Paul

We ran until we were far enough that we didn't think the family would see or find us, and then ran some more for good measure. I had to talk to the pack without any intervention from the Cullens, even Rose and Emmett. We stopped at the top of the cliffs where we always dive and everyone phased back.

"What is it, Paul?" Jared asked. "Why is this so urgent and why can't the Cullens be here?"

"Leah, hold my phone?" I asked her. She nodded.

"Everyone phase with me, it will be easier to show you. Leah, when I nod at you I need you to play the recording from tonight. I haven't heard it yet." She nodded again and everyone phased.

I showed them what had transpired. Seeing Angela again, and the entire awkward exchange with Edward.

"I don't trust Alice. She left as we did, didn't even stop to say hello to Jasper." Embry told us.

"I don't either. Probably contacting Edward again." I agreed.

Jared spoke up. "I saw her too, she was going toward Forks."

"Why would Edward be so willing to be separated from his mate?" Sam wondered.

"I think Rosalie caught on to that. I'm glad Leah and Emmett were so quick to come up with a cover, he doesn't need to know about the baby." Seth commented.

Jacob growled. "He won't get close enough to Bella for it to matter what he knows."

"I left my phone in Emmett's jacket pocket when I spilled my drink and recorded their conversation."

I nodded to Leah and she pressed play.

"Angela, dear, would you please head back to the lobby to wait for us? I'd like to speak with my sister alone."

"Of course, love. So good to see you again, Alice."

We heard her walk out and the door closing behind her.

"Why can't I hear them Alice? Can you see them?" Edward asked.

"Who? The wolves?"

"Rosalie and Emmett too. I can only hear your thoughts and Angela's."

"I can still see Rosalie and Emmett."

"WHY. CANT. I. HEAR. THEM." He growled at her.

"I'm not sure, Edward. Calm down, it will be okay."

"You didn't tell me that Bella was with a dog."

"What difference does it make? Angela is your mate."

"She is, but I don't want Bella to be with one of them."

"Listen, I've seen what you're going to do and you can't do it."

"If you've seen it I'm sure you realize you can't stop me."

"You don't know what's at stake here, Edward. You're going to kill someone you care about."

"Is it Bella?"

"No."

"Will she be hurt? Physically hurt?"

"No."

"Then I don't care, Alice. We have to get her away from that pack of mutts."

"Jasper will kill you, Edward. If he doesn't I know that Paul or Jacob will."

"And you'll let them kill me, sister?"

"Of course not. But you're going to kill one of our own family, Edward."

"That isn't my intention. But the only family I have now are you and Carlisle. It seems everyone else has grown close to our enemies."

"I'm willing to die for you, but I won't kill my siblings."

"If your siblings get in my way, they deserve what is coming to them. Will you stand with me when the time comes or not, Alice?"

"Of course I will."

"Then make sure they trust you. Show me what you've seen."

They're both silent for a moment.

"It can't happen, Edward."

"What's wrong with that scenario?"

"Our siblings die. I really like Emily too."

"Oh, no sympathy for Leah?"

"No."

"Rosalie deserves it. I won't kill Emmett."

"You will. I've seen it."

"You know this needs to come to pass. Bella needs to be with me, not that pack of mutts."

"What about Angela?"

"Angela is my mate, but I didn't leave Bella behind to become part of their pack. She loves Angela, once she's turned she can stay with us."

"That's hardly a life for her Edward. The wolves will kill both of us. Jasper will help them after you've killed Rose and Emmett."

"I'm beginning to wonder if I should even bother killing the dog. You haven't mentioned anyone that will miss her."

"Jasper is quite fond of Leah. Paul is the wolf you'll have to watch out for. Rosalie, Emmett, and Leah are the most important people in his life. He will be out for blood. I would fear him more than Jasper."

"Maybe we can spare Leah and Emily."

"Leah is as fast as you are, Edward. If you're going to escape with Bella she will have to die."

"What a pity. She wouldn't stay behind for the other human?"

"I don't know. Emmett is coming back. We will talk soon."

"Make sure this comes to pass, Alice. They need to trust you for this to work."

"I will."

We could hear the door opening and someone approaching. It had to be Emmett.

"You ready to go Ali?"

"Of course. We will see you soon, Edward."

The recording continued until Emmett got back to the car and handed my cell phone to me. Leah had phased while it was playing and I hadn't noticed.

"They plan to kill Rosalie, Emmett, Leah, and Emily?" Quil asked.

"And kidnap Bella." Embry added.

"They won't touch them." Jared growled.

"They'll have to kill me first." Jacob said.

"We have to tell the Cullens." Seth said.

"No." I told him. "Alice can't know that we're on to her."

"What are you proposing?" Sam asked.

"When the time comes, we let things go as they've planned. After Alice leaves, we tell them what we know. We won't send Emmett, we will go as a pack."

Embry scoffed. "The whole pack? Who will protect the tribe?"

"The Cullens. Jasper could probably handle this fight with his hands behind his back."

"We could ask Jasper to bring in his nomad friends." Seth suggested. "They fought with him in Texas."

"They drink from humans." Quil reminded him.

"So they'll stay off the reservation. I like Seth's idea." Sam agreed. "I will tell him we need them for the training but time it so that they will still be here to fight."

"I'll tell Jasper to keep Edward and Angela away for Bella's sake." Jacob told us.

"We will not speak a word of this to anyone outside of our pack. That includes Rosalie and Emmett." We felt the weight of the alpha order as soon as Sam finished speaking.

"Damn it Sam, another order that hurts Rosalie?" Embry yelled.

"Now isn't the time for your shit, Call." I growled.

"Fuck you guys. You made me stay away from her and now I can't tell her that she may be walking in to her own death?"

"Will you stop worrying about my mate, Embry? I can protect her just fine." I growled.

"By lying to her?" He asked.

"You will obey your alpha, Embry." Sam snarled at him. "You know we won't let anyone hurt Rosalie."

"Fuck you, Sam." He phased and ran away from us. When would he ever stop causing trouble?

"We'll go." Quil and Jacob phased out and ran after him.

"Doesn't Emmett know about the recording? Your phone was in his jacket pocket." Jared asked.

"Ugh, you're right. Sam, what do you want to do? Rosalie probably noticed too." I hadn't thought of that.

"Do you think that Alice knows?" He asked.

"I don't think she would have spoken as freely if she did. Emmett didn't hand my phone to me in front of them, he gave me his jacket to put in the back of the car with our things."

"If we need to tell Emmett that is okay, but Rosalie can't find out. We can't risk Alice knowing what we're doing." He answered.

I could live with that. I didn't want Rosalie to be scared over a future that would never come to be. If Edward wanted to kill her, he would have to kill me and every one of my brothers first. I ran toward our home and Leah ran next to me. I was so glad that the two of them had grown so close. They bickered like sisters now. Maybe that was why Alice had an issue with Leah, because she was closer to Rosalie. We both phased and walked inside. Emmett and Rosalie were sitting at the table, waiting for us.

We both needed some time with our mates after the day we'd had. Leah led Emmett out of the house and I walked over to Rosalie wrapping my arms around her and kissing the top of her head. She stood up and I followed her to our bedroom. I fell asleep peacefully with my mate in my arms.

I woke up when three of my brothers howled. Before I could react, Rosalie was out of the house and running toward them. I walked out to the living room to see Leah and Emmett standing there. There was another howl, this one sounding pained.

"That was Embry." Leah told me. "Let's go."

We ran outside and phased, running after Rosalie toward my brothers. Leah was much faster than me and Emmett. The rest of the family quickly appeared behind us, but none of us could catch up to Rosalie. Quil and Jacob were busy with two nomads while Embry was after Victoria and another one.

"Embry, fall back we're too far from you." Sam told him.

"No. Rosalie is close isn't she? I'm not letting them go this time."

"Don't rely on my mate to save you, Call." I growled.

"I'm almost there Em." Leah told him.

Leah had almost caught up to Rosalie, but not to Embry. Jared got there faster than either of the girls, but Quil was struggling to fight off the leech that was after him and he stopped to help.

"These aren't nomads, they're newborns." Jared told us.

We were getting close when two more leeches showed up and cut us off from the rest of the group. The girl that came after me looked young, about Seth's age. It pained me to be killing what was basically an innocent child. Their death was ultimately at Victoria's hand, turning them to fight her battle for her. She wasn't very graceful, but she was strong. I took her head off quickly and phased while Emmett started a fire. He had easily taken out the other one, a man that looked to be our age. I promised the girl I would make Victoria suffer before I tossed her in to the fire.

With the two leeches disposed of, we started running toward our mates again. Leah was at Rosalie's side now but they hadn't quite caught up to Embry. He was closer to Victoria than any of us had ever been. He jumped and grabbed her shoulder, taking out a large chunk of it. She turned around screaming and he lunged at her again, but was knocked back by the other leech that was with her. He hit a tree and we could hear his bones breaking.

"Embry, please, let them go." Jacob pleaded. "The girls aren't close enough."

He groaned in pain. "No, I won't."

He got back up and ran after them again. He went after the male leech this time, grabbing his arm and ripping it from his body. The leech took Embry's leg in his other hand and snapped it. Victoria had stopped to watch, knowing that none of us were close enough to get to her.

"Leah!" Embry was screaming. "Where are you!"

The leech grabbed his other leg and snapped it too. We could see through Leah's eyes that they'd made it. Rosalie put her hand in front of Leah, telling her not to go.

"Get the hell away from him." She growled at the leech. "What did Victoria tell you about us anyway?"

"I'd watch how you talk about my mate." The man replied.

She laughed at him. "Oh, she's convinced you that you're her mate? She didn't tell you why she's after my family?"

"You refuse to let us hunt in the area. You killed Laurent. Your lifestyle isn't natural!"

Rosalie shook her head. "She's doing this to avenge her real mate, James. Our family destroyed him last year when he tried to take out a member of our coven."

"A human." Victoria growled.

"See?" Rosalie laughed. "She's not denying it, she corrected me. She doesn't care about you. Step away from him, and I'll let you leave with your life."

The leech looked between the two of them pondering the idea. Embry wanted to kill him, but couldn't walk with two broken limbs.

"She was lying to them, Embry." Leah reassured him. "As soon as he's away from you, I'm taking him out."

The man stepped away from Embry and held his hands up. "Wise decision." Rosalie told him.

She started to walk toward him and the leech threw her back and grabbed Embry's broken leg. He looked Rosalie in the eye as he bit him. As soon as his teeth made contact with Embry's skin his screams pierced the night. He was in agony. His connection to us through the pack mind was severed as the venom flowed through his veins.

Rosalie screamed, sounding absolutely feral. She pushed him away from Embry and ripped him apart, limb by limb. I hadn't ever seen her like this. We were close enough now to help, so I phased out and started a fire. The rest of the pack took off after Victoria. Embry was human now and still screaming in agony. I sat down next to him.

"It's gonna be ok, Em." I told him.

"Shut the fuck up, Lahote." He yelled. "You're probably glad I'm dying."

I hated that my brother would think that. I knew he was in love with my imprint, but I would never wish for him to die. It pained me to see how strongly she felt for him though, and it was evident in how aggressive she was being with the leech that had bitten him. Rosalie had burned every part of the leech and drug it's head across the ground before holding it over the fire. She whispered something in it's ear, too low for me to hear, before throwing it in. Not a second later, she was at Embry's side looking down at him.

"Do you know where Carlisle is?" She asked me. I shook my head. "Jasper?" I shook my head again.

"We don't have time to wait. If I don't stop, kill me." She told me.

She leaned down and bit him over the leech's original bite. He screamed as she broke the skin again. My heart ached for her. She had been so careful not to ever consume human blood, and now she found herself in this situation because of me. I hoped that she could find the will to stop, because I wouldn't be able to hurt her even if it was to save my brother. Embry finally stopped screaming and laid there, breathing but not moving.

Leah and Emmett came back to us before the rest of the pack. Leah lunged toward Rosalie, but Emmett held her back.

"She's not hurting him!" Emmett told her. "She's sucking the venom out, we had to do this for Bella. How long has it been since he stopped screaming?"

"About a minute." I told him.

"She's killing him, his blood is clean. Help me hold her back. Leah, get Embry back to Carlisle."

Emmett pulled Rosalie off of Embry and she fought against him. I moved in front of her to try to calm her down while Leah grabbed him and started running. His heartbeat was faint, but still there.

"Let me go, Emmett!" She yelled. "I have to see if he's okay!"

"We will check on him soon babe, I promise. You need to calm down." I told her.

"I almost killed him.." She sank to the ground as Emmett let her go. I wrapped my arms around her as she sobbed.

"You didn't kill him, you saved him. Leah is taking him to Carlisle, he's going to be okay."

She pulled away and looked up at me. "I wasn't going to stop, Paul. I hadn't ever had human blood before. What if I can't control myself anymore?"

Jasper appeared at my side and put his hand on her shoulder. "I will help you control it, sister. I'm so proud of you for stopping and not fighting them. Paul, why don't you go check on Embry while we take Rosalie to hunt?"

"Will you be okay without me, babe?" I asked her.

She nodded and took Jasper's hand. She kissed me softly before turning to follow her brothers. I watched as the three of them ran off into the forest before phasing. I was bombarded by the entire pack's thoughts. There were mixed feelings about Rosalie consuming Embry's blood, but everyone knew that it had to be done.

"Paul, are you close?" Jared asked.

"I just left Rosalie. We were still at the same spot."

"Embry needs a blood transfusion. Carlisle is checking on the DNA results but we need to blood type everyone to see who is a match." He told me.

"Rosalie is going to feel so guilty." I told him.

"Why? She saved his life." Quil said.

I showed them the conversation between us.

"She has more control than any other leech would have. Like Jasper said, she could've fought both of you." Seth commented.

"Did you guys see how she took out that leech?" Quil asked. "I thought they said she was one of the weaker fighters of their coven."

"It was hurting someone she loves." I growled at Jared's comment.

"What happened with Victoria?" I wondered.

"Bitch got away again. Alice was going to chase her in the water but she didn't want anyone to go with her. Sam phased and said to let her go." Jared told me.

"What did Jasper say about that?"

"He's on to us." Jacob told us. "Can you guys hurry? Embry isn't doing good."

Everyone that was close enough phased out until I was the only one left. If everyone was being blood typed they wouldn't need me for a few minutes, so I took my time and reflected on everything that happened. I wondered if Rosalie would ever have loved me without imprinting. Things had been so amazing between the two of us for the last few months, but I knew the connection she had with Embry was more organic. There was no magic involved, they just loved each other. I couldn't even be angry that she saved him tonight because he was my pack brother, but I had to admit I'd been jealous watching how crazy she was seeing him hurt. Would she act like that if it it was me that was hurt?

I decided to phase in case another pack member came looking for me. I remembered the day we met. She had the choice to help me or Embry when we were facing the swarm of leeches and she saved me. She even called me her mate, and she hadn't ended things with Emmett yet. I knew that Rosalie loved me. I decided we'd talk about her relationship with Embry once he was healed. Maybe her feelings toward him were like my feelings for Leah, but I doubted that. I knew Call was in love with her. He had tried to destroy our relationship every step of the way. How ironic would it be if she was the one to kill him instead of me?

I was about to walk up to the porch when I caught a scent. Alice. I knew my pack was waiting on me, but I didn't trust her. I hoped that another wolf would be a blood type match for Embry as I phased and ran to see what she was doing. I followed a good distance behind her until we came upon the original treaty line. Why was she coming here? It was a good distance from the Cullen house and no place near their hunting spots. I watched as a car pulled up that I would have recognized anywhere. A small silver Volvo. Edward Cullen stepped out, eyes bright red and greeted Alice.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Edward? Embry wasn't supposed to get hurt." She slapped him.

"Embry? You told me Bella was with Billy Black's son." Edward looked taken aback. "We tracked the wolf using Billy's blood, Alice."

"She is. Jacob is Billy Black's son. That is Bella's mate, not Embry."

"I've explained how his gift worked to you before. He can track relatives of anyone he's consumed blood from, which is why you stole Billy's blood from the hospital earlier tonight. I don't know what's going on here, unless Chief Black has an illegitimate son."

"Damn it. Carlisle was running the DNA but we didn't know who Embry's father was yet. I didn't think it would be Billy."

"Alice, who's side are you on? You should have told me about this!" He snarled.

"I didn't know! I'm on your side, Edward. Always."

"When will you tell them we're coming? I'm ready to take care of Rosalie after she got in my way today by saving the dog and killing our tracker."

"I can tell them tonight that I had a vision of Victoria deciding to come on Saturday. That gives us a week to prepare."

"Please be sure they send the girls with you to Alaska. Our numbers are lower after today, but everything should still go as planned."

"Of course. We'll talk soon."

"Oh, and Alice? Don't let Embry live. We don't need Rosalie becoming confident on us."

I didn't need to hear anything more. I ran far enough away that she wouldn't realize I was listening before howling. Our pack would have to take Alice out, and soon. Right now, I had to protect my brother and my imprint.