I own absolutely nothing. Though it should be obvious by now, this story is DARK. This chapter will not be pleasant.



The darkness of the woods enclosed around Bella as though she were trapped in a dank cave deep underground. She looked up, seeking some sort of light or relief from the murky shadows, but only found thick branches and dense needles obscuring what little daylight had escaped from the usual grayness of Forks' skies.

The suspicions Bella had tampered down were burbling again to the surface. In the wake of what had occurred between Edward and her in the last couple of days, finding the identity of her stalker had been pushed to the back portion of her mind.

All along, from the moment he had passed her the missing book, her subconscious had been telling her there was only one true suspect: Edward. The strange boy in nearly every one of her courses who had been watching her with a keen eye since the first moments he had introduced himself.

As she sorted through her thoughts she recalled how brazenly he had passed her the missing copy of Wuthering Heights, the satisfied smirk on his face when he saw Bella's expression of surprise to see him waiting for her in their fourth class together, the way he almost laughed at her feeble attempts to leave the biology room when the lab was revealed to be blood typing.

Bella had so many questions.

The time had come for some answers. Though she had been essentially yanked into the depths of the woods now surrounding her, Bella felt oddly resolute. One couldn't ignore the steady serenity of the forest nor the cold, which had seemed to intensify under the cover of the trees. She shivered in a combination of chill and barely controlled fear.

For as quickly as Edward had deposited her in the woods, he had just as readily disappeared from her line of sight. Her first thought had been that her captor was preparing something. Perhaps this was the place he would finally drain her dry? Unwillingly she ran a fingertip over the bandage on her left wrist. Perhaps this sudden change in mood was to keep her off kilter, to intensify his game?

A game. Her life had been placed into the hands of a creature intent on destroying the little happiness she had ever known. He claimed it was in the name of fascination, but Bella wondered how long this interest would last. It was apparent that once he tired of playing, he would simply wipe the slate clean and find a new toy.

The slight crunch of the debris on the forest floor alerted Bella to the presence of another. Her head whirled to the source of the sound. No one.

Another snap of twigs and she turned in the opposite direction. As she twisted, the force of the movement caused her to directly ram her body into something hard. Someone cold.

Disgusted, she stumbled backwards.

Edward allowed her to fall backwards into the mud, a smirk on his face. His long legs made up the slight distance in the blink of an eye – much too quickly for Bella to try and get away. His tall frame squatted down near her sprawled form on the ground and he greeted her with a question.

"What is it about you, my Isabella?"

She couldn't hide the confusion as it spread over her features.

Rather wisely, Bella remained silent with the hope of gaining information. She stuck to her resolve to learn as much as possible about this vampire in order to better her plan of escape.

The long silence was only filled by the sounds of the world around them.

Swiftly he stood in another movement that was impossible for Bella's eyes to translate. He was circling her like a vulture circles the dead, his red eyes intently focused on his vulnerable prey. His movement was a polar opposite to the quick swiftness of only a couple of moments prior. He was slow now, deliberate.

"I've known of your presence since you stepped off the plane in Port Angeles," he said finally. His eyes conveyed an intensity that almost scared Bella more than the words. "You smelled so…so delectable. You looked like a lost little lamb being led to slaughter. The pain on your face was an intriguing invitation, a delightful contrast to the childlike smell of strawberry shampoo and freesias."

Bella's face was frozen in an expression of terror. He had been watching her since she stepped foot in Washington. She had only been in Forks for three months…he had been stalking her every movement the entire duration of her stay. Even in her wildest nightmares, she had never considered the possibility he'd been observing for so very long.

"Imagine my surprise when I tried to listen to your thoughts, my little kitten. The silence was fascinating, a wonderful change of pace from decades of bland and selfish human thought," his velvet voice continued. "I knew in that moment that I couldn't allow such a precious commodity to escape, so I followed you home."

He paused mid movement, closing his eyes and taking a deep inhalation.

"Ahhh, just as sweet as that first day," he said. His eyes snapped open and bored into her brown ones once more. His smirk dissolved into a smile. "Except now you have a hint of my smell on you, which lets the world know exactly who you belong to."

Bella shuddered as she recalled exactly how that had occurred.

"Why did you start leaving me notes?" she finally asked, worried of the potential answer.

The circling started again. "I knew you had figured out the identity of your stalker early on in the game. Even if you refused to acknowledge it, you knew from the moment I handed you that tattered book. You were too afraid to corner me, to seek out answers. You allowed my playing to persist, which only furthered my deep…fascination with you."

She had brought this upon herself? Sincerely she doubted he would walk away if she called him out on the truth. He had led her to the discovery that he was in fact her stalker. It had been obvious – painfully so – now that she allowed her mind to fully embrace the idea.

Even if she had realized it before this moment what could she have done to avoid this confrontation? How could she escape someone with supernatural capabilities and this dark compulsion for her blood?

"You didn't answer my question!"

He paused mid-step. Swiftly he had moved from his stance and pinned her against a tree. She found herself face to face with this monster of a man, his snarling loud against the soft background noise. "The time for questions is over, kitten!"

Bella glared at him despite her prone position. Her eyes betrayed her, however.

"I love your fear," he told her as his grip tightened. "Your eyes always so expressive, telling me the exact moment you feel surprise, then horror, and finally terror."

She felt utterly hapless as she continued to stare at Edward.

Bella was consumed by the urgency to get away but found herself disgustingly fascinated at the same time. He hadn't softened – instead become crueler with every interaction they had – yet she couldn't ignore the strange tugging on her consciousness every time he was near.

"What kind of game are you playing?"

A deep sniff in her hair distracted her. "I almost didn't believe it," he said with his face still buried in the thick locks.

"Believe what? Why are you toying with me?" She took advantage of the abrupt change of mood.

"I was told you would smell like heaven…challenge my every move." His reply was unfocused. He sounded distant to Bella, as though he was remembering another lifetime.

She was pulled closer into his form as he continued, his voice barely audible over the way the wind blew the branches of the trees surrounding them. "I was warned to stay away, to avoid the girl with the sweet ambrosia for blood, but my control was shattered the moment I saw you."

"Who warned you to stay away from me?" Bella kept her voice quiet as well in an attempt to avoid breaking the calm between her captor and herself.

There was a long moment of silence. Bella was stiff in Edward's hold, pinned against the trunk of a tree, heart thumping, as he remained motionless.

"I said the time for questions had passed, my kitten." An icy marble hand firmly grasped her chin and forced her to look up into his face.

He let go of her, which made Bella's body slide down the trunk of the tree she had been imprisoned against. The soft cotton did little to prevent the bark from cutting into the thin flesh of her back. Almost boneless, she crumpled to the needles and dirt at his feet, wondering exactly what he had planned for this little impromptu visit in the woods.

He turned his back to Bella's form on the ground and began that lyrical walk once more. That he made a single sound was out of courtesy for the girl settled at his feet.

"Every obsession has a root somewhere," he said in a voice so soft Bella wasn't sure it was intended for her to hear. It gained strength as he continued, "But those roots have long since served their purpose."

His tall form crouched down, still only visible from the tiny breaks in shadows where the branches overhead didn't touch. " I don't fear heaven or hell, a vengeful god, or even punishment from my own kind for taking you as mine." A hand reached out through the darkness and cupped her cheek. Her breathing was shallow, still afraid of the ramifications of being trapped with an erratic monster in the woods of Forks.

She couldn't help the morbid curiosity that overcame her sensibility as she wondered quietly, "Are you going to keep me here?"

Edward threw his head back and laughed boisterously. It was enough to startle the birds nesting in the trees, the brushing sound of wings taking flight filling the spaces in his laughter.

He stopped after a moment or two, his features smoothing back into controlled perfection. She heard the soft thump of his knees hitting the ground despite the rustling of the wildlife. He was so close, his icy fingertips slightly caressing her flesh.

"Not here," he hissed between them, " but I will keep you."

Her heart thumped loudly at his words. So his intentions were more than merely draining her at his leisure until she eventually succumbed to death. Or at least he would keep her with him until he found it fit to end her existence.

It appeared she would be with him long term.

Edward watched her face closely as she sorted through the information he had provided. He was eagerly taking in the exaggerated sound of her heart thumping in a mix of emotions – terror, anticipation, and confusion – all also fluttering across that expressive face of hers.

"Are you ready for the next part, pet?"

Confusion erased the other emotions from her expression. "Next part?" Her voice was a little hoarse.

He drew ever closer to Bella's face; enough to have her breath warm his cold cheeks. Bella's entire fight or flight instinct was awake and roaring at her to flee, to get as far from this predator as possible. Yet she didn't move.

It was a peculiar feeling, being pulled into two opposite directions. The adrenaline flooding her veins was begging to escape, while a rational part of her consciousness was demanding she stay and discover exactly what he had planned for her in the woods.

His face tilted slightly to the left, porcelain lips partially opened. Bella had a flood of panic as she remembered the last time their lips touched. It had only been for a brief moment, but the feeling was ingrained in her memory as though it happened only seconds ago. She recalled the perplexing gentleness with which he rubbed his mouth against hers until she was wearing her own blood as lipstick. How he had forced her to lick clean her mouth of the crimson stain – and he had threatened her if she dared vomit again at something so inhuman and unnatural.

She was momentarily lost as she felt the lips brushing against hers moving – not kissing or caressing, but forming words. What was he saying? His voice was again quiet and gentle, a deeper tenor than before.

Bella looked at his eyes, expecting them to be closed, but instead they were wide open – staring at her without remorse. They were as cold as the fingertips against her jaw. The angle made them appear an eerie shade of ruby as the waxing and waning light hit them.

He understood that she had missed his message and decided to indulge her. "Run."

"What?!" she hissed at him, trying to pull back. "You want me to run?"

He withdrew his face slightly. The smile that had been in her nightmares lately was back now in full force. It was a twisted, crooked smile that - given a different situation –could have been very boyish. There was no mistaking the malice or the fact that the last time Bella had seen this expression he had taken blood from her. It was as though he found enjoyment in her suffering, as though it fed his animalistic desire to possess her.

She trembled. He had told her to run.

More of the game, she supposed.

"I want you to flee, little kitten," he hissed back. "I want to play and you will indulge me."

Bella felt her skin crawl in response to his words.

Rather suddenly, she was freed from his closeness.

She stood and tried to ignore the thick mud covering her jeans and arms. She found her knees still wavering slightly as he intensely stared her down. Bella didn't move.

At least she didn't start to leave until Edward crouched down into a predatory stance, his face twisted into that same devious smile. "Don't you have any self-preservation instincts at all?"

Bella stepped away from him, stumbling slightly over a tree root. Luckily enough she was able to catch herself before falling.

"Ah, there it is." He said calmly. "Run now, little Isabella."

She didn't need to be told twice. Bella took off into the woods at a sprint, praying that her feet would avoid all obstacles that could trip her up. Deep down, she knew the possibility of outrunning Edward was simply nonexistent. It was only a matter of time. She made a winding trail through the trees, branches catching on her jacket and pants.

Left. Right. Another left. She encountered some blackberry bushes tangled in the undergrowth that snagged the sleeve of her jacket and refused to release it. Frustrated, Bella tugged twice at the nylon of her windbreaker and it ripped loudly.

There was a tiny bit of pain as the brambles both created new scratches and managed to tear through a layer of the dirty bandages on her wrist. Bella stared at it for a second, a plan formulating.

The scent of her blood would drive him crazy. Really, because he couldn't hear her thoughts, she only needed to find a way to disguise- or at least dilute - her smell and stay out of his reach. She had to find a stream, a body of water, anything.

She took off again, looking for the lightest section of the woods. The trees would be thinner near any body of water. As she ran, she sorted through the various lessons her father had taught her when he was on a wilderness survival kick. Charlie had told her animals often waded through streams in order to prevent being tracked by predators. He had then described to her in detail how this had helped him during one of his random hunting trips during summers past.

Bella said a tiny prayer that enduring Charlie's survival lessons hadn't been in vain.

She made another right and saw a patch of sunlight bright enough to make her eyes hurt after being in the darkness for so long. She pushed herself toward the break in the trunks and as soon as she reached it, stopped to take a deep breath or two.

Perfect. Bella was staring at the river that ran through Forks, not too wide or too violent to cross. She was already cold and miserable, so the water would not be much of a surprise to her.

Bella stared into the murky brown water of the river and hoped it wasn't too deep. While not an excellent swimmer, she could manage to make it through the water to the opposite bank. She took a deep breath and waded in.

The water was much colder than Bella anticipated. Time was not on her side, so she simply endured. She stilled her fears and began wading down the river – staying at knee depth until she felt she had traveled far enough downstream to cross to the other side. By the time this occurred, her limbs felt like they were heavy blocks of ice. The swim to the other bank of the river was painful, so horrifically cold that it was a miracle her arms and legs remembered to work in tandem.

Even the sunlight shining down was unhelpful against the temperature, but Bella knew there was no time to be cold. Adrenaline pumped through her system as she squeezed as much water as possible from her clothes and hair, then took off again into the woods.

She made a frantic left, and then a right. Her breath came out in short pants, a residual effect of the cold on her lungs in combination with the constant running.

Another left. Her heart felt like it was going to explode in her chest. Another left. Right. Right. The trees all looked the same, the ferns and blackberries and other undergrowth all tugging at her clothes to keep her from escape.

Branches hit her face and her torso and sheltered the few paths as she continued her random pattern through the forest. Mid stride, one of the branches wrapped around her waist and tugged, yanking her backwards. She shrieked in surprise and a hand quickly covered her mouth.

She was placed on her feet, and she tried to tamp down the fresh wave of fear. He had caught her. Scrambling, she tried to run again, but this time he pounced – Bella landed roughly on her back and knocked her skull against the ground. The world exploded in stars for a few moments.

Edward's body did nothing to ease the chill of Bella's still damp clothing and hair. He was stretched out directly on top of her, his whole form pressed against her own. As her world unscrambled, Bella noticed they were lying in a meadow. In any other situation it would be beautiful – the way the wildflowers mingled with the grass was almost picturesque. It could invoke images of fairytales and romance, not potential bloodshed and pain.

There was a caress of something wet and smooth along her exposed neck, her whole body tightening unwillingly at the ministration. "I found you, my Isabella." Another lick punctuated his statement.

"What are you doing?" Bella asked shakily.

He paused to adjust his gaze so that it met hers. "What am I doing? I am rewarding you." His forehead dropped to hers and he nipped at her nose. She felt a shift as his fingertips ran along the contours of her form, eliciting a shiver of fear.

"A reward?"

His face moved until they were cheek to cheek, which allowed Edward to whisper directly into her ear, "You were so good today. I particularly enjoyed our little staring match. Your feistiness makes this so much more entertaining."

She struggled a little, though she knew it was still just as useless as all the other times before. Bella felt another drag of his tongue – this time right behind her right ear. She tried to squirm away from the touch, which only caused him to increase the strength of his grip. "Mmm, I love that you fight me every step of the way…a kitten facing down a lion." This was punctuated with another lick.

"Stop doing that!"

He laughed deeply at his toy's frustration. "Tell me, why didn't you simply blurt out the truth to that room full of children?"

Bella took a moment to consider the question. Why hadn't she revealed him to be a monster, a living piece of mythology? He had already explained that regardless of what she did, her father would be killed. Deep down she knew Edward would break the neck of every student in that room if she mentioned any hint of the supernatural.

She settled for the snappiest comment she could think of in the moment, "No one would believe me." Saying the words out loud made Bella feel despondent. Would they even try to find her when he eventually took her from Forks?

Edward laughed against the soft flesh just below her right ear. "Are you ready for your reward now, kitten?"

She shook her head in a no, praying it would be something simple – something like allowing her to get up, or giving her a blanket to fight the chills wracking her small frame.

More of his weight shifted on to her frame to prevent an escape as his right hand reached up to move the hair away from her neck. His fingertips were surprisingly gentle as he smoothed the wet tangles away, freeing the skin where his mouth was still resting.

Bella felt a pang of fear in her gut. Nothing good could come of his mouth being so close to her soft skin. "Please don't bite me," she begged rather pathetically. It went against everything Bella knew to beg but she felt desperate given the circumstances. They were in the woods, the sun rapidly setting as he pinned her under his form. She was chilled down to the bone thanks to her dip in the river and had no way of making it home if he drained her.

She felt the shape of a smile against her neck.

His mouth opened and Bella fought as best she could against the inevitable. More of his weight pressed down and subdued her thrashing. She tried to turn her head away, but his hands quickly stopped the movements.

Bella felt his teeth drag across her skin, the sensation following with a burning pain that made her cry out. She felt the o shape of his mouth descend on the wound and suck hard, making her eyes blur with tears as the burning dulled. He only took a couple of mouthfuls before pulling back and looking into her eyes with an intensity that frightened Bella.

She looked up at the trees in defiance to avoid his stare. He leaned down again to swipe at the cut with his tongue as his hands forced her face steady.

Edward had a smudge of crimson across one cheek, the line descending artfully across his sculpted cheekbones and up into his hairline. His eyes were feral. One of his fingers dipped into the open wound, causing Bella to bite her lip to keep from yelping in pain. He brought the gory digit to his already bloodstained lips, a smirk on his face.

"The finest wine," he murmured in appreciation. Instead of doing as she expected, Edward brought his stained hand down to fist in her ruined windbreaker. His head dipped down and he buried his face back into the site of the wound. Bella could hear him sniffing deeply and wondered what exactly had changed. Something felt…different.

As she contemplated the strangeness, Edward's face pulled away from where it rested against her bleeding skin. She looked out of her peripheral vision and still only saw coppery hair.

She remembered her arms were no longer pinned but didn't know how to move without Edward snapping. Before she could even flinch, the hands holding her in place tightened a fraction.

He shifted and they were eye to eye once again.

"I can't stay away," he snarled down at her. The shadows cut deep angles into his pale visage, his eyes lined with darkness and smears of blood streaking a strange contrast against such a pale canvas.

He was untamed.

His lips were bruising against hers. No longer was this simply a brushing of lips or a teasing touch. He was branding her, punishing her.

All Bella could taste was the saltiness of her blood mixed with something sweet. He was abrasive, growling deep in his chest. This was his definition of a reward? She felt lost in the hot and cold of his moods.

However, she was no fool. This was another method for Edward to manipulate her and pull the reins of restraint tighter. She brought her hands up to push his mouth away, but he growled louder and pinned them to her sides.

The moment was fleeting, but Bella felt like the world had once again spun out of her reach.

"Mine," came the whisper against her lips. She whimpered at the word, for it meant possession and control over her.

"Mine," he said again as his teeth ghosted over the thin skin stretched over her jaw. "Only mine." Lips caressed the fresh wound on her neck, then moved to suckle lightly on the hollow of her throat.

God, he was so gentle.

Bella shivered at the feeling of the cold caress of his tongue across the collar of her soaked coat. It dipped under the fabric slightly to claim the flesh there before tracing a new path back up her jugular.

She squirmed at the feeling of his teeth scraping across the route his tongue had just finished mapping out. "Stop it," she tried in an attempt to stop that horrible scratching sensation. Everywhere his teeth caressed left a burning feeling that made her muscles ache.

"One more taste," came his mumbled response. His mouth attached again to the fresh cut, sucking harder than before at the blood already clotting there. Bella's eyes watered at the pain intensifying as his tongue started to lap at the edges of the wound while he continued to pull at it with his mouth.

"So good," he moaned against her skin. He released her hands and they immediately shot up to his shoulders to push him away.

With a smirk, Edward pulled back and stood gracefully.

Bella blinked heavily at the realization that he had simply pulled away. Her limbs felt numb and heavy, as though they had all fallen asleep under the combined influences of Edward's weight and the chill. She was so cold, worse now without his body blocking the icy breeze.

Bella rolled to her side in an attempt to quell the shaking she could feel starting in her hands and chest. She couldn't quite decide if it was a response to the low temperature or what had just happened.

Her captor, her personal demon, had just kissed her with bloodstained lips.

The worst part was that she couldn't begin to comprehend it all.

Bella closed her eyes and concentrated on regaining control over her rebelling body. She swallowed and could only taste the blood that had been coating his mouth. Her stomach started to heave, but Bella remembered the punishment from when she had vomited last time. Instead of gagging, she made a strangled choking cough. It made her throat raw, but a sore throat was much more preferable to being ripped open.

He was simply watching her struggle.

"Get up."

Bella turned to glare at him. He was amused by her attempts to still be threatening despite the fact that she was currently curled up on the ground.

It took a while, but Bella finally had the shaking under control. She tried to stand, but her legs were still half asleep and she crumbled to the forest floor.

Edward watched her fall and had a moment where his little kitten's struggle to walk reminded him of a newborn deer he had once watched with his sire. The little deer had been trying to stand properly, yet continued to crumble to the ground with the effort of exercising the weak limbs. The predator in him had wanted to lash out and snatch up the vulnerable little animal. He recalled explaining this to his sire, who had told Edward that there were plenty of other deer in the forest. He had tried to appeal to Edward's sense of humanity, which at this point was still an influencing factor in his life as a newborn vampire.

Years later, all vestiges of humanity were now a non-factor. Humans grow and change from infants to adults, but remain forever fragile. They simply go about their lives looking to satisfy their urges and desires, selfishly fighting pointless wars over God and land, and looking for that next big thing to appease their sense of right and wrong. Humans were all the same, a fact he had deduced after a hundred years of the same nonsensical thoughts he had heard.

As he watched Bella, he felt a spike of pride. She was so unlike the others he had met and destroyed. She was already such a good little toy.

She was bent at the waist to try and regain her sense of balance, but was finally standing before her captor. He stepped toward her and Bella wrapped her arms around her torso to keep warm as well as to protect herself. "Stay away from me. Why did you bring me here?"

He stepped closer and his smile widened. "I brought you here to play." His eyes focused on the still bleeding slice, and Bella covered it protectively with one hand. He chuckled at her response. "I can still smell it in the air, kitten. I can still taste your blood on my tongue; I can feel the way it coats my mouth so evenly and glides effortlessly down my throat. So much more delicious than the alternative."

"Alternative?"

"There are some out there who have a different method of feeding," he replied. "They take the blood of animals over those of humans."

Bella was surprised by his words. "You were one of those who ate animals?"

It was his turn to grimace. "Oh yes. It was…tolerable." He took another step toward his prey as he continued, "Hunting animals was such dull work. My senses are more attuned to find sentient prey. Do you want to know why I find hunting humans so fascinating, kitten?"

She shook her head. "No." She moved her hands over her ears to try and block out what she knew was coming next. "No. Stop it!"

Edward slinked closer to her prone form and slid an arm around her waist, pulling Bella into his side. With his free hand, he pulled the hand covering the ear closest to him away. "Oh, you asked little one, and now I am going to answer you," he said into her ear. "You wanted answers to all your questions." The same hand brushed her damp hair away from between them, causing Bella to shudder at the sensation of his fingertips against her cool skin.

"I love the way their minds plead for mercy," he said in his velvety voice. "I love the way their weak little minds beg for a savior, for some kind of intervention while their voices scream in terror." His hand touched her hair again, stroking her head as though she really were a house pet. "My favorite part is when their thoughts and voices scream in unison as they greet death by my hand."

All of Bella's attempts to quell her panic were shot. "M-monster," she stammered. Scared and angry tears ran down her face. "G-get away from me!" She shoved and shoved, but he didn't move an inch from her side.

"Oh kitten, you are stuck with me now," Edward told her. "I never let go of what is mine." The vise of his arm twisted her into his body so their chests were touching. He leaned down to lick her jaw again in satisfaction. "And you are most assuredly only mine."

Edward's strong arms pulled her up and on to his back quite suddenly in a move that made Bella dizzy. She tried to reply to his last comment, but was cut off by the strangest feeling. They had to be moving; yet she barely felt jostled. The forest was coming at them lightning fast- when Bella's eyes darted around to take in the surroundings, she couldn't distinguish the trees from the rest of the blurred scenery.

Just as before, he deposited her without care on the forest floor. Bella was completely disoriented from the strange movement paired with the way he unceremoniously flung her from his back.

Her whole body was buzzing with pain and chills. Somewhere along the way, the bandage from around her wrist had been completely removed. The exposed flesh revealed the painful and swollen mark, which looked far worse than it had this morning.

Bella just wanted to go back home. She couldn't understand why he would dump her in the woods again – especially with the sun rapidly fading.

"You will remain here," he dictated to Bella. "You will not move or try to escape. If you try to leave me, the punishment will be far more severe than you can imagine."

"Where are you going?" Again with a comment that made her sound as though she cared where he disappeared to. In this instance, she only wondered how long she would be trapped in the dark with nothing more than the trees for company.

"I smelled an acquaintance a few miles back," he sharply replied.

Bella felt a surge of panic flood her system. He was going to leave her here, in the dark, to potentially seek out another vampire? Her breathing began to speed up as she felt the anxiety of the day compress her lungs.

The sounds of her shallow breaths filled the air between them. Edward looked amused at her response. This would be a true test of her obedience.

It was morbid to consider, but she had to know. "Is it…is it another vampire?"

He tilted his head infinitesimally to face the direction they had come from. Bella could barely make out the way he sniffed the air – as though he was trying to decipher whom the scent belonged to.

"Oh yes," he finally answered after a couple of seconds of silence. An angry snarl erupted from his throat as he turned his head sharply to the right. "He wonders if I will share you."

Bella continued to struggle to regain control over her gasping lungs. The anxiety she felt was making her heart beat frantically. She entertained thoughts of Edward holding her down while this mysterious stranger took his fill of her blood. It was far too horrific to consider.

"There is more of your kind here?"

Edward's red eyes bored into her brown ones. "This area is a popular spot for nomads to hunt…a hiker or two is easily snared and their deaths can be covered by animal attacks."

His reply was not helping her anxiousness at all. She was terrified.

Bella was in pain, half-frozen, and so very afraid. The shaking had only increased in the past few minutes. "D-don't leave me," she said pathetically.

He loved it when she pleaded and begged. It was like music to his ears.

Her cries didn't stop him from turning away from the broken girl on the forest floor.

They also didn't stop Edward from leaving his pet alone while he went to seek out this new threat to his plans. This obstacle would be dealt with simply…and then his conquest of Bella Swan could continue without interruption.


I apologize for the delay...between trying to finish my Vampire Author Auction piece and real life, I have been swamped. Every review and story alert makes me so very happy. Never did I expect to have 50 reviews, let alone close to 200! Thank you so much, and please keep letting me know what you think.

I also want to thank Octoberland for her beta skills. You all have no idea how many scenes she's convinced me to save from being deleted. She encourages every strange and twisted step of this story, so I thank her immensely for that. (She's still up for an Indie Twific Award too...check out her story Resurrection and go vote!)

I am also lurking on twitter (via my magical mobile phone), so feel free to add me and ask questions. My screen name there is msmoneybeet .

Thanks for reading!