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Valeria was the first to hear the wolves coming, knowing that half the coven was missing and they were vulnerable to an attack with Bella going into labor — and now dead. And now that Edward had seen Renesmee — held her in his arms — he knew he couldn't let them harm her.
"Alice! Jasper!" he shouted before kissing Bella's cold forehead shakily. "You're gonna be alright."
Then Valeria and Edward met Alice and Jasper outside of the house, all watching as the wolves broke through the treeline. At seeing the large, black wolf that she loved so much, Valeria looked away sadly, knowing what was coming. She was being made to choose between her mate and her family, and it made her feel like she was being torn in two.
"We're outnumbered," Jasper noted.
"By a lot," Alice added.
"I won't let them hurt my family," Edward declared.
Sam was the first to charge, going right for Edward, who threw him back easily. Alice and Jasper jumped into the fight as well, but Valeria stayed put, watching with frantic eyes as all the people she cared about fought each other. It was easy to notice none of the wolves going for her — they'd been ordered to leave her alone, of course. And Valeria couldn't bring herself to attack them when she knew they couldn't defend themselves against her because she was an Imprint.
Instead, she kept her eyes on Sam, who was still targeting Edward. Her brother was on his back, Sam's teeth bared and ready to rip his head off. Valeria sucked in a deep breath and quickly tackled him off, not using near as much strength as she had even when half-starved. The pair rolled in the dirt, and before he realized who she was, Sam's claws dug into her face, three long cracks appearing in her skin.
Sam's blood ran cold when he heard her scream, and they came to a sudden stop, him pinning her to the ground. He was frozen above her, watching as the cracks slowly began to heal on her otherwise perfect skin. It was the closest he'd been to her in weeks, and he'd fucking hurt her.
Valeria could see the anguish in his eyes and shook her head, knowing that she didn't blame him for a second as the stinging feeling faded out. "I'm fine," she whispered. "But I can't let you kill my brother."
Thinking that she was being attacked and not recognizing him in his wolf form, it was Emmett who appeared and tackled Sam off of Valeria, knocking him into a tree so hard that the wood splintered and pierced his skin.
"Sam!" Valeria shouted, shoving Emmett back and rushing to her mate.
The chaos of the fight only got worse. Valeria kept trying to pull wolves off of her family. Sam was torn between protecting her and trying to fulfill his role and kill Edward for what he'd done. Seth and Leah were forced to fight against their fellow shifters. And all too soon, the outnumbered and weak vampires were being backed into a corner.
