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Chapter Six: Panic
Edward felt mortified. He hadn't moved since last night—since he'd drained that poor girl and the others. He thought he had moved past his blood lust, gained enough control of it that he wasn't a threat to anyone. Clearly, he was wrong.
He heard Tanya before he saw her, her heels clicking on the hardwood floors as she strolled through the house. He couldn't smell her, not over the blood that had congealed overnight. Everything was covered with the deep red splotches—himself included.
When she entered the room, batting her eyelashes at him, Edward growled and shot across the room, wrapping his hand around her throat and pressing her into the opposite wall.
"You're not actually mad at me, are you?"
In response, he squeezed his hand tighter around her neck.
"If you wanted to resist, you would have done," she attempted to reason with him, her voice slightly breathless.
"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Edward asked through gritted teeth. The urge to kill her was getting stronger by the second. But he had to resist. He had a feeling that Tanya's part in this was yet to be revealed.
Tanya stared deeply into Edward's eyes as if they were long lost lovers about to confess their feelings to each other. "Because you're mine, Edward Masen. and the sooner you realise that, the better."
"I will never be yours," Edward growled.
Tanya just smiled.
Realising he wasn't getting anywhere, Edward removed his hand from her neck and stepped away, running his hand through his hair and tugging on the ends. His fingers caught inthe strands of his hair, congealed blood sticking the strangs together. from the blood he'd indulged in.
In that second, he wanted nothing more than to be back in Forks with Bella.
"Edward?" Sulpicia called, coming partway into the room. Her eyes scanned over the blood decorating the room. "I'm sure our clean up team can get all this out. Once you started, we didn't think you'd ever stop!" She giggled. "There are some people here to see you."
Edward's brow creased with confusion as she motioned at him with her finger to follow.
He released Tanya and stepped out of the dining room, eyes widening when the familiar scents washed over him.
He was so relieved that he felt like crying.
Rounding the corner, he almost ran full speed into the three vampires that stood in the middle of the grand foyer: Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper. They were here.
When they took in his appearance, shock crossed their faces.
"Are you alright?" Carlisle asked immediately, meeting Edward halfway and placing his hands on Edward's shoulders.
Edward had expected him to be upset or disappointed. He'd always had difficulty controlling his thirst compared to Emmett and Jasper, but there was nothing but concern in Carlisle's eyes. It helped alleviate a speck of Edward's guilt.
"I'm fine," Edward told him, relief coursing through him.
Carlisle's eyes scanned him up and down, his expression telling Edward he didn't quite believe him. His blue eyes moved to the left and narrowed.
Edward glanced over his shoulder and saw that Tanya had entered the room; her startled expression gave away how she felt. She faltered in her steps, clearly remembering Carlisle's last words to her.
"Well, isn't this a nice surprise!" Aro exclaimed as he entered the room in nothing but a black silk robe.
Jasper and Emmett both turned to face him, but Carlisle kept his eyes on Edward for a few moments longer.
"All of the Cullen men in my house!" Aro's eyes scanned over all of them, his body almost shaking with excitement.
Carlisle turned away from Edward, standing protectively in front of him. "We're sorry for the unexpected visit, but we wanted to make sure that Edward was alright—he was kidnapped after all." His voice deepening at the end.
"I am sorry about that. But I'm curious; how did you know I was behind it?" Aro didn't seem phased by Carlisle in the slightest.
"Very few vampires associate with werewolves," Jasper growled, throwing a glance at two of the men who were stood behind them. Jasper's hatred for them ran deep. He'd seen his friends killed by them.
"They're not too bad," Aro retorted. He wasn't particularly fond of them, but they had their uses.
"So—why did you have my progeny taken?" Carlisle asked, knowing that any answer Aro would give wouldn't be good enough.
"I needed Edward out of the way."
"Why?" Carlisle asked immediately afterwards.
"I want Bella and Rose, and I couldn't do that with Edward in the way." Aro paused for a second, mulling over how much to tell them. "Removing Edward from the equation meant that I could guarantee you three would be removed as well."
"You knew we'd come and find him," Carlisle surmised.
Edward felt sick.
Aro nodded. He went to a bureau at the side of the room and, leisurely, pulled a decanter out. He filled a glass with some blood and swirled the dark liquid around before taking a sip. Closing his eyes, he savoured the taste.
"Now you three are out of the way; my life's easier."
"You fucker!" Jasper shouted, lunging towards Aro with his fangs bared.
"Jasper, no!" Carlisle shouted, taking a few steps forward.
Aro calmly placed his glass down just before Jasper got close. He grabbed the young vampire by his neck and threw him into the wall, the plaster cracking around Jasper, his body falling to the floor.
"I'm much older than all of you and so consequently, much stronger." Aro calmly picked his glass back up and took another sip. "Don't test me."
Jasper sat up and pushed himself up from the floor. His hair had white with flakes of plaster in it, and his clothes were dusty. He looked at Carlisle, but his maker shook his head gently, telling Jasper not to do anything else. This wasn't a situation where they could use force to get out.
"Sulpicia, show them to the guest rooms," Aro commanded his wife. His eyes lingered on them for a few more seconds, a smile flickering at his mouth before he turned and began to leave. He stopped a few steps short of the door and turned back around. "When you're done, I want you naked and spread eagle on our bed."
Sulpicia giggled and her eyes darkened. "Follow me!" she chirped, leading all four men upstairs.
They trailed behind her; they didn't have much choice.
Once she had shown them to their respective rooms, she turned to Emmett and placed a hand on his chest. "If you need anything, anything at all, just shout."
Emmett didn't respond. He moved her hand from his chest and stared at her until she walked away. His stare had made lesser women cry.
Once the door was closed, Edward turned to Carlisle. "Bella, what do I do to protect Bella? Aro knows. He knows about her, Carlisle!" The thought of Bella in danger and the fact that he could do nothing to stop it was making Edward frantic with worry.
"Calm down," Carlisle soothed, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder and leading him to a chair. "Right now, there's nothing we can do. We're not going anyway, so we hope that Jacob, Esme and Nessie can help Bella and Rose."
"He won't stop," Edward began. "He won't stop until he has them."
Carlisle looked down at the floor and then back at Edward. "Panicking won't help."
His words didn't soothe Edward. Because he didn't tell him it would be alright. He didn't tell him they'd figure something out. He didn't say that this would all be over soon. Carlisle offered no reassurances.
And that's what made Edward panic.
"We can't just go charging in there, Bella. Carlisle said to give them forty-eight hours, so forty-eight hours is what they're going to get," Jake said, his tone exasperated.
They'd been having the same conversation for over an hour now and Jake refused to look for Edward. He and Carlisle had carefully crafted a plan and he was going to stick to it.
"We can't just sit here and do nothing!" Bella reasoned back.
Jake rolled his eyes. "I'm not having this conversation with you again."
Bella turned to look at Rose, desperate for her support. But Rose looked away and Bella felt a wave of annoyance flow over her. It wasn't Rose or Jake's partner who had been kidnapped; it wasn't Rose or Jake's partner who could be dead right now. It was Bella's—surely she had a right to say when they did something about it?
A silence fell over the kitchen. Rose refused to say anything; Jake wasn't going to keep repeating himself and Bella? Bella was feeling pissed off, so she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Jake.
"Stop glaring at me."
"Go and find Edward then."
Jake threw his arms up in the air. "I'm leaving." He stood from the chair. "Trust me, Bella. We need to give Carlisle time."
Bella looked away from Jake and he sighed. "See you both later."
When she heard the latch on the back door, Bella felt the tears come.
"It's alright, B," Rose cooed. She was next to Bella in seconds, wrapping her arms around her and holding her tight.
"There was so much blood," Bella whispered, the image of that night still clear in her mind.
Rose held her tighter and then pulled back. "I'm sorry to leave you, but I have to pee."
Bella smiled slightly and nodded.
Rose left the kitchen and went into her bedroom to use the ensuite.
The doorbell rang and Bella swiped under her eyes, gathering the moisture on her fingers. They weren't expecting any deliveries and she hoped like hell it wasn't Mrs Cope. She couldn't deal with her right now.
She opened the door to see a tall man stood on the other side of the door, his long blond hair tied into a ponytail and a bushy beard on the lower half of his face. He was wearing a white wife-beater, tattered trousers, and shoes that had seen better days. His hands were in his pockets and he was looking around the porch.
"Can I help you?" Bella asked, fully aware that her face was probably slightly red.
"I'm surveying the local area and was wondering if I could ask you some questions?"
Bella looked at him. Completing a survey without any pieces of paper? Did she look like she was born yesterday?
"I'm not interested," Bella said, intent on shutting the door in his face.
His sizeable hairy hand reached out and stopped the door before she could shut it. "I'd be grateful for your help." Just let me in!
"I'm not interested!" Bella told him forcefully, trying and failing once again to shut the door.
"Don't make this hard," he pleaded, his attitude changing in a second. I'm just trying to do my job.
"What's going on?" Rose asked as she came out of her bedroom, concern written across her face.
Bella turned to answer her and felt herself stumbling backwards, the large man pushing his way inside.
Rose rushed forward and grabbed Bella's arms to stop her from falling.
"I'm sorry," the man began. He pulled a syringe out from his back pocket and Rose's eyes went wide and she pushed Bella in front of her and into the kitchen.
"Go!" she shouted.
Bella turned, keeping one of her hands in Rose's. She only made it a few steps before Rose's hand left her grasp.
She looked over her shoulder and saw the man grab onto Rose's arm and whirl her around to face him.
Rose lifted her knee and kicked the man in the crotch. He doubled over, cursing as he let go of her.
Taking the opportunity, Rose rushed towards Bella and grabbed her hand once more, heading into the kitchen.
They both hurried towards the back door, and Bella turned the handle, throwing the door open only to reveal another man stood there, looking much less pleasant. He had a tattooed head, a shaven face, and dark eyes.
In a matter of seconds, he had grabbed both Bella and Rose by their waists, lifting them entirely off their feet and bringing them back into the house.
"Let go, you asshole!" Rose protested, her arms trying to hit any part of him that she could.
Bella kicked her feet, attempting to hurt something important, but his grip tightened until Bella was sure that she'd have bruises from his grasp.
The blonde-haired man had righted himself and he looked pissed. His cheeks were red and he glowered at Rose.
"The blonde gets it first," he told his partner, approaching them with the syringe clear in his hand.
Rose and Bella fought harder, but the man holding them had such a tight grip on them that it was useless.
Suddenly, the man dropped Rose to the ground, and the syringe plunged into her arm.
"You bastard," she hissed, her head swaying for a few seconds before she slumped to the floor, her eyes rolling back in her head as her body became lax.
"What the hell have you done?" Bella screeched, kicking against the man who held her harder. She flailed her arms around like she was a raving lunatic—anything to get him to let her go.
Another syringe entered Bella's line of sight and she watched as the blonde-haired man removed the cap with his teeth, spitting it to the floor.
He injected Bella quickly and she hissed as the needle broke her skin, scratching at her in that unpleasant way.
After a few seconds, she began to feel woozy. Objects started to blur together and her neck felt as if it were too weak to support her head.
She felt herself lowered to the ground, sunlight streaming in from the window above the sink. It was quite a pretty sight.
"Don't-don't hurt her," Bella mumbled as Rose was picked up from the ground, bridal style.
It was the last thing she saw before her mind was plunged into darkness and everything went strangely quiet.
Thank you to Edwardsmate4ever and Twi-Girl83 for their work as my betas.
Well… that happened.