There was nothing but silence after my announcement. I was too afraid to look up to see Bella's reaction, and too cowardly to reach out through our fledgling bond to check on her. It only just hit me that in all of this time of fooling around, teasing, recounting events, Bella had never once initiated anything that could be considered an intimate action between us. Oh hell, what if she was looking at all of this from the eyes of my 'best friend' and not the 'love of my life'?

I suddenly felt nauseous as doubt began to fester in my heart and mind. What if this was all in my head? What if Bella was only tolerating my touch because she missed me as a friend? Is that why she was so adamant that I stop hitting her with my magick? Because it made her uncomfortable? Made her sick to feel that from me?

A chorus of voices went off in my head, louder than ever before, my soul being battered by so much unconditional love that any kind of doubt or depression was blown away before it could even begin to form. It was my Clan, in its entirety, holding me up yet again when I let my obsession with Bella bring me low.

Then the room was filled with the most glorious of sounds: Bella's laughter. Had only a few seconds really passed? It had felt like I was trapped in limbo again for a moment and that moment of doubt had stretched on into eternity.

"Oh my goodness, I saw what you did to his pinky! Did you really cut off his whole head? Is that why he's been wearing scarves everywhere?!"

I could only gape at the human as she happily asked her questions. Where did hesitant, shy little Bella go? Who was this beautiful creature sitting at my side practically bouncing with joy over the fact that I had decapitated her boyfriend? Shit, was that still in the present tense, because everything was so damn ambiguous at the moment that if she walked away from me again, I might not recover this time.

This thought, of course, was met with several growls, both mentally in Pack mind and literally from the four women sharing space in my heart and soul, drawing the human up short with a thud of her heart as she curled into me for safety.

It was Bella's fear that had me grasping each soul one by one and releasing a screeching sound from my throat that had all of my Clan cowering beneath my power. Bella, instead of rearing back farther in fear, curled harder into my side, hiding her face in my neck while something dark and dangerous rose up, my left eye itching as my gaze swept the gathered women.

I don't know what they saw in my gaze, but each chin dropped to their chests as eyes averted downward in submission, even from the Pack Alpha. This was power and control, dominance and a part of my nature I hadn't been introduced to yet. Was this truly me, or some holdover from the partial Wight transformation?

Before I could even begin to question this development further, Armando barged into the room. "Don't even start about privacy, with so many souls bound to yours your hopes of ever having a private thought to yourself went out the window when you took on a Pack of shapeshifters." I snapped my mouth closed because he probably wasn't far off the point. "You're running out of time, young Witch. That sound you just made echoed throughout the entire order of magick. The International Coven of Witches and soon the Volturi will know a Wight of great power has come to exist. They will begin to search for any fluctuations in magick throughout the world until they find the distinct aura a Wight gives off, so I fear you may not have until your birthday to initiate the Contract."

I swallowed, frustration and worry welling up in my chest as I continued to hold Bella close to me. "Everyone out," I hissed, my voice taking on a more grainy quality as the Wight began showing itself more and more.

Armando left, but the other women remained despite my implicit command. "We're staying," Leah ground out between clenched teeth. "If you force our compliance then you're not the woman we know and love."

"Besides," Rosalie added, voice just as strained, "Bella needs to get used to our presence in your life since you were the one who tied our hearts together."

I stared these stubborn women down one by one, seeing unwavering determination and a dedication not unlike what I felt for Bella. And as the Wight began to calm in me, my heart reached out for theirs, gentle this time. I caressed their souls and smiled as they all relaxed under my loving touch.

"You're right," I eventually replied, voice smooth and calm. I gently pulled Bella from my side and sat her up beside me. She looked half-asleep, and it was only then that I realized I'd also been caressing her soul with my magick in comfort. I needed her aware, so I did the only thing I could think of and sent a jolt of heightened energy up her arm and into her chest, drawing the most delicious noise is ever heard from her, this mixture between a gasp and a moan that had her body trembling and eyes wide as she focused her attention solely on me. "Back with us, love?"

She blinked in sudden confusion as she looked around with a heavy blush. This drew a quiet groan from Rosalie who was now close to Bella, and I realized belatedly that the poor vampire was probably salivating over Bella's scent. I sent her a pulse in warning, though I knew Rosalie's control was impeccable. Still, I was overprotective dammit.

"Bella," I called her attention back to me, her brows perking up slightly in curiosity. "I've already told you on more than one occasion but I'll say it again. I'm in love with you. I've touched your heart and soul and you've seen into the vast expanse of my Clan. I refuse to invade your personal thoughts and memories, but I can't live in limbo without knowing how you feel anymore. Too much is at stake now, too many hearts on the line, for me to be selfish anymore."

Bella had this adorably confused look on her beautiful face as she glanced at the other women who refused to leave us to our moment. Then her eyes widened as she looked more directly at each woman, her gaze remaining on Rosalie the longest as she pressed a hand over her own heart. When she finally returned her gaze to mine, there was this absolute look of awe there that I don't think I've ever seen before.

When she spoke, it was with a quiet reverence that had my heart clenching. "When you left me that day, Edward took me home but all I could think about were your words. Then it felt like my chest was being ripped apart, like my heart was breaking into a million pieces. I came here nearly every day after, hoping that it wasn't true, that I hadn't lost you. Despite their lies about your illness, I knew you still lived, but then there were moments when my heart and soul knew you were dead and I wanted to die too."

She was crying at this point, and I couldn't resist pulling her into my arms, whispering, "I'm here now. I'm here."

She sniffled, pulling back even as tears continued to pour down her cheeks. "During those times when you were gone, the bloom began to wilt. The first time it happened, I drove to the edge of the road by the cliffs. I made sure not to make the choice to jump or drive off the edge until the last minute so Alice wouldn't see it until it was too late. But before I made it that far, I would feel you again and the bloom renewed.

"I don't think I've ever known what actual love feels like, not from my mom especially. Charlie tries, but he's not dad material and that's just who he is. But when I think of you Angela, every time I felt you leave and return these last three weeks, was a special kind of hell and heaven all rolled into one because I knew each time you came back that in my heart I loved you."

She gave a sobbing laugh as she took up my hands in hers, my jaw slack and body pleasantly numb save for the heat pouring through my entire soul. "I came here today to find out what made you run away from me, but in truth I just wanted to be near you, to hold you and know you're back for good. The moment that rose bloomed, so did my heart. I love you so damn much, Angela!"

And then she was kissing me and it was the sweetest, most perfect moment of my existence. It was also the wettest and saltiest but dammit I didn't care as I kissed her back with everything I had, our lips meeting again and again between laughter and tears and ultimate absolution. And when I opened my eyes again, Bella gasped at whatever she saw. And so without hesitation, I dove into her senses and immersed myself in her for the first time and saw my eyes had changed once again, but instead of a constant maelstrom or the pale white of death, they were simply a lightly glowing violet.

Once again, though I had damned myself for her, she had saved my soul. The clearing of several throats had me rolling my eyes and I pulled the four other women into our shared space and let Bella see what all she was getting into. It was a cacophony of beautiful, loving thoughts and Bella surprised me yet again by reaching out tentatively to touch each heart in return. She was as natural to interacting on the soul level as she was with any other supernatural challenge she'd been met with, and I was beginning to realize just how much she was made for our world.

Tissues were passed around to myself and Bella as we cleaned our faces up with playful laughs, the other four women smiling lovingly at our silly grins. "As touching as this is," Rosalie chided teasingly, "we do have important matters to attend to. Mainly, what we're going to do about the Witches and Volturi searching for Angela."

I sighed, settling back onto the pillows, Bella leaning into my side as naturally as her next human breath. I couldn't help but smile as I stroked my fingers through her hair. "Well, I think if we can cleanse the area of any lingering Wight energy then that will buy us the time we need to perform the Contract at the appropriate time."

A pulse of negative emotions from Bella had me glancing down at her. She avoided my gaze for a few seconds before she turned soulful eyes to mine in a question she was afraid to ask aloud. I gave her my most reassuring smile, leaning down to brush my lips against hers. "Contract be damned, I'm never living without you again. Besides, I'm already resetting almost every precedent in the book, might as well give my patron Goddess the what-for while I'm at it."

"There's the invasive cunt we know and love!" Leah exclaimed, drawing us out of our moment with the reminder of their presence. I smiled at the four women for a brief moment before getting back down to business. "In the meantime, we need to decide what to do about these newborns, so we should probably join the rest of the family."

A quiet 'eep' from Bella had the girl hiding in my shoulder, and we could all feel her embarrassment and worry. "Bella, love," I tried to claim her attention, but she just burrowed deeper into my shoulder. Grinning at the other women, I sent them a wink before charging magick into my hands, running them slowly down her spine.

The way her body arched and the low groan that left her lips was like music to my ears, and when she met my toothy grin with that sexy little lip bite of hers...I don't think either of us were worried about an audience, but unfortunately we did have things to discuss. "Bella, was there something you needed to tell us?"

The pout that formed on her lips was as adorable as it was heartbreaking. When it didn't seem like I was going to let her off the hook, she sighed and leaned back a bit. "I was in such a hurry to get here that I blew off everyone when I realized your rose had bloomed. I, um, might have not had a chance to break things off with Edward. Yet!" she added quickly when my eyes began to grow stormy, and while I didn't want her to ever be fearful of me, I was happy to know she did want to cut Edward off. But I had to know for sure, had to hear her say it.

"Tell me then, why are you breaking up with Edward. Tell me and make this real, please."

She smiled this beautiful smile, eyes softening as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders, a heavy look in those chocolate brown eyes. "Because I fell in love with this absolute nerd who turned out to be a goddess who can turn me into mush with just a kiss. Because I want to spend every waking moment with her for the rest of forever. Because the moment I thought I'd lost you, life lost all meaning. Because-"

I cut her off with a desperate kiss that had both of us groaning as I finally let the last of my heart believe. Every bond, every soul connected to mine, rejoiced, but none more so than the women currently fighting not to crawl onto the bed with us. It was that last thought that had me pulling away slowly, lingering for several moments if only for one last taste.

"Easy, now," I chuckled warmly, cupping her cheek in my palm as I stared into her soul. "We will deal with Edward when the time comes. For now, he is still banished from these premises until he learns to not be a judgmental twat," this earned a playful swat from Bella, which earned her a grin in return. "And he can't enter my property due to the wards preventing him from even recognizing their location. I can place similar enchantments over your dad's home, or just certain parts of the house if you don't want to draw too much suspicion, but it's up to you."

She blinked owlishly up at me, curiosity and more than a little surprise lingering in her gaze. "You...would let me decide?"

It was my turn to blink down at her in confusion. "Of course, why wouldn't I want you to make your own decisions about your life?"

She once again threw herself bodily into my arms, but not before I caught the gleam of tears in her eyes. It was Rosalie who answered my unasked question. "Edward is very old fashioned. He believes a woman should be seen, not heard, and that his word meant more than Bella's because he is so much older and supposedly 'wiser'. It's one of the main reasons I was such a bitch to her, I wanted to try and draw the bitch out of her so she could learn to stand up for herself."

Bella finally leaned back to glare at Rosalie. "Or, you know you could have just held a normal conversation with me about it. Like a normal person."

Rosalie raised one perfectly sculpted brow, smirk firmly in place. "You say 'normal' as if I am anything but walking perfection." Bella, predictably, blushed as she openly stared at the beauty. None of us present could easily disagree. "That being said, I don't have your shield to block my thoughts, so by the time I decided to actually try to talk to you, he refused to leave me alone with you."

Bella looked down at her lap, a look of consternation on her features. "You're right, I let him walk all over me for the longest time. At first I blamed it on the glamour of him being a vampire, but in the end I realized I just wanted someone to take care of me for once in my life. I was tired of taking care of everyone else; I had to raise my mom and myself, and Charlie is kind of a useless bachelor whose only response to having a female in the house is to have her cook and clean."

I sat in stunned silence, never having known Bella felt this way about her life. Admittedly, neither one of us had ever gotten much chance to talk about the deeper things in our lives, but I feel like I should have known this much about her. "Well," I eventually chimed in, smiling lovingly down at the brunette, "I'll be happy to inform you that not only are you allowed to make your own decisions and have your input valued, but you will always have a family behind you to support you in any endeavor you choose." I paused, flinching as I felt a disturbance in the perimeter wards I'd thrown up after Bella's untimely arrival. "That is, after we avert disaster."

I stood from the bed, pulling Bella up with me who looked at myself and the other women in surprise when they followed suit. We were all nearly at the door when Rosalie stopped Bella with a hand on her shoulder drawing interest from the rest of us. "Just so you know that we're on an even playing field here." Then she had my brunette mate pulled into her arms, lips gliding across Bella's who gasped out her surprise, the blonde using the moment to slip her tongue into Bella's mouth and now I realize what I mistook earlier as jealousy was pure, unadulterated arousal as Rosalie's tongue drew a moan from the human.

Leah's toned arms slid around my waist from behind as she nibbled at my ear, her breath panting as she ground her hips against my ass. "Now we have two jailbaits to wait for. What a pity we can't go..." her hands slid along my thighs before withdrawing at the same time Rosalie pulled away from Bella "...farther."

I slipped in behind my own mate before her legs gave out, holding her shorter form against my front as she panted. "You all realize we're technically age-of-consent, right?" I tagged them each with a wave of my arousal, causing a cascade of shudders to ripple through them all before settling into heavy breaths. "That being said, Emmett and Seth have returned and I'm sure we don't want to have Emmett asking why it reeks of sex in here.

Bella still seemed star-struck and about two seconds away from mounting one of us, but the fog of arousal had begun to dissipate at the mention of Emmett. "Yeah, I still have no idea what's going on there or why Rosalie is with sex-on-legs over there instead of man-bear-pig, but I'm sure someone will fill me in eventually."

Leah was shooting the human a toothy grin as she casually draped an arm around her shoulders and started leading our group out the door and beyond my wards. "Keep the compliments like those coming and I'll fill you in on anything you want, Sugarlips."

I sighed, wrapping an arm around Rosalie's waist and pulling her along while Emily and Sam sent us long-suffering sighs. The last thing either of us expected was Emily's words trailing after us. "They're all horndogs and only one is actually a dog."

We all made it to the large living room just as Emmett was updating the triad mates. "So yeah, he was definitely in Bella's room, and recently."

What was probably an important and expensive vase exploded behind me, Bella yelping as she turned from Leah and rushed into my arms to calm me down. Then she was writhing breathlessly against me as my fury broiled beneath my skin. A stranger, a foreign vampire, had been in my Bella's room! It wasn't just my anger, either, but the entirety of my Clan trembling across our connection fueling my emotions.

"Babe," Rosalie hissed in my ear, forcing me to pull my energy back, allowing Bella to sag against me as I held her around the waist to keep her steady. "If you can't keep your magick under control, you're going to put Bella in a very compromising position and none of us want that, now do we?" She gripped my shoulder, and in her mind I could see all of the curious eyes on Bella as she damn near orgasmed in my arms. I don't know why she was so susceptible to my magick but it was very inconvenient when I felt the urge to pluck out every wandering eye that drifted our way.

I calmly ran my hand up and down Bella's back while glaring around the room. "So Riley is working for Victoria, probably training her newborns and has gathered a scent item. We need a time frame for when they plan to attack. Alice?"

Alice had been spending the last several minutes staring off into space with her charcoal pencil flying across page after page of darkness within darkness when suddenly she gasped and tore out a new page. She began drawing the clearest image we had seen yet of the army, or at least that's what I thought it was at first until four cloaked figures began to take shape, two large men along with what looked to be a young girl and boy.

She slammed her sketchbook down with a frustrated cry, and before I knew what was happening, Bella left my arms and had crossed the space, sitting down beside Alice before pulling the upset seer into her lap with a surprising amount of strength. Without hesitation, Alice buried her head into Bella's neck and curled up in her lap, purring and nuzzling the human, drawing a sense of confusion from myself and the wolves.

It was Rosalie that answered, smiling from my side as she, too, nuzzled into my neck. "Bella's scent has always had a strange calming effect on Alice. We thought at first that Bella might be her singer as well, but there's none of the bloodlust components, just calm."

I hummed as I smiled at the two adorable beauties. Alice's smile was a full grin by the time she pulled away the slightest bit. Both of their eyes were closed and the absolute contentment on their faces might have made me feel jealous once upon a time. But with everything we had all been through, with all of the hearts and souls I held connected to my own, I felt only happiness for my mate.

"Mmm," Rosalie murmured subvocally into my ear, "you actually smell pretty damn good too. Not like humans, but still, I feel like I could lose myself in your scent and bury my teeth under your skin just for a taste." I felt my entire body seize up at the picture she was painting, and while I knew I couldn't be turned, I had to wonder what being bit would feel like.

I felt Bella's eyes on me, drawing my own to hers and there was so much heat there. My little human wanted the pixiepire! I had to wonder how long that crush had been going on for. I smiled and winked reassuringly, running my fingers through Rosalie's silky hair as the vampire inhaled deeply.

"If we're done getting our olfactory fixes," Emmett interrupted, drawing a mix of hisses and growls from the gathered women, a screech piercing the air the loudest as I paralyzed the imbecile for the time being.

"You're going to stand there in time-out for five minutes for interrupting what was becoming a very enjoyable experience," I grumbled, walking up to the man-child and patting his cheek before turning to his mate. "Keep your imprint in line or I'll take away something precious before he's had a chance to use it."

Satisfied with the matching looks of horror on both of their faces, I moved over to the couch and sat next to my mate, pulling her into my side while draping my arm across Bella's shoulders even as Alice continued to breathe in Bella's scent. Smirking, ignoring the curious looks I was getting from the triad mates, I leaned in until my breath was warm against both girls' ears. "You're welcome to play with the pixie, my Bella," here I paused and let my magick crackle across Bella's bare skin where my fingers idly caressed the opposite side of her neck, causing her to gasp and curl into me more, "but no one gets to have you until I've had you screaming my name first."

A wave of arousal pulsed through the room, unfortunately no longer restricted to my heart-mates, causing the triad mates and Seth to tremble and cling to their mates. I tried to pull the energy back inside myself, but I seemed to have no control over it. It took me several seconds to realize it wasn't coming from myself but from Bella. Instead of blocking things out like she was said to be able to do, she was somehow projecting her own arousal into the air stronger than anything even Jasper's gift could create.

I had to reach my way through Bella's soul to find the source of her gift, only to blink at the comforting darkness that dwelled just beneath the surface of her 'shield'. It took me less than a second to realize that it wasn't a shield meant for keeping others out more than it was a barrier meant to keep something suppressed. Only now I could see minor cracks, infinitesimal fractures in the barrier that were allowing only the smallest hint of energy to pour through. It was all at once familiar yet completely foreign, this dark energy, but I would have to contemplate it later when we were all in control of our faculties.

I used my own energy to begin filling in the gaps, feeling a rumble of discontent from the darkness that had my heart aching in the strangest of ways. It felt similar to the tugs I felt from my other heart-mates, but diluted and distant. I had to ignore it for the time being, but I knew this would be important to our survival soon enough.

Once I felt the shield was fully in place again, I withdrew from Bella only to find the entire room panting, half of them unnecessarily which told me just how powerful that round of arousal had been. And that was only a trickle compared to what it could be were her shield to fall prematurely.

It was Rosalie who spoke first, glaring at me as the culprit. "What the hell, Angela? What did I just say about 'compromising positions'?!"

I held my hand up, only just now taking in Bella's darkened eyes pinning Alice in place. She looked seconds away from taking the pixie right there across my lap and I really needed to get this room under control. With a snap of my fingers, I raised my voice clearly as my power filled the room, "Pávo!"

All motion ceased, which wasn't saying much for the vampires but the wolves weren't moving a muscle either. This was a more generalized area-of-effect version of the paralysis spell I had put on Emmett, basically negating all kinetic energy within a space. It only affects the energy outside of auras, so I didn't have to worry about it stopping any of the still-beating hearts, but it would keep my family stationary until I could neutralize the situation.

"What just occurred did not come from me," I began, jumping in surprise when Bella leaned back casually to stare at me in confusion. I knew I had included her in my spell, but I don't think my magick was ever going to affect her the same anymore. "I don't think our Bella here is as human as we thought, though whatever lingers in her blood is so far diluted that it is having difficulty manifesting. What we all just experienced were cracks in Bella's 'shield', which can keep other gifts from affecting her but also holds in a great power. I've reset the barrier for now but there may come a time very soon when that aspect will be forced out, but until then we should be able to keep a repeat of these events from happening again."

Feeling only the slightest lingering sexual energy, I finally felt it safe to release everyone with a snap of my fingers. Luckily, everyone seemed to have been in a rather stable position when I'd frozen them, save for Seth who had been in the middle of moving towards his imprint, and Alice, who had been supported by Bella's arms.

Seth wound up face-planting Emmett's chest, and Alice found her head in my lap, staring up at the ceiling. The triad mates were all clinging together as Armando was the first to recover. "I must warn you, Madam Lockwell," he began gravely, his gray eyes piercing in their intent, "I know that energy, and I suspect you do as well. It seems fate may just shine on you after all. But that is neither here nor there. We must deal with this newborn army and erase as much of the Wight presence as we can before the Volturi or Witches get involved."

This led Alice to yelping as she sat up quickly and reached for her sketchpad, showing the last picture she'd been working on when her frustration led her into Bella's comforting arms. "The Volturi are already aware of the army. I think Victoria went to them seeking vengeance, but was denied. This army is her last ditch effort to get to Bella, since one way or the other Victoria doesn't live through the coming confrontation."

She placed the sketchpad down, sighing heavily. "I'm pretty sure that is Jane and Alec, and possibly Santiago and Felix."

"Ah, yes," Carlisle cut in, taking a step forward to garner the attention of the room. "I do believe we had a discussion to continue on this very subject."

"Three weeks overdo," I muttered, waving him on. "Let's hear it then."

Carlisle nodded, moving to the end of the long coffee table that divided the two large couches, making himself center of attention. "I've had time since your coma to go over some of the resources in your library so I might better understand your species in the hopes of finding a way to bring you back to us. One thing I discovered was that not all children born of a Lilitu Witch and human birth such as yourself will be Witches themselves. It requires the human male to possess a certain genetic marker that triggers the child's genetics to essentially self-destruct their paternal human genes so that only their Witch DNA is present, replacing any necessary genetic material with your genetic equivalent. Essentially, the moment you were conceived, you became fatherless on the genetic level."

He paused as I simply gaped at him, but I could do nothing but stare as my mind went into overdrive with this new information. "What if the marker isn't present?" I finally managed to ask.

"Well," he continued, voice clinical in a way that had my hackles rising, "I would say the child has a 50/50 chance of surviving while their Witch genetic makeup wars with the human, but without the marker, the human aspect would actually have the upper hand. Either way without the marker, the child will be born as a human, though I believe this could account for many gifted individuals throughout history, and more notably, gifted vampires."

I blinked, eyes widening even more so as I realized what he was saying. Witches cannot be turned, but a human carrying certain genetic aspects of their Witch parentage could likely be turned, more than likely activating or enhancing a magick gift developed during their human lifetime. "So you think gifted vampires could be descendants of Witches that never encountered this marker?"

Carlisle gave me a strange look before flicking his eyes at his tiny daughter. "I think you are uniquely qualified to verify this theory."

Ah, right. Alice would make the most sense to test, but for some reason I felt hesitant to attempt it. So far I had changed an entire tribe of people based on erasing an imperative from 800-years prior. And while that gave the woman I had been experimenting on her mate, who was to say this would have the same positive outcome?

I glanced at Armando, his eyes not on me, but my mate beside me. He was looking back and forth between her and Alice like he, too, was trying to work out some great puzzle. I felt it as well, the odd connection that existed between the two that was different from any of the other connections we shared. No more or less than, but very much unique.

"Alice," I finally called the seer's attention to mine, though I doubt she didn't already expect my request. "I'm sure you understand what Carlisle wants me to do, but let me explain anyway. To test his theory, I would need to dive into your genetic history through a deep soul connection. The souls belonging to yourself and your mate still stand outside the heart-bonds I've created between myself, Rosalie, Leah, Sam, Emily, and Bella. If I delve too far into your soul, you may be pulled in farther than intended and I do not wish to intrude upon your existing bonds. So I leave the choice up to you and your mate."

Alice stared up at Jasper who hadn't left his post by the front door, a steadfast warrior to the end. For several seconds, neither spoke, simply sharing their thoughts through a look. It was only as I blinked open my second-sight that I realized they were throwing emotions back and forth in a fascinating display of colors, before finally both of their auras glowed with a resonant ruby red color.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," I teased as I closed my second-sight, grinning mischievously at the pixie. "You'll have to teach me how you two do that sometime, it was beautiful to watch."

Alice's glare was far too adorable to be threatening, though I hoped my attempt at teasing would loosen her suddenly tense shoulders. Then I realized I had a surefire way to soothe the little vampire. "Bella, if you would, please."

Bella still jumped a little, but otherwise showed no discomfort with the more intimate form of communication I chose to use. She simply turned and lifted Alice back onto her lap (still a feat I needed to question her about later), guiding her face into Bella's neck where Alice drew in a deep breath through her nose. Both girls seemed to relax instantly, and without giving her time to adjust, I threw my consciousness deep into Alice Cullen's soul, piercing her aura and reaching for the core of her. I was instantly bombarded by infinite layers of branching visions, but I knew now what they were and how to avoid them.

I sank deeper, my magick surrounding the vampire's aura and squeezing to compress her entire soul until it was only myself and Alice there...

...until Bella appeared at my side, a cluster of dark energy I immediately surrounded protectively with my magick. She wasn't supposed to be here at all but if mine and Armando's suspicions proved true, then Bella's presence in this soul dive was inevitable, especially if what Carlisle said proved true as well.

Pulling her along with me, I did my best to convey without words what I was doing as I began searching back through Alice's memories. I could now readily identify which memories were Alice's own experiences and which were visions, the touch of foreign magick damning in itself but not one-hundred percent confirmation.

Eventually, there came a point where the clarity of memories and visions blurred drastically, almost into nonexistence. There was a small thread of magick tethering her human past to her vampire life, and I slowly began to reinforce it with my own energy. I was surprised when it began fighting my magick, threatening to sever itself completely before I cut off my flow of magick. It was like whatever made up this trail of magick found flaw in my own magick, and I realized with a belated sadness that it feared the Wight in me.

Bella's soul stirred within my magick and I gently loosened my hold until a wave of darkness flew out of the small hole I created and quickly overwhelmed the magick tether, but instead of severing it instantly like I feared her energy would, the tether and Bella's energy twined together, the tether growing stronger, thicker by the moment until Bella's energy pulled back, the divide between human and vampire disappearing completely as Alice's soul lit up with foreign magick.

It was starbursts and supernovas. It was flashes of lightning and explosions of colors, and before I knew it both Bella and I were being shoved out of Alice's soul as she became filled with so much energy that there simply was no more room for us to exist within her anymore.

Bella and I gasped for breath as I found Alice sitting up in Bella's lap, her black eyes staring into the distance, a dull glow from within lending her gaze an ethereal look to it. Then her lips began moving, words pouring out of her like a litany.

"My name is Mary Alice Brandon.

I'm 19 years old.

I was born in Biloxi, Mississippi.

I have a little sister, Cynthia.

My mother was murdered."