A/N - Hope everyone on the US side has a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! Thanks for the wonderful comments on the last chapter!
Love and hugs to my wonderful beta, changedbyEdward and eternal gratitude to Stephenie Meyer for everything Twilight...no copyright infringement intended!
(Bella's POV)
Reality returned as the early morning sun began its trek to the sky overhead. I lay silently in Edward's arms trying to ignore the oncoming dawn and concentrated solely on the wonderful things he was doing to my neck with his lips and tongue. However, the third ring of his cell phone was simply too difficult to ignore. Reaching up, I yanked his pants from the branch of the oak tree only to hear the fabric rip in reflex.
"You little minx, that was the last piece of intact clothing between the two of us!" Edward scolded as he bit into my shoulder teasingly.
Grabbing the obnoxious distraction from his pocket, he tightened his hold on me as he answered. "Good morning, Alice."
I listened to both sides of the conversation intently, burying my face in his chest as I heard our sister relay where he would find the bag of clothing she had packed for us.
I waited until he ended the call and raised my head to look him in the eye. "God Edward, is there anything she doesn't see!" I laughed, embarrassed that Alice had witnessed enough to know we would require new clothing, yet grateful that I wouldn't have to face the wrath of Emmett's badgering if we had returned to the house naked.
"Don't worry, love. I believe she only looks long enough to see what she needs to see."
"Oh you don't think Alice is a closet voyeur?"
He tapped his head lightly. "Don't forget I can read her thoughts."
"Well, if you see more than I would want to know she has envisioned – don't tell me, ok?"
"Ah, Bella," his eyes twinkled mischievously, "I can almost see the blush." He caressed my cheek gently. "Wait here, I'll be right back."
In an instant he had returned, bag in hand. Thankfully Alice had taken pity and I gratefully grabbed the leggings and long-sleeve shirt from the bag. When I saw that she had even included sneakers, I looked at Edward suspiciously.
"Are you sure Alice packed this?"
"Yes, love. Jasper and Emmett are eager for our return so you can begin your fight training, so she knew you would want to be comfortable – but first, we hunt."
One small herd of mule deer later, we made our way to the training area that Jasper and Emmett had set up while we were away. Edward squeezed my hand affectionately as we approached the rest of the family.
"I see everyone has come out for the entertainment of watching me get my butt kicked," I said low enough that only Edward would be able to hear.
"No, love, that isn't the case at all. It won't hurt any of us to brush up on our defensive skills. Trust me…you will do just fine." He kissed the top of my head lightly and then wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "I can't wait to see the look on Emmett's face the first time you take him down."
"Edward, while your confidence in me is flattering to say the least, I have no idea what I'm doing here!"
"Bella, my love…I have seen you move." If I had been human my face would have been scarlet. "There is no doubt in my mind that you can take Emmett down. Just pay attention to your senses – they'll guide you."
Emmett grinned at me as we approached. "You ready for a smack down, Bells?" Edward growled in response. "Oh chill out, bro, you know I wouldn't let anything happen to Baby Bells. Let's get this show on the road!" I couldn't help but laugh as he pumped his fist in the air and began shadow-boxing. As jovial as Emmett appeared, I knew he was just trying to keep things light. We all knew how serious the stakes were, but if we were going to accomplish anything, we could not allow those thoughts to distract us from what needed to be learned.
Jasper called things to order and we began in earnest. He spent the first little bit explaining about how the newborns would act and react. Knowing a little of Jasper's background, I couldn't help but admire how he had taken leadership of organizing our training and strategy. His time as a soldier, both human and in Mexico with his maker, Maria, had given him tremendous skill in this area and I knew we were very lucky to have him on our side. I had no doubt in the strength of the rest of my family, but I also knew that they were a peaceful bunch and that this fight we were facing was a relatively new experience for all of us except Jasper.
I watched with interest as Jasper then sparred with various members of the family, always making sure that I understood their different methods of attack as well as how they counter-attacked. Each member of the family had a different style of fighting and I wondered if it echoed their style of hunting technique as well. Edward had told me to rely on my instincts so I felt there most likely was a strong connection between the two. I took note to study their movements when we all hunted together again.
The rest of the afternoon to early evening was spent having various members of the family, excluding Edward, both challenge me to spar as well as attack by surprise. Edward refused to attack me and I was upset at first, but after several rounds with Alice and Esme, I understood his hesitance. The close contact and intensity of the sparring really affected our moods and after a few thoughts of attacking Edward crossed my mind, I realized that it would also be very arousing. Jasper cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow at me, a knowing smirk shouting to me that he knew exactly what I was thinking, so I quickly re-focussed on what was happening in front of me, but not before cuffing him in the shoulder.
"Aw darlin', it's a natural reaction. Excitement of any kind can bring out all kinds of emotion and you have to remember, there is a very fine line between love and hate." Jasper glanced over and pointed to Rose as she tackled Carlisle, pinning him to the ground, both of them laughing as she did it. "I know you are worried, Bella, but you need to let go of the human fears that you're carrying and believe in us."
"I'm trying, Jasper, I really am. But when I think of there being even a possibility that anything could happen to Angela or any of you, I'm terrified of the feeling that comes over me."
"But Bella, that's the feeling you're going to need to embrace when it comes to this fight."
"And what if I do and I can't find my way back?"
Jasper turned to face me. "Darlin', you will always find your way back. That is what it means to have what we have. Our mates, our family – we are anchors for each other to keep us from losing ourselves permanently."
I nodded and looked back to the field where Edward and Emmett were going toe-to-toe. We stood watching quietly as time after time; Emmett went to strike, always finding air, Edward anticipating each move as he read his brother's thoughts.
"Ya know, I think it is time you show Emmett what you are made of."
"You don't actually think I could beat him, Jazz?"
Jasper looked over at me, a slow smile forming at his lips. "Oh Darlin', you really need to have a little more faith in your newborn skills."
"But he caught me the last time…"
"Bella," Jasper wrapped an arm around my shoulder, "may I remind you that was your first day and before you had gained any of my killer skills?" He grinned devilishly as we approached the sparring brothers. "Hey Em, why don't you give up getting your ass kicked by Edward and give Bella a shot?"
It didn't take much convincing and I soon found myself face to face with Emmett, crouched into an attack position. "I promise it won't hurt much, Bells," Emmett laughed as he circled, planning his attack.
I chuckled darkly but didn't speak, inhaling his scent and preparing myself for his lunge. Jasper's lessons from the morning replayed in my mind as I concentrated on Emmett's movements, watching for any sign of attack. And there it was, a slight twitch of his eye and a minute drop of his shoulder before he lunged, but a split second too late as I countered and he hit the dirt.
Emmett grinned menacingly, lunging again immediately, but again moving too short as I leapt and perched for a moment on the lower branch of an oak before dropping to the ground silently behind him. He turned quickly, but not fast enough as I jumped and tackled him to the ground. Our bodies flipped, each of us fighting to gain control, but at last I had him pinned, his arm twisted as I leaned against his chest, pinning him to the ground. "Say Uncle!" I whispered and his eyes blazed in fury for a split second, unbelieving that I had actually beaten him.
"Uncle," he caved and I released my grip and stood, extending my hand out to help him off the ground. He shook his head. "Nice one, Bells, but there will be a rematch!"
I smiled and nodded, praying that we would survive long enough to do so.
(Angela's POV)
I had lost track of time. Somewhere between my drifts of consciousness and unconsciousness, I had lost track of whether minutes, hours or days had passed. I had tried to keep record of how many times the light faded away from the windows high above me, but I had no way of knowing what I missed when exhaustion would take me.
I knew that someone had been back during one of my blackouts because another bottle of water had been left and a bucket, which I could only assume was to be used for a toilet. My stomach churned at the thought of the conditions I had been left in and to settle the thought I poured a bit of the water onto another piece of the paper bag, dabbing at my face and wiping my hands, if only to have some comfort.
Thoughts of my parents came to mind and I choked back the sobs as I considered what they must be going through. Were they looking for me? Did they know if I was alive? I had to believe that their strong faith would carry them through. Faith. I had spent my first several hours deep in prayer, begging for guidance and mercy. I had prayed for Mike and Victoria's souls as well as my own, knowing full well that the likelihood of me making it out of this place alive was slim if none. I could accept my death if that was God's will, but I could not accept being turned into a monster. Surely if that were what they had planned, it would already have happened.
But if not that, what did they want me for? If it was solely for my blood, I would have already been dead. It couldn't be for money, Mike knew my family was not wealthy and it was obvious that they could simply take whatever they needed, so that was not the reason.
I sat replaying things through my mind, remembering all the odd things that had happened over the past few months. The disappearances, the murders. How much of this had been at Victoria's hand? Obviously what had happened to Jessica and Lauren was her doing as Mike had gone missing the same day. What about the other deaths in the area? There had been so many unexplained incidents all along the coast from Forks to Seattle. It all made sense to me now.
I leaned back against the wall, my head tilted to watch the waning light above. Soon I would be lost in the dark again and my body shuddered at the thought. Another fear overtook my mind, though as I heard the lock snap open and my eyes widened in fear as I stared at the opening door and Mike and Victoria entered my prison.
Even in the fading light, I trembled as I took in the vision of their glowing red eyes staring at me intently. As scared as I was, I never lowered my gaze, determined to not let them know how terrified I really was.
Victoria stayed by the door, a disgusted smirk pasted to her chalk white face. Mike approached me stealthily until he stood only a few feet from where I sat.
"Hello Angela."
I didn't answer and fought back the tears that welled at my eyes. I heard the snicker from the door and blinked them back furiously, I would not show fear.
Mike reached into his pocket and removed his phone and for a moment, I actually believed he was going to let me make a call. Sensing what I was thinking Mike shook his head, an eerie smile teasing at his lips. "Sorry to get your hopes up there, Ang. No such luck. I just thought I might grab a couple of photos…I remember how much you like pictures." He snapped a few times and sighed. "Vic, I don't know if these are going to work. What do you think?" He tossed the phone to her and she laughed as she flicked through what he had taken.
"No Michael, not nearly the dramatic effect we were going for." She tossed the camera back to him. "Here, let me set things up."
In an instant she was beside me and I gasped as her hands grasped my shirt, shredding it so that it barely covered me. She yanked my head by the hair and threw me against the wall, the side of my face making contact with the rough cement and I screamed at the burn of my skin scraping against it. Yanking me back towards her, I felt her hand tighten on my throat and was repulsed as Mike snapped a shot of me in her clutches.
"That should be perfect."
Dropping me like a child discarding a broken doll, she moved back to peer over Mike's shoulder and chuckled manically. "Yes, that should definitely send the right message."
I watched as they moved back towards the door. My voice, no more than a whisper pleaded, "Mike, please let me go."
He turned to face me. "Oh Ang, you can't go yet. The fun is only beginning!" Victoria opened the door and I watched her go, her maniacal laughter grating at my every nerve. "Now, you be good and I'll see about bringing you some more food. Sleep tight!"
The door clanged shut and I dropped to the floor, unsure whether to be grateful or not that I would at least survive another day. I lay sobbing, my face buried in my arm as I tried to wrap my head around what they wanted from me and who the photograph was for.
Why me?
End of chapter - Uh - Oh what are those two up to?
