A/N: Hi! Happy reading. :)

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Chapter-27: Game Plan

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BPOV

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As I slowly woke up, it felt like my thoughts were a jumbled mess. Looking around, I realized that I wasn't in my bed. For one horrifying moment, my mind wandered to all the possible scenarios about where I might be. And then, my eyes fell on the couch sitting in the corner of the room.

Edward. I'm in Edward's room … in his bed …

The thought led to another memory—a memory with a piano and some amazing kissing skills from an amazing man. It's a shame we didn't get to explore more …

With an audible gasp, I sat up on the bed, finally remembering the phone call from Alice, the helpless expression on Edward's face and the quiet fear of the unknown that had made us cling to each other the night before.

Before I could let myself hyperventilate though, I felt my body being tugged into a circle of arms—cold, and yet caring. "Good morning, beautiful." His voice was a barely there whisper as his lips pressed against my forehead.

I didn't know what alerted him to the fact that I was awake; probably the gasp or the increased sound of my heartbeat. I couldn't know for sure, but I was glad to have him there to wake up to.

"Morning," I responded a little groggily, letting my head fall onto his shoulder like a purring kitten. "I thought you would've taken me home during the night."

His arms tightened around me infinitesimally before he said, "I thought that might wake you up. You looks pretty peaceful and …"

Reaching up, I placed a finger on his lips. "Admit it, Edward. You thought it would be safer if I stayed here, didn't you?"

He opened his mouth, closed it, and started to shake his head. "I know I can't read your thoughts, but you, Ms. Swan, are seriously making me question whether you can read mine."

The slight note of frustration in his voice made me laugh. "I wish!" I said. "I just know you pretty well by now, baby."

He smiled then and pulled my face up to give me a good morning kiss. "You're wrong about it, you know?" he asked as he pulled away.

"About what?" I might have been a little dazed by the kiss to articulate my questions better.

Of course he understood though. "About knowing me pretty well," he replied as he cupped my face in his hands. "Bella, you are the one person—among humans and vampires alike—who knows me the best."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh," he hummed against my cheek. "You are the other half that makes me whole."

It wasn't a grand gesture or a roof-top screaming declaration of love, but coming from him, it was perfect.

He kissed my lips once more before getting up and pulling me with him. "Come on, human. Freshen up and I'll try to locate some breakfast for you."

I raised an eyebrow and asked teasingly, "What? You'll go to a store and hunt down cereal boxes or pop tarts for me?"

He scrunched up his nose in disgust. "I've never had any of those so I can't see the appeal they hold for you."

"You wanna talk about food habits, Mister?"

My question made him throw his head back and laugh. "Touché, baby," he said with a smirk. "However, it's very natural for us to hunt to provide for our mates. So it looks like I'm going to be hunting pop tarts after all."

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~*~*~*RoALS*~*~*~

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EPOV

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Thankfully, no one in the house made any snide remarks about Bella spending the night in my bed. Of course Emmett didn't count because he was thinking them for my benefit and the asshole was outside the house at the time.

Knowing Bella, I knew she would feel self-conscious eating while we all simply sat around, staring at her. So I subtly asked them all to leave her to eat in peace with one of my signature glares before taking a sit next to her.

"Hey Edward?" The sound of her voice made me open my eyes.

"Yes, baby?"

"What are you doing?"

And that's when I realized that I was twirling a lock of her hair in my finger while she ate. Okay, fine. I might have sniffed it once or twice too because fuck! My girl smelled like heaven.

Clearing my throat, I tucked the hair behind her ear and asked, "Did I creep you out?"

She giggled, shaking her head a little. "No, it's just … different. It's nice."

Her words put me at ease as I pressed a kiss to her hair before resuming twirling her hair again. "I can't help it. You smell too enticing for your own good."

She blushed at that, and like the cocky bastard I was, I rejoiced in the knowledge that I was the one making her blush.

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~*~*~*RoALS*~*~*~

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About damn time!

I couldn't help but chuckle at the sound of my brother's thoughts. Always the impatient one.

Bella looked up at me with a questioning look on her face, her hand raised mid-air to knock on the door. "What?"

I laughed, knowing full well that they'll be able to hear us anyway. "Everyone's getting ansty with all the waiting. Carlisle wanted you to be present there before he confided in them."

"Oh." A small frown appeared on her forehead as she let her hand fall to her side. "Is this going to be some kind of trouble for you guys?"

It didn't escape me that she said 'you guys' not just 'you'. No matter how much indifferent I was toward my so called 'family,' I was surprisingly pleased to know that she thought about all of us, not just me.

I shook my head and said, "No, we're vampires remember? We're kind of indestructible. So it's not gonna be a big issue for us, I'm sure …" I stopped when Emmett's thoughts reached me and then grinned. "Although if you wait another second on this side of the door, poor Emmett might set a new Guinness World Record for being the first vampire to have had a heart attack due to overexcitement."

Her frown disappeared at that and she smiled. "Well, we can't have that," she said before knocking on the door politely.

"Oh thank fuck you're finally awake!" Emmett's loud voice called out as soon as we entered into Carlisle's study where a family meeting had been called. Rosalie didn't hesitate to slap her husband on the head though. "Ouch! Rosie, what the hell?"

His overdramatic pouting got a glare from Rose. "Language, Emmett. I don't want Isabella to think that I married a savage."

He turned to face his wife and offered her a deep bow. "Milady," he addressed her with a smile which got laughter out of everyone.

When everyone had calmed down, Esme looked at Bella with a warm smile on her face and said, "Now that Isabella is here with us, Carlisle, why don't you tell us why we're here?"

Carlisle looked at Alice. "Alice?"

Alice let out a sigh which always seemed to precede any bad news she had to share with us. "Last night, while we were out hunting, I had a vision," she started. "Someone was at Isabella's house."

Everyone's thoughts went haywire at her declaration. Esme let out a gasp. "Who will want to harm her? She's new in this town."

I couldn't keep my mouth shut then. "Maybe it's that creeper, Black. I've seen him wagging his tail around her."

"Edward!" Bella gave me a look and shook her head a little.

She thinks he's a harmless nuisance, I realized.

"B …"

Carlisle's words cut me off before I could contradict Bella. "I don't think it's Billy Black's son, Edward," he said sounding a little condescending. "Alice said that the person whoever he was, was taking in Isabella's scent. I don't think he can be a human if that's true. Not many humans can commit a scent to memory."

They can, if they are creepy stalker fucktards with a death-wish, I silently countered.

"What about Edward though?" Rosalie's question made us all stop.

Jasper frowned. "You think it's somehow related to Edward?" he asked her.

She offered a non-committal shrug. "It can be. Who knows who he might've crossed paths with when he left? He might've easily made some other vampires angry. It can be one of them coming back to seek revenge."

As her words sunk in, I felt all traces of humor from earlier this morning ebb away from my mind. This is my fault?

Carlisle nodded after a long moment. "Rosalie might be right, son," he said, looking at me. "Is there anyone who might want to harm you?"

"You really want me to start making a list?" I retorted back.

Emmett cracked his knuckles and said, "That would be a great help, little brother. So that we can hunt whoever it is that's trying to hurt our Little Bell here and whip their asses."

I started to open my mouth when Bella grabbed my hand. "Hold on! We don't know who this might be. We need to figure out who it is before deciding to whip anyone's ass," she said in a loud voice. "I'm glad that you all care about me so much that you want to protect me but …"

She was cut off by Rose's impatient chuckle. "We don't care about you, Isabella. This is not about that."

Bella's eyebrows pulled up in confusion as I felt my anger rising at Rose's behavior. "Rose …" I warned her.

She held up a hand to silence me before turning to Bella once again. "We don't care about you," she repeated. "This is more than that. Isabella, you're a part of this family now, and we always protect our family … even if they sometimes make us wish we could dismember them just to shut them up," she said, her eyes turning to me as she finished.

The corners of my mouth pulled up then. Bella's body relaxed into mine as she smiled at Rose. "Thank you, Rosalie. That means a lot to me," she said softly.

"So what's the plan?" Jasper asked, breaking the silence. "We need to come up with a game plan to protect Isabella."

A glint appeared in her eyes as Alice answered, "How about Isabella stays here with us until we can find out who it is? She'll be safe here."

"Yes," I agreed with a nod. "That's a great idea."

"No, it's not," Bella countered. "I can't just give up living and stay holed up in here." Before I could tell her otherwise, she looked me in the eyes and said, "Edward, I know whoever it is can be dangerous, but I can't just stop working or living my life normally for the fear that they might make an appearance. They win this way."

"Christ Bella!" I yelled in frustration. "Will you please think for a moment about what you're saying? This is not right. You can't just expect me to let you go to work alone and then be okay if something happened to you."

"I'm not saying that you need to be okay with it …"

"Yes, you are!"

The sound of a throat clearing made us stop and remember that we were not alone. Blood rushed to Bella's cheeks as she looked down at her hands.

After a moment, Carlisle broke the awkward silence. "Kids, if I may, can I suggest something?"

He waited for a moment and then continued. "I think Isabella is right."

"Carlisle …"

"No, Edward, hear me out. Isabella's bookstore is right across from the hospital. So you'll be able to reach her quickly should the need arises. And you can stay with her to the rest of the day so that you can pick up anyone thinking ill of her." He stopped to smile. "Of course, at nights you're going to have to leave her under Alice or Esme's care."

My jaw dropped at his insinuation. "What are you implying, Dad?" I asked coldly.

Bella squeezed my hand gave me a quick head shake. "That sounds reasonable," she said.

I was getting ready for an outburst when Carlisle's thoughts reached me. Son, I know she's your mate. I'm not trying to keep you away from her. I'm just trying to help you. Learn to control your bloodlust better. I know you'll regret it if somehow you end up being the one to hurt her. So all I'm asking you is to wait. Wait until you're certain that you'll be able to control yourself.

Sighing, I gave him a sharp nod. I knew he was right, but I wasn't going to verbally confirm that.

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~*~*~*RoALS*~*~*~

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"Bella, wait," I called out as she reached for the handle of the car door. I waited for her to turn around to look at me before taking her face in my hands and pressing my lips to hers. She relaxes into my embrace immediately, kissing me back just as fervently.

When we break the kiss, I keep my eyes closed as I hold her tightly to my chest, not wanting to let her go yet.

"Hey," her voice was whisper soft when she called me, touching her lips to my closed eyelids. She remained silent until I opened my eyes before speaking. "Edward, I'm going to be okay. I'm a big girl. I know you think that I'm just a weakling, but I have this big strong vampire boyfriend who's going to kick that stalker's ass when he finds him."

"I still hate leaving you though." I said quietly. "Especially when this could all be because of something I did …"

Immediately, her lips were on mine—shutting me up as she kissed me hard. "Listen to me," she implored, looking into my eyes after breaking the kiss. "This is not your fault. Yes, you've made some bad choices in your life, but that's something everyone does. That's what life is. But that does not mean that whatever the hell is going on here is your fault. You better get that through this thick head of yours, Edward Masen. You're more than people give you credit for. You're …" She stopped to take a deep breath before adding, "You're the half that makes me whole too."

The way her eyes bore into mine told me that she knew exactly what those words meant when I said them to her in the morning.

I couldn't not kiss her then. So getting out of the car, I opened her door, pulled her into my arms and brought my lips to hers. She moaned against my lips as I pressed her between my body and the car.

Keep it PG, brother. Alice's voice made me sigh and let Bella go. "Alice is here," I said.

She nodded before placing one more kiss on the corner of my mouth and then stepped away. "Good night, handsome," she said with a smile. "I'll see you in the morning."

Needing to hear her laugh once more, I arched an eyebrow at her. "Morning? I was hoping I'll see you in your dreams, Ms. Swan."

She giggled at that. "You're so cheesy," she said in between giggles.

Just then Alice appeared by our sides. "Graveyard shift has started, kiddies," she announced.

Rolling my eyes at her, I turned toward Bella. "My cheesy ass and I will see you first thing in the morning, beautiful."

I was almost back at the house when I got a text message from her.

You are always in my dreams, Edward. ~Bella

How can I not love this woman?

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~*~*~*RoALS*~*~*~

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StalkerPOV

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I stepped out of the trees and looked up at the window where I knew my target will soon appear when she decided to go to bed.

The appearance of the female vampire might complicate the things a little, but I was still positive I would be able to succeed.

Feeling my cell phone vibrate in my pocket, I pulled it out to see the name of my creator flash across the screen. I hit answer before bringing it to my ear. "Master," I greeted.

"Any updates?"

"I have successfully located Isabella Swan," I replied. "But there have been some new developments."

"Which are?" He sounded impatient.

"I think the vampire we had assumed to be protecting her might be gifted. And there are more than one protecting her now. A female vampire is with her right now."

He was quiet for a moment before speaking again. "You are one of my best. If they are gifted, use your gift to counter them. I don't really care what you do, I just want her here. Do what you need to do."

"Yes, sir," I said and hung up.

Target located and locked in sight.

A/N: So does that answer some of your questions?

Share your thoughts with me and leave a review.

Thanks for reading.

Song rec for this chapter: The Power of Love by Gabrielle Aplin.

See you next week.

Take care.

Ann