E-POV

The rain picked up while I was still on the roof. My clothes stuck to my skin and my hair stuck to my forehead, but I remained tucked neatly behind a dormer.

Skipping through the minds of the Hunters below, I had a decent idea of the layout of the house. The Hunters were smart enough to keep Bella cooped up in a small, windowless room in the middle of the house, so there was no way I could get to her inconspicuously. There was always someone watching her door, as well as the two entrances to the house. Still, I waited and watched in the vain hope one of them would slip up and give me an opportunity. My family was on their way, so she wouldn't be in there for more than an hour, but I didn't want them to hold any leverage over us. I would be much happier if Bella was safe and in my arms when the vampires descended upon the house.

In the hall right below me, the lead Hunter—Sam—informed Jacob it was time. I adjusted my crouched position, hoping it was finally time to pounce. Through Jacob's eyes, I watched him type instructions leading to the opposite side of the state into the messages on his cell phone. Simultaneously, Sam thought through his strategy for my arrival.

If I hadn't spent so long flitting between the minds of Bella's friends, I might not have been able to pay attention to both Sam and Jacob, while also keeping tabs on the Hunters charged with guard duty. I supposed I would eventually have to deal with all the Told-You-So's from Bella and my siblings about exposure being the key to controlling my gift, but that would have to wait for another day.

I felt the buzz in my pocket as Jacob's text messages went through. The directions that would lead me to a small coastal town instead of here. Confusion throbbed like a headache as I wondered why Jacob would send me away while Sam expected me at their front door any minute.

Then, Jacob stalked into the room they kept Bella in. Through Jacob's eyes, I devoured the sight of her, like a starving man before a buffet. She sat on a large, gray sofa, curled up into a small ball in the very corner. Bella purposely waited until the last possible moment before she looked up at him.

The gaping hole in my chest ached. Though there was an urgency to get her back, concern for her safety, and several other things I needed to worry about, I simply missed her above all else. Though I was closer to her now, I wasn't close enough to hold her, to tuck her hair behind her ears, to kiss each eyelid. I might as well have been miles away.

Though I could see the reluctance in her expression, it was very clear that Jacob did not. He took in the chocolate eyes that I loved and the perfect bow of her lips that I cherished but saw only the beauty in her features. He looked right past the emotion etched upon them.

"We need to leave."

"I want to take a shower," Bella said in a small, soft voice.

Jacob hesitated. Though they weren't actually under a time crunch, Sam thought they were. It was becoming increasingly obvious that Jacob had another plan that conflicted with that of his Leader.

"I want to look nice for you," she continued.

"You're always beautiful," I whispered under my breath, though I was not the one she was talking to.

The response came to me automatically. However, my reaction did not reflect Jacob's. He thought about arguing for haste but second-guessed himself. He didn't like the way she looked—disheveled hair, the bags under her red eyes, the loose, shapeless clothing. A shower would fix some of those issues.

"There's no time," he said, instead.

"Then what about new clothes?" Bella suggested. "You don't like these."

"That's a great idea," he smiled. I curled my lip, furious with how much that pleased him. I couldn't begin to wonder why Bella would bother to look nice for Jacob without risking the little sanity I had left.

In his mind, Jacob mapped out the route to the closest mall.

The fury faded, replaced with awe.

I should have known it was no mere coincidence that our fashion-focused physic had a vision of Bella at a shopping mall. The moment Bella devised her little scheme, Alice had the vision that brought me to her. She played on Jacob's weakness to get her exactly where she could be found.

"You're the smartest person I know," I whispered to her, shaking my head.

Below, Jacob helped Bella off the sofa. Her knees wobbled. At the same time, Jacob and I both wondered if she'd eaten something since he'd taken her. While it worried me, it encouraged him. Repulsed by him, I switched through the minds of each Hunter as they watched Jacob guide Bella through the house and out the back door. Creeping up and over the roof, I peered across the backyard.

The back door creaked open, and Bella stepped out into the rain. Both arms were crossed in front of her—she was cold or frustrated or possibly both. Though she was clearly uncomfortable, she trudged after Jacob at a glacial pace towards the detached garage around the back of the house. Jacob opened one of the two garage doors on the building, revealing an old sedan. He commanded Bella to get inside.

Bella hesitated. Her eyes roamed the trees surrounding the house, searching.

"Almost," I whispered. Whatever scheme played out before me, it was more than I allowed myself to hope for. Once Jacob brought Bella far enough away, I would ambush them. Jacob would be easy to render unconscious. I would even have the chance to properly break his nose. Then, I could be back at the house along with my family and send Bella away with one of my siblings. It was too perfect.

Bella was still hunched over in the rain, lost in thought. Jacob rounded the front of the car, preparing to shove her in by force. I scowled and mentally added a clause to the treaty that allowed me to break his face bi-weekly.

Instead of pushing her forward like he pictured, he took her face in his hands, and I amended my imaginary clause to weekly.

He kissed her. Right in the middle of the rain. As they kissed, his entire plan played in his mind. He planned to take her south, to Pheonix. Somewhere so bright and sunny, I would have a hard time following. There, he would prove to her they were meant to be together. Once she realized she loved him back, he would withhold his feelings from her. He would force her into a corner where she would become so heartbroken and lonely, that she would have no choice but to become what he envisioned his soulmate should look like.

I would kill him.

Just like the time I witnessed their other kiss, my body went into motion before the mind told it to.

I was off the roof and halfway across the yard before I knew it. I heard various orders shouted from the house as the Hunters noticed me. Jacob was the next one to see me. His thoughts grew hostile, not because I was a vampire in his territory. But because I was there to take back what he stole from me.

Bella saw me last.

She gasped.

Jacob became distracted by the commotion door behind me, worrying whether someone saw him kiss Bella. He instinctively took a large step away from her, to prove his distaste for her, instead of guarding her like he should have. His pathetic insecurity provided me with the opportunity to snatch Bella up. In the blink of an eye, I had her in my arms at the back of the garage. She buried her face into my chest and softly whimpered my name. Smoothing her hair and patting her back, I watched the Hunters approach me.

In their eyes, I now had a hostage, so they were going to be cautious.

Sam—the leader—attempted to speak, "Listen—,"

"No," I growled, "You listen to me. You are going to allow me to leave and bring her someplace safe. While you wait here for my return, you will think long and hard as to how you could stomach forcing a human into the middle of a feud she is no part of."

"You dragged her into our world," Sam said.

"I did not bring her anywhere she did not wish to go."

Bella's arms tightened around me.

I continued my instructions. "Then, you will cooperate as we negotiate a peace treaty."

Sam curled his lip. "Why would I allow that?"

"Because we bring no harm to humans."

At that, Sam took in the color of my eyes. I hadn't fed in a few days, but they were still a deep butterscotch. I was surprised I didn't have to explain their significance. The face of a pretty girl with golden skin and a pleading expression played in his mind.

She's always right… he thought to himself. But he said, "And you expect me to believe that?"

"We have all the proof you need," As if Alice were behind the scenes giving them their cue, Carlisle and Emmett stepped through the trees, both with their hands raised.

The Hunters shifted their positions at the arrival of two new enemies. The Hunters still had their numbers, but I had the only casualty safe in my arms. This most precious casualty shifted to take a peek at what was happening around her.

"We have come with the hope that we could create a peace treaty," Carlisle continued.

Most of the Hunters sunk deeper into their aggressive stances, but Sam straightened. "What peace are you looking for?"

"For us to continue to our harmless lifestyle without fear of being hunted. We are ready to vow if any humans are harmed by our hands…"

"Or teeth," Sam growled.

Carlisle smiled ruefully. "We can agree on the exact verbiage together. But yes, if any humans are harmed by us or our presence, you would be free to slaughter us."

"You think you can control yourself for that long?"

"In my three hundred years of existence, I have not once tasted human blood. Those in my coven share my practice."

This sparked Sam's curiosity. A few Hunters wanted to kill the vampires now, but Sam and the few who hunted to preserve life were interested in Carlisle's choices. It didn't hurt that my father's charisma knew no bounds. Even drenched from the rain, my father held himself with an effortless charm that couldn't be ignored—any more than the hulking vampire beside him.

"You have proof of this?" Sam pressed.

Carlisle nodded, thinking of the manilla folder of documents that held proof of residence as far back as he could attain them.

"Alright," Sam agreed. "Let's see if we agree on something."

Sam looked at the two Hunters to his right and left, gesturing for them to follow his lead. They called on two Hunters of their own and the seven of them followed Carlisle and Emmett into the house. Six more remained outside with me. They were immediately on guard when Emmett reappeared suddenly, but calmed down when they saw he had two towels in his hands. Both of which I gave to Bella, still soaked from the rain and attempting to hide her shivers.

"Thank you, Emmett," I whispered loud enough for the eavesdropping Hunters to hear. I wrapped the first towel around Bella's shoulders, using the corners to dry off her face. I kept my motions slow and exaggerated, so everyone could all see we weren't up to something nefarious.

My brother mussed Bella's hair. "Good to have you back, kid. You gave us quite the scare. Eddie nearly lost his mind and Rosie nearly lost her head."

I scowled as Bella grinned. Tossing me a wink, Emmett returned to the house. This time, he used his normal, human pace. Under the watchful eyes of the Hunters, I dried Bella to the best of my ability in current circumstances.

"Hey there," I kept the towel between my skin and hers as I ran my thumb down her cheek.

"Edward," she said in a shaky voice. Her chocolate eyes melted with gratitude, relief, and—above all else—love. "You found me."

"Always."

"So soon." By this, she seemed confused. Almost upset.

"You have yourself to thank for that, my love. It was your wiles that brought me here."

"Alice saw me?"

"Yes. All because of you. She will arrive with Jasper soon," I informed her, repeating the information Emmett relayed in his mind during Carlisle's conversation with Sam. "I want you to go with them. I'll meet back up with you when I'm done here."

"What?" she cried out. "Why?"

"I don't how long I'll be." I brushed her hair away from her face. "And you need to eat and sleep."

"I just need you," she pouted.

"As lovely as the sentiment is, it's not true. How's this: you return home with my siblings, then when I return, we write up doctor's notes and take our turn playing hooky."

She liked that quite a lot. She tucked her lips between her teeth, playfully. "And what do we have, according to these notes? That nasty kissing disease?"

"Most likely. I'm always sick off your kisses," I teased. I could afford a bad joke. I had Bella back, she was perfectly safe, and there were friendly thoughts streaming from inside the house. Considering my mental state mere hours ago, I was downright giddy.

Bella rolled her eyes, but let me kiss her anyway. We were in public, so the kiss was briefer than I would have liked. But our sweet, chase kiss was every bit as loving as our throes of passion. When she broke the kiss, she rested her forehead against my chest once more. "I knew you would find me. I knew you loved me too much to ever let me go."

"Truly, I do."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

The Hunters listened to our entire conversation. Though most listened with board apathy for the sake of duty, Jacob grew increasingly furious with every vow we exchanged. His intention was never to kill a vampire. He wanted the lovely girl who was confessing her love for me. He was not handling his disappointment well.

B-POV

As if he heard my secret wish, Edward pulled me into his arms. Before I had the chance to snuggle up to him, Edward gently pushed me behind him.

"This isn't the time nor place, Jacob," Edward muttered, low enough so the other Hunters couldn't hear. "Not with her here."

Jacob called to his fellow Hunters over his shoulder. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't think we should trust these leeches without a little test."

I clutched the fabric of Edward's sleeve, but he shook me off and nudged me back again with his elbow. "Not with her here," he repeated through his teeth.

The six remaining Hunters did not heed Edward's demand. They stalked forward in a semi-circle, into the garage. As one of them pulled down the door of the garage, Edward stepped back, pressing me against the back wall.

"Please," his voice was hard, "let her leave. I'll stay and let you play whatever game you want without objection."

"No!" I cried.

The Hunters pressed closer. Simultaneously, they each drew a knife from their sleeve. I wondered at the weapon—no blade could pierce Edward's impenetrable skin. Surely, they would know that. Edward tensed as if bracing for impact. Then, I realized he had actually stopped breathing.

One by one, the Hunters brought the knives to their arms and sliced. Five ribbons of fresh blood trailed down their arms.

"Here's the deal," Jacob spoke in a low, husky voice, "You manage ten minutes without tasting blood, we'll believe you. If you can't we'll kill you, then the rest of your coven. Deal?"

Edward couldn't speak his response while holding his breath, so he nodded instead. It wasn't like he had much of a choice.

"You'll never make it, Bloodsucker," one of them taunted.

Edward stepped forward, caught the dripping blood in his hand, and flicked it away.

The Hunter inspected Edward's face. His dark blue eyes traveled down his neck, across his broad shoulders, and stopped at his chest. "Aw come on man," the Hunter complained, "that's cheating."

He went to punch Edward in the gut, but Edward blocked it at the last second. Another tried to place a blow to his chest with his elbow, but Edward caught that as well. Then, as the first went for another punch, a third brought his fists together and swung them back, like he was cheering, then thrust them down between Edward's shoulder blades.

Edward might be able to read minds, but there was only one of him and six of them. He blocked the punch to the stomach, but not the wallop to his back. The Hunters got what they wanted. Edward gasped in pain, sucking in the potent scent of blood.

I watched in horror as Edward's ocher eyes faded into midnight black. He shook—literally shook—to keep his bloodlust at bay.

Encouraged by his reaction, the Hunters descended upon him. Edward did not have the chance to hold his breath again as five of them ganged up on him. My heart burned watching, for Edward did not fight back. He only prevented their blows and produced none of his own.

Presumably holding out for the hope of peace.

As the blood continued to flow from the open wounds, Edward's reaction times slowed. Eventually, his hands fisted in his hair as he grappled with his own inner monster, and he stopped blocking their blows entirely.

My eyes were glued to Edward, so I didn't notice one of the Hunters until he was almost upon me. Before I had the chance to even scream, the Hunter's neck was in Edward's hand. He pulled the Hunter off the ground until his feet dangled in the air. Keeping him aloft, Edward pulled him close to his face and threatened in a low, black voice, "You do not want to be the thing standing between me and that girl."

Then, Edward threw the Hunter to the ground. His head hit the concrete with a loud crack. Edward faced the others, challenging them to make the same mistake.

Jacob was the one to accept the challenge. He approached Edward slowly. He was the only one tall enough to actually loom over him. Jacob sliced his hand right under Edward's nose. He squeezed his fist until the blood ran between his closed fingers.

"Convincing," Jacob whispered. "But not good enough."

Whatever Jacob had planned next, Edward did not like. A growl erupted from his throat. Deep and menacing, I felt it sound deep in my chest, like the thump of base at a concert. Frozen in fear, I did nothing as two Hunters approached me. Edward struggled to wrangle the first two away, shaking from his growls and bloodlust. The savage beast replaced any remaining shreds of my charming, debonair vampire.

Once the Hunters were tossed on the ground, adequately far from me and writhing in pain, Edward turned to check on me. I recoiled from him and immediately wished I hadn't. For the first time—even after the beatings—pain flickered in his wild eyes.

"No," I whispered. "No! I'm sor—".

My cry was interrupted by my own scream as Jacob used the distraction to seize my arm. Edward leaped for him, but two other Hunters stopped him and threw him back. They were both knocked out in a single, lightning-quick motion from Edward, but it was still too slow.

Jacob slashed my arm with his knife.

"They say the blood of a lover tastes sweeter," Jacob said. He squeezed my arm, forcing more blood out. I cried out in pain. Edward snarled but could not step any closer. Not because of any hold the Hunters had on him—all five were already defeated. But because of the hunger that twisted his expression.

At that moment, I knew Edward was going to drink my blood. Nothing would be able to stop the horrible monster before me from doing so. I wondered if it would be easier on him if I offered it to him freely.

"Is it true?" Jacob continued, "It's the only reason I could think of as to why you would waste your time with her. To enhance the flavor of her blood. The only question I have is: why her? Was her blood already sweet to you?"

Edward said nothing, shaking like a starved beast, fighting against his instincts.

"Edward!" I cried out.

It was the wrong thing to do. It only made Jacob angrier. "Why her!?" Jacob squeezed my arm again—again, I yelped. "Why out of everyone else in the world did you have to choose her!?"

Edward roared.

The garage shook.

Either that, or I shook.

Then, Jacob's neck was in Edward's hand, and Edward threw Jacob to the other side of the garage. Jacob stood to face Edward as he approached. Edward blocked two punches before Jacob landed a third on his cheek. When he did, Edward froze.

Drops of my blood ran down Edward's cheek like terrible, red tears.

Edward's mouth opened slowly, as if he were actively fighting the movement. Jacob wouldn't allow Edward to win his internal battle. As tenderly as if they were lovers, Jacob placed his bloody hand on Edward's cheek. He ran his thumb over Edward's lips, leaving a smear of red. Edward trembled, physically fighting against the taste of human blood he rejected for so long.

I reared back, repulsed by the intimacy between them.

"That's right," Jacob murmured, "Just a taste."

Poor Edward crumpled to his knees. His hands gripped the concrete floor. Literally. His fingers dug through the solid concrete like it was loose dirt.

It was the scene from Alice's vision I had feared for so long. It was never Jacob's blood smeared on Edward's face. It was always mine.

Human blood dripped down his arms, his face, his neck. The collar and cuffs of his shirt were stained the color red. The scent must have been suffocating. Yet, he no longer shook. He took deep, slow breaths in through the nose and out of the mouth, like in yoga. His eyes were still black, but I could see the light of his humanity in them. It was not defeat that brought him to his knees, but sweet, sweet relief. He beat his monster as well as the monsters around him.

Suddenly, the garage door was thrown open. Sam stood in the center. The rest of the Hunters stood behind him in formation.

"Enough," he commanded.

Jacob and the conscious members of his gang stood at attention. Emily and another Hunter hurried towards me, worry plain on their faces. Hurting me was clearly never part of their plan. The Hunter ripped off their shirt and pressed down on my wound to stop the bleeding. Emily tied the top of my arm with a strip of fabric. Sam barked a few orders, but I didn't hear them. I broke away from the Hunters and rushed toward Edward. He held out his hand—a solid barrier between us to prevent me from getting any closer.

"Edward…"

He splayed his fingers open on my stomach and rubbed his thumb—the closest he could get to comfort me in this state. I stifled a sob.

Alice was there, suddenly. And Esme. Alice tugged my arm, "Oh, Bella get away from him. Oh, oh no. Rose!"

Then, Rosalie was beside me instead of Alice, pulling me away from the scene. "It's alright. I've never had human blood. You're alright. You can come with me."

"No!" I couldn't leave him. Not like this. Not when I just got him back.

"You have to leave him. He doesn't want to hurt you."

I risked another look back, as Rosalie dragged me towards a red sports car. Esme crouched before him, wiping the human blood off his face with her sleeve. Her mouth moved quickly and quietly. I hoped she told him how proud she was of him for staying true.

As Rosalie helped me into the car, I heard Sam's instructions to his Hunters. "These are our allies, now," he explained in a firm, no-nonsense voice. "They will inform us of any creatures they encounter. In turn…"

The moment the door shut behind me, I burst into tears.