Disclaimer: I do not own most of these intriguing characters, they are the mastermind of the wonderfully creative and talented Steph Meyer!

**For those first 50 readers of the last post – I edited the last paragraph and BELLA HAS NO LONGER BEEN RAPED**

Chapter 29 A Fate Worse than Death

Bella

I cringed inside at what this must look like to Edward – me on my knees, my face in Kinly's crotch –and was thankful that I no longer possessed Jasper's power because his pain would have been the death of me.

"Edward," Kinly said genially, his hands still tangled in my hair.

Edward's presence, his familiar smell, had provided me some measure of control. Kinly might be able to keep me kneeling before him, but I was so not opening my mouth. I had that small amount of fight left in me to prevent that one humiliating event from happening because of the hope that Edward's appearance brought me.

But my pleasure at being able to thwart Kinly was short lived, because Edward was no better equipped to withstand Kinly's power than I was. Devon stealing my powers had been both a blessing and a curse. Right this second, I was really missing being a shield. If I'd still been able to shield, Kinly would never have laid a damn finger on me, let alone a whole fucking hand. A few days ago, I was actually pleased that all those extra powers were gone and I could be as normal as a vampire could be.

"Come in. Have a seat. We were just getting started."

Edward moved haltingly across the brightly lit room, around the camera set up on its tripod, and sat in a folding chair facing me. I could tell he was straining against Kinly, but I knew it was pointless. God knows I'd wasted precious energy fighting him to no avail. Better not to piss him off.

Our eyes met and said worlds to each other – none of it good. And just like that, all the hope I'd felt upon his arrival whooshed out of me like the air out of a balloon. Edward coming here on his own helped nothing. All it accomplished was providing Kinly with another plaything, but now I'd probably be forced to have sex with Kinly in front of Edward before Kinly finally ordered me to help him torture my own husband.

Silently, I begged for death.

Kinly moved behind me, his hands cupping my breast, and by the expression etched on Edward's face, I'd hazard a guess that Kinly was only controlling his body; Edward's mind was still his own and very much aware of another man's hands on my breasts. What fun would it be otherwise? Kinly was all about destruction.

The index finger of his right hand traced the outline of the brand on my chest. "What do you think?"

It was obvious that Edward was fighting for control, his muscles were bulging against non existent bonds, but he was as helpless as I was. God, just let this all be over soon. I never thought I'd see the day when all I wanted was death – death for me and for Edward.

My fear though, was that Kinly would let us live since death would be the kinder option. There was no kindness in Kinly. Maybe there had been once upon a time as a child, but I'd heard a lot about Kinly during my time with him and knew that his father had tramped down any goodness that once resided in him so that all that was left of him was this warped man locked in the horrors of taking his own mother's life and carrying an all consuming rage for all that he'd suffered at his father's hand, for becoming just like him.

No, Kinly would find a way to keep us alive, otherwise, we wouldn't have to deal with the aftermath of his abuse. Alive, we would forever be tormented by the actions of Kinly. These marks on my breasts would always remind both of us of what he'd done to us, how Edward had failed to rescue me. Trust me when I say that one fact would destroy us more surely than any abuse Kinly could conjure. Edward was just like that. He would berate himself until neither one of us could stand him.

So, for all of that, I prayed for death.

Kinly's sweaty body pressed against my naked back while his hands mauled my chest. I tried not to look at Edward, but it was like there was some magnetic pull and my gaze invariably fell on his broken face.

Roughly, my neck was jerked to the side, my ear nearly touching my shoulder, and his foul lips began their sloppy journey down my throat to my collar bone.

"Mmm, I think he's fucking enjoying the show. What do you think, bitch?"

I could feel his mind shoving at mine, demanding an answer and my mouth opened to whisper my reply. He hadn't put his words into my mouth, and for that I was grateful; he certainly could have made me say any damned thing he wanted. "I think he looks pissed."

The hands on my body stilled, thankfully, as he shot a considering look at my very livid, but helpless, husband. What the hell had possessed him to come here alone when he had a bevy of vamps at his side? I knew Edward had a rash streak, but he'd been aware of what Kinly could do; it made no sense to try and rescue me alone. The only person who might have been able to pull it off would've been Christian. Well, Kattra too, as they were both shields.

"You know what, cunt? I believe you're right. He looks fucking bored." He kissed my cheek and whispered, "I'll take care of that," and his hands fell away.

I never thought that his body no longer touching mine would be a bad thing, but the minute he left me kneeling on the floor, I knew that I'd give anything to have him concentrating all that hatred on me. No matter what Kinly did to me, it would be better than watching him hurt Edward.

He scooted the TV in front of Edward. "Since you're so fucking bored with our show, why not watch some TV? See how me and your whore spent our time together before you interrupted." He leaned in close. "I really enjoyed getting to know her." He leered at me over Edward's shoulder, a twinkle in his eyes, and winked at me. "She and I…we're ready for something a little more intense, wouldn't you say so, bitch? You watch this so you're all up to speed on things and she and I will finish where we left off. Who knows, maybe you'll feel like joining in." He clapped him on his shoulder jovially and I watched as the light from the screen flickered in Edward's angry eyes.

I knew what was coming now. Kinly was going to make good on his promise – he was going to rape me right in front of my husband and both of us were powerless to stop it. Even as a human, I'd never felt this helpless, it was not an easy thing to experience. I'd gone from a weak human to an all powerful vampire, to a weak victim of this lunatic.

Kinly scooted a chair across from me. "I thought fucking you might get a rise out of him, but it doesn't fucking seem to be working," he chuckled as a spark of hope flickered inside me. Anything, no matter how awful, was preferable to rape. Don't ask me why, it's just my body. But I couldn't make myself believe that deep within my soul.

His hand flashed out and had my left one in its grasp wrapping his thick fingers around my ring finger and pulled with all his enhanced strength. The pain was instantaneous and excruciating as my finger was ripped away. My vision blurred and I was again close to passing out which would be a godsend, really.

My screams still filled the room. Kinly was using my finger with its reddened tip to caress his chin the way one in deep thought often does. "Just need to test something before we get down to business," he muttered and left the room, my finger now resting on the shiny stainless steel table.

I inhaled Edward's scent deeply into my lungs; rolled the taste of it across my tongue trying to break Kinly's power over me enough to at least talk. After several breaths, I managed a broken, "Ed…ward." But that was all before Kinly returned with another woman. This one was short and plump and her pulse was like a symphony in my ears. She was frightened and her fear called to the predator within me bringing snarls from my mouth. The rumbling growls interrupted the sound of Kinly's commentary playing on the TV.

He forced her in front of me and slit her wrist letting the blood spill across my hand while he held my severed finger in place.

"Please, please help me," she blubbered. Did I look like I could fucking help her? And I wouldn't have anyway. She was in a room full of monsters. The only thing I could promise her was a quick, almost painless, death while I gorged myself on her hot blood.

She continued her blathering which I tried to tune out. My hand being turned this way and that while Kinly examined my now flawless flesh that no longer contained my wedding ring, was distraction enough from the crying woman.

"Fucking perfect."

He wrenched the girl away from me and I screamed soundlessly in rage. I was starving and he was playing on that as he trussed her up still bleeding against the wall with some heavy shackles.

"We're going to need her blood; may as well keep her close by."

He helped me to my feet, stretched me out on the cold table and readied the camera, then sauntered across the room to Edward and watched the screen in silence behind him. "Fucking knockout, isn't she?" He leaned in, his hands resting on Edward's stiff shoulders. "Never felt skin as fucking smooth and hard as hers. Her tits are just the perfect fucking size for my hands." Kinly closed his eyes and shivered in pleasure while Edward growled deep in his chest, the sound vicious and wreaking of warning, but he remained immobile. Kinly laughed at Edward's weak attempt, and focused his attention back on me.

"As soon as your lover over here gets it up, we'll get back to fucking, but until that happy fucking moment, we'll try something new to pass the time." He said this loudly so that Edward would understand he alone had the power to end this form of suffering. Not that the alternative was better, and I was really hoping that Edward understood that. Whatever he dished out I could take as long as it didn't involve fucking Kinly.

By the look on Kinly's face as he once again turned Black Sabbath on, I knew I was about to get up close and personal with unimaginable pain. The finger had been nothing more than an experiment to see if it healed and how quickly. At this rate he could rip me apart and put me back together many times, because Edward was never going to be able to get an erection listening to my screams and watching me be tortured on TV. That might be what got Kinly's rocks off, but it so was not going to work on my husband.

"We'll start small – one finger at a time." He leaned in, his sour breath hot against my face. "If he loves you he'll get it up before the larger pieces of you are torn off." He cleared his throat looking all business-like as his eyes roamed over me. "Ready?" Without waiting for a reply, he yanked off another finger.


The pain finally receded and my spotty vision cleared slowly. Kinly was nowhere in sight, thank god.

"Bella," Edward's strained voice called out to me from the back of the room. Not near the TV, where he'd been when Kinly started working on me.

Hands held me down firmly. I was losing time, sound kept going in an out like an un-tuned radio. "Relax Bella, everything's going to be alright now. Just let me reattach your…," Carlisle's voice trailed off as he searched for a word to finish off the sentence.

"Ki…Kinly?" I asked, my lips shivering as though I had a chill. But vampires don't get cold.

"Christian and Aro have dealt with him. You're safe, Bella."

Sniffles coming from the back of the room caught my attention, but I couldn't raise my head enough to see who it was.

I didn't know what the hell was going on. One minute Kinly was smoking a cigar while I laid on the table without arms or legs and then Carlisle was here. Or was he? Maybe Kinly was still fucking with me and my mind had finally broken. If that was the case, then broken was good. I was okay with hallucinations of my vampire family coming to my rescue. I laughed at the thought that Aro himself had come here. He was protecting my dad. That alone told me that none of it was real.

And yet, the hands on me felt very real. "Just Kinly's hands," I reminded myself.

Carlisle's calm face peered intently at me and I figured I'd just go with it. "Edward…ok?" Rosalie's and Esme's beautiful faces suddenly swam into my vision.

"He's fine, Bella," Esme said while she stroked my cheek. I really loved this woman who was so full of love and warmth. Renee was dead; soon I would be too, but at least I could die with my other mother by my side.

"Oh, my poor darling." She bent her head over mine and kissed every inch of my cheek while she dry-sobbed uncontrollably.

Damn she felt real. I was trying to string events together, not quite daring to believe that they were really here, that I was truly safe, that it was all over.

I forced my mind back to my last conscience moments. Kinly had torn me apart once and had been beginning the process all over again when the darkness finally consumed me. No, that wasn't right. Kinly had been really angry. After the first bout of dismemberment he'd checked on Edward's progress, but nothing brings about erectile dysfunction like the sound of your loved one's flesh being pulled apart.

Edward's punishment for keeping Kinly from fucking me? He'd gotten a taste of the machine I'd been hooked up to, and when that wasn't enough, Kinly began heating up the metal stakes and strategically placing them into his body. He'd left him like that while he put me back together and began the whole damn process again.

"Need blood," I said in a gravelly voice do to all the screaming I'd done.

My eyes closed as I tried to force myself to forget everything that Edward and I had been through. I felt so cold inside, so empty. Justin came forward – I knew it was him just by his enticing scent – and placed a water bottle full of blood into my mouth. Human blood, at that. At this point, they could have fed me anything and I wouldn't have cared; I sucked it down in seconds and Rose handed him another one while Carlisle poured more blood on my wounds as he reattached more parts of me.

Humpty Dumpty kept repeating in my mind. Felt like deja vu, but I couldn't think clearly enough to piece it together. Yep, I think I was well and truly fucked in the head.

Once I was sated and whole, I allowed Carlisle to help me sit up. Jasper was with Edward. He'd been removing the metal staves while Alice poured blood over the deep holes riddling his once perfect body. Fortunately, we healed well, and I knew that he'd be back to his splendor in no time. The same could not be said for me. I glanced at my naked chest, at the brands, and didn't even care that the whole damn family was seeing me nude. All I saw was Kinly's euphoric face as the brand sizzled against my skin, the sound of the music blaring in the background, the feeling of utter hopelessness.

No longer able to bear the sight of my ruined chest, my gaze fell on Edward, but I quickly looked away. How could he ever stand the sight of me again? I would be a constant reminder of everything that had transpired here, of everything he'd suffered because of me.

Alice said something to me, but it never penetrated the thick fog that was protecting me from feeling too much of anything. Like humiliation. I should care that I was naked. There were about a dozen different emotions I should be feeling, but I just wasn't.

Christian and Aro strode purposefully into the room, their eyes trained on me, never once veering towards my husband.

Aro's eyes shone brightly as he tenderly took my face into both of his hands and bestowed a kiss on each cheek. "Oh, my dearest Isabella, you are safe now." His face clouded over like a sudden spring thunderstorm. "Kinly and Devon are dead," he spat, looking every bit the predator I knew he was.

Relief. I should feel relieved, but still I was surrounded by a dark fog, alone and broken.

Aro stepped aside giving Christian room to squeeze in front of me. His scent, so familiar, was not the scent I wanted enveloping me. His arms clutching desperately at me, were not the arms I belonged in, but Edward made no move to interfere. Why should he? You're damaged goods, babe. Better to let Christian deal with you than spend an eternity being reminded of the abuse he suffered because of you. It was never good when your own brain was chastising you.

"I was so scared, Bella." He pulled me tightly against his chest and my hands snaked around his trim waist and allowed him to comfort me. "I thought I'd lost you." The fear was still raw in his voice.

"I was never yours to lose," I mumbled against his shirt causing him to stiffen and pull back slightly so he could look at me, his crimson eyes searching mine. I knew what he wanted to see, but I wasn't capable of love. Not for him, maybe not for anyone.

"Go to her," Alice hissed from the back of the room.

Everyone moved out of the way, like the sea parting for Moses, and Edward stumbled toward me, still weak from his time with Kinly. Clearly, he hadn't fed because no Cullen would succumb to their hunger when the only thing available to sate it was human blood. No, they weren't weak like me.

Christian still held me, though loosely, as Edward made his way to my side, his eyes as empty as mine. Maybe we were in shock. Do vampires go into shock? I should definitely feel something trapped between these two men, but I didn't. I waited for him to reach for me, to see what he'd do, what he'd say.

Christian's hold on me was gone – both physically and emotionally. He moved a few paces to my left and Edward took the blanket that Rose held out to him and wrapped me in it, burying his face in my hair. That small action dispersed the fog that was cushioning my mind from the events of the last few days and both of us were suddenly crying and whispering apologies.

Should be one more post – an epilogue – and then my ff writing days are done. Whew! It's been fun, met some great peeps, and really loved hearing your thoughts.

Any comments on the New Moon trailer? I'm positively giddy with excitement. Looks better than Twilight.