The Mating Dance

by Xavier2163

AU Edward Cullen and his adoptive family moved to Forks to start a new life, but Edward’s life suddenly changes when he’s drawn into Bella Swan’s strange and dangerous world. Vampires mate for life, but what happens when that mate is human? OOC Lemons ExB

17. Complications

Disclaimer: Written under the derivative fan works act. All rights reserved to the original creator, Stephanie Meyer.

Title: The Mating Dance

Rating: M for sexual situations, lemons, and hot, steamy, angsty vampire lovin', underage drinking, smoking, drug use and overall bad behavior.

Premise: Alternate Universe. Edward Cullen and his adoptive family have moved to Forks to start a new life, but Edward's life suddenly changes when he's drawn into Bella Swan's strange and dangerous world. Vampires mate for life, but what happens when that mate is human?

Alternate Universe: Canon pairings eventually, pretty much OOC, ExB of course.

POV: KPOV (Katy), Yes, everyone's favorite human makes a guest appearance. EPOV (Edward), Edward continues the story, again.

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Author Notes:

Please note that this story is rated M for a reason, if you'd prefer not to deal with mature themes, please do not read this story.

This chapter contains graphic descriptions of violence. You've been warned.

Please note: There is a POV change about half way through this chapter. I usually prefer to have each chapter form a single characters POV, but if I did, there would have been a huge cliff hanger, and I felt it was better to continue immediately.

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Chapter 16 Complications

KPOV (Katy) Early Saturday Morning.

Running always helped to calm my nerves and center me. I had shared my love of running with Edward, and it was what had first attracted me to him. Now Edward was gone but I could still run. Running was all that I had left. Right now I just wanted to run to clear my head.

I had been in shock when Michaela got me into her car and drove us to her house last night after the bonfire. I'd cried all the way home from La Push, and probably most of the night while she held me. I'm not sure if I finally ran out of tears, or sheer exhaustion dragged me down into the oblivion of sleep. I was beyond tears now as the numbness settled into my body and I tried to make sense of my new reality.

No, not completely numb I realized as my feet pounded rhythmically on the pavement driving me forward. My mind was numb, and my hands and arms were numb. I knew I was running and moving forward but I couldn't say I truly felt the pavement pounding under my feet. The numbness just masked the pain and I realized it was hard to breathe through the pain that tore at my chest. The place where my heart used to be felt like it had been ripped open and the most vital part of my existence had been torn out and stolen.

I hadn't woken Michaela up when I slipped out of her bedroom at her house. I had a pair of running shoes that I'd packed when I was getting my things together to spend the night at her house after homecoming. I was still wearing the sweats she'd helped me change into last night after we got home from La Push. I truly couldn't say I remembered much that had happened after Edward left me last night. I remembered every word of our conversation with crystal clarity. I was certain that the words of that conversation would haunt me for the rest of my life.

Edward didn't want me anymore. Edward didn't love me anymore. Edward didn't love me…

No!

That was not a part of my reality. That was the blackest of lies, and I knew it wasn't the truth. I could tell when people were lying and I knew when I heard the truth! That made everything worse.

Edward did still love me. He'd told me last night. I'd heard the words from his own lips, and I knew they were the truth, but he didn't want me anymore. That was worse than him not loving me. I could have accepted him falling out of love and moving on with his life with somebody different. I could have accepted that we'd grown apart and he wanted someone other than me in his life, but for him to still love me and not want me anymore was a thousand times worse. I couldn't accept that it was truly over between us if he still loved me.

This was unnatural and wrong. Everything had been perfect between us until Bella Swan came to Forks. She was the cause of my pain. She had stolen Edward's heart from me.

Somehow I had known that something wasn't right almost from the start of this school year. When Edward and I were together and alone our relationship was as strong and loving as it had always been. But then Bella came to Forks. Whenever she was around, it was like Edward was drawn to her like she held some sort of magnetic attraction for him. It was like a moth drawn to a flame, but eventually the moth flies too close and gets burned and dies.

Bella Swan was the alluring mysterious flame that was drawing Edward closer to oblivion, and like the moth, he would surely fly too close and be drawn into the flames. He'd told me as much last night. He was ready to give up his human life and damn his eternal soul to spend his eternity with that creature.

I had always felt that Bella Swan was dangerous, but now I knew why. My mind shied away from the word, but now I knew what she was. It was crazy and insane. Things like this weren't real. They were scary stories that were made up to teach lessons about morality or scare small children. I couldn't believe my ears when I'd heard Jacob and Edward arguing in the woods at the bonfire. Too be honest, I thought they were on drugs and were living out some kind of drug induced fantasy. Then Sam came out of the forest and all of it was true. I tried to wrap my mind around the word…

Vampire.

Bella Swan was a vampire.

Bella Swan was a vampire and she had cast some sort of spell on my Edward to steal his heart away from me. There had to be some way to break her spell and win back Edward's heart! Edward had totally freaked when I asked if driving a stake through her heart would break the spell. Maybe that was what I had to do after all. All the legends I had ever heard said the destroying the monster would break their grip on their hapless victim. I had to do something. I couldn't simply sit idly by and let that creature destroy the man I loved.

The pavement continued to pound rhythmically under my feet as I ran and I set a fast pace that would eat miles. I was only about five blocks from Michaela's house. I'd run past my house but all the lights were off and the street was still dark. The street lights were still on but the light they gave off was faint and tenuous in the lightening pre-dawn glow of early morning. I was passing through a secluded section of road lined with thick trees on either side of the street. It wasn't really forest. There were houses beyond the thick trees on either side of the road. There were more trees ahead of me where the road ended in a tee intersection and turned in either direction. Jessica's house was up the road to the left. Turning right would lead me into town.

Suddenly something cold and hard crashed into me and I was flying sideways across the street. There hadn't been any headlights… Did I get hit by a car? I tried to scream but something cold and immobile was clamped over my mouth locking my jaw closed. I hadn't hit the pavement and I was still moving… Something was carrying me and I struggled to get free. My arms were pinned to my sides by something wrapped around my body that felt cold and hard and solid as an iron band. Escape was impossible as I was held fast in an unbreakable grip. I felt my bladder relax in reaction to the sudden sheer terror of the experience, and I felt a trickle of wetness dampen my panties. Thank god I had gone pee before I left the house for my run or I would have wet myself in reaction to the fear that gripped me and made my heart pound in my chest.

We flashed across the street impossibly fast and then we were flying up into the treetops. My eyes were wide with terror as we flew across the backyard of the house on the corner. I felt the tiniest jar as we silently touched the roof top of the house and then we were flying into the trees on the opposite side of the yard. I panicked and struggled against the iron grip in terror as we flashed through the trees, and then I knew we were beyond the tract of houses and into the forest proper now. It had only been seconds and we were out of town faster than a fast car could have driven.

As abruptly as we had started moving, suddenly we stopped. We were in a small clearing in the trees. There was enough light to see as the dawn broke into the clearing on another overcast Forks morning.

"I'm going to let you go. Please don't run. I'll just have to bring you back, alright?" a woman's voice spoke to me.

I tried to nod but the iron grip on my mouth and jaw held my head immobile. She must have felt the pressure. Suddenly the hands released me and I collapsed in a heap on the ground. I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees on the forest floor. My stomach heaved and I would have thrown up, but I hadn't had any breakfast yet. I hadn't eaten since before the dance yesterday. The bile rose in my throat and I could feel the acid burning my throat as I swallowed convulsively to push it back down into my stomach.

My body was shaking violently with the terror that gripped me but I forced myself to look up and study my abductor. I was startled to see an utterly stunning woman with caramel-colored hair staring back at me with sad eyes. She looked like she was about five foot six inches tall as she stood a couple of feet away from me. She had a heart-shaped face with delicate eyebrows and dimples and her figure was slender but slightly rounded in a motherly sort of way. She gave me the sense of being in the presence of one of the ingénues of the silent movie era, but she radiated youthfulness and beauty. She was dressed simply in a pair of black slacks and a tee shirt. She was wearing a light jacket and black ballet flats.

She couldn't be human, and then I noticed her eyes. I'd wondered about Bella Swans strange yellow eyes, but I looked it up on the internet, and there were people that had yellow eyes. It was rarer than green eyes, but they existed. Now I suspected it had something to do with what she was. This woman's eyes were a strange orange hue shot through with flecks of red. She was inhumanly fast and strong but there was compassion in her eyes as she looked down at me. Then it hit me… I'd seen her before… She was at the football game in Sequim sitting with Bella's friends from Seattle. She was the woman that was dating Edward's father. She'd been at the dance last night…

I had to be looking up at yet another vampire. Had this one brought me here to die? I had a feeling that if she wanted me dead I would already be dead. She had let me go and told me not to run. There was a reason she had brought me here, besides wanting to kill me.

She reached out her hand to help me back up to my feet. I stared at her hand for a minute, and then I reached out and took it. She effortlessly pulled me to my feet with her ice cold hand, and then released me to let me stare at her.

"I thought we needed to have a talk, Katy. Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm Esmeralda Platt, but please call me Esme. I'm Bella's mother for all practical purposes. I took her in shortly before she became like me."

"You're a vampire too. Did you make her like you?"

"No, Bella had an unfortunate accident while she was working for me. She was attacked by one of my clients in the Club I run in Seattle. Bella didn't ask for what happened to her. Few of us do."

"Did you bring me here to kill me?"

"No, dear, if I wanted you dead, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Unfortunately, you've learned certain secrets that humans aren't allowed to know. Edward should have been more careful with what he was saying last night. Now your choices are limited if you want to stay alive. I'm assuming that you do indeed wish to continue your current existence?"

"Yes, I've always considered alive to be a good thing. I've grown accustomed to it."

It sounded bolder than I felt, but sarcasm was a coping mechanism that had always served me well in the past. I felt the terror start to relax its grip on my stomach, and I wasn't shaking as violently now. At least she said she wanted to talk and wasn't going to kill me. That had to count for something.

"I can see why Edward likes you. Last night, Edward told you to be careful, but he didn't go into enough detail. My world has certain rules, and just like in the human world, there are organizations that enforce the rules. Our most important rule is that humans aren't allowed to learn that we exist. Anyone who does is killed, with certain exceptions."

"What about Edward and Alice? They both know, and it doesn't look like anyone is killing them."

"I told you there were certain exceptions. You can become an exception too if you'd like. First you need to understand how big and important a secret this is. One e-mail, one text message, one conversation over a telephone or cell phone that reveals what you know, and there will be vampires hunting you down to kill you. There are no second chances. They won't stop to explain why. They won't talk to you like I am. You'll simply die, and whoever you told will die too. Chances are they'd probably wipe out the rest of your family too, just to be on the safe side."

"My family too? But they haven't done anything!"

"You know about us. If you tell, they'll assume they know too. Do you understand? One slip up and your life and theirs will end. That's how careful you need to be. I don't think Edward adequately implied the gravity of his blunder last night. By rights, if I was following the letter of the law we wouldn't even be having this conversation. You'd be dead already."

"I understand, buy why are you breaking your rules for me then?"

"Because Edward doesn't want you to be hurt because of his error. If he'd kept his mouth shut like he was supposed to, you wouldn't have learned our secrets, and you could have gone on with your human life oblivious to the darker realities that surround you. Eventually you would have found happiness again without him."

My breath hissed through my teeth as I took a sharp breath, and the pain ripped through my chest at the thought of going on with my life without Edward in it.

"Alice and I both agreed that if we didn't step in and handle this situation, you'd end up coming to the attention of our enforcement agency, and then you'd die. Of course then we'd be implicated for allowing you to learn the secret in the first place and there'd be consequences for us because we didn't take steps to deal with you ourselves."

"So this is you taking steps to deal with the situation. You said I could become an exception to the rules. How does that work? Why are Edward and Alice safe?"

"You have three rather simple options, Katy. You can become a vampire, at which point you're no longer my worry and you'd be subject to the same rules as all of the rest of us…"

"You want to make me a monster like you and Bella?" I exclaimed, appalled. Maybe I should have run and just let her kill me.

"Three options, dear, let me finish and then you can think about it. The second option might be more appealing to you. There are humans that work for us. I told you I ran a Club in Seattle. Bella worked for me when she was human. We allow these humans to live because they're bonded and registered with our enforcement agency."

"How does that work?"

"It's a simple process really. All you have to do is give your oath that you won't reveal our secrets to anyone that doesn't already know. Of course we have people that would know if you were lying, and you'd be monitored by our enforcement agency. As long as you promise not to reveal the secret, and you're telling the truth, then you're safe. It's actually a pretty good deal for the people that work for us. If you're planning on continuing your education, and going on to college, we could help with your tuition if you decided you wanted to come to work for us."

"Would I have to go to work for you then?"

"Probably, yes, at least for a number of years. You wouldn't have to work for me if you didn't want too. There are other Clubs, but we'd want you where we could keep an eye on you for a while to make sure we could trust you. You could work at one of the Clubs while you're going to school. You'd need to justify our trust in you, but then you'd be free to lead a normal life if you wanted to as long as you maintained the secret."

"What do these human's that work for you in your club do? What would I have to do?"

"Some of them are waitresses and hostesses. Most of them satisfy the needs of our clients."

"Satisfy the needs of your clients…? What like a hooker or something! What kind of Club do you run?"

"No, it's not like that at all, at least not in a sexual capacity. Some of my girls do form special attachments to some of my clients, but that's strictly personal, not business. Actually, we satisfy another need. We are vampires after all, and although animal blood provides our primary sustenance, we retain other appetites. Think of it as a position as a professional blood donor."

"Eww, that's just sick!"

"That depends on your point of view, dear. Besides, it can be an extremely lucrative career. Most of my clients tip rather well. With a proper investment portfolio, you could graduate from college after basically a free ride and then retire to enjoy life living off of the revenue generated from investing your tips."

"Alright, and the third option?"

"I think you already know what the third option is."

"Right, you kill me to shut me up." Esme nodded. "So why are Edward and Alice safe?"

"I think you already know that too. Edward and Alice have joined the family that I'm a member of, and eventually they'll become like me. Edward is safe because of the connection that he shares with Bella…"

Another sharp breath hissed through my teeth as the pain ripped through my chest again at the thought of Edward and Bella together. I wrapped my arms around my chest to try and hold myself together as I felt the hole in my chest ripped back open. This was real and I was forced to contemplate going on with my life without Edward.

"How can Edward be doing this to me! He still loves me! I know he does… I can tell when people are lying, like those people that you say work for you! He told me he still loves me, but he can't be with me anymore because of Bella! What kind of spell has that witch cast on him to steal him away from me? Tell me what I have to do to get Edward back!"

"It's not a spell Katy, although there are some that think it's a kind of magic. I know this is painful for you, but Edward and Bella are meant to be together. Edward is Bella's mate. That might not mean anything to you, and I know it's hard to understand, but it's real. Neither of them have any power to withstand the mating bond. They're soul mates. When a vampire finds their mate it, it changes them permanently and forges a connection to the soul of their lover."

"His lover? He wants to be with that… that creature? How can he do this to us when he still loves me?"

"I understand that you're the girl that owned Edward's heart, and he's been fighting his attraction to Bella because of that. If you truly love him, you have to let him go now. Bella is the girl that owns his soul. You'll only cause him more pain if he can't commit his heart to her too. You're still human, Katy. You can move on with your life. Edward and Bella don't have that option. They're mated now, and the bond is sealed. It would kill both of them if anything happened to either of them now."

"I don't know if I can do that, Esme. Edward is everything to me. I gave him everything I had to give. He's my life. He was always my future… It literally feels like the heart has been ripped out of my chest, and Edward still has it with him… How can you ask me to go on without him? How can I go on without my heart?"

"I'm truly sorry you have to go through this, dear. It'll never completely heal, but it will get easier in time."

"How can you say that? How can you possibly know what I'm going through? You aren't even human! Can you even feel what I'm going through?"

"I'm sorry for your pain, Katy. I was human once, and I know what loss feels like. I was a mother once, and I held my baby boy in my arms as the fever took him and the life drained out of him. So yes, I have an Idea of what you're feeling. It's been nearly 95 years since I lost my little boy, and I can still feel the ache in my heart for him, but I learned to live with it and go on with my life."

"I'm sorry… I didn't know…"

"I understand, dear, you're in pain, but we have to move on. Now, I gave you the three options to choose from. If you choose to remain human, and give your oath to protect the secret, you have to tell the truth. If you lie, your life is forfeit. In time you'll heal enough to go on with your life."

"If you choose to give up this human existence and choose a life among my kind, I'll see that you're cared for and learn about our rules so you know enough to keep out of trouble. If that is your choice, you should be aware that your human memories will be muddled and dulled. In time they will fade and seem like another person's life. Your pain of loss will be dulled and manageable allowing you to more easily move on. If you're sensible, you'll pick one of those two choices."

"If you choose not to be sensible, the third option will likely come to you without my intervention."

"Do I have to choose right now this instant?"

"No, I'll give you a couple of days to think over your options. I'm going away for the weekend; otherwise I'm staying at the Cullen's house while I'm here in town. I'll come talk to you next week, but I'll expect your decision then. Whether you want to give your oath or decide to become one of us, I'll take you to Seattle and make the arrangements."

"What about my family. What would I tell my parents?"

"If you give your oath, there's no reason why you can't continue to live with them until you leave to go off to college. I believe you know Amanda Dahlke. She went to your high school. She works for us while she's attending The University of Washington. If you choose the first option and become one of us, well distraught girls run away from home all the time. If you choose the third option, it won't really matter to you anymore, will it?"

"I guess not."

"Ok, well you know you need to keep quiet now, and more than your own life hangs in the balance. You've got some things to think about, dear. C'mon, I'll take you back to town now."

She held her arms out to me, but I shied away from her.

"Be sensible now, Katy. You're in the middle of the forest, and you don't really know which way you'd go to get back home, do you? You're not picking the third option already, are you? I can make it quick and painless if that's what you want, but I'm not going to leave you in the middle of the woods to freeze to death."

She was right. I knew I wasn't too terribly far from town, but I'd gotten turned around, and the sun was hidden behind the steel gray overcast. I could wander for hours a half mile from home and still be totally lost out here. I just nodded and stepped closer to Esme.

She swept me up into her arms as though I weighed nothing at all, and then we were blurring through the trees again. We stopped as abruptly as we had erupted into motion, but I didn't fall down when she let me go this time. She held my hand and we stepped out of the trees onto the sidewalk. We were standing next to a fiery red sports car, and Alice Cullen was in the driver seat.

"Would you like a ride back to Michaela's," Alice asked, "or did you want to finish your run?"

My knees were weak, and I felt like I was ready to collapse on the sidewalk. I wasn't going to be running anywhere for a while.

"Drop me off at Michaela's please," I said as I staggered to the passenger door and got into the car.

It was a two seat coupe. Where was Esme going to ride…? I looked around as she stepped into the trees and was gone. It was like she vanished into thin air…

"You knew about this all along, Alice, didn't you? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I've known since before we moved to Forks, Katy. I warned Edward not to fall in love with you for all the good that did. I knew you weren't the one for him from the beginning, but he wouldn't listen to me. Don't tell me you would have listened either, I know better. I'm sorry you have to go through this, but saying something wouldn't have changed anything, except maybe getting us all killed by now."

"How did you know about this before you guys moved here?"

"I'm kind of psychic, Katy. It's what I do."

"Yeah, me too. Knowing the future sounds way cooler than knowing that people are lying to you."

"Not if you can see what's coming, but nobody will listen and you can't change anything. You just know the mistakes that people are going to make ahead of time. I've learned how to try and make changes, and choose a particular path, but the future needs to remain a secret for that to work. It just pisses people off when they know you know what's going to happen, but you won't tell them. Problem is if you tell them, they still make mistakes, just different ones that you haven't seen yet."

Have you seen my future, Alice?"

"Yes."

"What mistakes am I going to make?

"Don't go to Seattle, Katy."

"You know Edward still loves me, Alice."

"Yes, but he love's Bella too, and he's made the bond with her. Their souls are joined together permanently now. He couldn't come back to you, Katy, even if he wanted to. Bella is his future now."

The car stopped in front of Michaela's house. Esme was standing on the curb waiting for us, and she opened my door for me.

"Thanks for being honest with me, Alice." I got out of the car to walk back into the house.

"Think about what we talked about, Katy." Esme said. "We'll talk next week. Ok, dear?" She smiled at me and got into the car and closed the door.

Alice pulled away from the curb, and they drove down the street. I walked back up to Michaela's house and let myself in. Everyone was still asleep. I went back to Michaela's room and got what I needed out of my overnight bag, and then went to her bathroom and took a hot shower. She was still asleep when I went back to her room, and I lay down on the bed beside her.

I'd gone out to go for a run this morning to try and clear my head and think about what to do next, but that hadn't worked out so good. I couldn't tell anyone about this, or I'd be endangering their lives too. I thought about the options Esme had given me.

Become a vampire? No fucking way. There was no chance in heaven or hell that I would willingly accept that option. That was out no matter what, and simply beyond consideration. I'd gladly die before I'd willingly become one of the eternally damned and sacrifice my immortal soul for immortality on earth. But that was what Edward wanted. Would it truly be so bad if it gave me a chance to win him back?

NO!

Maybe if I had Edward back first, then I'd do that for him… But to go through eternity to see him with somebody else and know he loved me but didn't want me? That would be literal hell on earth.

Esme seemed to think that I'd find option two more appealing. True, I'd get to stay human and alive, but Jesus Christ! Wake up and smell the roses, dear! She seriously needed a reality check if she thought I was the type of girl to go in for that sort of thing. She'd mentioned Amanda Dahlke, but I really didn't remember her that clearly. She had graduated the year before I started high school. I recognized the name, but it was a small town.

The prospect was less than appealing, and to be truthful, it scared the piss out of me. That was what Bella had been doing when she worked there as a human, and she was a vampire now because of some accident. Come on! Honestly, promise not to tell anyone about what I knew or what I was doing for a living and volunteer as the special of the week on the menu? I found a four year stint as vampire chow even less appealing than being a vampire myself. Professional blood donor was out.

Of course that brought me to option three. What could I say? I wouldn't willingly choose death, but if I rejected options one and two, didn't that sort of leave option three as the default fall back position?

I would willingly accept any option if I had Edward back. I wanted Edward back so bad I could taste it, but everybody kept saying that it was impossible. There had to be a way to break this bond between Edward and Bella. That brought me back to destroying Bella Swan. Ok, Destroying was a euphemism. I wanted the bitch dead, and if killing her broke the spell, then so much the better.

I needed more information to make a plan. I got up and ran some searches on Michaela's computer, but it was so frustrating. I knew almost all of the information was crap and made up bullshit, but I read through it and followed links to page after page of data. I didn't really think I was learning anything, but it passed the time, and it amazed me that so many people put so much effort into this. I was really just passing time until Michaela woke up. She'd been up late with me last night, and I let her sleep in as I formulated a plan.

Edward never left anything to chance, and he'd been confused about what was going on with Bella Swan for a long time. Edward always did good research and he kept meticulous notes on whatever he was studying. He would have figured things out, and he probably still had all of his research and notes somewhere in his bedroom.

Esme had said that she was going away for the weekend, and she ran a Club in Seattle. I had to assume that was where she was going this weekend. She hadn't been with Edward's dad for very long, and I'd bet she was taking him there to see her Club. Alice had gone to Seattle with Jessica and Angela a couple of weeks back, and Jessica had come home bragging about what a good time she'd had at the night club that Bella took them too. It was probably a good bet that all of them were going to be gone this weekend.

If the house was empty, them I knew how to get into the house so I could search Edward's room for clues. I just had to figure out how to get there. This was going to be dangerous, but I was already on the vampire's hit list. I didn't really want to involve anyone else, but I didn't have a car. I knew my mom wouldn't let me take her car. I didn't want to drag her into this, but I knew Michaela would help me if I asked her.

Michaela finally woke up late that morning, took a shower, and got dressed. We went to the kitchen and had some breakfast, and then went back to her room to hang out.

"Well, you seem like you're feeling better today, Katy. I'm sorry I slept so late. You should have woken me up if you were awake."

"That's ok. I had a lot of thinking to do. I know Edward broke up with me, but I can't believe it's really over. I know he still loves me, but for some weird reason he's attracted to Bella Swan. I don't get it."

"You can't keep waiting for Edward to come back to you Katy. I know you guys were together for like forever, and you thought he was the one, but he's moved on. You've got to let go, and get on with your own life."

"I know… You're probably right. Hey, Michaela, can you do me a favor? If we're really calling this quits, I need to get my stuff that I have over at Edward's house. It's probably best if I get this over with now. Will you drive me over there? I really don't want to go alone, and I don't want Edward or Alice to take me over."

I really didn't like lying to Michaela, but I did still have some things at Edward's house to pick up. If they were there, then I had a legitimate excuse for showing up. If the house was empty, then I could just tell Michaela I was going to go in and look for my things.

"Sure, Katy, when did you want to go?"

"Is now ok? I'd really like to get this over with, or we could go later if you have plans today."

"No, right now is fine. I don't really have any plans, but I was gonna ask you if you wanted to get out of town and do something fun today. You've seemed so depressed lately. We should have a girl's day out, and go shopping or see a movie or something."

"Ok, let's go by Edward's to get my stuff, and then we can go by my house to drop it off and I can tell my mom what we have planned."

I got my things together, and Michaela told her mom we were leaving. We went out to her car, and we drove to Edward's house. The house seemed pretty quiet when we got there, but I walked up on the porch and knocked on the door. Nobody came to answer it. I took a look around, and it looked like all of their cars were still here. The red sports car Alice had been driving this morning was gone, but the Harley, Edward's Volvo, and Carlisle's Lexus were in the garage.

"It doesn't look like anyone is home, Katy. We'll have to come back and try again later."

"Maybe this is a good thing. I really didn't want to confront Edward again this morning, but I just wanted this part over with. I know where they hide the spare key to the back door. I'm just gonna go in and get my stuff, you wait here, and I'll be right back."

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Katy. That's burglary if somebody catches us. We don't have permission to go in there…"

"Well, you wait here, and if anybody comes by, bang on the door like crazy. I'll head out the back door if I hear you knocking, ok?"

"I guess so… Just hurry and get your stuff, and get out so we can get the hell out of here."

I nodded and went around to the back door from the kitchen. I got the spare key that was hidden under a flowerpot on the patio and let myself into the house. The house was quiet and looked empty as I walked into the kitchen. I was pretty sure nobody was home, and I went to the stairs and went up to Edward's room.

The bed was made up, but the room smelled like pure sex when I pushed the door open and stepped inside. I felt a flare of jealousy flash through me and my breath hissed through my teeth as I took a sharp breath at the pain that ripped through my chest. This was a bad idea, coming here. It made everything seem so real and intensified the knowledge that Edward was gone, and he didn't want me anymore.

No, damn it! I had to do this for Edward! I steeled my resolve and moved into the room and quickly collected the few personal items of mine that I knew were here, my excuse for coming here to snoop and look for clues. I knew Edward had a safe in his closet, but he'd never shared the combination with me. Instead I went to his desk, and started to search there. It only took me a couple of minutes, and I hit pay dirt.

I knew Edward's habits, and he always liked to organize his thoughts and got down notes when he was researching something. I found the notebook in the bottom drawer of his desk, and it had all of his notes and research from his study of Bella and vampires in general. I quickly flipped through the notebook, and several of the pages held notes and discussions of various topics where he'd gone back through what he knew about various topics.

One page held a listing of known and suspected vampire run clubs in Seattle, and their addresses, but the listing was kind of old from the date. It didn't say which one in particular Esme ran, or which one Alice and Bella had gone to.

I flipped another couple of pages, and I found what I was looking for. It listed vampire vulnerabilities, and what you had to do to kill them. I was wrong about driving a stake through her heart, but it seems that a large caliber bullet would slow them down long enough to burn them. Apparently you had to disrupt their central nervous system to knock them down. You'd have to get close, or get a lucky shot. Through the eye or the roof of the mouth into the brain, or the spine at the base of the skull would all do the trick. Otherwise an assault rifle on full auto or a machine gun would do enough damage to knock them down long enough to burn them.

I knew what I had to do now. I took the notebook and stuffed it into the backpack I'd laid on the bed and stuffed the rest of my things in on top of it. I walked out of Edward's room and closed the door behind me. I quickly made my way back out of the house and locked the back door. I hid the key again, and then went back around to the front. Michaela was relieved to see me, and we got in the car to leave.

"So, Michaela, where did you want to go shopping today?" I asked as we drove towards my house.

"I don't know, I just wanted to get out of town and do something fun today. We've been so busy with the cross country season, and you've been so depressed about you know who… I just want to do something different today."

"Ok, what do you say we drive to Seattle, and maybe go to the mall? There are movies at Pacific Place, or we could go to the West Lake Center. Port Angeles just doesn't have all that much and I don't feel like just going to Wal-Mart. Let's get out and do this right."

"I don't know, Katy. Seattle is pretty far… That's about a three and a half hour drive. I don't know if my mom will let me go that far if it's just the two of us…"

"Don't tell her that's where we're going. Just say we're driving to Port Angeles or Sequim, and then we can call later and tell them we decided to stay later for dinner too. You're the one that said we should get out and do something different. Seattle is only an hour farther away than Aberdeen, but I really don't feel like shopping at JC Penny or Sears again. Let's go to the big mall."

"I guess so, if you think it'll be alright… I don't like lying to my mom like that about where I am. I guess we can do it this one time…"

I didn't like lying to Michaela like that, but I needed a ride into Seattle if I was going to track down Edward and Bella. I was starting to put together a plan, but it was still sketchy at best. Right now I was flying by the seat of my pants, and making it up as I went. Right now, I just needed to get to Seattle. I'd have to ditch Michaela at the mall, but I could get a cab to take me to the Club to search for Bella once I was in the City. At least Michaela would be safe.

We got to my house, and my dad was working on my mom's car under the carport. We waved hello, and went into the house through the kitchen. Mom was sorting laundry and getting ready to put on a load. We said hello, and then went back to my room. I got my dirty clothes out of my over night bag, and sorted out the things I'd picked up at Edward's house. I took out the notebook, and stuffed it into my purse, but Michaela wasn't paying attention. I told her to call her mom, and I was going to go take my laundry into the kitchen to my mom. She didn't comment when I took my purse with me and pushed the strap over my shoulder before I picked up the dirty clothes. I shut the door on my way out of the room.

I went to the kitchen and dropped off the dirty clothes, and then turned and started back down the hall. I looked back to make sure nobody was watching, and then I walked past my room and went into my parents bedroom. I went to the night stand and opened the bottom drawer, and the steel box was sitting exactly where I knew it would be. I took it out and set it on the bed, and quickly punched in the combination. The lock popped open, and I lifted the lid.

Dad didn't like leaving us home alone unprotected when he was out on the road. I reached into the safe, and took out the .357 Magnum Revolver. The molded rubber grip fit my hand, and I flipped out the cylinder to make sure it was loaded. I'd spent a lot of afternoons with my dad at the shooting range getting familiar with this pistol. Dad said having a gun did you no good if you didn't know how to use it. I knew how to use it, and I was a better shot than dad. I closed the cylinder and made sure the safety was on. I grabbed the two speed loaders out of the safe and then I put the pistol and the extra ammo in my purse. I closed the gun safe and put it back into the drawer, and then went back down the hall to my room.

The bolt action hunting rifle dad took elk hunting or the pump action shot gun with rifled slugs would pack more punch and have more stopping power, but I'd get arrested if I carried one of those down the street in Seattle. Besides, I think Michaela would notice if I got into the car with a rifle. The pistol was concealable, and had enough stopping power to get the job done if I got lucky. Michaela was just hanging up her phone when I walked into the room.

"Ok, we're good to go. What did your mom say?" She asked when I walked into the room.

"I didn't tell her yet, I wanted to see if it was ok with your mom first. C'mon, let's go. You said Port Angeles and Sequim, right?" She nodded and followed me out of the room and back into the kitchen.

"Hey, mom, I'm gonna go shopping with Michaela today. Ok? We'll probably stop to catch a movie and eat out before we come home."

"Ok, Katy. You girls have fun and be safe. Are you going up to Port Angeles?"

"Yeah, we're heading that way."

"Alright, see you tonight."

I gave mom a hug and she seemed surprised, and then we went out the door to leave. Dad was busy with something under the hood, and his hands were greasy. He just waved goodbye, but I didn't get to hug him. If this ended badly, this might be the last time I ever saw them, but I pushed that thought away. I was going to rescue Edward. I wasn't going to let the vampires have him without a fight, and if I had to kick some ass to save the man I loved, then I was ready to bring it on.

We got into Michaela's car and drove north out of town. I hadn't gotten as much sleep as she had last night, and the last twenty-four hours had been kind of traumatic. I nodded off as soon as we were on the highway, and I didn't wake up until we were stopped at the gas station in Sequim. I went to the ladies room to answer natures call, and then I paid for the gas. I had suggested the destination, so I could at least bankroll the road trip.

I took the notebook out of my purse and studied it as we drove to the ferry dock in Kingston on Highway 104. It amazed me that Edward had been able to figure out so much about them. At first I was surprised at the connections to the criminal underworld and organized crime, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. They had to be well practiced at keeping secrets, and they already operated on the fringes of society. What was a little criminal conspiracy thrown in on top of murder and virtual prostitution? So it wasn't sexual, big deal. I suppose selling blood for money wasn't exactly illegal, but it felt like it should be. Using it for transfusions to help the sick and injured was one thing. Using it for a midnight snack was just wrong!

Michaela was quiet as we drove towards the ferry terminal in Kingston. She'd cranked up the radio and just drove, and left me to my own thoughts as I studied the notebook. She waited until we were on the ferry before she said something. I should have realized I wasn't going to be able to hide this from her.

"So, what's the plan, Katy?" Michaela asked me.

"I don't know, did you want to go straight to the mall, or we could check out the Pike Place Market first. Are you hungry? We could get some lunch there…"

"I meant where did you want to start looking for him first? Do you know which one of those clubs we're going to yet?"

"What…? No…"

"C'mon, Katy, I'm your best friend, and I'm not stupid."

"What do you mean…?"

"Why do you have a gun in your purse? Are you going to shoot both of them, or just Edward?"

"NO! I could never hurt Edward. I have to save him. That creature has him under some kind of spell…"

"Ok, so you want to whack Bella. I can see that. How is that going to solve anything, Katy? Is spending the rest of your life in prison really worth it just so Edward isn't with Bella anymore?"

She had a point, and I guess I could have told her the truth, but Michaela still might make it out of this ok if she didn't know about the monsters. I made up something that was close to the truth for her.

"I don't even know if Bella Swan is her real name. Her family is connected to organized crime. She was hiding out in Forks at some kind of safe house. She wants Edward to be part of her syndicate, and she's sucking him in deeper to a life of crime. I have to try and save him. If she dies, they'll probably just cover it up and make her disappear. She's some kind of Mafia Princess, and her Family is at war with the other Families in Seattle. I'm not the only one that wants her dead."

"So you figure if you kill her they'll think it was a hit by a rival family? That might work. Only problem is, you're not a professional hit man. If she's connected, then she probably has guards."

"I didn't say I had this a hundred percent worked out. I'm flying by the seat of my pants here. I don't even know which club to start looking in."

"So when were you gonna tell me? Just something like, 'oh by the way, I just shot the bitch in the can, c'mon let's run like hell'?"

"No… I was gonna ditch you at the mall so you'd be safe, and then take a cab…"

"No fucking way am I letting you go this alone, girlfriend! You're my best friend, and we stick together. Worst case scenario, I'll drive the get away car."

"Michaela, I don't want you to get hurt! If this goes wrong, I'm not going home…"

"Best friends, Katy. Your best friend doesn't show up to school on Monday and say 'gee, you know what Katy did this weekend?' No fucking way, your best friend is sitting next to you in the cell saying 'next time we do it like this...' We hunt the bitch down together, or we can turn around right now and forget about it. If you've got the cojones to pull the trigger on the bitch, then I got your back."

"Alright, thanks Michaela, but if I tell you to run, then fucking run, and don't look back 'til you're back in Forks. Ok?"

"Yeah, maybe, we'll wait and see how this goes down. So which one of those Clubs do we start with?"

"I'm not sure. What do you remember about what Jessica was bragging about when she went to the night club with Bella and Alice?"

"She said some guy was hitting on her, trying to pick her up. How did she describe him? Yeah, she said he was drop dead gorgeous for an Asian guy. What are the names of the clubs, and where are they?"

"I know she said they were in the city close to the malls. There are two clubs that are actually in Seattle, the rest are in the suburbs, but still in the metro area. Looks like the Flying Dutchman Lounge and the Mandarin Garden Tea Room are our best bets."

"The Mandarin Garden Tea Room? Kind of sounds like a place where you'd find a hot Asian guy. Maybe we should start looking there."

"Ok, but first we need to get some lunch, and we can still see a movie and do some shopping. These clubs won't even open until around ten o'clock tonight. Besides, if we try to get in, we can't go dressed like this."

I was in jeans and a tee shirt with my running shoes, and Michaela was dressed about the same. If we were going to try and crash a club tonight, we'd have to look hot to get in without getting carded, unless Michaela had her fake ID with her too.

"Do you have ID to even get in tonight?"

"Of course, never leave home without it. I was the one that got you into that dance club in Port Angeles, remember?"

"Ok, so we eat and then shop. See a movie, and then we'll hit the club tonight and track the bitch down."

"Sounds like a plan."

Yeah, a plan full of holes, and we'd have to improvise as needed. There was so much we didn't know… Maybe I should have waited for them to come back to Forks. I would have been able to find Bella easier there, but she didn't have any enemies hunting her down in Forks. It would be pretty obvious what had happened to her. If I could kill her here, then maybe they'd blame it on their enemies.

We followed the plan. Michaela drove us into the city, and we went to Pike Place first and had lunch and started browsing. We could have gone to the mall to shop, but there were better bargains here, and we'd get whatever we needed to fill in the blanks at the mall. I bought a spray can of WD-40 and a cigarette lighter while Michaela was looking at shoes. It was flammable and would soak into fabric and burn. The bullets would slow a vampire down, but you had to burn them to kill them. The spray can of flammable oil would act like an improvised flame thrower as long as the propellant lasted.

I found a mini-skirt and a cute top in a boutique on First Avenue, and Michaela bought a mini-dress that her mom would have a heart attack over he she saw her wearing it. It was the kind of outfit where you might as well say 'why bother'. It left very little to the imagination. Of course, that was kind of the point. If all the guys were staring at Michaela, then I'd be free to look around.

We went to the mall and shopped to pick up the rest of the accessories we'd need, and then went to the movies to kill some time. We ate dinner after the movie, and then decided to go scout out the club. I had the address from Edward's notebook, and we found the street on the map Michaela had in the glove compartment. I looked like it was in China town in the international district, and I thought it was kind of funny that Edward and Bella would be hanging out in a Chinese restaurant and nightclub. I suppose stranger things could happen, and we had a fifty-fifty chance of being right. If we were wrong, then we'd get the hell out of there and try the other Club.

We found the right street in the neighborhood south of the International District, and we were only a couple of blocks from Quest Field. Michaela circled the block where the restaurant was located, and it looked like an ordinary enough nightclub. It was open now with some early birds heading in to beat the crowd, and a line hadn't even started to form yet. The restaurant was open and had a good crowd, but there was a separate entrance for the Club.

We'd passed a gas station convenience store on our way into the neighborhood, and Michaela circled back around and pulled into the lot and parked. We grabbed the bags we needed to get dressed, and went inside and locked ourselves into the ladies room to change. It took longer to fix our makeup and hair with the limited resources than it did to get dressed. I thought the guy at the cash register eyes were gonna pop out of his head when we came out of the restroom and walked past him out the door.

We put our things in the trunk, and then I double checked our supplies for the night. I had my pistol in my purse where I could get to it easily. The can of WD-40 and the cigarette lighter were in easy reach. I kept Edward's notebook, but I didn't really know why. Maybe for moral support… I kissed the top of the notebook, because it was Edwards, and then was slightly disgusted because it still smelled like Edward's bedroom had this morning. I made sure my fake ID was in my wallet, and my real ID was out of sight. I guess we were as ready as we'd ever be.

Michaela drove us back to the Club, and we found a parking place on a cross street close to the club entrance where the line was forming to get into the club. We got out of the car, and walked across the street to get in line.

"Ok, so we're going in," Michaela said. "What's the plan?"

"Mingle, and act like you're having a good time, but keep your eyes open for anyone you recognize to see if we're in the right place."

"Ok, so who am I looking for, besides Bella?"

"Well, Edward, Alice, or Carlisle Cullen would be good for starters, or Bella Swan would be the jackpot. Do you remember that woman that was at home coming the other night with Edward's dad?"

"Yeah, she was a total fox for an older lady. The one with the caramel colored hair, right?"

"Yeah, that's Esme, Bella's adopted mom. Watch out for her too."

The line was moving along, but it hadn't been super long when we got in it. There was a bouncer up at the door letting people in, and then another guy with a clip board walked down the line checking out the crowd. He stopped next to Michaela and me.

"You girls alone tonight?" He asked.

"Yes, we are. Single and looking for a good time," Michaela piped up.

"Ok, go ahead," and he waved us up to the door.

There were whistles and cat calls from the guys in the line, and we just smiled and waved as we walked up to the door. The bouncer held aside the rope, and we went inside. There was another security guard inside the door, and I was afraid he'd want to look in my purse, but he just checked our ID's and waved us along. I could have sworn I saw his nostrils flare as he inhaled deeply as we walked past, and then it looked Like he was speaking into a lapel microphone clipped to his coat as we walked up to the cashier.

I was shocked and did a double take at first when I looked at the security guard. My first impression was that he looked enough like Sam Uley to be his brother or a close cousin. The guy was huge! He towered over Michaela and me, and must have been close to seven feet tall. He appeared to have long, rounded muscles, but he was wearing a dark suit with no tie and the top couple of buttons undone on his dress shirt. He had copper skin, close cropped black hair, and brown eyes. He had an earphone in his right ear with a small cord running behind his ear and into the collar of his jacket. He looked like he was about twenty-nine or thirty and had a stern expression on his face as he checked ID's inside the door.

I paid the cover charge for both of us, and we walked inside to the club. The lights were dimmed, and there were bright pulsing colored lights keeping time to the beat of the music. There was a DJ cranking out dance music, and the dance floor was crowded. The inside of the lounge was decorated in an oriental theme, with the kind of decorations and accessories that you'd see in a classy Chinese restaurant. There was a bar across one side of the room and cocktail tables in front of it in the lounge area. There were booths along one wall next to the bar. A wide wooden stairway in the center of the room led up to a second level, and an open walkway with a wooden banister circled the room. There were private rooms and lounges on the second level separated with rice paper screens and sliding paper walls.

I leaned into Michaela to speak into her ear. "Head around the club that way," I pointed to indicate a direction, "and I'll go this way. Meet me at the bar, and we'll compare notes."

Michaela nodded, and headed off into the crowd. Half the guy's in the bar were staring at her as she danced away moving to the music as she browsed into the crowd, people watching. I smiled and headed off in the opposite direction. I didn't see anyone I recognized as I wandered through the crowd, looking around. At least half the crowd was Asian, but there were all sorts of people in the multi-ethnic cosmopolitan mix.

I got to the bar, and ordered a couple of beers. I handed one to Michaela when she got there, and we found an empty cocktail table and sat down.

"Any luck?" I asked.

"No, You?"

"Nada."

"Ok, so what next?" Michaela asked.

"Go check out the dance floor, and I'll wait here and see who goes up to the privacy suites on the upper level. Maybe I'll spot someone, or you'll see someone dancing. Meet me back here at the end of the set, unless you see something."

"Sounds like a plan. See ya 'round." Michaela chugged the rest of her beer, and headed off to cruise the dance floor.

I was sitting sipping my beer, surreptitiously scanning the crowd while I kept an eye on who went up and down the stairs. It might have simply been my own paranoia, but it seemed like there were other people around the bar that were watching me. I shrugged it off and kept up my surveillance of the stairs. The majority of the light traffic seemed to be mostly Asian serving girls dressed in kimonos carrying trays of drinks. I'd lost Michaela in the crowd, but I hadn't seen her leave the dance floor.

I'd been watching the stairs for several songs, when one of the sliding wall panels opened, and a man stepped out of a privacy suite. He was about six foot three, and quite muscular with long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. The man was wearing a dark suit with no tie and the top couple of buttons undone on his dark colored dress shirt. He made his way down the stair, and I was surprised when he walked over to my table and sat down. I took a closer look at him in the dim lighting of the club, and my heart started to race as I took in the pale skin of his face. He had eyes like Esme, orange hued shot through with flecks of red, and I knew what he was. His nostrils flared as he inhaled a deep breath, and then he smiled at me.

"Hello, we haven't been introduced. I'm James Witherdale, and who might you be, miss?"

"I'm Katy, Katy Decker. Can I help you with something, James?"

"I was coming over to ask you why you're in our club carrying a gun in your purse, Katy, but now I'm intrigued. You know Bella Swan. Are you a friend of hers?"

"Hardly. Is Bella here tonight?"

James laughed. "No, you won't find Bella Swan here, Katy Decker. So are you a White Hat? Are you hunting Bella?"

"A White Hat? No, I'm not familiar with that term. Should I be?"

"Maybe. You might have lived longer if you'd done a little more research first." A chill ran down my spine, and James leaned in conspiratorially as if to share a secret with me. "They're a human gang that hunts vampires. They're actually a lot of fun sometimes, and they keep us on our toes." Then James sat up and studied me.

"So tell me, how do you know Bella?"

"She stole something from me, and I want it back."

James laughed again. "Yes, that would explain a lot. That must be the strong male scent coming from your purse. I heard that Bella had taken a mate."

I drew in another sharp painful breath through the raw gaping wound in my chest when James mentioned Bella taking a mate. I winced at the pain, and James smirked.

"And that's what my little Bella stole form you, didn't she? This man was your lover before he left you for Bella."

"She cast some sort of spell on him, and lured him away! It's insane! Edward still loves me, but he was drawn to Bella like a moth to a flame!"

"Yes, of course, and now you want revenge. You're so cute, like a kitten trying to claw your way back to your favorite toy, no matter how far out of reach it is. Maybe we should make you a tiger, and then see how you deal with the situation?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it now. You won't find Bella here, Katy. We're the bad guys, and they don't like us."

"Ok, any suggestions where I should look then?"

"Well, I'd send you to the Flying Dutchman Lounge, but you won't make it through the door there with what you have in your purse. Why don't you run along now? I think this is going to be a very interesting night."

"Interesting how?"

"Simple, we'll do what I like best. You run, and I'll chase you."

"What?"

"You like games, don't you? This is one of my favorites. I'll even be sporting and give you a head start. If you make it to the Flying Dutchman, you might get to live. Bella and Edward will be waiting for you there. If I catch you first, then we can have all sorts of fun together. Now doesn't that sound like fun to you?"

"What, are you some kind of sick sadistic monster?"

"Umm… Yes, yes I am. Any other questions?"

I shook my head no as I stared at James with wide eyes.

"Katy…"

"Yes?" I stammered.

"Run!"

James laughed again like he was having the time of his life. He got up and casually walked back to the stairs and walked back up to the private room. There was a woman with long, curly red orange hair that looked like fire waiting for him. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. She possessed a terrible beauty, and looked down at me with fierce anticipation as a smile crossed her lips. James glanced back over his shoulder at me with a smirk, and I could see the feral glint of anticipation in his eye as the corners of his mouth twisted into a grin.

Shit! This was bad! Real bad! Not only had I not found Bella, I had attracted the attention of another vampire, and he didn't seem like the friendly sort like Esme. I was up out of my seat in a flash, and heading for the dance floor to find Michaela. We had to leave now.

I wondered if she might be safer if I just ran on my own. Could I lead them away from her? But no, they'd seen us come in together, and I couldn't just abandon her. She didn't have a clue to what was really going on. I searched the dance floor frantically for Michaela, and then I spotted her dancing with some guy. I pushed my way through the crowd to get to her, and then I grabbed her arm and started to pull her with me.

Thank god, Michaela read the panic in my face and body language and didn't hesitate to follow me as I headed for the door.

"What's wrong, Katy?" Michaela asked as we hurried toward the door.

"This is the wrong place. I just made a big mistake! We've gotta go!"

We made it out the door, and ran across the street towards the car. I was checking behind us, but I didn't see anyone following yet.

"What the hell happened?" Michaela asked as I threw myself into the car and slammed the door shut and locked it. She got in, and was fumbling in her purse for the car keys.

"One of their guys came to talk to me. I think he's one of the bosses. He knew I had a gun, and he figured out I was looking for Bella. This is like some kind of sick game to him, and I think he's after us now. He said he'd give us a head start, but he's gonna chase us."

"Shit, Katy!"

"I know, just try and get to a main road, and head north. We've gotta try and get to the other club. That's where we should have gone. If we can get there, he can't follow us, and we can ditch him."

Michaela floored it, and flew down the street. She whipped the car around the corner at the end of the block, but we were deep in the back streets and alleys of China town. All I really knew was we needed to head north. I could see the I-5 freeway a couple of blocks off to our right, but I had no idea where there was an on ramp. The street came to a tee intersection, and Michaela turned left, heading back toward the club, but Quest Field was that way too and there had to be some main roads leading to it.

A car turned onto the road in front of us, coming at us fast, but Michaela hung a right at the corner heading north again. The car turned the corner and accelerated towards us, and I knew they were following us.

"God damn it, Katy, we're playing right into their hands! They wanted us to run so they could get us away from the club and witnesses! We should have stayed there and called someone! Even if you had to call Edward, at least someone would know where we are and what's going on! We're fucking dead if they catch us now!"

"I'm sorry I got you into this, Michaela."

"I got myself into this. I told you, best friends stick together. Now let's just see if we can get out alive!

The car behind us accelerated fast, and slammed into the back of Michaela's car. She fish tailed wildly in the middle of the street until she got control of the car again. The headlights were coming closer, and they slammed into us again. Michaela swerved, and clipped the fender of a parked car, but she kept control as we flew down the middle of the road.

I was looking through the back window as she drove. "Her they come again!" I screamed as the car accelerated towards us. Michaela was looking in the mirror, and almost missed the car turning into the street in front of us. She screamed and whipped the car out of the way and screeched around the corner taking the right on two wheels.

"Shit! Now we're fucked!" It wasn't a street, and we were flying down an alley in the middle of a block with the backs of buildings on both sides. Suddenly the headlights were glinting off the chain link fence that blocked the end of the alley and we screeched to a stop as she slammed her foot on the brakes. The fence was ten feet tall, and had razor wire across the top. We weren't going to climb it to get out of the alley.

"Go back!" I screamed, but I could already see the headlights following us down the alley blocking our escape.

"Oh shit, this is it."

I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I wasn't going to go down without a fight. I opened my purse and took out my pistol and flipped off the safety.

"Here," I said, and gave Michaela the spray can of WD-40 and the lighter. "You know what to do?"

"Yeah, c'mon, let's ditch the car and see if we can make a run for it on foot." I nodded and I got out following her.

The car was still halfway down the alley advancing slowly, and we started trying the doors on the buildings, but everything was locked up tight. Suddenly I caught a hint of movement and the shape of a man in my peripheral vision. He dropped off the fucking roof top! He was behind me. I didn't even think as I spun raising my arms in a two handed pistol combat grip and fired. The barrel was practically touching his face when the pistol barked with the first shot. I pulled the trigger two more times, and he dropped like a fish flopping on the sand.

"Light him up," I screamed at Michaela, and flame shot from the spray can soaking into his clothes. He stopped flopping after a minute, and the smoke turned a dark purple black color as he burned.

"Why didn't he die, Katy? You shot him three times in the fucking head!" Michaela screamed.

"I'm sorry, Michaela. I thought you still might get out of this alive, but you deserve to know the truth now. These guys aren't exactly human. He was a fucking vampire. Bella's a vampire. That's really why I wanted to kill her. She wants to make Edward a vampire too."

"You're shitting me, right? Fucking vampires? Now you decide to tell me you're going fucking Buffy on the fucking vampire's asses? Jesus fucking Christ! Wasn't it bad enough that they were fucking Mafia crime lords? Now they're fucking vampires too?"

"Shit happens, deal with it. Now you know. I think the car stopped. Here, get behind the dumpster. Maybe the police heard the shots, and they'll come check it out."

"Sorry, no police," James voice echoed out of the shadows. "They're too well paid to harass us down here. We make the rules in this part of town."

"What do you want? Let us go, and we won't tell anyone about this."

"I'm sorry, Katy, I can't do that now. You know too much. You know I can't let you go. You seem rather well informed, though. I think you know the rules. My options are limited."

"Options, what options?" Michaela whispered in my ear.

"It's the only way we're allowed to know that they exist." I whispered back. "Get turned so you're a vampire too, go to work for them as snacks, or take a dirt nap and push up daisies."

"Shit, that's not much of a choice."

"Yeah, my opinion exactly. Looks like we picked door number three."

"You know you aren't making this very fun, Katy," James said. His voice was closer now, but I still couldn't see him. "I was expecting you to get farther than this. Tell me, do you think your Edward will come looking for you when he realizes you're missing?"

"Fuck you! Edward doesn't want me anymore!"

"I would, but Victoria gets jealous. You said Edward still loves you. How do you know that?"

"Come a little closer, and maybe I'll whisper it in your ear." I had the pistol ready. If he got close enough, I'd blow his fucking head off, and Michaela could torch him.

Suddenly there was a blur of motion and the gun was plucked out of my hands. I heard Michaela give a piercing blood curdling scream. There was a meaty sound like flesh impacting on something hard, and the spray can clattered as it dropped to the ground next to my feet. It was worthless without the lighter.

"Ok, let's try this again. I asked you a question. You can be good and give me the answers I want, or we can see just how high a pain threshold your cute little friend here has."

I looked around, and James had Michaela pinned to the wall of the building with his hand on her throat. Her feet were kicking in mid air two feet off the ground while her hands clawed ineffectually at his hand on her throat. Her face was turning red as her eyes started to bulge.

"Oh god! Let her go!"

"I asked you a question. Now tell me how you know Edward still loves you!"

"If I tell you, will you let her go?" Michaela's face was turning purple, and she was clawing at his hand more frantically now.

"Yes."

"I can tell when people are lying. Edward told me he still loves me, and he was telling the truth."

James let go of Michaela, and she collapsed to the ground in a heap, panting for breath. I rushed to her side, and James chuckled as I gathered her into my arms.

"See, that wasn't so difficult, now was it? So you're a truth sayer, or at least you could be if you wanted to be. It'll be interesting to see how that works out."

"Now tell me about this Edward."

"Go to hell! I'm not telling you anything!"

"Katy, Katy, Katy. You have to realize you can't say things like that to me…"

James reached for Michaela, and effortlessly ripped her out of my arms. His hands gripped her arm and there was a sickening snap as his hands flexed. Michaela gave a blood curdling scream of pure agony as he dropped her at my feet. She was looking down in shock. Her left arm was bent in too many places and pointed in the wrong direction. The fore arm was snapped, and I could see the end of her bone protruding through her skin.

"Now, tell me how Edward and Bella met."

"She came to our high school.' I yelled at him as I tried to comfort Michaela. Tears were streaming down my cheeks, as I gathered her back into my arms. "She was a new student this term. Oh my god, Michaela are you alright?" She was hugging her arm to her chest and rocking back and forth as she whimpered in agony.

"You see, that wasn't so difficult. Now where is your high school, Katy?"

"Don't tell him, Katy. He'll follow them there, and more people at home will get hurt!"

James casually reached down and yanked Michaela out of my arms and sent her sprawling on the ground as she screamed. He took another step towards her, and there was another sickening snapping sound as James foot came down on her leg. Michaela screamed again, and James foot had crushed her lower leg just above the ankle as her foot flopped at a strange unnatural angle.

"That's enough out of you. Speak when you're spoken too. Now answer the question Katy."

"Forks, we're from Forks. We go to Forks high school! You didn't have to hurt her! It's on our driver's licenses, and all you had to do was look in our purses!"

"I know, but this is so much more fun. How did you find out that Bella is a vampire?"

"I overheard Edward talking about it with his friend."

"Why did he tell his friend? Did he know he was putting him at risk by revealing the secret?"

"His friend is a werewolf, but I don't think he'd changed yet. He said he deserved to know the truth."

"A fucking werewolf? They're real too?" Michaela exclaimed. I was surprised she was still conscious, but the shock might have been masking the pain as the fight or flight hormones and adrenaline flooded her system.

James looked down at her, and stepped towards her. His foot came down on her other leg, and there was another sickening snapping sound. Michaela gave another blood curdling scream, and James foot shattered her other leg below the knee.

"You just don't know when to shut up, do you?"

"Oh my god! Stop hurting her!" I moved closer and tried to comfort her, but I was afraid to move her without doing more damage or causing her more pain. "I'll answer your questions! Just please don't hurt her anymore!

"Of course you will, Katy. So, tell me about Edward's Family. Who does he live with?"

"His father, Carlisle, and his sister, Alice."

"Do they know about vampires too?"

"Yes."

"Why do they know?"

"They all have mates now, too."

"Really, that is interesting news. Who are they?"

"I think Carlisle is with Esme. They were at the dance the other night as chaperones, and she's staying at their house. I think Alice and Jasper are together. Esme said Alice had joined her family. Jasper was going to our school for a while too, but then he left."

"Jasper Whitlock? I heard he had taken a mate, but I didn't realize she was still human. This is interesting valuable information. Maybe she can have an accident… I'll have to think about this. Well, I suppose we should be going now."

"What about Michaela? We have to get her out of here. Oh my god. She's hurt, and needs a doctor! We have to help her! She's in pain!"

"Yes, we'll end her pain."

James reached for me, and ripped my purse off my shoulder. Then he grabbed me and slung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and held me firmly pinned over his arm. I struggled, but I was held fast by his grip on my ass, and couldn't get away from him. He snapped his fingers, and then three more vampires dropped into the alley from the roof tops. They were all wearing long black coats, but it looked like they were wearing swords under their coats when they dropped to the street.

"Stop! Put me down!" I screamed at his back as I beat at him with my fists, but it had no effect at all.

James turned to the three vampires. "Take care of the girl…" My heart stopped for a second and then raced even faster as terror gripped me. No! He couldn't mean what I thought he meant! My mind blanked out the rest of his instructions as panic tore through me. I had to do something! The three were silent but nodded their assent to James orders.

"No!" I screamed at his back. "You can't do this! Please, help her! I'll do whatever you want!"

James turned to Michaela's car, and set my purse on the hood. He rooted through it for a second, and took something out and tossed it into the car. Then he was striding down the alley with my purse clutched in his hand as he walked back toward the street.

"Oh My God! Michaela I'm so sorry! Please, James, go back! We can't leave her! Michaela…"

I looked back and Michaela was screaming again as the three vampires reached for her. One of them locked his jaws on her throat, and the screams cut off with a wet gurgle. She disappeared under them as the feeding frenzy started… I realized I was screaming at the horror I was witness to, and then mercifully oblivion took me as the world faded into blackness.

EPOV (Edward) POV Change

"Come on, Edward." Jasper said. "Let's go. Robert, call Emmett and McKenzie, and tell them to meet us in the garage. We've got a job."

"Yes, Sir, Major."

I turned to Bella. "I'm sorry. I have to do this…"

"Go on, finish this. Come find me if you're still alive when this is done. We need to talk."

I nodded and followed Jasper and Robert out of the room.

We hurried back through the club, and then took the main elevator back down to the garage level. We stepped out of the elevator car. Jasper led me over to a set of double doors, and used a key to unlock the door. He pushed it open, and we stepped into what appeared to be a well stocked armory.

Jasper walked to a set of tall lockers, and pulled open a door. He reached inside, and pulled out some sort of vest or jacket in dark blue synthetic fabric.

"Here, put this on." It was a bullet proof vest, with some sort of hard inserts inside the fabric across the chest and back.

"Is this necessary? I asked as I opened the vest and figured out how to put it on.

"Yes, it is. Take off your shirt, and put it on first. That's a hard body armor ballistic vest. It should stop anything but a clean shot from special armor piercing ammo, but we see some of that too. We use it, and so do the other Families, but I need to bring you back alive."

"Isn't armor piercing ammo illegal?"

"Yes, it is. What's your point? Most of what we do is illegal."

"Point taken. Ok, how do I adjust this to fit?"

Jasper came over to adjust the vest for me, and then I put my shirt back on.

"Try not to get shot in the head. We can still change you if we have to in an emergency, but head wounds take a long time to heal, and regenerating brain tissue fucks with your memories. As long as your heart keeps beating, we can turn you if we have to. Lose the ticker and its game over."

"I'll try to avoid a head wound then. Any other pointers?"

"You're along as an observer on this trip. If it turns into a fight, keep your head down, and leave the fighting to us. Defend yourself if you have to, but stay out of the fight. You don't have the reflexes or training yet to be anything but a liability."

"Ok. Then why are you helping me?"

"Because Alice asked me too, and I knew you'd go on your own. Just because I respect bravery doesn't mean I accept stupidity. I'm not going to simply leave you home. This is your mess, and you should be involved in cleaning it up, but the Fu's would eat you alive. Literally eat you alive, and I can't afford to lose Bella too."

"So you think things are going to heat up with the other families pretty soon?

"Depends on how much weakness we show. If they think they've got a shot, then they'll make a move. If we kick ass and don't show any weakness, then they'll think twice about hitting us. We'll try to give you as much time as we can, and honor your wishes about when you get changed, but if thing get too dicey, then we may need to move up the schedule. It's too dangerous to our plans if you can still die as easily as any human."

"So this is us being strong and showing that we don't take any shit?"

"Yeah, that's about the size of it. You gotta have some steel in your spine and brass cojones as big as your fist for this business, and you'll do ok. Show weakness, and back down, and it's like blood in the water."

Jasper was collecting his own gear as I put on the vest. He double checked the big automatic combat pistol in the holster under his left armpit. He shrugged into a long dark grey leather trench coat, and then took out a long Japanese style Katana and slid it into a long pocket that was concealed inside of the coat.

Robert was going through similar preparations, and then Emmett and another vampire came into the room and started collecting gear. Jasper handed me one of the long grey coats like the rest were wearing, but I didn't get a sword.

"Hey, Jasper," I asked. "Got any spare clips for this pistol?"

Jasper eyed me judiciously for a minute, and then reached into another locker and handed me a couple of clips. "Glock 20, chambered for 10MM ammo, right?"

"Yeah," I stuck the spare clips in my outside pocket so I could reach them if I needed to reload in a hurry.

Jasper looked around at us and nodded, and then said, "Ok, Emmett, you've got the duty. Robert, you drive. I've got shotgun. Let's roll."

Robert hurried ahead, and I heard a car start. He was sitting in a big black Mercedes sedan with darkly tinted windows. Jasper went around and got into the passenger seat. The other vampire who I assumed was McKenzie got in behind Robert, and Emmett held the back door for me so I could slide into the middle of the back seat.

"The duty?" I asked Emmett as I stepped up to the car.

"Babysitter, I keep you alive, little brother. That's my job. If the shit hits the fan, I get you out."

"Gee, thanks. I feel so special." I slid into the back seat.

"Hey, don't bitch to me. That's something you need to talk over with the little woman. You guys are the ones who want to wait. Just have her give you a little love bite, and then you can come play with the big boys."

The big black sedan drove through the security gates, and then spiraled up out of the underground parking garage onto the streets of Seattle. Our destination was a pulsing dot on the GPS navigation system as we turned south and headed across town. It was very early in the morning; still night really, but the bars and nightclubs were closed now in the quiet hours before dawn.

We were approaching our destination, and I could feel the apprehension in the atmosphere in the car.

"I don't like this, Major," Robert said. "The signal is coming from a dead end alley in the middle of a commercial block. If we go down that alley we could get trapped in there."

"What do you suggest?" Jasper asked.

Robert pointed to the map. "There's a cross street here. We could leave the car, and go on foot. There's only a fence separating the alley from the street."

"Ok, get us close, and then we'll go in on foot. Emmett, bring Edward, but be ready to pull back. Everyone stay sharp. This could be an ambush."

Robert parked the car next to the curb, and I could see the chain link fence cutting off the end of the alley. The doors open and we got out of the car. Five sets of eyes scanned the road looking for any sign of trouble, but I was sure the other saw a lot more than I could have. Jasper nodded toward the alley, and pointed, giving the signal to advance.

Robert and Jasper were over the fence with out breaking stride as they effortlessly leapt the ten foot barrier and moved into the alley. Emmett and I approached, and I felt his arm wrap around me as he soundlessly leapt the fence, and then set me down on the other side. McKenzie was rear guard, and watched up and down the street until we were clear, and then followed us in.

Jasper and Robert had their guns drawn as we advanced down the alley. I could see a car up ahead of us parked in the middle of the alley. Then I recognized the car.

"That's Michaela's Nissan Sentra! She's Katy's best friend."

"There was a fight here. Dead vampire from the look of those ashes," Robert said.

Jasper approached the dumpster, and then reached down and picked something up.

"Gun, Looks like a .357 Magnum Revolver. It's been fired, but there are still three rounds in the cylinder."

"Shit! I think that's the gun Katy's dad kept in the house for self defense. Katy knew how to use it. Her dad was afraid to leave her and her mom unprotected when he was out on the road. Why would she bring a gun to Seattle?"

"Apparently she wanted to shoot someone." Jasper said. "Looks like she took out at least one vampire." He toed a can of WD-40 out into the alley. "She probably used this to toast the pile of ashes back there."

"How the hell did she figure out she had to burn him?" I asked.

"Got a body here, Major." Robert said as he got up closer to the dumpster. "It's in here," and he nodded toward the dumpster.

Jasper nodded, and Robert opened the lid.

"Vampire attack, she's been drained," Jasper said, "Looks like she was tortured first, too. Stay back, Edward, this isn't pretty."

"No way, let me through!" I had to see for myself, and I pushed up to the dumpster and looked inside.

"Oh my god." I was nauseous, and thought I was going to throw up, but I held it together as I stared into Michaela's glassy lifeless eyes. Her face was contorted in a rictus of agony as her broken body lay at an odd angle in the trash bin.

"That's Katy's friend, Michaela." I said, suddenly remorseful at the guilty wave of relief I felt because it wasn't Katy's body I was looking at.

Jasper and Robert were about to move away from the dumpster. There was a staccato burst of automatic weapon fire behind us from the dead end of the alley, and McKenzie went down kicking as his heels drummed on the pavement.

Then everything happened at once. Robert and Jasper dove for cover and returned the fire, but I couldn't see who they were shooting at. Emmett gathered me into his arms blocking me with his body, his back to the end of the alley. We were on the other side of the dumpster in a single lightning fast leap, and then he was pushing me down to duck for cover behind the dumpster.

The gunfire in the alley stopped as soon as there weren't any targets to fire at. It was hardly inconspicuous, and I was sure everyone for two miles or more had to have heard it. Besides, it wasn't like it was going to kill anyone here but me. McKenzie was already stating to stir at the end of the alley, and he'd be back up soon if we could keep the attackers off him until he regenerated.

Now that the surprise of the ambush was gone, the real fight would start. First one figure stepped over the fence, there was a flash of silver, and McKenzie was still again as his head rolled across the alley. Jasper and Robert stepped out of cover, and then Jasper's sword was in his hand as he slowly advanced. A second figure came over the fence, and the two warily advanced on Jasper. Robert was watching his back with his sword out now, and then a third figure dropped off the roof top to face him.

"Go help them!" I told Emmett. "It's three on two! You can even the odds!"

"I've got my orders. I'm supposed to watch you! Jasper will signal if he thinks he needs me. He can take those guys, no sweat. If I left you unprotected, they'd be on you like white on rice."

"Emmett," Jasper called, "get Edward out of here…" Then he came together with the first attacker, and there was a flurry of flashing silver and the clash of steel.

Almost as if on cue, another dark shape dropped into the alley way and charged Emmett and me.

"Shit, stay down, Edward." And then Emmett stepped away to have some room to fight as his sword came out.

I had my pistol out, and I popped off a three round burst at the advancing vampire, but he wasn't distracted like Billy had been in that other fight, and easily dodged the bullets. Then Emmett was too close for me to fire again as they came together in a clash of steel on steel.

I followed my instructions, and stayed down. I knew if I tried to do anything different, I'd just be a liability. I'd be an easy target, and whoever tried to come to my aid would open themselves up to attack.

Jasper was engaged with the first attacker while the second tried to circle behind him, but then suddenly he broke contact, and was driving the second vampire back.

Robert was holding his own against his opponent as he guarded the other end of the alley. He was driving the vampire back, and giving Jasper and Emmett more room to maneuver.

Emmett was keeping the fourth vampire off of me, and for some reason I knew that was his intent. He was supposed to capture me, but they wanted me alive…

Jasper's sword flashed and one of his opponents dropped as his leg came off. He kicked the leg across the alley so he'd stay down, and then was circling in towards the other vampire as he pressed the attack.

Emmett's blade was locked with his opponent, as their wrist came together in a grapple. Then Emmett was reaching in to grab the other vampire. The pavement cracked as Emmett body slammed him against the alley, and I thought he had the upper hand… Ten inches of steel glistening with the yellow honey like fluid were protruding from Emmett's back as he came down on the vampire's sword. Then suddenly their roles were reversed, and Emmett was slamming into the alley. The vampire's sword rose to hack at him… I didn't think. I had to act.

I rose from my crouch behind the dumpster and took a step forward towards the vampires back.

"Dodge this, mother fucker!" and I pulled the trigger three times with the end of the barrel practically nestled in the hollow at the base of his skull.

He dropped like a sack of wet cement and writhed violently on top of Emmett as his central nervous system was disrupted. It wouldn't kill him, but he was down for the count. Emmett shoved him off, and he was getting back up. His sword flashed as he came to his feet. The body stopped jerking as violently as its head rolled away.

I looked down the alley just in time to see Jasper's blade sweep through the neck of his second opponent. He dropped to the ground as his head went flipping away to bounce off the wall with a dull thud. Jasper was turning to help Robert, but then the last vampire broke off and retreated when he realized the odds were three to one now. Well, maybe three and a half. Robert started to follow, but Jasper called him back.

"Let him go. We're not looking for a fight. He can tell his buddies how we kicked their asses. Go check on McKenzie."

Robert nodded and then went back up the alley where McKenzie's body lay. I saw him retrieve his head, and then after a minute it looked like he was moving again.

"What do you want to do with the rest of these guys?" Emmett asked.

"No sense leaving the Fu's any stronger than they already were, and they were trying to kill us, stack up the pieces and get a fire started."

Emmett nodded, and proceeded to systematically dismember the corpse of the vampire in front of us with his sword. I retrieved his head, and added it to the pile, careful not to place it near the severed end of his neck. It was still kind of unnerving how the open eyes followed me and the mouth silently cursed at me. Jasper dragged the other two over, and started adding them to the pile. They were lighting the fire when Robert helped McKenzie down to join us. He was moving on his own again, but he didn't look like he was up for much of a fight about now.

Jasper went to check out Michaela's car, and I followed him over. I opened the passenger door, and looked inside.

"Katy was definitely here," Jasper said. "The three vampire's that attacked us were the ones that killed Michaela, so at least vengeance is served, but that'll be of little comfort to her family. We can't even tell them."

"Here, look at this." I picked up the small metallic pink object off the floor of the car. "This is Katy's cell phone. This was a trap. They left it here so we'd come here to look for her, but where is Katy? Michaela's dead, why didn't they kill her too? Do you think she got away?"

"No, she didn't get away. There's another scent here, Edward, and you're not going to like it."

"Who?"

"James was here. From the trail leading away down the alley, I think he carried Katy off. I think she was still alive."

"We have to go after her! Can you follow the scent?"

"Yeah… Alright, McKenzie, take the girls body and her car, and get back to the tower. We'll have to make this look like an accident later. Robert, get the car and follow my transponder on the GPS. Stay close, and come get us if I signal you. Emmett, are you ok to travel?"

They nodded, and McKenzie went to Michaela's car. The keys were still in the ignition, and he took them and opened the trunk. I looked away as he collected her body and put it in the trunk of her car. Robert ran off down the alley the way we'd come to get the black Mercedes sedan.

"Yeah, no problem, it was just a flesh wound. It's already healed." Emmett said.

"Ok, Bring Edward, and we'll follow this trail, but be careful. Anymore trouble, and we pull back to the tower."

Emmett turned to me. "Thanks for the help back there, Ready to go?"

"No problem, just doing my part. Yeah, c'mon, let's do this."

It was a little embarrassing being carried, but it was the only way I could keep up. I guess it was better being carried by Emmett than by Bella as far as my ego was concerned, but it would have been more fun snuggling up to Bella while we ran.

Jasper seemed to grow more apprehensive the further west and south we traveled. We came out of the alley and crossed the street, and then moved onto the roof tops as we crossed the next block. We sailed across the street without slowing down and crossed the next block. They stopped for a minute and crouched to look down into the street. There was a fancy looking Chinese restaurant across the street, and I assumed that was the rival Family's Club. It looked quiet.

"So is that the place?"

"Yeah, that's the Mandarin Garden," Jasper said. The scent trail seems to circle around the block. C'mon, let's head around back."

Emmett took a couple of steps back, and then we leapt the street that ran in front of the restaurant. We crossed the roof tops circling around to the back of the building, and then we were crouched on another roof top looking down into the alley behind the kitchen entrance.

"This is where they went in," Jasper said.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

"We wait." Jasper said. "We can't go barging in there. We'd never make it out in one piece. That's the Fu's Headquarters. We're not even supposed to be here, and they're justified to defend their turf. If we can walk away from this without another fight, then we need to."

"What about the alley then?"

"Technically they were in the right to defend their turf, but you don't just let somebody kill you. Like you said, it was a trap. They can't hold any fight we win against us, especially if they set it up."

I nodded, and we watched and waited. We didn't have to wait long. The back door opened and a man came walking out. He scanned the alley and the rooftops warily, but he was carrying a staff with a white cloth tied to the top.

"Looks like they want to talk," Jasper said. "That's a parley flag."

"Will they honor a truce to talk, or is this another trap?" I asked.

"Parley is a time honored tradition, and they'd have a tough time negotiating with any of the families if they knew they would be attacked while talking. They'll honor the truce. C'mon"

Jasper pulled his sheathed sword out of the pocket inside of his coat, and then got a large white handkerchief out of his pocket and tied it around the end of the sheath. Emmett picked me up, and then we dropped off the roof into the alley across from the rear entrance of the kitchen.

Another man came walking out of the back of the restaurant, and he had a bundle slung over his shoulder. He was tall and muscular, and his long blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He stepped into the light, and I realized he was carrying the limp form of a girl. He stopped across the alley from us, and then roughly dropped her onto the pavement in a heap at his feet.

It was Katy. Her wrists and ankles were bound with tape, and there was more tape bound across her mouth. Her eyes were pinched tightly closed. She was drenched in sweat and it beaded on her brow as she jerked and twitched as though she was being shocked with a cattle prod or random electrical signals were firing in her brain as she lay writhing at his feet.

"Good morning Major. I wasn't sure if you were going to be able to join us."

"Good Morning James. It looks like you've had a busy night."

I bristled at the mention of James name. Emmett placed his hands on my shoulders to hold me back, and restrain me from acting foolishly. So this was the monster that had hurt my Bella and caused so much misery in her life, and now he was hurting Katy, too.

"You must be Edward. I've heard so much about you. We should spend more time together, Edward. You have good taste in girls, or maybe you just pick girls who taste good. You know Bella was so very sweet. I don't think I'll ever forget how she tasted. I would have drained her dry if Emmett hadn't stopped me. Katy was almost as sweet, but it was easier to stop with her."

"What did you do! What's wrong with her! I swear I'll kill you for what you've done to Bella and Katy!" Emmett's grip tightened on my arms, but I tried to restrain myself from acting rashly.

"Calm down, Edward. She'll be fine in a couple of days. I was going to keep her, but Victoria won't let me. She gets so damned jealous. I'm sure Katy would be a lot of fun, but you can have her back."

"You're abandoning another one?" Jasper asked.

"No, Major, apparently I'm cleaning up your messes this time."

He reached into his back pocket and took out a notebook. It was my notebook, and he tossed it to Jasper. He caught it and flipped through it and then turned an accusing look on me.

"Somebody was sloppy and left this where she could find it. It has a lot of our secrets in it. If this had fallen into the wrong hands it would have caused all kinds of trouble. You're just lucky she didn't hook up with the White Hats before she stumbled into our club. She came looking for Bella Swan with a gun in her purse. I wonder what she had in mind?"

"Thank you." Jasper forced through pinched lips.

"You're thanking him? He tortured and murdered Michaela! What's wrong with Katy? What did he do to her?" I was incredulous that Jasper could be accepting this.

"He was justified. This is what we should have done." Jasper said. "Michaela wouldn't have been dragged into this if we would have acted in a timely manner. Katy's been bitten. She's going through the change now. She'll be one of us in a couple of days."

"You're just going to let him get away with this?"

"Don't take it so hard, Edward," James said. "You owed me for what you did to Billy. He was my friend, so I took your friend. He was a vampire and had a gift. I think your little friend here is going to be special if she lives, but I'll leave that to you. We're even now."

"We're nowhere close to even, bastard! You'll pay for all of this!"

"Edward, that's enough." Jasper said.

"I'll leave you now. You can have the girl, or we'll finish cleaning this up if you don't want her." James turned to leave and walked back inside, but then turned back to look over his shoulder inside the doorway. "You know, she told the most interesting stories about all of you, when she wasn't screaming…" He walked away laughing and then the flag bearer went back inside and the door shut.

Jasper stepped towards Katy's twitching form on the ground, and pulled his sword out of the sheath.

"What are you doing? Stop, don't hurt her!" I screamed at him.

He turned back to look at me with a perplexed look on his face. "We need to end this Edward. She's in agony, and she's going to turn. Let me put her out of her misery and we can go. You heard what James said, and the facts back up his story. She was coming here tonight to kill Bella. Besides, we're responsible for her now. She found out about us because of you. She's going to be a newborn vampire, and she'll go on a killing spree to satisfy her bloodlust if nobody claims her and teaches her the rules."

Jasper turned back to face her and raised his sword again…

"Wait, I can't let you hurt her. There's been enough killing tonight. I'm responsible for her, I'll claim her."

Jasper turned back to me in shock. "What! She was going to kill your mate, and you want to let her live? You can't claim her, you might be part of the Family, but that's really just honorary until you're turned. You're not a vampire yet, you can't train her. She'll kill you."

"You sent Bella away while she was a newborn, we can send Katy to Alaska until she's safe to be around people. I don't want her hurt. She didn't ask for any of this… She doesn't need to die too…"

"You really want this, don't you?" Emmett asked. "I never understood it, but Bella didn't want to hurt her either. I knew she was supposed to kill Katy to get her out of the way, but she wouldn't do it. Rosie's probably gonna be pissed. I'll claim her for you, but you've gotta tell Bella." He turned to Jasper. "Signal Robert and have him bring the car around, let's get out of here."

I bent down and picked up Katy's twitching form, and we started down the alley toward the street.

Jasper put away his sword. "You two are insane. This is a bad idea. This is exactly what James was hoping would happen. Do you think Katy is going to stop hating Bella now that she's going to be a vampire on top of everything else? You should have just let me end this tonight!"

We were quiet as we hurried down to the end of the alley. Robert was waiting for us in the black Mercedes sedan. Emmett held the door for me while I got Katy into the back seat. I climbed into the back with her, and Emmett went around and got in on the other side. Jasper got into the passenger seat and sat up front with Robert. I started to pull off the tape.

"Edward, wait." Emmett said. "You can unbind her wrists and ankles, but leave the tape on her mouth. It's probably the only thing stopping the screams right now. We need to keep her quiet until we get back to the tower."

I nodded and left the tape on her mouth. I blanched as I realized what she must be going through. I had heard stories about the change, but I truly couldn't imagine the amount of agony that she must be enduring right now. I wonder if she would have begged me to kill her if I took the tape off.

We made good time as we drove back across town to the Moreno tower and the Flying Dutchman Lounge. There were no further incidents, and then we were spiraling down into the parking garage under the tower. Robert pulled up close to the elevator, and I could see Michaela dented and battered Nissan Sentra parked off to one side. I wondered if her body was still in the trunk.

Emmett got out of the car, and came around and opened the door for me. I slid out of the car and lifted Katy's limp body in my arms. She was still jerking and twitching spasmodically, but I felt it was my responsibility to care for her. This was all my fault. We stepped into the elevator car, and I had no idea what I was going to say to Bella, but I was going to have to face her when we got to the top of the tower.

The car stopped at the Club level, and Robert got out. Then we continued on up to the Family apartments. The doors opened, and everyone was there waiting. Alice, Rose and Bella were sitting together in one of the conversation nooks talking, and Carlisle and Esme were seated together on a love seat looking out on the view of Seattle through the glass wall. All of them turned to look at us as we stepped out of the elevator. They got up and stared as I walked across the room and lay Katy's twitching body on the sofa by the flat screen TV.

"What the hell, Edward!" Alice exclaimed. "You weren't supposed to bring her back, Jazz! Why isn't she dead?"

"I was going to put her down and end her misery, but Edward wouldn't let me administer the coup de grâce. He wanted to claim her…"

"He can't claim her! He isn't a vampire!"

"Emmett claimed her," Jasper said.

"Emmett?" Rosalie exclaimed. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Edward didn't want her to be hurt anymore, and I owed him one. He saved me when we were fighting the Fu's tonight. Bella never wanted to hurt Katy when she was together with Edward. I never understood that before, but she was the innocent in all of this. She was driven to do what she did by the circumstances. She shouldn't have to die for it too. I wasn't going to give that bastard, James, the satisfaction of taking another life, and have us do his dirty work for him."

"James did this?" Bella asked, looking down at Katy twitching on the sofa. Jasper nodded. "Then we share something else in common now, besides just Edward."

"She got herself into this mess because she was gunning for you, but ended up in the wrong place. She came to Seattle to kill you." Jasper took the revolver out of his pocket and handed it to Bella. "She knew what she was doing, too. She took out one of the Fu's, and knew enough to burn the body. Michaela is dead. The Fu's tortured her, drained her dry, and left her for dead in an alley where they set up an ambush for us."

"Where are the Fu's now?" Carlisle asked as he and Esme came over to join our discussion.

"Dead or run off." Jasper said. "We followed James and Katy's scent trail back to the Mandarin Garden Tea Room, and then James came out and had a little chat with us. He gave me this." He took out my notebook and handed it to Esme. "Apparently he took it off of Katy."

Esme flipped through the notebook and then handed it to Rose. I could tell she was mad as she flipped through it. It was obviously mine. My name was on it and in it. I assumed it carried my scent, and if they were familiar with my writing, it was written by my hand. Most of the entries were dated journal style, and all of them were from before the dance on Friday night.

"Where did you have this hidden, Edward?" Esme asked.

"In the bottom drawer of my desk in my bedroom in Forks."

"In future, if you must resort to this kind of documentation, please insure that it is in a secure location. A safe or lock box if possible." Esme said. "Information of this sort is too sensitive to leave lying around unsecured."

"Ok, but you have to realize that the greater majority of that information was gleaned from internet research, educated guesses and conjecture. I suppose the fact that Bella and I were becoming friendlier near the end of the journal added some weight to certain arguments."

"This tells people how to kill us and where to find us, Edward!" Rosalie exclaimed angrily. "You know, there are people out there that hunt us, besides rival Clans! This would have been a goldmine of information if it fell into the wrong hands!"

"I'm sorry. I would have destroyed it if I had known. It's only been a couple of days since I finally accepted that this is my future. I'm sure I still have a lot to learn. I would have told Bella about this, but we've only been together since Friday night. This is Sunday morning for god's sake! And we were here all day yesterday! How was I supposed to know that Katy would break into my house and go through my personal things looking for information? We all thought the situation was under control!"

"Ok, regardless of what information Edward left lying around, we need to decide what we're going to do now." Alice said. "James obviously had an opportunity to talk to Katy before he bit her, and if nothing else he has her purse. I'm sure he could trace the license plates on Michaela's car, but I doubt he'll need to. He knew enough about us to figure out that Edward would likely come looking for her, or he wouldn't have set up an ambush. Now he knows where Katy came from, and if she was important to us, then he knows where we came from. Forks isn't secure anymore. The Fu's know where to find us."

"We can't just abandon Forks now unless you're all willing to completely give up your identities and disappear to start over." Jasper said. "We're going to have to stage an accident to cover up Michaela's death, and Katy is going to have to disappear. We can make it look like she was in the accident, but her body will never be recovered. If all of you suddenly leave too, it'll be too suspicious. Alice moving to Seattle in a month should be ok, but if the rest of you pull up stakes and disappear too, it'll raise suspicion. People might start to investigate, and that's never good for us. You're going to have to stay in Forks until thing's settle down to avoid being implicated in this."

"Why do you say here body won't be recovered?" Rosalie asked. "We haven't made that decision yet. She can still pass for human at this point. Why not simply put her in the car when you stage your accident?"

"No." Bella said. Everyone was silent and turned to look at her. "Emmett was right. Katy was the innocent victim in all of this. She's suffered enough. She shouldn't have to die because of all of this. This is as much my fault as it is Edward's and James. I won't be party to causing her anymore suffering, and I won't give James the satisfaction of destroying more of her life than he already has."

"Well then what are we going to do with her?" Rosalie asked.

"I told Katy I'd see that she was taken care of and learned enough of the rules to stay out of trouble if she decided to be changed." Esme said. "Nothing has changed except that her choices were taken away from her, but then how many of us got to choose this life? I'll call Tanya and see if she can go to Denali until she can handle being around humans again. Past that, I don't know what her future will hold."

"She was coming to Seattle to try and kill Bella!" Rose exclaimed. "You're just gonna let that slide?"

"She was distraught. If she'd come here instead of going to the Fu's, we'd have likely stopped her, and Michaela would still be alive. I stood on top of that cliff for a long time after I lost my little boy before I walked away and went on with my life. If I was faced with the same circumstances as Katy, I can't say I would have done differently. She was convinced she could save Edward and break the mating bond. She'll realize that's impossible now."

"Fine, if this is what you all want, then ship her to Denali, but if she pulls any shit like this after she's changed, then I'll tear the bitches head off and burn the pieces myself!" She turned and stormed to the elevator, and stabbed the button, and stepped inside when the doors opened almost immediately.

"It'll be ok, Rose." Bella said. Then she turned to Esme. "Make your phone calls, and we'll have to make arrangements to get Katy up north. We should try to get her transported before she wakes up. She'll be easier to move while she's still incapacitated. It'll be more difficult after she's awake."

Esme nodded. "I'll go call right away, c'mon Carlisle. Let's go make some calls. I've been dying to introduce you to Tanya and Irina. They're both like sisters to me…" She took Carlisle's hand, and they walked away towards the study.

Then Bella turned toward me. She wasn't smiling. "C'mon Edward, we need to talk. Let's go upstairs where we can have some privacy." I nodded and followed her up the stairs to her suite.

We stepped into the room, and Bella shut the door behind me. Suddenly I found myself flying through the air, and landed flat on my back on the sofa with Bella kneeling on top of me.

"Edward Cullen! I will not be taken for granted! Am I perfectly clear? There are two people in this relationship. Just you and me, not you, me and Katy! This is not a ménage à trois! You need to get over her, and commit to me if we're going to make this work. That's what you were doing when asked me to dance at home coming! You said you wanted me! You can't keep going off to chase after Katy, Edward! Do you have any idea what that does to me!"

It was a good thing I still had the bullet proof vest on. Otherwise she probably would have cracked my sternum by now, the way she was poking me in the chest with her fingertip.

"You're angry, and you're mad at me…"

"Oh, you think? Whatever gave you that Idea?"

"I'm sorry, Bella… I don't mean to take you for granted…"

"It's like you think just because there's this mating bond that's drawing us together, that you don't have to put any effort into our relationship! It makes me feel cheap and worthless when you can so easily throw everything we should be feeling for each other to the side, and still want to run off and rescue Katy! I know our relationship might feel kind of lopsided, and you might not think that I need to be rescued. I know that I'm physically more powerful because of what I am, but that doesn't mean that I don't still have the same emotional needs, Edward."

"Is that what I'm doing? I hadn't realized… I'm so sorry, Bella…"

"It's like you're still emotionally invested in Katy, Edward. I need to know that you're over her. I know, this is only Sunday morning, and it's only been a couple of days, but you said that you love me. You said you need to be with me. All of you, with me! You act like I'm going to be there for you no matter what simply because we're bound together not because of what we mean to each other! I need you to be emotionally invested in me, Edward Cullen! You've got to get your head around the concept of us together as a couple!"

She was right. I had gone to La Push that night after the dance to break up with Katy. I'd felt I owed it to her to tell her to her face, but I had totally blown that. I had to admit to myself that Katy and I were over. Katy was my past, and Bella was my future. I needed to start acting like that, or I was just going to keep hurting Bella.

"I'm sorry, Bella. You're right. I've been acting like a total ass. I know I can say that I'm over Katy, and that she's in my past, but I realize the words are meaningless unless I back them up with action. You are my world now, and I'm committed to you. From this moment forward, believe me when I say that I'm committed to you. I know this relationship will take effort, and I'm willing to do whatever I need to do to make you realize that I do truly love you. I know these are only words, but if you're willing to give me some time, I promise I'll live up to my commitments."

It was going to take time to make this relationship work. So far it had all been about attraction and physical need. Bella needed to feel loved, and I hadn't been fulfilling those needs. That had to be my focus as we moved forward together as a couple. I needed to show her how much she truly meant to me. As she put it, I needed to become emotionally invested in our relationship.

It was probably a sign of just how mad she truly was that we didn't have sex that morning. Instead we spent the morning talking and really getting to know each other better as people. We worked up to the point were she would let me hold her again, and we sat together on the couch and cuddled as we made up. She needed me to show her how much she meant to me as a person, and that I did truly love her. I was more than willing to accept that role.

We finally went back downstairs later that afternoon. Esme had a late lunch sent up from the restaurant for the humans, and we actually got to use her dining room table to sit down and eat a meal. Esme had called Denali and made the arrangements for Katy while Bella and I were upstairs talking. Emmett had gotten Rose calmed down, and then he left to deliver Katy to her new home in Alaska. She was gone when we went back downstairs to rejoin the rest of the family.

Jasper's special operations team had made arrangements to setup the accident to cover up Michaela's death and Katy's disappearance. Katy and Michaela were going to simply be missing for a while, and if it wasn't discovered sooner, an anonymous tip would lead to the discovery of her wrecked car in the sound in about a week. Her body would be discovered shortly afterwards, but Katy would simply remain missing and presumed dead.

Alice and Jasper had worked out the arrangements for a security detail to provide protection for our family until we felt it was safe to finally leave Forks altogether. So far, we were still planning on Bella and I completing at least this school year at Forks high school. Bella had recruited the first two members of her crew, and Bree and Diego would be joining us in Forks. They weren't going to enroll in school, but would be on full time security detail while Bella worked on their training. Jasper would be providing additional security personnel until Bella and I could add to our team.

Senior year was still in limbo. We'd both like to be able to graduate from high school together, but it would depend on how things worked out. Esme had already put out some feelers to real estate brokers in Chicago, and as soon as she had some leads, Carlisle and Esme would be making the first of many trips to the windy city.

Early Sunday evening, a small highly armed convoy left Seattle, and we made the trip back to Forks.