Thank you to Project Team Beta & my amazing beta's for this chapter: shouvley, EdwardsMate4ever

"They want Bella." We all turned to stare at Alice. She was sitting on the bed, Bella's hand wrapped firmly in hers. The expression on her face was solemn. "That's what they wanted the first time they came here."

Jasper walked to his wife's side and knelt down before her. "If they wanted her then why didn't they take her? Why leave her behind… like this?"

"They don't want her," I said somberly. "They don't want her alive."

~ Chapter 10: Panic ~

My words hung heavy in the air. As much as my family wanted to dispute them, they couldn't.

"But why?" Esme asked, sorrow lacing her tone. "She didn't do anything wrong."

"I don't think the Volturi would agree." I knew my repeated accusations would irritate Carlisle; he never wavered from his belief that the Volturi were a fair and just council.

Carlisle shook his head. "This seems extreme… excessive even. They wouldn't go to such lengths. If they wanted to silence a single human, they could accomplish the task with far less drama. Aro would have no patience for this. Besides, if we were deemed guilty of some offense, we would all be punished. Not just Bella."

"Am I not being punished?" I argued, my tone critical.

You think this is about you.

Carlisle spoke the words into my mind instead of saying them aloud. It wasn't a question, but I subtly nodded in response. He had finally come to the same conclusion I had reached days ago.

Why? Why would someone want to hurt you so deeply?

I didn't have an answer for him. I didn't even correct him. This wouldn't hurt me – this would destroy me. I glanced at the intruder, still hidden in the shadows. Although her intention was to steal my reason for existing, she was going to be my executioner as well – my salvation from the anguish she would leave in her wake. I just needed to find a way to provoke her once Bella was gone. She made no attempt to defend herself when I attacked her before. Simply touching her skin was enough to scald and blister my impermeable hand. There was no doubt that she was my superior in every way, and clearly not threatened by my assault. So how was I to escalate the situation in such a way that she would have no choice but to kill me?

Alice bowed her head, solemnly. As I imagined possible scenarios, the visions in her mind changed rapidly. The only one that did not falter was my nonexistent future – a gray fog that morphed into the darkest void of black, now that my decision was firm.

Jasper's head whipped around and he glared at me, having picked up the shift in both Alice and my mood. Neither of them spoke aloud as their concerns for me reeled through their minds.

Unexpectedly, a quiet moan broke through the silence. Every thought, every sound, every movement ceased in that moment, and all eyes turned toward the source.

Bella's head lolled to the side as she whimpered again. I was at her side in an instant. My family gathered closer to the bed, all concerns about the intruder forgotten.

Placing my hands on either side of her face, I cradled her head and gently turned it to face me. "Bella?" I asked hopefully.

There was no response. If it hadn't been for my family, who'd heard and observed exactly what I had, I would have worried that I'd imagined the entire thing.

"Bella?" I repeated. "Love? Can you hear me?"

Again, there was no discernable response. I glanced over my shoulder at Carlisle. His eyes met mine for a brief second, but his thoughts were just a perplexed as everyone around us.

Bella moaned again, and I felt the subtle movement of her head against my palms in the same instant. I whipped back around just as her face creased in pain.

"Bella!" I cried out, unable to rein in my excitement. "Open your eyes, love."

She whimpered and scrunched her face again, but her eyes remained tightly closed. Her breathing began to pick up. The gentle, quiet breaths – the only outward testament that she was alive these last few days – were quickly becoming deep, panting gasps for air.

Something isn't right.

Carlisle's thoughts mirrored my own. His eyes darted to the monitor just as it sounded a single beep in alarm. Her heart rate had almost doubled since the last time he looked a few seconds ago. The screen now registered a shocking ninety-four beats per minute, and the number was steadily climbing higher.

"What's happening?" Esme asked, alarmed.

Bella's hands fisted into the sheets, bunching and pulling the linens taut around her. I still held her face in my hands, but I could feel her fighting against my grasp. The pressure alternated against my palms as if she were trying to shake her head fiercely. Her lips parted as she sought out more air, each inhalation more labored than the previous.

"She has all the outward signs of a panic attack," Carlisle stated, but he was unable to hide the uncertainty from his voice or his thoughts. His eyes darted back and forth from Bella to the monitor, watching her heart rate as it continued to increase.

"I've seen her act like this before. She talks and cries out in her sleep, but never to this extreme. It's like she's having a horrendous nightmare."

She's living a horrendous nightmare. I would have ignored Jasper's snide thought if it hadn't drawn my attention back to the truth.

My eyes flashed to the dark corner where the intruder stood. Her posture remained the same, but her eyes were now open. This time her gaze remained fixed on me as Bella continued to thrash and writhe beside me.

"What are you doing to her?" I demanded. The figure did not move or speak, nor did she take her eyes from me.

"Stop this! Now!"

In that moment, I didn't care if she was more physically powerful than me. I didn't care that she had the ability to destroy me. I was eager to kill her and every creature like her, if it would put an end to Bella's suffering. I knew she was listening to the violent thoughts swirling around in my head, but that didn't stop me from projecting them toward her with every ounce of strength I possessed. The only thing keeping me from flying across the room and annihilating her was the fragile girl trembling in my arms.

"We mean no harm." Her voice was the same calm, musical timbre as before. It did not fit with the rising panic in the room. "We are only here to witness."

"No." Bella's voice was low but rough, and I turned back to her. Her expression was twisted in agony again. I stroked her cheeks with my thumbs, trying to soothe her.

"Don't," she whispered, softer this time.

"Bella?" I swallowed hard, fighting to keep the terror from my voice. "Open your eyes. I'm here. Come back to me."

"Edward, say something else."

I glanced at Carlisle and followed his line of sight to the monitor. Her heart rate was slowly declining, dropping closer to a safer range.

"Bella, I'm right here. Can you hear me, love? Can you open your eyes?"

"Keep talking to her," Carlisle encouraged. "Every time you speak she becomes more stable."

I leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. With my eyes closed, I pressed my forehead against hers, still cradling her face in my hands. "It's all right," I murmured. "You're going to be all right. Please, come back to me. Open your eyes. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I love you. Come back to me."

I felt the dampness of her tears on my thumbs, and I brushed them away gently. The sight of Bella crying had always torn at my heart but, in this moment, her falling tears washed away my panic and made me whole again.

I smiled and chuckled softly as relief washed though me. "Please don't cry. Everything is all right. I won't let them hurt you."

With one tender kiss, I pulled back to look at her face. Her expression was no longer pained and her body felt relaxed. She wasn't fisting the sheets at her sides; her hands once again lay limp and open on the bed. If it weren't for the tears that continued to roll down her cheeks, her appearance would have been the same as in the days before.

I continued to stroke her cheeks until the tears stopped falling. I waited – we all waited – but nothing happened. As the seconds continued to pass, my hope began to fade.

"Bella?" I tried again. "Bella, please."

She didn't respond.

Carlisle stepped closer to the bed, gently placing his hand on her forehead and stroking her hair. "Bella? Sweetheart? Can you hear me?"

His eyes darted back to the monitor again and I saw the numbers flash through his mind. Her heart rate had slowed again, hovering around fifty beats per minute, just as it had been in the days prior.

I'm afraid she's slipped away again, Edward.

I looked up at him but he didn't return my gaze. His focus remained on his youngest daughter.

"What was that?" Esme whispered, the distress clearly evident in her voice.

Carlisle shook his head. "I'm not sure."

It can't happen again, Edward. Her heart can't handle that type of stress.

"Alice." Jasper took a cautious step toward his wife. I could see her in his mind. She was standing behind me at the foot of the bed, her hand covering her mouth as tearless sobs racked her chest. Her eyes remained fixed on Bella but her thoughts were chaotic, ranging from panic to desolation to fear. She was falling apart.

"Jasper, take her out of here," I said calmly. I wished there was something I could do to comfort my sister, but I was fighting to keep myself together.

Jasper glanced at the intruder, worried about leaving us unprotected. Once again, her eyes were closed and her head was bowed. She was nothing more than an empty shell.

Just like the broken girl that lay in my arms.

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