Damn you, ever-nagging plot bunnies … I just can't get this one out of my head. I am focusing on one story, but I wanted to get a foundation on this new one. So, here we go … This will be similar to Buying Love, Friends with Benefits, Mafia Princess and The One That Got Away, with shorter chapters and weekly updates: I'm planning on keeping the update schedule with this one … Sunday updates, Wednesday teasers.

So, they're mated. Their bond complete. YAY! Dark creatures are wreaking havoc and attacking humans in plain sight. NO! We're going to hear about their plan next chapter, leading up to the battle against good and evil. Who will prevail?

Chapter Twenty-Seven

EPOV

A month had passed from our midnight glienne ceremony. Bella and I, while training relentlessly, were happy for the first time in our lives. We had family that loved us and people who supported us. During our training, we focused on our separate powers, but when we combined together? Bella and I were fucking lethal. We protected each other and complimented it each other well. I was power, strength and impulsivity. Bella was calm, calculating and tricky.

While we were training, we had shapeshifters and mages perform reconnaissance on Aro's compound. Alice had discovered it by accident when she was having a vision of our parents.

Not parents … they were the people who needed trophy children … Carlisle and Esme Cullen were not our parents.

Aro's compound was a creepy looking castle overlooking the Pacific Ocean, just outside of Forks, on the La Push Reservation. Alice had holes in her visions, especially where the wolves were concerned, but we knew where their center of activity was located. From what Bella told me, Jacob lived in Forks on the reservation before they got married and moved to Seattle. His father, Billy, still lived on the reservation, as far as I knew.

However, with the compound in La Push, and Jake being a police officer, a detective, for the Seattle Police Department, it begged to question, was he still working, gathering intel on our growing contingent of magical creatures? Emmett was at his precinct today, finding out that information.

I was working with Peter and Garrett on my fighting skills, fine-tuning my hand-to-hand combat. I was getting stronger, better, but I was still an attorney at heart, a pencil pusher and a book nerd. I'd rather use my words to fight than my fists, but I don't think Aro would understand if I sued him and creamed him in the United States Courts. He understood brute force, violence and malice. He reveled in death and destruction, thriving in chaos and bloodshed. The finer points of arguing were lost on him.

Damn it.

Falling down onto the soil of the training ground, I sucked down some water and panted heavily. My arms were sore as fuck and I was bruised as all hell. Eleazar came running out, holding my cell phone. "Lord Edward, you have a phone call," he said. "It's Master Emmett."

I took the phone, swiping my finger across the screen and pressing the speaker phone. "Emmett? What's up, man?"

"Oh, not much," he snorted, "except Jacob Black has been fired from his job for domestic abuse, spousal rape and something to do with an abortion."

"If his attacks caused Bella's miscarriage, he aborted their baby and it's a felony," I replied. "What is the police force going to do about it? Obviously, he's fired, but are they pressing charges?"

"Only Bella can press charges," Emmett said. "She was the one who had to deal with the abuse. However, her uncontested divorce, with photos of her battered and bruised body and reports of … Well, suffice it to say, the Narcotics division is down one detective. No one is upset about it. Jake was a loose cannon to begin with and now he's gone."

Alice sprinted out of the house, her eyes wide and she flitted to me, taking my face. "Edward …" she gasped.

"What is it, Miss Alice?" Eleazar asked.

"Tell us, Tink," Emmett boomed over the phone.

"Vision," she choked out. "It's spotty, because of the wolves, but …" She put her hand on my head and I saw her vision in my mind. Is this a new power? Later, I'd find out that all precognitives could share their visions with physical contact. Anyway, back to the vision. It flickered in and out because of whatever wonkiness the wolves' involvement caused. However, I saw Aro in some sort of throne room. He was berating Jacob. I couldn't tell what was being said. There was no sound.

"Can you hear him?" I asked.

"No, but I can read lips," she said, narrowing her eyes. "He's fucking pissed at Jacob for losing the connection with the Seattle police and not containing his temper with Bella. She … she was the key in all of this, supposedly. Jacob was to lure her to the darkness and she would become a dark elf or something. No, a dark fae, but not a vampire. She'd maintain her powers and not be sensitive to sunlight. Anyway, he was supposed to marry her and not touch her in violence, but his wolf-temper negated that. He beat her when he could and raped her on a whim. It was the rape that caused her powers to begin to surface. Her body needed a way to protect itself …"

"Fucking monster. He will not survive if we meet face-to-face," I snarled.

"Shhhhh, Edward," Alice chided, tugging on my hair. "Aro is sentencing Jacob to death for his betrayal, unless he can kill both you and Bella. He's being sentenced to death for lack of control and letting Bella escape." She narrowed her eyes and growled low. "No timeline, but from what I can see, they're preparing for battle. It will be soon."

"Do you know what they're trying to do?" I asked, trying to make sense of her vision. The vision grew muddier and she pulled her hands back. "Ali?"

"More wolves. It means more interference," she said. With a frown, she thrust her hand back to my forehead and I saw a clearer picture, with my parents speaking with Aro. "We knew he was working with them, but this is solid proof that Carlisle is colluding with the dark creatures." Aro handed my dad a check. "Aro is funding Dad's congressional run." There were some flashes of money exchanging hands in dark corners, dingy restaurants and from illegal dealings. "Shady business … very shady business. If he's discovered, he won't …"

"Not our concern, Alice," I said as she pulled her hand back.

"Can you share with the class?" Emmett asked, laughter ringing in his voice.

"Sorry," Alice chuckled. She told Emmett what happened since we were the only ones who saw vision. Peter shot up, pacing and crossing his arms in frustration. When Alice finished, she looked at me and darted her eyes to Peter. "I don't know if that will work."

"What?" I asked.

"Something about a trap," Alice answered. "The creatures under Aro's control are smart. They'll see it a mile away."

"Will they attack?" Peter questioned, arching a brow.

"I don't know. My visions, while powerful and scarily accurate, are only based on decided futures. You can make a decision and I'll see how it affects you, like setting a trap for Aro and the dark creatures. I can see that it won't work," she said. "The only thing I can see for certain is that we continue training." She narrowed her eyes. "Tomorrow … it's supposed to rain in a few moments."

We heard the distant rumbling of the thunder. We went inside and I looked for Bella. She was in the library, reading with Rosalie and Charlotte. She smiled at me, her face just glowing when she saw me. I made my way to her, sitting down and taking her hand. "Sihrena," I said.

"I saw you working with the guys," she said, kissing my palm. "You're quite sexy, baby."

"Oh, you two are worse than any porn stars that I've seen," Rose snickered.

"So?" Bella barked, giving her friend a glower. "I love him and sharing that love is something that I've never had, not with Jacob." She got up and sat on my lap, burying her face into my neck and I felt her body temperature spike. She was angry. I could feel her anger and anxiety through our connection.

"I'm sorry, Bells," Rose said, her voice contrite. "I know … I saw what Jacob did to you. I shouldn't tease."

"It's okay," Bella muttered, her ire indicating it was anything but okay.

"Come on, sihrena," I said, standing up and taking her hand. "I'm hungry. I worked muscles I hadn't worked since …"

"Yesterday?" Bella quipped, smirking, but it didn't reach her eyes. I tugged her away and went into the kitchen. She made me a snack and we shared it. Slowly, she calmed down, but her touches were tentative and she was pulling back, afraid to show affection for fear of being teased or hurt, physically. I took her hand, staring into her eyes. The light was dimming and she was protecting herself. "What?" she asked, her voice flat.

"Don't pull away," I said. "We are newly mated and have every right to be obnoxiously touchy-feely, like newlyweds." She shot me a look. I felt her embarrassment from Rose's comment. Her thoughts were quiet, silent to me, but we discovered we could mentally communicate when we wanted, if we left the mental shield to allow access, but our emotions were always connected. "I love you. I'm proud to have you by my side, touching you, loving you. I'm never embarrassed to hold you or to be with you, sihrena."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Why are you apologizing?" I asked. "You did nothing wrong. You never do anything wrong, love." She eyed me dubiously, trepidation creeping into her emotions. "I'm serious. The whole situation is overwhelming, but we can … while working together … we can stop this. I need you. I need you to be strong. Don't doubt any of us. Don't doubt me, Bella. We're by your side, always."

"It's overwhelming. Selfishly, I want just you. I'm terrified of seeing Jacob and freezing up, causing someone to get hurt, or worse, killed!" she hissed. She paused and opened her mind to me, showing me her greatest fear. "And I can't lose you, Edward. You've made me complete. I feel loved and supported since my father's death." She slid her arms around my waist and she snuggled closer. I held her to my side. I wanted to hold her with my wings, but I was told that was a bit of a taboo amongst the fae who had wings. It was the equivalent of walking around without pants and letting my dick hang out. Though, she felt the safest when my arms were around her, along with my wings. That only happened in our bedroom, while we made love or when we slept.

"Have faith in our powers. They are growing, day-by-day," I whispered. "I would walk through fire to protect you, Bella. I would do anything to ensure your safety."

"But, I can't … I don't want to lose the one person I love more than anything," she sniffled.

"Neither do I, Bella," I said, curling my wings around her, taboo or not, my mate needed my protection, my love. "You are my life now and we'll survive this. I want forever with you."

"Forever isn't long enough," she whispered.

"No, it's not," I said, kissing her forehead and caressing her cheek. "It's just the beginning and I have no intention of losing that, Bella."

A/N: So, they're preparing for battle. Bella's feeling a bit wary and upset. It's understandable. She's not used to the teasing of a family and she was emotionally and physically beaten down by her ex-husband/dark creature/Alpha wolf. She will find her inner strength.

Now, I've got the climax of the story planned. This was the first part … with Alice's vision. All the cards will settle and things will come to an explosive head. Who will make it? Who will win? Who will be sacrificed? Anyhow, leave me some loving … thank you for reading and I'll see you next week (with a teaser on Wednesday!). Huggles!