The first sign of trouble was the screaming.

As signs go, that's not a great one.

I hadn't been asleep for long, and the way I woke—heart pounding, breath catching, body already bracing—was the kind of startling jolt that left me feeling nauseous and disoriented.

My room wasn't empty.

I barely had time to register the shadows looming over me before I realised—Tanya was crouched low across me, her body rigid with tension, her golden eyes blackened to the void. The air around her was electric, charged with something dangerous and cold.

She was hissing, that subvocal, too-fast-to-follow vampire sound that barely reached human ears. I caught the movement of her lips, the way her gaze flicked to the door, the walls, calculating, strategising, protecting.

The other shadows in the room resolved as I slowly woke - my family. Alice. Jasper.

Something was very obviously wrong.

"Tan—?" My voice was cracked and barely awake.

Glass shattered somewhere in the house.

The sound stilled the room.

A split second later, Kate and Jasper disappeared. Gone in an instant, just blurs of movement and displaced air.

Tanya's hands curled under my arms, pressing me into her, ready to move me.

Then the window exploded.

I barely had time to react before figures flooded the room. The air cracked—Kate's electricity igniting in a violent snap. The sharp tang of ozone filled the room.

Chaos erupted.

A newborn lunged.

Tanya moved. I didn't even see her go—one second, she was in front of me, the next there was a sickening crack. A head rolled across the floor. The body collapsed.

My stomach lurched. Adrenaline crashed through me like a wave..

The next wave of newborns poured in.

I was lifted again, moved like I weighed nothing. The air shifted, and suddenly, I was against the far wall, Tanya's body an unbreakable shield in front of me.

Another snarl. Another figure advancing.

Kate shot forward, electricity arcing white-hot across her hands. She slid low, legs sweeping beneath the newborn's knees, sending it sprawling. A touch and it spasmed. It shrieked—a raw, ugly sound—but before it could right itself, Irina was on it. A flash of teeth, a vicious snap. Bone crunched under her bite. Venom splattered.

I flinched. I had never seen them like this. Never seen my sisters fight—unleashed. There would be time to process it later.

Carmen and Eleazar were gone, already outside, tearing through the night.

Alice was screaming. "I didn't see this—I didn't see this—"

Jasper was beside her, fighting back-to-back, a deadly dance of coordinated violence.

A newborn entered the room from the doorframe, splintering it as he came.

Tanya stepped forward, cutting it off.

Jasper moved into the space she created, and then—limbs started flying.

One final, sickening crack.

Then silence.

The last newborn collapsed—motionless, broken beyond repair.

The house stank of venom. Too sweet, too thick, cloying. My stomach twisted.

I was shaking. Violently.

Tanya was in front of me, her hands on me, checking for injuries. She was saying something—but I couldn't hear her over the roaring silence in my head.

The room tilted. My breath hitched.

I clutched at Tanya's arm, the only thing anchoring me to reality.

"I—I think I'm—"

The nausea crashed over me like a wave.

Everything went black.

I lost time.

When I came back, I was warm.

Water lapped at my skin, steam curling around me. Tanya's hands were steady, gentle, moving over me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I should be embarrassed that she was washing me like this.

I couldn't bring myself to care. Everything still felt distant. Muffled. Like I was listening through water.

"I think I'm in shock," I murmured. My voice was hoarse, foreign. "This is textbook shock."

Tanya's voice was low, soothing. "You are definitely in shock, vtáčik môj. You've been telling me that all night."

I blinked slowly.

I had been repeating it all night?

That's a symptom of shock.

I should tell Tanya.

I was in a car now.

Wrapped in too many layers, tucked against Tanya's side.

The Denali coven had multiple properties, but only one other house was suitable for a human. We were heading there.

I tried to thank everyone for fighting for me. The words came out garbled, slurred with exhaustion.

Alice squeezed my arm. "You are welcome again, Bella."

Again?

Oh.

I had already said it.

This was preservation. It could be a symptom of shock.

I pressed my face into Tanya's shoulder, grounding myself.

We arrived.

The house was smaller, quieter. But warm. Familiar in the way everything was laid out. It felt like home.

As soon as I saw Carmen, I hugged her.

"Thank you," I whispered. "For fighting for me."

Carmen's voice was soft. "You never have to thank us for that. You are family. You are coven. We will always protect you."

I held on tighter.

We had barely settled when Jake and Leah arrived. Both were still hot from their shift, skin steaming in the cold. Leah looked tense, but she walked straight to Irina and began inspecting her for injury, cataloguing the places where her clothes were torn, her skin scuffed from the fight.

Irina tried not to visibly preen under the attention.

Jake was in front of me, eyes full of something unreadable. His voice was quieter than I expected. "What the hell happened?"

We had never actually talked about Victoria. That night—when Leah imprinted, when Irina realized her mate, when everything changed for them—had derailed that conversation entirely.

I tried to explain, but the words got tangled. I was so tired. Beyond tired. It was well past midnight, and the come down from the adrenaline was making me literally sag with exhaustion. Tanya offered a room for Jake and Leah for the night, and told them we would explain in the morning. Jake hesitated. Leah didn't.

Just as Tanya was leading me toward a room, the door swung open. Three figures stepped inside. Red eyes.

The Denali coven all reacted instantly, low, feral snarls coming from deep in their chests. Jake and Leah turned, shifting their stances, preparing to phase.

I didn't react. I just felt numb.

Alice shot forward. "WAIT."

She looked at the three intruders. "They're friends."

Jasper followed, introducing them. "This is Peter, Charlotte, and Garrett."

Garrett gave a salute, casually. "Well," he said cheerfully, surveying the state of us. "Looks like we missed the fun."

Then he turned—and saw Kate. His jaw slackened. Kate let out a small, undignified squeak. I would have found it hilarious if I wasn't half asleep.

People were talking, but I was only catching snippets.

Jasper voice steady, assessing. "This wasn't a real attack."

Alice nodded, expression grim. "Victoria wasn't with them."

Peter was talking about a plan of some sort.

Somewhere, out there, Victoria was moving pieces on the board.

And this was only the beginning.

I woke to the sensation of movement, weightless in strong arms. Tanya was carrying me.

I had fallen asleep standing room she brought me to was warm, tidy and welcoming—but it didn't smell like her.

That shouldn't have mattered. It was irrational, childish even. But it did.

She tucked me in with deliberate care, smoothing the blanket over me before brushing my hair back, tucking the loose strands behind my ear. She pressed a soft kiss to my forehead.

Then, she turned to leave.

"Tan." My voice came out small, exhausted. "I'm scared. Can you stay with me?"

I felt weak admitting it. I knew what I was asking.

Her coven was entertaining strangers—friends of friends, yes, but strangers nonetheless. Her house had been attacked, her home damaged.

This was the moment where Tanya should have been leading. Where she should have been dictating how things were going to go, setting the tone, making the calls.

But she didn't hesitate.

"Of course, honey." She kissed my temple. "I just need to have a quick conversation. I'll be back."

She left the room at human speed—for me, I realised. For my comfort.

But the second she was out of sight, I heard it—the shift to her real speed. The rush of air being displaced, the sound of feet speeding up.

She was back in minutes.

I didn't wait. I curled into her, holding on like she was the only thing keeping me tethered to the earth.

She murmured something soft in Slovakian against my hair, the words comforting, grounding.

I fell asleep to the sound of her voice, to the smell of frost and wildflowers.

Tanya

It had been too close.

Victoria had found them. She had sent her newborns straight to their doorstep, tearing through their home.

None of her family were strangers to violence. They had centuries of experience, honed instincts, and the sheer physical advantage that made most threats irrelevant.

But Bella had been there—fragile, human, breakable.

If Tanya had hesitated, if she had miscalculated, if she hadn't been fast enough… She clenched her jaw, forcing herself to breathe, to shake off the cold dread that still curled in her gut.

She had handed over command for the night. Kate had led the defence while Tanya had stayed at Bella's side, ensuring she was never exposed, never touched, never harmed. She had heard Peter's report, his voice sharp and clinical as he relayed what they had learned.

But she had barely been able to focus on his words over the deafening roar of her instincts screaming protect, protect, protect .

Now, in the quiet morning, Tanya sat at the edge of the bed, watching Bella sleep.

She had wrapped her in warmth, dressed her in soft fabrics, cocooned her in the thickest blankets they had. As if comfort could erase what had happened. As if it could shield her from what was still to come.

Tanya reached out, brushing a stray curl from Bella's face, watching her breathe.

Slow. Steady. Peaceful, for now.

She had been so strong last night. She had stood tall, even when her hands had shaken. She had thanked Alice and Jasper for protecting her—even when she should have been furious at them that she had needed protecting at all.

She had held herself together until she couldn't anymore. Until the adrenaline had worn off. Until her body had given out, collapsing into Tanya's arms.

Tanya had denied her once, when Bella had asked to be turned. Told her it was too soon, that she deserved more time.

Had she been wrong?

Would Bella have been safer last night if she had been like them? If she had been strong enough to fight alongside them? If she hadn't been something fragile that needed shielding?

Even as a newborn—without the training, without the control—would she have had a better chance?

Tanya exhaled sharply, dropping her head into her hands, elbows resting on her knees.

Last night, she had not been coven leader.

She had given Kate and Jasper command, had let them handle strategy, while she stayed beside Bella. It had not been weakness. It had not been wrong. But it was not who she was supposed to be.

Across the house, she could hear Kate and Peter now, their voices sharp and tense.

Victoria wasn't just building an army. She was searching. Testing. Turning humans recklessly, sifting through them like raw ore, seeking something precious. A weapon. A game-changer. And when she found it—when she had her advantage—she would come for them. For Bella.

Tanya's fingers curled into the sheets beside Bella, her grip too tight.

They had decisions to make.

Did they wait—let Victoria build her numbers, risk the Volturi stepping in and condemning them for their inaction?

Did they take the fight to Anchorage?

Should they reach out for more allies, call in every favour, every friend?

Did she need to turn the woman she loved?

Could she be coven leader and mate at the same time?

She hated the answers that came to her.

She knew what had to be done.

She had to call the Volturi.

Even if she hated them, even if she despised everything they stood for—involving them before they involved themselves was the right decision.

She sighed, blowing out a breath. She would wait until Bella woke up, talk to her coven. Ask Alice what she saw.

Then she would make the call.