I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. STEPHANIE MEYERS DOES SO THANK HER FOR THIS WONDERFUL WORLD OF VAMPIRES AND WEREWOLVES!
Thanks for all the great reviews!
Fear
When I arrived back at the cottage Bella and Nessie were sitting in the living room talking. Nessie looked much calmer now and I sighed in relief.
"Hey Bells, Edward needs to work with you on some shield exercises in the clearing. I'll stay with Nessie until Emily and the others get here. We've moved the bonfire up to the big house tonight since the pack will already be here." I said bringing them both up to speed on the plans for today.
Bella got up to leave as I went to take her spot next to Nessie. As soon as I sat down she crawled into my lap and put her arms around my neck.
"I'm sorry about this morning Jake. I guess I hadn't really thought about how big of a deal this fight was until I saw that look in your eyes." she laid her head on my chest.
"Nessie don't apologize, it's scary. No one knows exactly what will happen and there is a chance that someone will get hurt. We called the Denali clan this morning, they'll be here tomorrow to get up to speed and help us with this fight." I paused and lifted her face so I could see her eyes.
"You're going to be on the reservation with Emily and the others. Esme, Carmen, Leah, Eli and Brian will be guarding the reservation so you'll all be safe." I tried to read her expression.
"Leah?" she questioned.
"Yea, Sam said she'll be back home tonight. I guess she called to check in with Seth and he told her what was going on so she's coming back." I finished.
Leah never liked the Cullens and really didn't like the pack either which is why she'd left as soon as she could.
"Jake…" Nessie hesitated dropping her eyes. I lifted her chin again.
"What's wrong sweetie?" I asked quietly.
"I want to be close to you…please." she whispered.
I leaned in and kissed her firmly, pushing a curl out of her face.
"You can have whatever you want Nessie…whatever you need…anytime." I tell her between kisses.
"Take me to the bedroom please Jake." she asks as my lips move down her neck and across her shoulder.
I picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, my lips never leaving her skin.
I could never deny her anything…and I never did. I laid with her curled next to me waiting for our heart rates to slow and our breathing to return to normal.
I loved this exploration phase of our relationship!
"Thank you Jacob…you're unbelievable." she whispered and kissed my neck.
I'm so glad I took Sam's advice.
"No, thank you Nessie…you're amazing." I replied.
We laid there quietly for a few minutes before I checked the time.
"Nessie, Emily and the others will be here any minute we should probably get dressed and wait for them outside." I suggested half-heartedly.
"Mmm. I'd rather stay here next to you." she whispered seductively.
Oh man I want her so bad!
As I leaned in to kiss her there was a loud knock on the door. We both jumped at the sound. I sighed heavily and got out of bed while she giggled quietly.
I threw on my shorts and ran to the door.
"Good morning Emily." I smiled as I opened the door for her. Emily's face turned slightly red as she took me in.
"Sorry Jake did we interrupt." she muffled a giggle.
"No I was just getting ready to leave." I smiled widely at her.
Nessie came out of the bedroom as Emily and the others came inside.
"Morning guys. Thanks for coming over today." Nessie smiled at them.
I ran into the bedroom and threw on a shirt. My mind began to race with thoughts of the training and the battle. Guilt washed over me as I thought about not being there with the pack during the training. I'd spent so much time wrestling with Jasper and Emmett over the years I knew I was ready but I should have been there to help. I ran out of the room grabbed Nessie and quickly kissed her before running out the door.
"I love you sweetheart. I'll see you later, call if you need anything." I called back to her.
"I love you too Jake." I heard her giggle as I ran into the woods to phase.
How's it going Sam? I asked.
Great! Their working well together and getting much quicker at taking the leech down. Sam replied.
Thanks for handling this for me. I thought.
No problem Jacob. We're going to be fine. Sam assured me as I came through the tree line.
Everyone was in their groups practicing and it was an awesome sight to see how well they worked together. I saw Bella and Edward come through the tree line on the opposite side of the field.
How'd she do Edward? I thought to him.
"Great Jake. She can cover the whole field from fifteen yards away on the ground." he answered from across the field.
On the ground? I thought a little confused. Edward laughed lightly.
"We found that if she's up in a tree focusing her shield down she can cover the whole field from twenty-five yards away." he finished proudly squeezing her hand as they approached me.
Tell her I'm proud of her. I said to Edward as I smiled widely at her.
Bella reached out and rubbed the side of my face as she giggled at me.
"Jacob says he's proud of you Bella." Edward told her. She leaned in and kissed the tip of my nose.
"Thanks Jake. I'm pretty proud of myself too." she said.
Emily and the others are at the cottage with Nessie if Bella wants to join them. I let Edward know. He nodded.
"Bella, love, Emily and the others are at the cottage with Nessie if you want to go join them." He told her.
She nodded and kissed him good-bye before taking off toward the cottage. I was glad they were here for Nessie.
By the time we finished up training late in the afternoon the pack was starving. Everyone headed to the big house for a time of food and fellowship. Nessie stayed close by my side all night as we watched our families interacting.
We were both amazed at how well everyone got along. As I thought, Eli and Emmett were fast friends as they began teasing and playing pranks on the others. Jasper spent most of the night talking to Ethan, the packs history buff, about the Civil War.
Leah had shown up just before we left the clearing and surprisingly the pack was enjoying having her back. Everyone seemed content and the thoughts of the upcoming fight were put aside for the night.
Carlisle again offered for the Cullens to run patrols tonight so the pack could rest. Sam and I agreed knowing tomorrow would be a long day of training with the Denali clan arriving in the morning.
By the time the party broke up it was very late and Nessie was again very tired so we stayed at the cottage. When the sun broke through the window in the morning I sighed deeply as I felt Nessie's body pressed closed to mine.
Her hand was resting on my chest and I could see the dream she was having. Her body began shaking as images of the Volturi flashed through her mind. Images of her family, vampire and wolf, fighting and dying. I shook her trying to wake her from her nightmare.
"NO-O-O-O!" she screamed as she sat up. The last image I saw was one of my own wolf form being bitten by one of the Volturi.
"Sh-h-h-h-h" I whispered stroking her hair and holding her close to my chest.
Edward and Bella were in the room as soon as she screamed, Edward having seen the last of her dream.
Nessie clung to me tightly, sobbing quietly.
I've got this, she'll be ok. I thought to Edward. He took Bella's hand and led her quietly back out of the room closing the door.
"Nessie, that's not going to happen." I whispered reassuringly in her ear.
"Can you promise that?" she asked through her tears.
I gently wiped away her tears and pushed a curl off her face.
"You know I can't promise anything Nessie but we're ready for this fight. I will do everything in my power to bring everyone home safely, including myself." I whispered into her head as I hugged her.
She stayed in my arms for a long while getting her emotions under control. When she finally stopped crying and composed herself I felt a weight lift off of me. I couldn't help but remember Bella's actions when we prepared to fight the newborns. Edward hadn't been able to leave her when she asked him to stay. She was so scared of losing him. I hoped Nessie wouldn't ask me to stay.
I looked into her sad eyes and wondered what she was thinking about.
"I love you Renesmee." I whispered as I leaned in and kissed her softly.
"I love you too Jacob." she said when we pulled apart.
I knew I had to leave but I didn't want to. A soft knock on the door made her jump slightly.
"Come in." Nessie said softly. Bella opened the door and stepped inside.
"Jacob the Denali clan is here and everyone is getting ready to go to the clearing. I can stay with Nessie if you'd like to go with them." She said looking between Nessie and me.
I looked down at Nessie to see what she wanted. A sad smile formed on her lips as she touched my cheek to 'show' me it was ok to go.
"If you need me just call ok sweetheart. I love you." I kissed her firmly before leaving her with Bella.
The whole family was waiting outside the cottage when I stepped out the door. I greeted each of the Denali clan and thanked them for coming to help. Edward had already filled them in on the details of our plan so we ran to the clearing.
We spent the whole day training, reviewing tactics and priorities with everyone and going over a generalized idea of what would happen tomorrow. Around lunch time the women brought tables of food down for the pack since we were only having one training session today.
Nessie seemed to be in better spirits and she stayed after lunch to watch the training. I could tell it made her feel better to see how proficiently we all worked together. She stayed close by my side the whole afternoon.
As evening approached Sam and I called the training to an end and encouraged the pack to spend the evening with their families. Emmett and Jack would be heading out early in the morning and we wanted the pack back in the clearing at the same time.
When the last of the pack left, Nessie and I said our good-byes to everyone and headed to my house.
We hadn't seen Billy in a couple of days and wanted to spend the evening with him. Then there was the excuse of getting her to Emily's in the morning. Selfishly I knew I just wanted to have Nessie all to myself without any annoying vampire hearing around.