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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
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A/N:- Banner by FatesLoveQueen /oed60p
I own nothing. Boydblog helped me with this and I'll be forever thankful.
She fixed. I fiddled. Any mistakes that remain are on me.
Warning: Violence ahead…squeamish people should avoid or at least read on with caution.
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~ EDWARD CULLEN ~
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By the time I reached Billy's house, the wolves' stench dominated the scents of the vampires, however I instantly recognised two of them.
"Victoria and Kieran," I said to myself.
The scents had confirmed my worst fears, my secret dread.
"You do know them?" Sam was back in human form, trying to comfort Billy who'd arrived home after hearing what had happened.
"Yes and Bella's in danger."
If she isn't already…
I couldn't finish the thought. I refused to believe I was too late.
"They're dangerous?" 'They have Jacob too. At least Jared, Paul and Embry are already tracking them.'
I nodded. "Especially to Bella."
I ran after the three members of the pack that hadn't stopped at Billy's and were already tracking the scents into the forest. I caught up with them fairly quickly. They were being driven by a desire to get their pack-mate home safe; I was being hurtled forward by the need to rescue my love from certain death. It gave me speed that I'd never experienced before. It wasn't long before I had overtaken the wolves. I raced along with every sense heightened to detect any sign of my Bella or her captors.
Before long, one of the trails began to split off from the others. It was the scent I didn't know and was the least of my concern. I was certain Kieran would have Bella—I didn't think he would have handed her over to Victoria without staying by her side.
He loves her.
I tried to remind myself of what I'd seen in his mind and what Jasper had confirmed. I hoped that his love would be enough to keep Bella alive until I could reach her, but I feared it wouldn't be enough to hold-off Victoria's wrath.
I heard the wolves behind me arguing about which trail to follow until they saw the unknown vampire—I recognized him immediately as the stranger Alice had seen in her vision. As much I wanted to get my hands on him and demand he tell me what he knew, I focused on a more vital mission. I had to find Bella and stop her from being hurt.
As one the wolves began to chase the vampire; the pack instinct to kill took over, and lead them away from the trail I'd taken.
Before long, they had run so far from me, I couldn't hear their thoughts and only knew they were still in the forest by the occasional howl that would pierce the air.
I could smell the river and began to lose hope that I would find my Bella; if they'd taken her across to Seattle I might never find them. I refused to give up, but the odds began to seem almost impossible. I stopped running and concentrated around me. I saw snippets of thoughts from a familiar mind; initially patchy but becoming clearer as I concentrated.
Jacob's mind.
It wasn't comforting though; in fact what I saw was almost terrifying enough to bring me to my knees.
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~ BELLA SWAN ~
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I screamed but it was muffled by the cloth and made my dry mouth burn.
A cold hand traced the outside of my arm and Kieran's cool breath whispered in my ear. "Don't worry, this will all be over soon and then we can be together."
I shook my head, 'No'. I didn't want eternity with Kieran. I just wanted Edward. In the most recent vivid memory I had of this world, Edward and I were together in our meadow. It was the perfect afternoon. I wanted to go back to that moment and live it forever.
"See, she doesn't really love you," Victoria's girlish voice laughed. "You should just let me kill her."
"No!"
The chair I was tied to jumped forward as Kieran stood swiftly. As I was pushed forward, my knees bumped against something warm and hard. I twisted in Victoria's grip to see what I had hit and saw Jacob chained to a large concrete girder directly in front of me.
"You wouldn't believe how hard it was to chain up the mutt," Victoria whispered to me. "But he's my insurance policy. I have some inside information about the Cullen's gifts. I've learned that the little one's gift has two weaknesses—she can only see the vision if a decision is made and your furry little friend here, makes her blind."
She let go of me and stood over my lap, practically wrapping herself around Jacob.
"And better yet, he can't phase because he's too close to you. Isn't that right, doggy." She clapped her hands gleefully. "He knows that he'll kill you if he tries to shift."
I met Jacob's eyes to silently implore my apology. It was my fault he was here, being introduced to the world of the supernatural in the worst possible way while he was forced to listen to the delusions of a deranged vampire.
Why would Jacob blind Alice's vision? He's just a normal person.
Jacob's head lolled down to look at me. His eyes were slightly unfocused. They reflected a sorrow I didn't understand but felt responsible for.
"Victoria, please. Show some decorum."
I closed my eyes when I heard Kieran's voice again. I couldn't believe he'd lied to me. He'd told me he wasn't going to allow Victoria to have her revenge.
How could he do this?
"Can I please do this now?" he asked. "Her arm…"
I wondered what he was talking about and turned my head to look at my arm that had been throbbing in agony since I woke. I almost passed out from the sight of the twisted bone pressing against the skin. A deep purple bruise extended from my shoulder to my wrist and even as I watched the muscles seemed to throb and swell. I tried screaming again, but it was useless.
"No!" Victoria snapped; all trace of the girlish glee from earlier was absent from her tone. "I want her screams to be the last thing lover boy hears. I want him to die with her pain ringing in his ears. You can't do anything until I know he's close enough to hear her."
Tears began to flow freely down my face. I wanted her to un-gag me so that I could beg for her to take my life instead of Edward's. I could only imagine the torment she wanted to inflict on him.
Her cruel hand pinched my chin as she tilted my face toward the light.
"Oh, how droll, the human is crying." She dipped down and licked the path of my tears on one side of my face. "It really is such a shame that Kieran's so smitten with you. I could have had some real fun."
Her hand dropped until it was pressed tightly against my throat. She applied just enough pressure to cut off my air supply. I struggled to get enough oxygen and felt my mind slipping out of consciousness.
"I could crush your windpipe right now," she threatened.
The room went dark with bright white pinpoints overtaking my vision. Suddenly she released my throat, and oxygen flooded back into my lungs.
"But where's the fun in that."
Kieran wrapped his arms around me again and whispered in my ear. "I'm sorry, this will all be over soon. I promise."
His fingers stroked my arm—the one that wasn't broken—tenderly. The feeling of his cold skin against mine made me want to gag.
I blamed him. He'd done this to me! He was the reason Victoria was in a position to hurt Edward.
No! It's not his fault. It's mine.
I dropped my chin to my chest, crying unabashedly. I thought about all of the things I could have done differently to avoid this outcome.
Victoria grabbed my face roughly, squeezing my cheeks until I opened my mouth. She yanked the gag out and immediately poured warm, brown water down my throat. I coughed and spluttered as I choked on the putrid liquid.
"Edward's coming to save you," she taunted. "Is there anything you want to say to him?"
I closed my mouth tightly. I didn't want him to come. I would die before I allowed him to be harmed because of me.
"Oh, a tough one, are you?"
She grabbed my index finger and neatly snapped the bone in two. I bit back the scream that wanted to fly from me and issued the smallest whimper instead.
Victoria frowned at me. "That won't do."
"Be brave, Bella," Kieran whispered as he stroked his fingers along my arm again. His voice sounded pained and pitiful. "It'll all be over soon."
She kicked my leg, shattering it in almost the same place as James had. I cried out a little louder, but was still able to clamp my lips shut enough to muffle most of the noise.
Victoria tilted her head as if listening for a sound that I couldn't hear.
"Oh, this is going to be too good." An evil smile lit her features, showing off almost all of her razor sharp teeth. "He's probably close now enough that he can hear our thoughts. You show him how brave you can be, how hard you fought to keep him away. He'll see it all, and then…he'll die."
"No!" I cried.
"Yes! His last thoughts will be consumed by this vision of you—your red, tear-stained face."
She ran her finger along my cheek so hard that I was certain it bruised immediately.
I whimpered in agony and tried to pull my face away from her grasp.
"Your pathetic whimpers of pain."
She pressed her finger to my neck, running her fingernail along my jugular. A warm trickle of blood ran down my neck and chest.
"And then your death."
The pain of everything else that had happened faded away when I felt Kieran's arms stiffen around my body. His tongue ran up the fresh wound on my neck. He made a small sound of absolute pleasure and then he sank his teeth deep into my throat.
I couldn't hold back any more. The scream that issued from me was ear-piercing, at least until it was silenced by the pressure of Kieran's jaws as my world faded to black.
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~ EDWARD CULLEN ~
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Bella was being tortured. It was an image I knew would haunt my memory forever. She was tied to a chair; her hands bound together and secured in her lap. Her skin was pale and tears streaked down her face. One of her arms was twisted and swollen; one of her fingers bent at an awkward angle.
Rage and sorrow surged through me at the sight of her. I felt sickened that this could happen to someone as sweet and gentle as Bella.
Kieran sat behind my love, tenderly stroking her arm and whispering into her ear.
The sight of her bruised body, the smell of her tears and the sounds of her rapid heartbeat and soft whimpers spurred me to run faster, but I worried that it wouldn't be fast enough. I couldn't stand to think of the fact that I was so close—close enough to hear the familiar mind of Jacob Black—but not close enough to rescue her.
I felt helpless watching her experience so much pain and agony while being too far away to help. The feeling was intensified listening to Jacob's thoughts as he felt the same way. The only way he stood a chance of destroying the vampires was to phase, but they had chained him up far too close to Bella. She would die if he tried to save her. The guilt he felt over their capture was palpable, but misplaced.
It's my fault.
After all, Bella should never have been in La Push. She should have been safe at my side where I could have protected her. If I hadn't been so obsessed with getting answers, she wouldn't have been tortured.
I watched helpless through Jacob's eyes as Victoria spoke to Bella. Her voice was too sickly-sweet, filled with the venom and ugliness that inhabited her body. Without warning, she kicked, smashing her foot into Bella's leg. The sound of the bone snapping broke my heart.
A feral snarl rose from my chest and shattered the near silence around me.
I'm going to make her pay!
I could see a building in the distance—an abandoned logging shed.
"He's probably close now enough that he can hear our thoughts. You show him how brave you can be, how hard you fought to keep him away. He'll see it all, and then he'll die." Victoria's evil voice filtered to me through Jacob's mind.
Victoria grabbed at Bella's face, an ugly purple bruise rising beneath her fingertips.
I had to save Bella. I couldn't even think of not making it in time, not when I was so close.
I wasn't afraid that Victoria was expecting me; I didn't even worry about how she knew I was coming. All of my attention was focused on getting to Bella. I knew Victoria would only be happy playing cat and mouse with Bella for so long.
I saw Kieran's mind at the exact point in time Victoria tired of the game. Through him, I smelled the intoxicating scent of Bella's spilling blood. My speed pushing me toward Bella ratcheted up to another level—one I hadn't known existed—driven by both the desire to protect her and the need to consume the source of the delectable scent.
Kieran's willpower crumbled as quickly as Bella's blood flowed. He pounced on the wound hungrily, eagerly lapping up the sweet nectar running from her throat.
I heard Bella's scream pierce the air and shouted my own cry of agony. Victoria's laughter floated to me on the breeze. I watched through Jacob's eyes as Victoria surveyed her handiwork. Kieran had pressed himself against Bella's wound so fiercely that he'd knocked the chair she was tied to over. Bella's shoulder shattered as it struck the hard floor, but she didn't cry out in pain because she was already unconscious.
Not dead, she can't be dead.
I was finally close enough to help. Without thinking, I smashed into the door, throwing it off its hinges and flying across the room.
"HOW DOES IT FEEL?" Victoria screamed at me with delight and malice. "Seeing the one you love destroyed!"
Victoria hadn't realized she'd made a fatal mistake as she stepped toward me. Jacob caught my eye and I nodded to let him know Bella was far enough away. A tearing sound filled the air followed by the groaning as the iron chains that had held him in place shattered.
Victoria spun around just as Jacob launched himself at her. As soon as he was close enough, she grabbed handfuls of his fur and twisted roughly. He yelped as his body smashed to the ground. I wanted to help him, but I was drawn to the failing heartbeat of my love.
I leapt at Kieran, grabbing for his hair and twisting him away from Bella's neck. As I clutched his hair to pull him from Bella, he dropped her and snarled at me. Bella fell limply to the ground as Kieran's lips pulled back to reveal teeth stained with her blood. His eyes changed to a ruddy amber as her life flowed through his system.
I interjected myself between Kieran and Bella, pushing him further away from her. I crouched over her prostrate form, growling ferociously at him. Despite how much her blood had called to me earlier, seeing her bruised skin and shattered bones up close was too much; the temptation of her blood was almost non-existent.
'What have I done?'
Kieran's thoughts flowed to me as he regained control of his senses. He moved to check on Bella, but the growl in my chest deepened.
"LEAVE. HER. ALONE!" I roared.
"I just want to make sure she's okay."
"You did this!" I snapped.
'I didn't mean for her to get hurt. I didn't realize…' He raised his eyes to meet mine and I saw a mind torn apart by guilt. Even still, I couldn't find it in myself to forgive him. It was his fault that Bella was lying unconscious and broken.
Jacob yelped again as Victoria used his attack momentum to swing him against the wall. I knew he needed help—it was almost like she had a sixth sense when it came to evading his attack—I just couldn't tear myself away from Bella.
There was only one other hope for Jacob, and for Bella. I turned back to Kieran.
"Help him!"
Kieran's eyes flittered from Bella's limp body to the fight between Jacob and Victoria. I heard his hatred for Victoria building as he mentally catalogued Bella's injuries.
Finally, his anger was too much to contain and he launched himself into the fight.
I longed to be the one to remove Victoria's head. I wanted to hear her screams as recompense for the pain she'd caused Bella. But I was more focused on the slowing heartbeat and horrid gurgling sounds issuing from the love of my existence.
I ignored the fighting around me and turned my full attention to Bella. As I unbound her hands and feet, I realized the full extent of her injuries. She was so abnormally pale that I was certain she'd lost too much blood. Her throat was slashed and her larynx had been crushed from the pressure of Kieran's bite. I lamented I didn't possess Carlisle's surgical skills, but I wasn't sure even he could save her.
I despaired that I might be facing the final moments of her life.
"Bella, my love, I'm here," I whispered to her soothingly.
I couldn't reassure her that everything would be alright because I didn't see how it could be. Her heartbeat slowed as she struggled for breath. Each exhale was followed by a sickening burble as she tried to suck air through her collapsed throat. I knew it was up to me to do everything I could to save her. I worried each heartbeat would be her last. Each second seemed to drag for an eternity, and yet I knew she only had a precious few left.
I refused to give in to my fear.
I will save her!
I recalled everything I learned while studying medicine. The techniques were probably out of date and I hadn't performed them in a real emergency, but I had no other choice. I reached for the remnants of the chain that had secured Jacob, snapping one of the links and sharpening it against the concrete floor. I cradled Bella in my arms, lifting her chest so that her head fell back against my arm, exposing her throat. I prayed to whomever was listening to guide my hand.
"I'm sorry, Bella," I whispered, knowing there was nothing I could do to anesthetize her. She would still be able to feel.
I searched Bella's pockets and found a pen. I snapped it and ripped out the insert to leave a make-shift tube.
Using the crude scalpel I'd fashioned from the chain, I punctured an incision into Bella's throat at a point below the damage. I held the edges of the wound apart before I pressed the pen into her flesh. The sound of air flowing in and out of the hole gave me a profound sense of relief.
With her breathing normalized, and her heartbeat strengthening, I turned my attention to the wound on her neck. The edges of the ragged bite-mark glistened with venom and I knew her fate had been sealed. It wasn't like the last time she'd been bitten and I was able remove the venom from the wound. This time, it was her jugular that had been attacked and there was no way of knowing how far the venom had already spread. She'd already lost so much blood it was too dangerous to risk her losing any more.
There was only one possible outcome to her situation.
I kissed her lips softly, saying a final goodbye to their warmth. Then I bit into the soft flesh on the other side of her neck. The taste of her blood was every bit as enticing as her scent had promised, but that was only a fleeting thought for me. I stopped myself from drinking and licked the wound. I continued around her body; biting then licking to seal the wound. It wasn't the way I imagined turning her, but I knew it was what she wanted.
'I want you to save me, in the way that only you can.'
I brushed the remnants of the tears that stained her cheeks away.
"I'll never leave your side again," I promised.
"Oh how sweet." Victoria's voice was full of hatred.
I turned quickly into a protective stance. The sounds of claws striking hard vampire skin still filled the air. I hadn't paid attention to what was happening because I hadn't expected Victoria to be the victor. I saw that Jacob and Kieran were fighting two other vampires—newborns by the look of their eyes—leaving Victoria free to escape the fray.
"You will not hurt her again," I hissed.
"And who's going to stop me?" Victoria laughed cruelly as she advanced. "You?"
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