Chapter song is Joanne by Lady Gaga

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Bella's POV

Guilt shot through me as I realized what I had instinctually done. Paul remained stiff, unresponsive in my embrace. I hastily let go. Now that I was no longer a vigilante in the name of trying to break our bond, things were awkward. I couldn't stop the blush from having his righteously angry eyes focused on me.

I had been a hypocritical moron. But that wasn't the most important issue to address. "Can you hear anything?"

Paul swiveled his head around carefully. I remained still. "We should be good." His words were a harsh admission to our situation.

We could die out here.

"Why didn't you stay?" This was my family's mess.

He snorted ruefully and rolled his eyes. "Would you be able to stay put if I left with a bunch a vamps on my tail?"

"No. I turned back because I kinda realized that on my own." I admitted. Frustration ran through as Ben entered my head. "This isn't easy."

He took two steps, closing the distance between us. "Really, Swan? You think any of this shit would be easy? I explode into a wolf to fight the undead and you are a fucking hybrid fairy."

I blinked. "I am most definitely not half-fairy." I huffed.

Paul looked amused for a split second before the serious expression returned. "Bella, we need to talk about this," he gestured around the forest, "mess before anything else."

Alice's apology ran through my mind and my blood went cold. Drayer wasn't accounted for. "He went with you to find me, didn't he?"

"Yes."

"Where is he?" I didn't want it to be true.

"Four vamps were trailing us, one was that little bitch that I pried off of you. She was the reason why we couldn't get away. It was freaky, as if..." Paul trailed off, unable to complete the thought.

Alice. "She is a Cullen. Her ability is to see the future."

He growled. "Well it made the fight that much harder. I was... preoccupied by one of them and Drayer was ganged up on. He sacrificed himself so I could get away. I think he's captured now, but he was hurt pretty badly."

Speechless, I gripped my stomach as the sick feeling took over. Minutes passed. "Do you have a cell phone?" I croaked out.

"No."

"We need to get a hold of Mom. Anyone that has a chance in hell of tracking." I babbled hopelessly.

"What will she do to him?" Paul asked tersely.

A million dollar question. "I don't know. She hasn't bothered with our clan ever since the attack..." We stood in silence for a moment when a terrible idea struck. "We need to get in contact with home."

The birds chirping and shining sun contrasted against the guilt filling me. Paul's eyebrows shot up. "Sam won't sacrifice wolves for this. Our people cannot be vulnerable to attack, especially since Harry is injured."

"That's not what I meant." I snapped. I drew a calming breath. "Éponine, Drayer's mate, might be able to give us clues. If he is as injured as you say he is or if he's smart enough to push his feelings onto her, she will get glimpses from his eyes."

Paul nodded curtly. He still wasn't looking at me the same way as when he had held me the night that I ran from him. The manner in which he held himself now reminded me of the way that he regarded Jake. Cold and condescending. It hurt. "We go to the next town then and hope we don't get fucked by vamps again."

I politely turned my back so he could get undressed. The heat radiating onto my back was the only sign that I received that he was done. A massive wolf, a form of Paul that I was familiar with, circled me pensively. He then trotted to meet me face to face and lowered his entire body while looking at me expectedly.

The message hit my brain a second later. He was faster and we were in a hurry. A blush filled my cheeks, but I swung my leg around his back nonetheless.

We had to save my brother. When we were done, I would somehow convince Paul to forgive me.

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Drayer was soaked in blood and God knows what else. The shackles, cursed with magic to make him weaker, dragged the stone floor of some fortress and location he hadn't been allowed to see. They had blinded him in an unnecessarily gory fashion, which he'd make them pay tenfold for when he escaped.

The pain corrected his assumptions. If he escaped. His lovely grandmother had never surrendered one of his spies when captured. Their bodies were typically strewn in whichever area his Guard was stationed. He could only imagine how he would be displayed if the worst was to come. Drayer stumbled over an uneven portion of the floor.

"Keep moving. Or else I'll let Victoria here take a bite." The Southern twang accompanied a sharp kick to his side.

The little monster who had nearly killed him had left the scarred vamp in charge of him. Before he'd been blinded, Drayer could tell the military experience the vamp had due to his posture. Which was unlucky because he could've escaped if left with just the newborn vamp or the redhead, or even both.

Had it been just those idiotic two, it would've been simple. The redhead was still infuriated with the death of her insatiably thirsty mate while the newborn was still uncontrollable and emotional. They were weaknesses that he would've exploited quite easily.

But the inky-haired little bitch had already seen to that possibility.

"Down." She demanded impetuously. She held a chunk of flesh between her pale, long claws and Drayer finally fell to his knees. Victoria laughed coldly to the side as though enjoying a good show.

That fucking stung a bit. His arms were automatically held back by the newborn, whose strength was greater momentarily due to the vamp's own life blood being consumed by his body. Disgusting.

Little, dainty hands lifted Drayer's chin up, forcing him to meet black, soulless eyes. "You really do look like her." The bell of a voice chimed with sorrow.

Memory jogged and he realized that this was Alice Cullen. A vamp who Bella had told him was her first friend who had helped the fear go away since Ben died.

He spat blood at the bitch. A bad decision in hindsight. A snarl ripped out of her mouth and Drayer could suddenly feel the newborn vamp licking his blood of the back of his neck. Rage filled him and he snapped his head back to head-butt his assailant. His hands freed and szolo slithered over his skin to look for a weapon, but to no avail. He had saved Bella's boy for a very steep price.

"Jazz, hold your breath!" The pixie spat out. She grabbed the fresh wound and Drayer screamed in agony. "And get this idiot away from him."

A slender man with honey-blonde hair walked calmly to the scene and efficiently handled the crazed newborn. His skin reflected millions of scars, more than any Drayer had ever seen before on a vamp. A chill ran through him. He started accessing the weak links of his captors as calmly as possible.

Alice examined the fae closely before her eyes flickered to the back of her head. "Ahh... you're a smart one. Too bad Medora thought to send me out." She still seemed remorseful about it. "Jazz and Victoria will stay with him after I get this blood off of him. Jazz is in charge. I'm about to get a call from Bella and will set up a trap."

Fury ran through Drayer when he remembered this bitch could see the future.

"Yes, ma'am." 'Jazz' answered in amusement.

And all this is how Drayer Crosse was being dragged to the famed prison cells of Medora Crosse. Thoughts of Éponine, a mate he had just been getting know, transformed to horror when he realized that his girl would have to endure the same pain.

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Paul's POV

We reached a pay phone by midnight and she called a cousin's phone. The same people Drayer had been talking to right before shit hit the fan. Due to that and a patched-in call with Bella's mom, we now had a lot more resources to rescue him.

"I'll have some mages zap you in." Renee was understandably upset, but less so than I would've expected from her son's capture.

A familiar chill ran through me and I stopped listening to the phone call or the rabbit.

"Have her hang up the phone and get away now. More have caught your scent." He was back. His ghostly mouth twisted bitterly. "Actually, grab it from her first and tell the General that Medora's compound is actually in Washington state first."

I did what he said, ignoring Bella's shout of surprise. I then hung it up and slung the rabbit over my shoulder. We had to get out of here again. Fuck, how the hell did a Grandma get this much man power?

A quick sprint finally got us to the forest and then I threw her up into the air and changed into a wolf. Like a little monkey, Bella landed with an oof onto my back and clung as we sped through the forest. Casper the friendly ghost stayed with us. He remained standing in place, but every tree in my peripheral showed a not-yet-grown boy staring longingly at Bella. Freaky.

A whisper of information to my ears, I stored it away for later. He only dissipated when the barest scent of vamp left my noise. It suddenly occurred to me that this grandma could send a fae after us. And if I based all threats off of scent, we would get caught. Bella and Drayer smelled like ordinary humans to me.

I finally phased back when morning hit, we'd made progress towards Washington. The apparent source of fae activity and all current issues in our lives. Hawaii was in the books, I'd get my luau on.

Bella's alert face looked at me in frustration. "What the hell was that? How'd you know where Medora was?"

My anger for her running away still wasn't quite resolved. "How did I find you when you got attacked earlier?"

She clearly hadn't thought of it before. Her face went slack with surprise. "You followed the vamps when they took my brother?"

"Yeah, they almost killed me without breaking a sweat but somehow I followed them after Drayer sacrificed himself for me to get away." The sarcasm was impossible to keep out. "I thought you were smart?"

I jumped when Bella's fist smashed into the tree beside us. "Just tell me, goddamnit! I'm sorry for all of this, I really am, but acting like a complete and utter asshole when we are running for our lives is not smart. If you pettily fuck around anymore with important information while my brother is probably getting tortured right now, I will kill you."

Her teary eyes and flushed face were suddenly all I could see.

Shame crashed through me when I realized Bella's eyes now carried dark shadows underneath. She hadn't slept in days and was terrified. No matter what she had done, she didn't deserve getting jerked around with, not on this.

"Sweetie, I saw Ben's ghost after I escaped from the vamps. He told me where to go in time to save you." I told her softly. "He also warned me when we were about to get attacked at the payphone and what to tell your mother."

Bella's entire body wracked with convulsions as she held her midsection with her arms. Like she was trying to hold herself together. Her tattoos moved before my very eyes once more, like they always did in times of extreme emotion. "Even in death, he has to worry about me." Her voice hitched.

I grabbed her and held her as she cried and cried for a love she lost. A boy who deserved her more than I did. Even as a ghost, I could see that knowledge behind his eyes. Pity and envy were an odd combination to hold over such an entity, but I sure as hell felt them over Ben's ghost.

Much later, she fell asleep in my arms while standing up. I lifted her up and put her onto the ground. Her face was still wet from tears.

I kissed her forehead and laid beside her. Keeping watch and planning what we do next was my next goal until she woke up. Hours passed and then Bella started getting vocal in her sleep.

"You always win the pizza, Ben. Can we wager jellybeans next for a handstand contest?" She sounded younger than she usually did. A dazzling smile broke through her pale, dirty skin.

That was a memory. A happy one. I wanted to make ones like that with her too. My arms tightened around her even as the birds began to chirp in the morning Sun.