A/N's: Notes at the end peeps x

Ch26 My Immortal

Jacob stood in place, his arms by his side, his face stoic. He took his time responding to Edward's declaration, weighing up his words and his reasoning. Finally, he spoke. It felt like a lifetime had passed.

"Edward, your sentiment towards Isabella is admirable, but I feel your decision is not wise."

"How so?" Edward looked prepared for Jacob's words, as if he expected an argument to ensue. Of course this would be the case as Jacob had created a treaty regarding this type of behaviour. He wanted to protect his tribe and all of mankind.

"You make your choice through the threat of fear, Edward. How is that the right choice?"

"It's right because it's what we both want."

"I can't allow this."

"Jacob, my friend, you understand my reasoning. You understand the pain of loss because you've loved and lost too. In fact, it was remembering the pain you endured that made me finally decide. I want Bella with me. I want her safe and I want her happy. This is her wish. How can that be wrong?"

"Edward, let me ask you this; if you believe this is so right, then why has it taken you so long to choose?"

Edward paused and looked away from Jacob, his jaw was clenched and his lips set in a determined line. "Will you abandon me if I continue on this path, Jacob?"

Jacob sighed, "I have no choice."

"Yes, you do. If you truly believe this is the right path for Bella and for me, then you can stand and face your people and tell them when the treaty was made, it was blind. We didn't know back then that there could be extenuating circumstances, that there could be a true reason for a vampire to become a 'maker.'"

"But I don't agree, Edward, I just understand."

"And what of the others; the prisoners, Hale, his men? The battle we face against James? Will you abandon us all?"

"Edward, you leave me no choice." Jacobs voiced hitched on his name. This was not easy for him and I tentatively stepped forward and pressed my hand on Edward's arm. So much was at stake and it was all for my desires.

"What if we wait?" I asked softly. Both of them turned towards me. I continued to explain. "What if we band together and fight as one, against James and his guard and then after – when we are victorious – Edward and I leave? Will that hinder your position Jacob? If he is not here to threaten the treaty then we are not compromising on your friendship."

"I have more to lose than my tribe's respect, Isabella. I have already angered them by not reacting over Emmett." Jacob walked towards us as Edward watched him from the corner of his eye. When he stood mere inches away, Jacob lifted his arm and grasped Edward's shoulder. "You are my friend and I will miss that – if you go."

"So we can wait?" I asked eagerly.

Jacob lowered his head and his hand, then turned away. "I'm afraid not, Isabella. If this is Edward's chosen path, then I cannot condone it."

"So we lose you and the tribe either way? Even if we wait, you still won't fight alongside us?"

"It's a choice I do not agree with."

"But it's our choice, Jacob. Do you ostracize everyone who has a belief or lifestyle that differs from yours?"

"Are you justifying the transformation of a human to a vampire as a lifestyle choice?"

"Do you not transform too, Jacob?"

"Yes, to save lives."

I stepped over to Jacob and held his hands in mine, "Jacob, I love him." He looked down at our hands and then away again. "Please," I begged him. "I love him and I need to be with him, no matter what it takes. I'd rather he didn't have to sacrifice anything for us to be together; love shouldn't be selfish, it should be all encompassing."

Jacob looked back at me and smiled softly. "Isabella, when that love hinders the lives of others, it becomes tragic. In my experience, when we love, we become selfish. We find ourselves compromising our words, our actions, even the happiness of others. "

"That's why we'll leave. We'll involve no one else in this. It shouldn't have to be this way. I love Edward and he loves me, why should anyone suffer because of that? What we feel for each other has nothing to do with anyone else. It's ours, we feel it; it's real." I tried to make him understand. "Jacob, we want to be together, that's all that should really matter. We've never asked anyone to compromise themselves for us."

"You ask me," he replied, his voice was sad and I knew he was right. Love had made me selfish, for all I could envision was what I wanted. "I'm sorry Isabella, I cannot agree to it." Jacob pulled his hands free of mine and turned to face Edward fully. "Is this your only choice, Edward, your only option? Is this what you decide?"

I looked at Edward too, afraid he would change his mind and be swayed by the words of his oldest friend. Who was I to come between them? I felt fear grip my stomach as I waited for Edward to speak. Would Jacob's words sway him? Had Edward decided to change me only because I had made him feel guilty?

I realised I may have made a terrible mistake. In my selfish, desperate need, I had forced him to compromise on his own beliefs, and now, his friendship. He'd said from the start for me to be changed wasn't an option for him.

But I loved him, I needed him, and I wanted to be with him. Could I be satisfied with an eternity of happiness as we were? A witch and a vampire; we were both uniquely strong and indestructible, but with a small level of vulnerability which could imminently threaten us. I would always be concerned about him as he would with me. What difference would changing me really make?

If James wasn't the danger we faced, surely there would be another. In life we faced all kinds of challenges and threats, some to ourselves and some towards our families and our homes. Without James to terrorize us, didn't mean there would never be another.

But as long as we faced him together, I believed we could overcome anything. Edward would protect me.

It should be enough.

Hearing him say he wanted to change me, that I would be his, had ignited a fire in my heart. A swell of light had filled my body and soul; his words bringing me more happiness than I had ever known.

For a moment, I felt guilt menace my happiness, threatening to extinguish what I had been waiting for, but something else in me loomed stronger than guilt; altruism.

For the first time in my life, I wanted to be selfish.

I wanted him to change me. No matter the cost. I knew it was right, I knew I would make Edward happy, and I knew we could face James stronger united, and defeat him and whatever he threw at us if I was a vampire.

Edward raised his hand and stroked my cheek with his thumb. I turned my face into the palm of his hand.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and a sob escaped me as tears spilt over and down my face. Jacob had convinced him. His head had overruled his heart. It had meant so much to me to hear him promise to change me and now it was being withdrawn, it hurt.

I closed my eyes and willed the pain building in my chest to either consume me or leave me be. It felt dreadful.

"I'm sorry it has come to this," Edward continued. "But Bella is my choice, she is my life. If Emily was alive, and you were faced with a decision this paramount, can you honestly tell me you would sacrifice her and what you had for another person?"

Jacob smiled and shook his head. "No, I would not and that's why I understand your feelings, Edward. I admire you. I'm also a little envious of the time you will have together. Be strong and be happy, never let it go." Jacob turned and walked away, stopping under the shadow of the trees. "It is because I know how you feel that makes this all the much harder to deal with. I will miss you, my friend."

Without another word, Jacob phased and raced off into the night, leaving Edward and I alone in the centre of the forest.

I looked over towards the camp and then up at Edward, but before I could speak, he took hold of me and cradled me in his arms. Gripping my head and pulling it to the side, he exposed my throat. I heard him growl and then sink his teeth into the pliable softness of my neck.

Edward had bitten me many times before this night, and each time had been tender and gentle and sometimes even erotic, but those were nothing like tonight – this time his bite was hard and went far deeper than any other. I felt his teeth penetrate my skin and then push down further into the muscle and sinew of my throat. As his venom injected into my bloodstream the sting was intense, and crying out, I clung to his biceps, digging my fingers into him. But unlike me, Edward was hard and unbreakable; it felt like gripping stone.

Almost immediately, he began to suck, drawing my life force into his mouth, and with each part of me he swallowed; he clung to me tighter and pushed his teeth further in. I imagined it would take nothing for him to tear the flesh from my bone and spit it into the undergrowth.

His bite was animalistic, it was brutal; his entire persona had changed and he was fierce.

It started to burn.

"Edward," I gasped, trying desperately to drag in air. In my feeble mind, I concurred the cold November air would somehow ease the heat building under my skin. It didn't.

There had been heat before – but never like this.

"Edward, please," I begged him. I didn't know what it was I asked for; I had wanted this. Did I want him to stop or just to know there was an end?

He stopped sucking and I felt liquid heat seep into my flesh. His venom flowed now, mingling with my blood, being drawn into me by my pulse. Pumping harder with the beat of my heart which has magnified under my excitement and fear, the venom raced through my body.

His fingers imbedded themselves deeper into my sides, and momentarily, the ache they inflicted drew my attention away from the pain everywhere else.

But not for long, the burning was aggressive and it flowed with the blood in my veins, through my entire being until I was swamped in heat and then his teeth released me.

I lay in his arms as he looked down at me. I gasped and tried to will the agony to subside. His brow was furrowed and his face contorted as he watched me become enveloped in his venomous control.

Edward's agony was nothing compared to mine.

I thought of my father and Irina and wondered how I could possibly see them again, and fight with them against James, when my new hunger would be for their humanity, their own life force. Could I resist them? It saddened me that I never said goodbye. But I had wanted this and everything that would come after it – I couldn't have it both ways.

I clung to Edward's arms. He was kneeling in the grass, holding me close to his chest as I shuddered over and over again, and with each spasm, the pain intensified. I wanted to cry out but struggled to summon my voice within.

Above Edward's head, in the black of the night, a flutter of white fell and was quickly followed by another, in drifts, soft and pure, icy yet gentle, it started to snow.

I felt no cold. I felt only heat. I found my voice. "My father –"

Edward knew what I was trying to say. "James wants us, Bella, you and me, so we'll leave, draw him away from the others and we'll find a way to defeat him, alone. Your father will be safe, from him – from you."

Another wave of agony gripped me, and for a moment, I forgot about Edward and my family. I waited for it to ease.

"Bella," his voice was distant and I tried to focus. His voice had always soothed me before so I tried to concentrate on it. "I'm so sorry for the pain, my love, for the pain you experience now and for the pain of tomorrow. For you may never see your family again." He paused to swallow. "If you'll ever forgive me for doing it – like this, I swear, I will spend every day of our lives together, making it up to you."

"I want only you," I tried to tell him. Yes, I loved my family, but they had their own paths to take now, as did I.

I knew I would miss them, but with Edward, I felt complete. He had sacrificed his honour to change me, and I, in turn, would sacrifice my family. I was alone now, I only had Edward.

"Look at me," he commanded, his cold hand holding my chin. I blinked and tried to see through the haze, his face became clearer. "I'm here, you're safe with me. I promise you," he said.

I nodded. "All I need – all I – want. Just you."

I wanted to say more, but wave after wave of agony ensued, drowning out all thought and reason. I let it flow over me, succumbing to it as it washed over me. I couldn't fight it, I couldn't stop it. I only had to endure it.

The snow fluttered around us, cocooning us in its wintery layer; I let the pain consume me as I held onto him. My words echoed round my head. He was all I wanted, all I ever wanted. For me, there would be no one else.

As long as he was near me, I could endure anything.

I wanted him.

Xxx

The snow had fallen faster during the night. Everywhere the eye could see was coated in a thick, pure, brilliant blanket. The temperature had dropped significantly, yet the sun was shining high in the sky over head. Its blue was so vivid, and now that the snow-banked clouds had dispersed, the sun was able to fill the forest with light, so much light. Its rays reflected off the snow like the jewels beneath Edward's skin. Both sparkled luminously.

I lay beneath a large oak tree. The branches above me were bare, exposing me to the sky. Everywhere seemed so bright and I blinked against the harshness that met my eyes.

Edward's arms were still around me, my ear pressed firmly against his chest. I didn't move. I was too scared in case the pain reminded me it was still here.

I felt Edward shift, his hand brushing the length of my arm and he felt warm to the touch. Instinctively, I nestled closer, and when no fresh pain ripped through me, I felt brave enough to open my eyes and look up at him.

He was watching me, his eyes dark against his pale skin. They looked so deep, and for the first time since I'd known him, it felt like I could see his soul. Every emotion he was feeling was written so clearly across his expression. I could see what he was thinking just by looking at him. His silence spoke volumes.

I raised myself up and faced him, tracing the lines of his chiselled cheek with my index finger. He felt soft and his skin depressed under my touch. I trailed my fingertip down his face and over his lips, thumbing the fullness of his bottom one. He parted them and his breath tickled the back of my hand, its warmth was a pleasant sensation.

As I looked at him, I noticed so many different things at once. The air seemed filled with speckles of light and particles, as if I was seeing it all through a microscope. Again, I noticed how everything was so bright, and despite the fact the forest was bare and only snow filled the view, a million colours were bouncing off every surface, like prisms in the afternoon sun.

I inhaled and smelt him, sweet and masculine, but his scent was tinged with pine needles and the bracken hidden under the snow. I could smell the ash from the campfire, metres away from us through the trees. I could taste on my tongue the food they had prepared and the tangy moisture of their sweat.

There was also the scent of animals and damp fur, sunshine, and the crisp, fresh mantle of snow. I could smell faeces and even the distinct, coppery odour of a woman on her menstrual cycle. It reminded me that we were close to the camp and to the guards and the prisoners we had rescued from the caves. I was close to humanity and yet I felt in control.

I pushed away from Edward and stood, turning and surveying all around me. It was simply breathtaking.

The twinkles of light peeping up from the snow that I had noticed as a human now seemed to dart off the whiteness, as if giant diamonds were layered across the top. The prisms of light bounced off every inch at my feet and every branch over head.

A bird began to sing, its music chirping towards me on the breeze. The sound was high pitched and I turned my head slightly as the whistle pierced my ears, but it was minutes later that the bird flew past us and vanished again.

As I followed the bird's flight, my eyes fell upon Edward. He was stood still and studying me as I looked at the world through new eyes.

I smiled at him. "How long?" I asked him.

"Just one night," he replied.

I furrowed my brow. "But how?"

"I think because your body had already begun to change, over the last few weeks. Last night was just a boost. I expected it to take longer, but you still continue to surprise me."

I stepped closer to him. Behind us, I heard a twig snap and the distant echo of voices. Edward moved quickly, gathering me up in his arms and lurching away from the band of men walking through the trees.

"Who are they?" I asked. He squinted round me, watching them gather branches and twigs, trying to salvage anything that could burn.

"They're from the camp. They've been sent out to look for firewood and hunt rabbit."

"My father –"

"He isn't with them," he reassured me. Then looking down at me he asked. "Is it – unbearable?"

I sniffed the air and waited for the scent of their blood to reach me. I smelt nothing. I shook my head. "I feel – nothing."

We continued to watch them gather wood. One young boy broke apart from the others and set traps for the rabbits. As his friends made their way back to the campsite, he sat in wait for his prey. For him, hours passed as he waited, unsuccessfully, but for Edward and me, it seemed so short and I was happy to be pressed against the tree with his body covering mine.

I shifted a little and tried to wrap my arms around his waist. He felt so good. Lifting his shirt slightly, I ran my hands up and under the material, caressing his bare flesh. I moulded my hands to the contours of his back; he was toned and felt warm and so amazing; I lost myself in the feel of him.

"Bella," he groaned as I continued to caress him. He moved and a waft of heat and the fragrance of his skin met my nose. I closed my eyes and inhaled him, immediately my mouth began to salivate. My throat started to ache and I swallowed back the venom tainting my tongue.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him through hooded lids.

He smelt so delicious.

Edward looked down at me and noticed the arousal and hunger in my eyes. His own eyes widened momentarily, and then the movement of the boy waiting for his supper brought Edward back to reality.

Mistaking my hunger as desire for the boy, he pushed me back against the tree. "Wait here," he instructed and raced off into the trees. He returned seconds later carrying three dead rabbits, and tearing past me, he dropped them at the boy's feet.

He had nodded off where he sat and the thump of their bodies hitting the snow roused him. Looking around for the gift-bearer, the boy shrugged and picked up his loot then made his way back to camp.

I watched him leave from around the trunk of the tree. When he was safely out of earshot, Edward appeared in front of me.

"Are you ok?" He asked, his brow furrowed with concern.

I watched his chest rise and fall as he waited for me to answer him, but I was mesmerised by the motions of his body. I reached out and brushed my hand across his abs, smiling as he sucked in his stomach. He was sensitive to my touch and I liked seeing his reactions. When I'd touched him with human hands, I had felt it all but he had merely witnessed it. Now his body could feel me, no matter how softly I touched him.

I breathed deep and revelled in his smell. My mouth watered.

"How did you control yourself?" He asked me. "Didn't you want to attack him?"

I shook my head. "There's only one person making me lose control, Edward, and that's you."

"What?"

I pressed my nose to his throat and breathed in again. "It's your blood I crave."

He didn't speak. He just lifted his chin and tipped his head to the side, allowing me full access to this throat. I licked my lips and pressed them tenderly to his skin. He tasted musky and I felt dizzy with exhilaration. I curled back my lips, exposing my teeth, and bit down. His skin broke easily under my bite, and his blood, sweetened with his venom, flowed freely into my mouth and I swallowed it down greedily.

It coated my throat and soothed the ache that burned there, thick and smooth like medicine.

I gripped his shoulders and pressed in closer; I just couldn't get enough of him. I lifted my legs and wrapped them around his waist. Edward moaned as my crotch rubbed against his. It was accidental but it felt good, so I pressed into him deeper and harder, grinding my hips to create friction.

Edward clutched at my thighs and helped me shift closer to him. His hands crept up and rested just under my bum cheeks, and pulling my face away from his neck, I sighed. Closing my eyes, I let my head roll back. The feel of him so close to my core was arousing me more than my hunger now.

I thrust against him again and felt his fingers extend and brush along my perineum, my wetness flowed and I lifted my head to capture his lips with mine.

We moved faster now; raw desire had taken hold of us and I clawed at his shirt to free the buttons, pulling away from his mouth to lick a nipple and elicit a groan from him. I felt it rumble through his chest and it drove me insane.

I bit down and tasted his blood, and sucking the nipple into my mouth, I drank from him again.

The sounds he was making were my undoing, and tearing my mouth away, I groaned his name.

"Edward, I need you inside me, in every way."

He tore at my underwear, ripping them away from my body and throwing them to the ground. He hoisted me higher and freed his erection from his trousers. Placing his hands under either cheek of my bottom, he opened me up to his cock and thrust up and in, filling me with his heat and his girth. I cried out with the sheer joy of it and rocked against him. Helped out by his hands underneath me, we moved together, in unison, and it was rampant and breathless and everything I needed.

I clung to his shoulders, using them as leverage as I lifted and lowered my body down onto his. He felt so good, he smelt so delicious, and he tasted like liquid gold.

I was intoxicated by him.

Our motions became faster as we ground our bodies together. I lifted my hands from his shoulders and cupped his face, willing him to look at me. My pleasure was mirrored in his eyes and I wanted to see his face as he came inside me.

"I want to feel you," I murmured.

"I'm inside you, you can feel me." He groaned, trying to close his eyes as his climax began to build. I pinched his cheeks and forced him to look at me.

"No, Edward, I want to feel you cum."

His eye widened with surprise, then narrowed as his desire hooded them, but he didn't look away. He held my gaze with his own and we picked up the tempo again. I felt it growing and flowing through my veins, my orgasm was nearing and I parted my lips and let him know exactly how he was making me feel.

With each sigh and moan that I made, he seemed to react even more until I felt the crescendo escalate and I cried out as my orgasm owned me.

Edward gripped my bum cheeks tighter and stilled my movements, groaning and parting his own lips as he came hard.

We sat together, at the base of the tree, and revelled in our aftermath. Finally, I moved and lifted myself off him. I straightened my skirts and looked down at him. He made no effort to cover himself and I admired his nakedness. The sun gleamed off his skin.

He looked so beautiful, shimmering in the light, naked and still erect.

A trickle of blood ran from his nipple but, the skin on his neck was clear; already healed with no evidence of my violent reaction to him.

Edward seemed content to just sit there, and I laughed at the look of happiness on his face.

"Why are you laughing at me?" He asked, looking offended.

I chuckled again and knelt in the snow at his feet. "I'm happy," I told him. I tiptoed my fingers up his leg and over to his penis. It twitched as my hand grew closer and I smiled at him again, enjoying our moment together. His balls looked tight and I lightly drew my finger tip across them before cupping them in the palm of my hand.

Edward moaned and shifter his hips a little, closing his eyes he let me continue to touch him. I could see moisture along the length of him, and for reasons unknown to me, it made my mouth water. Lowering my head, I licked him from base to tip, and then covered him with my mouth, tasting my arousal coating his dick, I sucked him clean.

Venom was my new addiction and I wanted it from every aspect of him, blood, saliva, semen – it was so good.

"Take me in," he moaned, "all of me."

I complied and tried to fit him inside my mouth, all of him, but he was too big. So I cupped the parts my mouth couldn't reach with my hand, and pumped him as I sucked.

Edward rarely lost control and it was liberating to feel him struggle to maintain it at that moment. He grabbed the back of my head and held me in place, then thrust his hips up and down. I allowed him to manoeuvre, feeling him grow larger in my mouth until his second orgasm rocked him.

I loved the noises he made, and letting him pop free of my mouth, I kissed up his chest to his mouth and nibbled on his bottom lip, the taste of him still on my tongue.

We lay in the snow and I rested my head on his stomach. "You'll have to forgive me," he whispered. "I feel a little dazed."

"Because of me?" I lifted my head to ask him.

"In a way, yes,"

"From making love? That's never happened before."

"No, from you feeding from me. As a human, you took so little, it was insignificant, but as a vampire, you drank until you felt sated. You've left me quite weak."

I grew concerned and sat up. "Edward, I'm so sorry."

He shook his head and laughed at my words. "I feel content, just a little woozy, it will pass."

"Can I help?"

"How about breakfast?" he asked me with a wink. I took off through the trees and searched for an animal to bring back to him. The surrounding area was quiet and it took me a while to locate a deer. It was drinking from a pool of melting snow. I advanced carefully. I had never hunted before and prayed my instincts would guide me.

I waited in the boughs of a tree as it lifted its head and sniffed the air, curious and aware of something close by but not fully engaging that I was a danger.

I waited till it bowed its head again and then leapt from the branch, landing on the snowy ground next to it. I gripped it in my arms, and without thought, I twisted its neck till it snapped and hung heavy against its flanks.

I rushed back to Edward and showed him my catch. He seemed surprised and impressed and I sat back and watched him as he drank from the carcass till he was full.

"Do you want some?" He offered me the deer and I shook my head.

"The idea of it repulses me," I shuddered.

Edward frowned and threw the empty deer to one side. He wiped his mouth. "You feel – repulsed?" he asked.

I nodded.

"And when the boys came to find wood and food, you felt no desire for them either?"

I shook my head. "None,"

"But you drank from me, you craved blood." I watched him try to ascertain what this new information meant. Why I desired blood but not that of an animal or a human.

"You craved my blood?" he finally muttered.

I thought about it and then nodded with him. "Yes."

"But that's not how it usually works," he said under his breath.

"Why do you think it's different for me?"

Edward shrugged.

"Maybe because I drank from you before, as a human, I grew attracted to venom?" My words didn't really make sense to me, but Edward seemed to agree.

"You wanted my blood," he said again. "I wonder if it's just me, or if your vampiric desires are for the venom, rather than the blood. I wonder – will you desire to feed from any vampire?"

"Are you saying you think I may be a vampire's vampire?"

"I'm saying you may be repulsed by the blood of animals and humans because they have nothing to offer you, nothing to satisfy you. Yet venom seems to be enough to sate your thirst."

"But I don't want any other vampire, I want only you."

Edward stared at me, absorbing my words. "Bella, can you still do magic?" he asked me softly. I shrugged, unsure if my powers had followed me through the change.

"Try something," he urged. "I need to know."

I stood and looked around, unsure of what to do. "I don't know what to try," I admitted to him.

"Was there a spell you wanted to try but hadn't had the chance yet?"

I thought of the book and of the spells I'd read over. "There was a fire spell, it's quite difficult and seems to evade some witches. My mother wrote that the power to manipulate the elements is one of the strongest, it was something she could never do."

"You've already manipulated water, with the rain, maybe you could control fire?"

"Rain isn't an element, it's the weather."

He ignored me and asked again. "Would you like to try?"

"Why is this so important to you?"

"Bella, you know that some vampires bring with them a gift from their human life, and it's usually advanced. You were already quite exceptional, I just wonder if that particular gift has grown, or if you still possess it at all."

I felt a little nervous at the thought of my powers disappearing altogether. It felt like the only legacy I had left of my mother. I prayed it was still with me.

I tried to remember the spell. It had instructed to use a dish but I had no such instruments to hand so I improvised and moulded the snow into a cavernous shape, smoothing the sides till it resembled an icy bowl.

I scavenged through the snow and picked out twigs and leaves buried beneath it and placed them inside the area I'd carved. I found pine needles and a few cones and placed them inside too.

I held my hands above the bowl and recalled the words of the spell. It came back to me easily and I wondered if the frail, forgetful mind of human Bella had transcended into the photographic mind of a vampire.

"Addo Mihi Incenddia," I whispered, and almost immediately, a ball of flames ignited in the icy bowl, catching the ingredients I'd lain in there. They sent up a scent of pine and earth as the flames rose higher. The snow surrounding it started to melt and the grass beneath ignited too.

Edward leapt up and kicked snow over the bowl, extinguishing the flames with a hiss.

I smiled at him, ecstatic that my power was still evident and that one of the hardest spells to cast had worked for me.

"I always knew you were different," he said. "Your powers know no bounds, Bella. It appears you are the strongest of us all now."

"Strong enough to fight a newborn?" I asked him.

Edward nodded. "Yes, I believe so. You're immune to venom as you're a vampire too. You're as strong as a newborn, as you are one too and you have magic at your fingertips."

I laughed as he picked me up and spun us around in a circle. Lifting my arms, I let the wind rush over me, not at all chilled by it. I wrapped myself around his neck and held his face to my chest.

Sliding me down his body, Edward met my lips with his own and kissed me with fervour.

I matched his passion and tugged on the hair at the nape of his neck, ready for him to take me again, but slowly he pulled away and looked past me towards the camp. He listened for a moment, hearing things I couldn't as they were thoughts rather than sounds.

"Come, we need to go." He grabbed my hand and tugged me towards the camp.

"Is it safe for me to be there?"

"You said yourself you don't crave human blood."

"But my father –"

"Bella we don't have much time."

I followed him without another word. Quickly, we raced towards the camp and through the trees. We emerged into the circle and saw the guards and Hale, Mary Alice and her parents, my father and Irina, all sat or lay, resting and waiting.

It seemed calm and I wondered at Edward's haste. He released my hand and ran over to Hale, shaking him awake. "Hale, we need to leave. Now."

Hale opened his eyes and lifted himself up onto his elbow, he looked at Edward then scanned the forest around us, seeking the danger Edward had sensed. "What is it?" He asked quietly.

A noise in front of us caught my attention and I looked up through the trees, seeing further with my new sight. A horde of man-sized wolves, walking on their hind legs, descended towards the camp. Their height was tremendous, but unlike the shape shifters, theses wolves salivated and bared their teeth as the scent of humans and vampires reached them.

Hale heard their approach but couldn't see what Edward and I could see. He lifted his gun and checked the chamber. "What is it?" He asked Edward again.

The beasts had reached the clearing, and stepping out from the trees, they surrounded us. The entire circle was blocked in by their slobbering forms. From behind, James stepped through them, and clapping his hands, he smiled at the fear etched across our faces.

The prisoners and guards had all awoken, and screaming, they clung to each other, trembling and praying to their God for salvation.

"Isabella," James grinned. "We meet again."

"What the Hell is it?" Hale shouted, covering Mary Alice with his body, blocking her from the horrific horde that surrounded us.

"Lycan," Edward whispered.

"Like Jacob?" Hale asked, glancing quickly from left to right.

"Nothing like them," Edward replied. "These, my friend, are the real Werewolves."

End A/N's: I know, I know, another cliffie – you love it really! The thing is, with the holidays coming up the next update won't be till Saturday 9th January, so please don't hate me. (Insert Claire's puppy dog eyes)!

I wish you all a very wonderful Christmas or beautiful holiday season if Christmas isn't what you celebrate, and all the best for the New Year too.

I want to say a massive Thank you to Tanya aka AcrossTheSkyInStars for being a wonderful beta and friend and to all my ladies at FanFicAholics Anon over on facebook for being great friends too and I hope you guys are checking out the fic I'm beta'ing 'The taste of blood' by Malmo722, it will blow your mind as well as Tanya's fic 'Forgive me, please'. It's getting intense and I love it.

Oh man, there are so many other fic's I want to rec, 'Bella Down Under' by Feral & Ferla, 'Sinful Thoughts' By readingmama and 'From pain to perfection' by – ok just go visit the group I'm admin for on Facebook, I mention it all the time, lots of rec's there for you.

Thank you to you for all your support for Spellbound, and hopefully I'll see you next year xx