OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT TWO MONTHS, Renesmee grew rapidly. It was a lot for everyone to keep up with, and the bigger she got, the more worried her family got.

By the time Christmas came around — two months after she was born — Renesmee was the size of a small eight year-old. Charlie didn't question it, since he knew something supernatural was afoot ever since Jacob phased in front of him and was perfectly fine with not knowing.

Jacob continued to be overly protective around Renesmee, and the girl seemed to love him. Bella reassured Lena that it was more of a sibling connection, but she was still wary of it. Lena had quickly been dubbed the 'cool aunt' and was loving it, spending most of her time around her goddaughter and the Cullen family.

She hung out with the pack sometimes, but less often than before. When she was a member, she would hang out with them all the time during training and after, but since she doesn't need to attend training anymore, she saw them a little less. Their groupchat was still active as ever, so she had them to blame for her late nights.

In terms of Paul...not much has changed. When she agreed that she needed time, she didn't really know how much she needed. She wanted to be with him, she loved him, but at the same time, they'd been in this situation way too many times before and she didn't know if she was ready to commit to him again if they were just gonna fall apart again. She knew Paul was taking it hard, and she hated feeling like she was leading him on, but something was stopping her. She didn't know what.

Rosalie and Alice tell her it's perfectly fine to be waiting this long, it just means that her relationship will be all the more healthier when the time comes. She hoped that to be true, because if it came down to the fact that she and Paul just didn't work, she'd be heartbroken.

So they were back to that stage, where they loved each-other but weren't together. Like old times, Embry would joke, and it would make her laugh, but deep down all she wanted was for her brain to stop whirring and make a decision. Hopefully that would be soon. A little part of her feared that if she waited too long, Paul wouldn't want her when she came back.

For now, she would spend her winter days catching snowflakes with Rey and Bella. And Jacob, unfortunately.

"Edward thinks that we'll find answers in Brazil." Bella said to them. Jacob was shifted whereas Lena was in human form — actually wearing long pants for once. Hanging out with a bunch of stone cold vampires recently has had her feeling colder than usual. So, goodbye track shorts, hello cargo pants. She still wore vests though. "There are tribes there that might know something."

The trio watched on as Renesmee jumped to an inhumane height, catching a snowflake in her hands. It was then that the three took notice of a figure standing on a cliff further away from them. Renesmee ran over, hugging Jacob's furry leg, "Who is that?"

"I think that's our cousin from Denali." Bella answered. Lena remembered the family in question from the wedding, and knew they weren't too fond of wolves. "Irina!"

But the blonde woman sped off, Bella following quickly. It wasn't long before Bella returned, claiming at Irina had ran off, and the four of them went back to the Cullen household to explain what had happened.

Carlisle called up the family, looking for an explanation. When he hung up, he glanced at the people gathered in the room, "Tanya convinced Irina to come reconcile with us."

"Well, it looks like she changed her mind." Edward spoke from his place at the piano, Renesmee perched beside him.

"Seeing Jacob and Lena must've been too much for her." Esme reckoned.

"Wish I could've just spoken to her." Bella shook her head in dismay.

"She's family." Carlisle smiled, "She'll come around."

Edward began to play a tune on the piano, and Renesmee watched with a smile. Bella stared at them in adoration, and Lena smiled at the family. They were wonderful. The song was beautiful, and the room was silent as they listened.

Then, Alice walked in holding a vase of flowers, only to gasp loudly and drop it to the ground. She'd had a vision. They all turned to her, Jasper rushing over to her side, "What is it, Alice?"

"The Volturi." Alice explained, a fearful look upon her face, "They're coming for us."

The room froze. Lena had heard all about the Volturi from Bella when she returned from Italy what felt like years ago, when really it was only in March of that same year — nine months ago. Bella had told her about what the Lead Coven did and how they felt about the Cullen family. She knew how dangerous they could be.

"Aro, Caius, Marcus, the guard..." Alice continued, "And Irina."

"Honey, come here." Bella said to her daughter.

"Why?"

"What did Irina see in the woods." Edward asked urgently.

"We were just walking." Bella shrugged.

"Rey was catching snowflakes." Lena added, shaking her head and shrugging.

"Of course..." Edward muttered, "Irina think's Renesmee's an immortal child."

"The immortal children were very beautiful." Carlisle explained to them, "So enchanting. To be near them was to love then. But they're development was frozen at the age they were turned, they couldn't be taught or restrained. One tantrum could destroy an entire village. Humans heard about the devastation, stories spread. The Volturi were forced to intervene. Since the children couldn't protect our secret, they had to be destroyed. Their creators grew very attached, and fought to protect them. Long established Covens were torn apart. Countless humans slaughtered. Traditions, friends, even families, lost..."

"So, the Denali's mother made an immortal child?" Bella asked.

"Yes. And she paid the price."

"Well, Renesmee's nothing like those children." Bella fumed, "She was born, not bitten. She grows every day."

"Can't you just explain that to the Volturi?" Jacob asked.

"Aro has enough proof in Irina's thoughts." Edward shook his head. The family looked around at one another, faces grave. They knew there was nothing they could do.

"So we fight." Jacob said like it was obvious.

"There offensive weapons are too powerful." Jasper said, "No-one can stand against Jane."

"Alec's even worse." Alice added.

"Well then, we convince them." Was Bella's response.

"They're coming to kill us, not to talk." Emmett spoke.

"No you're right." Edward said, "They won't listen to us. But maybe others can convince them, Carlisle you have friends all around the world."

"I won't ask them to fight." The doctor shook his head.

"Not fight, witness." Edward argued, "If enough people knew the truth, maybe we could convince the Volturi to listen."

And so it was decided. The family would split up to travel around the world, gathering together as many allies as possible. Carlisle and Esme were to head over to London first, while Edward, Bella and Renesmee were to go to Denali to convince the rest of their family.

By the next morning, tickets had been bought and bags were packed. Currently, the family were gathered in the kitchen, preparing their bags for their respective trips.

"Alright," Jacob strutted in, "Let's get this show on the road..."

He trailed off, staring out the window. Confused, Lena walked up beside him and spotted Sam stood outside. The two shared a look.

When they got to the porch, Sam handed a slip of paper to Carlisle, "Alice asked me to give you that. She and Jasper crossed our lands to the ocean last night."

"They've left us." Carlisle told them.

"Why?" Rosalie asked.

"She didn't say." He shook his head. Bella asked to see the note and he handed it to her.

"When the snow sticks to the ground. Real specific, Alice." Lena muttered, "Couldn't have said, 'they're coming a week from Tuesday' or something a little more helpful."

Lena's leg bounced in its place as she stood alone in the middle of a wooded area. Her eyes darted around, ears perked for any sort of noise.

During the past couple of weeks, the Cullen family had been gathering witnesses for their cause. They convinced the Denali's to join their side, and a Coven had even traveled from Ireland to hear them out. There was also Garret, who amused Lena to no extent, the Amazons, who freaked her out just a little bit but intrigued her all the same. The Nomads were quiet, and a little paranoid, but they didn't cause any problems, and Alastair was...a character.

It seemed as though they had gathered all the witnesses they needed and some. The mass amounts of Vampires in the area was causing more Quileute's to phase early, due to their instinct, and they either joined Sam's pack or Jacob's. Lena helped them out when they needed it, but overall just floated around everyone with no set job.

She perked up when the heard the wind shift. Her head swivelled around her, eyes moving to catch him between the trees.

"Stop thinking about it." His voice called from behind her. She jumped, turning, only for the leaves beneath her feet to rise around her, creating a halo of greens, reds and browns. "You stress too much."

"You've known me for a week." She deadpanned, squinting to see his figure through the leaves that were floating around her.

"And yet, it is glaringly obvious." The leaves dropped. Benjamin smiled at her, "It is doing you no good, thinking about it so much."

Lena sighed, "And yet, here I am: thinking about it again."

He grinned, "Which is why I'm distracting you."

She smiled teasingly, "Is that what you're doing?"

He didn't say anything, simply flicking his hand and making the dirt and wind flow around them rhythmically, like they were moving on their own. Lena was transfixed by the beauty of it, staring in awe.

"Yes, it is." He whispered.

Benjamin had been one out of three members of a Coven from Egypt that Carlisle and Esme had convinced to come down with them. Their youngest member, Benjamin, was a lot more warm and welcoming than Amun and Kebi — his ability to manipulate the elements intrigued her to no end. He'd picked up on the tension in her shoulders pretty quickly, and had made it his personal mission to distract her from her problems without even truly understanding what they all were.

And she would gladly let him. It was refreshing, being around someone new. Someone different. She liked it, and he was right, he was rather distracting.

"You know, I've only ever seen you play with earth and wind." She mused, "What about water? What about fire?"

The boy grinned, ushering her to follow him as he lead her further into the woods. They stopped when they came to a clearing, the echo of water splashing against rock in their ears. They'd stopped by a small pond, one she'd passed once or twice when patrolling.

Ben didn't say anything, simply standing in front of her and lifting his hand, bring the water from the pond up into the air. Lena stared, eyes shining, as the water surrounded them, forming it's own dome and encasing the two in it. She could just about make out the blurry shape of the trees through the water, sticking her hand out and brushing her fingers against it. It rippled, but remained where it was.

She looked at him in awe, "This is beautiful. Your power is just...amazing."

"It is a blessing." Benjamin responded, "A blessing meant for me."

She smiled, and then it dropped, "If it came down to a fight..."

"I would do the right thing." He answered immediately, "I would stand with Edward and his family. And you."

"I don't want there to be a fight, but..." She trailed off, "It's not looking so good."

The pair were silent, and then Benjamin slowly lowered the water back into the pond — it splashing back on them a little bit. Then, without a word, the two of them headed back through the woods towards the Cullen household.

When they arrived, Benjamin split from her and made his way over to Amun to talk. She watched them for a moment, before Jacob snapped her from her stupor.

"Hey, think you could go to the Rez real quick?" He asked, "I'm supposed to fill in Sam on the new visitors,  but I don't know If I can leave right now."

"Sure." She shrugged. She needed to clear her head anyways.

After Jake had given her the keys to his car, she drove in the direction of the Reservation — the trees blurring past her until they turned into houses. She passed Jared's house, and was just about to pass Paul's until she noticed Sam's car in his driveway. Pulling up on the side of the road, she hopped out of the car and headed up tue porch steps, knocking.

Lawrence opened the door, grinning at her when he spotted her, "Well, well, well. Long time, no see, Parkinson. Where've you been?"

She shrugged passively, "Busy. Is Sam here?"

"Yep." He smiled, letting her in, "He's in the living room. We're watching the game."

She entered the living room, spotting the Alpha lounged on the sofa with a beer in his hand. Raising a brow and crossing her arms, she smirked, "Wow. Looking real vigilant there, Chief."

He scoffed up at her, "It's my day off."

"Well then I won't keep you." She chuckled, "Just dropping by to let you know all the visitors are here. If any other unfamiliar vampires cross the border, they weren't invited."

He nodded, still looking serious despite his lounged position, "Got it. Thanks."

She went to say something else — to let him know they weren't going to hunt in the area but would still cross the borders to do so — but the words died on her tongue when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Paul.

Her heart thumped against her chest, her mouth drying up. She didn't know if she was ready to face him, she was still scared. Scared of the possibility that whatever they have will end in heartbreak if they pursue it once more. But she had no choice, since he was coming down the stairs.

She turned just as a voice rang out, and Lena blinked hard when she realised it wasn't Paul coming down the stairs. It was...a girl. She was tall — little shorter than Lena, but still tall — with dark hair that flowed over her shoulders and down her back. She wore brown shorts and a Wolf War tank top, and she smiled brightly when she reached the bottom step.

"Who's this?" She asked. Her voice was smooth. She was beautiful. Who the hell was she?

"This is Lena." Lawrence spoke as he reentered the room, "She moved here a few months ago."

"Oh." The girl smiled at her with bright white teeth, "I'm Rachel Black. Pleasure."

Lena took her stuck out hand in her own, nodding in recognition, "Jacob's sister. Right, Paul told me about you."

"Did he?" Rachel smiled, "Well, he didn't tell me about you. You're so pretty."

"Thanks." She responded, smile tight, "So are you. Don't know how though, since Jacob has an ass for a face."

Rachel laughed, and Lena tried to make hers sound as real as possible. In reality, she could feel the anger coil in her stomach, her skin heating up. She needed to leave.

And so she did. With a hurried goodbye to Sam, Lawrence and...Rachel, she was out the door and back in the fresh air.

And when she situated herself back in Jacob's car, she cried.

—mills speaks!

so....

i love benjamin okay leave me alone.

AHH ANGST. JEALOUSY. ITS ALL HAPPENING NOW.

next chapter is...juicy. real juicy.

vote and comment xxx