No one moved for the entirety of the night. Stuck with the expression of horror and grief on our faces, waiting for Alice to come back with more information for us. But she never did. 

Carlisle was the only one sane enough to move and explain it all to Jake, his arms clung to me, getting tighter with each word that left Carlisle's mouth. Carlisle reciting the story just made it so much worse, so much more real and that was truly terrifying. Even Emmett didn't intervene, he just stood there taking it all in for the second time.  

When the sun began to beam over the horizon, I knew that nothing would have kept Alice away from us for this long. We needed more information for Renesmee's sake, just a few simple answers something for us to hold on to and use. 

I couldn't bring myself to sleep, but Jacob had shifted during the night to remain in contact with his pack and Sam's to alert them with what was going on. Seth joined us in the middle of the night, completely distraught. Sleep had claimed them about two hours ago after having long patrol hours during the day beforehand, but they wanted to feel ready in their wolf forms, so they didn't phase back. 

The sunlight broke in through the back windows, the room glittering as the light bounced off the family's skin, breaking me out of my trance. I scanned the room, my eyes locking on Bella and Edward, her hand still hovering over Renesmee as the couple kept their gazes locked. 

He noticed my stare and shifted slightly to speak. "Alice," he said. 

"She's been gone a long time," Rosalie murmured, surprised. I turned to look at her too, the worry was creeping up on everyone. What could possibly be taking her this long? Why hadn't she come back? What was wrong? 

"Where could she be?" Emmett wondered, taking a step toward the staircase. 

Esme put a hand on Rosalie's arm. "We don't want to disturb..." 

"She's never taken so long before," Edward said. His thoughts erupting into new worry of possible reasons why Alice and Jasper hadn't returned to us. Then his expression sprung to life again but not with excitement but with fear because the darkest thought entered his mind. "Carlisle, you don't think - something preemptive? Would Alice have had time to see if they sent someone for her?" 

Aro's sickly pale face shuttered through my mind, and the blood eyed of Jane eliciting her pain upon her victims. Even Jasper was no match for her. 

Emmett stomped his foot to the floor shaking the house with his anger and cussed loud enough that Jacob and Seth lurched to their feet with a growl. In the yard, their growls were echoed by Jake's pack. The family were already a blur down the stairs. 

"Stay with Renesmee!" Bella all but shrieked at Seth as she sprinted out the room. 

Jake moved to follow but I held my hands up. "Stay, please." I shot my eyes at the level of the house Renesmee was on, so he knew why he was needed here. "If I need you I'll call for you."  

Then I was gone, blurring out of the house myself and catching up with the family in no more than two seconds. I surpassed Esme and Rosalie, and then Emmett a few strides after that until I pushed past Bella and Carlisle and was up front with Edward, tracking Alice and Jasper's intertwined scents. 

"Would they have been able to surprise her?" Carlisle asked, his voice as even as if he were standing motionless rather than running at full speed. 

"I don't see how," Edward answered. "But Aro knows her better than anyone else. Better than I do." 

"Is this a trap?" Emmett called from behind us. 

"Maybe," Edward said. "There's no scent but Alice and Jasper's. Where were they going?" 

The trail that Alice and Jasper had left was curving into a wide arc, first leading east, then north to the other side of the river, and then west again after a few miles until we crossed back over again. Edward and I ran ahead, our shared ability acting as a guide to see if we could hear either of the missing family members. 

"Did you catch that scent?" Esme called from behind us, a few seconds after we'd jumped over the river for the second time. She was the farthest back, on the far-left edge of our hunting party. She gestured to the southeast. 

"Keep to the main trail - we're almost to the Quileute border," Edward ordered eagerly. "Stay together. See if they turned north or south." 

The faint smell of the wolves travelled through the breeze towards us, indicating the treaty line was fast approaching. We slowed up, the rest of the family not wanting to break the terms of the treaty by accidentally crossing over. 

I crossed over the line, only by a few feet, following my nose for Alice and Jasper's trail. "It continues through here." I called back to the family, stopping to turn and look back at all their worried faces. 

My nose twitched as the wolf scent intensified and Sam, Paul and Jared's inner voices spilled into my mind. They had been waiting for us, Sam in his human form clad in only a pair of tattered denim shorts, Paul and Jared flanked him as wolves. 

Sam had agreed with Alice to meet us here, she'd gone to him to ask permission to cross over Quileute lands... but why?  

"Sam?" I asked in a flat voice. "What is this?" 

Sam appeared a few hundred yards away, darting through the trees and walking briskly towards us. It took Sam a short while to reach us, his slower human pace was agitating us, as if he couldn't sense our urgency. 

Through his mind I could see Sam escorting Alice and Jasper across my homeland and towards the sea. All the while Alice was explaining where she wanted Sam to wait for us and that he couldn't say anything to Jacob until we had spoken to Sam himself. 

My eyes flicked over to Edward to see if he was listening in to Sam's mind as well and from the way the emotion completely slipped away from his face, I knew he had heard. Sam stopped beside me but ignored my gaze and looked straight at Carlisle ready to explain.  

"Right after midnight, Alice and Jasper came to this place and asked permission to cross our land to the ocean. I granted them that and escorted them to the coast myself. They went immediately into the water and did not return. As we journeyed, Alice told me it was of the utmost importance that I say nothing to Jacob about seeing her until I spoke to you. I was to wait here for you to come looking for her and then give you this note. She told me to obey her as if all our lives depended on it." 

Sam's expression became disconnected as he handed over a once over folded sheet of paper to Carlisle. The page had been unevenly torn out of a book; The Merchant of Venice it became clear to be as the back side of the page became visible to my eyes. As Carlisle unfolded the piece of paper, a hint of Bella's scent blew off of the page. My eyes flashed to Bella as her eyes widened slightly until her face suddenly became indecipherable. 

Why would Alice write her goodbye note on a page torn out of a book, a book that also happened to be Bella's? It must be a clue or message of some kind, something that was linked to Bella. Otherwise, why else would Alice have chosen to do it in this way? It became clear to me that Bella was the only other family member who had made this connection as well, but Carlisle's words pulled me out of my thoughts. 

"Alice has decided to leave us," Carlisle whispered. 

"What?" Rosalie cried. 

Carlisle turned the page around so that we all could read. 

Don't look for us. There isn't time to waste. Remember; Tanya, Siobhan, Amun, Alistair, all the nomads you can find. We'll seek out Peter and Charlotte on our way. We're so sorry that we have to leave you this way, with no goodbyes or explanations. It's the only way for us. We love you. 

It was if the air had been sucked out of my lungs. We all stood frozen, shocked. The disbelief surrounding the thoughts of the family were too much to handle. How could she betray us like this? 

Sam's thoughts were now becoming louder inside his own head. He hadn't read the message, he had too much respect for Carlisle to invade the privacy of the family. He of course new that we had been sentenced to our deaths but the extremity of it had just become clear to him. If members of our own family were too scared to fight, then what was coming had to be bad. 

"Yes, things are that dangerous." Edward answered Sam's inner thoughts with a hard tone. 

"Enough that you would abandon your family?" Sam asked out loud, the criticism etched deep within his voice. 

Edward became stiff and his eyes grew dark with defensiveness. I stepped in, noticing the rising tension between the groups. In this case we needed to stand as one, we couldn't be split apart anymore.

"We don't know what she saw," I said calmly. "Alice is neither unfeeling nor a coward. She just has more information than we do. Information that I guess she couldn't share." 

"We would not—" Sam began, ready to put his protest across that the packs wouldn't abandon each other. 

"You are bound differently than we are," Edward snapped. "We each still have our free will." 

Sam's chin jerked up; his jaw clenched as he held back from growling at Edward. I moved in front of Edward warning him with my eyes and inner thoughts that any jibe at the wolves was an attack against Jacob, Seth and myself. 

"But you should heed the warning," Edward went on, calming his voice. "This is not something you want to involve yourselves in. You can still avoid what Alice saw." 

Sam smiled grimly. "We don't run away." Behind him, Paul snorted, and I gave him a pointed look too.  

"Don't get your family slaughtered for pride," Carlisle interjected quietly, moving closer to me to place his hand on my shoulder. 

Everyone knew that this part was hardest for me. Both halves of my family were going up against this threat with very little promise that anyone would make it through. But, despite Carlisle's plea, Irina had most likely shown Aro the wolves in her memories, and now Aro knew of their existence he wouldn't rest until they had all been destroyed. 

Sam looked at Carlisle and me with a much softer expression. "As Edward pointed out, we don't have the same kind of freedom that you have. Aria is our blood and now Renesmee is as much as part of our family now as she is yours. Seth cannot abandon her, and we cannot abandon him." His eyes flickered to Alice's note, and his lips pressed into a thin line.  

"You don't know her," Edward said harshly. 

"Do you?" Sam asked bluntly. He did have a point. 

Carlisle moved away from me to turn to Edward, a sorrowful look on his face. "We have much to do, son. Whatever Alice's decision, we would be foolish not to follow her advice now. Let's go home and get to work." 

Edward reluctantly nodded, his face still rigid with pain. Behind me, I could hear Esme's quiet, tearless sobs. 

I didn't know what to think or feel. How to react or even if I should react? How could Alice give up like this, and convince Jasper that the right thing to do would be to abandon us when we all needed to stick together? It just didn't make sense.  

"Thank you, Sam," Carlisle said. 

"I'm sorry," Sam answered honestly. "We shouldn't have let her through." 

"You did the right thing," Carlisle told him. "Alice is free to do what she will. I wouldn't deny her that liberty." 

Alice had clearly seen our destruction and didn't want to be a part of it. There was no hope for us, and she believed that her only option was to run.  

"I'm not going down without a fight," Emmett snarled low under his breath. "Alice told us what to do. Let's get it done." 

Emmett's words changed the atmosphere from totally sorrowful to partially determined. Alice had given us advice and we had to follow it if she believed that it would be the only chance we had. My vampire family member's heads nodded in unison. We knew what we had to do. 

With a final nod from Sam, we all turned back and begun the run home. The silence inside everyone's scared minds stunned me. Everyone was too shocked to even comprehend what was going on. We ran with less urgency than before, determined to get home and start our mission but the will to live was thinning.  

As the river came into view, Esme spoke up. "There was that other trail. It was fresh." 

"It has to be from earlier in the day. It was just Alice, without Jasper," Edward said lifelessly. 

Esme's face sunk, and she nodded. 

I felt Bella curve slightly to the right, her speed dwindling as she fell to the back of the group. I slowed my pace too, until we were both standing still at the foot of the trail. That trail headed towards Bella and Edward's house and suddenly the page from Bella's book sprung to mind, and I was sure that was the reason Bella had stopped too. 

"Girls?" Edward asked in an emotionless voice as he watched us hesitate. 

"I want to follow the trail," Bella told him confidently. Edward's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to decipher what she was thinking and, in that moment, I was even more thankful for my new skill, perhaps Edward shouldn't be clued in. 

Edward's answered Bella's request flatly. "It probably just leads back to the house." 

"Then I'll meet you there." Bella said quickly, her eyes focusing on the where the trail led again. 

"I'll come with you," he said quietly. 

"I'll go Edward, I think Renesmee needs to see one of her parents when she wakes up. To explain things to her." I stepped in quickly, taking Bella's hand in my own. She subtly squeezed it, knowing we had come to the same revelation and needed to keep it a secret. 

"We'll meet you at home." Bella reached out her hand and placed it on Edward's forearm. He nodded sullenly, leaned forward and kissed Bella's forehead before he turned, ran, and disappeared into the undergrowth. 

I turned to Bella and placed my hand on my lips, signalling for her to remain silent until I couldn't hear Edward's thoughts anymore and I was sure that he couldn't hear us. She nodded, and we were running again. 

When I gave the 'all clear' to Bella she spoke up. "Why my book? When did she get it?"  

"It's fresh so it must've been at some point last night. She must've left Jasper with Sam and followed their trail back to the point where she then went off on her own." I assumed as we came to the little stretch of path that led towards Bella and Edward's cottage. 

"It was my book, so the message must be for me. If it were something she wanted Edward to know, wouldn't she have pulled a page from one of his books...?" Bella asked me, talking quickly as we entered the house. "And surely she would've seen that you would have figured it out as well... so is it for both of us?" 

Bella led the way straight to her bookshelf, walking past the fireplace where a low burning fire was warming the room. "Did you...?" I asked, pointing to the fire. 

"No." Bella's breath came out in an unsettling whisper. She yanked The Merchant of Venice off of the shelf and flicked through until she got to the title page. I moved closer and looked in over her shoulder to see the feathered edge left behind by the torn-out page. Underneath the words disclosing the title and author of the book were the following words, written in Alice's perfect scrawl. 

Destroy this. 

Below that was a name and an address in Seattle. 

"Who's J. Jenks?" Bella asked me, hoping I'd have the answer. 

"I have no idea." I shrugged, searching my memory quickly to see if I could find any recollection of that name. 

"Well, I have to do what she asked." Bella concluded, throwing the book into the fireplace that Alice had obviously prepared for this moment. 

"She knows our minds are safe from Edward's prying. This is something she wants us to do alone, and we cannot tell him, we can't tell anyone. This is between us, understand?" I asked Bella earnestly, placing my hands on both of her shoulders trying to maintain eye contact because I knew that she'd give in to Edward all too easily. 

We ran home in silence, having discussed our cover story for when we got back to the family and Seth and Jake again. Excluding Edward, the others did not spend their time sitting around waiting for us. We have been absent for all of six minutes, and they were already prepared to leave. Jacob and Seth were human again, Seth was in the corner with Renesmee on his lap and Jacob was pacing back and forth until he saw that I had returned. 

Rosalie had traded in her silk wrap dress for the clothing more suited for someone that seemed to be going off on a hiking trip, much to her dislike. Esme had dressed similarly as well, and I wondered if they had any clothes like that for me laid out already... though I quickly realised that would have been Alice's job. 

There was a globe centred on the coffee table in the middle of the living room. But no one was looking at it now, they were looking at Bella and me.   

The atmosphere was more positive now than before; it felt good to them to be in action. Their hopes were pinned on Alice's instructions. 

I looked at the globe and wondered where we were headed first. 

"We're to stay here." Edward stated, looking at Bella and myself. He didn't sound happy.

"Alice said that we would have to show people Renesmee, and we would have to be careful about it," Carlisle said. "We'll send whomever we can find back here to you - Edward, yourself and Aria will be the best at fielding that particular minefield. It would possibly also be an idea to show our friends Aria first as well. Just to ease the uncertainty." 

It seemed as if I wouldn't get a say in what I would be involved in. But I was happy to help here either way... more protection for Renesmee and all that. 

Edward gave one sharp nod, still not happy. "There's a lot of ground to cover." 

"We're splitting up," Emmett answered. "Rose and I are hunting for nomads." 

"You'll have your hands full here," Carlisle said. "Tanya's family will be here in the morning, and they have no idea why. First, you have to persuade them not to react the way Irina did. Second, you've got to find out what Alice meant about Eleazar. Then, after all that, will they stay to witness for us? It will start again as the others come - if we can persuade anyone to come in the first place." Carlisle sighed. "Your job may well be the hardest. We'll be back to help as soon as we can." 

Next were the goodbyes and Jacob moved from across the room to stand by my side. Carlisle put his hand on Edward's shoulder for a second and then kissed Bella and I's foreheads before shaking hands firmly with Jacob. Esme hugged us all, and Emmett punched the boys on the arm before bringing in Bella and me for a bear hug. Rosalie forced a hard smile for Edward and Bella, gave me a tight hug and then blew a kiss to Renesmee. Her goodbye to Jacob was nothing more than a slightly less harsh than usual grimace. 

"Good luck," Edward told them. 

"And to you," Carlisle said. "We'll all need it." 

"Keep in contact." I called out to them, we all needed to remain safe. 

Renesmee twisted in Seth's arms to touch his cheek. 

"I don't know if Carlisle's friends will come. I hope so. Sounds like we're a little outnumbered right now," Seth murmured to Renesmee. 

So, Renesmee already knew what was going on, Edward had explained it to her in our absence. I looked carefully at her face. She did not look frightened, only anxious and very serious as she conversed with Seth in her silent way. 

"No, we can't help; we've got to stay here," he went on. "People are coming to see you, not the scenery." 

Renesmee frowned at him. 

"No, I don't have to go anywhere," he said to her. Then he looked at Edward, his face stunned by the realisation that he might be wrong. "Do I?" 

Edward hesitated, his eyes now flickering between both Seth and Jacob. "I'm not going to allow that." I said quickly, noticing the change inside Edward's head. 

"Spit it out," Jacob said, his voice raw with tension. 

"The vampires who are coming to help us are not the same as we are," Edward said. "Tanya's family is the only one besides ours with a reverence for human life, and even they don't think much of werewolves. I think it might be safer-" 

"We can take care of ourselves," Jacob interrupted. 

"Safer for Renesmee," Edward continued, "if the choice to believe our story about her is not tainted by an association with werewolves." 

"Some friends. They'd turn on you just because of who you hang out with now?" Seth asked, placing Renesmee on her feet so he could stand. 

"I think they would mostly be tolerant under normal circumstances. But you need to understand - accepting Nessie will not be a simple thing for any of them. Why make it even the slightest bit harder?"

"The immortal children were really that bad?" he asked.

"You can't imagine the depth of the scars they've left in the collective vampire psyche."

"Edward..." Seth tried to reason as Jacob wrapped his arms around my waist. 

"I know, Seth. I know how hard it is to be away from her. We'll play it by ear--" 

"Edward," I began, cutting in quite impatiently. "Don't you think it would be safer to have the wolves around? I don't mean the packs but just a few. What if it turns hostile and they're against Ness from the get-go? There's only the three of us, we might need the help."  

"She's right Edward." Bella agreed, hugging herself into Edward's side. "I'm not even trained... I wouldn't be much help. Plus, it'll help keep Renesmee relaxed. We'll just keep them hidden until the time is right... it's not like the coming company won't smell their trails everywhere anyway." 

I looked up at Jacob's face and he winked at me, happy that he could still be with me, and that Bella and I were slowly winning Edward over.  

"Fine. I can see your points." Edward nodded. "Renesmee, Aria, I apologise for proposing you take time away from your imprints." 

"It's fine Daddy." Renesmee said sweetly before jumping back into Seth's arms. 

"Don't worry about it." I concluded everyone was a little on edge, there was nothing to apologise for. "So, the Denali's are coming tomorrow?" 

"Yes. Jake, Seth, they are closest of our friends. In this particular case, it's probably better if we get things out in the open as soon as possible. You can both stay here. Tanya knows about you. She's even met Seth." 

"You should tell Sam what's going on. There might be strangers in the woods soon." I looked up at Jake. Jared and Paul's eagerness sprung to mind I began to worry immediately. 

"Good point. Though I owe him some silence after last night." Jake said gruffly, he believed that if he had heard Sam's thoughts, they may have been a chance one of us would've been able to catch up to Alice and Jasper. 

"Listening to Alice is usually the right thing." Edward pointed out, which was unfairly true. She always knew the answer, so she always knew what to do. 

Jacob's teeth ground together, and I could see that he shared Sam's feelings about what Alice and Jasper had done. 

"I think that we should go home, fill everyone in and what not. Seth you should come too, give them some time alone as a family." Edward nodded at me gratefully before I continued with my proposal. "We'll be back before sunrise so we can come up with a plan on how to receive Tanya and her family." 

"We'll see you then. Good luck." Bella said, coming over to hug me tightly. When she pulled back, she looked knowingly into my eyes, and I took that as a hint that we needed to start doing some digging concerning this J. Jenks. 

* * *

The run back home was quick, everyone was gathered ready for us in the yard to my dad's house; wolves, imprints, council members and even the family members that weren't part of the council but knew the secret. People were gathered in their respective packs and my eyes nearly feel out of my head when I saw Scarlett present and wrapped up in Jesse's arms. 

I greeted the crowd first, giving Seth and Jake a chance to phase back and change. I didn't waste any time in getting the facts across, everyone needed to know the extremity of the situation and what it all meant... what it was going to cost us. 

When Jake and Seth joined our massive group, and Jake put his reassuring arms around me, I began. "I'm not sure how many of you know, but the Cullens and me have been sentenced to death because a fellow vampire didn't let us explain the nature of what Renesmee is and how she was created. Turning a child immortal in our world is extremely forbidden and the fear of them is the reason this wave of death is tumbling towards us. 

"Alice and Jasper have abandoned us." Disapproving murmurs echoed around the group. "Alice must have seen our end and that is why she ran, taking Jasper with her. She left Sam a note to give to us, stating that we must collect as many witnesses as possible to stand against the Volturi with us. The aim isn't to fight, their abilities are too powerful for us to take on... we just need to prove that Renesmee isn't a threat to the secret and hopefully they'll stop and listen." 

Jacob stepped forward and past me to speak to the group. He took my hand in his own and moved it, so it was pressed against his chest. "Our packs are at risk as well. The vampire we killed in the meadow earlier on this year was apparently the mate to the informant that told the Volturi, she also saw Seth and I when she saw Renesmee. This now means that the Volturi have knowledge of us."  

"So, what are you saying?" Embry broke in. His arms were wrapped around Catori, the fear and grief on her face hit me hard. If this went bad, she would lose the love of her life and her siblings. 

"They're saying, son, that you will all be slaughtered as well if it comes to a fight." Dad explained, sighing. The pain in his eyes was clear as he looked at Billy. 

"I don't know what will happen either way." I began. "The Volturi have a strong hatred against werewolves, I've told you this before. They may spare us but I'm not entirely sure what they'll do about you guys." 

"We'll fight for what is right." Sam spoke up, leaving Emily's side to meet us in the middle. "We'll talk with Carlisle upon his return." He placed a reassuring hand on Jacob's shoulder. 

"There's also a matter concerning the witnesses." Jake remembered suddenly. "Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett will not be returning with who they speak to straight away, they'll be sending them here alone. That means we could possibly have visitors coming through these parts. They are under strict instruction to not feed in the area--" 

"Doesn't stop them from feeding somewhere else." Paul muttered under his breath.

"No, it doesn't." Jake agreed. "But we need these people. So, if you smell some fresh scents be careful." He warned. "A group of veggies will be arriving tomorrow; they were at Bella and Edward's wedding, so they are not a threat."  

"Understood. We can arrange patrol patterns later, but for now, we need to do what we do best." Sam grinned half-heartedly. "Seeing as we're all together and there is no immediate threat I say we use this occasion wisely and have a good old-fashioned bonfire. It may be the last chance we get." 

* * *

"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever." Scarlett muttered to me as we sat on the far side of the fire away from the rest of the group. 

The air was cold and as we spoke, I could see our breath twirling in the air around us. The sky was clear, the lack of clouds making the temperature drop just that little bit more. The jewelled stars and moon cast a weak light upon us but the bonfire that was ablaze lit up the immediate area for us with a warm glow. 

We were sat on a blanket, the heat from the fire just about reaching us. An old quilt from one of our airing cupboards wrapped around our shoulders as we cuddled together catching up. 

"It has been forever." I clarified with a sigh, hugging my knees to my chest as I took in my surroundings. "A lot has been going on in the past few months." I lingered on the last word, knowing all of this was relatively new to Scarlett. 

A few weeks after Bella and Edward's wedding she left for college, having only been on one date with Jesse. But then Bella and Edward returned, and with the pregnancy and the pack splitting up Jesse suddenly didn't even have time to call Scarlett. 

Now, Scarlett isn't one to take being ignored lightly so when the first break in her school schedule broke, she drove all the way back here to confront Jesse. In pure imprint fashion, she caught him when he was least expecting it, she watched him phase back into human form in our back yard after one of his morning patrols.  

Immediately, he noticed her once he was back on two legs... and naked. You could imagine the panic and shock on both their faces when he unfroze himself and dove for cover to hide himself. Scarlett threw him her jacket to save what little dignity he had and then the awkward laughter began, and when it finally stopped, Jesse explained everything to her. 

"Tell me about it." Scarlett agreed, rolling her green eyes back into her head. 

A burst of bellowing laughter resounded from the group of boys standing on the other side of the fire pit. If this was the last bonfire like this we could ever have we were going to do it in style... well the boys were going to anyway. Embry and Quil were currently forcing a litre bottle of vodka down Jake's neck. 

"You know I'm so happy Jesse imprinted on you, so much has happened in my life over the last year. I just wish it had happened sooner so I could have told you about all of this." I sighed, gesturing to the large group of people around the glow and heat of the fire. 

Scarlett took my hand in hers and rubbed her thumb over the back of my hand. "Jesse told me everything. About all of the stress he put you through, that Jake and Bella put you through. I wish I could have been there for you." 

"You were though, as much as you could be. You kept Cassidy off my back when it was getting tough for me. You're a good best friend." I squeezed her hand back and she smiled warmly. 

"Oh, I don't know about that. I didn't notice the changes in you at all... well I did but I didn't think anything of it. But your eyes, I'm gonna miss those little blues." She pouted before breaking off into a laugh.  

"I miss them too." I acknowledged, remembering my human reflection compared to what I saw when I woke up from my transformation. "But the gold is growing on me." 

"Me too." 

"Now what are you two whispering about!" Jacob called out, slurring his words of course, across the fire. 

"I'm sorry, I can't understand you over your imbecilic intoxication." Scarlett called back to him and Jacob's face fell into confusion. 

"He's not going to understand the big words at the moment." I whispered to her with a chuckle. 

"I know, that's why I did it." She grinned mischievously. 

Jacob scoffed, swaying slightly as he walked around the fire towards us. "You know I can hear you." He remarked with a pointed look. 

"We know." I smirked at him, but my eyes almost fell out of my head when he tripped over a small rock on the floor and fell flat onto his face. 

Our massive group was silent for about two seconds until we all erupted into snickering laughter, loud enough to surely wake the whole town. I rose from the ground and jogged over to Jake's side. "What are you like?" I giggled as I grabbed a hold of his bicep and pulled him with ease to his feet. 

Once Jake was back on his feet, though he was putting all of his weight against me, he shrugged and mumbled something incoherent. Even his thoughts didn't make sense: my face mixed with his friends and family, a mixture of happiness and sadness. 

"Okay, I think it's time for bed." I decided, draping his arm over my shoulder. 

Complaints were heard all around by his pack members, but it had been a long and eventful day and to be honest Jake and I needed a rest. We had to be prepared for tomorrow. He wouldn't even have a hangover; his metabolism would clear the alcohol out of his system in no less than another hour at most.  

I half carried, half led Jacob into the house and up the stairs towards my bedroom. Once we were inside, I sat him on the edge of my bed and turned back to close the door. 

"So, I guess you had fun tonight?" I asked him as he stared at me almost blankly, his eyes filled with a glassy yet meaningful emotion. "Well, we both needed it," I continued, walking back over to him to get him undressed. "We won't be able to see them as much now that we'll have to convince all these new vampires that Ness isn't a threat—" 

"I can't lose you." Jake whispered brokenly, interrupting my speech as I pulled his T-shirt over his head. 

"What?" I whispered back, my heart sinking as the emotion poured out of him. I knelt on the floor between his legs and held his face in both of my hands. 

"I can't do it. I can't go on without you." His voice began to break as he gripped onto my wrists as I held him. "I can't do it." He whimpered, tears brimming his eyes as he looked at me longingly. 

My heart broke as I realised he wasn't drinking for fun, he was drinking because he was frightened and depressed. 

"My job is to protect you and I'm failing." He continued, a single tear rolling down his cheek and onto my thumb. "When they come, I will fight until my last dying breath if that means that they won't hurt you. I just love you so much." 

I blinked away my own tears and sniffled as I moved closer to him until I was straddling his lap and holding him against me. "I'm not going anywhere without you I promise. You're not failing me. We will try and get thought this." I moved his head so that he was looking up at me and into my eyes again. "Do you hear me, Jacob? We can't be negative about this. Maybe they will see and realise their mistake. Don't go into the dark place where this is no hope." 

Jake eyes scanned my face for a moment and then he lifted his head higher and pressed his lips against mine. My eyes fluttered closed and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pushing myself closer to him. 

It was our last night peaceful night in La Push before it would all become real tomorrow. Our jobs at convincing the witnesses would start tomorrow, there would be no time to rest, no time to just be by ourselves, no time to stop and think. 

That's why I didn't stop Jake when he settled back into the pillows with me on top of him. We needed this, especially if it was going to possibly be our last time. 

He kissed me tenderly, taking my bottom lip in both of his as he squeezed my thighs. Our kiss grew deeper when he slipped his tongue into my mouth, and he rolled us over so my back was now pressed against the soft quilt. 

He sat up and pulled my blouse up and over my head, my bra followed, and then got to work on my jeans, unbuttoning them and pulled them down my legs. With his fingertips he traced the edge of my panties where my leg met my body, and then he gripped my thighs again and hooked my legs over his shoulders, his lips coming into contact with my pantie covered clit. I moaned lightly, wanting him to give me more. 

His kisses became firmer, and I could feel myself growing wetter as he teased me with his tongue. He finally gave in and pulled my panties down my legs where they joined the pile consisting of the rest of my clothes. I placed my legs back on his shoulders as he pressed his lips against my lower stomach, and then he moved higher, covering every inch of my breasts with his lips. 

With his big palms he held them both and then pushed them back together before kissing his way back down to where I really wanted his mouth to be. 

He kissed me there, up and down my slit, trailing his lips over it before parting me with his tongue. I whimpered and he pressed his face into me, his hot breath sending me into a frenzy, and I cried out when he reached my clit and sucked it into his mouth. 

He began to tease again until I couldn't take it anymore. "Jake." I begged, gasping. He answered my plea by plunging two of his fingers into me and I came, digging my heels into his back as I clung onto him. 

When I had caught my breath, Jake undressed himself and then sat back on his knees and pulled me up to sit on his lap. "You're so beautiful." He whispered, kissing my neck.

"I love you." I panted, gripping onto his shoulders. 

"I love you too." 

He lifted me up and then slid me back down onto his length, both of us moaning in pleasure as he began to move me up and down on his lap. He pushed me down so that he was deep inside of me, so deep I was crying out, not even caring as to whether the people outside could hear us. 

I took over, grinding against him as his fingertips stroked over my back and brushed through my hair. "Oh God, Ari." 

He grabbed my hips again and slammed me down onto him, my breath getting caught in a moan. He leaned his head down and began to place open mouthed kisses against my neck as I moved against him, not being able to get enough. 

Suddenly I was flipped onto my back and my legs fell beside his hips as he pushed into me. I hooked my legs around his back, feeling myself building back up again.

His fast and hard movements quickly sent me over the edge and Jake was quick to follow, emptying his release inside of me as he grunted against my shoulder. Then he froze and leaned back to look at my face with nothing but panic. We hadn't used protection and the fear began to flood over his face, ruining the moment.

I trailed my nails up his back until I was holding his face in my hands again. "It's okay." I promised him in a whisper as I kissed his lips gently. "It's okay." 

He collapsed onto me then, forgetting his fear as he just let me hold him. With his head resting against my chest and our legs intertwined I knew I would remember this moment as if it was our last chance to be together like this. 

Tomorrow would be the start of our make-or-break point, and it had to make us, otherwise there was no hope at all.