Sorry it took SO long to update. I had to deal with some issues surrounding this story. But here it is!

I gasped in shock through the duct tape, my slow human mind trying to take in what it was feeling, smelling, seeing. . .

I felt his gasps in my ear as he looked at me and his rock hard solidness all around me. That was all it took for me to forget the rest of the world . . . except him. I felt a slight tugging on my wrists, and realized that they were free. He'd undone them.

Arms free, I flung them around his back, hugging him to me as tight as I could. It was such a relief to be able to think and say his name again without flinching from what I did. I reached a hand up from around him and ripped the tape of my mouth, ignoring the stinging. I could barely feel it.

"Edward," I sobbed into his chest, filling myself with his scent, his essence. "Edward, Edward, Edward."

"Bella," he whispered back, hugging me tightly— so wonderfully tight— against his rock chest. His arms were constricting around me, cold and hard, just as I wanted them. We were both shaking hard, and Edward was continuously kissing my hair, whispering my name in his exquisite voice, the tone melting my heart. I would rather die the most painful death than move one millimetre from where I was, wrapped in his arms. . .

"Edward, I lied. . . Edward, Edward, I—," I was stammering uncontrollably.

"I know, love. I know, I know, sweetheart. I read your note," he whispered into my hair. He caressed my head into his chest even more firmly with his hand, and I sighed in deep content.

He kissed my hair again and whispered in my ear, "I'm so glad you're safe," he whispered. "God, Bella. . . I was so terrified. Don't ever do that again. . ."

"I promise, I promise, I promise. . ." I sobbed, squeezing my arms even tighter against his waist.

We just sat there, basking in the other's presence, taking in the other desperately. But when we'd both calmed down as much as we could, Edward looked into my face and traced my every feature with his eyes.

"I thought I'd lost you again," he whispered, his voice tormented, his dark eyes burning. "When you were leaving, I didn't know what to do. . . and then I read your note that you left in the Kitchen, and Rosalie saw you here. I feared that I was too late, and I was. . . terrified . . . I looked for you. . ."

I squeezed my eyes shut at his tone and whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Edward. . ."

He kissed my eyes back open, staring deep into them, his trembling hands stroking my hair, caressing my back. "Edward, it was all I could do," I whispered. "I couldn't find any other way to keep you alive. Jacob was right there, and you mentioned Alice was worried."

"That's all my fault," he whispered back to me, one of his shaking hands holding my face, the other still wrapped tightly around me. "I should have protected you better, I should have had Alice concentrating more—,"

"Please don't blame yourself," I sobbed, clenching the collar of his shirt in my hands, looking up at him with streaming, desperate eyes. "I can't stand it. Please. . ."

Edward sighed and pressed his face to mine, rubbing his nose affectionately against mine. "Neither of us are to blame then," he murmured. "We were both tricked."

I buried my face into Edward's neck and he wrapped his arms around me again, holding me tightly against his chest. But then he put a hand under my chin and tilted my face up to meet his, our noses brushing against each other.

"Say it," he whispered, his black eyes pleading.

"Say what?" I whispered back, determined to say whatever he wanted me to say.

He just stared deeply into my eyes, and I understood. He must have seen the discovery dawn in my eyes and whispered, "I need to hear you say it. . . please, Bella. I need it."

I took Edward's face tightly in both my hands and whispered, wholly truthful, "I love you."

Edward exhaled, and pulled me close again. He whispered in my ear, "As I love you, Bella Swan." Simple, but they meant everything. And I could feel the devotion and truth in every word he said.

And at that moment I couldn't believe my absolutely wonderful luck. I was weak with relief. No matter what I did, this magnificent being still loved me. No matter how much I hurt him, no matter how mean or heartbreaking I was to him, he would always forgive me and take me back. I'd done a lot in the past that should have sent him running right away, absolutely disgusted. But instead he stayed. Loving me, holding me, comforting me. . . it was more than I deserved, but I was far too selfish to ever give it up. Far, far too selfish. He was my life. How could you give up something that was exponentially more important to you than even air itself?

I sighed in content into his chest and buried my face even deeper into his chest.

I never thought that I would feel such happiness ever again.

But I knew that I held my destiny in my arms, and I could face whatever fate threw at me as long as that was true.

Until a voice cut through my happiness like a knife through butter:

"Well, isn't this just. . . touching."

So fast I could barely keep track of it, I felt Edward – how wonderful it felt to finally think his name without the pain! – jump up to his feet, his hands gripping mine as he moved me behind him.

"Jacob," he snarled, his velvet voice sounding all the more beautiful to my unworthy ears after being deprived of it, no matter how horrifying. Edward held Jacob's gaze, and neither of them blinked.

A malicious smile spread across Jacob's face, and I peeked around Edward's shoulder to get a better look, all the while keeping a firm grip on his hands. Never, never would I walk away from this vampire again.

Heart pounding, I quickly sized Jacob up and my heart plummeted. I realized that if it came to a fight, if Edward attacked through pure anger, he would most likely perish, and the thought terrorized me like no other. I couldn't lose him.

"It's so wonderful to see you again, Edward," he said, his face calm and peaceful, as if he was merely here on a pleasure trip. "I see you saw through our charade with your darling little human."

Edward's grip tightened on my hands but remained silent.

"Oh, I don't think he saw through it precisely, Jacob," another voice cut in. I whipped my head to the side, but Edward's eyes remained on Jacob. Embry. "His little pet left him a note in the Kitchen. Don't you remember hearing just now?"

"But she left him," yet another voice quietly said, "and yet he still hunted her down." I whipped my head to the other side. Paul.

Then, right before my eyes, three others came from behind Jacob, and I could name them all. Jarred, Quil and Sam.

My heart plummeted, and I gripped Edward's hands so tightly, it hurt.

Six against one. Edward against the La Push pack.

He couldn't win.

Wildly, I thought about screaming at him to let me go and hand me over to the pack. And for one terrifying moment, I almost hoped, prayed, that perhaps our time apart and my cruel words had decreased the intensity of his feelings for me, so he could let me go and return to his family.

But the way he was standing and our reunion not a moment before didn't help my theory.

The wolf men stood around us in a circle. We were surrounded.

"What do you want?" Edward finally said. "Why are you doing this? We haven't broken our side of the bargain, we haven't crossed the boundry-"

"But we never gave her rules, dear Edward," Paul said, his eyes trained on my weak human body, hidden behind Edward's.

Once again, before I could comprehend, I felt Edward whip me around, and he clutched me to his side, his arms wrapped protectively around me.

"Give us more boundaries then," he tried, his voice more respectful now, persuasive. "She will visit if you want, or she can stay away..."

"Oh, no, Edward," Embry purred, taking a step closer. Edward's stance stiffened even more in return. "She knows too much, and we told her to keep you away or you and your fragile little human would die. And since she failed to keep up her side of the bargain, death is the only way."

Edward. . . dead. . .

NO!

I felt, even with my weak human senses, the group tighten their circle around us, and my heart pounded even harder, the fear – the all-consuming fear – rise so far up my throat I almost felt nauseous.

So I did the only thing that could help us. I knew enough to know that if I didn't do this, Edward would die, and if he died, his family would get involved, and I couldn't bear for anyone to be hurt because of me.

"I'll come with you," I cried out to Sam. "I'll come, but only if you let Edward go and promise never to touch Edward's family again. Only if you promise to leave them all alone."

"Bella!" Edward cried, and I felt his hand come up and grab my jaw, turning my face to look at his own horrified one. "What are you--?"

But then, I felt hot hands on my shoulders, my arms, and I barely glimpsed when hard, brown hands grip Edward's arms.

And I was wretched away from him.

"No!" Edward roared, and I saw him struggle madly. I looked up from my own imprisonment and saw Quil and Jarred and Paul holding him back. Embry's arms were tight around me, but it was unnecessary.

I would not run away.

And even though I was terrified, finally now for myself, my heart which had been so broken and bleeding this past day, worrying of Edward's pain, slowly pieced back together. Not heal, but piece back together enough for now until I was wretched away from him again. Edward would be safe now, he would be fine. He would go back to his family and live, without me around to complicate his existence. Of course, I was horrified that he might try to chase after me, but Alice and Emmett would never allow it. They knew better.

But then I heard Jacob speak into Edward's ear, close to his determined and horrified face, "Why struggle, Edward? She doesn't want you anyway, and how could she? Why not just walk away, instead of being so masochistic?"

The words had a double effect on me. One part of me was horrified that he would try to convince Edward that I didn't want him, which Edward must know by now was complete nonsense, but another part of me was almost hopeful that the words would quell Edward's struggling and numb him long enough for them to hoist me away, or kill me.

But Edward struggled on, and roared, "That's doesn't matter to me! I refuse to let her be--,"

Jarred's mouth clamped onto Edward's shoulder, and I screamed, drowning out Edward's words, "Don't hurt him!"

Quil tittered his low pitched laugh, and I heard Jacob call out his name, a command.

And I watched in horror as Edward's face contorted from determination and fear into pain. Although the fear still lingered, the horror on his face still in place, his eyes closed and his muscles clenched, not moving as he screwed his eyes shut and put up Quil's torture, which had just begun.

Now I struggled.

"No!" I screamed, kicking, wriggling as much as I could. I had to get to him, comfort him somehow. Anything. If Edward was to suffer, I would suffer. "Let him go! Stop it, let me go!" I felt as though I would die on the spot from the pain of watching this.

"Let her go, Embry." Sam smiled, and I felt the hot arms that were so tight around me loosen. I dropped to my knees when he released me, but ran over to Edward's limp body. He was on his knees, the grips on his body still tight, but they lowered him.

I collapsed onto him, gripping his body close to mine, trying so hard to smother the pain away. I pulled away slightly and gripped his face between my hands, "Edward, Edward, listen to me, please," I whimpered, my hands cupping his precious face. "Please, listen to me. Edward, please, please."

Edward's agonized eyes opened, and his body slowly relaxed, and I saw Quil out of my peripheral vision blink his eyes, a sign he had stopped, looking sickeningly pleased. Edward's eyes rake over my face, and he breathed, "Bella. . ."

I choked on a sob as he whispered my name and I pressed kisses to his face, holding his face between my hands. I saw his arms try to wrap around me, but then his eyes snapped open more and the struggling began again. He jerked his arms and tried to twist away, but to no avail.

"Edward, Edward, stop," I begged, my hands still on him. "Please stop."

Edward's desperate eyes looked at my face and I ran my fingers through his soft, bronze hair. "Edward," I whispered. "I have to go with them. I need you to go back to your family and--,"

"No!" Edward shouted. "I will not let you go with them! You can't, you can't. . ." Edward's eyes held mine with the gravitational force of a black hole and said, his voice breaking, "I'm not asking you to stay with me, Bella! I swear, you owe me no payment for coming to get you, but I will not let you go. I'm not asking for anything from you except not to go with them and die!"

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I wanted to beg him to let me go, but then I felt another pair of hot, strong arms wrap around me and I knew that this was the end.

I looked at Edward again to see him struggling. "Goodbye, Edward," I whispered, knowing he heard me. I wanted to say so much more. How much I loved him, how much I never wanted him to leave me, but I knew that that would only spur him on to find me again. I didn't care what happened to me. As long as he and his family were safe.

But then, just as Jacob began to drag me away, just as Edward began to struggle and roar even more loudly, I heard a roar that was not Edward's nor anyone's here:

"Let go of my sister!"

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