Justin's POV
The day had finally come. We'd go through preparations to keep Skye and Bella safe, and then we'd get ready for the impending battle. Edward had spoken to Jasper, he'd be sitting out the fight along with one of the younger werewolves, Seth I think it was. Jacob has gallantly offered to take Bella and Skye up into the mountains, but Skye's refusal was deadly.
She'd be riding with the younger wolf as Edward made his way by himself from the start, his scent would be covered by the werewolves. It was still the early morning now, the girls were fast asleep, readying themselves for the hell that was coming.
I hadn't left her side all night, I couldn't let myself do it. It had been an insane night, we couldn't keep our hands off each other. She'd gotten tired though around one a.m, and finally drifted off to sleep in my arms. I hadn't moved since. I couldn't move, if I even thought about it my chest would ache with pain. So I stayed.
She was scared. She never would admit things like that out loud, her pride got in the way. She was really an emotional person underneath that icy shield she wore, she was just stubborn.
I sighed quietly, smoothing out her messy hair. She was curled right into my chest, breathing even and a small smile gracing her lips. I'd wrapped a sheet around her, making sure she'd be warm enough to not mind being so close to me in her sleep. She'd never minded my coldness, she never objected when I held her or touched her... Accepting little devil...
I sighed again, watching her sleep. I could sit there forever and simply watch her, that was probably as close to heaven as I was going to get. I glanced over at the clock, she was going to be woken by the alarm in a few minutes... Better to wake her up myself. I leaned down, brushing my lips slowly and lightly across her cheek.
"Mmm..." She turned over in her sleep, mumbling something and then she settled down again, eyes still closed and expression still peaceful.
I couldn't help it, I laughed a little. I tried again, this time adding a bit more pressure as my lips moved to meet hers for a short moment. Hers pressed back against mine gently as she slept, unconsciously responding to me. It took a lot to stop myself from just taking her while she slept. She'd have killed me.
Finally her eyes opened, the light grey I was so used to seeing was brighter now. She blinked sleepily, like she wasn't sure if she wanted to be awake or not. Then she blinked a few more times, pushing herself up into a sitting position. I hid a smirk, when she sat up the covers that had been hiding her body from me slipped just well enough to let my active imagination take care of the rest.
"Oh... Morning."
"Good morning." I laughed, and I leaned forwards to kiss her collarbone. "You look refreshed."
"I'm exhausted." She answered me frostily, eyes narrowing like it was my fault. I couldn't hide another snicker. She'd been the one who basically jumped me the second we were alone. She rubbed her shoulder casually, stretching her arms before she slumped into the pillows. I watched her silently, waiting for the bomb to drop.
It never did. I shuffled closer to her side, watched her every minute movement closely. She stifled a yawn, and then unexpectedly moved to lean on me, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. My arm automatically moved to wrap around her shoulder, tugging her a bit closer to me. I pressed my face into her hair, breathing in her scent before I sighed. "Are you scared about today...?"
"I'd be lying if I said no." That would be as close to a 'yes' that I was probably going to get out of her. She squirmed a little, looking up at me with her wide grey eyes. "And you?"
"Ditto to what you said." I answered with a weak shrug. I wasn't going to admit it either but I was worried about what was coming. Too many things could go wrong, not enough things could go right. And all of us were certain of one thing, if we did manage to go through this insane plan without a hitch... The Volturi wouldn't be far behind our 'victory'. I hadn't told Skye that, and I didn't plan to. She had enough stress on her already, she didn't need an added one. I nuzzled into her hair. "Nobody's going to touch you."
"That's not what I'm scared of jackass." Her voice was muffled against my chest, but her words came in loud and clear.
"Then what are you scared of?"
"I'm scared of something happening to you." She finally mumbled after an eternity of silence, looking away from me with a troubled expression. It wasn't often she'd come out about her fears, she just wasn't that type of person. She meant it seriously now. "I'm just like you Justin... If something happened, and I ended up losing you... I don't..." She shook her head, banishing the thought from her mind.
"It's alright, I'll be careful." I reassured her, brushing my lips over her hair. No matter how many promises I made, I knew it wouldn't ever soothe her. She wouldn't be alright until the battle was over and she was back in my arms. And I sighed inwardly. I couldn't predict the outcome, even Alice was next-to-useless with the wolves involved. We were teetering on the edge, ready to slip and fall to our deaths.
She knew it too, and she kept her thoughts to herself. It really was a horrible situation we'd smacked ourselves into. She sat there in my arms for awhile, keeping silent. There was nothing we could say to each other that would help.
The alarm suddenly started to buzz, and she sighed before reaching over to turn it off. She slid out of my arms, picking out some clothes and dressing warmly. She knew it was going to be freezing up in the mountains, so she made sure to add a sweater and a jacket to her bag. She slung the thing over her shoulder, watching me with an odd look in her eyes.
"Jasper wants us ready by the time the alarm goes, so I best haul ass..." She murmured softly, her voice oddly thick. She wasn't looking at me now, and I knew she was trying to hide her tears, it was easy enough to know. She dropped her bag suddenly and hugged me with all the strength her fragile body possessed. "I love you... So much..." Her voice was weak now, I could feel her tears dripping onto my shirt.
"I love you too..." I muttered back, winding my arms around her to hold her close. Her entire body was shivering now as she tried to control herself but it wasn't working.
"I don't care about what happened before, or what's going to happen now. As long as you come back to me after this hell. As long as you make it back, I could care less about everything else." She whispered passionately, staring at me with tear-filled eyes. "Just come back to me."
"I will." I promised roughly, hugging her close again. I wished I could hold her as tightly as I wanted, but that would have resulted in crushed bones. "I swear it, I will come back to you no matter what it takes, alright?"
She nodded against my chest, but she was silent. She finally ended up pushing me away and racing out of the room with her bag, I could still feel her tears soaking into my shirt. I resisted the urge to run after her, there wasn't anything I could do even if I tried.
It was time now. And I wasn't sure if I was ready for this. I wasn't sure if anyone here was ready for this.
Skye's POV
I was following behind Jacob and Bella, and to say I was annoyed was probably an understatement. I had not had a good morning, it'd taken me almost a full forty minutes to calm myself down enough to even leave the bloody house. And to putt he cherry on top I was in the company of two, count 'em, two werewolves and my best friend. I was the odd one out no matter how many ways you counted even.
Seth was following behind, already a wolf as he trailed after Black. He was holding Bella of course, and I just hung back while running as fast as I could. I couldn't match his pace for the life of me, I was full out sprinting up the trail and he was still way ahead. I barely could see them and I was sure he was just jogging. Just to add insult to injury.
He was whispering to Bella, I could see that from where I was, even like a mile behind. And I knew from her posture, or well, her legs at least, that she wasn't happy. I groaned, my chest hurt and my heart was motoring in my ribs. I could barely breathe. I stopped, leaning on a tree to gasp for air. Damn wolf.
Well, a snide little voice that reminded me too much of my mother hissed in my ear, you did turn down the offer to get carried.
I mentally kicked myself. I was not doing a pity party. I had more pride than that. I just... Couldn't breathe.
I felt a nose push against my back and jumped a foot in the air. When I turned I saw the enormous wolf sitting there, gangly and the like staring curiously at me with those dark eyes. He was sandy coloured and I reminded myself that it was just Seth, the youngest in the pack and one of our guards. I didn't have a reason to be afraid, but terror was running me over. He pushed his nose against my hand, tossing a glance over his shoulder and then back to me.
It clicked. My eyes widened and I shook my head sharply, stumbling backwards. "Oh hell no!" He snorted, a deeper sound than I expected, and nudged me again. I wasn't fast enough, we both knew that. And I was going to be lost by the time I made my own way up there. Pride or not, if I was caught in this snow that Alice predicted, I was more than likely going to die from exposure then get my ass safely up the mountain.
He nudged my nose, grumbling a little. It took me a few moments to realize he was trying to reason with me, gently. I coughed a bit to hide my hysteria. I was terrified of these things. Not just because I'd been bitten, that didn't make me have a vendetta against the lot. I was never good with animals, this just took the cake.
Pride kicked my ass again, this time aiming at the fear. I sighed quietly and just nodded. He seemed amused by that. And lay flat on his stomach so I could hitch up onto his back. I growled at him, "You better not drop me." He barked in laughter. He stood up slowly, giving me time to adjust.
Suddenly, childishly, I had an idea. Winding my fingers into his fur, I asked him, "Think we can beat Black up to the area?"
Seth took a second to absorb that, then he barked in laughter again. His muscles coiled under me, and his body shifted as he prepared to run. I hugged his body for all I was worth, fingers coiled tight in his shaggy fur. God help me, but I asked for it.
Have you ever been in a car going about three times the legal speed limit? Like those races broadcasted on television, real speed cars? Well I was currently strapped to a living and breathing one. Seth took off so fast my yelp was stolen by the wind, and he cleared the distance between Black and us in about five or six seconds, give or take. I'm pretty sure Bella heard me laughing my ass off hysterically as we raced by.
We got there quicker then I had expected, and he eased to a stop so I wouldn't fall off. Well it didn't really matter, I fell off anyway, still laughing crazily. What a rush! I was amazed by my own childishness to what I'd just done, but for a moment... It didn't matter. I was really what I was supposed to be in that moment, eighteen and enjoying life.
I sat up, looking over at Seth, he was laughing too, great body shuddering with snorts and barks. He rolled his tongue out, staring at me with amused dark eyes. I reached over, ruffling the fur on his nose. "Thanks." He snorted again, bumping his nose against my hand.
"You're here, is Bella right behind you?" A terse voice suddenly broke through my childish fun, and I looked up to see Edward pacing to and fro across the small space that made up a campground. His expression was serious and extremely worried. As if on cue, Bella appeared in the arms of Jacob Black, her expression half furious and half annoyed. He dropped her at the sight of Edward, and she slid ungracefully to her feet.
Edward flashed to her side, Jacob cringing away. He embraced Bella tightly, whispering into her ear before looking up at Jacob. I was sure he said 'thanks' but it didn't seem to matter. Jacob turned to leave, hanging his jacket on a tree branch before he ran into the woods.
I sat on the ground, next to Seth as we watched the two enter the tent by themselves. I looked up, into the black wall of cloud that was covering the sky now. There was going to be a crazy blizzard, I could just tell. I touched my down sleeves, I was warm enough in this outrageously cold weather for June. It was my bad luck that I happened to have survived worse weather.
If it was going to drop down to even worse freezing temperatures, I was just glad I'd decided top pack an extra layer of the same down clothing. I'd be warm enough... Hopefully.
Turns out I was wrong, even in the tent and sitting as close to Bella as I could get, it was damn freezing. The storm had started up with a vengeance, I hadn't slept through anything. It wasn't roaring, like the storms I loved to watch. It was shrieking like a banshee, the air so cold that the snowflakes literally sliced through it.
The tent shook occasionally with the wind, Edward had secured it very well. He was sitting in the farthest point of the tent, away from me, well most specifically, Bella. He was scared to even breathe on her, and I didn't blame him, the girl's lips were turning blue.
I'd solved this problem before it had even happened, I'd thrown on my extra sweater and parka before the storm began, toasting myself beforehand. Bella had thought I was an idiot, she probably didn't anymore. I hiked up my sweater up past my nose and pulled my hoods over my head to protect my ears. I looked like one of those iceland people, with just my eyes peeking out. But I was warm. Relatively speaking.
Edward and Black were having a mental conversation that was really getting on my nerves, I only got Edward's bit of it because Black was still in his wolf body, his fur keeping him warm. That was the only time I was ever jealous of the werewolves, that fur must have been a damn good wear.
"I can't do anything you mongrel!" Edward roared at him, his temper finally lost now that Bella was on the verge of passing out into a cold induced coma. I had offered to give her my already warm parka, but Edward had icily told me that if I was brought back with anything at all wrong with me, Justin had threatened to do something very dangerous to the Cullen home. I didn't ask anymore, I just sat there as uselessly as he did. "Go fetch her a space heater or something! Make yourself useful!"
It took a few moments, and then Black opened the tent. I hid my face from the arctic blast that entered through the hole, and I heard him muttering darkly at Edward for the insult.
Edward suddenly looked very dangerous, his upper lip stiffening and his entire body shifting threateningly. "Give her the coat, and get out."
"It's already frozen, it won't help her out if she can't warm it." Black answered him snidely, tossing a look at me in somewhat half approval. "The girl already knew that before the storm started, you should have told her." The approval was gone.
I didn't have a reason to even attempt to be polite to him, whether or not Bella was in the same room, er tent, with me. Pulling down my sweater so I could speak better, I snapped viciously,"G-Go to hell Black, I t-t-tried. She thought I was a lunatic. Y-Y-You try arguing with Bella."
He hated me for saying that, because I was right. I felt quite smug now. He turned back to Edward, saying proudly with a hint of arrogance, "You asked me to bring a space heater, here I am." Edward snarled viciously, having already known what I'd just realized. Bella was huddled against me, but I'd refused to enter the same sleeping bag.
Jacob leaned over, undoing the zipper. I jumped back into the opposite corner. Edward was going to kill him. And I did not want to have a literal front row seat to that particular show. I was right, Edward shot forward and grabbed Jacob's shoulder with impressive force, jerking him back.
"Get your hands off me leech." Black snarled at him through his teeth, his arms shivering a little with suppressed anger.
"You keep your hands off of her." Edward answered just as coldly.
I palmed my face in the corner, fighting wry laughter. Both of them were idiots. Edward could read Black's intentions in his thoughts, he knew this was for the good of Bella. He snarled at him, "You might as well keep her warm too." He jerked his head in my general direction.
Excuse me? What was I, a perk for a werewolf that couldn't get any on his own? No thank you. I snapped again, "I'd rather freeze, thank you." That was enough for Black, he undid the zipper and slid inside.
Much to my disgust, though I knew it was involuntary on Bella's part, she literally jumped into his arms, pressing her entire body against him. She kicked off her boots to press her toes to his legs to get warm. I turned my head away, snorting a cuss under my breath. Lovely to see.
"You'll be warm in a minute." Black assured her kindly, I swore he was thinking about pressing a kiss to her hair. I gagged silently. "Of course you'd warm up faster if you took your clothes off."
Edward's snarl ripped through the tent, and I hid a snicker for Jacob and growl for Bella. He was right of course, but that only pissed me off. I turned my head, growling, "Your thoughts are pissing him off, and your lack of tact is really pissing me off. So shut up and do your job or else I will let him jump on you and break your arms."
Edward nearly smiled at me, looking like he quite enjoyed the last bit, and I heard Bella choke down a cough that sounded quite like a giggle. She was frozen and hugging a werewolf, but the sense of humour remained. It was silent for like forever. Bella was whispering to him, obviously thinking I was asleep. I hadn't moved since my snap at Black and I didn't plan to either.
Edward would occasionally chuckle at one of Black's thoughts, or growl when he was getting too out of hand. I knew Bella was asleep when the whispering stopped, and I was glad for that. She deserved to have some peace.
I of course was freezing my little ass off, huddled into the corner and hugging myself in an effort to keep warm. I flexed my fingers often, keeping the blood pumping. I would slowly move my legs and arms as well, making sure it was going everywhere. Edward would watch me sometimes, and I would blankly look away.
"Yes." Edward suddenly whispered in the dark, answering one of Black's thoughts in a very ancient voice. "I am."
I clicked in instantly, it didn't take a genius to realize what they were going on about. Black looked quite comfortable, disgustingly so, and he was taunting Edward with his fantasies. He had no sense of moral integrity, and it was sickening to see that. I groaned in disgust, and they both turned to look at me. I stood up in the tent, glaring at the both of them.
"You can't go outside in this weather!" Edward suddenly protested, reading my thoughts in an instant, his eyes wide in surprise.
"Oh yes I can, Seth's out there, I'll just curl up to him." I snapped back, tossing a dirty look at both of them. "I'm not going to sit here and listen to you bicker like a married couple about her." I nodded at Bella. I loved her, god yes I did, but I didn't owe her enough to sit with the boys as they talked about her. That was my limit sadly. "You know what, I'm going to settle things right here then."
My temper was raging, and I was pretty sick of everything I'd had to endure so far. This was me reaching my breaking point and taking it out on two boys. "She loves him," I gestured at Edward, then I added icily when I turned my gaze back to Black, "and she loves you, for reasons I will never know and I don't really care why. But she's already made her choice, and if you can't accept it, you're only killing her in the process out of guilt."
Black looked alarmed, Edward looked stunned as well. Whether or not it was me being shamefully blunt, and I'm sure it was, I had gotten both of their attentions and not politely.
"She cares about the both of you, and if you two continue to act like fools, she's going to just off herself so both of you can get on with your lives and be happy without her. Don't you dare force her to choose, she can't if she's being torn two ways. You can give her things the other one can't, we all know that. But it doesn't mean either one of you is best suited for her." I ranted violently, letting my temper and hidden emotions just pour out. Hell, it was healthy. For me at least. I pointed at Black, his stunned face fuelling me on, "Yeah you can give her a somewhat human life, but you saw how she was without Edward when he left. Do you honestly have the balls to think you can heal that hole in her heart if she picks you over him? Do you really think that means she'll just stop loving him even when she's with you? Or do you really think you're better for her?"
Maybe it was how Edward was looking only slightly smug, or how Black was looking incredibly hurt, I wasn't sure which it was, but I turned on Edward immediately, having no mercy for Bella's fiancé. "And you, you're going to kill her eventually, and I do mean that as literally as it sounds. Yeah, it's what she wants, yes it's against your better judgment and secretly you want it too, but dammit put some thought into what you say she can and can't do. Marry her, make her happy, but don't forget that it's her, not you, her, that has her final say in the end. If she wants you so much, so blindly, then who are you to think that anything else is what's good for her? The both of you are idiots!"
There. I'd said my piece. But god help me, I wasn't staying in this godforsaken tent, I was hightailing it out and I didn't care if I froze.
Luck loved me I think, the wind was dying down when I tossed myself out. Seth found me in the whirling snow, guiding me into the trees. He curled up beside me, sheltering me from the wind and I sighed, curling into his side. He chuckled a bit, he'd probably heard my whole performance and thought it was funny. I whacked his arm a little, my sleeve dented the blow quite nicely, saving my hand.
"You're a jackass for eavesdropping. Even worse for laughing at me. That was really emotionally draining." I hissed under my breath, not meaning a word of it. It just made me feel better. He laughed again at me, and began to hum, it was almost like a cat purring underneath its owner's hand.
It was soothing enough, my emotions were down and out now, I could finally breathe right again as the anger and confusion spun out of me, leaving me drained. The wind was dying down, and I couldn't really feel it because of Seth's bulk. I'd never call him gangly again. My eyes were closing, and I sighed a little, mostly to myself. "Idiots..." I murmured into Seth's fur, and I drifted off, letting sleep take me.
AN
(Immediately ducks impending shots) Skye had a breakdown and took it out on the boys, that's my excuse for her bitching them out. She finally reached her point of silence with them, she had been a little civil considering the whole thing she could see from an outsider's point of view to the triangle... And a lot of the stuff she said was out of anger, she does care about Bella, that's why she tripped on them. And also in my humble opinion... Seth would make a fine space heater, even out in the storm... Skye was warmer than Bella (she explained it earlier) and if you want, I can explain it if you're still confused, so pm me for that.
Evie