Snow lightly fell from a soft grey sky, transforming the forest around the Cullens' home into a breathtaking winter wonderland. Chilly winds playfully swept through the branches, scattering fallen pine needles across the white ground; they crunched under our boots as Jacob, Bella and I took Renesmee on a walk, Bella desperate to give her daughter some kind of normal childhood by letting her play in the snow.

"It'll be good for her to learn how to be human," Bella explained to Edward earlier in the morning shortly after we arrived. "We want her to blend in, right?"

There wasn't much argument from Edward to begin with; I could tell by the amused smirk he flashed at his wife that he was only thinking of her and how she felt about the cold when she announced the walk in the first place. The little chuckle under his breath let me know that I was right.

"Hey Nessie, let's build a snowman!" Jacob exclaimed as we entered a small meadow. "This is the perfect snow for it!"

Bella shook her head as they raced ahead a few feet, smiling at the squeals of laughter radiating from her child. She turned to look at me just as Jacob began rolling the first ball of snow for the base.

"This is what you get to look forward to, you know." Bella grinned. "All this excitement about building snowmen and being in the holiday spirit."

I grinned back at her as I placed a hand on my growing stomach. I wasn't showing a baby bump just yet, but there definitely was a noticeable amount of weight gain compared to two months ago; my favorite jeans were a testimony to that.

"He's so good with Casey too," I admitted, watching my fiancé scoop more snow in his hands for Renesmee to add onto the snowman. "Those two are practically inseparable when we hang out with Chloe and Leah."

"That's a good thing... at least he'll be comfortable handling a child. Edward was really out of his comfort zone after Renesmee was born, wasn't he?" Bella laughed.

"He's gotten a lot better at fatherhood though." I chuckled along with her.

"Aunt Autumn!" Renesmee ran towards us, leaving Jacob to finish the snowman as she let out a squeal of delight. "Will you make it snow for me?"

"Of course, Nessie." I wrinkled my nose playfully at her before leading her a few feet away from her mom.

Focusing on the wind around me, I wiggled my fingers, and seconds later, tiny snowflakes fluttered around us; the motion of the flakes made me think of a snow globe being shaken, causing my mind to flood with memories of Grandma giving me a Nutcracker snow globe for Christmas when I was ten years old. I was obsessed with the play since I was a little girl, and Grandma made sure to take me to see it every Christmas before we moved to Forks.

Shaking my head to bring myself back to reality, I watched in amusement as Renesmee jumped up to catch a falling snowflake in her hand, Bella and Jacob both watching with bemused expressions. Just as Renesmee's feet touched the ground, a snarl reached the meadow, causing Bella's head to snap towards the mountains.

"Irina!" She exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise and concern for her cousin-in-law. "Jacob, stay with Renesmee!"

In the blink of an eye, Bella was gone, leaving the three of us standing in the meadow in confusion.

"What was that about?" Jacob raised an eyebrow questioningly at me, his eyes shifting to scan the treeline.

"I have no idea..." my voice trailed off as Bella burst through the trees, her expression crestfallen.

"She's gone... I couldn't reach her." She sighed. "We should head back to the house, let Edward and Carlisle know in case she came here for a reason."

"I have a weird feeling about this," I whispered to Bella as we started to walk back to the Cullens' house.

"I do too. Especially if she saw Jacob..." The hint of concern in her voice was enough to let me know Bella was genuinely nervous; I reached over and squeezed her hand gently as if to reassure her that we would be okay.

Even if it felt like something bad was coming, and we had no idea what it was.

As soon as we got back to the house, Bella darted inside to find her husband, letting Renesmee stay with Jacob and I in the foyer. Jacob bent down to help Renesmee untie her snow boots, keeping the atmosphere light for the young girl by telling her a story from his childhood about building a giant snow fort. I barely registered his voice as I drifted to the living room, reading the space as Bella finished telling them about Irina in the mountains. Carlisle was off to the side of the room, separate from his family as he held his phone to his ear.

"Thanks, Tanya... we'll let you know if we hear from her." Carlisle said softly into the phone before ending the call. He pinched the bridge of his nose as his eyebrows furrowed together in slight frustration; a complete human move that wasn't necessary for a vampire, but nonetheless a clear sign of stress.

"Tanya confirmed that Irina was on her way to make amends with Edward and Bella, for her behavior at the wedding." He spoke a few short moments later, returning to the group in the living room. "That's why she was here."

"We have to go find her." Bella stepped forward from Edward's side, shaking his arm away from her waist. "She was angry at the sight of Jacob, but she completely freaked out when her eyes landed on Renesmee."

"Think about how that would've looked like to her..." Esme murmured to Carlisle who grimaced, earning a confused look from Bella and I.

"What would Irina have against Renesmee?" I asked curiously, glancing at the small child lingering at the piano a few feet away with Edward.

"Irina and her sisters... lost their mother years ago, long before we existed." Carlisle spoke softly, wrapping his arm around Esme. "Sasha had turned a three-year-old boy into a vampire, and thus created an immortal child. Irina, Kate, and Tanya had no idea the child existed until he burned down an entire village. The Volturi stepped in that night, destroyed their mother for breaking the law and proceeded to destroy the child as he posed a threat to our existence. They spared Tanya, Kate, and Irina because they didn't know about their mother's crimes."

"That's awful..." I murmured, my hearting breaking for the Denali sisters.

"So, Irina mistook Renesmee for an immortal child?" Jacob asked, looking to Carlisle for clarification; he nodded in response. "Can we go find her and explain that she's not?"

"She's probably on her way back to Alaska. Tanya said they would call if she came home... we'll figure it out then." Carlisle sighed. "In the meantime, who needs to go hunting?"

The room slowly melted into a relaxed atmosphere as the Cullens discussed hunting trips while Edward softly began playing the piano, teaching Renesmee a slightly different version of her mother's lullaby. Jacob helped me over to the couch, ignoring my quiet protests of not needing help just yet. Despite the words dying on my lips as he lowered me into the cushions, I shot him a grateful smile to which he grinned back.

"How are you feeling today?" He asked softly, taking a seat beside me.

"I'm okay." I absentmindedly patted the small bump barely sticking out. "Still in shock that I'm pregnant."

"Me too." Jacob laughed, his eyes warming as he placed his hand over mine. "Should we start thinking of baby names? Or wait until closer to your due date?"

"You want to pick out names with me?"

"Well, yeah... I- "

Jacob's words were cut off by glass connecting with the hardwood floor, its shattering melody sending involuntary shivers down my spine. Everyone stilled as we realized Alice had dropped a vase of roses, her eyes unfocused; a clear indication of a vision taking over. Jasper reached her in seconds, wrapping his arms around her carefully as if not to break her.

"Alice, what is it?" Rosalie urged, concern for her sister passing through her gaze.

Edward's snarl resonated through the room as his head snapped up from the piano, his eyes locked on Alice as she came back to us. Together, they spoke as if looking at their reflection in a mirror.

"The Volturi is coming... for Renesmee."

"Like hell they are!" Emmett hissed, moving closer to Rosalie.

"For once, I agree." Jacob replied darkly, sharing a nod with Emmett.

"Wait a minute..." Esme held her hands up in surrender, trying to dissuade any violence. "Alice, what exactly did you see?"

"Irina told the Volturi we've created an immortal child... Aro saw her thoughts, and they're coming here to take care of the problem." Alice said grimly, resting against Jasper.

"How long do we have?" Carlisle murmured to her.

"There was snow on the ground... after Christmas? New Year's Eve?" Alice shook her head.

"New Year's Eve..." Edward chuckled darkly. "Start the new year with a bit of dramatic chaos. Definitely sounds like Aro to me."

"So, what do we do?" I asked loud enough to draw attention to me from the couch. "How do we stop them from coming?"

"We can't..." Carlisle responded. "I mean, we could potentially see if there's ever been an example of Renesmee in our history, and see if there was any danger from a hybrid."

"What about asking our friends to be witnesses? Would that stop the Volturi?" Esme chimed in.

"It might make them listen... but I don't want to put our friends in danger defending us."

"You know they won't see it like that. They'll help us."

A moment of silence passed between the couple, a sense of understanding and urgency flitting in the unspoken. Carlisle let out a sigh and the moment evaporated.

"Okay, we gather as many friends as we can to witness and information about hybrids following any potential leads." He turned to the Cullens, who all nodded in agreement. "Edward and Bella can start with the Denali clan in Alaska, take Renesmee with you. Esme and I will go to Europe, Rosalie and Emmett to South America..."

"We'll start with our friends Peter and Charlotte," Alice spoke up, squeezing Jasper's hand reassuringly. "They'll come... even if it's just to see you."

"How can I help?" I asked, ignoring the surprised look on Jacob's face. "Is there anything I can do?"

"That's not necessary, Autumn..." Bella shook her head.

"There has to be something." I cut her off, shifting my gaze to Carlisle. "You said the Volturi knew Giuliana... do you think I could use that to our advantage?"

"Possibly..." Carlisle murmured thoughtfully as the sound of my phone chiming interrupted the tense atmosphere. "We'll discuss that later."

I nodded before pressing "answer" on the phone, bringing it to my ear fast enough to hear Casey's squeals of laughter in the background.

"Hello?"

"Hey Leaf!" Chloe's voice was bright and cheerful, an instant heartwarming sound. "Can I steal you away from the Cullens for a couple of hours today? I miss you... and Jacob, I suppose."

The playful teasing in her tone caused me to giggle, earning a raised eyebrow from the man himself.

"Of course! We'll be right over, Peaches. Where are you?"

"At Sue's house. Oh, hold on a second..." Chloe said and I could imagine her putting her hand over the speaker as someone spoke to her. Almost fifteen seconds passed before she came back on the line. "Actually... Can you meet us at Emily's?"

"Sure. See you in fifteen?"

"See you then... bye, love you!"

With a click, Chloe was gone. Shaking my head in amusement, I slid the phone back into the pocket of my cardigan and motioned for Jacob to help me up.

"Chloe wants us to meet her at Emily's," I explained as he pulled me to my feet, making sure I was steady before letting go of my hand. "She didn't say why."

"You'll let us know if anything changes or you need anything?" Jacob directed at Edward who nodded.

"Go, enjoy some normal humanly time with Chloe." Bella walked over to hug me. "You've done more than enough for us the last couple of months... you deserve a break from vampire crazy."

"My life will never be normal." I laughed with her, leaning over slightly to kiss the top of Renesmee's head as she came to her mother. "But I'm okay with that."

"We'll be back later." Jacob chuckled as he followed me to the door. "You know Autumn will be more worried if we don't."

As soon as we reached Jacob's car, the Cullens had disappeared from the living room window, already setting their plan into motion. I lingered outside the car door for a moment, torn between leaving and staying to help.

"Autumn..." Jacob called softly from the other side of the car. "They're going to be okay without you for a couple of hours. It's not your battle to fight here. You have to live your life outside of the Cullens."

"I know... you're right." I sighed. "Okay, okay. Let's go."

Jacob smiled reassuringly as I slid into the passenger seat and pulled the seatbelt across my body. Turning the key to start the engine, Jacob slowly pulled out of the driveway and headed back to La Push, the forest blurring into green blobs around us.