Chapter 1
I circles through the trees, me eyes trained on her face. Never before had i seen such a a face, not even on Bella. And now, this mere human girl was in sudden control of my every move. How could she do that? How did this tiny scrap of humanity hold such absolute power on me, for my thoughts so exclusively about her? I didn't even know her name.
It was three weeks since that fateful day. Three weeks since the wedding invitation, the letter from the blood sucker, the sudden transformation to my other form, so powerfully right it left me breathless. Until today, i had no permanent plans to ever return to my human form. It was too simple to hurt someone when you could talk, almost a given that someone would suffer as a result of things said and done.
I had only recently begun to circle Forks again, keeping an eye on Bella and the bloodsuckers. Though i was grateful for the eldest males attention to me, it did not make it any easier to allow them to live in harmony with Bella. With the wedding a month off, I had the idea of staying away, possibly forcing a delay on Bellas changing.
My Bella. I was consumed with thoughts of her, her soft hair, her stubborn mouth, her ivory skin. The hardest part of it all was feeling utterly useless. How could she do this to me? How could she, after all the declarations of her love, so easily let me go? Did I really mean so little to her?
I had not spoken to any of my brothers in days. Occasionally, I would feel the weight of them in my mind, hear their thoughts, fell the worries. the only thought i bothered to follow up on was the brief speculation on the new arrival in town by Seth. This was the girl that now enthralled me.
I watched her unloading the boxes out of the back of the truck. She looked to be about 17, her brother in his early twenties. They had moved to town because the brother was interning at the hospital. The house they would be occupying was , in fact, a small farm. Beyond the house, surrounded by the encroaching forest was a small barn, and a covered riding area. The property had been empty for years. It had seemed no one was insane enough to promote a horse riding school in a world of perpetual dampness.
My thoughts turned back to the exquisite human before me. she knelt to retrieve one of the boxes, her slender arms straining under the weight. She had long wavy red hair of the most unusual shade of red, entwined with shades of gold and honey. Her wide brown eyes were set beneath delicately arched brows, in a rounded face that held a light hint of a tan. from my vantage point, i could barely discern the slight scar beneath one brow, and the raspberry lips in a chin that was fully stubborn.
Her brother came out to help her with the box, and though her shared her eyes, the resemblance stopped there. standing roughly six feet tall, he was heavier built, with true copper red hair, sky blue eyes, and a smattering of freckles across his nose. he spoke to his sister, his smooth baritone flowing through the clearing, and she answered him with a voice so exquisitely mellow I almost phased back.
She tossed her hair and strode into the house with her box. She was small, almost pixie like, with only about 100 pounds to her frame. in addition to a pair of light, worn jeans, she sported a thick, well fitted jacket, and a pair of converse classics. One wrist was adorned with a fragile looking silver bracelet, while her fingers bore a number of rings.
As i tried to scoot forward for a better look, i managed to snap a tiny branch off the moss covered pine tree beside me. the sound would normally be indiscernible to a human at her distance, so i was shocked when her head whipped around and her nostrils flared in my direction. thats when i noticed it. she didn't smell like other humans. to my wolf nose, humans all smelled roughly the same - a light, coppery scent, with hints of warmth - an altogether not unpleasant scent. The leeches had a high pitched, sweet scent, somewhat ammonia like, and somewhat sinister, which burned the inside of my nose. This girl smelled of coppery warmth, like a human, but there was something else too; a light, dusty aura, somewhat spicy, which I didn't perceive with my nose. Rather, I seemed to gather it with my mind. Then, almost inpercievably, I felt my mind change, as though my thoughts were shifting, making room for a new idea. her voice, soft and whispery, drifted through my subconscious mind, not unpleasantly, as though she was holding a conversation to pass the time. Who are you? What is your name? I startled backwards, my lips instinctively crawling over my teeth. The last instance i had a voice in my head was days ago, and it was much more forceful, seeing as it belonged to Sam.
My gaze shot back to her face, and she had her eyes shut, her forehead crinkled, wearing a mask of intense concentration. I have asked nicely, please reveal yourself. There is no need to hide. The longing in her voice almost knocked me over. So powerful was the undisguised need, that i found myself answering back in my mind Jacob. My name is Jacob. Shocked at myself, I jumped backwards. What was I doing? What on earth was i doing, answering her back? If I had been with my brothers until today, there was no way I would have exposed myself like that. I quickly reverted my gaze to her face, and watched as she smiled. The sudden joy i found in her happiness was astounding. Jacob. I know about you. I know everything. Meet me at First beach in an hour. With that, she opened her eyes, turned and strode into the house. I heard the low murmur of voices inside the house, but was too distracted to really listen in. I turned on my haunches and bolted towards my house.
CH.2
Forty-five minutes later, i was nestled into the edge of the forest at the beach, the frosty ocean wind stinging my nose. Today, the sand was a battleground, the slate grey waves fighting for a purchase on the sand. the circle of driftwood trees was sheltered from the wind by the sheer cliff faces, far enough from the water to avoid being splattered. I was crouched behind the smallest of the skeletal trees, somewhat protected from the frigid air, though the temperature was the least of my worries. The beach was empty today, save for the lone figure that materialized out of the woods at the trailhead roughly 15 yards from where i sat. How was it that i didnt hear her? she was clad in the same pants she had been wearing earlier, but with bare feet, despite the freezing weather. She focused her gaze down the shoreline, towards the trees where I hid.
A smile lit her features, and she pranced down the beach towards the alabaster circle of trees. Her scent drifted towards me, fueled by the icy air. As she sat down next to the fire pit, her hair came loose from the twist it had been pulled into. she quickly and efficiently