Author's Note: I know you've all been dying for Tanya's death. Well? What do you think is happening in this chapter? Eh? Read on!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 36

Edward's Point of View

"Why would you want to hide anything from me?" I snapped at Alice. "I know everything now, so you might as well tell me."

"Everything?" Alice raised her eyebrow. "You would think so." She sighed, continuing to sing Beauty and the Beast over and over again in her head, as though it was on auto-replay.

"Tell me," I growled.

"You'll find out soon."

"How soon?"

Alice closed her eyes. "How about now?"

Right on cue, there came shrill scream from outside the house. Right where the others had been, watching Tanya practice with her shield.

Naturally, I couldn't read her mind, but I could read everyone else's. I knew instantly from Carlisle's horrified thoughts to Jasper's sudden unfriendliness and wariness that it wasn't good.

She'd finally decided to show her true colors.

Although Alice had already seen this happening, she seemed to turn paler than usual.

I led the way outside, our feet barely touching the steps as we ran down. I froze when I saw that everyone else outside weren't moving. My family's eyes were trained grimly on Tanya, who had a malicious grin on her face. And her arms were wrapped tightly and dangerously around…Rosalie.

Rosalie didn't dare move, as Tanya's newborn strength was still in place. Her expression was terrifying, as though she would like nothing more than to kill her right this minute. But as she was in a difficult position to do anything, she couldn't do more than glare at me viciously and send me a silent message: I told you so.

Emmett's expression was even more dangerous than his mate's was. His teeth were bared, and he looked like a huge bear, ready to pounce on his prey at the first sign of weakness.

Jasper's expression was grim and unfriendly. His eyes were alert and never left Tanya. He was in a slight crouch, ready to help Emmett at the first opportunity. Both of them were on either side of Tanya, though a few feet away. They didn't dare approach nearer, fearing that she would close her arms around Rosalie.

Carlisle and Esme were closest to me, standing in the background. They both looked horrified at the turn of events, and Alice, who was standing right next to me, looked extremely angry.

The world seemed to be spinning around me. I saw red. I couldn't think straight. I was so furious with this girl who had toyed with me, that I could think of nothing else…but revenge.

I was desperate to save Rosalie as well. I realized now that everyone had been right. Too right. Bella had been right.

Tanya really had had an ulterior motive for getting close to me. She'd never loved me. She'd just been using me to gain immortality and had been planning to toss me aside and betray my entire family in the end.

Why hadn't I seen it sooner? Now, it was too late. My sister was on the verge of danger, and Tanya had the advantage.

I had to dispose of her. Tanya Denali. She didn't belong here. She didn't belong as a vampire. And she had absolutely no right to kill my sister, even though we didn't get along very well.

Tanya spotted me a few feet behind Carlisle and Esme. Her lips curled up satisfactorily. Her grip on Rose seemed to tighten slightly, causing Emmett to take another small step forward, biting back a growl. Rosalie shook her head at him minutely, telling him that it wasn't good to antagonize her captor right now.

"Edward," Tanya greeted me pleasantly. "So glad you could finally join us. I thought I'd make a scene; after all, you wouldn't want to miss my final betrayal, would you?"

I was sure my expression was terrifying, even more so than any of my family. I took a few steps forward past Carlisle and Esme, restraining myself from lunging for her throat. If I did that, I couldn't guarantee Rosalie's safety.

"Stop," Tanya warned, taking a step back and taking Rose with her. I froze. "Not another step. Unless you want Blondie to die."

Rosalie was staring at me with her eyes narrowed. Reading her thoughts, I knew that she was doubting my loyalty toward her. She was curious whether or not I would leave her to die…

That made me angrier. It reminded me of what a jerk I'd been the past few months, to my family and most of all, to the person Rosalie cared about most, Bella. I was going to make it up to everyone. I would not fail them again.

"I chose the bitch because she's been making my life hell," Tanya continued smoothly. "People like this – " she nodded toward Rose with her chin, " – don't deserve to have such a beautiful, eternal life. At least…that's what I think. And I was thinking that maybe all of you were getting a bit tired of her unpleasant attitude. What do you say? I think I'll be doing you all a favor by getting rid of her."

Emmett growled, and the sound echoed deeply around the quiet surroundings of the forest. He made an involuntary move, as though he was about to launch himself at her, but Jasper stopped him with a glare. His message was silent: Not yet.

My eyes didn't move from Tanya. This girl…she had cost me everything. Our happiness…our confidence…and the most important presence in our family. How dare she try to take another member from us? I wasn't going to let her.

Ignoring her previous warning, I took another few steps, slowly this time. "So. It seems…I fell for your tricks."

Tanya sneered. "You were like an idiotic puppy in love, Edward Cullen. Did you really think I was in love with you? Maybe I should have become an actress." She laughed coldly. "I convinced you quite well, didn't I?

"Oh, if only dear Bella was here with us!" she went on. "I probably would have chosen her instead of sweet Rosalie here. Those psychic powers of hers…" She made a sound of disgust. "They almost wrecked all my plans!"

"You mean…" Esme said breathlessly, her golden eyes wide. "You mean…she knew all along? About all this?"

"That's right," Tanya answered. "And she even tried to warn me, the little vixen! Did she really think that I would listen to her? Her words were in vain…" Her voice became quiet and dangerous. "There was nothing that could have stopped me. There's nothing that can stop me from doing anything if I set my mind on it."

I took another step. "How ingenious." I kept my voice pleasant too, though I was sure my face gave me away. "You really should have become an actress, Tanya. You would have been so much better than Bella."

Alice gave a strangled gasp. What are you doing? she shouted at me mentally. Are you insane? Comparing her to Bella…that's like insulting her!

I ignored her and took another step. Comparing Tanya to the woman I loved was like insulting both of us, but if I wanted to save Rosalie, I had no choice right now. Distracting her was the best option by far.

"If immortality was all you wanted," I went on, "then you should've just come right out and told me so. You didn't have to pretend so convincingly, acting like you were in love with me, to get what you wanted."

Tanya's face morphed into anger. "Are you mocking me?"

"If you were going to betray us openly in the end," I said, my tone growing darker now, "there really was no point for all your hard work. You could have just told us…and I could have just killed you right then and there."

Her eyes bored into mine. She began to laugh, and the shrill sound began to echo all around us spookily. I didn't move.

"I knew your temper," she said, smiling. "I knew there was a bigger chance for you to either kill me instantly or refuse to even see me. I couldn't risk that. So I took the harder way. Harder, but guaranteed."

She shook her head, almost pitying me. And I didn't like it. "You should have listened to Bella, Edward. She was onto me the whole time, and she knew that we didn't love each other. She fell in love with you, and of course she wouldn't want you to get hurt. She was only trying to help you, but you only pushed her away. Now…" She laughed again. "I'm not sure if she'll be back or not. I killed that hope as well. Two birds with one stone… I got rid of the girl that felt like competition by turning you away from her, and I got immortality as well." Her grin got wider. "Sweet success."

Her words were racing through my mind. She fell in love with you…but you only pushed her away.

Those dreaded words. Having them all spelled out in front of me…I didn't like it. How could I have not noticed sooner? Why couldn't I have tried harder to understand that mysterious young woman so that I could pull out of the trap Tanya had laid out for me, and realize my love for Bella instead?

I was regretting every single thing. Everything I'd said to Bella…everything I'd done to save Tanya… But it was too late to turn back everything the way it had been before, and the only thing I could do now was to make up for it.

I had to kill Tanya Denali.

The girl was a psycho. That much was certain. She was insane, conceited, self-confident, and totally reliable on her gifts of seduction, mental protection, and acting.

People like her didn't belong in our world.

"Let go of her," Emmett hissed. "This is between you and Edward. You guys can go talk it out privately somewhere, but let Rose go. She's got nothing to do with this."

"Nothing to do with this?" Tanya repeated, sounding mockingly surprised. "Why, Emmett, Rosalie has got everything to do with this! The only reason she didn't like me was because she guessed everything that was going to happen! It's only natural that I kill her for it, right? Since Bella's not here to pay the price of seeing a little bit too well, the one closest to her should take her place! Isn't that right, Blondie?"

"Bitch," Rosalie mumbled under her breath.

Tanya had obviously heard, but she didn't seem to care. "So we're on the same page, then," she said, taking our sister's comment as the affirmative. "Sadly, I don't think Bella's around to save the day this time. I was slightly disappointed when those newborns didn't get to kill you, Edward, because of her interference. Damn that pretty face…"

I caught Rosalie's eyes. My eyes widened slightly as I tried to convey a silent message to her. It was a risky move, what I was asking her to do, but if she didn't make the distraction first, I would never be able to get to Tanya, and I wouldn't be able to save her.

Fortunately, Rosalie seemed to understand almost immediately. She understood that it was risky and dangerous, and that she could be hurt in the process, but through her thoughts, I realized that getting rid of Tanya was on her priority list.

Now? Rosalie asked silently.

My eyes darted toward my left, then to my right, as though I was glancing around for any more signs of danger, but in truth, I was answering Rose's question.

When? she asked.

Luckily, Alice knew what I was planning. She danced forward a few steps and called out to Tanya, "And what are you going to do after you leave?"

Tanya's eyes flashed to her, and she answered disdainfully, "Hunt. Animal blood…" She scoffed. "As though I want golden eyes! I'm not going to even try to fit into human society like you all do-"

My eyes flashed in signal, and abruptly, Rosalie twisted her body with all her strength and shoved Tanya away from her. Taken aback, Tanya backed away slightly, her eyes widening in shock and slight fear.

But by the time she'd realized that it had been a ploy, it was too late. Rosalie was already safely by Emmett's side, and now, there were three, highly lethal vampires growling at her viciously.

Tanya glanced at me again, and her eyes narrowed. "A good try, I admit. But I'm afraid I still win…unless you can catch me. I think I'll go track down Bella and get rid of her…just for fun." She smirked, then whirled around and dashed away into the forest.

With the sound of a bullet, I was off, leading my family into the forest after the one that had betrayed us.

Since she was a newborn, she used her strength to push herself faster and faster, putting some distance from us. But I was faster than a normal vampire, and I was close behind her.

I could hear my family's thoughts behind me.

Over my dead body she'll go find Bella, Rosalie was snarling mentally. I won't let that bitch get away with her tricks again.

Bella's in danger, Esme was thinking, panicking as she and Carlisle covered the rear. We have to stop Tanya before she can find Bella!

Psychotic, sarcastic queen, Emmett muttered in his thoughts. No way in hell she'll catch up to my sister!

Edward! Alice was calling my name. You have to stop her! If we don't catch her now, I see a possibility that she'll be able to find Bella and strike up a fight with her!

I pushed myself faster. She wanted to find Bella and kill her? Not a chance. I wasn't going to let her. She wanted me to catch up with her? I was going to do better than that.

When I was exactly ten feet away from her, I tensed, preparing to launch myself at her.

Tanya seemed to sense it. Sense the violent urge against her coming from behind…

My family was bewildered when they saw me tense. And then, just a split second before I lunged, Alice cried, "Edward!"

Too late. Just as my family realized what I was planning to do, I pounced on the psychotic newborn. My head was inclined as though I was about to kiss her throat, but my teeth brushed against her skin like a caress. And suddenly, Tanya's still body and I had stopped running, and I was holding her detached head in my hand.

My family stopped a short distance from me, and they watched as I disconnected all of her body parts, my face expressionless. Then, after a few seconds or so, Rosalie walked forward, her face determined and smug. She grabbed a hold of Tanya's two legs and pulled.

With a metallic screeching sound that echoed all around the forest, the limbs came off, and Rose tossed them aside carelessly. She continued to help me tear her body apart into unrecognizable pieces and throw them into a pile.

When the job was done, I took out a silver lighter from my pocket and flicked the light to life. I stared down at the pile that I'd once shared my emotions with coldly. With no remorse whatsoever.

And I tossed the lighter.

We watched as the flames quickly licked away the cold remains of a newborn vampire. The fire got higher, and the smoke rose through the trees.

As I gazed into the warm fire, I could make out pictures out of the dancing flames. Ironically enough, it wasn't the times I'd spent with the human girl, but the times I'd spent with Bella.

She and I were walking the streets… We were in that souvenir shop, where the walls were covered with pictures of her as a memoir…

She and I were in my room, listening to music and talking and laughing…

We were sitting on the piano bench, playing a duet together…smiling happily…

We were watching her movies together…commenting about every single thing…

The more I watched the memories of our time together, the more empty and blank I felt. I finally realized that she was gone. It finally sunk in.

She wasn't going to be back. Even if she was planning to come back, it probably wouldn't be for a long time. And I had no idea where she was right now.

Without my true mate, I was nothing but an empty shell. Without the need of Alice's gift, I saw my pointless future…without her.

I was nothing without her.

AN: Satisfied now? I have to say, it feels very refreshing, making our handsome hero kill her himself. Reviews?