A/N: Hi everyone! I can't express my gratitude and thanks enough for all of your wonderful reviews! Thanks a lot, lot, lot to my serial reviewers: fresh-BLOOD-was-drawn-2night, CoppertopJ, traceybuie, Ricephira and BridieM! I'm so sorry I haven't had any time to reply to you, but thank you so much!

So, I guess that you're wondering what will happen now... This story isn't finished, but it will slowly wind down from now, and deal with certain vampires we all want to see burn, along with some issues on the way ;) No number of remaining chapters, since my characters tend to be extra chatty, but I'd say no more than five. Oh, and the outtake about Tanya and Alistair is definitely down the road too :D

I'm completely overwhelmed in real life, so I'm not sure I'll be able to post the next chapter next weekend, but I'll do my very best. in two weeks tops, you'll have it, I promise! Enjoy, and please review!

Still rated M, you know the ropes, and I don't own anything except my crazy imagination!

Chapter 13

Bella

When I regained my bearings, I was sprawled over Edward, both of us naked and he still inside of me. I couldn't remember how we came to this, but I could guess from our previous experience, and the three gaping wounds on him. I moaned in distress when I took them in, my fingers carefully tracing their contours. He must have been in so much pain!

I quickly ran my tongue on top of the wounds, closing them, then pulled away from him with a small whimper. The loss of him wasn't something that I enjoyed. I only felt complete when my mate was buried deep inside of me, making us one.

Edward was unconscious and unresponsive, not breathing, and I started to freak out. Had I killed him? "Edward!" I called him, shaking him and caressing his face and hair to bring him back to me, panic overwhelming me. "Edward, my love?! Please come round! I can't lose you! Edward, please! God, what did I do?! EDWARD!"

He stirred then, taking a large breath, and I released mine in relief. He would be okay. "Edward," I sighed, caressing his cheeks and his hair out of his forehead. I loved him so much!

"Love you too," he murmured, slowly coming round as his eyelids fluttered open. I lost myself for a second into his deep, shining golden eyes, then kissed him as if there was no tomorrow. I had been so afraid of losing him. I couldn't lose him. "You won't," he answered my thoughts as he brought his arms around me, hugging me tightly on top of him.

We stayed that way for a few minutes or hours, I didn't know. At some point, cold and heavy rain started to fall, pelting us relentlessly. I didn't care. Neither did he. I simply adjusted my position above him to shelter his face from the rain, our foreheads touching and our lips mostly joined. He was changing, just like what had happened to me. Jolts of electricity were running back and forth between us through our touching skin, making the connection complete. It was overwhelming, but so much pleasant. We were linked by more than love, more than our mating. We were one soul in two bodies.

"You feel it as much as I do?" he asked me softly after a while, sounding almost afraid to break our new connection.

"Yeah," I whispered in his ear as the rain abated, then finally drizzled out. Little shocks were shaking us, and I guessed that we would soon reach the higher level of our mating. "Anytime now."

He nodded and kissed me again, our limbs tangled together. The electricity was flowing freely now, and Edward's thoughts and emotions suddenly flooded me, pouring like a wild stream into my whole being. But I didn't flinch. I knew that he was feeling mine, and it seemed to be the most natural thing in the world. We were one. "Wow," I murmured as I sank into what he was experiencing, wrapping myself around him like a second skin.

"That's... I don't have words," he said in awe, his arms almost squishing me against him.

And then we jumped as the most powerful shock of electricity ran through both of us, securing the connection between us. In the tenth of a second that followed, I knew deep within me that I had acquired his talent, and that he had acquired mine, in addition to the one we already had. I could dimly hear Tanya's mind, far away from us, and Alistair's. The two of them were still making love passionately, and I felt Edward using his new mental shield to block them from us. "Thanks, my love," I told him with a smirk. "I really don't want to know what they say or think during their mating."

"Neither do I," he said with a small smirk, which fell quickly. "Bella, do you know how far they are?"

"No," I shook my head, not wanting to dwell on the scenery that I had glimpsed through Alistair's eyes.

But Edward was used to his talent, and he looked at me with mixed feelings racking through him. "Bella, love, they're halfway to Port Angeles. I recognized the cluster of boulders they're atop of."

"But that's..." I trailed off, trying to do the math and a little afraid of the answer.

"...around twenty miles away from us, yes," he finished, eyes dilated in awe and apprehension. "Bella, try your mental shield. We're six miles away from the Cullen house. Shield them."

"I can only spread it four miles around me," I protested feebly.

"Try," he urged me, locking eyes with mine.

I complied, and closed my eyes in concentration. Two seconds later, I gasped as I felt the Cullens and our friends' presence under my shield. "Impossible," I muttered.

"Try La Push," Edward prodded me again, excitement winning over his anxiety. "Shield Jacob."

I didn't try to oppose him the fact that we were twenty miles away from the Quileute reservation, and just focused. And soon I felt Jacob's spark under my shield, encased in one of my protective mental and physical bubbles.

"Unbelievable," Edward murmured as I let his talent in my head, soon finding Jacob's mind and seeing through his eyes as he and his family were eating at Billy's, among laughter from the young ones and grim faces from the adults. "You hear him?"

"Yes," I confirmed, my eyes flying open and finding my mate. He was as mystified as me, but he took it in stride better. "He's thinking about Caius."

"I have to admit that what he's envisioning for Caius' fate is quite tempting," he said with a smirk.

"It sure is," I acknowledged, seeing Jacob's fantasies of slowly ripping Caius to teeny tiny shreds of vampire skin and body, before chewing them and sinking them into boiling oil, then tossing the remains into a low fire. Yes, tempting indeed.

"Bella," Edward said, sobering up quickly. "We're quite powerful now."

"We already were," I sighed, snuggling back into his chest as his arms snaked around my waist. "But now more than ever, at least for Jane."

"We'll have to test our new abilities," he said seriously as I nuzzled him, inhaling his soothing scent. "Range, holding hands or not, touching or not..."

"Not now," I opposed softly, needing him. "Edward..."

Sharing our thoughts could be useful, I mused, as he rolled us on the grass of the meadow again and settled on top of me. He kissed me deeply, his erection straining on my thigh, before I guided him between my legs. He needed me just as much as I did, and I didn't have to urge him as he slid inside of me. Again, jolts of electricity shook us, but this time it was raw pleasure. I purred and moaned in ecstasy more than I had ever done, and he groaned and growled until we reached our climax together. We screamed loudly, reaching absolute rapture, before he collapsed on top of me. That had never happened before, since he had always been a strong vampire with endless stamina, but right now we were exhausted and completely sated.

"Wow," I murmured in a haze of bliss, my hands lazily running through his wild hair as we breathed heavily. "I sure love this new level of mating."

"Ditto," he exhaled, raising his head a few inches before sinking back onto me. "I can't move right now, love. I'm sorry. Am I crushing you?"

"Silly vampire," I giggled, elated. "I'm a vampire too, Edward. You can't crush me."

"But..." he started, always the overprotective mate.

I cut him off. "I'm perfect, my love. And I love having your weight on me. It's wonderful."

He knew that I wasn't lying. Our minds were open to each other permanently now, with no more privacy. I liked it. "I never would've believed it," he chuckled lowly. "You used to love your privacy."

"I used to," I confirmed as I held him tighter against me, preventing him from moving away from me like he was about to. "But not anymore. And you're not going anywhere, Edward."

"Bella, I have to move," he protested feebly. "We have to..."

"Shhh," I said, kissing his lips to shut him up. "We don't have to move just yet. We need each other, Edward. It's been so long."

He sighed in defeat, but he couldn't hide his want. I could see in his mind that he needed me as much as I needed him. So I rolled us over and had my way with him again, slow and gentle. His eyes widened, and I saw the memories of my claiming of him. I was distressed at his pain, but he didn't let me pull away from him. He rolled us over again and pinned me under him, taking me deeply. "You're not going anywhere," he said, his smoldering eyes burning holes into me as he used my own words against me. "I hurt you, and you hurt me, but it was necessary. Now we're both well, happy and in love. The slate is clean."

"I'm happy to hear that you're able to forgive yourself," I grinned, knowing that he meant it.

"We're sharing everything, love," he said as he thrust deeply into me, making me arch my body in sheer pleasure. "Our thoughts, our emotions, our feelings, our talents. And maybe our qualities. I'd be a so much better man if you could share your compassion and selflessness with me."

"Everything that I am is yours," I whimpered as he thrust faster and harder, leading me to the brink of ecstasy again. "Oh, Edward..."

"I love you so much," he growled as he pounded into me, his teeth grazing his mark on my throat. "I'm yours, and you're mine, my Bella."

"Forever, Edward," I sobbed as I reached the sky. "I love you."

We shared another powerful orgasm, making me see a shower of stars under my eyelids – mine and his – then floated down on our cloud of bliss to the Earth. We had shared thoughts and emotions before, and it was good. But this, sharing our pleasure and this level of intimacy... it was extraordinary, and I would do anything to do it again, and protect it at all costs.

"I will treasure it for always too," he said lovingly in my ear as he pulled away from me, making the both of us groan. "We're so much more than mates now. I can't live without you, Bella."

"Neither can I," I said, weighing the truth of our words. It was possible, but excruciatingly painful, to live without a mate. Marcus and Heidi were good examples of that fact. But now, being separated from Edward for a long time – or worse, losing him – would literally kill me. It would annihilate my soul. I would cease to exist.

"You would be a frozen stone," he approved sadly, cradling my face as we cuddled yet again. "Just like I would be if I lost you."

"Let's not lose each other, then, shall we?" I said, wanting to divert my mind from the gaping pool of misery this trail of thoughts was leading to. "I can't stand to even think about it."

"Neither can I," he said as he sat up, shooting looks around him. He was making good use of his newly acquired mental shield, blocking me. I didn't like it, but he had to get used to it, just like I had to get used to my brand new mind-reading talent. I would try my hand at it later, not wanting to be overwhelmed.

"What are you looking for?" I asked him as he sniffed the air around him before rising to his feet, not minding his nakedness in the least.

"Alice hid a bag of clothes for us nearby," he said, zeroing in on a large spruce tree a few feet away from the edge of the meadow. He ran swiftly, making me admire his butt cheeks and licking my lips, and was back soon with a backpack dangling from his fingers, a devilish smirk on his face. "So you like my butt in the open?"

"I like your butt everywhere, husband of mine," I said, making him growl in want again, his eyes darkening with desire. "But it's for my eyes only, so please cover it up."

"We're all alone here," he jested, trying to keep the bag from me, but I snatched it from his hands.

"For now," I said, thinking about our situation again.

The seriousness of it dawned on us, and he sighed. Remove your shield, love, he thought, doing the same and making me realize that I had been shielding us from the world around us since I heard Jacob's thoughts. We need to know what's happening around us now.

I complied, and we focused on our surroundings as I got up and we hurriedly dressed. I was instantly assaulted with hundreds of voices in my head, vampires and humans alike, and I groaned, covering my ears in a useless attempt to stop them. Edward was in front of me in a split second, taking my hands in his and blocking the voices. "Hey, love, focus," he said as I gasped in relief, shaking against his frame. "It's okay, you'll get used to it. I'm sorry, I forgot how overwhelming it was the first time."

"H... How...?" I stammered, but he heard my thoughts. How can you stand it? All those voices?

It was hard, sometimes still is, he admitted silently while kissing me softly, grounding me and bringing me back to him. We were back in our own bubble, and I was in no hurry to leave it. You'll have to, he thought apologetically. The main thing you have to do is focus. The voices will assail you until you learn to tune them out, or block them with your shield. Focus on one single voice at a time, the others will become background noise. Do it repeatedly, and you'll soon grow accustomed to it.

How have you not become insane? I genuinely wondered, baffled after only two seconds of mental voices attacking me.

He shrugged and brought me deeper into his chest, soothing me with his caresses. I don't know, he thought honestly. Maybe I have.

No, I shook my head minutely while nuzzling him. You're my anchor, Edward.

We stayed silent for a few more moments, still cuddling, then he got ready to remove the shield. I had to master my new talent. Our lives could depend on it, with Caius, Lindsey and Jane after us. I had to be ready for everything. I took a deep breath, and locked eyes with my concerned husband. I could hear that he wanted to spare me from this ordeal, and shoulder everything as usual, but he couldn't. I had to be as strong as he was.

"You're the strongest person I've ever known, by far," he said with his velvety voice that I enjoyed so much. Even though we could now stop speaking aloud altogether, hearing each other in our heads, I didn't want to stop hearing him. His voice brought me peace and happiness. "Thank you," he said with a tender smile, kissing my forehead then looking deep into my eyes. "Ready?"

I nodded. "Yeah, lower your shield. You've mastered that pretty fast, by the way."

"The mental one I'm used to," he said simply. "I've been focusing on yours for long enough. But the physical one is another thing. I'll train with it later. Are you ready?"

I took a deep breath, released it, then nodded. "Focus on Emmett," he said right before lowering the shield.

Again, the numerous mental voices engulfed me, but this time I was prepared. I forced myself to ignore the voices, reaching out to find our brother. And when I found him, I noticed that Edward had been right. The other voices faded in the background. I heard our goofy vampire as loudly as if we were standing next to him. It's been twelve hours already, I hope they're all right. I also hope Ewdard is balls deep in Bella, heaven knows they needed the release! And Tanya is popping Alistair's cherry... Oh, I can't wait to see them, I'm gonna have a field day! Alistair won't know what hit him!

I tuned him out with a small wince then, appalled at his crass thoughts. Edward chuckled humourlessly. "Welcome to my world, love," he sighed, slowly shaking his head.

"Please tell me he's not always this vulgar," I said almost pleadingly.

"No, he's usually way worse. This is him being tame. He's probably trying to control his thoughts with our parents around."

"You deserve an award, my love," I stated seriously, caressing his disgruntled face. "How have you put up with him for all those years?"

"No idea," he shrugged again, quite jadedly. "I'm just used to it, I suppose."

"I'm not, and now it's time to turn the tables," I said mischievously. "You're too shy to say anything about it, Edward, but I'm not. Not anymore. And I'm still stronger than Emmett. Let's teach him how to rein in his thoughts."

"That's a good idea," he nodded with his devilish little smirk. "But how?"

"Your turn," I said lightly. "Focus on your mental shield. Can you see it?"

"Yes. It's this rippling thing like a wave around me."

"That's how you see it?" I asked in awe, and he nodded. "Well, to each his own. Now, can you differentiate the mental one from the physical one?"

"I... suppose so," he said uncertainly.

"See that boulder?" I pointed towards a large rock sitting at the edge of our meadow. "You're going to push your shield into it. Imagine it's a wall, or a wave if you prefer. Or a force field. Whatever works best for you."

"Okay," he said, very unsure. I told him silently that I had complete faith in him and his new abilities, and showed him how I manipulated my shields. I noticed that while doing so, I didn't hear the voices around us anymore.

Edward smiled. "Done, love. You know how to control the mind-reading. My turn now."

He focused intensely, the rock his only aim, and envisioned a wave of pure force before hurtling it towards his target. I saw in his mind the invisible but powerful shield, and flinched a little when it collided with the boulder, making it explode on impact. I squealed in delight, and he laughed giddily. "I did it!"

"You did! I'm so proud of you, my love!" I cried happily, hugging him tightly. We kissed some more, then I pulled away. "Ready to make Emmett pay?"

"So ready," he said, feeling ecstatic. He focused again, using his mind reading to find Emmett's exact position in the Cullen house. Our brother was currently standing near Edward's piano, jeering at his newest composition.

"Oh no," I said, suddenly seeing red. "He has no right to make fun of your amazing music!" Through Carlisle's eyes, I noticed one of his stainless steel baseball bats lying around again.

"Yes," Edward said.

He concentrated hard, then used his hands. The shield bubble he had extended into the Cullen house expanded in a flash, pushing the baseball bat with tremendous force into Emmett's bewildered face, making him topple back, crashing right into the piano. "Oh shit," my mate groaned.

'I'll buy you a Steinway," I said easily, gloating at Emmett's flabbergasted face, and rejoicing at the family's questions. The big oaf, making his way out of the splintered wood and tangled chords, was asking if the house was haunted, looking truly afraid. Silly vampire.

"Alice is laughing," Edward told me elatedly, proud of having succeeded. The loss of his piano was a small price to pay to get back at his brother's endless teasing. "She knows it's us."

"It's you, all by yourself!" I said, squealing like a cheerleader again and throwing myself at him, proud of him beyond belief. "You're unbelievable, my love!"

"Have you looked at yourself in a mirror recently?" he asked me teasingly, his golden eyes carefree and happy. "My incredible vampire mate."

We kissed thoroughly, ignoring our cells ringing from the shreds of our previous clothes, knowing that it was Alice wanting to congratulate us. Then I blocked all thoughts away from us, losing myself in my mate again. This time we took the time to take our clothes off carefully, since we didn't have any to spare, and made tender love until the cover of clouds broke during the night, and the moonlight shone brightly above us.

I was lazily lying on Edward, our limbs tangled in a mess and our hunger for each other sated at last, when I started playing with my mental shield and my new mind reading talent. I wondered how far we could reach, so I focused, Edward following my experiments.

I was quite startled to hear voices as far as twenty-five miles away, Edward recognizing their towns, but that seemed to be our limit. It was way more than I could've ever imagined.

"Me too," my mate nodded, lightly kissing my hair as my lips trailed onto his bare and toned chest. I tried to stay focused on him as I opened my mind to all voices again, and this time I felt in control. I could filter the thoughts coming at me, choosing them. "Very good, love," he hummed approvingly. "I'm so glad my touch keeps you grounded."

"It always has," I told him simply, earning myself a deep kiss.

We made out for long minutes, the voices a background noise just like he had told me, when a startled and worried one reached me through my bliss. "What do you want?"

"That's..." I gasped, shooting to my feet, Edward in tow as we listened. "… know better than to stay so far away from your vegan friends. Now, you will both come with me. Caius will be so pleased to meet you."

That last voice was soft, sensual and quite hypnotic. Lindsey, I immediately guessed, and Edward nodded gravely. We put our clothes back on and started to run just as Tanya's distressed voice reached our minds. "Stop whatever you're doing to him! Al! Don't listen to her! Please!"

Dun dun dun... and here the action starts! Hope you liked this, and I'm waiting impatiently for your thoughts! ;)