A/N: Bonjour! It's great to see you all again! I'd like to take a moment and welcome you to the sequel to "Waste a Moment". I'm glad you all enjoyed the previous fic and I hope you like this one, too. As always, reviews are always appreciated! And since I failed at life and didn't post this before the book came out, this story is now AU. I would change the plot to fit Eclipse, but it would just defeat the purpose of this story, wouldn't it? Anyway, enjoy this!

Disclaimer: I'm seriously only going to say this once - I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! Have a nice day.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Preface

No one saw this coming. Not even Alice. But that's to be expected when a group of vampires is dealing with a pack of rebellious, revenge-hungry werewolves. Especially when one of them claims to be in love with you, even though he swore that he never wanted to associate with you ever again.

"You don't have to do this, Bella!"

There it was again; his beautiful voice. I looked up from my hands and into his crestfallen face. His golden orbs were silently pleading with me. He didn't want to me do this, but it was the only way I could stop anything else from happening to the people I had come to acknowledge as my family.

"But I do," I muttered pathetically, tears that would never be shed gathering in my eyes.

"No!" He shouted, the misery in his voice wrenching my heart.

For the first time in what seemed like months, I opened my mind to him. I gazed directly into his shimmering eyes and opened the connection that had been forged between us.

Please, Edward. Don't make this any harder than it already is.

When he didn't say anything, I knew that he had accepted my decision. He knew that it was pointless to try and convince me otherwise. Or at least, I hoped he understood that I wasn't being as foolish as he was insisting that I was.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped up onto the raised platform, careful not to trip on the steps as I made my way up. A wave of soft murmurs trickled through the small gathering, some of them shocked, others pleased.

"You are going willing, then?" A familiar voice asked.

I nodded somberly. "Yes. I'm tired of running."

"Good girl," the voice said soothingly. Aro gestured with a long, papery hand toward the door to his immediate left. I could feel the protest begin to build in my stomach as Felix grabbed my upper arm, holding it tightly in his vice-like grip. My feet wouldn't comply with the rest of my body as he began to tug me toward the door.

Felix's other hand came clamping down on my opposite arm and, all too soon, I was being frog marched toward the ominous looking door. I struggled frantically against his tight hold on me, but he was much older and stronger than I was.

I wasn't ready for this. I couldn't do this. I had been wrong in my judgment; the courage that had possessed me had vanished and fear was gripping at me from all corners of my mind. I pressed my feet into the stone floor, trying to slow down our speed. Felix tightened his hold and I winced, his sharp nails digging into my skin.

I managed to twist around in Felix's arms just long enough to catch a glimpse of Edward. He was struggling against the chains that bound him to the floor. Our eyes met and I screamed out for him, the most pitiful sound erupting from my throat.

"Bella!" Edward shouted, my heart breaking as a dry sob escaped my throat. I reached out for him, even though I knew that I would never hold his hand again; I would never feel the touch of his cold flesh against mine; I would never feel so complete and whole ever again.

The door swung shut, cutting off Edward's shouts and roars of outrage, and signifying the finality of the decision I had made. I had lost everything that I held dear to me, and it was all because I had made the noble choice.