Twilight 1. Prelude

**Hey thanks for following everybody! I'm glad you have enjoyed my stories thus far. Again, I hope this one ends up being up to par. Thanks for reading!**

**Prelude**

A man stood overlooking the docks of an avid fishing spot on perhaps one of the tallest cliffs in Washington State. A winding back road sat just behind where he stood, though only two cars that he counted had passed as he waited. In the distance, he could hear the sounds of late summer. Girls were screaming joyfully, the low rumble of a crowd that was enjoying a beachside festival could be heard, and about a half hour before there was a collage of fireworks that decorated the sky.

He glanced down once at his watch, then looked over his shoulder and sat on a the railing on the side of the road. An aggravated sigh left his mouth, as the friend he was waiting for was late. As a lifelong law-breaker, he'd found himself in a countless number of sketchy situations. The people he regularly dealt with were even sketchier, but the money he got for dealing pot beat having a full time job.

_Lucky I've only been arrested once_, the twenty-four year old thought to himself with a smile. He had a D.U.I. on his record from an under age drinking incident, and a breaking-and-entering rap from his pre-teen years that had been wiped from his record at the age of eighteen. The small-time marijuana dealing, and one or two break-ins he'd been involved in had all gone under the radar, making him feel nearly untouchable.

"Where is this guy?" he asked himself, checking his watch again. The passing thought that he might have been set up by a cop crossing his mind, but he'd already planned an escape route if something got suspicious. He knew the area, having grown up there, and practically had the winding paths that lead to the beach, and the woods nearby, mapping out in his mind. He knew where he could go to get away. It was the initial move that had him slightly nervous. He knew he'd have to knock the person down and bolt if he were to get away.

_I'm awfully fast on my feet for a smoker_, he thought.

A stray firework caught his attention and he jumped, then laughed to himself as he glanced up to the sky to see the smoky residue that accompanied some dying colorful streaks of fire. The crowd in the distance cheered, and he thought maybe upon meeting the guy he could possibly make a trip down to the festival to mingle, or possibly hook up with a girl if he was lucky. With that, he began to text a few friends to see if they had plans for the night while he waited.

In the distance, the squeal of a car's tires could be heard, and he quickly finished the message before slinking a few feet back, away from the winding curve in the road where he stood. He glanced over his shoulder, realizing he was close to the edge of a rock face and sighed once as his heart leapt from the thought of falling.

His phone went off and he looked down, reading a text from his friend. _Carter, I'll meet you down there at nine. Meet by west side dock._

He nodded to himself and responded, then clicked his phone off and put it in his pocket.

"I ain't waiting up here all night."

Carter sat back down on the guardrail and outstretched his feet, enjoying the fireworks and the warm air of summer. He couldn't wait to get his hands on some more easy money. It was the only thing that kept him up on the ledge where he sat.

_I need to start doing bigger jobs_, he thought. _Armed robbery; major drug deals. Start robbing the rich people in town..._

His eyes drifted up towards some mountains in the far distance, past the outstretched ocean. They were mansions. Everyone drove idealistic cars. The kids went to prep schools and wore the best brands of clothing. The boated the summer, skied every weekend in the winter and had massive house parties that no local cop would touch, merely due to status alone.

Carter looked down at his ripped jeans and lifted the sleeve on his white t-shirt to reveal his farmer's tan. He whipped a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, sliding the small stick of nicotine and tobacco between in his first two fingers, then proceeded to light it up.

A puff of smoke fluttered into the air above his head and he took a deep breath. He got lost in his thoughts of moving up in the world of crime, and got irritated thinking of the spoiled young people who felt they were entitled to any and everything.

A noise from above him made him whip around, and he looked across the street, up another twenty feet or so, of cliff-side. Stray pieces of rock tumbled down the face of the tall structure and rolled onto the asphalt below.

Carter's eyes scanned where tall grass and trees swayed at the top of the small cliff in the darkness. There was nothing he could see, but the atmosphere was beginning to give him the chills. He scolded himself for being scared of nothing, then turned back to face the ocean, recognizing the hair had stood up on the back of his neck.

The feeling that someone was watching him filled his mind, and his body. It had increased by the minute, and he attempted to pre-occupy himself by playing on his phone and thinking of what he would do with the money he was about to receive. His untied dirty, white sneaker tapped on the ground in front of him in a nervous tick and he continued to puff on the cigarette to calm himself down.

More small rocks crumbled and crashed down into the street, barely visible from the tiny nature of their size. The breeze, the winds, and the unidentifiable noises continued to make Carter's mind wander, and he relocated down the road just slightly to try to remain more unpredictable. His hand grazed a small knife he typically kept in the pocket of his jeans, though it didn't make him feel secure. He began to wonder why he said he would meet up on the ledge in the first place, and the invincible feeling he had just minutes before began to fade.

_Scared of ghosts now, Carter?_ he asked himself in his mind, shaking his head. _What are you twelve years old again?_

He flicked the cigarette angrily off the edge of the cliff, then reached in his pocket for another one and reminded himself to relax. His eyes met the luxurious houses again that decorated the water's edge in the distance and he began to fantasize about robbing each family for everything they were worth. It took his mind off the feeling he couldn't shake; that feeling that someone was watching.

What Carter didn't recognize, is that his feeling was right on and that he was wrong to ignore it. The human sixth sense was sometimes passed off as nothing more than a feeling, or at times coincidence when the gut-feeling proved to be right. Carter's sixth sense was pleading with his brain to recognize the danger that lurked, but he chose to put it out of his mind to focus on what he considered to be reality.

What he forced himself to think about were drugs, money, and girls. What he should have been focusing on, was the immediate danger his subconscious was telling him about. Unfortunately, when a human finally recognized that they were justified in their feelings, it was often too late.


	2. Following the Rules

**Chapter 1**

Summer was in full bloom, and the familiar scents that they all knew and loved were in the air. Fresh bloomed flowers, and the smell of fresh cut grass was prominent. The sun had even made it a point to sneak in some extra appearances, leaving everyone feeling extra happy.

Edward and Bella had been bouncing back and forth between their cottage, and the Cullens' main house with Charlie. They knew their family members wanted to get to know him and be around him as much as they could, so they did their best to stick around. On occasion when the two of them preferred a quieter atmosphere, they would disappear just a half mile away through the woods.

Carlisle and Esme continued their joys over Marshall, while simultaneously welcoming Charlie into the family. While most of their family members had been out enjoying the summer nights, and getting a little extra sunlight whenever possible, they remained domesticated and wrapped up in their youngest son, making it a point to spend quality time with the rest of their children at the same time.

Bella, too, was overly concerned with Renesme's well-being and mindset upon the arrival of their new baby, but her constant reassurance, and Edward's over-the-top reassurance of her thoughts made her feel content. Renesme seemed as on top of the world as the two of them.

The night was young, as perhaps it always was for those who didn't sleep, but Caleb and Delilah had wandered down to the local festival taking place on a long strip of beaches. William and Madison had accompanied them, and Emmett and Rosalie were wandering about to make sure they didn't get themselves into any sort of trouble. After their short bouts at high school, and their intermingling with humans every so often, the trust levels regarding their nights of being "out and about" unsupervised had risen.

Esme had initially been a little leery of allowing both Caleb and Delilah to go down to the beach where the crowd was, at times, known to get a little wild. The elder members of their family had all talked, and had come to a conclusion that they could enjoy themselves with specific conditions in mind. There was a curfew, a no drinking policy, and Caleb was instructed to check in every hour or two to give his mother feedback on their situation. While Esme did trust her son, she knew he was still young enough to make mistakes and didn't want to see him in a situation that he couldn't handle.

Delilah, too, was fairly new to the immortal world and she knew that her immunity to blood wasn't at all perfected. She was strong, and they all acknowledged that, but Edward's communication about her thoughts on occasion were what had Esme just a little worried, mostly in a motherly sense than anything.

Rosalie had had similar talks with William and Madison, though recognized her son's adolescent sneaky side despite having a general trust in him.

"I'll be checking in with you too," Rosalie told Esme, "We'll give them their space, but keep a close eye out."

Esme smiled, "Thank you Rose."

"Bye Marshall," she said, kissing him on the cheeks. A small smile formed on his face and he tried to communicate with her in his own way.

Rosalie smiled wider, then gave a wave to Carlisle as the kids all waited in the driveway with Emmett.

"I don't know how cavalier to be with these types of things," Esme said, sitting down next to Carlisle. "I mean, they went to a school. Delilah lived in a dorm room. They all know what we expect of them."

"I think this is fine," Carlisle told her reassuringly.

"Should we be going with them?"

He shook his head, "They're going to gradually be more and more on their own. Caleb has things to learn; they all do. I mean, look at how Alex has matured."

"She learned the hard way."

Carlisle smiled and nodded, "And Masen. Luckily the bumps in the road with both of them worked out alright. Alex's was a little more serious."

"Don't remind me." Esme shook her head and bounced Marshall up and down on her knee.

"One day, Marshall will do something to put us on edge," he said with a laugh, purposely teasing her.

Esme gave him a look, and Carlisle snickered. He rubbed the baby's chubby arm with his hand for a moment, then winked at Esme.

"No Edward and Bella tonight, huh?" she asked him with a smile.

"I guess not."

Esme continued to grin, "I was hoping for a couples with babies night... or something."

Carlisle laughed lightly and shrugged. "They're happy."

"_Very_ happy."

He nodded. "I wonder how fast Charlie will grow."

"Her father was so touched that she named him after him," Esme said.

"That way he'll always be a part of her," Carlisle said with a shrug.

She looked down for a moment and nodded, recognizing that one day Charlie and Sue wouldn't be around. The thought made her sad, as their family had never formed such a close bond with humans in the way they had with Bella's father, and Sue Clearwater.

"I can always change him," Alice said lightly, popping into the room with a smile.

Carlisle and Esme both smiled at her, knowing she was half-kidding, but wouldn't rule it out if it was what Bella should ask for one day.

"What about Sue?" Esme asked her in a hypothetical sense.

"Her too."

"Conflict of interests, I think," Carlisle told her, "Quileutes... vampires..."

"Oh, that's ancient history." Alice waved her hand at him.

"I like to think so," he said with a smile, "But those lines are perfectly defined."

"I suppose they never will be."

Esme nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I'll stop snooping around," Alice said with a laugh.

"You can stay," she told her with a laugh.

"I'm going out hunting with Nicole in a few. She's critiquing her father's painting." A smile formed on her face.

Esme laughed again, "She's quite the artist. If I were him, I'd listen."

"Oh, he does."

Carlisle smiled at the thought of Nicole giving Jasper pointers on an art that he taught her.

"Bye Marshall." Alice pinched his cheek lightly, then quickly disappeared from the living room.

"He's starting to get more stable on his feet," Esme said, looking at their son.

"And he tries to talk to us," Carlisle added.

She nodded and sighed, making him smile.

"He's still little," he reminded her, "And he will be for a while."

"I know." A smile formed on her face.

"Come on," he said, holding out a hand as he stood up.

"Where are we going?"

"Upstairs. That show you like is coming on in ten minutes and I'll give you a back rub or something while it's on."

Esme smiled and again and then stood up. "Alright. I can't argue that."

Carlisle grinned and reached for Marshall. When Esme handed him over, he slung him under one arm and took her hand with the other.

Ten minutes went by, and he had followed through with his promise, as did Caleb. Esme laid on her stomach in the center of the bed, facing the television. Just off to the right, her phone went off with a text message from Caleb letting her know that they had arrived at the beach.

A smile formed on her face, and Carlisle grinned to himself, knowing she was now just slightly less worried regarding their son's eagerness to get out and about. He propped Marshall up in between a small stack of pillows at the head of the bed, then began to rub the base of Esme's back.

"It's about time you followed through with that promise," she told him with a wide smile.

Carlisle laughed and positioned himself so they could both see the television.

Esme felt at ease, mentally and physically now that Caleb had communicated to her like he was supposed to, and that Carlisle was giving her some extra pampering time. Every thirty seconds or so, Marshall would make a noise, or move and bump her foot. She smiled to herself, and got into the beginning of her favorite TV show.


	3. By Eleven

**Chapter 2**

Caleb and Delilah fit in with the crowd rather easily, despite the looks they got from the young men and women who were also part of the summer celebration. It kept each of them equally, though not seriously, jealous and reinforced their already extreme clinginess toward one another.

William and Madison were far more casual, and visibly comfortable in their relationship. They strolled around loosely, holding hands, not really paying attention to who may have been staring. William didn't appear to have a jealous bone in his body, nearly laughing every time someone gawked at his stunning wife. Madison gave a few dirty looks towards a few girls, but proceeded to giggle when she turned back to William.

Emmett and Rosalie did as they stated, and gave the four of them their space. They danced, enjoyed some of the loud music coming from a live band and took the opportunity to engage in little public displays of affection. Neither of them minded the attention, though they made it a point to keep out of the view of their son, and the rest of them. Having the ability to literally sense when they were close by made the task easy, and both parties made it a point to keep their distance.

William looked around and made his way up to a beach-side restaurant with an outdoor bar and patio section that was filled with the local twenty-somethings. Madison linked a finger around one of the belt loops in his jeans and followed close by as he ordered the two of them drinks.

"I.D.," the lady behind the counter shouted, as William lifted the driver's license that had long before been manufactured for him.

She took it from his hand, gazed at the information briefly and returned it to him when her eyes locked on the month and year. She then waved her hand at Madison, asking for hers as well before serving the two of them their requested cocktails.

Caleb looked on with an eager expression, but didn't attempt to get a drink. He knew his parents' rules and didn't want to go against them, but the adolescent part of him wanted to join in with the rest of the crowd.

William parted from Madison for a moment and he slid an arm over Caleb's shoulders, sliding him the drink as they made their way down a sand-dusted wooden staircase away from the bar, and onto the patio where the band was playing some fun rock music.

The girls stayed just behind, following the guys, before William made his way back up to the bar, ordering himself another drink and a shot. When he returned, he slid the fruity vodka drink to Delilah, and kept the shot for himself.

Madison looked at him and shook her head, but smiled. "Are you _asking_ for your mother to kill you?"

"She's not going to go around giving us breathalyzers," he said nonchalantly, "Besides, we're adults."

"I suppose Delilah's the oldest of all of us," Madison said with a smile in her direction.

"How old are you guys?" Delilah asked them.

The two of them laughed and looked at each other. "Let's just say we're not twenty-one," William told her with a grin, showing off his dimples.

Delilah and Caleb both smiled, and William raised his drink.

"What are we toasting to?" Caleb asked, looking over his shoulder as a rowdy party-goer bumped into him.

The stranger laughed and put a hand up with a smile, "Sorry man."

"It's alright," he said back, seeing the booze-smelling young man slink back into the crowd to find his friends.

"Let's toast to... us!" Madison said with a smile.

"I like that toast." William leaned in and kissed her once, making both Caleb and Delilah smile.

The four of them proceeded to raise and touch their glasses before taking a sip, or in William's case a full shot, of the drinks they ordered.

Madison patted him on the back. "Slow and steady."

"Of course." He smiled and kissed her again, the slung an arm around her shoulders.

"Want to get up closer to the band?" Caleb asked everyone.

William looked down toward the stage and saw a man of about thirty or so speaking with his parents. They were both smiling and looking at each other whenever the man turned away.

Caleb followed his eyes and honed in on their conversation, attempting to pick up their voices above the roaring crowd. He then turned his attention back to William. "Who's Mike Newton?"

He shrugged, "I don't know."

Caleb chuckled, "Want to stick around back here then?" he asked, recognizing that William didn't seem eager to jump into the area where his parents were.

He nodded and pointed, beginning to lead them in the opposite direction. "Why don't we take a walk down this way."

They wandered down a little ways, making their rounds from place to place, before eventually being tracked down by Emmett and Rosalie anyway. Lucky for Caleb and Delilah, they had been walking and talking for long enough that they'd already disposed of their drinks.

"Hey," Emmett said, looking at William first, "We, uh, just bumped into some old 'high school friends'."

"That blond guy you were talking to?" he asked.

Rosalie nodded, "We're going to get out of here because we don't want people to start talking about how we haven't aged at all." She sighed and shook her head, "That damn Newton kid."

Emmett smirked, "I don't think anyone would contest that you would age very well."

She half-smiled.

"Besides it hasn't been _that _long. Even he didn't look all that different."

"Ten years..." Rosalie reminded him, "Give or take. I lost count."

Emmett slipped his arm around her, "Why don't we take off?"

The four kids looked at each other, then William glanced down at the time on his phone. "Could we stick around for another hour or two? It's only nine-thirty."

"Carlisle and Esme want Caleb and Delilah back by eleven," Rosalie reminded him.

"Okay," William said, "So, if we leave here by ten-thirty or so we should be able to get back in time, right?"

"Should be..." Rosalie said, raising her eyebrows, "And if not then I don't care how old you _think_ you are, but I will punish you."

Emmett tried his hardest not to laugh, and remain stern at her side to reinforce her words. When the four of them agreed to Rosalie's terms, she called Esme to confirm that it was alright, then gave another two minute lecture before guiding Emmett by the hand away.

William smirked at Caleb, who gave a similar expression back. "The night is young," he said, continuing to grin.

The girls looked at their respective male counterparts, then to each other and Madison rolled her eyes, making Delilah chuckle.

Through the crowd, William caught the eye of Mike Newton, who sipped on a bottle of beer and casually tried glancing in their direction.

"You think he suspects anything?" Caleb asked, noticing William's eyes were directly on him.

He shrugged, "Nah. Not the truth anyway." A smile formed on his face and he glanced over his shoulder, "How's about another round?"


	4. An Accident

**Chapter 3**

William, Maddy, Caleb and Delilah all made it a point not to look at their watches as they continued to roam around at the summer festival. When a few minutes after ten o'clock rolled around, they decided to wander down a small path away from the partygoers to spend a little time walking the beaches.

"Oh, it feels so good to get away from all those humans," Delilah said, looking at Caleb with a small smile.

"If it bothers you ever, let me know," he told her, getting slightly serious in his tone.

"I was fine, but it's such a relief when you get out the general vicinity."

Caleb slunk an arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek, "You want to go home?"

Delilah shook her head and smiled wider, "I'm fine. Much better now. The smell of the ocean helps too. It blocks it out a little."

"And the smell of freshly gutted fish," William added with a smirk, pointing in the distance to a long dock that was known to have plenty of fisherman practicing their craft during the summer months.

"Too bad the little one has a curfew," Madison teased, looking over her shoulder at Caleb as she and William walked hand in hand just a few feet in front of them. "We could stay out all night."

Caleb and Delilah both smiled. "You guys can stick around longer."

Delilah put her hand up to her nose and shook her head light-heartedly, "I thought we were going to catch a break with these humans."

"Let's go home," Caleb told her, "I don't want-"

"I'm okay," she assured him again.

William and Madison stopped and exchanged a look, then glanced upward toward a cliff that climbed to the road. There was some brush and small trees that decorated each side, though small pathways lead up and down.

"Oh boy," William said, glancing in Caleb's direction.

Before anyone could respond, a young man appeared and looked at the four of them. From where he stood, the four of them could smell a heavy combination of booze and cigarette smoke. His eyes were glossy and glazed and both of his fists were balled up, one holding a small knife .

William immediately put up his hands and stood in front of their group. "Go home man," he instructed calmly.

"How's about a wallet?"

"There are four of us," he went on.

"I have friends up on the street, and believe me you don't want go man for man. They're packing more heat than this." His eyes fell on the knife as he gestured it in William's direction, "Just give me whatever money you have on you."

Delilah appeared the most visibly disturbed by the man, and he seemed to pick up on that. William again stepped in his line of vision, and the man didn't back down. The two of them stood eye to eye.

"You're going to regret doing this if it starts," William said, hoping the man would back off.

He smirked and shook his head.

"Maddy, let's get out of here," he said, taking her hand and turning his back on the man. "We'll head home."

Caleb and Delilah followed close behind.

"Where do you think you're going?" The man angrily grabbed Delilah by the wrist, sending a low growl from the base of Caleb's chest. He leapt in front of her, easily pulling her out of his grasp.

"Caleb-" William began.

The man pushed Caleb back, and eyed Delilah again. Caleb didn't stumble, but appeared off-guard by the aggressive gesture. When the man charged again with his knife in hand, Caleb pushed him back, sending the stranger hard into the base of the rock cliff some twenty feet away.

The four of them stood for a second, waiting for the man's reaction to the super-human push he received at Caleb's hand. When he didn't immediately get up, Caleb took a step forward with his mouth hung partway open. He swallowed hard and turned to William.

"I thought I heard a cracking sound," William told him quietly. He looked hesitant to step forward, eyeing the knife that now laid in the sand next to where the man laid lifelessly.

Delilah and Maddy both stepped forward and attached themselves to the two boys.

"Call out for him," Maddy whispered.

William looked at her, then refocused straight ahead. "Hey..." he said aloud hesitantly.

Caleb closed his eyes and tensed up his jaw. Delilah tightened her grip on him and leaned against his shoulder. "It's okay."

"We have to check to see if he's alive," Caleb told them.

William put a hand on his shoulder, and the four of them seemed to be listening hard.

"His heart is still beating but..." Delilah started, then Maddy finished her sentence.

"It's slowing down," she said.

Caleb turned his back on them and ran a hand through his hair. He shouted out loud in frustration.

"Caleb, it's alright," Delilah told him.

"No, it's not." He whipped back around. "The guy's dead Delilah."

"Can you heal him?"

"My mom said healing a human is like poison to me and Masen," he said. "She told me not to do it."

William and Madison nodded to each other.

"If it weren't for you Masen would have died," William pointed out, "The only thing that saved him was your healing ability."

"So it doesn't work on humans?" Delilah asked.

"It just starts to kill them... slowly," William explained. He looked back to the man on the ground.

"I think he might already be dead," Madison said, listening hard.

No one said anything, and Caleb cursed aloud.

"Relax," William said, attempting to obtain a mentoring role.

"The guy's dead Will. I... killed him."

"He attacked us," Delilah reminded him.

"It doesn't matter," Caleb said loudly.

"Yes it does," she argued, though her voice was sensitive and concerned.

He shook his head and almost sneered, "I could have just walked away, or let him hit me. He would have hurt his hand, or something... not this."

Delilah suddenly felt her throat begin to tighten, and the four of them recognized the fresh scent of blood.

Caleb looked at her, and saw how black her eyes were. "You need to get out of here. Delilah, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"We can't just leave him here," William said. He reached for his phone, "I'm calling my dad."

"No!" Caleb shouted, then approached and took the phone out of his hand. "We can't tell them about this."

"They'll find out, Caleb," Madison told him, shaking her head, "There's no way around it."

"Alice has probably already seen it," William added. "Why wouldn't she have warned us?"

Delilah began to growl and looked at Caleb. "I think I do need to go."

"Go," William instructed them, "Go home. Madison and I will take care of things here."

"What are you going to do?" Caleb asked him.

"Just go home. I won't say anything to anyone until we talk first. Okay?"

"I don't want to go home. I can't tell my mom and dad. They'll... what will they do?"

"It's happened to everyone," Maddy told him, "My dad has told me stories of his past."

"My parents have both killed humans before," William added, "Not the best memories of their lives."

Caleb closed his eyes and shook his head. "I could have avoided this. I can't believe-"

"Go home Caleb," he said again, lightly grabbing his shoulders. "We'll be there just behind you, but you have to go now so we can figure this out."

Delilah sighed and reached for his hand. Caleb left his fingers limp as she attempted to lock her fingers through his.

"Go," Maddy added.

Caleb grunted and did as they asked, then headed up towards the woods with Delilah.


	5. Questions

**Chapter 4**

Caleb struggled to maintain his composure as he and Delilah climbed up the short cliff toward the road. They made it a point to steer clear of the other voices that were heard in the area.

A bottle smashed, and there was laughter and cursing. The two of them could see small clouds of smoke as the man's friends he had described hung out waiting for him by the road.

"What are they even doing up here?" Delilah asked, trying to make Caleb feel less guilty.

He shook his head and didn't answer, still visibly angry and shaken by what had taken place.

She looked up at him, reading his stern expression and felt like her own heart had been ripped out. "It's going to be okay."

Caleb continued to look around the area, not yet crossing the street to get into the thicker woods that would help lead them out of the area. "Come down this way first so they don't see us."

The two of them walked along the guardrail on the exterior side so they were near the edge of the cliff, then finally crossed over into the street.

Delilah looked down at her sandals as she stepped over the white line that held as a marking for cars. Sand scraped under their feet and they were about to cross when a car's headlights decorated the cliff on the opposite side.

Caleb cursed to himself and pulled her back by the hand to let the car pass. Both of them knew it was an odd place for people to be walking, and so they hoped the person wouldn't stop or get a good look at them.

A black, sporty looking car rounded the bend and began to slow down as Caleb and Delilah came into view.

_Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop. _Caleb repeated the phrase in his mind.

The car slowed down almost to a halt, and both of them recognized the man as Mike Newton; the person who had been talking to Emmett and Rosalie. His window was rolled down and his arm hung out the side. He looked at them both with a confused, skeptical expression, but didn't say anything at first.

Caleb gave a polite wave and tried to avoid eye contact.

"Are... you guys alright?" Mike asked.

"Yeah," the two of them said at the same time.

"Thanks," Delilah added, "We're just getting some fresh air."

Mike nodded back at them, then looked around, "Alright." He remained in a stopped position and looked in his rearview mirror to make sure there were no other cars, "You're sure?"

"Yeah," Caleb repeated, "We're fine. Thanks."

"You two look... familiar."

Delilah looked at Caleb, who looked at her out of the corner of his eye for a moment before he continued to engage in conversation. "Um... yeah, I don't know. We were living in Minnesota and came to stay here with some family members."

"The Cullens?"

Caleb swallowed, surprised by his words, then nodded slowly. "Uh, yeah. How did you know?"

"I went to school with some of them."

"Gotcha."

Mike looked at Caleb, seemed to be a little annoyed by his lack of eye contact and brief responses.

"Well, I'll tell them you said hi," Caleb told him. "What's your name?"

"Mike."

"Alright Mike, well... I guess we'll see ya around or something."

"Yeah..." he responded slowly, looking at the two of them again.

Delilah forced a smile, and Caleb tried hard not to glare, as he was beginning to feel suffocated by the situation.

Mike rolled his car away, glancing in his side view mirror this time, as the two of them stared and waited for him to get out of sight before taking off rapidly up the cliff and into the woods.

...

Carlisle and Esme still laid casually and comfortably together in their room with Marshall. A small marathon of Esme's television show had continued to roll through the evening, and Carlisle alternated from playing with their son to rubbing Esme's back or neck.

Alice entered the room through the partially open door without knocking and looked at the two of them.

"I haven't been able to see the kids," she told them, "Caleb, Delilah, William, Maddy..."

Esme straightened up and looked at Alice. Rosalie whipped in through the doorway just after with Emmett at her heels.

"I've seen them return," Alice went on, "Sorry, I should have started with that. I just don't know why I can't see them."

"Are they with any of the Quileute boys?" Esme asked her.

"Nicole can't see them either."

Carlisle stood up from where he sat on the bed and looked seriously at Alice. "You've seen them come home?"

She nodded, "Yes."

"Rosalie, where exactly were you?" Carlisle asked her.

"Down on this other beach," she explained, "Down the coast just a little farther. Not on Quileute land."

He crossed over to the closet and threw on a pair of shoes, and Esme rose from where she still sat stretched out with Marshall in her lap. She patted his back soothingly as he began to fuss.

"I'm going to go out to try to meet them," Carlisle said. He turned his attention to Rosalie and Emmett, "Will one of you lead me out there?"

"I will," Emmett said, before Rosalie could. He looked at her, "Stay. It's fine."

"It is fine," Alice agreed, looking at her sister, "But there is definitely something messing up my visions."

"Alice, you're sure they're alright?" Esme asked, "You're certain?"

"Yes," she said with a confident nod. "They'll even make it back before the curfew you set. It might get altered a bit now that Carlisle and Emmett are going out there." Alice appeared openly frustrated, "I really don't know what could be blocking them from my vision."

The five of them stood in silence as everyone began to think for a moment. Carlisle then returned his attention to Emmett.

"We should go," he said.

Emmett nodded, and Rosalie looked at him.

"We'll be right back."

"Be careful."

He nodded a second time.

Esme looked across the room at Carlisle, who looked at her with easy eyes. "We'll finish the show when I get back."

She smiled at him and gave a small nod.

He stared at her for an extra moment before he and Emmett hurried out of the room and headed out to where they hoped to find their kids.


	6. Cover Up

**Chapter 5**

"Caleb," Delilah pleaded as he more or less marched through the woods with her at his side. "Please talk to me."

He stopped, recognizing how he had been completely shutting her out on the walk. "I don't know what we're going to do."

"We should tell your parents."

"No."

Delilah sighed and put an hand gently on his forearm. "Caleb, this is going to eat you up if you keep it from them."

"I'm not telling my parents," he told her, "And neither are you."

"I would never go behind your back Caleb," she assured him, sensing a defensive ring in his voice. "But I'm going to be honest with you; you have to tell them."

"I don't _have_ to do anything Delilah."

She looked down, taken back by his tone, though she knew he was obviously in a terrible situation so she didn't take it to heart.

Caleb softened up slightly and looked at her. "I'm not trying to be a jerk," he shook his head.

"It's okay."

He sat down on a rock nearby and put his hands on his head. "I don't know what I'm suppose to do right now. I know it's probably smart to tell my parents, but does that mean we have to move? I know others of our family have killed humans accidentally, by their bloodlust; but this wasn't bloodlust, this was me making a poor decision. We might all have to move. I might have just screwed everything up for everyone."

"You haven't," she assured him.

"How do you know that?"

"I don't," Delilah admitted, "But what I can tell from knowing your family from just the short time that I've been blessed to be living with you all is that you make it work. No matter the circumstances you make it work."

"My mom said they've never felt like they had a true, permanent home before," Caleb told her, "And that Forks was the only place..." His voice drifted off.

"That guy charged us with a knife," she reminded him, "If we were human he might have killed us."

"I didn't have to shove him back like that."

"You were only protecting us... you were protecting me."

"I could have let him just try to stab me."

"And then what?" Delilah asked, "What is blade would have bent in half and he would have known you were superhuman? What would we have done then?"

Caleb sighed, "It doesn't make it right."

"That man might have actually killed another _person_ if it wasn't for you."

"Yeah..." He looked down and shook his head. "This whole situation is-"

"Caleb!"

The two of them looked up and saw Carlisle and Emmett as they rushed to where the two of them talked in the middle of the woods.

Caleb immediately rose, fear decorating his face as his eyes landed on his father. "Dad!"

"Are you alright?" Carlisle saw how off-guard his son was, and recognized his posture as he sat on the rock.

"Yeah, um..." he glanced down at his watch.

"You're not late."

"Oh..." Caleb saw that the time wasn't quite eleven o'clock yet, but he wasn't at all concerned with whatever small punishment his parents may have had in mind if he hadn't shown up on time. In fact, it was something he was more than willing to oblige to.

"What's wrong son?" Carlisle asked him, stepping forward. Emmett, too, seemed to be alarmed by Caleb's posture.

"Nothing," he assured him, shaking his head.

Carlisle looked to Delilah, who gave him a half smile, then looked down. She couldn't hide the fact that she was feeling badly about the situation.

"We just uh..." Caleb looked once at Delilah, "We had a disagreement and were trying to talk it through, that's all."

Carlisle and Emmett seemed to find the story believable, as Emmett smirked.

"Alice," Carlisle started, making Caleb almost go into a full confession. "She couldn't see anything that took place tonight."

Caleb sighed, unable to stop himself. He couldn't hide the relief in his expression. "What?"

"She couldn't see you," Carlisle repeated, "Do you have any idea why? Anything out of the ordinary that took place?"

_Yeah I accidentally killed someone_, Caleb thought, then responded out loud. "Um, no not really. We bumped into that guy Mike..."

"Newton?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah," Caleb said with a nod, "But that was it."

"What did he sat?" Emmett continued.

"Just asked if we were related to 'the Cullens'."

"Where are William and Maddy?" Emmett asked him, looking around.

"They're um..." Caleb started, "Did they have a curfew?"

"No," Emmett said, folding his arms over his chest.

"They stayed down on the beach," he continued with the story, "We just decided to come back so we wouldn't get in trouble... and because we started to, ya know, argue... a little."

Delilah glanced at Caleb, then Carlisle. The two of them seemed to be buying the story.

"We were on our way home," Caleb told them, "Why are you guys out here?"

"Because Alice couldn't see you," his father told him, "So we came to make sure you were alright."

"Could Nicole see us?"

Emmett shook his head, and Caleb felt another wave of relief pass through him.

"I wonder why?" he thought out loud, bring the conversation full circle.

"We're trying to figure that out," Carlisle said. "You said nothing weird happened."

Caleb and Delilah both shook their heads and tried to make it see convincing. They didn't know if what had taken place could actually alter Alice's visions. Why should it?

Emmett pulled out his phone, "I'm calling William; tell him to come back to the house."

Carlisle looked at Caleb, then to Delilah.

She took a deep breath and looked around.

"We weren't going to be late getting back," Caleb told him. "We were on our way."

"I know," Carlisle said back, "You're not in trouble. We just wanted to make sure nothing had happened to you; any of you." He turned and began the walk back home, sending Esme a text message as he did to let her know he was with them.

Emmett connected with William, and Caleb listened intently as he spoke to him.

"What's wrong?" he asked his son over the receiver.

Carlisle looked over his shoulder for a moment, but turned back around as Emmett replied with a simple, "Oh, alright. I'll see you back at the house then." When he hung up the phone and regained the pace of their group, Carlisle turned to him.

"Are they alright?" he asked.

Emmett nodded, "Yeah. They said they're going to start heading home too."

Carlisle nodded back, then glanced at Caleb and the four of them continued their hike through the woods.

...

William and Maddy had acted on a whim and did what they thought might be the easiest act. While she scanned the area and made sure no one was around, William had taken the man down to the farthest dock on the stretch of sand. It was quiet, and dark and appeared deserted. He paddled out into the ocean, past the break of the waves and left his body there.

Maddy waited on the edge of the sand for William to return and took his hand as he emerged soaking wet from the water.

"I thought I heard his heartbeat before I dropped him," William told her, looking her directly in the eye.

"Do you think it was the wrong decision?" she asked.

He closed his eyes for a moment took a deep breath, "We'll talk about this at our house. We should have Caleb and Delilah over and come up with some kind of plan."

"You just told your dad on the phone you'd go to their house."

"I'll tell him we're just going to call it a night and head home instead."

Maddy bit slightly on her lower lip. "Don't you think that'll sound suspicious?"

"And me coming home looking like this won't?" he asked, referring to his wet clothing.

She nodded slowly. "Well maybe we could swing by our house, make an appearance and then invite them over."

William looked like he was about to protest, but knew she was right and nodded in agreement. "Alright."

Maddy sighed and touched his arm. He looked up at her, then around the area. "Let's get out of here before someone sees us."


	7. Identity

**Chapter 6**

The worry had died down in the Cullens house when all the kids were proven to be safe. When Esme and Rosalie, in particular, heard that nothing out of the ordinary had taken place, they let their anxious thoughts fade.

Everyone came to a general consensus that they had no idea why Alice's vision, and Nicole's, were blocked from the time Caleb and the rest of them had hit the beach up until he met up with Carlisle. All the while, William and Maddy could not be seen when they disposed of the criminal's body who had attacked them.

While the four of them were thankful that no one knew of their secret, they were as concerned and lost for answers as the rest of the family in terms of why it had happened.

Caleb and Delilah were able to maintain their composure while speaking with Carlisle and Esme, though said they were going to hunt in the area so they could escape to William and Maddy's house a few miles away. Luckily for both of them, no one else needed to hunt at the time, and Esme was eager to let the go because of the blackness in Delilah's eyes.

"Were you alright out there?" Esme asked her, "I know you've had more than your fair share of exposure to humans, but I know that it can be overwhelming at times."

"Right when we were getting ready to leave I started to get a little uncomfortable," she admitted, "I should have hunted before we went, but I thought I would be okay."

"Well, go hunt and get yourself back to where you're feeling good sweetie." Esme smiled and hugged her, "I'm glad you have the strength to recognize when you need to get out of a situation. You're a strong young woman."

Delilah felt guilty, knowing she was keeping a rather large secret from her. She still had hopes that Caleb would want to reveal what had taken place to his parents. "Thank you." She hugged her back for an extra long moment and sighed, then pulled back and smiled.

Esme looked at her, recognizing that Delilah appeared just a little more stressed than normal. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, "Mmm-hmm. Just... thirsty... or hungry. Whichever."

"Okay. Go, go." She shooed her hands toward the door. "Stay close by."

"We will," Caleb assured her. "We won't be gone long."

"Thank you for getting back on time," Esme added as they were about to leave, "You're very responsible... both of you. Maybe next time it'll be midnight." A smile lingered on her face and the two of them each forced a painful smile, feeling as if they weren't owed anything.

"Thanks Mom," Caleb said with a serious nod. He looked her in the eye briefly, then looked down and headed out the door behind Delilah.

Esme turned to Carlisle when she sensed they were out of ear's range. "Did they seem okay to you on the walk back?"

He sat down on the couch and cleared his throat as he played a little game with Marshall, making him smile and give a baby giggle every couple of seconds. "I think they were having a little argument when Emmett and I found them."

"Really?" she asked, a little surprised. "About what?"

Carlisle shrugged, and continued to smile at Marshall, who smiled back and flailed his arms. "I didn't pry. I'll ask Caleb if you want when I get a minute alone with him. I didn't want to make Delilah feel smothered or anything."

Esme nodded and sat down beside him, "Yeah..." she spaced out for a moment, "They don't ever argue."

He turned to her with a grin, "Neither do we... except for on rare occasions."

She smiled back at him and began to play with his hair, "Like when you lied to me about visiting Aro?"

"I'm never going to live that one down, am I?"

Esme shook her head slowly and the two of them shared short series of kisses. She laughed lightly.

"They're fine," Carlisle assured her.

She nodded and sighed, "Keep making him laugh." Her eyes fixed adoringly on Marshall in his lap.

Carlisle continued what he was doing, bringing the head-over-heels baby laughter from the depths of Marshall's belly. The two of them continued to share a fun moment with their youngest, not thinking much else about the slightly odd behavior of Caleb or Delilah.

...

"What did you do when we left?" Caleb asked William as he entered through the front door.

"No one followed you here or anything did they?" he asked, pushing the curtain back and looking out the window.

Delilah smelled fresh blood in the surrounding area and couldn't help but draw attention to her throat.

Maddy walked over to them, "I hunted something down for you," she said, "I knew you needed to hunt, but we all need to talk. It's in the back yard, I'll go with you."

The girls left and the boys continued to talk.

"This isn't good," Caleb said to William.

"I dumped his body in the ocean."

"What?"

"Off the far dock on the beach," William went on.

"It could wash ashore," Caleb said in a voice just above a whisper. He didn't know why he felt the need to talk so low, but he couldn't help it.

"Let's hope it doesn't."

"What if they figure out it was us? That Mike Newton kid saw me and Delilah walking up on the road. He stopped."

"What?" William asked.

"He stopped and offered us a ride," Caleb told him.

"Well, he doesn't know who we are."

"He asked if we were related to the Cullens."

"What?" William shook his head, "How would he know?"

"I don't know. Maybe he saw us talking to your parents. I don't know." He took in a deep breath through his nose, now being drawn by the blood outside himself.

"If you need to go-"

"I'm fine," Caleb assured him. His voice was tense and hard.

"Maybe we should just tell your parents the truth."

"No."

William looked down, "They might be able to help resolve this. I know my dad had a problem controlling himself when he was first changed into a vampire. They had to cover for him a lot."

"Will," Caleb shook his head, "I'm not telling my parents. They've been through enough as it is. I'll just have to deal with it."

"What if this guy's body does wash up?"

"Will they put it together that we were involved?"

William shrugged, "I doubt it. How would they?"

"You've seen those TV shows," Caleb said, "They always find out. My brother and Charlie have talked about all the equipment and 'technology' they have that can solve most cases. And on top of it Mike whatever saw us walking up there."

"There were other kids up on the road too."

"Who knows if he saw them."

"If he saw you, he had to have seen them," William told him.

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes until the girls came back inside.

"So what happened to him?" Delilah asked, "To the guy. Is he... is he... dead?"

Maddy looked to William, thinking of the words he'd told her after he left the man in the water. _I thought I heard his heartbeat before I dropped him in_.

"We think so," Maddy told her.

"Think so?" Caleb asked. He looked to William, "I thought you said you dumped his body."

"I did," he told him again with a single nod.

"Then why do you say you think so?" he asked Maddy.

She looked to William, who stared at her and they both sighed at the same time.

"What?" Caleb asked.

"Nothing," William said.

"No, tell me," he insisted.

"William thought he heard his heart still beating when he dropped him," Maddy explained.

Delilah looked at Caleb, who looked back at her, then slowly closed his eyes. He folded his hands and his chin on his knuckles as he sat down in a chair at the kitchen table.

"We found out his identity," she said to them.

The two of them looked in her direction, seemingly interested for whatever reason in knowing who the person was.

"Carter Mancini," William told them, "Carter _William_ Mancini. Born July 7, 1990."

Caleb felt his stomach drop. Giving the stranger a name made the act all the more painful, and personal, and real. He had _really_ ended the man's life.

"Caleb," Maddy spoke gently, "You don't have anything to be ashamed of. He was trying to rob us, or even murder us."

"It doesn't make it right."

"It doesn't make it wrong."

"I murdered him," he said aloud, seeming to be really taking in everything as the four of them spoke.

Maddy and Delilah both shook their head, and Maddy continued to speak, "No you didn't. You were defending yourself, and Delilah."

"William was doing the right thing," Caleb told her, "He was trying to walk away from the situation."

"The guy lunged at Delilah and grabbed her," William reminded him, "You didn't provoke anything. He charged at you."

"And I could have side-stepped him, or just knocked him into the sand."

"It was an accident," Delilah said.

"This guy has a family," Caleb said, sounding disgusted with himself and the situation. "People are going to be effected by this. If his body washes up on the beach then the police are going to be looking for who did this."

"They may rule it out as an accident," Maddy suspected. "If we talked to Masen about this-"

"We're not talking to Masen about this," Caleb told her firmly. "We're going to keep this between us."

"What about Edward?" William asked.

"He's been staying at his house with Bella a lot," he said, "I'll keep away from him if I can help it."

"Forever?" Delilah asked.

"For as long as I can."

"He's right though," Maddy said, "Edward hasn't been at the house much since their baby's been born. They've been kind of keeping to themselves. Bella's been to the house more than Edward."

Caleb slunk back into the chair, readjusting his previously tense, tight posture into something more loose. He rested his hands behind his head and outstretched his legs, but his face was still full of angst.

"Carter Mancini," he said with a sigh and an almost sinister laugh. He ran his hands down his face and closed his eyes. "Carter Mancini."


	8. Betting Yeah Betting

**Hey all, I googled this because JPotter789 said there was a lunar eclipse coming (pretty cool!). Go to seattletimes dot com /html/localnews/2023364445_ ... so weird that it's in Seattle :) Just thought it was fun/ironic ... Total lunar eclipse Monday night into Tuesday in Seattle, Washington.**

**Chapter 7**

For a solid week, Caleb made it a point to read the paper and was out at the very end of the driveway in the early morning hours when he heard the paperboy's car pull up and then drive off. He searched the fine print for beach accidents, and more specifically for the name Carter Mancini. After days and days of nothing, he began to feel just a small bout of relief, though questions ran through his mind.

_is he dead? Did he somehow make it? If he is dead, will his body wash up some day soon? Is he just a skeleton by now? Have the wildlife in the ocean consumed his body by now?_

A countless amount of thoughts passed through his mind as he stood at the end of the driveway a full week after the event had taken place.

"Something you've been looking for?" Carlisle asked him, finally following his son to the road where he's spent seven consecutive mornings.

Caleb nearly jumped. His eye shot up from the obituary section of the paper and he shook his head. "No."

Carlisle looked at him skeptically, "You've been out here every morning to get the paper." He tried to see the page his son had landed on, but Caleb nonchalantly closed it and folded it in half. "I'm just checking out some scores, that's all."

"What scores?"

"You know," he shrugged, "Baseball."

The two of them looked at each other for a moment.

"What's going on lately?" Carlisle asked him seriously. "You've been jumpy; leaving the house randomly without telling anyone. Delilah seems more shy than normal when she's around your mother and I."

His thoughts began to race and he was searching for some story that could remotely make sense, or pass as believable. "Um... I, well, I've just been like..." Caleb took a deep breath and he begged his brain to connect with his mouth so he would stop stuttering and utter a complete, sensible sentence. "I've been betting."

"Betting?"

"Yeah. Betting."

"On the ball games?" Carlisle asked him.

Caleb swallowed hard and nodded, too timid to actually say the word 'yes' for fear that he wouldn't be believable. His father stared at him with an expression that he couldn't read. He didn't know if he knew he was lying, if he bought his story, or if he was at all disappointed.

"Just kind of for fun," Caleb said, "William and I have this competition thing going. He keeps telling me that Edward will eventually tell him all the things I have going on in my head as far as picking teams and players, so I've been kind of trying to avoid him."

_Is this actually working?_ he thought to himself.

"Uh-huh..." Carlisle nodded, not quite sure if he was buying into his son's claims. He looked at the paper in his hand again, and Caleb handed it over.

"I bet on Seattle in their game last night," he said, already knowing the score. It was an easy detail to incorporate into his snowballing lie because he watched the game with Emmett and Jasper.

"You watched that one, though."

"Yeah..." Caleb said, "I was just checking for individual stats, because I've been betting on those too." He sighed, beginning to feel too wrapped up in his story. He didn't know what would spill out of his mouth next. "I have fun doing it. We've been betting practically all summer. I'm just kind of starting to get really into it."

"What are you betting?" Carlisle asked him.

"Sometimes money; sometimes like things..." He glanced down at his watch, "This was on the line last night."

Carlisle glanced down at his son's wrist and nodded. Again, he wasn't quite sure how to feel about what his son was telling him. His initial thought was that something was off, but another part of him said that the story was believable. He didn't know what else could be so intriguing in the paper. The intuition inside of him couldn't completely let it go, but he pretended to.

"Okay," he simply said.

"Okay?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah." Carlisle nodded, "Just don't bet everything we get for you."

Caleb looked at him for a moment and smiled, then laughed lightly in a decompressing fashion. "Yeah. Yeah, no problem. I'll try to keep my losses at a minimum." He pulled out his phone and began to text William what he'd just told his father.

Carlisle wanted to know who he was texting, and what he was texting, but didn't push too hard. He didn't want Caleb to shut him out, as he was confident he would be able to get to the bottom of whatever was going on.

He smiled at his son and the two of them began to walk side by side back to the house. Carlisle had the paper tucked under one arm, and could practically feel the edginess that was pouring out of Caleb.

"You'd tell me if something was bothering you, right?" he finally asked.

Caleb looked over to him and nodded, then looked forward again.

"Is everything alright with Delilah?"

"Huh? Yeah; yeah that's fine. Why?"

Carlisle shrugged, "I know you said you'd argued and since then both of you haven't seemed yourselves really."

"Nothing's wrong between me and Delilah. We're good... really good."

He nodded, "Alright. I won't dig too deep on the subject. I just want to make sure things are okay."

"Yep. All is fine."

Carlisle patted him once on the back as they got up to the front step of the house. "Okay."

Esme sat chatting with Delilah when the two of them entered. Caleb always felt a little concerned when the two of them got a minute alone because he knew Delilah strongly favored telling the two of them what had happened. He had to admit that the week that had passed had only made him feel more stressed, overwhelmed and guilty. He was sure that his parents would be somewhat sympathetic, but he knew they deserved better than the truth.

_It's been decades upon decades since any of them have slipped up_, he thought to himself. _Would they even understand?_

Esme eyed the newspaper in Carlisle's hand and both he and Caleb could see she was wondering how their conversation had gone outside.

Caleb knew that his mother had probably put him up to following him to the street, and he couldn't blame her. He knew he wasn't acting normal, and thought to himself how incredibly obvious he was by wandering out the street every morning the second the paper came by. There was a nagging voice inside of him, however, that had to know, and it won him over time and time again.

The phone in Caleb's hand went off, and William's quick-witted text message came through.

_Man, you beat me again in last night's game. I'm picking Seattle tonight. I owe you my watch. Tonight let's just bet twenty bucks._

Caleb purposely allowed his father to read the incoming message, immediately realizing that William must have had the idea to let him see it.

Esme read Carlisle's expression, as his eyes landed on the screen of the cell phone. He looked almost displeased at what William had written, seeming to be at least temporarily torn between his own thoughts on the matter and the contradicting words of William. He was sure they had communicated, but was very unclear about what they might have been hiding.

A smile formed on Carlisle's face, as he thought of asking Rosalie to interrogate William. He knew she would have no problem backing her son into a corner until he spilled whatever it was the two of them were scheming up together.

_Maybe they are just betting_, he thought._ Maybe Caleb thinks he, or both of them, have a problem._

"So, is it alright if I go watch the Mariners game at Will's tonight?" Caleb asked.

Esme looked up at Carlisle, who adjusted himself so he faced her. "Caleb's been heading out to the street to get the paper in the morning because he and William have been betting on the baseball games."

She could tell that his voice didn't sound fully convinced that their son was being completely truthful. Caleb and Delilah, on the other hand, weren't sure of his tone.

"Oh really?" Esme asked. "Are you betting your father's money?"

Caleb snickered, "Ehh... twenty bucks here and there."

"And the watch you got him," Carlisle added, gesturing to Caleb's wrist.

"What?" she asked, a bit disappointed.

"No," he shook his head, "I mean. I didn't lose it. I actually won William's watch."

"You mean the one Rosalie got for him?" Esme asked him, putting her hand on her hip.

Carlisle smiled to himself out of the view of Caleb and Delilah. He always felt a slight amusement when Esme got firm, or sassy about issues like the one at hand.

"I'll give it back," Caleb told her right away, "I didn't even get it from him yet. I'll tell him to keep it."

Esme shook her head, "Why are you two betting things like that?"

He shrugged. "I don't know."

Delilah looked back and forth between the two of them, not saying anything, as she wasn't quite in the loop of the lie just yet.

"We won't anymore," Caleb assured her, "I promise. I'll tell him."

There was a silence that fell upon them, before Carlisle decided to let the two of them leave the kitchen-turned-interrogation room.

"Alright," he said, "We'll leave you alone. You can go watch the game tonight. Just don't bet away anything your mother gave you... or anything that Delilah gave you." He smiled at her, and she finally gave him a true smile back.

Caleb laughed, showing his relief again. "Okay." He grabbed Delilah by the hand and left the room without another word.

Esme approached Carlisle. "What was all that about?" she asked him, "Is he really betting? Is that why he kept running out there to get the paper every morning?"

He sighed and shrugged with a half-smile that quickly faded. "I don't know. I don't think so."

"So, what do you think he's really up to?"

Carlisle let the smile return to his face. "I figure maybe we can send Rosalie out there to scare him and William."

Esme shook her head and grinned.

He continued to return the smile. "She'll get the truth out of them."


	9. Who Are You?

**Chapter 8**

Carlisle had talked with Rosalie, who happily obliged to his requests of tracking down the scheming boys. Neither of them knew the serious nature of the underlying cause to their edginess, so each of them were having an equal amount of fun trying to figure it out.

Rosalie right off the bat didn't buy the whole betting story that Caleb had come up with. From Carlisle's explanation, she thought it sounded fabricated.

He had agreed, and so she agreed to head over there. As a last resort, the two of the decided they would call upon Edward, though Carlisle didn't want to take him away from his newborn son if he didn't have to, and Rosalie just flat out didn't want to admit that she needed his help.

The baseball game didn't start until seven o'clock, but Caleb had left the house only minutes before to go to William and Maddy's house.

Carlisle sat at the desk in his office, reading an article that an old friend from the local hospital had sent him. It was medical related, and he found it interesting enough to read through.

Downstairs, Esme sat with Alice, Nicole and Mackenzie. The four of them had on a the movie Mean Girls, at the request of Nicole and Mackenzie. They laughed every so often, and at some point, Alice and Michael arrived to join them.

Carlisle smiled to himself, taking a mental break from what he was doing to acknowledge how happy their group was downstairs. He'd picked up on Esme's genuine laughter on several occasions and it made him feel good inside. On the same note, Marshall continued his attempts to communicate with them and the image of his son's happy expressions was priceless.

He glanced up at the clock, as it read quarter to seven. Rosalie wasn't scheduled to make an appearance until about half way into the game, so Carlisle wasn't exactly waiting by the phone for her call. He hoped whatever was going on between William and Caleb wasn't something to worry about, but he assumed it was a little minor trouble that boys tended to get themselves into from time to time.

With that, he converted his thoughts back to business, and began to focus on some updated medical procedures.

...

Caleb stood up from where he sat mindlessly watching the baseball game. Delilah looked at him, and he turned to face her. "I'm going to blow off a little steam, alright. I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" she asked him at the same time as Maddy.

"I'm going for a walk. The sun's about down, so I'll be fine."

"Want me to come?" Delilah asked him.

He shook his head. "I'll be back in an hour."

The hurt expression on her face made him approach her, as he didn't want to hurt her feelings. "Del," Caleb said, "How about if me and you go for a long walk and talk tonight?" he asked her, "I'm sorry I've been out of my mind lately."

She nodded, seeming to be drawn in by his offer. "I'd like to do that."

He touched her face, then kissed her forehead, then her lips. "I love you. Thanks for putting up with me this week."

"I love you too," she replied, taking his hand in hers for a moment. "Please be careful."

William and Maddy looked on at their interaction.

"Sure you don't want some company?" William asked him. "Don't do anything... stupid."

"I'm not," Caleb assured him calmly. "I just need a few minutes on my own to clear my mind. It's nothing against anyone, I just need to breath... and think."

They all nodded, understanding his position on the matter. He leaned in and kissed Delilah once more, then looked her in the eye.

"I'll be back," he said.

She nodded again and watched him slowly walk out the door.

The sound of a car engine filled the air and he pulled his way out of the driveway, away from the stuffiness of the house. He cracked a window, then completely rolled it down when he realized the only thing left of the sun was an orange glow that stuck in half of the summer sky. The top half of the atmosphere was a mixture of dark blues and purples. Stars were beginning to make their way out and a crescent moon fully presented itself amongst them all.

Caleb's eyes shot to the radio, and he turned it on lightly to play some low key acoustic music as he went. The feel of the breeze trickled off his left as he hung it from the open window. For whatever reason, the wind felt better than usual; better than when he ran, or when he was tracking an animal. All he focused on was the soothing sensation, and just for a moment, it eased his mind.

He wandered down the coast for about twenty-five minutes, finding himself in a different part of the small beach town that the tragic events of the week before had taken place. He steered clear of the cliffs where it happened, and off the beach itself, but parked his car on the side of small street near the water where a number of little shops hung in a row.

Townspeople gathered in groups, walking up and down the peaceful area. Mothers held their children's hands; fathers stuffed their faces with fried dough, or clam fritters; teenagers chatted and laughed in small cliques as they enjoyed the summer night.

Caleb listened hard and could hear the crash of the waves in the immediate distance. He didn't know whether to find it peaceful, or taunting. It instantly reminded him of the night he'd come to blows with Carter Mancini, only to leave the man wishing he hadn't picked a fight the four of them that evening.

_He wasn't wishing anything at all_, he tought, _the guy's dead._

A loud boom made him jump, and he looked up into the darkened sky. People cheered and blew fog horns as another fireworks show began down by the water off one of the docks, or from the beach.

He sighed and closed his eyes, then shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and kept walking. For some reason he was waiting for something to happen; he was waiting to come face to face with the man who had attacked them on the beach. With every turn came another face in the crowd, and he began to scan the features of those around him in a increasingly obsessive compulsive fashion.

The happiness and laughter; the sound of flip flops and beer cans being opened... it all began to sound deafening and overwhelming until he couldn't take it anymore.

Caleb took a deep breath and rounded the corner onto a more deserted side street. There were one or two shops, both closed for the night, and the road lead toward a quieter portion of the main beach.

Leftover decorations from the fourth of July still hung in their proud reds, whites and blues. It made the street feel even more alone as the holiday had come and gone awhile ago.

The last two little businesses before the stretch of boardwalk and fishing docks were a seafood stocking area, and tiny banquet hall that looked as if it hadn't been cleaned since it's last event, which by the smell of the stale beer and popcorn, Caleb assumed was earlier in the day. A crooked, paper sign hung on the door that indicated some type of singing competition had taken place.

Caleb sighed and pushed an empty bottle away from his foot on the sandy road. He then began to climb the set of three of four stairs that went up onto the dusty boardwalk, but felt an unexpected jolt on his back.

A pair of hands grabbed him roughly and shoved him hard through the weak, double doors of the small hall, sending shards of wood in all directions.

He stumbled just into the building, looking around with wide eyes for what had just taken place. Before he could even process the threat he was being heaved into the wall, sending half of the building crashing down on top of him.

Caleb covered his head, as beams of wood continued to cover him, all the while the smell of gasoline began to fill his nose and the familiar flames he knew all too well began to dance near by.

He felt a wave of panic rush through his body, and realized quickly why he couldn't get up from his place on the ground. Internally, he wanted to call out for help, but he knew it wouldn't do any good.

A tall figure in a dark robe stood above him, and stood will black boots firmly on either of Caleb's arms. He continued to empty the can of gasoline in the immediate area, letting it drip onto Caleb's long-sleeve t-shirt and jeans.

"Stop!" he cried out, feeling as if he was about to cry. He tried desperately to find the scent of his attacker but he couldn't. There was none. "Who are you!?" he screamed just as frantically.

The hood hung around the immortal's face just perfectly enough where he couldn't make out his features.

Caleb felt like his life was flashing before his eyes. He felt physically helpless for the first time in his life.

The gas drum dangled menacingly above his head, and there was nothing else that came to mind but a serious of apologies.

Caleb knew what was happening was no coincidence, and so he prayed that his words of regret and remorse would somehow effect his outcome.


	10. Theories of A Blocked Vision

**Lunar Eclipse tonight (2 a.m. eastern time!) Too bad I'll be in bed, but it's supposed to last over and hour Night owls, enjoy!**

**Chapter 9 **

Esme strolled into Carlisle's office and squatted down next to where he sat. "Whatcha reading?" she asked him.

A closed-mouth smile formed on his face and he quickly pulled her onto his lap. "Oh, just some boring medical stuff."

"Boring, huh?" she asked, scanning the screen with her eyes. "It can't be too bad."

Carlisle shrugged and exited the browser, then rested his hand back across her legs. He brought his lips to hers, making her smile. A sigh left his mouth and he continued to stare at her with a half smirk.

Esme pushed some hair back and kissed his forehead.

"Where's Marshall?"

"He's just down in the living room with the girls... and Michael."

Carlisle smiled a little wider. "The movie's over?"

"Just about," Esme said, "They're at the prom now."

He laughed lightly and pulled her closer, continuing to kiss softly along her neck, cheeks and lips. When he leaned back in the chair again, Esme readjusted herself so she could face him and kissed him once more.

"When's Rosalie suppose to call?" Esme asked him.

Carlisle rested his head on the back of the chair comfortably. Another sigh left his mouth and his eyes met the clock face on the wall for a moment. "Soon. She's probably on her way now."

"Things have been a little strange, haven't they?" Esme asked him, "Caleb and William have been up to something. Delilah and Maddy have to know something. Alice still can't see The Volturi, and her visions are off at times."

Carlisle's expression didn't change much. His expression still looked weightless and comfortable, and his eyes eased Esme's mind.

"It's odd I'll admit," he acknowledged, "Alice's visions in particular. I'd like to get to the bottom of that, but there's got to be an explanation."

"And the boys?"

He shrugged, "They're up to something." Another smile formed on his face.

"I think we've determined that," she responded with a chuckle.

Carlisle ran a hand along the side of her face and through her hair, drawing Esme's lips back to his as he still leaned fully back in the chair.

Alice entered through the open office door and Esme laughed at Carlisle's startled expression, as he raised his eyebrows. The two of them separated and Alice waved her hand at them.

"Don't worry about it," she said nonchalantly. "There are bigger fish to fry."

"What?" Carlisle asked her, looking at Esme for a moment. She stood next to his desk while he remained in the chair, only now leaning forward intently with his hands folded on top of the desk.

"I can't see Caleb."

Esme sighed and put her hand on her forehead, then looked at Carlisle. "This is starting to make me worry."

"He couldn't possibly be a type of shield or something, could he?" Carlisle asked aloud, to no one in particular.

"It's not just him," Alice said, "Its also the Volturi. I can't see them." She paused briefly, then continued, "However, there's still the chance that they were attacked and could have died..." The ring in her voice was hopeful, and it matched the fluttering look in her eyes as her lashed nearly batted at the thought.

"No, you're right," Carlisle said, "The immortal world would know if The Volturi were killed, or attacked. Word would have spread. We would have known about it by now."

"I agree with you," Esme said with a nod, "Unfortunately."

Alice nodded to both of them. "So, we need to figure this out."

"What's the cutoff on not being able to see Caleb?" Carlisle asked. "Can you see the rest of them; Delilah, William, Maddy?"

She nodded, "I can see them."

"So, it's just Caleb then?" Esme asked, panic beginning to plague her tone.

"He left."

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked her.

"He left," she repeated, "He took your car and he left. I know where he went, but when he reached the destination, he went right off my grid."

Carlisle stood up, sending a loud scraping sound across the floor, and Esme looked at him with a anxious expression as he cross the room toward the doorway where Alice stood.

"Show me where he went," he said to her.

She nodded in agreement.

"Stay here," Carlisle said to Esme.

"No." She shook her head.

Alex appeared quickly in the hallway, just a step outside of the office. "I'll watch Marshall," she told them, "Mom, go with Dad."

The three of them looked at her, and then to each other.

"He's not in danger is he Alice?" Alex asked.

"I don't think so," she said confidently. The lack of certainty, however, was enough to make Esme's panicking pick up a notch.

Alex hugged her mother, "Go."

Alice smiled at Alex and put a hand on her shoulder softly as she lead the way downstairs. The rest of them followed and Carlisle made the same gesture toward his daughter, leaving a hand lightly on her shoulder before allowing her down the stairs ahead of him.

Esme quickly ran to Marshall, who was in Nicole's lap on the ground and kissed him on the cheek, then did the same to Nicole and waved to Mackenzie and Michael.

Carlisle reached for his keys on the key ring, but they weren't there.

"Caleb has your car," Alice reminded him.

Carlisle's phone went off as Alice reached for another set of keys that hung there.

"Rosalie," Carlisle answered the phone call.

"Caleb's not here," she told him. "William said he went for a drive... or a walk or something."

"I know," he said, "Alice is going to show me where he went. She can't see him in her vision, but she's going to lead me to where she last saw him."

"It's the same spot as the last time my vision was blocked," Alice explained, speaking more directly with Esme than Carlisle because he was on the phone. "So maybe it has something to do with the location. Remember how messed up things got before I realized that the Quileutes could block my visions? That whole debacle with Bella cliff diving and Edward going to the Volturi..."

Esme sighed and looked at Alice.

"Sorry," she said, "I know, that's not really helping the situation. All I'm saying is that it must be the location that's messing things up. I don't know why, but it is."

"But you couldn't see anything going on in Italy either," Esme reminded her.

Alice shrugged, "I'm really lost for answers. I'm just thinking of what could possibly make sense."

Carlisle hung up the phone and shoved it into the pocket of his pants, then placed his hand on Esme's back and looked at Alice. "Are we ready to go?"

She nodded and lead them out to the garage. "Do you mind if I drive?" she asked, "I know the exact route."

Carlisle nodded back, "Of course."

The three of them headed for the Jeep, and opened the big garage door in the process.

Esme headed for the back seat, but Carlisle opened the passenger door for her.

"You can get in the front," she told him.

He shook his head and helped her in with a quick kiss on the cheek and slid into the back seat, positioning himself in the middle with one hand on the shoulder of the driver's seat, and the other on the passenger seat.

"What did Rosalie say?" Esme asked, as Alice jolted the car out of the driveway at full speed.

"Just that Caleb wasn't there," he explained. "I think she's taking Delilah to go look for him. She heard Alice say that he was heading to the same spot that they were at when her last vision was blocked, and she said she knew where that was."

"Is she going to call us if she gets to him before us?"

Carlisle nodded and looked her in the eye. "I'm sure he's fine." He rested a hand lightly on the back of her neck and glanced at the speedometer as Alice more or less floored the gas pedal, sending the car onto the main road at more than eighty miles per hour.


	11. Suspicions

**Chapter 10**

William and Maddy sat together on their couch together upon Rosalie's quick entry and exit. She had scolded William, but he wasn't sure why.

"No one said Caleb was grounded to our house," he had told her as she began to yell at him for allowing Caleb to leave.

Rosalie hadn't said much else aside from, "Just stay here in case he comes back." She then had left abruptly with Delilah.

"There's something up with that location," William suspected, as his arm draped lazily around Maddy's shoulders. She leaned up against him and didn't say much as they looked through the television that still played the Mariners game.

"I didn't know Caleb was going out there," she told him. "If I knew he was heading back down to the beach, I wouldn't have let him go."

William took in a deep breath through his nose and looked around, slightly confused. "What is that?" he asked.

Maddy seemed to pick up on what he was sensing just a second after him. "It smells like a gas station."

"Gasoline," William said, a hint of panic in his voice.

The front door flung open a moment later, and the two of the hopped up off the couch defensively. William nearly hissed and his jaw clenched as he crouched lowly in front of Maddy.

Caleb burst into the living room, and their tense postures immediately died down and changed into a more relaxed position. Confusion, however, clung heavily to their expressions.

"Caleb..." Maddy said, almost in an accusatory tone. "What happened? Everyone's out looking for you."

"What?" he asked, slightly agitated. "Why?"

"Because you went off Alice's radar again," William explained, "Are you alright man?" He glanced down at Caleb's tattered, dirty and wet clothing. "You smell like gasoline. We didn't even catch your scent because of it."

Caleb looked down at his clothes, and attempted to wipe some dirt from his face, only smudging it in more across his cheek as he did so, causing him to appear even more disheveled.

Maddy walked over to him and put a hand on the side of his face, and the moved it to his shoulder. "What happened?" she asked gently.

He looked at her with hard eyes, then closed them for a moment and almost appeared as if he was catching his breath. "Where's Delilah?" he asked.

"She's out with my mom," William said, "Looking for you."

Caleb pulled out his cracked I-phone and attempted to turn it on with no success. He cursed once, and whipped it hard into one of the couch cushions.

William and Madison followed the path of the phone, then exchanged a glance and refocused on Caleb.

"What happened Caleb?" Maddy asked him a second time.

He huffed a few times, then sat down on the couch. "Someone... attacked me."

William looked skeptical, "What do you mean someone?"

"Someone," he repeated with less patience, "I don't know who it was."

"Another one of us?"

Caleb looked up at him, "No William, a human... yes it was one of our kind."

"Did you catch his scent?" Maddy asked him.

He shook his head, "Didn't have one."

"He didn't have one?" she went on with more confusion.

"No."

"Caleb," William said, shaking his head, "What did he look like?"

"I couldn't see him. I couldn't smell him. He blindsided me and threw me into the side of this little old shack of a building by the beach. He poured gasoline all over me, and all over the place, then threw a match toward the other side so it started to spread. He was standing on my arms so I couldn't get up."

"Who was it?" Maddy pleaded.

"I don't know," Caleb said again, standing up from his position. He shook his head in frustration and turned his back on them. "The guy was wearing a hood. It was dark. I couldn't see him."

"Could the gasoline have blocked out his scent?" William asked him, "It pretty much did when you walked in."

"I can smell him now though," Maddy argued, shaking her head.

"He didn't have a scent," Caleb told the again with certainty, "He didn't have one before he even started pouring the gas on me."

The three of the stood in silence for a moment before Maddy pulled out her phone. "I'm calling Delilah. I'll tell her that you're here. Will, call your mom."

"They're together," he said, removing his phone from his pocket, "I'll call Carlisle."

"No," Caleb said quickly.

"Caleb, they're out looking for you," Maddy said more harshly, "Your parents and Alice went out searching for you. Stop being so defiant."

His face hardened, but he nodded. "I'll call them."

"We have to tell them the truth," she added.

"No," he said, shaking his head, as William tossed him his phone.

"Caleb, there was someone who attempted to murder you tonight," she said. "This is getting out of control."

"No one tried to murder me Maddy," he said, squinting his eyes as he spoke.

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't think he was fully capable of doing that? He had me pinned down and had a drum of gasoline and a lit match. He let me go."

"But-" she was about to continue.

"But nothing," he said, "I'm not telling them."

"How do you know this is related to what happened?" William asked him, "This could be the Volturi."

"Yeah, it's just a big coincidence that this happened in the same location one week after that happened with us," Caleb said, then corrected himself, "With me."

"How would this be related to that?" he argued, "That was a human being that was accidentally killed. Not an immortal, or he wouldn't have died to begin with."

"It has to be the Volturi," Maddy said.

"It's not the Volturi," Caleb said, "Come on..."

"How do you know?" she practically yelled at him.

"Because there is _no_ way that happened at the same spot," he repeated. "Exactly one week later."

Maddy's expression suddenly changed, and she grabbed onto Caleb's forearm.

"What?" he asked her.

"No scent?" she asked aloud. Her eyes traveled the length of one of the floorboards, then she looked up to meet his eyes. "Are you sure it was a guy?"

He looked at her and shrugged, not sure what she was getting at. "I really couldn't say. I don't know."

William had his hands on his hips and had decrease the distance between he and Maddy to just a couple of inches.

"There's only one person that I know of that doesn't have a scent," she said, feeling slightly guilty for even suggesting it.

Caleb and William looked at each other, and William turned to Maddy. "You don't think..." he started.

The guilty feeling never left her eyes, but she had to speak the words. "I think we should talk to Luciana."


	12. Interrogation

**Chapter 11**

"I didn't know I wasn't allowed to go for a drive," Caleb said, protesting to half of the family in the living room of William and Maddy's house. Rosalie still couldn't keep a glare from her face as she stared amongst the four of them, particularly throwing daggers at her own son.

"You have to tell us where you're going," Esme told to him, sounding more worried than angry in her tone. "I don't want you just wandering around town."

"Mom, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to be doing that," Caleb continued to claim, "The sun was down. It wasn't particularly late. I told Delilah, William and Maddy that I'd be back soon..."

"Why'd you go back down there?" Carlisle asked him.

He shrugged, "I don't know. It's... calming. It's a nice drive out there and it's just far enough away from the 'norm' of Forks that I feel a little free; I don't know."

"So, the baseball game wasn't all that important to the two of you, huh?" Rosalie asked, looking at William.

"Caleb told me that you and Esme weren't happy with us betting our watches and stuff, so we didn't," William said defensively.

"Mom," Caleb went on, "How was I supposed to know that I would get in trouble for this? I couldn't have been gone for much longer than an hour, and I was going to come right back to the house to finish out the game."

Alice stood silently, taking everything in. She began to feel a little guilty for ratting him out, considering it appeared as if he hadn't done anything wrong. "Caleb," she spoke softly, "You just kind of flew off my radar... again. I wanted to make sure nothing had happened, even though I suspected it was the location. There's something about that beach I think that doesn't let me or Nicole see through when you go there."

Esme looked at her son. "You haven't done anything wrong," she told him with a nod, "I think we should acknowledge that," her eyes drifted to Carlisle, and then Rosalie, who couldn't help but stare at William throughout the conversation. "But from now on, now that we think we've come to a conclusion on Alice's visions, please don't go back down there okay?"

Caleb let relief trickle down his face. He nodded. "Alright. That's fair. I'm sorry."

"Don't make your mother worry," Rosalie told him, "You saw firsthand..." Her voice trailed off and she stared at Caleb.

"I know," he said in a more passive tone, "I know. I'm sorry."

"Mom," William started, but she put a hand up.

"I need you to be more responsible."

"Responsible?" he asked, a little exasperated.

"Will," Maddy said quietly, tugging on the sleeve of his t-shirt.

"Responsible." Rosalie repeated the word.

Alice wanted to claim that it wasn't William's fault, and that it was just her visions that were making everyone crazy. Had she been able to see Caleb, and there was nothing out of the ordinary, she wouldn't have even felt the need to bring his casual drive to Carlisle or Esme's attention.

Delilah remained silent for most of the conversation, and seemed to be trying to blend into the background. She hadn't quite gotten the gist of Rosalie's wrath, but was visibly uncomfortable by her assertiveness. Likewise, she continued feel guilty for hiding the truth from Carlisle and Esme; though she was still out of the loop on Caleb's latest news.

Carlisle looked at Caleb's attire, and took it in but didn't say anything. The shirt hung a little too big, and he hadn't paid close enough attention earlier in the day, but he was almost certain that his son had been wearing different clothes.

Esme broke his thoughts and crossed the room to give their son a hug. She then glanced at the television.

"We'll come home," Caleb said with a sigh, looking down.

"You can stay," she said, "Until the end of the game."

His eyes took in the high score of the game at 10-8, and noticed there were still almost three innings to be played, as the seventh hadn't quite started. A pitcher for the visiting Mariners was still in his last warm-up pitches.

Carlisle glanced at Esme out of the corner of his eye, but didn't argue with her words. "Come home when it's over," he added.

Caleb was shocked that the two of them were allowing him to stay, but there wasn't a bone in his body that was ready to go back to the house and so he nodded. "Alright. Thanks."

Rosalie looked at William. "No one leaves here unless they're heading to our house."

"Okay," he said dryly, trying not to sound too much like a smart-aleck in the way he responded. While he found it very difficult to remain neutral, he knew it was a fight that he wouldn't win and felt the need to try to persuade Caleb to come clean with the information he so desperately needed to let out.

Rosalie locked eyes with him. "I mean it." She turned just after and walked past Alice toward the front door, leaving with a little extra loud slam as she exited.

William let his body relax as she left, then returned his attention to Carlisle and Esme. "I'm sorry that I let Caleb leave. I didn't realize that he wasn't allowed to."

"We didn't exactly make that rule," Esme acknowledged, "But from now on," her eyes switched to Caleb's, "please call me or your father before you do; especially with Alice's visions being fuzzy in regards to that area."

Alice nodded, "It will save us all a lot of anxiety."

The boys both nodded, and Esme looked to Carlisle. "Ready?"

He nodded and looked at Caleb, then gave him a hug. "Come home when the game's over."

"You'll be watching it too, to make sure I'm back when I'm suppose to huh?"

Carlisle couldn't help but smile at his son's words. He was grateful that he was alright and so he hugged him. "Yeah. I will."

The two of the shared a laugh and Carlisle looked to Esme. Simultaneously, Caleb looked to Delilah, who had a far less carefree expression on her face.

The four of them watched them leave, with Alice close behind as she gave the four of them a little wave with her fingers and a smile. She then rapidly made her way through the woods and away from the house ahead of Carlisle and Esme.

Carlisle didn't say much along the walk home. He looked down as he thought, and Esme more or less lead the way, stringing him beside her by the hand.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him.

"Was Caleb wearing those clothes when he left the house earlier?"

Esme thought for a moment, "I don't know. I didn't notice."

He nodded and looked ahead.

"Do you think he changed for some reason?" she asked him.

"I don't know." Carlisle appeared as though he still had his doubts about Caleb's whereabouts.

"What would be the reason for him to change his clothes?"

"I'm not sure that he did or not," he went on with a shrug. "The only reason I can think of is if he got blood on them. I don't know. Maybe it was bothering Delilah, or I don't know. I hope nothing happened that we don't know about."

Esme's mind began to wander, and she thought of the worse case scenarios.

The remainder of the walk back to their house was slow, and silent. Carlisle could see that his own wandering ideas were rubbing off on Esme, and he didn't want to let his paranoia cause her any stress.

As the entered through the back, he kissed her on the forehead. She smiled briefly, and released his hand to go search for Marshall and Alex.

"Uh-oh," their daughter's voice came, "Mom and Dad aren't going to be happy about this one."

Esme looked over her shoulder, as she was now a few feet ahead of Carlisle. He read her expression, and it lingered with the question, _what now_?

"Alex..." she rounded into the living room to find Alex, Nicole and Mackenzie painting Marshall's toenails a florescent shade of pink. Next to where he sat on the ground with his feet on top of some newspaper, Michael sat with Nicole just behind him on the couch. She had managed to put his hair into a bunch of little pigtails and a pink barrette was clipped to the very front of his hair above his forehead.

A smile formed on Esme's face, as she was relieved to see that nothing bad had happened since they'd left. She then began to laugh at Michael's less-than-thrilled expression and Marshall's baby smile every time Alex brought the tiny brush to one of his toes. Mackenzie sat behind him with her arms around him so he wouldn't fall or move suddenly.

Carlisle looked in at their group, and a smile formed on his face as he made eye contact with his son-in-law. "Alright..." he said, almost confused by what was taking place. A light chuckle left his mouth.

"This was all Mike's idea," Alex said, "He wanted to go to the actual salon but he was too embarrassed."

"The ladies would have been _all_ over him with a 'do like this," Nicole said, wrapping a thin, purple rubber band around a small chunk of his hair.

Alex chuckled and looked at her father. "I hope you don't mind that we're painting his nails."

Marshall moved his arms and smiled again as Alex touched his foot.

Esme leaned her back against Carlisle's chest, then looked up at him and laughed. "I think Alex wanted a sister."

He grinned, then laughed again and shook his head. "The toes are okay, but maybe spare his fingers."

"Deal," Alex said.

"We'll save the fingernail painting for Michael," Mackenzie told them, then looked over at him with a smile.

"I'm drawing the line here." He pointed to his head.

Esme laughed again, feeling as though their silliness was exactly what she needed to get past the potential drama that was taking place with Caleb, and the rest of them.

The two of them climbed the stairs to their room and Esme began to run water for a bath, while Carlisle changed out of the clothes he was wearing, as the bottoms of his pants were now drenched and muddy from the walk through the woods.

He walked out onto the balcony, opening the French doors that lead out there and glanced out toward the woods. He began to think of Caleb's situation, and hoped that none of them had slipped up and revealed themselves, or had any type of accident that they were trying to cover. He couldn't take his thoughts away from the change in Caleb's clothes. While he couldn't remember for certain, he contemplated the potentials reasons for why he would need to change if his suspicions were correct.

Esme walked up behind him and slipped her arms around his waist and rested her head against the side of his shoulder. "Still thinking about them?"

He nodded and sighed, placing one hand over where hers were locked across his mid-section. "Something's going on. I think it's time we took a walk down to Edward's."

"We haven't seen Charlie in a few days," Esme said with a little laugh, "Maybe I can stay with Bella and the baby, and you and Edward can go interrogate the kids."

Carlisle snickered, "Maybe we should get Masen and Bella's father to do the interrogating."

"Scare them a little?" she asked.

He laughed again, "Yeah."

Esme continued to smile and positioned herself between Carlisle and the railing. He shifted his hands so they were on either side of her and she kissed him once. "If you think there's something going on, then there probably is."

He looked at her in the eye, originally expecting her to tell him he was overthinking the situation.

"A father's intuition is just as a strong as a mother's," she went on. "I think we should get Edward down there to read their thoughts and to see what's _really_ going on."

Carlisle sighed, "Do you think it's something to worry about?"

Esme shrugged, "I think it's certainly something to think about... and look into."

He nodded again, then raised his eyebrows.

She put her hands on his chest and perched herself up onto her toes to give him a kiss. "We'll figure it out," she sighed, "And deal with whatever it is."

"I think we need to retire and go live on the island," Carlisle told her.

"You are retired," she reminded him.

"Mmm..." He nodded, "So, why doesn't it feel like it?"

Esme kissed him again. "Because we have a ton of kids running around."

"Oh yeah..." Carlisle said, pretending to forget. "The kids... yeah... they were suppose to be well-behaved, never get into trouble and always tell their parents the truth."

She slid her arms around the back of his neck, "That's all a big myth."

"Is it really?" A smile formed on his face.

Esme nodded, "They _all _get in trouble. They _all_ do things they aren't suppose to, and worst of all... they _all_ lie to their parents."

"Didn't read that on the label," he joked.

She laughed and the two of them shared another kiss.

"Come on," Esme towed him by the hand back into the room. She quickly scooted into the bathroom and turned off the water in the tub, then closed the door.

Carlisle raised his eyebrows, then laughed lightly as she undid the top button of her shirt.

"It seemed like they were almost done giving Marshall and Michael make-overs," Esme told him with a half-smile, "So..." she whipped past him, pulling him on top of her on the bed in less than a second. "Let's take advantage of the next few minutes."

He snickered and went with her silly, assertive advances.

The two of them put Caleb's situation out of their minds, not whole-heartedly recognizing the serious nature that lingered beneath the surface of the situation. On the other hand, they were each on the same page that they would go find Edward to have to him talk to their son in the morning.


	13. A Guessing Game

**Chapter 12**

Caleb sat across from William with Delilah at his side. They occasionally glanced at the baseball game on television just to make sure they were in Carlisle and Esme's time limits, but weren't at all paying attention.

"You really think it could have actually been Lucy?" Caleb asked them. His voice was temperamental and heavy with skepticism.

William and Maddy looked at each other, neither wanting to yes. In their hearts they didn't believe it, but it was something that did spark something in Maddy's mind. Delilah didn't know Luciana well enough to even comment on the issue. All she knew was that she was related to Aro. The main thing that kept her thoughts from being too judgmental was the elementary fact that she was technically in Caius' bloodline, no matter how far off.

"I don't think we should go off and accuse her," Maddy said to the, "But I think we should try to find out what she was up to tonight."

Before anyone could say anything, she pulled out her phone and dialed Lucy's number, putting it on speaker phone so everyone could hear her. The four of them sat on edge as the phone rang three times.

"Hey!" Luciana's energetic voice came over the receiver.

"Hey Lucy," she answered.

"What's everyone up to? Seth and I were just saying we should come by some time soon, or have everyone over our place."

The friendly tone of her voice made everyone feel guilty at once. Caleb even shook his head, thinking to himself that there's no way Luciana could have harmed him.

"We're just watching the Mariners game," Maddy told her.

"William's TV suggestion?" She laughed, and spoke a few words to Seth before returning to the conversation, "Seth says hi to both of you."

"Tell him hello," she said, prompting Lucy to pass the words on to her beau. "Yeah, I just kind of realized that we haven't seen you guys in awhile, and I'm totally sick of watching baseball so I figured I'd give you a call."

"Oh man, we used to watch baseball every night when we were staying with Seth's mom and Charlie. " She laughed again.

"It's not her." Caleb barely spoke the words.

"So, what have you two been up to tonight?" Maddy asked casually. "A more exciting night than us I'm sure."

"Well, Seth has been playing video games with Jacob for the past... oh, three hours maybe."

"Three hours! Yeah, I think you have me beat. So, what have you been doing?"

"Well, Edward and Bella came to the house with baby Charlie because Renesme is here too. They left an hour or two ago, so Nessy and I have just been chit-chatting and threatening the boys with chick flicks next time the four of us get together."

"They did?" She tried not to sound surprised.

"Yeah," Luciana said with a laugh.

"Hey Mad," Renesme's voice called out in the background.

"Hey Nessy."

William looked at Caleb, who gave him an _'I told you so'_ look.

Maddy decided to wrap up the conversation, "Alright girls, well, don't be strangers. Drop down here anytime."

"Will do," Luciana said, "Same here. Come check out our place!"

"We will."

"Alright, I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay." Maddy hung up the phone and looked around the room.

"I never thought for a second it was her," Caleb told them.

"I didn't really either," Maddy agreed, "It's just she's the only one without a scent." She looked at William, "I mean, maybe the gasoline did mask it just enough."

"I didn't even sense him coming up behind me," Caleb argued, shaking his head.

"It was pretty fast and chaotic," William reminded him, "Right? I mean, maybe you just didn't realize it; or catch it."

"Will, we're born with these senses. They don't lie."

"He's got a point," Maddy said.

"I still think we should tell everyone what happened," Delilah said, finally speaking up. "They could all be in danger. What if someone got hurt, or died because of us?"

Caleb was about to protest, but her last few words stopped him from doing so.

"I mean any one of them could be in danger, but now there's Marshall _and_ Charlie to think about," she went on, "They're so helpless."

He sighed, though felt all eyes on him. He knew Delilah was right, but also felt that what was done to him was personal. "You don't think this is about what happened last weekend?"

"I understand it feel that way," Maddy told him, "Because of the location and all; but, and I hate to say this, but all of our parents, excluding your father Caleb, have accidentally killed humans before. None of them were attacked over it. The human race can't defend themselves against us. The facts point more towards the Volturi. They've attacked before; the last encounter with them ended in death, lots of it on their end I might add. You don't think that they wouldn't send a goon out here to test them to see if they're worthy or not?"

"It's actually a wolf-pack mentality," William added, "They take non-leaders of the pack and send them into high risk situations to see what happens. And I don't necessarily mean like the Quileute type of wolves; just your average wild wolf pack. They're called Beta wolves. They're second to the alpha, or beneath the alpha at least."

"So you think this person that attacked me could be someone the Volturi is testing out?" Caleb asked.

"They did have their fair share of pawns," Delilah told them, "I mean, I was one of them. They sent me out after you because they thought you were young and vulnerable."

He sighed and bowed his head for a moment, truly taking in all of their thoughts and theories for the first time. Caleb knew he had to remove himself from the one-track mindset he was experiencing.

"Okay," he said, "Okay, so let's suppose that's what's going on. Why would they let me go? And why are Alice's visions being blocked?"

"Maybe they scouted out the area," William said, "And realized Alice's visions were blocked there, so they made it their stomping ground."

"How would they ever know that we were even going to be down there?" Caleb said, shaking his head.

Maddy nodded, "He's right Will. How would they know?"

William thought for a moment, and also nodded, "Yeah... I don't know."

"Could it have anything to do with Aro's other children?"

"What other children?" Delilah asked, "I thought Alice's vision went blank when his wife gave birth."

"Maybe they're somehow involved and he realized that they're a type of shield or something."

"They must be babies though… like Charlie." Caleb said.

"You were able to heal Masen as a baby," William said, "Maybe they have some kind of ability. That makes sense."

"So Aro's newborn baby knew that Alice's visions didn't work down at some random beach, knew that we were going to be there when we were, then knew I was going to come back and used it's baby strength to attack me while simultaneously still blocking the Volturi in Italy from Alice's visions?" Caleb sneered, "None of this makes sense."

"Not when you say it like that." Maddy huffed. She folded her arms across her chest and leaned back into the couch.

"Well this conversation has come full circle, hasn't it?" William said.

"I don't think we should let these theories go," Delilah said, shaking her head, "I actually think that whole alpha-beta thing makes sense that you said William. That is _exactly_ what they did with me when they sent after Caleb."

"This conversation is going to have to pick up in the morning," Caleb said to them, standing up. He glanced at the television and saw that the game had finally made its way into the ninth inning. "We have to go home."

"So, what are you going to do?" Maddy asked, "Are you going to tell your parents?"

"Yes," he said with a nod, "Soon."

"How soon?"

Caleb paused and looked down then back up to her, "Soon."


	14. Truth

**So... I made another movie trailer if anyone is interested. Let me know if you like it if you happen to watch. Thanks! :) Here's the link: you tube dot com /watch?v=ieJfOktm_yY**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Carlisle stood talking with Masen on the back porch when Caleb and Delilah arrived home. From the posture of each of them, he could tell that their conversation was of importance, or serious in nature. Immediately he got a chill up his back, particularly when the two of them glanced over at him at the same time.

"What's going on?" Caleb asked them, noting Masen's police uniform

Carlisle turned and looked upward toward the balcony that hung off his bedroom. He knew Esme was inside, and wanted to speak with her before she heard just bits and pieces of the conversation at hand and jumped to conclusions.

Masen looked at his brother, "There have been a few local... attacks."

"Attacks?" Caleb asked.

Delilah looked at him out of the corner of her eye, then refocused on Masen.

"I think we have a problem," Masen told them.

"Have you been at any of the crime scenes personally?" Carlisle asked his eldest son.

He nodded, "I found one of them myself when I was off-duty and called it in. l smelled the blood from miles away and went to see what was wrong."

"So you think it's another vampire?" Caleb asked him, "That's what you're saying?"

"I suspect so," Masen nodded.

"Was there a scent left behind?" Carlisle asked, "Anything?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Nothing?"

Masen shook his head again, "No. Nothing."

"You said the man you found was still alive when you first stumbled across him; said that he was coughing up blood and died a few seconds later."

"Yeah," Masen said, "He was."

"So there should have been a scent if the attack had occurred just a few minutes before." Carlisle said.

"I was afraid he was going to turn when he didn't initially die," Masen told him, "But he choked, or bled out before the venom could even spread. He'd already lost a lot of blood when I got there."

Caleb sighed and felt his throat tighten at the revelation that there was no scent left behind. He was about to comment, but his father went on.

"If there was no scent," Carlisle said, shaking his head, "How can you be sure it was an attack from one of us."

"It was brutal," Masen explained, "Animalistic, but controlled. The bite marks were unmistakable and the way he was..." he made a face, "...torn apart." Carlisle went to say something else, but he jumped back in, "Dad, I know what it is. There have been similar calls in too, several down at South Beach."

Caleb's head sprung up at the words. His heart felt heavy and he repeated the words in his mind as he envisioned the sign that he and Delilah had walked right past on the side of the road the night he'd pushed their attacker into the side of the cliffs. It read, _South Beach Keep Right Ahead_.

"South Beach?" Carlisle looked to Caleb, "Isn't that where you went?" A part of him began to fear the worst.

"Huh?" he asked. "Oh, yeah. That's where Alice's visions are blocked off from."

"What?" Masen asked. He glanced back to Carlisle.

"Alice has been having her visions blocked, particularly the few times that Caleb and a few of the others have taken trips down to South Beach."

"What were you doing down at South Beach?" his brother asked him.

Caleb felt defensive, but didn't show it. "We went down there with Emmett and Rosalie last week."

Masen looked at Carlisle to confirm the information.

"And you were down there tonight," Carlisle added.

"I just went for a drive," Caleb said. His eyebrows pressed together.

"There's someone roaming around the area," Masen concluded. "I know what it is that's doing this. They're blaming it on bears this time." He shook his head, "It's not."

"I suppose you would have sensed a bear just as well as another one of our kind," Carlisle said. He shook his head, appearing as though he wasn't sure what to make of the situation.

"That's what I don't understand," Masen told him. "Unless my senses are going." A smile formed on his face, but it quickly faded and he remained more stone-like in his expression.

Carlisle glanced at Delilah and studied the color of her eyes without staring. He acknowledged the peaceful, topaz color and the passing thought that she might have slipped up and Caleb was covering for her left his mind.

"How many attacks have their been?" Carlisle asked him.

"I've been watching closely," Masen explained, "I counted three similar stories in the are in the last week."

"Any before?"

He shook his head and shrugged, "I don't know."

Carlisle sighed and looked up again toward the window. He listened closely and could hear Esme singing lightly along with her I-pod.

Caleb felt the guilt beginning to weigh on him and he looked at Delilah. She looked up at him, and he turned to her. "Why don't you go inside with Alex."

Delilah looked at him and cocked her head to the side just slightly.

Carlisle made eye contact with Caleb, then Delilah.

"Okay," she said, then glanced at Masen.

He smiled at her and stepped in to give her a hug. "Nice to see you Delilah."

She smiled, always feeling comfortable about Masen's welcoming, gentle nature, but felt her chest aching because of Caleb's situation. She felt in her bones that he was about to tell the two of them what had happened. "Nice to see you too Masen."

They each smiled at the other and Delilah glanced at Carlisle, then Caleb and wandered in through the back door.

Caleb stood and shifted his eyes between Carlisle and Masen. The two of them stood about eye level with him, but seemed to be towering over him. He had never felt more intimidated by his father and brother.

"I need to talk to you," he said to Carlisle. "Can we talk?"

Carlisle didn't break eye contact and nodded. He looked to Masen.

"I'll go keep an eye on Marshall," he said, leaving the two of the to have a private conversation.

Caleb waved his hand to his father and began to lead him toward the woods. He walked for several minutes, feeling heavy in the feet and heavier in the heart. He didn't know when he was going to stop walking, but he feared the moment when his sneakers would come to a halt in the dry leaves.

Carlisle followed close behind, and saw how stressed and anxiety-ridden in his son was. He placed a hand gently on his back as he began to slow to down his walk.

Caleb sighed and finally turned around, bringing himself to a full halt. "Dad I..." He looked down.

He allowed him a moment to gather his thoughts and breath, but then decided to encourage him to open up and talk. "Son," he said, "You can tell me whatever you need to."

"Yeah..."

Carlisle began to feel tense, but also felt badly. He knew whatever his son was about to tell him was difficult, and he assumed it had to do with his drive, or the area that they suspected Alice couldn't see. "I can help you through whatever it is you're going through."

_Could someone's blood have called to him so strongly?_ Carlisle wondered. _Could he have had something to do with Masen's reports?_

"Dad," Caleb looked down and decided to just spit it out, "I was attacked tonight."

"What?" he stepped forward just slightly and looked his son up and down, "Are you alright? Who attacked you?"

"I don't know," he said, shaking his head, "But he didn't have a scent. When you and Masen were just talking, I knew I had to tell you."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Carlisle asked. He put a hand on his shoulder, then continued to look at him to make sure he was okay."

"I'm fine," Caleb assured him.

"Who attacked you? Where?"

"I couldn't see the person's face. He had on a hood and pinned me down. I was down at South Beach walking the streets and I went down a road that was kind of closed to be alone for a minute and he ambushed me; threw me into the side of an old building and it collapsed. He then strung gasoline all over me and threw a match."

"What?" he shook his head in disbelief and tried to scream out his next question. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't want to worry you... and especially not Mom."

"That comes secondary to your safety Caleb. Are you alright?'

"I'm fine."

"How'd you get away?"

"He let me go."

Carlisle looked confused, then put a hand on his head and gave his son a hug. "Caleb..." he shook his head, "Don't... you can't hide something like this. We have to find out who did this... and why."

"I accidentally killed someone there a week ago," he went on, regretfully so, "The night we were down there, Emmett and Rose left and we were taking a walk on the beach. A man came out with a knife and tried to attack us and I shoved him when he grabbed Delilah by the arm."

Carlisle's expression changed, appearing to be shocked as his eyebrows raised. His expression remained soft and understand. Caleb could see that he was trying to take in all of the information at once.

"I didn't mean to," he went on, "It was an accident. I just wanted to get him away from Delilah and I just shoved him. There was a big rock cliff right there and William said he heard a crack. He was bleeding and unconscious and we thought he broke his neck."

Carlisle stared at his son in disbelief.

"I'm sorry." He felt tears in his eyes, but tried to hold them back. "I couldn't tell you. That's why I was checking the papers every morning. I wanted to see if they found him."

Carlisle's mouth hung open slightly and he closed his eyes for a moment, but brought his son back into a hug. The two of them didn't talk for a few minutes, but Carlisle finally managed to ask the question.

"What did you do with his... his body Caleb?"

"William through it in the water down there."

Carlisle closed and opened his eyes, then ran his hands down his face, then through his hair.

"He attacked us," Caleb said, "He came out of nowhere and he charged with a knife. I should have just sidestepped him, or let him stab me but I never thought that a little shove would have killed him. I didn't want to tell you." He put a hand over his eyes. "I don't know what to do."

"Did anyone bite him?"

He shook his head, "No."

Carlisle hugged him again. "We'll figure this out."

"I don't know if this is related to what happened to me tonight."

"I was wondering the same thing. That's why I wanted to know if he was bitten by any of you." He sighed, "We're going to all have to talk about this."

"Everyone's going to be ashamed of me," Caleb told him, shaking his head.

Carlisle shook his head back, "Most of them have..." He didn't finish his sentence. He knew his son hadn't intentionally killed someone, and fully believed that the man had spontaneously attacked them and his first instinct was to protect Delilah. "Let's go back to the house. We have to talk your mother."

over

"No," Caleb said, "Dad please. I don't want to tell Mom."

"We have to," he said, "And she'll understand."

"I don't want her to be upset again."

Carlisle closed his eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I can't lie to her. Not about something like this especially. She'll understand."

"She's going to be upset."

"We'll figure this out together," he assured him, "That's what family is for."

Caleb stared at his father, who gave him another hug before he reluctantly agreed to follow him back to the house.

Caleb's attacker lingered in the woods by the Cullens house. He'd listened to every word of their conversation, and pushed the limits of how close he stood to see how close he could come without being detected. He engrained the conversation in his mind, and it pleased him to know that he held the power of detectability. Not a soul knew he was there, and if anyone else got close enough to his location, he would move with a stealthy, cat-like grace.

The images in his mind were there forever, and he knew he had plenty of information to share. With that, he decided to make his way away from Forks for a time, though knew his job wasn't nearly over in regards to Caleb and the rest of them.


	15. Coming Up With Leads

**Hope everyone has a happy easter **

**Chapter 14**

Esme couldn't keep herself from hugging Caleb and Delilah. The two of them apologized to her over and over, but she didn't care about anything except for their well-being. Carlisle took over on Caleb's explanation halfway through, as he couldn't bring himself to finish when speaking with his mother.

Soon after, Alice and Jasper were filled in, and then Emmett and Rosalie, who immediately rushed to William's house. Due to the fact that everyone else had been down a similar road, they weren't at all judgmental about the situation. Even in Rosalie's case, she felt more sympathetic than anything and intended to be easier with her son than she had been earlier in the evening.

Carlisle sent Edward a text message and explained what had happened in a nutshell. He sat and faced Esme, who stared back at him with the saddened eyes of a mother. Her hand was latched with Caleb's and Alex sat next to her with Marshall. Masen and Alice were at either side of Carlisle, and Jasper stood with a hand on Alice's shoulder. Mackenzie and Nicole sat next to Jasper.

The phone in Carlisle's hand went off, and Edward's simple return message read. _We're coming over._

No more than two minutes went by, and he and Bella were in the house with baby Charlie. Caleb looked up at them briefly, then returned his eyes to the floor. Delilah's expression mirrored his.

"There's someone without a scent, an immortal, who is hunting in the area," Carlisle said, "The same person who attacked Caleb down at the beach."

Edward immediately read Jasper and Alice's thoughts about Luciana. They were the only ones who seemed to have a doubt about her in their minds. Carlisle and Esme hadn't seriously considered it a possibility.

"If I can address a small elephant in the room," Edward said, handing Charlie to Bella as he stepped forward, "Could Lucy be involved? I don't want to think-"

"Weren't you there visiting her tonight?" Caleb asked him.

He nodded, "We were there with Nessy and Jacob earlier but-"

"I was with Maddy when she called Lucy," he explained, shaking his head, "I was attacked tonight while you were there. It crossed their minds too, but we spoke to her on the phone. It wasn't her, and I never suspected it was."

"You weren't able to see his face..." Edward's sentence began as a question, but Caleb's thoughts turned his words into a statement. He knew he hadn't gotten a glimpse of the person, but could now get a visual of the anonymous attacker standing over him with the case of gasoline. "How did you manage to get away?"

Again, Caleb's thoughts rolled along with the words he spoke aloud. "He let me go. I was too disheveled or anything to even try to follow him. He was gone in the blink of an eye without a trace. I suspected he headed for the ocean, but I don't know for sure."

"Turn on the television," Alice told them, "Channel three."

Carlisle reached for the remote and turned it on, quickly pressing the number on the remote to lead him to where her thoughts were taking her.

"This area of South Beach is currently closed," a woman reported, holding a microphone with the number '3' written boldly just above where she held it. "No one saw the alleged incident, but arson has been ruled the cause of the destruction of this favorite little home-town gathering spot, where no more than four or five hours ago a friendly local singing competition took place."

"Yeah, I was walking down the main road at the time, and I heard a loud crash," a young man reported. His hand pointed past the view of the camera as he spoke, and footage of the burning, collapsed building was shown before it cut back to the local boy. "My friends and I were walking down toward the beach toward the crab house to get some food and then we decided to check out what had happened."

"Did anybody see you?" Carlisle asked Caleb, drawing everyone's attention away from the television.

"No," he said, shaking his head, "I don't think so. There was no one down on that street and I just got out of there as quick as I could."

"Any street cameras?"

"I don't think so."

"We can check it out," Edward told them. "We could make sure there was nothing that could have got the thing on film."

"Who do you think it behind this?" Bella asked.

"I don't know," Carlisle said, shaking his head. "But I do know that Alice couldn't see it. She also can't see the Volturi, or anything going on there."

"A shield then," Edward suspected.

"Maybe."

"What if it's the baby," Alice said aloud, "I never saw Sulpicia actually giving birth. Everything disappeared then, and I suspected there might have been an attack on them because it all went blank."

"Can you see Volterra now?" Esme asked her.

She shook her head, "No."

"And you couldn't see Caleb tonight?" Edward asked.

Alice shook her head.

"So, how could be the baby?" Edward asked her, trying to get a grip on her thought process.

"I don't know," she said, "But it's the only common denominator as far as my lack of ability to see The Volturi."

"What if that was the case for their coven," he said, "But just for some reason you can't see past South Beach; two separate scenarios. I mean, how can the baby block Italy and an area in Washington. We didn't know for the longest time that you couldn't see past the wolves and the Quileute reservation."

"Don't you find it odd though?" she went on, "I mean, that this all kind of started after Aro's baby was born? I'm still convinced they're somehow related."

"And the lack of scent," Esme added, "Lucy is the only one we know with no scent. Maybe a sibling would be born with the same gift, like Masen and Caleb were."

Carlisle nodded, "I agree... but I still don't understand how there could be two places being blocked at once. Does that mean the baby is also a shield? And still, if he or she was born around the same time as Charlie, they would still be a baby. How could a baby attack Caleb?"

"What if the baby just being close by were to..." Alice searched for the right words.

"There was no baby," Caleb said with certainty, "It was a single person; one man."

"Or woman," Jasper added.

"Or woman," he agreed with a nod.

"Can you tell us anything about the description?" Edward asked. He glanced over at Bella and half-smiled as Charlie's hand clutched her necklace.

"All I could see was his outfit," Caleb said, shaking his head, "He had on a long robe with a hood."

"The Volturi are the only ones who dress like that," Jasper said, looking around, "I've never seen another coven, or vampire, wear a robe like the ones he described."

"It did look like the clothes the Volturi wear," Caleb concluded.

Carlisle looked deep in thought. "You said he let you go though."

"Yeah."

"Why would he?"

Caleb shrugged, "I don't know."

"What if it's someone setting things up to make it seem like the Volturi?" Carlisle asked aloud, letting his thoughts out. "I don't want to blame the Romanians, but what if they feared for their own lives and attacked us to try to make it look like Aro's coven did this? I don't think they would ever try to kill one of us."

"That doesn't answer the no scent question," Alice told him.

"I know." He nodded, "I'm glad he did, but why would he let Caleb go?"

Esme closed her eyes for a moment at his words.

"Do you think it would have anything to do with what happened the week before?" Carlisle looked at Edward, who didn't appear sure either way.

"I don't know," he said, "I can't see how it would. It could be a coincidence."

"Someone has been hunting down in that area this week," Masen told them. "Three people that we know of died in the area."

"They were definitely attacks due to..." Edward said, letting his sentence trail off.

Masen nodded. "I'm sure. There was no scent for me to track at the guy I found more locally with the same wounds. No scent; bite marks; loss of blood..."

"Could the guy that was killed accidentally have been turned somehow?" Edward asked them, looking around.

Emmett and Rosalie returned with William and Maddy, immediately jumping in on the conversation.

"I dropped his body in the ocean," William told them.

Rosalie made eye contact with Carlisle and Emmett put a hand on both William and Maddy's shoulders.

"Kate and Garrett are coming down," Emmett told them, "And maybe all the Denalis."

Carlisle nodded.

"I've asked William too, but did anyone happen to see you in the area?" Rosalie asked, "Humans?"

Caleb and Delilah looked at each other and the both nodded. "That kid you were talking to," Caleb said to her.

"Who?" Rosalie asked. She squinted her eyes.

"Mike, uh..."

"Newton," she said, putting a hand across her eyebrows.

"Mike Newton?" Bella asked in almost disbelief.

"Yeah," Caleb glanced at her, "He saw us walking up on the street just after I..." he shook his head, "He offered us a ride and asked if we were part of the Cullen family."

"What'd you tell him?"

"He seemed to already know the answer to the question," Caleb told them with a shrug.

Carlisle looked around at everyone's expression, wishing he had Edward's ability. He wanted to know the general thoughts of everyone around him, and what they thought would be the right move.

"Mike Newton couldn't have anything to do with this..." Bella shook her head, remembering how passive and almost nerdy he was in his subtle advances to her in high school. No matter how odd their relationship, she did consider him a 'distant' friend, or acquaintance.

"I don't think so," Emmett said, shaking his head, then joked, "Unless he was changed that night by this mystery vampire and now he's coming to woo you Bella."

She gave him a look, but Edward seemed to take his words slightly more seriously.

"You don't think he could have been changed, do you?" he asked.

"I was kidding," Emmett said, shaking his head, "No. I don't."

Bella shook her head.

"We should try to locate him," Edward told them.

"Edward," Bella said, rocking Charlie lightly up and down, "He wasn't seriously considering that."

"Well, let's just eliminate the possibility. What if he was friends with the kid that Caleb... ya know?"

"I don't think so," Caleb said immediately, "This kid was a straight up punk; criminal. He smell like cigarettes and beer. He had weapons and just..." he shook his head, "No. No way. That Mike kid was too clean-cut and nice, I guess."

"I want to find Newton and make sure he's still breathing," Edward said.

Bella shook her head, "Edward, don't waste your time."

"Look," Carlisle told them all, "We have a few ideas to play with; a few leads. We need to sit and think them all through and come to the conclusion as to what makes the most sense without reeling nay of them out. When we can narrow it down, we can start to the put the pieces together and then-"

"And then we'll take this guy down," Emmett said.


	16. The Fog Has Lifted

**Chapter 15**

Esme kept constant tabs on Caleb over the next several days. She could see how he was having trouble coping with what had happened the most, despite everyone's stories of their own slip-ups in their earlier stages of life. Edward, Emmett and Jasper described their individual struggles, and the girls chimed in with their own stories. While it made him feel supported, the guilt he felt didn't diminish, despite knowing the man was a criminal.

"Caleb," Esme sat down beside where he lounged on a couch in the upstairs family area. "Can I tell you about something?"

He shrugged, "Yeah. Sure."

She smiled at him and he glanced at Marshall, who was trying to get his attention. "I think he's trying to talk to you," Esme told him.

Caleb managed a smile and took his baby brother from her arms.

"Caleb," his mother said again, "I understand that you're upset, and you're feeling guilty for what happened, but I know you would never intentionally hurt someone; everyone knows that, your father knows that."

He sighed and looked around the room, then back to her.

"I struggled immensely the first time I lost control with the cravings for human blood," Esme told him, "It actually happened several times, and it really began to kill me inside. It was a terrible feeling, and it's my biggest regret to this day."

"But you're all wired to feed on humans, it was out of your control."

She shook her head. "You acted defensively toward a person who was actively trying to kill you. Even though he wasn't capable of doing that, that was his intention. You weren't trying to hurt him. You were trying to defend yourself, and Delilah and William and Maddy."

"I can't talk about this," Caleb said, shaking his head. "I hate reliving it. I know Dad's disappointed."

"He's not disappointed."

"I can see that he is."

"He's scared for you," Esme explained, "He's not mad, or disappointed. He just wants to know that you're okay."

"He and Edward went down to South Beach to make sure the body didn't wash up."

She nodded.

"I could have screwed up everything for us," Caleb said, "In regards to staying here. What if someone saw me, or the four of us? I mean I feel like if people knew me and Masen were related, it could mess up his job. I mean, everything is on the line because of that night."

"It still wasn't your fault," Esme assured him.

"There were other options."

"When someone plans to act harmfully towards you, or someone you love, sometimes you just react in a way that's beyond your rational control; it's a reaction. You acted in a way that would separate this man from Delilah, and yourself and your family members. Now, you know that we don't support violence, but that's a far different scenario than defending yourself. You weren't out looking for trouble. It found you, and you reacted Caleb. That's all."

There was a brief moment of silence before Esme looked at him again.

"I don't want you going anywhere alone," she told him, "Hunting, a trip into town, down to the Quileute reservation..."

"Mom, I-" he gave her a half-frustrated look, but she cut him off.

"I mean it." Her voice was stern, though without a hint of anger, "I won't be able to go about my normal routines if I know you're out and about on your own. I already told the rest of them the same thing, not just you. Edward, Bella, Emmett, Alex... everyone."

"Masen?"

Esme smiled and nodded, "Masen too."

Caleb sighed and looked down.

"It's not because you're the," she looked at Marshall in his lap, "second youngest. It's because I worry about this person running around trying to harm you, or just harm people in general."

"I never usually go anywhere on my own anyway," he said, seeming to agree to her requests.

"And you'll promise me that you won't now."

Caleb looked at his mother, taking in her already worried demeanor and serious nature of her tone. "I promise."

Esme gave a closed-mouth smile and nodded. "Thank you."

"Has anyone come to a conclusion about this?" he asked, "Are we any closer to knowing what's going on?"

She shook her head. "Not particularly, but everyone is still looking into their own personal theories."

"Do you think it's the Volturi?"

Esme shifted her posture and looked out toward the window, then back to Caleb. "I don't know."

"A part of me does, and a part of me doesn't," he confessed. "Personally, I think that it's way too much of a coincidence that the guy attacked me at the same place just after the other thing happened."

She listened to his thoughts and feelings on the situation, feeling as though he had the most insight to the situation given his direct relation to the incidents.

"As far as I know," Caleb continued, "The guy's body hasn't been found. Masen said some vampire has been feeding in the area, and down on South Beach. What if he fed on this guy? He was bleeding. Whoever's been feeding in the area could have followed William and Maddy to where they dropped him. Maybe the guy changed rather than died and stayed in the area. When he saw me, maybe he got mad and attacked me."

Esme sighed and looked at him, "That's quite a scenario."

"And a stretch, I know," he admitted.

"Aren't they all?"

"Yeah I guess." He nodded and put his head down for a moment.

"I can see them," Alice said, entering the room.

Esme and Caleb both looked up. "What do you mean?" Esme asked her.

"Carlisle and Edward," she said, "They're down at South Beach checking the place out. I couldn't see them before, but now I can. It's like a big cloud of fog has been cleared in my head. I can see them."

"They're okay, right?" Esme asked.

She nodded, "They're fine. I've seen them return and everything."

"Good," the two of them said at the same time.

"I think this person is trying to reach out to them or something though."

"What person?" Esme asked, "Not the one who attacked Caleb..."

Alice nodded, "Yeah. Him."

"What do you mean reaching out to them?" Caleb asked her.

"I've seen them return with a message. He must have left it on Carlisle's car."

"What kind of message?" Esme asked, now both intrigued and concerned.

Alice put a hand near her temple. "Um..."

"They're definitely not hurt or anything right?" Caleb asked, drawing a look from Esme.

"No, they aren't hurt," Alice said, "I think whoever is doing this must be like a major shield or something. Being around him must block out the area. He must have still been lingering in the area when Carlisle and Edward first went down there, and now he's left; gone somewhere else."

"That makes sense," Esme told her. "So, he's left then? He must not be around because you said you've seen them return here, right?"

She nodded, "Yes. I can see them there, and I can see them when they get back here. Maybe this guy can even block out his scent if he has that much control over his shield. I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud."

"No, that makes sense to me Alice," she said, continuing to feed off of her thoughts.

"When the two of them get home, we'll see what they think."

Esme and Caleb both nodded.

"Jas!" Alice called, prompting Jasper to appear at her side in less than a second.

"I've been listening the whole time," he said, "I was just waiting. Everything you said makes sense to me. Maybe we can talk to Bella and get some insight from her on her own shield to see if she could somehow feel what we're describing in any way. Maybe it'll make sense to her on a more personal level than it would to us."

Esme nodded, "Where is Bella? She didn't go with the two of them down there, right?"

"She's with Charlie," Alice explained, "Both Charlies."

She smiled and nodded. "Let's give her, her time there. It's safe to say that we can wait until Carlisle and Edward to get back to really discuss this, right?"

Alice nodded back, "Yes. We're going to be blue in the face by the time we finally figure this whole thing out."


	17. One Step Ahead

**Chapter 16**

_**One Step Ahead of You Dr. Cullen.**_

The letter's words were clear, though the message was far from it. Carlisle could give more than an educated guess that the person who left the note on his car was the same person who attacked his son.

"You never saw who put this on the windshield?" Edward asked his sister, looking her in the eye.

Alice shook her head. "No. I couldn't see anything about your trip down there until at least a half hour after you arrived."

"Whoever put it there referred to you as Dr. Cullen," Esme told him, "I mean I suppose a lot of people do, but not everyone calls you that."

"Another reason to suspect Mike Newton," Edward said in a low voice, drawing a look from Bella who stood just a few in front of him.

She looked back at him, though didn't say anything to contest his opinion.

Carlisle looked at Edward, "Do you honestly have a reason to believe he could have something to do with this?"

"He was there."

"He's human."

"We'll see about that."

"Edward," Bella said, shaking her head, "I doubt that... that Mike..." She continued to shake her head.

"He did specifically ask if we were with the Cullen family," Caleb reminded them.

Edward looked around the room, appearing as though he needed to get something off his chest. He then huffed and began to walk through their group toward the doorway. "I'm going to check in on him."

"Edward..." Bella said, forcing him to turn around.

The elevated level of their voices made Charlie begin to cry, and her eyes landed on their baby. "Shh..." she began to sooth him and gently bobbed him up and down.

Edward's expression softened a bit and he took a step or two in their direction.

"Do you think this is necessary?" Carlisle asked him.

He sighed, "I just want to rule it out as a possibility so we can cross him off the list."

Carlisle looked to Esme, who looked back then switched her gaze to Edward. "I think you should go. Don't..."

Edward smiled as her sentence was finished in her head, "Don't lose my temper... got it. I won't."

Esme gave him a look, but smirked just slightly and shook her head.

"I won't even speak with him if I feel as though I don't have to," Edward told them all, particularly looking at Bella. "I really want to confirm that he's still human."

She nodded back at him, and he leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"I'll make the trip with you," Emmett told him, appearing the room. He looked at Esme with a wide smile. "We're not suppose to be going anywhere alone."

Edward looked at Esme, and the two of them shared an appreciative glance that ended with both of the boys smiling at their maternal figure.

"We'll be back," Edward assured them, placing a hand on Bella's forearm as they crossed out of the doorway.

"I love scaring Newton," Emmett said with a laugh as they made their way out of the house.

Bella tried to fight off a smile at her brother's words, and Esme continued to smile slightly.

Alice looked at Carlisle, "Here's the theory that Esme, Caleb and I thought up about this person," she started, then proceeded to fill him in the conversation they had just had regarding the possibility that this immortal, whoever he was, could possibly have so much control over his shield that he could even block his scent. It still didn't narrow down the suspects, but it gave them all something to think about.

Carlisle stared intently at the clock as his thoughts rolled through his mind. He hand his hands on his hips and he stood firmly. The low ticks and tocks as the second hand moved added to the intensity of the conversation.

"You still can't see the Volturi?" he asked Alice.

She shook her head.

"I'm wondering if someone could be plotting against both of our covens."

"What do you mean?" Esme asked him.

"You can't see their area in Volterra," he said, "And up until an hour ago you couldn't see ours." He crossed the room, still thinking and looked out the window for a moment, then slowly made his way back.

"You think someone could be setting us both up?" Alice asked him.

"Well Caleb said that the person was dressed in attire similar to that of the Volturi," Carlisle said. He looked at his son for confirmation and took his nod as a 'yes'. "What if this person has the ability to block them, so we'll be suspicious of them. If this persists and we still don't know exactly who's doing this, eventually we'd contact the Volturi and it could create a heated situation."

"So, you think they're doing the same thing over there?" Esme asked, "Setting the Volturi up to think that we're doing things to them?"

"I don't know," Carlisle said, "I mean, maybe. If there's another person involved, or if Alice said, like his shield is that good. I don't know."

"What if it's someone just seeing how strong we are and they're planning to try taking us down themselves?" Caleb asked.

"I still don't understand why he let you go," Alice said, shaking her head.

"I think he's messing with us."

Carlisle and Esme both looked at him.

"I mean it's a little childish to be leaving a note on your car, don't you think?" Caleb asked his father, "It seems like a game to him; like it's fun." He then looked at Alice, "But I think what you said could be right on about him testing to see how strong we are. Maybe he is, and they're waiting to make another move."

The words and assumptions they shared were all accompanied by an eerie feeling. The fact that someone was lurking around with unknown intentions, but the ability to get close enough to hurt them was terrifying. It was something that hadn't experienced before. Even in the fights with other covens, the Volturi included, they knew where everyone stood and what to expect. Now, things were a mystery and the person attacking and taunting them was nothing more than a ghost.

Carlisle followed to where Esme's eyes landed on the note in the his hand. The words, while non-threatening, gave her the chills. Someone had been following her husband and Edward without them knowing it. He had access to his car and could somehow block Alice from seeing every move he made while he was around them. Worst of all, he was the same immortal that attacked Caleb.

"Should I be worried about Charlie?" Bella asked. She looked down at the baby. "My father Charlie."

"We'll get people over there to look after him," Carlisle said.

"And Sue," Esme added with a nod. She pulled out her phone, "I'll call Masen now and have him and Leah make sure they're looked after."

"Edward and I can go over too," Bella said with a nod. "He always knows something's up when we stay past his bed time." She smiled for a brief second at her choice of words, almost sounding as if she was talking about a child rather than a grown man.

"We should all keep tabs on one another," Alice told them, "If my vision suddenly goes blank, we'll know that he's in that area. We won't let anyone go anywhere alone, and if I get wind that there's a hole in my vision, then we'll get as many of us at the scene as possible to try to track him down."

"No one can go out alone," Esme said, reiterating what she felt was the most important part of Alice's statement.

Alice and Bella both nodded, as did Caleb when Esme turned in his direction.

"We know that Delilah has some tracking ability," Carlisle pointed out, "Maybe she can practice and try to harness it a little more. She may be a great asset in this puzzle."

"Where is Delilah, Caleb?" Esme asked.

"Hunting with Michael and Alex," he told her.

"They're fine," Alice said immediately, looking directly at Esme.

"Keep an eye on them for me," she said.

"No problem."

Carlisle looked at the note in his hand, then looked up around at everyone. "Well..." he shook his head, and then made eye contact with Esme, "I suppose this message is accurate as of now."


	18. Cat and Mouse

**Chapter 17**

Esme sat staring out the window into the darkness listening to the strong, summer winds as they whipped through the trees. She held the note from Carlisle's car in her hand and had stared at it repeatedly, and compulsively since he'd received it. Her own imagination gave her the chills, as she pictured Caleb's ordeal in her mind. Each time she thought of what might have happened, her fear increased at how helpless he truly had been.

_What's to stop something like this from happening again?_ she thought to herself.

The notion that they were all aware of this mystery person allowed her feel more comfortable, but only slightly; particularly because the assailant didn't seem to ultimately care if their family knew he was out there. The scary part was that his intentions were exactly that - he _wanted_ them to know he was around.

She glanced down at the note again. Esme saw all the faces of the Volturi members, picturing the last joyous expression that Aro had been attempting to hide in his half-hearted condolences in regards to Carlisle. In her mind she saw Caius in the background, playing the puppeteer for this person's actions. Esme knew he would be having the time of his life if it meant instilling fear into their coven.

Images of Caleb and Delilah's night out flashed through her mind next, and she pictured her son's immediate guilt as he knocked the human man down as he tried to attack them on the beach. She couldn't let go of the heavy feelings in her heart over what had happened, for she knew that Caleb was possibly the most sensitive and definitely the least experienced, in regards to the ways of the world, of their grown children.

Carlisle interrupted her thoughts as he entered the room. Her cell phone was in his hand and he looked at her, "Alex just sent you a text message," he told her, "Are you and Rosalie suppose to go over to their house?"

Esme straitened up as he approached and she nodded. "Yes." She looked at the small digital clock on the nightstand, "Oh, I didn't even realize how late it was."

He gave her a smile and kissed her, then looked down at the note in her hand.

She looked at him, "I know. I just can't get it out of my mind."

Carlisle wrapped her arms around her from behind and kissed her on the cheek without moving from his position. "How's Caleb?"

"He's okay."

"Did Emmett take him out somewhere like they were planning?"

Esme pointed out the window and far in the distance the two of them could see a campfire. "Most of the boys are out there. Alice, Nicole and Mackenzie are all with Alex at her house."

"Masen is in my office," Carlisle told her. "Leah and Cassie are over visiting with Sue and Charlie."

"Good," she said, "I want them to be looked after."

He sighed, and Esme spun around, allowing him to kiss her forehead, nose and lips. A small smile crept onto her face, then she leaned into him, letting it fade as she did.

"We'll figure things out," he said, attempting to sound reassuring.

"Yeah..."

"We will."

Esme shook her head, "We need to go off the grid somewhere; all of us. Maybe we've stayed in Forks for too long. It's too easy for others to find us, and cause trouble. Ever since the first time The Volturi came to Forks with a majority of their coven, I feel like word spread and we've gained some unwanted notoriety. I just want to go back to living under the radar, and blending in with whatever society we choose to blend in with. I don't want to be attacked all the time, or targeted."

"I know." Carlisle nodded and rubbed her back, "Maybe you're right. Maybe we should relocate on a regular basis like we used to. It wouldn't hurt if it meant living in peace."

"I just wish things were more black and white," she continued, "There are so many ties here now; Masen and Leah, Cassie, Charlie..." A deep sigh filtered out her mouth, heaving her chest just slightly into his, "I feel like even if we moved somewhere else, if someone wanted to draw us out of our anonymous living quarters all they would have to do is threaten the people we love back here. It wouldn't take much to draw us back here."

"It's a double-edged sword I suppose," he told her with an agreeing ring to his voice.

"It feels that way." Esme looked up to him and shook her head, keeping eye contact.

Carlisle kissed her another time. "We can have another discussion about relocating."

"I don't want to shake everybody up now," Esme said, "And besides, whoever is doing this could potentially just follow us undetected anyway, right?"

"I suppose so." His eyes shifted toward the open doorway as he heard Rosalie's purposely loud cough from downstairs. Carlisle smiled and snickered once, "Go," he told her, "I know Rosalie's waiting for you."

She looked up at him, seeming to be having a hard time parting from his arms. "Can we just... stay here and cuddle?" Esme laughed at her own words, "Alice stole Marshall from me a half hour ago when she left."

"I've got nowhere to go," Carlisle told her, though knew she was half-serious upon already making the promise to hang out with the girls. He smiled again upon hearing Rosalie's impatient stirring from the living room. "Go. I'll try to find a marathon of that funny show you like and we can cuddle up with Marshall later tonight."

Esme smiled, then nodded and kissed him. "Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Carlisle kissed her once more, "Just send me a quick text message when you get there."

Esme nodded again before scooting out of the room and down to where Rosalie was waiting to take the walk over with her.

He glanced out the window as the two of them took off, then popped his head in to where Masen was seemed intensely concentrated on whatever he was reading online. Carlisle gave a little wave, prompting one back from his son with so much as taking his eyes off the screen for more than a second. He crossed back into his room, removed his shirt and tossed it on the bed before going in to start a shower.

On the shelf above the sink he picked up Esme's I-pod and shuffled through it to find a few consecutive songs that he liked as the water ran and began to create a slight misty appearance. He then made his way into the shower and finally felt a moment of relaxation as the water beat down on his neck and back.

Carlisle wasn't in any rush to leave his current surroundings. He took advantage of the moment to himself and tried not to think of the ongoing stress that was being forced onto their family. He knew ten minutes of un-clouding his mind could later lead to clearer thoughts on everything and so his mind drifted to their last group trip to Isle Esme.

The water, the sun, the sand; it was complete solitude and for a moment he seriously considered the idea of relocating there on a semi-permanent basis. He had the same reoccurring thought: W_hy not? We've been through enough._

Carlisle drifted back to reality for a moment, noting that now was certainly not the time to contemplate such a perfect vision. Their current situation prevented him from enjoying the thought of paradise for longer than a minute or two.

He let himself go back for a moment, thinking that the shower's consistent, soothing pelting felt similar to the waterfalls on down on the island. He loved lingering in the water for hours when they were able to in their own private space.

Carlisle turned and pushed water into his face, then bowed his head to let it hit against the back of his neck. He sighed contently in the moment before finally reaching for the shampoo on a small shelf at about his shoulder level.

The suds began to run down his face and he closed his eyes, staying under the water well after the shampoo had washed out.

A noise caught Carlisle's attention from in his room and he listened for a moment. A drawer opened and closed, and there were mild-sounding footsteps fluttering across the floorboards. As quickly as the noises had appeared, they stopped.

Carlisle kept his eyes open and looked around. He contemplated calling out Esme's name to see if she was there, but instead he killed the water and pushed some lingering droplets away from his eyes.

The music still played on the I-pod, and he carefully got out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist. He crossed through the smoky vapors and clicked the pause button and continued to listen as he stood with a slight hint of paranoia.

For a moment he waited to see if he could hear anything else in the immediate vicinity. When all that rang through his ears was silence, he turned the doorknob and walked out into the bedroom.

The area looked exactly the same as he'd left it. His shirt was still slung lazily across the bed, along with his pants. The door was shut, and the only scent that lingered in the room was Esme's.

Carlisle took in a deep breath through his nose, reassuring himself that no one was in the room. He eyed every corner again, then opened the door that lead out into the hallway part way.

"Masen..." he called, listening for his son's voice. When there was no answer, he took a step out into the hallway and looked down both ways. "Mase," he said again.

There was nothing. The house was silent; empty and all Carlisle could hear was the constant ticking of the clock. He walked a few more steps, typically too modest to roam the house in just a towel, but wanted to make sure his son wasn't still reading intently in his office.

He took a few more steps down the hall and peered into the empty room, where just the desk lamp was left on. The laptop was now closed shut and his son was nowhere in sight.

_Maybe he just left_, he thought.

Carlisle walked back toward his bedroom in search of his phone, glancing on the nightstand, the edge of the bed and the dresser. He then reached into the pockets of the pants he'd shed before the shower, only to come up empty handed.

"Where's my phone?" he wondered aloud, continuing to scan the area with his eyes. His eyes caught the fire's flames in the distance as he looked out the window in his more adamant search of the room.

Carlisle breathed in heavily once through his nose, showing just a small amount of frustration. He thought to himself about when he had it last, then took one more trip down to his office to make sure it wasn't there.

He began to rummage through drawers, though knew he hadn't left his phone there. What he really wanted to do was call Masen to see if he'd come into the room before he left the house. His scent lingered around the upstairs area, but wasn't overly prominent anywhere but in and around the office.

The sound of a teetering glass and a small crash made Carlisle stop what he was doing and listen. The noise had come from the lower level, and he looked around the room.

"Hello?" he called out. "Masen?"

There was no answer, and he shook his head, becoming increasingly spooked by the situation. He left the office, taking the stairs slowly down toward the living room. He glanced down at his attire, and shook his head another time.

A moment went by before he made his way into the kitchen and saw a drinking glass shattered on floor. He looked around and over his shoulder.

"Emmett?" he called out, beginning to hope that he was playing a prank on him.

The house remained silent, and Carlisle continued to stare at the fragments of shattered glass before him. He was about to turn around and go back upstairs when he noted his open wallet on the far corner of the countertops under a window.

Carlisle stared across the room for a moment before finally walking over, past the broken glass. He picked up the wallet, recognizing immediately that his driver's license and the hundred and something dollars he had in there were missing.

He began to thumb through the rest of it, seeing that nothing else was missing. Carlisle wanted nothing more than his phone so he could call the others to see if they had something to do with what was going on. He cursed in his mind, feeling more aggravated at that moment than he had for awhile.

Carlisle's eyes glanced around the room and he headed back for the staircase when all of the lights in the house went out.


	19. Lost Identification

**Chapter 18**

Carlisle stood still for a moment and looked over his shoulder again. He stared down at his bare feet as they lingered in an inch or two away from the shattered glass. He kept his wallet in one hand and gripped the towel he had on with the other, contemplating hurrying upstairs to go put on some clothes.

Water dripped down his back from his saturated hair and it gave him a chill, though he knew it wasn't from the drops of water. Carlisle could feel the presence of someone in the house, but for the first time in over three hundred years he couldn't sense them. He felt as if he was at a complete disadvantage.

The silence was deafening, and he felt like his ears were being swallowed up by the nothingness. There were no other movements in the house aside from the loud, constant swooshing of a ceiling fan just above where he stood. As each second passed, the wooden blades began to slow down with the loss of power until it came to a complete stop.

Carlisle didn't want to take his eyes off the area immediately in front of him to look up. He inched forward, stepping over the collection of broken glass as he carefully made his way to the stairwell with his eardrums in high alert for some type of movement.

He felt his impatience and anxiety beginning to get the best of him. "Hello?"

The silence continued like a wave crashing over him. He wanted an answer to his response. He wanted the person to reveal themselves.

"Hey!" he called out again, showing a small bout of anger in the tone of his voice. Carlisle continued to walk slowly, stalking the person who, at the moment, seemed invisible.

He scanned the living room as he left the kitchen and glanced down the long, dark hallway. He began to cross toward the staircase, but the front door caught his eye. It sat open just an inch, and would have most likely been easily missed by the human eye. Carlisle, however, made it out just fine in the darkness and he cursed under his breath.

The front door creaked as he pulled it the rest of the way open and glanced outside toward the driveway. He stood there for a moment, hoping to hear something from the woods, or elsewhere nearby. He took the few stairs that lead to the house, and then walked a few steps to the left, and then to the right, hoping to catch a glimpse of somebody.

"Hello?" he called out again, looking around.

A hand landed on his back and he turned around, feeling his instincts telling him to get into a defensive mindset. A low growl barreled through his chest and he could feel the swell in his pupils as he was more than ready to attack.

"Carlisle, it's me."

He adjusted his eyes and felt all of the tension that had built up over the last ten minutes immediately leave his body. "Esme?"

"Alice said she couldn't see you so I ran back here before she could even finish her sentence," she said, now even more frantic because of his extremely tense position. She glanced down at what he was wearing. "Why are you out here like this? What happened?"

The lights in the house went back on, and it caught Carlisle's attention as the window was illuminated near where they stood. He grabbed Esme by the hand and kept her behind him as they rushed back into the house.

Esme didn't have time to think or speak. She went with him, though felt her anxiety climbing as each second passed.

Carlisle scanned the first room inside with his eyes, then rushed to the next one, never letting go of Esme's hand. She began to think that she had never felt him hold onto her so tightly.

"Someone's here," he said, wanting to fill her in.

Esme's eyes lit up at his words, but she knew any question she asked would be pointless because she could tell her husband didn't know who the person was, where they were or why they were there.

The two of them scanned the kitchen, then rushed upstairs as Esme more or less went along for the ride as Carlisle led the way. He whipped through his office and the bedrooms that were on the same level, ultimately leading to their room, where he threw open the closets and tossed the closed shower curtain aside to cover every inch of the place.

"Carlisle." Esme froze abruptly and squeezed his hand, placing the other on the front of his chest as she took in her surroundings and listened. "The garage."

He immediately got on the same page, locking eyes with her for a split second, before pulling her by the hand behind him again towards where the garage door was slowly being raised.

They ran out of the house and into the driveway in time to see Carlisle's Mercedes barrel across the way sporadically toward the woods line without any intention of stopping. He positioned his body in front of Esme's as the car passed by them and proceeded to crash into one of the many trees that protected their yard.

She stood with her hand over her mouth and Carlisle put a hand on his head before rushing to the scene where smoke began to filter through the air.

"Carlisle..." It was the only word Esme could bring herself to speak. She was frightened and had no idea what was going on.

He looked at her for a moment, then glanced in through the car window.

"Don't get too close," she told him, "What if it explodes."

Carlisle immediately recognized there was no one in the car. A brick sat on the pedal and continued to make the dying car reel. He glanced out toward the hood, which was completely smashed in and upward in all sorts of impossible angles.

A sighed left his mouth and shook his head, then linked back up with Esme.

"What?" she asked, looking past him toward the car.

"There's no one in the car," he told her, pulling her to his body.

Esme hugged him hard, "What is going on Carlisle?"

Edward and Bella were the first to rush to the scene where they stood upon hearing the crash and both looked awe-struck as they approached. Bella held Charlie protectively in her arms.

"What happened?" Edward asked first. His voice was shrill and panicky.

Esme looked up at Carlisle, not letting him go. She didn't know what answer to give.

"Someone's been in the house, and in the garage," Carlisle explained. He glanced at his car and sighed.

Edward read his mind, "There was a brick on the gas pedal?"

He nodded, then his thoughts shifted to Masen, whom he still had no idea where he was. "Have you seen Masen?"

Esme seemed to spring back to life. "What do you mean?" she asked him.

"He was in my office when I was showering. Someone came into the house and took my phone and wallet. Masen wasn't there when I got out of the shower."

"Oh my God." Esme parted from him for the first time and put a hand across her forehead.

"Dad." Masen's voice immediately made both of them feel relief pass through their bodies. "I'm sorry. I went out to the bonfire." He glanced at the wrecked car. "I should have stayed at the house."

"No, it's okay," Carlisle told him. He took a deep breath, "I was worried that something might have happened to you." He put his hands on his hips as the rest of the family began to filter in together.

"Emmett and Jasper stayed with Alice and Alex because of Marshall," Rosalie said, as she approached. "He's still at Alex and Michael's house." She looked to her left and Michael stood next to her.

Everyone seemed to be looking to Carlisle for answers, but he didn't feel as though he had any. His eyes met Caleb's, who stood with Delilah next to Masen.

"We should do a thorough search of the area," Carlisle told everyone, "Stay in groups of three or four at least. I'd like Alex and everyone there to come back here." He looked at Michael, who nodded, "Should I go get them?"

"Not alone," Esme said, shaking her head. She drifted her gaze toward Carlisle's wrecked car.

"We'll go," Edward volunteered. He looked at Bella, who nodded.

Masen immediately got on the phone and called Leah, then looked to his parents. "I have to get to Cassie and Leah. Jacob and Nessy are heading over there now."

Carlisle nodded to him.

"I'll take the trip over with you," Rosalie told him, then looked at Esme. "I'll have Emmett and Jasper come to escort me home... or a few of the wolves if it's absolutely necessary."

Esme nodded, and hugged both her and Masen.

"Call me about what happened," Masen told his father, "I'm sorry. I should stay, but-"

"No," he said back, shaking his head, "Go warn your family, and Charlie and Sue about what's going on. Someone was here, and they can't be sensed. The person managed to block Alice's vision again. I'll tell you about the rest over the phone once you're settled."

He nodded, and Rosalie teamed up with him for the run.

Carlisle sighed and shook his head. Caleb and Delilah stood silently, staring at him. He stuck his head inside the shattered driver's side window of the Mercedes. There wasn't a trace or a clue that he could see on the surface.

Esme pulled at his arm, encouraging him to stay back. "Carlisle. It could catch fire."

He backed away and looked up toward the house. "When the others get back, we'll have to do a run through of the house. I don't know where this person might be, but he was inside."

"You're sure?" Esme asked him.

He nodded, "My phone is missing. My wallet was rummaged through and my license and cash are gone."

"Your license?"

Carlisle nodded again and ran a hand through his hair. "He must have cut the power through the breaker because everything went dark as I went to search the house. I was upstairs and a glass shattered in the kitchen. That's when I went to see what had happened and no one was answering when I called out." He looked around at their scared, awe-struck faces. "I'll fill you in on the rest. Let's start looking around inside."

Esme aligned the children in between the two of them so they weren't in the back, or having to lead the way into the house. She looked at Carlisle for a moment, and the seriousness in their expressions was mutual.

"Hey, I think I found your driver's license," Caleb said, reaching down toward the area to the left of the door.

Carlisle, Esme and Delilah all looked down as he stood back up with the small plastic card in his hand.

"That's not mine," Carlisle told him, shaking his head as the man's face and name became visible.

"Who's is it?" Esme asked.

Caleb's stomach sunk when he read the name below the familiar face in the photo. Carter Mancini.


	20. Search Engine

**Chapter 19**

Discussions of Carter Mancini flew around the house for the next twenty-four hours. No one could come to a set conclusion because there were a number of scenarios being thrown out; was Carter a vampire? Did someone close to him witness the attack and then seek out the truth? Were they now immortal? Was the Volturi somehow involved? Was Carter and/or whoever else was involved aiming to make the Cullens think the Volturi were attacking them?

Theories were thrown out, then later re-contemplated when someone brought up a good point. A handful of family members sat around a white board in Carlisle's office and wrote down things that made sense, then crossed them off or erased them later when they decided the theory was off the list. Every now and then someone else would pop into the discussion about getting a fleeting thought, or overhearing the discussion at hand. Overall, it was absolutely exhausting.

Carlisle didn't part with the ID they found on the ground outside of the house. He sat on top of his desk with his legs hanging off talking with Edward. Esme and Bella remained in the room, but had been offering most of their attention to Marshall and Charlie.

"We have to find out more about this guy," Carlisle said, flipping the license over repeatedly in his hand. "We have to find out who he is; where he lived."

Caleb entered the room and stood next to Edward in front of him. "He's from the South Beach area."

Carlisle glanced down at the photo. The photo gave the man a more youthful appearance than his age showed.

"His hair was more like a buzz cut, or just really short," Caleb went on, "It wasn't shaggy like it is in that picture."

"You're sure this is him?" his father asked.

Edward stared at Caleb, reading his mind as he spoke. "That's him. I remember his face. He had both ears pierced like he does here."

Delilah walked into the room behind Caleb. "I saw the ID before," she said, "And I'm positive it's the same person... if that helps."

Carlisle nodded, seeing she was eager to help. "Thanks. That helps. We know this is definitely the man you were both involved with."

"What if the person attacking us just knows about the incident?" Edward asked, "What he if saw what happened, or overheard one of our conversations and went and found this man's wallet and stripped it; took the ID."

"Why do you think he would do that?" Carlisle asked him.

Edward shrugged, "Maybe just to mess with us, or throw us on the wrong trail to make us think he's involved."

"Dad, was he wearing a hooded robe thing?" Caleb asked.

"I never saw anybody," Carlisle explained. "Someone was here. He purposely tried to get my attention."

"Did you call and cancel your phone, or try to get your number changed?" Esme asked, "I know you said you were going to do that."

He shook his head, giving her a slightly guilty expression. "I forgot to."

She stood up, "I'll do it now. I don't want him having access to any information on there, or making phone calls."

Carlisle nodded, "Thank you," he said sincerely.

Esme smiled at him and began to dial their cell-phone carrier.

"How did the trip to Mike Newton's place go?" he asked Edward. "I don't think I ever asked."

"His roommate answered the door and said he was out."

"Nothing out of the ordinary?"

Edward shrugged and shook his head. "He didn't seem to think that his roommate was an immortal, or that anything was off about him. I picked through his mind a little, and seems like Mike was still Mike."

"I'm think as of now we rule that thought out," Carlisle said, "If there's reason to think otherwise we can look into it."

Edward nodded in agreement and made eye contact with Bella.

"Why don't we make a trip to his house," Carlisle suggested, "Two of us, the way you and Emmett did. Maybe we can get an idea if anyone has seen him since that night." He looked at Caleb, who he could tell was reliving the experience.

Edward put a hand on his shoulder, more or less confirming Carlisle's suspicions. "That wasn't your fault," he assured him. "Would you want to go with me?"

Delilah jumped in before he could answer. "I don't think he should," she said, "Or any of us who were there. What if they recognize us somehow?"

"She's right," Carlisle said, "It should be someone who wasn't there that night."

Delilah looked at Carlisle, and felt relief pass through her body. Caleb put an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder.

"I'll go," Edward offered. "I'll find out if he's come back at all since then."

Carlisle hopped off the desk, glancing at Esme as she continued to speak with the Verizon Wireless phone company. Bella sat on the ground as the two babies interacted and played with each other.

"I'll go with your Edward," she said, looking at him once.

In the past he would have refused, but acknowledged that the two of them were a good team in ways even beyond their partnership. "Okay," he said with a nod, vowing not to underestimate his wife. "Your shield could counteract his if we happen to come across him."

Esme began listening more intently to their conversation, seeming to want to get a word in, but she then quickly resumed her conversation on the phone.

Carlisle sat down behind his desk and powered up the lap top. "I want to see if anything comes up if we put his name in a search engine. Maybe we can find something more about who he is."

Caleb looked to Delilah, sensing she was a little shaken. "Are you okay?"

She nodded without looking at him, and continued to watch as Carlisle began to search on the computer.

Edward rounded the desk and looked over his shoulder, glancing down at the driver's license that was positioned to the left of the computer.

Carlisle opened the Google browser and typed in the name, looking once at the name to make sure his spelling was correct. As he hit the enter key, a number of websites popped up that brought up the name Carter Mancini.

Carlisle browsed past a few links that directed him to a few sports articles that brought up the name. He then clicked on one that included a low level drug charge. The two of them scrolled through the article, that didn't give much information before he went back to the main screen. He then clicked on one of the high school articles that talked about Carter's scattered successes in football.

He sighed, "It's too bad. It sounds like this kid was on the right path... during high school at least. I wonder what went wrong after that."

Edward pointed a link that showed his name on a list for students who received 'Second Honors' at South Beach high school.

Carlisle clicked on it, scanning through the names before, again, returning to the list of pages that mentioned Carter Mancini.

Another string of charges popped up, including an assault charge against someone with the same last name.

"His brother?" Edward guessed, "Or father maybe; cousin..."

Carlisle exited the browser and picked up the license. He looked down at the address, then opened the MapQuest website and typed in their address leading up to the one on the identification.

Caleb pulled Delilah around to see what they were doing. She bit her nails nervously as the directions popped up on the screen.

"The house is a couple miles out from South Beach," Edward pointed out. His finger traced the waterline on the map and trailed over to where the starred location was for Carter Mancini's address.

"It looks secluded," Caleb said.

"It's out in the boonies," Edward told him.

Carlisle looked at him, "What do you think?"

He looked at his father, then to Bella. She nodded with a confident reassurance.

"We'll make the trip," Edward told them.


	21. Lonely Farmer Boy

**Chapter 20**

Edward and Bella took the drive out to the South Beach area, having left Charlie with Carlisle and Esme. They held hands and came up with a strategy, but aside from that didn't talk much until the GPS indicated that they were with a mile of the house.

"Should we give him our real names?" Bella asked, glancing over as Edward traced her thumb with his own.

He thought for a moment, "I'll call myself Eddie Masen. You say you're my girlfriend Renee..." He paused.

"Black?" For some reason Jacob's last name came to her mind.

Edward shrugged with a smile, "Alright."

Bella sighed and Edward could tell that she was nervous.

"We'll be fine," he assured her, still smiling. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her hand softly.

The GPS voiced out the last direction. _Your destination is approaching on the right._

Edward slowed his car down, bringing it to a halt, then quickly disconnected the battery.

"What are you doing?" Bella asked him.

He smiled again, "We're having car trouble and neither of us can get service on our cell phones."

She cocked her head slightly to the side and squinted her eyes.

"So, we'll need to use their phone," he finished.

"Gotcha," Bella said with a nod. "So, how are we going to get around to talking about Carter? What if they know who we are?"

"I'll be able to read if they do," Edward assured her. He slammed the hood of the car, then leaned in and kissed her on the lips. "Let's go."

She sighed, but followed his confident demeanor, noting he didn't seem at all worried by the situation.

The house was large, and stood by itself with paint peeling from every corner. It looked out of place to be in a west coast beach town, but the outskirts of town weren't at all like the ritzy beachside neighborhoods. The area was open, and country-like, with farm houses and big colonials all with acres and acres of land and plenty of privacy. The Mancini's house was surrounded by woods on all sides with a lengthy driveway that was only half paved.

Dust began to gather on Edward and Bella's shoes as they hit where the asphalt ended and dirt began. Their eyes scanned the yard that looked brittle and straw-like in most areas with occasional healthy patterns of green grass.

A beautiful front porch outstretched in front of the house with four or five stairs leading up to an open front door protected only by a screen storm door.

"Gosh, this house could be beautiful," Bella commented as they walked up, "Too bad they haven't kept up with it."

"You and I have some different tastes in what's beautiful," Edward joked back with a smirk, "Though I'm sure Esme would agree with you. I can see her finding a lot of potential in this house."

She smiled, and took her mind off their mission for a moment to think of what Esme's reaction might be.

Edward glanced to the left of the house toward a barn-like garage that stored a pick up truck that looked like it could have been from the nineteen-eighties. It was rusty and old, but fit in perfectly with its surroundings. Country music played from beyond the open double doors.

The two of them walked up the small set of stairs and Edward looked at Bella before knocking on the screen door. She felt herself tense up, and he squeezed her hand lightly for reassurance.

A long moment went by before a young man slowly approached the front door with apprehension in the way that he walked. "Can I help you?" he asked. His voice was timid and almost shaky.

"Um, yeah..." Edward started, clearing his throat. "My name is Eddie and this is my girlfriend Renee. Our battery died in our car and your house was the first one we came across." He held up his cell phone, "There's no service out this way and we didn't know if we could possibly use your phone to call for a tow truck."

The man crossed through a patch of darkness, created by the interior shadows of the house and then finally emerged to where they were standing.

"No cell service, huh?" he asked.

Edward held his phone out so he could see, "No. I understand if you'd rather not let us in the house. It just looks like it's about to rain and I honestly haven't seen another house on this street for at least a half mile." He glanced over his shoulder.

"Lot of land out this way," he concluded with a nod.

"Yeah, I've noticed."

Bella smiled as the man looked at her for a moment.

"Alright," he said, still seeming to find the two of them a bit skeptical. "What kind of car do you drive?"

"A Volvo," Edward told him, as the screen door opened a few inches. He then allowed Bella in before him and followed the man towards the kitchen.

"We don't drive anything but Chevys in this family." He laughed lightly, beginning to loosen up.

"Maybe I should start," he said with a laugh, "They run good?"

"Best car ever made." The phone on the wall looked as outdated as the rest of the house. "There ya go."

Edward picked it up, "Thanks."

Bella watched, not knowing what number he was actually dialing, if any.

"Thanks for letting us use the phone," Bella said.

He nodded and adjusted a John Deere hat that covered a head of messy dark blond hair, "It's no trouble. My name's Randy," he held a hand out.

"Oh, um, Renee."

"Can I get you something to eat or drink? I don't have much, but..." He opened the fridge, "Some bottles of water... beer... orange juice?"

"Oh, I'm okay," she told him. "But thank you."

The young man sighed and reached in, "I've been working outside all day, I hope you don't mind." He reached for a Budweiser and cracked it open.

"Yard work?" Bella asked, making conversation as Edward continued to speak with whoever it was on the other line.

"We do some farming," Randy said, "Well, I do... I grow some vegetables, sell eggs from the chickens. In the fall coming up we sell pumpkins... I sell pumpkins." He shrugged.

She saw the strain on his face as he adjusted his words from 'we' to 'I'. Bella thought to herself that he couldn't have been older than twenty or twenty-one, but the creased in the corners of his eyes made him seem a little older.

"Do you live here all alone?" she asked him, feeling as though she was invading his privacy by asking.

"Um, well, yeah... I guess so, yeah." He sighed and took a long swig of the beer. "I mean, my brother lived here with me, but he's been gone now for some time."

"Oh..." Bella said, "I'm- "

"Well, I don't know if he's... gone gone. But he ain't been around for weeks." He sighed again and wiped some sweat from beneath the bill of his cap, "He had a drug problem, and it put a lot of stress on our family. He was always getting himself into trouble and it drove my mother batty."

There was a brief silence and Bella could tell that Edward was trying to zone in on their conversation.

"I'm sorry," she said to him, looking down toward the scuffed up hardwood floorboards.

"Ahh, it's alright." Randy waved his hand, but his voice shook slightly and he took another sip. "We inherited this house from my grandpa. My parents live in the next town over, but they didn't visit us much because of Carter. That's my brother. My mom thinks he's dead, but I don't. I just don't feel like he is."

"I'm really sorry Randy," Bella said again, "I'm sorry. I hope... I hope you find him, or I hope he comes home."

"Me too," his eyes were strained and sad, but he started to laugh, "I mean, I could use some help with those damn chickens."

She smiled at him as he looked at her.

"I'm sorry to be bothering you with my personal stuff," he shook his head.

"No, it's fine," Bella said. "It's totally fine." Her eyes drifted toward the front of the refrigerator where a few pictures were stuck with magnets.

"That's the two of us there," Randy said, pointing to the highest one, "Yeah we were in high school then. He used to take me fishing down on the docks in town."

She smiled, seeing the innocence in both boys in their younger teens as they each held an oversized fish. There were a few more, and she could easily distinguish who was who. Their school photos were also posted, and she saw that their graduation years were two years apart.

"So, he was older then? she asked.

He nodded, "Yeah. Couple years older." Randy took another long sip from the beer, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "I don't know if he had a girlfriend or not, but a beautiful blond girl came here about a week after we started to think something went wrong."

Edward turned around at Randy's revelation, but began to rattle off his 'fake' name and the license plate number of the Volvo.

"She was too good for him though," Randy went on with a laugh, "If she was a girlfriend, I mean. I doubt she was, but she seemed really sad when I spoke with her." He looked into Bella's eyes, "She... she kind of reminded me of you in a way." He immediately looked embarrassed for speaking the thought aloud, "I mean, I don't know."

"What was her name?" Bella asked him, intensely curious.

"Oh, heck, I don't even remember..." He eyed the ceiling as he brought the bottle back to his lips. "Gosh, I really don't know."

"Okay, thank you," Edward said into the receiver. He hung the phone back up onto the wall, then looked out past Randy's shoulder to where rain began to stream down the windows of the old, farm house.

"All set?" Bella asked him.

"Yeah," he said with a nod.

"Janice maybe?" Randy said. He glanced at Edward, "You guys can stay until they arrive."

"Oh, it's alright," Edward told him, "We don't want to be a bother."

"Please," he said, "I wouldn't want you guys waiting out in the rain." He shook his head.

"We'll be okay," he held up his keys, "We'll wait in the car until they arrive. I don't want to miss the truck."

"Alright," Randy said, now seeming almost disappointed that they would be on their way so quickly.

Bella could see the loneliness that was radiating out of him. "Thanks so much for the phone. I hope your brother comes home."

"Thank you Renee," he said with a nod. "The two of you are sure you don't want to wait here? I can make you some sandwiches or something."

"We're alright," Edward told him, "Thank you very much for the offer and the phone."

Randy nodded at the two of them and followed them toward the front door.

"Bye," Bella said with a smile.

He looked at them with the same sad expression. "Bye."

Edward linked hands with Bella again and the two of them headed back to the road. Randy watched as they hit the pavement in the driveway, then closed the door to the porch, making the two of them look over their shoulders.

"I feel terrible," Bella said, passing by the last set of trees to where their car was visible up the road.

Edward quickly patched the car back up and got it running, then did a U-turn and headed back toward Forks.

"Who did you call?" she asked him.

"I dialed a local tow company, but I hung it up before anyone answered and carried on a fake conversation. It was just in case he dialed the star-six-seven after we left. I found the hours of the place and they close at six on Saturdays." He looked down at the car's clock at the same time as Bella. "It's six-fifteen now so if he calls back, he'll just get the machine that they close at six."

"You really thought this out," Bella said, smiling.

"I'm very smart, Bella," he joked, "The two truck thing was actually Carlisle's idea."

She laughed briefly, but then stopped. "I feel bad for him; Randy."

Edward nodded in agreement, "It's too bad."

"Who do you think the blond girl was? Did you hear him say that?"

He nodded again, "I was about to talk to you about that. He said she looked like you, and that her name was Janice... you don't think it could have been Jane do you? What if she gave a fake name too?"

"Why would Jane visit him?"

"I saw in his thoughts that she had said that he was in a more peaceful place now. They had a long conversation, and she stopped by to give her condolences."

"Could Jane have changed Carter into a vampire?" Bella wondered aloud.

"We'll have to talk to Carlisle," Edward told her, "And see what he thinks. I have a feeling that this blond girl, whoever she was, has something to do with Carter Mancini and the possibility that he might now be immortal."

"Edward... Eddie... Janice... Jane." Bella said, "On the surface that makes sense. She could have lied just as easily as we did."

He nodded in agreement and took her hand in his again. "I suppose we have even more to talk about now when we get home."


	22. Don't Let Him Dictate Life

**Chapter 21**

Carlisle and Edward went round and round about Carter Mancini and his family until both of them, and their wives, were ready to call it a night. They chatted privately about the mysterious 'Janice' and only had suspicions about her because Randy had mentioned she looked similarly to Bella.

Alice walked past the office, where they had been for several hours, and smiled as she and Jasper carried a baby crib toward Carlisle and Esme's room. Only a few minutes passed by before they invited themselves in and Alice smiled. She glanced at Marshall, who was practically drooling in Esme's arms.

"Alex has blessed you guys with a major baby nap in the immediate future," Alice said, smiling at Marshall's heavy eyes as she laid quietly against Esme. "I think you all need to part ways for a few hours and take a break. It's been days. We can't let this... A-hole, excuse the language, run our lives."

Bella smirked, then began to laugh as Esme cracked a smile at Alice's words. Edward looked at Charlie, who was making baby talk, trying to get his attention and scooped up his son.

"Maybe you're right," he said with a sigh.

"I'm always right," Alice told him with a grin and a nudge. "Go back to your home. You'll be safe. Have a quiet night with Bella. Charlie is going to take a little nap too. Alex is on top of things. I don't know if you all need it as parents, or if the baby needs it, but either way, they are going to take a major power nap so you can all rest your minds."

Esme smiled at Alice, feeling as though her peppy demeanor was just the right medicine to ease the tension that had been constant since someone had broken into their house and wrecked Carlisle's car.

"I figured I would give you a good vision for once," Alice went on, "Relax. We can all resume in the morning."

"Sharply at... eleven a.m." Jasper said with a dry smile, attempting a joke.

Carlisle and Edward smiled at him, and Esme and Bella laughed again.

"I guess we should get home and let Charlie get to his nap," Bella said with a nod. She looked at Edward and smiled at their son's baby noises. "Are you sure he's going to be sleeping?" She looked at Alice, noting his fidgety behavior.

"Once you get home and put him in the crib," she said with a nod.

"We don't have a-" Bella started, then smiled, knowing she must have set one up the way she did for Marshall.

Alice smiled, knowing she must have caught on to what she was thinking. "Go. Relax. So we can relax." She pulled Jasper by the hand, "We can't if you can't; Jasper especially."

"I can't stand the angst anymore," he admitted with a wide smile.

Esme seemed the most sympathetic, "Oh, Jasper I'm sorry," she told him, "You're right. I didn't even think about that."

He smiled, "It's not your fault." His eyes drifted to Alice, "I just want to relax with my lady."

The four of them grinned or chuckled at Jasper's lighthearted comment, and decided that both of them were right; they couldn't let this person dictate the way they ran their lives.

Edward turned to Carlisle. "We can resume in the morning." He phrased the statement like a question.

"Of course." Carlisle smiled then looked to Alice and Jasper, "Thank you."

Esme kissed Edward and Bella on the cheek, then gave some extra kisses to Charlie before the three of them left, thanking Alice as they did.

"He'll be out in a minute or two," she said, referring to Marshall.

Carlisle and Esme both smiled and thanked her, before Jasper grinned and lead her down toward the living room.

Marshall began his baby snore before Esme even crossed into their bedroom. She spotted the wooden crib in the corner of the room and smiled, thinking of Alice's joy in putting it together as a surprise.

She laid him down carefully, placing a blanket over most of his body while his head, complete with a blue, fleece hat, was carefully placed on a tiny folded blanket. Esme truly loved the innocent nature of the image of a sleeping baby, and admired her youngest son who had crossed over into a deep slumber.

Carlisle clicked on the light by their bed, then turned off the main switch so the area directed at Marshall was the only spot that was illuminated. He then shut the door and stripped down to 'sleep wear' and hopped into the bed as Esme said her goodnights to their already sleeping child.

"I still have than marathon on the DVR," he told her, "Of your show that we were suppose to watch from the other night."

Esme followed his lead and changed into a pair of comfortable shorts and a cami, then slid in beside him, cuddling up to his chest. "Oh, this is long overdue," she said, "It's too bad Janice, or Carter, or whoever is lurking around. This could be a nice, relaxing night." Her ears focused on Marshall's light breathing and the occasional snore that filtered out of his tiny nose.

Carlisle kissed her forehead and flipped through the channels, then went directly to the programs he'd saved for her in the television's memory. "Let's forget about it all for a few hours. Alice has seen everything in the near future, which means he's not around."

Esme nodded, "That's true." She wrapped an arm around his waist and laid her head against his chest. Downstairs, she could hear Alice giggling and Jasper's cool laughter just after, deciding she wanted to feel that way.

"Want to start with the first episode?" he asked.

She nodded and smiled, "Yeah."

Carlisle smiled back and hit the play button, then set the remote down on the nightstand. The two of them laid together for awhile, laughing every so often at something that hit them just right from the show.

When the first episode came to a close, Esme turned and Carlisle reached again for the controller, proceeded to play the next episode.

"Thank you," she told him.

"For what?"

"Recording these."

"You're welcome," he said with a grin.

Esme leaned herself up and kissed him one time. "Thank you," she repeated.

Carlisle repeated his phrase as well, "You're welcome." His eyes drifted to their sleeping baby as Esme's hand rested just below his belly button.

She glanced over her shoulder at Marshall, then turned back around to feel Carlisle's lips crush more passionately against hers. It made her smile, but she sighed and pulled back. "He's... "

"He's asleep," Carlisle finished her sentence.

Esme smiled, then quickly got out of bed and made sure the blinds were pulled, and the drapes were shut on each of the windows. Her thoughts were still plagued with paranoia that someone could be nearby and they didn't know it.

He watched as she made her rounds, then stood above Marshall's crib for a moment, touching his face gently once, before hopping back into bed. "Is this wrong?" she whispered, "What if he wakes up and has some super immortal memory later in life?"

Carlisle laughed at the notion, but shrugged. "I don't know."

Esme looked at Marshall again, content with his even breathing, then rolled back around and kissed Carlisle more whole-heartedly than she had in weeks. He reciprocated her actions and she began to peel the bottom of his shirt up his back.

He quickly tossed it away and continued to kiss her, while she wrapped her arms across the back of his head and mid-torso.

"Is this wrong?" she asked him, flickering her eyes open for just a brief second.

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked with no intention of stopping as he kissed her neck.

Esme sighed, not wanting to talk, but feeling the need to. "I mean because of Marshall," she whispered. "He's asleep over there."

He rested his mouth against her shoulder as he spoke without opening his eyes, "If you don't feel comfortable, we can stop..." A snicker left his mouth, "That being said, I don't think he'll wake up any time soon."

Esme closed her eyes and felt him kiss along the base of her neck. The thought of the stranger lurking around crossed her mind, and she decided to go with what everyone had said back in the office, not wanting to let whoever it was dictate their daily lives.

The cell phone on the edge of the nightstand rattled off the noise that indicated a text message was sent.

"That's you, because I don't have a phone as of now," Carlisle said quietly, reaching for it.

Esme took it from his hand as he gave it to her, keeping her other arm locked around his back.

"Alice," she said with a grin, shaking her head. She showed him the message. _Don't feel guilty._

Carlisle sighed and bowed his head, "So much for privacy," he joked.

"That's nothing new," Esme said, placing the phone back down before bringing his face back to hers so they could continue to kiss.

He reached and clicked off the only light in the room, then slowly began to take off the clothes she had on. When she openly allowed him to do so, he proceeded with his actions carefully, letting his lips sensually trail down the length of her neck.

Esme held him against her, letting go of any hesitating thoughts. His hair felt like silk against her fingers as she ran her hands through his wavy blond locks and said his name softly enough so only he would be able to hear it.

Carlisle pulled back so he could bring his lips back to hers enthusiastically.

She was about to part from him again for a moment to speak, but decided against it when he moaned lightly against the side of her face. Esme recognized that she wasn't doing what she intended to; enjoying the night and going on with normal life. She pulled Carlisle tighter against her and got lost, far away from reality, even if just for a short time.


	23. Search Party

**Chapter 22**

The topic of conversation the following day was centered around the mysterious Janice. Everyone could agree that Jane was a real possibility for the visiting stranger, and if that were true she was a potential link to everything strange that was happening.

Carlisle was the first to re-acknowledge that if Carter had been changed, he could quite possibly possess a shield or another similar gift that would allow them to remain anonymous.

On the other hand, this was still all in theory, but it appeared to make at least a little sense. They also covered the possibility that Janice _wasn't _Jane, and possibly just a rogue vampire with an agenda of her own. Carlisle didn't rule out the idea that someone could be setting up both the Cullens and the Volturi.

"Maybe we can track down this _Janice_ and find out what she wants," Esme suggested. She sat comfortably on the couch next to Carlisle where Marshall roamed back and forth between the two of them.

"It would be great if we could," Edward said, "But Randy didn't know anything else about her. His image of her wasn't overly clear. Just blond and fair skinned."

"Did he say anything about her eyes?" Esme asked.

Edward suddenly looked curious, "No. No, he didn't. If he encountered Jane, he would certainly noticed the red."

"Unless her eyes were black from starvation," Bella said.

"I doubt Jane would have been able to control herself," he said, shaking his head, "I mean, there was no real reason to keep him alive. Why would she if she was hungry?"

"You said Randy told you she looked similarly Bella, only with blond hair," Carlisle stated. "Maybe she's a vegetarian vampire."

"What... like someone in our family?" Edward asked him.

"I don't necessarily think so, but if her eyes were red or black the kid would have known something was off, or worse he wouldn't have made it through the conversation. If her eyes were the same color as ours, she would have a similar appearance to Bella and it wouldn't really raise any red flags among humans."

"Yeah..." He thought for a moment and looked out the window toward the lingering rain that was accompanied by a thunderstorm.

"I want to find out more," Carlisle said, shaking his head. A smile formed on his face, instantly changed his demeanor as Marshall stood upright in a wobbly position on his legs so they were eye to eye.

Esme and Bella couldn't keep a passing smile from their faces, and Carlisle decided to humor his son, beginning to bob him up and down until he laughed and cuddled his face up against his father's.

"What if we did a stake out of the area?" Edward asked, "Just kind of covered all that ground up there to see if we could find something; any kind of trace."

"It couldn't hurt," Carlisle said in agreement. Marshall cuddled up against his chest and began to play with the top button on his shirt.

Esme still smiled watching him and the curious nature that came along with being such a new person in the world. A simple button completely captivated Marshall's attention.

"Why don't we ask a few of them now?" Edward suggested, "Get down there and scan the place."

"Or even check the ocean around the dock," Carlisle added, referring to the place where William and Maddy dumped Carter.

Jasper and Alice entered the room. "We're a little bored," she said with a smile, "So we'll make the trip with you."

Jasper nodded in agreement, "Delilah's been practicing tracking with Caleb all day. The two of us and Nicole went with them for awhile."

"How did that go?" Carlisle asked.

He looked over his shoulder and made a 'so-so' gesture with his hand.

Edward got on the phone quickly with William, and told him to meet up at their house to aid them in the plan they'd come up with. Through the receiver everyone could tell that his voice was ready and almost excited. He was always willing to help and enthusiastic about it; something he had inherited that from his father.

"The six of us should be fine," Carlisle told them all with a nod. He looked at Esme, "We'll stay in pairs-"

"I want to go," Caleb entered the room, stringing Delilah by the hand.

"Caleb..." he started, shaking his head.

"I think we could be of some help. Please..." His eyes looked desperate, as he felt the entire situation was his fault.

Carlisle looked at Esme, who didn't have a response for him either way.

"Dad, come on..." Caleb continued, "You said we'll stay in pairs."

He thought for a moment, then reluctantly agreed.

"He can stay with me," Alice said, knowing Caleb wouldn't want to hang around his father, "Delilah can go with Jasper."

Carlisle nodded, feeling more content with those pairings than the inexperience and immaturity of the combination of Caleb and Delilah. "Okay."

Jasper gave a subtle smile and wink to Delilah, who grinned back. She suddenly felt more relaxed, though didn't know that he was purposely using his gift to make her feel that way.

"Da..." Marshall slammed his hand in the center of Carlisle's face, over his nose and part of his eye. He sounded the way Masen had when he first said the word.

Carlisle raised his eyebrows, then looked at Esme, who smiled and began to laugh.

"Aww, he said Dad," Alice said, gripping her necklace.

"Then he gave his face a high-five," Jasper added with a smirk.

Carlisle leaned back at his son almost looked like he was trying to head-butt him. A closed-mouth smile lingered on his face and he pointed to himself with his free hand. "Dad."

Marshall reached for his nose again, then made himself giggle when Carlisle pretended to be hurt and say the word, "Ow!"

"I want him to say it again," Esme said, smiling as she made her way over to them.

The two of them paused the conversation at hand momentarily, both fully concentrated on their son. While they each attempted to get him to try talking, and saying the word 'Dad' another time, it was unsuccessful; though Marshall seemed to be getting a kick out of their attempts and Esme ended up taking him and peppering his cheeks with kisses while she laughed lightly.

Carlisle ran a hand over Marshall's head, and straightened out his light, thin locks of hair. He gave Esme a grin, then finally turned back to Edward.

"Should we head out?" he asked.

Edward shrugged, then nodded. "Yeah." He looked to Bella, asking her with his eyes if it was okay.

She nodded back and he went over to kiss Charlie on his forehead, then did the same with Bella.

"We'll be back soon," he said.

"Keep your phone on," she told him.

Edward nodded again.

Everyone began heading for the door. Jasper nudged Delilah to keep her loose, and Alice slung an arm over Caleb's shoulders.

"Be careful," Esme said, leaning a hand on the door as Edward lead the way out and opened it. "Please..." She looked around at the trees swaying under the brewing thunderstorm."

Caleb leaned back and hugged his mother, knowing she was waiting for him to do so. He then kissed Marshall on the forehead.

"Do _not_ for any reason separate from one another," she said firmly.

"Not to worry," Alice told her.

"We won't," Caleb added, kissing his mother on the cheek one time.

Carlisle said a special goodbye to Marshall, then gave Esme a short series of closed mouth kisses as people began to head out into the rain. "I love you."

"I love you too. Don't stray far from Caleb. I know he'll be with Alice, but-"

"I won't. We'll stay together."

"Okay," Esme whispered with a nod.

"Where are Alex and Michael?" Carlisle asked her.

"At their house. Do you want me to call them to come back here?"

He thought for a second, then nodded.

"Alright."

Carlisle kissed her again, leaving his thumb against her chin, then smiled. "We'll be back soon."


	24. Fresh Blood

**Chapter 23**

Esme sat with Bella watching television, each with a baby in their lap, and smiled to each other as Rosalie stormed through the back door with Emmett smirking and apologizing just behind her. Both of them tracked wet leaves through the house from the rainy trip they took through the woods.

"Things don't change from decade to decade," Esme teased, looking toward Bella with a smile.

Bella chuckled back, then looked at Marshall. "Was that his first word?" she asked.

She shook her head, then said quietly, "But Carlisle doesn't know that. He said 'Ma' not long before, but he wasn't around when he said it. I was going to tell him, but..." she shrugged.

She laughed, and ran her hand subconsciously over Charlie's head. "So the girls are still here right?"

Esme nodded, "Nicole and Mackenzie."

Alex burst through the front door, making a noise to emphasize her displeasure with the heavy rain, "Good thing we drove. I don't know why I even bother to do my hair anymore."

Michael grinned, and waved to Esme and Bella.

"Dad wanted us to come by?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Esme told her, "They're all out scanning the area down by that beach, just to see if they could come across anything. We both thought it would be better if the two of you came here."

She smiled and sat down next to her mother, cuddling beneath a fleece blanket with her and reaching for Marshall. "Who's your favorite sibling?" she asked him.

Marshall didn't understand the words, but responded to her cheery tone with a smile and some gibberish.

Michael stood with his hands on his hips, captivated by the television's intense music.

"Come sit," Bella offered, sliding over to the side so Michael could join her.

He grinned, then made his way over. "Thanks."

"What's going on with Rose and Emmett?" Alex whispered.

Esme and Bella looked at each other with grins, then they both shrugged.

"Nothing out of the ordinary..." Michael commented as lowly as possible.

All three of them were shocked that he said that, being as quiet as he typically was, but began to laugh loudly because of who the funny comment stemmed from.

"Don't say anything," he followed up with, looking honestly concerned.

Alex snickered and tossed a throw pillow at him. She pointed to herself and mouthed the words, _I'm going to_.

Michael smiled and shook his head, making both Esme and Bella grin.

The four of them continued to chat, and play with the babies, occasionally commenting on something from the television. It wasn't for twenty minutes or so when Michael's eyes squinted, and his posture tensed up.

Esme glanced at him, and immediately knew what his tense, uncomfortable and ravaging expression meant. She sensed it; Bella sensed it. The ongoing bickering between Emmett and Rosalie stopped and they all sat silently as if waiting for something to happen.

"Michael..." Alex shook her head and attempted to go over toward him, but his instincts took over and he barreled toward the door and into the rain storm before anyone could say anything. She ran after him, frantically trying to keep up.

Esme stood up, wanting to dart after them, but couldn't with Marshall on her lap. Bella, too, stood with a similar expression and pressed her eyes shut at the scent that was now taunting all of them; the scent of fresh human blood.

"Rose!" Esme called, "Emmett!"

The two of them paraded down the stairs, and the girls joined them.

Rosalie put a hand on Emmett's shoulder gently, despite just having a petty argument, then positioned herself in front of him. "Don't." She shook her head.

"I haven't hunted in days," he said, shaking his head, "You were right; I should have."

Rosalie continued to look into his eyes, and Mackenzie looked almost frightened by the intense nature of their interaction. "Em, please. For me."

His blackened pupils resembled that of a great white shark in the process of hunting its prey. His pale skin added to the effect, and he appeared almost statue-like as he fought his urges to join in on what was happening out in the yard.

Esme approached them and looked to Rosalie, who still appeared shaky regarding Emmett's status.

"Esme," Bella said from behind, "I'll watch him. I'll take him. Go."

Nicole stepped in and took Marshall from Esme's arms, joining Bella by the couch. The two of them looked out the window as Esme followed the trail after Alex and Michael.

She held her breath, feeling overwhelmed herself by the fresh scent in the air. It had been awhile since human blood had been so plentiful and close in nature. Esme felt torturous chills running up and down her body, but she ignored them and carried on, determined to make sure her daughter and son-in-law were safe.

"Michael!" Esme called, "Alex!"

She squinted through the pouring rain and darkness, seeing her daughter's hands pressed firmly against Michael's chest. Behind her was a managed body, and she positioned herself protectively in front of it.

Michael's face and hands were covered in blood and he appeared conflicted, but as if he wouldn't hesitate to blow past Alex if he got the chance. They stood face to face, and Alex tried desperately to bring him back.

"Michael," she said, "Please stop."

He growled and gripped his throat as blood streaked down away from his face and onto his shirt with the rush of the heavy rains.

Esme closed her eyes for a moment, "What happened?" she asked, "We smelled the blood before you came out here."

"He was already dead," Alex said, keeping both hands against her husband firmly, "It was just a body, but he looked like he was just tossed her. He had bad wounds to his neck before we even got her. I smelled it; I saw it."

Michael growled, then put his hands on his head and grasped his hair harshly.

Esme could see that he was struggling with his control, and contemplated allowing him to do as he pleased because the man was already dead. He hadn't taken a life; he was just scavenging the blood that poured openly into the air and called out for attention.

On the other hand, she knew it wasn't right. It was counterproductive to the progress Michael had made since he had first arrived at their home years and years before. Esme knew she had to aid in keeping him from pursuing the human, but it appeared as though his humanity was slowly slipping away and the animal was taking over.

Esme felt her throat tighten, as she gave in to a deep breath she had been craving. She reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone to call Carlisle, immediately getting the disconnected recording because his phone had been turned off upon getting stolen.

She nearly cursed, but bit her tongue and dialed Edward's phone next, praying that he would answer. Esme knew she needed to speak to Carlisle. She knew deep down that the bleeding body was purposely planted near their home.


	25. The Search For A Solution

**Chapter 24**

"This was purposeful," Carlisle said to everyone, referring to the incident with Michael. "It makes me suspect the Volturi even more."

Their family sat around together, now all dry and indoors upon cleaning up and rushing in from where ever they were upon hearing of what had happened. The smell of blood still lingered in the air, and Masen was taking care of a police report with Charlie. Forks and the surrounding areas were, again, being known for severe animal attacks and all of them were sure that statewide advisories would be put into effect about not walking in the woods after dark, and being overly careful while hiking.

"Why do you think it's the Volturi?" Alex asked, rubbing Michael's back. He sat next to her, still looking ashamed that he had both given in to his thirst, and had become confrontational with Alex.

"Aro has done these things before," Carlisle went on. "Centuries ago when I was living with their coven, he used to leave bleeding bodies near areas where I would study, or read or just relax. It was fun for him to try getting me to give in to my instincts."

Esme nodded along with what Carlisle was saying, having heard his revelations about the Volturi on many occasions.

"But why can't we see them?" Emmett asked. "It doesn't make sense."

"And who is this Janice person?" Rosalie added. "I'd like to know why she would go to Carter Mancini's house following his disappearance. Maybe she's involved."

Everyone's eye shifted to one another.

"If it was Jane, she would have had to have been wearing contacts," Edward told them, "Because otherwise her red eyes would have given her away. If they were black with hunger then I doubt she would have been able to control herself around a human; particularly around one that doesn't mean anything to her, not that any of them do to the Volturi."

"And what did you say his thoughts were?" Rosalie continued, looking at her brother.

"Something about him being in a better place now."

"He's a vampire," she concluded, smacking her knees as she stood up from the couch.

"You think?" Bella asked her, squinting her eyes with curiosity.

"I think Jane changed him, or one of them changed him and convinced him to go on a tear against us," Rosalie said, "They must have seen what happened between this guy and Caleb and used it as fuel to get him to hate us."

"When I could actually see Aro, they were looking for new elements to replace Felix and Demetri," Alice explained, "Maybe this guy has a gift. Maybe he's the shield."

"But you couldn't see us down at the beach while he was human," Caleb said, shaking his head.

"Bella's shield worked in some ways while she was still human," Alice informed him, "Edward couldn't read her mind like he could everyone else's. There were traces of it. She just didn't know the power she held until she was changed into an immortal."

Bella nodded, "So maybe this guy is a shield and it blocked your visions despite him being human."

"This is all possible," Carlisle said, "But it doesn't explain the lasting block of Volterra. Alice can't see anything."

"What about Aro's child?" Rosalie asked, looking directly at him. "The visions stopped when Sulpicia was giving birth right? What if it has something to do with this?"

"The baby can't be occupying Italy and blocking them, and also blocking here," Edward said, shaking his head. "We've already been round and round with these theories."

"The Volturi are involved somehow," Carlisle stated with certainty, "I've never met anyone in all my years who did that besides them." He looked at Michael, obviously referring to the body that was left by their house. "It's not your fault," he said, trying to make his son-in-law feel better.

Michael still looked angry with himself, but Alex continued to try comforting him.

"You're sure?" Rosalie asked him.

Carlisle looked back at her and nodded, "Yes. The second I heard of it from Esme I knew. The Volturi are involved somehow."

"There are too many loose ends to this," Jasper said, shaking his head, "Maybe I'm spoiled from being able to use Alice's gift, but I say we find out who Janice is and talk to her. Maybe she's the one who's doing this."

"Edward, maybe you can go back and read this guy's mind again," Alice suggested, "Go back and try to see the image of her in his mind."

"What excuse will I have this time though?" he asked with a shrug. "I can't just waltz back in there saying my car broke down again."

"He doesn't need to know why you're there," Rosalie argued.

"Oh okay," Edward said, beginning to get sarcastic in his tone, "I'll just say, oh hey it's me 'Eddie' again and I just wanted to let you know that we killed your brother and we just happen to be driving by again, so..."

"Don't be an idiot Edward." She glared at him and shook her head.

"Okay, this isn't getting us anywhere," Esme intervened. She stepped forward and looked at the two of them. "Enough." Her eyes locked with Rosalie's, and then shifted to Edward's. He softened up just slightly upon catching her attention, but still looked as if he could argue with Rosalie for as long as it took.

Everyone sat around silently, and Esme studied their expressions. Caleb and Delilah looked completely distressed and full of blame; William and Maddy looked as if they were feeling equally accountable; Edward and Rosalie had angry, determined expressions; Alex looked distressed because of Michael; Carlisle looked as if he couldn't come up with the proper solution for a lingering, unknown problem. He held Marshall in his arms, who looked increasingly antsy and uncomfortable.

Esme crossed the room where her husband sat and held her arms out, reaching for their son, before leaving the room without another word.

No one said anything. Carlisle watched her leave and take the stairs gracefully with Marshall. A few minutes later, the smell of animal blood trickled through the house and everyone suspected Esme was giving him a bottle.

Carlisle glanced at Alex next to him, giving her a closed mouth smile, then patted Michael on the back. "You'll both regroup. Rest. Relax. Take your mind of things."

Bella placed a hand on Edward's back, then trailed him by the hand away from the group. Emmett took the initiative next to try getting Rosalie out of her tense stance. Within a few seconds, she softened up and followed him out, calling Mackenzie, William and Maddy in her direction.

"Come here," Alex nudged her brother.

Carlisle sighed and looked at Alice, Jasper and Nicole. They gave each other looks of sympathy before Carlisle climbed the stairs.

Esme sat feeding Marshall at the edge of the bed and looked over at him, "This is getting exhausting Carlisle." She shook her head and looked back down at their son in her arms.

"I know," he agreed, standing just a few steps in.

"We can't keep living in fear like this."

Carlisle wanted to say what he was feeling, and he thought it over and over again: _I don't know what to do. _But he couldn't bring himself to say the words to Esme, or give anyone the impression that things were hopeless.

"We'll figure this out. I know it seems like we're going around in circles-"

"We are though," she whispered, looking stressed. "We're going around in circles."

He sighed and sat down next to her, kissing her on the temple.

Esme immediately leaned up against him, and allowed him to cuddle her to his chest.

"Has there ever been anything we haven't overcome?" he asked her quietly.

She thought about his question seriously, and it didn't take longer than a second to respond. "No," she said honestly.

"We will find a solution," Carlisle assured her, sounding certain.

Esme turned and looked up to him, fully believing his words, but begging the simple questions of, _how? What?_

He glanced down at the feeding baby as he clung to the bottle filled with blood. His hands were stuck to the sides of the bottle and he ate as if he hadn't in weeks.

"Can you get me another bottle from over there." Esme pointed toward a bag near the dresser and Carlisle immediately grabbed it for her, then returned to his original place by her side.

She leaned back up against him and exchanged the bottle in Marshall's mouth so he could have some more. "He's been needing a lot more to stay hungry," Esme told him.

"He's grown a lot."

"Yeah."

"Esme..." Carlisle began to rub along her back and shoulder, "I'll figure this out."

She sighed up against him, but felt bad upon letting out her small show of frustration. She knew that the added pressure she was putting on Carlisle would only make him more tense and determined to find a solution. She didn't want to put more stress on him than he deserved.

"I love you," she said, trying to sound extra sincere, "I love you so much Carlisle. I want to know you're safe; that the family's safe; that the people in town are safe."

"I love you too," he said back, "And I know."

Carlisle continued to rub her shoulder, becoming slightly more calm by doing so. He looked at Marshall and couldn't help but smile for a moment. He said the words more confidently. "We'll find a way to figure this out."


	26. Missing Persons

**Chapter 25**

Esme laid on her stomach on the center of the bed flipping through one of the books that they had created for her school teaching. There was a stack on the floor next to where she laid, and Carlisle sat with one on his lap, marking off particular pages.

Edward caught wind of what they were doing and entered through the open door.

Carlisle glanced up and closed the book, reaching for a pen and paper on the night stand. He added a name to the list of people he knew that could possibly be the 'Janice' they were looking for.

"You're thinking up everyone that you may have met?" Edward asked him.

He sighed and reopened the book. "I'm trying not leave anyone off the list, no matter how much of a stretch it might be."

"Is Rosalie on there?" he asked with a smirk and quiet laugh.

Esme smiled to herself without looking up, but shook her head.

Carlisle managed a fleeting grin. "No." His eyes lifted to meet Bella's for a moment as she walked in to join them.

Edward squatted down and picked up a pair of books, handing one over to her.

Esme smiled at the two of them and sat upright, allowing both of them the room to sit down on the edge of the bed.

"Do you happen to know anyone named Janice?" Edward asked Carlisle, "Anyone that you've ever met?"

He shook his head almost immediately. "No. I have been writing down the names of lots of people I've met, even briefly. Jane is at the top of my list, but I also have my doubts."

"She could have easily lied about her name," Bella said, flipping through one of the books.

Emmett popped his head in, "Hey... Edward, we still hunting?"

He looked up at his brother, "Oh, yeah..."

"Because we're, uh, not allowed to go on our own," he continued with a smile, looking at Esme, then whispered, "Mom won't let us."

Esme chuckled, welcoming Emmett's humor on the situation. "That's right. You can tease me all you want, as long as you listen."

Edward looked at Bella, who nodded, "Go."

"We'll be back soon." He tossed the book onto the center of the bed just behind where he sat.

She nodded and accepted a quick kiss, then watched him walk out of the room to go out with Emmett.

Emmett waved to everyone, then gave Caleb a shoulder bump as he and Delilah trailed into the room.

Bella scooted back to make herself more comfortable, and both she and Esme laid back on their stomachs as they flipped through the books.

Carlisle looked at his son for a moment, then folded another page in the book that sparked his interested.

"What are you guys doing?" Caleb asked.

"Looking for possibilities as to who Janice might be," Esme told him.

Bella picked up the book Edward had barely started to skim through, and Caleb took it. He sat on the ground, leaning his back against the wall and looked at Delilah.

"You don't think Janice is her real name?" Delilah asked.

Bella lifted her eyes to meet hers, "Edward and I lied about our names," she said with a shrug, "I don't think it's a stretch to think this girl did too."

"Are you going to back?" Caleb asked her, "I know Edward and Rosalie were talking about it. I didn't know if they were serious."

Carlisle and Esme both looked to Bella for a moment, each seeming to have at least a mild interested in what she was feeling on the subject.

"I don't know," she said, "I'll have to talk with Edward to see what he thinks."

"Mike Newton did seem awfully suspicious of us up on the road that night," Delilah informed them, "He seemed a little..."

"Jerky," Caleb finished, "With regards to the way he said 'the Cullens'."

Bella acknowledged his jealousy from their days at Forks High School, "He was kind of like that in high school; a little jealous," she explained, "But I don't think he's involved with any of this. He's harmless."

"Has Edward been able to locate him?" Carlisle asked, "I know he went and spoke to a roommate or something, but did he ever actually see him?"

Bella thought for a moment and shook her head, "No. He didn't."

"Maybe Newton put on a blond wig and went down to the Mancini's house," Caleb joked, making Bella smile at the passing image of Mike Newton in drag.

Esme shook her head again and thumbed quickly through a few pages that were filled only with text and no images.

Carlisle still looked thoughtful, but didn't speak then continued what he was doing. "Maybe we can copy some of these drawings and photos from the books," he said, sounding more as if he was thinking aloud then actually making a statement.

"What do you mean?" Esme asked him.

He looked up at her, "If we made copies of just the photos of people who fit Janice's description and had Randy Mancini look at them..."

"He could point her out," Esme said, finishing his thought.

Carlisle nodded to her, "Worse case scenario, none of these are her and we aren't any worse of than we started."

"We should go Delilah," Caleb said, "That way he won't be suspicious of Bella and Edward if they went back."

She looked nervous as he spoke the words, "I don't know, Caleb. Us? The two of us go to his house?"

"Why not?" he asked.

Delilah didn't know how to answer. She felt suddenly tense, and looked thankful the second Carlisle spoke up.

"No Caleb," he said, "We already decided it wouldn't be a good idea for you to show your face there."

"But-"

"My dad," Bella said, cutting him off, "My dad and Masen can pretend they're missing persons from the area. They could go over and show their pictures to Randy."

Carlisle immediately nodded slowly, but enthusiastically, "That could be a great idea."

Esme smiled, "Good thinking Bella."

"Yeah," Delilah quickly agreed with a nod, "Wow. That's perfect."

Caleb looked to her for a moment, then to his father, "That works."

"Son," Carlisle said, "I know you want to contribute with everything that's going on. Know that you are, and that you've given us all the information we need to try figuring things out."

He nodded back. "I like Bella's idea."

Carlisle looked to both Esme and Bella, "So do I."

Bella smiled, feeling almost shy that they thought so highly of her idea, but also felt accomplished. She hoped her father and Masen could pull it off and at least come to the conclusion that one of the vampires they knew was involved with the mysterious happenings involving their family.


	27. Positive ID

**Chapter 26**

Charlie and Masen walked up to the old farm-style house in South Beach, engaging in a little talk before they hit the front porch. The front door, as before, was open with just the screen door acting as a barrier between the inside and the out.

Charlie took initiative and knocked on the door. The two of them waited a few minutes before knocking again.

"Can I help you?" a voice came from behind.

The two of them spun around and saw Randy Mancini standing with his hands on his hips in a pair of jeans with no shirt. He sported the same, dirty John Deere hat and looked as if he hadn't shaved in a few days.

"Hello, I'm officer Charlie Swan." He held out a hand.

Randy reached out and nodded politely, "Randy. What can I do for you? Is this about my brother?"

Masen looked at Charlie, then the both glanced back at Randy.

"No," Charlie stated, "Why, is he in trouble?"

"He's been missing some days now," he explained, "Weeks, I should say. That'd be more accurate."

"Have you filed a report?" he asked, mostly in the dark about what had happened to Carter.

"Yes sir," Randy told him with a nod, "Search party's out. He hasn't been found yet. Kid had a long history of... things." He shook his head, but looked relieved. "Thought you were going to say you found his body."

Charlie looked to Masen again, who shrugged. "No..." he hesitated, "I'll keep my eyes and ears open."

"Thanks."

"We were actually here going door to door about a few other missing persons," Charlie went on. He held the stack of drawings in his hand, "There have been quite a few animal attacks in the area, and suspect that they may have fallen victim to something of that nature, but we aren't ruling anything out. Would you mind taking a look at the pictures here to see if you recognize any of them?"

Randy complied with a shrug, and took the small stack of pictures from his hand, "Lot of people here."

"They're from all over the state," Masen told him.

His eyes looked over the first few and he shook his head after each one. "How come there aren't any photographs?" he asked, "Oh, here's one." Randy shook his head again, "I don't recognize any of 'em so far. Any from in town? I've been cooped up here my whole life; don't travel much."

"No one from South Beach," Charlie informed him, trying to pick up anything out of the ordinary in his behavior.

Masen shook his head with a smile, as he realized that Edward must have slipped in a picture of Rosalie, which was soon followed after by Alex, Maddy, Delilah and the Denali women.

"Oh hold up," Randy said. He tapped the top photograph, "I have seen her."

Masen's eyes narrowed, "Where? Are you sure?"

"It wasn't long after my brother disappeared," he went on, "Yeah, she definitely stopped here. She seemed as if she was a friend, or someone close to him; a girlfriend maybe, but more likely a childhood friend or something."

Charlie and Masen looked equally shocked and began to take down all the information they could from Randy.

"What did she say her name was?" Masen asked.

"Janice," he told him with a nod, "Pretty sure it was Janice."

"Last name?" Charlie asked, pretending to go through protocol.

Randy thought for a moment, "I don't know. I really can't remember." He shook his head as he continued to think, "Sorry."

"That's alright," Masen said, still looking down at the picture. He removed a phone from around his belt buckle, intending to call Carlisle as soon as they were off the Mancini property.

"Is she alright?" Randy asked them, putting his hands on his hips, "I only saw her that one time..." He began to look nervous, as though he was being questioned in her well-being.

"You're in the clear," Charlie told him, not bothering to elaborate. "Thank you."

"Okay..." he appeared confused at the lack of extensive questioning.

"Did she say anything about where she lived or where she was going?" Masen asked, attempting to seem as if he was digging a little deeper.

"No," Randy responded, "If I were to guess I'd say she was local, because my brother never lived or traveled much outside of here. And he wasn't one to make friends."

"Thank you," Charlie repeated with a nod, jotting down what he wrote on a piece of paper, "We're going to look into this further."

"You don't think their disappearances could be connected, do you?" he asked. "My brother's and hers?"

Masen looked at Charlie, who responded generically, "We'll be looking into all angles of the case."

Randy looked at the two of them for a moment then nodded, seeming to be satisfied. "Okay, well if there's anything else I can do, let me know."

Charlie reached out and shook his hand again. "Thank you. And we'll be looking more in depth regarding your brother's whereabouts."

"Thanks," he said with a nod. "Thanks a lot."

He nodded and tapped his belt, then headed with Masen away from the house toward the car. When they were inside the cruiser, Masen clicked on his father's name in the phone and looked at Charlie nervously, who began to back slowly down the driveway.

Randy gave a casual wave and headed back around the outside of the house.

"Come on..." Masen grew impatient, second-guessing himself for a moment, but noted that Carlisle had gotten a new phone. "Dad!" he yelled, making Charlie jump and look around. He was still mostly in the dark about the situation at hand. "Dad, Randy Mancini pointed out Janice in one of the photos."

Charlie listened to Carlisle's enthusiastic response to Masen's unfinished sentence. He could tell the level of importance was high, but he didn't know what it all meant. He kept looking to his right to attempt to keep up with their conversation, but couldn't keep his eyes off the road for long.

Masen waited for his father to ask, and he did just after the conclusion of his sentence. "Which photo did he recognize?"


	28. A Simple Caption

**Chapter 27**

Caleb hadn't left the couch in over an hour. Normally he was rather stir crazy and felt the need to do _something_, but he was enjoying the moment alone when the house was rather quiet.

Delilah and Nicole were upstairs doing 'girl stuff', and most of the others were one place or another. Esme and Bella had taken a walk together with the babies, and Emmett found it humorous, yet necessary, to act as their protector and accompany them while Carlisle and Edward were out hunting.

He focused on his wallet that sat on the end table across the couch where he was sprawled out. Once or twice he attempted to get it with his feet, but with little success and so he sat up and grabbed it.

Inside the leather fold were two twenty dollar bills, compliments of his parents. Caleb thought for a moment and decided he wanted to get something nice for Delilah. He knew she wasn't one to ask for material things, but a nice bracelet with a thoughtful phrase or date inscribed on it seemed like something that would be to her liking.

Caleb smiled to himself and decided he would do something nice for his love, then removed the picture that Delilah had allowed him to keep in his wallet of her and her grandmother. In the same way it had the first time he saw it, the photograph gave him a good feeling.

On the opposite couch his phone illuminated and started to buzz, as he typically left it on vibrate due to the unpleasant nature of every ringtone he encountered.

_I don't want to get up_, he thought to himself, feeling the heavy wave of laziness continuing to weigh in on him.

Delilah crossed into the living room and he smiled at her from where he laid. She smiled back and sat down where his feet were and lifted them so they rested on her lap. "Whatcha doin'?" she asked.

"Nothing," he responded.

"You've been laying here for awhile," she pointed out.

Caleb pulled out the picture in his wallet and flipped it so the image faced her, "Stole this."

Delilah smiled at the photo of her and her grandmother, "I know."

He continued to smile, then read the caption written in blue ink on the back._ Del &amp; Grandma Janice_.

"What?" she asked him, still smiling.

Caleb thought for a moment, then looked at her. "What was your grandmother's name?"

Delilah's bright expression changed and she stared back at him. "What?"

"What was your grandmother's name?" he repeated.

She shook her head, knowing he must have read the back. It was something she'd forgotten about. "Caleb..."

He abruptly stood up, still holding his wallet and the picture. Across the room his phone went off another time, and he could see that it was from Edward from where he stood. He eyed the illuminated screen, then looked back to Delilah.

"Her name was Janice," she blurted out.

Caleb looked into her eyes. Confusion filled his stare, and there was a small hint of alarm in the way he looked at her.

The phone on the opposing couch beeped to signal the call was missed.

"Where are the girls?" he asked.

"Caleb, you have to trust me," Delilah told him.

"Are they here? Where is everyone?"

She continued to try to coax him, "I didn't do anything wrong. Yes, my grandmother's name was Janice."

"It was you," he stated, seeming to be hurt, "You went to the Mancini's."

Delilah was about to speak, and stepped forward just an inch or two.

Caleb stepped back at the same time, "You're the one who went to see his brother. You said he was in a better place."

"I can explain Caleb," she told him, shaking her head.

"You're the blond girl who looked like Bella."

"No," Delilah said, "I mean..."

Caleb felt cornered in the living room, having no windows or doors on his side. He kept looking over her shoulder, still gripping his wallet tightly in one hand, and held the picture between his thumb and forefinger.

"Please Caleb, can you listen to me?"

"You have something to do with what's going on?" He let his defenses down and let his hurt show on the surface.

"No." Delilah shook her head.

Caleb continued to stare at her with disbelief, still looking over her shoulders for a way to get out of the living room. The fact that no one immediately came to see what was going on made him think they had recently left the house.

"Why are you backing away?" she asked him, appearing just as hurt.

He didn't answer, but continued to look her in the eye. "Why did you go to Randy's? Why did you lie about your name?"

"Caleb-"

"You haven't told anyone about this," he continued, "You haven't told _me_ about this."

"Because-"

"When did you even go over there?"

"A few days after we were down at South Beach."

Caleb eyed the front door and knew his mother, Bella and Emmett were nearby.

"You're scared?" she asked, reading his expression, "You really think I would hurt you? I love you Caleb."

He thought back to how their relationship started - with a lie. He knew she had done it once before, but he hadn't cared. He fell too hard for her. Was his love for her blind? He knew of Jasper's story prior to meeting Alice; he had been informed about Maria. He knew she was related to Caius by blood, no matter how distant the relation. Could she be on their side? Could she be deceiving him? Was it out of some sort of manipulation on the Volturi's part?

"Please let me explain," she begged, "Please."

Caleb back at her and clenched his back teeth, feeling his jaw tighten in the process. He was confused, and felt betrayed. He didn't know whether to make a break for it, or to let her explain.

She took another step forward, and he moved back again.

_What do I do?_ he wondered. _What do I do?_

There was only one phrase that he could speak aloud; only one thing he knew for sure. "You're Janice, Delilah."


	29. Volturi Blood

**Chapter 28**

"Please let me explain," Delilah pleaded. She looked Caleb in the eye.

Rosalie burst through the front door, nearly bearing her nails and teeth. Her aggressive burst into the room seemed to shock both of them, and Delilah jumped.

"You're involved with this?" she bellowed. "I heard it all just now from outside."

"No," Delilah began to shake her head.

Caleb looked at the two of them, not knowing who's side to take. He could see the anger flaring out of Rosalie's eyes and it was directed scornfully at Delilah. She began to charge, but he stepped in her way.

"Wake up Caleb!" Rosalie yelled, "She's involved."

"No I'm not," she said again, sounding completely defensive.

"Just wait," Caleb protested, putting a hand up. He stood protectively in front of Delilah.

"Wait for what? For her stab you in the back? You're standing the perfect position for it." Her words cut him like a knife.

"Let me just explain," Delilah pleaded again. "Give me a chance to."

Rosalie straightened her posture, but her eyes were still like daggers as she still wore an icy glare.

"I did go down to see Randy," she admitted. "I did."

Caleb turned partway toward her, still in between the two women. "Why?"

"Because... I felt guilty. I felt guilty for what happened. It was something I did when I lived with Caius too, but I never said anything."

"What do you mean?" he asked, "What did you do when you lived with them?"

"I visited the families of the victims." Delilah put a hand on her forehead and shook her head, "I couldn't live with the guilt of killing. I couldn't justify it, even though I wanted the blood to make my own pain go away. I felt bad. I looked up the Mancini house in South Beach and I went down there to tell them I was sorry for their loss."

"When?" Caleb asked her. "I'm with you all the time."

"I said I was going hunting," she said, "I told you I was meeting up with Alex one time, but I didn't. I went down to the house. I knew you wouldn't look into it any farther than that because you..." Delilah stopped her sentence, regretting the rest of it because it openly showed her deceit, "because you trust me."

"Why wouldn't you come clean when we were all discussing this?" Rosalie asked, stepping forward. Again, Caleb looked on edge and slightly fearful that the two of them would end up in a physical altercation that Delilah would undoubtedly lose.

"Everyone began talking about the women who visited him as some sort of villain right away," she explained, "If I had said it was me then, well, I don't know. I was afraid what you would all say."

"Why change your name and lie if you have nothing to hide?" Rosalie continued to question.

"So he wouldn't know who I was," Delilah went on, "The same way that Edward and Bella did."

Caleb and Rosalie looked at each other, unsure of what to think. He began to feel badly for accusing her, but a part of him wasn't one hundred percent sure. Rosalie looked highly skeptical and while she was out of her defensive crouch, she stood with her arms folded across her chest without changing her facial expression.

"I'm sorry for lying," she said, looking briefly at Rosalie, then locked eyes with Caleb. "I just knew you wouldn't let me go down there, and I felt like I had to."

Esme, Bella and Emmett came rushing in through the door together with the children intact.

"What's going on?" Esme asked them, seeing everyone's tense positions. "Alice called and said to get her as quickly as we could."

No one said anything at first, though Emmett was looking Rosalie in the eye to try to gain some direction. They could all tell that something was highly out of the ordinary, but didn't know what.

"Where's Edward?" Rosalie asked, looking at Bella, "The only time I need him and he's not around."

"He's out hunting with Carlisle," she said, "Why? What's going on?"

Esme's eyes shifted from person to person.

"Delilah's Janice," Rosalie said, waving her hand angrily as she spoke.

The three of them looked at Delilah with the same awe-filled expression.

"Wait, what?" Emmett asked.

"She went down to visit Randy," Rosalie went on, "I heard these two going back and forth about it. I was outside in the garden and I caught wind of their conversation."

"I went down there because I felt guilty," Delilah explained again. She was about to continue, when Rosalie silenced her with a hand and a quick statement.

"We'll see when Edward gets back," she said with a stern ring to her voice, "And Jasper. Jasper can tell if you're lying sometimes by the type of mood you're in."

"Alice said-" Bella started, but couldn't finish because Alice and Jasper burst through the back door.

"Oh, thank goodness," Alice said, pretending to wipe her brow with a smile. She looked at Delilah, appearing overly calm compared to everyone else in the room.

"Thank goodness for what?" Rosalie asked.

"Oh," she smiled again, "Um, I just saw another circumstance that's all. I'm glad you're alright Delilah."

"Alice..." Rosalie said, shaking her head. She looked annoyed at her sister's cool, happy demeanor.

"Well, you couldn't make up your mind, so I wasn't totally sure if Delilah was going to get out of this misunderstanding unscathed."

"Misunderstanding?" Esme and Emmett asked at the same time.

"Yeah, Delilah didn't do anything," Alice told them, waving her hand, "Sorry Del. I didn't catch this until late."

"She just said she went to Randy's," Rosalie said, nearly bellowing.

"She did, but she has nothing to do with any of the nonsense that's going on. Edward will see it too. She lied, but I'm sure she and Caleb will work past their minor trust issues."

Caleb looked back at Delilah, still appearing confused and hurt over the situation.

"I'm sorry that I went down there without you Caleb," she said, "I'm sorry I lied to you." Her eyes scanned the room, particularly caring of what Esme might have been thinking, "I'm sorry to all of you."

"Volturi by blood," Rosalie said lowly, but loud enough for everyone to hear. She pushed past where Jasper stood by Alice and stormed out of the room.

Emmett looked at Esme, then to Caleb and finally Alice. He quietly excused himself from the room, seeing that things were under control and went to go speak privately with Rosalie.

Alice looked at Esme and mouthed the words, "It's okay."

Esme gave a very subtle half smile that only lasted for a split second. She was nervous, and was accustomed to the feeling because of the curveballs life had continuously thrown at them.

Bella looked confused, but followed as Esme trailed slowly out of the room on Alice's friendly wave. They each glanced over toward Caleb and Delilah as they went, and for a moment Esme contemplated going to speak with her son in the living room, but decided to give them a minute alone. She knew Alice was about to fill her in about what had happened in their brief absence.

Delilah stood silently, thankful that Alice had intervened, but already had a heavy feeling in her chest from the way Caleb stared at her.

"We should talk," she told him with a nod.


	30. Vincent

**Chapter 29**

Aro sat patiently with his counterparts, reading through one of the many books he'd read cover to cover over the years. Caius and Marcus were statue-like on either side of him, each with vastly opposing expressions; stern and solemn respectively.

"When is Vincent expected to arrive?" Caius asked, seeming just slightly impatient. He was eager to hear of what was going on, on the other side of the world.

"Any time now," Aro said with a smile. "Be patient." He stared into the corner of the room at an old clock that must have ticked and tocked millions of times in its lengthy existence.

Each second left behind its own noise, all exactly the same but somehow sounding uniquely different from one to the next.

Caius glanced over at Aro, "Do you believe they're shields to _every_ gift?"

"Well they are certainly immune to all of ours," he said with a smirk, "Let's just hope they don't try to overrun us one day." The joke was sinister, yet humorous and rang with the tiniest hint of seriousness.

Caius didn't smile, he looked concerned.

Aro laughed out loud, "I _am_ making a joke brother."

There was a bout of silence as his laughter died down before Marcus perked up just an inch in his seat as a single, loud click from above caught his attention.

"He has arrived back with us," he said, glancing at Aro.

He smiled, rising from his seated position as the familiar click of shoes against the stone walkway rang through the old corridors.

The doors were already wide open, and for a moment, Aro almost called out Felix's name, but let it slip away from his tongue. He hadn't quite gotten used to the absence of him and Demetri, but things were looking better now for their coven.

A handsome, young man with dark features walked through the door, smiling immediately at the Volturi leader. His blackened eyes showed the hunger that lingered in his bones after taking such a long flight.

"And..." Aro began, still looking amused. He wanted to be able to read every detail, but knew his gift was useless on Vincent. He hoped there would be nothing left out.

"I've had an interesting stay in Forks, Washington and the surrounding towns," Vincent stated. "The land is quite different in the states than over here."

Aro didn't particularly care for the outlying details of his experience, but humored him by engaging in conversation. "Indeed. The scenery is far different than here."

He nodded, then let a smile slowly spread across his face, one which Aro returned. "Their coven can't sense when I'm nearby. I've eavesdropped on their conversations from so close. They're scared; nervous..."

"Excellent."

"I even snuck into their house undetected until I purposely made a few noises to draw attention to myself."

Aro kept his smile, but showed his fair share of concern. "Let's not get overconfident just yet. I need you to remain a mystery."

He nodded, appearing as though he could protest, but was far too controlled and respectful to go down that road. "Caleb nearly killed a man."

Shock filled Aro's face, but he smiled wider than he had in a long time, "Do tell."

"He pushed him back defending his mate; knocked him into a rock face and broke the man's neck."

"I suppose his father's death is getting the best of him." His smile broadened.

Vincent let his smile fade for a moment, but continued with the point at hand. "I, uh, I changed him."

Aro looked at him, now appearing stone-like as his brothers were. He glanced at Caius, who shook his head and closed his eyes.

"He hates the Cullens," he went on. "I smell the blood, I couldn't help myself. I know that sounds reckless, but-"

"Where is this stranger now?" Aro asked, cutting him off with the first ring of agitation in his voice.

"He traveled across the United States with me," Vincent explained, "He's up in a rural area of Canada."

"Disposable?"

"He could be a good asset-"

"Disposable if need be?"

Vincent eyed his posture, then slowly nodded, "Yes."

"Good." He turned and reached for a wine glass filled with blood and took an overwhelming sip that made Vincent nearly jump out of his skin. He realized again how much he needed a supply of food. His hand lingered by his throat.

"What about the rest of them?" Aro asked. "Are they still in mourning?"

Vincent hesitated, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

He straightened up and listened intently. Caius, too, leaned forward in his seat.

Vincent turned his head toward the wall to the right of where he stood. The other Volturi members looked to the left, facing the same direction.

He held a finger up and pointed to a old painting on the wall. "That's the man you said was dead."

Aro followed the invisible line that trailed out of Vincent's index finger and to the old painting of their coven from centuries before. There were three possibilities from the men in the painting.

"You'll have to be more specific," Aro stated in an overly serious tone.

Vincent walked closer, speaking as he moved, "The man with the blond hair."

"Carlisle."

He nodded, "Yes. He's Caleb's father."

"He _was_," Caius responded, now standing up himself.

Aro looked concentrated. His eyes squinted and he stared at Vincent. "What are you saying?"

"Is it to your belief that he's dead?" Vincent asked, shifting his eyes back and forth between Aro and Caius.

The two elder Volturi members looked at each other, then Aro turned to the young man before him. "I've seen it in his widow's thoughts."

"Esme?" he asked. "Esme Cullen."

"Yes." Aro's eyebrows pressed together and his jaw became a furious right angle. He knew was Vincent's words were about to reveal.

"Carlisle isn't dead. I saw him."

"Impossible," Caius said, shaking his head. He looked to Aro for confirmation.

"It's true," Vincent explained, "I wrecked his Mercedes. I had him chasing me all over the house and yard. He and Esme spend all their time with the baby; Marshall."

"How can this be possible?" Marcus asked, still back in his chair.

Aro thought everything through. He was certain of the thoughts he'd read in all of the Cullens' minds. _How did they pull off such a grand scheme?_

"Are you certain it's not Masen who you've seen?" Aro asked, "They look similarly."

"The police officer who's married to the wolf woman?" Vincent asked, "No. It's not. He's also the son of Carlisle and Esme, correct?"

"He is."

"The man I've seen his Carlisle."

"And what about Alice?" Aro asked, "A petite, pixie-looking young lady with a shaggy, blond haired mate."

"Jasper," Vincent said, finishing his thought.

"She's also alive?"

Vincent nodded, "I heard them speaking of her visions being blocked. I suppose it's my doing by being in the area. It's messing her up."

Aro felt what would have been his blood-pressure rising, and he clenched his fists. "You're certain it was Carlisle and Alice?"

"Come back with me and see for yourself," he said confidently, "You'll remain undetected. They can't see anything you're doing here either."

Aro and Caius looked at each other again.

"Salvatore," Aro said aloud. It was all being placed together.

Vincent nodded.

He turned to Caius, "Now aren't you glad that we made the wishes that we did?" A smile formed on his face, "The Cullens want to keep their children at such an elementary level for as long as possible; they love having uncontrollable babies roaming around their home, drooling venom the carpets and whining all hours of the day and night..."

Vincent smirked.

"Not me," Aro went on, "Vincent, aren't you glad you'll never have to look back and say, I was a wretched, mindless baby for years. You've never been vulnerable; you've never been stupid, or ignorant, or inexperienced. You, son, you and your brother are unlike any others of your kind. You've grown far more rapidly than any other immortal. You've achieved so much in so little time. The two of you, equally, are truly something special."

He continued to smile and nodded.

"You're going to be such an asset to this coven Vincent. You'll be unstoppable with our guidance."

Vincent smiled and nodded, "Well, I have learned so quickly from the best... father."

Sulpicia entered the room, drawing looks from the four of them. Next to her stood another handsome, young man with dark features and bright red eyes. He smiled and looked at Vincent.

"Welcome back brother."


	31. Moving Forward

**Sorry for delays in writing. Been doing work around the house and I coach high school softball so we've had a lot of games lately due to previous rainouts. Busy month of May thus far! Thanks again for continuing to read. :)**

**Chapter 30**

Several awkward days passed between Caleb and Delilah, though they were quickly back to where they had left off before the whole confusion over 'Janice' had taken place. Edward had quickly confirmed the truth upon his rush home with Carlisle upon getting a number of texts and calls from Esme and Bella. Alice continued to stand in Delilah's corner, and after a long talk and a cool down period, Caleb had come to his senses and apologized for not letting her tell her side of the story.

The two of them sat together under a tree as the sun set. His arms were wrapped around her as she sat in between his legs with her back against his chest. He kissed her on the cheek and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry," Caleb repeated. "I love you."

"I love you too." Delilah placed her hand over his around her waist.

He reached in his pocket with his free hand and pulled out his wallet, flipping it open to reveal the photograph of Delilah and her grandmother. "Can I still hang on to this?"

She smiled and turned, planting a kiss on his lips. "Yes."

William and Maddy approached through the trees, hand in hand, and each smiling.

"Hey," Maddy said, waving to the two of them.

"Hey," they said back at the same time.

"How are you guys doing?" she asked.

Delilah looked back at Caleb, who smiled then laughed. She leaned up against him with a grin. "We're... okay."

"We're great," he corrected, pulling her tighter against him.

"So, this whole situation has kind of sucked," William said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Yup," Caleb said with a nod. He smiled, but it wasn't one of joy.

"We need to get past it," Maddy told them, "Now that we know everything."

"Well, we don't know _everything_," Caleb reminded her, "About this mystery person anyway."

"But at least we're all on page with each other." She gave a closed mouth, "We have to trust each other."

"I shouldn't have kept it from anyone," Delilah told them, "Going to visit Randy."

Maddy shrugged and squatted down to give her a hug, "It wasn't a bad thing that you went there. You care about what happened; even if the guy did kind of get himself into the situation by his own bad judgment."

"I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions either," Caleb said, shaking his head. He placed his chin on Delilah's shoulder and sighed.

"It's over bud," William told him, "Maddy's right. We need to get past it and move on."

He looked at them, then nodded. "It's just hard, ya know?"

"Yeah..." William agreed without hesitation. The girls both agreed with a nod.

"I think we should make a promise to one another, and to our family, that we won't hide anything anymore," Maddy suggested, "We have to be honest and lean on the people that can help us. I think that was a big mistake that we made."

"Agreed," Caleb said, "I know I was the one who was the most defiant with that, and I'm sorry."

"It wasn't a good situation," Maddy went on, "We hadn't been in that position before."

William sighed and looked out toward the setting sun. He still stood tall, yet almost shyly in his partially slumped posture. "Want to head back to the house?"

Maddy linked herself back up with him, sliding her arm through his and they looked at Caleb and Delilah on the ground.

Delilah pushed off of his legs and got to her feet, then helped to pull him up.

William and Maddy shared a smile and a kiss, then lead the way away from their spot in the woods.

Caleb pulled Delilah in for a kiss and gave her a serious look, having felt more guilty as the days went on for accusing her without letting her speak first. They linked hands, and she tapped him once on the nose to make him smile, then followed their friends back toward the family's main home.

...

Carlisle and Esme stood together on the back deck. They had been talking closely for about a half hour, and continuously looked inside through the nearest window where Bella and Edward could be seen interacting with the two babies.

"I don't like them going off alone," Esme told him, referring to Caleb and Delilah.

"They're alright," Carlisle assured her, "Alice has been able to see everything. She's been constantly updating all of us."

She shook her head and sighed, "Poor Alice. Gosh, I hope we figure this out soon."

"It's been quiet."

"This isn't over Carlisle."

He guided her against him and kissed her temple. "I'm trying to ignore that part."

"Do you think this Carter is involved?"

"There's been nothing claiming his body has been found," Carlisle said, "And Masen checked the reports for anything that mentioned his name, or implied that a body had been found in the water at South Beach."

"So you think there's a chance he's been changed?"

He sighed, "There may be only one way to find out for sure... or to be pretty sure."

Esme looked at him with question in her expression, "How?"

Carlisle raised his eyebrows and sighed, "We might have to go search the ocean in that area... search for the body; for bones."

"It's been... weeks."

"The body wouldn't have gone far."

Esme felt morbid speaking about the subject so liberally. It had been so long since anyone in their family had been involved in the death of a human.

Carlisle sighed again and looked down, knowing how she was feeling. "I might take Emmett and Edward... Jasper, William."

"And do what?"

"Scan the ocean off of the dock."

"Carlisle..." Esme shook her head.

"We should be able to locate him if he's still there." His eyes met hers, and he could see that she didn't particularly care for the idea.

"What if someone sees you?"

"We'll go late at night, but I don't want Caleb to come."

Esme sighed back and shook her head.

"It may be the only way to know... or at least have an accurate suspicion."

The two of them looked up to see the four kids enter through the back trees, all seeming to be in better spirits than they had in the several days that had passed. A rush of relief passed through Esme at the sight of their son's face, and then similarly by everyone else's.

"Can we talk about this some more a little later?" she asked him, not by any means angry, but stressing the importance of the issue.

Carlisle nodded, and seemed thankful that Esme wasn't mad by the way she hugged him. He kissed her forehead again, then stood back as she approached Caleb and the rest of them.

He headed back toward the door, catching the eye of both Edward and Bella as he joined them and scooped up Marshall, who seemed more than happy to be reunited with his father after the brief stint of separation during Carlisle's chat with Esme on the back steps.

Esme smiled to herself when she noticed Carlisle's and Marshall's happy demeanor to be with one another. She allowed William, Maddy, Caleb and Delilah in ahead of her before closing the door. While she regretted having to put her through so much stress, she made her way down the hall to find Alice to ask her what she thought about Carlisle's latest idea.


	32. The Docks

**Chapter 31**

A day had passed, and Esme agreed to Carlisle's plans, given that Alice was going to foresee the entire ordeal. She had explained that she saw different outcomes, but should know that night what would be for certain. She and Jasper agreed to go along with Carlisle and Emmett, while the rest of the family stayed back at the house.

Carlisle checked his phone, as it read nearly two o'clock in the morning. The four of them crossed over the sharp bend in the road, then leapt over the edge of the cliff down onto the sand below.

"No humans in the immediate area," Jasper informed them, taking a deep breath in of the salty air. He suspected they all already knew, but wanted to make it known so they could proceed with their actions without any form of reservation.

Alice linked hands with him, and neither Carlisle or Emmett said anything back. They walked slowly, and Carlisle kept his eyes toward the ground, scanning the beach for anything that might prove to be of some help in the way the driver's license had at their house.

"There's the dock," Emmett announced, pointed up ahead.

The three of them looked in the direction where his finger lead and saw a small fishing dock in the distance.

Carlisle looked to him, and the four of them picked up the pace, rushing toward the area.

A small chain link fence attempted to protect the dock, though it didn't come up much past the waist or belly-button area. A red and black metal sign added to the 'no trespassing' vibe, as it sported the words KEEP OUT in big, block lettering.

Emmett was the first to leap over it, and removed his shirt as he prepared to be the first to dive off the end into the murky, dark water.

Carlisle ran his hand along the wooden railing on one side that ended by just before breaking out onto a wider platform at the far end.

Alice made a face at the smell of fish guts, something that was particularly unpleasant to her senses. Jasper half-smirked, knowing she hated the smell, though simultaneously recognized his own dissatisfaction.

"What's the plan?" Emmett asked them, slapping his hands together. He looked at Carlisle, then Alice and Jasper.

"Split it up three ways," Alice said, "Someone take the middle, then the left and the right. Cover as much ground as you can in the immediate area. I'll keep watch."

Jasper looked to her, "I was thinking I'd stay on the dock with you and have Carlisle and Emmett split it down the middle."

"I'll be fine," she assured him.

"I don't trust this guy, or anything that involves the situation that's happening."

"Stay Jasper," Carlisle said immediately with a nod, "Emmett and I can cover the entire area on our own without a problem."

Alice didn't argue, as Jasper used his gifts to easily sway her to see it his way. She smiled at him, then took his hand. "We won't be able to really communicate with you, so be thorough but as fast as you can."

Carlisle nodded and looked at Emmett, who gave off the appearance of an Olympic swimmer from his massive upper body and swimming attire.

"Should we make it a race?" he asked, lightening up the situation as he glanced over at Carlisle. There were obvious joking undertones to his half-hearted suggestion, but for once he didn't smile.

Carlisle shook his head and managed a snicker before peeling off his shirt to get ready for a swim. "I'll take the right side."

"I guess that makes me the left," Emmett said, finally giving a toothy grin.

"Be careful," Alice said to both of them.

Jasper nodded and stood stone-like at her side.

"Will do sis," Emmett said before he saluted her and dove off the left corner of the dock.

Carlisle jumped off the right side and Alice sighed as the two of them disappeared beneath the dark water.

Jasper squatting down by the edge, and peered through the blackness to the bottom of the ocean that seemed to be endless.

"This place gives me the creeps," Alice said to him, looking around. "I haven't felt that way in a long time; aside from the unwanted trips to Volterra."

He looked over his shoulder at her, then scanned the surrounding area before refocusing on the water as if he was looking for something.

"We're not going to find a body," she told him, shaking her head, "This is exactly how this pans out." A sigh left her mouth, "I've seen it. Emmett thinks he'll find something, and that's what was kind of throwing me off."

"Should we try to call them back?" Jasper asked.

Alice shook her head, "There are people close enough to possibly hear us."

He closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose, "Mmm... human blood and fish guts."

"Don't remind me," she said, then added, "About either one."

Jasper smirked and stood with his hands on his hips.

Alice put her hand on her temple for a moment, then dropped her hand to her side and gave a blank stare. It only lasted momentarily, and Jasper popped back up into an upright position.

"I can't see them," she said.

"Carlisle and Emmett?" Jasper began to take off his outer layer of clothing.

"No." Alice shook her head and put a hand on his arm, "No, at home. I can't see them all at home." She removed the phone from her pocket and began to scan for anyone's number in her recent calls, finding Rosalie's name as the last entry.

"Rose!" she practically shouted, "Rose, where are you guys?"

Jasper listened as their sister explained that she was at the house, along with most of the others aside from William, Maddy, Alex and Michael.

"Well, round them all up and don't let anyone out of your sight."

"Okay, okay," Rosalie's worried voice came over the receiver, "Where's Emmett?"

"He's in the ocean with Carlisle."

Her voice grew more panicky as Alice calmly tried to explain that he was in no danger, emphasizing that Carlisle wasn't either.

Jasper's eyes widened and he clenched his back teeth until they grinded. His hand suddenly clutched Alice's arm tightly, and she looked up at him, still engulfed in the conversation with Rosalie.

"What Jas? Rosalie, hang on." She walked backwards a few steps over the wooden boards that made up the dock as he guided her in that direction.

Alice followed Jasper's eyes and turned around abruptly, bumping directly into Mike Newton.


	33. Bad Timing

**Chapter 32**

"Hey what are you two doing here?" Mike asked, visibly intoxicated. "You're still together, huh?"

Alice made a face at the blatant smell of whiskey that poured from breath that landed directly on their faces. She casually stated the words, "I'll call you back," into the phone's receiver before sliding it back into the tight pocket of her jeans.

Jasper didn't move. He appeared as if he were thinking that somehow Mike wouldn't be able to see him if he stood still.

"Jas... Jasper," Mike said, "Wow, you and Alice still together? Ya married yet?" He slapped a hand down on his shoulder, drawing an overly uncomfortable look from him.

Alice stepped in, breaking the small amount of contact between them, "Yep, married." She flashed her ring.

"Where was my invitation?" His slurred speech gave her some hope that they could get him away from the dock.

"Eloped," she said in a cheery tone, attempting to walk him away from where they stood.

Surely it will look incredibly odd if 'Dr. Cullen' and Emmett emerged from the water at 2 a.m, she thought.

"Why are you down here?" Mike asked, seeming to temporarily come to his senses. He looked more inquisitive this time he asked. He stood up onto his toes and looked over Jasper's shoulder toward the water.

"What are _you_ doing down here?" Alice asked, taking control of the conversation.

He looked up at her, keeping his expression serious for a moment before a bout of laughter left his mouth. "I don't really know. I've been trying to meet girls down at the little parties they throw by the water." He pointed way down the beach, "No luck." He looked around the area with foreign eyes, "Where are we again?"

Alice sighed and slapped him on the back. She threw an arm around his shoulders and looked at Jasper, giving just a half smile for brief second, "I'll make sure you get where you need to. Jas, I'll meet you back at the house." She looked him in the eye, then mouthed the words, _"Stay here and wait for them."_ She motioned with her hand back toward the dock.

Mike smiled, seeming to be entranced by Alice's fake flirting. "I don't live far."

"Okay, well I'll get you home safe Mike," she said, "Where's your car?"

"I walked," he said, with a grin, "I live less than a mile that way." He pointed up toward the winding road.

"What's the street name?"

Mike scratched his head, then rattled off his address.

Jasper still stood like a rock, watching as Alice maneuvered their stumbling high school acquaintance away from where their family members were in search of Carter Mancini's body.

He knew she knew what she was doing, and that the person responsible for being a menace wasn't in the immediate area due to her Alice's vision.

Jasper returned to the edge of the dock, now wishing for Carlisle and Emmett to resurface. He wanted to call out their names, but knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do. In the distance, he could still hear Mike's slurred speech and the quick shuffle of Alice's feet as she tried her best to hurry him along without going at impossible speeds.

The water was calm and silent. Gentle waves lapsed against the sand and the tall wooden poles that created the base of the dock. Despite not being affected much, Jasper could tell that the air was warm, and the unwanted taste of salt decorated his lips.

He pulled out his phone, wanting to resume the conversation Alice was having with Rosalie, sure the family was probably even more worried from her quick hang-up. He had to make sure they weren't in danger.

Jasper removed his phone from his pocket and immediately dialed his daughter's phone number. Before the second ring could sound off, she picked up, sounding out of breath.

"Dad!"

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes. What is going on? Mom hung with Rosalie and-"

"Stay together. Don't leave the house," Jasper ordered, "We're going to be home soon."

"Are you still down there?"

"Yes. But Mom couldn't see you guys, so we think he's around the area. Who are you with right now?"

"Everyone," Nicole responded, "Just about. We're waiting for Alex and Michael. Edward went to go meet them halfway with Jacob. He and Renesme came to the house just after you left."

"Can you see the reservation still if you tried?" he asked out of curiosity.

There was a pause, before her voice came back. "Yes," she told him, then added, "Where's Mom? Why'd she hang up on Rosalie?"

"We had to get a human out of here," Jasper explained, "An old friend of ours that attended Forks High School during the years that we did."

"Get him out of there how?"

"Mom's walking him home just down the street." His eyes scanned the ocean again.

"Rosalie is right here. She asked about Emmett and Carlisle."

"They're still searching."

"Still searching," Nicole's voice said quietly to whom Jasper could guess was Rosalie. "Dad, when did you see them last?"

"Not long ago. They haven't been down there for very long."

Nicole and Rosalie exchanged a few more words, before she got back on the line. "Are you all by yourself? And Mom too?"

"We're alright. I need you to stay with Rose."

"I will."

Jasper sighed, "I love you. We'll be home soon."

"Okay." Nicole sighed back, "I love you too."

He hung up and slid the phone back into the pocket of his baggy, khaki shorts. He looked around again, unable to keep himself from doing so. He extended his ear in the direction Alice had wandered off to, and still could hear the familiar click of her shoes in the far distance. Every now and then her voice could be heard asking for direction, which Mike Newton sloppily gave to her with drunken billows of laughter.

Jasper's mind went back to the time he'd spent thinking that Alice was dead. He had the urge to leave the dock and go after her just in case the lunatic vampire they were stalking was lurking nearby. He remembered her words, however, and trusted her judgment to go off on her own.

_Let's go guys_, he thought, _where are you?_

Emmett was the first to emerge, as if Jasper's wishes had been granted. He rushed up to the dock and hoisted himself onto the wooden platform.

"Any luck?" Jasper asked.

"No. I thought I had, but..." He shook his head and stood with his hands on his hips. "Where's Alice?"

"Mike Newton came out this way."

Emmett gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Said he was down at some party down the beach. Seemed to be intoxicated."

"So, where is he now?"

"Alice walked him home. I want to go after them in case there's someone nearby. I know she can handle herself, but-"

"Go," Emmett said without hesitation, "Carlisle's not back?"

Jasper shook his head, "Alice can't see anything happening back at the house. The two of us will head back that way and meet you and Carlisle back there."

"She can't see anything?"

"She talked to Rosalie. They're all together in the house waiting for us."

"Mackenzie and William..."

"They're at the house." Jasper confirmed with a nod.

Emmett took in a deep breath and nodded. "Go man. We'll meet you home."

He left without another moment of hesitation, eager to catch up with Alice.

Emmett now stood alone on the dock and took in a deep breath. The thought that the stranger was back made him anxious, and he felt the urge to seek out whoever it was and put them out of their misery.

He looked across the open ocean, then grabbed his t-shirt and wiped his face with it. A minute or two went by before he recognized Carlisle's scent in the area. No more than a second later, he turned and spotted him walking on the beach, waving a hand in his direction.

Immediately, Emmett darted in his direction, reaching for Carlisle's t-shirt at the last second in order to preserve their identities if anyone happened to stroll down the dock the following day.

"The person's back," Emmett told him as he approached.

"What?" Carlisle asked.

"Alice can't see the house."

"Where is she? Where's Jasper?"

"Mike Newton interrupted things while we were underwater. Alice walked him home and Jasper went to catch up to her when I came back up to the dock."

"We have to get back to the house," Carlisle said.

Emmett nodded, but began to follow him in the opposite direction. "What...?" he asked.

Carlisle ran full speed, causing him to do the same. Less than a half-mile down the way, they stopped and he pointed to a heap in the mixture of seaweed, a few dead crabs and torn up fishing net.

Emmett squatted down and looked into the foul smelling pile. "What... is that...?"

Carlisle put his hands on his hips and closed his eyes.

He looked up from where he squatted, "This is him? But..." he shook his head. "Do you think this is the missing person? Carter Man..."

"Mancini," he finished. "I... I don't know. I would suspect so." The thought flashed through his mind of what the ordeal may have been like for both of their sons the night of the tragic chain of events.

"So, the driver's license at our house then?" Emmett asked, "What was that about?"

Carlisle didn't immediately have an answer. He just looked at Emmett with an almost hurt expression before draping his t-shirt around the back of his neck. "There's no wallet. I already checked."

He made a face, not caring for the mixture of terrible smells that came off of the body, dead crabs and dried seaweed.

"We have to get home," Carlisle said. "We need to go now."


	34. Tired

**Chapter 33**

"What?" Alice asked, exasperated, "But I thought it was nothing." She placed a hand on her forehead for a moment, then paced the upstairs family room. "Oh, Mike Newton. You screwed everything up by showing up on a whim like that..." She clenched her fists at the thought of him, showing more anger and frustration than she had in awhile.

The family stood together in the overcrowded room at the Cullens' house, each with their own expressions; a combination of worry, anger, remorse and confusion.

"So... it was really him?" William asked in a timid tone.

Carlisle and Emmett looked to each other, then Emmett sighed, "The body we found looked as if it had been down there for weeks; definitely spent some time in the ocean."

"Well, how did Carter's ID get on our doorstep then?" Caleb asked. "I don't understand." He looked to his father for answers.

"And what about the mystery person?" Rosalie asked, looking heavily angered rather than scared. "We could have done a search of the woods in pairs when he was here a half hour ago. There's a ton of us, and only one of him."

"So we think," Edward said, "We don't know how many people are actually involved. There could be more." The two of them turned to face Carlisle, each looking for his opinion on the matter.

The room fell silent, and no one said anything. Charlie was the first to break the silence, as he began to fuss in Edward's arms.

"I'll take him," Bella offered, but Edward smiled softly.

"It's alright," he said, "I'll feed him."

"So, what now?" Jasper asked. He looked at Alice, and draped his arm around Nicole's shoulders.

Alice half-smiled at him with defeated eyes. "Without my sixth sense I feel like I'm not of much help to this family right now." She looked to Carlisle for a moment as if she were looking for some sort of advice.

Carlisle looked back at her and attempted to sound reassuring. "We'll be fine. We'll figure this out."

Edward rocked baby Charlie for a moment to try to keep his cries at a dull roar, though excused himself when he became unsuccessful. Bella looked around, then followed him out of the room.

The silence was deafening, as no one had the words to express regarding their situation. They all felt the same way; frustrated, and locked into some sort of unfair stalemate.

"Michael and I will stay here for the night," Alex told her parents, "In case you were worried we might try to make a mad dash for our house." Her smile indicated a small attempt at some humor, but Esme just nodded back to her daughter then gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead. She then placed a hand lightly on Michael's shoulder and gave him a squeeze before glancing back at Carlisle.

He smiled to them the best he could, then placed a hand lightly on both Esme and Alex's shoulders as he passed by and left the room. Alice, Jasper and Nicole followed out soon after.

"Are you alright?" Esme asked, looking over at Emmett.

Rosalie wiped a small, lingering string of seaweed away from his shoulder. Their children stood silently next to them with Maddy, Caleb and Delilah all in a row.

"Yeah," he said with a nod. He looked her in the eye, "But I think we're all in trouble here."

"Em..." Rosalie said softly.

Emmett shrugged and kept his voice soft and low. "I just think there are a lot of unknowns, and until we can pinpoint the truth, this isn't going to go away."

"Do we make a trip out to Italy?"

Esme's eyes widened at the idea. Caleb looked at his mother, then to Delilah but didn't say anything.

"The only reason I'm suggesting this is because Alice still can't see what's going on there," Rosalie elaborated, "Maybe if we go out there we can figure out why."

"I have a haunch they have something to do with this," Emmett said, shaking his head, "It could be walking into the lion pit. Plus then Aro may figure out that Carlisle and Alice are still alive... if he reads our thoughts."

"Oh yeah..." Rosalie shook her head, "Yeah, he can't know that."

"No," Esme agreed, shaking her head.

"What if we just lurked around and scoped it out from a distance?" she turned to Emmett, then back to Esme, "Do you think Lucy would agree to make the trip to preserve our own identities? They wouldn't be able to sense us with her around."

"That's a tough pitch to make," Emmett said, remaining overly calm in his tone.

"Though if they did happen to see us, or her, then we'd be screwed with the Carlisle and Alice ordeal."

"Aro and the rest of the Volturi can't know that they're alive," Esme said, emphasizing every word.

"Yeah, I don't think he'd react too well to being completely taken off guard like that," Emmett responded, finally regaining the typical pep in his voice with an accompanying smile. William snickered, but quickly let his brief second of laughter die out.

Esme and Rosalie both sighed, seeming to be equally tired of talking about the situation.

"I can't wait until we find this guy," Emmett went on. He shook his head and eyed the floor, playing with the decorative throw run with his bare foot.

"We will," Rosalie said quietly.

The two of them shared a look and Emmett quickly kissed her once.

"Come on," he said, putting his arm around her, "Let's go shoot some pool, or something; relax."

"Can we go lay down?" Rosalie asked him.

He nodded, then looked at both William and Mackenzie, "The door will be open. If you need to leave to hunt come see us and we'll go with you. Other than that, stay in tonight."

The two of them nodded, along with Mackenzie and everyone separated, making their ways to other parts of the house.

The downstairs area was quiet, and Carlisle laid comfortably on the couch by himself in the dark. The glow of the television was the only light on that level, and Esme made her way over to where he laid.

"Is this _Dead Poets Society_?" she asked, swinging Marshall to her hip.

Carlisle didn't move as she approached. He simply nodded and breathed in once through his nose.

Esme recognized the Showtime symbol in the corner of the screen and knew from watching it herself in the past that he movie was close to halfway over. "Gosh, Ethan Hawke was so young."

"Yeah..." he responded, clearing his throat just after.

Esme bent down and brushed his hair back, then kissed him on the cheek. "Besides the obvious, what's wrong?"

Carlisle's eyes lifted from the television to meet hers. "I'm tired."

She could see the exhausted expression on his face, and his eyes ached with centuries of feats and experiences that lead him to their current moment.

He lifted his hand and placed it over hers, as she left it lingering on the side of his face. "Esme, I just feel run down... physically. I think my mind is finally telling my body that enough is enough."

Esme's eyes filled with a small hint of concern at his beat-down choice of words.

Carlisle sat up and kissed her, "I just..." he bowed his head for a moment, then looked back up at her, "I want us to live freely. I want to be happy and show our children an uplifting life."

"Are you tired of me?" she asked, kidding for the most part, but waiting for him respond.

He smiled and laughed briefly, "Never."

Esme continued to look at him, and he brought his lips to hers.

"I want to go live out forever with you on Isle Esme," he told her, continuing to laugh with a hint of madness, "That's become the only dream I have anymore."

She smiled, but knew there was far more to her husband's dreams than that. She wanted them for him, and while the idea of containing themselves in paradise away from everyone else for eternity sounded more than just a little tempting, she felt the need to comfort him and bring him back to reality.

Esme pressed her forehead against his and felt him close his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her and Marshall.

"I'm tired, Esme," he repeated softly.

She sighed and kissed her forehead several times in a row.

_I know the feeling_, she thought.


	35. Research

**Chapter 34**

Aro became more and more infuriated at the thought that Carlisle was alive as the days passed. He had forced himself to focus on Vincent's information on his visit back to Italy, before he resumed his much-enjoyed stay near Forks.

"Why don't you just take your anger out on all of them?" Caius asked. "Go do what is necessary, or allow me to."

"Things are far more... _romanticized_ than a brute attack that could very well leave us with more men down," Aro explained. He sat calmly with his hands together and one leg folded over the other.

"How-"

Aro raised a hand and silence Caius' question before he could even ask it. He knew what his brother was about to ask. _How did you not see the truth in the Cullens' thoughts?_

The question had no answer. He wasn't sure what to believe, but he knew Carlisle wasn't a deceitful man.

_Would he actually allow his mate to believe he had been killed? His children?_ Aro sighed and continued to think with his eyes now closed. _A hundred years ago I would have said not a chance._

"I do believe we have changed Dr. Cullen," he spoke.

"What do you mean?" Caius asked him.

"There was nothing in Esme's thoughts; nor Edward's, the daughter's, the son's... any of them... regarding Carlisle's death being a hoax."

Caius continued to stare at Aro, not saying a word to allow him to finish.

"He and Alice must have concocted the elaborate ruse on their own without telling anyone, including their mates." He sighed, then laughed, "Even ten years ago I do believe Carlisle would have backed down on such a hasty idea, though now..." Aro shook his head, paused, then nodded, "Yes, brother, I do believe we have changed him."

There was another bout of silence before Aro continued. "Who did you say it was in our coven that initially claimed he was dead?"

Caius looked up, but didn't have time to respond, as Aro rose from where he sat.

"I'd like to have a word with them."

...

Esme in Carlisle's office, where she had been for nearly a half hour. Night had crept in and the desk lamp was her only source of lighting. Next to her was the note left by the mystery person on Carlisle's car weeks before, and she continued to search the internet for Carter Mancini. While no new information came onto the screen, she couldn't help but maintain her search for something useful. Rather than continue to worry, Esme wanted to attempt to be proactive.

"Carter M-a-n..." she whispered the man's name as her fingers stroked over the keys on the keyboard. _They had to have found the body by now_, she thought.

Again, nothing out of the ordinary popped up; just the same old articles that she, Carlisle and everyone else had been coming across.

Esme sighed, and looked across the top of the search bar, finding a link that read 'News'. She clicked on it, then typed in the words South Beach, Washington.

The search box went to white for a moment, as the computer attempted to generate results. Esme tapped her fingers on the hardwood surface of the desk until the list she was looking for popped up.

"South Beach festival..." she whispered, whipping through each link, "South Beach band... fisherman catches shark off South Beach..." She clicked on the downward arrow, scrolling just slightly before stopping on one that was labeled, _South Beach Police Logs: Body Found In Fishing Net._

Esme felt her stomach drop and clicked on the link. She waited the second or two it took for the computer to catch up, then let her eyes drift savagely over each letter of each word. Her lips moved as she read, before she spoke the name aloud.

"Tyler Hayden." Her eyes scanned the rest of the article and she whispered a few words aloud, "Wounds were not deemed to be fatal... accidental drowning..." The photo of the man in his twenties did not at all match up to the man's photograph on Carter Mancini's driver's license.

Esme sat back in the chair, but was unable to take her eyes off the screen. She read the words again and again, but couldn't fully put it together.

_Caleb confirmed that the man in Carter's photo was who he an altercation with down at the beach_, she thought. _Could it be a coincidence that another person suffered a terrible fate at the same location_? _And what does this all have to do with the Volturi and Alice's vision being blocked_?

Esme found herself to be extremely intrigued. She had to know what was going on and get to the bottom of it. _How do Carter and Tyler fall into the same category? Maybe Caleb misjudged who he saw..._ she shook her head, knowing this wasn't the case. For certain, she knew it was no coincidence that Carter's ID was left on their doorstep._ Maybe someone is trying to throw us off._

The screen remained at it's information-giving state as Esme felt as if she was on the verge of some type of revelation. She could feel that something wasn't quite right about what was going on, and that the body that Carlisle and Emmett had found was not completely unrelated. On top of it all, Carter was somewhere out there but where was he? And _what_ was he; human, immortal...?

An advertisement decorate the top of the screen just above the newspaper's article. It highlighted a baseball game that would be played that evening in Seattle and Esme let her eyes focus on the Mariner's symbol for a second, before reading across the line that spelled out: Seattle Mariners host Minnesota Twins. To the right of the one-liner was the symbol for the visiting team.

Esme looked from one side to the other, then held on to a passing thought in her mind as she locked onto the Minnesota symbol.

_Twins_, she thought, bringing her hand up toward her mouth as she thought.

For several minutes, Esme found herself deep in thought. _Alice's vision disappeared while Sulpicia was giving birth. Since then she's had no visual contact with the Volturi. Her visions have gone in and out on a regular basis since then, and every so often in our area and around the house. Simultaneously, she still cannot see the Volturi._

She knew she was on to something and her eyes drifted back to the ad about that night's baseball game.

"Twins," she said quietly to herself, causing a light bulb-like reaction to go off in her mind. "Aro and Sulpicia must have had twins."


	36. The Next Full Moon

**Chapter 35**

"That makes perfect sense." Carlisle stood, pacing every so often and everyone could see that his mind was rattling off rapid thoughts and scenarios.

"So, who do you think is behind this then?" Edward asked him, "If Aro's children are still young, then they have to be using their shielding gifts to hide behind."

"They must know we're alive," Alice said, looking at Carlisle.

Esme tried to hide her complete dissatisfaction with the idea, but took it in stride.

"Maybe that's motive for all of this," Edward finished.

"And I can't see what they're doing this time," Alice added.

"What about the body?" Rosalie asked, chiming in. "The one Carlisle and Emmett found?"

"I think whoever is behind this was lurking in the area because you were all down there. For whatever reason they followed the six of you the night, they did, and I think we came to the conclusion that the Volturi were looking for people to replace the roles of Felix and Demetri."

"Right..." Rosalie said, following along with a nod.

"So, maybe they were in the process of changing Tyler and then saw the altercation on the beach between Caleb and Carter," he continued, "And rather than deal with a stranger who they'd have to convince to do harm to our family, there was already a base for them to work with because he fought with Caleb."

"So, then they just killed this Tyler kid?" Emmett asked.

"Human lives mean nothing to the Volturi," Carlisle said, stating the obvious. "So, yeah, they probably finished the job rather than let the change happen, then changed Carter."

"But we thought Carter was dead," Caleb explained, "He couldn't have been changed if he was already dead."

"If his heart was still beating, there's always a chance," Carlisle explained. He looked toward Esme briefly as he spoke.

"So, we should position ourselves and find this guy," Jasper said, "If he's going to definitely come back."

"This could be any one of the Volturi members," Esme said, "What if it's Jane? What if there are more than just one or two of them? We can't completely separate."

"Something's going to happen at the reservation," Nicole said, speaking up for the first time.

Everyone stopped and stared at her.

"I can see it..." she said, swallowing hard, "Some of it..."

"What's going to happen Nicole?" Jasper asked her, decreasing the distance in between them.

"I-I don't know exactly," she told them, "But we need to warn them; the packs, Masen, Leah, Jacob..."

Esme, Bella and Edward all got on their phones simultaneously.

"I'll call Lucy," Nicole volunteered.

"Should we go over there now?" Carlisle asked.

Alice waved for her daughter to hand her the phone, "I'll call, explain what's going on."

"My visions are blotchy; in and out," Nicole explained, "But I think should head over there now." She stopped for a moment and listened to the rain as it struck the roof and sides of the house, "It'll be on the clearest night this summer. The moon will be out, you'll even be able to see the few, scattered clouds in the night sky."

"So that leaves tonight out," Jasper concluded.

"The next full moon," she told him with a certain nod, "That's when it will be. I've seen it in the sky."

Carlisle rushed to grab the day's newspaper with the moon phases listed on the back, accompanying the five-day weather forecast.

"That's this Friday night," he said, making them all aware, "Friday and Saturday are both projected to be the only two sunny days this week."

"Two days," Jasper announced, shifting his eyes to Alice for a moment as she continued her conversation with Luciana.

Esme and Bella were equally frantic on the phone calls with their children, though Edward was calm and mellow in his chat with Jacob.

"They probably don't expect us to know anything," Carlisle told everyone, "Even though only parts of Nicole's vision are there, it's enough to keep us prepared. We'll just have to stay alert, work together and keep our eyes open."

"What if they want to start a war?" Rosalie asked.

"I've seen Aro's bond with Lucy," he explained, "In the centuries I've known him he's never formed that type of feeling for anyone; Sulpicia included. If his newborn child is in the area that they're using for a shield, I don't believe he'd be here to do what they've done in the past. Whatever they're looking for, we'll be prepared to defend, but I don't think they are going to come full force."

"I wouldn't hold your breath."

Carlisle looked at Rosalie, "If he cares for his newborn children the way he does Lucy, he won't put them in harm's way."

"He knows you would never hurt them," she argued.

"But he would never trust the wolves."

Everyone seemed to agree on the final point. Someone was going to come to the reservation that Friday, but they weren't exactly sure who. Nicole couldn't tell if anyone was hurt, or people attacked, though she did recognize some frantic, fast-paced dialogue and lots of running around.

"We have to get together and come up with a plan," Carlisle explained.

"What if we just all left?" William asked, "We could relocate again."

"And go where?" Emmett asked his son. "Friday is his day. Whatever he has planned is going to happen that day."

"Unless we stop it," Jasper finished.

They all looked around at one another.

"We have to go down to the reservation in case he shows up," Carlisle told them.

"I don't want him to show up," Caleb said, appearing to be slightly frightened for the first time.

"This is our chance," Emmett said, "We could catch him. We have a time; a location."

"It's our best shot," Carlisle agreed. "We need to know who's behind this."

"Agreed," Edward chimed in, hanging up the phone and sliding it back into his pocket.

They all looked around at one another.

Carlisle looked around to them all, "We need to go to the reservation."


	37. A Figure In Black

**Chapter 36**

"What day is the full moon?" Seth asked. There was a shake in his voice that shined above the confident nature of his stance.

"Friday," Jacob said at the same time as Edward. They glanced at each other for a moment, then Edward looked back to Seth, who he could see was conflicted.

Sam Uley and all that his pack entailed stood in staggered rows.

"He has no scent," Carlisle told them all, "As far as we can tell, anyway." He looked overly thoughtful for a moment, then resumed what he was saying, "But maybe by some chance you'll be able to sense him. Maybe it's just us who can't."

Jacob looked to his left, staring into an empty space and flashed a subtle half-smirk to the ground. He quickly straitened up when he felt Edward's eyes on him, and failed to make immediate eye contact with him.

Edward could see that he was thinking about Jared, and held the thought that if he had still been alive he would have made a comment like, _I'll be able to track any bloodsucker that enters our land. We're more equipped with that stuff than you vampires_.

"So this could be Aro and the rest of them?" Sam asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"They aren't bringing any type of... army or anything," Nicole stated with certainty. "I just see a lot of chaos; no one getting hurt. I can't tell if we're able to catch him or not because I can't see any outcome with him in it."

There was a pause and everyone stood thinking for a moment.

"I haven't talked to my father," Luciana finally said, opening up, "But I can if it'll help out the situation."

Seth put an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder.

"We don't want to put you in a bad situation, Lucy," Esme told her, shaking her head.

"He won't hurt me," she said.

"I don't see any other outcomes," Nicole explained, "This is already in effect. The date may be too close for anyone to change their minds."

"I don't want you to talk to him," Seth whispered as quietly as possible in her ear.

"We'll deal with this," Carlisle told everyone, "Nicole said no one is going to get hurt. Maybe this will be our chance to put an end to all of this."

There was another short bout of silence before Sam nodded once. "We've got the perimeter. Hopefully we can sense whoever it is that's coming."

"If Aro's newborn child is there, I'm sure it'll be him that's coming," Esme said, "Or at least he'll be part of it. Because we've decided that it's the twins that are blocking Alice and Nicole's visions."

"Twins?" Luciana asked, raising her eyebrows.

Carlisle and Esme exchanged a glance.

"Or so we suspect," Carlisle said with a shrug, "We don't know for certain, but it's the only logical explanation for things."

"Twin boys?" she asked.

"We don't know."

"Everyone's been saying 'him'..."

Carlisle nodded, acknowledging her statement. "We have, but that's just..." he shrugged.

"Just assumption," Alice jumped in, "We don't know whether the person is male or female."

Sam looked at Carlisle, "Maybe you could stick around for a little while and help us set up a game plan." He then looked to Alice.

"Of course," he responded with a nod, placing a hand on Esme's back.

She looked at him, knowing he was going to recommend she go back to the house with Marshall. Before he could, she gave him a simple nod.

"I'll be home soon," he assured her.

"Okay," Esme said back, glancing at Sam for a moment.

Bella wandered to Esme's side. "We can head back together."

Carlisle gave a closed-mouth smile to the two of them, then looked to Edward.

"I'm going to head back to Renesme and Jacob's house," he told her, "I won't be long."

Bella and her daughter exchanged a hug, then they both looked at him.

"Don't come back by yourself," she demanded.

He smiled, "I won't. My dad's here to escort me back."

Carlisle looked back in his direction, smiled quickly, then kissed Esme on the cheek. "We'll be back in a little while."

"They'll be safe Mrs. Cullen," Seth assured Esme, then looked to Bella, "Or, should I make it plural? Mrs. Cullen's... how do I say that properly?"

Esme, Bella and Renesme all managed a laugh, then bid them all farewell and started the hike back home.

"What did Sam want to talk to Carlisle about?" Bella asked.

"I guess just about what's going on," she explained, "Nicole and Alice are staying to help; Jasper too."

The summer breeze drifted across the way and passed through them with a soothing force.

The two of them engaged in some small talk, attempting to put the issue at hand out of their minds. They compared baby stories, complained a little about the mud wrecking their shoes, and vowed to have another family party. Briefly, the talk of Caleb getting married to Delilah came up, but both of them more or less laughed it off.

The familiar bends in the landscape began to tell Esme and Bella that they weren't far from home. They had taken their time on the walk while engaging in some much needed conversation, but were relieved when the trees and paths indicated that the house was only a few minutes away.

Esme sighed and looked around the forest, in no real rush to reach their destination. Bella kept the same pace at her side, seeming to be enjoying the night air.

The air was still and calm, but Esme got an eerie feeling and her eye wandered through the trees in front of her. She then looked over her shoulder, prompting Bella to do the same.

"What's wrong?" she asked, noting Esme's anxious movements.

Esme sighed, "I, I don't know..." She shook her head.

Bella looked around the woods and through the trees. There was nothing that appeared out of the ordinary on the surface until she caught a glimpse of Esme's more worried expression.

Her eyes drifted up a tall tree just a few feet to their left. She couldn't take her eyes off of the figure that stood some fifty feet above them. In darkness, all that could be made out was his silhouette, though the black robe was apparent despite the darkness. It hung menacingly down toward his boot-covered feet.

A hood hung low over his eyes and she stood towering above the two of them.

Bella put a hand over her mouth, unable to look away. She felt her motherly instincts kick in and a wave of anxious determination filled her body.

Before she could speak the only word that crossed through her mind, Esme said it first. "Run!" Her voice was frantic, "Bella, run!"


	38. What Is He Coming For?

**Chapter 37**

"He was wearing a robe, Carlisle," Esme said, shaking her head. The fear she possessed from the encounter with the mystery person poured out of her. "It was a long, dark robe and he was just standing up in the tree like he wanted us to see him."

Carlisle guided her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He kissed her forehead and felt Esme's arms latch gently around his back.

They stood in silence for a moment in Carlisle's office before Esme spoke again. "We had Marshall and Charlie with us."

He sighed and ran a hand up and down her back, glancing over at their son playing with a few toys on the floor, unaffected and unaware of the craziness of the world around him.

"Gosh, Caleb was face to face with him," she said quietly, shaking her head. "He could have been killed. He must have been so scared Carlisle."

"I know," he said, acknowledging that she was right, "But he wasn't. He's okay. You're okay."

Esme sighed.

"I'm sorry we didn't walk back with you," Carlisle went on.

"It's okay. We didn't know he was going to be out there."

He continued to stroke her back gently, then kissed her forehead again.

Edward and Bella walked in slowly, causing the two of them to look abruptly toward the door as if they had just barged in.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked, approaching Esme for the first time since they'd come face to face with the stranger.

She nodded, not parting from Carlisle. "I'm just thankful he didn't come after us... for the children's sake."

Bella nodded in agreement and looked down at Charlie, who she seemed to not want to part from. Edward stood at her side with his hand locked tightly with hers.

"We shouldn't have let you go back on your own," Edward said, reiterating the conversation that he's already had with Bella.

"Edward," Bella began, shaking her head.

"He's right," Carlisle said.

"We can't change that, and we're fine," Esme told them. She pulled away from Carlisle slightly, but kept her fingers locked onto the fabric of his shirt. "We have to figure out what he wants. This has to stop; we've lost control of this. He has us right where he wants us."

"We've got a plan set up for Friday night," Edward explained.

"He's got to have one too, then, right?" Bella asked, shaking her head.

"It's the full moon," Esme went on, adding to Bella's remark, "That's his day. Whatever he has planned is going to happen that day."

"We've got to have the numbers," Carlisle said, trying to be optimistic, "Nicole said that they aren't bringing an army."

"Then whatever they're after doesn't require one," Esme told him. "They have invisibility; stealth..." She shook her head, "They're after something, and they're going to do their best to get it on Friday."

"Maybe we should go, then; all of us" Carlisle said, "Leave town."

"And go where?"

He looked at her with unknowing eyes, seeing the determination and anxiety in hers.

"Carlisle, we have to face this. If we don't it's never going to stop."

"At least we have an idea of what to expect," Bella said, "We have a location and a time."

"We can't make a run for it, there is now law anymore," Esme said, "The Volturi are the law, and there is no one else to protect us. He's made sure of that. He's just out there waiting for the right time."

Marshall began to whimper and Esme made her way over, gently swinging him up into her arms. She held him close, then rejoined Carlisle.

"Esme's right," Bella said, "He's out there watching us; waiting..."

"We're going to sit and wait for him to come and try to trap him," Carlisle explained, "We have the entire pack. He may be getting so arrogant about this ability to deceive us and block us that he'll never know what's coming."

"Carlisle's right," Edward told them, "He probably won't expect that we'll be able to set ourselves up to catch him."

"This could be our best chance," Esme agreed.

The four of them stood together, trying to read each other's expressions.

Marshall extended an arm toward Carlisle. "Da da."

Carlisle looked just behind where he stood on the desk, noticing their son was reaching for a blood-filled bottle. He quickly handed it over, attempting to give it to Esme, though Marshall quickly intercepted it.

Esme smiled briefly, then ran a hand through his hair and let it fade.

"It's going to be okay," Carlisle told her, pushing Marshall's hair down across his forehead in the same manner she had.

Esme looked up at him, and from her expression he couldn't tell if she was as confident as he was. All he could tell for sure is that she was tired of people putting their family members' lives at risk.

Edward and Bella couldn't help but follow Carlisle's stare to his wife. She looked back at all of them with a sort of tired determination in her eyes.

"I just wish we knew what it was he wanted." She stared at Carlisle, and he stared back. Their open uneasiness made Bella feel the same way. She looked at Edward, and the question continued to leave their minds feeling overworked.

_What is he coming for?_


	39. Option One, Option Two

**Chapter 38**

Esme spent a little extra time with Caleb upon seeing the mystery, suspected-Volturi member in the tree. All she could imagine was her son knocked helplessly to the ground as the fire spread around him. She had had visions of his encounter prior to that day, but now they were intensified by her own fears.

"I'm fine," Caleb assured her, noting his mother's clingy behavior and super sensitive demeanor around him.

She held Marshall against her chest and hadn't let him go for hours. He had begun speaking short sentences of three or four words more regularly and every time he called her 'Mom' she felt a jolt of life pass through her.

Delilah's hand lingered on Caleb's forearm as they sat, now twenty-four hours before they would all head over to the reservation, attempting to watch television and carry on as if it was a typical evening.

Alex and Michael sat on the opposing couch together, and like with Caleb, Esme had spent the earlier hours of the day with her daughter. They went shopping and talked, then extended their car ride around town. Both of them knew what was to come, though it never once came up in conversation.

Masen was the only one that Esme hadn't seen that day. She had called and spoken with him for awhile, though his job that he insisted on still doing, allowed his conversation to be on the shorter side than she would have liked. Leah and Cassie were both out with the packs, and Shane had taken the trip back to Washington to be with Cassie.

Carlisle and Edward had spent most of the day with Emmett and Jasper attempting to get on the same page. The four of them were at the core of the family's defense and knew each other in and out. Once they were on the same page and felt confident, they managed to part ways from one another in order to do as the rest of them were, and pretend to relax.

Alice wandered into the living room, attempting to brighten up the atmosphere a bit. She immediately drew her attention to Marshall, who laughed at her silly, wild attempts to get him focused on her.

Esme grinned, and couldn't help a light laugh when Marshall giggled from his aunt's tickling and peppering kisses. He then reached his arms out and Esme handed him over.

"Your boys all have crushes on me," Alice told her, sending a wink in Caleb's direction.

He snickered and looked down, drawing not even a hint of jealousy from Delilah, as she was more than comfortable in the nature of their friendship.

"That was a long time ago," he told her with a smirk.

"Not _that_ long ago," Esme disagreed.

"I still have the picture of the cat," Alice told him. She laughed as she thought back, "How cute you were spelling my name wrong."

Esme laughed again and looked at Caleb, who shook his head and looked down with some lighthearted embarrassment.

"I just want Charlie to be protected," Bella's voice came softly from the other room.

Esme and Alice both looked in the direction that her voiced trailed in front, though tried not to eavesdrop.

Edward's voice came next and they attempted to talk quietly.

"I wish there was _someone_ who could protect us, like a vampire police force," Bella went on.

"Immortality isn't all it was cracked up to be, now was it?" Rosalie intervened, prompting an immediate defensive remark from Edward.

"Guys..." Bella's voice was tired and desperate. Esme could tell that the last thing she wanted was an argument the night before the mystery person was about to move in on them and the Quileute tribe.

Carlisle entered the room and put his hands on the back of the couch where Esme sat. He smiled at Caleb and gave Alex a quick wink, making her smile.

Michael put a hand on her back, and Alex's expression quickly changed. She looked at her father and waved him toward the kitchen as she stood up.

Carlisle raised his eyebrows, but followed his daughter, unsure of what her concerns were. The look on her face worried him, and he glanced back at Esme who watched them leave the room.

"What's wrong Alex?" he asked, as they passed through the kitchen and out toward the back porch.

She looked up at him once the back door was shut and tried to hold it together. "This is all going to be okay, right?"

Carlisle sighed lightly and put a hand on the back of her shoulder, prompting Alex to lean into him. She began to cry almost immediately, taking him completely off-guard. "Alex..." he hugged her fully.

"I just don't want anyone to die," she told him, able to speak despite her tears, "I was always afraid when these types of things happened, but after the last time when we thought you were dead, I never knew how horrible the aftermath would actually feel like if someone did."

"Nicole said it's only going to be one or two people." He tried to sound reassuring.

"But they're here to cause trouble. They're dangerous. They could have killed Caleb."

Carlisle sighed again, "We have to try looking at the up side to that. He was in a very vulnerable state and this person didn't hurt him."

"I know, but what if that was a scare tactic leading up to the real thing."

"We'll be okay," he told her, "The wolves will be ready. They may even be able to sense him."

"Nicole said it's going to be chaotic."

"I can't lie about that," Carlisle told her, "I'm sure it's going to be, at least a little bit, but no one will be on their own. We'll be in small groups."

Alex sighed loudly and dried her eyes as best she could, then pulled away. She sniffed in once, "I don't want to lose anyone. Not you, or Mom, or Michael... Caleb; anyone."

"I know."

The two of them stared at each other for a minute before Carlisle pulled her back toward him and kissed her forehead. "Don't ever leave Michael's side. Stay with him. The two of you along with Caleb, Delilah and Rosalie will all be together. I'm going to talk to your mother about staying in with you, too."

"Staying in?" she asked.

"With Charlie and Marshall. Bella and Edward spoke with me and wanted to make sure her shield was useful. She wants to stay with Charlie, but she also wants to help in case this person, or people, have some type of paralyzing gift like Jane."

"It may even be Jane, herself," Alex said, "We don't know."

"You're right," Carlisle agreed, "We don't know; but I do believe that Jane would have given herself away by now. She would have used her gift on someone if she was around. She's very impulsive and loves the power. I don't think they would send her on an anonymous, cat and mouse type of task."

She nodded, wiping her face again.

"We'll be alright, Alex."

Alex sighed and looked up at them, then hugged him again. "I just needed to get that out."

Carlisle hugged her a final time, "I love you. I'm sorry this is happening."

"It's not your fault." She pulled back and headed toward the door, entering just ahead of him.

When they returned to the living room, Michael locked eyes with her and she immediately cuddled herself against him.

"Can we talk for a minute?" Carlisle asked, looking at Esme.

"Of course." She stood up from where she sat, prompting Alice to take her place on the couch with Marshall.

He slid an arm around her, then allowed her to take the stairs ahead of him. A clap of thunder made Esme jump, and Carlisle placed a soothing hand on her back as he guided her into his office.

"I want you to stay inside tomorrow rather than do as we talked about earlier," he said.

"No." Esme shook her head. "No, I'm not leaving you."

"With Charlie and Marshall and the kids."

She closed her eyes, now unable to disagree with his plans for her to stay with their children. On the other hand, he had previously agreed not to part with her during the ordeal because of what had happened the last time.

"And you're still going to be out in the open on the reservation?" she asked, stating it more like a statement rather than a question.

"I'll be with Emmett... and Sam."

"And if it's Jane behind this then that won't matter," Esme argued. She felt her fears for his safety begin to pour out in an angry tone that she didn't want to let out.

"It's not Jane," Carlisle said softly.

"How do you know that?" her tone intensified, making him look down. He knew he had promised her that they would stay together, and was now going back on that promise.

"I'm sorry I keep breaking my promises, Esme," he told her, just as softly. "I just want to make sure that you're safe."

"Was this what you intended all along, Carlisle? Why would you tell me one thing if you really meant another?"

"I didn't intend this all along," he said, shaking his head, "Now that we're almost there, I don't want you out and about when you could be inside with the kids."

Esme slid a hand across the bottom of her face, then rested her palm on her cheek for a moment. She knew she couldn't disagree about staying with their children. Instead, she turned her back and slowly paced toward the window.

Thunder and lightening became more regular, and a stroke outside illuminated Esme's figure as she glanced out toward the trees that swayed from the winds and the rain.

Carlisle slowly followed her and placed his hands lightly on her shoulders.

Esme didn't turn to face him. She shook her head. "Stay close to the house then," she said sternly. "Stay close to where we'll be."

He sighed, but didn't say anything back.

Esme wanted to turn and yell at him, but knew it would make her feel one-hundred times worse. At the same time she wanted to turn and kiss him and hug him and hold him, then run away from the problem at hand and spend eternity with their family down on Isle Esme. She wasn't mad at Carlisle, because she knew his intentions were good. By the same notion, she knew he wasn't lying about his snap decision to have her stay with their kids at a house on the reservation.

"Don't be mad at me," he requested in a whisper. "I just want you to be safe."

"I've been forced to fight in the past," she argued.

"I know," Carlisle went on, keeping his voice at a low level. "It's just this time you don't have to. There aren't going to be many people coming this time." He slid his arm down around her waist.

Esme closed her eyes, still wanting to debate with him on the issue, but she in now way wanted there to be an argument that she would later regret. She hated the sparing disagreements they got themselves into on just a regular day, never mind when something major was about to happen... again.

Frustration began to get the best of her, and Esme felt her eyes begin to glisten. She secretly cursed the fact that she was able to cry, as masking her emotions when she wanted to the most was now impossible.

She placed a hand over his near her hip bone, then turned around, intending to continue their conversation. When she met Carlisle's stare, however, she felt every ounce of fiery debate drain from her body and went with what she truly wanted to do by bringing her lips against his.

Carlisle closed his eyes and kissed her back, feeling the intensity rising in her forceful embrace with him. He looked utterly shocked when pulled back, but only managed a half-second worth of eye-contact and a quick swipe of his thumb against her cheek to wipe a tear away before she kissed him again in the same fashion.

When he opened his eyes again he was on his back in the center of his desk, eye to eye with the only light in the room that came from a small desk lamp. Esme's body was pressed up against his and she stopped for a moment to explain herself, though she didn't need to.

"The last time we met with the Volturi, I didn't whole-heartedly put into perspective that it may have been the last time I got to see you," she told him through teary eyes.

Carlisle sat himself up, but placed his hands just above the backs of her knees and pulled her toward him. He kissed her gently, moving one of his hands to her jawline as he did.

"It's not going to be like that this time," he whispered, pulling her into a hug.

Esme's arms clung around his back and she hugged him, then began to weep.

"It's okay," he told her.

"You have no idea what kind of fear I possess after thinking that I lost you, Carlisle."

"You're right," he agreed sympathetically, "I don't know how you were feeling."

Esme breathed in heavily through her nose then wiped her eyes and looked back at him.

Carlisle pulled her up against him even tighter as she initiated another kiss that she never broke. He laid back down, feeling her hand catch the back of his head before it rested on the desk again.

Esme closed her eyes, feeling his lips working perfectly in unison with hers and shuddered every time he switched the position of his hands. She felt thankful that she had gone with the option of kissing him, rather than arguing with his requests, for neither of them knew for sure what tomorrow could potentially bring.


	40. On the Balcony

**Sorry for delays this week and last. I coach high school softball and we have made our way through the playoffs to the championship... been playing every night just about :)**

**Chapter 39**

Nicole tried her best to organize everyone, but was still unsure in her visions. Everyone remained in groups, and Jacob and Emmett stayed close by the home that Jacob and Renesme owned on the reservation near the beach.

Carlisle compromised with Esme and stayed inside Jacob's house with her and their children and Rosalie, though he perched himself on a balcony that overlooked the yard and extended the view out toward the ocean.

Esme and Rosalie sat in the living room with everyone else, and every so often Carlisle made his way back toward an overhang that looked down on where everyone sat watching television.

He communicated with their group, as well as Emmett and Jacob who watched protectively outside.

"Carlisle!" Esme called, prompting him to run out toward the indoor balcony-style overlook. He rested his hands on the railing and looked down. "Is anyone looking after Charlie and Sue?"

"Seth and Lucy," he answered at the same time as Rosalie.

Esme felt relief pass through her and she nodded.

"They don't even know half of what's going on," Rosalie commented, shaking her head as she tucked a strand of blond hair behind her ear.

"Well I can't see them taking too many risks with the child nearby," Carlisle said reassuringly. "We should be okay." He looked at Esme for a moment, then made his way back onto the outside balcony.

He stood with his hands on the railing, looking down at Jacob and Emmett. Neither had said a word for some time, and each stood statue-like, hidden by the night.

The scenery was illuminated just slightly by the glow of the overbearing moon. It touched down on the open water and streaked onto land, highlighting everything in its path.

In the distance, Carlisle could hear some of the wolves parading around the area, getting restless and antsy. He could sense it was them, and not members of his own family from the constant, light thumping sound of four paws hitting the ground consecutively. He tried to pick up on particular voices, but the air was silent.

He sighed and held his position out on the balcony for close to an hour. There was nothing.

Jacob paced, growling once or twice from what Carlisle guessed was boredom. Each time he did, Emmett glanced over then resumed his stance as his head slowly panned from left to right and back again to see if he could catch a break in the trees.

From downstairs, he heard Esme's phone sound off, as it had several times before. This time she was speaking with Bella, he could tell, as she assured the worried mother that Charlie was safe and that things had been quiet thus far.

The television hummed with the sound of a beauty pagent, and every so often Rosalie would make a comment about one of the contestants to make the rest of them laugh.

Carlisle began to pace the balcony, and glanced down at Jacob again as he let out another growl. This time, Emmett looked almost cat-like in his reaction to his defensive counterpart. He crouched low and Jacob snorted again before taking off into the woods.

Emmett sprung from his position, catching up with Jacob before they broke through the line in the trees, leaving Carlisle's vision almost immediately. He pulled out his phone and called Edward, letting him know of the activity and the direction that Jacob and Emmett were headed.

He then rushed back into the house, glancing down into living room. Alex, Michael, Caleb and Delilah sat with the two babies, and the rest of them were gone.

"Where's your mother and Rosalie?" Carlisle called down to them.

"They just ran outside to call up to you," Alex said in a panicky fashion. "Why? What's wrong? What's going on?"

"Stay right where you are," he instructed them as Nicole and Mackenzie popped back into the room. He made eye contact with each other them, "Stay here."

Carlisle crossed back through the upstairs and rushed out onto the balcony where he originally stood, noting Esme and Rosalie in the yard.

"Hey!" he called out, more as a reaction than anything.

The two of them spun around and looked up toward him.

"Where's Emmett?" Rosalie asked, "Where'd they go?"

"They just took off through the woods," Carlisle said, "Jacob heard something and then the two of them ran into the woods."

"I heard you call Edward," she went on.

"I let him know they were heading to where he was stationed." He leaned over the balcony.

"I have to go after him," Rosalie told him.

"No Rosalie," Carlisle told her, shaking his head, "He's with Jacob. You can't go on your own."

She looked up at him with confliction.

"Mackenzie's here," he reminded her, prompting a dissatisfied look as she balled her fists.

Esme put a hand on her shoulder and the two of them glanced out into the woods.

"He's definitely here?" Rosalie asked.

"I don't know," Carlisle admitted, "But something startled both of them."

Rosalie remained hard on the surface, but both Carlisle and Esme knew it was her worries for Emmett's safety that fueled her blatant show of emotion.

"Go back inside," Carlisle told them.

Esme looked up and him and Rosalie glanced in through the windows, seeing the kids all looking and peering out through the partially open blinds. She softened a bit and agreed, then looked back up to Carlisle and her face seemed to grow an even lighter shade of white.

"Carlisle!" she called, raising her hand in his direction.

Esme glanced up and called his name right after.

He leaned an inch or so forward in their direction, then turned around part way in time to a figure in black wrap an arm around him and tackle him to the ground.

"Carlisle!" Esme and Rosalie called again, then headed into the house, immediately confronted by their panic-stricken children.

"What? What?" Caleb asked frantically.

"Upstairs!" Rosalie cried out, "On the balcony!"


	41. A Familiar Voice

**Chapter 40**

Esme and Rosalie tore through the house, neither caring for anything in their path.

Caleb towed Delilah outside by the hand and glanced up to where Carlisle had been standing. They both looked frantically around the immediate area, looking for some trace of movement. There was nothing but their own heavy breathing, instilled by fear over anything else.

"I've got him!" There was a voice that was heard from somewhere on the reservation and Caleb spun around, recognizing Jasper's voice.

Esme darted out onto the balcony and looked down at her son, then leapt off to join where he stood. Rosalie emerged a second later, looking down over the railing.

"They got him?" Rosalie asked, who was soon joined on either side by Mackenzie and Nicole.

Alex and Michael, each holding a baby, crossed through the doorway and joined where Esme stood with Caleb and Delilah. They all looked to each other for answers, but confusion and angst filled their worried expressions.

Edward and Bella arrived on the scene together, and Michael handed over Charlie to his mother. She took him in her arms, only to be smothered with crying, though Bella could only smile as she cuddled him to her body.

"We've got... someone," Edward told them, "I'm not sure who he is."

"Is Carlisle down there?" Esme asked.

"I don't know," he responded, "Everyone kind of began emerging together and Alice told us to come get you."

Nicole looked at him, and he quickly read her mind, "Your parents are both fine," Edward assured her.

Bella rocked Charlie gently, then looked at her husband, who waved a hand at everyone to follow him.

"Where's Emmett?" Rosalie asked.

"I thought I saw him pass by me," Edward said.

She didn't argue, and Esme had the urge to ask again if Carlisle was with them, but she knew Edward would have told her if he was certain.

The walk seemed to take forever, but when the got to a small clearing, Jasper and Emmett stood holding a tall, handsome young man with pale skin and the faintest features that resembled Aro.

"Can you read his mind?" Emmett asked immediately.

Edward shook his head and stared at the young man, who didn't seem afraid, but more aggravated than anything. He didn't speak.

Esme's eyes scanned the woods.

"Where's Dad?" Alex asked, looking around as if he reading her mother's mind. "Mom, what happened up on the balcony?"

Edward caught up with Esme's rapid, choppy thoughts and looked to Jasper. "Was Carlisle with him?"

Jasper stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. "Not that I saw."

"Whoever tackled Carlisle had no scent," Rosalie told them.

"He has no scent," Edward acknowledged, pointing toward the stranger, who failed to speak.

"Where is the baby?" Rosalie went on, looking around. "Aro's baby."

The man sneered and smirked, then gave an arrogant laugh. Jasper and Emmett both scowled and adjusted him so he was temporarily uncomfortable. His smile faded for a moment, but quickly returned.

"Twins..." Esme said, looking around.

"It was someone else who took Carlisle," Rosalie concluded. She glared at the man, "Who are you?"

He didn't speak, which prompted Emmett to twist his arm. The man winced but didn't say anything.

The sound of two pairs of heavily pattering feet caught everyone's attention, and Esme went on her first instinct and darted in the direction of the unknown.

"Mom!" Caleb shouted, immediately taking off after her.

"Stay here," Edward said, directing his orders to Jasper and Emmett. He gave Bella a quick glance, then ran in the direction that Esme and Caleb had gone.

Esme followed the sounds, though couldn't sense anyone. She prayed to stay on the trail by the use of her superior hearing alone. Questions bulldozed through her mind, but she didn't have time to contemplate any of them. All Esme knew is that she had to keep on the trail in front of her in order to find Carlisle again.

Caleb could barely see his mother, and with the stranger in the mix, he lost her scent.

"Mom!" he called out again, not knowing if he hoped that she would turn around or keep going. There was no question in his mind that she was attempting to track down his father.

Esme let her legs lead her, not thinking of consequences. "Carlisle!" she called out, hoping to hear his voice.

All at once, the noises around her came to an abrupt halt. Esme froze and stared around the darkness. There wasn't a rustle, there wasn't a crinkle of leaves or any type of stir in the night. There was nothing but silence.

"Mom!" Caleb called again, "Mom, where are-"

Esme waited to hear the rest of his sentence, then answered when he didn't finish his sentence or call for her again. "Caleb!" she cried out, "Over here, Caleb..." A pair of hands landed lightly on her shoulders and she spun around, feeling frightened immediately by the familiar voice before she saw his face for confirmation. She was speechless, though he spoke almost sweetly, making the atmosphere all the more terrifying.

"My dear, it _is_ good to see you again."


	42. Home Field Advantage

**Chapter 41**

Esme looked up into the pale, emotionless features of the man that were highlighted by the moon. The fear in her eyes could not be mistaken. "Aro." The single word left her mouth.

"I see your days of mourning are over," the Volturi leader said with a smile, "I am so delighted to know that Carlisle is alive and well, after all."

Esme felt her throat go dry. She almost couldn't speak, though she knew she had to. "Yes. It was a happy shock for all of us when we found out." She assumed her knew of Alice's well being, and decided to continue with her thought, "Alice too. They had been taken so far away from the reservation in Montana during the altercation that we had no idea they were alive."

"I see," he said dryly, now smiling from ear to ear.

"Their things," Esme added, "Carlisle's ring; his necklace... Alice's cell phone. They were sitting in piles of ash."

Aro promptly gripped her forearm, making Esme twitch despite the moderately loose nature of his touch. "Come with me," he said politely, all the while not mistaking the order that rang in his voice.

"I," she began, shaking her head, "Edward and Caleb..."

"Caleb is just fine," Aro told her, looking her directly in the eye with a menacing smile.

Esme cringed at his words and slowly closed her eyes. "Your newborn... children." She attempted to hit a sensitive spot in his heart, if there was one, "They must be in the area."

"But of course," he told her, grinning. "And you've figured out that there _are_ two of them. My son suspected that Alice couldn't see through the two of them."

"He suspected?" Esme asked, puzzled by the in depth thoughts of such a young child.

"Yes, my dear."

"They must be babies." Her statement came out as a question.

"In a sense that they've only been alive for a matter of months," Aro explained, then couldn't help a laugh, "Though my mate and I, we aren't so attached to the baby years in the manner that you and Carlisle are."

Esme's eyebrows pressed together as she tried to catch up to his statement.

"They've skipped all the, for lack of a better word, annoying stages of life," he explained, "My sons are full grown, you see; and are more powerful than Demetri or Felix could ever be." He smiled again, then looked around the forest around them and slipped an old-fashioned pocket watch out of one of the deep pockets of his cloak. "My dear I don't mean to rush, but we are late."

"Aro-" Esme started, and was about to scream when he slipped the watch back into his pocket and used the free hand to cover her mouth as he dragged her away, fully protected by Vincent's shield, who was waiting in the wings.

She tried her best to tell Aro, though her words were muffled into his icy palm, that one of his sons was captured by their own family.

"What's that my dear?" he asked, not letting go. The smile never faded from his face as they continued their journey toward the ocean line.

In the distance, the howling wolves desperately spoke to one another in order to find the missing members of the Cullen family. Esme prayed that they would have some ability to track their scents, despite Vincent's overbearing shield. She also longed to know where Carlisle was, and what Aro meant by _'Caleb is just fine.'_

"You'll get to see them before you know it," he assured her, as if reading her mind.

Esme attempted to struggle, but Aro's hold on her was far too strong. From somewhere in the distance she heard Emmett calling for her, followed by Alex's petrified voice. Edward then called out for Carlisle.

Though Esme could only see the darkness directly in front of her, she knew Aro was smiling; enjoying the moment far greater than anyone should.

When the winds picked up and her feet left the ground, Esme knew that she was being taken farther and farther away from the place she called home. The terrifying part was, she had no idea where he intended on taking her, or who would be waiting there once they arrived there.

In the midst of the overwhelming speeds, which at times caused Esme's hair to blind her from being whipped around, Aro hummed an upbeat, happy tune to himself.

She felt her stomach sink, knowing this plan was well thought out with strong vengeful undertones. Aro was a mastermind at his craft, no matter how callous or unorthodox.

Esme knew this time was different than the rest. Their coven didn't come as a giant unit ready to wreak havoc on all that stood in their path; mainly the Cullen family and the wolves. They had taken a new course upon several failures. They had snuck quietly through the back door.

The smell of fresh, ocean air filled Esme's nostrils and she knew that they were no longer near Quileute waters. The scent was different; slightly more salty and with a greater hint of fresh fish in the air. It was never something that struck her senses while on the reservation.

Aro didn't have to scan the area. In the centuries of being alive he had perfected his knowledge of the distance humans were. He had stalked the small beach town the night before and made sure there were no cameras on the quaint streets, or by the pleather of fishing docks that casted out into the water. His in depth research allowed him to travel quietly along the coast line in the town of South Beach; choosing the location because it provided a sense of 'home field advantage' for the man his son called his protégé; the man Caleb had accidentally placed into an early grave, or so they suspected. Carter Mancini.

Esme caught a glimpse of a sign near the water, as Aro leapt fleetfully like a child from dock to dock. It read South Beach Fishing, with a tacked on sign below that read in red, white and blue, _&amp; Fireworks_.

_South Beach_, she thought. _That's where Caleb..._

For whatever reason, her heart sank, and Esme knew that whatever was waiting for her at the end of the journey was not pleasant. She just hoped Carlisle would be there waiting for her, because together they could come up with something to turn the situation around.


	43. Connecting the Dots

**Chapter 42**

Esme unwillingly traveled at Aro's side, letting her feet caress the sand beneath her feet as they leapt from the last of the dock clusters onto the beach that lead into a more private area.

Above them was the same rounded cliff where the nightmare had begun, though Esme didn't know she was in the exact spot that Caleb, Delilah, William and Maddy had gotten themselves into a big mess that, to their credit, they hadn't asked for.

The sound of a boat engine roaring to life made Esme spring to life, and far away down the beach attached to a secluded dock was a boat.

"Ah, just in time," Aro said aloud with a grin, "We have to get ourselves away from these humans before I fail to control myself."

Esme recognized the true hunger in his eyes and the slight shake in his voice. She knew he was serious, though had perfected his own sense of control when dealing with humans. Aro more or less chose when his feeding times would be and managed to keep his animal instincts under control until he told himself he was ready.

There were no scents in the area, though Esme knew someone had to have started the boat. Aro quickly let the mystery fade as he took the rest of the way at full speed. The boat began its take-off into the open ocean no later than when his second foot skipped off the edge of the dock.

"Son?" Aro called out.

A young, handsome man with a head of dark hair and features identical to that of the man their family had caught in the woods stepped through a doorway that lead into the small cabin of the boat. He let his hand touch the top of the wooden doorframe, then gave a childish lopsided smirk that almost made Esme feel bad for him. In that moment, he looked innocent.

"Vincent, I'd like you to _formally_ meet Esme Cullen," Aro went on, as if he were introducing a pair of his mutual friends for the first time.

The young man stepped forward and nodded. "It's a pleasure."

Esme felt oddly relaxed by the lax, modern tone of his voice; though she knew not to feed into the feeling, as it was a false sense of security. She glanced down at his clothes; a pair of loosely fitting jeans and a casual white button down that revealed a white tank-top as his undershirt just below the open collar. Aside from the occasional look on his face, that whole-heartedly screamed that the Volturi leader was his father, the boy's appearance otherwise would have provided no indication.

Her mind snapped back to reality, "Where's Carlisle?"

Aro and Vincent glanced at each other, and both of their mouths twisted into mirroring smirks.

Esme's heart sank, but Vincent waved a hand in his direction, "Come with me."

Aro released Esme's arm for the first time, and she glanced over her shoulder, noting that the dock was slowly becoming farther and farther away in the distance.

"Go ahead my dear," he instructed, allowing her ahead of him on the boat.

She sighed, wanting to hear some sign of life from her husband. When she heard Caleb's voice first, she didn't know whether to be thrilled or mortified. She was certain Carlisle was with them, but had hope that Caleb was not. Her heart sunk, wanting to think of a bribe that would somehow convince Aro to let him go. Before she could even mouth the words of a proposition, her eyes lit up as they crossed through the doorway.

Caleb stood captive the young man's grasp that she recognized from his identification card. His hair was shorter, but his features couldn't be mistaken; only now they were cold and stone-like, highlighted by crimson, red eyes. They burned with rage and all Esme could do at that moment was stare at her helpless son.

...

Edward grew increasingly frustrated that he could not read the man's thoughts that they held captive. He had done a great job of keeping his identity a secret, though they knew he was involved with the Volturi.

The wolves had surrounds the Cullens, who kept Salvatore locked tightly within their own grasp. Emmett and Jasper hadn't let up and they tried about everything to get him talking. Even the snarls and the snapping jaws of the likes of Jacob, Sam and Paul didn't seem to get under the skin of their young attacker. He didn't smile, though fear didn't linger in his eyes.

Seth rushed to the scene to join them with Lucy at his side. His coat stood on end and he looked perhaps even more vicious than three counterparts.

"Lucy," Alice said, "Have you been able to contact him?"

She shook her head, "No."

"Call out for him," Edward suggested, noting that the two of them were speaking of Aro.

"I've tried," Lucy explained, shaking her head.

"Try again."

Marshall and Charlie both wailed loudly, and Alexandra stood with her brother in her arms and Delilah at her side, neither able to hold back a small amount of tears at the disappearance of their three family members. Bella stood comfortingly next to both of them and rubbed Delilah's back gently with her free hand.

"We'll find them," she said quietly.

"Dad!" Lucy shouted into the endless collection of trees, "Dad! Are you here?"

"He's not here," Salvatore finally spoke.

Lucy glanced him with furiousness in her eyes. "You don't know a whole lot, so I'd just remain quiet."

"I do know that your father isn't here."

She glared at him, and he flashed a subtly smile that quickly faded.

"My father needs to be stopped," Lucy explained.

"I'll say," he agreed.

Everyone looked at him with confusion.

"So you agree?" Alice asked, "Then why are you working with him?"

Salvatore looked confused, "Working with him?"

"Aro."

He squinted his eyes and appeared outwardly confused.

"Aro is behind all of this," Alice said again. She didn't take her eyes off of Salvatore, aside from the momentary eye contact she made with Jasper.

"Dad!" Lucy screamed again, "If you're there it's Lucy. Don't do this!"

"Who exactly are you calling out for?" Salvatore asked, showing his first sign of vulnerability.

"My _father_," she explained impatiently.

"Carlisle," he stated like a fact.

Everyone looked at Salvatore, realizing he must have gotten his facts twisted.

"What?" Lucy asked, "No." The two of them locked eyes in a stalemate. "Carlisle isn't my father. Aro is."

Salvatore's eyes narrowed again and he looked as if he couldn't tell if she was being truthful.

"Are you working for him?" she asked, marching up so she was only about a foot in front of him. "I haven't spoken to him in a long time because he keeps trying to hurt people, or _kill_ people."

"Maybe they deserve it." He looked her in the eye with no intention of looking away, though he still looked as if his mind was filled with questions.

"Who the hell are you?" Lucy asked him, "Don't you know how many puppets he's gone through? You're just another."

Salvatore smiled, "I don't think so."

Edward stepped in with the admission. "So you agree you're working with Aro."

He rolled his eyes, "Working for isn't quite the term I would use Edward."

They all knew the man had done his research on the family, but knowing them so intimately bothered everyone. Edward scowled at the man and glared into his eyes.

"_What_ does my father have you up to?" Lucy demanded, "He'll dispose of you later if you mess up. If you think he's coming back for you..." she shook her head and laughed, "You're wrong."

Salvatore couldn't keep his eyes off Lucy. "Why do you keep referring to him as that?"

"What?" she asked, looking as if she was ready to attack.

"Why do you keep referring to him as your father?"

"He _is_ my father."

Salvatore's expression hardened, "Look, I don't know what type of game you're trying to pull-"

"Game?" Lucy shrieked, "Game? _We_ aren't the ones lurking in the bushes, leaving notes, breaking into peoples' houses, attacking people unprovoked..." She shook her head, "You're so naive."

"Naive?" he scoffed. Disbelief and questions continued to plague his mind. "You're Aro's daughter?"

Lucy looked at him dead in the eye. "Yes," she responded firmly, "Why do you think I chose to stay here rather than live with them in Italy?"

He remained silent and looked down. Alice seemed to be the first to connect the dots and looked up toward Lucy. She studied their features, noting their similarities. Even the tone of their voice; there was something that clicked in Alice's mind.

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

"I think..." Alice said, "I think... he's your brother."


	44. A Special Bond

**I apologize for the delays lately. This time of year gets really crazy with games (we lost 1-0 in the championship after 15 innings), banquets, retirement parties, end of the year stuff... It's my last crazy week before summer! Can't wait to start writing more often :)**

**Chapter 43**

Salvatore looked around the faces of the crowd before him. They looked convincing, he thought, but couldn't hide the fact that he was extremely skeptical. For all of his short life he had been around a manipulative group of ancient vampires, so trust wasn't something that came easy.

"What's your mother's name?" Salvatore asked, challenging Lucy to a stare-down.

"Our mothers..." she shook her head, "Let's just say that... Dad... found a way to hide things. My mother is not Sulpicia. Her name was Gianna, and he used her in the same way he's using you."

He continued to stare at her.

"I'm sure your mother knew something," Lucy went on, "Because let's face it you don't make it hundreds of years by being naïve. She probably looked the other way, and didn't question him."

"That's a load of-"

"The interior walls of your home," she cut him off, "They arch up to a beautiful collection of stained glass. The library down the hall has thousands of books, floor to ceiling, and paintings from a hundred years ago, or more, are scattered around the room; some of them are of Aro, Caius, Marcus. The last time I visited there was even one with Carlisle."

Salvatore looked completely caught off guard. "So... you've been there. So what?"

Lucy smiled, "I was _born_ there. I was on their side. I came here with them a long time ago ready to kill... just like you."

"And what? Go on..."

"And I came to realize," she paused and looked at Seth who had inched closer to her side, still in his wolf form, "With a little help from Seth, that these people here, they're good. They're a _real_ family."

"My mother-"

"Have you ever seen them interact?" Lucy asked him, "Your parents? I did, and I don't need mind reading abilities to know that they feel _nothing_ for each other; not in the way these people do; not in the way that I do for Seth." She placed a hand on his coat, "And believe it or not, not even in the way that Caius feels for Athenodora."

Salvatore's eyes twitched just slightly and all of them could see that he was beginning to believe his sister's claims. She knew too much to be faking.

"Caius is a sociopathic crazy, old lunatic," she said, "But if there's one remotely positive thing I can say about him, it's that he loves his wife deeply. And while she may be the only one, it's true. I've seen them interact. Dad and... your mother," Lucy let a short snicker out through her nose, "They were constantly watching their backs, and taking an extra look over their shoulders at one another. They never looked at each other the way Caius and Athenodora did. And certainly never the way these people look at their mates."

There was a bout of silence before Salvatore closed his eyes and shook his head, "So romantically some relationships are better than others... big deal."

"It is a big deal," Lucy told him, "Dad never trusted _anyone_ enough to love them; not me, not you, not your mother. It's not going to change."

"Shut up!" he shouted back.

"Definitely brother and sister," Emmett said quietly under his breath, prompting a death stare from Rosalie.

"We need to find Carlisle, Esme and Caleb," Rosalie told him, pacing up to him at full force. "Look at everyone around you. They've all done nothing."

"My father said-"

"Have you been the one lurking around here?" she asked him.

"No," he shook his head, "That was my brother Vincent."

Lucy swallowed hard and looked at Seth, then to Rosalie.

"Look at this rationally," Alice intervened, with a softer tone, "We were here minding our own business, and your brother was sent to terrorize us. He reported back to your father, right?"

Salvatore looked at Alice, and his eyes raised just slightly, though he didn't comment one way or the other.

"Right now," she went on, "Aro, your brother and whoever else is with them are gone. They've left you here."

"He knows you wouldn't hurt me," he argued. "He's told me about Carlisle."

"Carlisle isn't here," Rosalie reminded him firmly. She made eye contact with Emmett who held him firmly.

Salvatore followed her stare, and for the first time he had just the slightest hint of fear in his eyes.

"They aren't coming back," Alice said softly again. "We do live in peace with humans and other vampires, and the wolves." She pointed toward where Seth and Lucy stood side by side, "But we will do whatever is necessary to protect our family."

The innocent, friendly nature of her words seemed to penetrate Salvatore's body like knives. His eyes shifted to meet Nicole's for a moment, a spitting image of her mother, who flashed him a friendly smirk. For whatever reason, the pair seemed to frighten him the most.

Lucy stepped forward and looked into her brother's eyes. She placed a hand gently on the side of his face. "I know you know this is true Salvatore," she told him softly, "Dad left you the same way he left me." She let her hand drop, but continued to look him in the eye, "I lost a father. I don't want to lose a brother, too."

Salvatore's eyes moved back and forth, studying his sister. He swallowed hard and then closed his eyes. "Can you free one of my arms?" he asked, attempting to look back at Emmett and Jasper.

"No way," Rosalie said immediately.

"Please," he begged, looking down. "I was told... I was told not to use the gift I inherited from my father because he said it was dangerous and that others could see into my mind. The only person I've used it on has been my mother. He said that was safe."

Jasper suddenly released his arm, prompting alarm from everyone except for Lucy. Emmett tightened his grasp on Salvatore's right arm.

"Jasper!" Rosalie shouted, but he put a hand up.

Alice's posture relaxed upon seeing her mate's certainty. He winked at her, but remained stone-faced otherwise.

Salvatore quickly scooped up his sister's palm in his own, and her face twitched, initially with alarm, but then with a mesmerizing stare. Their faces mirrored, both blank and the rest of the family could only look on and watch, all wondering the same thing: _what is happening_?


	45. Seeing Through

**Chapter 44**

"Wow," Lucy stated, not able to look away from the eyes of her brother. She looked hypnotized, as did he, and they both stared wondrously at one another. "You've grown so fast."

Salvatore's face softened a bit and their hands parted slowly. "You were able to see my past too?"

Lucy looked into his young naïve eyes that now rang with tons of questions and uncertainties. "Salvatore..."

He looked at her and squinted. "This is... crazy."

Emmett's grip loosened on his arm, and Edward read everything that was passing through Lucy's mind. He finally had a read on the young man and his eyes lit up.

"South Beach," he said aloud, "WIlliam. Where's Willia?"

"Right here." William raised his hand in the air.

"Their plan," Edward stated, "Their plan is to take a boat off the dock at South Beach where you guys bumped into-"

"Carter," Delilah finished. She looked at William.

"The dock where we found the other body?" Emmett asked. He looked at Alice.

Edward studied both of them and got the image he needed, "Yes! Yes, it's the same place."

"Where are they going?" Alexandra asked with pleading eyes.

"A little island not far off the beach," Edward told them all. Lucy's thoughts continued to flow and he nodded along with them. "Come on," he pulled at Bella, "We have to go after them."

"Who's with the?" Alice asked.

"Aro, Carter and Salvatore's twin Vincent."

Emmett looked at his brother, as did Jasper. Edward continued to take control.

"Keep him here," he instructed, pointing to Salvatore. "Lucy stay with them. Seth, you too."

"What about us?" Alexandra asked him.

"Bring the kids back to Renesme's house. Stay with Michael." His eyes shifted to his daughter, "Nessy, go back to the house with Jake. Emmett and Jasper will being Salvatore back there, too."

No one questioned his words.

Edward grabbed Bella's hand, "We may need your shield. Stay with me. Alice, Rosalie-"

"We're coming," they said at the same time.

"So am I," Delilah said.

"No, stay-" Edward began.

"No!" she shouted back, then appeared apologetic with your eyes, "I'm going to find Caleb."

Edward could see the apologies in her thoughts for snapping at him with such enthusiasm, but understood her concerns and immediately came to peace with the fact that she had no intentions of staying behind. He could relate, knowing that nothing would stop him if it were Bella that was out with Aro in the open ocean.

"Okay," he agreed. "Everyone else go back to Renesme's house. Now."

The wolves quickly complied, seeming eager to do so and everyone else followed. Emmett grabbed Rosalie by the arm and gave her a long kiss before she darted off behind Edward, Bella and Delilah.

Jasper looked at Alice in the eye, "I can't lose you Alice."

"You won't," she said quietly, then smiled, winked and gave him a closed-mouth peck on the lips and gave a playful tug on his blond locks before darting away with the rest of them.

...

Caleb and Esme stood on the back of the boat, feeling the open air as it whipped past them. Aro kept Esme within his grasp and Vincent still held Caleb, while Carter steered the boat.

"Dad's on the island," Caleb told his mother.

Esme looked confused, "What?"

Aro and Vincent exchanged a glance, neither caring that the two of them shared the information at hand.

"They're taking us to some island," Caleb explained, "That's what they told me."

"The boy is correct," Aro confirmed.

"What island?" Esme asked.

"You'll see when we get there." He smiled, looking polite as he did so and glanced out onto the open water.

The motor was slow and steady with no intention of picking up. The fact that they appeared to be in no rush frightened Esme to the core. She felt as if they knew that no one was coming for them. On top of it all, she was sure that Aro was more furious than he was leading on about Carlisle being alive. He had a great deal of pride, and didn't take well to being outsmarted.

Aro's hand lightly grazed her cheek, and Esme jumped.

"Don't be frightened, my dear," he spoke calmly with a smile, "You'll get to see Carlisle soon enough."

Esme studied his expression and felt even more dread pass through her.

He continued to smile, "I promise."


	46. The Unknown Island

**Chapter 45**

The island was abandoned, but there was a slight hint of beer, salt and stale human food that lingered in the air. Esme also immediately caught the scent of deer, and other small wildlife as her feet glided over the old, wooden dock that lead up to whatever waited for her.

She inhaled deeply, but couldn't catch her husband's scent. On the same note, she couldn't smell Caleb's, Aro's, Vincent's or Carter's, who were all in close proximity.

Aro switched his hold on Esme from her forearm to her hand, and nearly giggled at her latest batch of thoughts.

"I never break a promise Mrs. Cullen," he assured her, "You'll be reunited with Carlisle soon."

Esme looked at him and gave a single nod, then made eye contact with her son as he marched directly in front of her, looking over his shoulder.

Carter gave him a slight shove from the right, "Eyes ahead," he ordered.

Aro looked at the new vampire and squinted his eyes, appearing to be not overly pleased by his assertive tone.

Vincent held Caleb's other arm and they all marched silently across a tiny beach and into the woods down a heavily beaten path.

Esme couldn't take her eyes off of Caleb. The thought that the boys hefty grips on either side of him might be too tight made her feel sad. She couldn't even allow herself to think of what could happen once they reached their final destination.

Caleb's head shot up slowly toward the left hand side as they passed by a cabin that looked as if it hadn't been used in fifty years. Stray beers cans decorated each side of the path and Aro made a face and lightly shifted one with the tip of his boot as they went.

"Cretins." He shook his head.

"Where are we going?" Esme finally asked softly. Her steady mind began to fail her, and she couldn't keep herself from asking.

"Patience my dear," Aro answered just as lightly. He continued to look again, never glancing over at her as they went.

"We didn't deceive you, Aro," she went on, "None of us knew Carlisle and Alice were alive. They were pulled way off the reservation and when we moved back to Washington-"

"My dear, Esme, I don't believe you would purposely deceive my brothers and I," he told her, stopping his walk.

Vincent and Carter came to a halt on Vincent's command to his new found friend. Caleb looked over his shoulder and Carter immediately twisted his arm and threw a heavy fist into his midsection.

"Caleb!" Esme screamed, breaking free of Aro's loose grip to console her son.

Vincent's eyes lit up and he caught his father's glance for a moment before Aro quickly caught up to Esme, who was not all attempting to flee.

Carter growled, but Aro quickly put him in his place and grabbed the top of his arm where his shoulder met his neck with a glare. "Do _not_ do anything unless you are instructed, do you understand?"

"He-"

"Do you understand?"

Carter glared back, apparently not having a grasp on Aro's level of power, or role in the immortal community. "Yes."

Vincent held onto Caleb, and now Esme's arms, before the two of them rejoined where their plans were put on hold from Carter's action.

"I'm fine," Caleb assured his mother, staring directly into his mother's eyes. He nodded once with confidence before they continued on their way through the mystery island.

...

Edward had decided last minute to have his brother accompany them on the trip. Emmett and Rosalie ran side by side, and no one questioned Edward's leadership, even his hard-headed sister. They moved swiftly as a group until finally reaching the dock that Emmett had described from his visit there with Carlisle. Alice quickly confirmed when it came into view.

"There's an island," Edward informed them frantically as they approached the docile section of town, "It's out there somewhere. We just have to swim for it."

Emmett, still in full stride, glanced over at him and nodded, then proceeded to rip off his t-shirt as they ran, tossing it to the side.

Rosalie remained right next to him and took a deep breath as her husband was the first to dive fiercely into the black water. She followed close behind, and was relieved when she felt his strong grip interlock their fingers together.

The world around them was black; dark. There was no sign of life in the endless pit of an ocean. No one knew where they were headed, exactly, and after swimming for just a quarter of a mile, their scents began to fade.

Edward made sure he was side by side with Bella, and every time her scent strayed just slightly he closed the gap.

_We have to find them. We have to find them soon._ Edward knew time was running out, and that whatever they had planned wasn't something that was going to end in their family's favor.

Aro knew of the 'deception' that their family had portrayed in their lack of information regarding Carlisle's and Alice's whereabouts. The boy that had attacked Caleb and the others on the beach was involved somehow, so Edward knew he would be ready to carry out a lasting vendetta on one of their youngest family members for defending himself and ending his human life.

_An island... an island_, he thought_, where is there an island?_

Edward emerged from the water and looked around the endless sea. In all directions there was only water with no sign of land. He ran his hands through his hair and let his eyes fix on Bella as she popped up next to him.

"Why are you stopping?" she asked, sounding out of breath.

"I don't know where we are. There's no sign of anything." Frustration lingered in his voice.

The two of them looked back from the direction they came from, then ahead. Water splashed reactively in their choppy movements.

"Where are the others?" Bella asked aloud.

"I can only hear Alice and Delilah," Edward informed her, "They're together; somewhat close." He shook his head, "They don't have anything useful in their thoughts. Delilah's are just a big ball of panic."

"Which way are we going to go?" she asked him.

Edward bobbed up and down in the water, looking around in all directions again. He was going to answer with, 'I don't know,' but saw the hope in Bella's eyes as she longed for security from his words. He grabbed her hand beneath the water and kissed her once, then decided on going with an unknown gut feeling. "This way," he said, pulling her to the left.

Bella nodded, and he kissed her once more before they ducked back under the water and headed into the unknown.


	47. Two Ancient Statues

**Chapter 46**

Rain began to pour, and the skies completely opened up. In an almost cliché-like fashion, thunder and lightening accompanied the downpour as the incoming storm projected itself in full force. The trees that decorated the paths did little to cover Esme, Aro and the rest of them as they trudged across the ground that was becoming increasingly muddy.

The path opened up to a small clearing, and a stroke of lightening illuminated everything that was directly in front of them.

Esme could have screamed, and Caleb nearly jumped out of the grasp of Vincent and Carter.

Caius and Marcus stood still, like two great statues of classic horror figures. Their hoods gave them the appearance of henchmen, and despite the more even-tempered nature of his being, Marcus looked the most terrifying. Between them, Carlisle stood in his human clothes, looking largely out of place between the two of them. The only peace of mind that Esme had was that neither of them were holding him in place.

Carlisle's eyes met Esme's and he then stared at Caleb. Their presence caught him off-guard and the fear in his eyes could not be mistaken.

"Caleb..." he shook his head, then looked at Esme.

"Did you really think we could do this without them?" Aro asked. "I'd like the whole family, but I didn't feel like bringing the man-power over from Italy."

Caius and Marcus remained still, never moving or flinching. Even Carter's former confident posture grew increasingly timid and scared from their appearance.

Carlisle took a step forward, "Aro, we need to talk about this; you and I."

"Agreed, Carlisle," he spoke, "And talk we shall."

"Let them go... please."

Aro smiled and stepped forward, still linked with Esme, though he positioned himself a step in front her. Carlisle looked defeated, and completely unprepared for negotiations because of the leverage the Volturi members had.

"We need to really lay the ground rules, Carlisle, for what constitutes wrong and right in our world," Aro told him.

"I agree," he said with a nod. His eyes shifted to Esme's again and he couldn't hold back the pain in his eyes. He wanted to apologize all over again for the choice he and Alice made during the fight in Montana. He didn't want his family to pay for the decisions he made to protect them all in the first place.

"Dad-" Caleb started.

"Remain silent, please, Caleb," Aro asked of him politely. Despite the way he phrased the sentence, Caleb knew it was an order. He didn't dare say another word.

Carlisle gave his son a look, trying to tell him that it would be okay with his eyes. He didn't quite know if that was true, but wanted to give him some hope. From the look on Caleb's face, Carlisle could tell that it wasn't working.

"You do understand," Aro went on, "About the way we carry out the law and order of this immortal society of ours."

Carlisle nodded.

"You've been siding with werewolves, choosing them as mates, carrying on with humans, involving yourselves in matters that don't belong to you..." Aro placed his hands together and slid them beneath his chin.

Carlisle looked at Esme another time, having the urge to tell her to run now that she wasn't in Aro's grasp anymore, but he knew it was useless. He knew it would possibly be the most dangerous move she could make.

Esme stared back at him, as if looking for some kind of direction, but he softened his eyes and readjusted his gaze to meet Aro's.

"As you know," Aro stated, "We have been subject to repeated attacks, one of them being extremely successful. And the altercation you involved yourselves in with the werewolves of Montana left our best tracker dead."

Carlisle continued to listen, knowing that's all the Volturi leader wanted him to do. He waited patiently for him to continue.

A strike of lightening passed over them again, followed by a loud clap of thunder and Marcus made his only move since the meeting had begun. He looked upward toward the beckoning sky as if it called directly to him.

Carter looked almost threatened by the casual movement Marcus made. He then resumed the same stance that he had been standing in for the previous several minutes.

Aro smiled to himself, having engrained the image of fear in his mind. It was a small victory to see Carter's outwardly fearful expression. He then resumed his conversation with Carlisle. "Now, while I would not suspect you were involved in the destruction of our home," he said, "You have too must taste for history, and I know you well enough to assume you would never engage in such an unprovoked attack."

"Aro-" Carlisle began, but his old friend put a hand up.

"However... your family is outwardly to blame for these attacks. For the first time in history we have lost total respect from our community."

"It stems from our first visit to Washington when the child of Edward and Bella were born," Caius said, giving his input for the first time.

"Indeed," Aro agreed. "We allowed you all to live that day, and since then the balance of law and order has been skewed."

"A fight wasn't necessary that day," Carlisle told him, standing his ground in a respective tone, "You were always just in the past, and that is the prime reason this type of government, if you will, worked so well. You carried out consequences when necessary, and were the voice of reason."

"Is there a reason you're speaking the past tense?"

"Forgive me," he said, "I was directly referring to the incident Caius brought up. You came an evaluate the circumstances and you made the right decision. There was no threat, so your jury heard us out and you spared us all losses... on both sides."

"Word spread," Aro informed him, "And had that been an isolated incident, maybe things would have carried out differently over the last decade. However, there have been many reoccurring little meetings between our two covens, and I believe there is a struggle for views on what is right and wrong. We have always vastly disagreed in that sense Carlisle."

"Respectfully," he explained.

"I can attest to that, but things cannot carry on in this fashion." Aro shifted his eyes to meet his brothers', then nodded.

Esme was about to shout and protest when the moved swiftly, and menacingly toward where Caleb stood.

Aro quickly repositioned himself so Carlisle could not interfere.

"Marcus!" she shouted his name with hopes that the small amount of compassion he possessed would be enough to make him stop.

The tall, ancient immortal shot a glance in her direction, but didn't stop his pace.

Despite the short distance, and the rapid speeds of the two vampires, the moment seemed to take forever.

Caius smirked at Esme, and embraced Carlisle's shouts as he struggled to push himself past Aro.

Vincent held Esme back with the same, powerful enthusiasm, and she found it nearly impossible to break away from him.

The two of them watched as Caius and Marcus descended like two great white sharks upon Caleb.


	48. Warnings

**Chapter 47**

Carlisle shouted out in anguish as the Volturi members made their way toward his son.

Aro came face to face with him and looked him in the eye, "Trust me, old friend." He grinned just after and Carlisle didn't break eye contact.

Esme's shrill cries died down and Carlisle heard her breath in several times in a row.

"What are you doing?" Carter's voice asked as he huffed for a breath and looked over his shoulder for a way out.

"Dad?" Vincent still held Esme in place and looked to his father in a state of confusion.

Caius was the first to reach Carter and he swiftly gripped his arms and pulled them tightly behind his back, then kicked out his legs so he was on the ground.

"Dad!" Vincent repeated, in a more heated tone.

"Son..." Aro shook his head and squinted.

"What are you doing?" he cried out, looking at Caleb who stood just off to the side.

Aro looked at the son of Carlisle and Esme and called him toward him with his pointer finger. "Come here, son."

Caleb glanced over his shoulder at Esme, and then to Carlisle before slowly taking short strides toward Aro. His casual sneakers were covered in mud and his button-down shirt was drenched and hanging loosely around his upper body.

Esme felt like crying watching him walk in the pouring rain. The sleeves were weighing down so much that they nearly covered his hands and it gave him the image that he was an eight year old wearing his father's shirt. He looked meek, timid and child-like. A clap of thunder made him jump, adding to the image that she had in her mind.

"Please, let me go," she whispered to Vincent.

He glanced over at her and then back to Carter.

Caius gave Marcus a nod and the two of them reversed their roles. Marcus held the struggling young vampire and seemed to be looking away as Caius squatted so he was eye to eye with the man, then proceeded to rip his head from his body.

Vincent's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. He looked back to his father, but his smile did little to comfort him.

"Son," Aro spoke softly, "I'll discuss this with you later. Your friend was a liability."

"But-"

"Please," he held up a hand again and repeated his previous statement, "I'll discuss this with you later. You've done extremely well, son."

Vincent remained quiet, but his expression was pained. He looked at Caius and Marcus who appeared un-phased by the incident. They stood still facing the Cullens and Aro.

Caleb stood a few feet in front of the leader. He looked up at him with fearful eyes and breathed heavy. Carlisle took a step in their direction and quickly pushed his son behind him.

Esme took a step forward, but Vincent tugged her arm so she couldn't go much farther.

"This has to do with me," Carlisle said, "Not them."

"Understood." Aro nodded. "I agree. They were truly deceived by your actions."

"Well done, Carlisle. You learned something from us when you kept our company." Caius smiled and stood, then flipped some hair out his eyes as the rain became increasingly intense.

"Aren't you going to tell them?" Marcus asked in his typical, solemn tone.

"Ahh, yes." Aro nodded.

"Tell us what?" Carlisle asked.

"The Romanians, of course," he said, "We tracked them down."

Esme tensed up and closed her eyes. Vincent looked confused and studied her expression, then refocused on his father.

Carlisle waited patiently for him to continue.

"They were responsible for the attack on us," Caius responded.

"I managed to read their thoughts. They used your 'untimely death' as a reason to attempt to burn down our residence," Aro informed him. "And Benjamin of the Egyptian coven..." he shook his head, "It seems as though he, too, had some involvement in the attack."

Esme felt more fear in her heart at that instant than ever before. He was connecting the dots of a random series of events in order to hold them accountable for burning their home.

"We killed the Romanians," Aro went on, "Both of them... but not before we got all of the information we needed."

Carlisle closed his eyes with painful disapproval.

"We sent a message to the rest of the community," he told him, "Word has spread about their falling. I plan to visit your friend Amun in the near future."

"Aro-"

"Carlisle," he said sternly, "Be lucky that you are fortunate enough to encounter an evening such as this one."

"You are very fortunate compared to the likes of the coven from Egypt," Caius stated matter-of-factly. "We already have others in their area."

"And by tomorrow evening we'll get to the bottom of everything," Aro finished.

"I don't know how much involvement Benjamin may have had, but -"

"If you contact their coven," Aro explained, "I will come back here with my two sons, and all I've got. Do you understand what I mean when I say that?"

"You must hear him out," Carlisle pleaded.

"Do not press your luck," he said sternly, "You have no right to tell me what I must and mustn't do, Carlisle."

He began to put up a hand, but Aro pulled him in closely and looked him in the eye. "We are not polar opposite equals, as many have been concluding. If our coven's name does not rise from the ashes in the days of the near future, you will pay dearly." He looked over his shoulder, "And so will your son... and your daughter... and Masen."

Carlisle stared back at him, but didn't say a word. Taking the high road wasn't something foreign to him, and he was beginning to see that the Volturi members were only there to send a message.

"Your other son," Esme spoke, "He's with our family."

Aro turned to face her and smirked, "Well, how's about an even trade? I'll send you all on your way, and you send me back my son Salvatore."

"Deal!" she said, before anyone else could intervene.

"He was on the reservation," Caius said with disgust.

"I know, brother," Aro told him, "The Cullens won't back out on their word if we allow them to leave without a fight. Right Caleb?"

He nodded, still behind Carlisle.

"That's a good boy." He snickered and laughed, then refocused his attention to Carlisle, "Like I've stated, do not warn the Egyptians. This is a test to your good faith. Word is already spreading regarding the deaths of Vladimir and Stefan. People are beginning to take us seriously once again, and as soon as I get my revenge on Benjamin, we might be back to even."

Carlisle couldn't fathom the thought of Aro doing harm to Benjamin, or any of them. Amun had wanted nothing to do with the Volturi in the first place, and he knew he couldn't let them be sitting ducks.

"I believe our work here is done," Aro concluded. He looked to his son, and then to Esme, "Please tell Salvatore that he can meet us on the border of Canada where we first entered the state. He'll know where you mean."

Esme caught her breath and nodded. Aro then smiled, gave his brothers a nod and the three of them were gone like ancient spirits of the night.


	49. Calm In the Storm

**Chapter 48**

Esme looked around the empty woods, unable to move. She couldn't believe the Volturi were gone. She couldn't allow herself to believe it yet.

Carlisle pulled Caleb with him and rushed to her side.

"Why did they leave?" she asked, then suddenly didn't care about the answer. She wrapped her arms around Caleb first, then pulled Carlisle into the hug with them. Her hand tangled in the back of his hair and he winced from the force of her grip.

Caleb was shaking and Esme took her son's face in her hands. She then brought him back to her and hugged him forcefully again. A loud sigh left her mouth.

"Marshall..." she suddenly allowed her thoughts to move back to her youngest son. "Where is he?"

The relief in Carlisle's face drained, as he recognized that the last time he saw Marshall was when he was keeping patrol of the house.

"He was with Alex," Caleb reminded her, "Remember?"

"Alex." Esme said her name with the same amount of panic.

"She's fine," a familiar voice sounded off from just beyond the tree line, making both Esme and Caleb jump. Carlisle quickly leapt in front of them in a crouch until it registered in his brain that it was Edward's voice they had heard.

"What happened?" Bella asked.

"We just caught your scent," Edward told them, "We swam from the mainland out here. It took us forever to find this place."

"Because they're gone," Caleb said. "Vincent's shield was blocking us."

He nodded, "I know. They're gone?"

Carlisle and Esme both nodded and Carlisle straightened up from his continually crouched position. He let out a deep breath. "They're going to ambush the Egyptian coven."

"We can contact Amun," Edward started, but Carlisle interrupted.

"They'll come back," he said, "All of them, and we won't have the numbers to defend ourselves. They killed the Romanians."

"What?" Bella asked, showing the shock in her expression.

"They tracked them down?" Edward asked.

Carlisle nodded, "I don't know what to do."

"We have to warn them," Edward pressed.

"But how?" Bella asked.

No one spoke. They all stared at each other.

"Where is everyone?" Esme asked.

"Where's Delilah?" Caleb echoed.

"She's with Alice," Bella told him reassuringly.

"They're looking for this place, too," Edward added, "And so are Rosalie and Emmett."

"Where are they all?" Carlisle asked.

"In the ocean. We split up into pairs."

"I have to go find her," Caleb said with heavy enthusiasm.

Carlisle reached for his arm before he could dash away, and he glanced up at his father. "She's with Alice. You can't just go searching the ocean blindly. We don't know where Aro led their group."

"He said-"

"They'll find us now," Edward told him, "Vincent's shield is gone." He took a deep inhale into the air and closed his eyes. Caleb mocked his behavior.

"They're close by," Bella said, not being as dramatic in the way that she breathed in.

Carlisle nodded in agreement, "I can sense them too, which means they can sense us."

"They'll be coming from back that way," Edward said, "I'm sure. That's the way we came and the six of us all came from the same direction."

Everyone followed his lead, and a few minutes later they were out by the boat that Aro and the rest of them had come to the island on.

"Alice!" Edward called out. "Rosalie!"

They waited patiently, still standing in the pouring rain that pelted the choppy waters.

Caleb's eyes scanned the ocean frantically, and he waited until he saw the dual rushes of water that lead from about a hundred yards out up to the small sandy area where they stood by the dock.

"Delilah!" he sprinted in her direction and the two of them threw their arms around one another.

She didn't speak, as found herself unable to. She sobbed without the ability to produce tear droplets and kept him up against her body.

"What is going on?" Alice said, far more casually than the dramatic embrace between Caleb and Delilah.

"They left," Edward said, "I saw from Carlisle's thoughts that they brought them here as a warning; or a type of intimidation. They're going after Benjamin next."

"What?" she shook her head. "We have to warn them."

"If we warn them, they'll come back for us."

Alice looked to Carlisle for confirmation and he nodded.

"Whoa, cool it kids." Emmett emerged from the water with Rosalie at his side. He looked at Caleb with a smile as he stopped his outlandish kissing session with Delilah.

Esme tried to take on the calm nature of Alice and Emmett , but she couldn't just yet. "Bella, where's Charlie?"

"He's with everyone at Renesme and Jacob's house," she assured her, "With Marshall. Jasper's there, the pack, Alex and Michael... everyone."

She nodded and sighed.

"We should get back," Carlisle told them, "And let everyone know where's alright."

"Wait, what happened with the Aro's twins?" Rosalie asked.

"Aro, Caius and Marcus were here," he explained, "With Vincent - Aro's son."

"We have to tell our family to let Salvatore go," Esme added, not wanting to part on their side of the deal.

Rosalie's eyes narrowed, and Emmett cocked his head slightly.

"They'll come back," she said, "Please, we have to tell them now."

Emmett reached in his pockets, "Phone's gone."

"Mine too," Rosalie said.

Carlisle reached into the pocket of his khakis. While his phone illuminated, the heavy rains had gotten the best of the screen. He managed to type in his password and found Jasper's name in the contacts. He then reached for Esme's hand and pointed toward the boat. "Jasper," he said, speaking loudly over the static.

Everyone listened in on his conversation, as Carlisle went into just a minimal amount of detail regarding what had happened. When he hung up, he looked around. "We'll have to talk when we get home." A bolt of lightening danced across the sky and everyone looked up. "But, we have to get home."


	50. From Beyond the Grave

**Chapter 49**

Esme glanced out through the open door of the bedroom where she spoke with Carlisle. Marshall laid quietly in her arms and she rocked from side to side. The continuing thunderstorm made her visualize the faces of the three lead Volturi members. She couldn't get the image out of her mind of Caleb looking childlike in his oversized shirt as he walked up toward Aro. Esme knew things could have been worse.

"We have to warn our friends somehow," Carlisle said quietly.

Esme nodded in agreement, but couldn't fathom them returning to Forks. "They stood by us on more than one occasion."

He stared across the room and they both looked out toward the door again at the same time as Caleb walked slowly past their door and then took the stairs down to where Delilah greeted him.

Carlisle walked over and lightly trace the top of Marshall's head with his fingertips. He then kissed Esme on the cheek. "We'll think of something," he whispered.

...

Bella sat on the ground in front of the small sofa that decorated the upstairs family room. Charlie had his hands on a traditional baby toy, and she struggled to keep it out of his mouth. She had been focused on Edward's conversation with Renesme and Jacob, but had switched her attention to what Carlisle and Esme were talking about a few doors down.

She played with Charlie's hair and he made a baby noise to try speaking back with her. A smile crept onto Bella's face and she suddenly had a heavy heart for Esme. She had always welcomed Bella as part of the family and wished for nothing more than eternal happiness for all of them. Even Edward's constant gushing of his mother hadn't compared to the true nature of her love and warmth that Bella had gotten to know so well in the last decade.

_Think, Bella_, she thought, _what can I do?_

Her thoughts drifted to her shield, and she pulled ideas from the depths of her mind to try to figure out a road that could lead to all things working out.

_I can't block Benjamin and the rest of them without going out there myself_, she thought, _and even then they would be severely outnumbered_.

Bella looked toward the wall, as she heard Carlisle trying to being optimistic. Esme's quiet responses indicated that she wanted to believe him.

_What if the Romanians already warned them?_ she thought. Her ideas began to compound. _Even if they didn't... _Bella's eyes moved from side to side and she felt her hands even move subconsciously as if she was speaking to an invisible person next to her. _What if the Volturi thought the Romanians warned them?_

"That's it," she whispered to herself. Bella smiled. She almost laughed.

Charlie still played on the ground in front of her and she quickly scooped him up and dashed toward Carlisle's office. From his desk she removed a piece of paper and chose an ink pen to write with that he still kept on the corner of his desk.

"Here Charlie," she said, handing him a handcrafted toy that Edward had made. She then refocused on her task and hoped that no one would interrupt what she was about to do.

On the first piece of paper, she practiced a few strokes of the old style writing utensil before finding a heavier paper material to write on.

Bella took a deep breath and let the pen began to dance across the page.

_Benjamin,_

_I write to you with the fear that the Volturi will come for you, as they are getting closer to tracking us down. If Aro finds out where we are hiding, he will read our thoughts first before they destroy us. We do not have the numbers to fight back, and I fear that the end is near. Relocate if you receive this message. It may mean that we did not make it, and when he reads my infinite thoughts, you will surely pass through his mind. I am sorry Benjamin, but I must warn your family. If my brother and I do not survive, at least we got to return the favor to the Italian scum who did the same to our castles centuries ago. Good luck to you and your coven._

_With utmost sincerity,_

_Stefan_

Bella took a deep breath and placed the pen back into the ink.

_Those English classes in high school were good for something_, she thought to herself.

She then found an envelope in the bottom drawer and found an address in an envelope she had seen Carlisle, Esme and Edward go through several times. With the same writing style, she scribbled the address from Egypt on the front, leaving the return address blank.

Bella found a lined notecard and jotted down a separate message. _If your family does flee from Egypt, leave the letter behind. I want the Volturi to know that we were one step ahead of them. Destroy this notecard and the envelope._

She looked at the small note of the two and slipped it behind the letter inside the envelope. She decided to write the last several sentence on a separate card in order to assure that the Volturi would see that it had been 'The Romanians' and not the Cullens who had warned Benjamin. She just hoped that he would obey the wishes of the second message and leave the note behind for Aro to see.

_Now that hard part_, she thought, _keeping this from Edward and the rest of the family... and also how to convince them all not to warn Benjamin._

Bella sealed the envelope with tape and prepared herself to make an excuse to leave the house in order to drop the note off at the post office in town. While she knew it was too late to be processed that day, she hoped first thing in the morning the letter could be sent out.

_How can I convince them that the Egyptians will be alright?_ she thought. _Think_.

"Guys!" Alice called out. She peeked her head in the office, "Bella, come downstairs." She waved a hand and disappeared, "Carlisle, Esme... Rosalie, Em!"

The sound of rushing feet filled the house, and Bella stood up to see Emmett whisk by the door, sending the papers that had been on top of Carlisle's desk shifting in all directions. She replaced them as they were, and then joined where Alice had everyone gathered in the living room by a small fire.

"What's going on?" Emmett asked, looking around.

Edward smirked at his sister, who tried to hold in a grin.

"It's subjective," she reminded him.

"What's going on, Alice?" Carlisle asked, echoing Emmett's question.

Jasper and Nicole were on either side of her, and he kept a hand locked around her waist as she spoke.

"Stefan..." she took a deep breath and looked around them all, "It seems as though he's helped our situation from beyond the grave."

"What do you mean?" Esme asked.

"He left a note for Benjamin," Alice continued with a grin, "He sent a warning out. It must have been just before they were caught by the Volturi and killed. I've seen Benjamin reading it, and I've seen them packing. The Volturi arrive to nothing at their place in Egypt."

"Are you sure?" Carlisle asked.

"That's what I'm seeing," she told them all, "Clear as day as of right now."

Jasper smirked subtly and gave her hip a squeeze.

"So... we're okay then?" Emmett asked.

"They won't suspect it was us who told them, will they?" Esme asked.

Alice shook her head, "I've seen Aro with the letter from Stefan in his hands."

"Way to go Stefan," Emmett said with a grin.

Bella smiled to herself and tucked the envelope she had behind her back into the back of her jeans. She pulled the top of her shirt over it so no one would see what she had. Now, she just had to part from them for about twenty minutes in order to get her part of the job done.


	51. Four Camels

**Chapter 50**

Benjamin looked down at the letter he had read in an ongoing fashion. The acquaintances he had taken in the destruction of the Volturi home were dead. Amun had warned him again and again about his involvement, and had scolded him in a fatherly fashion about being too righteous and fighting battles that weren't his own. The only regret Benjamin had was that his mate Tia, as well as Amun and Kebi were now in danger.

A fleeting thought crossed his mind that the letter could be the Volturi's way of setting him up, but he realized quickly that they could have easily ambushed their family without warning.

Amun had been so furious with Benjamin's decisions that he had stormed off and hadn't spoken to him in hours. He and Kebi had been busy packing their belongings for a journey to parts unknown. While they would never leave Benjamin and Tia behind, and intended to travel as a family, it didn't stop him from being outwardly frustrated and disappointed with his youthful prodigy.

"Are you all packed and ready?" Tia asked him, looking around the space that had been theirs for as long as she could remember.

Benjamin nodded. He, too, was disappointed about having to leave their comfortable place in the Egyptian underworld. He enjoyed the sun, the privacy and the land. It was theirs, and the Volturi were about to force a change upon their coven. There was a part of him that wanted to stay and face the so called law-makers. Leaving was defying everything the Romanians stood for. When the Volturi arrived at their Egypt residence, they would surely destroy it just out of spite - not that their coven could return in the near future, or possibly at all.

"What's wrong?" Tia asked, touching his face lightly.

Benjamin shook his head, "Maybe I am naïve."

"You do what you believe is right in your heart," she said, "There is nothing naïve about that."

Amun promptly entered their room without warning and looked around. His glare was paralyzing, and Benjamin didn't have it in him to argue. He knew Amun had a valid case for his side of the argument.

"Are you packed?" he asked gruffly.

"Yes." Benjamin nodded obediently.

"Get your stuff then," Amun said, not changing his tone, "We're leaving... now."

He nodded again and gathered everything he could with Tia at his side.

Amun pushed roughly back out of the room, and Kebi waited just outside the front door, glancing around the beautiful scenery that made up their home.

Benjamin and Tia gathered with them and no one said a word. They all exchanged stares, a combination of anger, frustration and fear. In Kebi's eyes lingered a hint of sympathy for Benjamin.

"It's okay," she said quietly, drawing an abrupt reaction from her mate.

"No it is _not_ okay!" Amun bellowed.

Kebi jumped slightly and closed her eyes. Tia looked more fearful of Amun than ever before, but Benjamin just stared ahead.

"Amun, I am sorry for-" he began.

"We will be on the run forever!" he continued, "There will be no more of this carefree existence we have been blessed with. We will always be on the run."

Benjamin didn't speak again, knowing Amun was right. He looked around at his family members before their patriarch carried bags with their belongings away from the home. Kebi followed and Tia looked to her mate.

"Go on ahead," he said, fishing in his pocket for the letter. "I'll meet you there."

"But Amun..." she said quietly, not finishing her thought.

"I'll be right back."

Benjamin kissed her on the forehead and rushed back inside, leaving the note as Bella had described in her forged writing to make it appear as though Stefan had sent the message. He placed it on the center of a table closest to the doorway. It was the easiest entrance to their home, and Benjamin was sure the Volturi would easily come across the life-saving note if he kept it there.

"Benjamin!" Amun's voice was hard and demanding from outside.

Benjamin swiftly joined the three of them and had the desire to apologize some more, though he did not. He knew Amun was not ready for anything he had to say.

The sun had set, though minimal light lingered in the air. They covered themselves with fabric masks and hopped on separate camels, each taking a designated path that was different than the other in case the Volturi arrived fast enough to catch their scents. Amun had also hoped that the scent of the camel would contribute to blocking them out. The plan was to arrive at a meeting spot he had assigned decades ago in case of an emergency. The four Egyptian vampires knew the way, and when the four of them arrived, they would take off on foot the rest of the way. The scary part was, they had no idea where they were going.

...

_Sixteen hours later._

Aro kicked in the Egyptian coven's door, not caring about the amount of noise that he made. He could tell from far away that the scents of the perpetrators were faint, indicating their abrupt departure.

_The Cullens_; that was Aro's original thought. He angrily glanced around the empty rooms of the elegant set-up and swiped a vase onto the ground with his hand, smashing it into a million pieces.

"Aro." Jane stood just beside him, seeing the letter that had been left behind. It only took her a moment to read and she passed it to her leader.

Caius leaned over his shoulder to read the letter, as did Vincent.

"And the envelope, Jane?" Aro asked calmly.

She looked around the immediate area, though didn't see anything.

"Vincent, help Jane with a scan of the area. I'd like to see a postmark from the source of the letter."

"We found Stefan and Vladimir in Iceland," Caius pointed out.

Aro scanned the letter and listened as the house was being searched.

Marcus slunk in beside them from where he previously waited outdoors. He, too, read the letter and looked at his brother. "It seems as though their two covens had some sort of alliance."

"They worked together," Caius agreed, "To try to destroy our home."

"I just want to be sure," Aro told the two of them.

A minute later, Vincent and Jane returned empty handed.

"There's nothing," Jane said.

Aro put the letter to his nose and breathed in deeply. The only prominent scents on the piece of paper were from Benjamin and Tia.

"We caught the two menaces," Caius said, referring to Stefan and Vladimir, "We'll find Benjamin and his coven, as well."

Aro attempted to be patient, but he was dead-set on destroying their coven that day.

Caius remained optimistic, "We do have an eternity to chase them down."

"And we will," Jane added.

"Their scents may be lingering," Vincent said with a nod. "Right?"

"Who knows how long it's been..." Marcus stated. "They could have been gone for days."

"There should be a trail," Caius said, "I can smell them all over this area."

Aro continued to stare at the letter before he placed it neatly in the pocket of his cloak. "Let's track their scents. At least tracking them down and killing them will keep us all occupied for a while."


	52. Preparing For What's Next

**Chapter 51**

The Cullen family sat around a small summer campfire in the backyard as if they were about to tell a series of ghost stories. Instead, they awaited Alice's explanation of the parts of the Volturi's trip to Egypt that she could see.

"I have Benjamin, Tia, Amun and Kebi on my radar," she explained. "I have no idea where they are, but they're safe."

"And what about Aro?" Carlisle asked.

"He must be linked closely with one of the twins," she suspected, "Probably Vincent. I could only see him holding the letter in Egypt when his son was not close by. I saw him place it in his pocket, so he must have kept it."

"But you can't see him now?"

Alice shook her head, "No. I can see that Caius is heading in another direction. He contacted Athenodora and it seems as though he's trying to get the other twin out to safe-guard him. I still can't see most of their home in Volterra, though, so he must still be there. The wives are out of my sight, but I've seen Jane roaming about on occasion."

"So, there's no harm being done to Amun's coven then?" Carlisle asked, wanting to be sure of their immediate safety.

"No harm," she assured him, "Like I said, I can't tell where they are stationed, which is good. I hope there's no landmark that will give them away, in case Aro wants to come back and read my thoughts."

"How far can you see, Alice?" Emmett asked. He sat comfortably with Rosalie on his lap.

"I don't know, to be honest." She shrugged, "Hopefully my visions don't change."

"Do you think where ever they are it's a permanent home?" Esme asked, "Or semi-permanent at least?"

"I can't be sure of that either," Alice told her, and all of them. "I could be just a rest stop, or it could appear to be some type of safe haven. Benjamin suggested that they separate in order to keep the others safe, but none of the rest of them would agree to it."

"They're a family," Edward commented with a nod.

"Like us," Jasper added. "They won't let him go out on his own where's more vulnerable."

"And I would imagine Tia wouldn't leave him," Bella said. She looked around, "Right?"

Esme and Rosalie both nodded, agreeing with Bella's speculation.

"All around," Alice concluded, "Everything is fine as of now." She looked toward Carlisle and Esme, "I think it would be smart to consider relocating again, just as an added measure of protection."

Carlisle nodded slightly and placed his hand subtly on the middle of Esme's back.

"Not right now," she went on, "I just mean maybe we just start brainstorming possibilities and then go from there, like we always do."

"Is there any reason to think that the Volturi would be coming back?" Esme asked. Her eyes begged Alice to both speak the truth, and to say 'no'.

Alice answered confidently right away, "No. I don't see any indication that they'll be coming here."

"What if Vincent or Salvatore have that part of your vision blocked?" Emmett asked.

She shook her head, "At least as of right now, one of them is with Aro searching for Benjamin. I saw Caius contact his mate to get the other one to help lead him on a different trail, and I can't see most of the Volturi's home in Italy. They aren't in this area."

"We should attempt to relocate again," Rosalie suggested, going along with what Alice had originally said. "We're going to have to. At least then we won't just be sitting here for whenever they decided they want to come back."

They all shared looks with one another before Carlisle spoke.

"It's the safest thing to do," he said. His eyes drifted toward Masen and Leah, who had sat quietly beside Cassandra throughout the discussion.

Leah and Bella exchanged a glance.

"My mom and Charlie are planning to relocate when Charlie retires," Leah told them all.

Everyone switched their gaze toward Bella for a moment. Edward nodded, having already known the information.

"Yeah," Bella said with a nod, "Charlie told me that they were thinking either out by Niagara Falls, or somewhere in Florida." She snickered, "Opposites, I know. I think he's sick of the rain and wants to try the art of deep sea fishing."

"Either way," Leah went on, "She was my biggest concern as far as leaving. Seth can hold his own. He still has the pack... and Lucy."

"Renesme and Jacob would stay," Edward told them. He looked toward Bella for confirmation, "I would suspect."

Bella nodded, "I don't think they would want to leave."

"And they also have the protection of the packs," Jasper pointed out.

"The Volturi won't go out of their way to associate with the Quileutes," Edward said, "I've seen that Caius despises everything about them from his thoughts. He'd rather they be out of sight, out of mind than confront them in a fight. Everything about them drives him crazy, their smell in particular." He paused, "Plus Aro won't harm them unprovoked in the way he did with the tribe in Montana. It's because of Lucy's attachment."

"This is a lot harder since we've all started having kids," Emmett pointed out. "Can't just pack up and go the way we used to."

"Why don't we plan to relocate once Charlie and Sue decide to?" Carlisle suggested, "That way we'll know they'll be out of harms way."

"We'll go with you," Masen said, "Leah and I."

"And so will I," Cassandra said.

"What about Shane?" Rosalie asked her.

"He'll travel with us. He'll just visit his family as often as possible."

"Maybe we could purchase a few homes in the same area," Masen suggested.

Emmett snickered, "What you don't want to be one, big, massive, happy family?"

Masen smiled, "I admit, I enjoy my space a little more than most of you."

Edward grinned, reading his thoughts, and Masen scrunched his nose and laughed, knowing what he was doing.

"Well with all of us _bloodsuckers _being so close, Leah, you won't have to worry about aging even a little bit," Emmett told her with a with smile.

She laughed and sighed.

"Are you sure you can leave the tribe?" Carlisle asked her.

Leah looked up and him and nodded. "I'm sure. This is the only place I've called home, but I'm willing to make this step for everyone's safety... and so Masen can be with his family."

"What about yours?" Masen asked her.

"My mother is moving," she said with a shrug, "And my brother is capable of taking care of himself. He has his own house; his own life. He's an adult. We'll stay in close contact."

"And the pack?"

"They're great," Leah acknowledged, "And a family to me in their own right, but you _are_ my family. You're my husband, Masen. I'm ready to go ahead with this."

Emmett clapped his hands loudly, "So it's settled, then? We enjoy the rest of the summer out here, and come the fall, we start mapping things out again."

Everyone appeared to be in agreement and the verdict on what the next step would be was more or less settled.


	53. Baby Teeth

**Chapter 52**

"Oww!" Emmett shrieked from the living room. He chuckled just after and Esme walked in with Carlisle just behind her.

Rosalie giggled from the couch and went to scoop up Marshall from the ground. "Come here baby."

"What happened?" Esme asked them with a half-smile.

"He keeps biting me," Emmett said, "Hard."

"He's teething," Rosalie told him with a grin.

"None of the others were _that _bad."

Carlisle laughed lightly and looked at Esme. She shook her head, then noticed Rosalie had given their son something to gnaw on.

"Is that... part of a deer's antler?" she asked.

Rosalie nodded, "Edward's been giving them to Charlie, too."

Carlisle looked thoughtful, but didn't say anything. He immediately picked up on the satisfied look on his son's face, highlighted by his dark eyes.

Emmett smiled at the two of them. "He's been talking up a storm."

"Yeah, he has his own language," Carlisle said with a laugh, "With little touches of actual English words."

"Caleb's been trying to get him to say his name," Esme added.

"So, Masen had said he wanted to live separately when we relocate," Rosalie said, "We all did just fine in that big house in Minnesota, but if we could find a new development with neighboring homes, that might be something to look into."

The two of them nodded in agreement.

"I don't think we could really live completely separate anymore," she added, "I know Emmett and I did in our younger days, but I can't really think of leaving everybody now."

"One big happy family," Emmett said with a wide grin.

"Big is an understatement," Rosalie told him with a laugh.

The mood amongst their family was certainly lightened, but there was an underlying weight that lingered on all of their shoulders and minds. No one wanted to see the Egyptian coven fall at the hands of the Volturi.

Edward and Alice whisked into the room, apparently having had a conversation regarding the thoughts of their family members.

"This global chase that the Volturi are involved in," Alice said, "It's going to keep them busy for a long time. I have no indication that they'll be able to find Amun, Benjamin and all of them."

"We're talking about an eternity," Carlisle reminded her, "That's a long time to be on the run."

"I'm not saying Aro will ever forget, but they won't keep up the search party forever."

He shrugged and gave a slight nod, though didn't whole-heartedly agree with her statement.

"Things aren't perfect," she went on, "But they'll be fine... at least for awhile."

"Lucy is going to start her visits back with her father," Edward added, "She's going to try to be persuasive and get him to back down a little from his pursuit of their coven."

"They stood beside us," Carlisle said, "We'll have to help them if the Volturi do find them."

Emmett nodded, "Of course."

Alice looked around at all of their tense expressions. "It's not going to happen for awhile. You have to trust me. Everyone can sort of relax. I've even seen Benjamin joking around with Amun some time in the near future. They're okay, and like Carlisle said if not then we'll help to protect them the best we can."

No one looked happier or more at ease and Alice sighed, "I came in here with this news to kind of try to cheer you up. Edward said everyone's thoughts were so anxious and full of guilt."

"I've seen the images in Alice's mind," Edward added. He looked at Carlisle, "They're okay, Carlisle."

"Ouch!" Rosalie yelped from the couch. She looked down at Marshall, who sat in her lap. His gaze moved upward to meet hers and a little laugh left his mouth. He mumbled something and almost looked as if he was pointing toward her face before regaining interest in the deer antler.

"I told you," Emmett said with a laugh, "He loves to bite and chew things."

Edward and Alice both gave a chuckle and Alice had an 'aww' type of look on her face.

"I'll take him," Esme said with a smile. She shook her head, "He can be so fresh."

Carlisle couldn't hold back a little smile and moved his hand over his son's head as Esme rejoined where the two of them originally stood.

"And we all thought Caleb was the trouble one," Rosalie teased with a smile.

"Marshall already has him beat," Esme told her. She laughed, "At least in regards to this age."

A silence fell over them, aside from Marshall's mumbled attempts to say Mom.

"What do you say we all head down to that spot by the water that the Quileutes showed us?" Alice asked, "It might be fun after all of this nonsense with Aro's twins. No one has been able to relax in the last month."

Emmett jumped up to his feet, "Count me in." He looked over his shoulder and extended a hand. "Come on, babe. Let's do some skinny dipping and have some fun."

Esme shook her head, but smiled as Rosalie stood from where she sat on the couch.

"How do we know the twins are really gone?" Rosalie asked.

"If one of them was in the area then I wouldn't be able to see anything around here," Alice explained, "And believe me," she gave a jokingly disgusted look at Emmett, "I can see _everything_ that's about to take place."

Edward couldn't help a smile, and then a quiet snicker as Rosalie took Emmett's hand, only appearing slightly embarrassed. The two of them began walking out of the living room and Rosalie placed a hand lightly on Esme's shoulder as she passed, "Not in front of the parents, Alice."

Carlisle and Esme both shared a laugh and Alice turned to them. "So, what do you say?" she asked, "Let's go have some fun night as a family and try to put this out of our minds for a little while."

"Okay," Esme said with a nod, "Yeah. That's a good idea."

Edward patted Carlisle lightly on the back, and he nodded.

"Bella's over with her father," he said, "I'm going to meet her there and then we'll catch up with everyone."

"Alright," Carlisle told him.

"Caleb! Delilah!" Alice called, "Come down here!"

Carlisle looked over at Esme, who talked soothingly and happily to Marshall. He smiled to himself and couldn't help but wrap an arm around her shoulders.

She looked up at him and he leaned his head down just an inch or two and give her a kiss.

"We definitely need a few hours to relax," she told him.

Carlisle nodded, "I trust Alice's vision."

"We're okay."

He nodded again and Esme slipped her free around his waist and the two of them prepared to follow Alice and the rest of them down to the local, secluded beach.


	54. Day By Day

**Chapter 53**

"One day I'm sure things will pick up again," Edward said, standing beside Carlisle a few feet from the ocean. "But it's not going to be any time soon."

"I'm trying to think like that," Carlisle told him.

"They're not at all thinking of us anymore."

"Are you sure?"

Edward nodded. "Yes. They know we're not responsible for telling the Egyptians anything."

"Benjamin attacked their home in the defense of our family," Carlisle told him, "Because Alice and I faked our deaths and they thought the Volturi were unjustified in killing us." He shook his head, "I can't help but feel responsible."

"It's not your fault. Benjamin and the Romanians acted on their own. We would never ask them to do such a thing." Edward then added, "The two of you had no other choice. You did it to protect our family."

Alice skipped over from where she and Jasper sat together on a little blanket. She managed the travel at speeds too fast for the naked eye without spilling a drop of wine from her glass.

"Please drink this." She offered it to Carlisle, who smiled and began to shake his head.

"Alice, I- " he started, but she immediately cut him off.

"Drink it." Her tiny voice roared with order, but she smiled just afterwards.

Carlisle still looked reluctant, but his eyes traveled to where Esme and Bella were laughing and having a glass down the way. Renesme and Jacob stood with Marshall and Charlie in their arms, respectively, and the four of them all looked content and happy.

"See." Alice smirked. "And I can tell that Edward is trying ignore Nessy and Jacob's thoughts about having a baby."

Edward's lopsided grin and subtle head-shake indicated that his sister was right on with her assumptions.

"Can we try to get back to happily ever after?" Alice asked.

"Does that exist?" Edward asked her, taking a swig Carlisle's wine.

"Hey!" Alice said. She took it from him and handed it back to Carlisle.

He cracked a smile for the first time, and Alice refocused her attention to her brother.

"Edward, to answer your question, yes; there is. You're living it." Alice sighed, "Nobody trusts me anymore."

Carlisle looked at her and she stared back with a grin. "I trust you, Alice."

She threw an arm around his shoulders, standing up on her tip-toes to do so. She kissed him on the cheek, "Come on, let's have a good time. Things are getting better."

Carlisle didn't want to be the one to break up the lively spirit that the family undoubtedly deserved. They had been outplayed in a type of chess game for weeks, and now the game was finally up. On top of it all, Alice seemed certain of the safety of the Egyptian clan.

Esme handed her half-drunken glass over to Renesme, who happily began to finish the blood-soaked wine. Of all of them, she was the one who could appreciate it the most because of her multiple food and drink preferences. In turn, she accepted Marshall back into her arms, where he had barely left since their return from the local island.

Carlisle approached them and gave his son a kiss on the cheek. Edward swooped in behind him and slung an arm around Bella, and then asked for Marshall with his hands.

"What?" Esme asked him.

"I'll take him," he offered.

"I just got him back." She smiled, but handed him over to Edward's waiting hands.

Carlisle grinned and glanced at Esme, "Do you want to go take a walk around town?"

Esme smiled again. "Alright." She glanced at Marshall, and Edward nodded.

"Go," he said, "We'll be fine."

"Was this a silent communication between the two of you?" Esme asked them.

Edward smiled again, "Something like that."

She shook her head, but happily agreed and reached for Carlisle's hand.

The two of them headed back to the house first, hopping into one of the cars before making their way down toward a little marina area where couples walked hand in hand, families gathered and children were eating ice cream and preparing for fireworks over the water.

Carlisle found a spot to park in a gravel lot next to a collection of boats. He rushed around to open Esme's door and the two of them shared a smile as he helped her out of the car.

"Want to split an ice cream?" he joked, shoving the car door shut and linking his hand up with hers.

Esme laughed, "I'd love to remember how delicious ice cream was, and the whipped cream... a cherry."

Carlisle pulled her closer to him with a grin and kissed her on the cheek.

Two young boys rushed past them with glow sticks, laughing and looking as if they were about to get into a small amount of trouble. Jogging behind them was a woman of about forty, shouting out the name Matthew as she went.

Esme grinned, "Boys will be boys," she said to Carlisle, "Vampire, human or werewolf."

"Isn't that the truth." He agreed.

She leaned up into him as they walked, passing all kinds of happy families and friendly faces. Their attitudes and behavior were contagious and Esme began to feel like a teenage girl on one of her first dates.

"This whole set-up reminds me of simpler times," Carlisle told her, taking in the scenery by the water.

Esme agreed with a nod. "Yeah."

"Back in the twenties we could just about anywhere and find ourselves just enjoying life. There were no smart phones, or anything of that nature." He shook his head, "We all just had each other; enjoyed the moment, ya know?"

She smiled up at him and nodded her head again.

Carlisle grinned as her hair bounced perfectly as she gave him the simple gesture as a response. He felt the best type of butterflies dance in his stomach.

"We should live in the moment now," she told him.

"That sounds like a good idea."

The two of them looked at each other and shared a kiss, quickly finding a bench that overlooked a small set of docks. Teenagers roamed around by the boats, pointing out ones they liked or wished they had; in some cases comparing them to boats their fathers owned.

Esme glanced up toward the full moon that shined down on them, giving the night sky an extra dose of light.

Carlisle put his arm around her shoulders, and then kissed her temple, before Esme initiated another quick kiss on the lips.

"Can I try to promise you that everything is going to be alright?" he asked her. "And that _this_ is exactly what our life will be like from now on."

Esme looked around, and then ran a hand through his wavy, gelled hair. She shook her head but smiled, "No; no I don't want you to promise me that. I think we should just appreciate every day, the good ones and the bad."

Carlisle looked her in the eyes and allowed her to continue.

"And this one, tonight, is going especially well," she finished, "So let's enjoy this moment; right now."

He gave a closed-mouth grin and sighed in deeply, inhaling her scent, "Okay."

"Day by day from now on," Esme said, making it sound more like a question.

Carlisle nodded, "I think that's the only way to do it."

"We'll enjoy the rest of our summer in Forks, and we'll think about the rest later."

"Agreed."

Esme pulled his face gently in toward hers again and the two of them shared a mild display of public affection. A moment later, the first of the fireworks blasted out into the dark sky, prompting cheers and excited shouts from the youth in the immediate area.

The two of them sat, enjoying each other and the atmosphere, vowing to live life to the fullest one day at a time.


	55. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Aro stood at the peak of one of the many great pyramids of Egypt. His family members, and several Volturi goons had practiced scanning the entire country. Each time they reported back to him, he sent them off again to double and triple check that Benjamin and the rest of his family were not in the immediate area.

_They may be just stupid and sentimental enough to try to come back, _he thought to himself. Aro hoped he was correct. He wanted revenge on their family, though there was a part of him that fantasized about not killing Benjamin and allowing him to join their coven instead.

_Such unique, useful gifts_, he thought to himself, _It would be such a waste_.

Aro knew, however, that revenge was the only way to restore order, balance and respect. The Egyptian coven would have to fall for Benjamin's involvement in the temporary destruction of their castle.

Days had passed, and Aro waited, knowing deep down that the Egyptians were long gone. His hope began to fade with the closure of another day that they would be returning to the area any time soon; and by soon he meant decades.

In the distance, a shadow crossed through a long, sandy pit that lead up to a stone walkway. Aro could tell from his walk and posture, alone, that the man was Caius. His scent became overly apparent as he crossed through the threshold of the pyramid's lower entrance, only to join him at the top a few seconds later.

"Nothing." Caius spoke one word, not looking at Aro. His eyes scanned the area before them and he squinted in a type of angered annoyance.

"We'll go before midnight," Aro told him, "Leave the enforcers behind. They can keep a look out to make sure they don't return. If they do, we'll return."

"I don't believe they'd be so stupid." Venom left Caius' mouth as he spit the words out.

"We'll find them just as we did our other friends."

"The Romanians."

Aro nodded and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. He smiled confidently, "Things are beginning to shift back in the right direction. Others have heard about the demise of Vladimir and Stefan. Carlisle won't interfere with this; he cares for his family's safety too much. Our message to them was clear, as well."

"So all that's left are Benjamin and the others?" Caius asked.

Aro continued to smile and gave a subtle nod. The two of them stood tall with their chins proudly in the air at the top of the pyramid as the sun began to set, allowing their faint sparkles to fade.

"Yes," Aro continued out loud to himself in a decompressing, happy manner, "Tomorrow _is_ another day." He smiled, drawing an evil grin from Caius and the two of them shared a short laugh that could chill the souls of demons.

From where the two of them stood they could see the occasional townspeople going about their daily routines, not knowing the type of danger that lurked so closely.

Caius looked over at Aro, who seemed to share the same thought.

"Shall we enjoy a meal before we go?" Caius asked.

"I thought you'd never ask."

With another grin, the two of them swooped down like vultures into the hot, dessert air. They embraced their status as creatures of the night, and were prepared to carry on their search with the same, animalistic mentality.

Volterra, they knew, would rise again.


	56. The End - Next Story

**Hey all. This is the end of Blood Tides. I will continue with the series. Hope you're enjoying it. I was wondering if anyone had the time to either tell me in a review, or in a PM (either is fine) who your favorite of characters I've created is, and if there's anyone you'd like to see more of in general. Thanks so much.**

**The next story is Harvest Moon. If you click on my name and scroll through my stories it is in there because fanfiction won't allow links.**

www dot fanfiction dot net/s/10541448/1/Harvest-Moon


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Twilight, Family, Romance