The next day arrived too soon. The family had already gathered in the backyard for an hour before the Volturi arrived.
This morning, Sara had begun to experience the first stage of blood-hunger. Her stomach ached and her thirst became nearly insufferable. She knew they had to hunt today, or the thirst would kill them all.
This time, it was neither Aro nor his companions who walked in but two other vampires. One was male, had black hair and was huge, even bigger than Emmet. The other was female, small and delicate but with a malicious gleam in her red eyes.
It was the blond female who spoke first. „Our masters have decided to hear your plea. We will kill this wolf."
Carlisle opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by the female. „We will gather by nightfall to hunt him down. But" her eyes left Carlisle and went to rest on Edward. „They want something in return. The Volturi never work for free."
Dread rose in Sara's stomach. She didn't like the way the small female looked at Edward, didn't like the cruel smile that appeared on her face. „They want him. They believe that his ability to read minds can be very useful to them."
All at once the family stepped forward, moving in front of Edward. Sara gripped his hand. It shook slightly but other than that he was still as a statue.
Carlisle cleared his throat. „Edward is my son. I cannot give him up. Is there nothing else we can give the Volturi in return for their support?"
The blond female shook her head slightly, her eyes still fixed on Edward. The cruel smile remained. „Aro also told me to let you know that he is willing to take his mate as well. It would be cruel to tear apart such young love, wouldn't it." It wasn't a question, neither was it an offer. The Volturi wanted Edward and Sara to come with them. Or Samuel would kill the Cullens.
This has been a mistake. The words shot through Sara's head. We never should have asked them for help
„I know," whispered Edward almost inaudibly. Then, louder, he said: „Tell Aro that I will come. But I'll come alone. He can have me, but she will stay here."
There was a gasp. Every head turned in his direction. Disbelief, pain and sorrow clouded their faces.
„No, Ed, you cannot do this," Alice answered. „You don't know what they are capable of. What they'll want you to do."
„She is right, son. The Volturi are merciless and cruel. They will destroy you sooner or later," Carlisle agreed with his daughter.
„But there is no other way, can't you see? We need them or we will die either from starvation or by the hands of Samuel. If I give myself up, they will help us defeat him and then you'll be safe again."
„Yes, there is a way. I can still give myself up to Samuel and face his punishment," Jasper pleaded but Edward shook his head. „It's too late for that. Even if you go, the Volturi won't back down and just leave. They'll only find another excuse to take me. Apart from that, who says that we can trust his word? Once he has you, who can say that he leaves the others alone? He said that he considers all of us his enemies as well. He has to die and in order to do that we have to ally with them."
„But Edward," Rosalie began but her brother shook his head. He made a step forward, away from his family. His hand slipped from Sara's who was too stunned by what had happened to say anything.
„I will go with you once the battle is over and the wolf is dead," he announced. The small female smiled again and cocked her head. „I will give Aro your message. Although I cannot say if he will be pleased to hear that your mate won't accompany you. He is quite… intrigued by her." She chuckled, a cold and merciless sound. „We'll gather at nightfall. Be safe until then, Edward."
Hearing his name leaving her mouth finally brought Sara out of her stupor. She lunged at Edward, taking both of his hands in hers. „No, you cannot do this." I need you. Charlie needs you.
„It is decided," Edward answered firmly, retreating, slipping his hands from her grasp. „It is the only way of keeping us safe. Of keeping Charlie safe." His voice was steady, yet colder than Sara had ever heard him speak. He turned without another word and retreated back into the house, head high, steps sure. Only Sara could see the slight tremor of his hands. It broke her heart into a million pieces.
She turned toward Carlisle. „Please, Carlisle, you cannot let him do this. There must be another way, there simply has to be." Her voice turned into helpless sobs, and she would have fallen down on her knees hadn't it been for the firm grip of Esme, who pulled her adoptive daughter into a tight hug. „Come on honey. You need to rest. We all do," she added with a look at her devastated and starving family. „We must focus on our fight against Samuel first. We will deal with everything else afterwards. For now, rest. Gather your strength. You will need it."
Carlisle nodded his agreement and in silence they returned back into the house. This time, though, nobody thought of going back to their rooms. Instead, they gathered in the living room, sprawling out on the couch and armchair or leaning against the wall.
Jasper looked worse than any of them. Sara knew he still blamed himself for the situation they were in. If he had given himself up to Samuel when the wolf had ordered him to, none of this would have happened. Sara couldn't deny that a small part of her blamed him as well. A larger part knew that it wasn't as simple as that. Everyone had made bad decisions during their life, especially if this life lasted as long as theirs. But you couldn't punish someone for one act alone. Jasper had made up for it so many times. He had changed but in Samuels eyes, that meant nothing. Sara sighed. Her eyes roamed around and settled on an empty spot on the fireplace. There had once stood a whole series of photos with Charlie and his family. Esme and Carlisle hugging him, Emmet trying to hold the small boy on his shoulders, Alice holding up a flower over his head. They had removed the pictures along with anything else that reminded of the presence of a baby. They couldn't risk the Volturi finding out about Sara's and Edward's son. They already had enough problems to deal with.
Alice had her arms around Jasper and Emmet was holding Rosalie equally tight. Only Edward was missing. Sara had wanted to go up to their room and find him but then, looking him in the eyes and knowing what he would do to protect them all, was too much for her to bear. Instead, she was sitting on the couch, nestled against Esme, who held her like a mother would hold a child. Sara missed her parents every day, but Esme and Carlisle had managed to fill the void a little bit. She now regarded them as much her parents as Bella and Jacob. „What a mess," Emmet murmured. Nods and silent sounds of agreement answered him.
Sara's body shook with unshed tears. There had to be something they could do. They just couldn't give Edward up so easily. They were between a rock and a hard place, but they were vampires. They could crush a rock as easily as a child could crush a sandcastle. Especially her with her wolf at her side.
Her wolf…
A sudden idea sprung up in her mind and made her sit up straight. Maybe there was a way out of this mess after all. But how could she tell the family without everyone trying to stop her?
She watched the others, all of whom were lost in thoughts. Maybe… „I'll go and check on Edward," she murmured, getting off the couch. Esme looked at her with a mix of pure sadness and sympathy and Sara had to close her eyes for a second. Then she steeled herself and left the room.
But instead of turning to the stairs that led to Edward's room, she turned right, to the door that led to the back veranda. It was closed but not locked. After all, if the Volturi or Samuel wanted to break into their house, a simple lock would not stop them. Opening the door as quietly as she could, and praying that no one could hear her, she slipped outside and tiptoed into the woods.
Once she felt she was at a safe enough distance that nobody in the house could see or hear her, she stripped out of her clothes, laid them on a pile, then closed her eyes and phased.
She felt her body becoming longer, fur sprouting, teeth lengthening but most of all she felt the freedom. Her wolf had been caged for far too long. She felt a rush of energy flooding through her and couldn't suppress a wolfish grin. Shaking her fur, she sped off into the woods, searching for the only solution she had: Samuel
