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As always, huge thanks go to my pre-reader/cheerleader team Gredelina1 and IamTheAlleyCat. Also to Snarkymuch for beta'ing this chapter and listening to all my bitching when the words wouldn't flow. I love you all.

~ Chapter Twenty-Eight — Bereft ~

Edward POV

I watched her go as I stood frozen in place. It was my own shock that held me, not another's arms, though it amounted to the same thing. I could not move.

"What… what was that?" Alice's sobs had quieted for now, but I knew they were lurking under the surface. I could hear the grief in her thoughts.

"That was exactly what I was afraid of," Peter said.

I rounded on him, and my hands found their way to his throat. To his credit, he did not attempt to fight me off. He stayed still and allowed me to vent my rage. "Why didn't you warn us?" I snarled.

"I did," he said through gritted teeth. "You were all too arrogant to listen."

"But what was it?" Alice asked again.

"That was Bella's inner vampire coming out."

Alice frowned. "I don't understand."

"You wouldn't; you're on the deer sucker diet. But to us who hunt the natural way, that is what lurks within us all. That's what comes to the fore when you are draining a human of their sweet blood. It's what makes it possible to fight to defend yourself." He looked to Jasper. "You used to know this."

Jasper scowled at him. "You should have warned me."

"You should have known," Peter said, unabashed. "You used to be one of us."

I released Peter from my clutches and thumped down onto the sand. Hiding my face in my hands I began to sob.

I had thought I lost Bella forever the day Victoria stole her away, but a miracle had been granted, and she returned to me. Now I had lost her all over again, though this time I had lost her to herself.

What are we going to do? She can't stay like that forever. Alice's thoughts echoed my own feelings.

"Okay, take a moment and get your guilt out of the way, and then we can talk strategy," Peter said in a cold, hard tone.

His words seemed to be the permission we all needed. My sobs became keening howls and Jasper hid his face in Alice's hair. We remained like that for what felt like hours as we damned ourselves for what we had done.

"Feeling better?" Garrett asked eventually.

"No," I said in a choked voice. "I will never feel better."

Peter scoffed. "That was nice and dramatic. You need to get that shit out of your system now, because Bella will have no patience with it."

"You heard what she said; Bella is gone forever."

"Which was impressive and all, but also bullshit. I also heard her, whatever you want to call her, say she wasn't the strong one."

"Isabella," Jasper said. "For the sake of clarity, I think we should call her Isabella."

Peter shrugged. "Fine, whatever you want. The point is that Isabella is not the strong one—Bella is. Sooner or later, she will be out again, and then you can start fixing this mess you have created."

"We never meant to hurt her," Jasper said irritably. "We thought we were helping."

"Obviously, but you weren't. Did you learn anything that will help you fight the Volturi?"

I shook my head. All we had learned was the depths of the cruelty she had endured. The fact that she had made it through with some semblance of her mind intact was a miracle. Isabella said Bella was broken, and that was the truth, but not as broken as she imagined. The Bella I had come to know in these past two weeks knew me and protected me. She was still my Bella, at least some of the time.

"We learned nothing to help us fight," Jasper said, "but that's not to say we learned nothing. We now know what happened to Bella, and how she survived in the jungle."

"Was it worth it?" Garrett asked. "Because we could have told you that."

Alice shook her head. "It wasn't worth it. We were wrong."

"How long will it take for Bella to come back?" I asked Peter.

He shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Isabella is firmly in control for now, but that won't last long. She can only last as long as the need is there. As soon as Bella calms down, she will be shoved back into that little box in Bella's mind."

"And then what?" I asked.

"Then, if I'm right, she will search for you. I doubt she'll remember what happened with Isabella, but she will want to make sure you are safe. Word of warning, Jasper, when she does come looking, you're going to want to be well out of the way."

"Why?"

"Because the first person Isabella attacked was the one of us that looked the most like a danger. Jasper is a veritable beacon of menace with all his scars. Isabella saw that as a challenge. Bella will see that as a threat. After what she did to Carlisle, I think it's safe to say she will want to defend Edward again."

"Okay, so let's say you are right, and Bella will come back, what do we do next?" Alice asked. "How do we help her banish Isabella?"

"You don't," Garrett said simply. "Isabella and Bella are one and the same. You are going to have to accept that. If you can find something to ground Bella in the present, you might be able to suppress Isabella, but she will never go away completely."

I raked a hand through my hair. This was all so wrong. I couldn't consolidate the human Bella I had first met with the vampire that protected me, never mind the vampire that spewed vitriol at us all, blaming us, rightly so, for damaging her so badly. I could still hear her words echoing in my ears. The way she had spoken of us, it was chilling.

"Edward, could you hear her thoughts when Isabella was talking?" Jasper asked. "Could you see what she was talking about?"

I shook my head. "As soon as Isabella came to the fore, her thoughts vanished. It was as if a steel shutter came down and blocked me."

"That makes sense. I couldn't feel her emotions either, though it doesn't take a lot of imagination to know what she was feeling at the time. I have never known anything like it. Not even from a newborn."

Peter looked at him as if assessing his mental competence. "Of course you haven't. Newborns are driven by their urges. Isabella is completely in control of herself. I'm betting you've felt something like it before thought. Think back to the wars. Did you never feel anything similar?"

Jasper's mouth fell open. "Maria?"

"What does that lunatic have to do with anything?" Alice said in a hard tone. She detested Jasper's creator for the life she had forced her mate into.

"Isabella is a lot like her," Peter explained. "She was a raving lunatic, but completely in control at all times. It was as though she deplored the behavior of the newborns she created and strove to differentiate herself from them."

"Isabella is not a lunatic!" I said in a low growl.

Peter shrugged. "If you say so."

"I hate to say it, but he has a point," Jasper said. "Isabella, Bella, whoever she really is, is a lot like Maria. Fortunately, without the penchant for causing pain, but she definitely shares the same outlook on life. Isabella wants to be in control, so did Maria. This actually helps us. If we can deal with Isabella the same way we would an unwanted visit with Maria, we might have a fighting chance of beating her."

"Aren't you listening?" Peter sounded exasperated. "She's not something you can beat. She's a part of Isabella. They are one and the same."

I ignored his words. They were not what I wanted to hear. There had to be a way of beating Isabella, or else what was our life to be.

Isabella POV

I dove into the waves, away from them and their prying eyes. It felt good to be in the water again. It was a love Bella and I shared. In the jungle, there was a rock-lined pool near our cave that I liked to lie in after hunting.

Now I had the whole ocean open to me, and I took advantage of it. Diving in and out of the water was so freeing.

I considered my options. I could go to the mainland and back to my beloved jungle, but something whispered against it. The Volturi knew where I was there, and if I lost the battle with Bella for control, she would be powerless against them. Here at least I had forewarning of their coming and people to protect me. I hated to rely on the cowardly Cullens for anything, but needs must when the devil drives.

I wondered what the boy was doing now. Was he still standing uselessly on the shore as I ran from him taking his Bella away, or was he attempting to follow me? I was prepared for him, should he came. I couldn't harm him physically, Bella would never allow it, but I could have more fun with him yet. There were more stories of the Volturi visits and trips to the castle that I hadn't yet shared. How would he feel if he knew how they had taunted her with his voice? Especially after his last visit. I well remember the words they had said using his piteous voice. "I burn in the flames of hell, and soon, so will you."

How those words had hurt her. She had almost lost control then and freed me. I wished she had. I could have killed at least one of them before I was destroyed. The woman Zafrina would have helped me. I saw how much she hated them, too. But she hadn't freed me. I had been forced to remain hidden inside while they hurt her.

I swam to shore and wrung out my sopping hair. It would dry fairly quickly in the heat, as would my clothes. Taking stock of my surroundings, I realized I had come to the north shore of the island. The jungle encroached on the beach, leaving only a small strip of land for me to cross before I became lost in the trees. I ran across the sand and into the jungle. It was not as good as home, but it was close enough to appease me.

I needed to hunt, my throat was raw. I must have been suffering for days already, and the boy hadn't noticed. It was all very well for Bella to hunt for him, but he didn't think to return the favor.

I took down a deer and gulped down the blood. The hunt was too fast. It did not pacify my need for violence. I was burning with rage for them and their games. I wanted to go back to them and hurt them as they had hurt me, but I knew Bella would never allow it. I had to keep her mollified if I was to stop her from taking over again. It would be a delicate balancing act.

I took down a second deer and yanked back its head with pleasure. Muscle and sinew broke apart at my touch, almost tearing the head from the deer. The blood pulsed quickly away as the heart thudded its last beat. I looked at the carnage surround me and smiled. This was more like it.

My meal done with, I set off for our, no, my cave. It was mine alone now. The boy would not dare to come back to me now. A small twinge of sadness crept through me at the thought of not seeing him again. I disregarded it; it was Bella's need for him, not my own. I had need of no one but myself.

When I reached our cave, I stripped out of my bloodied clothing and stood under the falls. The pounding water swept away the dirt and blood from my skin. It turned the water a pleasant pink that I knew would fade before long. It was a pity, really.

I dressed myself from the pile of clothing we, no, I had stored here and settled back on the rocky floor to think about what came next. I couldn't allow myself to relax too much, or Bella would come out again. I mulled over my narration of our past. It helped to keep me tense. A part of me regretted that I had permitted myself to talk so much. They knew nearly everything now, all the secrets we had tried to keep from them. No, not we, she.

My thoughts were becoming tangled, and I knew it was Bella's doing. She was fighting to come forth. I batted her away like an irksome fly. This was my time, not hers. She'd had her time. If I allowed her to come out now, she would be back in that traitor's arms by the end of the day. I could not allow it. I had to protect her.

No! I thought to myself. This is my turn. You don't get to take it away from me.

A small voice whispered in return. I want my Edward.

Damn her. After all he had done to us, she still wanted him. It made no sense. I was the one she should want. I had protected us. Iwas the strong one. Just because she had control, it didn't cancel out the fact she was weak in body if not mind.

Where is my Edward?

"He's gone," I said aloud. I didn't know if she would hear me or not, but I would take my chances. "He didn't want us anymore."

No. The voice was a moan. He wouldn't leave me again. He loves me.

Foolish girl, she had no idea what love was. I was the one that loved us. I took care of us when nobody else would.

"He is gone, and this time he is not coming back."

You lie! She was hissing now. I could feel her rage building and knew she was close to taking control. There was one thing left to try.

"Will he still want you after all you've done? He knows now, he knows that you grubbed around like an animal in the dirt instead of searching for him."

He died. I couldn't save him.

"He didn't die, you fool. He is a vampire; they live forever. He left you all alone while he lived with his perfect family. You were nothing to him, nothing more than a distraction."

It was that word that cursed me. I had intended for her to be weakened by that reminder of his past treachery, but instead it gave her strength.

You lie!

A battle began that I had no strength left to fight. I felt myself being stuffed away into her mind. I was doomed. I tried to force more words from her lips, but they weren't mine anymore. I heard a voice. They were her words, not mine, and they came to me as an echo as I was forced once again into the dark recesses of her mind, forced to act as passenger to my own life.

"Edward loves me."