Okay, so, I wasn't going to be doing AN in this story, but since it's been asked so many times, I'll give the rundown on the Cullens.

Jasper, Alice, and Emmett are still in the dungeon as they were the ones that actually killed James. In order to keep Bella as calm as he can, Demetri gave the instructions to keep them detained until she either grows out of her need of her sire (the eleven month remark in chapter 8), or until he can figure out something to do with them and ensure Bella never crosses their paths while she's still under a year.

Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Edward were only to remain in their cell until they ate the human they shared it with. There was a four day time jump between chapter 8 and chapter 9, though that was a passing statement that could have been missed, during which time they did kill and feed from their respective human; mostly to avoid having more time tacked onto the back end of their service.

They had not been out of detainment very long before Rose got into a fight in the barracks, and only about a day before Edward pulled his stupid little stunt.

I hope this cleared up the confusion, and here is your next chapter.

~Speklez

*X*

A body designed by the Devil and perfected by time not to make a sound when it moved could be heard coming as Demetri traverse the halls. Not a word was uttered by those he passed. No one wanted those pits of black fire directed at them, so they did their best to become invisible.

The truth was, though, Demetri could barely see.

He didn't know why he was so surprised to find when he arrived at the barracks to deal with an orange eyed freak the room was one short, but for whatever reason, he did think someone would have been smart enough to not allow that to happen. Regardless of the fact the guard was a voluntary service, for the most part, everyone knew the Cullens were not there by choice, therefore were not allowed to leave. He hadn't gotten far, only a couple dozen miles into the hills beyond the wall. He would be easy enough to retrieve, because he had nowhere to go.

Demetri's problem was, he wasn't dressed for a cross-country run in the middle of the afternoon, and he was exceptionally pissed off he was going to have to make one once he changed.

As the tracker approached the broken doors to the Elite wing, he paused, looking over Alec's shoulder as the twin went about removing the broken panel so he could replace it. He then shifted his eyes to the doors themselves, the one to his left hanging from a broken hinge.

Shaking his head as he dropped a screw, Alec glanced back Demetri. "It gets worse the further you walk down the hall." He knew the man behind him had the details of what happened by now, he just wasn't stupid enough to ask for them. Returning his eyes to the broken panel, he lightly cleared his throat. "She okay? She looked really upset when she passed by."

He blinked when he got yet another surprise in the way of finding out Bella was actually where she was told to be. Still, he nodded. "Barely, but yes; she's fine."

Going back to removing screws, Alec tilted his head. "Did you kill him?" He could smell Edward, though it was buried under a lot of other scents.

Growling low, he crossed his arms. "Not yet. The coward ran like a little bitch, and now I have to go hunting."

Alec cringed at the tone that took over his boss' voice, and he leaned to the side as Demetri entered the hall. "Do you want me to keep an eye on her while you're gone?"

Pausing, Demetri turned half way back, his hands clasped behind his back. "Yes. If one of them is stupid enough to pull something so utterly foolish, I'm positive the others are as well." When he saw Alec nod, he turned back to the hall and continued on his way, glancing down at the broken tile over halfway down the hall.

Flicking his eyes to the shattered window, that was his next stop. Sticking his head out, he lowered his eyes to the ground, watching as one of the groundskeepers went about replacing the broken pavement and disturbed grass. Glancing behind him, his lips pursed as he followed the path of destruction, almost able to see it happen, and grunted before turning away and going to his room to change into something more conducive to the time of day.

It was as he was buttoning his shirt there was a knock on his door, and glancing at it, he called for Isabella to come in. When she did, she closed the door behind her, but stayed where she was, leaning back against the wood with her hands behind her. Fixing the collar of his shirt, he lifted a brow when she remained silent. "Did you need something, Neos?"

There was a look of deep contemplation and indecision on her face, but after a moment, she lifted her eyes to him, watching as he picked up a black scarf and wrapped it around his throat. "Can I ask you something?"

Settling the length of cloth around his neck, there was a slight level of agitation on his part at the emotions in her eyes. Picking up his jacket that only went down to his waist, Demetri nodded. "Of course."

Reaching up to scratch her eyebrow, Bella licked her lips before clearing her throat and locking her eyes on his. "Do you know how to fix my face?"

In the middle of shrugging on his jacket, Demetri froze, his eyes closing and a hard sigh slipping past his lips. His movements were much slower when he continued to dress, and his words were clearly chosen very carefully. "I know of one way, yes, but please, Agapimenos, don't ask me to do it." When she opened her mouth, he cut in again. "I will beg you not to ask. In this instance, I am not above it." It was almost helpless the way his arms dropped to his side. "I cannot deny you, and I cannot do it."

Biting her lip, Bella nodded as she pushed herself off the door and finally made her way into the room. When she reached his bed, she leaned against the side of the foot board, and crossed her arms, looking up at him through her lashes. "Would you let someone else?"

It was the look in her eyes that gave her away.

Sighing, Demetri took a seat on his bed, leaning back on his elbows and propping a foot on the mattress. An expectant look settled on his features as he tilted his head. "What was Caius' ruling, Neos?"

Cringing slightly at the tone, Bella rubbed her face along her shoulder and cleared her throat, speaking as quickly as she could but still able to be understood. "All war crime charges forgiven but one year for impersonation of a guard in a position of your choosing."

Bingo. Giving nothing away with his expression, Demetri looked at his nails, knowing the answer before it was asked. "And what was the position of my choosing, Isabella?"

There was a clear gulp from the female, but she answered. Putting her hands up, she licked her suddenly dry lips. "Okay, hear me out."

Looking her dead in the eyes, Demetri smirked. "Oh, believe me, you have my full attention."

Moving away from the foot board, Bella also took a seat on the bed, pushing herself back and turning her body to face Demetri as she crossed her legs. "I thought a lot about what happened earlier, and the truth is, I am at a huge disadvantage. Things wouldn't have gone down like that if I could open my mouth. I could have bit him and gotten free without getting a full case of the heebie jeebies."

Letting out a breath as she again cleared her throat, she looked around the ceiling, searching for the words, and looking back at Demetri when she had them. "I know why you didn't tell me you knew what to do to undo what happened."

That was where Demetri cut in. Pushing himself to his hands, he shook his head. "No, that isn't possible, and if you are under the impression someone can fix everything, you are under the wrong impression."

Bella also shook her head. "Oh, no... I know that." Pointing directly to the hole, she circled her finger around it. "I meant undo this."

Pressing his lips together, Demetri grunted. "Can't do that either, Psihi Mou. The bone? Sure, that can be fixed. But, unless you want to sacrifice a different part of your body to act as a graft, it won't do much. You'll still lose too much venom through the hole, and the healing will still be very slow."

Sucking her bottom lip into her teeth, she lowered her eyes before shifting and pulling the piece of her sire out of her back pocket, and presenting it to her guardian. "What about this?"

Seeing a piece of vampire flesh in his female's hand, he misunderstood where it came from, and growled hard enough to actually vibrate the bed he was still laying on. Sitting up and plucking the stone from Bella's hand, his lips pulled from his teeth. "I'm not just going to kill him. I'm going to do so much worse."

Shrinking back, just because she felt that growl in her own bones, she swallowed hard. "It's not what you think." When black eyes locked on hers, she let out a slow breath. "That's what Peter risked his life and sacrificed his freedom for." Lowering her eyes, she looked at the skin in Demetri's hand, her voice going soft. "That's... that's all that's left of James."

Brows shooting to his bangs, Demetri, completely caught off guard, blinked. "This is your sire?" He watched as Bella wrapped her arms loosely around her stomach, nodding in face, shallow dips of her head.

Picking up the skin from his head, he looked at it with a new light. Holding it between his thumb and side of his forefinger, he hummed in his throat. It was his venom in her veins, and if this really was his skin, it would fuse to her without any problem at all, and be rejected after her venom became her own.

Pushing himself to his feet, he pulled the scarf from his neck, and tossing it on his bed. Sweeping past Bella, he slipped the piece of her sire into the pocket of his jacket. "Come with me." He heard her scramble to follow, and he didn't pause for her to catch up. He also didn't pause when he left the hall, only told Alec it was break time and to come with him as well.

Dropping the pliers in his hand, Alec stumbled once, but caught up quickly enough, fall into step with Bella, who was two steps behind Demetri. He looked at her, his expression asking what was going on, to which she shrugged with her own look of confusion.

Demetri said nothing to either of them as he led the way back down to the catacombs, and still didn't explain himself as he pointed to a room Alec knew well enough. It was where changing humans were put, and he actually bulked when he was told to wait there with Bella.

That was point Alec couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer, and actually skirted the hall to get in front of Demetri to block his path. Once he did, the twin crossed his arms. "What the hell is going on, Dem?"

Pushing past him, Demetri glanced back as he banged on the metal door that had seen a lot of use lately. "I'll let you know in a minute."

Before Alec could say another word, Demetri vanished inside, leaving him to growl in his throat as he walked backwards. "Sometimes that guy is such an asshole." Shaking his head, he reached above the door for the key to the room he was pointed to, unlocking in and moving to the side once it was open to allow Bella room to enter as well.

Standing outside Peter's cell, Demetri pulled out the piece of his charge's sire, tapping it on the bars, which caught Peter's attention. Cocking a brow, he held the flesh up and narrowed his eyes. "Where did you get this?"

Peter closed his eyes with a sigh, though he didn't move to get up. "Had it for bit. Her sire and I went a few rounds few years back." When there was no response for a moment, Peter cracked an eye open, seeing the tracker looking at him with a tilted head and a thoughtful expression.

Humming in his throat, Demetri curled his tongue behind his teeth. "Why did you bring it?"

Peter just lifted a shoulder. "Seemed like the right thin' ta do. No need ta make a lady suffer for thirty years if it ain't necessary."

Knowing a lie when he heard one, Demetri waited another moment, weighing his options before, not taking his eyes off Peter, calling for Carlos. He would bide his time on calling the man on his lie because currently, there were other things that needed seen to. When he got the expected answer, he took a step back. "Open it."

Those two words set a rock in Peter's gut and his lip curled. "You gonna hit me again, aintcha?"

A very cruel smirk pulled at Demetri's lips. He crossed his arms, tapping the piece of James on his bicep as Carlos appeared in his line of view to do as he was told. "Time will tell."

Once there was no safety net between him and Demetri, Peter got very nervous. Even with his intuition, it was impossible to know what kind of mood the vampire in front of him was in, and what it was he was going to do. It's what made the tracker so dangerous. Besides his speed and fighting ability, he was completely unpredictable, and that made for a very volatile mother fucker.

Demetri, however, decided to reserve judgement for the time being. At this point, what happened was up to Peter, so all he did was turn away, crooking a finger to tell the Captain of legend to follow him.

It wasn't until they were in the hall and the door to the block was shut Demetri turned to look at Peter, his face still blank. "Here's the deal. You owe... Oh, about seven centuries worth of service for your crimes against our race."

Peter crossed his arms and nodded once. "I know it. Willin' ta do it, too."

Cocking his head to the side and turning it slightly, Demetri hummed. "Are you? Seven hundred years away from your mate? Even for one such as us, that is a very long time."

Growling low in his chest, Peter pointed a finger at Demetri. "You stay the fuck away from her, ya hear?"

Face expressionless, Demetri merely snapped his teeth at the finger in his face. He crossed his own arms as Peter jerked his hand back. "Shut up. You have no ground to stand on, and no bartering tool in which to use to weasel your way out of your situation. I said there was a deal, but if you wish to hear it, you would be wise not to make such ridiculous threats. I promise you will never see your Tessoro again."

Giving Peter a moment to make his choice, Demetri continued once it was clear he was going to keep his mouth shut. "Isabella has been very busy since she left your company, advocating on your behalf. This is where you should pay close attention. Somehow, she was able to convince Master Caius to reduce your sentence down to a singular year, doing a very specific job."

There wasn't a need to elaborate on that, he got the jist. Reaching across his throat, Peter scratched at the back of his jaw with his thumb, one eye crinkled and his lip slightly curled. "Six hundit and ninety- eight years relegated ta community service? You shittin' me." When Demetri shook his head, Peter crossed his arms. "I'ma regret this, but what I gotta do?"

A very similar smirk from inside the cell block pulled at the tracker's lips as he held up the piece of James between his fore and middle fingers. "I'll give you a guess."

Eyes snapping from the piece of vampire skin, the tracker, and the open door up the hall, his eyes finally fell back on Demetri and he shook his head. "That ain't just a naw; that a hell naw. I don't do that shit no more."

Demetri merely lifted a shoulder, the corner of his lips turning down, clearly saying he didn't care which way the decision was made. He just leaned against the wall, propping his foot up and looking at Peter with a grin. "It is, of course, your choice. I'm sure I can figure out something to do with you for next near millennia. Though, I suppose that is getting a little ahead of myself. That would depend on if you live through the next two minutes."

Jerking his head back, Peter's face pinched. "Why ya say that?"

Grin growing, Demetri chuckled. "Because you are going to be the one to tell her no, and after everything she went through on your behalf? God speed, Captain." He watched as Peter cut his eyes back to where he left Alec and Bella, seeing the war behind his eyes. Clicking his tongue, Demetri tilted his head to the side. "Perhaps you should use this as a lesson on why it's so important to stay out of the affairs of others."

Peter's entire face pinched as if he smelled something god awful, and grunted. "Yeah... I ain't ever been good at that."

Running a hand down his face, he took three steps toward the room, pausing when the little lady came into sight. She was sitting on a slab in the middle of the room, her head turned to look at Alec and away from the door, giving him a full view of damage. It was certainly extensive, but it wasn't actually as bad as some of the injuries, or punishments, he's dealt with in the past.

Glancing back, he then looked at Demetri, a frown coming to his lips. The tracker wasn't looking at him either, his eyes cast to the ground. Over his life, Peter has seen the best and the worst of the vampire race, and the son of a bitch five feet from was firmly among the latter. Looking at him right now though, Peter actually had to ask himself if that was as true as he thought.

The man absolutely had all the hallmarks of 'don't fuck with me'; the explosive, hair-trigger temper paired with the unpredictable actions that followed the loss of said temper would be enough to get just about anyone to lose control of their unworking bladder. He also had a completely lack of care for anyone or anything outside a very select few, A level of personal confidence that would choke a damn horse, and the ability to make someone thank him for being told to go to hell.

He also never went out of his way to hurt someone; he was just really good at it. Bad news always tends to travel further than good or neutral, so you always hear about death before mercy. Harming someone was never needlessly, either. The tracker was so genetically superior to others, he literally did not make mistakes. He never tracked down the wrong person, he never harmed someone that didn't actually deserve it, he never used excessive force against someone who couldn't defend themselves, and he never allowed a male to harm a female in anyway unbecoming of what he considered a gentleman. He had his own set of rules that ran in tangent with the laws decreed by Aro, and may the Devil help someone that broke any of them.

Peter had no idea how the fuck Aro convinced this vampire to hear his word as gospel all those centuries ago, but Peter knew, at least at one point, Demetri actually did believe whatever it was he had been told. There was either a personal experience to back it up, or his presence hasn't always been as voluntary as the tracker thought. Peter was positive Aro deserved to have his ass handed to him on a silver platter many, many times over the years, but it wasn't until Isabella came into the tracker's life he did it, and that struck Peter as very odd.

Vampires were creatures of habit, and if they do something for as long as Demetri has, it does become a part of who they are. However, they were also self-serving assholes, and that was one characteristic that was exclusively absent from this particular vampire's personality. Peter was bigger than Demetri was, but that didn't stop the smaller vampire from doing what instinct said was a very bad idea. But, he wasn't making thinly veiled threats on his own behalf, they were on the part his intended mate; the one person on the planet a male will lay his life down for.

Peter's lip curled as he cut his eyes back to the infant. Something wasn't right with this picture. When he left Char to come to Italy, he was listening to the voices in his head, something he learned was very dangerous not to do, but he had never been given the reason behind it. He wasn't being told to go there for Jasper, which was surprising. He was told to go because of this little one, and he still wasn't sure why it was. The voices didn't either, but they were screaming in the back of his mind, demanding he figure it out, and before it was too late. Demetri trained killers, and while Peter was positive he could take no small number of them on his own, if someone got their hands on the infant?

Growling in the back of his throat, Peter turned back to Demetri and snatched the piece of vampire skin from the tracker's extended hand. "Fine, I'll do it, but your ass ain't gonna be here for it. If I'm dealin' with her, I ain't gonna have the ability ta deal with you, too."

Pushing himself off the wall, Demetri took no issue with his words. It was the reason he had gotten him out of his cell in the first place. He knew he wouldn't be able to anywhere near the screams without doing something, and there wasn't anything he could really do. Crossing his arms, the tracker nodded. "Deal; I'm late for a hunt as it is."

Peter blinked at how easy that was, though the look in Demetri's eyes was more resigned that accepting. Looking after him, Peter called after the retreating male. "I'ma need help."

Demetri didn't look back. "That's what Alec is for."

Snorting hard, Peter shook his head. "He ain't gonna do nothin' but get in my way. I need the Major."

That got the tracker to stop. Whipping back, his eyes were narrowed. "No."

Challenge entered Peter's eyes as he jerked his head toward the room that held the newborn. "Then find me someone that ain't too afraid a you ta hurt that girl. This shit sucks, you know that. She ain't gonna stay still, and ain't a one a us want me ta have ta do it more than once. I need someone that knows that they doin', and that twin ain't got no idea. She gonna jerk, he gonna let her, and I'ma have rebreak her damn jaw. If that's what ya what, then fine, but you gonna be the one that tells her that."

Glaring in a much darker fashion, there was a growl in Demetri's throat. "You realize he's one of the reasons this necessary, yes? And she wants to kill him because of it?"

A very flat look settled on Peter's features. "Don't let this accent fool ya, Boy; I ain't stupid. I know why my sire locked up in that cell, and his ass deserves ta be there. Thing is though, he done this 'fore, too, and it ain't no skin off his ass. Everyone this done to wants ta kill someone involved in it. Ain't never thought she be different in that respect. She different in the way ain't no gift gonna help that baby through it. She gonna feel it all, and that boy in there ain't got no idea how strong a newborn actually is. So make ya choice, Kid. Am I gonna help her, or am I gonna torture 'er? There a very thin line 'tween the two when it comes ta puttin' someone back tagether."

Turning to face Peter fully, Demetri's eyes actually glowed. "You may strike fear in the unbeating hearts of everyone else in this castle, but there is not a fragment of my being that is afraid of you. I train killers, and I can take on every last one of them... and win. Your reputation may precede you, but I am not even slightly impressed. I have been alive longer than your entire lineage has existed, I can almost guarantee it. Your body count is laughable compared to mine, and if you think I will not add to it, call me something other than my name again; I fucking dare you."

Darting from his place, he crouched down next to Peter, swinging his arm out, and catching the other vampire on the back of the knees. With a shift of his shoulder, he twisted his body around, the flat of his hand on Peter's chest, and shoved him onto his back onto the floor. Giving him no time to recover, Demetri was back on his feet, looking down his nose at the downed vampire as he stepped on Peter's throat.

Eyes locking on the Captain's, Demetri slightly tilted his head, his voice completely leveling out. "You are out here and not in that cell for one reason, one reason only, and it is not out of the kindness of my useless black heart. You have no one but Isabella to thank for this. She has either taken a liking to you, or she feels as though she owes you. I'm not sure which one and I truly do not care which way that particular pendulum swings. She made a request, and I do not hold the ability to deny her. That said, however, you will be soon be little more than a footnote in her life, and if you do not want to become a footnote in the lives of everyone else you know, you would be wise to be very mindful when it comes to how you speak to me on matters that concern her. If I torture for fun, just imagine what I would do with an actual reason."

Bella, who had watched most of what happened, though missed parts of how Peter ended up on his back because of how fast Demetri was, bit her lip as she cleared her throat, catching the attention of both vampires in the hall. "You could have just said no, Demetri."

Giving her a somewhat indulgent smile, Demetri hummed. "Do you think so, Neos?" When she nodded, he then clicked his tongue. "Seems there is a conversation in our future." Returning his attention to Peter, he crouched, putting slightly more pressure on the vampire's throat. Not enough to cause decapitation, but enough to prove a point. Dropping his hand over his knees, he ran his tongue along his teeth before he tsked. "The parameters of this are quite simple. For the next three hundred and sixty-five days, if she is not with me, she is with you. Every time she slips your supervision is a month you will spend in my dungeon when this year is up, so were I you, I would have a word with the resident Houdini about that. If anything happens to her while in your protection, there will not be enough left of you for your mate to mourn." Leaning closer to Peter's face, Demetri lifted a brow. "Clear?"

Trying to swallow out of reflex, Peter shifted in an attempt to alleviate the pressure on his adam's apple. His voice was strained, but he did verbally answer. "Yes, Sir."

Grinning wide enough to show his teeth, Demetri patted Peter on the cheek and stood, removing his foot and turning his back on him, ignoring the 'asshole' comment. Stopping in front of his charge, he sighed quietly. "You have personally chosen your guardian, so I expect you to actually stay with your chosen guardian. When this is over, show him to the room next to yours. I should be back in an hour at most."

Frowning, Bella crossed her arms and looked up him through her lashes. "You just got back."

Licking his lips, Demetri glanced at the ceiling before looking back at her. "I have a dead man to track down and retrieve. Sadly, Psihi Mou, it is an unfortunate truth that you will likely need to get used to my absence." When a clear pout settled on Bella's features, Demetri lifted a hand and cupped her cheek. "I'll make it up to you."

At the statement, something sparked in Bella's eyes as a grin spread her lips. "By not making me go to this stupid ball?"

A rough snort left the tracker as he rolled his eyes. "If I have to attend, you have to attend."

"Well, that hardly seems fair."

Chuckling, Demetri dipped his head, brushing his lips against hers. "I'll make that up to you too, Agapimenos." Pressing his lips to hers, he ten pulled back and gave her a tender smile. "I'll see you soon." Once she nodded to him, he turned back to Peter, who was still sitting on the floor with his hand around his throat. There was a grin on his face and amusement in his voice. "Alec will retrieve your requested aid. So we're clear, when you're done, the animal goes back in his cage. She advocated for you, not him."

Peter just shrugged as he rubbed his neck. "Fair 'nuff." From his place on the floor, he watched at the tracker turned into a completely different guy when Demetri's attention returned to the lady, his thumb gently brushing her scarred cheek before he turned and headed for the stairs. A shudder ran Peter's veins as he actually felt the drop in temperature when the man was out of the vampiress' direct presence. He knew the dude was cold, but damn.

Shaking his head, Peter pushed himself to his feet, giving a smile to the infant that looked at him with apology in her eyes. Before she was able to get it out, though, he held up a hand. "That could've gone worse." When she cocked a brow at him, he actually laughed as he entered the room she was in. Grabbing Alec by the arm before he got to the door, he dipped his head and spoke in his ear. "Don't let 'im in here til I get the lady down. Don't need ta make no problems where there ain't any." Looking at Bella, he smiled at her again. "I got all ten fingers and important body parts. I ain't mad at that."

Bella's eyes crinkled in the corners. "What did you just say to him?"

All Peter did was shrug. "Ain't got no idea whatcha talkin' 'bout. Now," he patted the concrete slab, "up ya go, Little Sugar." He saw the clear 'I don't believe you' look in her eyes, but she did listen, and he grabbed her legs, turning her in a way that when she laid down, she wouldn't be facing the door. "Okay, Little Lady; you know you strong as shit, so I'ma need ya ta help me a bit. It gonna keep you and me safe from the fact I'ma gonna piss ya right the fuck off. You 'member when I said this shit fuckin' hurts?" When she nodded, he continued. "There ain't nothin' that gonna make it better. You gonna haveta stay as still as ya can, or I'ma haveta do it again."

He saw her gulp, but he just set both hands on the slat to either side of her thighs and bent at the waist, looking in her eyes. "Listen real good now, Sugar. You need ta understand somethin'. This ain't gonna do a lot. I ain't gonna be burinin' the whole bone, only the side a it. You gonna be able ta open ya mouth, and you gonna be able ta bite ya meal, but that gonna be 'bout it for a while still. It gonna take time for the whole bone ta fix itself," holding up the piece of James, "which is where this come in. When I put this on the skin, it ain't gonna hurt as bad, but it still ain't gonna be pleasant. This gonna cover the hole and actually keep the venom ya body producing in ya mouth so it can so what it meanin' ta do. You ain't gonna have a lota strength in ya jaw for a while now, so don't go bittin' no one. Someone needs bitten, you let me or ya fella do it. That can rebreak this flimsy little bone, and then you really ain't gonna like gettin' it fixed."

Bella ran a hand down her face at let out a breath, but she set her resolve and nodded again. She was really left with a lot to say on the matter, so what was she really supposed to?

Pushing himself to stand, Peter talked her through what he wanted her to do with visuals. "Make ya hands inta fists, cross your wrists, and lay on 'em, fingers against ya chest." Once she did as she was told, he gave her a moment to shift around into a somewhat more comfortable position with her arms trapped under her, and he crouched to look her in the eyes. "Now, I'ma do this as fast as I can, but I gotta make sure the bone right 'fore I can move onta the graft. Once I start, I can't stop, so if ya got a happy place? I suggest ya go there." When she closed her eyes, Peter hoisted himself onto the platform, crouching over her back.

There were moments in Bella's life she could remember being scared. Not an hour ago she was terrified. In this moment, as she felt her hair slide across her skin and Peter's palm under her jaw, she was damn near petrified. She was vibrating from fear, a whine in her throat. She did heard a quiet 'shh' from the man above her, but she could hear her jaw bone scrape against itself as he shifted it around and into proper alignment.

Right outside the room, Jasper waited, silent and out of sight. He would have much preferred to be left out of this, but if anyone one would have resulted in having to do this more than once, he would suck it up and hold the girl down. He did make a face with Alec's near silent voice caressed his ear, asking about what Bella was about to go through. Glancing at him with a curled lip, Jasper grunted. "Have you ever even been bitten?" He scoffed and rolled his eyes at the answer of 'a few times'. "Then you can't even begin to comprehend what she's about to endure. Just stay out of the way, or we'll blame you if we have to do it again." It was almost said as an afterthought when he glanced at Alec. "And keep everyone else out of the way."

Peter, once the bone was set into place, he cut his eyes to the door, seeing Alec leaning on the frame and, peaking through the gap between Alec's head and the wall, was Jasper. The two had been in so many situations over their time together in south, they didn't even need words. Peter cocked a brow at his sire as he swiped the pad of his thumb across his tongue, and when Jasper gave a jerky nod, he gave one last look at the bone and swiped his venom covered thumb over it, leaving behind a smear... and the reaction was instant.

Her struggle started, and Peter shifted his body, putting all of his weight on her back in the way of his leg pressed down the length of her spine. Jasper had darted into the room, quickly taking up position behind Peter on the slab, his knees in the back of Bella's, crossing her ankles, and pinning down her legs.

Bella, two seconds in, thrashed, jerking her at her pinned arms and trying to get her head out of Peter's hold. He still had his palm shoved under her chin, keeping her mouth shut, and the heel of his other hand pressed into her temple to keep her from turning.

Five seconds, her teeth ground together.

Six seconds, her eyes opened.

Seven seconds, venom actually leaked from the corner of her eye.

Eight seconds, she felt a weight on her face and her vision blacked out

Nine seconds, for the first time in weeks, her jaw allowed her mouth to open, and a scream ripped from her throat that actually shattered the window in the room.

Eleven seconds, she got her arms free

Twelve seconds, she got herself free

At the thirteen second mark, Peter waved Jasper out of the room. The baby was free, and there wasn't anyway that was going to change. All they could do was wait it out and hope the graft took before she had the chance to rip it off.

Jasper glanced once at Bella as he rubbed his own jaw. Had it really been that fucking long since he dealt with a brand new vampire one actually got a very solid hit to his face? It hadn't taken her but three seconds to break his hold on her ankles, and she nailed him with her heel right in the back of the jaw when he turned away to avoid the shot to the nose.

Bella, though, still felt like someone set her face on fire. Curled into a ball on her forehead, knees, and toes, she dug her nails into the floor, leaving deep gouges in her wake. She had stopped screaming, but there was a constant, deep growl in her chest. It felt like it was never going to end, and quite honestly, she also felt as though she was going insane from it.

Taking his time to close the distance, Peter crouched next to the snarling infant. He tried to see if the graft took without touching her, but her hair was in the. When he went to move it, she rounded on him with a snap of her teeth, to which Peter yanked his arm back with a 'Hey'. Her eyes were glossed over, but that didn't stop him from giving her a scolding look. "What I say 'bout that bittin', Youngen?"

When she lunged at him, he sighed. "'Ight," Snatching her out of the air, he contorted his body, slamming the newborn on her back, and pressing his knee into her throat, stilling her pretty fast since it's instinct not to get your head taken off. "We can do it your way." He watched as her eyes slowly started to clear, the vigor in which she growled lessened, and the coil of her muscles loosened. Grinning at her when he was sure she could actually see him, he cocked a brow at her. "Don't bite me, now. I'm just lookin'."

Bella just let him turn her head to the side and move her hair. She couldn't actually make out the words he said, but the most pitiful sounding whine the world had ever heard slipped past her lips when she felt pressure on the side of her face.

Giving the graft a close inspection, he did press on one part, sealing it against her skin. The worst was over, but it would still take another few minutes for the graft to take fully. If she could take that kind of a snap at him, he was confident in the mending of the bone, and in a couple of months, that would be nothing but a nightmare to remember. The piece of her sire would come off on its own when she outgrew his venom and hers rejected the skin as the foreign object it actually was. The other claw marks would also start to heal at that point, but she certainly had one hell of a long road of recovery ahead of her.

She needed to eat, but since she hadn't ever actually done it for herself before, it was something that was going to have to wait. Feeding someone else's intended mate was certainly not his place, and he really didn't want to deal with an already pissed off male over semantics. Something like what she just went through took nearly everything out of an adult vampire, and this one was barely over a month. Until she fed, she was gonna be weak and the closest thing to tired she would ever feel again.

Shifting his position, he slipped his arms under her knees and behind her shoulders, hoisting the infant into his arms and standing. She was still shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, and he hummed in the back of his throat. "Impressive little thing, aintcha?" At the clearing of a throat, Peter turned to look to the door, seeing Alec standing there.

When he saw he had the attention of Peter, Alec tilted his head to side. "I'll show you to her room."

If she could fall asleep, Bella was positive she would. She couldn't remember a time, even when she was human, she was this tired... or in this much pain. Her face still hurt, and it certainly didn't help that was side that was laying on Peter's shoulder as he carried her through the halls. He certainly wasn't killing when he told her it was like feeling the entire change in her face. A very large part of her thought the Cullens, or at least Carlisle, got off way too easy since it was all his fault she had to go through that. If he would have called Aro first and not the wolves, she was pretty damn positive Demetri would have found her before that dog did.

That son of a bitch just found himself on her shit list. She would sooner see him dead than the ones that killed her sire, and when Demetri got back, she had every intention of relaying that.

Peter, laying Bella down on her bed to await the return of her fella, dipped his head and whispered in her ear. "'Memeber this, Little Lady; I gotcha back, and desperate men do stupid shit."

It took a Herculean effort to open her eyes and look back at Peter, who had already moved away and was taking a seat at her desk by the door. She watched as he kicked his feet up on the top, crossing his ankles and snagging the book that was sitting there. She didn't say anything to him, she was too tired. But, she did file his comment away for later evaluation, before rolling back over and getting comfortable. She knew she wasn't going to actually sleep, but that didn't mean she couldn't daydream about what Demetri was doing to Edward, and what she was going to have him to do Carlisle.