Title: Bonne Foi

Author: Amethyst Jackson

Category: Drama, Romance

Rating: M

Summary: AU. Edward Masen was changed in 1918 and abandoned by his sire. He feeds on human blood, unaware of any other way…until he stumbles across college freshman Bella Swan for a night that will change everything.

Disclaimer: A writer is like a goddess in her universe…but only one writer is making the money off Twilight, and that's Stephenie Meyer. These are her characters, and I'm just having fun with them.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

She turned her head, baring her neck to me. Gently, I guided her face back to me and met her eyes as I kissed her warm lips for the last time. Though it killed me to pull away, I dropped my lips to her neck, and for the first time, I sank my teeth into her skin.

The paper-thin layer did nothing to protect her from me. The blood gushed readily from her jugular and exploded in a cascade of flavor on my tongue. Only at the last minute did I remember not to swallow, not to breathe until this was done. It was impossible to resist, but then, it always had been. Bella was the one person who could make doing the impossible seem possible after all.

Still, it took me some time to actually pull away and seal the wound with a swipe of my tongue. How could I achieve four more bites when the taste of her blood already had me teetering on the edge?

I looked back to Bella's face, already strained with pain, her jaw clenched tightly against her screams. Yes, I had to keep going for her – left with only this amount of venom in her system, the change would be too slow.

You're doing well, Edward, Carlisle told me, his thoughts carrying from the living room. Just remember why you're doing this, and you will make it through.

I picked up Bella's wrist and hesitantly brought my lips to her skin. Her pulse hammered in her tiny veins. "Don't swallow," I murmured to myself, and then quickly bit down. I had enough presence of mind this time to close the wound before much blood could flow into my mouth. I quickly did the same to her other wrist.

Looking to her bare legs, I had to steady myself again. Being near that part of her body when I felt this close to the brink could be disastrous. I placed myself between her thighs and aimed for her right femoral artery before I could talk myself out of it.

The blood rushed out nearly as fast as it had from her neck, and I struggled to lick the wound closed without letting too much out. It was impossible to contain her blood in my mouth without swallowing, so it dribbled down my chin. One more.

I turned to her left leg and bit. Blood, so much blood pouring into my mouth. It was physically painful to pull away and close the wound, but I did it.

Sitting back, my mouth full of Bella's blood, I knew I should spit it out, but I couldn't. It was so precious, so delicious...so hot on my tongue. How could I waste it? Just one little swallow wouldn't hurt anything, would it?

Edward, I heard Carlisle's firm thoughts trying to warn me, but I was too far gone.

I swallowed the mouthful of blood.

The effect was instantaneous. The hot, sweet rush of liquid down my throat released a wave of pleasure so intense that my head swam. Had anyone in history ever experienced anything quite like this? I felt drunk and sharply conscious all at once...my senses heightened, my body wound tight. How had I resisted her for so long? Could I have resisted, if I'd known?

Just a little more...what would a little more hurt? I eyed the rivulets running down the slope of her thigh, soaking uselessly into the sheet beneath her. Such a waste. I couldn't let it go to waste...I couldn't...

Edward, Carlisle nearly shouted in his mind. Edward, tell me you're in control.

No, I wasn't in control. I wanted more, so much more. There was a good reason why I shouldn't – a very important, vital reason – but I couldn't remember it right now. I closed my eyes, trying to get back to that place where something was more important than the blood bringing life to my stone body.

So lost in my struggles, I was scarcely aware of a thing until a tiny hand gripped my arm. I turned to see a pair of terrified brown eyes looking up at me.

"Bella," I gasped, registering the pain in her eyes. She was the reason. Of course, the only reason – my only reason for anything. "Oh, God, Bella, I'm sorry. I'm here. You'll be okay. I know it hurts, sweetheart, but it won't last forever."

I wiped from my mind any thought of her blood as I lay down beside her. Remembering her request, I pulled the sheet up over her legs, ignoring the fluid that had stained it red. As I gathered her into my arms, my heart broke a little bit at the open trust in her eyes.

"It will be over soon. When you wake up, you'll be so beautiful and strong. I'll take you hunting. We'll go somewhere far away, just the two of us, and there won't be any other vampires or werewolves or humans to cause trouble for us. Just you and me."

Bella didn't say anything, simply watched and listened, but the tension in her muscles and her clenched fists and taut jaw told me she was trying hard not to scream.

"Don't hold back for my sake," I said. "I know how much it hurts. Let it out if you need."

She remained silent. "Or not." I fought a smile at her stubbornness. "Blink if it helps for me to keep talking."

She moved her eyelids slowly. My brave girl. I would talk the whole time if it distracted her from her agony even the tiniest bit.

"I truly am sorry for the pain. I wish there was another way. Carlisle thought morphine might help, but he tested it with vampire venom, and the venom ate right through it. This should go faster than the average transformation though. There's a lot of venom in your bloodstream, and venom moves quickly," I rambled.

I heard the front door shut as Carlisle left, evidently satisfied with my state of mind. We were alone.

"We have some time to fill, so I'm going to tell you a story. It's a long story about a jaded vampire who fell in love with a perplexing human," I whispered in her ear, and then I began. Holding her close, I told her all that had gone through my mind the night we met: how I'd been unable to drink from a human since and how I'd had every intention of getting her out of my system, only to become more and more absorbed.

I talked for hours, giving her the full account of my love for her, every errant thought and observation that had come along the way. Members of the family trickled in and out. Alice came into the cottage briefly to deliver the things Bella had left in her dorm and a great many things from the apartment. Carlisle returned to check on the patient; her progress promised a two-day transformation, as far as he could gauge. Emmett turned up to find out why Bella wasn't screaming and to express his admiration for her "giant cojones."

Everyone left us alone after midnight, and it was close to dawn before I heard anyone approach the house. At first, I thought the owner of the light tread was Alice. Then I realized I couldn't hear the vampire's thoughts, and I tensed instinctively. None of the Cullens had ever cleared their thoughts entirely with me. I sat up quickly, aware of Bella's eyes following me, silently asking questions I couldn't yet answer.

"Someone's coming," I said quietly. "I don't know who it is."

In one movement, I leaped to the window and opened it a crack. The rush of air that flowed in carried only the faintest scent, but it was enough to send a cold of fear trickle down my spine.

Victoria.

Instinct took over completely. I angled myself between the bed and the entrances to the room. Nothing was more important than protecting Bella in this moment. She was even more vulnerable than usual, unable to run or put up any kind of fight. The venom could heal a lot of things, but the change couldn't progress without a beating heart.

My phone began to chime insistently with a series of text messages. I didn't dare allow myself the distraction of reading them. My attention could not waver for a single second. Victoria was biding her time, and I refused to give her any opportunity to strike.

"Edward," Bella whimpered, the first word she'd uttered since the change began. I turned halfway to look at my poor girl, tense all over from the strain of her agony, drenched in sweat and now watching me with fear-filled eyes.

"It's Victoria," I whispered. "She's here."

"So nice of you to notice," said a throaty voice, and I whirled around to see Victoria crouched in the doorway.

I immediately dropped into a defensive stance.

"Don't be like that, Edward," she tutted. "You killed my mate. You had to know this was coming."

I ground my teeth. "Your mate tried to kill my mate."

Victoria shook her head. "A human is not a mate, Edward. It's the pet cow on the farm that you can't bring yourself to kill."

"She won't be human for long," I said, ignoring her shallow assessment of my attachment.

"So it seems. Tell me, Edward, would you be changing her if the Volturi weren't on their way?"

I froze.

"Oh, yes, I know all about it. Laurent told me everything before he left – not intentionally, of course. But I had a feeling he would spill anything to save his own skin. I had one of my newborns follow him just in case. When he caught a flight to Italy, I knew I had to hurry."

Victoria advanced into the room. I took a step back, sticking close to the bed where Bella lay defenseless.

"Ah, Edward. You may as well give up this little charade now. Your friends and their pack of dogs are too occupied with my newborns to help you save your poor little human from me. Let's put the girl out of her misery and go away together. Surely you must miss the taste of human blood," she all but purred. "I don't care what you've been telling yourself."

I shook my head. "I can live without human blood, Victoria. I can't live without her."

The vampire in front of me narrowed her eyes. "I thought you would be reasonable about this, Edward, but if you stick with your ridiculous notions, I won't hesitate to kill you both. I willtake my revenge, one way or another."

"You're welcome to try."

Victoria snarled and charged at me. For the first time since she'd entered the room, her tight control over her thoughts slipped, and it was all too easy to dodge her attack. I caught her arm and shoved her to the floor, going straight for her throat. But she was quick to elude me, rolling and kicking her way back onto her feet. Victoria was not stronger or faster than I was, that was clear, but she was cunning and resourceful enough to continually slip from my grasp.

Once more she lunged, this time toward Bella. I caught Victoria a second too late, just as she wrapped her hand around Bella's ankle – I heard the bones crunch and Bella scream.

My vision went red and my thoughts narrowed down to one thing – killing the person who dared to harm my Bella.

I yanked Victoria away from Bella, but the vampire pulled her with her, forcing Bella to topple to the floor. I finally got Victoria away from Bella and hurled her across the room, leaving a crack down the wall behind her. Jumping on her, I grabbed the offending arm and with a slice of my teeth, ripped it from her shoulder.

Screeching in pain, she jerked out of my reach once more. I tossed her arm into the corner of the room and went after her. As soon as I laid hands on her, she twisted out of my grasp and lashed at me, nearly catching my ear. But the distraction caused by the scent of Bella's blood made it easy for me to dodge her and catch a chunk of her shoulder instead. Meanwhile, Bella had managed to crawl to a corner in spite of the agony she must be experiencing. I marveled at her strength, even as I tossed Victoria into the nearest wall. She shouldn't have been able to move at all right now.

"Just let me have her, you sentimental fool," Victoria snarled.

"Like hell," I growled back. "If your mate knew how to respect another vampire's territory, he wouldn't be dead right now – and you wouldn't be on the verge of joining him."

"Don't forget who made you," she hissed as we squared off face to face, each looking for the advantage.

"That's all you've ever done for me."

"Hey," Bella shouted through gritted teeth. I looked over Victoria's shoulder just in time to see Bella chuck one of her shoes in our direction, hitting Victoria squarely on the head. It was enough to get the vampire to turn around.

"Get away from my mate," Bella growled.

The distraction was enough. I caught Victoria from behind, and with teeth and hands I detached Victoria's head cleanly from her body.

Her thoughts ceased immediately. The relief I felt was palpable.

I looked to Bella, who continued to watch from the corner.

"Nicely done," I said, stepping carefully over Victoria's body to approach her. "My brave girl – you amaze me."

She managed only a grimace in response, but I didn't need anything else. I returned her to the bed and made sure she was settled. "How did you do that, Bella? You should be in too much pain to do anything."

"I –" she tried, then closed her eyes tightly as if in concentration. "I knew...had to do...something...and the pain...was less."

She'd done that all with the power of her mind? I realized then and there that Bella was going to be more powerful as a vampire than I'd ever anticipated.

"That's incredible, Bella. You have no idea how special you are." I gently brushed the hair away from her face, noticing signs of the change in her already – a different sheen to her skin and a greater clarity in her eyes. "I'm going to take care of Victoria's body now – will you be okay?"

She just barely managed to nod. I kissed her forehead and began hauling the parts outside.

I was just setting fire to the dismantled remains a few feet from the cottage when the trace of a foreign vampire's scent crossed my nose. I froze.

"Don't stop on my account," an eerily pleasant voice said. "You appear to have quite a talent for killing vampires, among other things."

I turned slowly to face an old vampire with sharp features and long black hair, dressed in a conservative black suit. Another much larger vampire stood beside him – a guard, I assumed.

"Hello, Edward," the first vampire said, smiling like we were old friends. "Forgive me for shielding my thoughts from you, but I do prefer to keep the upper hand. Habit, you know. My name is Aro."

He needn't have introduced himself. I recognized him from Carlisle's memories, and I knew well enough to hesitate when the vampire held out his hand.

Aro smiled thinly at my snub. "I see my friend Carlisle has told you about me. It seems we're on even footing." Aro looked over my shoulder into the window of the room where Bella lay. "I saw that Carlisle and his coven were engaged as we were coming in and knew you must be elsewhere with your human. She should have been changed long before she knew anything, Edward."

I had to struggle to unclench my jaw. "It all happened rather quickly."

"Yes, I suppose," he murmured. "Edward, I think it's time to have a discussion with everyone involved. Come with me."

I didn't move. "I can't leave Bella."

He smiled that eerie smile. "Don't be silly. She's coming as well."

"I see." I had to work hard to maintain a neutral expression, to keep from showing any fear. I'd heard how the Volturi operated. They were underhanded and manipulative. I had no intention of giving them anything they could leverage against me.

I turned and hopped through the window. Bella had been watching everything and looked to me for answers. I gathered her into my arms and tried to reassure her with my eyes, because I didn't dare say a word with the Volturi listening. There was pain and fear in her eyes, but also trust. She knew I had no intention of letting anyone harm her.

I let Aro and his bodyguard lead the way to where, as far as I gathered, the rest of the coven was fighting Victoria's newborns. It was a long walk, made longer by Bella's obvious pain.

"Tell me, Edward," Aro said conversationally as we walked, as though we were merely going for a stroll, "Are the girl's thoughts really silent to you? I didn't believe it when I saw it in young Laurent's head, but now I think she doeshave an aura of strength about her."

I wanted to tell him it was none of his damned business, but I knew who I was dealing with. "No, I can't hear her." I imagined what he would say if he knew just how much she could do already.

"How fascinating! I wonder if she's immune to other talents. Felix, we'll have to see what Jane can make of her."

Felix wasn't as good at shielding his thoughts as Aro. I saw what Jane could do, and I was none too pleased.

"Given Bella's current state, I don't think that will have much effect," I said as calmly as I could manage.

"Careful, Felix," Aro chided. "But that is a good point. Perhaps Alec, then."

I didn't get to hear what Alec's gift was, and I didn't want to find out.

When we reached the clearing, Aro paused, and I took the moment to observe the scene. The shifters remained in wolf form, clustered alongside the Cullens, who stood facing a line of Volturi members. Between their lines was a pyre of smoldering vampire parts. Victoria's newborns had been outnumbered clearly.

There were eleven vampires and fourteen wolves on our side, and only twelve vampires with the Volturi, Aro and Felix included, but they didn't seem at all concerned. I recognized a few of them. There were Caius and Marcus, the other leaders of the clan, and the small, childlike figure that I knew to be Jane. An equally-small creature stood beside her – Alec, I presumed. There were six others standing around casually, but their postures belied their tension. They were ready for a fight.

I'm sorry, Edward, Alice's thoughts shouted at me instantly. I tried to warn you, but it happened so fast. Is Bella okay?

I gave a slight nod of my head and saw her relax minutely.

Aro strode forward with Felix at his side, and I followed at a distance, circling around to join my coven. I much preferred to keep a wall of supernatural beings between Bella and the Volturi.

"Well, isn't this nice?" Aro began, joining his comrades. "It's so good to see you, my old friend. How are you, Carlisle?"

"Very well, Aro, and you?" Carlisle replied with a pleasant, easy smile.

"As well as ever," Aro replied. "And I am so pleased to meet your family. So much talent! Alice, Jasper – even Emmett! I wouldn't believe your size, had I not seen it with my own eyes."

"That's what she said," I heard Emmett mutter under his breath. Rosalie elbowed him hard in the side.

"And now you've brought Edward and his soon-to-be mate into the fold. She shows signs of a gift as well, I gather? Eleazar, my friend, what do you make of her?"

Eleazar didn't show his discomfort, but I heard it in his mind. "A shield, definitely."

"Ah, yes. I've so longed to have a shield among my guard. Let's see what she can do," Aro suggested as though it were the most reasonable thing in the world.

"Right now? She'll need to finish the change first," Carlisle argued.

Aro was unfazed. "Not necessarily. From what I hear, she already has some defenses. If Edward cannot hear her, I'm curious to see what else she can withstand."

I tucked Bella against my chest. "What does it matter to you?" I asked, knowing it was stupid and unable to help myself. I couldn't let them subject her to any manner of torture or invasion without putting up a fight.

"Ah, Edward," Aro sighed. "I am, first and foremost, a collector – and I fully intend to collect as many pieces as I can today. Now, let us begin. Alec, why don't you see what you can make of the girl?"

Jane's counterpart stepped forward, and I braced myself for his assault – whatever it might be.

A/N: There will be a Bonne Foi BPOV outtake (chapter 9) in the Fandom Gives Back author compilation. The minimum donation is $5 for the whole compilation. If you don't want to donate, the outtake will be posted on FFN eventually, but if you want to do some good for a great cause, go to thefandomgivesback dot blogspot dot com. I believe today is your last day to donate.