AN: Hi all. I'm slowly trying to get back to some sense of normalcy since losing my mother in December. I thank you all for the kind words, and patience you're having with me while I find my way. This chapter had been written prior to my mother's decline, and it was difficult to come back to. Thank you for being gentle with me.

Chapter 16: Beginning's End

I awake with a start, and I immediately notice an unfamiliar young woman standing across from me. She is just as pale as the others, but much smaller in stature, with her porcelain skin, white-blonde hair pulled back smoothly, and her red eyes boring into my own.

"Fascinating." She says in a high-pitched voice, one of someone who's barely out of adolescence and I feel an involuntary shiver down my spine, "The Cullens certainly claimed you were a shield, but you're a mere human, I don't understand how this is possible." She replies as she cocks her head to one side.

"In the grand scheme of things, does it even matter?" Another voice joins the conversation, and I turn towards it, seeing a young man who looks almost identical to the young woman who is currently staring at me.

"I suppose that it doesn't." She acquiesced.

"Who are you?" I ask and both turn their haunting red eyes to me, "How did I get here?"

"She underestimates you, doesn't she?" The young male asks, and I turn towards where he is looking. A large, pale vampire stands by the lone door in the windowless room I am in. His eyes are as red as the two younger vampires, and his body is large and rippled with muscles. He has long brown hair messily tied into a bun, and a draping black cloak hangs loosely off his broad shoulders

"She certainly does," the blonde replies as she tosses her platinum hair over her shoulder, "she's just a human, though. She'll drop the shield eventually."

"I'm right here in the fucking room." I replied angrily and the large man scoffed at me.

"Kitty has claws," He replies, and he moves closer to me, trailing a sharp nail against my barely healed skin. I jerk away from him, causing blood to pool into the nicked flesh, "oh look, a snack." He almost purred.

"Felix, that is enough!" A man shouts from the open doorway and the large male vampire moves quickly away from me, leaving a gust of cold air in his wake, "I am in charge of our guest, and I'd prefer you didn't snack on her before I've had my chance." He glances over at me, "I see you've met the twins," He finally enters the room, and it's then I notice all the vampires are wearing long cloaks. The two younger ones wear lighter colors, but the older male wears a dark red one. Even with his hood drawn over his face, I can still see his deathly pallor. He looks ancient, and his skin is almost translucent where I can see black veins long dormant from any blood through his paper-thin skin, "Jane, have you been successful?"

"No sir." She replies in the negative.

"Alec?"

"No sir, her mind is completely closed off to my coercions." The young man replies.

"She is indeed fascinating, a mere mortal with a shield so powerful," He reaches one of his thin fingers towards my hand and icily traces it, before grasping it in his own. I try to pull away, but his grip is painful and firm, and his face twists in anger, then transforms into something akin to awe, "Nothing."

"Does this absolve the Cullens from their crimes?" The young man I now know is named Alec asks.

"Absolutely not," he scoffs, "The Cullens have known about Isabella's powers the entirety of her short life and didn't bring her to me - we had to send Felix in. If anything, this adds to their list of dalliances, however they did offer one piece of incredibly valuable information," he glances over at me, "and alluded to more..."

"How on earth is a mere human valuable to us?" Felix asks.

"She's not just a mere human," the older man hisses, then turns his attention back to me, "young Isabella, I've been told that you have knowledge," he squeezes my hand, "intimate knowledge of the Quileute shapeshifters."

"I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Do not lie to me." He growls and the twins edge closer to me, "You are Quileute yourself, and I've already seen in the Cullen's minds that you are involved with one of the shapeshifters, and related to two more. You understand these shapeshifters are our natural enemy, Isabella, and I have a vested interest in speaking with them."

"Why don't you reach out to them yourself then?" I challenged and he squeezes my hand again, his dry lips curling into a sinister smile.

"Aro is the top ruler of our kind, do you actually think he's going to just send a telegram to his enemies?" Alec asks and I hear Jane snicker from beside him, "Are you suggesting that we send him an email? Perhaps a carrier pigeon?"

"Enough!" Aro shouts and the twins move back to their posts against the wall, next to Felix, "Isabella, I would like to speak to their leader. I've been told that their leader is your lover, and I believe you would be able to get me in contact with him."

I feel the warm tears leaking from my eyes and I shake my head, "I don't know that I can reach him."

"You will reach him, there is no other choice." Aro says before dropping my hand and turning towards the twins, "For now, she remains human. Make sure she has whatever means that are necessary for her to reach the shifters." He begins to walk towards the door, and I realize this may be my only chance at an audience with one of the rulers.

"Wait!" I shout and the king stops walking, turning to face me with a look of pure disgust, "I'm sorry for my outburst, but if you want me to help you, I need something in return."

"Foolish girl." Jane sneers but Aro holds a hand up, silencing the younger woman.

"Speak, Isabella." Aro commands.

"Two of the Cullens have been manipulating me for years now, and they used my own mother to gain access to me. I don't know what it is that they've done to you, but they wanted me as their bargaining chip to absolve them of any wrongs they've committed in your eyes. They had no intention of turning me over to you without gaining something themselves."

A wry chuckle breaks my focus, and I see Alec shaking his head, "Stupid human, we had to remove you forcibly, do you think we didn't already know that the Cullens were going to attempt to hold you until Aro pardoned them?"

"No, I don't believe that you were in the dark about that, however they've also been working with other covens. They planned on using you all as their way of eliminating the shapeshifters, and once you all had helped them the Cullens planned on destroying you all as well."

Aro regards me carefully, and when the twins attempt to attack my credibility, they are silenced with a simple hand gesture from Aro, "There's no way for me to confirm your tale, young Isabella. Since your mind is closed to me, I have no way of knowing if you are being honest."

"Please contact the Whitlock coven, they can validate-"

"The pathokinetic and seer?" Felix interrupts and Aro nods his head, "Their powers could tamper with any readings you get."

I watch as Aro seems to agree with Felix and I try one more time to convince him I am telling the truth, "Charlotte Whitlock has no powers that would cause interference in your readings. Please."

"And if I can confirm your story is true?" Aro asks me pointedly.

"I will convince my people to help you destroy the Cullens." I reply firmly.

"What makes you think we need any help from you or those mongrels?" Jane asks.

"Because if you thought you could destroy them yourselves, you would have done so already instead of allowing them to run amok for decades," I reply, using knowledge and confidence I had gained from working with the Whitlocks. I dared a glance to Aro and find the elder leader deep in thought.

Seconds of silence turn into minutes, and even though the supernatural beings in the room are likely communicating with each other in a way I cannot understand, I'm still incredibly nervous and uncomfortable. This is not the outcome we expected, and no matter how much Charlotte, Peter and Jasper tried to prepare me my confidence is waning.

"Contact the Whitlock leader." Aro ordered Jane and he spared me a glance, "Your continued cooperation is what will keep you alive. Cross me and I will end you."

"Why are we letting her live? Who cares about the stupid dogs, we can easily handle them if we bring more troops over, and the Cullens will be nothing-"

"There is a reason I need her to remain human. Do not question me, Alec." Aro hisses at the younger man, "It's likely why the Cullens didn't change her themselves. I need to know who is responsible for her condition before anything further happens."

It was only after they had vacated the room, leaving me alone with a locked door and several guards posted outside that I allowed myself to cry.

"Darlin', you sure did well gettin' yerself out of a pickle, didn't'cha?" Jasper's familiar drawl wakes me, and I turn to look at him, "you've got the damn Vulturi doin' yer biddin' with the yellow eyes."

"Jasper!" I exclaim and he ambles over, dropping into a chair next to the large bed I've been placed in, "How did you get here?"

"Bloodsucker express accordin' to yer Alpha." He presses a phone into my hand, and I pull it to my ear.

"Sam," I breathe out and instead of the familiar rumble of my boyfriend, I hear the familiar voice of my best childhood friend.

"Bells, are you okay? Have they hurt you? We're going to get you out of there-"

"Jake, where is Sam? Jasper said it was the Alpha on the phone." I begin to panic, and I can feel the waves of calm coming from Jasper.

I hear Jake take a deep breath, "Honey, it's a long story, and we need to focus on getting you home."

"No Jake. No. Please tell me you didn't take Alpha from him." I cry out.

"Bells, I had to. He was practically feral and threatening the treaty, and right now the Cullens have numbers on their side with all the allies they've managed to scare up. If we started a war with them, there's no way we could beat them, and we'd put you in grave danger. I swear to you there was no other reason that I challenged him other than to protect you and the pack." He pleaded with me, and I could somehow tell he was telling me the full truth.

"I need to talk to him."

I can hear him sigh and there are several beats of uncomfortable silence while he ponders my request, "Bella, right now we need to focus on getting you away from the leeches without them harming you in some way. Once we have that worked out, we will get to Sam."

"What do you mean when you say get to Sam? Where is he?"

"Bella, darlin' that's not what's important right now." Jasper drawls as he pulls the phone from my ear. I try to reach for him, ignoring the tightness and pain in my healing arms, but Jasper angles away from me and continues a conversation with Jake. I listen helplessly to Jasper's side of the conversation, which is not much more than a few words here and there, along with some yes and no replies.

"Stop." I say firmly and Jasper's red eyes meet mine, "I can feel Sam's pain along with my own. I need to know he's okay, please."

"They don't know where he is," Jasper tells me and even with my human ears I can hear Jacob's protests through the phone, "he took off after he hurt ya, lost his everlovin' mind, made the boy finally take up his birthright as Alpha all while continuously threatenin' the yellow eyes and even my lil' coven. He's lucky we ain't wearin' his hide as a coat right now." He sighs unnecessarily before continuing, "lil' lady, that pull yer feelin' is somethin' he can feel too. The bond y'all have is likely tryin' to lead him right here. We need to figure this mess out before he finds his way across the damn country and comes barrelin' in here with his teeth gnashed. Yer Sam might be strong, but one wolf ain't nothin' for a coven like this one."

Jasper continues his conversation with Jacob, but I am too numb to even listen.

I feel myself being picked up, but my head is spinning, and a wave of nausea settles over, "I'm going to be sick," I slur before the burn of the vomit tickles my throat, and I am gently cradled against a warm body.

"Hang on, we're almost out of here."

I try to answer, but darkness overtakes me again.

The next time I crack my eyes open I can see the blur of trees and I am tightly bound against a wolf, some sort of blankets or sheets are tied around my battered body. I screw my eyes shut to ward off the almost constant nausea I am feeling, and I snuggle into the familiar warmth. There are chaotic noises all around me, sounds of screeching metal and the acrid smell of smoke, but the wolf keeps running and I feel a slight bit of comfort even with the terrifying unknown.

I feel like I am in a subconscious state, and I'm teetering between believing I am dreaming or that this is reality when we duck into a cave and instead of the soft fur of a wolf, I feel the hot skin of a man. The shadows don't allow me to truly see my rescuer, but the deep shaking of his body in silent sobs tell me everything.

"Sam," I whisper, and he shakes harder, "my Sam, it's okay. It was an accident. You saved me."

He puts a warm hand across my mouth gently and then makes a gesture for me to remain quiet. The sounds outside the cave are distant, but it's evident that an intense battle is taking place.

"I need to look at you. Please." I plead with him in a hushed whisper, and he tries again to quiet me, "They're going to smell us no matter what." I remind him and he moves us deeper inside the cave, chasing the sunlight that is peering through the numerous cracks in the ceilings and walls. He looks haggard and unkempt, with a scraggly beard and his curls wild and tangled mess that I push away from his eyes, "You didn't mean to hurt me," I tell him, and the tears continue to leak from his hazel eyes, "Sam, you didn't mean to hurt me. Say it."

"It's my fault, Birdie, I did this-"

"Did you intend to hurt me?" I ask and he shakes his head, "It was an accident. I could have been hurt doing any number of things, Sam, you wouldn't ever purposely hurt me, would you?"

"Never." He whispered.

I feel his body shaking and he swallows hard before gently placing me on the ground, "Stay here."

"Sam-"

"Do not get close to me right now," he snarled as he fought against a phase. I scramble away from him, and he bursts into his black wolf, backing me against the cold stone wall and snarling in a protective position.

"It's jus' me," a familiar voice drawls and I see the sunlight reflecting off raised hands, "I ain't gonna hurt her, but we need to high tail it out of here. The yellow eyes are on your trail."

Sam snarls and growls and Jasper moves closer, "Sam, I ain't hurt yer girl, never even thought about it. I also can't read minds, so whatever it is yer tryin' ta say to me needs to be said when yer not sproutin' fur. The yellow eyes and the damn Volturi both want 'er, and Pete and Char can only divert them fer so long. The only reason ain't one of them changed 'er is because they don't know fer sure who put that baby in her belly-"

Sam shimmers back into his human form and he pushes Jasper against the opposite wall, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

I watch as Sam's tense body begins to relax, and before he slumps to the floor, I rush to his side to ease him down, "Jasper, what did you do?"

"I mighta give him a lil' too much. I'm sorry darlin', but your wolf is rightly mad, and I'd like to unlive for another day. The damn Cullens found out you're pregnant when you were brought into their ER after the accident. Fuckin' bastard Eddie boy is claimin' it's his."

"Oh my God…."

"Ain't true, darlin'. I won't pretend to know errythin' that bastard did to ya, but one thing is certain and that is you ain't carryin' a vamp baby. Pete hacked into yer records with the doc and it's obviously not a hybrid pregnancy. That lil' nugget yer carryin' s'only measurin' six or so weeks, and hybrid babies cause a diff'rent type of uterine wall. That lil' one will be a fur sprouter like it's daddy."

"It's Sam's?" I whisper and watch as Jasper nods his head.

"I take it y'all didn't know," He replies as Sam lets out a light snore from beside me and I shake my head in the negative, "Bella, I'm real sorry to tell ya in the way I jus' did. I'm also real sorry for the things those yellow-eyed bastards did to ya. Ain't no one, human or not deserve to be treated the way they did ya." He looks over at Sam, "I'm gonna ease up, but if he starts tusslin' I'll put him out again."

"Birdie," Sam murmurs and he buries his head into my neck, wrapping his arms around me from behind and pulling me flush to his body, "You're having our baby."

"Yeah, and in the middle of a damn supernatural war," Jasper sighs, "Sam, while the Volturi and Cullens are focused on each other, you gotta get 'er home. Can you safely run 'er to the airstrip? 'Sbout fourteen or so miles northeast as the crow flies."

"Yes." Sam said quietly and Jasper nodded his head.

"Get 'er home safe. I'm right fond of 'er." Jasper grins at me as he helps me to my feet, "Take care of each other."

"Jasper," I begin to cry, and he wipes my face with his icy hands, "thank you. You, Charlotte and Peter saved me."

"This ain't goodbye lil' lady. We'll be back on the west coast as soon as we finish this," he gestures outside, "I'll just need to meet ya someplace in town-"

"No," Sam rumbles as he stands next to me and before I can protest, he continues, "your coven is welcome on our land, per our current Alpha and Chief. We will have a new treaty in place by the time you get back, if you'd allow it."

"I'd much like that," Jasper extends his hand and Sam shakes it.

"I owe you. You saved her, and our child. You will always be welcome in our home."

My brothers, Charlie and Tiffany were waiting at the private airport when we arrived. I was quickly put into an ambulance with Sam on board to take me to Seattle General, where my pregnancy was confirmed. Outside of being undernourished, and a bit anemic, I was in good health all things considered. To keep the supernatural out of the explanation, Charlie had said I was kidnapped, and my captors were no longer on the loose, all truthful facts. The skilled surgeons at the large hospital were impressed with the care I had received for both the serious head injury I'd received, and the gaping wounds I once had on both arms. The only evidence of the wounds were the pink scars that remained on my arms, and that was something that Sam and Paul both took issue with.

Much like Sam, Paul was blaming himself for my injuries. It took several long conversations with both Paul and Sam, but they reluctantly agreed that what happened was an accident, and no matter who or what they were anything was possible when in close contact.

I knew that Sam and I had many hurdles to jump in our relationship, especially since we were now expecting a baby. Tiffany and Sue were both trained midwives, and with their knowledge of the pack they were the best to care for a pregnancy with a shifting gene. Even though I showed no signs of shifting myself, I still carried the gene from the Lahote side of my family, so it was almost a guarantee that with both mine and Sam's genetic makeup we'd be the parents of a future wolf.

Especially since our treaty with the Whitlock coven was put into place.

The Whitlocks had returned to Washington just a few days ago, and only about a week after Sam brought me home. During that time the previous treaty with the Cullens was negated, and the vicious fighting we had heard when Sam moved me into the relative safety of the cave he'd found was an all-out war between the Cullens, along with their allies, and the Volturi. The Whitlock coven along with Jacob's pack had helped the Volturi take down the Cullens, and in exchange for his help they agreed to keep the pack and families under their protection. A treaty was going to be put into place, and for the first time in our people's history we were aligned with human drinking vampires.

We learned that Jasper Whitlock's long and sordid past in the southern vampire wars, along with his gift, made him an invaluable ally for the Volturi, and he used his power to ensure the Quileute people never had to fear anyone who followed the laws. As with any society, there would be outliers, those like the Cullens who skirted around what was right and wrong, however we now had peace amongst the supernatural.

The same couldn't be said for my own mother.

She was a casualty of the fight between the Volturi and Cullens. From what I understand, she begged to be changed to a vampire, and instead Edward Cullen himself drained her. Phil had done everything he could to save her, almost losing his own life to protect the woman he once loved. When I had learned he was hospitalized back in that small town in Maine I had been taken after being kidnapped, I tried to find a way back, but with the injuries I was still recovering from it was better to stay home in La Push than to risk our baby or myself. I mourned the loss of my mother, knowing she was deeply addicted to drugs and sacrificed her own daughter for her addictions deepened my grief.

It was if I never had a mother.

I had begun to think about my birthfather and toyed with the idea of reaching out to him. It was a delicate subject to broach, and any time I skirted around the topic Paul managed to change the subject. He was the only one of my brothers to ever have a relationship with our father, and using the term relationship was giving it much more of a title than it deserved. Through Charlie, I learned more about the physical and verbal abuse Jerome put Paul through, and my uncle shared several memories of him showing up in his capacity as a law enforcement officer and removing a much younger Paul from a dire situation with his parents. Charlie had explained that he'd tried several times to get Paul away from his parents, but tribal law prevented him from pushing the subject any further, especially since Charlie was still considered an outsider back then. It broke my heart to hear about someone hurting the older brother I'd come to cherish, and it made me drop the idea of ever reaching out to the man who left us all.

"You okay?" Leah's voice broke me from my reverie, and she nudged my leg with hers.

"Fine." I replied as I turned my attention back to the laundry I was folding.

"You've been home for two weeks now and the only thing you ever say when I ask if you're okay is 'fine'. Bells, you are about the furthest thing from fine I've ever seen. Talk to me, hun."

"Leah," I sighed and shook my head, "I'm fine."

"Is it Sam? The baby? Your brothers? Your mother-"

"I don't have a mother." I hissed and immediately regretted my outburst, "Lee-Lee, I'm sorry-"

"No, you are not apologizing for finally showing some sort of emotion. You've been through hell, and if you're not talking to Sam, your brothers or me please at least find someone to talk to. At this point I don't even care if it's Jake, even though he's full of himself now that he's Alpha." She abruptly stopped talking and I glanced at her.

"Sam's still not told me what happened between them."

"I don't think it should come from me." Leah replied.

"Then who should it come from, Lee? Jake has been tight-lipped, Charlie can barely make eye contact with me when I ask him, Paul blows me off, Em tells me he can't talk pack business, which leads me to believe Jake alpha ordered him. Emily, Kim, Jess and Ang won't tell me anything. Seth bolts any time I even try to ask. Please."

"What has Sam said?"

"Nothing. Everything I know is from Jasper, or from what little bit Jake did share. Jasper said Sam went feral, and that he was threatening the Cullens, putting the treaty in jeopardy." I prompt and Leah looks over my shoulder. I turn to see what has her distracted and I see Sam leaning against the doorframe.

"I've got this, Leah." He said quietly and she nodded. She wrapped her arms around me, pressing a brief kiss to my cheek and she gave Sam's shoulder a squeeze before leaving the room. The silence ticks away between Sam and me, and I avert my eyes from his intense stare, "I took off a little earlier than anticipated, I didn't want to miss the appointment with Tiffany."

"You remembered?" I asked quietly and his warm hand cupped my chin, tilting my face up so our eyes met.

"Of course I did, you're carrying our little bird in there." He murmured before pressing his lips to mine.

"Don't you mean little wolf?" I asked when we broke apart. His smile was brief, but noticeable and he rested his forehead against mine.

"Jacob did what he had to do," Sam's voice is not much more than a whisper, and I find myself holding my breath while I wait for him to continue, "when I saw what I did to you, I lost it. Paul too. We blamed each other, and any decorum I may have had as alpha was straight out the door when it came to what we did to you. Embry was the only one who held himself together to get you help. Birdie, I just snapped."

I wrap my arms around him tighter before speaking, "You were lost to your instincts. Sam, I'm your mate, and when you saw me injured you protected me-"

"I hurt you. I did this."

"You and Paul were both caught up in an instinctual moment. You were the alpha of the pack, your mate was attacked-"

"By me!" His voice raised and he immediately pushed away from me, pacing back and forth and scrubbing his face with his hands, "What happens when I do it to our baby, Birdie? Am I just going to end up like my fucking father?" He stopped moving and leaned against the wall, slumping down and sliding to the floor, "Oh my god. Oh my god…" He repeated as he scrubbed tears from his face.

I approached him carefully and rubbed his clenched fists, "Sam."

"He's… he's…" Sam shakes his head almost violently, "I have to go."

He scrambles off the floor and before I can even attempt to stop him he's gone, the screen door flinging shut as he barely made it off the porch before phasing and tearing off into the woods. I wrap my arms around myself and will away the tears that are threatening to fall at any moment, and I jump when I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay." Charlie says softly and the tears pour as he wraps his arms around me and pulls me against his shoulder. His worn flannel shirt is soft, and it smells faintly of the detergent that Tiffany always uses, "It's okay Bells, it's okay." He murmurs and I cry harder.

I cry for my mother, and everything she did to facilitate her addiction. I cry for the kidnapping and assault I suffered at the hands of the Cullens. I cry for my stepfather, fighting for his life thousands of miles away from me. For the mental torture Sam's putting himself through, for my brother Paul who blames himself for losing control, for my brother Embry who tries every day to keep the peace in a tumultuous pack.

I cry for the life Sam and I created, because I have no idea if either of us will ever be stable enough to be a good parent when our own parents threw us away like trash.

"Let's go see that baby of yours." Charlie murmurs as he rubs my back and I simply nod against him and let him lead me to his truck, where I find Leah waiting for me. She slides into the cab next to me, and no words are exchanged, but her hand squeezing mine and her silent support is almost everything I need.