Tanya thought about following her. It wouldn't take much. Isabella may be able to block her scent and sound from other people, but Tanya was the exception. Nothing could stand in the way of their mate bond now that it had been acknowledged, although unwillingly. But she'd seen the look in Isabella's eyes. And she wasn't sure pushing harder would get her any closer to getting what she wanted. She should probably just head home.

The run home was hard though. Tanya could feel every emotion that flitted through Isabella's mind. The anger, the hopelessness, the longing. It was near overwhelming. Tanya was barely aware that vampires could feel so many emotions at once. Tanya focused on their bond as she ran. She let the feeling of it tugging at her soul surround her until she was lost in a maelstrom of Isabella. Despite the pain that came with the feeling, it made the run easier on her. If she couldn't be physically with Isabella, then at least she could be with her through their bond.

She wasn't sure what she could do now to get through to Isabella though. After speaking with Victoria, Tanya had decided to go after her anyways. She wasn't planning on actually talking to Isabella, but after watching the woman make-out with some random man, she couldn't really stop herself. She was able to keep herself from sounding like the jealous girlfriend, but that was as far as she could hold herself back.

What possibly could have happened to Isabella that would make her so adverse to any sort of relationship? Of course, she was right about their covens being incompatible, but as far as Tanya knew, the Volturi had always been very forgiving about letting their guard leave to be with their mates. It was how Eleazar had joined their coven in the first place.

Victoria's words about Isabella's past rang loudly in her ears. She had a rough life, but wouldn't a mating bond have been a positive thing? Something that the newborn could look forward to as a light at the end of the long, lonely tunnel?

Tanya sighed as she approached the house. She could hear her sisters chatting inside with Victoria who had been surprisingly more friendly than any of them had anticipated. Tanya could smell Jane as well. She must have finished her perimeter of the territory.

Tanya started to climb the steps into the house when the sound of a cell phone going off distracted her. It was coming from her back pocket. She pulled the cell phone out and glanced at the caller ID. Carlysle.

"Hello?" Tanya said after flipping it open.

"Tanya! How are you?" the friendly voice of Carlysle said over the phone.

"We're fine, all things considered," Tanya said. She'd been in contact with the Cullens about their newborn problem on the off chance that the Denali's required their help. She knew that having Alice on their side was always a bonus.

"Good," he said casually. "And how are your…visitors?"

"Interesting," Tanya said with a laugh. She wasn't even going to begin explaining Isabella. Too much time and too much wasted energy.

"Hopefully in a good way," Carlysle said. "I know the Volturi can be a handful at times. Who did they send?"

"Jane," Tanya said with a scowl. "And two of their newer members."

"Jane? Without her brother?"

"Yeah, it surprised us too," Tanya said.

"Well, if you don't mind," Carlysle said. "We were hoping to come for a visit. Esme has been antsy knowing there is trouble around and we aren't there to help. We figured we could provide some muscle." He laughed.

"You know you are always welcome in our home Carlysle," Tanya said with a soft smile. She knew the other coven was younger and less experienced than most of her own coven mates, but they were a talented group and she would take all of the support she could get. She didn't much feel like dealing with a newborn army with only the eight of them. Her sisters and herself were fairly inexperienced in combat, and Eleazar had always been more of an academic. Thought they had picked things up over the years, they hardly counted themselves fighters.

"We were also hoping that once this all passed," Carlysle said. "We might be able to discuss that other problem you have?"

Tanya's hand immediately went up to cover the receiver, hoping that no one in the house had over heard him. She listened intently but the conversation in the house continued as though nothing had happened.

"We will discuss it when the need arises," she said shortly.

"Of course. Well, since you're welcome to our presence, I believe we will be in Alaska some time tomorrow afternoon," Carlysle said. "Edward is not with us though."

"Oh?" Tanya asked. She knew he had been involved with a human girl some years ago, and it had been giving him problems, but she hadn't heard from him since they had revealed their budding relationship.

"Yes," Carlysle said. "His relationship with Bella ended rather suddenly, and he is taking it rather hard. He has been away from the family for nearly two years, only checking in occasionally."

"Alright," Tanya said, choosing not to address Edward's love life. She knew she had given him a hard time about his virginity, but she honestly didn't care much about his love life despite his belief that she and her sisters were trying to seduce him. "Well, we will see you tomorrow then."

There was a faint goodbye on the other end of the line as Tanya hung up. She shoved the phone back into her back pocket and returned to the house. Inside, she found Irina deep in conversation with Kate—something about which Chris was hottest. Tanya didn't care enough to find out what that conversation was about. She turned to Victoria to see she had gathered a book from their shelves and was reading quietly on the loveseat in the corner while Jane was discussing strategies with Eleazar.

"Where's Carmen?" Tanya asked drawing their attention.

"Oh the minute she heard you on the phone with Carlysle, she ran off to make up some more guest rooms," Eleazar chuckled.

"Well tell her to make one less," Tanya said. "Looks like Eddy-boy won't be joining us. Seems his thing with Bella didn't end well."

A growl followed by a yelp sounded from the edge of the room, and Tanya noticed Victoria looked like she was about to burst a blood vessel. Tanya raised an eyebrow at the other vampire, but Victoria just shook her head and waved her off. Jane was smirking on the other side of the room.

"So, the Cullen's will be joining us," Victoria said getting up from her seat. Tanya nodded. A sinking feeling built in the pit of Victoria's chest. "I'm going to go out for a hunt."

"Already?" Irina asked suspiciously. "Didn't you just hunt a day ago?"

"Trust me," Victoria said. "If we're going to be dealing with the Cullens, you're going to want me at full strength."

Before anyone could ask her what she meant, Victoria was out of the house and into the woods. She raced past trees and underbrush following her instincts to the very town Isabella had been in early. She was much more direct about her hunting than Isabella. While Isabella preyed on predatory men, Victoria was much less picky. The first human she found alone was drained and stashed minutes after arrival. When she finished, she reached out in her mind to the thread that linked her and Isabella. Her mind followed it along until she was sure she could figure out where the newborn was, and then she took off in that direction.

This was going to be trouble. There was no way Isabella was ready to see them. There was no way Victoria was even ready to see them. Jane was going to have to melt her brain to keep her calm, and Isabella wasn't going to be calm unless they somehow invented a method to sedate vampires between then and noon the next day. All Victoria could hope for was that the lack of Edward's presence would be enough to keep either of them sane.

It's not like Victoria was blood thirsty—but they had killed her mate. James was an asshole and as much as she loathed to admit it, he had his death coming. That didn't mean Edward's life wasn't forfeit in her eyes or even in the eyes of the law. Killing vampires wasn't really illegal, just frowned upon. Don't kill the wrong person was closer to a law than no murder—a law Isabella took advantage of whenever she got the chance.

When Victoria got close enough to Isabella to smell her, she could see a small puff of black smoke rising above the tree tops in the same direction. She followed it for another mile or so before she stumbled across a clearing with a cabin situated in the middle. It would have been quite picturesque if it hadn't been on fire. Isabella's scent surrounded the place.

As she stepped closer to the fire, the smell of blood suddenly overwhelmed her senses. She moved around the corner of the cabin to find Isabella calmly tossing pieces of stone into the blaze. On closer inspection, Victoria could see they were actually pieces of a vampire. Isabella treated it like the most casual thing in the world—like she was just putting a few logs on a fire, not burning someone's remains.

The smell of the blood was coming from behind her, and Victoria looked further past to see the body of a young girl laying in the snow. She was covered by something black—it looked like Isabella's robes, but Victoria couldn't be certain. Blood was seeping from a wound on her neck, and her chest was shuttering with each unsteady breath she took.

Victoria returned her eyes curiously to Isabella, who was now looking at her. Victoria opened her mouth to ask what had happened but Isabella shook her head and returned to tossing pieces of the vampire into the flames. Victoria watched on in silence as Isabella finished burning the remains, and then turned her attention to the girl on the snow-covered ground.

For a second, Victoria thought Isabella was going to bite her, but instead, Isabella paused over her prone body. Wave after wave of emotion flowed through Isabella as she looked at the girl.

Anger and disgust at what the man did, resignation over her death, and most startlingly, pity. Victoria could tell Isabella was reliving something in her past. Something worse than Victoria had done to her.

Isabella whispered something softly to herself, "I wish someone had been there to vote no for me…" It sounded like a distant memory. She quoted it like it had been branded to her brain. Victoria didn't know what memory the quote was attached to, but she knew what it meant for the girl.

Isabella sat next to the girl and placed the girl's head gently into her lap. She stroked the girl's hair softly before gripping her over the ears and quickly snapping her head to the left. Her heartbeat stopped seconds after. Isabella picked her up bridal style and carried her over to the burning cabin. She watched the flames then glanced down at the girl. The wave of sadness that rocked through Isabella's body, shook Victoria. But what further rattled Victoria's normally calm demeanor was Isabella pulling her shield up over her body and stepping directly into the burning building. She was in there for now more than twenty seconds—long enough to lay the girl, robes and all, across a table that had not yet begun to burn and return to the outside.

Wordlessly, Isabella began to walk away from the fire. She walked at a human pace to allow Victoria a moment to catch up. They walked along quietly together for nearly ten minutes before Victoria lost her patience.

"So, um, what the fuck was that?" Victoria said quickly.

Isabella paused and glanced casually at her maker. "I thought it was fairly clear. I killed a vampire and a human."

"Cryptic much," Victoria said. "Why?"

Isabella sighed and turned fully to face Victoria. "I was running through the woods trying to get away from Tanya, who just wouldn't leave me the hell alone. I came across this cabin here and the smell of another vampire, but they didn't smell like one of the Denalis so I investigated. It was a newborn. He'd taken a young human girl. I found him…" She shuddered slightly as she tried to say it. "He was on top of her, inside of her. I tore his head off and set him on fire which coincidently set the whole cabin on fire. I pulled the girl out with me."

"And you killed her because…" Victoria said.

"She is too young to change," Isabella said. "It would have been illegal."

Victoria knew there was more to it so she waited. Isabella didn't open up much, but Victoria wasn't going to let this go and Isabella knew it.

"What did you mean when you said you wished someone had been there to vote no for you?" Victoria asked quietly.

Isabella sighed again, dropping her head and shaking it. "It wasn't me who said that…" she said. "When I was human, Edward didn't want to change me—something about damning my soul. But everyone was suffering because of me, because I was human, and all I wanted was to be changed, so one day, we put it to a vote. Each of them gave a yes or no. Rosalie—well that's what she said. She wished someone had been there to vote no for her."

"Rosalie…" Victoria said. "She's the blonde one right?"

"Yeah," Isabella said with a nod. "Her change was violent too. No one ever straight up said it, but it didn't take a genius to figure out she'd been raped."

Isabella turned away from Victoria and looked out into the forest. She took in a deep breath, soaking in the comfort of the green air. "I might be a monster, but no one deserves that. No one deserves to live with that, especially not a child."

"Who knew you'd care about a Cullen?" Victoria said trying to lighten the mood.

"I don't give a fuck about any of them," Isabella said with the exact amount of vehemence Victoria would have expect. "I just hate Rosalie a little less than the rest. She was always up front with me. She had no reason to stick around. I can respect that even if I didn't like it. Besides she was right."

"Right?" Victoria asked. She couldn't believe she was getting this much information out of the newborn. She was rarely this open about her history. "About?"

"I put her family in danger," Isabella said. "I cared more about being around these people who felt like gods to me, than what it was doing to me or them. I felt like being around them made me just a little bit more special. I don't blame her for seeing through it."

Victoria said nothing and just started walking again. She wasn't going to keep pushing now, Isabella would keep talking if she felt like it. They walked on in silence for several more minutes. Victoria wasn't exactly sure where they were going, but Isabella seemed to know so she just followed.

"She's kind of like you," Isabella said, not looking at Victoria. "Intentions were always clear. I may not have liked them, but I always understood. Any wrong you both did to me was understandable. I never understood what happened with the others which is why it's harder to move past. Except maybe Jasper. An empath surrounded by the bloodlust of seven other vampires is bound to have a harder time. I can sympathize with that I guess."

Victoria sighed knowing she was going to have to tell Isabella soon about the Cullens. She didn't want to, especially when Isabella was so relaxed right now. It was comforting to see the newborn almost content, even if she actually was trapped in memories she'd rather have left behind.

"Isa…" Victoria said slipping into the nickname she rarely used for the newborn. She stopped walking and waited for Isabella to turn and look at her. "You know that ever since we joined the Volturi, I've only tried to help you and protect you right?"

Isabella didn't say anything, only looked at Victoria. Victoria could tell the newborn's shield was down and she felt along it to see how Isabella was feeling. She seemed to be okay; curious, hesitant, maybe a little suspicious, but overall okay.

"I need to tell you something," Victoria said. "I need you to try and stay calm for me." She reached forward and grabbed Isabella's hand pulling it up against her chest in anticipation for a panicked or angry reaction.

"Okay…" Isabella said, scowling at the accusation that she wouldn't be in control of her emotions.

"Tanya received a call while we were at the house," Victoria said. She paused making sure that Isabella was with her. "It was from a Cullen. They will be arriving at the Denali's house tomorrow afternoon."

The reaction was slow to build in Isabella. It wasn't the instant burst of angry Victoria had expected, but rather it grew like a flame from embers that Victoria had added the fuel to. Her chest started to heave slightly as she struggled to keep control of her emotions. Her eyes had gone black almost instantaneously, but that had been the only instant reaction.

Isabella's grip on Victoria's hand tightened and then tried to pull away.

"No," Victoria said. "Stay here."

Isabella's eyes locked on Victoria's and fire spread through her body, thick like lava. A rumble started in her chest.

"Victoria," Isabella said tightly. She was struggling to keep calm. She was trying. She was trying so hard. She clenched her eyes tight together and focused on the way Victoria's chest rose and fell under hand as the older vampire took unnecessary breaths in tempo. She heard a cracking, likely coming from Victoria's hand which she held like a boa constrictor.

"I know," Victoria said. She never understood where these feelings came from—these feelings of protectiveness and empathy for her childe. They should have hated each other, and here she was being the rock that Isabella needed so desperately. "I've got you."

"What do we do?" she asked tightly as her muscles relaxed. She continued to focus on Victoria, and only Victoria.

"I think we need to tell Tanya who you really are," Victoria said cautiously.

"No." Isabella left no room for question.

"Then you're going to need to control yourself," Victoria said. "Jane won't take too kindly to you losing it on them. She'll get you pulled from duty."

Isabella nodded with her eyes closed tightly as she took one last deep breath. "Okay, okay, I'm okay."

Victoria watched her as she slowly reopened her eyes, then released Victoria's hand. "You're getting better at that," she said with a smile.

"I suspect it won't be so easy when they are actually standing in front of me," Isabella said.

"Well at least you won't have to deal with Edward," Victoria said.

"Huh?" Isabella said, mild shock present in the way her mouth formed an O.

"Yeah," Victoria said. "Apparently he's not with them."

"Weird," Isabella said. She wouldn't have suspected it, but for now she wasn't going to question the blessing in disguise.

Victoria hummed softly, and grabbed Isabella's hand again, tugging her in the direction they'd been walking before. "It is, but I'll be there with you the whole time. You're not alone."