"If anyone knows why this man and this woman should not be joined in holy matrimony let them speak now, or forever hold their peace... forever hold your peace... for fucking ever..."
"Ughhhh!" Jake raged, tugging on his hair and kicking the kitchen chair across the
room. The wooden chair crashed then splintered, an arm rest embedded into
the wall.
Those words were on an endless loop running through his head as he paced the small red house furiously.
Back and forth he stalked loudly, ranting his anger, pouring out his heart break.
It was 3:30, Bella was about to walk down the aisle at her wedding.
He hadn't been able to stop her. Not for the love of her friends or family, her future or
even.. for him.
Nothing, no one was more important to her than Edward Fucking Cullen.
"Bullshit! I don't believe it! You're fooling yourself." Jake heard himself roar at her
over and over again. To no avail.
He'd tried and tried to get her to see things the way they should be.
Billy sat unmoving in his chair off to the corner, fearing his small red house
would not withstand his son's fury, afraid to speak anything that might further set
his inconsolable son off in a worse, self destructive, tirade.
"I can't, Dad. I can't let her do it!" he roared for the hundredth time, pulling his fists
from his hair only to smash one through the dining room wall.
"I should tell Charlie...Renee! I should fucking tell her parents! Someone HAS to stop
this tragedy!"
This had been going on all day. Billy watched the clock anxiously, witnessing Jacob's
increasing agitation. Hopefully it would subside completely within the next hour.
When it would be over.
4:00
Jake fell to Billy's feet sobbing, dry heaving his guts out, on the verge on phasing.
"Dad..." he cried out, under the crush of failure.
Billy placed a shaky hand on his son's head that hung in defeat between his
crippled knees. He felt weak seeing his son suffer like this and not being able to help
him, but he trusted that Jake would eventually find a way to save Bella Swan's life in
the end. If anyone could save his best friend's stubborn daughter from herself it would
be his son. His determined, even more stubborn son and future Alpha.
"Shhhh, Jake... come now..." he said with a raspy voice. "Listen to your heart. It will
guide you, lead the way... You have to be true to the truth. Someday she'll forgive
you."
He stroked the top of his son's ebony head, which shot up to lock questioning eyes onto
his father's. With a simple nod, Billy closed his eyes in a moment of hope and prayer,
and Jake was gone.
~o0o~
Bella stood trembling at the threshold of the patio door, awaiting the moment she was
to step forward on Charlie's arm and become Mrs Edward Cullen.
Charlie squeezed his large protective hand over Bella's tiny one, which had a death
grip on the arm of his suit jacket. "You ready Bells?" he asked, and tried to give her an
encouraging smile.
She barely nodded.
"You...sure? No shame in uh, waiting...ya know." He squeezed her hand more
firmly. She shouldn't tremble like this, and she definitely shouldn't look that desperate,
frightened, and...unhappy.
A tear formed and rolled down her cheek. She huffed in its betrayal and quickly swiped
it away. "Dad.." she complained, staring straight ahead rigidly.
It was taking everything she had to stand here and keep her composure.
Why was she standing here ready to be given away to Edward and thinking only of, her
Jacob?
She was cursing her weakness - weakness of mind and of heart. She tried to
focus on Renee, and it only made her cringe as waves of utter selfishness washed over
her.
Renee was beaming at her with a mothers pride and love, surely dreaming of
grandchildren and a full future with her family.
Little did all her human family and friends know the betrayal she had planned for them.
And, Jacob.
Oh. My. God.
He knew the coming betrayals, the truths, and the secrets. All of them. Even her
deepest ones,even the ones she was just now, too late, becoming fully aware of.
Oh, how she'd hurt him.
Hurt them.
All.
The self loathing crashed into her and she nearly doubled over from the pain and
nausea. It took her breath away and she strained to regain self control.
"Bells!" Charlie snapped, breaking their stiff pose to turn and grab Bella's
shoulders. "Honey! Listen to me. You . Don't. Have. To Do This." He was almost
desperate in his pleading.
Another tear escaped and ran down her cheek.
"Its alright, Dad. I'm ...I'm..just happy." she lied as Charlie captured the tear for her with his thumb.
"Yeah right." Charlie huffed,conceding back into formation.
"Now! Now, Bella!" Alice bounced behind her, shoving her forward out the door onto
the white cloth that led the way ominously forward into Edward's icy grasp.
The crowd of beautiful, wedding guests stood forming a sea of pastels, bows, lace and
smiling faces. They were framed by hanging flowers, twinkling lights, ribbons and
a cascade of virginal white embedded in the deep green of the grounds and surrounding forest.
The yard smelled heavenly.
Tears blurred her vision as Charlie did his duty and propelled them forward. Slowly,
hesitantly, yet forward. Bella decided she didn't need to see what was in front of her,
she was content to be lost and tortured by the images in head, she closed her eyes.
Jacob.
Her and Jacob.
Laughing
Smiling
His warmth
Her Jake
The two tiny dark haired children...
She startled at the icy hand, grasping for hers.
"Edward," she whispered bewildered and shocked.
Had they really reached this point already?
"You okay, love?" he murmured in his silky voice.
She nodded weakly.
"Who gives this woman to this man?" Pastor Miller questioned loudly.
"I do. I guess..." Charlie responded per rehearsal, and placed a soft kiss on Bella's
cheek as he peeled her frozen, trembling hand from his arm and placed it to Edwards
equally pale and cold hand.
He stepped back a step and then couldn't move any farther. This all suddenly felt
wrong, very wrong. Charlie could feel it in his bones... his 45 year old cop bones.
"Charlie," Renee scolded, pulling him into the seat next to her. He huffed loudly, and
squirmed in the small wooden chair seeking a comfort he would not find today.
This whole mess suddenly irritated him to no end.
~o0o~
His bike carried him swiftly up the path that led to the Cullen crypt. With a sarcastic
snort, he recognized the fancy wedding decorations and the overly expensive cars
parked in front of the stylish mansion.
Jake feared the roaring of his bike would call out the vamps who would try to prevent
him from getting any closer. If he had to, he would fight his way through to Bells.
To his surprise no one came barreling out.
"Isabella Marie Swan... do you take... Edward Anthony Mason Cullen... to be your
lawfully..." Jacob heard over the roaring of his bike. He figured they would hold the
ceremony in their backyard. He twisted the throttle full blast and let his bike roar, as he
shot forward, sending gravel flying from under his tires.
His boldness left the audience stunned. Jaws dropped. Not even the oh-so quick-witted
vamps stopped him from pulling up at the altar.
He jerked his bike to a stop, staring hard into Bella's shocked eyes.
"I DO!" he demanded loudly.
There was a stifled giggle from the crowd.
"BLACK!" Edward growled, shoving Bella behind him.
"You do what, son?" Pastor Miller asked Jacob a bit flustered.
"I know... well, you know... that part... have you asked it?" Jacob's courage was waning
a bit and his cheeks flushed with doubt.
"What part?" the pastor asked confused even more.
"Does anybody know any reason... why these two shouldn't be married...forever hold
your peace! THAT part." Jake begged desperately.
"Ohhhh." The Pastor nodded in comprehension.
"Okay, dog! Party's over for you." Emmett tried pulling him and the bike to the side.
Tried man handling him away from the alter.
"Get. Off. Me. Monkey. Man." Jake shrugged off Emmett as if he were a flea.
"I'm warning you, Black. Leave. Now," Edward hissed through clenched, razor sharp teeth.
"Get. On. The. Bike. Bella." Jake pleaded, with a will of steel, eyeing Edward right back just as
threatening.
Bella's feet shuffled a bit. Edward held her firmly in place.
"What are you doing, Jake?" She sobbed in confusion.
Around them the audience was quiet, watching their interaction with concern, curiosity and, from
Charlie's side, with hope.
"I'm doing what HE doesn't have the balls to do, Bells!" Jacob said resolutely. "I'm saving you
from yourself, from this horrible mistake."
Everyone could see the resolve in Jacobs face, in his stance. This was no joke. Jacob was a
force of nature, of Bella's natural path, to be reckoned with. NOW.
"You're so vain to think you could live among us," he continued ranting at Edward. Several
hisses from the undead fraction didn't stop him in his grim determination. " You actually think
you could take one of our own, one of MINE, from us!" Jacob was shaking visibly, which
caused Emmett to back off, shrugging at Edward, as he wrapped his arm around Rosalie
protectively.
"I won't let that happen!" Jacob growled with finality. " I may be the great grandson of Ephraim
Black, but I'm not gonna be this generation's push over! I want you GONE! No more treaty. Give
us our peace! Give me Bella."
"Jake.." she whimpered shaking her head in dismay. She knew Jake loved her. But she could
never fathom the depths he'd fallen for her. The depths his love and dedication for her ran. It
was the way every woman wanted to be loved, and she was throwing it back at him at every
turn. She created the desperation he was feeling.
She'd been sooo..stubborn. So selfish. So blind.
"Bella can make her own decisions" Edward defended.
"The let her go, NOW." Jake challenged back. " Yeah, shes barely 18 and you've been 18
for how fucking long..?" he screamed, eyes wide, jaw set with the threat he was so ready to
unleash. " This is a bad decision, Edward, and you know it! Why don't you two tell everyone
your plans!" he threatened further.
"What plans..." Charlie joined Jacob's side.
"Why don't you tell everyone the truth! Tell them!' he nodded his head towards Charlie and
Renee, " Tell them how they'll never see their daughter again!"
Jake was seething in pent up hostility and numb from heartbreak.
He took another deep breath, trying to keep control of his shaking body and racing mind.
"What? Bella?" Renee asked incredulously gripping Charlies arm for support.
Carlise stepped forward placing his hand on Jake's white knuckles that were clenching the
handle bars.
"We understand Jacob...please.." he begged with terror and defeat in his eyes.
Jacob knew he was dangerously close to the point of no return...for them all.
He took another deep, steadying breath.
"Do you want to leave us all, forever , Bells?"
He sighed frustrated, shoving his hands into his hair.
She shook her head no.
He tugged hard at his ebony hair.."Do you want me to leave, right now...forever?" he choked
with emotion staring at the bike's gas tank, afraid of looking in her eyes, afraid of the answer
he'd see there.
She shook her head and whispered, "No." His heart lightened a bit.
"You wanna have... kids... don't you, Bells..." He lifted his eyes to hers and burned into them
knowingly. Only he knew her better than she knew her self.
She shook her head yes, and peeled her eyes from Jake's in shame. Shameful she was so
fucking close to giving so much up. Too much.
Jake sighed with understanding, and sudden empathy for the position he'd put them all in.
He let his bike roll forward, bringing him closer to his Bella. "You love the Cullen's, don't ya,
sweetheart?" He extended his strong, protective arm, wiggling his fingers, anxiously for her to
take his hand and join him.
"Yes..." She sobbed loudly, breaking the silence, then buried her face in Edwards shoulder her
tiny fingers fisting the sleeve of his tuxedo.
"Bella, they love you, too. We all do. Everyone here loves you and wants you to be happy."
Jacob continued trying to sooth her and rationalize with her.
"Yes, Bells!" Charlie clapped his hand down on Jake's shoulder, in support of him, his eyes
pleading with his daughter. "You need more time. This was too fast. Obviously there's more
here to consider than you've shared with your mom and I." Charlie glared at Edward, then cut a
threatening glance at Carlise, too.
Edward's face fell in defeat. It was the moment he succumbed to sanity and what he knew
should not have been all along. He turned and took Bella in his arms.
"I love you more than life itself. I would have treasured an eternity with you, but... I told you it
was a selfish act. I want a long, normal, happy, life for you... more than anything," he confessed
with love in his eyes.
"No, Edward! We've discussed this!" Bella cried out through clenched teeth. She was angry and
felt rejected all over again. Desperate, she clutched at Edward, who was shuffling them towards
Jacob.
"You'll be... happy... so, so, so much happier..." he promised with a broken smile.
"Alice has seen it."
Bella shot a shocked glance between Alice, who hung her head, then back at Edward.
"You KNEW? All this time, you knew?" she accused. "You withheld information from me?
Again? You agreed, no... you promised to never ever do that again!"
"And you," she turned to Jacob, trembling with rage. "You... just come here and destroy
everything..."
Jacob stayed silent. He'd take her rage until the end of their days, as long as he would get
Bella out of the bloodsucker's hold, his spell. As long as those creatures were around her, their
influence would always cloud Bella's mind and decisions.
"I knew Jacob would never give up on protecting you. I knew all the scenarios Alice has seen
for you...and this one is best," Edward choked out as he grabbed Jake's huge hand and placed
Bella's tiny one into it.
"Nooooo!" she sobbed.
"This is right," he admitted to Jake with the face of a burning man. "Protect her," he warned and
pulled his hands from their grasp, kissing Bella's cheek.
"Always did and always will," Jake promised kicking the bike to life..he wasn't quite sure what the hell was happening, but he was ready to leave.
Edward flung Bella up on the back of the bike.
Jake revved the throttle in warning and Bella screamed, "Edward?" holding her empty hand out
to him as Jake took off, spitting grass, mud and flowers, behind them.
He flew through the trees along the river wanting the quickest escape. Branches and shrubs
grabbed at them, he shielded her the best he could. His heart thundered in his chest; his
breathing had stilled many minutes ago. Was Bella really, fucking really, on his bike, clinging
tightly to him?
He was afraid to look behind him, afraid to say anything out of fear she'd disappear.
They reached the road, but Jake could barely concentrate. His heart was still beating furiously in
his throat.
Bella had stopped trembling as soon as they left Cullen's property and hit the highway. Her
arms clutched his waist tightly and unmoving, her head resting between his shoulder blades.
That, along with the fact she wasn't beating the shit out of him was... well... encouraging.
He kept stealing glances behind them in his rear view mirrors as they raced down 101 away
from Forks and Cullen, as fast as he dared with his precious cargo. All he saw trailing behind
them was her hideous wedding dress - flapping all over the place - like a fish outta water.
He let up on the throttle, took a deep breath and rumbled to a slow stop on the side of the road.
Hesitating momentarily, he threw a wary glance behind them before dismounting the bike and
pulling Bella to her feet in front of him.
She was a mess. Her makeup was cried off into long angry black streaks down her ivory face.
Her hair was wind blown to pieces. Little tiny ass white flowers still clung randomly in her
tangles. The tattered dress poufed and pooled around them with a lot less glory to it now.
Their eyes met.
"Will you forgive me?"he ground out in a strangled, gravelly voice, hoarse from all his
screaming and yelling earlier.
"Someday," she whispered looking down, fisting her hands in the dress.
"I love you, Bella."
"I know..." she answered, refusing to look at him.
"You love me, too."
She uttered a stubborn "I know."
"I'm only doing what's best for you, Bells..." his voiced wavered. He hated sounding like him.
"I know..."
They endured a long awkward silence, both looking about nervously.
Jake's attention returned to Bella. He was surveying the huge white fluff engulfing her small
frame.
She squirmed uncomfortably under his persistent gaze.
Her silky skin was calling to him. He was overwhelmed by emotions and he wanted to kiss
her. So badly. He ached for her. But for now, he had to be happy that she was standing here
and not giving her life away to him! He, Jacob Black, won one small battle. For now.
The kisses could come later. And he prayed they would.
His fingers ghosted up her bare arms, sending the familiar ripples of desire through
him. "Whatch'a got on under this...thing." he tried distracting himself, and gently caressed the
exposed skin of her shoulders and neckline. His mouth watered.
"Same 'ol, same 'ol." She shrugged with a sheepish grin.
"Good. I like you in same 'ol, same 'ol." He smirked, giving her his warm Jake smile. For so
long, smiling had felt foreign to his face, and he kinda liked feeling it again.
Jake hooked his fingers under the small straps on top of her shoulders and pulled as hard
as he could, anxious to rid them both of this reminder of the day's near disaster. The damn
thing gave way like tissue paper, ripping right in half, all the way down to her thighs.
"Jacob!" she screeched above the tearing fabric, her hands flying up to cover herself.
Jake dropped his hands as the dress pooled at Bella's feet.
She stood before him in a soft white tank with a lace edge lying across the rounded tops of her
breasts, a pair of white cotton boy shorts with lace gently wrapping her silky thighs, and a pair of
white rhinestone studded converse high tops on her feet.
"Very practical" he grinned as he eyed her shoes. "This we can work with," he joked, wrapping
his hands around her tiny waist and lifting her onto the bike as he kicked the stupid, discarded
dress into the ditch.
"I'm gonna freeze." she complained.
He climbed on the bike and pulled her arms tightly around him. "Not for long," he promised,
bringing the bike back to life and heading outta Forks like a wolf leaving hell.
PA