Annora |E. Cullen|

TWENTY-ONE

I sat up in Emmett's bedroom with a book in my hand and only the lamp light on. I read over lines that I had committed to memory several years before, but I still enjoyed reading them. The moon was full that night. I smelt the overwhelming stench of a wolf in the house and giggled to myself at the fictional connection between the two.

A knock on the door caused my gaze to go from my book upwards. Emmett walked in and closed the door behind him. I smiled, "Hey, you don't have to knock. It is your room after all."

He smiled back at me and sat next to me in bed. "What are you reading?" He questioned.

"1984," I replied and closed the book.

"How many times have you read it?" He laughed lightly.

"Around six," I smiled and turned to face him while draping my legs over his. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," he placed his hand on my knee.

"How are you feeling? Not just right now, but over the past few weeks."

He took a moment to answer, "Why do you ask?"

"Because, love, you've been giving small tells that you've been down, or at least contemplating something."

He sighed, "We haven't... talked."

"What do you mean?" I raised my brow in confusion.

"I mean, what's next? It's hard for me to explain this without sounding absolutely ridiculous, so bear with me. I know I'm old, I know I've lived almost a century's time. I'm wondering, however, what follows this? We've been together for a little over two years, and while that may not seem like a long time comparatively speaking, I just want to know what you're thinking.

"I know you're always thinking, I mean about moving forward. Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? What is it you wish for?" He questioned.

"I know I joke about not having emotions, and for the most part, I don't understand them. However, this is a circumstance that makes me feel anxious. You see, if I say something and you don't feel the same way, I can always outwardly act as though it doesn't bother me, but I'll be beating myself up over it internally for ages," I explained.

"Remember the first time we had a conversation similar to this?" He asked.

"Two years and three hundred and forty-six days ago."

"And what did I say?"

"You grabbed my hand and asked me to simply say how I felt."

He took my hand gently in his and looked into my once-blue eyes, "Annora, please, let me know how you truly feel."

I took a deep breath and allowed myself to relax. "I wish to be with you for as long as you will have me."

"I want the same thing," he smiled.

"Wonderful," I grinned and climbed up on his lap. I kissed his jawline gently and lifted his shirt above his head and off of his body. Nearly like clockwork, we both heard footsteps advancing toward the room.

"Every time," Emmett groaned as someone knocked on the door.

"What is it?" I called.

"Important family meeting," Jasper kept his voice low and stern; concerning to the both of us.

We stood up and composed ourselves before making our way out of the room, down the stairs, and into the second family room to conduct whatever conversation was necessary. As I walked closer to the room, the smell I had come across earlier grew stronger. I placed my hand over my nose and mouth which caused a booming laugh to emit from Emmett.

"It's not funny," I whined, "they smell absolutely awful."

"I know, darling," he led me to join the circle. "What's going on?"

"I had a vision," Alice started, "A pack of newborns were passing around Bella's clothing."

"I noticed it was missing a few days ago, I assumed Alice had moved it when she searched for my things when I slept over," Bella admitted.

"So what is the next step?" I asked, mustering up enough courage to contribute to the conversation.

"We need to go to them," Carlisle started, "They're harbouring up in Seattle, they're what's behind the attacks."

"There's no use, they're coming here," Alice mumbled.

"Wait, what?" Bella sounded fearful.

Her comments seemed to go unnoticed, "We'll help," one of the wolves offered.

"What? Jake! No!" Bella huffed.

"I'm sure I could get Sam to agree," Jake told Carlisle.

"It would be helpful, they're newborns, they wouldn't know about wolves," Carlisle nodded.

"Jake! You don't know what you're getting yourself into, you could be killed!"

"I can make my own choices, Bella," Jake spat.

"We will need to train, we need to learn how to work together. Jasper has past experiences with their type, he could help us," Carlisle explained. "Annora is our tactician, so to say. Once she is briefed on the matter, she will be able to contrive a plan that will follow the most logical route."

"Which one is Annora?" One of the wolves asked.

"Over here," I waved.

"You're new," Jacob growled.

"Did I offend you?" I asked.

"They broke the treaty by creating you," he glared.

"They didn't do anything. This was something unrelated. I just happened to know them before and after the transition, they aren't at fault for anything," I explained. "Don't jump to conclusions, you're far too impulsive."

"He's also sixteen," Edward mumbled.

"There is no excuse," I stated.

"Fine, we can meet up at an area adjacent to the national park, far enough away from people and open enough to truly practice," Jake returned to the main topic of conversation.

"Perfect," Carlisle smiled, but it was all too fearful underneath.