Bella's Little Sister

Chapter 61

The next morning was when everything began to pick up pace. Carlisle and Esme were packing up for their trip to London. Rosalie and Emmett were also packing, though I was unsure as to where they were headed. Jacob, as well, had packed some things, but I also did know where he was planning on going.

"Alice asked me to give you that," Sam had arrived at the house before we left with a note from Alice in his hand. Carlisle was currently reading what she had written, though from where I stood next to Edward on the back porch, I was unable to see what it said. "She and Jasper crossed our lands to the ocean last night." Sam stated.

"Carlisle?" Esme questioned, her eyes trained on him.

"They've left us," was all Carlisle responded with at first.

"Why?" Rosalie wondered, her expression one of utter confusion.

"She didn't say," Carlisle answered, turning his gaze to the note in his hands again.

I stepped forward, my expression blank and my tone lifeless. "Can I see that?" I unfolded the note-which I realized was written on a title page from a book that had been in the living room of our cottage-before reading Alice's elegant cursive.

Gather as many witnesses as you can before the snow sticks to the ground. That's when they'll come.

While the instructions Alice had given us were clear, there was still one question that remained. Why would she and Jasper leave at the moment we needed them the most? I had a strong suspicion that they knew something, but I was unable to focus on that now. We all left to go our separate ways in order to gather the witnesses.

Edward drove us north-Jacob had insisted on tagging along, much to my obvious annoyance-to our closest relatives: the Denali's. As he stepped from the car to speak with them, I watched their reactions.

Tanya was the first to speak. "Edward, is everything alright? Why didn't you tell us that you were coming?"

Then it was Carmen. "Is it Irina? Have you heard from her?"

"Not directly," Edward responded.

Eleazar spoke up next. "Why is your bride waiting in the car?"

Finally, Kate joined in. "And why have you brought a wolf with you? I can smell him from here."

"My family is in danger," Edward started. "I need your help." When Carmen questioned him on what had happened, he only shook his head. "It's hard to explain, but I need you to be open-minded. Can you do that?"

"Of course." Tanya agreed to his words.

Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I turned around in my seat to face Renesmee. "Okay, time to meet some new people."

Renesmee had not voiced her thoughts about why I had stopped showing my emotions or why my tone was always flat and lifeless, but I knew that she was definitely concerned about it. I was certain that she suspected that it had to do with what was currently happening-despite the fact that no one had explained it to her-though she did not question us on that either. That being said, Renesmee voiced a different concern. "What if they don't like me?"

"They'll love you," Jacob cut in before I could respond.

I briefly turned my attention to him before looking back at my daughter. "They will. Once they understand you."

Jacob continued. "They just haven't met anyone like you before."

Giving him another glance as Renesmee nodded, I spoke again. "Okay."

We stepped from the car, my posture tense and protective as I moved quickly around the car to stand close to my daughter. As the Denali's reacted, I stopped beside the hood of the car, my eyes taking in their every move as I listened to their words.