Disclaimer: Not mine

A/N: Huge thank you to my new readers who have reviewed/favorite/alerted this story. I try to reply to every review, just to let you all know how much they mean to me! Poor Dalloway5906's laptop is being a douche, so you might get an un-betaed update on Wednesday.

Chapter 20

BPOV

He was here. After the horrible thoughts that Corin had put in my mind, I needed the reassurance that Edward was really here. I had never felt the kind of pain that she had inflicted upon my body and mind. While the physical pain of having my heart ripped out was excruciating, the visions she played in my head were beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

Edward telling me he did not want me

Edward turning me over to Aro, saying he had made a mistake ever bidding on me

Edward wrapped around a tall blonde beauty. Whispering into her ear. Her hands stroking down his chest as he threw his head back and laughed.

ANo, I have no idea how I ever touched her. She disgusts me. He smirked as he leaned down and kissed her.

I trembled against him as I remembered the pain. His arms tightened around me as he kissed a trail from my temple to my ear.

"I have you precious girl. I will do everything I can to keep you safe." He whispered.

"Edward, you have no idea what kind of powers these creatures ha"ve. If they find you here..." I could not even finish that thought.

"I can hear if anyone approaches the room Bella. Have you heard any of their plans?" He asked quietly as he trailed his fingers up and down my arm.

"They said I was a shield, whatever that means. Aro made several vampires try to break through it, but most of them were unsuccessful. I was able to fight through one attack, which impressed him. He said I needed to be able to control my gift before he would change me." I said, before turning and snuggling my face into his chest. I could feel his scent calming me but I knew that it was only temporary. He was going to have to leave, there was no way he could get me out of here.

"Edward I really don=t want Aro to change me. Can't you do it now? I would much rather it be you. I pleaded as I got to my knees, pulling on his shirt to bring him up with me. AJust think, I would be so much stronger and with my shield I might be able to get away from here.

"Bella, it takes days for the transformation to be complete. You would be in extreme pain the entire time. As much as I dread the though of anyone else changing you, I just don't think it would be a good idea for me to do that now." He whispered as he caressed my jaw with his fingertips. His eyes were as golden as I had ever seen, almost glowing neon in the faint light.

He was interrupted by the buzzing of his phone in his pocket. I could hear Alice's chirping through the phone and Edward's grunts and one word answers. I could tell that he did not like whatever Alice was trying to tell him. He quickly hung up and shoved the phone back in his pocket.

"So, what did Alice say? Was she able to see anything?" I asked, because I knew if I were to wait for him to enlighten me I would be sporting some serious wrinkles by then.

"She said she saw .." He mumbled. It looked like I was going to have to force the information out of him.

"I'm sorry Edward, what did she see?" I asked as I slid my good hand down his chest and rested it on the fly of his pants. His breath caught and his entire frame tensed.

"Bella, what are you doing?" He moaned.

"I'm interrogating you. This is my 'good cop'. I really don't think you want to see my 'bad cop.' So how about you spill it and then we can make a decision together." I whispered seductively as I tightened my grip around his quickly hardening cock.

"She said she saw you as one of us, but she was still unable to tell who changed you." He grunted, as my fingers explored the shape of his erection through the layers of fabric. His phone buzzed again, but I was quicker than he was in his ...'state' and managed to get to it before he could.

"Hello Alice." I laughed into the phone.

"Bella, now is really not the time to be teasing Edward. You have exactly 20 minutes before Felix will be up to get you." She reprimanded.

"I'm sorry Alice. I don't know what I was thinking." I apologized.

"Let's just blame it on extreme stress and leave it at that. Now release my brother so he can talk to Jasper." She said.

I slowly removed my fingers and glanced up at Edward. He was staring at the ceiling, his jaw clenched tight. "Umm, Betty White having sex with Ed McMahon." I whispered into his ear.

His entire body jumped as he turned his face to me. "What?" He asked.

"I was trying to think of something disgusting so it would take your mind off of your... you know... problem." I said, gesturing towards the tent he had pitched in his pants.

"Well Bella, since Ed McMahon has been dead for quite a while, I think you succeeded in getting my mind off of sex." He said, looking like he was trying not to dry heave.

He spoke to Jasper quickly on the phone, his perfect poker face leaving me unable to figure out what they were talking about. He shut the phone and pulled me onto his lap as he slid to the edge of the bed. I nuzzled my face into his neck, memorizing his scent. His arms wrapped around me and he buried his face into my hair, no doubt trying to soak up my fragrance as well.

"Alice said we only have about 20 minutes or so left until Felix comes for me." I whispered, hating that I had to break up our snuggle.

"I know. Jasper and Alice think you should know what they are planning on using you for." I said.

"So tell me. If they think I should know, I probably should know." I said, trying to put on a brave face.

"Jasper had traveled all over the country before he found Alice and came to live with our family. He lived with another coven once, down in Texas. Their leader was named Maria, and she was trying to unite other vampires to try and form an alliance. She thought that vampires were a more superior species than humans, and we should not be ashamed to feed on them. Jasper had not known that there were others out there, like Carlisle, who fed on only animals. Maria convinced him that we were dangerous and had him build an army of vampires to come and destroy my family. He made it as far as Colorado, when he met Alice in a diner outside of Towaco. She walked right up to him and smacked him across the face. She told him he had kept her waiting long enough. Jasper fell head over heels for the little pixie and left all thoughts of Maria and her army behind. Together Alice and Jasper found us, and although it has been harder for Jasper, they have fully accepted our vegetarian lifestyle." He explained.

I took a minute to absorb all he had told me. I had never really thought about the fact that there were other vampires all over the country. "What does all of that have to do with what Aro needs me for?" I asked.

"I guess in the years since Jasper has left her, Maria has been very busy. She wants to dominate the vampire world. She is targeting any large coven who has power. She has a huge army of newborn vampires who are doing her bidding. Their next stop is here, for Aro. Jasper thinks that Aro is hoping you will be able to use your shield to protect everyone here."

"Will she come for our family if she is able to defeat Aro?" I asked, trailing my fingers down his cheek.

He hummed happily and closed his eyes. "You said our family."

I jolted, I had not even realized that I had. They did feel like my family, despite the short time I had known them, and I now knew I would do anything to help keep them safe.

"And yes, I do believe that if Maria is able to defeat Aro, she would come after our family next. Jasper really angered her when he deserted her cause."

I was sick just thinking about anyone coming after my family. Edward was my entire world now, but his family was just as important to me now. I needed to learn how to control my shield, not to save Aro, but to be able to save our family when the time came.

EPOV

I knew Bella well enough to know what she was planning. She curled her body into my chest and raised her face up, her lips searching for a kiss. I would never deny her, and lowered my own. Her mouth attacked mine, desperation coloring her movements. She clung to me, as if trying to climb inside my body. I always felt that I could never get close enough to her. Her mind was closed off from me, and it scared me. I knew she was going to try and have Aro teach her how to use her shield and then change her so she could protect our family from Maria. I wish there could be another way. I wish I could have been able to take her to some deserted island and make love to her for hours before I would finally, at the peak of our joined climax, claim her as mine for eternity. But no, we were here, with her being held captive and a vampire army on the way, looking forward to killing every one of us.

I had hoped that Alice's most recent vision would not come to pass. She saw Bella standing point ahead of the entire Volturi guard. The vision ended before we were able to see if Bella was successful in defending against Maria's army. I had no doubt that once she was able to control her shield, she would be able to deflect any attack, but I was petrified. I never wanted to leave this room, but I could already hear Felix's thoughts from the floor below. I slowly stood Bella on her feet as I moved off the bed.

"He is coming precious girl. I must leave." I breathed, my hands crushing her shirt. Now that the time had come to leave her, I was not certain I would be able to.

"Will you stay close so I will be able to contact you?" She said, as she tried to discreetly wipe the tears off her cheeks.

"Yes, Jasper and Emmett are already on their way here. We will all be here within the next few hours. Esme has made arrangements to rent a house close by. With any luck..." I could not finish my thought. If there was such a thing as luck, Bella would be home with her father right now, and the biggest worry she would have would be what to make for dinner.

"Hush now Edward. Your mind is going a mile a minute, just kiss me again and tell me you will see me soon." She said as she grabbed my hair and pulled me down to her waiting lips.

"I'll see you soon precious girl." I said, as soon as she allowed me to breath again.

She looked up at me from under her lashes, her cheeks flooding pink. "I love you." She said shyly, and my world stopped spinning. I knew that I loved her, but would never have expected her to feel the same.

"If my heart could beat, it would beat only for you. I love you more than anything." I said, placing her hand on my chest, covering my long dead heart.

ANow go, I have some work to do." She said as she wiped more tears off her cheeks and pushed me out the window.

A/N: Huge thanks to Lolashoes and EZRocksAngel, who inspired Edward's daydream of Bella's change. Go read their stuff if you are not already, they are both amazing! Check out 'Bidding on Destiny' for EPOV from certain chapters.