And then we were across the road, moving through the forest that ringed the Cullen's house. I left my mind open hoping Edward could hear.

We were less than a mile out now, in range, hopefully.

Then we broke through the trees into the big lawn. The house was dark, but not empty. Edward stood on the porch between Emmett and Jasper. They were snow white in the pale light.

"Alex? Seth? What's going on?"

I slowed slightly; Seth panted quietly beside me. His nostrils flaring, as he acclimated himself to the smells that surrounded us. His head darted around though as if he were afraid of an attack, which to be fair could happen any minute.

To answer Edward's question, I let my mind run over the confrontation with Sam, moving through it backward. Seth thought with me, filling in the gaps, showing the scene from another angle. We stopped when we got to the part about the "abomination," because Edward hissed furiously and leaped off the porch.

"They want to kill Bella. Rosalie?" he snarled flatly. Emmett and Jasper, not having heard the first part of the conversation, took his inflectionless question for a statement. They were right next to him in a flash, teeth exposed as they looked into the woods

"Em, Jazz. The pack is coming."

"What's their problem?" Emmett demanded.

"The same one as mine," Edward hissed. "But they have their own plan to handle it. Get the others. Call Carlisle! He, Esme and Rosalie have to get back here now."

I whined uneasily; my tail tucked between my legs. They were separated, Rose was out there. Jacob wouldn't hesitate to hurt her, he never liked her. As far as he was concerned I was mingling with the enemy, and was not good enough to be in the pack. I knew Sam felt like I was a conflict of interest.

"They aren't far," Edward said in the same dead voice as before.

'I'm going to go take a look' Seth said. 'Run the western perimeter.'

"Will you be in danger, Seth?" Edward asked. Seth and I exchanged a glance.

'Don't think so,' we thought together. And then I added, 'Sam doesn't want to hurt one of us, just what he perceives as a danger and Seth's just a kid, he'll try to convince him to stand down.'

'I'm outta here. You need to coordinate with the Cullens.' He wheeled and darted into the darkness.

Edward and I stood facing each other in the dark meadow. I could hear Emmett muttering into his phone. Jasper was watching the place where Seth had vanished into the woods. Alice appeared on the porch and then, after staring at me with anxious eyes for a long moment, she flitted to Jasper's side. I guess Lucia was still inside with Bella.

"This isn't the first time I've owed you my gratitude, Alex," Edward whispered.

'are they okay?'

"Rose she's a weak but capable, Bella she..." he trailed off.

I whined 'I'm sorry. This must seem so unfair to you. I'll do what I can to help.'

"you're kind has perfected the need to mate with those who are different species... mine have not"

That didn't make me feel better, I wish there was a way to keep both Bella and the baby safe. I knew if we did anything to the baby Bella would be angry, but it we let it go too long then we'd risk losing both. I didn't want that, I wanted Bella to be around, I wanted her to be happy...

"Alex, would you mind switching forms?" Alice asked. "I want to know what's going on."

I shook my head at the same time Edward answered.

"She needs to stay linked to Seth."

"Well, then would you be so kind as to tell me what's happening?"

He explained in clipped, emotionless sentences. "The pack thinks Bella and Rosalie have become a problem. They foresee potential danger from the... from what they're carrying. They feel it's their duty to remove that danger. Alex and Seth disbanded from the pack to warn us. The rest are planning to attack tonight."

Alice hissed, staring out into the woods. Emmett and Jasper exchanged a glance, and then their eyes ranged across the trees.

'Nobody out here,' Seth reported. 'All's quiet on the western front.'

'They may go around.'

'I'll make a loop.'

"They're on their way," Emmett said. "Twenty minutes, tops."

"We should take up a defensive position," Jasper said.

Edward nodded. "Let's get inside."

'I'll run perimeter with Seth. If I get too far for you to hear my head, listen for my howl. I'll try to stay linked with you'

"I will. Thank you Alex"

They backed into the house, eyes flickering everywhere. Before they were inside, I turned and ran toward the west.

'I'm still not finding much,' Seth told me.

'I'll take half the circle. Move fast—we don't want them to have a chance to sneak past us. And watch for Rosalie' Seth lurched forward in a sudden burst of speed.

We ran in silence, and the minutes passed. I listened to the noises around him, double-checking his judgment.

'Hey—something coming up fast!' he warned me after fifteen minutes of silence.

'On my way!'

'Hold your position—I don't think it's the pack. It sounds different.'

'Seth—' But he caught the approaching scent on the breeze, and I read it in his mind. I knew that scent, but fear consumed me, what if it wasn't who I thought it was. 'Vampire. Bet it's Carlisle.'

'Seth, fall back. It might be someone else.'

'No, it's them. I recognize the scent. Linen and mint... and wildberries. Hold up, I'm going to phase to explain it to them.'

'Seth, be careful'

Anxiously, I raced along the western border. Wouldn't it be just peachy if I couldn't take care of Seth for one freaking night? What if something happened to him on my watch? Another Vampire? A friend of the Cullen's that hated our kind. Leah would shred me into kibble. At least he kept it short. It wasn't two minutes later when I felt him in my head again.

'Yep, Carlisle, Esme and Rosalie. Boy, were they surprised to see me! They're probably inside by now. Carlisle said thanks.'

'thank god. Nothing out here'

'I don't think Sam will try tonight'

'Yeah, we broke the element of surprise.'

I made the turn at the end of my patrol. I caught Seth's scent where he'd turned last. We weren't leaving any gaps. When I got to the meadow, I could see Edward staring out of a dark window. I ran in, wanting to be sure he got the message.

'there's nothing out here.'

He nodded once. Then he looked over his shoulder, back into the house, and I saw a shudder run through his whole frame. He waved me away without looking in my direction again and then moved out of my view.

'What's going on?'

I sat very still in the meadow and listened. With these ears, I could hear almost everything, Seth's soft footfalls, miles out into the forest, the leaves being moved by the wind.

It was easy to hear every sound inside the dark house.

"Alex and Seth don't think Sam will attack now," Edward said mechanically. "Not with us forewarned, and lacking two members of the pack."

No one spoke. There was a quiet dripping sound that I couldn't place. I heard their low breathing—and I could separate Bella's from the rest. It was harsher, labored. It hitched and broke in strange rhythms.

I could hear her heart. It seemed... too fast. I paced it against my own heartbeat, but I wasn't sure if that was any measure. It wasn't like I was normal.

I smelled the air, searching for the familiar scent that would put me at ease. Wildberriessoon encompassed me, and I was able to tell she was in the living room with the others, next to Bella.

I relaxed slightly knowing my mate was safe.

I paced quietly in front of the house. Each pass brought me a little closer. The dark windows were like a TV set running in some dull waiting room—it was impossible to keep my eyes off them for long.

I could see up through the windows—see the top of the walls and the ceiling, the unlit chandelier that hung there. I was tall enough that all I would have to do was stretch my neck a little... and maybe one paw up on the edge of the porch....

I peeked into the big, open front room with one paw on the porch, expecting to see something very similar to the scene this afternoon. But it had changed so much that I was confused at first.

For a second I thought I'd gotten the wrong room.

The glass wall was gone—it looked like metal now. And the furniture was all dragged out of the way, with Bella curled up awkwardly on a narrow bed in the center of the open space. Not a normal bed—one with rails like in a hospital.

Also like a hospital were the monitors strapped to her body, the tubes stuck into her skin. The lights on the monitors flashed, but there was no sound. The dripping noise was from the IV plugged into her arm—some fluid that was thick and white, not clear.

She choked a little in her uneasy sleep, Edward, Lucia, and Rosalie moved to hover over her. Rosalie was stopped when she let out a small whimper before Emmett helped her sit back down.

I couldn't help the whine that left my throat as I saw her.

Bella's body jerked, and she whimpered. Lucia smoothed her hand across Bella's forehead. Edward's body stiffened—his back was to me, but his expression must have been something to see, because Emmett wrenched himself between them before there was time to blink.

He held his hands up to Edward. "Not tonight, Edward. We've got other things to worry about."

Edward turned away from them, and he was the burning man again. I looked back at Rosalie, she looked okay. Edward eyes met mine for one moment, and then I dropped back to all fours running back into the dark forest, to join Seth.

I had to find a way to keep them alive... All of them.