Disclaimer: I own nothing! All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: Bella goes to meet James at the Ballet Studio, but things don't turn out quite the same. Journey with Bella as she deals with the aftermath and deal with her conflicting feelings.
Twilight AU; pairing Bella/ James Rated M
A/N: OOC. WILL UPDATE ALL STORIES THIS WEEK! SORRY FOR THE DELAY, COMPUTER/INTERNET PROBLEMS!
Warnings: violence, lemons, language, rape, non-sexual spankings. Dominant/Possessive James
A Tracker and Shield
Chapter 3
Edward POV
"How in the hell did you two loose her?!"
I snarled out at my so called brother and sister.
I can't believe that they lost…LOST my very human, very vulnerable mate in this city. Granted, she knows her way around here, better than we do in fact, as she used to live here, but that is not the point right now.
The point is, there is a monster, a human drinker, after her now.
"I am so sorry, Edward. I did not see her going to meet him until it was too late. She had already given Jazz the slip in the bathroom. Now I can't see anything concerning her at all."
My future seeing sister Alice sobbed out.
I knew that I should not be mad at them and that I should not be taking my anger and frustrations out on them, as it is not their faults, but I couldn't help it. My mate has gone to meet up with a psychotic killer and I am not there to protect her.
We are on our way now to her last known location.
The place that Alice saw in her last vision of my Bella.
The Ballet Studio.
"Edward, son, you need to calm down and focus. Playing the blame game is not going to help anyone in this situation. Especially when it is unwarranted. This could have happened to any one of us. Bella can be very sneaky when she wants to be and James is a master manipulator."
Carlisle said to me in his ever present calm demeanor.
"I know, Carlisle! I just want my mate back in my arms where she belongs!"
I snapped at him, earning a slap to the back of my head, that I did not even see coming, from Emmett.
Most people don't know this, but Emmett does not tolerate any of us disrespecting Carlisle or Esme. You would think it would be Jasper, the Southern boy, that would not tolerate that, but it is not.
Rosalie has gotten many beatings from Emmett for her disrespect towards one or both of our parents.
He would just hit the rest of us, but as he is Rose's mate as well, he beats her when she disrespects them.
And because of her personality and her loathing toward Carlisle for changing her, she gets spanked almost every day.
She gets a severe beating at least once a week.
"Ouch Emmett!"
I yelled out at him as we drove the last miles on the highway before our turn off according to Alice.
"Watch your tone then."
He replied calmly, the exact opposite of his excited thoughts and him practically bouncing in his seat. He is itching for a fight.
"The turn is coming up next, Carlisle."
Alice stated from her perch on Jasper's lap in the back seat.
Carlisle took the exit indicated by Alice and drove as fast as he dared to the ballet studio.
The closer that we got, the more dread I was starting to feel.
"We will find her, Edward."
Jasper stated as he felt my dread and anxiety building and sent out a dose of calm.
"I hope so, Jasper. The closer that we get to the Studio, the more intense this dreaded feeling gets."
I said, trying to stay calm.
'Oh! I hope that no one was in that building!'
'It is too hot, we need to pull back!'
"There is a fire somewhere close by you all. I am picking up thoughts that they are going to have to pull back due to the extreme heat."
I tell the others.
"We might have to go in on foot then, if the street is going to be blocked off. Do you know what building is on fire, Edward?"
Carlisle asked me.
'Thank God they were closed for Spring Break! My daughter goes to that Studio!'
"NOOOO! It's the studio, Carlisle!"
I screamed, startling the others.
'My mate! Please God; don't let my mate be dead!'
I thought to myself, sobbing.
Carlisle pulled over, as we could now see the raging inferno and could go no further with the car. We all piled out of the car and discretely made our way towards the building to hear any news and see if we could pick up their scents.
"Everybody, stay calm and don't blow our secret. Let us move closer and see what is going on. Edward, you listen into their thoughts and see if they have found anything. Jasper, I need you to see if you can feel anything in the building. I know that it is a long shot, but maybe she is hiding somewhere and needs rescuing. Alice, I need you to try and see Bella or James. Emmett, you will come with me and we will see if we can find any clues as to what went on here."
Carlisle ordered us and we all got into gear and did what we were told.
I found the Fire Chief talking to some Detectives and listened into their thoughts and their conversations.
'I really hope that no one was in that building. Right now it is too hot for us to get in there to check and we will not be able to until we can get this fire under control.' ~Fire Chief
"When we get the fire down and under control, it might still be a while before we can actually get in there to check on bodies or the cause."
The Fire Chief voiced his thoughts to the detectives.
"Well, I called the owners and they said that no one was supposed to be here, but that is no guarantee that no one wasn't here."
One detective stated as they all looked up at the burning building, which may or may not have my mate inside of it.
'Edward, I am not getting any kind of emotions from inside of the building.'
Jasper thought to me as he headed towards where I was standing.
I knew that it was a long shot anyway.
'I can't see anything concerning Bella or James. I doubt that James would kill himself, so how is it that he can block himself from me all of a sudden? Does he know about my gift?'
Alice thought to herself, getting more and more frustrated at her lack of visions.
'Nothing to find so far. It is too hot to get too close to the building to find anything useful.'
Carlisle thought to himself.
'Belly-Boo, where are you? I smell your scent and your blood. Oh no!'
Emmett thought to himself and I started to panic when he stated that he smelt her blood. That meant that my mate was hurt!
But with Bella being Bella, that could mean anything, as she is extremely clumsy.
It could just be a cut on her hand or something.
'Yes! It is just a cut Edward! She is fine. She is alive!'
I thought to myself, trying not to go into a full blown panic attack.
I grabbed the others and we made our way towards the back of the building where Emmett was.
I immediately smelt the delicious aroma of my mate's blood as well and I really started to panic.
It smelt like more than a few drops that it would be for a simple cut on the hand.
It smelt like pools of blood, it was that strong in the air, even with the fire and smoke and other smells.
"Let's not jump to conclusions now."
Carlisle said soothingly to me.
I just looked at him like he was crazy.
Did he not smell all of the blood around here?
"I know, son. It smells like a lot of blood and it is most defiantly Bella's blood. I just meant that we should not jump to conclusions that she is dead, son. Jasper, you know Bella's emotional signature now, I need for you to go into the woods there a little ways and send out your gift. Maybe she got out and is in there, hurt somewhere."
Carlisle said.
Jasper took off walking and when he reached the edge of the small patch of forest, just inside the tree line away from the prying eyes of the surrounding humans, he took off at top speed.
"Do you really think that is possible, Carlisle? That she could be in the woods, just injured?"
Emmett asked while he kept looking around for any clues.
"Emmett, in the short amount of time that I have known Isabella, I have learned to always expect the unexpected when it came to her."
Carlisle intoned as we waited for Jasper to come back and for the firefighters to get the fire under control and we could look around the rubble.
About ten minutes later, Jasper came back towards us looking grave.
NOO!
He felt my tumultuous emotions and sent out a blast of calm.
"Her scent is in fact there in the woods, along with James' scent and spots of blood here and there. There is a road on the other side of these woods and that is where all of the scents and traces just stop. I am assuming that he had a car waiting. This could be good news…"
He stated, but I interrupted him.
"How in the hell is that good news?!"
I screamed at him.
How could he say that about my mate?
"Edward"
Carlisle warned me.
"I meant that it was good news as we now know that she was NOT in there…in the fire."
He said and pointed to the burning building behind us.
"It means that even though she is obviously injured, she is still most likely alive. If he had indeed killed her…"
I flinched at the thought.
"Why not just leave the body in the burning building, instead of carrying it with him?"
Jasper stated rhetorically.
Before any of us could respond to his findings and his theories, Carlisle's phone rang.
Ring, ring
"Hello, Dear."
He said to Esme.
'Carlisle, you all need to get back here as fast as you can!'
She said frantically, causing us all to tense and wonder what was going on there to have her in such a state.
Her and Rose stayed in Forks to watch over Charlie, as Victoria and her mate, Laurent, were still out there.
"Dear, calm down and tell us what happened. We are at the Ballet Studio, but it is on fire. We do not know where Bella or James is."
He told his mate calmly.
'We were watching Charlie at his house when the wolves came trying to attack us, because of a frantic Charlie. He was on the cordless phone with Billy Black, when a knock came on the door…'
She sobbed out.
"Esme, what happened?"
He asked his frantic mate again.
'Someone threw her into the door!'
She yelled out, sobbing once more.
"Who?"
He asked, dreading the answer like the rest of us.
One word.
One word was all that it took and my whole world collapsed.
'BELLA!'