A/N: I'm back! My second novel, The Darkness of Perfection released the end of June and is doing well. Now that's done, my attention can once again turn back to my fanfic writing. Thank you to all my readers who stick with me through slow updates.

Thanks to my beta, Lea for everything you do.

Disclaimer: SM owns Twilight. I just play with her characters.

Ch 20

"What do you mean? I heard you say it." She stared at me in confusion, her eyes widening; searching mine for an explanation.

"Bella, I was thinking it. I didn't actually vocalize those thoughts," I explained cautiously. I didn't want to alarm her, but something was different. I studied her features carefully looking for even the minutest change in her appearance, but again couldn't find anything other than the slight darkening around her irises. I stood and pulled her to her feet, wrapping my arms around her as though to protect her from whatever I had done to her.

"We need to talk to Carlisle. I promise I won't let anything happen to you." I leaned in and kissed her cheek, careful to avoid her mouth until we had answers. Bending down to pick her up, she surprised me by stepping back away from me.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on," she demanded. Her heart rate was increasing at a frantic pace as adrenaline rushed through her veins. Despite my attempt to keep her calm, she was becoming agitated. If I had a heartbeat, mine would be racing as well.

To the deer watching from the shadows, it looked as though we were performing some sort of mating dance. With every step she took backward, I matched her. If I wasn't concerned about her, I would have enjoyed stalking her across our meadow.

"Bella. I need to get you to Carlisle so-"

She shook her head furiously, glaring at me. "I'm not leaving here until you tell me what's wrong." I narrowed my eyes in warning, and a rumble began building in my chest, causing her eyes to widen in recognition of my calling. She immediately halted in her retreat and stomp toward me until we were toe to toe.

"Oh no you don't. Don't you dare start that growly thing at me again." She poked me in the chest with her finger, causing her to wince in pain and suck on her knuckle.

"That hurt, but I'm still not leaving," she sulked, glaring at me through narrowed eyes.

I shifted the tenor of my growl to a soothing rumble and held my arms out to her. She watched me warily, but took the final small step into my arms with a last warning. "Don't you dare move until you talk to me first."

I dropped my head until my forehead rested on top of her head, in defeat. I was a vampire; ferocious and lethal, and yet this one small human girl had me wrapped around her finger, and I could deny her nothing. "I don't understand why Alice didn't see this coming," I thought to myself.

"Can Alice really see everything?" she asked, raising her face to look at me.

I chuckled and shook my head in bemusement. "That's a little disconcerting, you know. You can hear my thoughts, and yet your mind is still closed to me. Please Bella, let me take you to Carlisle," I coaxed, gently.

"Please, tell me what's happening to me first, and then we can see Carlisle."

I huffed and dragged one hand through my hair, pulling at it in frustration. I released her to pace in front of her. "I don't know. That's the problem," I growled. "You shouldn't be able to hear my thoughts, unless you were also a vampire, and I was projecting them to you. My gift is the ability to see into another mind and hear their thoughts. For whatever reason, your mind is a locked vault I can't penetrate, even now. And yet, for some reason, you're hearing my thoughts, even though you're not a vampire and I'm not projecting anything to you."

"So there's something wrong with me?" Her eyes widened in fear and she swallowed hard.

"Am I sick?" she whispered as though voicing her question out loud like it would make it true.

I rushed to her, holding her once again and pressed my lips to her head. My hands stroked her back and head soothingly. "There is nothing wrong with you. You are not sick," I assured her, demanding of the heavens that it be true. I wouldn't lose her. I would turn her before that happened. Or die with her.

"Carlisle will know what's happening and what to do."

My dead heart ached when she shifted to look up to me with so much trust in her eyes that I could fix whatever I had done to her. "Come on-"

The startled screech of birds and the sound of scattering animals in the forest alerted me that danger was approaching. I heard the rushing sound the air makes when my kind run and spun around, crouching and growling in warning to whoever was approaching through the trees. My eyes darted back and forth searching for the first sign of the predators approaching and opened my mind wide to hear their thoughts.

"Edward!" Bella pleaded from behind me where I held her tightly against my back. "What's wrong?" Her fingers clutched at my shirt frantically as she tried to see what I was searching for.

My growl continued to grow in strength and volume as my fear for Bella's safety increased. The vampires running toward us were still too far for me to see them, though that would change in the next few minutes. What terrified me was that I couldn't hear their thoughts to discern their intent. I should have been able to hear them the moment I heard their feet rushing across the ground, but there was nothing other than the scramble of terrified animals running for cover and the staccato beat of Bella's heart.

I turned my head slightly cataloging the sounds and trying in vain to hear even a single thought that would give me some clue what we were facing while I calculated the odds of running away with Bella to protect her. There were six of them versus me and their direction cut off the access back to my home and family. I could only pray Alice saw a vision of what was happening and they were on their way to lend support, though I heard no others in pursuit.

I swiftly turned and picked up Bella to run, mapping out an escape route in my mind and calculating and discarding options when I heard them split off to come at us from different directions. Whoever was approaching was determined to cut off our escape. I had no choice but to stand and fight.

I threw my head back, roaring in anger and resentment that I had only just found my mate to lose her so quickly, because I knew despite my skill, I could not win against multiple foes and keep Bella safe. We were going to die in this meadow today, unless a miracle happened in the next thirty seconds.

"Car-"

"-have- save Be-"

" –can't see-"

I began to pick up fragments of thoughts from different directions from the vampires rushing toward us. There was still so much static inside my head that I could only catch a few words. I turned my head slightly, trying to hear more as suddenly all of their thoughts collided in my brain at once as though the volume had been turned up.

"I can't lose another son. Poor Bella, my newest daughter, I didn't even get to know you. Please God, let them be safe."

"How am I going to tell Chief Swan something happened to his daughter? Edward, my oldest son. Did I tell you I was proud of you tonight? Will I still get the chance?"

"How did I not see the attack coming at them? My visions have never failed me? They were there and then suddenly, they weren't."

"If you're dead, Edward, I swear I'll bring you back to life and kill you myself for hurting Esme. She's terrified of losing one of her children. Don't you dare die!"

Jasper and Emmett were running strategies for attack in their heads as they braced themselves for whatever they thought they might find when they broke through the trees.

"It's just my family!" I exclaimed, laughing as I hugged Bella as tight as I dared and rained kisses over her face. "Whoop!" She began sobbing hysterically and wrapped her arms so tight around my neck that if I were human she would have strangled me. "We're fine!" I called out and heard everyone's gasp of surprise and then the bombardment of questions they were screaming at me.

I turned with Bella still in my arms as everyone broke through the trees from different positions. If they'd truly been an enemy, Bella and I would have never stood a chance.

Carlisle, Jasper and Emmett circled us, their eyes constantly scanning, still not willing to lower their guards until they were certain there was nothing lurking in the shadows, and it wasn't a trap. Their ferocious growls filled the morning air.

Esme rushed us; her eyes and hands skimming over Bella and me looking for injury, while Alice and Rosalie stood with their backs to us providing cover to protect Bella from any possible attack. If ever one of us was injured in battle, the women would make up the inner circle protecting the weakest of us until we healed, while the men were the first line of defense.

Our family has only been involved in one actual battle about thirty years ago when nomads tried to take over our territory at the time. We were fortunate to have Jasper's knowledge on our side. We had three women to protect and were outnumbered. We were always diligent in improving our fighting skills, but thanks to Jasper's military background our family was better than most in a fight.

"Carlisle, there's no threat," I assured him. "It's Bella. We need to get her back to the house."

Everyone finally relaxed their guards as Carlisle rushed toward us.

"Where is she injured? Do you know what attacked her?" he asked. His gaze swept over her cataloging her vital signs with clinical precision.

I shook my head not understanding why everyone assumed we'd been attacked by something or someone. "There was no attack. She-"

"What do you mean there was no attack? You both disappeared from Alice's visions," he explained. "We thought you were both dead."

I looked to my sister for confirmation and she showed me her vision. She had still been searching her visions for an explanation why Bella isn't turned by our wedding when suddenly everything went black. There was no warning, just a void in her mind where we once were.

"How is that possible?" I asked, stunned. "Has that ever happened before?"

"No, that's why we were alarmed. We thought maybe the wolves had come back and attacked you," Alice explained. "I could see everyone else, just not you or Bella. Right before you called out, I got a very hazy vision. It was like you were standing in a heavy fog or blizzard. I could barely see you and then suddenly it cleared. I can't explain it."

Her words echoed my own thoughts about the lack of 'hearing' I'd suffered during the same timeframe and a feeling of unease settled over me as I looked over to Bella. Esme had taken her aside was talking softly to her, reassuring herself that she hadn't lost a child. I called out to Bella in my mind earning no response, which only increased my concerns.

"Bella?"

She looked over her shoulder at me in question.

"Can you hear me?" I asked carefully.

Her eyes narrowed in confusion. "Of course I can hear you. You're standing right there," she replied, pointing out the less than three feet distance between us.

I shook my head at her. "No. Not can you hear me speaking. Can you hear me?" I stressed.

She stared at me a moment until what I was asking clicked and then tilted her head slightly, staring at me. She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "No. Are you saying something?"

Everyone was staring at us in confusion. Carlisle, though, was beginning to understand my concerns by my thoughts projected into his mind of what had occurred earlier. He observed Bella even more closely, examining her for any physiological changes.

"The eyes."

I nodded to his unspoken observation. He began making a list of tests he wanted to run on Bella and possible conclusions, none of which were very reassuring at the moment.

"Bella, would you mind if I run some tests on you when we get back to the house?" At her worried look, he rushed to reassure her. "I don't think there's anything wrong; I would just like to be certain of that fact."

She looked to me for guidance and reassurance, and I held my hand out for her to take. She came back to me and let me pick her up, so we could all run back to the house. Our romantic morning was completely forgotten in the face of whatever was happening to Bella now.