might have manifested itself as much as is humanly possible."

"How would I work on it," Bella mused to herself, but decided to read on and see if there were any keys to her ability in the book.

Naturally that thought went out the window when Kate was suggesting that she was going to try her shock ability on Renesmee. As if it wasn't bad enough to hear about Edward getting hurt but the thought of her little girl getting hurt was unbearable. She grumbled when she realized that this was all a trick to get her to put up her shield better and it had shown her the key that she needed to know how to make her shield work. She had to be so furious that she sees red. She sighed, she didn't really see that happening while she was still human, so it was unlikely that she would be able to do anything with her powers.

That didn't really matter now that she saw how much she was progressing in such a short amount of time, and she was happy that Zafrina had taken over and she was still able to use her gift. It was interesting when Edward had said that he could hear people's thoughts when they were under her shield, which meant that all the powers would work while she was shielding all of them. She felt sort of proud that she was able to protect so many people before her powers snapped back to her and she was confident that with more time she would get better.

"Is there something going on between Kate and Garrett?" Bella questioned as she read about Garrett testing Kate's ability.

"There might be," Edward chuckled.

"Have you sent him to the Denali's as you did with Laurent?" Bella asked.

"Naturally Alice is trying to, she has been since we read this," Edward said. "She likes the idea of playing matchmaker, but she still hasn't been able to find him."

"I suppose it would be difficult to find other vampires when you want to," Bella sighed.

"Some are harder than others," Edward said his voice growing cold as he added, "We didn't have much problem finding James, but he liked his games so much that he made clear decisions that pointed him out to Alice. Garrett on the other hand apparently doesn't make any decisions at all. Alice is actually quite annoyed with him."

"I bet she is, messing with her great plans," Bella chuckled and Edward joined her.

She started reading again not too long after that. She had to admit that she was a little wary of the Romanians. Unlike most of the other vampires there, who for the most part were traditional vampires and hunted humans, they truly seemed dangerous. The others all seemed to be almost human in the way that they reacted, but the Romanians didn't care for that and she had no trouble imagining them as the monsters that vampires were portrayed to be.

She moved on to the next chapter, which started with her taking Renesmee, along with Jacob, to visit Charlie. However, the main point of this chapter was so she could go to Seattle to find out who this Jenks guy was, and why Alice wanted her to see him. Given the title, Forgery, she had a good idea what was going to happen. Before she got to make her trip however, there was a nice scene with her dad and how much he seemed to take to being a grandpa. It was nice to see him act like that; he seemed to be really happy. She also noticed that Sue was mentioned a lot whenever her dad was and wondered if something was going on between the two of them.

"Do you think there's something going on between my dad and Sue, or is she just helping him to adjust to the supernatural?" Bella asked looking at Edward.

"Honestly, it seems like there's something going on between them," Edward answered.

"Oh," Bella sighed, thinking about that and knowing that it wasn't likely to happen in this reality because Harry hopefully wasn't going to have a heart attack.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked as she continued to stare at the book, but not reading it.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she mumbled, even though she had been thinking about how much things had changed because they had this warning, and she wondered if her dad was going to have a chance to be happy now that they did this.

"Are you wondering if we shouldn't have warned them about Harry's heart attack?" Edward questioned.

"In a way, but I know that was the right thing to do," Bella frowned. "I think even my dad, given the choice, would have chosen to save his friend's life. It's just... I hope there's some way that my dad could find happiness... you know like he seems to be in this book. I don't like thinking that I've stopped him from getting that."

"I'm sure he'll be okay somehow," Edward sighed. There was really nothing else he could say, he couldn't really guarantee this.

Bella nodded her head and then started reading again.

"There's a way for me to drop my shield all together!" Bella said shocked, as she read her training sessions with Zafrina.

"Apparently," Edward said smiling. "I wouldn't mind you try to figure that one out as soon as possible... I would love to hear what you're thinking."

"I'm sure you would," Bella smiled at him. "But I don't know... it sounds like that's even harder for me to do than to try to project my gift."

"I know," Edward sighed this time.

She started reading again as her book self made her way to the city to find J. Jenks and she frowned at the mention of the part of town that Alice had sent her. Why had Alice sent her to such a crappy place? Well, at least she knew she was at the right place when the 'bum' in nice clothing was talking her, and then calling J. Jenks. She wondered why it was the Cullen name that had gotten Jenks to respond and why he had reacted so strongly, too. It was obvious that he was afraid of the Cullens, but that was okay, at least she knew that he would likely help her and that was what was important.

She was pleased with the meeting with Jenks, knowing that this was going to be a way to ensure her daughter's safety. However, she frowned when her book self thought that this was a hopeless case now, because Alice was giving her a way to protect Renesmee. She knew that Alice was trying to give Renesmee a way out, but did it really mean that there was no hope? Somehow she couldn't believe that, not with Edward holding her, not being tense, as if waiting for something horrible to happen. Surely that meant that everything would be okay in the end.

She continued reading the rest of the chapter while she thought about this. She sighed, but had to admit that her book self had a point about Jacob being the one to go with Renesmee. She knew that Jacob would do everything he could to keep her safe, that he would protect her and care for her. Still, she was glad that she was never going to have to make a decision like this. She sighed at the end of the chapter when she mentioned how hard it was to keep this away from Edward and how hard it was to be away from him, but she knew that this was important.

She started the next chapter and smiled at the fact that he would play her lullaby for her when she came home, but sighed at her book self's thoughts of no longer having hope.

"You had to have noticed that I was up to something," Bella said when she heard her book self think that she didn't want to leave Aro any clues.

"Agreed," Edward sighed. "I watch you much too closely not to notice when you act strangely. I think I'm also going to notice that you're so worried no matter how much you try to hide it."

"I always worry," Bella pointed out.

"But there was an obvious change in the way you were in the chapter before the last one and how you are now," Edward explained and Bella nodded her head.

Bella decided to keep reading, smiling sadly at the description of the necklace she was going to give Renesmee for Christmas, the inscription on it saying 'more than my own life'. It was an accurate description, but it was also hard to read at this time, knowing what it would mean to them. Of course she would have to have more depressing thoughts of ceasing to exist, and it was really starting to get to her, making her question if she was right, would everything actually end okay... was all of her family going to be safe?

She was happy when the chapter starting talking about Christmas, and in truth it didn't seem so bad, but she really hoped that in this reality that Renesmee's first Christmas wouldn't have such gloom hanging around it. Then again, she was sure that Alice and Rosalie were likely to make a big scene of it, decorating the whole house and making sure it was the picture perfect Christmas.

When they got back to the house it seemed that there was a problem going on. Carlisle and Benjamin were arguing with Amun. The Egyptian leader seemed to think that Carlisle was trying to steal Benjamin from him, as if Carlisle would do such a thing. The root of this problem seemed to have been the fact that Alistair had left, thinking that the confrontation was going to come to a fight and he didn't want to be destroyed. He believed that there was nothing that was going to stop the Volturi from acting... that even if they realized that Renesmee wasn't an immortal child that they would find another reason to fight. Bella had to agree with him.

It seemed that Amun thought it would be a good idea to leave too, but Benjamin wanted to stay and he was such a powerful asset that Amun wasn't going to leave without him. In the end it was the fact that Benjamin put his foot down that decided that they were going to stay.

After this the Romanians started talking in a manner that she was sure was supposed to be overheard... supposed to get everyone to, as the chapter title suggested, declare themselves. Seeing as their reason for joining the Cullens was because they wanted revenge on the Volturi for overthrowing them, she was sure they were always going to decide to fight. After all, when else would they find so many vampires willing to stand up against the Volturi and have gifted vampires that were able to make the fight more even than the Volturi were used to she was sure. Therefore she believed that the discussion between them was merely a tool used to get the others to commit themselves too.

It seemed to work, for after their speech of sorts, Tia (Benjamin's mate), Garrett and Tanya all agreed to fight with the Cullens. The nomads (minus Garrett) all said they weren't decided yet, but they were going to stay and act as witnesses for them. Maggie seemed to want to join the fight, knowing that the Cullens had truth on their side, but Siobhan, the leader of the Irish coven, didn't seem as eager to join. She obviously didn't want to lose any of her coven.

"Does she really have an ability?" Bella questioned, wondering if it was true that Siobhan was able to get what she wanted as long she put her mind to envisioning the outcome.

"I think so," Edward said. "But it's not a gift that is easy to prove."

Bella nodded her head, thinking that this might mean that nothing was going to come of this fight, seeing as she was sure that Siobhan would be hoping to avoid one. Surely Edward wouldn't have answered this way if this came to a horrible fight, right?

"You're sure about the reason why Renesmee is able to get in my mind right?" Bella asked, as she was reading about her worries that her powers might not be perfect if her daughter could break through the shield.

"Yes," Edward sighed soothingly. "Don't worry; you're safe from everyone's abilities."

"And everyone I'm shielding is safe too?" Bella added.

"Yes," Edward assured her.

Bella nodded her head and read the book again. She quickly finished the chapter and made to move on to the next but Edward reminded her that it was lunch time. Though she didn't feel hungry, Edward seemed to be worried about her, so she rolled her eyes but allowed him to make a sandwich for her. She ate it quickly, so she could get back to the book faster.

The next chapter started with her making another trip to see Jenks; she had to go to see him to get the papers. Jenks seemed to be very jumpy about something, and she wondered why he was so afraid of Jasper, as he was the one that had dealt with him before. Seeing as he was helping her so much she wasn't opposed to the idea that she would take over for Jasper in the future when it came to dealing with Jenks. The poor man didn't need to be terrified to death every time that they need some kind of paperwork like this.

Then she was back in the house and she was all alone. She went to Alice and Jasper's room where she got a backpack that Renesmee could carry without looking suspicious, putting in tons of money and the paperwork that she had just gotten from Jenks. Her book self was then thinking of a way that Alice would be able to find Renesmee and Jacob if they were both on the run. Seeing as both her daughter and the werewolves where blank spots to Alice this was harder than it seemed, however, she thought that her book self's idea was likely to work. Alice would surely figure out why she sent her a vision that showed her writing Rio de Janeiro would mean that Alice should go there, and hopefully find her daughter. She had to admit that it was nice to know that Alice and Jasper could be there for her daughter, too, though she was hoping that it wouldn't come to this.

After this, the chapter moved on to show the last moments before the fight. How they were camping out in the clearing where they were expecting the fight, the same clearing where they had fought the newborn army in the last book. Then she was talking to Renesmee, telling her about that when the fight was going to start that Renesmee was going to have to leave with Jacob. Then they were leaving the tent to join the others as the Volturi finally came.

Her heart started to race as she read about how the Volturi marched as a unit, how organized and overbearing they seemed to be. It seemed that the Volturi weren't alone either; there was also a group of witnesses, that they seemed more like an angry mob, there only to outnumber them more than they already were. The Volturi didn't seem to care at all that there were so many people standing up to face them, they seemed to be mindless as they marched onwards.

Then Edward was saying that Alistair was right and that the Volturi were here to destroy the threat while acquiring the vampires that they deemed worthy. He said something about the Volturi having no intention of stopping and Bella felt a knot form in her stomach, but was relieved as almost immediately the Volturi had stopped... because of the werewolves making their way onto the battlefield. She had to admit that they would be an impressive sight and for the Volturi a worrisome sight to see, especially now that she heard that there were actually seventeen wolves and not just the ten that she had heard of.

"All these wolves aren't going to transform in this reality right?" Bella asked, hating to think of all the kids that must have transformed prematurely so that they could face this threat.

"I would think not," Edward said. "I'm not even sure that all of the wolves that have transformed before this fight are going to, for I don't think having us around would cause this big of an outbreak, seeing as we don't hunt humans."

"How many do you think will change then?" Bella asked.

"I have no idea," Edward sighed. "I hoped that Jacob would have been the last, but he seemed to have noticed that Paul is showing signs that he is going to change soon, too."

"I hope he's the last one to change," Bella sighed.

"Me too," Edward agreed, "and really, I would think it would be enough for them. They have enough to keep a watch on us and seeing as we won't attack anyone it shouldn't cause more to change."

Bella nodded her head and started reading again. Reading how she got furious about the thought of more children dying because of the Volturi. She could feel a little of that too, but mostly she was just apprehensive to hear what was going to happen. She was able to smile at the fact that Aro was annoyed that Alice wasn't there, pleased as her book self was about that.

She immediately felt wary again as Carlisle went out to speak to the Volturi, knowing that it was what they were hoping for, but still afraid. She wouldn't put it past the Volturi to just attack him. She was even more apprehensive when Irina was talking to Caius and Aro, for though she didn't really know this vampire, and she was the reason why the Volturi were after her family, she didn't want anything to happen to her. She also knew being on that side, far from anyone that would be willing to help her wasn't a very safe place for Irina to be. Still, that didn't stop her from being pleased that Irina had said that Renesmee had changed, that she was growing.

However, immediately she felt her anxiety peak as she realized that Edward was going to have to go to the Volturi so Aro could read his thoughts. Of course this was the whole reason for not telling Edward about her plans for Renesmee, because she was trying to keep it away from Aro, but she didn't realize how terrifying it was to read Edward going out alone to face Aro.

"Wow," Bella gasped, it thrilled her to no ends that her bloodlust seemed to peak in that moment and she was able to control her ability to such a great extent that she could shield Edward, who was a hundred yards away. That she was able to shield everyone in the party and it didn't exhaust her like it had when she was trying to do this before.

"I know, we were all surprised by this," Edward smiled proudly. "You're going to make one powerful vampire."

Bella blushed at his compliment; she'd never been considered powerful before, but she could see that he was stating nothing but fact now. She started to read again.

"Argh," Bella groaned in frustration as she realized that she had let Aro read Edward's mind and even worse reading about how now Aro would know every private moment that they shared. That really was annoying. It was satisfying though to know that Aro had no idea how strong her shield was now, for Edward couldn't read her mind. Aro would have no idea of just how vulnerable the Volturi were to them as long as she was able to keep the shield up.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked, feeling her shiver.

"Yeah... I um... I just... don't like reading about this," Bella said, which was true, but what had bothered her in that particular moment was realizing how much of a target she would be when the fight broke out. The Volturi would realize the only way to get their advantage back was to kill her.

She went back to reading and that offered her no peace of mind for now Aro was asking to meet Renesmee and telling Caius to ponder... to try to think up some other reason to punish them. Aro was still insisting they meet Renesmee and she had to meet him with Edward and three of Aro's guards. She was allowed to take two people and she smiled reluctantly at her choice and the reasons behind it. Of course Emmett would have to come, he would grumble for the rest of eternity if he wasn't picked and really having Jacob with her seemed about right.

She read quickly past the chit chat that Aro seemed to enjoy giving; feeling uncomfortable when she read that she had to lift her protection from Renesmee as she showed Aro her thoughts. Almost hissing when Aro lied about having no intention of hurting her family.

"He can't be serious," Bella rolled her eyes. "He thinks the wolves would really allow themselves to be under his control."

"He doesn't understand them at all," Edward sighed.

"Huh... I would have thought after reading all your memories that he would have realized that," Bella muttered. "Known that they exist so they could preserve human life, not act as guard dogs to a coven of vampires that they would much rather destroy."

Edward frowned, thinking about that, she had a point. "He is used to bending people to his will. I suppose he thought that he could find a way to break them."

"I don't see that one happening," Bella huffed, "and I'm pretty sure that you don't either."

"True," Edward agreed. "But Aro wouldn't really take my opinion on that into account because I wouldn't likely to be able to know how brutal he can be."

Bella shivered at that, not liking the sound of that at all. She started reading, finishing the chapter.

Perhaps she should have picked different people to go with her, she thought as she started the next chapter and reading how both Emmett and Jacob had to be dragged away from Aro, both seeming to be itching to fight.

She felt unnerved as the Volturi joined Aro and now they were so close to them that the fight could start in a split second. She also didn't like how Aro and Caius were discussing this, knowing they were trying to think of different ways to come at them.

"Wow," Bella said again, as she realized that she was able to control her ability even further. How she was able to tell the difference between each person she shielded. How she was able to make the shield seem to attach itself to their essence making sure that no one unwanted could get inside her shield and wreak damage to her friends and family. She could feel Edward's pride for her as he squeezed her to him, and she felt her hope grow as she realized that she was really able to protect her family. That for once she was truly useful. She kept reading, finding it interesting about the wolves; that as long as the Alpha's mind was protected all the wolves were protected.

Then Caius was starting to come up with reason to act against them. Starting with the werewolves, attacking the pack that the Cullens had with them. It didn't work though, because apparently the wolves weren't actually werewolves (which seemed to actually exist somewhere), but shape shifters. She was thankful then that the Volturi had brought their own witnesses, for it seemed that Aro was very fond of his show; that he was there to preserve the law. He wasn't going to allow them to fight unless there was a legitimate reason to do so. She was sure he was going to search for one so in the end it wouldn't really matter.

The next attempt Caius made had her feeling uneasy. He had called Irina to them again, and Bella feared what was going to happen. She felt Edward tense at that, a tension that had been building slowly as they got closer to this moment and she was certain she wasn't going to like what she read next.

"They killed her!" Bella groaned, feeling horrible and looking at Edward as he bowed his head. She could imagine how hard this was on the Cullens the first time they read this.

"We're going to make sure this never happens," Edward said firmly and Bella had no trouble believing him. Bella started reading again and felt tears form in her eyes as she read how Tanya and Kate reacted to this. As bad as it was for the Cullens to hear this she knew it would be a hundred times worse for the sisters to hear this. She imagined how she would feel if Alice was killed like that and she cried hard. It was such a brutal way to lose someone you love. It was made worse because they couldn't seek revenge for this tragedy... that if they had they would doom them all.

"Garrett really does care for her," Bella commented her voice thick with the tears she had shed. "If he would endure so much pain to keep her from fighting."

"Yes, they truly are mates," Edward agreed with that, for he was sure that nothing else would have given him the strength to do that.

Bella nodded her head and started to read again. "I can't believe it! That's the excuse he's using for killing her like that!"

"I know," Edward hissed. "It's beyond idiotic to punish someone to death for baring false witness to a crime like this. No one would say a word if they knew the punishment for being wrong was death!"

Bella huffed as she continued reading the book, but her anger turned to fear as she read that Aro was now making his move. She feared what he would come up with for it would be thoughtful and much more damaging to her she was sure. Still, she found herself wondering what he was doing when he was questioning the witnesses; surely he knew that they would say what Edward and Renesmee had already showed him.

Bella got really mad when it became clear what he was getting at. That he thought that Renesmee's mere existence would pose a danger to the vampires. She was gritting her teeth throughout his speech about it being a pity that they didn't know what Renesmee's potential was and that anything that is unknown was dangerous to them and couldn't be allowed. Edward tried to calm her down as she was so angry that the book started shaking from her frustration.

"I can't believe he would actually use that," Bella said. "She looks more human than any vampire could and he thinks that she would be a danger to them. Sure she grows quickly, but that doesn't mean that any human would be able to see her... it's not like we would let anyone notice how different she is."

"You know he's just trying to find a good reason to start a fight," Edward said soothingly.

"Yes," Bella huffed, "I just really didn't like that he was putting a death sentence on our daughter like this just so he could have a reason to fight."

"Me neither," Edward sighed, but he knew that this was for the best in the end. It played right into Alice's hands after all.

Bella continued to read, appreciating Garrett's attempts to try and convince the other nomads and the Volturi witnesses, of the real motives of the Volturi. She hoped that they would have enough sense to help them out, for surely Aro would not allow them to get away knowing that he wasn't the saint that he wanted others to believe he was.

After that Aro turned to make his decision and she turned to Renesmee, telling her daughter that she loved her… telling Edward and Jacob of her plan, saying goodbye to her family and friends. All this had her tearing up. She couldn't imagine the pain her book self would be in at this moment, knowing that she would never get to see her daughter grow up, never get to have Edward for eternity. The others seemed to pick up on what she was thinking and they too seemed to say goodbye to each other.

As this was going on, someone seemed to be sending an advance attack on them, trying to break their bonds. She finished the chapter and moved to the next without pause, knowing that her power was now going to be tested.

She read as her book self described the way the different powers affected her shield. How Chelsea's power felt like light fluttering that tried to attack the edges of the group (mostly those that hadn't committed to fight with them). Jane's power was a sharper jab, not painful but not pleasant either.

She found herself chuckling darkly at the thought of infuriating Jane so much... smirking and taunting the little vampire that was unable to hurt her or her family anymore. Then Alec seemed to be testing his ability against her. It was slow moving and all encompassing, but so was her own power and she smiled when she had been able to stop even this (noting that his power reminded her of Novocain).

"I would liked to have seen how shocked they were at that moment," Edward said, amusement clear in his voice. "When they realized that couldn't use any of their abilities against any of us."

"Well, let's just hope you never get to see that," Bella mumbled, though she still felt smug about this outcome; she was hoping this was enough to make Aro reconsider his attack.

She read, hoping she would be right, but it seemed like first everyone in her family had to pick a target to take out. She felt a little uneasy about Edward fighting Demetri, but it was true that he needed to be killed in order to give Renesmee and every other survivor some safety. She was pleased that Zafrina would be watching her back. The Amazon was definitely a formidable vampire.

Naturally the vote would come down to Aro in the end. He seemed to be the true power of the Volturi after all. She wondered vaguely if Caius and Marcus always voted against each other so Aro could give the appearance of a partnership but really it was a dictatorship. This didn't matter, for Aro was about to make his verdict...

No, Edward was smiling, something had changed. Edward suddenly seemed to know something that none of them knew before. Bella felt her heart start to race, not in panic as it was before, but in hope. She had an idea what was going to happen. Edward was talking about assuring Renesmee was no danger and there was only one reason she could think of that Edward would have said this.

"There's another hybrid, isn't there?" Bella turned to him.

"Why do you insist on ruining the story this close to hearing the answer?" Edward shook his head.

"Whatever," Bella rolled her eyes. "That's how you knew that Renesmee was going to stop growing when she was seven."

Edward nodded his head. "How else did you expect me to know that?"

"I don't know... the book could have ended with a vision of a hundred years in the future and have Renesmee be a grown woman or something," Bella said blushing that she hadn't realized this before.

Edward chuckled at that, "I might have liked seeing that, but I think this way told us more details."

Bella nodded her head, still feeling embarrassed about not thinking about this sooner and started to read. "Alice! Of course! She went to find the hybrid!"

"You don't know how happy everyone was to hear this!" Edward smiled.

"Oh I think I do," Bella disagreed. "It was so hard to believe that Alice would ever leave your family like that. Actually I couldn't believe it... I knew she had to be doing something, but I never would have guessed it would have been this."

Bella read again excitedly listening to the story that Huilen, the sister of the girl that gave birth to Nahuel, the other hybrid, told them all. The story sounded similar to her own, though her angel happened to be real as opposed to the Nahuel's mother's, who had knocked her up and then left her to die. He didn't seem to care at all about the woman, or even really the child, seeing as he had left the boy for years. However, Nahuel seemed to be venomous and was able to turn Huilen into a vampire and it was nice to know that the boy had someone to be with.

When Nahuel picked up the story and spoke of his father she found herself getting angrier at this Joham that was creating hybrids, thinking himself a scientist. Still it was nice to know that besides Nahuel there were three other hybrid vampires that her daughter could relate to. She waited until it was clear that the Volturi were actually going to leave, that Aro had voted to let it stand that the hybrids weren't a danger to their society before she turned to Edward smiling.

"It's over, everyone is okay," she beamed and he beamed back. "Sometime after Renesmee is born, probably a few years, we should try and find Nahuel and Huilen. I think it would be good for her to know someone like her."

"I agree," Edward smiled. "What about Nahuel sisters?"

"I don't know, I'm not really looking forward to meeting that Joham guy," she said in distress. "I suppose it would be good to meet them too."

Bella started reading again and groaned. "I called her Nessie!"

"Told you it will grow on you," Edward chuckled.

"Well it hasn't yet," Bella huffed, turning the page and smiling immediately at the title. Happily Ever After.

It started with Edward recapping the fight like only he could, seeing as he was the only one that knew what everyone was thinking. She was a little sad to hear that all the other vampires had left. She had enjoyed hearing about them and knew that she would find everything more interesting now that she knew her family wasn't in danger. However, they were leaving and she had to smile when the Cullens were virtually left to themselves and everyone was back to being happy.

She blushed as Edward praised her book self for being the reason why the Volturi had stopped. She felt a little embarrassed about getting mad at Alice, knowing that her sister was just trying to do what was best. Yeah, it had her worried for a long time but at least it helped save her family. Then Alice was explaining herself and she felt even worse.

"Hm… do you really think Nahuel is going to like Renesmee... you know like that?" Bella asked frowning.

"Who knows," Edward shrugged. "I certainly hope not. I'm not looking forward to anyone liking her... it's bad enough that Jacob is going to imprint on her... I don't really think I can want another suitor buzzing around her."

"But you said you wanted her to meet Nahuel?" Bella said slightly confused.

"Of course," Edward said, "it doesn't matter if he would potentially be a suitor for our daughter; it would be beneficial for both of them to know that the other exists. You saw how Renesmee realized that she didn't belong anywhere... she knew that there are some people that are like her and that has to make her feel like she does fit in."

"Right," Bella smiled sadly at that and read on and felt horrible when Edward explained that Nahuel had thought that he was bad because he was the reason his mother died. There was no doubt that they had to see the boy now, seeing as by meeting her, the boy (who was more than a hundred years older than her) was able to start forgiving himself.

Then they were going back to the cottage and she had forever with Edward and she couldn't help but smile at the thought. She smiled broadly as she read that she was lowering her shield and seeing how he reacted to that. She really couldn't wait until she learned that one... she couldn't wait to see his face when that happened... she couldn't wait until she had her eternity with Edward.

A/N: There it is, I'm finally done with the book and now I can start on my own work again. I had thought I would have had more of a decision at the end here, but like at the end of the second chapter as soon as I wrote this last line it seemed to say to me that this was the end of the chapter. So the next chapter will have Bella and Edward discussing what they're going to be doing next now that they both know what's happening.