A/N: Sorry for the delay-had some RL work and family commitments last week and over the weekend. I'm hoping to write the next chapter today, and if I do, I'll do my best to post it early.

Thanks to tiffanyanne3for the beta and radar1230 for the pre-read.

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

Sacrificial Love

Edward

"You will tell me what I want, Edward," he stated furiously. "Where is she? Where is Bella?"

At the name, my chest tightened. Something familiar tickled at the blank recesses of my mind. A flash of dark hair, a glimpse of brown—no golden—eyes… For one brief moment, I felt as if the confusion, the emptiness, might finally start to clear, as if I might finally find some answers. I tried my best to focus on the fuzzy image of a woman's face, but as quickly as it had come, the vision was gone, fading into the swirling abyss of nothingness, just like everything else.

"No!" I screamed, my throat burning violently as air was forced over that tender flesh, fanning the flames that simmered there.

Somehow knowing that everything important to me revolved around her, I reached blindly in the direction of the departing image, as if attempting to hold onto that fleeting apparition. I grasped nothing but air. Fisting my fingers, I slammed my hand into the ground in frustration. When I looked down, I was shocked to find that I had buried my arm up to my elbow in the ground. Pulling it out of the now-crumbling dirt, I flexed my fingers experimentally, surprised to find my skin unharmed. How… But the question of how was quickly replaced by what when the sun rose above the trees, warming me with its bright, cheery rays and causing my skin to sparkle brilliantly.

"What are you doing, Edward?" the angry voice growled once again.

My head snapped up. I shuddered when I met the gaze of the person addressing me—in the spotlight of the morning sun, his irises were a startling blood red. He was still gripping my hand tightly, and I could still feel an uncomfortable, probing presence in my mind.

"You can't keep me out forever. You're not that strong." His eyes narrowed. "You wavered for just a moment when I mentioned her name." He paused, and then said it again, drawing it out. "Bella."

Another flash of pale, shimmering skin flitted through my mind. A shoulder, arm, hand. A large diamond ring on a slender finger. I tried hard to concentrate on the image, to see more, but once again it faded away quickly, leaving me even more frustrated than before.

"Yes," he hissed. "Bella is your weak link. Your love for your mate will eventually supersede your control. It's only a matter of time." His head cocked to the side, and a small, slightly malicious smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Or possibly the right amount of pressure…"

He nodded once more to the small woman at his side. Pain flooded through me anew, although it wasn't nearly as intense this time, and I couldn't give it all of my attention—I was too focused on the words that he had just uttered. My… mate? I frowned at the antiquated term. Ignoring the waves of agony that were washing over me, I glanced down at the hand that was held captive by his bony fingers. I was startled to find a large gold band encircling the ring finger on my left hand.

I'm married?

The physical pain that had been coursing through my body faded even further as a new kind of pain took over. I was lost. Completely. The emptiness of my mind was soul chilling, worse than any external pain that could ever be inflicted upon me.

I had no memory of anything prior to waking up and finding this strange man hovering over me. And since I had awoken, I had been presented with an overwhelming amount of information that made no sense, facts that were impossible to believe: the endless fire—in my body prior to waking and in my throat ever since; the constant humming of mumbled voices in my head, when no one was visibly speaking; pain on demand from just a look; the sense of someone else invading my mind; impossible feats of strength with no dire consequences; sparkling skin; red eyes; and a mate I couldn't remember.

I did not know who I was or where I was or… what I was.

I heard a sharp intake of breath and looked up to find him staring at me incredulously, a hint of confusion on his face. Then he laughed, a merry, tinkling sound that clashed with the intensity of his demeanor.

"What is this, Edward? Do you really expect me to believe that you don't remember anything? That you've forgotten who and what you are?"

He paused, and my mind was filled with the hum of five other people mumbling. Once again, I couldn't make out the words, and when I glanced to the side, their mouths weren't moving.

"You expect me to believe that you've forgotten your mate?" he continued. "That you've forgotten Bella?"

Another brief image, this one of a head thrown back in ecstasy. Although I couldn't see anything else, couldn't see what was happening to cause that look, I knew. I felt the connection in my gut. And lower—my body instantly responded to the image, growing hard. Taking a deep breath, the familiar scent I had detected earlier once again invaded my entire being, intensifying my feelings and emotions. Instinctively I knew it belonged to her.

My mate.

Bella.

"Yes…" he encouraged in an excited, breathy voice.

His hand squeezed tighter, and I felt an uncomfortable pinching in my mind as if he was trying to see more. A low growl rumbled in my chest. Even though it had only been a flash, I knew that he had witnessed an intimate moment. The fact that he was somehow invading my mind—seeing what I was seeing and feeling what I was feeling—felt like the ultimate betrayal.

Forcing words over my desiccated tongue and parched lips, I finally addressed my… captor. He could not be considered anything else.

"Who are you, and what do you want from me?"