I'M SO SORRY!!

How bad am I? xD Ok, so I know I haven't updated in... 6 months? More? xD SO SORRY! I kinda lost my interest in Twilight until Breaking Dawn came out, but now the Twilight obsession came back. Even if it goes away, I WILL finish this fanfic. You'll see an update... in a week or so? xD I'm still really busy with my summer. SORRY! But I WILL update writes a note to remind her to make update

To have something so joyous to be taken away just like that would've left me gasping for air, if I was human. But I haven't been human for a long time. Even so, that brief moment of happiness, of love, of ecstasy, was shattered when that disgusting stench of dog hit my nose. I gritted my teeth; of course those stupid dogs would ruin everything. But I couldn't think of that now. Right now, Bella, my family, everyone, was in danger.

A war was set, and the battles were going to be fought.

Bella sensed the sudden change in the atmosphere; her eyes looked inquiringly into mine.

"What's wrong?" Her voice was strained with worry as she studied my expression. I didn't respond; I was too busy calculating how fast the wolves would reach us. The scent blew from the South and was carried by the wind. Judging by the strength of the scent and the speed of the wind…

I mentally calculated the numbers together and they confirmed my worst fears.

In a flash I was on my feet; my hand gripped Bella's arm as I urgently pulled her upward. But I was met with resistance; she was pulling back. My frown deepened as I used more strength, but it was no use. She was still stronger than me.

I let out a light snarl of frustration. "Bella! There's no time! We need to get out of here!"

She shook her head stubbornly. "Not until you tell me what's going on." She said through clenched teeth, her eyebrows set.

I met her stubborn eyes with mine; I could see there was no changing her mind. In one breath I quickly explained the situation. I explained about the werewolves and the treaty we made and violated while another part of my mind was rapidly calculating the amount of time it would take to go back to the house and warn the others.

"You mean werewolves exist also?" She said after I finished, her tone incredulous. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath then opened her eyes again.

"So that's why it smells." She muttered, then quickly pulled me upward.

"Come on, there's no time to waste. Our family is in danger."

And with that the forest turned into a blur.

By the time we were within a hundred yards of the house, I knew something was wrong.

I ran even more urgently; my movements tinged with despair. The scent of dog here was even stronger. It overwhelmed me, making me gag with revulsion. But then my nose caught another scent mixed in with the dog smell.

This new smell was the smell of burning flesh. A smell that can only be emitted when a vampire was burned. My expression twisted in horror as comprehension came to me.

One of them, one of my family members, was dead.

My face felt as if it was literally carved from stone. Horror, pain, guilt, sadness, hatred, loathing, the thirst to rip one of those dogs' heads off mixed inside me threatening to burst. My insides twisted as the news finally sunk in. I was never going to see one of them again. I almost broke down right there, but then I remembered that Bella might not have been aware of the situation yet. I struggled with my composure to protect Bella and delay her grief. My face was an expressionless mask of apathy, but my insides were crying and wailing in grief. I knew that it showed through in my eyes.

Who was it? Who had… died?

Was it Alice? No, it couldn't have been. Jasper would never let anything happen to Alice, unless… it was Jasper. But Jasper was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. And it couldn't have been Emmett either. He was the strongest of us all, and he would've protected Rosalie with all his might. But…

My dead heart dropped with dread. What if it wasn't just one? What if it was two? Or three? Or… all of them?!

My thoughts raced along with my legs as I pushed myself harder; my grip on Bella's hand tightened. I didn't look into her eyes to see if she caught on yet, if she knew that one of them was dead.

I strained myself, listening for stray thoughts. Nothing. Nothing but silence except for the slight ruffle of tree leaves from the wind.

An opening of the forest was ahead. I picked up my pace, feeling Bella do the same. The light got closer and closer until we burst through the opening, suddenly flooded with images. As my eyes took in the damage, my breath stopped as my worst fears were confirmed.

The house, our home, the only safe haven we had, was destroyed. Splinters of wood lay discarded at my feet. The door was missing and huge chunks, the size of boulders, were torn from the house until it resembled something like swiss cheese. A brief glance through one of these huge gaping holes told me that the inside looked like a battlefield; with mounds of rubble everywhere. A cloud of ominous smoke filled with the stench of burning vampire hovered over the area, making my nose burn with a sense of loss and despair. I clenched my teeth; those dogs were going to pay for what they did to my family.

But it was completely silent from both sound and thoughts. The scene of the attack was deserted from both vampire and werewolf.

I head Bella gasp beside me. She broke away from me and drew in nearer toward the house, surveying the damage. Then she closed her eyes and put her hands to her face as a sign of defeat.

"The werewolves…" she murmured through her hands. Her voice was trembling as she continued. "They… they did all of this?"

She was shaking. In a few steps I was by her side, hugging her, trying to reassure her that everything was ok.

"Bella… please… its ok. We'll find the rest. I'm sure they're…" I hesitated, torn between comforting her or letting her know the true situation.

Suddenly Bella was out of my embrace, her eyes stern and tinged with grief.

"Don't lie to me Edward. I'm not the delicate human anymore that needs protecting. I'm a vampire, the same as you, and I'm a Cullen now."

I stared at her, and laughed. It was a weak laugh that sounded deflated, but it was still a laugh. I knew I shouldn't be laughing in this situation, but when she said that it just reminded me of how stubborn she was- and still is. And I remembered how much I missed that about her.

Bella narrowed her eyes. Immediately my laugh turned into a low murmur.

"You're right Bella. I'm sorry." I gently pressed my lips to her forehead, trying to relieve her tension. "But old habits die hard. No matter what you are, human or vampire, you're still my Bella, and I love you so much that I can't help but protect you. I just can't lose you again."

She twisted her head up to meet my lips and we kissed, one sweet moment of happiness in all the chaos.

"I love you too, Edward, and I will forever." She said; her lips still on mine.

And that one moment was enough to forget everything that ever happened, my leaving, her fall from grace, the death that happened just when everything seemed fine, and the war that was staged upon us.

But as soon as we broke apart, reality dragged as back down in the dismal abyss. Reality reminded us that nothing was right, that right now we were stuck smack in the middle of a battlefield and one of our own, or more, was already lost. That was enough to eclipse my optimism and sink me back into the black clouds.

But then I look at Bella, beautiful Bella, my Bella, my love. I look at the determined set of her eyes as she flashed a reassuring smile in my direction. I feel her hand in mine as I slowly took a deep breath.

And I'm ready to face it all.