CH21: IVEE

Alice's POV
Five long agonizing hours, 25,000 feet in the air. I kept on fidgeting, trying to focus on Ivee and where she could be. All that I got were flashes of trees she ran past and a deer that she caught and drank from being so worn out from fleeing.
I was glad on one thing: that she chose to be vegetarian on her own.
What I didn't understand was how she escaped from her father. Or how she knew about us and where we were. The last I saw of her was standing amongst a tree with a huge trunk covering. She decided to rest for a while and then start running again as soon as she regained her strength.
I sighed in relief. Edward's features eased, too. This way, it would be easier to find her, now that she was stable.
After about an hour the plane finally landed and we were literally sitting on the edges of our seats. As far as I knew, Ivee was still sleeping but it took all of my might to not break down the emergency exit and make a head start.
"Alice, don't do anything rash. She's safe now, sleeping. We'll find her in no time," Edward reassured me.
I smiled meekly, silently thanking him for his words of comfort.
We began exiting the plane about 5 minutes after our little exchange and we walked, a little faster than human speed and found Kate and Garett quickly.
"Kate, Garrett, thank you for accompanying us in search for Jasper and Alice's daughter," Carlisle greeted them with extended hands.
"Anything for family, Carlisle," she gestured with her gaze resting on each one of us.
"Let's get going. With all of us searching, we're sure to find her within an hour or 2, maybe less. Tanya, Carmen, and Eleazar are scouting Anchorage and other local places not too far away," Garrett mentioned already making his way through the crowds. Poor Jasper must've been struggling with his scorching thirst being surrounded by all these humans, obviously here for Alaska's annual summer scenes which was fast approaching. I took hold of his hand, lacing it with mine and ran ahead. Everyone followed soon after and we made our way to the forest.
Within 30 minutes of roaming, trying to catch Ivee's scent, I had a vision. And my worst fear came to life. Her father found her and was practically dragging her along the forest floor because of her resistance. He was actually contemplating whether or not to steal one of the boats secured along the harbor and tie her up to the railing, pulling her back to Fairbanks through the water!
I panicked. We were losing time. I ran faster, desperately seeking any whiff unfamiliar to me, hoping it could be Ivee's scent or her father's.
Edward, Bella and Jasper didn't stray far away from me. We were well into the border of Anchorage and like an answered prayer, Jasper came to me, reporting a scent he found. We followed his lead and sure enough the scent became stronger. A little more searching, closer to the coast of the forest where the water was visible, and I saw her fiery red locks. As we were nearing her father, something stopped him short.
It was Tanya, blocking his path. Soon, Emmett and the rest caught up with us, emerging from the deepest parts of the forest.
At first, he wasn't aware that he was being ambushed.
"Tanya, what a pleasant surprise," he said sarcastically, sneering. So this guy knew Tanya.
"Jesse, hand over the girl or we'll attack you," she warned with acid, this encounter unpleasant to her as well.
"Humph," he grunted, "everyone seems to want this stupid kid."
Jasper and I couldn't hold back our hisses, and we were joined by Edward and Bella. Jesse turned around at the sounds.
"What the?" He said his eyes bulging out. "What're they doin' here?"
"We're here to get my daughter," I seethed out.
Ivee's head turned at my statement. Her eyes were full of longing. His grip tightened on her arms.
"Ow! Stop hurting me!" she yelped.
Jasper couldn't contain himself. He ran full speed towards Jesse. Tanya snatched Ivee away just in time. Jesse and Jasper were throwing punches and teeth were snapping. Edward and Emmett followed quickly. Jesse was in trapped in Jasper's arms, a few seconds away from getting his head ripped off.
"Wait!" I shouted. I wanted him to get a piece of my mind before he permanently left this Earth.
"How can you treat a sweet, innocent little girl like a stubborn horse? She's your daughter for God's sake! She's not safe or happy with you and we're NOT going to allow you to send her to Italy."
"Aro will find you! He has that Felix guy and he'll find you in a heartbeat. Aro will know that you took her and he'll kill you," he spit out.
I huffed. He probably hasn't heard of us.
"I would love to see the Volturi try. He wouldn't dare kill us. We're not even supposed to know why he wants Ivee. From this moment on, she's MINE. With us she'll be loved and protected," I said.
He glared at me for a good while and then he directed profanities to Tanya.
"This is all your fault, you bitch! I never wanted this life! Look what you've done!"
Tanya shook her head incredulously. "Jesse, Jesse, Jesse. Always blaming someone else for your unhappiness. I bit you because I saw potential. You and I could've been really happy together, but you never let me explain. You just took off and went on the wrong path. Ivee doesn't deserve the anger to put out on her. You don't like this life? Well, too bad because this is the only life you have. And then you go and make another life, a life that you never intended to be responsible for. Now, do you see what you've done?"
His jaws locked and unlocked as he processed her rant.
"I don't get why you guys want her so much. She's useless; she never does anything I tell her to do. She even used her power against me. That's the only reason why she escaped from me. Stupid, girl," he muttered. And that was all it took. I ran to him and finished his head. Jasper and Emmett took the rest of his body apart and Rosalie tossed the lighter on his chunks.
Ivee clung tightly to Tanya, her eyes completely sealed shut. She was even whimpering a little.
"Hush now baby girl. He's gone and you'll never be treated like that again. Ever," I soothed. She looked up, sniffled, and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.
"Are you really my mom?" she whispered, looking up at me as Tanya placed her on the ground.
"No, but from this moment and until forever, I am," I said, lowering myself so that I was at her eye level.
"You have no idea how long I've waited for you, Ivee," I breathed.
She began crying but crushed herself to me. I hugged her tight, never wanting to let go. It wasn't long until Jasper's arms were around us as well.
"Are you my new daddy?" she asked innocently with her big blue hazel eyes.
He chuckled and answered: "Yes, I am and your new name is Ivee Jade Cullen."
Her whole face lit up. "I've never had a last name," she replied excitedly.
"What was your first name?" I asked, wondering what awful name Jesse came up with.
She frowned at the mention of her terrible father. "He just called me 'Red' because of my hair."
Jasper and I exchanged an exasperated look.
"Hey Jasper, Alice. You wanna introduce us to you daughter?" Emmett called as everyone began approaching us.
Ivee's hand was glued to mine while I spoke.
"Ivee, honey, this is your family now. You're grandfather, Carlisle and these are your aunts and uncles: Emmett and Rosalie, Edward and Bella, Kate and Garrett and Tanya."
Carmen and Eleazar joined us not long after all the introductions.
Ay, Dios mio! You've found her! Thank goodness!" Again, we were hugged and kissed. I was eager to get on the plane back home but we had one little problem.
"She has no passport. We won't be able to get her one in such late notice," Carlisle said, his hand rubbing his chin.
"We'll run. I'll carry Ivee on my back if I have to," Jasper answered.
"Oh, don't be ridiculous. We have more than enough room for all of you in our home. Perhaps Carlisle and the rest would want to leave ahead and get the documents needed and come back," Eleazar offerd.
"Thank you so much for your generosity. It all depends on our new little member of the family now," Carlisle answered. We all looked to Ivee for a response. All she did was tug on my shirt to bring my ear to her lips.
"Let's stay here for a little bit. Please mommy?" she asked with her adorable, tiny chime-like voice. Who could say no to that?
I nodded without any hesitation and then we were off in our separate ways.
Carlisle and the rest would go back to Forks by plane while Jasper, Ivee, and I would stay with the Denali's. We were expected to stay for at least a week in Alaska and I would take advantage of that time to spend it with my wonderful husband and newly adopted duaghter that was now all mine, forever and ever.