"You cool?"

"As a cucumber."

"Doesn't seem like it," Rosalie stated after Valeria replied to Emmett.

The Cullens were standing in the center of the clearing that Bella's scent would lead the newborns to. The wolves were waiting, hiding behind the trees and waiting for the best moment to strike.

Despite her claims of being cool as a cucumber, Valeria's human instincts gave her away. She was wringing her hands and chewing on her lip and had already untied and retired her shoelaces twice to give her something to do. Valeria was scared, and they all knew it.

It wouldn't be long before the army reached them. They didn't need Alice's visions to tell them that — they could smell them, hear them. Hear how many of them there were.

Carlisle stepped next to Valeria and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Calm down. Take a deep breath." It was needless for the vampire, but Carlisle knew simple things like that helped her. "We're not alone. Sam and the others, they're right behind us."

He knew mentioning Sam's name would help Valeria, who glanced back over her shoulder to search the trees. She couldn't spot the black wolf through the heavy underbrush, but a second later, the leaves shifted. It was Sam telling her just where he was hiding out of sight.

Valeria released the breath and turned back to the direction the enemy was coming from. The closer the newborns got, the tenser they all became. Valeria's fists were clenched at her side, her fingers itching to spark and let the flames loose. At Jasper's request, she'd need to wait until the wolves arrived, including Jacob who was coming down from the mountain. They didn't want anyone accidentally getting burned.

So fast that a human would have missed it, the army broke through the tree line. Valeria bolted, half a step behind the others, who were more sure of their movements.

A girl much taller than her charged at Valeria, who quickly spun out of the way before grabbing her like Jasper had shown her, keeping the girl's arms behind her back.

A second later, the wolves joined the fray. Quil was the closest to Valeria and rushed to bite the newborn's head off. He then ran off to assist Embry, who was fighting off two newborns.

The wolves and vampires fought surprisingly well together, almost moving in sync at times. Alice would lure a newborn off, and then Leah would pounce. When Jared managed to pin down one, Rosalie would act quickly, tearing their limbs off. Even Paul and Emmett had teamed up, no one a match for their brute force.

And Sam, of course, stayed right by Valeria's side. Sure, she could hold her own in the beginning, but as soon as Jacob came bursting through the trees, her focus had to shift from self-preservation to controlling her abilities.

"Valeria!" Jasper called, spotting the russet-colored wolf who arrived and instantly started tearing newborns apart. "Now!"

Valeria couldn't help but yell, "Flame on!" as she shot fire from her hands. The already torn apart newborns were set alight before they could start pulling themselves back together.

As soon as the newborns realized where the fire was coming from, Valeria became the new target. It was nerve-wracking to see so many red, vicious eyes trained on her, but it gave the others an advantage. One of the others would sneak up behind them and take them out.

Any time a newborn would even get close to Valeria, Sam was on them in an instant. It took a lot for her to conjure so much fire when she was only used to small, contained flames that she could hold in the palm of her hand. Sam could tell she was growing weaker, but she never stopped, beginning to shoot fire at the newborns that were running away. They couldn't have any stragglers.

The battle came to a halt almost impossibly too soon. The Cullens and wolves had been outnumbered, and yet they were the only ones standing.

"Is it over?" Valeria asked breathlessly. She looked around, doing a headcount in her mind to make sure everyone was alright.

It was over, she knew, as Sam gently brushed up against her side. She instinctively ran a hand through his fur, glad that he was alive and by her side.

However, any relief she was feeling disappeared when Paul growled lowly. He was glaring at Carlisle and Esme with his ears laid flat. That was when Valeria noticed the young vampire standing behind them.

The girl was shaking and clinging to Esme's arm, clearly terrified. Valeria was instantly reminded of herself when she had first turned — scared, confused, overwhelmed. But most importantly, she was someone who didn't ask for any of this.

"Hey," Valeria said softly. She took a step forward, and Sam immediately growled and tried to stop her. Valeria simply pushed his nose back with her palm gently and continued forward. "What's your name?"

The girl cowered away, her eyes glued to Valeria's hands that had previously been shooting deadly flames all over. Seeing her fear, she quickly put her hands up to show she meant no harm.

"I'm Valeria," she offered, smiling. "We're not gonna hurt you if you don't give us a reason to."

It took a moment, but eventually, the girl swallowed thickly and managed to tell them her name, never once letting go of Esme. "Bree."

"Bree," Valeria repeated. "That's a pretty name. My brother's girlfriend was named Bree. She was a lot nicer than he ever was — definitely could've done better."

"W - why aren't you shooting that fire at me?" Bree asked, still shaking. It seemed Valeria's attempts at calming her down weren't working.

"Do you want me to shoot fire at you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Bree immediately shook her head.

"Bree wasn't fighting with the others," Carlisle stated, letting them know why they had spared Bree.

"You didn't want to hurt anyone, did you, Sweetie?" Esme asked, smiling down at her.

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "But - but Riley told us we had to or else we'd be in danger."

"You're not in danger," Carlisle assured her. "Not anymore. And if you'll allow us, we could teach you how to exist as a vampire without ever hurting someone again."

Bree, despite not knowing the Cullens, liked that idea. So far, her life as a vampire had been miserable and frightening, but there was nothing frightening about the golden-eyed vampires surrounding her — except perhaps the giant wolves that were with them.

After settling on what to do with Bree, they all started to clean up. Valeria did most of the heavy lifting, as the fire she had created didn't harm her, meaning that she was the one to drag all the body parts to the center of the clearing to keep burning.

"Can't believe you're making the girl do all the hard work," Valeria complained as she threw a leg onto the pile. "Whatever happened to good old-fashioned misogyny?"

The joke caused Leah to release a choked snort, which sounded off coming from a wolf. The wolves were standing apart from the vampires, no one quite knowing where they stood in the alliance any longer.

Things would change after the battle, and certainly once Sam imprinting was common knowledge.

As the rest of the missing limbs were found and added to the pile, Alice was struck with a vision. No one quite knew what it was, but the expression on her face told them to worry. No doubt, Edward was listening in from wherever he and Bella were and would be there soon.

"What is it?" Jasper asked, placing a hand on his mate's shoulder.

"The Volturi," she said, the far-off look still in her eyes. "Or the guard, at least. They're on the way here."

"Shit," Valeria muttered, dropping the arm that had been in her hand.

Valeria was correct in assuming that Edward was listening. He and Bella were in the clearing only a few seconds later, making a bee-line for Alice.

"How long?" Edward asked, keeping a protective arm on Bella.

"A few minutes. Maybe ten," she guessed.

"They timed their arrival well," Rosalie muttered, clearly bitter. They had just done the Volturi's job for them.

"Probably hoping the newborns took a few of us out," Emmett added, crossing his arms.

"The pack needs to leave," Carlisle stated. "The Volturi won't honor a truce with the werewolves."

Sam moved protectively to Valeria's side, not wanting to leave her with the Volturi coming. Edward heard the concern racing through his mind.

"Valeria has to stay," Edward said, frowning. "They'd pick up on her scent, and Demetri would track her down in minutes."

"Aro isn't with them, so they have no way of knowing what her power is," Alice claimed. She didn't know why Sam was worried about Valeria but at least knew Valeria's ability would remain hidden for now.

Valeria looked at Sam and smiled sadly, nodding for him to go. He was hesitant, but after a moment, he moved to Jacob's side, ready to leave.

"Hey, move to the other side," Valeria said to her family as she watched the pile of dead newborns. "I'm gonna blast it again to try and make it burn faster. I don't want the smoke to continue too long and attract curious hikers."

The other vampires moved back across the clearing, closer to the wolves while Valeria focused on the fire. Her hands were held out, and a powerful blast of fire shot forward and engulfed the bodies. They could see the limbs turning to ash before their eyes, and Valeria smiled, pleased with her abilities.

"Okay, but am I not the coolest thing ever?" she asked, laughing. "You guys should seriously let me use the fire power more—"

They thought they had gotten them all, and so they were focused on Valeria, who was showing off. No one had seen the newborn coming, who was easily twice Valeria's size. Her bragging was cut off and turned into a scream as the man lunged at her, letting out a vicious hiss as he grabbed her by the neck.

They went flying through the air, and Valeria, who was caught off guard, was unable to defend herself. Another pained scream left her as they slammed into a tree and the newborn twisted her head at an angle.

The cracking sound filled the clearing but was cut off not even a second later as the newborn was thrown off of Valeria. Black fur flashed past Valeria's line of sight, tackling her attacker.

The newborn and Sam went rolling to the ground, both trying to fight the other off. Sam maneuvered enough to take a bite out of the man's face, but it wasn't enough to slow him down. The newborn spun and grabbed Sam by the fur on his neck, fiercely yanking him off his paws before getting his arms around Sam and—

"NO!" Valeria shouted as she heard Sam's agonizing howls.

The others were there a second too late, Jared and Paul ripping the newborn off and tearing him apart. Sam shifted back unwillingly, unable to take the pain. He laid there, his body grotesquely twisted and broken, hardly able to breathe.

Carlisle was the first to act, his medical instincts kicking in, and Edward followed. He held Sam steady as Carlisle examined Sam, who was writing in pain.

"Hold on," Edward told him, trying to comfort the wolf. "Carlisle is gonna take care of you."

"The bones on the right half of his body are shattered," Carlisle stated, sharing a grim look with Edward.

Sure, Sam's connection had come as a shock to the both of them, and Edward still wasn't particularly happy about it, but neither wanted to see Valeria's soon-to-be mate harmed. They'd do anything they could to help.

And speaking of Valeria, her feet had finally moved across the clearing to Sam's side. She dropped to her knees by him, and as she took his hand, Sam managed to take in his first breath — though it was labored.

"Valeria," he managed to choke out. Sam struggled to keep his eyes open and focused on her.

"I - I'm right here," she said, struggling to stay calm and comfort him. She hardly paid any attention to the pack, who raced over now in their human forms. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should've seen him coming—"

"It's not your fault," Jared interrupted. He was standing behind Edward and looking down at Sam, full of worry. Then he glanced at Carlisle. "What can you do?"

Carlisle turned to Jared, who was now in charge with Sam out of commission. "I need to set the bones before his accelerated healing kicks in. It's already starting."

"We need to get him out of here. We're not gonna win a fight with the Volturi," Edward told them. Keeping Sam in the clearing put them all in even more danger.

"We'll take him back to the pack house," Jared decided.

Carlisle nodded to him and moved away from Sam. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Edward, careful not to touch her skin, placed a hand on Valeria's shoulder, silently telling her to let go of Sam. She squeezed his hand one last time before letting Edward pull her to her feet. She couldn't even find the words to say as the wolves carefully lifted him up. His groans of pain went straight to her heart, and it ached for him.

"He's going to be alright," Edward whispered, keeping an arm around Valeria. It was there partly to comfort her, but he also wasn't positive that she wouldn't race after Sam. They still had the Volturi to deal with. Speaking of—

"They're here!" Alice called, only a minute after the pack had left.

Valeria was moved behind Emmett and Jasper in a second, both trying to hide her from view as best they could. She peeked over their shoulders and watched as four vampires glided into the clearing. They came to a stop right in front of the coven and removed the hoods on their cloaks in sync.

Based on description alone, Valeria could guess who was who. Jane stood at the front with her brother, Alec, at her side. Demetri and Felix flanked them.

"Impressive," Jane said. Her eyes took in the carnage, also taking half a second to examine Bella and then Valeria. "I've never seen a coven escape an assault of this magnitude intact."

"We were lucky," Carlisle said, keeping his tone level and civil.

"I doubt that," Jane shot back.

"It appears we missed an entertaining fight," Alec commented.

"Yes," his sister agreed. "It's not often we're rendered unnecessary."

"If you'd arrived a half-hour ago, you would've fulfilled your purpose," Edward muttered bitterly. He kept Bella close to his chest, wishing more than anything to protect her from them.

"Pity," was all Jane said. Valeria didn't believe her for a second. If anything, Jane thought it was a pity that they were all still standing. Then, her red eyes fell on Bree, who was at the back of the group and quietly trembling. "You missed one."

Jasper, who was once like Bree, moved to her side protectively. She hadn't chosen to join the newborn army, and just like they had with him, the Cullens would take Bree in and teach her a better way to live.

"We offered her asylum in exchange for her surrender," Carlisle explained.

"That wasn't yours to offer." As Jane looked at Bree, Esme shot Carlisle a concerned look, but he only shook his head. She couldn't intervene. "Why did you come?"

Only Jane hadn't given Bree enough time to answer the question. A second had passed before Bree was on the ground, screaming. Valeria flinched, having heard about Jane's torturous power but never having seen it in action.

"Who created you?" Jane asked, not bothering to stop torturing Bree, who continued to writhe in pain on the ground.

"You don't need to do that," Esme said, stepping forward. "She'll tell you anything you want to know."

"I know." The smirk on her face was sickening.

Bree's screaming ceased for a brief moment as she choked out an answer. "I don't know. Riley wouldn't tell us. He said our thoughts weren't safe."

Jane sent another harrowing surge towards Bree, who screamed even louder.

"Her name was Victoria," Edward answered, hoping to get a reaction out of Jane. "Perhaps you knew her."

Bree's pain stopped abruptly as Jane faced Edward. The innocent smile on her face was just as unnerving as the smirk had been. The other three guards looked ready to pounce, a clear sign that things could turn bad fast.

Carlisle quickly and calmly interceded. "Edward. If the Volturi had knowledge of Victoria, they would've stopped her. Isn't that right, Jane?"

Jane just looked at Carlisle for a prolonged time. "Of course," she said, but they all knew it was a lie. Then she looked back to the newborn, who she clearly wasn't finished with. "How was your army so easily defeated?"

And then Bree was screaming again, clawing at the earth for some kind of relief. She barely managed to raise a shaky hand and point at Valeria. Emmett moved even closer as the four guards looked at her.

"She - she shot fire from her hands," Bree choked out. Her whimpers grew lighter as Jane weakened her attack. "She burned them all."

And then Bree was left alone once more, panting heavily on the ground. The young girl had the decency to look apologetically at Valeria, who simply shook her head. Valeria would never hold it against her after enduring Jane's treatment.

"Interesting," Jane mused, studying Valeria. She took in everything from Valeria's slightly slouched stance to the crack in her neck and face to the protective way that the rest of the family was looking at her. "A useful skill for fending off our kind."

"I only hope there's no need for me to use it again any time soon," Valeria said simply.

"Valeria, was it?" Jane asked, tilting her head ever so slightly. "Aro was far too distracted by Edward's pet to learn more about you when they visited Volterra. This coven seems to just keep growing and growing."

"I think of us as more than a family than a coven," Valeria told her. She hated the way Jane's red eyes bore into her as if staring into her soul, dissecting her. "Families are meant to grow."

That smirk returned, and it made Valeria's stomach twist. "We've grown as well. It's a shame we couldn't introduce you all to our newest guard. Caius isn't quite ready to let him out yet."

The only one to not look at Jane confused was Edward. Her thoughts were clear, wanting him to see just what she meant.

"Caius has acquired an amplifier in San Juan," Edward informed them, a deep frown on his face. "When he touches a gifted vampire, their powers become... inordinately strong."

The grimace on his face was from the vivid memories in Jane's mind. He had never felt more pain than what she had done to him in Volterra, but now he knew that only scratched the surface.

"He's quite handy," Jane said, eying Valeria once more. "Imagine the destruction your fire could cause with his aid."

It was an offer, they all knew. The same offer that Edward and Alice and Jasper had once received. The offer that would always stand for the ones who could read minds and see the future.

"I think I rather like it here in Forks," Valeria replied politely. "But thank you for the offer."

Perhaps Jane was irritated that the Cullens had yet another loyal and powered vampire in their midst, but she didn't show it. She simply moved on, glancing from Bree to Felix at her side. "Felix."

Felix took a step toward Bree, but Esme spoke up, distress clear in her tone. "She didn't know what she was doing! We'll take responsibility for her."

"Give her a chance," Carlisle added, but even he knew it was hopeless.

"The Volturi don't give second chances." Jane's red eyes fell on Bella, who was cowering into Edward's arms. "Keep that in mind. Caius will be interested to know that she's still human."

"The date is set," Bella managed to inform her. Jane was ever so slightly taken aback by Bella's confidence. She hated how such a weak human spoke to her.

Instead of killing Bella as she would have liked, Jane turned back to Felix. "Take care of that, Felix. I'd like to go home."

As the huge vampire moved toward Bree, Valeria reached for Jasper's hand and pulled him aside. There was nothing any of them could do as Bree screamed and thrashed as Felix grabbed her. The screams came to a halt as her head was ripped from her body and thrown into the burning fire.

"Thank you, Felix," Jane told him. Then she looked back at the Cullens, her eyes lingering on Bella and Valeria. "Until next time."

They could do nothing but stand by, grim-faced as the four guards disappeared. Esme did her best to look away from the fire, not wanting to see what was left of Bree.

Valeria was the first to speak, taking in a deep and needless breath. "We need to go. Bella has to get home, and Sam needs Carlisle."

Everyone agreed and raced from the clearing. All except Edward, who held Carlisle back. Bella watched on, confused by the concerned expression on Edward's face.

"Valeria is right, Edward," Carlisle told him. "I need to get my medical bag before heading to the reservation."

"It's about something I saw in Demetri's mind. Someone I saw," Edward clarified. "The amplifier. Jane never thought of his features, but he did."

"What about him? Do you know him?" Carlisle asked. He knew it must be important if Edward couldn't wait.

Edward shook his head, his frown deepening. "I've seen his face before."

"Where?" It was Bella who asked.

"In Valeria's memories."