Disclaimer: Not mine

A/N: Thank you to my wonderful beta, Dalloway5906 who took time on this snowy day to make sure my grammar was not too appalling. Which it was, so you should all be thankful she got her hands on this first!

Chapter 3

BPOV

I had noticed the one face in the crowd that was different. His topaz gaze intrigued me, and I found myself wondering why his eyes were unlike the other creatures in the room. I could tell he was trying to get my attention, attempting to convey something through his expression. I had no idea what he could be trying to tell me, because there was certainly nothing good that was going to come out of this. When he made such an outrageous bid for me, I was shocked. Here I was, plain old me, being purchased for that kind of money. I had no idea what was going to be expected of me, but I knew it was not going to be pretty.

My new "owner" made his way up to the podium where the creepy Aro was standing. I figured he was trying to complete his business transaction. I guess I should feel honored that I was priced the highest among the other offerings, but that did little for my peace of mind. The other winners came up to collect their new property and I was stunned to see that they seemed to go willingly with these animals. What kind of voodoo were these monsters using?

Mr. Topaz finished his business and started over towards me. No way was I going without a fight. As I started to look around me for an escape route, I found my wrists locked in an iron grip. My kidnapper had come up behind me and was holding me captive. As he got closer to me I only struggled harder, and when he reached me I tried valiantly to escape. I heard the crunching of my bones before I felt the pain, but as the agony invaded my mind, it finally pushed me over the edge of consciousness.

I could feel the pain even through the darkness. I was surprised that I had lasted as long as I had. My dislocated shoulder was excruciating, couple that with the fear of what was happening to me, and my brain shut down to try and protect my sanity. I could only hope that this was all a dream and I would wake up next to my truck.

In what felt like only minutesI began to hear voices through the haze.

"I think he broke her wrist, and there might be something wrong with her shoulder. I should have done more than just tear his arms off after he hurt her like that," said a masculine voice. His voice was so rich and smooth, like chocolate mousse.

A deep voice responded while a pair of hands gingerly assessed my shoulder. "Yes, her wrist is broken and it appears she has a dislocated shoulder. She must have been in an extreme amount of pain. Could you hear that in her thoughts?"

"No Carlisle, I could not hear her thoughts at all. I have never experienced anything like this in my 91 years," from the velvet voice.

Mind reading, huh this was really turning into something out of a book. I had already figured out that these people were not human, but now it was getting freaky. What was next, was I going to find out they could fly?

"Edward, just so you know she can hear you," a melodic female chimed in. "She should be waking up any minute."

Well what do you know, she was right. I could feel myself coming out of the fog, but I kept my eyes closed momentarily for fear of what I would find. Figuring it was better to face my fate head on, I slowly opened my eyes to be greeted by three of the most beautiful people I had ever seen. There was Mr. Topaz, the highest bidder. He was standing next to a girl that could have given Tinker Bell a run for her money. She was tiny with spiky black hair and was almost pulsating with excitement. On her other side was a blonde angel, decked out in a suit and tie with a stethoscope draped over his neck. They all had the same butterscotch eyes. If it weren't for the pain, I would have thought I had gone to heaven.

"Welcome Bella, we are going to be such good friends!" squealed Tink. "I am Alice and this is Carlisle. I believe you already know Edward."

So Mr. Topaz had a name, and it seemed to fit him to a tee, formal and stuffy. He was standing stiffly to the side with a pained look on his face. If I made the same face I would look constipated, but on him it only made him look even more beautiful. I turned to look at Carlisle, who only needed a white coat to finish my quickly developing hot doctor fantasy.

"Bella it seems that you have a dislocated shoulder and a fractured wrist. I was able to do a reduction while you were unconscious, and the X-ray shows no further damage to the joint. You should wear that sling for a while. I set your wrist and applied a cast. It should be able to come off in..."

"Yeah I know, 6-8 weeks. I have broken this wrist 3 times already." The words were out of my mouth before I could even process them. I had no idea if these people were dangerous, and yet I still could not get my mouth to cooperate and stay shut.

"Yes, that is correct. I can do another x-ray in a month and see how it is healing. We may be able to take the cast off and give you a removable splint then."Carlisle looked surprised at my outburst, but continued.

Well at least I would still be alive in a month. Maybe they were waiting for me to be completely healed before they subjected me to whatever torture they had planned for me. I really wished I had cashed in my V-card with Mike Newton senior year when I had the chance. It would have been better to do it in the back of his parent's Suburban than to worry about what I would be facing here. I was finding it hard to look at these three gorgeous creatures and see them as dangerous. Beautiful exteriors did not mean they were not ugly on the inside though, and I knew it would be in my best interest to remember that.

Alice seemed to be having some kind of silent conversation with Edward, and after coming to some sort of conclusion she turned towards me. I could tell that a decision had been made, but I was not sure I was going to like it.

"Well Bella, now that your injuries have been taken care of, Carlisle and I will leave you in Edward's capable hands." Alice said with a smirk.

Edward looked petrified, like he was the one who was injured and in a room full of people he did not know. No asshole, that would be me. If anyone should be scared it should be me.

"You're sure Alice?" Edward stammered.

They shared another silent conversation and Alice flitted to the door with a smile.

"Yes Edward, all will be fine. You still have not made a decision, but I know you will do the right thing."

Carlisle followed Alice out of the room with a small smile for me.

"You are in very good hands. Try and keep that shoulder still. Edward has some pain medication if you feel you need it. I hope we will be seeing you soon," he said with a pointed look towards Edward.

"Well, looks like it is just you and me. I am so hungry I could eat a lion, any way you could help me with that?" I said trying to break the ice. If I only knew the irony if that statement.

EPOV

I was still reeling from Alice's subjective visions. There were three possible outcomes that she saw. Two left Isabella alive, and one had her never leaving this room. I was not hopeful that the first two would be possible. Her blood was even more potent with us trapped in this little room. I could hear her racing heart and smell her nervous sweat. It was taking all of my willpower not to move closer to her.

She was sitting on the edge of the couch, and I knew she was waiting for an explanation. I just hoped that she would accept what I told her.

"Isabella, I am not sure there is any way I can explain what has happened over the past few hours, but I am willing to try. It seems you were kidnapped and brought to an auction."

"Yeah, no shit. I figured that out all by myself. The question is why, and who are you guys?" She interrupted.

Well, it looked like she was going to be feisty. I felt terrible telling her that it was just bad luck that Demetri had crossed paths with her. If she had only been 10 minutes later getting to her truck, she would be somewhere else and not facing eminent death at the hands of a blood thirsty vampire. I knew it was best to leave the talk of eminent death out of the conversation for the time being.

"That auction was held for uh, people of means, to find staff for their homes." I replied, hoping that she would just assume I was there to get us a new housekeeper or gardener.

"So you are trying to tell me that it was only a room full of people looking for someone to wash their underwear? Yeah I don't think so. You are going to tell me why some skinny chick could toss me around like a rag doll, how a man could break my wrist without any effort and how come they all had red eyes? And I am not taking no for an answer." She looked up at me from the couch with determination in her eyes. We were not going to get out of this room until she had the truth.