Woman won't accept to be your second option, either you choose her or you lose her.

xxvii. alien superstar

The Cullens' enormous house was more crowded with guests than anyone would assume could possibly be comfortable.

It only worked out because none of the visitors slept. Mealtimes were dicey, though. Their company cooperated as best they could. They gave Forks and La Push a wide berth, only hunting out of state; Edward was a gracious host, lending out his cars as needed without so much as a wince.

The compromise made Bella very uncomfortable, though Bella tried to tell herself that they'd all be hunting somewhere in the world, regardless.

Jacob was even more upset. The werewolves existed to prevent the loss of human life, and there was rampant murder being condoned barely outside the packs' borders. But under these circumstances, with Renesmee in acute danger, he kept his mouth shut and glared at the floor rather than the vampires.

Bella was amazed at the easy acceptance the visiting vampires had for Jacob; the problems Edward had anticipated had never materialized.

Jacob seemed more or less invisible to them, not quite a person, but also not food, either. They treated him the way people who are not animal-lovers treat their friends' pets.

Leah, Seth, Quil, and Embry were assigned to run with Sam for now, and Jacob would have happily joined them, except that he couldn't stand to be away from Renesmee, and Renesmee was busy fascinating the strange collection of Carlisle's friends.

We'd replayed the scene of Renesmee's introduction to the Denali coven a half dozen times.

First for Odessa, whom Jasper had sent their way without giving her any explanation at all.

Jasper had told her nothing about which direction he and Alice were heading. They made no promise to ever see them again in the future.

Odessa had never seen an immortal child. Though she knew the rule, her adverse reaction was not as powerful as the Denali vampires' and the others had been at first. Since she and her mother were the results of vampires and demons being together.

Curiosity had driven Odessa to allow Renesmee's "explanation." And that was it. Now Odessa was as committed to witnessing as Tanya's family.

Even though her mother was against it but Odessa felt strongly about the cause of making sure innocent people do not die for being in love and creating life.

Carlisle had sent friends from Ireland and Egypt.

The Irish clan arrived first, and they were surprisingly easy to convince. Siobhan—a woman of immense presence whose huge body was both beautiful and mesmerizing as it moved in smooth undulations—was the leader. Still, she and her hard-faced mate, Liam, were long used to trusting the judgment of their newest coven member.

Little Maggie, with her bouncy red curls, was not physically imposing like the other two, but she had a gift for knowing when she was being lied to, and her verdicts were never contested. Maggie declared that Edward spoke the truth, so Siobhan and Liam accepted the story absolutely before even touching Renesmee.

Amun and the other Egyptian vampires were another story. Even after two younger members of his coven, Benjamin and Tia had been convinced by Renesmee's explanation, Amun refused to touch her and ordered his coven to leave.

Benjamin—an oddly cheerful vampire who looked barely older than a boy and seemed both utterly confident and utterly careless at the same time—persuaded Amun to stay with a few subtle threats about disbanding their alliance.

Amun stayed but continued to refuse to touch Renesmee and would not allow his mate, Kebi, to touch her, either. It seemed an unlikely grouping—though the Egyptians all looked so alike, with their midnight hair and olive-toned pallor, that they easily could have passed for a biological family.

Amun was the senior member and the outspoken leader. Kebi never strayed farther away from Amun than his shadow, and Inadu never heard her speak a single word. Tia, Benjamin's mate, was a quiet woman as well, though when she did speak, there was great insight and gravity to everything she said.

Still, it was Benjamin whom they all seemed to revolve around as if he had some invisible magnetism the others depended upon for their balance. Inadu noticed Eleazar was staring at the boy with wide eyes and smiled at Benjamin's gift.

"Hey, Benjamin, I can help you with experimenting with your gift," Inadu said as she made a mini-tornado appear on the palm of her hand.

Benjamin smiled at Inadu and immediately asked her questions as Odessa shook her head at her mother's antics.

Amun's attitude was something else, and he and Kebi kept to themselves, though Benjamin and Tia were well on their way to being fast friends with both the Denali and the Irish covens.

They hoped that Carlisle's return would ease the remaining tension with Amun.

Emmett and Rose sent individuals—any nomad friends of Carlisle's that they could track down.

Garrett came first—a tall, rangy vampire with eager ruby eyes and long sandy hair he kept tied back with a leather thong—and it was apparent immediately that he was an adventurer.

He fell in quickly with the Denali sisters, asking endless questions about their unusual lifestyle.

Mary and Randall also came—friends already, though they did not travel together. They listened to Renesmee's story and stayed to witness like the others.

Like the Denalis, they considered what they would do if the Volturi did not pause for explanations.

All three of the nomads toyed with the idea of standing with the Cullens.

Of course, Jacob got more surly with each new addition. He kept his distance when he could, and when he couldn't, he grumbled to Renesmee that someone was going to have to provide an index if anyone expected him to keep all the new bloodsuckers' names straight.

Carlisle and Esme returned a week after they had gone, Emmett and Rosalie just a few days later.

Carlisle brought one more friend home with him, though friend might have been the wrong term.

Alistair was a misanthropic English vampire who counted Carlisle as his closest acquaintance, though he could hardly stand a visit more than once a century. Alistair very much preferred to wander alone, and Carlisle had called in many favors to get him here. He shunned all company aside from Inadu and Odessa, and it was clear he didn't have any admirers in the gathered covens.

The brooding dark-haired vampire took Carlisle at his word about Renesmee's origins, refusing, like Amun, to touch her. Edward told Carlisle, Esme, and everyone else that Alistair was afraid to be here but more afraid of not knowing the outcome.

He was deeply suspicious of all authority and, therefore, naturally suspicious of the Volturi. What was happening now seemed to confirm all his fears.

"Of course, now they'll know I was here," They heard him grumble to himself in the attic —his preferred spot to sulk. "No way to keep it from Aro at this point. Centuries on the run, that's what this will mean. Everyone Carlisle's talked to in the last decade will be on their list. I can't believe I got myself sucked into this mess. What a good way to treat your friends." he said.

"Alistar get it together; no one is going to hunt you down," Inadu said as she sat in the attic with Alistar. "I'll keep you safe; you're my favorite grumpy vampire," She continued.

"You better," Alistair said.

But if he was right about having to run from the Volturi, at least he had more hope of doing that than the rest of them. Alistair was a tracker, though not nearly as precise and efficient as Demetri. Alistair just felt an elusive pull toward whatever he was seeking. But that pull would be enough to tell him which direction to run—the opposite direction from Demetri.

And then another pair of unexpected friends arrived—unexpected because neither Carlisle nor Rosalie had been able to contact the Amazons.

"Carlisle," the taller of the two very tall feline women greeted him when they arrived. Both of them seemed as if they'd been stretched—long arms and legs, long fingers, long black braids, and long faces with long noses.

They wore nothing but animal skins—hide vests and tight-fitting pants that laced on the sides with leather ties. It wasn't just their eccentric clothes that made them seem wild but everything about them, from their restless crimson eyes to their sudden, darting movements.

But Alice had sent them, and that was interesting news, to put it mildly. Why was Alice in South America? Just because she'd seen that no one else would be able to get in touch with the Amazons?

"Zafrina and Senna! But where's Kachiri?" Carlisle asked. "I've never seen you three apart," he said.

"Alice told us we needed to separate," Zafrina answered in the rough, deep voice that matched her wild appearance. "It's uncomfortable to be away from each other, but Alice assured us that you needed us here while she very much needed Kachiri somewhere else. That's all she would tell us, except that there was a great hurry... ?" Zafrina's statement trailed off into a question, and—with the tremor of nerves that never went away no matter how often Bella did this—Bella brought Renesmee out to meet them.

Despite their fierce appearance, they listened very calmly to their story and allowed Renesmee to prove the point. They were every bit as taken with Renesmee as any of the other vampires, but Bella couldn't help worrying as Bella watched their swift, jerky movements so close beside her. Senna was always near Zafrina, never speaking, but it wasn't the same as Amun and Kebi. Kebi's manner seemed obedient; Senna and Zafrina were more like two limbs of one organism—Zafrina just happened to be the mouthpiece.

Alice was on some obscure mission of her own as she avoided whatever Aro had planned for her.

Edward was thrilled to have the Amazons with us because Zafrina was enormously talented; her gift could make a dangerous offensive weapon.

Not that Edward was asking for Zafrina to side with us in the battle, but if the Volturi did not pause when they saw our witnesses, perhaps they would pause for a different kind of scene.

"It's a very straightforward illusion," Edward explained when it turned out that Bella couldn't see anything, as usual. Zafrina was intrigued and amused by my immunity— something she'd never encountered before—and she hovered restlessly while Edward described what Bella was missing.

Edward's eyes unfocused slightly as he continued.

"She can make most people see whatever she wants them to see—see that, and nothing else. For example, right now, I would appear to be alone in the middle of a rain forest. It's so clear I might possibly believe it, except for the fact that I can still feel you in my arms." Edward said.

Zafrina's lips twitched into her hard version of a smile. A second later, Edward's eyes focused again, and he grinned back.

"Impressive," he said.

Renesmee was fascinated with the conversation, and she reached out fearlessly toward Zafrina.

"Can I see?" she asked.

"What would you like to see?" Zafrina asked.

"What you showed Daddy," Renesmee answered.

Zafrina nodded, and Bella watched anxiously as Renesmee's eyes stared blankly into space. A second later, Renesmee's dazzling smile lit up her face.

"More," she commanded.

After that, it was hard to keep Renesmee away from Zafrina and her pretty pictures.

Bella's first attempt at learning to fight did not go well. Edward had her pinned in about two seconds.

But instead of letting Bella wrestle her way free—which Bella absolutely could have—he'd leaped up and away from Bella.

Inadu knew immediately that something was wrong; he was still as stone, staring across the meadow they were practicing in.

Inadu came closer to them just in case danger appeared.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he said.

"No, I'm fine," Bella said. "Let's go again." she continued.

"I can't." Edward said.

"What do you mean, you can't? We just started."
He didn't answer.

"Look, I know I'm no good at this, but I can't get better if you don't help me." Bella said.

He said nothing. Playfully, Bella sprang at him. He made no defense at all, and they both fell to the ground. He was motionless as Bella pressed her lips to his jugular.

"I win," Bella announced.

His eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

"Edward? What's wrong? Why won't you teach me?" Bella asked him.

A full minute passed before he spoke again.

"I just can't... bear it. Emmett and Rosalie know as much as I do. Tanya and Eleazar probably know more. Ask someone else." Edward said.

"That's not fair! You're good at this. You helped Jasper before—you fought with him and all the others, too. Why not me? What did I do wrong?" Bella asked him.

He sighed, exasperated. His eyes were dark, barely any gold to lighten the black.

"Looking at you that way, analyzing you as a target. Seeing all the ways I can kill you. It just makes it too real for me. We don't have so much time that it will really make a difference who your teacher is. Anyone can teach you the fundamentals." He flinched.

Bella scowled.

He touched Bella's pouting lower lip and smiled.

"Besides, it's unnecessary. The Volturi will stop. They will be made to understand." Edward said.

"But if they don't! I need to learn this." Bella said.

"Find another teacher." Edward said.

"Oh, Bella, dear, I can teach you," Inadu said as she picked Bella up and threw her away from Edward.

"Mom!" Odessa exclaimed as she knew her mother's way of teaching was beyond Bella's capabilities.

"Oh, Inadu, you're going to hurt that poor girl," Charlotte said.

"What? She's begging to be taught how to fight; you think the Volturi is going to go easy on the newbie," Inadu said.

"Someone else, please teach her," Peter said.

"I'm only trying to help," Inadu said, pouting.

Odessa chuckled.

"Bella, watch this," Odessa said as she and Inadu started fighting.

"Wow," Emmett said.

"Demons move even faster than Vampires," Edward said.

And then there was a low commotion from the front yard. Inadu heard Carlisle speaking over a babble of surprised voices.

"Did Alice send you?" he asked someone, his voice unsure, slightly upset.

Another unexpected guest?

Edward darted into the house and most of the others imitated him. Inadu appeared at the front room and throw her arms around the new guests.

Bella pulled Renesmee into her arms as Bella walked cautiously around the house to enter through the kitchen door, listening to what Bella couldn't see.

"No one sent us," a deep whispery voice answered Carlisle's question as he patted Inadu on the back.

The front room was crowded—almost everyone had gone in to see the newest visitors—but there was barely any noise. Shallow breathing, that was all.
Carlisle's voice was wary as he responded.

"Then what brings you here now?" Carlisle asked.

"Word travels," a different voice answered, just as feathery as the first. "We heard hints that Volturi were moving against you. There were whispers that you would not stand alone. Obviously, the whispers were true. This is an impressive gathering."

"We are not challenging the Volturi," Carlisle answered in a strained tone. "There has been a misunderstanding, that is all. A very serious misunderstanding, to be sure, but one we're hoping to clear up. What you see are witnesses. We just need the Volturi to listen. We didn't—"

"We don't care what they say you did," the first voice interrupted. "And we don't care if you broke the law."

"No matter how egregiously," the second inserted.

"We've been waiting a millennium and a half for the Italian scum to be challenged," said the first. "If there is any chance they will fall, we will be here to see it."

"Or even to help defeat them," the second added.

They spoke in a smooth tandem, their voices so similar that less sensitive ears would assume there was only one speaker. "If we think you have a chance of success."

"Bella?" Edward called to Bella in a hard voice.

"Bring Renesmee here, please. Maybe we should test our Romanian visitors' claims."

It helped to know that probably half of the vampires in the other room would come to Renesmee's defense if these Romanians were upset by her. Bella walked into the room.

Most of the motionless vampires glared with hostile eyes, and a few—Carmen, Tanya, Zafrina, and Senna—repositioned themselves subtly into defensive poses between the newcomers and Renesmee.

The vampires at the door were both slight and short, one dark-haired and the other with hair so ashy blond that it looked pale gray. They had the same powdery look to their skin as the Volturi. Their sharp, narrow eyes were dark burgundy, with no milky film. They wore very simple black clothes that could pass as modern but hinted at older designs.

The dark one grinned when Bella came into view. "Well, well, Carlisle. You have been naughty, haven't you?"

"Behave, Stefan," Inadu said.

"She's not what you think, Stefan." Carlisle said.

"And we don't care either way," the blonde responded. "As we said before."

"Then you're welcome to observe, Vladimir, but it is definitely not our plan to challenge the Volturi, as we said before."

"Then we'll just cross our fingers," Stefan began.

"And hope we get lucky," finished Vladimir.

In the end, they had pulled together seventeen witnesses—the Irish, Siobhan, Liam, and Maggie; the Egyptians, Amun, Kebi, Benjamin, and Tia; the Amazons, Zafrina and Senna; the Romanians, Vladimir and Stefan; and the nomads, Charlotte and Peter, Garrett, Alistair, Mary, and Randall—to supplement their family of eleven. Tanya, Kate, Eleazar, and Carmen insisted on being counted as part of their family.

Aside from the Volturi, it was probably the largest friendly gathering of mature vampires in immortal history.

They all were beginning to be a little bit hopeful.

The last two surviving Romanians—focused only on their bitter resentment of the ones who had overthrown their empire fifteen hundred years earlier—took everything in stride.

They would not touch Renesmee, but they showed no aversion to her. They seemed mysteriously delighted by our alliance with the werewolves.

They watched Bella practice her shield with Odessa, Zafrina and Kate, watched Edward answer unspoken questions, watched Benjamin and Inadu pull geysers of water from the river or sharp gusts of wind from the still air with just his mind, and their eyes glowed with their fierce hope that the Volturi had finally met their match.

"Inadu, I'm surprised you're here; what do the Cullens have to do with you?" Vladimir asked.

Inadu rolled her eyes.

"Those two asked me to come and be a witness but now I'm even motived to help because my daughter is involved," Inadu explained.

"Do the Cullens know about your history with the Volturi?" Stefan asked.

"No," Inadu answered.

"Will you tell them?" Vladimir asked Inadu.

"No," Inadu answered.