Hello, again!
I know it has been ages since I posted last and I'm so sorry. It's been a touch week for me and I've been out of town. I'm feeling really discouraged with my writing and I'm having a bit of a block! So, please forgive me.
Writer's block is absolutely horrible!!
The next chapter is in the processes and my beta should be getting it soon. I'm so sorry guys! I hope this makes up for it
I'm also sorry to say that there are not many more chapters in the works. About 4 or 5, but not much more. Tell me what you think. I'm not so sure how this chapter measures up. Hope you guys like it!
Disclaimer: I hate writing this. I really do.
Three hours passed without me moving even an inch out of Edward's arms. Edward mindlessly twirled my hair and we both remained perfectly quiet, enjoying the silence. As much as I wanted to remain in his lap forever, I started to grow restless. There were only so many things one can think of while trying to avoid the biggest part of your life. I shifted so that his arms were still around me, but I was in a different position in his lap. He moved his head off of the headboard and rested his forehead on my shoulder and turned his head so that he could kiss my neck. The sensation of his chilly lips on my neck sent tingles down my spine. I whipped my head to face him, not expecting the kiss. He looked up to me with wide, lustful eyes. I felt my tensed body relax into his arms as I rolled so that I was on top of him, still in his arms.
I leaned over and kissed him square on the lips. He pulled me closer to him as he rolled so he was on top. He pinned me down at my waist with his knees he now used to straddle me with. He pulled away from me and knelt above me. He peeled his shirt off slowly, torturing me. I sighed as I reached out and traced his perfectly chiseled body. He moaned so softly I had to strain to hear it. He pushed my hands away from him, leaving me wide eyed. He smiled mischievously as he pushed my hands above my head. He ran his hands down from my wrists that touched the headboard and moved them down my body. His cold hands reached my chest and I could still feel them through the thin shirt I wore. He lingered at my chest, taunting me. I arched my back slightly, enough to push my chest out. He just shook his head and continued his hands down my sides until he reached my waist. He curled his hands under my shirt and pulled it so slow I had to fight back a groan. He laughed as he pulled it over my head. He kissed me from the seam of my jeans all the way to my lips, leaving a ghost trail of kisses. The heat pooled in my stomach again. Edward's growing arousal rubbed against me through our jeans and both of us moaned loudly. Edward bent down further to deepen the kiss when Emmett's holler echoed through the house.
"Round Two!" He shouted. Edward collapsed on top of me as I tried to sink into the furniture. I groaned in embarrassment as a round of laughter was set off downstairs.
Edward sighed as he kissed my lips sweetly and rolled off of me. After Emmett's commentary, the mood disappeared. We both lay there staring at the ceiling, hand in hand, both of our breath still slightly erratic, even though it wasn't needed. Minutes passed and our breathes evened. The laughter and chatter downstairs had stopped.
Edward sighed and rubbed a circle in my hand. "Ready to go downstairs now?" He asked simply. I stared at him in disbelief.
"They just stopped thinking about us having," I didn't even want to say it out loud, "about us doing it. Of course I don't want to go down there." I stated.
"Just because they stopped talking about it doesn't mean they stopped thinking about it." He muttered. I groaned again shoving my head into the pillow next to me. He chuckled lightly and moved off of the bed, keeping my hand in his and pulled me up. We both still remained topless and in jeans. As he pulled me up he intentionally pulled me too fast and caused me to crash into him so that he could kiss me. I smiled against his lips and pulled back walking swiftly to the closet, swaying my hips playfully. My hair blew forward as he ran up behind me and grabbed my hips and his lips rested a few centimeters from my ear. I stopped walking.
"If you keep swaying your hips like that, I'm going to take you right here no matter who shouts what." He said seductively. I smiled knowing I had accomplished my mission of taunting him like he had tantalized me earlier. I turned my head slightly so I could him from the corner of my eye.
"We will see about that..." I whispered sexily as I pulled my hips out of his hands and walked to the closet. I heard a growl rumble through his chest as he walked to the dresser in the room. I shivered. The growl was too familiar. No, I reminded myself, This isn't him, that is Edward and Edward won't hurt me. I repeated that over and over like I had the past few hours when he would get too lusty eyed. It didn't stop the slight pang of fear in my heart. I stopped swaying my hips as I entered the closet and searched through the closet, nothing that I had owned was in it. I stuck my head out of the closet door.
"Edward?" I asked.
"Yes?" He answered.
"I don't mean to complain, but, um, where are all of my clothes?" I tried to sound innocent. I figured Alice would buy me clothes for my change, but there was nothing of mine.
"Alice took them along with mine." I groaned. "Love, you are an entirely different size in everything. Think of it this way, that saves you an entire shopping trip." As negative as he tends to be, he was good at lightening things. I nodded as I turned back into the closet and opened drawers and cabinets at random looking for the necessities. I eventually stumbled across the drawers filled with underwear and bras and picked a pair out. I shimmied out of my jeans and slip on the underwear and grabbed a pair of clean jeans. I pulled them on and traded the bra I was wearing for a simpler cotton one. I searched through the rows of clothes and finally found a simple blue t-shirt, similar to the one that now lay on the floor by the bed, only it was navy. I pushed all of the clothes into a pile in the corner of the closet that seemed perfect for dirty clothes and I walked out to a waiting Edward. He leaned against the wall outside the closet and grabbed my waist as I walked to the door, causing me to shriek in surprise. I glared at Edward to the best of my ability. His eyes looked at me innocently. I couldn't stay mad. I leaned in and kissed him sweetly on the lips and pulled out of his arms.
I glided to the door and as soon as I touched the handle Edward was by my side and whispered in my ear, "Have I ever told you how beautiful you look in blue?" I sighed.
"And have I ever told you that you are relentless?" I giggled as his face fell.
"I was serious." He pouted slightly. I laughed a bit louder.
"So was I." I smiled as I opened the door and stepped out of it. Edward grabbed my hand and led me down the stairs. A round of laughter came from the living room. I looked at Edward, silently begging him to just take us upstairs.
"It wasn't about us this time, love." He whispered and smiled as he pulled me closer to the living room. We walked through the open arch and Edward pulled me into a leather love seat near the door.
"Hello, Bella, Edward." Carlisle greeted us as we sat down, hand in hand. Esme smiled at us brightly, sitting next to Carlisle on the couch, before turning back to the TV mounted on the wall. A comedian flashed across the screen as he performed his stand up. I hadn't really been listening and didn't care to start now. Alice and Jasper sat on another love seat across the room and Alice smiled at us as Jasper rubbed circles on her thigh. Emmett sat in the overstuffed chair a few feet from us with Rosalie in his lap. Emmett's view was fastened on the TV, laughing every few seconds.
After a few minutes the show ended and the family shifted so that the focus was on each other rather than the TV.
"So, Bella," Carlisle said from across the room. I jerked my head to look at him. "Do you have any powers, yet?" I had forgotten about the possibility of having a power. I was even a little disappointed when I realized I didn't have one. I began to shake my head, but Emmett intervened.
"Besides devirginizing our little Eddie?" Emmett asked innocently. Alice and Jasper choked back their laughter. I groaned as Edward growled for him to shut up. Emmett's laughter boomed through the house, shaking the walls. Rosalie smacked him on his arm hard enough for him to shout as the loud crashing noise reverberated around the house. The family laughed louder.
"No, Carlisle, I don't think I have any powers." I said, trying to get the focus back from my and Edward's sex life.
"Don't worry about it, Bella, It can take a few days to even realize you have powers. It all depends." Carlisle assured me. I nodded and the room grew quiet.
"Pack..." Alice muttered quietly, and I heard her perfectly, but I wasn't quite sure what she meant. As I pondered for a second what she had meant the doorbell echoed through the house causing me to jump. Edward chuckled as Carlisle stood up and answered the door, gesturing the pack in towards the open seating around the room. Sam entered first, leading the pack as always.
"Hey, Bella..." He said flicking his nose, trying to discretely cover up the new smell. I wanted to know what he was thinking as he saw me. Would they attack Edward or any of the family because he changed me? Would he rather me be dead? His voice shook my out of my thoughts. "It's nice to see you..."
My neck snapped up to look at him as he took a seat across the room. I had to be hearing things. I shook my head to try and come back to reality.
"Hi, Sam." I said brightly and I turned to face the rest of the pack. They all stared at me awkwardly, each one with different expressions on their faces.
"Sam," Carlisle directed the focus of the room from me to the pack and I smiled gratefully at him. "What brings you all here today?" He asked politely. Sam cleared his voice and looked at me anxiously before turning back to Carlisle.
"Well, um, we need to discuss what we are going to do about," he looked at me, nervously. I wanted him to feel relaxed. I knew he was going to say something about Jacob, and I wasn't as scared as I was a few days ago. "Well, about Jacob. We all have families at home and we need to be returning.. We've been here for nearly a week." I lowered my head a little, knowing that it was pretty much my fault they were still here. I shook my head discretely, not thinking about it. A sense of security filled me and I looked up at Jasper thankfully.
"Sam, I'm afraid that it will be nearly impossible to track Jacob if he is still working with Tanya." I looked at Carlisle quizzically. He smiled, "Bella, We believe that Tanya has a gift of hiding things and that was how we never caught Jacob or her before the attack happened." He explained. I nodded. That explained a lot.
"We caught Jacob's scent about 30 miles from here, a bit east of Anchorage. It vanished after about a mile." Sam described. "If we are going to do any of this, we need to do it soon. We have families." He insisted.
Carlisle nodded, "We understand that. The reason that we can't find Jacob and his scent disappears is due to Tanya. I suspect that she is remaining close to wooded areas for obvious reasons, and they have a hide out somewhere around there. They have put too much into this to just abandon Bella and Edward, now. They are still waiting for them." My breath caught in my throat. As fearless as I thought I was, the idea of him waiting for me still scared me thoroughly. Edward's hand gripped mine tighter and rubbed circles onto the back of it. "The only time we ever got close to Tanya or Jacob was when Tanya found Edward and obviously let her guard down."
"They aren't going to stop searching and fighting for them until they get them. We have to find them, before they find us. We don't know what they are capable of at this point. The Denali clan was only miles away when we found them." Edward interjected from our seat. Carlisle nodded. My head shot up as my spirit sank considerably, knowing what I had to do. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jasper watching me, causing Edward to look at me. I stood up hurriedly as the room stared at me.
"Carlisle, can I borrow Edward for a moment?" I asked as politely and quickly as I could. Carlisle simply nodded. I excused myself as Edward followed me out the front door and nearly chased me through the yard. I reached the edge of the woods before Edward's strong hand grabbed mine and pulled me to a stop.
"Bella, what is going on?" He asked, worry flowing through his facial expression.
"Could Tanya ever hide her thoughts from you?" I whispered, looking over my shoulder.
"Never, but you know that... What is it?" He pressed.
"I know how to end this." I whispered seriously and paranoid.
"End what, Bella?" He asked slowly, carefully.
"End this! I can stop this whole Jacob and Tanya mess. We can get on with our life, Edward!" I whispered, less secretively, but just as powerful.
"What are you talking about? What could we do that Carlisle and Sam haven't discussed?" His voice was growing slightly impatient, but remained worried.
"Edward, you and Carlisle said it! You both said that the only time Tanya's guard was down was when she found you. Well, the only way we can end this is if Jacob finds me. If he thinks that I'm vulnerable enough, he will attack, except this time I will be ready." I explained quickly, hoping he would understand.
"Bella, he will know instantly if anyone from the family or pack is nearby." He countered.
"That's why I would go alone." I rebutted. Edward's eyes grew almost cold and darkened in color and his strong hand only gripped mine tighter, to the point that if I were human, my bones would be crushed.
"I will not let you walk into a battle alone with that macabre of a monster. I promised you one too many times that I wouldn't let you get hurt and each time you got hurt anyway and I'll be damned if you think that I will let you walk in vulnerable like that." He hissed through his teeth. I had hardly ever seen Edward this angry and it was never directed at me. I didn't back away.
"Edward, if we want to end the running, this is the only way." I pressed further. He closed his eyes and with his free hand pressed his forefinger and thumb against the bridge of his nose and pinched, trying to relieve pressure.
"Isabella, you are my wife and if you are asking me to just let you get killed to save my family, whom are all capable of taking care of themselves, There is no way. I won't let you." He finalized. I pulled my hand out of his iron grip and his eyes flashed open as I slowly backed away from him, his eyes almost black.
"I didn't come out here for your permission, Edward," I hissed, "I came out here for your support." With that sentence I ran back into the house faster than I had since I ran from the monster I thought I was. As I neared the front door I swung the door open and grasped the frame for support as a slight case of vertigo filled my body. My body shook slightly from seeing Edward so angry and with my eyes closed I took deep breaths. I stood there for God knows how long until two strong, loving hands supported my waist, keeping me from falling. I gasped and turned around in his hands and stared at a calmer Edward. His eyes were now a soft, golden wheat and they stared down in a small, sad smile.
"I will always support you," He whispered as he bent over and kissed me chastely on the lips, only deepening it slightly. He and I pulled away slowly as he guided me from the door to the love seat. The entire room stared at us in blatant observation. Our family smiled at us as the pack looked upon us with slight disgust. I just shrugged as he and I sat down.
"Bella, may I ask what that was all about? It seemed rather urgent, is everything okay?" Carlisle's voice was always formal, but in a meeting with the pack it seemed to increase in formality. I looked to Edward, almost warning him that I was going to tell them, he only nodded sadly. I turned my attention back to Carlisle.
"I think I figured out how we can finish this." I said slightly unsure of myself. Carlisle's eyebrows raised in curiosity and slight skepticism. I wanted to back out of the whole idea I had. the whole room was waiting for me big epiphany. I curled into the couch slightly. Jasper looked at me wonderingly and I shook my head.
"We are at a loss on how to stop Jacob, would you mind sharing your idea?" Carlisle urged. I nodded.
"I, um, well, you said that the only time that Tanya or Jacob ever let their guard down was when they found either Edward or me, right?" I began nervously. Carlisle nodded, motioning with his hands for me to continue. I took a pointless deep breath and continued, "You also said that Jacob wouldn't stop until he had his way with me," I said uncomfortably, everyone in the room stilled, "He wants me dead or his and there is no other option and unless he thinks he has me, he won't just go away." I stated. Everyone shifted uneasily in their seats. I looked to Edward and he sat stony and gravely only inches away from me, staring at the floor. I turned back to the center of the room, avoiding all the staring faces that were waiting on my explanation.
"Bella, this is all true, but we have discussed all of this already..." Sam insisted trying to be sweet. "You said you had a way for us to finish this...?" Sam pushed further, trying to hurry this along. I stared at him blankly, trying to remember my point.
"Not a way for us to finish this, a way for me to finish this." The room grew silent and everyone's stares were intense. "If I lure Jacob out of hiding and convince him that I'm vulnerable enough, he will attack me and I can finally end this and he will stop torturing this family." The eyes in the room filled with questions and the corresponding mouths took it upon themselves to ask every question and comment in rapid fire.
"Bella, Jacob was trained by us to fight newborn vampires! You aren't trained at all. He will murder you in seconds." Jasper's voice was the first I heard.
"I won't be able to see you at all! You could end up dead and I won't ever see it!! Why would you do that?!" Alice's voice was next.
"It's suicide..." Rosalie whispered from her spot on Emmett.
"Do you really think you could take an maniac, young werewolf by yourself? Come on, Bella, you are smarter than that!" Sam shouted.
"If you go, I go, squirt. Don't you dare think that I'm not getting my hands on that mutt!" Emmett yelled.
"Please, don't do this, Bella. We couldn't stand to lose you again..." Esme's sweet, motherly voice said quietly. The room filled with each person rambling and shouting their opinion, trying to speak over the person next to them. I couldn't focus on all the voices so I just looked towards Edward, noticing how quiet he was. He hadn't moved since I looked at him last. His hands resting uneasily, his eyes fixed solidly on the floor and his face grim. I was about to turn my head from him when his head shot upwards, staring at Carlisle who was now standing.
"Quiet, everyone, quiet!" He instructed the room, waiting for silence. The room grew noiseless and awkward quickly, everyone staring at Carlisle waiting on him to tell me how wrong I was. Carlisle sat down beside Esme once again, only he sat on the edge of the seat pensively, staring at a spot on the wall behind Sam's head.
"Carlisle..." Alice whined, "Tell her how bad of an idea this is!" Carlisle remained thoughtful and quiet.
"This could actually work..." he finally said quietly. Alice stood up in protest as Jasper tugged her hand for her to sit back down. Rosalie was grasping Emmett's hand fiercely and Emmett mirrored the strong hold. Esme stared awe-struck by her husband and Edward's nearly shocked face was pointed at him. The wolves all sat staring at each other, not knowing the response they were to have.
"If Bella could get Jacob out of hiding, we could attack him easily." He said still thinking.
"No, you can't." I rebutted. He looked at me with dismay. "If the pack is anywhere near us, he will hear them if he is changed, which he always is. If any one of you from the family is present, not only does Tanya have her clan nearby, Jacob will smell you. It can only be me." I finalized. Carlisle stood up and shook his head as he began to pace slowly.
"Absolutely not, Bella, you are family and you will not go into a fight alone." He countered.
"Edward needs to distract Tanya and if she has the resources she could easily have, she will be able to kill Edward in seconds unless you are all there to help. If you take care of Tanya, the pack will be able to follow my scent and track Jacob to where we are and if we time this right, I will only spend a few moments alone with him." I explained. I hadn't realized how much thought I had put into this in the last twenty minutes, but even I had to admit it was a decent plan. Carlisle's eyes where closed as he thought out the plan.
"Bella, a few moments is all it took for Jacob to attack me and nearly kill me." Jasper nearly whispered. Alice cuddled closer to Jasper and held tightly to him silently.
"Jasper, you weren't expecting it, I will be." I argued. Jasper nodded and held Alice to him whispering sweet, comforting nothings in her ear that only she could hear.
"Jasper is right, Bella." Carlisle said suddenly, opening his eyes. "We need assure ourselves that you have any ability to fight, to give you a chance against Jacob." I nodded slowly. Carlisle looked to Edward who sighed and nodded at one of Carlisle's thoughts.
"Bella," Edward said, speaking for the first time since we had gotten back, "After the pack leaves, I will take you to the field out back and Jasper and I will teach you how to fight." He said sadly. Jasper nodded silently.
"What if this doesn't work, Bella?" Sam asked nervously. Everyone's attention turned to him. "I mean, what if Jacob reaches you before they get rid of the leech- no offense- and we can't track you? I mean you would be dead in seconds and there would be nothing we could do to help you." Edward's chest shook slightly as a low growl rumbled through it.
"We will have to have a signal of some sort." I declared. Everyone nodded quietly.
"We need to go now, we should be back within twenty four hours. Will you all be ready by then?" Sam asked.
Carlisle walked forwards and grabbed Sam's outstretched hand, "Thank you for your help, Sam." He insisted as he escorted the pack to the door, waiting for them to pile out. I had twenty for hours to learn to fight well enough to fight a maniac werewolf that was trained specifically to kill vampires like me. The family sat quiet, all staring at me wondering how in the world I would react when I had the werewolf that had killed me and raped me attacking me again. I sat quietly, praying that I could have a peace of some sort with what I was about to do. I was waiting for something that would never come.
