The chapter you've (hopefully) been waiting for! As a warning, this will also the chapter that earns the story its rating, along with the violence from other chapters. If you don't want to read that part, just skip to the last paragraph. I think you'll be able to figure out the appropriate place to do that. I made it sort of obvious.

With one day left before we moved into the Talkeetna house, Esme still hadn't let me see it yet. All of the others, even Edward, had helped get it ready at various stages, but she insisted that she wanted the first new house I moved into with them to be a surprise. How could I tell her no? Interior decorating wasn't my thing, but if it made Esme happy, I was willing to gush over everything at least once. I remembered how beautiful the Forks house looked, so I knew it would be gorgeous no matter what.

Instead of spending most of the day at the house unpacking suitcases or putting away belongings—not that I had much, although Alice had been bugging me for book titles for weeks—I went over my lessons with Jasper at the cabin one last time. By the afternoon, I was glad to hear the return of the rest of our family. I liked biology, our current subject, but the infodump was getting to be a little overwhelming, even though I could recall every detail.

Edward dashed into the study and pulled me to my feet, causing me to laugh at him as he dropped a kiss on my lips. He was so sweet, even Jasper smiled indulgently at us. A few times when Edward was away in Talkeetna, Jasper had mentioned how melancholy he used to be and what a pleasant change it was to feel him so light and happy. It made me glow inside to think about how much Edward has changed for the better since we met.

"Come out for a run with me?" Edward suggested, completely ignoring Jasper.

The way he looked at me caused a warm glow to ignite in my stomach. "Sure."

Jasper sighed and turned off the laptop we had been using. "I see it's useless to try and convince you to study more, plus you're both ignoring me. So, I suppose I'll go find my lovely wife." We laughed as he got up and headed out of the room, tossing a, "Class dismissed!" over his shoulder.

Edward and I went through the kitchen and out the back door, stopping only long enough to wave at Esme, Alice, and Irina conferring on the back deck. We ran towards the tree line and beyond. He kept pace with me, for once obviously not feeling like a race. I knew he loved to run to let off steam, so I gave him a light push and told him to go ahead if he wanted to. He shook his head, grabbed my hand, and told me he'd rather stay with me.

I recognized the place where we stopped. It was the clearing where we'd first talked after arriving in Alaska. It felt like such a long time ago and yet as if only minutes had passed since that day. Edward pulled me out of my thoughts by taking my other hand and turning me toward him.

"I'm so glad we found each other," he told me.

"Me, too. I never imagined I would have someone like you." Suddenly I felt shy again.

He rubbed his thumbs over the back of my hands, as if he could sense my anxiety. "You know, I thought I wouldn't get to experience this, being in love and all. Esme…sometimes she worried, in her thoughts, that I was changed too early. That something was wrong with me and that's why I hadn't found a mate yet."

I opened my mouth to protest because if he'd been turned too young then so had I, but he smiled and shook his head. "It's okay, really. But I thought about it, too, sometimes. So meeting you brought me such joy and put to rest fears I hated to even think about, that I would be alone through the rest of my existence."

If I could have cried, I would have. Someone who put his heart into loving so much as he had me, in such a short period of time, didn't deserve to be alone. I ripped my hands from his and threw my arms around his waist, holding on tight at the thought of it.

"It's okay, Bella. I wanted you to know how much you've changed my life." His hands ran up and down my back, sending a shiver through me and making me feel so safe and loved at the same time.

"You'll never be alone anymore," I promised him. "Not even if we live for a thousand more years."

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and then gently pushed me away, causing my arms to drop back to my sides. "I'm so glad you feel that way." He took my hands in one of his, fished in the pocket of his dark jeans with the other, and then dropped to one knee.

A strange light-headedness filled me. I knew what was about to happen. Once he said the words, I would have mere seconds to reply before he got worried. Then I remembered what I told him and knew what my answer would be, even as he began to speak.

"Isabella Swan, would you do me the amazing honor and privilege of accepting my hand in marriage?" The words were so formal, but that suited him and, if I was honest with myself, me.

I smiled down at him. "Of course."

He slid a large ring of clustered diamonds onto the ring finger of my left hand. "This was my mother's, my human mother's. It's one of the few material possessions I kept after I recovered and gained enough control to claim my inheritance. I sold everything but some mementos," he practically babbled.

I raised my hand to stare at the sparkling jewels. They glittered even more brightly than my skin in the dying sunlight filtering into the clearing. "It fits perfectly."

Edward rose and pulled me back into his arms. He lowered his mouth to mine and gave me a sweet but all-too-short kiss. When I wove my fingers into his hair and tried to pull his head back down for more, he chuckled and laid a finger on my lips.

"I was wondering how you felt about a short engagement."

As someone who has never dreamed about be married or the wedding ceremony, I didn't particularly care when it happened. I told him so, and his eyes lit up.

"Great. Let's go tell the others." He clutched my hand in his and began to run again, this time back to the cabin.

"Edward! What are we doing?" I laughed as I tried to keep pace. In his excitement, he was forgetting to adjust his speed to mine.

"Getting married!"

"Now?" I stopped running and stared at him. He stopped as well and eyed me uncertainly.

"Yes?"

"With no warning?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure Alice figured things out. By the time we get there, most of the prep work will probably be done. She's pretty quick when she wants to be, getting a wedding ready."

"I hope you know what you're doing," was the only thing I could think of to say as we started running once more. Because I don't, I thought, glad not for the first time that he couldn't read my thoughts. My trusty shield kept him from knowing how worried I was about our sister's reaction to his idea to get married today!

I shouldn't have been surprised to find the cabin a hive of activity when we arrived, but I was. Alice loudly lamented the lack of fresh flowers while also ordering everyone around as they rearranged furniture in the living room to highlight the fireplace. Esme was busy reassuring her that the greenery from the evergreens outside, which Jasper and Emmett were collecting, would add the perfect festive touch even if it wasn't quite winter yet. In these mountains, it might as well have been. Carlisle waited for us on the porch, a large leather-bound book in his hands.

"Bella, we haven't had a chance to talk about religion before, but I hope you will do me the honor of allowing me to officiate at your wedding," he said, eyes twinkling. "I even have a current license, under an assumed name of course, because Rose and Emmett like to renew their vows every so often."

All I could do was nod. "My parents weren't very religious, and I'm not either, but I would love for you to officiate," I managed to gasp out.

I was sure Alice had to have heard us coming, but my voice must have been the catalyst to send her bounding out of the cabin, a frightening ball of energy.

"Bella! Come on, we need to get you dressed. Edward, you may dress in Carlisle and Esme's room down the hall, and no peaking in our heads, either." I was confused by the "our" as she pulled me inside and into the bathroom that Edward and I shared. However, all confusion cleared up when I saw Rosalie waiting, testing the heat of a curling iron. A blue garment bag hung on the back of the bathroom door, which I saw as it shut behind us.

"Now, relax and let us do our thing. No need to worry," Alice said, determination and zeal lighting her eyes in a way that worried me even though I knew there was no reason to be concerned. It wasn't like she could or would hurt me. And the first thing she had me do wasn't too harrowing. At her instruction, I changed out of the jeans and shirt I was wearing and into a long white slip with spaghetti straps.

I actually found their ministrations over the next hour to be relaxing, much more so than the girls' night out we had when they trussed me into a torture device of a dress and spent hours on my hair and makeu. When I was a human, I had no interest in dressing up, and it had never occurred to me that there might be a need as a vampire. But they assured me that even perfect vampire faces could be enhanced or decorated for the right mood with the correct amount of make up applied. They even offered to teach me, but I declined at the time. Looking back on it, I should have said yes.

By the time they finished, my hair was gathered up at the back of my head into a crown of braids with small tendrils of curls dangling down in the front and a few along the back of my neck. A glance in the mirror told me that I could easily pass for nineteen looking like this, which was food for future thought. Since Alice forced me into a spaghetti strap slip before they began their work, I wondered what she had planned for my wedding dress. There was no way she had time to get anything. Or so I thought.

"I'm very upset with Edward for not letting me plan ahead, but I thought of at least one thing that you would need which could be ordered right away. I knew the way the wind blew as soon as I saw the two of you together—well, up here." She tapped the side of her head with a grin and then reached around Rosalie and me for the garment bag.

"Now don't be too disappointed that it's not entirely custom," she warned me, as if I would care. She pulled out a pure white confection of lace and satin in a style that might as well have come from Edward's original time, as far as I could tell from movies I saw when I was younger. My Bronte-loving heart was secretly thrilled at the long sleeves and demure neckline, while I wondered if I'd fit the tiny waist.

"Remember that I took your measurements when we were shopping in Washington. This should fit," Alice replied to my decision to ask her about the fit.

I could only nod and follow her instructions to raise my arms away from my body. I stepped carefully into the dress as she held it out. The whisper of satin on my legs and the press of the dress against the silk slip did feel wonderful. I felt Rosalie behind me start to do up the buttons, because of course there were no zippers or anything. I wondered how that would play out later.

My sisters pulled me between them and turned me so that I could see the three of us in the mirror. I realized that they must have taken turns changing into simple, matching lilac-colored gowns while fussing over me. I wondered how I had missed that, but then I forgave myself for being a little distracted.

"We look beautiful," I whispered with a giggle, shocking myself.

"Of course we do!" Alice cheered. "Now, is the bride ready?"

I nodded, clenching my lip between my teeth. She reached out and gently pulled it back out then examined my mouth to make sure I hadn't messed up the lipstick, all while scolding me.

"I'm going to go get the music started and warn everyone to take their places," Rosalie said, giving my shoulders one last squeeze. As the second-best piano player in the family, it made sense that she would assume that role under Alice's command.

"How did you get all this together so fast?" I asked as Alice and I waited for the music to start and the rustling to die down in the living room.

She rolled her eyes. "I've been planning for weeks, even beyond the dress. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. As soon as you two were out of hearing earlier I got everyone started."

"You knew my answer would be yes?"

"I had faith that it would be, although of course I couldn't see anything until you made your decision. You've been my sister since you found us, but you were always meant to be so much more for Edward." Her golden eyes shone as she looked at me.

Strains of a lovely song began to play in the living room, although how they got a piano in there, I had no idea. Alice led me out of the bathroom and almost all the way down the hall where Emmett was waiting.

"I hope you don't mind," he whispered, holding out his arm to escort me while Alice slipped away to join Jasper ahead of us.

"Of course not." I was touched but not being totally honest, of course. For a moment I allowed myself to wallow in regret that my father couldn't be here performing this service for me. But I shut it off as ruthlessly as I dared. He was far safer away from this world, away from the dangers the Volturi represented.

Alice and Jasper led the way in a stately walk down a makeshift aisle swathed in white silk that cut diagonally into the living room and then turned toward the fireplace. The couches and upholstered chairs had disappeared. Our family stood in their place, except for Rosalie on a white baby grand piano in one corner and Carlisle and Edward in front of the fireplace. The scent of evergreen filled the room from the boughs draped along the mantled and artfully hung along the walls, twisted into heart shapes with lilac ribbon bows flowing from the points.

I nodded, clenching my lip between my teet. we turned into the room, my eyes were glued to Edward's. His smile lit up his whole face, and I felt my own lips curl up in happiness at the joy that blossomed in my heart. He looked so dashing in his tuxedo, a traditional black and white that fit him so perfectly it made me wonder how long he'd had it—or it would have if I hadn't had other things on my mind, like surviving the ceremony. He reached out a hand toward me, and Emmett placed mine into it.

To say I remembered the ceremony would be true, but to say I paid much attention other than to parrot my lines would not. Throughout the whole thing, I could not take my eyes off my mate. Before I knew it, Carlisle instructed Edward to kiss his bride, and he pulled me into a sweet yet sensual kiss that had our brothers and sisters shouting and whistling, while the others laughed and watched us with indulgent eyes.

After the kiss, the rest of the afternoon should have been a blur but somehow was not, even though I had my mind on much more than the celebration ahead. I chatted with Esme, Carmen, and the Denali sisters, all of whom took delight in teasing me when they could, much more subtly than Alice and Rosalie had. I danced first with Edward and then with Carlisle while Edward danced with Esme, at which point Emmett tried to cut in saying he'd given the bride away. Carlisle dismissed him by swirling me away, while we all laughed at Emmett's expense. The others joined the dancing in the cleared living room before Alice excitedly suggested taking the party out into the backyard so that we could dance in the sunset. I found myself back in Edward's arms as we swayed in the twilight.

"Happy?" he asked me quietly, although we both knew everyone around us could hear.

I smiled up at him. "The happiest I've ever been." It was true. I'd never felt more alive, not even when I first realized that I was in love with him. I felt so full of joy that it overwhelmed the small shadow of sadness in my heart that my parents weren't here. I knew they would have been if they could, and even with my mother's objections to marriage I think she would have been happy to see me married to a man I loved so very much.

"Good." That was all he said and all he needed to say. His lips lowered to mine for the twentieth time in the past couple hours. Then he pulled away enough to lean in and whisper into my ear. "Want to get out of here?"

"I thought you'd never ask." We dashed away, with the others laughing at us, and ran into the woods that started it all, still dressed in our wedding finery. It came as no surprise to find myself back in what I now considered our clearing a few short minutes later.

"Mrs. Isabella Cullen." Edward's eyes moved over me, savoring every inch as much as my own did to him. The tux was exceptional at highlighting the best parts of him, the muscled but lean torso and arms and powerful thighs. I licked my lips in anticipation.

"I suppose that's my name now." I tried to be teasingly nonchalant about it, and he must have taken that as a challenge. I didn't complain as he swept me up into his arms.

"You only suppose?"

"Well, where's my proof?" I raised my chin at him, a small smile I didn't know I was capable of playing on my lips.

He growled and laid me on the ground in one swift motion, the snow flying up on either side of us in sparkling white flakes. His mouth claimed mine again as our hands began to explore with more urgency than ever before. The lovely dress was soon shreds around us, as was his tux. His mouth found many sensitive spots that night. The curve of my breast, the stretch of skin over my pelvis, the back of my knee, places I never even knew could be erotic I felt his lips and tongue and teeth on them. I found secret spots of my own along his collarbone, his nipples, and his abdominal muscles, each and every one that I traced with my tongue and watched as he shuddered. I delighted in his tongue swirling into my deepest folds to lap at my clit, and gloated when he twitched as I ran my own tongue along the underside of his cock which responded to both lips and fingers until he moaned at me to stop. All this and more we memorized about each other, and yet I'm sure we would never get enough of these sensations, even if we did live for a thousand years and more.

After several rounds of licking and touching every inch we could reach while also exchanging deep, wet kisses, he made his way down my body again, one hand holding me in place on my stomach as he looked up at me. I watched his eyes, now black with desire, as he began licking and sucking my clit again, this time with no mercy for the cries and moans that escaped my lips. I bucked under him as a wave of the most intense desire crashed over me, causing the world to go white for a few seconds in a way that had nothing to do with snow. I heard him chuckle even as he moved back over me, and after a quick burning sensation he was inside even as the waves began to fade away.

He held still for a few moments, and I knew he was waiting. Neither of us were sure how this would work, since I hadn't exactly been sexually active before my change, but the other ladies had assured me weeks ago, when we were alone, that when the time came my body would adjust as necessary, the only time it ever would. And it wasn't exactly painful, perhaps because of the venom within me. Just a burn and then it was over.

"Edward," I moaned, clasping my arms around his neck and pulling mouth down to mine.

That was all he needed. He thrust into me again and again, for several long minutes before tensing. I felt him pulse within me, and it created a strange sense of satisfaction that was almost better than an orgasm, even as I felt small ripples of pleasure start through me again at the sensation. I did that. My body gave that to him, as his did for me.

"Happy?" he asked again as we laid in the snow.

"Beyond happy. You?"

"Always."

As we laid in the moonlight that began to wash the clearing in a silvery gleam, my thoughts drifted to the events that led me to this moment in time. Despite the pain, the fear, and the uncertainty of my early time as a vampire, it all led to this, as if it was meant to be. I recalled a line from a book Jasper assigned me recently, one that highlighted poems from around the world. "God long ago drew a circle in the sand exactly around the spot where you are standing right now. You were never not coming here." And I knew that being in Edward's arms was my very own circle in the sand.

And it's done. Done! Whew. I began to doubt it would ever happen. And look, I even explained the title! LOL