I often fantasize the stars above are watching you
They know my heart it speak to yours like lovers only do
If I could wear your clothes, I'd pretend I was you
And lose control
There'll be some love-making, heartbreaking, soul-shaking love
Chapter 34: Heavenly Peace
Bella POV:
A warm burst of sunshine slowly woke me from my deep slumber. I was wrapped up in the softest cocoon of feathers and fresh smelling cotton. Wait, why was I so comfortable? And who in god's name is tickling my ear?
"Alice! Whaaaa-?!" I tried to break free of the sheet contraption I was under to find the danger I was so used to. But instead Alice's tinkling laughter met my newly awoken ears as I squinted through my overly bright surroundings.
"Is this how you wake up when you have no nightmares? Have you ever gone twenty four hours without thinking you're in danger?" I merely grunted and continued my struggle to see properly. "Are you alright?" Her laughing ceased and she leaned on top of me to check if I was ok.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." I whispered, my eyes finally focusing on the beautiful face in front of me. "Just a little disorientated."
"Well I would imagine so." Her jovial mood returned once she knew I was in good health. "You were pretty much dead to the world for three days."
"Three days?!" I stuck a finger in my ear, hoping to clear out something that had obstructed my hearing. "You can't be serious?"
"I'm afraid I am my dear." She reached up and ran her fingers through my hair in order to try and tame my three day old bed head.
"Shit." I felt bad about leaving Alice with only herself for company for three days. "Wait did we move? Aro and the guard-"
"Have no idea where we are." She smiled and pinched my cheek as I tried to get up in a panic again. "We are currently in Australia, so I think we have a good few days before we have to move again. Maybe even weeks if we don't leave the cottage." Alice wiggled even closer to me and rested her chin on my propped up knee, innocent eyes looking up at me.
"How did you get me here? I slept the entire time?"
"You do remember I have vampire strength right? And you weigh like nothing."
"Still must have looked pretty awkward though." I grinned at the mental image of Alice carrying my snoring and drooling body around.
"Nah. I just told people I was kidnapping you. People are always so strangely nice to me."
"Cause you're fucking adorable." I grunted at her annoyingly charming smirk. I gave her a chaste kiss and then quickly pulled down the collar of her shirt, my memory finally catching up.
"Bellaaaa. I'm fine." Alice tried fruitlessly to push me off as I inspected her injury.
"No you're not. This is barely even healed." I cried, tracing my fingers along the semi closed cracks on her neck. "Have you hunted?"
"I'm fine."
"Last time I check, I'm fine is not a proper response to a yes or no question." I arched my eyebrow at her lack of response to my worry. She can't get pissed at me when I do the exact same thing when I'm injured. If I had to put up with her overprotectiveness, she had to deal with mine. This was a two way street.
"It's healing. Just on its own time." She bit her lip and tried to stifle a cry of pain when I gently poked the exposed area.
"Come on." I grabbed her waist with a firm hand and roughly threw us up out of bed. Alice had to steady me immediately when my legs didn't quite work.
"You should really rest Bella." Her stall tactic would not work on me today.
"Nope. I need fresh air and a good stretch, and you need to hunt. Now, we could stand here and argue about it for a while, or we could nicely go about our day. Either way you are going outside, even if I have to throw you over my shoulder, it's happening." Alice grumbled and was obviously taking both her options seriously, but eventually logic won her over and she threw her hands up in defeat.
"Fine!" She stomped her way past me in a childish fit of rage. "You are the most annoying wife in the whole damn world."
"Awwww. That's not true babe." I feigned a hurt expression before smiling devilishly. "That top prize has always been your honor."
To my great surprise, I had stumbled right out into the middle of a forest. Alice giggled at my moment of confusion as I openly gaped at our surroundings. The inside of the cottage was really its own little world.
"Did I do a good job?" She asked with a hint of amusement. "I was a bit tired of living out of cars."
"Amazing." I breathed out. The wolf inside of me bristled with delight. Alice must have noticed a physical cue from me because she positively cooed with delight.
"Does someone wanna come out and play?" She used her puppy voice, the one I hated and loved at the same time. I nodded dumbly, much like a mute dog, and waited for Alice's ok. God I'm becoming too domesticated. "Well go on. Let her out." I grinned widely and began to strip happily into my freedom.
Alice let me run around carelessly with her for hours, until I finally remembered the whole purpose of our outing. I stopped abruptly and the pixie came crashing into me out of surprise.
"Bella!" She cried, wiping dirt and plant life off her now not so perfect Alice looking outfit. "You can't just stop out of the blue like that! You know I can't see your decisions!" I whined a pathetic apology and she rolled her eyes at my undeniable cuteness.
"Fine. Why'd you stop anyways?" Alright this was going to be difficult to explain with no words. But my wolf was not done stretching and what was the point of phasing back into human form when I was just going to shift again once I explained she still needed to hunt. Plus, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I am a master at charades.
Alice watched as I whined at her and then showed off my canines, pretending to bite into something rather violently. It must have looked quite strange because she stood there with a blank expression.
"What is happening right now? Are you going insane from oversleeping? Is this some weird werewolf thing?" I huffed out my annoyance and motioned with my head for her to follow.
My ears perked up and I listened intently for nearby signs of wildlife. Birds, reptiles, and insects were surrounding us. Where were all the god damn mammals? Finally I heard the heartbeat of a larger creature and zoned in on its location.
A large wombat sat alone while we approached, and a groan from Alice let me know she finally got my gist.
"Doesn't it ever bother you that I hunt animals? I mean you technically are one." I was not a master at charades, and nor was Alice a master at delaying the unavoidable.
I puffed out some air loudly once again and roughly poked my nose into her stomach. It was still not my day at getting my point across so I had to bow my head, signaling me, and lifted a careful paw to awkwardly point at her. I care about you.
"Fine! But please turn back into a human after we're done. I miss your words. As cute as you are trying to explain things to me." She pat my head a few times and then took control of the hunt.
I walked away a few feet and then bowed down with a good stretch while Alice fed. It took her a good couple of woodland creatures to suffice her thirst, and once she was done, her appearance was very un-Alice like, covered in dirt and wildlife. There was a particularly large smudge of dirt across her cheek and I couldn't help but bark a laugh at her.
"What?" Alice leaned down to my level and I snuck a wet kiss in, effectively cleaning her face. "Ugh!" She stumbled backwards in disgust, fueling my continuing laughter. "I hate it when you do that!" Except her eyes twinkled in the way that told me she secretly liked it.
Once Alice's eyes were a molten gold color, and my legs felt back to normal, I started a slow wander back to the cottage. However, a little hell raiser decided to suddenly attach herself onto my back.
"If you're allowed to lick me, I'm allowed to ride you." I almost phased back just so I could say 'that's what she said'. Instead I merely wolf chuckled and continued walking. But Alice must have read my thoughts because she giggled and tugged my ears playfully. "Your mind needs a good scrubbing my love." I gave us a good shake as if I were drying my fur, and made her gasp and grab onto my fur for dear life. Once I knew she was secured, I decided to have a little fun.
"Bella!" She cried and laughed simultaneously while I sprinted us both through the woods.
Caius was dead. Caius was dead. And I was the one that killed him.
My feet were lighter than they've ever felt. My body was smooth and sleek, I could weave and bob through trees as if they were nothing. Even the air itself was full of this energy. It was something I'd never felt before. Or maybe I had, but it had been so long since I've been so free that I've forgotten. Freedom. Freedom at last.
"I think I like this Bella." Alice stated happily while jumping off my back when we returned to the cottage.
"I think I like her too." I had finally phased back and began to put my clothes back on. "I feel good." I was honestly surprised at how good I was feeling. Like I wanted to do something with this energy. Something big. If only I hadn't already married Alice…
"Me too. I'm so – what are you doing?!" Now that she had fed, I had gone back into my mate mode, inspecting her neck again. My sudden attack on her neck must have scared her a bit because she jumped back slightly before relaxing into my touch as I began to poke and prod her prior injury. "All good right?"
It was. I pulled back, feeling much better.
"Satisfied?" She asked once it looked like I was done.
"Yes. Thank you."
"Good!" Alice chirped and took my hand. "Because it's my turn to check your body." She purred into my ear, while running her hands up my abdomen.
"Y-yeah?" What was it about her that made me a nervous kid again?
"Yeah." Dazzling white teeth smirked at me and soon I found myself being tugged into the bathroom by my belt.
Alice POV:
She was so damn sexy. Even when she stuttered nervously or had clumsy moments, everything about her turned me on. Was that a mate thing? Or was that a being in love kind of thing?
I love watching Bella sleep, it was never boring. So the three days spent by her side were good days in my mind. However, the lack of nightmares did leave some other effects. Of course I would take the sexy dream over the nightmare any day, but having to sit there and watch it, and smell it, and not being able to do anything with her, that was tough. So I guess you could say that I was itching for a release at this point.
Hours later, we both lay completely naked and content in the softest of beds. Bella's face was flushed, her hair all matted, and there were tiny healing scratch marks all along her body. I couldn't help but beam at my good work.
"What?" Bella had noticed my cocky attitude.
"Just admiring." She blushed and I laid my head down on her chest. Just then I felt her stifle a yawn.
"Why am I so tired? I just slept for three straight days!"
"Because you've been sleep deprived for two years." I didn't mean to sound so blunt, but it was true. "You can't make that up in three days."
"Oh." Bella's chest sort of deflated and I immediately turned and cupped her face.
"Baby I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it like that. But you really haven't." I ran the pads of my fingers along the dark circles under her eyes, which had already lightened up. "You'll still have nightmares. I'm not going to be completely unrealistic and think you won't, but I hope that maybe over time, they'll lessen to very rare occurrences." She nodded into my palm somberly.
"Well, Caius being dead does help quite a bit." We looked at each other with the most serious expressions until there was an outbreak of giggles.
"Yes I suppose it does." I whispered after my fit had simmered down. My eyes trailed back down to her body and my hand went with it. "Knowing that no one will ever touch you again. No one but me."
"Mmmm. I like the sound of that." Her voice was laced with sleep as she rolled us to the side, keeping me secured to her chest as if I were her security blanket.
"What do you think will happen? You know, after all the Volturi are gone and finished?" It probably wasn't the best time to ask such a question, with Bella about to fall asleep and all, but I usually just say whatever comes to my mind. And right now, for some unknown reason, that was on the forefront of it.
"I'm not sure." Bella mumbled into my hair while she readjusted the position of her legs. "But we can cross that bridge when we come to it."
"You know, you could take over." That thought had been in my head for a while actually. I mean, she was strong, logical, and I think very fair. She was a born leader and she didn't care for the shenanigans of royalty. A perfect fit in my opinion.
Apparently Bella did not agree because a very loud snort reached my ears.
"Be serious Al."
"But I am. I really think you'd be great at it." Bella just yawned widely again and kept her eyes closed.
"I seriously doubt that." I could tell she was seconds away from falling asleep and it was not the time to bring up an inevitable argument. So I just sighed and let the subject go. For now.
"We'll see." It's like Bella said, we can cross that bridge when it comes time to.
A/N: So I just realized it's been just over a year since I started writing and that's fucking crazy. So much has happened since then. Anyways, I'm still sorry for taking so long. But it's coming down to the end which I'm sure you can tell, and I wanna end it right you know. I shall see you all next update :) Hopefully not as long as this one took