Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Reminder: Kyle Berkeley is the Dean at Dartmouth College (I made this up; he's not real). He was first officially introduced to Bella when she went to speak with him just so we're clear on his identity.

A big, virtual hug goes out to each and every one of you who have always read and reviewed. Each update now feels like I'm preparing for the ending of my first Twilight fanfic which isn't too far away. Thanks to all of you who have encouraged me.

Enjoy.

Chapter 18: Bonfire

Everything was ready.

We had the element of surprise on our side, but I didn't feel prepared. I knew once we reached the bonfire that Bella would be among them. I'm not quite sure how I would react to seeing her as much as I wished to hold her in the past weeks. Would she still be my Bella, or would she be someone I hardly recognized like the images I see every time I close eyes?

"Edward, we're ready to leave," Esme touched my shoulder from behind.

I turned around meeting her soft, motherly eyes with my worried ones. Even for a vampire, she looked as fragile as she'd been when she was human.

"You don't have to come with us. You should stay here," I insisted.

She forced a smile, "And miss all the action?"

"You hate fighting," I stated bluntly.

"Not if I'm fighting for the ones I love," She protested solemnly.

Then, a determined smile spread across her lips and Carlisle stepped into the room.

'We have to go, Edward,' Carlisle thought as Esme walked over to his side.

I nodded and our family gathered in our backyard where it met with the forest.

"Remember," Alice reminded in her soprano voice. "Set a perimeter around the area, so, if they try to scatter. Jasper and Emmett will pick 'em up. Esme and Rosalie will try to run the humans west as soon as we get there. The rest of us will handle the vampires. Oh, and Kyle will meet us there."

We've been through this plan in detail many times before, but it felt like I was hearing it for the first time because we were so close to seeing it play out.

Alice turned to me, "You just worry about getting Bella."

I inclined my head and all at once we took off as a unit, flying through the trees like a flock of birds. The night was so quiet that all I could hear were the footsteps of my family and the wind whooshing in and out between us.

A couple more miles and I could see the blazing fire glowing magnificently up ahead. My family branched off running a circle around the bonfire instead of head-on. Kyle was already situated to my right, between Carlisle and I as we looked in on the partygoers.

Human bodies moved around in the clearing as music and booze flowed freely between them. My eyes skimmed over every person, searching for Bella's presence as Rosalie and Esme immersed themselves into the party without the vampires noticing.

Then, with a flicker from the bonfire, a shot of brown light caught my eyes from the crowd. They came to rest upon a head of delicious brown locks and I knew who it was before she turned around. It was her. It was Bella and I couldn't stop staring long enough to function.

She looked exhausted, and the flames in her eyes had long died out.

"Bella…" I merely whispered her name to myself.

As if she heard me, she whipped her head in my direction with longing in her eyes. My insides flared when I recognized James standing not so far away gazing at her as if he was pleased with a shiny new toy. The other two vampires were scattered within the party waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

I noticed a few students were taking the trail back to their parked cars, heeding Esme and Rosalie's warnings I assume, but there were still too many left.

'I'm getting bored,' James thoughts penetrated my mind.

I watched him stalk over to Bella and take her hand. She flinched slightly, but otherwise, didn't object to his touch. My fingers automatically curled into fists as his hand traveled across her neck. I zeroed in on their conversation.

"Come on, aren't you hungry tonight?" James asked softly.

"No," Bella brushed his hand away and his anger ignited.

He jerked her forward against him, "Don't be like that, pet. This is for our own good. We need this to sustain ourselves."

The resistance and sheer annoyance in her eyes was working at his patience. Swiftly, he snatched a boy that was brushing past them and yanked his head back exposing his neck for Bella.

A few heads from the crowd turned to gawk at them, but they barely noticed the attention.

"Drink," James ordered.

She couldn't help but inhale the scent and when she opened her eyes, the boy let out a dreadful cry. I could only imagine what he saw there, but Bella surprisingly refused his offer.

"You won't? Then, I will," James growled sinking his teeth into the boy's neck.

He made it a point to let the blood drip down from the boy's neck as he drank eagerly. Bella's head jerked up from the freely flowing liquid and I saw her will crumble to dust.

'Fucking bastard,' Little Alice cursed.

Bella's mouth latched onto the other side of the boy's neck and a triumphant smile crept across James' busy lips. Another commotion picked up near the center, and pandemonium erupted as the students began running in different directions. Carlisle, Kyle, Alice, and I emerged from the woods.

The other vampires were snacking on their victims through the chaos of running bodies. Students scrambled and toppled over each other to flee the scene, abandoning their beer cans and drugs. In the corner of my eye, I saw Kyle stealthily sneaking up behind the dark, foreign vampire who was hunched over drinking from a young girl.

In the midst of devouring his victim, James disengaged from the boy's neck sensing something was wrong. He eagerly searched the crowd in a frenzy to locate the members of his coven. James' eyes grew wide with shock and understanding when he saw Kyle hunched over ready to spring upon his friend.

"Laurent, watch out!" James called causing Bella to look up.

It was too late. As Laurent whirled around, Kyle easily twisted his head off with two quick snaps.

Emmett jumped in to help Kyle rip the pieces of Laurent's body limp from twitching limp before they threw the pieces into the fire. Rosalie and Esme were already driving the humans out west, too far away for any of them to witness this scene.

"Edward! Edward!" Bella's cry jerked my attention away from the madness of flying limps.

She had long forgotten about the limp body on the ground beneath her feet, and was running towards me with James right on her tail. Seeing her so close within my grasp, I broke out into a run leaping over dead bodies as I tried to get to her.

"Run, Victoria!" James shouted over the snarls and growls of vampire animosity .

The feline vampire jerked away from her meal and surveyed the area quickly before turning east out of the area. Emmett spotted her and called after Jasper as he sprinted out of the clearing.

"Edward!" Bella called reaching out for my hand.

With a quick jerk, she came to an abrupt halt when James' arm reached out and yanked her back by her hair. Bella didn't give him the satisfaction of crying out, but the pain was evident on her face. I knew that as long as he held her in his hands, I would not be able to move for fear of what he might do to her.

"Not so tough anymore, are you?" James asked running a finger across Bella's cheeks.

"Let her go," I growled.

James laughed menacingly, "Why would I do that when I'm holding the most precious thing to you in my hands right now?"

'Edward, Emmett and Jasper caught Victoria. They're bringing her back now,' Alice thought.

I couldn't tell where she was, but I had a feeling little Alice was up to something.

I smirked, "Cause we have something of your's, I believe. A little wildcat."

His face was filled with confusion until Emmett and Jasper appeared through the thick trees with a restrained Victoria as she squirmed in their hold.

"James," She called.

The lines on his face tightened even though he tried to conceal it. It was almost too obvious that she meant something to him.

"I have something of your's, you have something of mine. How about we trade?" I asked.

His hold on Bella tightened, "You first."

'I'm behind him, Edward. Distract him,' Alice spoke through her mind.

I briefly let my eyes scan the woods behind him and saw a flash of white through the trees.

"Together. On three. Agreed?" I asked.

He nodded in agreement only because he didn't expect us to capture Victoria. If she wasn't here, he would not let Bella go so easily. That was his plan, but we were on even grounds now.

"One…Two…" I started counting.

Alice came running at lightening speed behind him, emerging from the woods like a spark of light shooting across the horizon. Before he could react, Alice kicked Bella out of the way and snapped his head off with a single twist of her knees. My family converged to help her. I heard a shrilling cry before another crack told me Victoria was also dead.

There was the sound of running feet, and I whirled around to see Kyle sprinting toward Bella who was trying to recover from Alice's kick. I quickly snatched her up before he could reach her because I was much faster than him.

"Stay away from her," I warned shielding her protectively in my arms.

He advanced a few steps, "You have to kill her. She has tasted and hunted for human blood. You saw her take that boy's life. She will not adjust to your way of life now. You have to kill her!"

I looked down at Bella's bright red irises. They were even brighter than when she first woke up as a newborn. Human blood has already taken root deep in her veins.

"I can't. I can't do it," I stated shaking my head.

"Then, you can leave while I do it," Kyle said.

I hissed at him, "No, I won't have you or anyone take her away from me."

My family, including Carlisle, took a protective step closer to where Bella and I were sitting on the ground. They were all intently staring at Kyle, ready to pounce at the slightest sign of aggression.

"He's right, I'm never going to stop hunting humans. You have to do it, Edward. You have to destroy me," Bella spoke up in fear.

Her body was quivering with it as she surveyed the dead, bleeding, human bodies on the ground with sheer terror frozen on their white faces.

I shook my head, "You don't know what you're saying. You will be able to stop. I just have to take you away from here for awhile. Don't listen to him, he's just afraid and so are you."

Kyle turned to Carlisle and stated gravely, "You cannot let this go on, Carlisle. If you do, I will have to ask you and your family to leave this place."

"Carlisle, I need the jet. I need to get Bella out of here for awhile," I interrupted brushing Bella's hair away from her face.

Carlisle inclined his head, "Go. I'll take care of everything."

I swung Bella onto my back and ran off toward the house with Alice and Esme behind me.

"We are no longer good friends, Carlisle," I heard the last of their conversation.

Back in the house, I left Bella sitting on my bed while I packed for the both of us. Well, I threw whatever I could into one big suitcase and couldn't help thinking I've just uprooted my family.

"Where are you taking her, Edward? Why don't you wait a few days until we all decide on where we're all going to go?" Esme asked in a frenzy.

This scene looked very much like when I decided to leave not so long ago.

"I don't know, but I have to take her somewhere else until she regains her control. I'll come back, mom," I stated pausing to look at her.

Concern coated her eyes and caused her lips to pull in a thin line.

"Bella needs this. Please, I'm begging you to understand," I pleaded.

Esme looked at Bella and nodded.

Bella growled toward the window, "I can smell them out there. I can taste their blood! Edward, come hunting with me, please? I'm so thirsty."

I kneeled down beside her and lied, "Just wait a few more minutes, okay?"

There will be no hunting tonight.

Carlisle walked in snapping his phone shut, "The jet will be ready on the tarmac once you arrive at the airbase. Security has already cleared you."

I nodded, "I'm so sorry for- I've never meant to…"

He smiled waving me off, "I was starting to think a different continent would do all of us some good, anyways."

"I'll be in touch," I promised walking hastily downstairs with a suitcase in one hand and Bella in the other.

"Take care. Everything will be okay," Alice gave a fleeting smile and hugged me briefly before letting go.

I loaded the Volvo and sped off into the night with Bella.

To be continued…

Oh, my gawd! Where is he going to take her on the Cullen jet? Does anyone feel like some alone time is called for? Review me!

Thank you.

For3ver Immortal