03 | light, rosalie hale

16.

"I AM INSANELY EXHAUSTED NOW," Elexia said to Rosalie, who was sitting in the driver's seat, driving Elexia home to Austin's house. "The party alone was tiring, but then Alice's vision and the wolves showing up? I'm going to have to sleep for two days straight to make up for that."

Rosalie chuckled, shaking her head in delighted amusement. "I'm tired, too, which should technically be impossible for an immortal, sleepless being."

Elexia smiled sarcastically. " Great . The universe found a way to make a damn vampire tired!"

Another chuckle left Rosalie as she reached over to place her hand on Elexia's thigh in a loving gesture. "Well, at least it's over. You can sleep now."

As tired as she was, Elexia had to acknowledge the sense of relief in her body now. With the Quileutes offering help in the battle against the newborn army, she didn't feel that constant anxiousness gnawing at her gut like she had for the past few weeks. Sure, she was still nervous, but knowing the Cullens had help now, she felt more confident about the situation. Their odds had just gone up a lot , seeing as the newborns would have no clue about the wolves, and therefore, have no way of knowing how to defend against them. That, paired with the Cullens with special abilities, gave them a great advantage.

Alice was a lot more chipper now that the wolves would be on their side, and while Jasper wasn't happy to be working with his natural enemies, he, too, was calmer. Due to his past, newborns—understandably—made him very on edge and agitated. Esme, with her usual motherliness, was grateful her family had help in their fight now. Emmett was still excited—that didn't change—seeing as he always loved a good fight, as did Amethyst. Jacob's proposal had the whole Cullen family in good spirits again. Stress and anticipation had become such a normal feeling for the Cullens for weeks now that the calm was beyond relieving. There was no longer uncertainty, they were all confident—even celebratory.

Bella didn't share those feelings as everyone else did. Seeing as she was the reason for this newborn army, she felt immense guilt that her closest friends were all putting their lives on the line for her. The Cullens alone fighting was overwhelming to her, but now that even more loved ones would be joining, it became too much for her. Elexia felt incredibly empathetic to her; she couldn't imagine how Bella must have felt, having all of this weighing on her conscience. She was just a teenager, only eighteen.

Even Elexia had to admit that the wolves fighting alongside the Cullens was unnerving. While she knew that the Quileutes were quite literally made to destroy vampires, it was just strange, knowing they were all so young. All of them, besides Sam, were younger than her—a strange thought, seeing as they would be putting their lives on the line. They were immature still, just boys.

"Wait," Elexia gasped, having just remembered something. "Tonight you have to go meet your family and the wolves. I have to come."

"No, baby," Rosalie shook her head. "You don't. You need to rest."

"I'll rest now. Just wake me up when we have to go. The second we come back, I'll go back to sleep," Elexia suggested, eager and anxious to attend the instruction.

Rosalie sighed, looking at Elexia for a long moment. But she didn't argue. After some time, she finally gave a singular nod. She knew better than to try and keep Elexia away when all she wanted was to make sure everyone was okay.

They pulled up in front of Austin's house, parking in front. Together, they got out of the car and opened the door as quietly as possible to not wake Austin and Gaia up. As soon as they were in Elexia's room, the human went to sleep the moment she laid down, getting as much shut-eye as she could until it was time to go. Gaia was sleeping soundly in her crib.