A/N: Hi peeps! Thanks for the love, and support, from the last chapter. I'm so glad you are enjoying the story.

And don't worry, I love that you're greedy for more!

Chapter Twenty

They were late.
Checking her watch, Bella noted it was seven minutes past midnight and they were nowhere to be seen.
She was currently standing outside the abandoned warehouse and she was alone.
The warehouse burned down three years ago and had since been condemned, which was one of the many reasons she refused to go inside. It was due to be knocked down next month and rebuilt. The town was very excited about future job possibilities and it was safe to say Bella would not be filling out an application form. It was quiet and creepy and she feared an axe wielding murderer would jump out at any moment.
The axe wielding murderer would be preferable. At least she could out run him or fight him off. He would human after all. She stood a chance.
But no, she was voluntarily waiting for werewolves to come and take her away.
Bella stood in in her leather jacket, sturdy jeans and comfortable sneakers. They were great for running, she thought wryly.
Anxious, she fidgeted with her zipper. She wanted this over with. She thought back on the last couple of days, which had been chaotic to say the least.
Unable to go home, the four of them were now staying at a run down motel that reminded her of the horror movie Vacancy. Any food they consumed came from the vending machines that ate every cent she put into it. The janitor would always come to her aid, though.
He was a very lovely man named Eric who, after the fourth time he'd helped her out with the vending machine, attempted to make small talk. She'd enjoyed their conversation until he'd been scared off by her very sexy, very protective, mate.
Edward had been every bit the alpha the next morning as his men arrived. The same men who risked their lives to save her all those months ago.
Including Darius, she realized with a smile as he strolled into their motel room.
Bella would have loved to catch up with the older gentlemen, but it had been all business.
It was strange to see Edward in his alpha persona. He was quiet and cold. He barked orders out left and right and not one of his men dared to question him. No one protested his decisions or pulled a face when they found out he was 'allowing' her to go through with Jacob's demands.
The only person he hadn't shouted orders at was Bella. For which she was glad because she'd have no choice but to junk punch him in front of his own men.
That wouldn't have been good for his badass reputation.
The men gathered the night before to strategize. Bella hadn't understood what they had to strategize.
To her, it was pretty simple. She would meet the sadistic bastards in the destination, alone, they would arrive and take her to their lair, she'd always liked that word, and she would find the girl. All she had to do is sit back, keep her mouth shut, find the girl and wait for Edward and his men to come to the rescue.
As much as her inner feminist barked at the idea of waiting for the big, strong men to save the helpless woman, she was realistic enough to understand they knew what they were doing. To know she had no chance in hell winning a fight with a werewolf.
What else was there to plan? When she'd voiced those thoughts, Edward had smiled, kissed her, and gave her a friendly pat on the ass before turning back to his men.
In between plotting, they spent every spare second together. Edward needed her, he'd informed her when she wanted to go next door to hang with Emmett and Rosalie.
Bella would have protested under any other situation. But considering she was giving herself to a psychotic werewolf soon, she decided if he needed her close by then it wasn't a problem.
Emmett had eventually came around and given her his support.
She wondered that, on the off chance something went wrong, he didn't want her to die mid-fight.
When she'd voiced this thought, Emmett, Rosalie and Edward had glowered at her.
She didn't try to lighten to mood again after that.
Earlier this evening, she had dinner with her family and her new friends, banning all talk about what was to come. She wanted to talk about normal things and enjoy herself.
She wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but every minute that flew by a bell sounded in her head, telling her she was running out of time. That bit closer to leaving the people she loved. Soon she would willingly go to the people who haunted her nightmares and almost destroyed her life.
As the team set her up in her room earlier, Emmett and Rosalie entered with strained smiles and fear clouding their eyes. Bella tried to reassure them, but unfortunately there wasn't much she could do. This was dangerous, she was at risk, but she had every faith she would come home to them.
They both hugged and kissed her, ordering her to be careful countless times before Edward finally pried her away.
She was to drive to the warehouse in Emmett's car, alone. There she would wait, alone, until they came for her.
Edward assured her that, thanks to the listening device (her watch), he'd be able to hear everything at all times. Thanks to the GPS locater they'd implanted in her upper arm, which had hurt like a bitch, he would be able to track her every move.
They had no idea where they would take her or if they would strip her of her belongings until she pointed out that hadn't been the case the first time.
It didn't mean it wouldn't happen this time, but fingers crossed.
Again, when she voice this thought, her family glowered at her.
As soon as the wolves lead her to the girl, they would move in, grab her and the girl and take them home.
Simple.
Edward hadn't given her an intense goodbye like her brother and sister-in-law had. Instead, he walked her to the car, made sure she was buckled in and after a quick kiss and a see you soon, he'd closed the door and returned to his men.
Bella hadn't been able to wipe the smile off her face the entire drive over. He had faith in her, in them, and that meant everything. It gave her the courage to step into the dark night and wait for monsters to arrive.
Bella stood there, cold and freaked out. Her arm still ached, she kept glancing at the watch, incredibly aware they were listening to every word, every breath, and she had a few very uncomfortable objects wedged in some very uncomfortable places.
She didn't know what she expected, perhaps something along the lines of what they'd done that night outside the restaurant, but not this.
One second she was standing in front of the ruins of the warehouse, tugging her jacket against the cold night air, the next rough hands grabbed her from behind.
Reacting on instinct, she began to struggle. It did no good. They were too strong. She couldn't see them, but who else who would it be.
As she tried to escape from their grasp, Bella felt the familiar sting of a needle piercing her skin. She felt the following burn of whatever drug's they injected flowing through her veins.
The fight in her disappeared as her body went slack. Suddenly she couldn't stand up. She couldn't keep her eyes open.
She was absolutely helpless as she was lifted into strong arms. Her head lolled back as she drifted in and out of conscious, as the world spun around her.
She couldn't call out. She couldn't struggle against their hold. She lay in his arms as he began to walk. She vaguely heard the sound of a door opening and deep voices rumbling before she was tossed into the trunk of a car. She didn't feel the impact, she just lay there as the trunk was slammed shut, leaving her in darkness.
She could feel herself falling and, as she slipped into unconscious, she whispered, "Edward."

#

Parked in his truck not too far away, Edward and his men sat in silence as they waited for the wolves to make contact with Bella.
They were late, but no one uttered a word. They were tense as they sat listening, waiting for one signal from his mate that she was in danger.
That she wanted to back out.
Images of that very morning filled his mind. Her hair spread out on the white pillow case and her beautiful ebony eyes shining with laughter and love as they gazed into his.
No, he thought. He couldn't go there. As much as it pained him, he couldn't think of that, of her, right now. If he did, he would lose his shit. The fear would be too much and he wouldn't be able to do his job.
He wouldn't be able to protect his mate.
Pushing all thoughts of the woman who owned him heart and soul, out of his mind, he focussed on the plan.
Bella had been fitted with a tracker, a small chip inserted in her arm, and a listening device disguised as a watch. She was protected and he had every faith in her ability to defend herself. He himself had put a gun in her hand and shown her how to load it, how to take the safety off and where to shoot her target.
Yes, she could take care of herself, he thought with pride.
Where were they? Edward wondered minutes later.
They picked the time and place and yet hadn't arrived. He glanced down at the screen, at the bright green dot that was Bella. Her location remained the same. She hadn't moved.
His men were on high alert, all radiating tension, but they didn't move an inch. No one wasted energy by shifting in their seats or nervous tapping.
This was what they did. This is what they were good at.
It was seconds later when they heard a muffled scream and scuffling. Four sets of eyes darted to the speaker as they listened intently.
His heart thudding against his ribcage, mouth dry, Edward listened as the sounds of his mate's struggles ceased and once again everything went quiet.
Suddenly, a voice sounded, "She's as beautiful as I remember."
"Put her in the trunk," a cold voice barked.
"Yes, sir," the voice drawled.
Edward bit back a snarl as he heard the sound of her body being carelessly dropped into the trunk of the car.
"Good night, sweetheart," he spoke again before he slammed it shut.
All they could hear then was the laboured breathing of his mate. His heart breaking when he heard her slurred word. "Edward," she whispered.
His body tensed. They had her. She was locked up in a trunk and from the sound of it, she had been drugged.
Within seconds her breathing slowed further and he knew she passed out. He thanked God for it. He didn't want her to be afraid. He didn't know if he could handle the sound of her tears, of her fear. At least now she would sleep soundly and, hopefully, by the time she came around they would have unwittingly taken them to the girl and they would make their move.
Please God, he prayed, just let her sleep.
James turned to his alpha, saw the fear, the rage he was trying to hide. He could see his struggle to push it all back so he could be the alpha he was.
"They've got her," he said unnecessarily. "They're moving," he added, his blue eyes darting to the flashing green dot on the screen.
Edward took a deep breath. Forced himself to focus on the here and now and what needed to be done next. "Let's move."

#

"Fuck," Edward snarled as he jumped from the truck, slamming the door shut behind him.
She was gone.
Over thirteen fucking hours of tracking their location and they'd lost her. Thirteen hours of watching a green fucking dot and listening to the sounds of his mates slow and steady breathing, and she was gone.
They arrived in Wyoming, the sun bright in the sky and people going about their day and her location had frozen. James waited, cautious to move in just yet.
This could be where they were keeping the girls, but it could also be a false alarm and no one wanted to give their presence away and risk losing both women.
No one dared to glance at Edward. The alpha was clinging to his control, but with every passing second it slipped a little further.
It was as they were waiting impatiently that the flashing green dot began to move with alarming speed. With a curse, James put the vehicle into drive and raced to the last known location.
A fucking field where multiple private planes were stationed.
They were gone.
"Get me a plane," Edward snarled. "Get me a plane now!"
Racing back to the truck, he leaned in close to the speaker and listened intensely. There it was, he thought with a sigh of relief. The sound of her breathing. Of her dreaming.
It kept him sane.
It kept his wolf sane. The animal battered at his mental shields, needing to be released. Certain he could find her with his nose alone. He was also pissed as fuck at Edward for letting her go.
Edward shoved the beast back. Soon he would need his wolf. He would need his ferocity, his determination. But not now. Now he needed the wolf the sit back and calm the fuck down so he could do his job.
The wolf grumbled at his human half before returning his focus to Bella. The wolf listened to every breath and every sigh. Proof his mate lived.
For now she was safe, but that wouldn't last long.
Edward knew this and what destroyed him was the knowledge that even if James came back with a plane ready to go, they were at a standstill until they landed. Until he knew where they took her.
God help them, he thought as he closed his eyes and continued to listen to Bella, wishing he were with her.
When he got to her, he would never let her go.
And when he got reached the wolves, they will regret the day they were born.
They will beg for mercy as he ripped them apart with claws and teeth.
They will pray for death before he was through with them.

#

Waiting was the hardest, that's what everyone said and they were damned right. Edward had never felt so on edge, so scared, or so fucking useless in his entire life.
It had been hours and they still had no idea where they were going. The land was privately owned and after a few calls they discovered the land belonged to the Uley's.
As in Sam Uley.
With no way of tracking the aircrafts flight plan and unable to predict where they were heading, Edward could only wait. The only thing he had to hold onto was the sound of Bella's breathing. She was still asleep and, from the sound of it, she was being left alone while Jacob and Sam were in the cockpit.
Every now and then he'd hear distant footsteps.
One of the men checking on her, he assumed.
Edward continued to pray for her safety. For her continued slumber. Meanwhile, his men had retained one of the many planes, fuck the law, and had a pilot here within the hour.
Sometimes it was good to be king, he thought wryly.
The plane was ready and waiting to go, a pilot on standby. Still they could do nothing but wait.
After the first hour, he hadn't been able to stand it. He retreated to the truck to listen to Bella. To feel closer to her. She was all that mattered.
He called himself every kind of fool as he waited.
He shouldn't have let her do this. He should have tied to the bed and let her be furious with him. Leave him. He would rather she live a long and happy life without him then be with him and in the danger she was in now.
His wolf whined. The animal vacillating between being a savage beast to a whimpering mess. He wanted his mate. Needed her. Needed to feel her skin against his, hear her heart beat strongly in her chest, and smell her sweet scent.
To have her flash him one of those adorable, loving smiles that seemed to be reserved only for him.
Though Bella was still a little hesitant around his wolf, and had yet to see him in his animal form since the night they met, he knew she accepted him. Believed one day she would meet the wolf, see him as another protector who would gladly die for her, and even come to love him as he did her.
The wolf howled inside his mind. Edward sensed his beast was extremely close to the surface, ready to strike.
As they listened to the rhythm of Bella's breathing, Edward counted each breath. Each one was precious to him. Each one proof she was still alive.
He didn't think about what would happen if he lost her. If the one person he clung to, the person who kept him sane, ceased to exist.
Since the day he walked away from his family he had been alone. Alone in his pack. Alone in a crowd.
Even when he was with a woman he had felt so utterly alone.
His wolf snarled at the mere thought of being with someone other than their mate.
Edward gave up his family, his friends, his home, and for good reason, but that didn't mean he didn't miss them. He missed his mother's warm hugs, kind eyes, and the apple pies she made every Sunday. He missed his fathers no nonsense attitude, his strength and the way he made everyone around him feel safe and secure.
He even missed his brothers ragging on him.
For years he missed them. Felt as if a part of him was lost. Even with his job, his pack, his calling, he had felt so incredibly alone.
Until Bella.
She had given his life meaning again. She had given him hope for a future. A future of long and sexy nights on soft sheets. Of ebony eyes looking at him as if he was her entire world. Of having a woman of his very own.
A family.
His heart clenched at the thought.
There was nothing Edward wanted more than a house full of children with the woman he loved. He would give up his pack for her. He would give up his rank as an alpha. He would happily move to Salem, or wherever she wanted to go, and live in a little house with a picket fence and a porch swing and bask in the most important things in life.
Love and family.
Bella accused herself of being selfish for wanting to stay with her brother and his wife. She thought she was being unreasonable and forcing him into leaving the family he made for himself.
She didn't realize he would gladly give up everything for her. The pack was a part of him, yes, but she was his family. She was his heart. As long as he had her, and the future he yearned for, he would take his last breath without a single regret.
Please God, he prayed, don't take her away from me. You can have anything. You can take anything, take me, just don't take her.
He jolted when the passenger door opened. His beta slid in beside him as Edward struggled to regain control.
Alpha's didn't show weakness.
James looked at him with compassion in his eyes. "How are you holding up?"
Clearing his throat he replied, "I'm good."
"Your wolf?"
He flashed him a sardonic smile. "Don't worry, he's not about to flip out and massacre every man here."
James shrugged a shoulder. "It wouldn't be every man," he argued. "Even in a rage your wolf would realize he needed the pilot alive," he added so casually it tugged a reluctant smile out of Edward.
The two sat in silence for a long time. The only sound was Bella's breathing through the speaker.
"We're going to get her back, Edward."
"I know."
"Good. Because I wouldn't have to-" James never finished his sentence. "Look."
Both men glanced at the screen. The green dot was now at a standstill.
"They've landed," Edward breathed, his pulse pounding in his throat. Finally, they could do something.
James quickly tracked the co-ordinates.
"Edward," he muttered and told him where they had taken his mate.
His heart sunk into his stomach. He worried for her more than ever. Only now it wasn't just her life he worried about, but her sanity.
"Come on," he rasped out. "We need get in the air. Now."
As the men raced towards the small private plane, Edward forced all thoughts of his mate aside once again. He needed to focus, not fall apart. And he would fall apart if he let his mind dwell on Bella's location.
They were right in assuming they would be heading to a wooded area. It was where they had taken every other woman.
Only this time they hadn't taken Bella to a random forest where they were keeping an innocent woman hostage. They had taken her back to her own personal hell. The location of her nightmares and the one place Bella vowed never to return.
Virginia.

#

For the second time in Bella's life, she woke up out of her drug filled haze to discover she was in a cage.
The first time she'd had no idea what was happening. She didn't know what
happened or where she was or what would happen to her. Now she knew.
She breathed deeply. In through her nose, out through her mouth as she tried to fight off the wave of nausea settling over her the moment she regained consciousness.
They drugged her.
Why the hell hadn't she seen that coming? she wondered as she lay there.
Now that she thought about it, did she really expect them to just walk up to her? Open the car door for her before driving off into the night?
Bella winced. Her aching body telling her they hadn't been gentle at all.
In fact, now the drugs were fading, she distantly remembered being tossed into the trunk of a car before everything went dark and she'd slipped into an abyss.
Opening her eyes, she looked up through the steel bars and noted it was dark.
How long had she been out?
At least it didn't smell as bad as the last time, she thought with relief.
Oh, it smelled pretty bad alright, but nothing could compare to the scent she had woken up to so long ago. It had hit her in the stomach, burned her nostrils and she could practically taste it in the air.
While the smell of urine hung heavily in the air, mixing with the fresh scents of the forest, it was nothing compared to that.
Carefully, she rolled over onto her stomach, determined that this time, no matter the drugs they had forced on her, she would not throw up. The stink of her vomit in the air was the last thing she needed.
Slowly, ever so slowly, she pushed up on to her hands and knees. Deep breaths in. Deep breaths out.
That's it, she told herself. Nice and slow. You can hurl all over the place later, but right now you have to focus. You have to remain in control so you can get the hell out of here.
It was then she heard the sound of another person. Close, she noted. Very close.
Looking up, she saw a woman huddled in the corner and slammed the door down firmly on her memories.
Focus, she reminded herself. She had to remain focussed. If she let herself be dragged back to that night, a night so like this one, she'd be huddled up in that corner right next to the terrified woman who was looking at her like she was a flesh eating zombie.
"It's okay," Bella whispered as she slowly crawled towards the woman. "What's your name?" she asked as the world tilted and twisted around her.
The girl couldn't have been more than twenty-five. She wore dirty solid black slacks and a white blouse covered in dirt and grime. Her hair was a few shades lighter than her own was a little shorter and a tangled mess. Her face bruised and swollen and her brown eyes were filled with fear.
How long had she been in this cage? she wondered. How long had she been here all alone? At least she'd had the other women to give her some measure of comfort and answers to her many questions.
Had this woman been the only one to be held in this cage? Or had there been others?
Licking her chapped lips the woman who strongly resembled Bella whispered, "Jenna Stevens," she whispered.
"Hi, Jenna. I'm Bella. How old are you, honey?"
"Twenty-three," she replied quietly.
She was so young. Too young to be in a place like this. To know what kind of monsters truly existed in the world. Then again, was there ever really an appropriate age for something like this?
No, she answered her own question. There was no age, no experience. Nothing could prepare you for this.
"It's going to be okay, Jenna. I'm here to help."
Her eyes widened. "You? How are you going to help? You're stuck in here just like me?"
Bella winked, hoping she looked confident and casual. She feared she looked crazy instead. "Just trust me. You're going to get out of here and live a long and happy life."
Jenna shook her head. "You don't know that. You didn't see what they turned into. Monsters," she hissed. "And I don't mean your everyday psycho killers. The men that took me turned into beast's right in front of my eyes. They said they were going to kill me, but first they wanted me to take part in a game. I could see it in their eyes, this isn't a game I have a chance at winning. We are die going here."
"No, we're not," Bella promised. "I know exactly what you've been through. Not so long ago they took me. They came and took me and they threw me in a cage, just like they did with you. I'm alive, aren't I? I didn't die here."
She blinked. "But you're here now? Why would you come here if you had already escaped?" she demanded as if she thought Bella was out of her mind.
Placing a warm hand over Jenna's, Bella smiled. "I'm here for you," she said softly.
Recognition lit her eyes. "You're the woman on the phone," she stated. "The one they made me talk to."
"Yes. I came here for you, Jenna. To make sure these assholes get what they deserve."
She shook her head. "You can't fight them. They took your gun."
The gun, she remembered. With the drama of waking up, trying not to spew everywhere and finding Jenna, she forgot about her gun.
Patting her hands quickly over her body, she cursed when she realized they'd taken the multiple guns that Edward personally strapped to her body.
"Please, please, please," she muttered as she reached for her ankle, smiling in relief when she felt the slight bump at her ankle.
Luck was on her side tonight.
Obviously while checking for weapons the idiots hadn't thought to check her ankle too. A mistake on their part, one she planned to use against them.
Only the gun was small. Her back up that both Edward and James agreed would only injure them in human form, and even then not for long. With their healing capabilities it wouldn't keep them down for long.
Then I'll just have to wait until they are in human form.
Turning her attention back to Jenna, Bella noticed the poor thing was on the brink of hysteria.
Was it any wonder? She'd been abducted by werewolves and tossed in a cage for who knows how long?
"When did they take you?"
"It seems like I've been in here forever," she whispered. "I think it's been, like, a week, though. Maybe longer." Her eyes met hers. "I was walking to the bus stop. I walk that way home every night and nothing's ever happened. I carry a can of pepper spray and a rape whistle. I even learned a little self-defence. I don't switch on my iPod or my cell phone. I make sure I'm aware of my surroundings. I thought I did everything right. But they just came out of nowhere and they were so fast and they were so strong. I didn't think things like that really existed, you know. I didn't think monsters like that could ever be real."
Bella patted her hand. "Trust me, they do. I was just like you, Jenna. I was scared and alone. All I did was walk across an empty parking lot late at night. I did it all the time. A thirty second walk and I would be safe, right? Wrong. Jenna, trust me when I say there was nothing you did wrong. They were looking for you. You couldn't have done anything to change what happened. They would have just gotten you some other way."
"Why? Why me?"
"Because you look like me," she replied honestly. "I got away and that didn't sit well with them. I'm sorry."
"I don't understand. Why would they do this?"
She let out a laugh. "Because they're evil."
"Because they can," she added.
At her words, every hair on Bella's body rose and a cold shiver raced down her spine.
"Yeah," she muttered getting to her feet.
The cage was new. She could tell from the unblemished steel bars and, only somewhat, stained floor.
Running her fingers through her hair, for the first time she looked outside her cage. Maybe the men were close by, listening. Or maybe there was something, anything. that could help.
Doubtful, but a girls got to dream, right?
Or better yet, the wolves were very, very far away and she could use her hidden weapon to shoot the new shiny lock off the door and they could haul ass.
Again, a girl could dream, right?
With the full moon lighting up the night sky, Bella could make out her surroundings pretty clearly.
Her breath left her lungs in one quick whoosh. The nausea she had so valiantly fought off came back tenfold.
She knew every tree, she thought, and every bend in each branch. She had stared at them, memorized them, for hours at a time. For days, weeks and months, this had been her world. The images were burned into her memory until she had no doubt that if she lived to be the age of a hundred, she would be able to recall every detail with startling clarity.
This had been her home for three of the most horrendous months of her life.
This had been her hell.
With a whimper she realized that she was back in the very same location where she had been held captive.
She was back in Virginia, she thought and finally the shock and horror forced her to do something the drugs in her system hadn't been able to.
She rushed to the back of her cage and threw up.

#

"This can't be happening. This cannot be happening. How is this even possible? Didn't Edward's men clear this place out? How were they able to return? You know, I'm seriously starting to doubt his packs capabilities. Which means we're screwed," Bella tossed out at Jenna as she continued to pace back and forth the cage.
Jenna didn't know the woman, but she seriously questioned her sanity.
Who would come back here? She wouldn't, that's for sure. If she got out of here today she would never, ever return to this place. She didn't care if someone paid her to do it. If they begged and screamed. She would never return.
All she had to do is stay alive and this woman, as weird as she seemed, believed they would survive.
Besides, she thought if the only reason they took her was to get back at Bella then they wouldn't need her anymore, right? If they truly only wanted to use her as bait they could let her go and keep who they really wanted.
Jenna didn't feel guilt or remorse for her thoughts. She was scared and had been taken from her home because of this woman. If they'd taken Bella in the first place then she would be safe at home, right now. Not in the middle of the woods about to become some ugly beasts chew toy.
No, it was all Bella's doing. She'd read about the serial killer who was travelling across the country. How he had been targeting people who resembled her. It was why she carried the pepper spray and the rape whistle.
Not that she'd had a chance to use either, she thought sourly.
But it wasn't hard to understand why those women died. Why she would die.
They wanted her. She had explained to her how she'd gotten away and the men, wolves she corrected, were coming to help them.
Hopefully, they would be here soon, but if they didn't she would leave this woman behind if it meant saving herself. It was her they were after, so let them have her. Jenna was only twenty-three, she had her whole life in front of her and no way was she about to die for this stranger who was the reason she was in this mess.
Not that she'd say any of this to her, she thought as she watched the older woman continue to pace. She seemed a little unhinged and Jenna had seen her panic jump to relief when, during her pat down, she brushed her ankle. She had a weapon, which meant they had a chance.
For now, they would stick together.
Firstly, because she didn't know how those bastards would react if she told them. Would they take the weapon and still want to kill her? Would she lose her best chance of survival? Or would they let her go because they didn't need her anymore?
No, she thought. She would stick with the woman until she knew what was what.
Upon hearing her own thoughts, Jenna felt a twinge of guilt. She wasn't a bad person, she assured herself. She loved her friends and family and visited her grandmother often, despite the fact that her mind had gotten so bad she barely recognised her anymore.
No, she wasn't a bad person. She was desperate. She wanted to live. To meet a good man and have bunch of kids. She wanted to become an accountant one day. She'd always been really good with numbers and her mom said she should go back to school and get her degree. She could do that, she would do that, but that all depended on her surviving.
If that meant throwing Bella under the bus, then she would do it. It wasn't pretty, she acknowledged, in fact it was ugly but it was what it was. The strongest and most primal instinct: self-preservation.
As Jenna pondered just how far she was willing to go in the name of survival, Bella lifted one arm in the arm in the air and rose up to her tip-toes. Waving it around like she was looking for a good signal and began to mutter into the white watch wrapped around her wrist.
"Edward, can you hear me? I'm not sure if you can get reception or whatever you need out here. I gotta be honest, I wasn't really listening to the technical part of the tutorial. Doesn't matter. You were right. I should have never come here. I'm in Virginia, Edward. I'm in the same place where they held us. Where you found Jessica and Angela's bodies, left to bleed out on the floor. Sorry," she apologized to Jenna after hearing her sharp intake of breath.
"Edward, the shit has officially hit the fan. I'm in a fucking cage. Where the hell are you?"
"What are you doing? You're talking to your watch. Have you completely lost it?" Jenna asked from her spot in the corner.
"You better hope not," she spat out, too wound up to be gentle. To assure her she wasn't hysterical, because she wasn't sure if she would be lying, or seem all the more crazy for claiming there was some sort of listening device in her watch. "I'm your best chance of getting out of here alive."
"Huh, that's reassuring," she muttered.
Bella's gritted her teeth. Before, she would have quietly taken Jenna's comments on the chin. She was upset and scared and, okay, she was coming off a little odd right now. But that was all before she'd known she was smack bang in the middle of her worst nightmare.
Just as she was about to give the younger female a verbal thrashing, she heard something snap behind her.
Dropping her arm, she spun around with wide eyes.
She didn't say a word, she didn't even breathe. No animal ever came close to the cage. They scented the wolves and didn't want anything to do with the dangerous predators.
Jacob or Sam could easily make it to the cage and back without making a sound. They'd done it before just to mess with them. Well, Sam had. Jacob just stood there like a statue. Unmoving as his partner terrorized them.
No, they wouldn't make a sound unless they wanted to be heard. Unless they wanted her to know that they were coming. To let her fear rise up until she thought her heart would leap out of her chest.
"Get here," she hissed as she held out her hand.
Bella's tone, the fear behind it, had Jenna scrambling to her feet and standing behind the woman she'd just contemplated throwing to the wolves. Literally.
"What is it?" she whispered.
Bella didn't take her eyes off the spot in front of her. The spot where they would soon appear half dressed and with arrogant smirks on their handsome faces.
"They're here."