Chapter 21

Edward Cullen was upset. Unconscious Isabella was lying, her hands tied on the back seat of his car while he was speeding towards the border of Canada and Alaska.

He hated that he had had to hurt her, but Isabella had gone crazy after they had left her little brother at the gas station. Edward hadn't had any other choice than to sedate her and secure her hands so she wouldn't be able to hurt herself after she would woke up.

Nothing he had said or done had had any effect on her. She had screamed and tried to get away, only getting herself hurt. He was sure her hand had broken again when she had hit him, and she had bruises all over her arms. Her neck looked gruesome after that bitch had strangled her. Poor love.

His beautiful Isabella... Edward sighed. Things hadn't gone according to his plans. His un-beating heart had skipped a beat when they had entered the saloon and found Isabella sitting on the floor pale and holding her bruised neck. He had wanted to murder that native bitch for almost killing Isabella, but he didn't want to frighten Isabella's brother or Isabella, that matter. Edward would have his revenge on her some other time. He would make sure of that. She would suffer. No one hurt his Isabella and got out of it unpunished.

He had thought Isabella would have been more willing to come with him. He had tried to assure her that her brother would be okay. Rosalie or that mutt would be there soon enough, picking him up. Edward was no savage. He didn't want to hurt anybody dear to Isabella. Or so he had thought. But now, he knew that he would kill anybody trying to get in his way in succeeding with his plan. And that included all his family members too.

He hated that he had had to use Isabella's little fragile brother to get to her, but in the end, it had been the only way. Kowing that Rosalie wouldn't let anything happen to a child gave him an opportunity he just could not miss.

He opened the window. His throat was burning, and his body was tense. The sweet scent of Isabella's blood was getting stronger and stronger, and even though he knew he wouldn't do anything to her, Edward could control himself because he didn't want to drain her. He wanted to change her. But they needed to get to their destination and fast.

Ah, beautiful, exquisite Isabella... she would be his forever. First, she would have to be changed, and for that, Edward had chosen a place close to the border of Canada and Alaska. It was a very rural place; there weren't any inhabitants nearby. He and Carlisle had once ended up there on their hunting trips years and years ago when they had first lived in this part of the world. No other family members knew about it, so he didn't need to worry about Alice recognizing the place. By the time Alice might see something and could tell where he and Isabella were, Isabella would be like them.

He would probably have been more sensible if he had chosen somewhere else, somewhere any of them hadn't been before, but he was sentimental, incorrigible romantic. He smiled; oh, Isabella, you will be so loved... eternally worshipped. He wanted the place where he turned Isabella to mean something to him. He wanted it to be where he and Isabella could come back to someday to celebrate their eternal life together. It had the most beautiful waterfall he'd seen anywhere in the world, and it was said much; he'd seen Victoria falls in Zimbabwe, Iguazu falls in Brazil, Angel falls in Venezuela, Dudhsagar falls in India. He'd seen them all.

It wasn't the size of the place or the grandeur of the surroundings but the way the water cascaded through the eternal … eternal like their love … granite to the incredibly crystal-clear hot pool. Isabella would be warm in the water. Her cream-colored skin would look exquisite when submerged in the green hue liquid. She would look like him even before the change.

The place was special because it was on that spot where he had realized he loved Isabella and wanted her to be his forever. He'd been there contemplating his existence and what he wanted when the realization had hit him like a ton of bricks: Isabella was his future. It was also close to Vancouver, where they'd met. It was hidden from the people, so isolated that no one had probably ever visited the place apart from him and Carlisle. Edward had been keeping an eye on the place for quite some time now, and not once he'd seen anybody there.

They would go swimming while she was still human. Edward would make love to her when he would bite her swan-like white neck. It would be beautiful. It would be eternally … amazing. Ah... He started to palm his erection. He could hardly wait to get his manhood into Isabella's warm moist ...

"Edward, please. I need to go back to Ben. He is scared, and if he doesn't get home soon, he might die," Bella's broken voice dragged him out of his musings. He was almost irritated being interrupted; he loved his fantasies about her; they've kept him entertained for months.

Her voice sounded dreadful, but Edward didn't have to worry if her vocal cords were damaged; she would heal in the transformation. Edward shivered, thinking about her new voice after the change. It would be arousing, amazing, sexy, eternally … beautiful. And that beautiful mouth would do wonderful things to his body, things he'd seen her do to the mutt... Edward moaned, palming himself; he could almost feel Isabella's hot mouth on his penis...

"Please, Edward," Bella rasped.

Edward sighed.

"Love, your brother will be all right. I'm sure they have taken him home by now," Edward said softly, "We've been driving for five hours now. He's home."

"Why are you doing this? I want to go back home. Paul needs me," Bella's voice cracked even more.

Edward had realized that something had happened to the imprint bond between that dog and the native bitch. The bitch's mind had been too confusing for him to read, but the way she'd mumbled, 'not broken cannot be broken, Paul, you're mine. You're mine.' while they were rescuing Isabella, it seemed that it had indeed broken. But Isabella didn't have to know that, not that it mattered if she knew or not. The mutt didn't matter.

"No, you don't understand, my love. Paul can finally accept the imprint now that you are away here with me. He'll get his strength back and can be one of the strongest of the wolves again. He'll be happy with that woman destined for him. It is good for him that you left, surely you can see that. It's good for the whole pack and the tribe. You don't belong there. You belong with me."

"No, Edward. I belong with Paul, he loves me, and he doesn't want his imprint. Please, Edward. Let me at least call Paul and ask if he has Ben. I need to know Ben is alright, and I need to tell Paul that I love him. He's weak. He needs me."

Edward was starting to get pissed. He hated that his eternal love was pining for another man. Didn't she understand they belonged together? They were meant to be. Their love was written in the stars. The angels sang their eternal love.

"No. You don't contact him or anyone else. I'll call your mother later tonight and ask if Ben is home."

Isabella didn't say anything. Edward saw in the rear mirror that she was sitting now, her eyes closed. She looked very pale and tired. Her usual beautiful blush was gone.

"Love, you almost died. If Rosalie hadn't been there in time, you would be dead. Your life is too precious to be surrounded by people who want to harm you. You should hear what people think about you."

Edward had spent time around the saloon where that bitch worked and around anybody who knew Isabella, and he was able to get close enough to hear their minds. He'd been graving to get information about her, anything he could listen to from anybody's mind. And what he had been able to hear was very upsetting. It mainly was envy that women from the reservation felt towards Isabella. Women wanted what Isabella had: Paul Lahote. Some women envied her career and talent, and beauty. Young unimprinted boys were lusting over her. Only a few friendly thoughts.

But there was also pure hate. Edward couldn't understand that. How could anybody hate someone so sweet and innocent as Isabella? Especially the imprint on the future chief of the tribe was a nasty piece of work.

Naturally, people living and visiting Isabella's home in Forks felt differently about her. He especially liked to hear her uncle's Patrick thoughts. There was a lot of love and admiration and music. Patrick knew, as did he, that Isabella was destined for something big when it came to music. And he was the best person to help her to achieve it.

"What did you say? What do people think about me? How would you know what people think about me?" Isabella asked.

"I can read people's minds, all people except yours and your brother's." That boy was another mystery. He hadn't felt such an aura around anyone before. He'd thought if Isabella would like him to be changed as well, to be with them after he'd grown up.

"What?! This is bullshit. Are you trying to tell me that you hear people's thoughts and that you've heard Paul's and he doesn't love me? Is that it? Is that what you are trying to tell me. Answer me!" She was almost shouting now. Her poor voice sounded so bad. She must be hurting. Poor Isabella.

He had actually thought about saying something like that, but it was obvious Isabella wouldn't believe him. He's been in that mutt's head, and saying he didn't love Isabella couldn't be further from the truth. He could almost say that the mutt's love rivaled his feelings. Almost.

"No, my love..."

"Don't call me that!" Isabella shouted, "I'm NOT your love! Who the fuck you think you are treating me like this?"

Edward gasped; his Isabella didn't use that kind of language.

"Now, Isabella please..."

"Don't call me Isabella either. I'M BELLA! My name is BELLA!"

"There is no need to use so coarse language. That is not who you are."

"You don't know me, Edward," Isabella spat his name with so much hate in her voice that it made him cringe; things really hadn't gone as he had hoped. "If you would, you wouldn't do this."

Edward didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything.

They were both silent for a while.

"Where are you taking me?" Isabella broke the silence.

"To the place that is one of the most beautiful places in the world," Edward answered.

"Please, Edward. Let me go. I don't love you! I don't want to become like you. Surely you want someone who loves you." Isabella was sobbing now, and it tore his heart out, although he knew she would be okay once turned, more than okay. The life he could offer her would be full of love and luxury, adventure and music. The music they would be making together.

He couldn't understand how his thrall wasn't working on Isabella. He'd allured women before, just to see if he could, and they had all been ready to do whatever he had asked them to do. He had never wanted anybody sexually before, and he was still pure. He'd been waiting to find the right one for him, and now that he had, he couldn't make her love him. Oh, Isabella, why?

He hadn't thought that he would have to take her by force. It did ruin the romance. But he wanted to feel her warm human body before he'd changed her. But was his original plan going to work? Isabella wasn't going to co-operate with him. What was the use of trying to make their first time and her change memorable and romantic if he was the only one feeling the romance?

He glanced in the rear mirror and saw Isabella crying silently.

"My love, we will be happy together. Just wait and see."

Bella's big brown eyes and pink lips curved into a beautiful smile were the only things Paul saw when he closed his eyes. He leaned back in his seat, took a deep breath, and let it out. Paul was angsty and wanted to get out of the car, so he could phase and run. He needed to run. The wolf was growling and aching to get out. He knew his mate was in danger, and he needed to rescue her, to kill the fucker who took her.

"How are you holding up?" Sam asked.

Paul just shrugged. He was fucking terrified. They didn't know if Bella was still alive, and they had to trust a bunch of leeches to get her back. He was on the edge of losing his fucking mind.

"Just peachy," he muttered.

Rosalie had told them that the fucker was taking Bella to the location close to Canada and Alaska border. It was a place that the fucker and the dr. Leech had found 80 years ago. The pixie had seen the place, the fucking leech could see what people were planning to do, and the doc had recognized the site.

How the motherfucker could be so fucking stupid to take Bella to the place his family members would know was beyond him, but he was fucking happy he was just that stupid. Now they at least had a chance to save her before it was too late. The plan was to drive to the location where they could continue by foot. Running would take them there faster, and there were no roads leading to the place anyway. It was somewhere middle of fucking nowhere.

The seer had seen the fucker carrying Bella, and she had looked lifeless in his arms. That is what she had told them. It had to mean the fucker was going to sedate her. The mere idea made him growl.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Thinking what the fucker is going to do to Bella. He's going to inject some shit into Bella to make her go with him. I'm fucking scared he'll hurt her badly. That we won't get to her before it's too late."

He started to shake. He closed his eyes and took deep, long breaths to ease the angst. His insides were tied into knots, and he felt like vomiting.

Sam just nodded. They've been reticent on their drive, both deep in their thoughts. They were past Vancouver now and had been driving for almost three hours since they last stopped to get some food and gas. Two cars were driving before them. The blonde's mate drove the other one, and the blonde was there with him. In the other car, there were three leeches: the doc, the pixie, and its scarred mate.

Paul's phone buzzed. He answered.

"20 more miles, and then we'll leave the cars. Are you ready to go save your girl?" The blonde asked.

"How long is the run?"

"It depends how long it takes for you mutts to run over little hills on the way. There is also some water we need to go around since you don't swim. We need to follow Carlisle since he's the only one who knows where we are going. But he's fast like we all are."

The Canadian coast mountains were a bit more than little hills, but they would manage them.

"Can you guess?"

"Two to three hours, maybe four if we don't need to stop to rest."

Paul ended the call. Max five hours, and he would hopefully see still breathing and living Bella and get to kill that motherfucker. He didn't have a fucking clue what they were going to find. And what if the fucker had changed his mind and taken Bella somewhere else. The pixie said she would see his plans now that she had an idea of what he was planning. Edward could not conceal his plans anymore from his sister. He fucking hoped the pixie was right.

Finally, they came to the spot where they could continue by running. Sam and Paul would phase.

"Show us the way, doc," Paul said. "And you know that I'm going to kill your precious boy, right? I'm going to shred him into pieces. No matter what had happened to Bella, he will burn!"

The doc only nodded and started running. Paul and Sam tied their shorts around their ankles and phased.

The game is on! Paul yelped and leaped to follow the leeches.