Oooookay, girls. If you haven't seen Taylor in the new GQ magazine that'll be coming out in July, hold onto your panties please.

http: / / www . /style /wear-it-now /201007/ taylor-lautner-stretch-armstrong-new-moon-eclipse#slide=1

That right there, without the spaces in between every back slash and period of course, will take you straight to 11 incredible, sexy pics of our man Jacob. Please, go out and buy that magazine when it comes out, tear out all his pictures (gently! Careful!) and pin them up all over your room. You have my word I'll be doing the same thing. Yum.

Jeeze, why does that boy have to look good in everything he wears? But better yet, why does he look so scrumdidlyumcious without a shirt?

Chapter 36 – Edward's Insanity

Edward's POV

I stood at the top of a tree, searching for the mutts' thoughts. I couldn't hear them at all. There were only two on guard at the moment. Even better luck, one of them was the little one. His balls hadn't even dropped yet. I grinned, breathing in the fresh, chilly air. I couldn't smell the dogs, so they wouldn't be able to smell me. They could only cover so much ground at once. I was surprised they only had two of their members out. They were growing lax.

I was right. They would never be able to protect Bella. Not from a God damn thing. They couldn't protect her from the Volturi, Victoria... Me. They would never keep her from me. I wasn't her enemy. I was her lover. The fleabag had blinded her, sucked her into his warm circle. But I had one thing I knew she'd always desire.

Immortality.

I tilted my head, still searching for the dogs. I was at the edge of the coast. From my position on the tree, I could see the ocean stretch for miles, nearly below me. The sun would be high overhead if it would show its ugly face. The clouds hid it, mercifully.

I closed my eyes and turned to face the ocean, taking in another deep breath of the air. Something a human would do. Something a human would revel in, would appreciate. Something I couldn't focus on anymore, because I'd enjoyed it too many times. It was like a fat child being deposited into a chocolate factory and then being told to live there for a century. Sure, it would be enjoyable the first... Two days? But it grew tiresome.

I reached out for the thoughts encased in the Black' house, but I couldn't reach them. They were too far away still. I let out the breath I had taken in and jumped down from the tree. Who knew how long I had before the mutts doubled back and began to sniff me out? I would be gone before they'd even notice I was here. I would make sure of it.

I ran to the cliff overlooking the Black's house directly. I knew that was where she was staying. I had known the second I'd gone to her house last night and listened to Charlie's thoughts. Then I'd realized, since she wasn't there, that she must be at the mutt's house. How Charlie was allowing her to stay there, I had no idea.

I didn't bother concealing myself. I stood up straight and peered down at the rickety little house. It was minuscule compared to what I could give Bella. I could give her everything. Jacob Black could give her nothing. I shook the thoughts from my head so I could focus. I searched within the Black house and found three heads. Charlie's, Billy's, and the wolf bitch. I seeped into her head, knowing there would be nothing worth knowing in the old geezers.

"Damn, Bella, don't fall to pieces on me... Let me get you to Jake. God, this sucks. For something like this to come up just the night after she'd done everything with Jake... When she let herself fully become his imprint..."

I nearly stumbled backwards. Whatever breath I had been taking in had stopped. Too much unwanted information came pouring into me, I couldn't decipher it all. Why was Bella breaking? What had she done with Jake the night before? Imprints? I'd heard that word tossed around in Carlisle's head several times before. I'd never liked the idea. I hated it even more now that Emily used it in such a context.

Before I had time to think much more, the girls came rushing out of the house. Bella was leaning heavily on Emily. It took everything in me to keep from scaling down the cliff and throwing the woman off her. Such compulsion... I needed to help Bella. I grabbed on to the closest tree to keep myself anchored. As far as I could see, there really wasn't anything wrong. I didn't need to throw myself to the wolves.

I laughed at the thought and felt the tension ease. I let go of the tree and watched them make their way across the sand to another house. They didn't make it another five steps before I saw two figures burst out of a house about half a mile away. The speed with which they moved made the hair on the back of my neck rise. Only wolves. Only they could move that quickly. Even as humans.

My eyes focused as they came closer. Jacob. And Sam. I gritted my teeth as they sped across the beach to Bella. I turned my back for a moment, trying to get my head together. My hands went through my hair like a fine toothed comb, my nails raking across my skull. I tried to feel the pain. It wouldn't come. All I could feel was the rage, the irritation. The jealousy. It was like a vile, insidious sickness that infected me. It had caused me to lose my Bella...

I turned back to see the foursome closing the distance, the wolves four times as fast as the females. I slipped into Emily's head again.

"Damn it, Jake, I don't need you shifting... Sam, why didn't you keep him there?" I lifted my gaze to the wolves. I wasn't going to get anything more out of her.

"Bells... Bella, I'm here. I've always been here-" Faster than I could even think to pull out of his head, I was being yanked through a flash of memories, in picture format. Bella, her smile so bright. My Bella, in the shower. Her, a face of pleasure plastered on her face, her nails in his shoulders. Isabella Marie Swan. Her body meeting his in every possible spot in a room, on a bed.

"My imprint..."

I crumbled to the ground, gasping in breaths of the very air I hadn't needed moments ago in the tree. I had seen too much. Hearing about this would have been enough to make me kill. But seeing it, through his eyes... I was going to lose it. I forced my eyes back to the scene.

Bella fell into his arms. He wrapped her up, so tightly. His nose was in her hair. Her nails were raking across his shoulders. The memory flashed through me again and I turned my eyes away, shutting them. I pulled out of the wolf's head. I would surely go insane if I stayed a second longer.

My Bella? The idiot had contaminated her... He hadn't just suckered her into his false feelings, he had injected her with poison. And he thought he had imprinted on her? No. He was sadly mistaken. He was just infatuated. "I" was in love with Bella! She loved me! I had just scared her away because I had been jealous of a mutt who had never had control of her.

I needed to win her back. I needed to get her away from him. What magic had he woven over her? It was obvious he had taken it too far.

I looked up and hardened myself. I couldn't run down and attack them. Not by myself, and not on their homeland. They would have the whole pack on me in seconds. I needed to get back to Victoria and talk over our plans...

But he was right fucking there! I could end this all, right now. I could go down, break his neck, grab Bella and flea. I got to my feet. I stepped to the edge of the cliff and looked on the scene again. Bella was in the mutt's arms still. Emily had her arm on Jacob's shoulder.

"We need to go. Get her back to the house."

I opened my mouth and bared teeth. My skin crawled over me again. Jacob lifted her into his arms and turned away from me. Now was my chance.

I took another step forward and then caught sight of Sam's eyes. In that moment, he looked straight up at me. His eyes burned straight into mine, even at this distance. We must have kept contact for only a second, but it felt like an eon.

I knew I couldn't attack now. I might have been able to pull it off if I had surprised them. But I should have known. Jacob was over emotional. He wouldn't be focused on smelling for danger. But Sam was a pack leader. He would always be alert. He caught smell of me, and then found me.

Shit.

He took a step forward and I turned around and ran. No doubt, the leader he was, he would sneak away to inform the pack and then go right back to Jake and Bella. I gritted my teeth as I ran. This would never happen again. I would never be able to sneak back here and watch them. Not ideal.

Bella.

I needed to get her out of there. Jacob was wrapping her in a tight blanket of lies and deceit. If I didn't get her back soon, I might lose her forever. She might be so lost in his lies, she won't ever leave him...

Bella, her back arched against the bed as Jacob penetrated her-

"NO!" I yelled out, throwing my arm over my head as I ran. I needed to block out the thoughts. I couldn't handle seeing this.

I had made a mistake in closing my eyes. I ran head on into a tree in a matter of milliseconds. The tree cracked and began to fall as I hit the ground. I got to my feet and ran past it, hearing it fall in the distance. I was too careless, too reckless...

I needed to get back to Victoria. She would make everything better. I could close my eyes... I could kiss her, rub her, fuck her...

The thoughts compelled me to run faster. There was nothing more I needed than contact right now. The run took too long. Everything felt too long.

I threw open the door to our cabin and my eyes took in the surroundings. In a flash, Victoria was in the door frame at the kitchen. Her eyes were wide, alarmed.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her eyes darting past me to look. To see if I was being chased. Shit. I hadn't thought about what she would think. What did I look like right now? How would I explain? I couldn't tell her what I knew. She still didn't know I read minds. She would also find out how I felt about Bella... I wouldn't let it happen.

"Vic..." I stepped towards her, holding my hand out. She was there again, instantly. She took my hand and wrapped her arm around my neck, pulling me up against her. I buried my nose into her hair and tried to calm myself. My mind was working on overdrive.

"God, what happened?" she asked, pulling back. She put an arms length between us, her eyes searching me up and down. Her eyes came straight back up to mine.

Right before my eyes, she began to shimmer. She changed. Her flaming fire red hair faded, darkened. It was brown. It lost it's crimped, tight curls. It faded into waves. Her eyes went from blood red to a chocolate brown. Her cheeks became higher, more hollowed. She became my Bella...

My mouth was open in awe. I brought my hand up and ran it through her hair. I pressed my palm to her cheek. I couldn't stop myself. I pulled her close and crashed my lips against hers.

God, Bella... My Bella. I thought. Her lips worked back against mine, furiously. Her grip around my neck was so tight. She was grinding her hips up against mine like a minx in heat. A shiver ran up my body. I ran my hand over her arm. She wasn't warm like she had been before.

All too soon, she started pulling away. She was stopping me.

No, baby, please. Just stay, I found myself thinking. My eyes opened and peered into blood red, concerned abysses. I jumped, pulling away a little.

"Edward, God damn you, what's going on?" Victoria cried, pushing my shoulder. I shook my head to clear it. I brought my hand to my eyes and a flutter of fear went through my chest. What was going on with me? I had just imagined Victoria was Bella. I had just SEEN her, standing right where Vic was now. I took in a deep breath and focused on Vic's hand going over my back, trying to calm me.

Jesus... I am crazy. Insane. But if I could kiss Vic again, as Bella... I'd give my life-

A fierce shove sent me to the couch. Victoria was on top of me, straddling me. She grabbed my hands and put them above my head and brought her face right up against mine.

"Edward, snap the hell out of it. I need to know if we're safe," she said, her breath flooding over my face. I let the reality of it, the touch of her hands, the feel of her weight on me- I let it all wash over me and bring me back to reality.

"... Sam. It was Sam. I snuck past the wolves and was scouting out the area for our plans. Suddenly, he was outside of his house. He looked straight up at me. I... I panicked," I finished, throwing out the first idea I could scrounge. Would she believe me?

No. She wasn't an idiot. She knew me, even the little amount of time we had spent together. She knew I couldn't be freaked out that easily. Her eyes bore into me, telling me she didn't believe me. I relaxed my body beneath her, letting her have control of my hands. She seemed to ease up.

"Edward-"

"I just don't want to talk about it, Vic. We're safe. That's all that matters," I said, swallowing on my lie. I knew she didn't want to, but she dropped the subject. She held me in the utmost respect... Giving her this cabin had really won her over yesterday. I didn't regret doing it.

I moved up and pressed my lips against hers. I shut my eyes and let my mind wander. This... This is what Bella's lips would feel like against mine when I changed her... She would be my wife, my lover, forever. I would never lose her.

My hands were released and they roamed up her back, beneath her shirt. I caressed her back, her shoulders. I dug my nails in a little and heard her hiss. I couldn't help a small smile. I would have my Bella. But I needed to get her away from that mutt, now. I pulled away from Victoria, my eyes popping open. She followed suit.

"We need to attack. Tonight. They haven't put up any extra precautions. There aren't any defenses set up, or anything. We need to-"

"Edward, Edward, listen to me. We can't do that," she said, cupping my face in her hands. I looked up at her, bewildered.

"Why the hell not?"

"They're not ready. You know that. It takes three days. We've already discussed it. And then, to train-"

"They don't need it! They're just a distraction! We just need to get to Jacob and Bella. We need to kill them!"

"Edward, even if we didn't train them, we still need another day and a half! They aren't finished changing!" she cried out. Reality sunk into me. I couldn't... Bella was going to be stuck with him for another two days...

"Jesus, what the hell happened to you? Think clearly, my love," Victoria murmured, looking down at me. I looked up. Her eyes were worried, concerned. I really had to clear myself up if she was going to even think "I" was ready to attack in two nights time. I started with a small, sinister smile. I reached my hand up and stroked her cheek.

"I'm fine, Vic... Just shaken. We're going up against a whole pack of wolves here," I said, searching her eyes. Then I delved into her mind, preparing myself for an onslaught of doubt.

And I found none. A spark of fear pressed through her.

I know it's crazy... A whole pack of wolves... But with the newborns distracting the wolves, causing chaos... We'll have a clear line of sight to our targets... Edward planned this out well. He doesn't have to be worried...

I tried not to let my heart show on my sleeve. This girl, she believed in me. She believed so much that even while I was breaking down, being nothing she wanted a thing to do with, she was standing by my side. The thought hardened my heart. Foolish woman. She was still young, naive. For her to believe in someone like me...

"I'm not going to back out of this. You're my common sense right now. If I say something crazy, put me in line. I'm giving you control of me," I said, hoping this was something that would give her pride. I couldn't have her doubting herself while I was in this slump. A smile took over her face. She leaned forward and pecked my lips gently.

"Baby, I've always had control over you," she said, jokingly. I grinned and pulled her closer, closing my eyes to kiss her again.

Bella... Bella, Bella, I'm coming for you...

I rested my forehead against my vampire follower's and rested there for a moment, thinking things through. I was level headed. I was thinking clearly now. Victoria was right. We could not attack when the newborns weren't ready. Without training, we could do. With them still in pain, even unable to walk? Impossible.

I would have to wait. Bella, she would have to wait. Whatever the wolf had spun over her, he had done his worst. Bella had already given him her body. I gritted my teeth a little, then released, knowing I couldn't show Victoria my anger.

I would rip that wolf to pieces for destroying Bella... Once I made her realize that she was still in love with me, she would hate herself for what she'd done with the wolf. But I would be there. I would always be there for her. I would help her lose the hate, and replace it with an even greater love for me...

I chuckled a little. I couldn't hold it back. I would make Bella see how her 'best friend' had betrayed her.

"Edward?" Victoria asked, pulling back a little to look at me. I opened my eyes and looked back at her. She was concerned again. I patted her thigh, indicating for her to move. She did so and I got up. I walked over to the window and placed my hands on either side of the frame. I looked out at the yard that I had, without a thought, claimed for Victoria.

I looked down at the window sill, thinking through my words. I closed my eyes briefly then opened them and looked back out the window.

"We attack in two nights."