The Hunted

Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry folks, I was taking a nap and lost track of time. I'm a 3rd shifter, so my afternoons are my nights, and my nights are my mornings. Anyway, I've decided that my posting schedule is going to be more along the lines of late Friday nights/early Saturday mornings. I'll my best to get them up on Friday nights, but it might not always be possible. Anyway, I want to thank you all for your reviews! I'm an epic fail at responding but please know that they are read and appreciated. Big thanks to my betas, Gigi Scott and gatorgrl91, for their amazing help.

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The laptop that had been in my lap began to fall to the floor at Alice's words, but Edward quickly caught it.

"Victoria's coming, and she's not alone," Alice told us, her face screwed up in concentration.

"Volturi?" Carlisle asked, and Alice shook her head.

"No. She's bringing a few newborns who apparently escaped during our attack. They made their way back to her. She is beyond furious at us, and she's made the decision to burn the house down with us in it."

"The hell she will," I snarled. I'd find a way to shield the entire house if it came down to it.

"When will she be here?" Esme asked Alice as Jasper sent a wave of calm throughout the room.

"In two days. They'll come in through the woods, most likely, throw gasoline on the house, and then torch the it."

"We'll be ready for them," Carlisle said. "Bella, you're going to have to do your best to shield as many of us as you can."

I nodded. I knew I was going to be spending the next forty-eight hours practicing on splitting my shield, but I was ready. I refused to lose a member of my family to pyscho bitch.

Once we'd all settled down after Alice's news, I found myself feeling a bit relieved that we now had a time frame. It had been scarier not knowing when Victoria was going to strike, but now that we knew, we could prepare for battle against her. The bitch was fucking going down. I'd make sure of it.

Looking around the living room, I took it all in. Rose was painting her nails, Emmett was watching some crime show and muttering softly to himself, and Jasper and Edward were talking quietly while Alice flipped through the pages of a magazine. As we sat there, I slid my shield over Edward and focused on splitting it and shielding Jasper who was sitting on the floor near Alice. Immediately, his head came up, and he gave me a smile. I smiled back before returning my focus to splitting my shield. I attempted to slide my shield over to include Alice. It waivered for a moment before settling over her. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Closing my eyes and praying it worked, I attempted to slide my shield over Carlisle as well. My shield wrapped around him for a second before bouncing back, and I let out a growl since it hadn’t worked.

"What’s wrong, baby?" Edward asked.

"Nothing."

He raised an eyebrow at me, and I let out a sigh. "I'm working on splitting my shield. I figured I might as well practice while we sit around and watch TV. I was able to get you, Jasper, and Alice under my shield, but when I attempted to put Carlisle under it, my shield snapped back. So right now, three is my max, and that doesn't include me."

"You have to make sure you're covered, Bella. That's extremely important," Carlisle said from nearby. I nodded, knowing he was right. It wouldn't do anyone any good if I got caught. If I went, so did my shield, leaving everyone vulnerable.

For the next two days, no matter what we were doing, I was practicing with my shield. I had gotten to the point where I could shield five people at a time, including myself. It was better than nothing, but I still wasn't satisfied. Then, Edward told me that he would need to be able to hear what Victoria and the two newborns with her were thinking, and he couldn't be under my shield in order to do that.