Chapter 43:

Sorry it took so long, but life really seems to have it out for me with time management. Please enjoy.

As soon as we pulled up the Denali road, we were greeted by the smirking faces of every vampire except Esme, Carlisle and Edward. Emmett and Kate seemed to be struggling to hold in their laughter while the others were just plain smug with the situation. At least they had the decency to hold in their laughter.

Sam pulled the car to a stop. Jacob and Paul—who I was sandwiched between—slid out of the car to hold the doors open. I shuffled right to jump out of the door Jacob was holding for me. Thanks to lack of balance, however, I started to fall over as soon as my feet touched the ground. I yelped and grabbed at Jake's arm to stop my fall, but luckily found two massive, cold arms scooping me up instead.

"I got you, Bella-Bear," Emmett grinned. He turned and walked towards the house where the other vampires were waiting. "I thought you lost your clumsiness."

Leah snorted and closed the car door. "She didn't lose it," she called, "she just became more aware of it."

I nodded. "That's true." I angled my head up to give him dreamy eyes with a dopey smile. "I still need a rescuer every now and then, my brave Sir Emmett."

He puffed out his chest. "Sir Emmett," he played, "I like the sound of that. It sounds…official."

"Officially stupid, maybe," Kate agreed with a smirk. She walked forward and set her hands on her hips. "Now put my sister down so I can give her a hug."

Rosalie frowned behind her. Oh no. "I think you mean our sister, Kate," she challenged. She walked up from behind the blonde towards her mate.

Kate scowled, turning towards the blonde Cullen with a growing snarl on her lip. She opened her mouth to give a sharp remark, but before she could, Sam quickly jogged forward and cried, "Bella, your face!"

I looked to the large man confused for a second before my eyes widened and I squealed, slapping my hands over my cheeks. "I need a sponge, hot water, bleach, baking soda and a lot of hand sanitizer!"

The vampires stared at us completely and utterly lost. It was after no one moved for a good two seconds that Emmett finally set me down. "Huh?"

Tanya walked towards me with a frown and wrapped her arm around me. "Why on earth would you need all of that for your face?" she questioned. She reached up. "That would only damage—"

I squeaked and grabbed her wrist right before her fingers touched me. "Don't touch the face!"

She stared at me and slowly drew her hand back. "Okay…"

Emily stepped up to explain. "You heard how Bella said we walked in on Charlie and Sue having sex, right?" she asked.

Emmett sniggered behind me. "Yeah," he grinned, "and that's freaking hilarious. I can't believe they didn't even—I don't know—lock the door or something before they started banging."

Seth turned to glare at him. "Bro," he said, "that would be my mother and Bella's dad you're talking about. Please don't say that word in context to them ever again."

Emmett grinned, but raised his hands in surrender while Emily continued. "Anyway, after we tried to get past that, Bella broke the tension with her nosebleed and Sue grabbed her face."

"So?" Jasper inquired. "I don't really see any reason why that should be a large deal."

My eyes widened. "You want a big deal?" I asked. I moved forward, jutting my face out and pointed at my cheeks. "Just smell it. I'm sure the scent is on there. Go on, sniff."

He looked at me bewildered, but slowly leant forward and sniffed my cheek lightly—under the watchful gazes of the wolves, of course—and then his eyes widened. He reeled back and burst into laughter. "She didn't wash her hands!"

Kate and Emmett immediately burst into laughter while Carmen and Eleazer gave me looks of sympathy. Tanya looked torn between disgusted and amused while the others grinned like idiots—besides the wolves.

"That's awesome!" Kate howled.

"No!" I snapped. "It's disgusting! I have the literal passed on—"

I stopped and gagged, forcing my fist up to my mouth to keep the vomit of the idea down. I shook my head. "I am not even going to think about it, or say it," I cringed.

Tanya shivered and scooped me up. "I really don't like the idea of kissing that, so I'm more than happy to help you clean it off."

I sighed while a few of the amused looks turned to realization—mainly Kate. "Oh," she said, "I didn't even think of that." She gasped. "I could have kissed her on the cheek! Ew!"

Tanya rolled her eyes and blurred into the house to help me feel clean.

After nearly fifteen minutes of washing my face repetitively, I finally deemed myself clean enough to come down the stairs and join the three families waiting for me. Paul and Kate were already versing each other in Halo and seemed to be having a pretty decent time playing it together.

The Pack was cheering Paul on while Emmett, Rosalie and Irina were all rooting for Kate. Tanya was seated apart from the group, patiently waiting for me to return downstairs next to Eleazer and Carmen who were simply playing a game of poker with Alice and Jasper on a foldable poker table.

The room was rather divided in activities and sides, but I was pleased to see the Cullens and Denalis mixing in with each other a little more than usual. And, another good thing, the Denalis and wolves had no issues with each other. The only issue I could see was friendly competition between two sides in a video game. It was a pretty good day, then.

A few heads turned in my direction when they sensed me come down. A few of the vampires adjusted themselves—like Rosalie and Irina—to have me sit either between or on them. The wolves stayed clumped together, already used to piling on with each other.

Tanya leaned back in her chair to provide room for me to sit on her lap while she played, but I walked to the wolves and plopped onto Jacob's lap. The man didn't even pause his cheering, but he did adjust with the others to let me be more comfortable and wrapped his muscular arms around me to pull me into his chest.

I happily cuddled into his warmth and almost laughed out loud when I saw the flabbergasted expressions of the vampires. And, I almost did laugh when I saw a few of them look at the wolves with a glare that said, "This is war".

Vampires.

Tanya, however, was not one of the vampires who glared at them. Instead, she smiled at me, adjusted herself in her seat again and continued to play cards with the small group. I smiled and moved a little further into Jacob's warmth instinctively.

Tanya—unbeknownst to her—had just won herself another point. I was certain that Edward would have many complaints of this arrangement, I knew he would be pissed that I had chosen the wolves to sit with. Tanya, on the other hand, was just happy to see me happy and enjoying my time with the wolves. That was another difference between them I loved dearly, now.

Edward isolated me from my friends and kept me to himself, mostly. It was like he had to control the way I lived and who I spent my time with. I had no doubt in my mind that if he and the Cullens had stayed with the wolves around, I would've been stuck between worlds with him forbidding me to see them.

Tanya, on the other hand, was happy to let me be around them. I'm sure she was shaky about it in the beginning, why wouldn't she be? I was her mate around shifters that—for all she knew—had terrible tempers and hurt people easily. But, she didn't jump to conclusions, and she knew just how important they were to me. She didn't forbid me from seeing them, or anyone else in my life that I liked. I could go now and see Max or Frank if I wanted to, probably.

Tanya let me have a life and she didn't dictate it. Edward did, and it was another reason I loved Tanya even more.

I smiled at the thought and changed my attention to the game being played in front of me. At least, I tried, but Jacob's warmth eventually began to get to me and I felt my eyelids starting to droop before I could even get five minutes of watching in.

That was one issue with the wolves I had: they made me go to sleep.

I fought to keep my eyes open, but it was becoming harder and harder by the second. Eventually, I got to where I was making my eyes as wide as they could go before they started to fall again and I jerked my head up to open them as wide as they could again.

Jake seemed to realize I was falling asleep, because he stopped cheering Paul on, and instead leaned all the way back into the sectional the Pack had occupied. He made himself comfortable on the cushions and I found myself fighting and failing against curling into him.

He chuckled lowly in his chest and held me securely in his arms. His head lulled to the side and rested on my shoulder. "I'll hold onto you, B," he murmured in my ear.

I rolled my eyes half-heartedly, but curled into him anyway. My head fell onto his shoulder and I closed my eyes, feeling his chin prod the back of my head gently. In less than thirty seconds, I was out.

When I woke up, I found myself in Paul's arms instead of Jacob's—who was now playing against Emmett in Halo. I, also, was now on my side with Paul right behind me, who had to keep up his title as the Couch King by taking up as much space as he possibly could on the sectional while he fell asleep with me cuddled tightly against his chest. Our position had forced Leah to sit on the ground, but Sam held his spot with Emily—just barely out of the reach of Paul's feet.

I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and tried to adjust in his arms, but quickly remembered the one con of snuggling with Paul…

I grunted when he huffed and pulled me closer with a happy hum, burying his face into my hair. His arms tightened just a fraction around me and he happily snuggled into me.

…he was a cuddle-buddy

Especially when it came to me.

I rolled my eyes and tried to move again, but he only pulled me closer. I huffed, getting the attention of the room. Alice grinned. "Well, one of the sleepy heads is awake," she teased.

I grunted. "And trapped," I mumbled.

Jacob snickered from the ground. "I hoped that would happen," he said.

I growled at him, not even bothering Paul who was still asleep behind me. "Well your master plan worked, because now I'm trapped in the Prison of Paul," I huffed.

He grinned wickedly and Leah turned around on the ground. She grabbed one of Paul's arms and lifted it up to help. I tried to roll out of his remaining arm and into her lap, but he only groaned and snaked the arm already around my waist further back to hold me in place.

Seth sniggered. "Paul likes to act all tough, but inside he's a giant teddy bear…especially when it comes to Bella and cuddling."

I stuck my tongue out and flipped him off the best I could in my position. "Fuck off, Seth," I hissed. I wiggled in Paul's grip. "Will you just help me get out of this?"

"I got it," Rosalie said, standing from her seat next to Irina. She moved across the room and grabbed Paul's other arm. The cold made him stir, but he didn't show any other sign of waking up. She pulled his arm from around me and I yelped when I fell off the couch—literally.

Thankfully, Rosalie caught me with her other arm and dropped Paul's. She arched her brow at me. "Are you alright, Bella, or do you need to take a second?" she teased.

I rolled my eyes at her, but didn't reply as she pulled me up. I expected her to set me on my feet, but was again surprised when she instead scooped me up and carried me over to her seat. She sat down and placed me in her lap with a satisfied hum.

I huffed. "Seriously, Rose?"

She shrugged. "What? I just want some time with my sister."

Kate and Irina gave soft growls at her last sentence and I noticed a few of the wolves stiffen, but no one outwardly said anything against it. So, I just rolled my eyes, crossed my arms and leaned back against her. I could feel her satisfied purr rumble through her chest, but it was quickly cut off.

Irina—not liking me on Rosalie's lap—grabbed me and pulled me over onto hers instead. "I like the idea of time with Bella," she purred. She wrapped her arms around me, smirking when Rosalie hissed lightly at her. "I like it very much."

The wolves smirked on the ground. I huffed. "You guys are ridiculous, you know that?"

"Part of the sibling job description," Seth answered.

"Teen Wolf has a point," Kate said.

Seth spluttered while Leah snickered. "Teen Wolf?" he hissed.

She ignored him and continued, "It is all in the contract of being your sibling, Bella. We have to be ridiculous, and right now, we have to be the ultimate ridiculous, because this is war."

Jacob cocked his head. "If it was really war between you guys, shouldn't you be strategizing on your next move? Or have a no man's land between you or something?"

I snorted. "Believe me, the first week, there was," I said, glaring at the two covens who looked down bashfully. "And a lot of fights that could only be classified as wrestling like a bunch of preschoolers." There were more bashful looks around the room.

The wolves snickered again except for Emily. She turned towards me on Irina's lap. "It's not like the Pack doesn't get into adorable wrestling matches too, right?" she teased.

"Babe!" Sam whined.

I smirked. "Oh," I teased, "you mean the adorable puppy battles?"

She smiled. "Oh yes, those are quite adorable when they start acting all big and tough just because they can be wolves. I think it's even cuter than when they wrestle in human form."

"Guys!" Seth whined. His bottom lip jutted out to pout with huge eyes. "You're messing with our awesomeness."

I snorted. "Awesomeness?" I questioned. "You guys wrestle like puppies for a few minutes before you…" I climbed off Irina's lap and started to drag my left leg behind me while panting and made my voice drop an octave. "…I-I can't, man…I think I tore something in my head…" I fell dramatically onto Emmett. "…give me some CPR."

The wolves gave small playful snarls at me and Emily while the woman began to laugh with the vampires. Emmett grinned and wrapped a massive arm around my waist to scoop me into his lap. He situated me to be comfortable and gently patted my back—well, gently for Emmett. "Aw, poor human…" he cooed.

I sighed dramatically before I yelped when Jacob reached over and took me out of his lap into his (Okay, seriously, that's like four times today). He took my hands and stuffed the game controller into them. "Play for me, would you?" He pulled back. "I'm going to wake up Paul."

I snorted, but took his place anyway in the game. "Good luck," I said.

Sam, wordlessly, picked up Emily and moved off the couch. Leah moved to be on the vampire side of the room and Seth set himself behind me. "I'll block you from the line of fire," he grinned.

I smiled. "I appreciate it, Seth," I said.

He snorted. "You should since you just insulted us."

"I called you adorable; that's hardly insulting."

He huffed, but didn't argue while Jacob strode up to the sleeping man on the couch and whacked him hard on the shoulder. "Paul," he said. "Get your ass up."

Paul huffed and held up his hand without even opening his eyes. "Fuck off, Jake," he growled. He pulled his hand down and rolled over to face the cushions of the couch.

Jacob hit him again. "Dude, get up."

"Dude, leave me alone."

I sighed. "Here we go…" I muttered. I angled my head backwards. "Get in position." Seth wrapped his arms around my shoulders and set his legs on either side of me.

Emmett glanced back at the two boys. "Is this a dangerous thing or something?" he questioned.

Emily snorted from the couch arm next to Kate with Sam right behind her. "Hardly," she smiled. "We just give it room so we aren't there getting our ears screamed off."

Jacob looked around then took off his shoe. He held it up and then slapped the sol against Paul's head. "Ow!" Paul called, sitting up to clutch the back of his head.

"Get up."

"No."

"You've been asleep for over an hour, man."

"Who gives a shit? You just hit me in the head with your shoe! Do you realize how many levels that's wrong on?"

Jacob held his shoe up. "I really don't care, but I'll hit you again if you don't get up. Others need to use the couch too, you know."

Paul huffed. "Use the floor," he growled. He turned back over. "Besides, Bella was fine cuddling with me earlier. You need room, send her back up here."

"Right." Jacob hit him again.

"Dude!"

"Get up!"

Jacob was about to hit him again, but Paul shot his hand up and grabbed the shoe. He didn't turn his head as he snarled, "You hit me one more time, and I'm going to shove that shoe up your ass so far you won't be able to sit for a month."

"Would you just...!"

The two boys began a battle of wits that was clearly not going to get Paul anywhere close off the couch. After listening to the argument for nearly two minutes with Paul not anywhere nearer to getting up, the vampires still listening with amusement, and the Pack waiting it out; I finally became annoyed.

I lifted the controller to Seth's hands and he swiftly took it off of me. I ducked out of his arms and rolled out from between his legs before I got up and moved towards the kitchen. No one even noticed they were still too focused on either the video game or Jacob trying to get Paul up.

I grabbed the nearest bag of food I could find, turned and headed back to the living room while opening the bag. When I came back, I was welcomed with the sight of Jacob holding Paul's right leg while Leah held his left and both were trying to pry him off.

"Let go of the couch, Paul!" Leah grunted.

"No."

"Come on," Jacob growled. "Just get off the couch."

"No way in hell."

The two continued to pull and pull with the vampires now close to bursting into laughter. Emily and Sam remained unfazed by the display—they had dealt with it for two years, after all—and Seth still stuck to the game. After a large heave, Paul kicked his legs and both Leah and Jacob were hit in the stomach.

They huffed, letting go of him when the air rushed out of their lungs. Paul smirked and pulled himself fully on the couch again to fall back asleep when I walked forward. I stuck the opened bag of Cheetos right under his nose and he began sniffing, smelling the food.

I backed up and he moved with me until he was sitting up on the couch and his eyes opened. I pulled one out of the bag and tossed it at him. He flawlessly caught the orange puff in his mouth and began munching down on it while Jacob and Leah stared at me. "Seriously?" Leah huffed.

I shrugged. "New strategy," I said. I held out the bag of Cheetos and Paul snatched it, diving into the bag with his hand and stuffed four into his mouth. He hardly even chewed before he swallowed and went back for more.

My job now done, I turned on my heel and walked to Tanya who was still playing a game of poker against Alice, Jasper, Carmen and Eleazer. The blonde smiled when I came closer and adjusted in her seat to make room for me between her and the table.

I happily sat on her lap, wrapping my arms around her neck while hers went on either side of me to hold her cards. Her nose scrunched a little when she smelt the wolves on me, but she did a decent job of hiding her disgust by kissing my jaw and going back to the game looking over my shoulder.

Jacob and Leah groaned, collapsing on the couch that now had space for everyone with Paul happily eating from the bag of Cheetos now instead of sleeping. The two leaned their heads back to catch their breath and Sam grinned, sitting on the sectional next to them. Emily gave me a wink before joining Sam and the others.

I turned my attention to the poker game and leant into Tanya's body. She threw in a few chips and shuffled her cards around. "I raise a hundred," she said.

Eleazer tossed in the same amount and looked at her over the rim of his cards and the corner of his mouth quirked. "Are you feeling confident today, Tanya?" he smirked. "You know I've beaten you every time we played this game."

Tanya scoffed and pulled her left hand off her cards to wrap it around my waist. "In fact," she said, "I feel very confident with the one who schooled you sitting in my lap." She kissed my shoulder.

Carmen chuckled, tossing in her chips. "So, you have your lucky charm, is that it?" she teased.

Tanya shrugged and smiled. "You could say that," she grinned. Her arm around me tightened and I smiled, leaning back into her hold contently when the game continued to Alice.

The small vampire hummed lowly in her chest, giving a soft frown while she focused intently on her cards. Her facial features began to contort to show her growing frustration as the seconds went on, and then she tossed in a few more chips with a small huff.

I frowned and narrowed my eyes. Alice was almost always happy or confident—if not both—when she played a poker game. Seeing her frustrated or pouty during a game was an occurrence I had yet to witness. Why would she be acting this way during this one?

I watched her intently, no longer focusing on Tanya or the others while I watched Alice. Her facial features would twitch every time it was her turn. After a few long seconds, she'd throw in a bet with growing frustration in each bet casted. What was she up to?

I wasn't able to come to any conclusions when the front door to the house opened. I jerked my head to the side as Esme, Carlisle and Edward walked into the house. Their eyes were bright gold from their recently finished hunt and I could see a speck of blood left on the corner of Esme's mouth.

Their attention was immediately on the wolves and vice versa. Sam straightened in his seat and wrapped his arm around Emily's waist securely. Leah and Jacob sat up to not be sitting as slumped over while Paul stopped eating with a fistful of Cheetos hovering just above the bag opening, but made no other move to be professional.

Carlisle nodded to them. "Sam," he said. "It's been a while since we last saw you, I believe."

Sam nodded while keeping his face as straight as possible. "It has been, Carlisle," he agreed. He nodded to Esme. "Esme."

She smiled politely, and I almost snorted when I flashed back to the collective words she used against them not long ago. "Sam," she returned. "It's nice to see you again." He nodded, although I saw the familiar twitch in his muscles. Edward snorted, making the room look towards him.

Jacob scowled. "You have something to say, Cullen?" he growled. The Pack could be nice to the Denalis easily, and with a bit of effort, they could be polite with the Cullens. However, when it came to Edward, it was best if they just pretended he wasn't in the room, and it was about to become an example of why.

I took in a breath when Edward looked towards Jacob with a scowl. "I really don't, dog," he sneered back. The Pack's jaws ticked and he continued. "I was just seeing the colorful thoughts your Alpha was having towards us. I just thought it was incredibly immature and unnecessary—"

"Then you should keep your thoughts of those to yourself," Leah hissed in Sam's defense. "You may not be able to respect privacy of others, but you can at least do the courtesy of keeping your thoughts on what others think to yourself."

Rosalie gave a small snort. "Amen to that," she grumbled.

Edward ignored Rosalie and hissed at Leah. "I don't have to give any courtesy to you, mutt." He then looked between her and Sam. "And what are you doing defending him? Do you still have some feelings left for the man who left you for your cousin?"

The room gaped at the audacity of the comment. Tanya tightened her hold on me reflexively when I went rigid and my fists clenched.

Carlisle hissed. "Edward," he warned.

Leah stiffened with Emily and Sam. While Leah had gotten over the relationship, it was still an uneasy topic amongst the Pack like Embry's actual heritage or Emily's accident. It was an unspoken rule to not bring it up unless you were directly involved, and Edward had just crossed a massive line.

Paul straightened on the couch with a low growl. He shoved the Cheetos to Jacob. "Mind your tongue, Cullen, before I rip it out," he warned.

Edward turned to Paul with a sneer. "I'm not afraid of a large puppy that has a sour temper," he snipped.

Tanya set her cards down with a frown and pushed me off her lap to stand with me at her side. "Edward, I will not have you talk to the wolves in such a manner in my home."

He snorted. "Oh please, Tanya," he snapped. He turned his glare from the wolves to us and—more specifically—her arm around me. "You only care because Bella is close to them, otherwise you'd be kicking them out of your front door, and—"

"I would do no such thing," she hissed. "They are important to Bella, yes, and that does make them important to me; however, even if Bella was not as close to them as she is now, I would never treat guests in my home in such away. You may be a guest here, Edward, but you are my guest, and you must respect whoever else is in my home."

He steeled his jaw and clenched his fists. "Are you telling me you really want to have Bella around such impulsive, uncontrollable creatures that—"

"Just fucking shut-up!"

I took in a breath after my outburst, feeling every set of eyes turn towards me in shock. I clenched my fists tightly at my sides and glared daggers at the insolent vampire. I was done.

I was done with letting him sulk in his corner and glare at the happiness I shared with Tanya. I was done with his petty inner monologues and ideas rolling through his head. And, most of all, I was done of him strutting around on his high fucking horse.

He stared at me. "Excuse me?"

I took in a deep breath. "I said," I growled, "shut your fucking mouth." I glared daggers at him. "I am tired of it. I am tired of you."

"Bella—"

"No!" I snapped. I tore out of Tanya's grip and jabbed a finger at him. "You don't talk. You hear me? I'm talking, and you will open your goddamn ears and listen for once." I took in a shaky breath. "I am tired of you, Edward Cullen. I am tired of you walking around like you're a god. I'm tired of you making decisions and-and casting a vote on everyone's lives. I'm tired of you just standing there and believing you have a right and say in everything. I'm done with it.

"Since the moment you came here, you have been nothing but a pain in my ass. You have tried to make me not be with Tanya. You have constantly just stared at me like I'm a plague on this house. Do you have any idea how fucked up that is?" I shook my head. "You act like everything in life revolves around you and what you want—it's like no one else even matters."

He shook his head. "Bella, I—"

"Shut-up!" I screamed. "Just shut-up!" I grabbed at a fistful of my hair. "I am tired of being nice! I am tired of trying to be the strong one." I stalked towards him and jabbed my finger into his chest. "Ever since that day you left me two years ago, my life has been hell. You took away the only stability in my life I had left, and you just brushed it off your shoulder like a speck of dust! You ruined my life, Edward. You completely ruined me."

Tears filled my eyes and I blinked them back rapidly. "You left me to be hunted down by Victoria. You left me to die broken hearted and alone. You made me feel like garbage—trash. You made me believe I was worthless; that the life I was given was born into the wrong person." I bit my lip to keep it from quivering. "Right after everything in my life was turning around you shoved me back down and spat on me. Spat on me."

I pointed to the Pack. "If they hadn't been there for me, if they hadn't picked me back up and gotten me on my feet, I would be dead, you hear me? I. Would. Be. Dead. You gave me a gun to point at my head, and all that was left for me to do was pull the goddamn trigger. And trust me when I say I was about to, I was a breath away from dying when they stopped me."

More tears filled my eyes and this time I let them spill over. I didn't care anymore. I couldn't care anymore. "That, Edward Cullen, is my family. Mine. This…" I pointed to the Denalis. "…is my family. And you..." I jabbed my finger in his chest with every word. "…you are a mistake. You are a sin I have washed my hands clean of. You should be bowing at their feet—at my feet—and begging for forgiveness for what you have done. So I'll be damned, if I will stand here and let you speak to them in such a way, because you are the fucking mistake—not them."

The tears were falling freely from my eyes and down my cheeks with no interruption or attempt of interruption. My throat was tight with a massive lump in the back as it worked for the sobs to come out after two years of holding it all in. After two years, I had finally said it. Two years of silently and blindly suffering and hiding the pain I felt…and he knew it.

Edward stared down at me in shock. His eyes were wide and his mouth was agape. He didn't move and he didn't speak while my words and my pain rolled over and over in his mind. He didn't miss a single word I said, and I didn't miss a single pain I had felt.

Two arms wrapped around me suddenly, making me jump before I relaxed into Seth's familiarly warm embrace. "Come on, B," he whispered. He scooped up my legs and cradled me against his chest. I turned my face into him, letting the tears fall from my eyes and a sob tear through my throat when I finally let go.

I didn't register us moving until I was placed in a mass of cold and warm bodies. I was pulled from his embrace into Tanya's flawlessly. I opened my eyes for a moment to see both the Denalis and the Pack surrounding me. Rosalie, Emmett, Alice and Jasper stood just outside of the group, but didn't kneel in and join like their expressions showed they wanted to.

I sucked in a stuttered breath to calm myself when Carmen leaned forward and kissed my temple. "It's alright, Bella," she whispered. Her hand brushed a lock of hair from my face. "We have you, darling."

I closed my eyes again and took in another breath. When I did, I felt a sudden lightness in me. I no longer carried the pressure I had been holding for two years. I no longer felt trapped or closed in. I no longer felt as if I was struggling to breathe.

Here, right now, with my families—no—my family surrounding me and holding me, I felt light. I felt like I was no longer alone.

I felt…free.