A missing girl

'Are we going to be too late?' He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

He was driving top speed in his car towards her school. If someone saw him now they would think he was a lunatic. He wasn't inconspicuous and it was the first time he didn't care.

Yes.

Even the voice in her head sounded broken. All he could see in her visions of Bella's future was nothing, not even a single image.

'Does it mean she is...' He couldn't finish his question. The potential answer was too much for him to bear.

I don't know, but we have to try regardless.

Yes, they had to try. Edward knew that if there was even a small chance they could save her, he would give everything for that chance. Alice took out her phone, but Edward concentrated on getting to her school as fast as possible. Only flashes of the conversation Alice had with Carlisle came through his panicked haze.

'...on our way...'

'...call the others...'

'...follow us as soon as you're able...'

He came to a screeching stop in front of her school, when Alice hung up her phone. A group of small children was playing outside and they all looked up startled by the loud sounds of their arrival. The teacher outside was talking to another teacher and Edward sensed their panic. He was out of his car faster than humanly possible and Alice joined him. One of the teachers came to them. Her face was pained. She should have been surprised by their arrival, but her mind was too busy panicking.

This is terrible! What if she got hurt because of me. I could never forgive myself.

'You are the relatives of Bella, aren't you?' She asked timid.

'Yes, where is she?' Alice answered, her voice tense.

Oh no! This is really bad!

Edward almost growled aloud, but could keep it inside just barely.

'A man came. He told me he was her uncle and he needed to talk to her. He told me it was very important and Bella seemed to be unafraid of the man. She even smiled to him. I let him talk to her outside, the kids were playing there, but kept my eyes on them. Everything seemed to be alright.' She was on the verge of falling apart. It was a miracle her story came out so clearly. 'I turned my head for maybe three seconds, I swear, but when I turned back they were gone.'

Tears ran over her cheeks and she trembled fervently.

'I am so sorry.' Her voice was barely audible. 'I called the police.'

Edward wanted to hate her, to hate the woman that lost his precious Bella, but it wasn't really her fault. A normal human could have never taken someone in such a short time and he read in her mind that she spoke the truth about the three seconds. No, something other than human had taken Bella and there was no way the police or any other human bureau could help them.

'Where did you see them last?'

He didn't have to wait for her answer. In her mind he saw the place as clearly as she did. Woods were surrounding the school, just like everywhere else and it was likely they had disappeared in there.

'Follow me.' He hissed low to Alice and before the startled teacher could respond they had disappeared in the forest, following the scent of Bella mixed with werewolf.

Edward stopped in his tracks the moment he smelled the slightly human scent mixed with wolf strongly. In front of him were standing four werewolves in their human form. The odds were going to be two against one. Edward was not impressed. He was sure he and Alice could defeat them easily. Alice was behind him, but she was not far.

'We meet again.' The middle man whispered.

Edward did his best to remember the Quileutes he once met, but he didn't recognize any of their faces.

'And you are?' He spitted.

'My name is Billy Black. We have been waiting for you.'

Billy Black? Now that made some sense. This was clearly Ephraim's offspring, probably his son.

Waiting to tell you that we took the child and we will not give her back.

Alice was beside him now.

'What did you do to Bella? Where is she?' The panic in her voice was clear.

'She is safe.' Billy answered calmly.

'Where is she?' Edward asked again.

He knew Billy wasn't going to answer, but Billy didn't know he could read his mind and he hoped to find the answer there. It worked. Billy remembered how they took Bella away. He saw Bella strapped on the back of some other werewolf. She was unconscious, her eyes closed. Was she hurt?

'What did you do to her?' He snarled.

Billy looked at him strangely.

They seem genuinely concerned for her, strange...

'We made her sleep and took her away. She is not hurt.'

'What do you want from her?' Alice asked.

Edward thought it was beside the point, he didn't really care about their reasoning, but he let it play out.

'The signs told us, she had finally resurfaced. We were very surprised the signs came from an unpopulated area in Alaska, but it didn't took us long to find her with you.' His sharp eyes were on Edward's face.

'We have waited long enough.'

'For what?'

'For her.' He answered. 'She belongs with us. We are her real protectors.'

Edward growled.

'We are her family.'

'You might have made yourself believe that, but no human could be worthy enough to take care of her, least of all a bunch of bloodsuckers. She is ours.'

The way he said the last statement, brought out the worst in Edward. Hate boiled up and he could barely contain his anger.

'If you hurt one hair on her head, I swear to God I will hunt you down until my last breath.' He hissed. 'Give her back to us right now!'

He took an offensive crawl, but felt Alice restrain him.

'No Edward, don't!' She yelled.

Not yet, if you kill them now, it will be a lot more difficult to find Bella. Be patient!

The three men beside Billy Black were shivering and Edward saw them change. They were young werewolves and couldn't control their shape shifting yet. His aggressive action caused them to change. What he experienced next, stopped him in his tracks more effectively than Alice did. He suddenly could hear a lot of voices. It took him a moment to understand he could hear the minds of everyone in their pack. His mind was immediately drawn to the thoughts of the werewolves that were carrying Bella.

Oh no, she is waking up. It is too soon, we didn't bring her far enough yet.

Stay calm, she cannot fall off.

But what if she panics? She is carried by a werewolf. We cannot allow her to get hurt. Maybe we should stop just in case. A little pause to make sure she is calm and alright.

Edward took a defensive position, a little in front of Alice. He needed to keep reading their minds.

'You have broken the treaty with this action.' Alice accused. 'You promised to keep out of our territory.'

'We don't care about the treaty or our promises.' Billy answered, still in human form.

She is really waking up now. I am stopping.

Edward saw through their minds that the werewolf carrying Bella had stopped and cut the bonds that restrained Bella on his back. She slipped to the ground and opened her eyes.

'We will kill you for this.' Alice threatened.

She wasn't normally so violent, but Bella meant too much for her to contain her hatred.

'We will gladly fight and give our lives to protect the child.'

Edward understood now. Billy and his three companions had volunteered to stay and fight so that the others could escape with Bella. They were sacrificing their lives.

One of the werewolves with Bella had changed back and was talking with Bella.

'It is alright. You are safe.'

Bella stared at him in astonishment.

'Where am I?'

How will I explain? The werewolf asked himself, hesitating. I cannot explain too much. We need to be able to get on our way as fast as possible.

'We need to take you somewhere. Don't be afraid, it will be somewhere no one can ever hurt you.'

Bella was very much afraid, Edward could read it easily from her face.

'Edward! Where is Edward?' She yelled unsettled.

Edward tensed. Never in his life had he wanted to be somewhere else as much as he wanted now. He needed to be there for her. Her fear and her yelling his name were like an undeniable siren call. If he would run now, there was a chance he could catch them. The trail was still fresh and they had stopped running, but the four werewolves before him would most likely stop him and after he had disposed of them, he would surely be too late to catch up with Bella. He saw no way out.

'She needs me.' His words were lost, broken.

Billy just shook his head.

It is too dangerous to leave her with the bloodsuckers.

He could barely hear the words above the sudden loud growls that were surrounding them. He had concentrated so hard on the minds of the pack, he hadn't heard this.

Emmett and Jasper had arrived.