Bella POV

I gasped when the vampires came into view, not because I was scared, but because of who they had with them.

"Master, I could only see the vampires! I did not realize they'd brought a human with them!" Demetri sounded horrified.

I recognized Gianna easily, remembering her human face through my dim human memories. With her was a vaguely familiar male vampire, and four female ones. I realized suddenly that the reason the male was familiar was not because we had met before; it was because he looked so similar to one whose face I was terribly accustomed to. Joham. He looked much like his son, but there was a hardness in his face that separated him from the soft, fickle Nahuel. In his arms was a struggling, terrified human girl whose face was covered mostly by his hands, but I still recognized her.

Angela Weber.

"Angela!" I cried. The body in Joham's arms went limp, perhaps out of relief that someone knew her name and referred to her by it. When Joham released his grip on her face and moved his hands down to her arms, I screamed wordlessly.

"Bella?" she croaked, her voice hoarse with amazement and fear. "What is happening? Are you a vampire, too? You look so diff--" Her words cut of abruptly as Joham thrust his hand over her mouth again.

Gianna began to speak as she slunk towards Aro. "Ah, Aro. I will take great pleasure in dismembering you myself. You thrust me into this life, made me unchanging so that my love for Nahuel can never be forgotten. You thought that I had no gifts, but I hope you can recognize how wrong you were. My gift is one of loyalty… Any one of these five nomads you see before you would tear you to bits on the spot, out of loyalty and love for me. How ironic that I learned to inspire love in other creatures, only after being scorned by this boy before me! As for the human girl, she is a testament to the faith you didn't have in me as well. I kept all of the records for the Volturi for two years as a human. Do you think I would forget where Bella," she spat the name with a foul bitterness, "was living when she came to us? In a town so small, it was a matter of supreme simplicity to snatch someone that Bella was bound to know. This girl was a teacher at the high school where she and Bella graduated. It was easy to pluck her from her classroom after the school emptied… sometimes diligence does not pay off, Angela," she said to the girl. "If you'd gone home when the rest of the faculty left, perhaps you would still be safe. As for you, " she said to Aro, snarling, "I've had enough of you." She lunged, but began writhing in midair, falling in torment to the ground.

I had no idea what was happening to Gianna, and I looked to Aro. My first, frenzied thoughts were of Jane, though I knew she had not accompanied them to Montana. When our eyes met, he eyed Alicia meaningfully and I looked at her. Her face was a mask of concentration, and I realized that her powers must be greater than we had realized.

Aro POV

Ah, I thought. Alicia. I looked to her, and saw pride and a dark sort of enjoyment on her face. The Cullens looked shocked, and I remembered that I had not told them of Alicia's gift. The four nomads leapt to her defense, only to find themselves paralyzed by the talent she had taken from Alec.

With the intruders struck still by Alicia's gift, Bella raced forward and plucked the now-screaming human from Joham's grasp. The girl, Angela, fell into Bella's arms and wept, and I motioned for Bella to bring her near to me. As the Cullens and the shape shifters then rushed Gianna and her followers, working together in the unequal groupings, rending the beings before them with a terrible screech, I whispered to Bella that she and her human friend were safe. She nodded and stood behind me, and I noted with grim satisfaction that Nahuel was gathering the pieces of his father, throwing them forcefully into a pile that he spit on before setting ablaze. Gianna still roiled in torment on the forest floor, and I stepped back from her, motioning towards Emmett. He grinned at me with a grim sort of satisfaction, and began slowly separating her limbs from her body, causing her as much pain as possible. When she was thrown onto the blaze, Alicia's face relaxed and the Cullens fell back into place with me. The whole thing had taken place so quickly that the Denali were still hanging back, awaiting a chance to come to aid when the smoke curling up to the heavens began to fade.

The girl in Bella's arms was shaking and on the edge of hysteria, having seen the heard the destruction though Bella had kept her eyes shielded from it.

"Bella," I spoke gently, trying not to alarm anyone, "I gather that you know this girl?"

Bella looked up from her attempts to comfort the shaken and emotional girl, nodding and biting her lower lip. "Yes, she was my best human friend in Forks. I know her."

"Then I truly regret what I have to remind you of. You know that there are no exceptions, young one. She must die, or she must be turned." Angela's sobbing stopped with an abrupt hiccup, and she looked up at me, her eyes wide with fear.

"You mean if I'm not… if they don't… if Bella doesn't make me a vampire, you're going to kill me?" Nodding at her observation, I allowed the news to sink in before I proceeded.

"Yes, Angela. You have quite a choice to make."

The girl didn't even pause before blurting, "I don't want to die!" She began sobbing again, and Bella pulled her in close, murmuring comforting nonsense into her hair.

Suddenly, a voice rang out above the others. "NOOOO!" It was one of the Quileutes whose name I'd not learned.

Bella POV

I would have thought that the stress of the day would be enough to shut Angela down, but she struggled in my arms. "I don't want to die!" she cried, and then fell back into my embrace, sobbing violently.

Before any of us had a chance to respond, I heard Embry's voice, sounding strangled and tortured, screaming out a passionate, "No!"

When I looked up at him and noted the slap-happy look on his face and the terror, I groaned audibly and released Angela, walking backwards until I could sense the steps of the porch behind me. I sank down on them, sitting with my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands.

"Well, isn't this just fucking perfect," I said, not even noticing my unintentional profanity. Everyone else must have decided to ignore it too, because not even Esme commented.

"Are you serious?!" Emmett thundered. "I can't take any more surprises today! If Mike Newton shows up here, I'm going to be pissed! Dude," he said, directing his surprise at Embry, "how have you never met her before?"

"I don't know," Embry gasped. "I just… haven't. Angela? Her name is Angela?"

Aro arched an eyebrow, and stepped towards Emmett with his hand outstretched. Emmett clasped Aro's hand firmly in his, and Aro's eyes widened. "Well, this changes everything," he said, releasing Emmett's hand and taking a step back. "However, she could always choose differently. Should she choose not to be with him, she would once again be forced to submit to the law. I am making a great concession for the other imprints as it is, because they are also bound to secrecy along with the shape shifters. Don't make me regret that," he said, menacingly.

"Don't worry," I said wearily. "I've never seen anyone who was able to resist 'that level of commitment,' as a good friend once put it. On the off chance that she does, I offer you my word that we will," I swallowed thickly before going on, "…take care of it."

"Bella, I must have this promise from a member of your family whose thoughts I can see." Alice danced lithely over to Aro, and stuck her hand out towards him.

"Déjà vu, huh?" she giggled, no doubt remembering the last time that she struck such a bargain.

"Indeed, Alice. I will expect to see a wedding announcement, an obituary, or a new addition to this family soon. Please, don't cause us to come down on the Cullens… I am so fond of you all." He chuckled, and turned to Carlisle.

Carlisle nodded, and shook Aro's hand as well.

Kate spoke up, trilling a laugh. "I must say, visits with the Cullens are always highly entertaining. And I thought this was a wasted trip," she giggled, taking Garrett's hand. "We didn't even have a chance to get our hands dirty," she sighed. The Cullens and the Quileutes laughed, slapping each other on the back and congratulating each other loudly, with the exception of Embry, who stood slack jawed and staring at Angela.

Aro POV

After quite a showing on the part of the Cullens, I agreed to leave them to sort out the business at hand for themselves. Turning to Carlisle, I spoke with amusement, but still a bit of warning. "Well, now that this distasteful business is completed, I think that I shall return to Italy. I regret that I have not had the chance to sample the local cuisine," I chuckled, "but there is always next time." Carlisle shook my hand, patting me on the shoulder as he did so.

"You are always welcome here, Aro. You don't have to wait for something of this nature." I nodded at him, and realized that my old friend's distrust was beginning to waver. Slowly, I was earning my way back into his good graces, which I had sought to do for centuries.

Bella POV

The battle with Gianna and her coven could barely be referred to as such; it was finished so quickly that Renesmee was still in the house when the smoke cleared.

Aro left, taking Nahuel, Alicia, and Demetri with him, but not before I had the chance to have a conversation with Alicia. I found that I genuinely liked her; she was tough and immeasurably talented, but there was a fierce loyalty that would keep her from ever seeking to displace Aro as the head of the Volturi. I suppose that loyalty was what kept her alive, knowing that he would be able to see the slightest wavering in her allegiance to him with a single touch.

"I wanted to be a part of this life before I even had proof that it existed. My resemblance to Sulpicia was all that kept me from becoming food for this lot," she said, gesturing towards Aro with an affectionate smile. "I'm happy with what and who I am now. Nahuel has changed much for me, as well. He sat with me through my transformation, and I think that strengthened my feelings for him. It's like we share something quantifiable that I don't share with anyone else."

"Yes, I understand that," I said, thinking of Emmett's strong arms holding me close to him during that terrible time that I spent burning on a table. "It does change things, somehow."

****

Life went back to normal quickly after that. We moved back to La Push, where Renesmee promptly moved into the Clearwater's house with Seth. Leah had recently moved out of it with Brandon, and Sue wanted to stay in Charlie's house.

Alice went wild with plans for a wedding, one more elaborate than mine and Edward's, even. Angela was mostly bewildered by everything, but madly in love with Embry. It took them almost no time to set a date, and she was two months pregnant when she walked down the ornately festooned aisle.

She explained to me before the wedding why she was at the school late the night that Gianna found her, and I shuddered to hear her story. It reminded me so much of my own black depression when Edward left me that it hurt to hear.

"Ben and I had broken up," she said, no hint of regret in her voice. "I was so devastated, I couldn't even begin to deal with it. I didn't speak unless it was necessary, didn't eat very often… I was sort of like a zombie, I guess. I threw myself into work and ignored everything else. One night I was there late, grading papers, and this man came in through the open window. Before I could blink, he had me out the window and in a car, heading towards you. Of course, I didn't know that at the time. He explained to me that they were vampires, and that someone I knew was responsible for my kidnapping. I was terrified," she shuddered then, and continued. "When I saw you there, I was dumbfounded. You look amazing, but you're so different! Anyway, I would have loved Embry without all of this, but I have to say, I'm grateful things turned out the way they did. It might have been years before we met, if I hadn't been snatched up by crazed vampires." She laughed as she finished her sentence, and there was no trace of the brokenness she spoke of left in her eyes. She had found a mate in Embry as sure as I had found one in Emmett, or Renesmee and Seth had found in each other.

She had taken remarkably well to the revelation that Embry had imprinted, and the explanation of what that entailed. Perhaps her earlier encounter with the supernatural had prepared her, because she took to life as a wolf girl with finesse. She and Emily hid out a lot in Emily's kitchen, and the whole slew of Quileutes and Cullens built them a small log cabin to begin their life in, on the edge of the secret Cullen land on the reservation. The rest of the tribe still didn't know the secret, and the elders had elected to keep quiet in light of the Volturi's knowledge. Carlisle continued to treat the wolves and the Elders, which proved to be a full time job in and of itself. As far as I knew, he never regretted his decision to stay on as their personal physician, but he did work nights at the hospital in Seattle as well.

He delivered Embry and Angela's baby girl, Samantha. The pack and the Cullens were all crammed into the living room of their little cabin, because Angela had insisted on a home birth. When Embry presented his daughter to us, tears streamed down his face that he made no attempt to hide. As Renesmee held her close, Seth beamed with pride, and I wondered how long it would be until they decided to get married themselves.

Our lives were happy, and largely uneventful, as far as these things go. They were filled with the little events that make up a normal life; births, deaths, weddings… We said goodbye to Sue Clearwater on a stormy August night, and Renesmee comforted Seth as Leah and Brandon made funeral arrangements. The Cullens stayed away from the funeral home, save for Renesmee, who clung to Seth like a barnacle. Old Quil Ateara passed not long after, and the tribal council was suddenly made up mostly of a younger generation. The constant presence of vampires in the area caused a new generation of wolves, as well, and Sam was happy to take all of them under his wing, so to speak. He began to carefully plot out a way to explain the lack of aging to the tribe, but no one seemed to question it much. If there was gossip, it never reached our ears. Perhaps the tribe had partially believed in the legends all along.