Summary: Edward arrived at the mental institution and was reunited with Bella. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper searched Forks for survivors and told the wolves Bella was dead. The Cullens met with the Denali coven while Laurent betrayed their whereabouts to the Volturi. The Volturi returned to Denali and took Bella, agreeing to let the Cullens accompany them to Volterra after some quick thinking on Bella's part. They arrived in Volterra and Bella met the other survivors, who were shocked and appalled when Edward entered. Edward later proposed at a romantic dinner. They were secretly married in a private ceremony. Bella had a very interesting doctor's appointment with Carlisle and was almost eaten by Felix. Aro summoned them and said that he would have to take Bella away from the Cullens, but Rosalie stopped him by proposing to trade the wolf pack for Bella. Bella and Edward argued over him not telling her about Jacob's continued existence, but Alice convinced her to forgive him. Bella and Esme buried Charlie.

Chapter 19 (JACOB'S POV)

Another day. Another pointless period of daylight on this sphere of dirt we call our home. Or used to. It doesn't feel much like home any more. The houses are still here, but they just don't symbolize the same thing; they're like something from a cheesy horror movie, all empty halls and darkness.

"Hey, Jake!" Seth calls, running toward my spot on the edge of the cliff, "Sam wants us to run a border patrol." Weird kid. You'd think after all of this crap, he'd be capable of giving me a moment of peace and quiet, but not him. He;s always waiting to do things and be active, unlike the rest of us who just want to curl up in a corner somewhere and not think. As much as I resent his pleasant disposition, I know the pack needs it. Without someone giving us a cheery kick to the behind, we'd just sulk all day.

Still, it would be a crime not to complain. "What's the point?" I sigh, gazing drearily out at the unwavering ocean. "Not like we've got anything to protect."

"Jake," Seth chastises me, "You know we have to do our job. The vamps are still out there!"

I groan, exasperated. "Why doesn't Sam get off his furry butt and..."

"You know Sam isn't... doing well. Since Emily, you know?" Seth reminds me, his child like eyes widening in sympathy for our leader. As if I could forget what happened to Emily. And Billy. And everyone else on Earth.

This catastrophe hit the imprinted wolves the hardest. Jared hasn't phased out of his wolf form since Kim passed, and the only thoughts we can pick up from him are barely discernible, which is part of why I try to avoid becoming a wolf now. Embry and I managed to bring Quil back after little Claire, but that's after several failed suicide attempts. Their despair isn't exactly helping to lift the pack's spirits.

My pain has been drowned out by the agony of the others. My father, I assume my sisters, Bella... Though I didn't have time to imprint on Bella before she went to live with her mother, I'm sure that I would have the moment I set eyes on her after phasing. Concerning what has happened to the human race, it's probably a good thing that that never had a chance to happen. Theoretically, that should make her tremendously easier to get over, but now I just get caught up in imagining what could have happened between us. I would have imprinted on her, healed her after that filthy bloodsucker broke her heart, and married her, etc. My nights are haunted by these imaginings, this beautiful flower that was stomped out before it could sprout. Leaving me unable to stop yearning to smell its fantastic fragrance once more and touch its perfect petals one last time.

I am broken from my reverie by the distinctive sound of someone phasing. Seth's sandy muzzle nudges me encouragingly and I finally relent. Not caring bout my shorts—after all, no one is around to see me but the guys and Leah—I transform. The sudden power that flows through me burns, flashing through me until I am no longer confined by my humanity. The stress I felt less than a minute ago dims in the simple mind of a wolf. Seth and I take off in unison to run the perimeter of Forks.

The more primordial mindset I have entered does not, however, ban the negative thoughts and emotions from my mind. As Seth and I race past the makeshift graveyard we put together for the sudden excess of bodies we had on our hands, flashes of the past few weeks grip my mind like the bony hands of a starving demon.

"—stay in your homes. The virus is spreading rapidly, but there is hope that, with seclusion, it could be stopped." I flip the channel. "Casualties are mounting up in the Washington area with no end in sight—except maybe the sharp descent of living people left to be infected." Flip. "Hospitals closed—" Flip. "—can only pray—" Off. Then from the other room, "Son..."

Fat load of help the news was when things got bad.

Billy was splayed out on the bed, his sheets in a rumpled heap beside the bed. He'd decided he was hot, but I knew that was likely to change in a few minutes. "Do you want any..."

"No, Jacob," my father rasped, "I don't." He gasped in a breath. "I want you... to stay safe."

I sighed, feebly exasperated. No matter what my father said, there was no way I was leaving him. For some bizarre reason, I wasn't sick yet, but I could feel it coming on. I felt feverish and achy, like my very bones were about to explode out of my skin. But Billy needed me, and I couldn't show weakness.

Suddenly, the whole situation was too much, too horrible. Everyone was dying, and there was nothing I could do about it. I thought that I would be dead too in a few days. Blood boiled in my veins as the fury thrashed inside of me, and I muttered a quick apology before running outside. Then I wasn't me any more.

Once I'd calmed down enough to phase back, Billy was dead.

I refuse to remember the burials. Even in my head, the word funeral doesn't fit in the context. We cleared the bodies out of La Push because it was starting to stink, dug a hole, and put them in it, which hardly constitutes a ceremony of any sort. Some people, like our parents and imprints, were buried individually, but we just didn't have the time or the will to do anything special. We plan on starting Forks next week.

Seth's thoughts break through mine yet again. Jake, I think I see...

Vampire! I think back, picking up my pace. Both through Seth's eyes and my own perspective, I can see a figure—pale as the moon, graceful as a dancer, and faster than any natural organism. In other words, not a bunny rabbit. I force myself to inhale, a habit I've been trying to stifle since the air started to smell like death permanently, and wrinkle my nose at the sickly sweet scent. A ferocious growl erupts from deep within my chest, and I spring toward the undead intruder without completely thinking it through. All of my pent up anger is ready to be unleashed, aimed at this bloodsucker. I. Will. Kill. It.

Then I notice the other being riding on the female's back. My eyes widen, first in recognition, then in disbelief. It couldn't be, but... it is. Perhaps this is a trick, cruel artifice, but maybe... Maybe it isnt'. The petite, obviously human girl's doe eyes stare into mine with wonder.

"Jake?" she whispers, still clinging to the female's back.

My entire world changes in that moment. All of my assumptions, educated guesses made for the sake of sparing myself the dismal certainty of fact, are wiped away like a mask on the world removed. Part of me is waiting, waiting eagerly for the moment when, as Sam put it, gravity moves, but it doesn't come. There is only the natural shock of someone returning from the dead. No weird, wolf-y powers involved. This part of me is disappointed.

The other part of me reacts instinctively. The wolf in me sees the human I have come to love clinging to the back of a creature I'd been raised to hate, and I react. I am flying at them, teeth bared and claws ready to rip into and mutilate the monster in front of me. The vampire, a demure female, slips away at the last millisecond and jumps to perch out of my reach in a mighty oak, and Seth's voice cautions me before I can reposition myself.

Jake, wait! Seth shouts mentally, You'll hurt her! It is his imaginings, however, that immobilize me rather than his words. An all too real image, formed by the macabre combination of Sam's mental images, the current scene, and a variety of gory action movies, is seared into the very cells of my eyes. Bella, torn and broken on the ground, deep crimson everywhere, her doe eyes wide with pain and horror, and her raspy breaths becoming more and more labored until finally... nothing.

"We want to talk," Bella calls as the female sets her on her feet. She keeps one arm cautiously around the vampire and another propping herself up against the tree trunk. The female keeps an arm around her as well, but I can't help fearing for her safety. Her words barely register in my mind between the ghastly image and proximity of my mortal enemy. "That's going to be kind of hard if I can't hear you."

I don't think. I obediently follow her implied command and make the natural change from wolf to human. At first, I don't understand why Bella and the vampire quickly turn their heads or why Seth looks at me funny, his eyes alight with humor. Then a slight breeze brushes through the forest and understanding dawns on me. Oh, crap!

The pack long ago abandoned the hindrance of carrying shorts around on our ankles when we change, since there was no foreseeable reason for us to need to change back suddenly. Now, the nearest pair of shorts is lying uselessly in my drawers at home. Very eloquently, I stutter out, "Uh, um, I, uh..."

My sickly shock doubles when Bella begins to remove her jacket. What the...?

She, still not looking, tosses the garment in my general direction. Despite the throw being off by a few feet, I have no problem catching it and hastily wrapping it around my waist. "Okay, you can look now," I call when I'm done, "Sorry about that."

They turn back to face me. A surge of joy springs through my veins when I see Bella's blushing face; I thought I'd never see that again.

"Now we need to discuss something important," Bella says, a determined expression set on her face.

I get the vibe that Bella isn't here to socialize. But I have some questions to ask first, because this is all a little too bewildering. Bella shows up weeks after the disease ran its course, seemingly in perfect health, with one of her precious Cullens in tow. Though I do not want to acknowledge it, she looks like she's in a better state than she was when I last saw her, even through her ragged appearance and eyes bloodshot from crying. "How the Hell are you still alive, Bella?"

"That's kind of part of the story," she replies sheepishly. Bella sighs, wrapping an arm around her torso, and I feel bad that her t-shirt isn't enough to keep her warm. "This might take a while."

...

"So you're saying that the reeking bloodsuckers want to round us up for breeding like we're dogs?" I spit, horrified at the proposition.

Bella smirks bleakly at the irony in my question before her imploring expression returns. "Look, I know this isn't ideal, but..."

"Not 'ideal?'" I laugh scathingly, "What kind of sick joke is that? This is certainly not ideal. It's intolerable, horrific! We won't do it."

"Jake, if you don't listen to reason—"

"What reason? There's nothing reasonable about any of this, Bella."

"They'll come after you. They'll come after you, and they'll take you whether you want to stay, go, or cry for your mother. Nothing you can do will stop them," she asserts pleadingly. I try to ignore the sincerity and certainty in her eyes.

"We can kill vampires, in case you hadn't noticed. That's kind of what we're made for," I remind her impatiently, "We'll take them out, no problem."

"Not these vampires, you won't!" she shrieks, stamping her foot as her face contorts into an enraged grimace, "These vampires aren't like other ones. They'll outnumber you by a lot, but that's not even the worst part. They have gifts like you've never seen before, terrible gifts capable of incapacitating all of you in mere seconds. I've seen them myself, Jacob, and you really don't stand a chance. If you have any sense of self preservation or care at all about your pack, you'll go with them without a fight."

I groan internally, then sigh. "What do you expect me to say? 'Alright, we'll go be cattle for a bunch of magic leeches. No prob, Bella.'"

"I'm expecting you to have half a brain," she presses, stepping closer to me to emphasize her point, "Listen to logic, do what's necessary for the wellbeing of your pack. Isn't that what you want?"

"It would not be for the wellbeing of my pack for them to become part of a human farm," I shout, "I don't know what the ticks have been feeding you, Bells, but there's something wrong with that picture."

She opens her mouth to say something else, but I don't hear what it is. My ears, still supernaturally sensitive, pick up something very disturbing. Footsteps. Lots of them.

"They're coming," the female vampire—Esme, I think—announces, speaking for the first time.

I mutter a curse under my breath and know that I'll have to make my decision now. Fast.