Disclaimer: PLEASE READ! This chapter contains dark and intense scenes. Edward as we have seen in the last few chapters is not himself, it gets worse in this one. Please remember I always write HEA for Jake and Bella. If you choose not to read this chapter because of the warning PM me and I will let you know what happens.

Epilogue

One Year Later

Sitting in the corner of the little café just off the UDub campus he watched as Bella groaned and buried her head in her hands. Fighting back a chuckle, he realized just how sexy she was when she was when she was frustrated. When she lifted her head and looked around the café, clearly stressed, he shied back into the corner, he didn't want her to see him just yet. As he continued to watch her, he fought a war within himself. One side of him wanted to walk over to her, scoop her up into his arms and find more than one way to wipe the frustration off of her face. The other part of him, the more calm and sane part, knew that she was working on her finals. He decided to sit and watch just a little while longer.

After more than an hour of Bella's groaning and huffing he saw her body slump and could smell a hint of tears. Shaking her head while closing the laptop, he wondered if he really should just leave her alone, just then her forehead slammed into the closed lid and she muttered out a curse before a barely-audible sob escaped her lips. He couldn't take it anymore. He had to go to her.

~LT~

Bella had no idea what the hell she was thinking when she took on as many classes as she did. Sure she had graduated near the top of her class at Forks High, but this was nothing in comparison. Being a full time student at UDub was taking its toll on her. She wasn't even half done with her finals and she was beyond spent. Closing the lid on her laptop Bella groaned out in frustration, when was it going to be over? All she really wanted was to be sitting in front of a bonfire on the beach surrounded by the pack and Jacob. Two weeks was too long to be without contact.

Smacking her head on the laptop, Bella could feel the tears start to sting at the back of her eyes. She missed Jake so much and the more she thought about him and the pack the more she wished she never would have encouraged him to help Quil acclimate to the wolf way of life. They all had been surprised when Quil phased. The Cullens had been gone nearly a year and vampire activity around Forks and La Push was almost non-existent when Quil had started showing signs of phasing. One night the pack was having a bonfire on a secluded part of the beach and a very drunk Quil stumbled upon them. When he laid eyes on Jake he lost his temper and before he was even able to take two steps in his direction, he was screaming out in pain before he stood as a wolf in front of the pack and all of the imprints. While Quil was more than excited to be back with his friends and not so upset about his future, something was keeping him from phasing back. No matter how much Sam and Jared worked with him he couldn't phase back. After nearly two weeks of being in wolf form Sam started to worry, he went to Jake and Embry both and asked them to see what they could do. That was two weeks ago and Bella still hadn't heard anything from Jake. Emily would call daily with news, but it was always the same: Quil was still wolf Jake and Embry were still trying.

"Isabella, are you alright?"

Although she could hear the concern in his voice, her blood ran cold and her muscles locked into place before she could force herself to look up. When she did, her tear-filled eyes shot wide, "Edward, what are you doing here?"

Normally Bella would have felt bad for the tone her voice had taken, but she couldn't when it came to Edward Cullen. The memory of him licking his lips while staring at her naked body made her shudder. Smiling softly at her, Edward slowly pulled the chair across from her out and slid into it in one fluid motion.

"You're surprised to see me, Isabella?"

Her eyes darted around the café. Every eye in the place was either on a laptop or buried in books. Leaning forward she looked at Edward. "You aren't supposed to be here, around me, Edward, you know this."

Bella watched as Edward ran a hand though his messy bronze locks, a smile spreading across his face as he met her nearly halfway across the table. "We aren't in La Push Bella, or Forks."

When she gasped he actually had the nerve to chuckle causing his lips to slide over his pearly white teeth. Bella's eyes immediately locked onto his canines, the more she concentrated on them the more she wondered if they were sharper than any other humans. When his lips came back down to cover his teeth Bella jerked away from the table. "I think you should go Edward, you're not- we shouldn't be-"

"That's right Edward, you shouldn't be." A cold hand came to rest on Bella's shoulder making her head jerk around, "Alice?"

The murderous look on Alice's face quickly slipped into a smile, "Hi Bella!"

Just as Bella opened her mouth to talk, a cold hand slipped over her own. "So nice of you to join us Mary Alice, but Bella and I were having a private conversation."

Sliding the chair closest to Bella out, Alice fluidly slipped into it. "I'm sure you were Edward, but Jasper and I were waiting. I think we should go." Bella watched as Alice smoothly controlled her temper, the anger only slightly seeping into her tone.

Sitting back in his chair, Bella jerked her hand into her lap when he crossed his arms over his chest like a child. "I'm not quite finished here, Alice. I will be along shortly, there's something that I need to discuss with Bella."

Bella pushed herself back further into her chair, shooting a panicked look at Alice. Funny that she was begging this girl to save her when she was a vampire too, and Edward's sister for all intents and purposes.

"I'm sure Bella needs to get back to her work, Edward."

Bella watched as Edward's eyes turned into slits, his mouth working sent her into action. "You're right Alice, I do need to get back to work and it's getting late so I'd better get home." Scooting her chair out a little too quickly, Bella stumbled over backwards almost smacking her face into the floor when Alice caught her around the arm. "Careful," she whispered out in warning as she placed Bella on her feet. Bella could see Edward standing stock still out of the corner of her eye, his eyes boring into the side of her head.

Nodding her head frantically, Bella could barely breathe as she quickly shuffled out of the café, her heart pounding. When she made it around the corner, Bella shoved her laptop into her bag and took off at a flat run. She couldn't help but look back behind her, the fear that Edward was following her urging her on. When she cleared another block, Bella pressed herself into the side of the building before peeking her head around to look down the sidewalk. The sun was slowly setting in the distance. With her chest heaving from the effort, Bella rested her face against the cool stone, relaxing. Slowly turning around, Bella nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw a pair of golden eyes looking down at her. "He's not there Bella, you are safe."

"Jasper!" Bella screeched before wincing at the pitch of her own voice, "What is going on?"

"I'm here to make sure that you get back to your apartment safely."

Bella turned around again, peeking her head around the corner, "Are you sure he's not following me?"

Bella watched as Jasper's lips lifted into a sort of smile, "Alice is keeping him busy at the moment, but you'd better get on home."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Bella nodded before shifting the bag on her shoulder. "Thank you."

~LT~

Sitting on the couch, Bella had wrapped herself in a heating blanket, the cold from Alice's hand on her shoulder and Edward's grip on her hand still lingered on her skin and in her bones. She was staring at the phone begging it to ring and for Jake's rich voice to flow through the line. She wanted more than anything to pick up the phone and call, but she couldn't make herself do it. Embry and Jake were busy with Quil, Sam had Emily, and Rachel and Paul were more than likely busy seeing as how Rachel just got back from school herself. The only one left was Jared and she really didn't want to make him come all the way to Seattle because she was worried about Edward. Jasper and Alice had her back, right?

Lost in her own little world, Bella nearly tumbled off the couch when there was a knock on her door. Thinking it might be Jake, Bella threw the cover off and rushed toward the door, ripping it open launching herself into the arms that she knew were Jake's-except they weren't Jake's. The skin wasn't warm and soft, it was freezing cold and hard as stone. Bella was relieved when there weren't arms to hold her in place, ripping herself away from the body her eyes found Alice's.

"Bella, I don't have much time, but I need to tell you that you have to stay away from Edward. He's very confused right now, it's not safe for you."

"But I didn't- I didn't even know he was there!"

"I'm sure you didn't, you just need to be as aware of your surroundings as you can until you go home for the summer. You are going home, right?" Alice's voice sounded hopeful.

"My last final is on Friday, I'm going home after that."

"Good, listen: if you see Edward at all call me-don't hesitate. I have my phone on me at all times and I've already put my number into yours. Don't worry Bella, Jasper and I are going to keep you safe."

Before Bella could respond, the door was tugged from her hand and clicked closed. Frowning, Bella made her way over to her bag and dug out her phone. Sure enough, Alice's name was the first on the list.

~LT~

When Friday came, Bella was so wound up she was twitching in her seat as she took her last exam. All week she had been looking over her shoulder and booby trapping her apartment for fear that Edward would find a way to break in in the middle of the night. Needless to say, this week it had been a sleepless one and Bella was running on pure fear and caffeine. When she finally scribbled her last answer down and shuffled her way to the front of the lecture hall, she wasn't sure if she should be relieved or scared. There was no way that Edward would come into a room full of students and faculty and wait for her, but he could be anywhere out there watching and waiting.

Pushing the door open, she looked both ways before stepping out into the hall. There were people milling around and, to her relief, there was no sign of Edward. After driving back to her apartment, Bella had to fight to find a spot in her parking lot. Students were pouring out of their rentals, bags and boxes being moved into cars and trucks. Sighing, Bella pushed the door of her truck open. When the door banged into something she winced, praying that it wasn't one of the more expensive cars in the lot. She really didn't have the money to pay for a new BMW paint job.

Looking up slowly, Bella was more than prepared to see the pissed off face of the cars owner. Instead she locked eyes with Edward Cullen. She gasped when she realized it was him, his normal honey colored eyes were now jet black and his jaw was tight. "Hello Isabella, are you ready to finish our conversation now?"

Shaking her head, Bella moved back on the seat trying to jerk the door closed. The attempt was futile seeing as Edward already had himself pressed in between the door and the seat. "Please don't be rude, Bella. I just want to talk to you."

Wrapping his cold hand around her wrist, Edward slowly pulled Bella toward him across the seat. When her knees bumped into his lower abdomen he looked down and smiled. She shuddered at the cold that was seeping through her jeans. "You're so warm," he whispered looking back up at her.

~LT~

Bella wasn't really sure what to do now. Sure, she could yell for help, but what would Edward do to the person that came to her aid? The only people capable of killing vampires besides the pack were other vampires and as Bella frantically looked around the lot she saw no sign of Alice or Jasper.

"They are busy at the moment; we've got plenty of time to finish our talk from the other day."

Bella's head whipped back toward Edward, her mouth working, trying to say something, anything to him, but she couldn't. All she could concentrate on were his eyes.

"Edward, I don't- you shouldn't be here. Alice told me that-"

"I know what Alice told you," Edward spat as he pulled her out of the truck and slammed the door, "but we need to talk and, as I said before, Alice and Jasper are busy right now."

Pulling her into his body, Edward wrapped his arm around Bella's waist and moved them toward the sidewalk. When Bella's neighbor nodded and smiled at her Edward's grip on her tightened and he molded her to his side. Lowering his head, Bella felt his lips brush the top of her head and heard him suck in a deep breath. "You smell exquisite when you're scared Bella. I don't know what it is, but your blood is almost as rich as when you're aroused." His last worlds came out as a growl and his hand splayed across her waist. Bella hated his hands on her, but she knew trying to fight him would be pointless. When she was formally introduced to the pack she was told just how strong and fast vampires really were.

Pulling open the front door, Edward's hand slipped to her lower back and he guided her through the hall to the stairs. His hand left her back and just as quickly grabbed her hand. Forcing her fingers to part, he laced his hand with hers, slowly he pulled her up the stairs. Every person that passed them as they made their way to her apartment was carrying some sort of box or bag and Edward's eye never left her. The closer they got to her apartment, the more urgent the need to run was, she didn't know what he was going to do once they got in there. Would he drain her, bite her and make her like him? Was he going to force himself on her? A feeling in her gut let Bella know that he didn't just want to talk.

Reaching her door, Bella didn't bother asking how he knew where she lived, he more than likely had been following her. Jake eventually told her that he had been in the truck the night that he was caught spying on them in the back yard. Bella jumped when Edward grabbed the knob and twisted. She could hear the lock snap. Still holding on to her arm, Edward looked both ways before punching the deadbolt, it snapped too. When he turned to look at her, smiling, Bella jerked back hoping that with the barely-there grip he now had on her hand would be enough for her to get free, she was wrong.

The door swung open the same time Edward wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted off her feet. Her mouth flew open in attempt to scream for help, but Edward's lips were on hers before she could make a sound. The freezing cold temperature made Bella gasp, giving him the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. She was panting out of fear as the tip of his tongue met hers, his groan making its way into her mouth. When her back met a wall she tried to fight again, but her body was suspended, Edward's body holding hers against the wall, the tips of her toes barely scraping the floor.

Tearing his mouth away from hers, his lips slowly worked their way across her jaw. The closer he got to her neck the more scared she became. Her hands fought their way to his shoulders and she tried with all she had to push him back, but he continued on as if it were nothing.

His lips were slowly working their way down her jaw now. She could feel his tongue dart out, tasting her skin every now and then. Every hair on her body was standing on end, goosebumps covered her skin. When he got to her neck he took another deep breath, his hands on her hips tightening, causing her to squeak out in both shock and pain.

"Edward, please," she was finally able to stutter out as she pushed at his shoulders again.

She could feel his lips still on the shell of her ear. "You don't know what you are doing to me, Bella. I hate that I'm scaring you, but your scent is so much, I can't- I don't want to control myself anymore, I just want," a quick, deep kiss to her pulsing vein before he pulled back, his eyes locking on to hers, "you."

As his face went back to her neck Bella felt her self crumble. Her body began to shake with sobs, Jake's face flashing before her eyes as she gripped Edward's shoulders in an attempt to keep him at bay. She kept picturing him the night they imprinted, the way he dominated her body and then later when they made love, sealing the imprint without even knowing it. She saw the pack gathered around a bonfire hooting and hollering as Paul and Rachel play-fought with each other. She got lost in Jake's eyes as they hovered over her, the smile on his face lighting up her world and she prayed that he'd do it now. That he'd do it when all she could see was Jake, when she could remember Jake smiling that wide, sunny smile at her. She felt Edward's teeth drag across her skin again and she fought a scream. She didn't want to lose the picture of Jake, not when she was about to lose her life.

Her body warmed as Jake's eyes bore into hers and then the cold was gone. Her body slid down the wall, barely catching herself before she crumbled to the floor. She jerked up and looked around, Edward was standing across the room behind her couch, his body shaking his eyes on her own.

"Leave, Bella! Right now!" He roared before his head jerked up, pain written across his face. "Go before I lose myself again and hurt you, Bella. Call Alice tell her to-" he took a step forward and Bella jerked into action before he was able to finish his sentence.

Bolting out of the door, Bella fell when she reached the top of the steps and barely caught herself before she did a nose dive down an entire flight of old wooden steps. Pulling herself up on the banister, Bella gripped the stairwell as best she could and stumbled her way down to the first floor. To her shock, the parking lot was practically empty. Rushing toward her truck she fought the urge to look back. Charlie had told her once that if she ever thought she was being chased or followed to never look back, she'd loose her footing for sure.

When she reached her truck she jumped in the cab, turned the key and cussed when the truck took longer than normal to sputter to life. When she shifted the truck into gear and floored it out of the lot she finally chanced a look back. Edward was standing on the sidewalk. She could make out the button down shirt he was wearing flapping in the wind, he wasn't looking at her though, his eyes were focused on something across the lot and Bella shuddered. She really hoped that no one else was out there.

~LT~

Speeding down the main road, she clenched the wheel when the light in front of her turned yellow. Squeezing her eyes shut, she pressed down on the gas and prayed there were no cops-or cars for that matter, Charlie wouldn't be mad if she were rushing to save herself, would he? After she blew through the first stop light she eyed her bag pressed up against the passenger door. Stretching to get it, the truck swerved into another lane causing someone to honk at her. Jerking the wheel to get back into her lane, Bella cussed and slammed on the breaks. The light in front of her was red and someone was already sitting at it. As soon as she was stopped she lunged toward the bag, her foot barely keeping the break on. She emptied the bag on the seat. Searching through the clutter, Bella found her cell phone and quickly typed in Alice's name.

"Bella!" Alice's voice, clearly panicked, came across the line.

"Alice Edward's at my-"

"Apartment, we know we're on our way there now. Listen Bella, I'm sorry I didn't see this happening. He didn't-"

"Alice what am I go to do?"

There was a long pause Bella could hear wind in the ear piece of her phone, "go to La Push, call your wolf tell him to find you on the way and Bella, don't stop. His mind keeps changing he's thinking about running after you one minute and the next he's just sitting in your apartment waiting for me and Jasper to get there."

A horn honking behind her let her know the light had changed. Gunning the truck once more, it sputtered through the stop. When Bella made it to the 101 she felt her body relax just slightly. The further away she got from Edward and traffic the better and from what Alice had said, he was still trying to decide what he was going to do.

Grabbing her phone off her lap, Bella dialed Jake's number. As usual it went straight to his voice mail. In the middle of dialing Emily's home number her phone beeped and then the screen went black. Just as she was about to shake it she saw movement at her right and screamed. Edward was running along the side of the truck just inside of the treeline. Bella's mouth flew open her eyes trained on Edward as he ran in speed with her. Raising her hand, Bella chucked the phone at the window, not realizing that she had done it until it shattered little pieces of the phone flying all around the cab. Edward was gone.

Jerking around in the truck seat she didn't realize that she was still gripping the wheel as tightly as she was until the truck swerved into the oncoming lane, a car honking its horn and swerving off the road in order to miss her. Heart pounding and tears streaming down her face, Bella pushed her foot further down on the pedal, cursing when it wouldn't go any further. Her grip stayed on the wheel as her eyes darted from one side of the road to the other pausing briefly to look out the rear view. She couldn't see Edward but she knew, deep down in her gut she knew that he was still out there.

~LT~

Edward watched from the woods as Bella kicked her driver's door open, the edge of it banging into the concrete column by the gas pump. She fumbled with the door and then the gas cap as her head darted all around, searching. He smiled to himself knowing that she was looking for him, her heart hammering so hard in her chest that he could hear it over the thoughts of the people both inside the station and whizzing by in their cars. The wind shifted and his body went rigid-that smell-his dick grew hard as his anger flared. If it wasn't for her and that smell he wouldn't be crazy out of his mind wanting to touch her, feel every single part of her body, drink every ounce of that sweet smelling blood. Tires squealing against blacktop brought him out of his thoughts. The chase was back on.

~LT~

Bella thought her heart was going to explode out of her chest. Her hands were shaking and wet with sweat against the steering wheel and she hadn't stopped sobbing when she passed the sign letting her know that Port Angeles was only five miles away. Still deep in the cover of the woods that surrounded her, Bella couldn't stop-wouldn't dare, even though the temperature gauge on her old truck was about to top was close enough to Forks-to safety, that nothing, not even her beloved truck on the verge of failure, was going to stop her now. She thought briefly about stopping as she drove through town and finding a payphone or stopping at the police station, but there was nothing the police could do and she was smart enough to know that if Edward was quick enough to run along side her truck at sixty miles an hour that he could snatch her without anyone seeing. She was also smart enough to know that he could stop her at anytime if he really wanted to. The question was: why hadn't he? She knew that he was out there watching her when she was forced to pull over and fill up, she could feel his eyes on her skin, it was as if his cold touch was reaching out and slowly tracing her arms. Bella shuddered at the thought.

~LT~

Her truck lurching to the side caused her to scream as she tried to correct the path her truck had taken. Bouncing in her seat Bella jerked the wheel just in time to avoid hitting a culvert, the truck fishtailing across both sides of the road until she slammed on her brakes, stopping on the opposite side of the road. With wild, fearful eyes Bella scoured the forest (as much of it as she could as the sun had begun to set).

Just as she looked out her driver's door she heard a click and a cool gush of air rushed into the cab. Biting back a sob, Bella gripped the steering wheel as her eyes shot down to the door handle.

"You won't get away Bella; I just want to talk to you, please."

Bella's lip went into her mouth. Just as she began to bite down she thought the better of it, no blood. A cracked breath escaped her as she slowly turned in her seat, plastering herself against the door. "Please don't hurt me Edward, I-"

"I don't want to hurt you," Edward hissed as he slowly scooted across the seat.

Bella felt the door digging into her back as she turned completely sideways on the seat, her body facing Edward, her left hand dangling off the seat brushing against the cool door handle. Just as her arms wrapped around the handle she was jerked forward, a cry of shock escaping her mouth.

"I told you, you can't escape and I just want to talk to you."

Bella could feel the hand on her ankle shaking as the other one came up; she flinched thinking he was going to hit her. "I'm not going to hurt you; no harm is going to come to you, Isabella."

Her eyes shot open at the tone of his voice, this was a different Edward. The one that seemed like he actually cared weather or not he was hurting or scaring her. His hand remained wrapped around her ankle, but she could feel the shaking subside as his grip loosened, his mouth less than six inches now from her own. "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be with me, did you ever even give it a thought?"

Bella's eyes slid closed as his breath fanned across his face. Her mind fogging over, she could feel it settle around her, making her body relax on its own accord.

"I've tried to stay away from you, not think about you since that day in the hall. I never should have allowed myself to give in and taste you Bella, but I wasn't strong enough. I'm trying now," he paused as his hand slowly started to caress the back of her neck, "to be strong enough. I've never even considered changing a human, but Bella there are so many things about you." Sucking in a deep breath, Edward scooted across the seat, his hand disappearing from her ankle when his upper thigh pressed into her leg. "I can't hear a single thought in your mind. Nothing. I've tried, when we're in class, when you seem to be thinking particularly hard, which is often, at work, when you are sleeping: nothing, not a peep."

His lips brushed against her temple as he sucked in another breath, "I've never smelt anything as divine as you, I hate that when you're scared I can taste you on my tongue. But right now Bella, it's like I am drinking from you."

Bella's eyes snapped open at the words, her hand making its way to Edward's chest, she felt him shudder as she began to push back, "Edward please just let me go."

The grip on her neck tightened as he leaned forward, his nose running along the dip of her shoulder and up to the shell of her ear. When his cold tongue darted out to lick the shell she squeaked and tried her hardest to push him back. When he didn't budge a sob escaped and she fisted his shirt and shoved at him again.

With a slight shake, Edward put Bella at arms length away, the pain on his face once more. "I would never harm you, Bella." He watched as a tear slipped down her cheek, her head shaking, "I would never touch you like that unless you asked that of me."

Bella's mouth opened in protest before Edward cut her off, "I think I know the way to solve this Bella, if you would just stay with me, you could help me."

"Edward I don't, I don't understand what you are talking about."

Locking eyes with her, Edward smiled. Of course this was going to work. "You could stay with me, your scent never leaving me. It would help Bella, I know it would, the more time I spend wrapped in your scent the less of an affect it has on me, the less I crave it."

Bella watched as his lip tugged up at the corner, his eyes changing color as he spoke. "We could be together. You would forget the dog with time, and your heart would eventually accept me."

Bella shivered when his thumb began to rub slow circles across the back of her neck.

"But I wouldn't, I'm not meant to be with you. I am meant to be with Jake I'm his-"

"You are MINE I saw you first, tasted you first. I know you were still pure when I kissed you, now, now you taste like him." Edward spat as his arm dropped from around her neck. "It's something I am willing to deal with if I can just have you."

"But you can't," Bella cried as she shoved herself back, lifting the handle on the door at the same time. Tumbling backwards out of the truck she was thankful yet shocked when she landed in a puddle of water. She didn't have time for bleeding or a broken anything. Scrambling to her feet, Edward shot out of the truck toward her, his hands latching onto her arms. "I said you couldn't get away from me Bella, there's no use running."

"Get off of me Edward, let me go," struggling, Bella knew it was useless but she couldn't just sit there and do nothing. His grip on her arms tightened, making her wince, but she continued to fight.

Bella slammed into his hard chest screaming when the side of her face made impact, she felt her ear pop it felt like she had been slammed into a concrete wall. "Please stop fighting me Bella just- I told you I wouldn't hurt- you're making it difficult."

"You are hurting me, Edward," she screamed.

Just as quickly as she was slammed into the cold she was shoved away from it. Stumbling backward, she landed so hard on her butt that she toppled backwards and all the air in her lungs gushed out. As she lay there gasping, trying to catch her breath she heard the twigs snap beside her. She knew he was stalking around her. Squeezing her eyes shut she prayed that some how, some way Jacob would know that she needed help. She begged him in her mind to save her.

Cold hands wrapped around her arms and she was jerked up. Unable to stand, she fell forward pressing into the cold body once more. This time the hands didn't grip, they loosened and then slowly wrapped around her waist, coming to rest on her lower back. She felt his nose on the top of her head and fought a shiver. It was taking everything she had not to collapse right there, her body spent and sore. She held still, fighting back the tears as his nose brushed back and forth over the top of her head. Eventually it dipped down to her ear. Sucking in a deep breath, Bella felt Edward grow hard instantly, his hips rolled forward further, pressing himself into her. "I don't understand why you won't help me Bella, we could be happy; I could finally be happy, free."

Clenching her eyes together, Bella fought back a sob at his words. No part of her should have felt guilty, but she did. It was her fault Edward was acting crazy, he said it himself, it was her scent that was making him do the things that he was doing. She remembered what he said about her fear and it all clicked. Quickly Bella remembered how disgusted she felt when she saw Edward taking in her naked body, and then learning later that he had been in her truck. She thought of the first kiss Edward Cullen had given her, it was cold and hurt her lips, one that was unwanted. She thought of Alice and Jasper and their attempt to keep her safe even though they knew it was toying with the treaty. The Cullens, all of them, had left their home, a home that none of them should have been forced to leave, but chose to do so because of Edward, and here he was going against everything he agreed to, everything thing they all agreed to. Bella got angry.

Shoving at him again Bella was surprised when she was released. His eyes bore into hers as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Just as she was about to lay into him he stepped back and hissed. Dropping down into an attack stance. Bella's head whipped around and saw nothing, her eyes scanning the forest slowly, holding her breath as she waited for the pack to slowly step out of the woods. Instead, Alice and Jasper slowly made their way out of the woods, their hands held up.

Alice's lips were tight. She shot a glance toward Bella, her face changing to a sorrowful expression for a beat before glancing back at Edward. Jasper's face was all business, he didn't even look at Bella as he continued to walk forward, eyes locked with Edward's. "This has gone on long enough, Edward. You need to leave the lady alone."

Edward only hissed his response.

"I don't want to harm you, but I will. She's off limits and we're close enough to Forks that I'm surprised they aren't here for you yet."

Edward's eyes tightened. "We are miles from Forks, they can't do anything to me," he said. As he slowly stood, a smile slid across his face.

"But you know what you are doing is wrong Edward. You're scaring her, playing with her this way. You need to stop, come to Europe with me and Jasper, you'll forget about her."

Edward was nose-to-nose with Alice in a flash, Jasper getting to her side in a blink. "I will never forget her." He spit out as he shot a glance to Bella, "I can taste her when she is nowhere around, feel her body against mine, Alice. She's mine I just need to convince her of it."

"Scaring her isn't going to convince her of anything Edward, and she's NOT yours, you know that. You know that she belongs to the do-"

Edward's fist shot out to the side so quickly she barely saw it, but Bella heard the crack and the grunt as Jasper took the blow to the side of his head. Alice gasped and then the air was filled with hisses and grunts. Bella felt a cold arm snake around her waist and then her feet were out from under her and the wind was rushing at her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Bella forced her eyes up scared to death that she would see Edward's face above her. She was truly shocked when Alice looked down at her. "It's going to be alright Bella."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Bella nodded her head into Alice's chest, amazed that the pixie was running as fast as she was. They hadn't gotten far when Alice's grip on Bella tightened. "We are almost to Forks, Bella. I can't take you any further than that. As soon as I put you down I need you to run, run as fast as you can out of the woods. Get into the road, scream, draw attention to yourself OK?"

Skidding to a stop, Alice dropped Bella to her feet, turned and flashed away. Bella fought the dizziness that was now trying to overtake her, the world spinning. Placing her head in her hands, she waited for the dizziness to subside. Taking off at a slow clip, Bella got her bearings and began to run. She wasn't sure how far into the woods Alice had dropped her, but she didn't think she was ever going to get out. When the smallest speck of light in front of her caught her attention, Bella felt a wave of relief. Pumping her legs faster, she kept her eyes locked on that little shimmer of light, not paying attention to the forest floor. Her foot caught in a root and she tumbled to her knees.

Something grabbed onto the back of her shirt and jerked her up off the forest floor. She was spun around and was face-to-face with Edward, his eyes dark, his clothing ripped, one of his arms had a chunk taken out of it at the elbow. Bella wasn't sure how it was still attached really, oddly enough the lack of blood is what made her nauseous. "I told you, you wouldn't get away."

Shoving her back, Edward spun around on the ball of his foot and screamed out when a wolf lunged at him. Bella felt the wolf's fur brush across her face, halting the scream in her throat. They weren't even on the ground before she heard a loud snap. Her entire body jerked at the sounds, her eyes slamming shut as she dropped back to the floor. Immediately wrapping her arms around her legs, she rocked back and forth as the snarling and snapping of bone continued. No sooner than the sound stopped was Bella hauled up off the floor into a pair of hot arms, "Jesus Christ Bella, are you hurt? Did I hurt you?" She could feel the body holding her shaking out of fear. The voice was not Jake's, "Jake is going to fucking kill me if I did."

Slowly Bella's eyes peeled open, landing on Quil's fear-filled dirty face. "Quil?" Bella questioned before throwing her arms around him and sobbing into his neck. "You phased back."

Looking down at her, Quil's face lit up with realization. "Huh, I guess I did." Pulling her into his chest, Quil walked only a few paces before she was passed off into an even warmer chest, one that she knew all too well. Instantly, she began to crawl up that body, her legs wrapping around his waist, her head tucked into his neck, the rumble working its way through chest. As soon as she planted a kiss to his neck his body jerked, a snarl ripped through his throat, and Bella clutched at him thinking some other threat was coming. "Quil, I can't," Bella could hear the pain in Jake's voice as his grip around her body locked tight, "light that fucker up, make sure you get all the pieces. The rest of the pack will be here soon."

Bella heard the grunt from Quil before Jake took off. The smell of the smoke just barely meeting her nostrils and sending a quick cold shot across her face. She didn't know how long they had run, Jake never said a word, his breath fanning across her neck, snarls turning into whines and back to snarls as he led her away from the scene. When they stopped, Jake buried his nose in her neck, his breathing deep and ragged, his body swaying, "I thought I was going to loose you, Bells. I didn't know if it was going to be because Quil was too damn close or that sick fucker."

Bella nodded her head into his chest, a wail escaping as her legs gripped his waist, "I thought- Jake I was so scared he wanted me to-"

"Did he touch you?" Jake pulled her back cupping her face in his hands, "I can smell him on you- God Bella did he?" Bella saw the anger turn to fear and pain.

"He didn't Jake, he didn't. He just kept telling me that he wanted me to stay with him, that I was his."

Jake's snarl cut her off before his lips crashed to her own, his tongue darting into her mouth. As his hand gripped at her hair, pulling away only to utter, "You're MINE." Before crashing his lips back against her own.

When his lips tore away from hers and made their way down to her exposed neck she tried to nod, but his hand was still tangled in her hair, exposing her neck to him. "Yes. I told him always I was-"

Her sentence was cut off again when Jake bit into her neck making her body jerk against his, a wave of arousal rushing up from her toes, a frenzy followed. Her shirt and bra were ripped off as she reached down for him seeking out his already-hard member. A shudder rolled through her body when he growled out of pleasure, his heat warming her further. He kept nipping at her neck and licking her ear, growling as he did so. Every time he would get to a place where Edward had been he would snarl, tell her that she was his and then attack. It was the most delicious thing Bella had ever experienced.

Her back met a tree and just as quickly met the wet forest floor as Jacob claimed her, ripping her pants and underwear off in one fell swoop. The moment he entered her everything slipped away, all the fear and cold, the worry and anger it was just gone. Jake's body filling her completely pushed it all away and everything was replaced by him. His smell, his taste, the rumble of his voice in her ear was nothing like the one that had been haunting her. She wrapped her arms around him, locked her ankles right at the swell of his ass and took him in.

~LT~

There were no embers from this fire Bella noticed as she clutched Jake's hand, just white powdery dust. The wind picked up just as Jake dropped to his knees, Sam's hand pulling her to the side as some of the dust blew in the wind. Bella watched as Jake's hands dug a hole around the circle of white powder, he was being extra careful not to let it touch him. When the earth had been dug away Jake sunk his fingers into the dirt and slowly pulled up, the entire top layer of earth in his hands, Bella listened as Jake muttered something in Quileute before flipping the layer of dirt and power and slamming it down into the hole. The extra dirt was used to cover the hole. When he stood both of his feet were in the middle of the circle standing on top of what was left of Edward Cullen. Jake held out his hand and Bella went to him, tears streaking down her cheeks.

"It's over now, Bella."

~LT~

Four Years Later

Bella sat on the porch swing smiling as it groaned under the weight. She and Rachel were sitting in the exact same positions, hands splayed across their swollen bellies, watching their men-their husbands-play in Billy's front yard with their boys. Smiling, Bella and Rachel looked at each other before shaking their heads and turning back to the show in front of them. Bella laughed as she watched her son try to tackle his father, his nephew helping with the attempt as Paul sat back on his heels, his deep rumbling laughter making them all smile.

Rocking in the swing, Bella did as she had done many times before. Closing her eyes she thanked Alice Cullen. Thanked her and Jasper for helping her in Seattle, for warning her to get away, to come back, and finally thanked he for leading her right to her wolf, crossing over the line in Forks to make sure she got as close to safety as possible. Bella was more than grateful; Alice risked her own life that day and ultimately led Edward to his death, something Bella knew the pixie vampire would live with for all eternity. Bella Black, wife of a werewolf, owed her life to a vampire.

A/N: Don't forget to follow me on twitter teamnoshirt. As of right now I am going to be finishing TIBCIBS, but I have an Embry/Bella and Angela/Paul stories in the works. I should also be posting a Jake/Bella O/S within the next week or so.