A/N… Happy Easter to those who celebrate. Happy Sunday to the rest. Please make sure your seatbelts are fastened.

~oOo~

Chapter 27

BELLA

It was still dark out on our third day in Astoria when we finally headed to the forest on the edge of town. Having been inside our hotel room for almost thirty-six hours due to the sun, I'd been in much need of a hunt. All four of us were quietly taking down a meal.

It was drizzly, which, according to Alice's predictions, meant that Caius would arrive in Astoria sometime this morning. I was just glad we'd had time to hunt.

I hid my kills – a wolf and a mountain lion. The latter had been a pair, and Edward was currently taking down the female.

Edward hunting would always be fascinating to me. Maybe it was because it was such a frightening subject when I was human. When we met, the mere idea of me coming anywhere near him while hunting would've been dangerous as all hell. My blood sang for him, called to him, made him burn and ache with the scent of it.

He was grace and power incarnate when he hunted. And normally, the taking of carnivores would lead to dangerously sexy territory, but not today. We had to focus, and carnivores were for strength and clarity. Not to ravish my husband in the pile of leaves next to me.

Edward's chuckle was deep and sexy. "You mean—"

"No. Just…no. Don't even finish that question," I told him, pointing a finger his way.

We weren't alone out here – Archie and Caroline were out with us. I knew he'd been going to ask whether the last day and a half inside that hotel room weren't enough. I narrowed my eyes at smug and sexy, but he also seemed satisfied and sated. His moment had lasted until just a few hours ago. It had been a rough one for him. After everything we'd been through since Europe, it made sense.

And Dirty Edward had officially been silenced again. He'd made a glorious comeback, but he had to step back into the shadows again.

Edward grinned, kneeling in front of me as I sat on a fallen tree. "Thanks for setting him free."

"Oh, thank you." I giggled, kissing his lips. "His visits are just…scrumptious."

Edward smiled into our kiss, but he pulled away, reaching up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear, something he'd been doing since we met. It made me feel loved and cherished. Though I knew from reading his journal that originally it was simply curiosity about whether or not my hair had been as soft as it had looked, now it was a way for Edward to take care of me, to touch, to assuage our connection when it sparked a little.

"Yes, all of that, my love." His eyes crinkled with his smile, and they were bright gold, beautiful and sweet.

"Lord, you're cute."

"You're flirting again."

"Yup. Can't help it," I breathed, leaning in for another kiss.

That earned me one of my most favorite expressions – a tilted head, a shy smile, and eyes that glanced down, almost in embarrassment. It was a deadly sexy expression, filled with a touch of disbelief and awe. No one wore that expression better than Edward.

Placing my hands on either side of that breathtakingly handsome face, I brought his forehead to mine. I love you, Edward Cullen. Don't ever forget it. If something stupid happens in the next few hours, I want you to hold on to that. Okay?

"Yes, ma'am," he said softly. "And I love you, my sweet, beautiful girl."

Archie and Caroline stepped from the trees with linked fingers and secret laughs, and I smiled because they reminded me of Edward and me a little – the age difference, the sweet, secretive smiles, and the fact that they'd overcome a great many things to get here.

The light drizzle slowed a little as the sun rose, but the day remained overcast and a touch breezy. A sense of dread and fear started to creep over me. We had specifically walked the Parkway from the docks to this place in the woods. It was my scent that was the most important. We were hoping Greta and Niko would lock on to it almost immediately, so I'd made sure to touch railings and benches, trail signs and tree trunks.

We sat around talking a little. I had my backpack, and Caroline had hers. Edward's phone bleeped, and we all held our breath as he read what we assumed was a message from Alice.

"He's here. And they've caught your scent, love." Something shifted in his eyes, something dark and dangerous. He locked gazes with me, but he glanced to Archie before answering an unasked question. "Yes, go ahead and disappear." His voice went soft, a barely there whisper. "All of you listen. No matter what happens…get back to Forks. Am I clear?"

Archie kissed Caroline's forehead and then blinked away. Edward stood up, taking my hand, kissing my ring, and glancing over his shoulder.

The next instruction he gave was to Caroline. "No matter what, get back to the family, back to Marcus."

She nodded nervously, glancing my way when Edward's eyes blackened, and he gazed slowly around the small clearing. He started edging us closer to the tree line in a northerly direction. Just as we were about to reach the trees, a wave of water, almost in the shape of a tube or tentacle, arced up out of the woods overhead.

"Shield, Bella!" Edward snapped, pushing me toward the trees, and I immediately wrapped a shield around myself and Caroline because she was closer to me.

The wave of water crashed down over us, sloughing off my shield and splattering to the leaves at our feet. Before I could extend my shield around Edward, the pain of having my soul ripped from his caused me to double over. My shield shot out of my control briefly, but it was Caroline who snapped me back.

"Bella, they're coming. And they…they've turned Edward's loyalty," she whispered, practically shoving me into the woods. "We've got to go!"

Nodding, I gave a quick glance behind me. Greta was standing next to my husband, who was nothing but a blank, black-eyed stare. Another wave of water started to build and twist, arcing up over the large group of people. I also heard more of them closing in on Caroline and me. One was stupid enough to step out of the trees, and my shield reacted all on its own. It wrapped, squeezed, and twisted before I could even think, and that immortal was in several pieces, which I then tossed toward Caius. He'd stepped from the back of his horde, and I sneered his way.

Archie's voice was suddenly next to us, but he stayed invisible. "Go!" he hissed in a whisper. "I'll watch him. Get back to the family. You can't fight them. You promised, Bella."

I growled low, nodding that I'd heard him. "I'm going to kill them all."

"Save it," Archie hissed. "I swear on my life I'll watch over him. But you've got to go! Please keep Caroline safe for me. Okay?"

One more glance at my husband, and I opened my mind. Edward, I love you. You bring them all to me.

The only thing that gave me any sort of comfort was when his hand rubbed his chest. He was still mine. He was still connected. And I knew Greta's power wouldn't hold him any more than it had held me. I almost felt sorry for them when it would eventually ebb away. And with the way he'd set this up, I had a feeling he'd done this on purpose.

He'd allowed them to take him.

Caroline and I started to run, with several pursuers giving chase. We darted through the woods, and I was brought back to being chased the night of our anniversary. The mountains, the trees, the taunting from behind us.

There was only one bridge to cross the Columbia River, or we'd have to either go way out of the way or swim it. I didn't have time for either. Due to the early morning, traffic was light when we hit the 101. Instead of running on the actual highway, Caroline and I used the steel supports along the side, leaping from one to the next until the bridge flattened. It was straight into Washington from there, and we turned on the speed.

Once we were safely in the woods, I turned to Caroline. "Call them. Tell them we're coming."

I heard voices behind us, and I stopped abruptly, my whole body shaking with anger and pain. Leaving my Edward behind went against everything I knew was right. The very second Caius's people came into view, I shifted my shield and ripped them apart, dumping the pieces into a small creek.

Caroline was still on the phone when I grabbed her hand and tugged her. When we crossed over the ten-mile limit, my feet stumbled and my knees hit the ground with the pain of it all.

"Here," Caroline whispered, holding out her phone. "Carlisle."

I took the phone with a shaky hand. "They took him, Carlisle," I hissed through a sharp pain as it punched through my chest.

"We need you safe, Bella. You need to keep heading our way," he stated, a bit of edge to his voice. "Caroline told us what happened and what Edward's plan was. You must stick to it."

I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "I think he let them take him."

Caroline gasped, and there were several voices over the line.

"You might be right, but the only way we'll get him back is if we do it all together."

"I know, but it hurts, Carlisle!" I growled through gritted teeth.

In the background, I heard Sam's voice. "You tell her we're sending Jake and Seth to escort them to the battlefield."

"No!" I snapped. "Don't. We can't risk their scent scaring them off."

"She's right," Carlisle said firmly. "Bella, you must keep moving. You can't risk them catching up to you. The two of you can't fight them. You risk losing Caroline."

I sneered, shaking my head. "I'm going to personally rip Caius apart."

"I hope you get the chance, amore," Marcus piped up. "Please hurry. We'll meet you at the field."

"Okay," I panted, squeezing my eyes closed when the pain eased a little. "Oh, shit, they're gaining on us." I stood, grabbing Caroline's hand. "We'll meet you there."

The two of us worked our way north through Washington, using as much of the woods as we could so we could use all the speed we had.

~oOo~

EDWARD

"Please…" my mother begged from her hospital bed. "Save my son, Dr. Cullen. Not me. Him."

"I'm doing my best to save you both," he murmured back to her soothingly, but his expression was grim through my hazy, fevered state.

Something in the back of my mind, my heart heard her last breath seep out of her like a deep sigh, but I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

~oOo~

"You're answering my thoughts again," Carlisle chided jokingly. When I frowned and shook my head, he smiled kindly. "You're doing fine, Edward. The newborn phase is tough enough, but it will take time to hone your immortal talent. With that talent will come great responsibility. You'll hear things you'll never want to hear."

"I feel crazy. I can hear everything outside this apartment. I see awful, sinful things in the minds of all these humans, Carlisle. How can I hone that?" I snarled, getting up to pace off some nervous energy.

"Believe it or not, Edward, things won't always overwhelm you. You'll grow stronger in your new body, your new mind. I promise that in time, you'll gain more control."

~oOo~

Squeezing my eyes, I shook my head to clear it. My family was lost in themselves and their mates. The latter word made me angry, as I leaped out of the Denali family's window and raced into the woods.

Once I found a spot far enough away that there were no minds, I took a seat and gazed up at the breathtaking view above me. Every star shone brightly. Esme always said it helped her put things in perspective for her. That she was a part of something massive and beautiful.

I groaned deeply when Tanya thought she was keeping her mind empty, but it wasn't.

"Tanya," I stated without much inflection.

"You know, you don't have to stay alone…or run from Jasper's talent," she stated, taking a seat next to me.

"When it's not your own feelings, it's not all that intriguing."

"You could give in. With someone willing…" she purred, leaning close.

I smiled, glancing her way. "You're a beautiful woman, Tanya, and you know it. And you and I both know you don't truly feel anything for me," I explained gently, because I was tired of declining her. Rejection didn't even slow her down. "I'm sorry. I'm not interested in temporary or one time. I'm not one for giving in just for instant gratification. I… I want more than that."

"You may never find a mate, handsome," she said softly, trailing a finger down my arm.

Pulling away from her touch, I stood up. "Maybe. But I'm willing to take that chance. I'm sorry, Tanya."

~oOo~

Her scent hit me like a Mack truck. It was everything I needed, everything that would make the burning in my throat go away. She was freesias and temptation, a pounding, nervous heartbeat because I was scaring her, and she was everything I hated.

I wanted to shred the room, I wanted to follow her home, and I wanted to run away, but I could do none of it. Warm, worried brown eyes glanced my way, and my fingers gripped the biology lab table as her scent assaulted me over and over until I thought I'd go mad. Even holding my breath, she still tempted me with not a single thought and that fearful heartbeat.

~oOo~

"So the lion fell in love with the lamb…"

"What a stupid lamb."

"What a sick, masochistic lion…"

~oOo~

"Bella, I don't want you to come with me."

"Y-You don't want me?"

"No."

~oOo~

"Your time away from her is over."

"One can't live without the other."

"Time and distance play a part. Green is happy, healthy. When they get to red, that is when we worry."

~oOo~

Edward, I love you. You bring them all to me.

My chest ached with the pain, and I blinked away the haziness in my mind. My assumptions with Greta's power were correct – her talent turned loyalty, but in order to do so, it cracked open every closed door, every memory that had been shut away. But my Bella was right as well – our love, our connection was so much stronger than Greta could control.

I continued to run with them north into Washington. I caught my mate's scent, along with Caroline's. The trap we'd laid would work. I stayed quiet, though. I needed to listen to every mind around me.

When I had originally offered to take us to Astoria, I had merely wanted to lead Caius's people to the battlefield. However, the more I considered it, the more I realized that our most powerful weapon was Bella, and if Bella encountered Niko's shield, then all of it would be for naught, because his shield negated hers. Niko had to die before we reached Marcus and my family.

The first mind I caught was Archie's. He'd done what we'd planned, what Bella had requested of him, so he was invisible in the midst of all the immortals surrounding me. He was ready to pounce should things go badly.

Greta was beside me, thinking thoughts I had no desire to see. She wanted things from me that disgusted me. She'd been attracted when we met in Volterra's castle, but she thought her talent would allow her to shift me away from my mate.

Caius was plotting, planning, and stacking up his odds in his mind. He had the mind reader he'd needed, and he was feeling overly confident that things were going his way.

I saw myself through someone's eyes but made no move to look. I kept running, following the rest. It was Sulpicia's mind I was hearing at that moment. Keeping my face stoic, I listened to her doubts, her disdain for Caius, and her curiosity about me. Our last meeting, I'd let her live, but I'd given her a chance to think. She personally held no ill will toward Marcus, and she honestly had no opinion concerning the animal blood diet. In her mind, she couldn't figure out why it set Caius off so badly.

Finally, I found the mind I was looking for – Niko. He was ahead of us, leading us. He was following Bella's scent like a bloodhound tracking a fox. His thoughts were vile, violent, and he was anticipating meeting my wife again. He wanted revenge for every time she punched the nose right off his face, for ripping his arm off, his leg off. He planned on doing the same to her, along with a list of depraved sexual acts that had me picking up speed.

I was faster than any of them could stop, and I tackled Niko from behind, ripping an arm off before he could register what had just happened. I threw his arm deep into the woods, swinging a fist at his face and smirking when his nose cracked.

"I owe you that for daring to touch my wife," I sneered in his face, glancing back when everyone came to surround us.

"Ed—" he started, but I punched his face again.

Niko tried to fight, but I saw it coming. He couldn't control his shield when fear was overriding everything. I swung again and again, feeling satisfaction when that nose of his slipped right off his face and hit the forest floor.

Before any of them decided to move, I rolled with him at the same time snapping his head right off his neck. My lighter was out and lighting him up before anyone could stop me.

"Get him!" Caius ordered, and several immortals started toward me at a run.

One or two mysteriously tripped, thanks to an invisible source. I spun for an escape, but there too many for even Archie to stop. And I was suddenly dowsed with a wave of water, allowing two immortal men to tackle me to the ground.

Greta and Caius were instantly in front of me.

"How? How did you break her power?" he spat at me, and I grinned, shrugging a shoulder.

"Maybe she's not as powerful as you think she is," I taunted him. He was way too easy to rile up – pompous with a fragile ego. It was in every thought, and if we made it to the battlefield, it would be his undoing.

Greta slapped my face. "It holds everyone else. How are you breaking it? Your bitch of a wife did the same thing." She stepped closer, her face right in front of mine. "I want to know how!"

I merely smirked, shaking my head. "Get used to disappointment."

Archie's mind was worried and amused at the same time. He wasn't sure what they'd do, but he assumed they still needed me on their side. They'd wanted a mind reader, so they couldn't kill me. However, he was close enough he could've reached out to touch me, should things change. He was debating on simply taking me under his cloak.

"Tell me!" Caius snarled.

"No!" My answer was just as aggressive and not aimed at Caius, but the unseen Archie at his side. I met Caius's gaze. "I don't know how," I finally answered the simpering ancient vampire in front of me. "I owed Niko for touching my mate. So do what you're going to do, but you'll get no apology from me for killing him."

Caius's upper lip twitched in hatred and anger. He wanted so badly to kill me for eliminating his shield.

"He's a poor excuse for a shield," I muttered, my eyes not breaking from his. "And you couldn't handle the power behind Bella's when you had her in your possession. That's not my problem. We're close, so if you want your war, you'll need me."

Caius debated on killing me. He thought it would send Carlisle into a frenzy. What he didn't know was that my whole family would snap. It would be the devastating aftermath that would tear them apart. To lose me would kill Bella. Carlisle and Esme would shatter. My family would disintegrate.

I now understood why Bella had suffered so badly when they'd taken her. To allow something to happen to me would kill my sweet, beautiful angel. And that could not happen. My Bella would die, heartbroken, lost, and it would be a most painful death – probably more painful than the change that gave me her sweet soul for eternity. No, I needed to protect her by protecting myself.

I relaxed in their grip, standing up straight and looking to Greta. "You wanted a mind reader, so do what you need to do."

Greta's eyes glanced to Caius, and he unhappily nodded for her to go ahead.

Archie's mind was close, filled with warnings. Edward, as soon as this battle starts, I'm taking you. Brace for it.

I nodded in answer to him, but Greta assumed it was to her in order to allow her to turn her talent back on me. My connection to Bella wouldn't allow her power to keep me under, but she and Caius didn't need to know that. I needed to keep that to myself in order to keep them from using us against each other. Greta was pissed that I'd killed her friend, so she slapped me one more time before my thoughts blurred and my will wasn't my own.

~oOo~

A/N… Some of you had called the calm before the storm. And yes, we're at the storm.

No songs added to the playlist.

If you're reading Common Ground, I'll see you Tuesday. Otherwise, I'll see you next week. Until then… Mooches, Deb ;)