Chapter 15

SPOV

I wake just as dawn is breaking, and I'm not surprised that the bed next to me is empty and cold. I don my suit and make my way outside to find Bella exactly where I expect her.

"Are you ever going to tell me about that dark blue suit?" Bella asks without even looking over at me.

"I'm on a strike team for SHIELD," I tell her as I sit down in the chair next to her.

"You're not sure if you like it, right?" She turns and looks at me while she takes my hand. "I can tell by the look on your face."

I smile and kiss her hand. "I'm not sure I trust everyone on the team."

She nods knowingly. "You trust everyone on this team though, right?"

"Of course, I do," I told her. "Are you worried about today?"

"I know what needs to be done. I'm just worried about someone getting hurt."

As we sit there looking out at the clearing and hear Tony and Thor begin to stir inside, I pull her out of her chair and onto my lap.

"We sent Natasha and Bruce back to the tower so they can work with Clint and Maria to track down any newborns Edward, Alice, and Jasper may have left in their wake. They can handle any that might be out there, and we can handle Jasper and Edward," I tell her as she sits restlessly on my knees.

"Jasper won't go down easily," she mentions.

"Neither will Edward," I say and turn her body so she's looking at me. "I won't leave your side."

"You'll get hurt."

"We've discussed the possibilities," I remind her.

"I think we said this already during a fight, but I love you."

Wrapping my arms around her and resting my chin on her shoulder. "I loved you during that fight, and I love you more now."

Tony and Thor choose that moment to walk outside, suited up and ready to go, and the four of us head out to the clearing.

"Thor."

"Yes, my vampire queen?" He gives her a slight bow, and Bella inhales sharply.

"Don't ever call me that again, and lose the cape. Jasper will use it to his advantage." Bella rolls her eyes as Thor's cape disappears, and he smiles.

"Uncle Tony?"

"Yes, my vampire queen?" he says with as much sarcasm as I've ever heard come out of him. Bella laughs a little and hugs him around his bulky suit.

"I love you. Stay in the air and use as much firepower as possible. Jasper is quick, but if you can light him up, you can take him down."

"I love you too, kiddo."

"I want you all to know that I once thought this was the existence I wanted—to be immortal. But then I moved to the Tower where you became my family. Where I met my soulmate." She reaches for my hand. "Where I built a mortal life I was happy in and proud of.

"But things change and I believe this change for me was always going to happen. Fate has a way of playing tricks on us. Seeing Edward today and fighting him will be the most difficult thing I have ever done."

"He needs to be stopped, Bella." I squeeze her hand, and she smiles sadly.

"Imagine it was someone you once loved and trusted. Imagine it was Bucky who somehow turned into a monster. Would it be an easy decision for you?"

At that moment, there was no more jealousy or second-guessing. No more trying to justify Edward's end to her.

In her position, I would be struggling just as much, but I was certain her resolve was stronger than mine.

"I'm with you, we're all with you. One hundred percent." Tony and Thor nod in agreement as Bella's head whips around to look out at the clearing.

"Then you'll all die together too," Edward growls as he and Jasper run toward us.

BPOV

"I want Alice's body," Jasper growls lowly to me. He had an even wilder look to him, and I was afraid for Uncle Tony and Thor.

"You know I burned it," I tell him. "It would have been foolish to just leave it there. I'm sorry, Jasper. I really am. But you all have to be stopped."

"I'll kill you myself, Bella," Jasper says as he digs his feet into the earth. "I always wanted to get my hands on you."

"Jasper, no! Stick to the plan," Edward says, never taking his eyes off me. "You can fight with her later, but she'll win. I have no doubt."

"We're all to blame, debutante, so why don't you come play with me for a bit." Uncle Tony beckons Jasper as a snarl escapes the vampire, and he lunges at him, and Thor jumps into the fray.

I want nothing more than to lead Edward away from the others so he and Jasper can't be allies for each other.

"Bella, just admit that you still want to be with me and this will all be over," Edward tells me with an evil smile. "Of course, all of them will have to die so they can't come after us."

"I don't want to hurt you, son, but I will." As Steve steps in front of me, Edward lunges before I can put up my shield to protect us.

The dent that ends up in Steve's shield as Edward punches it is smaller than I would have imagined, and they slide across the dirt.

Edward's eyes grow large as he realizes that Steve may be somewhat of a match for him.

"Give up, Edward. Leave now and stop or surrender to us." I'm all but pleading.

He glances over to the fight with Jasper and sees him being pummeled into the ground by Thor with Mjolnir and Tony setting up to send in a mini-missile strike.

"He'll be in flames in seconds. How many more people are you willing to lose?" I ask him quietly, taking a step closer to him.

"As long I get you, it's worth it," Edward says as he reaches out and grabs not for me but for Steve and locks his arms around him. "You stink of this mortal, Bella. You. Are. My. Mate. You belong to me."

"I belong to no one but myself, Edward. Especially not to you. You abandoned me in the woods. You may as well have left me for dead!" I scream and it mixes with Jasper's howls as Tony and Thor set him ablaze.

They move to make their way to us, and I throw a hand up to stop them.

This is between me and him.

"Let Steve go, and then it's just you and me." Trying to remain calm, I lock eyes with Steve. He looks like he's turning a little blue, and I just wanted him safe.

"If you can save him, you can have him," Edward says, changing his grip to around Steve's neck and taking off toward the mountain that I use for solace, and I was sure I caught the scent of a vampire from just days ago.

"Bella, go!" Tony is yelling at me.

I run over to them. "Handle his ashes the same way we did with Alice. I'm still faster than Edward right now, and I know where he's going."

I turn to face the mountain and see Edward starting to climb the face. "Call Bruce and get everybody up here. I'm not sure what's going to happen."

With that, I take off across the clearing and start up the face of the mountain behind Edward, catching up in no time. When he realizes that I'm close behind him, he drops Steve from his grip, and as Steve falls, I reach out for him and catch him by the arm.

"Are you hurt?" I ask as he grabs on to my shoulders as I continue climbing.

"I might've just dislocated my shoulder, but I can pop it back in," Steve says, panting.

As we near the top and Edward disappears over the edge, an idea comes to me.

"I could toss you up and over the edge, Steve," I tell him as I pause. "It might reset your shoulder, but you need to be on the offensive because he'll be waiting."

Steve presses a kiss to my neck. "Make it count, Bella. I love you."

"I love you." I grab him by the upper arm and heave him up and over the top, and then scramble up and over the edge myself.

Edward has Steve's shield pinned over his neck and I cry out, "No!"

I rush Edward and we tumble to the ground in a heap of limbs and gnashing teeth.

He grabs me by my neck and hoists me up to where the tips of my toes are just barely brushing the ground. As Edward begins to squeeze and twist, I can feel something beneath my feet.

"Surely killing me isn't what you came here for," I say to him.

Struggling against his hold, I look down to see the shield, face down between us.

I start kicking, biting, and clawing at him, but even though I'm a newborn, the human blood he's been drinking has made him stronger than I anticipated. I'm finally able to kick the shield behind me and swing my legs up and around his shoulders.

Steve grabs the shield and throws it at Edward's head, but he flips us both and it misses.

My true mate comes to my side, and we begin sending punches left, right, and center while Edward deflects them. He shoots out his right leg to kick me right in my gut and it sends me sailing yards away while he turns his attention on Steve. In the time it takes me to reach them, Captain America is lying in a pool of his own blood on the soft ground while Edward sniffs the air hungrily.

"We could share him, Bella." He drags my name out seductively, and with the smell of Steve's blood, my judgment is clouded for just a mere second.

I dive for Edward and punch and kick him into the ground. I can hear a rustling from over my shoulder and hear Steve's weak and raspy voice call out, "Finish him."

As Edward tries to pull himself up, I lock my thighs around his neck like Natasha taught me.

"You thought I'd be too much of a coward for this." I lean down to whisper in his ear and venom wells in my mouth. "I knew I'd thank you for leaving me one day." I sink my teeth into his neck and he growls. "The only coward here is you." I twist his head, and it comes away from his body with a satisfying crunch. I hold it by the hair and call down to Tony and Thor, who arrive up on the mountain within seconds.

"Steve!" Tony rushes to him, and I can hear JARVIS running a scan.

"Thor, I need a circuit," I say as I gesture to Edward's unmoving body. He nods and calls down a single bolt of lightning and it ignites the body, and I throw the head on the fire without a single ounce of regret in my body.

As it begins to burn, he turns to look at me. "You need to hunt."

I'm by Steve's side before I respond. "No, I need to be here."

Steve's breathing is shallow, and his pulse sounds so weak. This is bad. How did he manage to injure him like this in such a short space of time? The panic comes over me, and I think back on what we talked about if anything like this happened.

Uncle Tony approaches me. "I'll fly him down to the cabin. Bruce and the others should be here soon so he can help me …"

"There isn't time." I can already hear Steve's heart beginning to slow even more and the blood beneath him seems to be spreading with every second, and for once, the smell isn't captivating me. "You can't die, Steve. Please don't die."

"Bella?" Tony sounds concerned.

"It's a last resort." I press a quick kiss to Steve's lips, and then I sink my teeth into his neck. There's a shout from behind me but I'm too wrapped up in the feel and taste of Steve's blood. I use my shield to help me concentrate, and I pull away from him and close the bite with a swipe of my tongue.

"What did you just do?"

"I just saved his life."