I drove as fast as my hot-wired car could go. I didn't care that I was drawing attention from people, or sparkling in the Arizona sunlight that filtered down through the windshield. All I cared about was getting to Bella in time before James could hurt her.

I had no doubt that my family would be shortly behind my in another stolen set of wheels, but I couldn't wait. I had to get to Bella, had to get her away from the tracker. Safe. That's the word that kept playing through my head. I had to get Bella, had to make sure she was safe.

When I had arrived in Phoenix, Alice and Jasper had ran up to me, Alice was hysterical, babbling how Bella had tricked them and went off to meet James on her own. I could read the mind of my sister and brother and see how distraught they were, how they blamed themselves for this. I couldn't be mad at them. It was my entire fault. Alice had told me before that the 'visitors' would be in the area, and what did I do? I took her to watch us play fucking baseball. I got Bella into this mess, and if she died, it would be my fault and nobody else's. I simply told them to wait for the others; they would be arriving shortly and ran off to find her.

I could smell the faint scent of the vampire and my Bella in the air, and that's what led me to the ballet studio. Thank God, otherwise I might have never found them.

I ran through the doors and stopped dead at the sight before me, my heart rising into my throat. James was on top of Bella, her shirt and pants ripped off, he was withdrawing his now flaccid cock from her, and I could see the blood and his venom-sperm pooling from in between her thighs. He casually walked to the camera that had been recording the entire incident and picked it up, zooming it in on her body.

"Now Bella," his voice was rich and deep, as if had thoroughly enjoyed himself. "I am only going to ask you this one last time, so do think carefully dear. Do you want to rethink your last request to Edward? Do you want him to avenge you?"

"No…Edward…don't…"

I could barely hear the whispered plea as she reached for the camera. James reached down and slapped her hard for her insolence. He wouldn't kill her until she said yes, until she begged and pleaded for me to kill him. But Bella never would, she had too much pride, and didn't want to see me get hurt. She was taking all this torture, all this abuse to protect me.

Normally, in reasonable circumstances I would give Bella whatever she desired. The only two things I couldn't, wouldn't give her was this immortality, this personal hell, and this request. James would pay and pay dearly.

I stepped into the room, a feral snarl ripping through my entire body until I was sure it would utterly consume me, crouching low to spring forward and rip at his throat. I was the monster that everyone should. I would kill him.

"Ah and the brave young hero enters our scene!" James put the camera down and clapped his hands delightedly. "I had wondered if you would show up! I'm sorry that you missed the grand finale of my little show, but I'd be glad to give you an encore performance. She was so warm and tight after all…"

I moved to spring, but he dodged me, grabbing Bella by her hair, and yanking her up. Even in while clinging on for life, she was able to let out a shrill scream.

"Now Edward, do I really have to remind you of the rules? Play nicely or little Bella here is going to get hurt."

I had to force myself to remain calm, to distract him until the others arrived. I had to keep Bella alive and conscious until Carlisle could get here and treat her. I had no doubts my brothers would back me up. They adored Bella too.

"Why do you want to hurt her?" I held up my hands to show I wouldn't attack. "I'm here, I'm the one you really want to kill."

James pondered this for a moment, and to my relief he dropped Bella. I tried not to wince as she fell back onto the floor with a weak grunt.

I attacked.

James and I flew into glass mirrors, the shards dropping around us. I tried desperately to hold him down, gripping his neck as hard as possible, but he still managed to hiss obscenities. "It was unbelieveable, Edward. She screamed when I bit her nipples. She sobbed when I broke her hymen. She was so warm and tight, her blood felt so good coating my—"

I twisted his arm in an effort to rip it off. James let out a feral snarl bringing his knee up to my groin, causing me to slump to the ground in pain, he took the opportunity to pounce on me, strangling me and slamming my head into the ground.

I tried to grasp at his hands to pull him away, when I heard the door burst open. My family had come.

James turned at the sound, jumping off me and hissing angrily.

"What's a matter you punk?" Emmett sneered. "Don't like uneven fights? Isn't that what you did when you attacked Bella? Well we're just returning the fucking favor!"

"Carlisle, help Bella," I coughed out jumping to my feet. My brothers flanked me while Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie ran over to Bella, who as weeping.

Carlisle tactfully took off his jacket and covered her naked body, while Esme tried to sooth her best she could. Rosalie was holding her hand and patting it gently, murmuring softly. I was surprised that my vain, bitchy sister was helping her, being attentive, but then I remembered, Rosalie would know what this was like, she would be able to sympathize with Bella.

Alice stood between the two groups, torn. She wanted to go comfort Bella, but she also wanted to rip James' head off.

"Alice, go take care of Bella. Emmett, Jasper and I will take care of this."

Alice nodded and turned to leave, when James called out to stop her.

"Don't you know why you don't remember anything? Don't you know how you came to be what you are?" He asked in a melodic voice, and I could see Alice wavering. I knew she desperately wanted to know the truth, and it enraged me even more that he was trying to torment my sister.

Jasper apparently didn't like it either, because his hand snapped out and punched James in the face. I was pleased to hear the bone crunch.

"There is someone else who can tell her the truth," I sneered as I watched James clutch his face. "Me." I tapped the side of my temple. "You're broadcasting your thoughts loud and clear. I know everything and I'll tell her all about it after I kill you."

Alice shot me a grateful look and ran out of the ballet studio. The others had taken Bella out of harm's way. I didn't want Bella to see the monster I would become to avenge her.

"Look at the bastard," Emmett growled. He threw a punch to James stomach, causing him to kneel over. A dented face and an injured stomach was too easy for him. "His cock is still hanging out of his pants."

I did notice and it made my dead veins strangely hot, his now flaccid cock covered with Bella's blood and his own liquids coating it. His lips were still red with smeared blood from when he had put his mouth who-knew-where. I screamed in rage, and my brothers didn't even have to be mind readers to know I was going to kill him.

In a flash, Emmett and Jasper were on either side of James, hosting him up like a lamb being sacrificed to the monster. Well one out of two things was right. James was no lamb, but I was defiantly a monster.

"What are you going to do Eddie?" James snarled, clearly furious that he had been beaten. "Kill me? That won't bring back the little mortals virginity. She's dying, and I doubt your doctor could save her. You're too weak and stupid to make her a vampire. Give her a rose from me at her funeral will you? You might wanna watch that video. It's the closest you're going to get to ever fucking her."

I snapped. I let out a scream of rage and pounced on James, my hands moving furiously of their own accord. I was distantly aware that I had ripped of James' cock first, but the body parts began to fall away at an unintelligible rate.

"When you get to hell, tell them I sent you." I hissed before I snapped his head off his body. I was panting heavily as Jasper and Emmett dropped his body to the ground. Emmett grasped me in a big bear hug. I guess he wanted to snap me out of any rage spiral I was in, and Jasper was using his influence to calm me down.

"Edward. I want you to go outside and take care of Bella." Jasper spoke slowly, as if I needed help understanding. "Emmett and I will dispose of the body, but I'm sure she needs you."

I nodded and walked out of the room. Bella was sitting inside the back of the open van Carlisle had 'borrowed.' Carlisle was bandaging up her wounds, while my mother and sisters soothed her.

Bella's head was in Rosalie's lap as my sometimes least-likable sister stroked her hair. Esme was delicately using wet towels to clean the blood off her face and Alice was holding her hand, soothing her.

Rosalie looked up at me when I approached. Her eyes were troubled and I could tell she was reliving her nightmare in her head.

"Did he suffer?" She asked.

I nodded my head.

She smirked and mumbled under her breath. "Good, so did Royce."

I kneeled down next to Bella and lightly kissed her face. If I could cry, I would have sobbed into her hair, begged for forgiveness for letting this happen to her. She slept on.

"I gave her pain killers." Carlisle said gruffly as he gently raked his fingers through her hair.

"Will she survive that long?" My voice shook. She looked so pale and lifeless, how could my brave little lamb withstand that attack and be alive?

"Yes, she's quite a fighter Edward. Swore quite a blue streak when she realized we left you alone in there with him."

I nodded and looked down at her. Something James had said was bothering me. When I had him pinned, he's said that he'd bitten…her nipples…

I threw back Carlisle's jacket, much to Esme's horror. She opened her mouth to reprimand my ungentlemanly behavior, but stopped when she saw my expression.

True to what James had taunted, there was a crescent shape wound that oozed blood around her areola. I stared, horrified, at the paper-white ring that was beginning to form around the wound. Carlisle followed my gaze and gasped.

"He bit her."

I had to suck it out. I had to. I could not, would not, damn my precious Bella to this soulless hell. I sucked in a breath and leaned toward the wound and--

"It's too late, Edward. The venom's spread too far."

"No!"

Carlisle shook his head sadly. "She'll be awake soon, thanks to the pain. Not even the most powerful morphine can mask the venom. I've heard of it waking people from comas." He looked down, and I could hear his mental search for tactful words. "Besides, there is a large amount of venom…inside her. And I won't permit you to suck there, for propriety's sake. And don't give me that look."

Bella was beginning to twitch and groan. I cradled her, agonized. Alice put her hand on my shoulder.

"Let's go somewhere more private."

Two weeks later, Bella rested her head on my lap in my room. Her scarlet eyes looked up at me as I read her Wuthering Heights while idly stroking her hair. Nobody would hurt my ferocious little lamb again.