A/N: I appreciate your continued support and all your reviews, favs, and follows! I apologize for the lapse in updates, but the next chapter is written and just needs to be edited so the wait won't be long.

As always, I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does.

EPOV

"Jasper, I cannot tell you how truly disturbed I am by the sight of you looking like that," I mumbled as my brother-in-law stared back at me with a wide grin on his face. Except it wasn't Jasper's goofy mug smirking in amusement…it was James' scraggly face. The illusion was fucking perfect down to the very last scar.

Alice huffed and crossed her arms above her tiny baby bump. "You think you're disturbed…"

"Awe baby, give me a kiss!" Jasper teased, smacking his pouted lips together while making exaggerated smooching noises. Fuck me if his voice wasn't a resounding match to that asshole James.

Alice slapped against her husband's chest and shoved him away from her. "Touch me again looking like that and I'll cut you." A satisfied grin stretched across her face as Jasper cringed back in fear. Our resulting laughter served to help squelch the somber atmosphere that had taken up residence in the lab. We were kind of in a holding pattern, just waiting for a report back from Carlisle giving us the okay to head out. I had to admit, I was more than a little fucking nervous.

Bella wound her arms around my waist and pressed her little body up against me. "I don't want to be apart from you, Edward."

"I know, angel," I sighed in resignation. "I don't want to be away from you either, but we have to deal with James." She pressed her face firmly into my chest and her shoulders began to shake. "Oh sweetheart, come here," I whispered, dragging her over to the nearest chair and pulling her into my lap.

She looked at me with watery eyes, her anguish palpable. "I'm s-sorr-ry," she hiccuped. "I c-can't lose y-you."

I stroked her face gently and wiped away the tears falling freely down her cheeks. "You won't lose me, angel. This is going to work and we'll be back before you even have a chance to miss my overbearing ass." She giggled a little at that, but the smile never reached her eyes. "Please trust me. Remember what I said last night? I will always find my way back to you."

The stress of yesterday was a bit too much for my angel and she'd been especially needy last night. I wasn't sure how much of her overly emotional state was attributable to her pregnancy and how much was just pure unadulterated fear. Regardless, my little mate was weepy one moment and ravenous the next. We'd barely made it into the trees before she was tearing my clothes off.

"Damn it, Bella…you keep biting me like that and I'm going to fuck you up against the next tree!" I could feel her smirk against the side of my neck as my legs carried us through the thicket and toward our sanctuary. The words were no sooner out of my mouth, than I felt her sharp little teeth sink into the flesh between my neck and shoulder as she shredded the rest of my clothes.

"That's it. You're in for it now little girl." Maneuvering us to the nearest large tree, I pressed her against the thick trunk and ripped her shirt from her lithe little body. As her beautiful breasts came into view, I greedily sucked a pert nipple into my mouth, eliciting a guttural moan from my mate.

"Ungh, Edward that feels so fucking good." She wove her fingers through my hair and held my head in place with as much force as she could muster. I teased her nipple, pulling it between my teeth and giving it a playful tug, and was rewarded for my efforts with a loud gasp and distinct swivel of her hips.

I pressed her harder into the tree to restrict her movements. "Stay still," I growled, reaching down to grasp the waistband of her pants. With one swift tug, her last remaining clothing fell around us in tatters, leaving her gloriously bare before me. "Fuck you're so beautiful…and all mine!"

"Edward, please…" she begged, drawing out the last word as my fingers teased her relentlessly. She shook her head back and forth and her body trembled under my ministrations.

"You want my cock, angel?" I teased, ghosting my lips across her throat. "Should I fuck you right here? I won't be gentle."

"Yes, yes, yes," she chanted. Her thoughts were becoming coherent as her heart pounded in her chest; her scent growing stronger with every staccato beat. "Right here…right now. Fuck me…please!"

As a growl worked its way up my throat, I thrust sharply into her pliant little body, buying myself to the hilt. The heat from her pussy was almost searing as her walls pulsed from my sudden intrusion. "Oh fuck, angel…you feel too fucking good." I stilled for a moment, reveling in the exquisite feeling of her soft flesh wrapped around me.

My eyes rolled into the back of my head as I slowly withdrew, only to thrust forward again. Immense pleasure flowed through me as I set a punishing rhythm. In and out, deeper and harder. We climbed toward that cliff together, panting into each other's mouths and marking each other with bruising kisses and biting licks. My fingers dug into the flesh of her thighs and her nails clawed at my back and shoulders. We were savage.

As she neared her peak, I redoubled my efforts, pounding into her. My little mate finally relented and screamed her release, clawing at my back as she rode out her orgasm. "Fuck!" I shouted, driving deep into her as my own euphoria crested.

Bella slumped against me, slick and sated. Her eyes were glazed and her lips were curved up into a small smile. I pulled her away from the tree and carried her the rest of the way to our clearing, laying her down on the moss covered ground.

She hummed contentedly as I kissed every inch of her naked skin, paying special attention to each mark I'd left on her beautiful body. I kissed her stomach softly…reverently…before moving lower. "I need you again, angel," I murmured against her damp skin, using my fingers and tongue to work her into a frenzy once more.

Bella groaned in approval, a low lusty sound that made my cock twitch. Moving back up her body, I slid my length through her wetness, teasing her little clit with the head of my dick. "Tell me you need me, angel. Tell me you're mine."

"Oh, Edward," she sighed as I slid into her warmth. "I need you so much. I love you. Please promise you'll come back to me."

"Bella…angel. I love you more than my own life. You are in every thought and every action and I promise I will always come back to you, even if I have to move heaven and earth to do it." Her breath caught in her throat as I slowly moved in her. This time was so much different that the last. There was no hurry, no frantic pounding. Just us…loving one another languidly; relishing in the humming aura our connection created. It was a heady feeling and as we lost ourselves to our lovemaking, the night slipped away.

Emmett cleared his throat loudly, pulling me back to the present. "Sorry to interrupt, guys, but Carlisle says we're good to go."

I nodded, breathing deeply, and pressed my forehead to Bella's while gazing deeply into her verdant green eyes. "Let's get this done, angel."

She pressed her lips to mine in a searing kiss before pulling away. "Remember your promise, Edward." She quickly climbed off my lap and joined Rosalie, Esme, and Alice. "We'll be waiting for your signal."

We all activated our communicators and quickly tested them before heading out into enemy territory. The digital map strapped to my wrist was instrumental in weaving our way around any possible adversaries as we traversed the corridors. Technically, it was the middle of the night and Carlisle had assured us that James had already retired for the evening, which meant that security and Dreg alike were patrolling the hallways. However, James wasn't our first stop. Our first intended destination was Eric.

Jasper, Emmett, and I were all dressed in military fatigues and sporting badges that weren't our own. In full military gear, we blended right in with the other security personnel and weren't spared a second glance from those few soldiers we happened across. We followed William's directions to Eric's quarters, trying to avoid contact with others.

While our first introduction to Eric had been brief, we didn't want to take the chance of him recognizing either me or Emmett and raising an alarm, so we stood at sentry post on either side of his door while Jasper knocked.

"Dr. Yorkie? I need you to come with us, sir. James needs to see you right away." Jasper stood stock still in front of the door awaiting Eric's response.

We could hear movement from the other side of the door. "Just a moment," Eric mumbled, shuffling about the room.

The corridor we were in was deserted and hopefully would remain that way. As Eric engaged the door, Jasper took a few steps back so that Eric would step outside. As soon as he crossed the threshold, Emmett struck Eric in the back of the head with the butt of his gun, immediately rendering the scientist unconscious.

I quickly scooped down and hoisted Eric over my shoulder, shuffling everyone back inside Eric's quarters and engaging the door before we were seen.

"Esme, we have Eric," I whispered, but before I could even finish my sentence, Esme appeared right next to me with a smug grin on her face.

Although her appearance was expected, Emmett still jumped a foot and clutched at his chest. "Fuck, I'll never get used to that."

"Sorry," she giggled before taking the unconscious scientist in her arms and disappearing from sight. Carlisle would sedate Eric once he was safely locked away in the lab. We knew that Eric was chipped and didn't want to risk the chance of anyone spying on us. Carlisle and Marcus were tasked with locating the chip and disabling it.

Jasper quickly stripped out of his fatigues until he stood completely naked before us, looking extremely embarrassed. "I…uh…thought the whole changing clothes thing would go easier without underwear," he sputtered. Emmett snorted at his discomfort while I just rolled my eyes.

With one hand covering his junk, Jasper's body and face began to blur; the fuzzy image making my head hurt as my eyes attempted to refocus. He finally began to solidify until an exact replica of Eric stood before me. Jasper rushed to the dresser and threw on a set of clothes, tucking his Sig into the waistband of his pants and covering it with his too large shirt. "Let's go," he huffed as he headed for the door. With Phase One of our plan complete, we took up position on either side of Jasper, presenting the illusion of two guards escorting a scientist, and swiftly made our way back through the corridors.

Before turning down the hallway that led to James' personal quarters, I checked the digital map. "He's got four guards outside the door with two guards and two Dreg positioned inside the room. He must be really paranoid to have that kind of security. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was being held prisoner."

"I wish," Emmett snorted. "Alright, so getting into the room should be easy enough. Just follow the plan and tell the guards James requested to see Dr. Yorkie."

"Rosalie gave you the codes to disable the door, yeah?"

Emmett nodded at me wordlessly. We weren't sure how things were going to go down once we got inside that room, but we sure as fuck didn't need anyone else joining the party.

"Alright, let's do this," I sighed. We rounded the corner and headed down the corridor toward the four soldiers standing guard on either side of the door. As we came to a stop, they eyed us inquisitively.

Just as planned, Emmett spoke first. "Dr. Yorkie is delivered as requested, sir."

"Requested by whom, soldier?" one guard asked.

"Commander James, sir," Emmett replied in his unwavering military tone. "He requested we deliver Dr. Yorkie at oh two hundred, sir."

The soldiers stepped to the side and engaged the door to James' quarters. Emmett and I quickly ushered Jasper inside and Emmett closed the door behind us, disabling the ident pad as per Rosalie's instructions. Chaos erupted the moment we were secured inside the room. The two interior guards had at first been confused by the sight of Dr. Yorkie, but soon realized something was amiss. Before they could act on their instincts, Jasper pulled his weapon from his waistband and soundlessly shot them both, leaving me to deal with the two Dreg bastards.

I pulled a knife from my boot and buried it in the skull of one while I kicked the other clear across the room. As the first rotting corpse dropped to the floor, I charged after the second, damn near decapitating the motherfucker with the force of my blow.

I stood silent in the center of the room, my chest heaving from exertion, and looked on at an incredibly amused James sitting cross legged in the center of the bed. "You know…he said you would come for me eventually, but I didn't believe him. I thought you were smarter than you looked, Masen," James snickered. "Guess I was wrong."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Emmett hissed.

I cast a scathing glare in Emmett's direction. "Not now, we don't have time for questions!" I nodded in Jasper's direction and he immediately began to undress, causing James to burst into laughter.

"What the fuck are you doing, Yorkie? Jesus, guys, I thought you were here to kill me…not fuck me!" He continued to howl with laughter as Jasper finished removing his clothing.

While James was distracted, Emmett surged forward and clocked him hard with the butt of his gun, knocking him unconscious. Had James not already undergone the transformation, that blow would have damn well killed him.

I quickly stripped James down to his underwear and threw the clothes in Jasper's direction as my brother-in-law began to shift forms.

"Esme, we're in place," I whispered, waiting only half a second before she popped into the room.

"Damn, you boys have made a mess," she hissed as she surveyed the dead bodies. "I'll have to take them back with me to get rid of them." She gingerly bent down next to the two dead soldiers and blinked out of sight. She returned a moment later to get rid of the Dreg.

I sat James up against the foot of the bed and then gave him a good swift kick to the head. Emmett and Jasper looked at me bewildered as I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly. "Just making sure the fucker stays unconscious."

Esme popped back into the room and knelt next to James, placing her hand on his naked arm with a grimace before looking back in my direction. "Alice is all set, so I'm going to take this jackass back and then I'll return for you two." She threw a sly wink in Jasper's direction. "You watch yourself, okay? Alice would never forgive us if anything happened to you."

"Yes ma'am," Jasper replied, settling into the bed. Esme nodded once more and then blinked out of sight, taking James with her.

I sat heavily on the foot of the bed. "Alright Jazz, you know the plan. Carlisle said you'll be left alone for the most part, but at some point you're going to have to send those four guards outside away or they'll become suspicious when no one leaves this room but you. Got me?"

"Yeah, Sarge, I've got it," he replied.

Esme appeared next to me. She quickly leaned in and gave Jasper a kiss on the cheek before grasping my hand and leading me over to Emmett. "Ready?" she asked us as I closed my eyes and nodded.

Less than a second later we were back in the lab and I was plowed over by my anxious little mate. The force of the impact caught me off guard and I quickly wrapped my arms around her as we tumbled to the floor. She peppered my face with kisses and wiggled on top of me, trying to get as close as possible.

"I know you weren't gone long, but fuck I missed you!" Bella whispered excitedly between kisses.

I hugged her tightly to me and pulled her lips to mine, devouring her mouth. We stayed intertwined with each other for several long minutes until a loud throat clearing interrupted our joyous reunion.

"Edward," Carlisle sighed wearily. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I need you to come with me…James is talking."

I leapt up from the cold floor, pulling Bella up behind me, and followed Carlisle toward the cell where we were keeping James. "So Alice's ability is working?"

"It worked…yes." I detected a hint of hesitation in his voice, like there was a great big 'but' coming at the end of that sentence.

"What are you not telling me, Carlisle?"

Carlisle stopped in front of the door to the cell. "He's being entirely cooperative…even without Alice's prodding. He keeps blabbering that he's been waiting for us to come rescue him."

"What the fuck?" I muttered. "We must have hit him in the head too hard…"

"He said…" Carlisle sighed, looking between Bella and me. "He said he's not the one in charge now. There's someone else-"

"Bullshit!" Bella shouted. "He's spouting absolute bullshit!" She stared at the monster through the viewing window. Bella's hatred for James ran bone deep, largely stemming from when he stabbed me back at the school. That was before we knew about the properties of her blood…when she thought she was going to lose me.

"Calm down, angel," I pleaded as the heat poured off of her in waves. "We need to hear what he has to say and he won't be able to talk if you turn him into a charcoal briquette."

She huffed and crossed her arms in front of her. "Fine," she mumbled, "but one toe out of line and I'm using him for firewood."

"Agreed, angel," I smiled, pulling her in for another kiss. Looking through the viewing window, I chuckled at Emmett's antics. He was currently tossing James around the room, his hands moving as if he were conducting an orchestra.

"Not so tough without your Dreg army, huh?" Emmett snickered as James dropped like a stone to the floor.

Alice's face scrunched in concentration before she spoke. "Let's try again, James…and I need you to tell me the truth. How are you controlling the Dreg?"

"I've already told you, I'm not controlling the Dreg," he sighed. His eyes appeared glassy and his movements were slow and sluggish, almost as if he had been drugged.

Alice shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration before turning her intense glare back on James. "Fine, if you aren't controlling them, then who is?"

James blinked twice and opened his mouth, muttering a name I'd hoped I would never have to hear again.

"Caius."