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.

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!

Chapter Twenty-Eight

EPOV

As each day passed, Alice's visions were becoming more refined. We learned names of the key players involved in Aro's army. Aro was a dark elf and he was leading everyone with his plan of conquering the world, spreading evil over the planet. Jacob was the alpha wolf, leading Sam, Quil and Embry, members of the core wolf pack. There were a few other shapeshifters, but, they were nowhere as strong as Sam, Quil and Embry. Finally, there were some vampires, a group of enforcers. Demetri and Felix were the muscle, while two smaller vampires, Jane and Alec, a pair of incestuous twins, were the magical terrorizers. However, their sensitivity to sunlight, made their powers limited. They could only attack at night and they needed to feed often.

With each tidbit of information, it banded our growing army closer together. Also, more creatures came to help in training and to grow their magical knowledge. Part of the creatures coming in were here to help them train, but most of them were there to protect me and Bella. We were the leaders of the magical community in North America. If something happened to us, well, I didn't want to imagine it.

Carmen and Marcus continued to work at the legal aid office, maintaining the human façade. Tanya, the shapeshifter, had taken over my position in the office. Carmen said she was good, but I was better. It made me remember that I missed practicing law. I'm not going to lie, but I could not even begin to fathom trying to balance my job and the rigorous training schedule, learning spells and mastering my art. I would go to bed, exhausted, physically and mentally. The only solace I had was being with Bella. Despite our exhaustion from training and expanding our magical knowledge, we always found times to make love, solidifying and fortifying our mating bond. It was only with her that I found peace and true happiness; where I felt most loved and protected. I knew the feeling was mutual. Bella tried to move closer to me whenever we made love, keeping her mind open to me and showing me what my love did to her, how she felt.

The only downfall of not interacting in the human world was the isolation we felt. Bella and I wanted to go out, have dates and spend time with our growing circle of friends. Peter and Charlotte, along with Carmen and Eleazar, felt that it would be important that we stayed in hiding. If we needed to go somewhere, we'd be heavily guarded. Deciding that heavy guard would be too much of a burden, we stayed put and poured ourselves into our training.

During our training, Jasper suggested that we have tracking chips implanted. As we were sitting around a fire, that Bella so kindly started for us, Jasper pressed it. "It's just a suggestion. What happens if we get caught? How will we be found?"

"Do you have that kind of technology?" I asked.

"We have a prototype," Emmett answered, holding up tiny bottle with a chip inside.

"Where did you get that?" Bella questioned, looking at the bottle.

"Esme and Carlisle wanted me to implant it into Alice," Jasper frowned. Alice's eyes grew almost comically large, as did mine. "They were adamant that Alice would never see you, Edward. They wanted this injected into her thigh so they could track her every movement."

"Fuckers," Alice spat.

"Agreed," I sneered. "You're not a dog, Alice."

"And now you want to use this same technology on us?" Bella said, arching a brow. "We're not dogs, either."

"Well," I said, my body changing and I changed into a pure white husky. Bella rolled her eyes as I sat next her, my tail wagging. Bella giggled as she rubbed behind my ears and I snuggled closer.

"Are you going to start humping her leg, Eddie?" Emmett laughed. I shot him a look, changing back into my fae form. I sent a magical snowball to him, smacking him in the forehead. "The hell?"

"I'm not going to hump her leg, asshole," I snorted, rolling my eyes. Bella giggled, moving to sit on my lap and kissing my neck. I held her tightly. "Who will be chipped?"

"I think that Marcus, Carmen and anyone who is working among humans," Emmett said. "Also, we think that you and Bella should be chipped, too."

"We're not using the implant that my parents created, right?" Alice asked, her nose wrinkled.

"No. We're using it as a guide to create new ones. We've got four created. I've also created an app to be able to track the chips," Jasper said. "We can implant the chips into Lord Edward and Lady Bella, with Carmen and Marcus."

"How soon until we have more chips?" I questioned.

"A week or so? We'll have four more," Jasper replied. "I can inject you all now."

"Will it hurt?" Bella whispered.

"No more than a flu shot," Jasper answered. He got up and we followed him into the well-stocked med clinic. He took out a large syringe and Bella wrinkled her nose. I squeezed her hand and sat down. Jasper loaded up one of the chips, lifting my arm. "Make a muscle." I flexed my arm and he shot it into my bicep. It stung a little bit, but no more than a flu shot, like he'd described. He took out his cell phone, opening up the tracking app. He smiled, showing the screen to me. "It tells you exactly where you're at, the location, using satellite navigation."

"How accurate is it?" Bella asked.

"To the millimeter," Jasper replied. He turned to Bella. "With you, I think we'd need to inject it into your thigh. You're not as muscular as Edward in the arms." He prepared a new syringe, blinking to me. "You want to do it, Edward?"

"Yeah," I answered, taking the syringe. He left. I helped Bella onto the table. She eyed the syringe. "It doesn't hurt, sihrena."

"Liar," she said. "I saw you flinch and I felt the pain in your bicep," she said, gulping. I smiled, kissing her tenderly and fully distracting her. When she was relaxed, I injected the chip into her leg. She squeaked, looking down and scowling. "Tricky, Edward. Very, very tricky."

"What were you focused on, Bella?" I snickered. "Come on, love. We've been chipped. I want to take some time ensure that I didn't hurt you."

"Is that a euphemism for making love?" she giggled.

"Yes," I said, picking her up. She kissed me, blinking us up to our suite.

xx TMW xx

Weeks passed and everyone in our inner circle had been chipped. We received word from creatures all over the country, putting a stop to dark creatures who were practicing magic in the open. The worst was the vampires. They were feeding from humans, draining them dry and leaving their desiccated bodies in plain sight.

"We need to put a stop to this," I growled. "How many bodies? How many humans have been killed from these rogue vampires?"

"Too many," Eleazar hissed. "There's a great deal of activity in large cities, mainly Chicago, New York and Los Angeles."

"How many were killed?" I asked.

"Most of them were captured and left out in the sun to bake," Eleazar chuckled, looking up from his computer. "There are a few who have not succumbed to the madness, most commonly known among vampires, captured in Chicago."

"We should interview them," I said. "See if they have any knowledge about what's happening? They go mad?"

"When they're hungry, especially. If they've fed, they are controllable," Eleazar explained.

"Peter, what do you think?" I asked. "Should we go to Chicago? Interrogate these vampires?"

"I think it would be beneficial, but I don't want you to go," Peter said. "You're too valuable."

"But, I think I could glean something from these parasites," I said. "With Bella's blinking abilities, we could pop in, interrogate them, and pop back. No worries about flying or whatever. We need more information." As I said that, Bella appeared, a coy smile on her face. "Speak of the devil …"

"Ha, ha," she snorted. "I felt your need for me. You want to blink to Chicago?"

"Is it possible?" I asked.

"I've never been to Chicago," she mumbled. "I'm still getting used to this whole blinking nonsense." Peter showed Bella a picture of the warehouse where the vampires were being held. "I need more than a picture, Peter. I could try to blink to the city, but I can't just see a picture and go there." She pursed her lips. "Plus, I remember the last time I blinked. I was exhausted afterward."

"You're stronger, magically," Peter said. "But, I think we should err on the side of caution. Why don't we fly to Chicago?"

"Agreed," I nodded. "I don't want you to be overly tired, sihrena. Can you make the arrangements?"

"I'd still prefer that you stay," Peter grumbled. "I know you want a first-hand experience with some of these dark creatures, but it could be a trap. Vampires are unpredictable and dangerous. Their madness … it's … you could be hurt, or worse … killed."

"I'm stronger, we're stronger. We know how our powers work and I'm not afraid," I said, taking Bella's hands. "We're going into battle soon enough, right?"

"Okay," Peter acquiesced. "Be ready to go by sunset."

A few hours later, we had one small bag packed and we got onto the waiting private jet with Peter, Tanya, Emmett and Charlotte. The flight took a little less than three hours since we got a tailwind. We landed at a private airfield, owned by an elf in the suburbs. Once we deplaned, we got into a waiting car and drove to the city to a warehouse where the vampires were being held captive. Traffic was a bit unbearable, but we got to the warehouse later than we anticipated. Peter stopped us outside. "They're hungry."

"Are they any danger to us?" Bella asked. "As fae, I mean?"

"They can drink from you, but your blood is poison to them," Peter said. "They'll die. I can sense that they recognize you as being fae. All of us, really." There were angry snarls and hissing from inside the warehouse. "Come on. We'll morph once inside."

We entered the warehouse and quickly morphed into our fae forms. I kept my wings tucked to my body and made my way deeper into the warehouse. There was a distinct scent of sweetness, lingering with the unpleasant smell of decay and rot. Chained to the metal support beams of the warehouse, were two vampires. Their skin was almost gray with bright red eyes and pointed ears. They had fangs, dripping with their saliva. "It's venom," Peter said. "It stuns their prey, renders them paralyzed so they can take their time drinking the lifes blood of their victim." He glowered at the vampires, stalking toward them. "Who are you working for?"

"We're thirsty," hissed the female vampire, twisting her body against her metal cuffs. "We need to feed. We need to feed from humans! Free us!"

"We can't free you," I said, stepping into the light. They both growled and struggled against their restraints. The male vampire snapped at me, wrenching his hand free from his cuffs. I held up a hand, freezing it and binding it behind him. "Powerful."

"You will not win this battle," the male vampire sneered. "You are not strong enough."

"So, you know who I am?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"You're a disgrace," the female snapped. "Weak. Insignificant." She smiled, her red eyes turning dark and she rubbed her legs together. "But, handsome. Wanna fuck?"

Bella growled, a fire ball appearing and she glowered at the female. "He's my mate, bitch. Unless you want to imitate a fireball, I suggest you shut the fuck up," she said.

"I wouldn't touch her with my dad's dick," I said, sliding my arm around her waist. The female struggled and tried to wriggle out of her restraints. "Now, who are you working for? Aro? Jacob?" A low growl at Aro's name gave us answers that we were looking for. "Aro is on the losing side, my friends."

"And he knew that you'd come out to investigate," the male laughed. "So, predictable."

"Can I light one of them on fire?" Bella asked, the fireball growing and she focused her eyes on the male who looked at her like she was a piece of steak. "I was told my blood is poisonous to you, asshole. Stop staring at me like I'm dinner."

"I'm just merely appreciating the view. I may be a blood-thirsty vampire, but I do like the appearance of sexy, sensual female," he chuckled.

He's toast, Bella thought to me. I nodded and she tossed the fireball at him, enveloping him almost immediately. He screamed and his body exploded, ending up as a pile of ash on the floor. "You next, sweetheart?" Bella snarled. The female looked at her companion.

"Her madness is beginning to set in," Peter hissed. "Her mind is …"

Freezing my hand, I wrapped it around the female's neck. "Your friend said that Aro knew we'd be sent here to investigate. He knows that you'd be captured and that you would die. Not a good leader, hmmm?"

"We needed to create a diversion," she squeaked as the ice moved from my hand and spread to her neck. "Separate you." I shot a look to Emmett. He ducked out, pulling out his cell phone. With my hearing, I could listen to Emmett speaking to Alice and his voice becoming more anxious. "It worked. We got what we wanted. My death will not be in vain."

"You truly are mad," I hissed, completely freezing her head and nodding to Bella, who shot a fireball at her, engulfing the female vampire immediately. She exploded and another pile of ash was on the floor. Emmett came inside, his eyes wide. "What?"

"Carmen, Marcus and Rose … they were taken outside of the legal aid office," Emmett said, his eyes wide and fear enveloping him. "My mate … they took my mate."

A/N: We're getting closer … leave me some!