Author's Note: Hey guys! So this chapter is a little different, I decided to do it in James' POV. Don't forget to review even if it's just "I like it" it makes me happy and I reply to every signed review that I receive! Please read the AN at the bottom for some really good stories that you should check out!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight!!
JPOV
I felt a little guilty asking Jasper to help get Bella to sleep but I really wanted her to rest. I still have problems understanding all the feelings I have toward this fragile little human. I have never cared for anyone the way I do for her, human or vampire. The thought of possibly losing her tomorrow was tormenting me.
I sat on the edge of the bed and watched her sleep remembering the first time I saw her after Aro decided to keep her. She was beautiful even then. Most fourteen year old humans are awkward and unsure of themselves but not Bella. Other than her body filling out as she grew up she is pretty much the same girl that Heidi bought in that day. Aro assured her that no one would harm her and for some reason she believed him. She never showed any fear toward my kind after that. She did have a period of depression for the first year she was here, mourning the loss of her parents. She threw one hell of a fit when Aro told her she wouldn't be allowed to see them again. She is the only person on the face of the earth that can say whatever she wants to Aro and get away with it. She's also the only one who is brave enough to stand up to him in the first place, when she started swearing and threatening him he was left speechless. And then she launched herself across the room and broke her hand when she slapped him. Felix and Demetri had to pull her off him and drag her kicking and screaming from the room. But instead of her behavior changing Aro's mind it made him like her more, he said that any human that had enough nerve to react like that after finding out what we are would make a fierce vampire.
I'll never understand why she forgave me for making her first four years here hell. I used to taunt and tease her mercilessly. Then one day we were stuck alone in the castle, all our friends had been sent out on missions, and I pushed her too far. She somehow managed to trip me as I passed her chair in the library and when I reached out to grab something to steady myself I only found her arm and not wanting to hurt her I pulled her down with me. She landed on top of me and sneered down at me saying something bithchy I'm sure but I couldn't hear her I couldn't concentrate on anything but the feeling of her body pressed against mine. When I kissed her she froze in shock for a moment before kissing me back. We've been together ever since, virtually inseparable except for Caius stupid test which took her away from me for four months.
Bella shifted in the bed pulling the sheet down to her waist revealing her still naked breasts to me. I lightly ran my hand across her already erect nipples making her shiver and moan quietly. Fucking Bella is amazing. I've been around for almost 200 years so I've had my share of one night stands and friends with benefits hell I've even been with a few other human women but Bella is different. There's an electric current that courses through me whenever she touches me, she can move her body in ways that I'm sure a few vampires would have problems doing and she's so warm. The feeling of burying myself deep within her is heaven. Just thinking about it made me want to rip the sheet of and lick her body until she woke up but I wanted her last night of sleep to be peaceful so I controlled myself.
Now I'm back to the vicious circle in my head. Going from being terrified that something will go wrong to thinking about all the things we'll be able to do when she's no longer breakable. God I can't wait until I no longer have to hold myself back. It takes everything I have in me not to break her in half every time we have sex. And as flexible as she is now I can't imagine what she'll be able to do when she's a vampire.
I sound like a sick sex crazed psycho even to myself. But come on who wouldn't be with a gorgeous naked girl in their bed? Technically I am a 23 year old man and my body constantly reminds me of that fact whenever Bella is around. Every time I look at her all the venom in my body rushes straight to my dick.
The thing I'm not looking forward to is the pranks. Human Bella has pulled some pretty good ones, with the help of our friends of course. I can only imagine the things she'll come up with when she doesn't have to worry about getting hurt. I'm sure our bickering and fighting will jump to a new level especially for the first year while she's stronger than me.
I glanced at the clock. Three a.m. Bella's change was scheduled for sunrise so I needed to feed. I plan to be so full of blood that the sight of it makes me sick. I'm not taking any chances with Bella's life. I've already spoken to Aro about what I want to happen if something goes wrong and Bella dies. Of course Bella doesn't know this; I can hear her voice in my head screaming at me for being stupid. Aro had agreed to end my existence if it goes wrong. It took some convincing and a lot of begging and pleading but he finally agreed when I asked him what he would do if something were to happen to Sulpicia. He had visibly blanched at the mere thought and then reluctantly agreed to what I wanted. Marcus' behavior wasn't lost on anyone. Losing your mate is like losing part of yourself. Although his attitude had improved when Bella came crashing into our lives. Like Aro, Marcus looked at her like a daughter and his face lit up whenever he saw her.
I lightly kissed Bella's sleeping eyelids and made my way out of the room. I ran into Edward and Carlisle in the hallway.
"James, we were just going hunting and we wanted to see if you wanted to join us. Maybe try out a different lifestyle." Carlisle offered kindly.
I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling him that he and his family were crazy. I also tried to block my mind from Edward. Aro had made it abundantly clear that we were to be kind and respectful of the Cullen's while they are here and I didn't want to face Bella's wrath for pissing off her new friends. I must have let that slip through because Edward smirked at me.
"No thank you Carlisle. I appreciate the offer but I don't want to take any chances tomorrow. I don't think now is the best time to try something new." I told him as politely as I could while glaring at Edward.
"I understand. The offer stands if you ever change your mind."
I nodded my head in acknowledgement and continued on my way to the feeding room. Heidi had promised that she would be ready for me tonight. I pushed open the heavy door and stopped in confusion. The room was empty. I heard someone come up behind me and recognized Heidi's scent.
"What the hell Heidi?"
"Sorry James. Aro says that the tourists are too few right now to bring you a feast so I broke into a hospital and stole all the donated blood. I know it's nowhere as good but there's enough to satisfy you and to feed Bella later as well."
I scrunched up my face in displeasure but sighed, knowing that it would have to do. I followed her to the game room where giant coolers had been set up and filled with the stolen blood. At least Bella wouldn't have to kill for awhile. I know that she has been worrying about it but it will come naturally to her when the time comes. Demetri and Felix were playing video games in the corner. They chuckled at my annoyed growl when Heidi handed me the warmed blood. Disgusting!
"Just remember James, it's all for Bella. Are you ready?" Demetri asked. He, like the rest of us is very protective of Bella.
"Don't worry I'll be there to kick your ass if you try anything. I know you don't think you can do this but we know that you can. Besides I know Bella told you she would be okay with someone else changing her but I really think that it would hurt her badly if you change your mind." Felix warned.
He surprises me sometimes. Everyone over looks Felix as being dumb muscle but he's actually very intelligent. He just chooses not to show it very often.
"I'll be fine. Bella believes in me and I believe none of you would let me hurt her." I replied as confidently as I could manage. I know that they could hear the slight tinge of panic in my voice but they both just nodded and went back to their game.
"Well you have 4 hours to drink as much blood as you can, do you want to make a bet?" Felix asked returning to the stupid 'do anything to alleviate the boredom idiot' that we all know.
"What kind of bet, Felix?" I sighed slightly worried about whatever was running through his childlike mind.
"Not much. I bet you can't manage to choke down twenty of those nasty blood bags." He said trying to appear bored but I could see the excitement shining in his eyes.
"Twenty?" I asked almost choking on the horrid drink in my hand.
"Yeah, twenty." He smirked.
"Fine, what do I win?"
"If you win I'll owe you a favor. Anything you want done at anytime."
"And if you win?"
"The same." He said smiling, he was probably trying to think of the worst thing he could make me do.
"You're on, loser." I told him as I gulped down the rest of the blood in my hand and reached for another one. "Demetri you keep count."
Demetri rolled his eyes at our juvenile behavior but nodded in agreement. I was hoping that the more I drank the better it would taste but it just got worse. I kept going though even after my tenth bag and I thought I was going to burst if I drank another drop. My pride wouldn't let me lose to Felix I had never lost a bet to him and I wasn't going to start now. Felix had set a three hour time limit and I was down to five minutes left and half a bag of blood.
"Come on James! You can do it, don't prove Felix right you'll never live it down if you do!" Laurent cheered. He had wondered into the room about an hour and a half into our bet and had been alternately cheering for me and trying to psych me out by going on about how disgusting the blood was. I honestly thought I was going to vomit and that's not possible for vampires. At least I don't think it is I've never heard of a vampire blowing chucks before.
"Four minutes James." Felix reminded me. I waved a hand at him as I lifted the bag to my lips again. I held my breath and sucked down the last of the blood praying that it would stay down. I threw the empty bag at his head as his face crumpled in defeat.
"You really should have learned by now that I always win, Felix." I laughed but immediately regretted it as the lukewarm blood jostled in my stomach. "Oooohhh…" I moaned as I clutched my stomach "I have to go wake up Bella now. Don't think I've forgotten that you owe me."
He sneered at me and tried to talk Laurent into betting on the video game they'd started playing. I don't think he'll ever learn.
Bella was sprawled out completely naked on top of all the blankets on the bed. I groaned at the sight before me, wanting nothing more than to spend the rest of the day fucking her senseless. Instead I wrapped the sheet around her and pulled her to me. She curled herself into chest and sighed happily. I buried my face in her hair and breathed deeply, listening to her heartbeat speed up slightly as she woke.
"Bella…wake up Tesoro."
She moaned and threw her head back as she tried to roll over but I held her to me and kissed her lips that were still slightly swollen from last night. Suddenly she froze and jerked straight up so fast that I fell forward.
"James, what time is it?" she asked panicked.
"Calm down Bella, it's six you have an hour before you need to be ready."
She breathed deeply for a moment before kissing me again and jumping out of bed.
"I'm going to take a shower before we go and see everybody."
I didn't bother to tell her that taking a shower now was pretty much pointless since she was going to start sweating out all her bodily fluids in a few short hours. I could hear Alice and Heidi pacing outside our door "We'll be down to the library as soon as she's out of the shower." I told them as Bella emerged from the bathroom.
"Who are you talking to?"
"Alice and Heidi, they're waiting for you and none too patiently I might add." I told her shaking my head.
"Hold me?" Her eyes pleaded with me not to ask questions so I didn't I just held her to me and ran my fingers through her silken hair.
"Everyone is waiting for us down in the library, Tesoro. Are you ready now?"
She nodded against my chest but didn't pull away. I lifted her into my arms as if she weighed nothing which to me she didn't and carried her at human pace from the room. I felt strangely calm considering that in less than an hour I'm going to suck the life out of my wife. I tested the air for Jasper's scent but couldn't detect him anywhere near us. Odd, if I didn't know better I would say he was lurking around somewhere toying with my emotions. It took considerably longer to reach the library since I walked the whole way at human pace; I paused outside the door and set Bella down. She stood on her toes to kiss me.
"Thank you."
"For what, Tesoro?"
She just shrugged as she opened the door and was immediately swept into the room by our impatient friends.
"Bella, how are you feeling? Are you nervous? Do you want something to eat? Can we get you anything?" Heidi and Alice started firing questions at her so fast it made my head swim. Bella just stood there with her mouth open, unsure of which question to answer first and the girls were still talking so she couldn't answer any of them.
"Guys, slow down! I feel fine, of course I'm nervous, I'm not hungry and I don't need anything except for everyone to stop acting so weird." Bella finally managed to get out over everyone else talking.
"Sorry B, we just want to make sure you're alright." Laurent said as he put his arm around her shoulders.
She leaned into him and sighed. "I know but I really need you guys to be normal, when you freak out it makes me freak out."
"Well there's nothing normal about you being up a 6:15 a.m." Felix said as he strolled into the room and plopped down in front of the TV. and picked up a game controller. "Who's up for getting their ass kicked on this fine morning?"
"You're on douche." Emmett stated, his crude language earning him a slap on the head from Rosalie.
Everyone managed to act as if nothing was wrong for the next half hour then Carlisle and Aro came in to get me and Bella.
"It's time, Figlia." Aro announced gravely.
"I'm ready." She stated without a trace of fear. This woman never ceased to amaze me. Even in the face of death she was calm and trusting.
We follow Aro and Carlisle back up to our room which had been transformed since our earlier departure. The bed had been stripped and remade with soft cotton sheets and giant fluffy pillows, there was various medical equipment scattered around the room and the stereo was playing softly in the background. I'm not sure who went through all this trouble but I could remember my change and none of this stuff would help in the slightest. Bella spoke quietly with Aro for a moment, I could have easily eavesdropped on their conversation but I chose to let them have their privacy as I had enough on my mind to preoccupy me.
I was standing next to the door oblivious to the world around me as I argued with myself in my head. I could do this, I could take the life of the woman I love and give her immortality in return. I was brought out of my internal pep talk by Alec; he was offering to use his gift on Bella during the change. I had thought of this, Alec could take away all of Bella's senses and she wouldn't feel the excruciating pain but no one would be able to be near her for the three days without getting sucked into the fog of sensory deprivation along with her. I had decided that I would leave this decision up to Bella, who was I to decide that for her?
"Thank you Alec but I want James to be with me the whole time."
My heart soared; I hadn't realized how badly I wanted her to want me there. I took my place at Bella's side as Carlisle explained what was going to happen.
"Now Bella I can give you morphine and it'll help with the pain of the bites but after his venom enters you bloodstream there's nothing that will take away your pain. Well, besides Jasper and Alec's powers and since you've already turned down Alec that leaves you with Jasper and I'm afraid he won't be able to help much but he'll do what he can. The morphine might help James though. Blood tainted with drugs isn't as appealing as clean blood."
"I understand Carlisle." Bella said as she positioned herself on the bed and let him inject her with the drugs. "Are you ready baby?"
I nodded and took a deep breath. I could do this. I glanced around the room and saw everyone waiting, giving me reassuring smiles and nods. I stared into Bella's eyes and saw only trust and love. "I love you Tesoro. Soon we'll be together for eternity." I promised then kissed her deeply. I placed my lips on the soft, thin skin of her throat and hesitated for a second before sinking my teeth deep into her flesh. She tasted the way I remember strawberries and cream tasting when I was human but there was a bitterness that came with the morphine. My earlier gluttony paid off, even with the drugs I wanted nothing more in that moment than to drink until there was nothing left but I was already so full that I couldn't manage more than a few mouthfuls before I had to stop. Carlisle went to work stopping the bleeding as soon as I lifted my head. We repeated the process on the other side of her throat then everyone started clearing the room.
Aro bent and kissed Bella's forehead "I'll see you in a few days figlia. You are going to be magnificent!"
I lay down beside her and stroked her hair back from her face. She was already starting to sweat but Jasper was keeping her pain to a minimum for the time being, his strength would only hold for so long though then she would be screaming to die. There would be no more sleeping, she would be forced to stay awake by the fire ravaging her body for the next three days. She pressed herself closer to my icy body in a futile attempt to cool the flames.
As predicted Jasper's strength waned about 12 hours into Bella's change and he had to leave to feed and get away from the intense pain. I lifted her limp body and carried her to the shower. I rinsed the sweat from her body and redressed her in one of my t-shirts. Sasha had changed the sheets while we were gone and was just straightening everything when I carried Bella back into the room.
"How is she?"
"Well she's feeling everything now so how do you think she is?" I snapped.
"James…don't…be…mean." Bella gasped out.
I laughed and held her tightly to me. Even though the pain she could keep me in check.
"Apologize." She ordered.
"I'm sorry Sasha."
"It's okay." Sasha smiled "How are you little sister?"
"Hot…hurts!"
"I know sweetie but you've only got two more days then you'll be able to beat Felix and Emmett at the same time." Sasha told her as she helped me get Bella back in bed.
"James…please…make it…stop! I…can't…anymore!" Bella screamed.
"Ssshhh Baby, I'm so sorry! I can't do anything." I rocked her and pressed my cold body against her burning skin.
Over the next two days I showered her, changed her clothes, read to her, sang to her, anything I could think of to try to keep her mind off the excruciating pain she was going through. I really don't think any of it helped but she knew I was with her and I hoped that was enough. There was only an hour and a half left before the change would be complete. I listened as every time her heart beat it got slightly slower. The only saving grace was at this stage her brain had shut down to complete the change. But this was almost worse than the screaming at least then she could tell me what she was going through. I waited alone, we had decided that until Bella was comfortable everyone would wait downstairs so she wasn't overwhelmed when she first woke up. After the longest wait of my existence Bella's heart stopped beating. I held my breath and silently willed her to open her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered but she didn't open them.
"Tesoro, open your eyes. It's over, the pain is over and it's not coming back."
"James? Are you sure it's not coming back?" Her beautiful voice rang out like bells in the silent room.
AN: If you want more BellaxJames goodness you should check out sleepyseven's 'James Returns' and it's sequel and her new one 'A New Kind of Evil' they're original and come on they're about James so you know they're good! And for all you readers that love BellaxJasper and all their drama check out Rosewood Shadow and her series she also has a new story about Bellax(I won't tell you but you'll find out in the first chapter) called 'Blood Moon' that is awesome so far!
