King Midas Put His Hands On Me Again

AN: Bella wakes from her transformation.

Fire. That's all she can feel, it courses through each vien searching out every inch of her to set her aflame. She could feel it in her lungs as she gasped for every breath, but no matter how hard she tried she could not move, could not speak. She tried to hold onto her memories, recalling her father and his awkward hugs and corny jokes. She thought of her mother and Phil, the times they had traveled together, their adventures together. She grasped for images of her friends from school, the night she snuck out with Angela and Jessica. Tanya, oh god she wanted to remember Tanya's smile, but everytime she tried to bring those images to the forefront of her mind the fire consumed it in flames and made them disappear.

She was losing everything and she didn't know why. With every memory the fire took, a whisper sounded from the back of her mind. 'Master and Mate.' The words sounded seductive and the more it repeated, the louder it got. It sounded wrong to Bella, but the fire was too distracting, those words kept repeating as everything she was, everything she knew was faded and gone. Soon the words are the only thing she has left to hold onto.

Alice sat criss-cross atop the dining room table, eyes closed, brow scrunched in effort as she searched once more for any sign of Bella and Edward. How foolish was she, if she hadn't seen this coming from her so-called brother. How did she not see? Now Bella's life was in Edward's hands, and her fate would be decided in Alice's visions or lack thereof. Three days and she hasn't moved since the discovery that Edward had been the one to take Bella. She was frustratingly aware that he knew how to avoid her visions, but Alice had found a way out of the nothingness Edward had put her in. Edward may be making his decisions on the fly, making it unable to see him and Bella, but in the nothingness Alice found that she could track the void itself.

"Oh Carlisle, how did we miss this?" Esme half sobbed and half growled out as she sought comfort in her mate's arms.

Alice heard Carlisle sigh, "I was blinded by my first born. I'm so sorry, my love. Please forgive me, Bella." He whispers out in guilt.

Rosalie sneers at her 'father'. "How could you not see this coming? You knew that he was pursuing her Carlisle, and what, you thought a stern talking to would straighten him out? We all heard him the night he saw Bella in Alice's visions. We all heard how possessive he was being over a girl he hadn't even met. We knew she was his singer, you should have sent him away until Tanya and Bella bore the mating mark, but no you just couldn't do it even though it was the responsible thing. Yet again, the Coven listens to Edward and not you."

Carlisle takes the hit to his ego in silence knowing his daughter was right and bows his head slightly in Rosalie's direction to show her that he had taken her words in. She scoffed and turned away from him, it'd be a long while before his daughter could forgive him for such foolishness. His greatest sin though, lies with the comatoast blonde in the other room. Tanya was family, and he had done this to her, he had helped take her mate from her by doing nothing at all. Slowly he lets go of Esme, grateful when Jasper steps in to comfort his mother. He smiles softly, regrettably, at Emmett as he tries to reach past Rosalie's shell of anger, knowing she was suffering from her own past just as much as she was dealing with the pain of what Bella could be going through right now.

Tanya's at the large window that looks out over the front of the house. Her face pensive and full of misery as black eyes searched for her mate. "Tanya." He whispered, but got nothing in response. "My old friend, please, I hope you hear me." He starts, running a hand through his usually neat locks, but now an unkempt mess. "I will do everything in my power to fix this. I will fix this. I will."

Despair coated the room like a thick wall that was closing in on them, the weight of it suffocating them like a strong hand was enclosed around their throats. Carlisle could only hope that his son wasn't so lost from reality that he might change Bella. He knew that if Edward was so crazed as to change her, his obsession could easily be transferred through the bite, he had seen it before while staying with the Kings. Though it had been a long time since the Kings have sired someone, in the past Aro made it a point to do so, now they had Chelsea who could manipulate the bonds so there was no need for the strong sire bonds to tie the guard to the Kings. Edward is so obsessed with Bella, he so believes that they are mates and that they belong together, if he bit the girl, Bella would surely suffer from the bond.

Edward paced back and forth in the shadow of the cellar; this was the third place he'd been in an effort to throw off his family, Alice in particular. Bella had stopped screaming hours ago, which could only mean that his mate was soon to awaken, and his mate she shall be. Afterall it wasn't Bella's fault that she had fallen prey to the succubus demon, Tanya had centuries of experience in seducing young women and men into her clutches. He had seen the way Tanya looked at Bella, as though she was worthy of Bella's love. It was laughable to think anyone deserved Bella other than him.

Bella would be the perfect bride now that the sire's bond would tie her loyalty to him. She would think of him and only him, she would listen to him, want to please him and trust only him. He couldn't wait for her to awaken, his mate will be powerful and completely devoted to him; exactly what he deserved. They are meant to be, him with the ability to read minds and her the ability to control them, they will be unstoppable.

His pacing slows as he hears her heartbeat start to slow and become sluggish, it wouldn't be long now. He crouches down beside her as she lay on the cement floor, his eye traces the curve of her neck, smirking as his eyes linger on his bite mark. His hand reaches out, caressing her cheek in an almost caring way if not for the sinister look in his red eyes. Bella's heartbeat grew fainter and more sluggish as he watched on, his thoughts growing more and more menacing as he waited for her to awaken to her new life.

A final pump and then the air was silent, he waited until her eyes started fluttering, and then, red eyes were looking up at him. "My mate." He cooed at her.

He expected a showering of gratefulness and devotion. He expected that she'd submit to the sire's bond, to be completely committed to him alone. What he didn't expect was the ferocious growl that escaped her lips the moment her eyes landed on him. He had no time to react as Bell flew up from the floor, her hand firmly around his neck as she pinned him to the wall of the cellar.

"Bella, my love! What are you doing?" He asked in bewilderment, his hands frantically clawing at Bella's to release her grip, but she was too strong. His neck started to crack with the force of her newborn strength. Panic started to seep in as he realized how much trouble he'd gotten himself into.

Newborns were unpredictable and hard to control, add to the fact that he couldn't read her mind and that the sire's bond obviously didn't work on her, he was in danger. Bella snarled at him as he continued to struggle against her hold.

"Let me go!" He tried to order her. "I am your mate!"

Bella pulled him away from the wall, making Edward sigh in relief, only for her to slam him back into the wall, the plaster crumbling under the sheer force of the slam. Edward groaned.

"Not. My. Mate." Bella growled, her eyes narrowing as she looked upon him. "Take me to Tanya." She looked eyes with Edward as she gave him the command.

Edward's eyes went blank as he repeated her words. "Take you to Tanya."

Bella held him there for a moment, when she was satisfied that the order had stuck, she slowly lowered him back down onto the ground. Then, like a mindless doll, Edward started to lead her out of the cellar and back to her mate.

Tanya was besides herself with worry and fear. Her mate was gone and she didn't know if Bella would ever come back to her. She should have ordered Edward off of her land until she and Bella were properly mated. She was so stupid to believe that Carlisle could control the boy, Edward was stubborn at best and she had put her mate in danger by allowing him to stay. Now, she stood vigil in front of the back window, her eyes searching the vast forest wondering where her mate could be.

She couldn't even bring herself to go see Charlie, knowing how much pain the man was going through right now. She had a plan for changing Bella, one that would leave Charlie with very little pain, but now that was over. Kate and Irina had faked an accident and now the man was inconsolable, and it was all Tanya's fault. Alice couldn't see if Bella had been changed, but it had been four days and in her gut, Tanya knew what Edward had planned.

A sob makes its way from deep within Tanya's chest, her sorrow deepening with her train of thought. "Bella." She whispers in heartbreak.

"Come on Tanya, let's go hunt. You're starving." Irina sweetly says as she wraps an arm around Tanya's shoulder.

She doesn't want to feed. She doesn't want to move from her spot, but she knows that if she's going to fight for Bella she has to be strong. So she gives Irinia the smallest of nods and lets her sister pull her outside and into the wilds behind their home.

The farther they trekked into the forest the more her hunger grew. She had been so focused on Tanya when she awoke that it had been easily ignorable, but now she could smell a nearby group of deer and their heartbeats sounded delectable to Bella. Every now and then Edward would hesitate like he was fighting the push. Bella would whisper to him, keeping him focused and moving forward. She knew she could take him in brute strength, but if he got the chance to make a plan she knew he'd have the advantage with him being so much older than she was.

Suddenly, Edward comes to a stop, tilting his head to the side as though he's heard something. Bella takes in a deep breath trying to center her hearing, it takes her a few seconds but then she hears it. The sound of a dying heartbeat and the smell of blood was in the air. Bella's chest rumbles with a deep growl, her eyes turning black with hunger.

She grabs Edward by the back of his neck and takes off toward the delicious smell. The blood scrambles her mind the closer she gets to it, and as she finds herself losing concentration, Edward starts fighting her control. She bursts into a large clearing, Edward fighting her grip with earnestness now, so she flings him into the field, dropping into a crouch as he takes a defensive stance.

Edward hisses at her, waiting for her to move, but Bella stays still, watching him like he's a trap animal. Bella gives a loud growl, warning him not to try anything, but Edward just smirks.

"I'm faster than you are, my love." Edward taunts her.

Bella sneers at him, "And I'm stronger than you."

Edward laughs harshly, "I understand what I have to do now. If you're to be mine, then Tanya has to be eliminated. I didn't want it to come to this, my love, but you see, you've left me with no choice. If you won't be mine willingly, then I'll make sure I'm your only choice."

Bella's eyes grow wide, and she shoots forward to grab him before he can take off, but she's too late and he's much too fast. She tries to keep up with him, but in a fraction of a second he disappears from view leaving her behind as she desperately tries to catch up with him.

'I should have killed him.' Bella thinks as she does everything she can to reach her mate before Edward.