A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay in posting. Thank you Tanya for beta'ing this so quickly. I love your fic 'Forgive me, please' and that picture of Edward in the brown leather jacket has given me endless amounts of joy this past week.

Ch25 The chase

The evening breeze moved eerily around my body, chilling me to the bone with its icy touch. It was November and I could feel the frost in the air.

My breath came rapidly, condensing into a swirling mist in front of my face the minute its warmth was exposed to the winter night.

I felt frozen, and it was a mixture of both my body temperature dropping whilst I stood in wet clothes after running into the stream, and the absolute terror that gripped me as I stared into the vacant expression of James.

I couldn't move.

I could scream.

I even willed my heart to finally stop beating so that its erratic rhythm could not be heard by the Devil's spawn stood watching me. He was waiting for a reaction, any reaction, to his sinister presence. He knew I was scared. He knew he had the upper hand. James had always had the upper hand where I was concerned and he didn't have to become a vampire to terrify me; he simply petrified me just by existing.

As I felt my fright choke my throat, my eyes dancing wildly from him to the opening in the trees at my side and then back to him and his guards again, I prayed for anything or anyone to please come and help me.

It didn't matter that I had learnt new spells or that I had the power to immobilise him at my fingertips.

It didn't matter that it was possible he couldn't permanently injure me, not after Edward had convinced me I could be immortal. None of that was relevant to me when I stood facing my fear – staring into the deadened eyes of a psychopath – what mattered was that I was alone and I scared and I could think of nothing but the echo of my heartbeat and how it must sound like music to James' ears right now.

"Isabella, you look – well," he murmured, his eyes narrowing as he lowered his face and looked up at me from under his brows. "Doesn't she look well, Riley?" He turned to the guard stood closest to his side.

Riley smirked at me and nodded his agreement with his boss. "She looks very well Sir, good enough to eat, in fact!" As he laughed, I noticed bite marks on his neck and wondered if he had become James' minion or if he was simply the remnants of his last meal. He obviously meant something to James as he was still here. Did that mean he, too, was a vampire?

A ripple of laughter spread through the small group and I shuddered at Riley's double entendre. Either meaning behind his words were terrifying.

"Please –" was all I could say and I choked the word out. It sounded like a gush of air and I tried again to speak in case he hadn't heard me.

He had. He did.

"Please? Please what, Isabella? Please be gentle?" James chuckled, stroking his chin as he took a small step closer to me. "Or please be rough? Do you like it rough? Would you enjoy that? Would you thrive under the pain, Isabella, like me?" He spread his arms wide. "Look at me, I am unstoppable. I writhed in agony and prayed for someone to end my suffering. I even begged for death, sweet Isabella. I cried out for it, but in the end, no one came and no one helped me and now – well, now, I have transcended into a superior being. I wonder what we could make of you."

I shook my head at his words, and in a flash, he was in my face, his nose touching the tip of mine, his breath, cold and sweet, swept over me. One hand grabbed the hair at the back of my head whilst the other caressed my throat softly. His grip tightened on my hair and I had no strength or choice but to let my head drop back with the force of his hand.

My jugular was totally exposed to him and I wept. "Please don't hurt me," I begged him. I was not ashamed to plead for my life; I had so much to live for. The very essence of my existence was Edward and if he was all I would ever know than it would be a fulfilled life. I just didn't want it to end here and now, not like this and not when there was still so much to say to him.

"Hurt you," he hissed, his eyes trailing over my face and down the length of my throat. His lips curled back over his teeth. "You have no idea what pain is. Does this hurt?" He asked, tugging harder. I gasped as my scalp burned.

Through the hazy fog of panic descending over my mind, I recalled that Edward had said I was immortal, but an immortal could still be slain. He'd told me there was always at least one way to kill anyone or anything and that there was a way to end the life of a witch. I just didn't know what that way was.

Could James render me weak and then kill me? Did he know how?

"What about his?" He continued to talk as he flexed his fingers against my neck and slowly sliced the skin behind my ear down to the juncture of my collarbone with his nail. I felt it all, every inch, like a razor sharp scalpel cutting through my skin like butter.

The biting cold air nipped at the heat of my blood as it rushed forth towards its new exit, and spilt quickly, staining my pale skin with its crimson touch. Its warmth tickled as it trickled down my throat. I heard James' sharp intake of breath as he inhaled my scent.

My mouth dropped open as the sting of the cut intensified.

"What if I was to do this?" James' voice sounded strained as he curled his fingers around my neck and squeezed, lightly at first, just enough to choke the air out of me but not enough that I couldn't breathe. I drew in ragged, exaggerated breaths. His palm rested just over the front of my throat and I knew with just the slightest move he could throttle me within minutes. I could feel my blood spread across my skin under his fingers. "You smell so – so – good," he choked and I knew his need to torture me battled with his instinct to drink the sweet nectar that was now drowning his senses.

He was a newborn and a slave to his thirst. I had to think fast.

My mind raced with ways to flee this scene. I was surrounded by men trained to fight and protect their leader. There was very little chance I could outrun them or even successfully hide from them in the woods, but what choice did I have? To stay here and find out exactly what he wanted to do with me?

I'd rather go down fighting.

I lifted my hand and placed it on James' bicep. He glanced down at my touch and smiled back up at me, anticipating my movement as affection or possibly even submission.

"Desumo Offensus," I murmured, my throat constricting beneath his hand.

Immediately, James jumped back, and hissed as an amplified electrical current rolled off my hand and through his entire body. It was intense, and as it moved along his body, it rendered him motionless.

I fell onto the floor and sat up to watch him try to writhe where he stood. The shock was frozen on his face as he stood erect; his head high but back slightly as he looked up to the heavens. His arms were at his side, extended out and his fingers stretched. The electricity pulsated under his skin.

It wouldn't last long and I had already wasted seconds sitting here. I pushed myself up and ran.

The guards were staring at James, not knowing what had happened, and this gave me a second to gain the advantage. I took off in a sprint but could hear them all gathering their wits behind me. I dashed across the stream, the splash sounding incredibly loud to me. I knew it was because I was so fraught with losing them. Every sound I made, every breath I drew, and every slap of my feet on the forest floor were augmented in my frantic mind.

I ran as fast as I could, my heart pounding in my ears. I didn't know how long the shock spell would last on James, but I imagined it wouldn't be long.

I heard movement and turned to see a blur of white running through the trees along side me. I tripped on uneven ground and stumbled forward; trying desperately to gain steady footing again, but I hit the forest floor hard. A jolting pain throbbed up my wrist and I cried out, holding it to my chest as I turned onto my backside to look up and see James towering over me.

"Run, little girl, run as fast as you can but you can't hide from me." He chuckled and I scrambled backwards, pathetically trying to put distance between us.

He continued to laugh and I could hear the guards catching up with us. James stepped forward, his hand extended and his teeth exposed. He had stopped smiling and the look on his face was one of pure agony. There was no control now, he looked deranged, and he no longer thought like a human. To gain the advantage by using despicable torture was not paramount to him. At this moment, his only thought, etched clearly across his face as he reached out to me, was blood. I wanted to close my eyes and ears and never know what came next. I prayed for the bliss of ignorance, but I couldn't look away. I was like a deer trapped in the sights of its huntsman. I was his prey.

James lurched forward, but instead of his body slamming into mine, a flash of blue impacted him from the right and in a blink, he was gone.

I tried to push myself up onto my feet but cried out when my wrist refused to hold my weight. It throbbed and was already starting to swell.

I whimpered as I felt hands clamp around my ankles and pull me. I looked down and saw James lying on his stomach in the grass, a delirious expression on his face as he tugged me by my feet. I kicked out at him and was lucky enough to connect with his cheek, but his head didn't move and the look on his face became angry and then shocked as he too was pulled by his feet, so fast and so hard that he released me just before he disappeared, still on his stomach, into the under bush.

I couldn't see what had hold of him, it was too dark.

With my good arm, I pushed myself to my feet and started to run again. I had heard the guards approaching just as James had caught me but had never seen them. Of course that didn't mean they weren't nearby, so without a backward glance, I ran again. I ran from James and his guards and whatever else could be a possible threat to me.

Leaves and branches whipped at my face, tearing at my hair and clothes. I swept my arms around me, frantically trying to push them aside. The sting on my face and arms told me I was being cut by these tiny twigs.

"Isabella!" I heard James roar behind me but didn't turn around. I could hear branches snapping but I kept on running.

"Bella," Edwards voice came at me like a whisper on a breeze and my steps faltered. I spun around searching for him but I couldn't see him.

"Isabella!" James was closer. I could hear feet stamping against the ground and anticipated this would be the guards, for James' vampiric flight through the trees would be graceful and light; just another advantage in his montage for attack.

"Bella," Edward's voice was ahead of me and I turned toward him and in the distance, flickering through the thick blanket of trees, I spied the lights from the torches and camp fire. My father and Irina and Mary Alice and Hale and the glorious haven of safety; they were so close but still so far.

Tears started to fall down my face as I stumbled on the tree roots and losing my footing again, I landed on the ground, forcing the air from my lungs as a fallen branch impacted with my midriff. I looked up from the curtain of hair which had fallen over my face and tried to call out to the camp.

I couldn't speak; I had no wind left in my body. It hurt to breathe and I winced again as I pushed my hands into the grass and lifted myself back up.

Just then, I felt him crash into me, burying me face first into the moss. His weight felt immense and the air I had yet to replace from my first fall became paramount as I struggled beneath him.

I felt the weight lift and suddenly I was in the air. I gasped at the sudden rush of oxygen I was able to suck in, welcoming the cold November air as it stung my throat and chilled my lungs. I frantically brushed the hair from my eyes and looked up at whoever was holding onto me.

Edward.

I clung to him, unable to speak, but so relieved that he was here. His face harboured cuts and streaks of dirt, and his clothes were torn.

He raced with me, through the trees, but James was still fighting. He hit Edward's left side, full force, catapulting me from his arms.

James now replaced Edward in my line of vision. He, too, was bloody and dirty and his clothes hung in tatters from his body.

He crouched, and I could see the slices crisscrossing his face meld together and disappear. The blood vanished like dust on the breeze. I looked at Edward and his skin was also flawless again.

Without warning, James leapt at me, but Edward raced between us and shoved James in his chest, throwing him across the forest till his back connected with a tree. The crack of splintering wood echoed around us, the base of the trunk shuddering under the force of his body, before snapping in two and causing the boughs of the tree to come crashing down around him.

Edward turned and rushed towards me, lifting me into his arms again as he surveyed me for injuries. He spied the blood drying in the dip above my collarbone, and with his eyes he trailed its ascent back up my neck to the gaping wound behind my ear. His mouth parted and his tongue swept out along his bottom lip. I saw that his eyes looked pale and golden in the moonlight.

"Are you ok?" He whispered, despair evident in his voice. He was anguished that I was hurt not because I was bleeding.

Behind us, James pushed the fallen tree off him, and growling at Edward, he rushed us both. Reading his mind and foreseeing his next move, Edward sidestepped and allowed James to pass us in a blur.

Without waiting to see what James' next effort would be, Edward took off, pushing me around his body so I clung to his back rather than his chest. He turned away from the camp and headed back the way we'd came, away from the others, keeping danger close behind us instead of leading it to the camp.

I closed my eyes and inhaled him, marvelling in his speed and strength and the fact that he was here.

"Come – fight me, Leech!" James screamed from behind us, sounding too close for comfort. I buried my head against Edward's back and squeezed my eyes shut. I could hear breathing, heavy and loud, as footfalls pounded the floor beside us. It took a moment for me to realise it could neither be James or Edward's breathing that I heard. I peeped out and saw two wolves running alongside us, and turning my head to the right, another two. We were flanked and I wondered if James had seen, heard or smelt them and fled.

We finally stopped moving and I felt Edward place me gently on the ground. "Open your eyes," he murmured. His voice was soft and melodic compared to the frightful tone of James. He reached out and touched my hand. I did as he instructed and found that we were back at the stream.

We sat on the river bed as Edward took off his shirt and dipped it in the water, then bathed the dried blood from my neck.

"But James –" I panicked.

"He's gone – for now," Edward said as he continued to clean me. Three wolves stood nearby and three others went off into the trees. "They're scouting the area for us, but I don't hear him anymore," Edward explained.

I glanced back at the wolves and one stepped forward, morphing into the form of Jacob.

I felt dizzy and bewildered as I sat in the grass, trying desperately to comprehend everything that had transpired in the last hour, wondering what on earth would happen if those wolves ever caught up with him and what it meant if they didn't.

My body shuddered and I felt incredibly cold. Lifting my hands, I rubbed at my arms in a bid to create friction.

Edward knelt beside me again and continued to clean the blood from my neck as I shivered. His movements were slow and gentle, and I watched him as he watched his hand work around the cut.

His shoulders flexed with the movement of his hands and I studied the faint shimmer of moonlight reflect off his contours, illuminating one part of his bare chest and shadowing the other.

I licked my lips. I trembled. "Where were you?" My tone sounded accusatory, and I didn't mean it to, but no sooner had I'd spoken, that I realised I was angry with him.

Edward stopped cleansing me and looked up into my eyes. "Gathering the troops," he replied.

"Gathering the troops?" My voice rose in disbelief. "I was terrified!"

He nodded as if he could possibly know of the absolute terror I had experienced. "I'm sorry I left you." He brushed his finger along my jaw. "I'm sorry I took so long to – find you. It's so hard with you – I can't – hear you." He seemed to be struggling and I knew it was because he blamed himself for my torturous reunion with James.

"I was so scared. I thought he would – kill me, or worse, force himself on me again." It hurt Edward to hear this but I needed to tell him. "I could endure anything – I think – but not that, never again." I covered my face with my hands and shook my head as if to clear the many repulsive images that clouded my mind; James with his hands around my neck, and him atop Rosalie then inside of me, and his vacant eyes and bloodthirsty will. James and his torturous treatment of man, woman, and child as well as the imagery of him touching my bare flesh with his icy hand – I shivered and pushed myself up from the floor to stand.

I felt Edward approach me from behind, standing close but not quite touching me. I turned on him, my myriad of emotions that had been retained since I'd first lay eyes on James came bubbling forth and my target was Edward. I hit his chest, he didn't move. "If you had made sure I was like you, that I was changed before all of this," I swept my arms wide as if to elaborate, "then I would've been able to face him as an equal!"

"We've talked about this –"

I interrupted him. "Yes but I don't agree. I stood there," I pointed to show him, "and faced death, Edward. I looked him square in the eyes and I was petrified."

I turned away from him again and felt his arms envelope me as he pulled me closer, his bare chest lightly brushing against my back, his breath close to my ear as he lowered his head level with mine.

"I'm sorry you were scared, Bella, I will never forgive myself," he murmured.

I raised my head and tilted it to the side, the raw wound was crusting over and the movement tightened my skin. I was healing already. "Do it now," I urged him. "Change me. I never want to feel so afraid again."

"Fear does not disperse when you become like me," he told me. "I could sense you, even from Jacob's camp. I could feel everything you could feel Bella, the terror, the sudden need to fight, the euphoria when you did, which soon changed back to terror again. I felt it all and I searched for you, we all did – but you kept moving, and just when I caught your aura again, it changed. I was scared, Bella. I was so scared I'd be too late."

"I was running," I explained, turning in his arms to face him. "If I had been a vampire, neither of us would've experienced this tonight."

"That's not true. I will always worry about you."

"Edward, I'm begging you, do it now." I lifted my hair aside and tilted my head again. I waited with baited breath as Edward lowered his face till his lips gently brushed along my skin.

"Edward, do I need to remind you of the treaty?" Jacob asked, stepping closer. I looked over at him and recognised the willing stance of a man ready to fight. This stranger was intervening to protect me.

Without lifting his face from my throat Edward answered him. "No Jacob, you do not." His lips pressed down and his hands held me tighter for a moment before he raised his head and released me.

I looked up at him and could identify the expression on his face as one of guilt and I knew it exceeded my rage.

"I will never forgive myself," he said again and I felt my anger wavering in lieu of his words. I knew he would never leave me in danger deliberately and that his desperation to find me in time no doubt far outweighed the terror I'd felt at the time.

"I need to get back to the camp. I left so suddenly, my father will be worried about me." I pulled away from him and faced them all. Jacob was still watching us. One wolf was still in form but the second one had morphed and now stood beside Jacob. He, too, was naked, every inch of his body toned. I didn't know him, but he seemed angry. Resentment rolled off him as he stared between me and Edward.

"Are you going to permit this?" He spat, his question aimed at his Alpha.

Jacob held up his hand as if to silence his comrade. "Nothing will happen here tonight, will it Edward?" His eyes remained on Edward as he awaited his reply.

"I gave you my word," he said.

"Hah!" The other man scoffed. "What good is the word of a bloodsucker?"

"Paul!" Jacob turned to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. Paul was mad and his anger reverberated through him. His body shook with uncontrolled rage as he looked at Edward's hand on me.

"This is wrong!" He shouted. "We fight one of his kind; for him and then we stand back and allow this – blasphemy to occur! It's wrong!"

"Edward has broken no laws, Paul."

Paul jerked under Jacob's hand and shook him off. "Yes he has! Need I remind you of Emmett? And now her! With her, he has broken the laws of nature, and it makes me sick!"

"Nature?" I spoke out, surprising myself. "You defy the law of nature every time you change into an animal. You contradict yourself."

To my surprise, Jacob smiled at my words, but Paul was not so easily chastised. He stepped towards me and Jacob stopped him from advancing with his arm outstretched.

"You are no better than him," Paul said.

"Paul," Jacob spoke low but his tone held authority. "Go find the others. Your brothers may need your help."

"You allow Edward to exist after he broke the treaty by changing Emmett, you allow him to be with her," Paul nodded towards us, "and you allow Emmett and Rosalie to discuss their impossible future! What kind of Alpha are you? You disgust me!"

"Paul, stand down and hold your tongue!" Jacob yelled back at him. Immediately, Paul's shoulders slumped, and he took a step back. The rage was still evident on his face but he remained silent, unable to speak after his Alpha had commanded it.

"Life is never as black and white as you think it is. Yes, an agreement was made with Edward over one hundred years ago but I am not an unfair man, Paul, and I must hear the truth about these situations, from both sides, before I decide upon an action – an action that may well lead us to war." Jacob stepped forward and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "My decisions affect us all, and I will not make my judgement based on my emotions."

Paul stood shaking, his eyes only on Jacob. "Now, go, and find your brothers." Paul struggled with his rage for a moment longer, his indecision to stay and argue with Edward or fight with another vampire battled within him. The latter won, and phasing quickly, he ran off into the night.

"Let's get you back to your family," Jacob smiled and walked ahead of me and Edward. I was relieved he had turned away from me, looking upon him in all his naked glory felt strange to me.

With his arm still around my shoulders, Edward walked beside me and I cradled myself close to him. Their steps were slow and deliberate and I knew it was because of me. I had fallen many times tonight and I appreciated their consideration.

"Jacob," I called to him as we walked. "Where is Rosalie?"

Jacob didn't answer me at first, he faced forward and I allowed him his minute to answer. "She is with Emmett. She is where she wants to be."

"Is she – ok?" I wanted to ask about her humanity but felt afraid to address it in front of Edward. He may think I was provoking him about changing me again. It also hindered on the treaty; if Emmett had changed Rosalie he would be breaking their agreement and that meant they were no longer with the tribe.

Jacob finally stopped walking and waited for me to reach him. I kept my gaze straight ahead and did not let it roam any lower than his face. "Rosalie is where she wants to be. She is more than 'ok,' Isabella."

"I guess I wanted to ask if she was still human," I admitted.

"Yes," Jacob answered.

"But Emmett's a vampire," I pointed out the obvious.

"Yes," he replied again.

"What will happen to her?" I asked him.

"They haven't decided yet," he told me. "They have a daughter, but one who would be unable to be near her father, he is still young and not fully in control of his instincts. To be near Ava would endanger her. " Jacob looked at Edward and then back to me. "I doubt they will ever live as a family again. This is something Rosalie must decide."

"But isn't Rosalie in constant danger then? Being near him yet unchanged?"

"She is in danger, but do you think she cares? To be with Emmett is her wish, and if she is to face death to be with him, what do you think she would choose?"

I nodded at his words. I would choose to face death too. No question. No hesitation.

"What are they doing for now?"

"They are learning about each other, all over again. Rosalie is safe for now, Isabella. We do not allow her to be completely alone with Emmett."

"A chaperone is wise," Edward agreed.

"If she decides to stay with Emmett, and become a vampire too, doesn't that break your treaty?"

"Yes, it does."

"So what will happen?" I felt panicked. A war between the shape shifters and the few 'good' vampires around here was not something I wanted to have happen, especially if I was to become one of those 'good' vampires too. I looked down at my swollen wrist and tentatively moved it from side to side. I couldn't see very clearly in the gloom of the forest but I could feel the swelling had subsided and the motion didn't hurt. It only fuelled my idea that I was changing, slowly, for if I was human through and through, then the wrist would be sprained or even fractured and my pain would still be substantial.

I didn't want to enter the world that Edward existed in with a war threatening to destroy us. Jacob and his tribe had become our friends our ally's, and I prayed we could all find a mutual ground where we could co-exist.

"I love a happy ending, don't you Isabella?" I looked up from my wrist and nodded, confused by his question. "There is a lot to discuss. Emmett and Rosalie know this, but despite my earlier agreement with Edward about changing a human, I feel now that there are circumstances that far outweigh that. There are many things to be considered, not just by Emmett and Rosalie but by myself and my tribe. "

Jacob turned and began walking again and we followed. I clung to Edward, frightened he may disappear again, afraid I would stumble. I kept my eyes to the ground just to make sure I didn't lose my footing.

"You're very quiet," Edward said softly.

"Please don't ever leave me again," I said, my voice sounding pitchy as I struggled to control my tears. I started to shake and felt dizziness overwhelm me again.

"Bella," Edward caught me and swept me up in his arms just as my knees buckled. I gripped his shirt front and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to stop the world from spinning. "You're in shock," he said; he called to Jacob and tried to me down on the ground. I held onto him tighter, the shuddering of my body was making my teeth chatter.

"N – no," I cried out as he tried to pry my fingers away. "Stay with me."

"Bella, you're in shock," he said again. "We need to find you some food and water."

"The camp is close, Edward," Jacob told him.

"She needs to rest."

"She can rest there, near the fire. They have food and water there, shelter too."

Edward looked down at me, shaking in his arms and brushed my hair away from my face. "I should never have left you," he said.

"That doesn't matter now. I'm sorry I got mad." I pressed my hand on his.

"But he hurt you! He scared you. I can't bear to see you like this."

"Yes, he hurt me and yes I was terrified. I imagined that it was over for me and I would never see you again, but you came and that's all that really matters."

"I should've been here."

"Yes," I agreed with him again. "But Edward, you needed to leave. What we found in those caves was far beyond what any of us expected and it was difficult for us all, for many different reasons."

"But no one else had to flee," he lowered his eyes, as if ashamed. It was strange how the strengths I admired in him were the same weaknesses he abhorred in himself.

"Yes, they did," I told him. "It was horrific in there and many of those men had to stop the recovery operation and just leave. They needed to find a moment too. They just didn't go as far away as you." I tried to smile at him but it didn't work. Edward felt guilty and he was torturing himself, and nothing I would say was going to make him see it any differently. I hated myself for having a weak moment and causing his guilt to escalate. I had no idea why shock had set in now and not earlier. The danger had passed and I was safe. I was with Edward.

"I wish you could understand how torn I am," he spoke softly. "I want you, in so many ways, but I'm prohibited in every way."

I stopped walking. "Are you saying we can't be together?" I was stunned.

"No," Edward's eyes were as wide as mine, "no, I didn't mean that. We will always be together Bella. You are my life."

"Please don't leave me." I closed my eyes again, sobbing into his chest.

"I won't, I'm here. There is nowhere else I would rather be. When I thought I couldn't reach you in time, I felt such intense conflict, such overpowering grief. I think it hindered my ability to find you for a moment. I had to stop and concentrate. I was losing my mind."

He bent his head and kissed my forehead. "If anything ever happened to you, Bella, I would die from the pain. It would consume me. But not just the sadness, there would be loss and anger; so much anger."

"I have known the pain of loss," Jacob spoke from beside us. "It's all consuming."

"You grieve for someone now?" I turned my head and asked him.

"No, not now, but I did. I have loved and lost, and for a long time, I knew nothing and had no other existence then the pain eating away at my insides. You speak of anger, Edward, and I concur that is true. There are so many feelings, a myriad, but the one that drove me from my grief was the anger. I learnt that you cannot let it rule you."

"Why?" I asked. "If it helps you move on."

"Because that impossible anger will strangle the grief until the memory of your loved one is poisoning your veins, and one day you'll find yourself wishing the person you had loved had never existed, so you'd be spared your pain. The anger does not compel you to start living again, Isabella, it stops you. It's all you can feel and until you let it go, there is nothing else."

Edward and I stared at Jacob, absorbing his words and I tried to imagine this man with amazing confidence and control, patience and wisdom, struggle to let his grief be felt. He was an incredible person and I could see why Edward admired him.

"Jacob, I'm sorry for your loss, I know who you speak of, and she was truly a beautiful person."

"Thank you Edward."

"Your words have made me see that for me, there is only one choice. I must tell you I have made a decision." Edward gently lifted me from his arms and stood to face Jacob. "I love Bella. I want her as my wife and as my equal, for all eternity. Despite what you and your tribe decide, I owe you the truth."

Jacob tilted his head, listening to Edward's words. "You know I cannot hold back the tribe if the treaty is broken, Edward. I could not ask them all to turn a blind eye to this."

Edward nodded. With his arms at his side, he faced his friend. He spoke with surety in his voice, and without breaking eye contact, he told Jacob his choice.

"I have decided that Bella is mine, and she will be changed, no matter what."

End A/N's: Bella's shock spell chant Desumo Offensus is Latin for Electric shock. Sometimes the simple ones work best.