So I don't own Twilight which is really a blessing because we all know how indecisive I can be, and could just imagine how many different edits there would have been if I had written this book. I am loyal to no pairing in Twilight there is no OTP for me. Bella with pretty much any female has the possibility to be OTP for me.

Side Note: I realize I've been gone for a minute and I'm sorry about that. I originally planned to sit down and write a few chapters while I was on break, but I swear if it wasn't one thing it was another. I went back to my childhood home and turns out we didn't have internet. Nobody bothered to tell me that shit ahead of time. Then when we finally did get internet my computer crashed. Then while one friend was getting married the others new husband got into a car accident and died. You would think they could make it easy for me, but no! I'm supposed to be there for both of them and they live 7 hours away! On top of that I had a kidney infection and my mom was sick. 'Twas not a Merry Christmas in my house, but we made it through thankfully! My laptop is back in working order (for now) and I should hopefully be getting another soon. So for all of y'all who have been leaving reviews, PMing me, emailing me and hitting me up on kik (if you have it). I've been listening I swear. I have a new beta and everything I'm gonna try to be on it. I'm not gonna lie though I've be working on some new stuff as well so that's been a bit of a distraction, but I'm back and I'm gonna focus as much as I can. I promise I'm not just gonna disappear again for 3+ years without telling y'all something.

Side Note 2: Thank you my wonderful beta, Imouto's Madhouse! You've been a life saver when my muse has left me out in the cold without an ounce of inspiration. Being able to bitch and moan about it is more helpful than you realize.

Also I know I was really mean to Seth in the last chapter, but eventually we'll get around to that again. Not in this chapter, but eventually. One day…...some day….over the rainbow. Okay focus! Right, okay so this chapter is the showdown! Are you ready?! Let's get on with the story!

Rosalie's P.O.V.

We're all gathered in the living room anxiously waiting for Emmett and Carlisle to return from wherever they both ran off to earlier. I can tell by how Bella is constantly shifting around that she's having the same bad feeling that I am. Based on how nobody would tell us the plan we could only assume the worst. Naturally we both began to create our own conclusions and none of them ended well.

To make matters worse, we knew that Emmett was supposed to be meeting Seth around this time. I had hoped that he would be able to find a way to keep Seth out of this, but honestly, I doubt that he was able too. By the way that Bella keeps shifting around as though she's fighting the urge to get us and pace I think it's safe to assume her mind has managed to draw the same conclusion.

We all stand up when Carlisle and Emmett walk through the door, both with an extremely guilty look upon their face. My heart drops to my stomach when I see red flakes in Carlisle's eyes. What the hell did they do?

"Emmett, please tell me my mind is just assuming the worst? Please tell me you and Carlisle didn't do what I think you did?" Bella practically pleads as she looks between Carlisle and Emmett who both suddenly find the ground rather interesting. All they've managed to do is confirm our worst fears. "Why?!" Bella cries, tears coming to her eyes. I can see that she's truly upset over the fact that Seth was unknowingly dragged into this.

"I'm so sorry Bella. It was the only thing I could think of on such short notice. Please, I know you're upset with me and you have every right to be, but I need you to trust me right now. When this is all over I promise I explain everything to you and Seth, okay? Just please… stick with me a little while longer." Emmett sighs heavily, clearly emotionally exhausted from whatever transpired between him and Seth earlier.

"We do trust you, Emmett. I think everybody is just stressed out right now, and not knowing the plan has given Bella and I time to make our own worst-case scenarios. As you can imagine, none of them exactly ended in our favor." I say quickly, trying to defuse the situation before Bella says anything she might regret. I step closer to her and wrap my arms around her waist, feeling her begin to relax into me.

I rest my head on her shoulder feeling her relax further into me as all of the previous anger she felt towards Emmett ebbs away for now. "I know you're upset about Seth, but please realize that Emmett did not make this decision lightly. He just wants to protect you, my love. I certainly cannot fault him for that." I whisper in her ear softly, ignoring the fact that the rest of the family is standing around listening to our conversation.

"Well I can! I'm not worth all of this! Why does Emmett have to sacrifice his own happiness for me? That's not fair to him or Seth!" Bella shouts in anger, catching all of us off guard. The rest of the family isn't used to her showing this much emotion in front of them.

At this point tears begin to stream down her face, effectively breaking my heart with each tear that falls. I absolutely hate seeing her upset. I wish I could say something, but at this point I doubt anything I could say would fix this. Instead I just wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her as close as I possibly can.

"I'm sorry you feel as though I'm being unfair Bella, but what's really unfair is that you have to live in constant fear of these bastards trying to come after you. What's not fair is that you can't even leave the house without some of us following you just in case they try something. What's really not fair is that the man I have spent the past few decades supposedly in love with is the one who lead them right to you because he's a vindictive asshole." Emmett's voice booms as he becomes more upset with each sentence spoken.

"I never asked for you to protect me! Nobody has bothered to before so really why start now?! I wanted to die, but Rosalie wouldn't let me. Sometimes I still wish she had it would save all of you a lot of trouble." I couldn't fight back the vicious grow that tears out of my throat at her harsh words.

"You're damn right I wasn't going to let you die. I swear if I didn't know better I would think you were being this dense and stubborn on purpose. You keep trying to ignore the fact that you're my mate because in your head you believe that you're not worthy of being loved." My eyes begin to sting with sorrowful tears that will never fall. At this point the anger I felt begins to fade away and is quickly replaced with pain.

I look in Jasper's direction and nod slightly as I feel him trying to replace my pain with calming waves, but they do little to actually improve my mood. I look back at Bella and see her staring at the ground clearly trying to avoid looking at me.

"Bella, I realize this is something you are having a difficult time understanding right now, but now isn't the time to explain. Just know that every single person standing in this room loves you Bella, and they will do whatever it takes to protect you. You are our family, and family doesn't need a reason to protect each other." Carlisle says in a gentle fatherly tone that does little to calm Bella down.

"I just don't want any of you to get hurt because of me." Bella cries as she wraps her arms around my neck. Her tears begin to wet my shoulder as she begins to tremble. I wish there was a way for me to take all of her pain away, but I realize that no matter how much I want to I can't, especially since I don't know everything that she's currently dealing with in her own mind.

"Bella, please just trust that we know what we're doing, okay? This will be all over soon and you can finally relax and heal like you deserve." Emmett says with venomous tears filling his eyes.

Bella pulls back enough to look Emmett in the eyes. I can see that they're having a silent conversation with their eyes. I try not to interrupt as I gently wipe the tears from Bella's face as they "talk".

A few moments later I hear Bella release a deep sigh as she slowly nods her head a few times before closing her eyes and resting her head on my shoulder again. I look over at Emmett and see him looking down at the ground as though he's avoiding looking at the rest of us.

"Okay," she says softly from her resting place on my shoulder. I don't exactly know what she's saying okay too, but I've decided that for the time being I should remain silent. I just run my fingers through her hair trying to provide Bella with as much comfort as I possibly can in this situation.

"Okay, now that that's all settled for the time being, we have a lot of work to do and little time to do it. Now that the plan is in motion there's no going back. Emmett, the pack should be here soon and they will probably know the plan by now, so tell Bella and Rosalie their part so we can get started." Carlisle says, taking control of the situation.

"Since I don't have time to explain the whole plan to the both of you I just need you both to trust me for a little while longer and know that we're going to try our best to finish everything as quickly as possible." I look at Bella in surprise when I hear her growl softly, but I also feel her reluctantly nod her head.

"We will follow whatever plan you have in place for a little while longer Emmet, but just know that you are currently on thin ice." I say, practically voicing Bella's thoughts. I think Bella's mostly upset because she's the one who set up the meeting between Emmett and Seth and it backfired. I see him nod somewhat remorsefully.

"Rosalie, Bella, I need you both to go out the back door. Make sure you're far enough away to stay out of the fight, but close enough that we can get to you if something were to happen. This fight will be the perfect cover for James and his crew if all goes according to plan. The rest of you put your contacts in now. We need to move fast." Emmett says in a voice low enough that the pack and any others that may be close by wouldn't be able to hear him.

Again, Bella and I nod silently as we separate slightly. I reach down and lace our fingers together before I start leading Bella towards the back door. Before we can leave, Bella turns to face the family and looks Emmett directly in the eyes again. "If anything happens to any of you because of me I will never forgive myself, or you Emmett." Bella says in a cold tone I don't think I've ever heard her use.

This time everybody nods silently as we walk out of the house, closing the door behind us soundly. We walk hand in hand slowly for a little while until I believe we are a safe enough distance away as Emmett requested.

I look over and see that Bella has a faraway look in her eyes that concerns me greatly. I wish all of this would be over already so she can begin to heal like she needs too. Constantly having this form of stress looming over her isn't doing her any favors, especially since she sometimes wishes I would allow her to die. She and I need to have a serious talk about that when this is all over.

In the distance we can hear the first signs of the fight beginning. I see Bella flinch when she hears the thunderous collision's, naturally assuming the worst. I gently drop her hand and instead wrap my arms around her waist pulling her as close as possible.

"I know this is hard for you, but please know that everything will work out. I have faith in our family, my love." I feel Bella rest her hand over mine as she again nods silently. I can tell she's in an emotional state that she doesn't know how to handle. I just hope that I'm right in this instance because I really can't afford to be wrong.

James' P.O.V.

I lead our small group closer to the house that has sheltered my pet for the past few months. I feel the excitement of the pending fight beginning to bubble up in my stomach. It's been ages since I've seen a fight between vampires and shifters. It's a shame I won't be able to participate this time around, but alas I'm here with a specific target in mind. I can't allow for such pleasurable distractions to get in my way just yet. Maybe next time though.

As we come to a stop close by the house I hear Victoria's nagging voice behind me. "James, I really don't think this is a good idea." Victoria says as she moves to stand beside me. I swear I'm beyond fed up with her constantly trying to stand between me and what's mine. Honestly, I think she's just jealous that I pay more attention to my pet than I do her.

"I really think that you should shut the fuck up, Victoria. I have already spent months waiting for the perfect opportunity re-claim what's mine and I refuse to allow this one to pass us by. Eddie boy already said that with the fight going on we'd have the perfect coverage to grab kitten and leave." I see Edward flinch out of the corner of my eye when I begin to think about the long-awaited reunion of me and my pet. She and I are going to have so much fun together, and then our game can begin again.

"Technically I never said that there wouldn't be risks involved going into this. You just simply choose to ignore that and do what you want. That seems to be your usual plan of action after all." Edward says with a slight hiss which I return immediately.

"What's life without a little risk? Maybe that's what your problem is Eddie boy. You're so busy being a bitch and playing house that you fail to fully experience what the really life of a vampire has to offer you." I see him flinch again because deep down he knows I'm right. Honestly, he's pathetic. I can't wait until we can finally get him out of our hair because I'm literally seconds away from killing his at any moment. I bet if I burned his ashes they would smell like fucking fruity candy that children love.

"Clearly you're not willing to listen to reason, James." Victoria says with a hiss of her own that's really starting to get on my nerves. "Since you insist on risking your life to go get the cat I'm going to just wait here for you because I actually value my life." She says as she moves to lean on a tree to wait. I swear she does shit like this just to piss me the fuck off. I should kill her along with Eddie boy. Who would really miss them?

"You know Victoria if you weren't such a hot piece of ass every now and again I would kill you. You're certainly more trouble than you're worth sometimes." I growl as I begin to walk away. "I'm assuming you would like to stay behind as well?" I ask Edward already knowing the answer.

"This is currently not my fight. I agreed to help you gain access to Bella and that's what I have done. The rest is up to you." I roll my eyes at how annoying he is. I don't know how his "family" put up with his ass for all this time. I would have killed him ages ago.

"Whatever bitch boy," I scoff as I turn to address Laurent knowing that he will surely have my back. "Let's get closer Laurent; I don't want her trying to escape before we can make our move." I say as I take off closer towards the house. I make sure we stay downwind so they don't know we're here just yet.

As Laurent and I stand in the shadows he begins to shift around uncomfortably for a few moments before he finally says what's on his mind. "James, doesn't this seem almost as though it's a little bit too easy? Surely they would be guarding our kitten better than this?" Laurent says getting on my nerves. I hate when he tries to offer me his unwanted advice. We were in agreement an hour ago and now he wants to back out?

"What's wrong, Laurent? Afraid of a little confrontation? I don't remember you being afraid while we were playing cat and mouse. You sure didn't complain when we would win either." I say with dark smile as I remember all the wonderful times I could make our kitten scream in pain before we would start all over again.

"James, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying we should err on the side of caution. We're not only trying to steal her away from a family of vampires, but also from a pack of wolves who both seem to really want her." I clench my hands in frustration. Everybody was fucking fine when getting our prize back was hypothetical, but now when it's game time suddenly everybody has doubts? Seriously?!

"You know if you would shut up and just do what I said this would go a lot faster." I hiss as my eyes begin to blacken. If I didn't need Laurent's help to retrieve my prize I swear I would kill him too. He's always been the weakest link when things don't go the way we planned.

Laurent hisses back but miraculously manages to keep his mouth shut as we creep closer to our prize and the blonde who's supposed to be guarding her. Honestly the fact that they're only having one person guarding her is both glorious and insulting. I was hoping for more of a challenge.

I wait for the first sound of thunder signifying that the fight has officially begun. I take that as my cue to finally go in to retrieve our kitty cat and get out of here as fast as possible. As much as I love a challenge I know I can't go up against both vampires and shapeshifters. The only shifter I'm interested in is my pussycat.

I wait a few minutes, just observing the blonde bitch trying to comfort my pet. When I see blondie wrap her arms around kitten's waist I realize I've seen enough and decide to make my presence known. "Well don't you two look so adorable together. It almost wakes my dead heart." I see kitten try to back away with a fear in her eyes that truly brings joy to my heart. I'm glad she hasn't forgotten about me already.

"Who the fuck are you and what do you want?" Blondie asks as she pulls kitten behind her and slightly crouches down as though she's going to attack me. I crouch down as well getting ready for an easy fight.

"Well I'm here for her, of course. I'm sure you've heard about me by now. I've been a very important figure in my dear kittens' life for the past 3 years now." I smile wider when I hear a pitiful whimper escape from my prizes mouth as she continues to stare at me in horror.

"James," she whispers as she wraps her arms around her waist as though that's going to protect her from me. Surely she knows by now nothing is going to stand between me and my game.

"Long time no see, pussycat, I was afraid you had forgotten about me." I say with a fake pout as I listen to the fight happening around us, still in full swing, providing me and Laurent with the perfect cover.

I see the moment that who I am fully registers with the blonde and if possible, her eyes become even blacker. "I'm going to kill you." She says with a deadly growl that does little to frighten me.

"Not if I kill you first," I hiss back as I see Laurent begin to emerge from the bushes behind me. At that moment I lunge at her, ready to end this as fast and efficiently as possible. This was almost too easy… almost….

Okay so I know I left it as a cliffhanger of sorts, but my semester for school has started and I didn't feel right updating one story and leaving y'all hanging on this one. I have a beta now so I'm sure she'll stay in top of me to make sure I don't leave y'all hanging too long. Maybe…..I don't know we'll see.