A/N… Okay, so the muse seems to be hanging in there. In the writing bunker, Judas is winning the arm wrestling match where the winner gets the next chapter. I'll you get to it.

~oOo~

Chapter 12 – Wrapped Around Your Finger

EDWARD

"Edward…" My name whispered in the dead of night had never sounded so sad, so filled with longing and pain.

Gazing down at my Bella, I brushed a curl away from her face. "Shh, my love. I'm here," I whispered against her forehead.

The reaction was instant. Her brow smoothed, her heart rate slowed, and the sweetest, most beautiful smile curled her mouth. Now that I knew what her nightmares were about, I couldn't stop myself from trying to ease them in any way possible. It hurt me to think she was reliving the day the sky fell, the loss of her mother and her classmates. Her fear was a like living, breathing thing stepping into the bedroom. And to think her heart searched for me in these dreams made me want to shelter her, protect her, and prove to her that I was there. No searching necessary.

It had been a week since Emmett and I had returned from Olympia. And ever since Bella's invitation to come through her window, I'd been unable to keep myself from sneaking in just about every night. I'd worry that I was smothering her with my constant presence, but with every morning came the sleepy-sweet smile that was beautiful in its simple perfection.

Bella's hand curled into the fabric of my T-shirt at my side, gripping me and keeping there. I wasn't going anywhere. A glance at the sun coming slowly up told me that staying there wasn't exactly the truth, no matter how badly I just wanted to stay in Bella's arms all day. I'd eventually have to exit via her window and finish the north gate's sentry tower. The south one was complete. It was as tall as the church bell tower, with cover for the weather. The north tower only needed the roof in order to be complete.

The next project would be the greenhouse, though I couldn't see us truly working on it until after the full moon. Esme and I had marked off the section of the field where it would go, along with several acres for outside crops – like fruit trees and wheat. However, materials for the greenhouse would take some time.

Bella's heartbeat changed, and I smiled when she whispered, "Don't you get bored all night?"

Grinning, I shook my head. "Nope. You have any idea how peaceful it is here for my mind?"

Bella's nose wrinkled when she said no, and she broke into an adorable yawn and stretch. My eyes couldn't stop from raking down her whole body. She was stunning, really. Soft and warm, curved in all the right places. Having touched her, brought her to orgasm, I was now unable to stop myself from reaching out to bring her closer.

I'd meant what I'd told her. She now set the pace with us. The need to claim my mate some days was overwhelming. My fear of hurting her was a real, legitimate dread. While her blood was not a true concern, my strength and speed could kill her. She had to tell me, guide me to what she wanted. So when her warm hands slipped through my hair, bringing my lips to hers, I went willingly.

Nothing about us felt wrong. Nothing felt inappropriate or unseemly.

I could imagine in a different time or place, I'd want to court her, marry her, take her away on some ridiculously expensive honeymoon. But that wasn't the world we were living in. This world was violent and scary. This world wanted to take her from me if I'd allow it. However, if something happened to her, my life would end.

"Plus, my love," I whispered against her lips as I pressed her back into the bed, looming over her. "This…right here… This is way better than listening to the thoughts of my family all night."

Her giggle was adorable. "Well, when you put it that way…"

She kissed me until I could barely think, until someone's thoughts started to sneak through the haze of lust.

I dragged my lips across her cheek to her neck, whispering, "Charlie is waking up."

Bella nodded, her eyes filled with love and a touch of mischief as she raked her fingers through my hair. "Way to tease a girl, Edward."

My head fell to her chest, and I struggled to keep my laugh quiet. "My apologies, beautiful. It's bad timing, my love. Nothing personal."

"Mmhm," she hummed against the top of my head. "Go on. I'll come see you at the gate."

I lifted my head and pressed a long, slow kiss to her lips, before nodding and rolling to my side. "We should finish today."

"You still want to see the high school?" she asked through a yawn, sitting up.

"Yes, ma'am. I'd like to see where we're going to put everyone."

She nodded, leaned over me, and kissed my lips. "Go, Edward. You're way too tempting in my bed."

"Love you, my Bella," I said, grinning like a lovesick fool.

I pulled myself through the window as I heard her whisper, "Love you, too."

My walk to the north gate was at a human pace. The weather was chilly, but the day was going to be overcast as usual. I expected Emmett to already be there, but I smiled when it was Carlisle and Esme.

"Morning," I called out unnecessarily, but they were teasing one another about private things.

There's my boy. Esme's thoughts were instant and loving and so filled with motherly love that it always felt like a mental hug.

"Morning! Emmett and Rose needed to hunt," Carlisle said, lifting a piece of corrugated metal. "We volunteered to help finish this with you."

"Not that I won't enjoy the company, but I could've finished it alone."

Esme's laugh was like music. "Don't be silly. We're happy to help." She switched to thoughts. And you look just plain old happy. How is Bella this morning?

Chuckling at her mischievous nonverbal teasing, I said, "I bet. And she's beautiful and will be here soon."

Carlisle smiled, his thoughts circular. He was remembering my change, my newborn phase, and decades of simply existing. But he also tried to remember a time when I didn't openly and earnestly protect the family. Regardless, in all that time, he simply couldn't remember seeing me smile the way I was at that moment.

I left him to his thoughts, jumping up to help him secure the sheet metal to the frame of the roof. It took three more sheets and a smaller strip bent along the peak to keep it from leaking. It was a simple structure, but it would serve its purpose just fine. It would raise a lookout up to the fence's height, keep them protected from the elements, and it would still allow them to defend the gate should they need to.

It was that last point that was the most important. Once Charlie finished with the silver bullets, the two gates would be well defended.

Esme secured a piece of metal along the side, essentially boxing in the top of the tower. It was indeed identical to the one on the south end of Forks.

Several heartbeats drew closer, but only one called to me, pulled at me, and I couldn't help but glance her way. The three members of the Swan family walked our way, joined by Seth and Jacob in their human form. From the glimpses of different thoughts, it seemed all of us were going to look at Forks High School.

Nessa and Bella were the first to climb the tower. Nessa's thoughts were focused on how easy it would be to aim from there. She could see most of the street behind us and partially into the woods outside the fences.

"Nice," she muttered.

"Thank you," I said, turning to Bella. "Morning, love. Do you approve too?"

She smirked and nodded. "It's perfect. Though I have no doubt that I'll be in the water tower."

"Maybe," Charlie huffed. He wrinkled his nose, unsure whether he wanted to stash his girls in the school or utilize their shooting skills. "We'll talk about where you two will be."

Bella's eyes were wide when they met mine, but she didn't argue with her father. However, Nessa piped up.

"Really, Daddy? You teach us to shoot, and you don't want us to use it?"

His mustache twitched, and he shook his head. "No. Not what I'm saying. Just…let's go plan this thing. And then I'll make a decision on where I want the two of you."

Jake's eyes met mine. He's fucking terrified for this coming fight. Can't say I blame him. Nessa and Bella must stay protected. I'm assuming you and I wouldn't survive it, should something happen.

Nodding once his way, I realized that Jacob and I were on the same damn page. What I needed to tell him was that Charlie Swan had to stay just as protected. According to Alice, the loss of Charlie for Forks would set the downward spiral of this small town.

Nessa looked like she wanted to argue, but I spoke softly to her. "Ness, you two must stay protected. For Jake and me. Understand?" I glanced between her and Bella, and they both nodded. "It's not being overprotective, though there's a bit of that with Charlie. It's…" I trailed off, not quite knowing how to put it, but my sweet Bella did.

"Mates have to protect themselves as much as each other."

"Yes, love. Exactly." I kissed the side of her head. "We'll figure out where you can be both safe and effective. And you two need to convince your father to do likewise."

Nessa snorted, but they both nodded in agreement.

"Girls," Carlisle called them softly, and when they gazed his way, he smiled. "I can't imagine any better two people to guard the school. Let's go see where the best place is to put everyone."

I'd seen the high school before in my wanderings through Forks. It was a decent-sized school for such a small town, which was a sobering thought. The small town had lost so many lives – young lives.

Charlie and Carlisle led the way. Bella and I linked fingers and lagged behind just a few paces, while everyone else was in between us.

"How are we supposed to convince my dad to stay with us?" Bella asked in a whisper. "He's going to want to fight."

"I don't know, love. But remember Alice's vision? If we lose your dad, then this amazing little town falls apart. He's the key to cooperation between human and nonhuman." I brought our hands up, kissing her fingers.

Bella nodded. "Alice said there's nowhere out there like Forks. Does that… I mean, does it work because the nonhumans who live here aren't monsters?" She snorted at my raised eyebrow and half smile. "Stop it!" Her giggle was pure sweetness and sunshine. "Mr. Cullen, you are no monster. None of you are."

I pressed a kiss to her fingers again, whispering against her soft skin, "Miss Swan, I need you to keep reminding me."

"Will do." She smiled up at me. "But it's an honest question. The Quileute guard us because they were born to protect. Your family…you don't consume human blood, so we aren't targets to you. We are a community."

I gave her question some thought as we turned up the street toward the school. If the visions and memories that Alice showed me were any indication, then Bella may have a point. Seattle alone was a battle for feeding grounds, for one mythical creature to assert dominance over another. Humans were trapped in the middle of it all, simply trying to survive, and sometimes, that brought out the worst in them as well. It was a war zone.

"I don't know, but you might be right." I shrugged a shoulder. "I was out there for five years. I've seen things that I'll never understand. There are things I can't even bear to describe to you because it would scare you, disgust you. Alice isn't wrong. There isn't a place out there like this one."

It seemed everyone was listening as I'd spoken, and it was Charlie who turned and stopped in front of us just before the school's parking lot entrance.

"Not one place?" he asked incredulously.

I shook my head sadly. "There are small…villages, for a lack of a better word. They've secured themselves behind fences like Forks. But even when I passed through, they've all been ravaged by something. The werewolves I tracked here, they killed for sport and to feed and to multiply. There were red-eyed vampires in Chicago and again in Pennsylvania." I wrinkled my nose. "Then there are the humans. They fight and steal and plot and kill. It's like when the sky fell, everyone lost their ability to be civil. But not here. And nowhere is as efficient and self-reliant as Forks is or will be eventually."

"I don't know how to feel about that," Charlie muttered, frowning at the lot of us. "Pride? Fear? Both? As a cop, I knew the world was dark, but I didn't realize the darkness was barely showing. Now, that darkness is free to move about however they see fit, and it's everywhere." His eyes flickered to his daughters, then to Jake and me. He found comfort in the nonhuman strength we carried to protect his girls.

He locked gazes with me. I need them to live, son. I need them to go on beyond this shit. Understand? The world is not the same as it once was, and I need them to be more. You and your family are not dark. The Quileute aren't dark. I need that light at the end of this tunnel.

"You have my word, but you must understand you need protecting, too."

"I don't." His argument was forceful.

"You do, Charlie. Please trust me on this," I pleaded just as urgently.

His eyes narrowed on me. "Alice?"

"Yes, sir."

He let out a deep, slow breath. "Okay. Let's look at this school."

Carlisle and Esme didn't interrupt because they were used to my mind reading, and they were aware of Alice's predictions. Jake and Seth were curious but seemed to have caught on by the time we opened the doors to the school. Bella's fingers slipped down my arm to my hand, weaving with my own digits.

Charlie led us through the hallways of a school that, had things been different, I might have attended with my siblings at some time. We'd been close to changing locations just before the sky fell. I wondered if this would've been the place I'd have met my Bella. One glance at my girl, and I grinned, seeing the same curious raised eyebrow my way.

I said nothing, opting to simply give the side of her head a kiss laced with a soft chuckle.

Just before he reached for the doors of the gym, Charlie turned to us. "I think we could essentially fit everyone in here. There's also the auditorium, but it's filled with seating. At least the gym floor would be open for sleeping bags and cots."

He pushed the doors, and we all stepped into the large gymnasium, the sounds of our footsteps echoing.

~oOo~

BELLA

The gym was not as dark as I was expecting it to be, despite the lack of power to the building. The basketball court was in the center, and bleachers climbed up and away from it on either side. It was what was at the top of those bleachers that was allowing the light of day to brighten the whole space. Frosted windows ran from one end of the building to the other.

If Nessa and I were to protect the people inside that gym, then it would be from there.

"Ness," I called her, giving Edward's hand a squeeze before letting go to climb the steps of the bleachers.

My sister followed me, and once we were up top, she asked, "What are you thinking?"

Flipping the lock on the window, I slid it open. "I'm thinking you and I are going to take each side."

The view from this window was the courtyard in the middle of the school and the parking lot beyond it. There was even a touch of woods visible from just inside the fences.

"Maybe," she muttered, nodding a little. "Let's check the view on the other side."

We came down, crossed the basketball court, and climbed up the other side, sliding open the window. This view had classrooms, a few empty homes from the surrounding neighborhood, and the fields – baseball, football, soccer.

"If they get this far, we'll see them coming no problem," I whispered, looking to my sister.

There was a discussion going on at center court concerning the whos and whens of the upcoming full moon. They were deciding when to move the people from the rez, which shooters we'd need spaced throughout the fenced area, and how to make sure we all fit inside the giant room. I heard mention the fact that the bleachers could be shifted back to the walls to open up more space on the floor. There would be approximately two hundred and fifty people inside that gymnasium the night of the full moon.

Nessa and I took a seat on the bottom set of bleachers, and she gazed around the gym.

"If you and I are up there," she started, pointing to each window we'd opened, "then that'll leave us with two blind spots – the front doors and the back of the building."

"Mmhm," I hummed in agreement.

There wasn't much that could be done about the back. It was closed off. There were no windows because the back of the building were the men's and women's locker rooms. But the front doors would be a different thing.

"Well, maybe that's where Dad needs to be," Nessa mused, gaining the attention from the group in the middle.

Edward, Carlisle, and Esme had heard everything we'd said, I was sure, but everyone else simply caught the last statement.

"Where, Ness?" Dad asked her.

"Front and center," she said, pointing to the double doors. "If Bells and I take the high windows, then we'll need someone to cover the front. There's no getting in from the locker rooms, but we'll need the front doors covered."

Dad gazed around from the two open windows to the front doors and back to us. "That's smart, girls," he said softly, nodding a little. He turned to Carlisle. "So we can bring everyone here, and the girls and I will take out any of those monsters that come near this building."

"Huh. Monsters," I said through a laugh, grinning at Edward when his amused face turned toward me. When I raised an eyebrow, he gave me a sexy wink.

"Okay, so between now and the full moon, I'll set patrols for my pack, and we'll need to know where you guys will be." Jake gestured to Carlisle and Edward.

Carlisle nodded, taking a deep breath. "I think we could work like we did last time. Emmett, Rose, Esme, and me on the outside of the fences with Edward in the center of town so he can monitor everyone's minds. He would also be able to fight anything that slipped by us."

Edward nodded, his brow furrowing. I took a deep breath and let it out. That seemed to put a lot of pressure on my vampire, but he was capable. I could also imagine he'd prefer to be able to get to me should something happen.

My heartbeat and deep sigh must have alerted him in some way, and soon he was kneeling before me.

"What, love?"

I shook my head, reaching up to rake my fingers through his hair. "Nothing. It's a good plan. I kind of like that you'll be on this side of the fence."

"But?" he whispered.

"No. No buts. I'm just worried." I poked his chest in a few spots to remind him of the first werewolf fight we'd had. "I know you're bullet and werewolf proof, but I would lose my mind if something happened to you."

"And I you, my Bella," he breathed, picking up my hand and kissing my fingers.

I lost myself in the love that simply poured out of his golden gaze sometimes. He was ridiculously affectionate and all things sweet, but I also knew he was every bit the hunter, the predator, the killer that he needed be when the time called for it. It was always there, simmering beneath the surface. And I also knew Edward would lose his reason should something happen to me, but that was a conversation that needed to happen when it was just the two of us.

I broke his gaze, leaning in to kiss his forehead. "Are we supposedly hiding in here?" I asked him but loud enough that everyone heard the question.

"Technically, no," Carlisle answered. "We're reducing the risks of someone getting hurt or killed."

"If they're coming with the numbers I saw in Alice's visions, then there would be enough to raid homes, hiding places, basements. Putting everyone in one place makes it easier to defend them," Edward explained. "Why do you ask?"

"There's no power here. And it's chilly now in the middle of the day," I said, standing up. "We'll need heat. I just didn't know if the light of fires or whatever would cause a problem. And I wonder if those windows shouldn't be boarded up."

Ness snorted into a giggle. "The majority of the people in this room can't feel the cold."

It caused a few chuckles from the Cullens, Jake, and Seth.

Grinning, I nodded her way and glanced back at the group in the middle. "I just wasn't sure if you wanted us dark and silent."

"It won't matter. They'll hear the heartbeats of two hundred plus humans, especially if they're all in one place," Edward stated softly, wrinkling his nose a little.

"It'll probably be snowing by then," Jake said with a shrug. "We can smell it in the air."

A flicker of panic crossed Edward's gorgeous face, but he slipped a mask over it almost immediately. We definitely needed a private conversation before the full moon. I slipped my fingers through his, giving them a brief squeeze. He and I needed our own plan, if Alice's visions were all coming to a head.

I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Okay, so Ness and I are up high. Dad's front and center. And we're moving everyone in that morning. They'll need to bring blankets and food."

"Sounds good, kiddo," my dad said, nodding a little. "Jake, you'll let your people know when and where. I'll get with mine."

"Sounds good, Charlie," Jacob replied softly.

Everyone started for the doors we'd come in, and I held Edward back.

"You and I should talk," I told him in a whisper, and again I saw a flicker of fear or panic cross his features for a fraction of a second. "Can we go somewhere? Your family's house or something?"

He was eerily quiet as we left the school and headed toward the north gate. Ben let us out, and once we were on the outside, he pulled me onto his back, taking off for the Cullen home.

Once we were inside and the shutters rolled up, he stood stock-still in front of me.

"Why do you look like I'm about to set you on fire?" I asked him, a half smile curling up my face.

He shook his head. "I keep thinking… I never want to… Alice's visions scare the shit out of me," he finally blurted out the truth.

"Before this fight, Mr. Cullen, you and I need to be on the same page," I told him, pulling him down onto the piano bench as I stayed standing between his legs.

"I know," he whispered, nodding vehemently, and his hands immediately pulled me closer by my hips. "I know, my love. I just…"

"We knew about the snow, Edward. Alice said that there would be snow when I changed." I cupped his face and kissed his lips because his fears were ramping up into almost full-blown anxiety. "It may not be this snowfall, but you and I need to talk this out. If something happens—"

"Bella," he groaned, cutting me off.

"Stop it." I urged him to look at me. "You need to hear this! If something happens to me, then you need to know I'm okay if you have to change me."

"I didn't want that for you, and I most certainly didn't want it thrust upon you as a necessity." His sweet, fearful gaze met mine, and his hands left my hips and cupped my face. "But my God, Bella, I can't live without you, so I feel so conflicted."

I repeated what I'd said at the gates earlier. "Mates have to protect themselves as much as each other. I'm asking you to change me for you, should something happen. It's an alternate plan, Edward. Not chiseled in stone."

"I never want you to regret it, Bella. You don't know how much that plagues me," he whispered softly against my lips.

"You act like I don't understand it. I've known your family for five years, and three of those I knew exactly what they were. And then you stumbled into my store, and suddenly my draw to them made sense, because I was waiting for you."

His eyes darkened and he nodded once, but I kissed him before he could say anything.

"This new world doesn't offer a lot of choices, Mr. Cullen, but you need to know that you are my choice should I be rendered unable to voice it. That's it. That's all I'm asking of you. If we don't need it, then fine, but if we do, then you should know where I stand."

He studied my face, and his expressions ran the gamut – sadness, hope, fear, and lastly, so much love it took my breath away. Finally, he nodded, pulling me closer.

"Promise me," I begged in a soft whisper.

"I promise."

"Thank you. And I know you'll do your damnedest to keep it from happening, Edward, but I love you, and I want to be with you however that unfolds. Some days it overpowers me with how big that feeling is; it's daunting with how fast it happened, but I don't fear it."

"You're everything I never thought I'd have, Miss Swan."

I cupped his face and leaned in to press my lips to his. "We've talked about all this before, Mr. Cullen. Why'd you panic?" I asked, touching my forehead to his.

His eyes closed, and his voice was a whisper against my lips. "To cause you pain would wreck me, love. To lose you would be the end of me. I… The mention of snow…" His eyes opened, and he finally gave in and lifted me to straddle him on the piano bench. "I wanted more time with you…for you."

"We have all the time, Edward. However it plays out… All the time we want."

"Thank you, Bella," he whispered sweetly. "Please, please, keep reminding me."

I smiled, biting down on my bottom lip. "Ah, yes. Old vampire. New tricks. Got it."

His eyes were dark, despite the dull gray day coming in through the wall of windows beside the piano. I was learning that dark eyes didn't always mean thirst or anger. Sometimes it meant desire, love, or lust. And along with that knowledge came a pull that I simply couldn't fight, especially when he slowly pushed my coat off my shoulders and onto the floor behind us.

Cupping his face again, I kissed him. I wanted to take away his fears, to relax him into only feeling this – this powerful and beautiful feeling that the two of us made together. I wanted to finish what we'd started that morning when I woke up in his arms, which was quickly becoming my very favorite thing.

To give credit where it was due, Edward caught up instantly. Hands roamed my back, my shoulders, and finally my ass, where he gripped, squeezed, and pulled me closer. And that caused a whole new set of sensations.

"Guh," escaped me, causing my lips to break from his. It was inarticulate and probably embarrassing, but it only caused Edward to smile against my skin as he trailed his lips across my cheek to my neck.

Suddenly, he stood, ascending the stairs. We were in his room before I could even blink, and Edward was looming over me as he laid me down on the chaise. He smiled down at my giggle, his tongue trailing across his bottom lip.

"I believe I owe you for this morning, love," he said in a voice that was silky and sinful. "What did you call me?"

My head fell back with my laugh. "A tease, Edward."

"Mmm, indeed."

He melted into me, settling deliciously between my legs. While his kisses were slow and deep, my hands were groping and pulling. Something about the skin of his back was begging me to touch. It was smooth, the skin softer than I'd expected, but muscles shifted beneath my fingers in a way that made me push at his shirt.

Breaking away from my mouth, Edward lifted up and grasped the back of his shirt. He wrenched it off over his head and dropped it to the floor. I'd only ever seen brief glimpses of his torso, but now it was in front of me in all its beautifully toned glory. There was no way to stop myself from touching.

Slipping my hands up his stomach, over his pecs, and along his shoulders, I pulled him back to me. Edward braced an elbow by my head, but his free hand started to explore – over my shirt, under it, cupping, kneading, teasing. Nothing about his cool touch was cold. It always flashed warm and caused me to writhe. When his hand palmed me between my legs, I just about fell apart.

"Bella… I want… You have to…" His rambling would've been funny had it not been in the middle of what we were doing. "Love, can I touch you? I want your next orgasm to be from my touch."

His words and tone alone would've sent me over the edge, but the fact that he was asking permission made me cling to him and nod at the same time. His forehead fell to mine as his fingers popped the button of my jeans and slid my zipper down.

If I thought Edward's eyes were dark before, they were black fire now. And as soon as those fingers slipped beneath my underwear to cup me fully, they practically flashed molten.

"I did this to you?" he asked in a whisper. "So… You're so hot and wet."

"God, yes," I panted, essentially vibrating at the feel of his touch.

I tried to find patience because I knew he was testing his strength, learning my body, but sweet God, I was already so close. When one finger slipped inside my entrance and his thumb pressed where was swollen and throbbing, I came completely undone. I came so hard I saw stars behind my eyelids.

Everything about me became overly sensitive, my whole being twitching in the aftermath of the orgasm he'd just caused. And I couldn't help but wonder if I came this hard with his fingers, then how the hell could I cope when we had sex. I wanted to touch him, too, because I could see him hard and straining against his jeans, but I could also see he wasn't going to allow it. He shifted back, shaking his head and kissing my outstretched fingers.

"Not today, my Bella. I don't… I can't control myself just now." He kissed me softly, and he pulled me to him as he shifted to lay beside me. "I'm afraid I'll hurt you with how badly I want you."

"Okay" was the only brilliant reply I could muster.

Honestly, I think he'd just scrambled my brains, and I was desperately trying to get them back, but the most I could do was burrow into him. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, and I shuddered with another tremor that racked my frame.

"Did I hurt you?"

I smiled against his bare skin, shaking my head. "Nope, but I don't have all my faculties back yet. Gimme a minute."

He laughed softly – and smugly I might add. "Take all the time you need, my Bella. There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

~oOo~

A/N… We're getting closer… to a lot of things. ;) Closer to the full moon. And our lovesick vampire is just too much some days.

This is coming along nicely as far as my muse goes, so I'll do my best to update soon. Until next time… Mooches, Deb. ;)