2. LONG NIGHT

Emmett whistle. "Long night, huh? What did you do Eddie? Don't tell me you already did it?" came from Emmett with a big smile on his face.

"I miss you already."

"I don't need to leave. I can stay. . . ."

"They grow up so fast" Emmett says dramatically while brushing away imaginary tears away. "Couldn't be more proud."

"Mmm."

It was quiet for a long moment, just the thud of my heart hammering, the broken rhythm of our ragged breathing, and the whisper of our lips moving in synchronization.

I knew if I could, my face would be bright red right now. I looked down not wanting to see the looks on their faces but I heard the surprise in their thoughts.

Of cause Emmett was laughing. "Way to go Bro! Was teasing before, but didn't know you had it in you." Rose give Emmett a look but I didn't miss the smirk when she turned her face away.

"I have to say I'm surprise. I though you were always going to wait until you were married" Alice couldn't help asking.

" Can we not talk about this. We're only kissing. Your making to much out of this."

The only emotion that was strange came from Jasper. He was envious. I couldn't help but give him a confused look because his trying not to think about it. He must have felt my confusion because he looked up. "I don't think I would have been able to do that even if it was Alice that was human" he thinks with resignation. Always thinking of himself as the weaker of all of us. I could only give him a weak smile and feeling of denial because I didn't want to say anything out loud in front of everyone.

Sometimes it was so easy to forget that I was kissing a vampire. Not because he seemed ordinary or human—I could never for a second forget that I was holding someone more angel than man in my arms—but because he made it seem like nothing at all to have his lips against my lips, my face, my throat. He claimed he was long past the temptation my blood used to be for him, that the idea of losing me had cured him of any desire for it. But I knew the smell of my blood still caused him pain—still burned his throat like he was inhaling flames.

I opened my eyes and found his open, too, staring at my face. It made no sense when he looked at me that way. Like I was the prize rather than the outrageously lucky winner.

I had to smile wistfully at that. She would probably never see herself clearly. The way I see her. That she will always be my everything. I wont stop showing her and maybe one day she'll see.

Our gazes locked for a moment; his golden eyes were so deep that I imagined I could see all the way into his soul. It seemed silly that this fact—the existence of his soul—had ever been in question, even if he was a vampire. He had the most beautiful soul, more beautiful than his brilliant mind or his incomparable face or his glorious body.

Carlisle smiled when he sees me shake my head. He doesn't say anything, just gives me a look that say 'I told you so'. It's probably not necessary to say anything because we had this talk numerous times and reached an impasse.

He looked back at me as if he could see my soul, too, and as if he liked what he saw.

What's not to like. She was kind, generous, beautifully and always thinking about others before herself.

He couldn't see into my mind, though, the way he saw into everyone else's. Who knew why—some strange glitch in my brain that made it immune to all the extraordinary and frightening things some immortals could do. (Only my mind was immune; my body was still subject to vampires with abilities that worked in ways other than Edward's.)secret.

"I'm still shocked about that. What do you think is the cause of it" Carlisle asks. "I'm not sure" I answered. Jasper looked thoughtful " it can't be because no talent affects her because mine as well as Alice's talent works on her. So it has to be something else. So we have to ask ourself why does ours work but your doesn't?"

"That's a good question, Jasper" came from Carlisle with a smile.

"Can it be that because she is your mate? Emmett ask. For once serious. "No it can't be because of that. Than Alice's power shouldn't work on Jasper" Rosalie joint in.

" Lets keep reading. We have to little information to keep speculating" Alice says. " Maybe it is something in her brain. That's probably also why she so weird and doesn't mind hanging out with vampires" Emmett says jokingly.

It was just too embarrassing to consider the alternative.

I pulled his face to mine again.

"Definitely staying," he murmured a moment later.

"No, no. It's your bachelor party. You have to go."

"What! No, no, no, Bro. You can not skip out on that. It's your first" Emmett says with a look of shock on his face that almost looks genuine even though his thoughts contradict him.

I said the words, but the fingers of my right hand locked into his bronze hair, my left pressed tighter against the small of his back. His cool hands stroked my face.

"Bachelor parties are designed for those who are sad to see the passing of their single days. I couldn't be more eager to have mine behind me. So there's really no point."

Emmett roll his eyes while Jasper chuckles. That just sound so Edward.

"True." I breathed against the winter-cold skin of his throat.

This was pretty close to my happy place. Charlie slept obliviously in his room, which was almost as good as being alone. We were curled up on my small bed, intertwined as much as it was possible, considering the thick afghan I was swathed in like a cocoon. I hated the necessity of the blanket, but it sort of ruined the romance when my teeth started chattering. Charlie would notice if I turned the heat on in August. . . .

Jasper and Emmett was full out laughing now. "Not much scandalous about that Eddie. If Bella is covered from head to toe.

At least, if I had to be bundled up, Edward's shirt was on the floor. I never got over the shock of how perfect his body was—white, cool, and polished as marble. I ran my hand down his stone chest now, tracing across the flat planes of his stomach, just marveling. A light shudder rippled through him, and his mouth found mine again. Carefully, I let the tip of my tongue press against his glass-smooth lip, and he sighed. His sweet breath washed—cold and delicious—over my face.

From Esme's thoughts I could hear she is almost as uncomfortable about this as I was. She wasn't use to hear about things like this from me. Emmett yes but not me.

He started to pull away—that was his automatic response whenever he decided things had gone too far, his reflex reaction whenever he most wanted to keep going. Edward had spent most of his life rejecting any kind of physical gratification. I knew it was terrifying to him trying to change those habits now.

"Wait," I said, gripping his shoulders and hugging myself close to him. I kicked one leg free and wrapped it around his waist. "Practice makes perfect.".

Emmett gives me a dimpled smile. She's right you know bro. Practice do make perfect and you're gonna need all the help you can get."

Jasper couldn't help laughing even if he could feel the embarrassment rolling off me. Rosalie gives Emmett a smack on the back of his head while rolling her eyes at his antics. Being Emmett, he just laughs, not even noticing the smack. Probably use to them by now.

He chuckled. "Well, we should be fairly close to perfection by this point, then, shouldn't we? Have you slept at all in the last month?"

Alice and Emmett laugh at that. I couldn't help laughing also. "That what I'm talking about Eddie."

"But this is the dress rehearsal," I reminded him, "and we've only practiced certain scenes. It's no time for playing safe."

I thought he would laugh, but he didn't answer, and his body was motionless with sudden stress. The gold in his eyes seemed to harden from a liquid to a solid.

I thought over my words, realized what he would have heard in them.

"Bella…," he whispered.

"Don't start this again," I said. "A deal's a deal."

"Oh Edward don't get moody again" Alice says.

"I don't know. It's too hard to concentrate when you're with me like this. I—I can't think straight. I won't be able to control myself. You'll get hurt."

"I really don't think I'dbe able to do it. How did I come to make a promise like that?Knowing it will put her in danger?" I ask in confusion. Not really expecting an answer.

" Maybe you just finally wanted to get some bro. It's understandable. It's been more than one hundred years" came from the joking Emmett. "Can't you be serious for once" I ask him frustrated. He shakes his head with a smirk on his lips. "If I take everything as serious as you do, I'd be just as stiff as you Eddie. There should only be one of you in the world."

" It's probably something Bella wanted. I can't say no to Alice when she really wants something. It looks like this is something Bella really wanted. Maybe you couldn't say no" Jasper answered, ignoring Emmett.

Emmett was laughing now. Pointing a finger at Jasper " you do realize what you just said, right? Your saying Bella wanted to do Eddie over there so badly, she'd die to get some."

" Emmett!" Esme shouted. Looking at him disapprovingly. "That's just about enough from you."

"I'll be fine."

"Bella . . ."

"Shh!" I pressed my lips to his to stop his panic attack. I'd heard it before. He wasn't getting out of this deal. Not after insisting I marry him first.

He kissed me back for a moment, but I could tell he wasn't as into it as before. Worrying, always worrying. How different it would be when he didn't need to worry about me anymore. What would he do with all his free time? He'd have to get a new hobby.

"How are your feet?" he asked.

Knowing he didn't mean that literally, I answered, "Toasty warm."

"Really? No second thoughts? It's not too late to change your mind."

"Are you trying to ditch me?"

He chuckled. "Just making sure. I don't want you to do anything you're not sure about."

"I'm sure about you. The rest I can live through."

I caught Esme's eyes when I look up and we smiled at each other. " I'm so happy for you Edward. You finally find you perfect someone to make you as happy as of us are"she thinks.

He hesitated, and I wondered if I'd put my foot in my mouth again.

"Can you?" he asked quietly. "I don't mean the wedding—which I am positive you will survive despite your qualms—but afterward… what about Renée, what about Charlie?"

I sighed. "I'll miss them." Worse, that they would miss me, but I didn't want to give him any fuel.

"Angela and Ben and Jessica and Mike."

"I'll miss my friends, too." I smiled in the darkness. "Especially Mike. Oh, Mike! How will I go on?"

"Ha! That's something to think about. Do you think Bella will give Mike a chance now that your gone" Emmett asks, making a funny face. I couldn't help the growl that came involuntary, knowing that's the reaction Emmett is looking for.

" Emmett if yo're are going to keep teasing your brother and interrupting every time, I'm going to kick you out of the house and you won't be able to come back until we finish" Esme threaten.

"Oh mom, you can't do that to me. I'm just lighting Eddie's mood because without me he'll get all moody again" he whined like a five year old.

Everyone just gives him disbelieving looks. I could hear Rosalie's thought were align with mine, while Alice shuttered at the though of Bella with Mike. Not that we want Bella with Mike, but with someone worthy of her and of cause human. As much as I don't want to see her with anyone but me, I think I'd be able to live with the fact that she can have everything I always wanted for her. I know that's what Rose wantsmore than anything in the world. She'd probably make a deal with the devil if she can be human and experience everything with Emmett.

He growled.

I laughed but then was serious. "Edward, we've been through this and through this. I know it will be hard, but this is what I want. I want you, and I want you forever. One lifetime is simply not enough for me."

" You have to let her make up her own mind, son. I know you're worried that she's to young and don't really know what she's giving up and a few years later she'll resent this life and probably you also, but you have to have faith in her" Carlisle says trying to reassure me.

"Frozen forever at eighteen," he whispered.

"Every woman's dream come true," I teased.

"Never changing… never moving forward."

"What does that mean?"

He answered slowly. "Do you remember when we told Charlie we were getting married? And he thought you were… pregnant?"

"And he thought about shooting you," I guessed with a laugh. "Admit it—for one second, he honestly considered it."

He didn't answer.

"What, Edward?"

"I just wish… well, I wish that he'd been right."

I put my head down. A pain I've become use to slice through me. I know that will be one of my biggest regrets. How I wish I can give her that. "I know how feel bro, but some things we can control. I want to give that to Rose too" Emmett though, giving me a sad smile when I look up to him with some surprise. He never though about this part of his relationship with Rosalie.

"Gah," I gasped.

"More that there was some way he could have been. That we had that kind of potential. I hate taking that away from you, too."

It took me a minute. "I know what I'm doing."

"How could you know that, Bella? Look at my mother, look at my sister. It's not as easy a sacrifice as you imagine."

"Esme and Rosalie get by just fine. If it's a problem later, we can do what Esme did—we'll adopt."

He sighed, and then his voice was fierce. "It's not right! I don't want you to have to make sacrifices for me. I want to give you things, not take things away from you. I don't want to steal your future. If I were human—"

I put my hand over his lips. "You are my future. Now stop. No moping, or I'm calling your brothers to come and get you. Maybe you need a bachelor party."

" She's right you are to serious about this. How did you get from making out to this depressing conversation?" Alice asks giving me a look.

"I'm sorry. I am moping, aren't I? Must be the nerves."

"Are your feet cold?"

Emmett laughed. "Always."

"Not in that sense. I've been waiting a century to marry you, Miss Swan. The wedding ceremony is the one thing I can't wait—" He broke off mid-thought. "Oh, for the love of all that's holy!"

"What's wrong?"

He gritted his teeth. "You don't have to call my brothers. Apparently Emmett and Jasper are not going to let me bow out tonight."

" I knew I wouldn't disappoint myself" says Emmett with a proud just shake his head.

I clutched him closer for one second and then released him. I didn't have a prayer of winning a tug-of-war with Emmett. "Have fun."

The guys couldn't help laughing at the mental picture of Bella and Emmett with Edward in the middle.

"That won't be fair. I guess we'll have to wait until she's changed. As a newborn you don't stand a chance Brother" Jasper says with a excited smile like he couldn't wait to see it.

There was a squeal against the window—someone deliberately scraping their steel nails across the glass to make a horrible, cover-your-ears, goose-bumps-down-your-spine noise. I shuddered.

"Emmett" I sigh at the idiot. "Hey, it doesn't mean its me"came from Emmett with a hurt look on his face. "Just keep reading" I say not answering him.

"If you don't send Edward out," Emmett—still invisible in the night—hissed menacingly, "we're coming in after him!"

" Okay it is me."

"Go," I laughed. "Before they break my house."

Edward rolled his eyes, but he got to his feet in one fluid movement and had his shirt back on in another. He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"Get to sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow."

"Thanks! That's sure to help me wind down."

"I'll meet you at the altar."

"I'll be the one in white." I smiled at how perfectly blasé I sounded.

Esme and Alice have big smile on their faces. "Oh, I can't wait for the wedding" Alice shouted. Bouncing on her seat again.

He chuckled, said, "Very convincing," and then suddenly sank into a crouch, his muscles coiled like a spring. He vanished—launching himself out my window too swiftly for my eyes to follow.

Outside, there was a muted thud, and I heard Emmett curse.

"You'd better not make him late," I murmured, knowing they could hear.

And then Jasper's face was peering in my window, his honey hair silver in the weak moonlight that worked through the clouds.

"Don't worry, Bella. We'll get him home in plenty of time."

I was suddenly very calm, and my qualms all seemed unimportant. Jasper was, in his own way, just as talented as Alice with her uncannily accurate predictions. Jasper's medium was moods rather than the future, and it was impossible to resist feeling the way he wanted you to feel.

I sat up awkwardly, still tangled in my blanket. "Jasper? What do vampires do for bachelor parties? You're not taking him to a strip club, are you?"

"Don't tell her anything!" Emmett growled from below. There was another thud, and Edward laughed quietly.

The guys laugh. "There is so many possibilities. I have to start planning now already" Emmett murmured, deep in though.

"Relax," Jasper told me—and I did. "We Cullens have our own version. Just a few mountain lions, a couple of grizzly bears. Pretty much an ordinary night out."

"That is so predictable. That's we always do for when we remarry. This is Eddie's first time. There's should be a first in everything for him. Don't you think we should go to Vegas this time?" Emmett asks looking at Jasper to see his reaction.

"You have to be kidding. Us with all does humans" I answer for Jasper. " You're marryinga human, so you should have all the experiences at a human bachelor party" Emmett says practically like that argument makes sense.

I wondered if I would ever be able to sound so cavalier about the "vegetarian" vampire diet.

"Thanks, Jasper."

He winked and dropped from sight.

It was completely silent outside. Charlie's muffled snores droned through the walls.

I lay back against my pillow, sleepy now. I stared at the walls of my little room, bleached pale in the moonlight, from under heavy lids.

My last night in my room. My last night as Isabella Swan. Tomorrow night, I would be Bella Cullen.

I love the way that sounds. Wow, this is really happening. Still feels surreal.

Though the whole marriage ordeal was a thorn in my side, I had to admit that I liked the sound of that.

I let my mind wander idly for a moment, expecting sleep to take me. But, after a few minutes, I found myself more alert, anxiety creeping back into my stomach, twisting it into uncomfortable positions. The bed seemed too soft, too warm without Edward in it. Jasper was far away, and all the peaceful, relaxed feelings were gone with him.

"Yep, with you there little sister. Very inconvenient Emmett says with a mocking smile.

It was going to be a very long day tomorrow.

I was aware that most of my fears were stupid—I just had to get over myself. Attention was an inevitable part of life. I couldn't always blend in with the scenery. However, I did have a few specific worries that were completely valid.

"Naturally" I say smiling.

First there was the wedding dress's train. Alice clearly had let her artistic sense overpower practicalities on that one. Maneuvering the Cullens' staircase in heels and a train sounded impossible. I should have practiced.

Everybody laugh at that. "Yeah that is the first thing Bella would worry about. I wouldn't have put her in a dress like that if I didn't think she can do it" came from Alice with an excited smile. "Oh damn wouldn't that be something to love at for the next ten years if she did fall" Emmett couldn't help ask.

Then there was the guest list.

Tanya's family, the Denali clan, would be arriving sometime before the ceremony.

It would be touchy to have Tanya's family in the same room with our guests from the Quileute reservation, Jacob's father and the Clearwaters. The Denalis were no fans of the werewolves.

"The Denali's knows about the werewolves" Rose asks giving Carlisle a confused look. "I haven't told them about them" Carlisle answers, also a little confused, but with idea of how they may have found out. "They probably found out when we went back" I say logically.

In fact, Tanya's sister Irina was not coming to the wedding at all. She still nursed a vendetta against the werewolves for killing her friend Laurent (just as he was about to kill me).

"Laurent" Alice and Rose exclaimed at the same time. "What the hell happened before this book's events occurred. Why couldn't they have send us a book about the minute we left" I ask in frustration.

Bella was in danger again. " She is probably in danger at this minute while we're reading this book" I say now worried. " Don't jump to conclusion, Edward" Esme put a hand on my shoulder. "Yes son, think about it logically. If Bella was in grave danger, this books events would not have occurred. I think we should read this through and afterwards decide what we're going to do" Carlisle says trying to minimize my fear.

I didn't like it but what he said made sense.

Thanks to that grudge, the Denalis had abandoned Edward's family in their worst hour of need. It had been the unlikely alliance with the Quileute wolves that had saved all our lives when the horde of newborn vampires had attacked. . . .

"Wow!" Emmett shouted with a laugh while all of us are shocked at what we're hearing. "What I tell you. Not a dull moment with our Bella."

"How does the newborns fit into this story" Jasper asks no one in particular. Just as confused as all of us but trying to calm everyone down. "We were so desperate that we asked the wolves for help?" Rose asks disgustedly.

Esme was the only one not just worried about the battle with the newborns. "So does that mean Irina found her mate in Laurent?" she asks Carlisle with a hopeful smile. " Looks like it. But it doesn't do much good because he is gonna die for trying to kill Bella" Emmett answered with out tact. Carlisle gives him a look when Esme gasps. "I'm sure now that we have this book we're going to fix everything that went wrong" he tries to reassure her.

"So what, their angry because we're not angry at the wolves for saving Bella's life when Laurent tried to kill her" Alice asks trying to make sense out of the Denali's logic.

Something else occurred to me that should have occurred sooner. "That means when Laurent tries to kill Bella we're not there" I tell them worriedly. I can hear everyone worrying now.

Edward had promised me it wouldn't be dangerous to have the Denalis near the Quileutes. Tanya and all her family—besides Irina—felt horribly guilty for that defection. A truce with the werewolves was a small price to make up some of that debt, a price they were prepared to pay.

"They better be" Emmett exclaimed with an angry look.

That was the big problem, but there was a small problem, too: my fragile self-esteem.

I frowned at that.

I'd never seen Tanya before, but I was sure that meeting her wouldn't be a pleasant experience for my ego. Once upon a time, before I was born probably, she'd made her play for Edward—

The 'kids' laugh at that. "You told her about that,man? Haven't you learn anything while living with three couples bro? You never tell girls about your past experiences. Even if their non existent like your" Emmett ask still chuckling.

"So that means you've done something I don't know about" Rosalie asks in a low threatening voice. "Well I didn't mean me. I meant all other guys" he back-pedalled. Bearing himself further in a hole. 'Lets have a little fun with this' Jasper's thoughts came to me. Jasper intensify Rosalie's feeling of anger. "You're lying to my face Emmett" she exclaimed, indignant. " Rosie" is all Emmett could get out. Alice seeing where this is going gives Jasper a look. Jasper and I couldn't help breaking our cover and laughing out loud when we saw the fear on Emmett's face. "Stop it you two" Alice says with exasperation.

not that I blamed her or anyone else for wanting him.

Rosalie rolled her eyes at that.

Still, she would be beautiful at the very least and magnificent at best. Though Edward clearly—if inconceivably—preferred me, I wouldn't be able to help making comparisons.

"Bella" is all I can say with frustration, amusement and exasperation in my voice.

I had grumbled a little until Edward, who knew my weaknesses, made me feel guilty.

"We're the closest thing they have to family, Bella," he'd reminded me. "They still feel like orphans, you know, even after all this time."

"Oh you guys sound like such a young married couple already. Having a little disagreement" Emmett says with fake fondness.

So I'd conceded, hiding my frown.

Tanya had a big family now, almost as big as the Cullens. There were five of them; Tanya, Kate, and Irina had been joined by Carmen and Eleazar much the same way the Cullens had been joined by Alice and Jasper, all of them bonded by their desire to live more compassionately than normal vampires did.

For all the company, though, Tanya and her sisters were still alone in one way. Still in mourning. Because a very long time ago, they'd had a mother, too.

I could imagine the hole that loss would leave, even after a thousand years; I tried to visualize the Cullen family without their creator, their center, and their guide—their father, Carlisle. I couldn't see it.

Everyone shuttered at that especially Esme. Not wanting to think about that at all. Putting her arms around his waist.

Carlisle had explained Tanya's history during one of the many nights I'd stayed late at the Cullens' home, learning as much as I could, preparing as much as was possible for the future I'd chosen.

"See Edward? She is not taking what is going to happen lightly. One thing I learn and like about my future daughter-in-law is that she has a good head on her shoulders.

I smile at him. A little bit more reassured now.

Tanya's mother's story was one among many, a cautionary tale illustrating just one of the rules I would need to be aware of when I joined the immortal world. Only one rule, actually—one law that broke down into a thousand different facets: Keep the secret.

Keeping the secret meant a lot of things—living inconspicuously like the Cullens, moving on before humans could suspect they weren't aging. Or keeping clear of humans altogether—except at mealtime—the way nomads like James and Victoria had lived; the way Jasper's friends, Peter and Charlotte, still lived. It meant keeping control of whatever new vampires you created, like Jasper had done when he'd lived with Maria. Like Victoria had failed to do with her newborns.

"Victoria!" She started the newborns. I couldn't be more surprised. I didn't think she had it in her to go that far. "She had to know she was going to get caught when the Volturi found out about that" Rosalie says shaking her head at the actions taken by the vampire. She probably was in grieve with us killing James and wasn't thinking about the consequences but revenge" Jasper stated logically.

"At least we know that we are going to defeat them" Alice says relieved. "Yeah that's a fight I can't wait for" Emmett says with excitement.

And it meant not creating some things in the first place, because some creations were uncontrollable.

"I don't know Tanya's mother's name," Carlisle had admitted, his golden eyes, almost the exact shade of his fair hair, sad with remembering Tanya's pain. "They never speak of her if they can avoid it, never think of her willingly.

"The woman who created Tanya, Kate, and Irina—who loved them, I believe—lived many years before I was born, during a time of plague in our world, the plague of the immortal children.

"It looks like we really told her everything. I didn't want her to know all the gruesome details about our history" I say worriedly to Carlisle. " It's better to be well informed, Son. That way see knows what to expect."

"You know Bella will probably be the first Vampire who goes into this willingly and be well informed about us" Esme murmurs. I looked at her in surprise. I haven't really though about it like that. "I wonder if this is going to have a positive effect on her time as a newborn" Carlisle asks thoughtfully. "Because most of the difficulties of being a newborn is being disorientated with your new environment.

"What they were thinking, those ancient ones, I can't begin to understand. They created vampires out of humans who were barely more than infants."

I'd had to swallow back the bile that rose in my throat as I'd pictured what he was describing.

"They were very beautiful," Carlisle had explained quickly, seeing my reaction. "So endearing, so enchanting, you can't imagine. You had but to be near them to love them; it was an automatic thing.

"However, they could not be taught. They were frozen at whatever level of development they'd achieved before being bitten. Adorable two-year-olds with dimples and lisps that could destroy half a village in one of their tantrums. If they hungered, they fed, and no words of warning could restrain them. Humans saw them, stories circulated, fear spread like fire in dry brush. . . .

"Tanya's mother created such a child. As with the other ancients, I cannot fathom her reasons." He'd taken a deep, steadying breath. "The Volturi became involved, of course."

I'd flinched as I always did at that name, but of course the legion of Italian vampires—royalty in their own estimation—was central to this story. There couldn't be a law if there was no punishment; there couldn't be a punishment if there was no one to deliver it. The ancients Aro, Caius, and Marcus ruled the Volturi forces; I'd only met them once,

"Oh my god! She met them" Alice shouted in shock.I was shocked still. I couldn't move if I wanted to. " Bella is gonna get us killed" Emmett joked with amusement. "Hey, but what the hell.I'll take her in anyway, better to die with excitement than live dull for another hundred years" he says nodding his head. "Emmett!" came from Esme but not with the usual disapproving look because she was also worried about what this means.

"Why do you think she met them" Rosalie asks the question on everyone's mind. "Does that mean they know that she knows about vampires" Jasper asks Carlisle with worry.

I could hear that Carlisle was also worried but didn't show it. "I don't know. He probably does know, but we all know the rule. So if he does know she shouldn't be alive right now" he could help but state the fact even though he didn't want to say it.

"Do you think they found out about our relationship and came to investigate" I ask him.

" Yes, that could be it, but we don't have enough information to go on."

"We are all still alive, that's a positive thing. If they tried to kill Bella I don't think we would have sit back and done nothing" came from Emmett also now seeing the big problem. "I don't think there would have been anything we could do about it. With having Alec they would have hold us off. So it didn't come to fight. We had to have made an agreement with Aro to not kill Bella" Jasper says, always the strategist.

"Let's just keep reading. The book will have the info we need" says Rose.

but in that brief encounter, it seemed to me that Aro, with his powerful mind-reading gift—one touch, and he knew every thought a mind had ever held—was the true leader.

"So he does know" I state with resignation and fear.

"The Volturi studied the immortal children, at home in Volterra and all around the world. Caius decided the young ones were incapable of protecting our secret. And so they had to be destroyed.

"I told you they were loveable. Well, covens fought to the last man—were utterly decimated—to protect them. The carnage was not as widespread as the southern wars on this continent, but more devastating in its own way. Long-established covens, old traditions, friends… Much was lost. In the end, the practice was completely eliminated. The immortal children became unmentionable, a taboo.

"When I lived with the Volturi, I met two immortal children, so I know firsthand the appeal they had. Aro studied the little ones for many years after the catastrophe they'd caused was over. You know his inquisitive disposition; he was hopeful that they could be tamed. But in the end, the decision was unanimous: the immortal children could not be allowed to exist."

I'd all but forgotten the Denali sisters' mother when the story returned to her.

"It is unclear precisely what happened with Tanya's mother," Carlisle had said. "Tanya, Kate, and Irina were entirely oblivious until the day the Volturi came for them, their mother and her illegal creation already their prisoners. It was ignorance that saved Tanya's and her sisters' lives. Aro touched them and saw their total innocence, so they were not punished with their mother.

"None of them had ever seen the boy before, or dreamed of his existence, until the day they watched him burn in their mother's arms. I can only guess that their mother had kept her secret to protect them from this exact outcome. But why had she created him in the first place? Who was he, and what had he meant to her that would cause her to cross this most uncrossable of lines? Tanya and the others never received an answer to any of these questions. But they could not doubt their mother's guilt, and I don't think they've ever truly forgiven her.

Everyone was sad, hearing the story again. Some pains never go away no matter how much time passes.

But I could hear in most of their thoughts that they couldn't blame the Volturi for this due to the fact that we do need them, otherwise there would be chaos. And the law I have broken and they by association.

"Even with Aro's perfect assurance that Tanya, Kate, and Irina were innocent, Caius wanted them to burn. Guilty by association. They were lucky that Aro felt like being merciful that day. Tanya and her sisters were pardoned, but left with unhealing hearts and a very healthy respect for the law. . . ."

I'm not sure where exactly the memory turned into a dream. One moment it seemed that I was listening to Carlisle in my memory, looking at his face, and then a moment later I was looking at a gray, barren field and smelling the thick scent of burning incense in the air. I was not alone there.

The huddle of figures in the center of the field, all shrouded in ashy cloaks, should have terrified me—they could only be Volturi, and I was, against what they'd decreed at our last meeting, still human. But I knew, as I sometimes did in dreams, that I was invisible to them.

Scattered all around me were smoking heaps. I recognized the sweetness in the air and did not examine the mounds too closely. I had no desire to see the faces of the vampires they had executed, half afraid that I might recognize someone in the smoldering pyres.

The Volturi soldiers stood in a circle around something or someone, and I heard their whispery voices raised in agitation. I edged closer to the cloaks, compelled by the dream to see whatever thing or person they were examining with such intensity. Creeping carefully between two of the tall hissing shrouds, I finally saw the object of their debate, raised up on a little hillock above them.

He was beautiful, adorable, just as Carlisle had described. The boy was a toddler still, maybe two years of age. Light brown curls framed his cherubic face with its round cheeks and full lips. And he was trembling, his eyes closed as if he was too frightened to watch death coming closer every second.

I was struck with such a powerful need to save the lovely, terrified child that the Volturi, despite all their devastating menace, no longer mattered to me. I shoved past them, not caring if they realized my presence. Breaking free of them altogether, I sprinted toward the boy.

Only to stagger to a halt as I got a clear view of the hillock that he sat upon. It was not earth and rock, but a pile of human bodies, drained and lifeless. Too late not to see these faces. I knew them all—Angela, Ben, Jessica, Mike.… And directly beneath the adorable boy were the bodies of my father and my mother.

The child opened his bright, bloodred eyes.

"Weird dream" Emmett says with a grimace and I couldn't help grimacing with him.