A/N: OK… After posting the last chapter, I decided that I can't just wing it, so earlier this week, I sat down and outlined this story. It looks to be somewhere around 50 chapters, although each will only be 1K, so it won't really be that long word-wise. I also decided that I need a posting schedule to keep me on track, so I am now planning to update on Saturdays. Since this one will be short, if I write more than one chapter a week, there may possibly be more than one post/week. I've also realized that this story will eventually earn an "M" rating, so I've gone ahead and changed it.

That's it for now. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks to tiffanyanne3 for the beta and radar1230 for the pre-read.

Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sacrificial Love

Bella

I was cautious exiting the tunnel. Though a good distance from the cottage, it wasn't far enough for me to not be detected should I make an obvious noise. Crouching down so that I was mostly hidden by the surrounding foliage, I took a moment to watch and listen to the activity taking place in front of our home. A fire had been lit; it was burning brightly, and the sickly-sweet scent of burning flesh tickled my nose, letting me know the tracker had been disposed of. Permanently. I took that as a positive turn of events, even though Edward had assured me that he never would have been able to track me. Not with my immunity to vampire mind-tricks.

Three of the six visitors were visible, standing outside the front of the house and staring at the general area where I had last seen Edward. Stretching my mind and concentrating carefully, I was able to pick up snatches of their conversation. Aro was on the ground, still working on Edward. The remaining two vampires were inside the house, presumably looking for clues to my whereabouts. They hadn't found the secret passage yet, but if Aro successfully healed Edward, it would only be a matter of time.

Turning away from the house, I followed the predetermined trail. As soon as I was safely out of sight, I began running. Fear and uncertainty spurred me on, chasing close behind and nipping at my heels. It was fight or flight, and my sense of self-preservation was so strong that I didn't slow for quite some time. Functioning on autopilot, I blindly followed the escape route we had established. In fact, The Plan was so ingrained in my mind that it took quite a while for me to recognize that the prepared route was the last course I needed to be on; as soon as Edward regained consciousness, Aro would be able to read his mind, and our prearranged meeting point would no longer be safe.

My feet slowed to a halt with that realization. Looking around, I took stock of the situation. The sun had settled beneath the horizon, and the day was coming to a close. I'd been on the move for at least three hours, so I was probably halfway to Denali.

Edward and I had been living in northern British Columbia for the past six months. It was the first time we'd been this close to my past life in almost eight years. We'd spent the first year after my transformation in Siberia. That's not a euphemism; we actually lived in Siberia. Edward had felt it was the safest location for us for several reasons: the human population was sparse, so I wouldn't be tempted, and very few vampires were known to inhabit or visit that area. Therefore, we would likely not be detected. For all intents and purposes, it truly was a wasteland. As a human, I'd complained about the weather in Forks, but the Olympic peninsula was a tropical paradise compared to the Arctic.

From there, we'd slowly travelled westward, spending some time in northern Russia and Western Europe before finally returning to North America. We'd migrated through Canada over the past several years, making temporary homes in Northern Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan before settling in an area surrounded by several nature preserves a few hundred miles to the east of Juneau. From the time we'd settled there, I'd felt safe and secure.

That sense of security was now gone. As long as Aro was alive, I doubted that I would ever feel safe again.

Just thinking about Aro caused me to worry anew. Every plan that Edward and I had ever concocted involved the two of us running from danger together. For ten years, I'd relied on his knowledge and deferred to his judgment. I'd allowed Edward to take control of our lives and our safety. It suddenly dawned on me that I'd never asked the right questions or formulated my own theories. I hadn't really wanted to—I'd been happy just being with Edward.

But now? Now, Edward was gone and I needed help.

I needed my family.

Unfortunately, we hadn't seen them since the short period of time following my transformation. Edward had felt that it was safer for all involved if they didn't know our exact whereabouts and vice versa. He didn't want the Volturi coming after them in search of us. We talked by phone every few months, just to check in, but it wasn't the same. They hadn't been thrilled by our self-imposed seclusion—Carlisle had tried on multiple occasions to convince us to return to "the fold," and Alice practically cried each time we spoke—but while I missed them terribly, I agreed with Edward one-hundred percent on this point. I refused to put them in harm's way because of me.

Reaching into my pocket, I frowned when I discovered that I didn't have my wallet or phone. I must have left them on the dresser in our bedroom. A lot of good they did there… At least the phone wouldn't provide any helpful information to those who were now hunting me. It was a pre-paid unit, and I hadn't entered any numbers into memory—all the numbers I needed were stored in my head. The call log would be equally unhelpful; I'd only made a handful of calls in the past few months. All were to Edward.

I sighed in frustration. I was in the middle of nowhere, with no viable plan of action, no money or identification, and no means of communication. I also knew that I had very little time to contemplate my next move. Aro was the most powerful of our kind, and as soon as he revived Edward, he would be coming for me. I had to keep moving.

But not forward—the path to Alaska was now the path to death.

Turning away from everything familiar, I began running in the opposite direction.

East.