Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters.

Cinnamon in my teeth

From your kiss, you're touching me

All the pills that you take

Violet, blue, green, red to keep me at arms length don't work

You try to push me out

But I just find my way back in

Violet, blue, green, red to keep me out

I win

There's things I want to say to you

But I'll just let you live

Like if you hold me without hurting me,

You'll be the first who ever did

There's things I want to talk about

But better not to give

But if you hold me without hurting me,

You'll be the first who ever did…

IN THE HEAVENS ABOVE AND IN THE DEPTHS OF HELL

The scent of earthy pine drew Isabella out of her slumber and the unfamiliar peace she felt. The usual restlessness she'd grown used to was gone, the tugging and the pain gone with it. It was as if she'd been stuck in a loud, crowded room and this was the first time she found peace in the silence.

The sun had not yet risen when she opened her eyes, but the light of the moon wasn't the only thing illuminating the otherwise dark room. No, it was the light from her lamp situated on her desk not far from where she slept. There, leaning back on her chair, an ankle resting over his knee and her copy of Wuthering Heights on his lap, was her ghost.

Mate.

Mate.

Isabella sat up, alarmed by his presence. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the resemblance between her ghost and him. It was uncanny, terrifying even.

"I see you have a thing for tragic love stories," he said, his voice soft and velvet, sending a chill down her spine. He flipped to the next page. "I've always been more of a Poe fan myself."

Isabella tried to speak, but words failed her as she took in every feature and every detail of his. Her memory did not do him justice.

He closed the book, setting it down on the pile on the desk. There was a sudden thud down the hall, drawing both of their attention to the partially open door which was promptly slammed shut.

"They've been at it all night," he said, glancing at the now closed door. "I don't think they like me much."

"They don't take kindly to strangers," she said, her voice hoarse.

She noticed the way his body stiffened at the sound of her voice.

"I don't blame them." Finally, finally, he looked at her. Isabella felt herself shrink under his emerald gaze. He studied her silently for a moment, his fingers tapping the table at a steady beat. "You left."

Isabella pressed herself back against the wall.

"You were gone when I came back."

"I did what I had to do," she said, but she wasn't sure if she was saying it to herself or him. There was a hint of frustration in her, frustration that she felt for falling asleep and not leaving when she knew she had to.

"And yet, you're still here."

Isabella felt herself grow hot at his observation. Her ghost uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, pressing his elbows to his knees.

"It was stupid of me to stay."

"Then why did you?"

Isabella opened her mouth to speak, but words failed her the second she locked eyes with him. She could feel the bond filling the space between them, urging them closer and closer. She also felt… wonder? Amazement? But it wasn't hers, no. She focused on the feeling, focused on him with his tousled bronze hair and wrinkled button down shirt, and she realized the feeling came from him.

"Can… am I… am I-"

"It's the bond," he answered, tilting his head slightly. "We can sense what the other feels, just us two. It's a way to draw us closer together, a way for me to be able to cater to you and a way for you to understand me."

Isabella frowned. Could he sense what she felt? Even with her shield?

"What can you feel from me?" She was almost too afraid to ask, but she had to know.

It took him a moment to answer.

"Fear."

Isabella's mouth twitched in distaste.

Her ghost stood and Isabella pressed herself harder against the wall behind her, almost trying to fuse herself to it. The bond between them pulsed with every step he took toward her, sending shivers down her spine. He stopped just a foot from the bed and offered her his hand. Isabella looked at his offered hand and back at him, the wonder she'd felt before was now replaced by eagerness and determination.

He wanted her trust. He wanted her to trust him.

And against all rational thought, Isabella reached for his extended hand. She came to a shuddering halt, their skin just millimeters apart, and she could almost feel his warmth radiating from him.

She hesitated.

She hadn't touched anyone in so long. She hadn't been touched in so long, and she ached for it. Ached for him.

He gave her an encouraging nod and, with a shuddering break, she slipped her hand into his.

Warmth spread through her entire body, making her gasp. He grasped her hand in his, a satisfying breath leaving him as his fingers wrapped around her as he pulled her to her feet. Isabella stood rapidly, almost falling against his broad chest but was able to maintain her balance. Still, she was inches away from him, her head coming up to his chest and she hesitated to look up at him. Their bond wrapped around them like tendrils, drawing them closer. He let go of her hand then, grasping her face between his large hands, his fingers threading through her silky hair as he tilted her head up.

Isabella gasped once more, their faces just inches apart, his breath on her skin. She shivered with unexplainable relief and… pleasure. She had to hold onto his arms to keep herself steady and on her feet.

He sighed once more, inhaling her sweet scent.

"You didn't leave."

"I-I s-should've been long gone by n-now," she managed to choke out.

"You keep saying that, but yet, here you are. You truly didn't want to leave, did you, love?"

Isabella's breath quivered at the endearment he'd used. He was right, deep down, she didn't want to leave. She didn't want to run.

Her silence was answer enough for him.

It started with the gentle caress of his nose against hers. Up and down, then slowly trailing across her cheek until she felt his hot breath against her neck. There, his lips grazing her just lightly, he blew a soft breath against her skin. Isabella shivered, a gasp escaping her as he walked them back until her back met the wall, his body molding against hers. She held onto his arms, unable to hold back the moan that escaped her as his lips finally touched her. It was a gentle kiss at first, electrifying, right at the spot where her pulse would've been, and then it was followed by several open mouth kisses, the suckling of skin and the tight grasp he had on her.

Her body hummed with an insatiable need for him. He was overcome with the need to mark her, to make her his. Each kiss was like another brand of him, each lick and squeeze mixed their scents together and that would signal to any vampire who would dare approach her that she was his, just like he was hers. His cock throbbed with the need to mate her, to bind their souls together for all eternity, and judging by the way her hips grinded against his, he knew she felt it as well.

Suddenly, just a second before his lips touched hers, she pulled away, overwhelmed by all the emotions. Her ghost let her go and watched, panting, as she scurried away to the window on the opposite side of the room.

Isabella pressed her hand against the cool window, willing herself out of the haze she found herself in. His scent lingered on her, that sweet earthy pine smell that invaded her senses. She willed herself to take a few calming breaths and it wasn't until she was sure she had some measure of control over herself, did she turn back.

"How did you know I was here?" She asked, breathless and trying to deflect from what just happened between them. She could try with all her might, but every nerve in her body wanted him and the tension in the room only intensified the pulse between her legs, rendering her useless.

She needed a distraction.

Her ghost breathed heavily, his thumb rubbing softly at his bottom lip where he could still taste her. As much as he wanted to take her on that cot and ravish her, he knew that was not what she wanted or needed at that moment through their bond, and he was more than willing to oblige her every need.

"Carlisle is old friends with the pack from the reservation. Sam, the pack's leader, called him about a month ago after one of the members of the pack came here with a group of kids from Forks High School. Seth caught your scent and he altered Sam of your presence here."

Isabella swallowed. Pack? Did he mean there was a pack of… the image of the giant wolves that had cornered her in the woods along with the vampires flashed in her mind. There were more of those things?

"You mean like the wolf who pinned me to the ground? There's a whole pack of those things?"

Her ghost's eyes darkened.

"Paul is lucky I haven't gone back there and broken his legs. But yes, there's more of them. About seven at the moment." He slid his hands back into his pockets as he leaned back against the wall. "After Seth alerted Sam of your presence here, he called Carlisle to come and help, and see if the vampire who lived here was a problem that needed to be taken care of."

Isabella couldn't believe it. Wolves siding with vampires? It wasn't like anything she read from the hundreds of books about both species. Of course, those were based on speculation and myths, not the reality of it all.

She leaned back against the window sill, her hands gripping the edges tightly.

"And what exactly is the issue with a vampire taking residence here?"

"The pack's sole purpose is to protect human life and having a vampire living in such close proximity to humans and not knowing what their intentions are poses a risk. They know my family and they trust us, but that feeling isn't mutual when it comes to others."

"I've lived here eighty years and I haven't drank human blood in nearly a century, I'm not a risk to human life."

Her ghost gave her a faint smile and through the bond she felt a sense of pride. He was proud of her?

"Then you've done a great job at keeping a low profile, and you're lucky Sam isn't the act first, think later type. He would've been in great trouble if he touched a single hair on your head."

Isabella felt the tug of their bond in her chest and chose to ignore it, not wanting to delve further into the feeling. His protectiveness only intensified the pulse between her legs.

"We came down and surveyed the area, watched for any suspicious activity, human disappearances or attacks," he continued. "The second I stepped foot in Forks, I was hit with this overwhelming restless feeling. I couldn't sleep and I could hardly think straight, and I was hit by this urge to go somewhere and I couldn't figure out where. I'd felt it before, but not nearly as intense as I did now. Carlisle thought it must've been a gift of the vampire who hid here, but now it makes sense why."

It was their bond, Isabella realized. It'd been exactly as she had felt it and apparently he'd felt it too.

"I didn't know I was feeling this way because I was in such close proximity to my mate. It didn't hit me until I laid eyes on you in the forest and the bond snapped into place."

His words in the forest echoed in her mind. After Rosalie had called her Aro's mate, he was quick to claim what was his.

No, she's mine.

She's mine.

She placed her hand on her chest, where she felt the tug, and when she glanced back at him, she realized his eyes were locked on her hand.

"What made you finally come after me?"

He gave her a ghost of a smile.

"You finally left the manor."

Isabella pulled her hand away from her chest, squaring her shoulders.

It explained why she had been feeling restless in the last couple of weeks and how they'd been able to find her. She partly scolded herself for not realizing she was being watched for at least a month as they were trying to decipher whether or not she was a danger, and she was none the wiser. Not very smart for a vampire that is trying to go unnoticed.

Then there was the falling unconscious in the forest when they finally got to her and then falling asleep in the manor when she had the chance to get away. She knew what she needed to do to protect herself, she had been doing it for two hundred years, so why was it that her instincts failed her when it was most crucial? Could it have been the bond? Could the mating bond between her and her ghost be stopping her from leaving? Refusing to be separated from what is supposed to be her other half now that they've found each other?

Like the voice she's heard in her mind since the day she became a vampire, always cautioning her, scolding her when she did something that put her life in danger. Was it all in attempts to keep her alive until she found her mate?

Or could it be that their bond knew, much like Isabella did but still chose to ignore it, that she didn't want to run, that she didn't want to be alone and made it so that every attempt she made to get away failed? Because deep down, it wasn't what she truly wanted.

But regardless of all that, she knew the danger this coven would be in if she stayed. Could she really be so selfish to stay and put them in danger? To risk their lives and the life of her mate just so that she wouldn't be alone?

Carlisle's words came back to her then.

We both stand to lose something…

Isabella looked at her ghost, remembering what Carlisle had said before.

"Carlisle said Aro was after him…"

"He is."

"Why?"

"Because he has two True Born sons he's kept from the guard, and who he refuses to give up," he answered. "Me and my brother Emmett."

There was a small twinge of disappointment in Isabella.

She knew it. A part of her knew he had to be their true born son, but she couldn't deny that tiny part of her that hoped her ghost was actually him. That he had somehow survived and had been found, but if he had, why hadn't he gone out looking for her? He'd promised he would. He'd swore he'd always find her.

In the heavens above and in the depths of hell.

It was clear to her why he hadn't kept his promise. It was because this wasn't him, just an image of him. An image her soul was forever tied to.

Now what Carlisle had said made more sense to her. They both had something to lose if Aro found them, and it just so happened, it came down to one person. Him. If Aro found him, Carlisle would lose a son and Isabella her mate.

"He has my sister," her ghost continued, drawing her out of her thoughts. "She was taken right before I was born. And now, apparently, he's been after my mate for two centuries."

Anger laced his voice and hardened his features.

Isabella drew in a ragged breath.

"Then you must know that if I stay, we only become a bigger target for the Vulturi to find. Your whole family would be in danger."

"I know." He pushed himself off the wall and slowly walked toward her. "If you want to go, I won't hold you back, just as long as you know wherever you go, I will follow."

"You can't. Carlisle said-"

"I know what Carlisle said."

"Then just let me go," she pleaded. "Don't follow me. You and your family will be safe, and I will go and it will be as if I've never existed."

"No."

Isabella felt a twinge of irritation.

"You don't even know me. I am a stranger."

"A stranger who happens to be my mate."

"It doesn't mean anything-"

"It means everything." Isabella gasped when he suddenly stood in front of her, towering over her and the back of her head pressed against the window as she looked up at him. His emerald eyes glistened under the moonlight as he stared down at her. "I understand. Believe it or not, I do understand. You've been hiding all this time and you don't trust easily. But believe me when I say this, love, I am not going to let anyone hurt you. Aro has a bigger probability of having his head ripped off by me than getting his hands on you. I will not let him touch you or a single hair on your head, and that is a vow that I make to you as your mate."

Isabella couldn't hold his stare any longer, so she closed her eyes. But her ghost couldn't have that. Grasping her chin between his thumb and pointer finger, he lifted her gaze back at him and cupped her cheek with his free hand.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for you," he whispered, his warmth wrapping around Isabella and pulling her closer to him. "And now that I've found you, I will do anything to keep you by my side."

"And if I sneak away in the night?" She asked, knowing she wouldn't. She couldn't. Not anymore.

Her ghost smiled then. It was the same crooked grin that reminded her so much of him.

"I'd find you anywhere. In the heavens above and in the depths of hell. I'd search every corner of this earth and tear it apart to get to you."

His words felt like a stab in the heart and he could feel it through the bond. He felt how his words hurt her and by god, he couldn't understand why. Why would the thought of being tied to him cause her so much pain?

Isabella herself couldn't understand how those words came from him.

"Don't do that." Isabella pulled away, as much as the window behind her would allow. His words sparking memories of her last day with him, the day before the wedding, the day before everything would be ripped away from her. "If you want me to trust you, then do not make promises you cannot keep."

"I very much intend to keep this one, my love."

"Yes, well…" she swallowed, holding back the words she was about to say.

He made the same promise and now he's dead.

"Say, I agree. Say, I go with you. What will happen?"

He began to rub her temples with his thumbs gently, almost as if he couldn't believe she was real. That she was standing right before him and he was finally holding her, his dream.

"Carlisle has a few friends who have been begging him for a word. Something about finally taking down the Vulturi and the Guard."

Isabella swallowed, hard.

"That's impossible."

"Perhaps it was two hundred years ago, love. But things are different now."

"How so?"

The corner of his lips curved into a slight grin.

"There's so much you do not know, love. The covens are growing tired of having their children ripped away and mates separated, and rumor has it Aro is growing desperate. If there's ever a time to take down the Vulturi, it is now. So, after finding you, I think Carlisle will be a little more interested in hearing his friends out."

Isabella knew he was right. There was so much about the world, their world, that she did not know or come close to understanding. She'd been isolated from the entire world for nearly a century, so many things could have changed. And what if what he said was actually true? What if there was a chance to take down the Vulturi?

It was worth a try.

Isabella nodded, unable to form the words and her ghost gave her a nod back in return, pressing his forehead against hers, their noses just grazing one another. It was a small, intimate moment, and Isabella could feel herself slipping into the feeling.

Until the image of him lying dead on the ground invaded her mind. His cold body in her arms. The piercing pain she felt when she realized he was dead.

Her pain hit him like a punch in the gut. He pulled away, looking down at her worriedly, and Isabella slipped away from his grasp and busied herself by taking her discarded bag with the intention of packing her things. A part of her assumed they'd go back with his family given what he had said about Carlisle and his friends, and Isabella needed all the information she could get. But, just like before, she came to a halt when she realized she had nothing to pack.

Just her books.

She felt a twinge of embarrassment, but it was quickly replaced by shock as he walked around her and took her books from her desk, took the bag from her and packed them neatly in it, zipping it closed. He had felt her pain and as much as he wanted to know what caused it, he wasn't going to push her. She would tell him when the time was right.

Pulling the bag over his shoulder, he offered Isabella his hand.

Once again, Isabella hesitated, looking around the room that had become her home and taking in the familiar sounds of the ghosts who saw her as one of her own. Would she ever come back? Would it even be standing if she did?

She looked at her ghost, his hand hanging in the air between them, and she realized she hadn't even learned his name. Nor has he asked her for hers.

"My name is Isabella," she whispered, the sound of her own name feeling alien on her tongue. She hadn't spoken her name in a long, long time. "Isabella Swan."

Her ghost smiled then, reached for her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

"Pleasure to meet you, Isabella Swan. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself when we last saw each other in the woods. I'm Edward. Edward Cullen."

Of course he was.

Fate truly did have a wicked sense of humor.

Sorry for missing last week's update! It has been a hectic week, but I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Let me know your thoughts and I'll see you next Wednesday!