** I am so sorry this is such a short chapter! It's probably a disappointment to you, but let me know how you all like it anyway! I promise I will have a longer and better chapter up soon! Sorry, again!**
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion from then on.
Instead of flinching or covering Bella with my body, I did what my natural instincts told me to. I fought back before the fight could get to the one I loved. I flew up to crash into Kate, but instead, I fell to the ground. This didn't make sense; how did Kate get past me so fast? I didn't have to time to think it over. I flew back to Bella. But she was still standing there, unmoved.
She was staring over my shoulder, her eyes wide with shock.
I looked with her. My eyes opened wide with shock. I'd never been surprised like this before. His thoughts hadn't showed up in my head, I hadn't heard him. Nothing.
There standing in front of us-guarding us, he stood in his wolf form.
Jacob Black.
"Jake! Jake, get back here!" Bella yelled at him. I knew the last thing she wanted was to be responsible for putting Jacob in danger.
He looked back at us, and quickly shook his head, indicating he wasn't going anywhere.
Tanya and Kate were shocked. They had seen werewolves in action - or ready for action - but it was totally different for them when they were on the other side of the playing field.
Bella looked to me in fear. She wasn't scared for her safety or mine; she was scared for Jacob's. I could feel that Bella had her shield out, it was wrapped protectively around the three of us.
Tanya and Kate didn't know what to do. They wanted more than anything to take out Jacob together and then go for Bella, but they didn't want to risk me getting to them before they took out Jacob.
Bella was frantic. She didn't want to see Jacob get hurt. And chances are, he would get hurt. I bet he'd never been up against two vampires who were so lethal. Laurent was nothing compared to this.
Then, just as Jacob was about to launch himself at Tanya - he saw her as the stronger opponent - there was a terrible scream a couple miles behind us. As quickly as possible while still paying attention to Tanya and Kate, I searched the thoughts of others around me, wondering what the screaming was about.
Edward! It's Renesmee! Garrett just came out of nowhere! I'm so sorry, Edward! Come! Garrett has taken her! He's working with Kate and Tanya! This was Alice, terrified and scared. She was alone at home with just Nessie. And Garrett had caught her by surprise because she had been too busy watching out for Bella and I.
For a moment, I was horror-struck. What was there to do? I wanted more than anything to run down with Bella and save my daughter, but where did that leave Jacob, Tanya, and Kate? And I wasn't going alone without Bella just to leave her with an inexperienced dog.
Jacob and Bella glanced back at me, wondering what the commotion was about, as well.
I imagined my face was a look of pure agony. There was only one thing I could do.
I had to send Jacob.
Leaving Bella behind me, I took three steps up to where Jacob was. He looked to Tanya and Kate and then back at me, questioning my actions.
This was no doubt Tanya and Kate's doing. Their plan was to distract Bella and I so they could kill Bella. They didn't expect to have to add a werewolf into the equation.
Are we fighting them now? He wondered.
I shock my head fiercely. "Jacob, it's Nessie! You must go after Garrett! He's taken her! Go, Jacob! Bring our baby back to us!" There wasn't time for directions, or even a more thorough explanation. As much as it pained me to put my daughter's life in his hands, I knew it was the right thing. If he succeeded in this, he will have guaranteed a spot in our family.
Bella looked at me, sobbing tearless sobs. She was in more pain than I'd ever seen her in. Except for that terrible incident… I thought back to the time I'd left her for just a moment and then spun back to reality.
Sly smiles crossed Tanya and Kate's faces. They were waiting for Bella and I to be distracted. This was their chance.
I pushed Bella behind me. Just as I did this, Tanya and Kate both shot themselves around me from either direction at the same time. Bella stepped back further, and Kate raced after her.
Tanya laughed at me, and then ran to her sister's side. They had Bella cornered, and they were confident that this was going to be a victory in their favor.
I fake to the right, then Tanya gets her from the left. We'll be done with Bella before Edward has a chance to realize what happened. Was Kate really that naive? Did she not take into account that I could hear her thoughts?
Using all of my strength and speed, I ran over to Bella. I forgot about Kate and slammed into Tanya like a brick wall. She was taken by surprise and fell over, leaving a gap for me to get to Bella.
We both looked in the direction of Kate. She was looking at her sister, so we did the same. Tanya looked up at me with an evil, sinister glare. I guess you're choosing to do this the hard way.
Bella looked to me and grabbed my arm so our eyes met. "Edward, take care of Tanya. I can handle Kate. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can find Nessie."
I wanted to agree with her, I wanted that more than anything. But it was just too dangerous. I was much too selfish to just leave Bella, loosing her would literally kill me, but it was my daughter she was talking about. I had to make a decision right then and there.
Bella was in more immediate danger, but she could take care of herself more efficiently than Renesmee.
"No, Bella, I'm in this with you. I'm not leaving you." I used the tone of voice that told Bella this was my decision and she couldn't do anything to change it.
She rolled her eyes at me. And even though this conversation had only taken a second, Tanya was getting closer and closer.
We stood side-by-side Tanya and Kate stood by us and stepped closer.
Kate's thoughts instantly crowded my mind. That child is going to die now. We've waited long enough. I'll get her away from Edward and torture her to death.
Instantly, I became furious. I had retained my calm façade this whole time, but that one thought from Kate made me want to throw her and Tanya through a wall.
As fast as I could, I flew over to Kate and - with all my strength - snapped her neck in half. This only took a fraction of a second, and I moved quickly back to Bella's side.
Tanya stared at us, furious. No, she was beyond furious. She was deadly.
I'm going to tear her apart limb from limb. Edward, I don't even care if you die with her. You killed my sister, that's unforgivable.
Just as I was about to jump out to Tanya and finish her off, she stopped me right in my tracks. She let out a terrible, agonizing scream from the pit of her soul. I'd never heard anything so terrifying in my entire existence. I even felt the need to cover my ears, as did Bella, but Tanya closed her mouth before we got the chance.
Tanya edged closer and closer to me, hissing. I growled louder after every step she took.
Tanya was still a good ten yards away. Bella tapped me on the shoulder. I looked to her, wanting to know what she could possibly need at a time like this. Just as I turned around, I felt as if a crowbar hit me in the chest. Before I knew it, my face was in the ground. It only took me a fraction of a second to get up, but I knew that would be enough time for Tanya to attack Bella.
I looked over to my wife. She was wrestling Tanya on the ground. Tanya had the experience, but Bella had the strength.
Edward, help me! She let me into her thoughts and yelled at me to help her. Edward, I can't keep her off me much longer. Her thoughts turned into pleas.
I slammed into Tanya and knocked her off Bella. She hissed even louder at me. Her hands - or more appropriately, talons - thrashed out at me. It was times like these that I was sincerely thankful for my convenient ability to read minds. Using my ability, I was able to dodge every blow Tanya threw at me.
Of course, Bella was scared stiff. I didn't really expect anything else, but I felt bad for letting her just stand there in terror.
"You'll pay for this! You will! Either way, Bella is going to die!" Kate hissed and snarled in frustration, hoping the tone of her voice would scare me off. Actually, it did the exact opposite. Hearing her pleas in her mind to be let free made me aware of how frightened she was. She knew she was done.
Without a warning or gesture - just a sly smile in her direction - I ripped Tanya's right arm off in one quick movement. She cried out in pure agony, but made no other move to harm Bella or myself.
"Bella?" I turned to my wife, positive that Tanya wouldn't try to take me by surprise. "Love, will you come help me?"
A look of pure terror crossed Bella's face. She kept her mind open to me so I could see what was wrong. No, Edward… she'll hurt me. I don't want to get any closer.
I chuckled once. "Now look who's being paranoid? I won't let her hurt you, baby, she's almost done with anyway."
"What do you even want me to do?" She questioned.
"Finish her. The quicker you do it, the faster we can get to Nessie."
"No, no, no. I can't. Edward-"
Why was she choosing now to be most difficult? "Bella, do it for Nessie. But hurry."
Bella sighed, defeated. With a frightened look in her eyes, she took hold of Tanya. She was much stronger than I, so I knew she would have absolutely no problem holding her down.
As soon as Bella had Tanya secured, she took a deep breath. But before she could finish Tanya off, Tanya starting yelling and thrashing out. She was making a last attempt to escape. Bella stared her down and the look that she gave Tanya was enough to make Tanya shut up.
There was no need for me to tell Bella what to do. We had gone over this a million times, just in case something of this nature happened. Who knew it would turn out to actually be useful?
"Wait! Bella, you don't want to do this!" Tanya yelled out.
Bella laughed darkly at Tanya. "And why not? You've decided to go after everyone I care about, and myself. There isn't a reason in this world for me not to rip open your throat right now."
Tanya hissed, but composed herself before replying. "You've seen The Volturi, and all those newborns. Do you really want to be like them-a killer?"
This took Bella by surprise. I was taken by surprise, as well. My hands balled up into fists beside me. Bella closed her eyes briefly, but when they opened again, they were as black as charcoal. Her voice was icy and terrifying. "I'm not like The Volturi, and I never will be. I am going to kill you because you tried to kill me, and you took part in taking my daughter from me. Edward and I will get our daughter back, and everything will go back to normal. But you, you won't be as lucky."
Tanya growled from the pit of her stomach.
"Burn in hell!" Tanya screamed.
There was no other sound from Tanya. Just the sound of metal being torn. Faster than I would have thought possible, Bella had Tanya's body separated from her head, and she was working to rip her body in pieces.
We put the pieces of Tanya's and Kate's bodies in a pile and lit it on fire with my lighter. The familiar purple smoke starting to appear from the fire, but Bella and I didn't wait to watch the smoke rise. We had more important issues.
Renesmee.
It had taken all of five minutes to kill Kate and Tanya. It was shorter than expected, which pleased me. What didn't please me was the fact that our daughter was in danger, but neither Bella or I had any idea what to do to save her.
"Edward, what are we going to do?" Bella panicked.
"It's alright, love, we'll go back to the house and get everyone. They will know what to do." It bothered me that only Alice and Jasper had gone after Renesmee. What if Garrett had some friends with him just in case something like this happened? If he was followed? Carlisle should have sent the entire family after Nessie.
The closer we got to the house, they faster we ran. Bella and I were both too excited and anxious to go after our daughter. We got home in even less time than it took us to get to our makeshift meadow.
I spotted Carlisle standing outside the house first, followed by Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett.
"Carlisle, which way did they go? Where are Alice and Jasper?" I spoke quickly, wanting to get to Renesmee soon.
Bella's grip tightened on my hand. This new fear was even more terrifying than the one we had just faced. Just the thought of losing Renesmee made me want to crawl under a rock and let misery take me over. It reminded me of my darkest days after I had left Bella. Both of these times were caused by my decisions. My irrational, reckless decisions.
"They went South. We'll go with you. Their scent is very easy to follow, so I'm almost positive we can find then in a matter of minutes." Carlisle spoke just as fast as I did.
I was faster than everyone in my family. Faster than Bella by far. I wanted more than anything to run by myself and find my baby, but was it worth leaving Bella? It didn't seem right to leave her out of this.
Bella's thoughts seemed to be perfectly in line with mine today. "It's okay, Edward. Go after Renesmee. We'll be right behind you. Do whatever you can to make her safe."
My wife's face looked so pure, so confident and sure. There was no way I could fight her now. I gave her a quick, passionate kiss, and then we all ran into the forest.
It didn't take me long to get ahead of my family. I was breaking all of my running records today. I was running faster than I had ever run before. I was sure of it.
When it was only me and the trees, there wasn't much to think about. Only the terrible possibility that it could be too late to save my baby girl. That crazy thought brought on thoughts that made me not even want to live. Did I really choose my daughter over my wife? What was wrong with me? Was I really so selfish to choose to stick with the reason for my existence?
As I ran and ran, the trail I was following became stronger and stronger. The smells consisted of Alice, Jasper, Renesmee, and Garrett. It was a relief to know that only Garrett had my Nessie right now.
Less than five seconds later, I could see Garrett, my daughter, and my siblings. Garrett looked fearless, almost invincible. He was going to be beside himself when he found out that his newly acquired mate and sister were gone forever. In his mind, there was no possible way that they could fail. His simple minded thoughts brought me back to Victoria. She'd had so much faith in her James that failing never even occurred to her.
Alice turned her head slightly to look at us, as did Jasper. Alice smiled at me and winked, and shared the outcome of the event. We would get Renesmee and no one would get hurt.
A second later, Bella appeared at my side. She grabbed my hand tightly with hers and looked at me with intense eyes.
Get our daughter back, Edward…
Of course, I already knew that Bella would stop at nothing and wanted me to stop at nothing to get our daughter, but still, it was nice to be reminded.
I took a few intentional steps toward Garret. He seemed to notice, but didn't care enough to react in any way. He saw my family as a nuisance, nothing Tanya and Kate can't handle.
"Garret, but Renesmee down. Now." I growled through my clenched teeth.
Somehow, Garrett managed to get a smile out. "I'm sorry, Edward. I just can't do that."
"And why not?" I continued to growl.
That same smile was still plastered on his face. "I'm under direct orders from Tanya and Kate."
I chuckled twice, and Bella smiled with me. Garrett looked to us with confused eyes. "Garrett, give it up. Tanya and Kate are gone, and they're not coming back. Now, unless you would like to end up like them, I suggest you put my daughter down."
In Garrett's arms, Renesmee laughed at my voice. The sound was like a symphony, but better. There weren't words to describe it. Behind me, Alice mimicked the sound and laughed with her.
All at once, a wave of calm washed over me. I knew Jasper was trying his best to calm Garrett-and it definitely worked. I was so thankful for Jasper, and his need to always help me whenever I needed it.
Slowly, Garret lowered our daughter closer and closer to the ground.