Leah's POV

She was so average for someone that had been so useful and important to the leader of such a fearsome Coven. I mean, she wasn't important enough for me to remember her name but that was mostly because she wasn't really her own person...er, vampire...so much as an extension of Aro. She was just a reason it would be harder to take Aro down, like saying 'oh and he has an attack dog'. Jane had just said, and he has a shield that keeps people from getting near her. She had said the name but I had forgotten and she'd said a few other things, but not much.

Jane had never told me that the shield's shiny brown hair was perfect and majestic compared to humans but so so average in the world of vampires. She had never told me that there was nothing, absolutely nothing at all, that stood out about this girl. It didn't seem right that the girl was just so...normal. Average. Ordinary. She didn't have Rosalie's stature or the unique grace of Alice or Esme's extraordinary caramel hair. She wasn't special and it seemed wierd that she would be the hardest to get to, supposedly impossible to get to, when she was nothing outstanding.

The fighting outside was still going but the noises were dying down, only a few people fighting now instead of fifty. The shield, I still didn't know her fucking name, was staring me down and I could feel her influence on my mind. It was like mentally walking against 50mph wind that was trying to blow you back. Like fighting against my own body as my instincts wanted to direct my legs the other way than I needed to go in order to take out the threat to my cubs. I was pretty sure it would have been easier if it was just her trying to get into my mind and mentally force me to turn, but her gift worked in a way that made it seem as if it was my idea. It was as if a sixth sense of mine was directing and urging me and that was harder because instincts were difficult to fight, especially for a shifter.

I did get to her eventually though, even if by the time I was there I wanted to rip my hair out from the indecisive tormenting thoughts raging around in my head. She was obviously stunned and completely terrified, unsure of what to do now that her little gift was malfunctioning. Jane herself had told me that she never ever fought because...why would she need to? Something made me think her name started with an R but I wasn't sure. And Little-miss-name-with-an-R-but-I'm-mostly-known-as-Aro's-shield had no fucking clue how she was going to get out of this one.

I took the decision from her hands, not wanting to wait and hear her attempt to beg and plead her way out of the situation. Her red eyes were enough for me (and no, I'm not going to think of the hypocrisy of being friends with Jane and Alec and Demetri and Felix when I have no problem slaughtering others like them) to stop any second thoughts about letting her go. At least for now, I was going to disable her for even glancing at my babies.

You wouldn't think, with how I was on her merely seconds after I'd torn Aro's cold head from his body, that I was having a huge mental struggle, but hey...Cold Ones weren't the only ones with quick-thinking brains after their turn. Shield-girl was much easier than Aro, and that was just plain sad because that dude probably hadn't lifted a finger in the last century with all the servants he had doing his bidding every moment of every day. One quick leap and my claws had screeched against her pale white, perfect marble throat. Instead of curling my paw in to continue the attack, I pressed forward harder until my claws emerged on the other side of her neck and I had decapitated her. And I thought again about how hard it felt to get to her when she was the easiest kill I've had since my first phase.

Breathing heavily, I phased into my human body and turned toward the cribs. Emma, Beth, Masen, and Whit had all phased into their wolf forms, either because of the presence of vampires they didn't know, or just defensively because they were generally scared at all the noises and tension. They were whimpering in fright while Esme and Renesme tried to comfort them. The hybrid was cradling her hurt cheek at the same time, ignoring the tears leaking from her eyes. I sighed in relief, smiling sympathetically and walking towards them to check over all five of my cubs.

Edward's POV

When the fight started to dwindle down finally, most of the Guard was dead and the worst on our end were a few broken bones that were already mending. I could hardly believe, but was eternally grateful, that we came out better and with less injury this time than we had after the Newborn Battle, but we all had grown since then and we had some very specially gifted vampires on our side this time so it wasn't actually that surprising. Jane had always been the most scary member of the Volturri, probably even bypassing the leaders, so with her it was actually sort of inevitable. I would have wondered, if I hadn't heard the loyalty in her thoughts to Aro on many occasions, why she hadn't taken over the Volturri already. I was just happy she'd stood up for what was right over century-long loyalty. I wasn't sure I could have done that to Carlisle, but then again Carlisle wouldn't be willing to kill an infant just for power. The imprint between Seth and Jane had probably had lots to do with her change of heart and attitude.

Bella was still alive, which I wasn't sure how to feel about but was a little relieved if only for my daughter's sake, as was Marcus who had given up, and a few that followed him over Aro or Caius. Caius himself was too obsessed with killing anything wolf-related to see any common sense in the matter. Our side was fine but Alec was groaning as he held his ripped-off arm back to his shoulder and let the vampiric venom seal it back on. It was a painful process.

Carlisle and Jasper were chatting with Marcus, along with Jane, and I glanced around for my she-wolf. She was nowhere in sight but her mind was wide-open, most likely from her exhaustion keeping her from shielding it to her best ability. I followed the familiar hum of her thoughts inside and upstairs into the nursery to see Aro and his personal guard on the ground, both missing heads. Or half a head in Aro's case. Leah was cuddling with the babies and Renesme, soothing them all with soft words and reassurances while Esme stood nearby looking a little freaked out. I followed her example, insinuating myself into the cluster and wrapping arms around to encompass them all.

Seth came in next with Embry, each seeing what was going on and coming to check on their imprints only for a moment before hauling the bodies outside. Leah left the room to dress and I checked over Renesme's injury before re-dressing the children and handing one off to Esme as she wrung her hands anxiously beside me. By the time we got into the hall, Leah was coming out of our room and the four of us went back outside to meet up with our allies.

Two large piles of pale limbs were burning away under purple flames but I quickly noticed that the shield was being repaired by Demetri instead of finished off and I could hear Alec telling Felix that she would be useful and Jane wanted to keep her. I knew she would be easily controlled as well even without someone like Chelsea to control her. She was a very weak-willed woman, I knew, just from her thoughts, and Jane terrified her. Seeing as it looked like Jane and Alec would be the new leaders with Marcus, the shield would be fine and she really would be useful.

Hours later, an Alliance was made before the Volturri left. The younger were told to get things prepared while some of the higher-ups stayed behind the talk. Marcus, Jane, and Alec, as the Leaders of the Volturri, had promised peace as long as the Cullens tried no attempt of overthrowing them. The whole thing was much longer in all reality but that was what it boiled down to in the end. It was the official agreement, contracted and signed and everything.

Unofficially, they were just friends. Jane told Leah and Seth to call if they were needed to help with anything as long as it was reasonable and it was understood that the Black Pack would help the Volturri too as long as it wasn't helping to kill humans or anything amoral that their duty prevented them from doing with a good conscience.

Bella sulked for the entire damn day and when Jane told her she was coming back too, she tried to refuse until she was subtly threatened. When she tried to hug Renesme goodbye, asking if she wanted to come to live in Italy with her, my little girl ran away and refused to even look at her biological mother, instead going to Leah and burying her face in the she-wolf's neck as she whimpered and whispered that she hated Bella and loved Leah. The three-year old vampire that had once been my wife, that I had thought was the love of my life at once time, had looked heart-broken at my daughter's words and the conviction at which they were said, before she'd ran away in dry sobs. I couldn't bring myself to feel sorry for her because I wasn't even sure if it was real. Bella had always been theatric.

By dinnertime, the Volturri had all left for the airport after hugs and goodbyes, promising to keep in touch and the Uley Pack had all ran back to La Push. Esme made a huge steak dinner for the cubs, Renesme, Leah, Seth, Embry, and Jacob. Afterwards, the family which was so much more than the seven vampires that had first moved to Forks six years ago, all found their places in the livingroom while Leah and I, plus their favorite Aunty Rose took our four rambuncitious little cubs upstairs for a bath, change, and sung them to sleep. The quadruplets were set into their own cribs to sleep soundly while I dragged my drowsy wife and blonde sister to join the family again downstairs.

Carlisle and Esme shared the sofa with Rosalie and Emmett while Alice and Jasper took one loveseat and Leah and I took the other. Seth and Renesme were sitting on the floor side by side and leaning against Leah and my legs while Embry and Jacob laid out in front of the television. The lights were dimmed and a movie was put on as we all unwound from the battle and the last few stressful weeks. By the time credits rolled, all four wolves and the young vamp-human hybrid known as my princess had all dozed off in their respective seats, Jacob snoring like a chainsaw.

Everything was going to be okay, I realized, and I was happy again like I hadn't been since right after Ness's birth.