Edward had been asking around for two days. Not many of the locals knew much about the land beyond their town. All he gathered were snippets of information about the area; lots of imports of hay and horse feed, some kids go there for riding lessons, the head rancher was pleasant, offered help when he could, Jonathan was a decent bloke, some of the workers came to church every few Sundays. Basic information that wasn't really much use to knowing the vampire who held his Bella captive. A vampire wouldn't make himself known to the townsfolk, he wouldn't make himself a helpful and valued member of society without drinking the blood of the humans. Only Carlisle and the Denali clan did that sort of thing, and even then it was difficult. From the sound of the locals, this Jonathan had been around for sometime, a vampire would have moved on by now rather than settled down for many years and make a business of teaching children.
He himself had rented an apartment out to suit his needs, money wasn't the issue, but the odd hours that he kept did rouse the suspicions of the landlady. He had the top floor to himself, despite the landlady's protests about it's safety. He had assured her that it was not a problem and that he himself would fix the problems, coupled with the dazzling smile that Bella loved so much, the landlady couldn't resist. It took him an hour with his speed to fix the roof and the floor, and now the apartment was suitable enough.
The bed, not slept in, acted as his desk for all the papers that he had acquired concerning anything that could link to Bella. He studied them.
There has to be some link. His eyes darted from paper to paper.
He was interrupted by his phone beeping. He answered it.
"Hello?"
"Darling, where are you?" The purr of Victoria instantly sickened his stomach. With finding Bella, he had forgotten about her.
"Running an errand, I did say I was going to be a while. It is very extensive." He tried to emit a tone of love in his voice.
"I know, but we have a schedule to keep to. The army isn't going to build itself." She breathed heavily. "And I miss you," she paused, "terribly."
"I shan't be much longer, my love. I think of you every moment." The words felt horrid in his mouth. He still had to get Victoria to Aro, somehow.
"I have been thinking," she said, "why just keep our army here? The clans here are so easy to rid of. We should go for the ultimate prize."
"And what is that?"
"The Volturi."
Edward couldn't believe his luck. Victoria was one to always run away from a fight she couldn't win, not towards imminent death, that was her talent after all.
"Victoria, are you sure?" He tried to sound dissuasive. "It's the largest and most powerful clan."
"I've been working with my new friends, the Romanians, they have provided me with gifted vampires that they have collected over the years. I've also made a few with special skills."
From what Edward could remember, the Romanian vampires held a strong dislike to the Volturi and wished to overthrow their reign with blood and death. The change of location for the army meant that Victoria and the renegade vampires would be put to death. He knew that the Romanians would have no chance, from the last reports there were only two of them left and even then had only recruited no more than six gifted. It was almost laughable.
"It is a brilliant idea, Victoria. When shall we attack?"
"As soon as you get back, darling."
"I shall return soon, then. I must go, the meeting is about to start."
"Of course, but hurry back, my ripper." The line went dead.
Edward threw the phone on the bed. What was he to do? The Volturi wanted Victoria, but Bella was only days away. When nightfall comes, he thought, I can search for her. He looked to the window. Only a few hours left.
He looked at the maps that he borrowed from the landlady. The area beyond the town was banked by creeks, woods and mountains. It was a lot of land to search in one night. From what the locals said, it shouldn't be too difficult to find the ranch. What if the vampire held her in a secret room or underground bunker that was well hidden? It would be near impossible to search all the possibilities in one night.
Night fell all too slowly for Edward, one could only play so many card games with oneself. As soon as it was dark enough, he creeped out of the apartment and headed towards the woods. The map showed a path that lead past some rocky mountains towards a suspiciously open space, Edward thought that there was better than nowhere.
He followed the path, jumping over fallen trees and animal carcass. Then the smell hit him.
It was familiar. The dog smell was prominent, fresh. It must be a pack of wolves, he thought, there aren't any shifter packs up her, at least none that I heard of.
He followed the scent. It lead to a small creek where a wolf was drinking, alone.
He knew this wolf, the colouring was familiar. He looked closer. It wasn't an ordinary wolf.
The wolf jerked it's head towards Edward and growled loudly. The stance turned aggressive and Edward smirked.
"You don't want to do that." Edward said menacingly. "I'm not in the mood to have mutt blood on my hands."
The wolf snarled, crouching ever closer to the ground and beginning to circle him.
Edward chuckled. "Have it your way."
The wolf leaped, claws and teeth armed to tear and rip Edward to shreds. He moved at the last second, leaving the wolf raging at empty space. Landing, the wolf twisted to face him, assessing the area for any way to get a bite. Edward crouched low to the ground, snarling back at the creature. He did not have time for this. Hours were getting slim, the landlady would notice he was gone. He pounced on the wolf, much faster than the animal, and wrapped his arms around its chest and squeezed.
The wolf choked, wheezing for breath. Edward showed no mercy and squeezed harder. He heard the hide of the wolf ripping apart. Finally, he thought, this has taken long enough.
Suddenly, Edward no longer felt fur under his arms. He felt skin touch his marble arms and he let go, quickly backing off.
The naked human form was heaped on the ground facing away from Edward, coughing and spluttering blood on the earth, catching broken breaths in between.
"What," it croaked, "the fuck is your problem, leech?" the humans' head turned to him.
Edward was too shocked for words.
The face belonged to Leah Clearwater.