Absolución teaser from chapter 11

Carlisle's eyes were apologetic and sad, but he smiled and brought Bella's fingers to his lips, kissing them as he reached out to cup her cheek in his hand.

"You always surprise me," he said, his voice breaking. He looked around at his family. "All of you. Each one of you..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "So remarkable, so full of love." He looked at Rosalie, then Emmett. "Fiercely loyal, and so compassionate." His eyes wandered around the room to Alice, Jasper and Edward. "So bright, strong, determined."

"You gave us that," Esme whispered, leaning over her husband's chair.

Carlisle shook his head. "No, you were always like this. All of you."

"You nurtured those things in us," Rosalie said unexpectedly. "You made it... safe for us to be those things," she added quiet and uncomfortable, but wanting him to know the truth.

Emmett beamed up at his wife, rising to stand with her and pulled her into his arms.

Surprise and gratitude colored Carlisle's face. As he gazed at Rose, it all melted into affection. He looked back at the gentle fingers still caught in his own, and looked up at Bella's expectant face.

"We have a friend to help," he said simply, and Bella's face broke into a warm smile.

Absolución teaser from chapter 10

Alice took a long slow breath as if it caused great exertion. "This is how it starts," Alice whispered back.

"How what starts?" Bella asked before remembering what Alice had said about happiness and worry going hand in hand. She had said that when you're happy, your only worry was losing that happiness. Bella stroked Alice's hair and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you," Alice said.

"I love you, too, Alice," Bella told her and squeezed her tighter, before asking again, "Please tell me what you see."

"The Romanians will be here in less than an hour," Alice whispered. "They're going to tell us what they know about Rolle, and then Carlisle will decide that it isn't safe for anyone if Rolle stays with the Volturi so he'll go to Italy."

Bella tried to understand the worry behind Alice's vision, but could not find it. "Why is that bad?"

Alice started to shake in Bella's arms. "I don't see him coming home," she breathed, her voice filled with fear.

Fictionators Review

This week, The Fictionators posted a special "AU Edition" of the "Fictionator Friday" to give a nod to the sparkly vamps from AUs which may have their basis in books we already know well, but are anything but predictable.

I'm very honored to post that Absolución was included in the list of reviewed stories courtesy of a submission by LolaShoes.

Click here to look over the various AU stories that were reviewed.

Absolución teaser from chapter 9

Edward.

Bella's voice in his mind reached him as if she were standing next to him. Midnight! In a blink of an eye he was standing in their bedroom door. The sight that greeted him stunned him into immobility.

Bella was standing at the window looking out at the dark yard. Only the light on the bedside table was on. Her hair fell over her bare shoulders in waves. Her eyes met his in the reflection of the window. She had prepared for him, prepared for their time together. She was nude.

He took a deep breath to sigh. Instead, he was destroyed by her scent as he breathed in. He could taste her on the air. Edward tensed, fighting to control himself. The tether that always connected them snapped taught, vibrating between them.

Bella felt it, too. Arcs of static raced between them. Even through the reflection of the dark glass of their bedroom window she could see Edward's eyes turn black. She could not look away from them to see if her own eyes were the same, but assumed they were by judging the change in his demeanor. He reached up with one hand and tugged at his shirt, pulling the top fastener free with a pop as if it were held by a snap and not a small black button. There was tiny pinging sound as the button flew across the room and hit the mirror above their dresser.

The Indies Twific Awards

Thank you to everyone who nominated Absolución in the Indies for "Canon or AU story that knocks you off your feet" (WIP). The story was posted on the final validated list of stories.

I can't think of anything to say. I'm speechless. I'm blown away by this honor.