A/N: Hi everyone! Just on time to meet my own deadline! ;)

Many, many thanks for my serial reviewers that I love so much! Thank you CoppertopJ, fresh-BLOOD-was-drawn-2night, traceybuie, BridieM and ThatsMzPeachesTYVM! All my apologies for not having replied in person to your awesome reviews. I have no valid excuse, except being buried under my real life. So please forgive me! A nice chapter to make up for it?

The beginning of the end here, with more plans and... well, you'll see. Just... brace yourselves, okay? Bella's a kick-ass vampire, but she's carried her own Pandora's box for a long time, and when it finally opens...

I'll do my very best to update next weekend, as usual. I think we have two chapters left, maybe three, plus an epilogue, and at least one outtake. We'll see ;)

Enjoy, and please review!

Chapter 14

Bella

I made my mental and physical shield bubbles shoot out towards Alistair and Tanya, encasing them almost instantly, while Edward took out his phone and dialed Alice. I felt the mated pair safely under my protective power just as Alice picked up. "I know!" she was wailing. "I saw her too late! They're surrounded!"

"Three vampires," Edward and I said simultaneously, seeing through Tanya's frightened eyes.

"They'll be fine, now that you're shielding them," Alice said, more composed already, but still sounding frantic. "But I don't like what she was going to do to them. Why attack them?"

"Can't you see that?" I asked as Edward and I ran flat out towards the new mated couple, still being taunted by Lindsey, who had yet to realize that she couldn't hypnotize them anymore.

"No, something's blocking my visions," she cringed. I didn't like it one bit. We needed her hindsight, badly.

"The wolves are all back at La Push," Edward said. "It must be another talented vampire."

"Just great," I scowled as we tore through bushes and ferns as fast as we could. "Can he or she mess with our shields?"

"Maybe," Alice said through the phone. "We're behind you, but it'll take us a few minutes to arrive. Be careful."

My mind was in sync with my mate's, and we were focused on Alistair and Tanya, and their opponents, so I couldn't see Alice's visions. It didn't matter right now. We needed to protect our friends.

Lindsey, who seemed to be a small, brunette and quite plain vampire but with crazed crimson eyes, was still speaking with her hypnotic voice. I could feel her power vibrating against my shield bubbles, and it was potent. And her thoughts were...

"Don't focus on her," Edward said as we sped even more. "I'll do it. Focus on Tanya."

As usual, my overprotective mate to the rescue. He didn't want me to have to listen to God-awful thoughts, and maybe some glimpse of Charlie that would make me crumble. So he used his new mental shield to separate our thoughts, and started to scowl immediately. I sighed a little but did as he asked. He was looking out for me, and I was very grateful.

It took me all of a half-second to delve into Tanya's thoughts, and she was still panicked. She won't take Al from me! Over my undead body! I've just found him! She won't take him from me!

I wanted to reassure her, tell her that they were safe. It would take us another minute to reach them, but she and Alistair needed to keep their cool. I didn't know if my physical shield would hold should they attack their opponents. It's all right, Tanya, I said like a mantra. We're on the way. Hold on, you're safe.

Bella? Tanya's incredulous thoughts hit me suddenly. Bella, how can I hear you right now? Where are you? We're being surrounded by this psycho and her goons!

I was flabbergasted. How could she hear me? Edward's mind-reading was always one-sided. Never before had he been able to share his thoughts with someone other than me. I didn't understand.

We can hear them because you're shielding them, I guess, Edward thought, and I heard that he was still tuned to Lindsey and her accomplices, and on Alistair and Tanya too, but he quickly shut me down, cutting my access to him. And that made some sense. Maybe we could share thoughts with anyone who was under my shield, with our new freakishly powers. That was quite mindblowing... and terrifying. No wonder Jane wanted us dead.

Thankfully Tanya and Alistair didn't seem to hear this, so I assumed that they could only hear my thoughts when I chose to share them. Good. I didn't want to be totally deprived of the privacy of my mind. Tanya, we're forty seconds away from you. Keep calm, I'm shielding you.

What does she want? Alistair thought, and I was not sure he was actually addressing me. He was freaking out big-time. What's happening? Why attack Tanya and me?

We'll figure it out, I said silently, a little aggravated that Edward was using his new capacities shielding our opponents, making them silent to me. I needed to hear their thoughts. We were seconds away from them now, and suddenly I saw through Tanya's mind a sneer on Lindsey's face, her eyes jerking towards the forest where we were, then a small nod. At her signal, she and the other two vampires – a buff male and a more slender one, both looking malicious – ran away from our friends without a word. Tanya and Alistair didn't run after them, and neither would we. We had too many things to do first, and it could be a trap. We needed to regroup with our family first.

"Tanya! Alistair!" I couldn't help but shout when Edward and I shot out of the woods, landing into the clearing with the boulders I had seen in their minds. I could still hear our enemies' retreat through the woods, their minds still closed to me.

"We're okay," Tanya said with a shaky voice as Alistair gathered her against him, holding her as if she was going to disappear at any second. Those two were definitely mated for better or worse now, and I was happy for them, despite the awful circumstances.

"Why did they want you to go with them?" I asked, shooting a sideways glance at my mate who was scowling, eyebrows furrowed deeply.

"I don't know," Tanya said, snuggling into Alistair's chest, her eyes still wild. "She wanted Al, not me. She didn't tell us why. And her voice..."

"It was so compelling," Alistair said a little dreamily, but still frightened, remembering the siren's call. "I couldn't resist for more than a few minutes. I was ready to follow her, just like that!"

Edward was still silent, and I was starting to be a little aggravated. "Edward? What did she want from Alistair?"

He didn't answer, his eyes focused on the point where the attackers had vanished, his hands closed into tight fists. I felt my building emotions transform into a powerful anger, and I lost it. "Edward!" I thundered, making him and our friends jump. "Tell me!"

And then the strangest thing happened. The mental shield he was keeping raised between us shattered instantly, allowing me to access his thoughts and memories. Suddenly I could see and hear what had been passing through Lindsey's mind, and those of her sidekicks. It was like I could read from the pages of a book, coming back and forth at will, sifting through his mind like a journal of some sorts. Disturbing, but exactly what I needed.

"Bella!" he uttered in a strangled voice as I perused his mind, trying to block me again. But I couldn't be thwarted by him. Deep in my mind I knew that it was thanks to our new powerful connection. He couldn't keep me away from his mind. Our bond couldn't allow it. He wouldn't be thrilled, and we would have to talk about it really soon, but for now I needed answers.

Fools, Lindsey had been thinking when first coming upon Alistair and Tanya getting hurriedly dressed and looking wary. All alone when we're about to attack them. Overconfident fools. Useless vegetarians. Caius will be pleased with me. No need to take her with us. I'll have her follow us for a bit, then Manfred will kill her. We only need this pathetic excuse of a tracker. What a loon. And when I bring him to Caius, maybe he'll finally grant me some taste of this human buffoon. Chief of police, what a joke! He's so weak it's a wonder he's the father of this pitiful animal lover!

Her disgusting thoughts made my frozen stomach roll and Edward grunt in distress, but I tuned him out. She had been rambling more and more as she attempted to persuade them to follow her, then she had realized that they weren't listening to her anymore, thanks to my shield. Dammit, she had thought angrily. Bella must be on the way, and Edward. Bad news. We can't engage them yet. We have to leave, fast. Goddammit!

She had ordered the retreat then, and Edward had focused on her accomplices. One of them, Manfred, the biggest, was also the dumbest. He seriously had something wrong with him, because his mind was only filled with thoughts about human blood, hunting, and fighting. Next to him, Emmett could be mistaken as Stephen Hawkins for real. Unsettling wasn't a strong term enough.

The other one, Livius, was old as dirt but looking twenty-five at most. I was surprised to realize that Aro had changed him in the early days of the Roman Empire and he had been serving him faithfully ever since. Talk about an old-timer. He was the real danger in Caius' group. And he was the talented one. He could mess with others' talents. That was such bad news. He could prevent Alice from getting clear visions of the future, Jasper from manipulating emotions, and me from using my shields. The only thing he wasn't immune to was Edward's mind-reading, apparently. I wondered why, but I didn't have time to think about it in depth. Livius was under strict orders from Caius not to alert us about his talent yet, so that was why I'd been able to shield Alistair and Tanya. The next time we met him, he wouldn't let us gain the upper hand as easily as we had thought.

I came back to the present time as our family and friends tumbled out of the woods all around us, shooting questions and panicking. Their mental voices were so loud and overwhelming with relief and worry that I didn't have time to raise my mental shield around me again. I was drowning. I felt the earth on my knees and the whoosh of the air as I fell sideways to the ground, only to be stopped by strong and caring arms, just as my mate bellowed in the clearing. "Enough!"

Silence engulfed me then as his new mental shield surrounded me like a warm blanket, cutting me from the assault of the voices around me. I took a deep breath as I burrowed into his chest, inhaling his soothing scent, while he lowered us to sit on the ground. "What's happening to her?" Carlisle's voice reached me, muted and concerned.

"She's not used to her mind reading yet," Edward explained, making nearly everyone gasp in surprise around us. "It's difficult for her. She needs a little time, so please don't shout and control your thoughts."

"Mind reading?" Eleazar repeated, baffled. "How...?"

"We reached a higher level of mating," Edward told him as I stayed snuggled against him, not caring one bit about the others' thoughts. I needed him, and my mind was still swirling. Had I been human, I would've been badly sick. "And we gained each other's talent. Bella can read minds now, and I have shields just like her."

"Unbelievable," Eleazar muttered among awed murmurs. "Yes, I can't access your talent anymore, Edward. You're shielding me, all right. And Bella. It's your new shield around her, isn't it?"

"Yes," he confirmed, his arms encasing me tightly.

"How powerful are you, exactly?" Marcus inquired gently, his tone laced with concern.

I felt Edward shrug, and I didn't move. I couldn't. I was still too unbalanced. "Twenty-five mile range for our powers. We can share thoughts with anybody we're shielding, meaning they can hear us like we can hear them. We don't need to touch each other to use the other's talent. That's about it, for now."

"Well, that's quite impressive," Eleazar said in awe.

"I can't believe it was you," Emmett growled playfully. "With the bat. But you sent it to me, didn't you? And you destroyed your piano by making me crash into it."

"Yes," Edward acknowledged stiffly. "The piano was an unfortunate casualty. But yes, it was me testing my new powers, and punishing you for your crass thoughts that Bella heard."

"It was nothing," Emmett said dismissively, almost gleefully. "I think about way worse things all the time."

"Don't I know it," my husband sighed, unimpressed.

"What happened here?" Rosalie inquired after smacking Emmett upside his head, always the pragmatic one.

I tuned everything and everyone out as Tanya and Edward recounted the last events, sinking into my mate's love for me. It saturated his whole being, enveloping my soul around his, and gave me much needed comfort. The conversation drifted to Lindsey and her sidekicks, and Livius' talent.

"That's bad news," Marcus said grimly. "Livius left Volterra right after you defeated Aro. He's a fanatic, and I don't doubt that he wants revenge. And he's very powerful."

"True," Eleazar added seriously. "If he's involved, then we can't rely on our talents, unfortunately."

"But if he counters ours, does he counter his teammates' too?"

"Yes," Marcus and Eleazar said together.

"Then Lindsey can't use hers if he thwarts us?" Esme assumed, sounding a little reassured.

"No, but she's useless around us just the same," Jasper said calmly. "Whether it be because of Bella or Livius, she can't use her talent in any way."

"So why use her?" Kate wondered.

"Charlie," Jasper said simply.

I shivered within my mate's embrace, and he only tightened his grip around me, sensing my distress. I didn't want to think about Charlie. I didn't want to know what would happen to him at the end of all this. I didn't want to face him again after all these years. I didn't want him to reject me again. I didn't want to remember his parting words to me as his last. 'You're no daughter of mine.'

I wasn't aware of the sounds that were escaping my mouth, but suddenly Edward's thoughts flooded me again, and I realized that I was uttering low yowls, like a wounded animal. I couldn't deal with this anymore. Livius would overpower us, leaving a clear field for Caius and his minions. We would lose, I would lose Charlie, then my family, then Edward. And without him I wouldn't survive. What was the point?

Edward's arms tightened even more against me, and his voice permeated my overwhelmed mind. "No, Bella, you won't lose us. You won't lose me. I swear to you, love. You won't lose any one of us. We'll fight, and we'll win. We're not as weak as they think we are."

"I am," I whispered in a bated breath, glad that I couldn't hyperventilate as a vampire.

"You're not," Edward stated, thinking every word. "You're the strongest among us, and not because of your shield. Bella, you love me and I love you. That alone will give us the strength we need to defeat them. But we also have our family with us. Our family, Bella. The Denalis, Alistair, Marcus and Heidi are our family too, love. And we'll fight with them, for them. We can't let a power-greedy, bloodthirsty lunatic like Caius take us down. We'll win, my Bella. That I can promise you."

"I'll lose anyway," I said, not really worried about me our my family anymore. I knew deep down that we were strong, and that we would crush Caius. I was being stupid, letting a moment of doubt taking me down like this. However...

"Charlie won't be unscathed," Edward admitted reluctantly, listening to my inward fears and hating to have to confirm them. "That's impossible, love. Even if he's unharmed physically, he'll be scarred from the psychological trauma."

"He'll never forgive me," I murmured brokenly, appalled at how badly I needed his blessing. I'd always thought that I could do without it, but I couldn't. I needed my Dad to approve of me and my choice for my life. It wasn't that I needed it, per se, but if I didn't have it I would always have this regret of not having reconciled with my only human relative before it was too late. And carrying regrets for all eternity did seem like a long, long time.

"I'm sorry, love," Edward said, kissing my hair then putting his cheek on the top of my head as I dry sobbed, hating myself for this. "I'm so sorry."

"I want to hate him so much!" I raged through my despair, clutching Edward's shirt in his back, my voice muffled against him. "I don't want to need him!"

"But you do," my husband said gently, rubbing my back as I let my pain show in public for the first time in seventeen years. I knew that my family had never been fooled, but only Edward and Jasper, maybe Alice, had ever known the extent of my pain. "He's your dad, and always will be, whatever happens. We can't unlove," he said, remorse filling him yet again. "You can't decide not to love him with a clap of your fingers."

"It would be so much easier!" I shouted in his shirt, holding him like the lifebuoy he was to me. "I don't want to have to worry about him! I don't want to have to need his love!"

"That's something that you cannot control," he replied patiently, hiding his turmoil to everyone but me. He couldn't shelter himself from me anymore, and neither could I. And right now he was hurting for me. I wanted to hate my father even more for that. "When you love someone, it's for eternity, Bella. I've known it for a long time now, even before I changed you. However angry you are at your father – and rightfully so – you'll never stop loving him."

"And that's a good thing," Emmett said in a would-be light voice, breaking the heavy silence that had followed my mate's words. "Imagine the state I would be in if you didn't love me still, after all I did to you and Edward!"

"Good point, brother bear," I said with a weak chuckle, making everybody breathe easier around us. I was being stupid. I would always love my father, that was true. I just wished I didn't need him to acknowledge me as his daughter again so badly.

Thankfully Edward was still shielding me from our family's thoughts, giving me space, but one look at his face and a silent question in his mind had me nod at him, and he slowly lowered his shield. I knew that it was a matter of time before I had to face them head-on, and that time had come. I needed to be at my sharpest to face our enemies and defeat them. So I would train myself with the mind reading, and worry about Charlie when I had to.

Good, Edward spoke in my mind. We can't do anything about him for now. Let's focus on Caius and his army. And focus on one person at a time, love.

"We must neutralize Livius," I thought aloud as I pulled away from my loving husband, sending him my thanks and my love through thoughts and touch. He grinned at me and nodded, making my insides flutter. God, how I loved him! And we would take a two or three decades long honeymoon after all this mess, just the two of us, if I had my way. I needed it, and him. He nodded with a wicked gleam in his smoldering eyes. He approved unconditionally, thank heavens!

"Yes, that's the very first step," Jasper confirmed, strategizing in his mind. It was fascinating to watch. He was every book of war ever written, every tactician ever born and then some, all wrapped in one tall, blonde and lean vampire. He was deadly, and I was happy and grateful he was on our side. My breakdown of a few minutes ago seemed utterly ridiculous now. No way would our powerful family ever be defeated with such a warrior by our side. Not to mention Emmett's brute strength, Carlisle's intelligence, Esme's fierceness, Rose's tenacity, Alice's sneaky ways, and of course my very talented mate's abilities and overprotective love. And with our extended family, we wouldn't lose. Now I was sure of it.

"Good," Edward murmured in my ear, then kissed me softly, locking eyes with me. He exsuded confidence and love, and I would never doubt his word. "We won't lose, my Bella. They're walking undead people, I can guarantee you."

Emmett's mind immediately jumped to his latest viewing of a favorite zombie series of his, but I nipped it in the bud. "No, Em," I shook my head. "Concentrate, please."

"Damn," he huffed, ignoring Esme's scowl. "You'll become as insufferable as Eddie really soon, Bella."

"Just trying to keep you focused on the task at hand," Edward backed me up, winking at me. I wanted to giggle. We were even more of a team now.

"True," Emmett grumbled, as Jasper and Eleazar spoke quietly.

Then the former addressed us again. "Right, so we have to plan this very carefully. If Caius wants Alistair, then I assume it's because he knows that he's a threat to him. So we need to rethink things a little bit. This Livius is our first priority. If he neutralizes talents, then we'll use skills and brute force to end him. So I suggest we send Bella, Edward and Emmett to find him with Alistair, and ask Jared and Jacob to join you. We need to be very careful about this."

"How many vampires are with Caius?" Marcus asked Edward.

"From what I could gather from Lindsey and Livius, around twenty," my mate answered with pursed lips. He didn't like the odds, and neither did I. But we would tip the scales soon.

"Okay," Jasper said after another glance at Eleazar. "The other vampires are lesser guards, with no prominent talents like Lindsey's or Livius'. But their force lies in numbers. So we'll have to be sneaky, and take them down a few at a time."

"More work for me, I guess," Alistair groaned, not thrilled at all by the perspective. He was still afraid for his safety, and Tanya's.

"Emmett will be your bodyguard," Jasper decided, and Emmett nodded with a beam at Alistair, who looked even more afraid. "And Bella is the strongest of all of us, so if she's near you, you don't have to fear anything."

Alistair eyed me disdainfully, incredulity resounding loud in his mind. True, my display of emotions a few minutes ago wasn't putting me in the brightest spotlight, but I was the strongest, physically. That was nothing but the truth.

"Bella kicked my ass so many times that I can't count them anymore," Emmett punctuated, noticing our ally's skepticism and eager to defend his little sister. He was forgiven for all his past antics, bless his soul.

"It's true," Edward agreed, glaring at Alistair who took a step back and melted in Tanya's side, properly chastised. "We're not kidding."

"So we give a call to the wolves, then run after Livius," I asked, wanting to step up like I had to do. I could feel and hear Edward's pride and concern, but with him by my side I would do what I had to do. "Then what?"

I was suddenly pulled towards Alice's mind, who was watching a vision unfurl behind her eyelids. Screams, frantic sounds, a loud snarl and an emaciated face with a moustache inside a damp rundown cabin, and an outraged roar as the silhouette was roughened to stand by blurry forms. "They'll pay for this, and you'll be on the first row to watch!"

I emerged from her vision with a loud gasp, and Edward's grip around me, which had slackened since my meltdown, tightened once more. His thoughts were jumbled, but laced with fury against our despicable enemies and worry for me. I was just stunned. The nightmare was starting.

"Then Charlie joins the party, and we fight," Alice said, her eyes sad.

Not much fun ahead, I'm afraid. But we'll see it to the end. And please remember I like a good HEA, as much as possible ;)

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