the broken corpse, his head dangling in recognition, "I am so, so sorry. What I felt for you... it has all vanished. I never knew a mating bond could be this powerful. I cannot...even imagine being with anyone else. I would rather die." She turned to look at the others in the field, on her side of the army. "Carlisle, Esme, Rose, Emmett, I am so sorry. I never expected this to happen. I truly loved Edward."
He took a step ahead, throwing the ridiculous excuse of a vampire back towards his supposed parents, them quickly putting him back together.
He should have ended him when he had the opportunity to. He would possibly regret this for the rest of his existence.
"Well, this is all nice and sweet," Aro stated, Demetri coming to stand next to his mate. No one would harm her. Not even his own masters.
"But we do need to know about the immortal child." He continued, firmness in his tone. "Demetri, were your mate to be guilty, she will face the trial."
He resisted the urge to growl at his master's words. He respected their decisions. They wouldn't separate him from his mate. He needed to trust them.
"She is not an immortal child." His mate repeated. "Demetri?" she turned to look at him, his name had never sounded any sweeter. "Please trust me?"
He took his hand in hers, the sparks between them driving them insane. She was his. He could never imagine leaving her alone. The past did not matter. Their different diets did not matter. Their story commenced from this moment onwards.
"Nessie is Bella and Edward's daughter," Alice Cullen mysteriously appeared into the open field, her mate by her side. "I am sorry, Edward." She turned to look into the defeated eyes of her brother. "This was destined to happen. I had to leave in order for this to happen as it did. The alternative was way worse. You would have walked into their castle demanding a fight, had you seen this moment occur in a vision. We would have lost you forever."
He would have never survived that; Demetri could claim without a second thought.
"Aro," Alice Cullen continued, "read my mind. You will know the truth."
She took a step ahead, a strange man following her lead. He wasn't a vampire. He had a heartbeat. But he didn't smell like a human. Demetri had never come across anyone like him before, and by the looks of it, never had Aro, too.
His mate gave their entwined hands a little squeeze. He could feel her worry. Were the child to be truly his mate's daughter, he would ensure her security for the rest of his existence. He had never been a man with paternal instincts, but he could change for his mate.
He could do anything for her.
The rest of the proceedings were rather mundane, in his opinion. The child was his mate's daughter. She had birthed a child as a human pregnant with a vampire. The informant lost her life; the only interesting thing to happen today, of course coming second to him reuniting with his mate.
Edward Cullen was forced to accept that his relationship had come to an end. No one could stand between mates; this was their most important law. It was unfortunate, but destiny.
It was hardly a few moments later when the rest of the audience had departed, just him and his mate left behind in the wide snow-filled field.
"Bella?"
Her name sounded like ambrosia as it left his lips. He realized he had never said her name aloud before. It felt as if he had been granted salvation with that simple one word uttered.
"We have a lot to talk about." She sighed. "We are mated."
Yes. He nodded his head in agreement.
"We truly know nothing much about one another."
Another nod of the head.
"I will not leave my daughter behind."
"I will not let you live with your ex- husband." He growled out. That was simply unacceptable.
She smiled a sad smile. "I don't think I can, even if I did want to. I just can't see him the same way now. Whatever feelings I had for him...they have vanished. But I do love my daughter and my family. I refuse to cut ties with them."
He nodded his head at that. He could understand her reasoning and the love she would feel for her daughter.
"We have a lot to discuss." He commented.
"Let's take each day as it comes?" she suggested.
He smiled, squeezing their entwined hands.
The journey ahead was a long one. They would have to figure out everything, taking each step as it came.
Their loyalties to their respective coven? Where would they stay? What diet would they follow?