Chapter 24 – Run
Edward's eyes tightened around the corners, his face pulling into the familiar hard-set lines that settled into the granite-like plains of his expression whenever there was something amiss. It always left me feeling anxious and unsettled to see his composure faltering, allowing me to catch small glimpses of his fragility. If Edward was capable of weakness, what did that say for me?
"What's going on?" I rasped, my voice still heavy and laced with sleep.
I could tell from the expression on his face that whatever was happening was not something he wanted to share with me. I could sense in his body language that his goal would be to conceal this from me, as had become second nature to him.
I would have to pull it from him if I wanted any real answers.
"Edward? Talk to me…"
He remained quiet, his eyes trained on the window across from us, unmoving. They were distant and absent as he looked past the glass panes, to whatever it was outside he was seeing, or trying to see. The eeriness of his preoccupied expression sent shivers down my spine.
He noticed immediately because he moved his body away by a fraction and grabbed for the comforter that had settled around my feet.
"No, Edward. I'm not cold."
I tried to find his eyes, but he was fixated and intense. My mind began to work through the possibilities.
What could be making him react this way?
It was clear to me that he was on red alert, his every sense trained on the world outside of the four walls of my bedroom; his predator instincts had kicked into full gear. In this moment, he was lost to me as he transfixed on whatever catastrophe was awaiting us beyond these walls.
And it had to be a catastrophe – there was no other circumstance that would illicit this kind of response from Edward.
"Edward, please!" My voice raised an octave as I rocked against him, my body vibrating with the force of my fear.
This served to snap him out of his contemplation, immediately searching for my eyes.
"Everything is ok, Bella. I'm here with you."
But his words weren't the beginning of a conversation as I'd expected. They were a preamble, a warning, a catchphrase meant to assuage me before whatever it was that would come next. I was still in the haze of my sleep, still trying to claw my way out of the fatigue that had set deeply into my bones. I wasn't keeping pace.
Before I could ask for clarification, Edward's hands were wrapped around my waist, holding me against him as he tore from the bed, jostling me around the room with him as he shoved various articles of clothing into my backpack, moving far too quickly for me to register what he was grabbing.
My panic was building in a painful way as I fought against the terror that was threatening to burst open inside of me.
I could think of only one possibility that would elicit a response of this kind from Edward… only one thing that could set him into the kind of silent fury that was waging war inside of him.
Paul.
I choked against the thought, my breathing growing ragged, my heart racing and pounding against my ribs as I gasped for a full breath of air. I wrapped my arms around my midsection, trying to hold myself together as the fear threatened to pull me apart in a most gruesome way.
Edward was here, but I felt completely alone. I didn't know what was happening, I had no idea what would come next. But Edward knew something.
"Please," I groaned out, breathless as the words fell from my lips.
He stopped, the flurry of his movements softening suddenly as he walked toward me, absolute gentleness returned to him.
"Listen to me, Bella. Please don't panic. Everyone is on their way here. They'll be here shortly but we need to get you out of here as quickly as possible."
I yelped at his words, clapping a hand over my mouth as I contemplated where the sound had come from, wondering how I'd made such an awful, gut-wrenching noise.
"He's here…" it wasn't a question. My voice quivered and Edward placed both of his hands against my ashen white face as he nodded.
"We think he might be on his way. Possibly close by. Not close enough yet though – I haven't heard him."
My vision was growing hazy, my eyes clouding and I struggled against the darkness that was pulling me down, down, down. As I fought to remain conscious Edward's lips caressed the hollow of my ear with a gentle, easy reassurance of his love.
"It'll be ok, Bella."
"How?"
"Because we're going to protect you."
How could they protect me? How could they stop what felt inevitable… indestructible… unavoidable?
"How do you know he's coming?"
"Our futures, mine and yours, disappeared. Alice can't see us," he explained, wrapping his arms around my waist as he pulled me against his cold, hard chest.
All rationality left me at the thought of him coming here. The thought of him coming anywhere near Edward or any of the Cullen's. My heart faltered in my chest before resuming it's panicked thudding.
"Go!" I shrieked, my voice filled with hysterics. "Grab Charlie and run!"
I knew the suggestion was irrational as soon as it fell past my lips, but I meant it with every fibre of my being. I wanted him to run away from here, I wanted him to escape this moment. I wanted him safe.
"Bella, enough." His words were gentle, not authoritative or commanding.
And for whatever reason, it worked to calm me.
He folded me against him, grabbing my backpack and then swinging it across his shoulder.
"We have to go, Bella. Jasper and Alice will join us and we'll get you as far away from here as possible."
I shifted against him, my body rejecting the idea before my mind could.
"No. You have to go. You have to run. Take Charlie with you. Just leave. All of you. He wants me anyway. He doesn't care about you, or anyone else. Just me."
Edward hissed, the sound echoing around the room.
"I know you're afraid, Bella. But he's vastly outnumbered. He won't make it close enough to even catch your scent. I assure you, you're safe."
"But Charlie?"
"The rest of my family is on their way here, and Jasper was about to call the wolves. Charlie will be well protected – but as you just said, Paul isn't concerned with Charlie."
I exhaled, long and slow, hoping it would be enough to help me cling to my sanity and stay present in the world around me. I could feel the memories clawing at me, trying to drag me back down under, into their depths until I was no longer sure what was real and what was just a figment of my imagination.
I fought back against the urge to slip away, but it was like trying to swim upstream in the middle of a mid-December storm. No matter how hard I tried to tighten my grip on reality, it just kept fading.
It was chaos all around me all at once, and then suddenly it was calm. An eerie kind of calm that was horribly unnatural and unnerving. I looked at the three faces surrounding me, each belonging to an extraordinarily strong predator, more than capable of protecting me against a frail, human, attacker.
But the attacker they were searching for was not human, he wasn't frail, and he wasn't alone.
The thought caused a surge of panic to rush through my body, which outwardly translated into shaking. My body was rolling from the force of my shaking, and I was powerless to stop it. I was paralyzed by the fear that was enveloping me. Knowing that he was close, knowing he could find me any minute… it was torturous.
I had no idea what kind of danger awaited these three people I loved, not to mention Charlie, who was inside while, unbeknownst to him, there was a convergence of supernatural creatures just outside his home, preparing for a clash that had the potential to decimate everything in sight.
I was glad, for about the millionth time in my life, that Charlie wasn't the most perceptive person in the world. His ignorance might be to his advantage today, for if it would keep him safely tucked away inside of our home and away from the cataclysm that was about to rain down upon me and the Cullen's, he would be a lucky man.
Edward seemed to have noticed my panic because he closed the distance that had formed between us when Jasper and Alice arrived. It wasn't much distance at all, maybe a foot or two, and he kept his body angled in my direction, but it was enough to make me feel uneasy. I was noticeably less tense now that his arm was draped around my shoulders, and I was nestled against his powerful body.
I tried to focus on their conversation, to pick up bits and pieces so that I could understand what was happening, but my mind could not focus. Every time I tried to guide my thoughts and regain control of them they spiralled out of control, opening the floodgates to parts of my mind I had no interest in accessing right now.
And so I floated, unaware and omnipresent, finding comfort in being wrapped in Edward's arms, trying to avoid dwelling on what was about to happen around us.
The murmurings of Edward, Alice and Jasper were growing more and more distant to me as I travelled further inwards in my mind. If I focused long enough and hard enough I could find myself in our meadow, wrapped in one another's arms, our bodies melting together as we basked in an unusually warm summer sunshine of Forks. I could almost taste the sweet nectar of the wildflowers that were blooming all around us, and when I studied Edward's glistening, diamond-like face sparkling in the sun I almost believed it to be real.
It was pleasant. But more importantly, it was safe.
And it was short-lived.
Suddenly, my focus was jolted back into the present at the sound of Edward's voice, low and frantic. I snapped out of my trance-like state and noticed two, unclear and disappearing blurs whirring away in the distance. It must have been Alice and Jasper. Here one second, gone the next.
I felt Edward's arm sling protectively around my body as he folded me against him, his arms wrapping around my waist while he tucked my head underneath his chin. I couldn't see or hear much of anything. But I could smell him, and I could feel the cold of his body as it pressed against mine.
"It's ok, love." He tried to reassure me, but in his voice, I could hear his panic. I could feel how alert his body was, how ready it was to respond to a threat because he was so stiff and rigid I worried he might crack in half.
I tried to find my voice. I fought against the silence that had built up inside of me, trying to push out the words that were on the tip of my tongue, waiting to break free.
"Edward?" It was the most I could manage.
"We caught his scent blowing downwind, Alice and Jasper are following it now" he explained.
My heart froze.
My hands were locked against my sides and my body was vibrating more forcefully now, so much so that I felt like I might have fallen to the floor were it not for Edward's hands holding me in place.
I felt the familiar rumblings in my stomach that told me I wanted to unleash its contents. My head was throbbing and spinning at the same time as I waited for something to give. I wondered if I might black out, because it felt like that was the next course of action my body would take.
There was nowhere to go from here but down.
Down, down, down.
"Bella, stay with me." Edward's lips were pressed against the shell of my ear as he spoke, his icy, cool breath caressing my face. I could tell by his tone and intonation that he needed me to remain conscious. It wasn't a request; it was a demand. It was crucial part of his plan to help us make it out of this alive.
I felt one of his hands pull away from my body and seconds later he produced a cell phone which was pressed against his ear. He started speaking into the mouthpiece but his words were too low and too fast for my human ears to catch. Seconds later he was cramming the phone back into his pocket, wrapping his arm around me once again, pressing me into him so that my eyes couldn't see what surrounded me.
We stayed like this for a few seconds longer, his arms holding me in place while I struggled to keep my consciousness. I wanted to know what was happening but my body wouldn't allow me to formulate the questions that would unveil the truth. And Edward was statue still, not moving a muscle and remaining completely silent. I figured he would tell me what was happening if he could. It seemed to me that my silence was crucial right now, so even if I could articulate a sentence, I realized I probably shouldn't.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed since Alice and Jasper had left, and I was desperate to know where they had gone but I figured it unwise to attempt speaking.
I'd become so accustomed to the quiet of the night that the sound of a low, menacing growl building in Edward's chest sent shockwaves of terror through me. I knew there was only one reason that Edward would make such a sound.
My head shot up and I began frantically searching for the source of Edward's hostility.
"Hello, sweetheart."
My body went numb and my knees buckled, every part of me completely numb to feeling. Edward was literally holding me upright; his arms were keeping me from falling into a heap of limbs on the cold, wet ground.
"Paul." The word tore from Edward in a terrifying growl, but the sound didn't frighten me – not this time. Instead, it brought me some measure of comfort, because this time, in the face of the one that had almost murdered me, I wasn't alone.
"So you're what all the fuss is about, huh?" Paul's voice was just as I'd remembered it, thick and gravelly with an unspoken tone of humour. His words rocked through me, causing an unconscious groan to drag itself from my mouth. I felt the blood drain from my body as I fought to control the unbearable shaking that was racking my body.
I lifted my head away from the safety of Edward's chest, searching the space around me for Paul, unable to look away any longer, my protective instincts kicking in and forcing me to assess the safety of the situation.
Was Paul alone?
Did Edward look worried?
Was Edward's life in any danger?
And where were the rest of the Cullen's?
My eyes finally landed on him – he was about two metres away from Edward, standing closest to the trees that lined the property of my home. His hair was cropped shorter than it had been the last time I'd seen him, and his body looked larger, more sculpted if that was at all possible.
I quivered in fear at the sight of him, remembering with disturbing vibrancy how it felt to have his body pressed against mine, invading the depths of me, brutalizing me as he tore from me things that were never his to begin with.
He appraised me with what appeared to be appreciative eyes, his jet-black irises glistening brightly in the light of the moon. He looked hungry, ravenous. But not for food. His appetite didn't include a steak dinner with a side of mashed potatoes. No, I recognized the look in his eyes, and I knew with certainty that he was hungry for me.
"I 'gotta admit, you look rough, Bella." Edward snarled and I immediately regretted my decision to look at Paul. But I was frozen in place, unable to move, unable to turn away, so I was now unwillingly subjected to the horror of watching his hungry eyes appraise me in a most sickening way.
"Okay, okay," Paul raised his hands in a mock attempt to calm Edward down, "I'm not trying to piss anyone off here. I'm just saying, you don't look so great. I really did a number on you, didn't I?" A small smile tugged at the curves of his lips, revealing the smallest glint of his pristinely white teeth.
"I will destroy you," Edward ground out from between tightly clenched teeth, his hands balled into fists while they were wrapped around my body, resting on the bony curvature of my waist.
"Maybe you will," Paul agreed casually, "or maybe I'll destroy you, and your little play thing over there," he said, motioning in my direction with his eyes.
"You should leave, dog." Edward's voice was menacing and low, every bit a predator as he always cautioned me he was. Tonight, was the first time I'd witnessed the depths of Edward's dangerous nature. It was more than anything I'd ever seen before. It was unlike everything else. Not even the altercation with James had transformed Edward so completely.
The closest thing I could compare it to in my mind was the night in Port Angeles… where he'd saved me a from a fate that would eventually end up befalling me anyway. There was something deadly about his posture, his demeanor and the sound of his voice – he radiated danger, it oozed from him as though it was as much part of his nature as his ability to read thoughts, or his love for his family, or the kindness of his gentle soul.
"You see, I'd love to do that, I really would, but I'm afraid I can't. Not until I get what I came here for."
I felt Edward stiffen, even more, his body seizing up at all his joints as he stood statue still, frozen in place.
"You won't lay a hand on her," he growled.
"You're right. C'mon, bloodsucker. You can read my mind, can't you? You can see that I didn't come here for her. Not tonight, at least." Paul's face was lit up from the grandness of his grin, and the image of him glowing with such joy and pleasure made my stomach churn and my throat feel tight.
He was pacing back and forth, his eyes trained on me as he sauntered casually across a small stretch of space. His demeanor was casual – he looked unconcerned and unaffected by his current circumstances, completely unfettered by the presence of Edward – by the presence of a vampire. And his eyes were glued to me. Each word he spoke was punctuated with his eyes raking appreciatively over my body.
Where were the rest of the Cullen's? Why weren't they here? My unease was building as I tried to interpret Paul's casualness. Why was he so unconcerned? How could he be so cocky… he was alone. Wasn't he worried about being outnumbered? He must have figured the Cullen's were on their way…
Unless they weren't.
Unless Paul wasn't outnumbered.
Unless his plan all along had been to divide me from the only people who could protect me. Obviously, it hadn't worked perfectly, because Edward was still with me.
I realized that Edward's family – my family, were probably locked in a confrontation of their own… fighting off whatever forces had joined Paul in his crusade to destroy us.
"I've been thinking about you a lot lately, Bella. You've been pretty busy this past while, haven't you?"
I was shaking, and it felt like my soul was being crushed into tiny pieces at each word Paul spoke. His familiar voice awakening in me memories I'd been fighting to stow away, to bury inside of myself for that they'd never see the light of day again. And in seconds he'd brought it all back to the surface, my body remembering each second of the violence he'd inflicted on my body with a clarity that made my stomach churn.
I tore my gaze away from his, searching Edward's face, trying to understand what he'd heard in Paul's thoughts that I wasn't privy to. Edward must know by now what was happening, he must understand why his family hadn't joined us yet. Paul knew that Edward could read minds, but he couldn't conceal every thought from him… even the rest of the Cullen's, who were well-practised at shutting Edward out struggled with concealing their private thoughts around him.
"Are you paying attention, bloodsucker? Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Do you know now what you're up against?"
Edward's eyes were wide with shock and horror, a loud snarl slipped from between his teeth as he angled his body so that it was directly in front of my own. His cold arm snaked behind his back and locked around my waist as he tucked my body closer to his.
"How is this even possible?" The sound of Edward's voice, edged with anxiety, sent me into a tailspin of horror. What had he heard in Paul's mind? What did he know that he could not convey to me right now? Something in Paul's thoughts had caught him by surprise, and I could sense the shift in his body language meant he felt there was a real threat to my safety.
I couldn't see straight anymore as the darkness lined my periphery, closing in on the edges, fraying what little hope I had left to hold me in place, to tie me to this moment. I struggled against the darkness, trying to fight my way through it. For a moment, I'd found Edward's face, at some point he'd turned to face me, probably sensing that I was about to lose consciousness.
His face, contorted and twisted with his own fear, began to fade, until there was nothing left holding me together.
Until everything went black.
It was strange, to be faced with the certainty of death for what felt like the hundredth time in my short life. It seemed so clear to me, so unavoidable. And yet, as I lay curled up in the rain-soaked grass, I couldn't help but feel a sense of ease. This, I realized, would be a far more pleasant way to die than the possible alternatives. At least it wasn't at the hands of Paul. At least it would end quickly.
I prayed that my death would mean Edward's survival.
If I could hold onto that thought, I might even be brave enough to contain the screams of terror I felt building in my lungs. If I could, maybe I could save Charlie, too. Maybe if I was quiet long enough I wouldn't alert him to what was happening just a couple hundred feet from his front door. Then maybe he would be spared, too.
There were four sets of eyes trained on me, familiar snarls and growls erupting from their wild, ravenous bodies. They approached me with abandon, moving so quickly it was impossible to catch their faces, to know what they looked like.
I realized that I would die here, right outside Charlie's home. Right on the soil of this earth that had held me and contained me for the best years of my life – the years I spent with Edward. I would perish and become part of this terrain, my blood draining out of me, spilling and seeping into the dirt beneath me.
But Edward would live. His body would survive this ordeal, even if it meant facing the loss of me. I hoped he would persevere and continue to live.
It had been me all along. Never Edward. The imminent danger, the constant threats to my life, the seemingly endless peril that I attracted everywhere I went wasn't connected to Edward or his family – it was connected to me. I was the common denominator. Maybe now with me gone Edward could live without the constant threat of death hanging over him, waiting to rain down on top of everyone he loved at the slightest provocation.
I hoped this would be the end. With me dead, I held hope that Paul would lose interest and move on. I wished with every fibre of my being, every ounce of strength I had left in me, that this would go no further. I didn't want anyone to avenge my death – I couldn't stand the thought of their lives being at risk just to even the score. It wasn't worth it.
Time moved slowly as the four creatures approached me, their bodies just a blur as they fought against each other, each vying to reach me first.
I closed my eyes, unable to watch my destruction approach. I preferred the darkness, the bliss of uncertainty. It was comforting. In my mind, I could conjure the image of Edward, and I could hold him there in my thoughts. He would be the last thing I saw before the life was drained from my body.
I hugged my arms around my waist, sinking further into the sodden grass, shivering as the rain pelted down on me, drenching my already soaking wet body.
And from my lips, I whispered the truest words I knew.
"I love you, Edward."
EPOV
Racing through the thick of the forest, my eyes fully capable of capturing every detail of the surrounding foliage in the darkness of the night. It was not difficult to dodge the obstacles and continue to push my body further, harder and faster.
Paul was fast, but I knew I was faster. He'd had only a minor head start, there was no way he'd be able to outrun me, and this was my chance to end it all – once and for all.
In the clearing near Bella's home, his thoughts had been tightly controlled, but in his inexperience, he'd revealed more than he intended to. Alice and Jasper had caught his scent downwind, but it was a diversion tactic, meant to separate us, dwindle our numbers so that a one on one fight would be his only obstacle to taking Bella.
He worked his hardest to convince me that it wasn't Bella he was after, but I knew from a few moments inside his head that he was completely obsessed with her, unable to think or act in a way that wasn't motivated by his desire to harm her.
He seemed to take great pleasure in that.
It had taken every morsel of strength to hold myself in place as I combed through his thoughts. I fought against the primal desires stirring inside of me, the instinctual nature that coexisted inside of me that wanted to launch at him and tear him limb from limb right then and there. But I could sense that there was something, some element of the picture he was attempting to conceal in his mind, that I could not see clearly. And so, I maintained control, waiting for whatever it was that I was missing to come to light.
There was something keeping him assured and cocky, unafraid and unconcerned with the possibility of losing to me once we went head to head. I could sense that he knew he was naturally at a disadvantage, but this didn't seem to dissuade him. Something was keeping him self-assured.
All I needed was a moment of distraction, one moment where he let his guard down long enough to see what his mind contained. And that moment came when Bella twisted away from my body to look at him. The moment her eyes met his he was unhinged.
He was overcome with thoughts of her, consumed by his desire to claim her and destroy her. His entire universe centred on his need for Bella – his need to finish what he'd started those months ago when he first began tormenting her.
His moment of weakness opened his mind up to me: he wasn't alone. He'd decided to come and find Bella, which created a blind spot in Alice's vision, leaving us unable to predict what would happen next.
We'd suspected that Paul wasn't working alone, but it became clearer to me as I rifled through his mind that he was shockingly well organized. As we stood there, Bella's arms wrapped around my waist, Paul's eyes fixating on every detail of her body, my family was locked in a battle of their own.
Paul, with help and guidance it appeared, had orchestrated an ambush for my family at our home. Alice and Jasper had already been on their way to Bella's to sweep the perimeter and so they were unaffected, but the rest of my family likely fell right into Paul's trap. They could handle themselves against a group of ravenous newborns, though it would likely be a challenge they were well-organized, capable and knowledgeable fighters. They would come away unscathed, I was sure.
But of course, their preoccupation with taking out the newborns would mean a significant delay in coming to our aide, but I was reassured that at this point that Alice and Jasper would have figured out his diversion tactic and would have doubled pack to keep guard of Bella. As long as Bella wasn't left unguarded I could attend to the matter at hand: crushing the life out of Paul.
I was gaining on him, the scenery around me beginning to blur only fractionally, attuning my body to the sheer speed we'd picked up since the chase began. The typical markers of a Forks forest where whizzing past us – large stones and boulders covered in generous swatches of deep green moss, overturned logs and fallen trees bogged down by the dampness of the cool earth that surrounded them, and the weaving stream that rolled throughout the forestry, burgeoning against the trench that barely contained it.
Pulling apart Paul's thoughts was becoming more laborious as I struggled to dissect them amidst the franticness of his movements. His thoughts were buzzing, difficult to decipher and impossible to pinpoint. He was whirring past each thought as it tore through his mind, obviously preoccupied with the chase, his absolute unending thirst for Bella and his efforts to evade me.
But I was gaining on him with ease, my body moving quickly, pressing faster and faster as the seconds passed, no sign of tiring in any of my muscles, perpetual strength propelling me faster still. His head start had proven advantageous at first, but I was pulling forward and there was nothing he could do to distract me now.
You think that's all I've got, bloodsucker? You may be faster, but what good will it do you if she's already dead before you get back to her?
Dead?
In an impossible turn of events I felt my footing falter as I stumbled forward, his words slicing through me as my entire body processed his words in a fraction of a second.
Another diversion.
Another distraction.
This was his goal all along.
To isolate Bella.
To enrage me enough that I would fall for his bait, leaving Bella unprotected to pursue my own vengeful agenda.
I'd left her alone.
But not alone.
No, she wouldn't be alone.
But she would be unprotected.
I wonder if we'll get to watch the show? Hopefully they haven't torn her to shreds by the time we get back. I'd love to go another round with that sweet little body before they suck her dry.
A roar ripped through me and before I could consciously make the decision I was headed back in the direction I'd just come from – back to Bella, praying against all hope that I'd find her alive.
Paul was trailing behind me, laughter flowing out of him as he delightfully weaved through the foliage of the forest, unaffected by his inability to keep pace with me because he knew it wouldn't matter. I had no vested interest in destroying him in this moment. There were other things that took priority over that, my sights were set entirely on making it back to Bella in time.
I focused on the sounds around me, trying to catch wind of her, trying to hear her – listen for her heart. I needed to know how close she was. I needed to reach her in time.
I couldn't fail her again.
I couldn't.
"I love you Edward."
The words fell from her lips, choking out of her body as four young vampires prepared to leap, each ravenous and bitterly competing with the others for first rights to their kill. The sounds of iron jaws snapping shut and the primal cries of hunger and conquest ricocheted off every solid structure within 30 feet, reverberating back to us as though to emphasize the danger of the present situation.
There was no time to think.
No time to dwell on her small, frail body, quivering as it pressed against the sodden earth of the ground that gave way only slightly beneath her thin frame. No time to calculate her fear, or the risk, or the likelihood that we'd make it out of this alive.
5 against 1.
I didn't care about my own fate, so long as I managed to keep Bella alive. If her heart kept beating and her lungs kept filling with air – that was all that mattered.
The odds told me that it would be difficult to make it out of this with both of us still alive. My own life meant nothing if I couldn't protect Bella. I was prepared to give my life for hers. I was prepared to lay down and die, to fight to the very bitter end, just long enough so that my family could return to us and save her.
I would die for her without a second thought.
I'd always held that to be true, and today it was coming to fruition.
Charging full speed ahead my body collided with the solid stone-like structures of the vampires that had circled Bella, inches away from laying claim to her with their venom-laced teeth.
The primal roars that rose from each of them were of no concern to me for I had given myself over to the monster that existed inside of me, unleashing him in his full wrath as I prepared to defend my mate – to protect her precious life and to finally keep her from harm.
This moment was congruent with my most basic needs. It was as easy to me as hunting, second nature and entirely natural to assume my role as her protector.
I barely registered the sound of the four bodies flying against the trees surrounding us. The cracking noise was disturbing, but I was focused on Bella. She was shaking, her body curled into a fetal position with her hands grasped around her legs, pulling her knees to her chest. Her eyes were closed and the distant sound of her humming her lullaby rang through the air. My insides clenched as I recognized her position of surrender.
She'd given herself over. She'd given up. She'd accepted her fate.
She had accepted that she would die.
"Bella!" I called out to her, begging her to hear me, begging her to understand that she wouldn't die here.
"Edward…" she whispered, her eyes still closed and her body still curled around itself. The sound fell from her like a prayer, a small smile finding it's way on to her face.
Before I could call out to her again the four young vampires were surrounding me, their thoughts focused on destroying me so they could lay claim to their prey without interference.
They were young – not exactly newborns, but not seasoned vampires either. They had little self-control, though apparently enough to prioritize eliminating a threat before attempting to feed. They wouldn't be difficult to kill if I weren't alone and if I weren't struggling to protect Bella amid all this chaos.
The movement around me would have been undetectable to Bella, but the largest vampire, and the most well-controlled of the four changed course no longer intent on draining her, but focused now and eliminating me. The others seemed to follow his lead, mirroring his movements with the utmost precision. They moved quickly but with the ability to read their thoughts it was easy to evade them, my body moving without thought as I dodged each of their attempts to restrain me.
I kept my eyes trained on Bella as much as I could, listening for the sound of her heart beating, listening for the sound of her lungs filling with air and then releasing it.
The sounds that reassured me that she was still alive.
I could split my focus without issue until the sound of pounding footfalls reverberating through the forest to brought me to a halt. In seconds my body was flying and crashing into a nearby tree with a deafening thud. My second of distraction had given them an opening and placed me, and therefore Bella, in danger.
I processed what was happening around me.
Paul was close.
And I was locked in a battle with four vampires, each vying to destroy me first so they could lay claim to the overwhelming and intoxicating aroma that was Bella's blood.
I could manage them, I was sure. I could hold them off long enough to keep Bella alive until my family arrived.
But I couldn't do any more than this.
I couldn't keep Paul away from Bella and deal with the bloodthirsty vampires that were surrounding me.
"Bella!" I couldn't conceal my desperation. I continued to shout her name, waiting to hear her response, waiting for it to register in her mind that I was here.
"Bella!" Finally, I heard her stir. I listened to the sound of her heartrate intensifying when she heard my voice.
"Edward?"
I couldn't see her, but I could hear her move. I listened to her sitting upright, searching for me in the darkness of the storming night.
"Bella –" I struggled to complete the sentence as I threw the bodies of the two smallest vampires off me.
She had to get out of here.
"Bella, RUN!"
She had to stand up, and run.
It was her only chance.
BPOV
The rain pelting down on my shivering body was the single sensation I chose to focus on, and the image of Edward's face held tightly in the corners of my mind. These two things, I'd decided, would make this all less painful.
I remembered vividly, the feeling of a vampire's teeth sinking into my flesh, ripping it open and sucking out the ruby, red blood. The feeling of their venom lacing with my blood, and the burning that accompanied it, were hardwired into my physicality now, as much a part of me as any other sensation I'd ever experienced. But I turned over the thoughts quickly, knowing that these weren't the things I should focus on in this moment.
I had to find a way to make it through the fate that was about to befall me without screaming. I had to find a way to make sure as many people could survive this as possible. This would be more painful than what James had done, for it would be the same sensation but multiplied by four.
I held in my mind the memories of Edward's lips pressing against my ear, whispering softly about how much he loved me. I recalled, with joy, the feeling of his stony arms scooping around my waist, pulling me into his embrace as he inhaled my scent, both intoxicated and tortured by the action. I could die here, right now, knowing that he loved me and that he was far away from this, safe from the potential deluge of violence that was about to rain down upon me.
I could be ok with this if I knew he was safe.
But I was pulled from my reverie all too soon, the sharp sound of Edward's voice cutting through the memories that were carrying me through.
"Bella, RUN!"
Edward?
I'd been hearing his voice ring in my ears since, but I figured it was all part of the delusion that I was building inside of myself. I was sure that time was virtually standing still because I'd turned inwards. I was sure that his voice was part of it all.
I was sure.
Until now. Until his voice called out to me and commanded me to run. The Edward in my mind wouldn't tell me to run – he was conjured out of the happiness I'd harnessed in my mind. He was built from all the joyful moments I'd ever known, all of which included Edward.
The voice of this Edward, however, was filled with desperation and angst. His voice was gritty and strained, not at all the carefree tone I'd expected. And so I listened more closely, finally hearing what I'd been shielding myself from.
The sound of thunder crashing around me, the sound of steel scraping against steel, the sounds of trees cracking in half from the power of the things slamming into them.
I opened my eyes and I realized that I was alone. The vampires that had been advancing toward me were gone and I was alone, drenched from head to toe and sinking further and further in the sodden earth that was surrounding me.
I sat up slowly, looking for the origin of the sounds I was hearing. I knew now what it sounded like when vampires collided. I knew the sounds more intimately than I'd ever cared to, the sound of James' body being ripped to pieces, torn limb from limb was at the forefront of my mind.
My eyes scanned the darkness, searching for him. Searching for them.
I began to grow frantic in my desperation, my head whipping from side to side as my eyes strained against the blackness of the night.
"Edward?" I called out fearfully – more worried about hearing his respond than of hearing silence. If he responded, it meant he was here, and he was in as much danger as I was. If he didn't respond, perhaps it was the vampires fighting amongst themselves. Perhaps he was a far away from here, not amid the death trap Paul had set for us.
"Bella, RUN. You must run. Go! Now!"
My entire body froze in place, stunned at the desperation I heard in his voice. The fear and the agony had distorted its usual musical melody, transforming it into something unrecognizable and terrifying.
"Edward?"
"Bella, run!" I followed the sound, turning my body in the direction I'd heard it come from. The picture before me was indiscernible. Blurs of ghostly white figures darted in and out between the grand trees that lined the forest. The figures were moving with such speed and agility that my human eyes struggled to distinguish them from a gust of wind, or the stirring of the trees.
A shriek of desperation was building inside of me, but before I could give life to it, it caught in my throat, stunted by the hand that was now wrapped around my neck.
Fire.
The hand felt like fire. Like burning. Like death.
I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move, I couldn't speak.
My eyes finally adjusted enough to see clearly again.
Full lips turned up into a harrowing smile, jet-black hair sopping wet and clinging to a russet-colour forehead, thick, fiery fingers wrapped around the delicate skin of my throat.
It was Paul.
"Hello, sweetheart."
I wanted to scream, but no sound could leave my body. My vision was blurring, my head spinning, everything growing darker and darker as the seconds passed.
But then he released his hand from my neck and grabbed my upper arm, throwing my body back down onto the ground again.
"Ah, ah, ah!" His voice was filled with pleasure as he wagged his finger back and forth, inches from my face, as though he were scolding a dog, not speaking to a human.
"We can't have you passing out on us now, can we? If you pass out, how will your bloodsucker hear you screaming as I have you again, and again, and again?"
Finally, my frantically searching eyes found Edward. He was a mere fifty feet away from me, on his knees, with his heard bowed, two vampires holding his arms, one with its arms wrapped around his midsection and a fourth with its hands resting on either side of his neck.
"Enough," Edward roared, the sound sending shockwaves of fear through me, "let her go, and you can kill me slowly – as slowly as you'd like. Tell her that. Call her now and tell her that she can have me. She can kill me, or keep me, or enslave me – whatever it takes. It doesn't matter."
Edward's words made my entire body rattle against the soaking ground, but I was at a loss for words. I wanted to object, to insist exactly the opposite, but with Paul's body towering over mine, his hands balled into fists at his side and Edward on the brink of death I couldn't formulate any words.
I couldn't do anything.
"That's cute. But Victoria doesn't care about what happens to you, so long as I make this one suffer before I kill her," he pointed down towards me, a sickening smile overwhelming the dark features of his face, "and so long as I make you watch her suffer. Afterwards, she said I can do whatever I want with you. So I figure I'll have my fun with her, and then I'll let your little vamp buddies drain her. After all, they'll want payment for their work."
Victoria. This was Victoria's doing. Of course. Of course Paul couldn't have orchestrated this on his own. Of course he couldn't have pulled all of these pieces together on his own successfully. He was brutally strong, but he was dim in every other way. There was no way he could evade the Cullen's without the help of someone that knew vampires, and knew the Cullen's strengths and weaknesses.
"Do you really believe she's liberated you from the chains of being a wolf? You don't actually believe that, do you?" Edward laughed, cold, hard and empty. The sound poured out of him easily, but it sounded like he was speaking a foreign language.
"Handy trick… reading minds. That must get boring fast though, always knowing what everyone else is thinking?"
"Not really. I can read your mind, dog," Edward quipped, no longer struggling to break free from the hands that were holding him in place.
"Well obviously, I was counting on that," Paul smiled, moving closer to me as he spoke.
"I know she promised you freedom and liberation… but those were things she could never really guarantee for you. When you're done here, you'll be finished for good. There's no going back now."
Paul stopped dead in his tracks, his lips turning down into a foul scowl as he considered Edward's words.
"You're intrigued now, as you should be."
"What are you talking about?"
"Let her go and I'll tell you," Edward urged, his eyes locked on Paul's with a severity that disturbed me.
Paul thought for a moment, his eyes travelling back and forth between me and Edward. Seconds passed in silence with only the sound of the storm interjecting, disrupting the silence with flickers of lightening filling the sky. Then Paul was standing over top of me, a sickening grin on his face as he grabbed my arm with brutal strength, throwing me to my feet. Accompanying the motion, I heard a pop come from my shoulder and a searing pain shot down the length of my arm.
He pulled my body so that it was flush against his, my back pressed against his front as we stood facing Edward. His arm was snaked around my waist, making it so that there was absolutely no space between either if us, my body merging with his in a disturbing way.
The sound of Edward's snarls and his jaw snapping bounded around the clearing, bouncing off the trees and travelling back, the sound amplified and punctuated by the bursts of thunder breaking through the storm.
"You don't get it, bloodsucker – you have no bargaining chips here. I've got the one and only thing that matters to you, right here in my hands. I could crush her in a second if I wanted to. I could end her easily, without even trying. So why don't you try that again?"
"They'll be here any second," Edward roared, "the rest of the Quileute wolves and the rest of my coven. And then you'll be vastly outnumbered and they'll kill you. You've run out of time. Let her go and I'll make sure they don't pursue you."
Paul stilled, tightening his grip on me as he stood motionless.
He said nothing, but Edward was reacting nonetheless. He must have been saying plenty in his mind, because Edward sounded crazed and desperate, agonized and despairing predatory sounds breaking out from his carefully curated control.
"Let her go," he snarled.
"No thanks. I've rather enjoyed using your little plaything as my own. Have a look for yourself?"
I couldn't stem the flow of tears that were pouring out of me. The cold rain was pelting down on me, my body shivering against the coldness that was pressing its way into every corner of my body. But despite the cold rain, the wind and the temperature I was still burning with Paul's body against mine.
I didn't understand Edward's reaction, his body was convulsing as he struggled to break free from the grasps of the predators that were holding him in place, awaiting their turn with me. His composure was melting away and his panic seemed to have no end and no beginning.
Paul wasn't doing anything to me. He was just standing there. Holding me against him, saying nothing and remaining motionless.
And then I recognized it.
Edward's eyes were fixated elsewhere, holding onto something off in the distance, unfocused. He was absorbed in something.
Have a look for yourself…?
Paul was showing Edward. He was showing him all the things he'd done to me. He was opening the deluge of memories that his mind contained, all the moments where he'd broken me in half, torn me to shreds, ripped me apart, tarnishing me permanently.
Edward was seeing.
He could see now. He knew now.
He would never unsee what Paul was showing him. It would live inside of his flawless mind, recalled with perfectly clarity and with complete ease, never fading or growing dull. As clear 100 years from now as it was in this moment.
I was breathless. I was motionless. I felt nothing. I was oscillating between the darkest spaces of my mind and the darkness of this moment, trying to decide which space would be the best to stay inside of.
Edward's snarls filled the space for seconds longer until they stopped abruptly. I lifted my head up, trying to find his face despite the darkness. I couldn't discern his features, but I could see the silhouette of his body slumped forward, held upright by the snow-white limbs that held him captive.
"Bella…" my name fell from his lips in the most haunting and devastating way.
Paul's fiery hand was resting against my neck as he pulled my soaking wet hair away from my ear, his hand brushing along the length of my jawline in a way that was agonizing and familiar.
"See? He knows now… and he'll never want you again," he whispered into my ear, his lips ghosting over the skin of my neck as his other hand grabbed a fistful of my shirt.
In one swift motion, he ripped the shirt from my body and threw it to the ground. Edward's head jerked up, his eyes fixated on me again. His body went rigid again as he fought against his captors, renewed energy coursing through him.
"I'll be sure not to draw blood this time. It'll send those little vamp friends into a frenzy and they might lose focus before we're ready to let them have their way with you."
"Stop," I breathed out, my body tensed against Paul's.
"Stop?" He laughed, the sound reverberating across the small clearing we were in.
I watched his hand raise above his head, and as though in slow motion it swept down, the back of it connecting brutally with my face. The force of the blow knocked me to the ground. Seconds later he was on top of me, but my vision was blurred and unfocused and it seemed as though the rain was falling harder now, obscuring my ability to see even more.
The weight of Paul was bearing down on me, his pelvis grinding into mine, providing a disturbing reminder of what was about to unfold – of the things Edward was about to witness. I couldn't do it. I couldn't bear it. It was too much.
His hands were on my chest, gripping and grabbing at my flesh before he tore my bra off me, discarding it haphazardly to the side. His ferocity was unmatched; he'd never been this excited or eager before. His audience, I realized, provided a unique element of pleasure for him.
I had to fight this.
I had to stop this.
I could barely make out of the sounds of Edward snarling, or the things that Paul was saying. I wasn't sure if he was speaking to me, or to Edward, or to both of us. The only sound that was truly audible was a loud ringing bounding through my head, overwhelming all my senses.
My hands were out at my sides, searching in desperation for something I could use to disable him long enough to get away. I searched and searched, looking for something – anything.
Before long, I felt his fiery grasp on my arms, pulling them above my head and holding them in place with one of his hands.
He spoke to me now, but I couldn't make out the sounds. I could see his lips moving, and his face smiling, but the sound was indiscernible. He remembered last time too, I'm sure. He wouldn't let me find a weapon this time. He would make sure I was utterly defenseless, just as he liked me to be.
I felt his hands travel down to my waist, gripping me there before travelling further south, finding the tie of my pajama bottoms. I squirmed against him, but it was useless. It only seemed to provoke him further.
"I'm sorry, Edward," I cried out, my body finally finding the energy to formulate words into a sentence. And it was all I could say.
I was sorry.
I wished that the vampires working with Paul would kill me first. I wished they would lose control, and kill me quickly. At least death at their hands would be more merciful, and at least it would mean Edward didn't have to be subjected to this.
"I'll make sure you don't bleed this time…"
Something clicked in my brain then. A realization hit me with stunning strength.
My blood.
If I wanted the vampires to lose control, they only needed to smell my blood.
It could work.
But I had only seconds.
What could I do to make myself bleed that didn't involve my hands?
A brilliant memory filled my mind:
Edward's fingers pressed against my bottom lip, tugging the fullness of it away from my teeth with a gentleness that made my knees weak.
"I really wish you wouldn't do that, love. You're going to make yourself bleed one of these days," he chuckled, a smile brightening up the beauty of his face.
And that was it.
I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth and I bit down as hard as I could.
I tasted it immediately, the copper-metallic taste of my own blood filling my mouth. I could feel it's warmth running down my chin, mixing in with the rain, diluting against my skin.
The result was instantaneous.
The snarls echoing across the clearing had multiplied. No longer a single sound, but a flurry of sounds reverberating all around me, moving closer and closer toward me.
Seconds later the heavy feeling of Paul's body grinding on top of mine was gone. The sound of metal scraping against metal filled my head, blocking out all other thoughts and noises. I tried to focus my mind enough to see around me, to sit upright and to see what was happening, but my body was too weak.
I felt two sets of cold hands grasping my skin.
Vampires.
It had worked.
I braced myself for the feeling of teeth sinking into my flesh, for the inevitable burn that would follow and for the blackness that would surely accompany death.
But it never came.
Instead, I felt fabric being laid against my bare chest. I felt hands lifting me from the ground, I felt the coldness of a stone hard body pressing against me.
I felt two fingers grip my wrist.
And then I heard it.
"Bella?"
I opened my tightly sealed eyes and was greeted by the face of Carlisle Cullen.
"Carlisle?" I groaned, wanting to believe that my mind wasn't playing tricks on me, but I was unable to accept what was standing in front of me.
"Bella, love?"
Edward.
I opened my eyes again and I found his face, inches from mine, his coal-black eyes swirling with a flurry of emotions that I couldn't comprehend.
The smell of smoke filled the air and in the distance, I could make out the faint image of a large fire burning and black smoke filling the air.
"It's over, love. You're safe."
I reached a hand up and rested it on his face, grateful beyond description that he was alive. That he was still here, holding me. That this hadn't gone any further.
"Take me home," I whispered, desperate to know that everyone was safe, but struggling to remain conscious in the coldness of this night and the dampness of the rain that wouldn't let up.
"Charlie's inside, Bella. He's asleep…"
"I know," I explained "this," I glanced up at Charlie's house as I spoke "isn't my home anymore."
Edward's eyes softened in understanding and he nodded, carrying me away from Charlie's home, to the place where I belonged.
A/N: I'm so sorry this has taken so long. Life is busy, and it's been really hard to steal away time to work on this. I struggled with this chapter for lots of reasons, but mostly because I find it really hard to write scenes like this one - they take a lot of time and contemplation for me to map out.
If you're still reading, thanks for sticking it out! I've received from PMs and some reviews recently that pushed me back in the direction of this story. And I promise I won't abandon it, I'm still working away at it, albeit slowly.
If you're at all confused about Victoria and Paul I promise it'll be cleared up in the next chapter. Keeping bugging me and I'll get it out faster! Thanks to those that PM'd and reviewed, reminding me that this story is still here and that I should really stick it through.
xx,
-missmarlee