Good Morning, Little Ones!

Thank you to Mel, Jill, and Dani!

.: 43 :.

I'm so cold.

We found the nearest mountains, which means driving up into the snow, and though the roads are cleared, I'm anxious as hell.

When we're near the summit of the mountain, Edward has me park and we climb out. I'm utterly unprepared for the cold air. I don't have nearly enough layers on, I'm still in my ratty sneakers, and my nipples are so hard from the chill, they are starting to ache.

Edward stalks away from the car, away from the road, and I scramble to follow him. "What are we looking for?"

Edward glances back at me as I speak. His eyes are an eerie white, reflecting the snow around us and the pale sky above.

"Her sign," he says vaguely. I sort of want to smack him right now. He turns back around, racing forward so that I'm forced to pick up my own pace. We're basically sprinting through snow, and I'm really getting worked up about it, when Edward stops dead. I plough into his back, but he doesn't budge, which means I fly backwards into the snow. I land heavily, but before I can even catch my breath, Edward is turning around, pulling me to my feet. His hands work to brush me off, but he pauses over my chest. His eyes flicker to mine and I grunt.

"I'm cold," I snap, aware that he can likely feel how hard my nipples are through my layers of clothing.

His smile is devious.

"Oh that we had the time." He sighs. I've never had the desire to shed any sort of clothes in the snow, but if he asked me to now, I'd strip naked.

It's annoying.

Instead, thankfully, he turns and motions to a rock ahead of him. It's partially buried in snow, and I glance between it and him.

"That's her mark," he says slowly. "I can't go farther."

I can see a faint white mark, etched into the rock. It's not anything I recognize, and I look up at him. "Wait, I have to do this alone?"

He hesitates. "She… does not have patience for my kind."

I stare at him. "What does that mean?"

He huffs. "She may try to eat me."

My mouth pops open. "You were serious?"

"She's unlikely to try to eat you," he continues. "But, just in case, do try to be careful."

With that, he nudges me toward the rock.

I turn and gape at him and he flashes me a seductive smile. "I see you are angry. Good." He leans down, kissing me hard. My anger turns quickly to lust, and I grab at him. He pulls back before I can drag him further. "You may punish me as you see fit when you return."

I want to be angry, indignant even, but I'm just turned on.

It actually pisses me off and gives me the push I need to turn around and stomp past the damn rock. I hear Edward laugh, but I don't give him the satisfaction of looking back.

I stalk on, not sure what I'm doing or what I'm looking for. The world is so quiet up here that the sound of my feet crunching in the snow and my heavy breathing feels intrusive.

I pause a few minutes into my hike, glancing back but seeing no sign of Edward. It makes sense, as I've turned a corner, but it still makes me anxious.

What the hell am I doing up here? I've let Edward believe I don't know exactly what it is he's trying to figure out, and in the process of that, I've let my fear lead me to a frozen mountain top in linen clothes and sneakers.

I'm not prepared for any of this whatsoever.

I have to go back; I have to tell him what I know and tell him I can't help him. That's all there is to it anymore.

The wind picks up as I turn around, and it sends an arctic chill down my spine. The frigidness settles in me deeper and darker than the cold around me, and my heart freezes, squeezing in fear.

I am not alone anymore.

"What brings you to my mountain, Child?"

Her voice is like snow falling: soft and cold.

I turn to look at her, even though I want to sprint back down the mountain. She's wrapped in furs, her long black hair loose and whipping in the wind around her. She's tall, much taller than Edward even, and her eyes are the color of glaciers.

My throat goes tight at the sight of her, and her head tilts as she takes me in.

"Oh, you are far from home."

I'm mute, so I just nod. Her eyes flit over me, freezing me in their gaze.

"I prefer my meals to be intelligent and verbose," she says slowly, drawing the furs around her tighter. "But it has been so very long since I've eaten, I'll settle for whatever it is you are."

She steps toward me, and I feel survival kick in. My magic picks up, wrapping me up in it, and it warms me enough to speak.

"I'm not here to be eaten," I say, my voice small but strong. "I'm here for help."

She smiles a predatory grin. "Quite the audacity." She growls. "What makes you think I'll help you?"

I'm tired, I'm scared, and I'm fucking over this. I'm so done with these stupid fucking creatures threatening and taking over my life. I can't take it anymore, and I feel my power swelling around me, pulsing with my anger.

I suck in another breath. "Because," I say quietly, "I've been blessed by gods more ancient than you." The words are out of my mouth before I can think better of them. "Because I've shared power with beasts much more powerful than you." The words won't stop, and I realize with sharp awareness that it is true. It's all true. "And because," I say, stepping toward her, "You owe me a debt."

My words echo around us, and she studies me, her bright eyes angry, but curious. These aren't my words anymore; she owes me no debt, but the words ring out with truth anyway.

"What are you?"

I smirk. It's the wrong question. It's always the wrong question. "I'm just a witch," I tell her, shrugging one shoulder. "A little human witch, with a hunger that cannot be sated."

It's not just sex. I'm hungry for power, for control, for magic. I'm hungry for everything, and I feel my hunger growing and expanding in me, gnashing at the air, looking for more.

Her eyes widen, and she takes half a step back. "Y-you." Her voice stutters. "It's not possible."

I feel a divine power overcome me, a ravenousness that is impossible to fill.

"S-stop," she shouts, her hands flying up in front of her. "I will grant you help!" Snow is swirling around us, and I don't know if it's her energy or mine stirring the world.

It's difficult to pull my hunger back. It is desperate, blind in its need to consume.

Something in me has been unleashed, and I don't know how to contain it again. I am pulsing, searching, every part of me screaming as it unwinds further and further.

She's backing away from me, but she's not moving fast enough. I'm unraveling, and my magic wants to consume her.

"Bella!"

A hard body tackles me into the snow, shattering my mental hold and scattering my magic.

It feels like I've been crushed by a mountain.

There is a shrieking sound in my ears, a high-pitched keening that feels like it's splintering my skull. I'm cold and hot at the same time, and I can't fucking breathe.

The mass above me shifts, and I'm forced onto my back. It helps me pull air into my lungs, and I cough hard.

When I open my eyes, Edward's pale eyes are staring down at me, his brow creased with his worry. I think he's speaking, but I can't hear anything but the ringing in my ears.

Slowly, sounds start to come back to me. "Breathe." He's instructing me, and I realize with a deep gasp, I'm holding my breath.

"Get her off my mountain." It's a woman's voice, but I can't see her.

"What happened?"

"Get her off!"

I can hear them arguing, but I'm too confused to follow it. I feel utterly drained. Finally, Edward grunts, and I feel his arms scoop under my body, pulling me up out of the snow.

I can feel him talking before he pulls me closer to his chest and turns around.

We're moving, and I'm shaking in his arms, the cold starting to get to me in a bone-deep way.

"Hold on, Little One."

I'm tired, my body becoming heavier and heavier with each step Edward takes.

I just want to sleep.

"Little One." Edward's voice is soft, fluttering over my skin. "Little One, look at me."

I open my eyes and realize I'm sitting in the back seat of the car, Edward crouching in front of me.

"I'm thirsty," I whisper, shaking my head. He nods and reaches for the backpack in the front seat.

"What happened up there with her?"He hands me my water as he asks the question, and I frown, taking a massive gulp.

"I don't know."

It's not exactly true. I remember my anger, my hunger. I remember my magic tapping into that hunger. I remember not being able to pull back from it, letting myself submit to it.

He's about to speak again when a figure behind him captures my eye. I sit up, and Edward turns around.

She's standing in the snow, just beyond the car, furs wrapped tightly around her. She won't meet my eye.

"The Viper Queen holds an amulet," she says, her voice thin. "You'll need it."

She won't look at me.

"Is there anything else?" I'm desperately hoping that she can offer me something more, something else.

Her eyes meet mine for the briefest of moments. "My debt is paid," she says quietly. I have no idea what that means, and instead of answering the question on my face, she turns and heads back up the mountain, disappearing into the still swirling snow.