Please do not read further unless you have read the prequel, want to be confused, and/or don't mind spoilers!

Warning. Don't embark on this Story Arc if you don't like to challenge the status quo of the storyline from before. Just let that story end where we left off. Otherwise, please proceed.

This story now starts off with the original chapter 9 from the end of Edward Arc in JHEA which is now being updated with a new ending (Feb. 2020). Scroll to the end of this chapter to catch the beginning of the "Vampire of the Wolf" Ch1 if you're a reader already familiar with this Edward Arc ending, otherwise, please read further for context.

Jessica's Happily Ever After?

Sequel to "But Why am I Jessica?"

Chapter 9

[Edward Arc]

"Five Years"

[Jessica's POV]

Thirsty. That was the first word echoing in my mind when my eyes fluttered open. Every movement I performed after becoming conscious I expected would be to appease that carnal desire. I needed something to sooth the raw ache in my throat. The roaring burn was calling out for something.

What does it want? Who am I? What am I?

I pushed myself off the bed I awoke in and found that I broke it in half with no effort. Is that normal?

Golden eyes met mine in the doorway. They belonged to a petite girl with short hair and a man with bronze hair. A quick turn of the head confirmed it was my only way out. They were- no, fuck this I need to find it.

I pushed past them as I went about to find a source to feed my thirst. Their efforts to hold me back were trivial. Apparently, I was stronger than them? Which was great. I needed to find some of it.

They called after me. I think? They have a name for me. I was focused on finding my exit in the house I found myself in. Every angle of each shape my eyes absorbed was clear and distinct. Why do these hallways never end? More people with gold eyes were in my vision. My assessment was they were blocking my path. Preventing me from my objective to satisfy my hunger. I snarled at them in protest. Who they were was inconsequential to what I needed. I didn't even know who I was. I was driven by this thirst. I wouldn't let them stop me.

I picked up my speed to barrel through them and found myself accelerating at a pace I was certain my body had never traveled at before. That was muscle memory at its finest. At least that memory worked.

All five of the lot pinned me down. I knew I was stronger. Not from a physical test yet, but I could see it in their eyes. Each golden orb my eyes swept over carried concern, and my strength was building confidence off of it. I can fight them off. Then I could find the source of what I needed. Now! Or surely, I would die from this thirst.

"Jessica?" I snarled in response. Is that my name? Is that what I am called? Muscle memory doesn't translate to brain memory unfortunately. Who am I? What am I?

I grunted my answer as my eyes conveyed contempt at the figures holding me back, "I don't know!"

"You don't know who you are?"

"I know what I want. I want to…" An image of red, thick flowing liquid popped into my head so I could finish my sentence. "Drink blood." My nostrils flared into overdrive on inhaling. I was sniffing. I forgot I could do that. None of them seemed to have what I needed. How could they not have blood? What were they? Was I one of them?

The petite one I first saw when I woke up appeared in front of me too quickly. "Katie?" She asked a question but to whom it was directed I wasn't sure. I lunged my chest forward in attempt to break free from their hold. It would not break. If one of them let go...I knew I could break free. They were struggling against my persistent refusal to remain tied down.

"What have I done?" The petite girl asked the room as she backed away. I wasn't sure what she had done and didn't speculate to care as this wasn't resolving my thirst. And I was so thirsty. Can I die from not satisfying this need?

The bronze haired man approached the petite girl. He avoided eye contact with me. He seemed inferior or scared. Or so I assumed since he wasn't man enough to hold me down with the others. I need to get out of here! I snapped my teeth at the arm closest to my face. Someone's fist made contact with my cheek and I didn't budge. That didn't seem right. Was I a living statue now?

A metal contraption was forced over my mouth despite my jerking protest of refusal. Who the fuck slipped that on me? I needed to quench this unyielding thirst. I had to leave. My body seized with a sheer force of determination to escape. A rising panic inhabited my body as I was certain I would die if I didn't drink blood soon.

Blood. Blood. Thirsty. I need to drink it.

"It was a rare chance she would forget, Alice. Jasper's calming affect isn't working. He can sense how confused and thirsty she is. Her memories could come back..." This justification possibly was about me. I did not give a fuck though. I just needed to drink it already. I am going to die. Here and now. And they are fucking going to let me die.

"And she DIDN'T want this!" The blonde owner of the raging voice slipped up. Her grip on me loosened for a second when she lost her temper and I took my chance. All their eyes widened in terror as I broke free and took off. It was my win. I was stronger and faster. I concluded this with the man power it took to hold me down. I just needed to get the damn trap off. Distance first though.

I was blindly running into trees in the wilderness I found myself in. Blood. Any blood would do at this point. But this damn contraption! If I let up, they could catch me. How do I avoid them? What if blood gave me more strength? I need blood. Remove this thing first though.

My eyes landed on a jagged rock that looked fit to break the damn thing. I plucked it from the ground before scaling a tree. Height seemed like a good advantage. Unless they can smell me? Are they like me? Fast and with superior smelling abilities? What am I?

It only took one hit and the locking mechanism on the back of the trap unhinged. I watched it fall to the ground in pleasure as I slid my tongue over my teeth. My tongue swiftly outlined each tooth's sharp razor edge cut to a deathly precision. Perfect. Excellent for drinking blood. Do I bite and suck? That seems right? Any blood would do right now. Any.

I looked below me when I heard rustling of foliage. My nose wrinkled in pleasure as their scent wafted in- a mix of smoke, pine and flesh from my prey. My mouth was salivating.

But my eyes beheld nothing despite my nose insisting they were there. How near were they? Humans. Blood dispensers. My need would soon be satisfied. I found myself on the ground after a graceful leap from 30 feet in the air. Is that normal? I don't remember.

I let my determination to find the source of satisfying my hunger take control. We would find that blood. Every step I took put me closer to my target. Seconds passed before my eyes locked on TWO blood supplies. A man and a boy. They had guns cocked in their hands. Were they hunters? Were they hunting me? Seems fair since it turns out I am hunting them. It's nothing personal. They're just my meal it seems. My first, I think?

I watched them like a hawk. I figured it was fast enough to take them both out at once. But that unsettled me. My thirst wanted to squash that thought, but the unsettling feeling would not waver. I probably just only need one. Probably the man. He would have a higher quantity of blood to consume. I could spare the kid. His blood was probably not ripe enough anyways. If that was a thing.

"Now Daniel-"

Do I know a Daniel? I shook my head. I knew nothing. Just what I needed. I snuffed out anymore thoughts in my brain and let my natural predator consume me. Blood. Now is the time. I sniffed the sweet scent of my meal before lunging forward-

A tight grip on my shoulder stopped me mid lunge before flinging me down to the ground. Before I could rise up to react, I was covered in the same hoard of bodies as before. Pinned down. And I was oh so close. So close to tasting what I was born to consume.

Darkness fell over my eyes as I was being blinded by something. Next followed a new metal trap on my mouth and my wrists were bound. Can't I fight this? I need to drink-

"Katie." In the dark environment where all my weapons and senses were being stripped away, they allowed me my hearing at least. "We're going to take you back home, okay? It's going to be okay. We will figure this out. We found each other here for a reason. Always, Katie, always." The soft voice dipped at the end. It was soothing but it didn't diminish my need for blood. Before I could growl in frustration at everything in this god forsaken world, my mind blended in with the darkness now too.

[Jacob POV]

"What do you mean Jessica is missing?" I almost snapped my cell phone in half when my grip tightened on it. Bella had to be mistaken or someone misinformed her. It was possible Jessica took her wallowing to the extreme, again. My neck tensed as I recalled her promise to not pull that bullshit again. Liar.

"Bells, honey, calm down." I hoped my soothing tone would carry over to Bella because it was difficult to make out her words. I picked up on her faint whimpering which meant Bella was crying. Bella rarely cried. RARELY. When she had, it was over Edward months ago. Maybe this was serious?

"Explain to me why she is missing? If it is not a mix-up, we can go looking for her. Just explain to me what happened, sweetie." When my last words were leaving my lips, I noticed my feet were pacing around my bedroom.

"Bells?" I asked again. My pacing had evolved into quick, erratic movements. I huffed before exiting my bedroom. There wasn't enough space inside the house for this idle energy I was exerting. I decided to direct my feet to do their thing outside.

"Jake, Angela told me. Her parents were asked by the Stanley's to help in a search party. This isn't some word of mouth false rumor," Bella's quaking voice rippled paranoia down my spine. I squeezed my eyes shut. We will be in touch soon. Bye Jake. That was what she last said to me. She meant it. Did something really happen to her or did she disappear on us again absentmindedly to mend her broken heart? Dammit Jessica! What the f**k are you pulling here? Sweat was beading on my forehead as I reigned in focus to follow along with what Bella was telling me. "…so it is pretty serious. Apparently, she left a note about going for a hike before heading off to school and she never returned to school. They are still looking for her car too-"

The phone was abandoned in the air and accompanied by my ripped clothing. My body altered into my wolf without hesitation as I began to run to Forks. I needed to track down Jessica.

I relentlessly searched for her in the woods. I picked up on nothing. The recent storm could have possibly covered up her sent. Today was Wednesday and she went missing on Sunday…she should still be alive. She is a fighter.

Jacob, Jake, too many voices echoed in my mind while I was concentrating on catching a whiff of her scent. She often smelled like vanilla from her shampoo. I would know that scent anywhere. I just needed a small hint of it to pick up on.

We'll help. Embry – I blocked out Sam's orders for the search party while I focused on the area around me. She had to be okay. She was my 'A-game Jessica'. She wouldn't do this to me, her friends or family. She wouldn't just disappear- Cullen's!

A snarl ripped through my throat as I altered my direction to track down the bloodsuckers. If they- no she broke up with him. They would have no influence over her. They wouldn't dare to- I just have to be sure. Count them out and I will continue to look for her.

I exerted my body to its limit in order to reach their residence in a matter of minutes. Time wasn't on Jessica's side. I needed to look for her, but they had to be crossed off the list first.

Jake, not without one of us! Wait!

No, Sam. I need to know! I couldn't wait the minutes it would take for them to catch up to me. Every second counted and I needed answers. Now. Jessica would understand when I found her that I just had to make sure. She would get it. She had my back and I would have hers. Even after everything that happened. She wanted to stay human. She had a lifetime of friendship to endure with me. Every second I spent thinking on Jessica exponentially increased my adrenaline. I will find her.

The Cullen's mansion was before my eyes before I knew it. It looked…empty with a passing glance. A low growl bellowed through me even though I was positive I was misunderstanding what I was seeing. My steps once deliberate and quick became hesitant. The padding of my feet felt the disturbance of the soil underneath them. I bent my muzzle down to assess it. The tire tracks embedded in the ground are well worn despite being fresh. Possibly, carrying heavy loads and repetitive movements created them? What am I, Sherlock Holms?

I carried myself forward to the house with the urgency I should have never lost for even a second. My nose trailed along the perimeter. The scent of the parasites was faint. They had been here but were not presently here. My body propelled to the first open window I could find.

In front of the glass, my body began to sway slightly as my legs stumbled backwards. An ear-piercing howl cleaved through my soul.

Jake! Don't-

I shattered the glass window with my body as I removed the obstacle preventing me from getting inside the empty house. My eyes wildly search every corner and crevice. It was a clean sweep. Not an even an eyelash was left behind to remind anyone that the Cullen's once inhabited this house. I knew though because I could smell them and…her. The faint whisper of vanilla swirled through my demanding nostrils. Her scent was as faded by the timeline of her going missing. CULLEN'S!

Rage shook my body as my legs carried me back outside. My eyes collided with those of my brother's. My pack was here. And we were about to begin a hunt. Their timely disappearance with Jessica going missing was enough to persuade Sam to let us track them. If we found them, we found Jessica. Would she be alive though?

Jake! My wolf insubordinately barked at my Alpha for diminishing my train of thought. When I became aware of my thoughtless actions, I lowered my head in apology. Sorry Sam.

You need to focus right now. We found Jessica's car. Every muscle in my body tightened. Waiting on Sam's next words. It was abandoned near a trail head. In line with what her note said. But… My heart began to pound against my ribcage. It reeks of leech. It is a set-up by the Cullen's.

Ferocious howls erupted from the pack as we agreed on Sam's plan to split and search. We had limits. Or the rest of them had limits, I, however, would track them down to the ends of the earth if they hurt Jessica. Or worse…turned her into one of them.

Hold on Jess, I am coming for you! My ragged breaths matched my pace as I set out to find Jessica and kill every leech in my path on my way to her.

…

Bella sighed into my chest as I pulled her in closer to me. I needed this comfort. More than she could understand. I laced my fingers into her hands before she shifted her head to look up at me. "Jake, I know you don't want to hear this…but maybe she wanted to go with them. It's been six months. Maybe she wanted to change. I did once too…" I struggled to understand the words sputtering off her lips. While they were delicately delivered through innocence, each one uttered was a secret form of betrayal to me. I didn't have to think twice before I shook my head in refusal to accept this. I couldn't bear to look at Bella any longer while she said such a vile thing. Jessica did not want to become one of them. She wanted to live. She had so much to live for. And she broke up with him. They killed her or forced her. There was no in-between or option C. But if I mentioned that to Bella again, it would fall on deaf ears. She just didn't understand Jessica like I did. Bells was blinded by her time with the sparkly parasite. He didn't have the same effect on Jess though…

"I won't give up on her yet. Her trail was fresh when we first caught her sent but it disappeared after Canada. The new smells were overwhelming to pick up on the faint hint we had on her once we crossed the border." Bella offered a noncommittal shrug before brushing her fingers down my spine. I once found this gesture of her touch comforting. In this moment, I figured it was her attempt to suede me over to her side of complacency with Jessica's "decision". I didn't buy it. I never would. It was beginning to become a sore point in our relationship.

Bella's brown eyes bulged when I grabbed her finger's mid-stroke and returned them to her side. I removed myself from the couch with an abrupt force that I almost knocked Bella off the couch in the process. "Sorry," I mumbled. "I forgot the time. I need to start my shift soon."

"Jacob…you're not wearing your watch." My eyes glanced over to my left wrist. Empty. She was right. I was missing the classic leather watch she got me for my last birthday.

"Internal clock, Bells." I winked to throw off suspicion. I even followed up with a wolfish grin. The crease of concern between Bella's eyes disappeared when she returned my smile with a nod of reassurance. I leaned over to stroke her hair. My fingers caressed her soft brown locks before I planted a chaste kiss on the top of her head.

"Call me later?" Bella's eyes began to brighten as she assumed we were back on track and that the Jessica issue was just swept under the rug again.

My lips moved but words refused to immediately form. To buy time, I nodded my head while fighting to hold my grin. Finally, words escaped. "Of course, honey."

I grabbed my school backpack and walked out of Chief Swan's house wondering how many more times I would be willing to return to it with a girlfriend complacent over the disappearance of one of her once 'good friends'. A familiar green Sudan passed my eyes on the road ahead of me before I focused on my bike. I jangled the keys in my hand one last time before shoving them back into the front pocket of my backpack. I blew past my bike and used my familiar short cut to the woods. Once hidden amongst the trees, I stripped and took on my preferred form as of late. I bent my nose to the ground and once again set my sites on making it to the Canadian border. She had to be somewhere over there still, if she was alive.

There was one persistent question I squashed down every time it tried to surface. For a second, I let it slip in the cracks and ask, If she turned unwillingly, wouldn't she have come back by now? They did 'stage' her death…

[Daniel POV]

"Daniel, we are going to be late. It starts in twenty minutes!" Mom's frantic voice carried up to my room. I knew she was shouting from downstairs. She didn't like coming upstairs. Every time she saw Jessica's bedroom, she broke down. I was the one who had to deal with looking at it every day. I stopped crying when I passed it months ago though.

I sighed when I reviewed the blank math homework worksheet in front of me. I couldn't hand in another blank assignment at school tomorrow, but I needed to go with mom to grief therapy. Dad was against it. He would have supported me if I opted not to go. I went for mom though. She needed that lifeline. I was half afraid she would quit, if I stopped going as well. Dad was out after the first one proved to be a bust for him. I didn't mind going, really. I never talked. I let our lessons go one ear and out the other for the most part.

I walked outside to find my mom sitting in the front seat of her green Sudan with an anxious expression on her face. Her facial features softened when she caught on to my presence. She looked at the passenger seat next to her to invite me to sit upfront, but I walked to the back of the car. I knew Jessica would remark I was still too young to sit in the front seat due to my height and weight. She would have been right.

"Do you remember Angela, hun?" Mom was looking at me through the rearview mirror when she asked her question. I nodded. "I talked to her parents today, looks like she is doing okay this semester. They were hoping she wouldn't have to drop out again. It seems like her grief counselor has made an impact on her…" Her voice dropped but I knew what she was hinting at without finishing her thought. She wanted us to see this through. If we weren't going to talk to each other, we needed some way to deal with it. At least for my mom. I was doing fine with burying it when we buried her body.

…

Just my luck, today's group was small which increased the odds of the group lead prying me to share. The four sessions before were all talk. It was easy to tune out. Today, it seemed I had an activity to participate in. Now, I would never be forced into doing anything, but…I knew my mom liked to hear what I did during this time. It was for her benefit I would share our group's topic of discussion that day. And today…I would get to show her what we made. Hooray…

I tried not to scoff at the announcement of our project for the session because I was the oldest in the group today. I had to be mature. Even though I was just 11… Thank god this is just an hour long.

I looked out at the other youngins in our group receiving some stupid ceramic flower pot. Seven-year old Emma lost her Mom. Both Derek and Eli, nine, lost their Dad's. Today, I was the only one in the group that lost a sibling. You had to lose a close family member to be able to enroll in their grief therapy service. When I accepted my ceramic pot, I tried not to grimace. I really did. But I could tell I wasn't trying hard enough based on the disappointed face Mike, today's group counselor, was giving me.

Sure, I was a good kid. I did as I was instructed. Take the stupid markers and draw pictures that represent your life. We weren't told what to draw. When each kid asked, Mike insisted whatever they felt represented their life. Emma drew a lot of unicorns. A cat. And her family. I didn't focus long on Derek and Eli's but assumed they were a tad more sophisticated in their life depiction than Emma. As for me? I carelessly drew some images to represent baseball, Harry Potter, and I all but hesitated when it came to drawing my family. I wasn't sure if I could include Jessica now that she was gone. We buried her three months ago when Chief Swan's team finally recovered her body. It was mostly unrecognizable from the decay. But…her necklace was on her for the ID. The one mom and dad got her for her birthday. The silver was untarnished, and you could read the inscription as if they had just given it to her the day before. My mom now wore it around her neck instead of her cross.

I decided to draw Jessica in our family in the end. She was still my sister.

When the marker dropped from my hand, Mike was informing us it was time for the next phase of our project. My eyebrows shot up to my hairline dumbfounded. I thought this was it. Then next time we plant a flower to grow something in it with a flowery representation of life after death.

Well, I was almost on the money.

Mike made us smash our pots in a plastic bag. Then we collected the broken pieces and were instructed to reconstruct our pot with glue (and/or tape). The only hitch, we had to leave out one piece from the assembly. The meaning of the task was lost on me, but I glued all the pieces back together. A huge chunk of the pot spanned two of my drawings. It seemed like a challenge to rebuild it with the big chunk of the pot missing. It was the size of my two thumbs put together, so not too big to make it an impossible task. I was a Lego master builder after all. This would be a cake walk.

I smiled at my reassembled pot when I finished. Being lost in the task of gluing this ugly pot together was the first time I had fun in a group session. It was…kinda nice.

I looked around the room. The youngins were struggling. I attempted to help out Emma with getting her pot assembled, but Mike asked that I let her do it herself. I felt my face twist in confusion as I returned to my seat and freshly glued ugly pot. When everyone was finished, Mike began his message for the closing words of our group session.

"Today, you all drew your representation of your life on your pot. Then you broke it and reassembled it without a piece of the original pot. What you have performed in the last hour, is what your future journey in grief is going to look like. When you dropped your pot, that was the impact of losing your mom, dad or sister." My hand reached out to grip my pot. I clung it to my chest. "After you experience that pain, you have to put your life back together. But when you do…you'll notice there is a piece of you missing. But you all still have a reconstructed pot, right? Rebuilt by yourselves." Mark winked at me on his last comment and it sunk in why he didn't want me to help Emma. "Right now, you are just starting to reassemble yourself. You will eventually complete the journey, but you won't get that missing piece back. But you can live on without it. We are here to help you figure out how to do that. Your grief will be a never-ending journey, but I promise it will get better in time." My free hand not gripping my pot, brushed the tips of my fingers under my eyes. Moisture brimmed the edge of my fingers. Just when I thought I was done crying over this… And the loss of my sister waved through me again as I finally gave in. I could cry here. It was a safe space.

…

"Daniel, how did it go?" Dad asked me as a courtesy and nothing more after I walked in through the front door of the house. He was trying. I knew that. Mom wasn't as forgiving. But…that was their problem to deal with. I waved my patched up flower pot at him and remarked with my usual go to response, "fine". I headed upstairs before he could pretend to follow up with more commentary.

I should have been asleep by now, especially since I still wasn't going to work on my homework. I still had the 'my sister is dead' card to play. Eventually it would stop working, but it hadn't yet… Instead of sleeping, I endlessly rubbed the chunk of ceramic that was missing from my flower pot. An idea sparked into my mind and I jumped out of bed. I looked at my alarm clock. 11 pm is late enough that they should both be asleep. I crept down the stairs and headed to the garage. Dad's workshop. It was not empty though.

"Dad?" I asked when I saw him hovered over the green stool. Dad picked up his head and attempted to discreetly wipe away his tears. My mouth fell open as I was close enough to see the red hue of his eyes surrounding his iris. Dad wasn't a crier. He didn't even cry at her funeral.

"Hey sport…" Dad's raspy voice struck a chord in my heart. I had never seen my dad break down before. But this was appropriate. It was his only daughter and…Jessie was a Daddy's girl. Dad pushed the stool in the back of one of his workspace cabinet's like he was hiding some dirty secret. He didn't have to do that in front of me. I was one of the two left who understood what he was going through. What her loss meant to us.

I felt the ceramic piece shift in my fingers. Dad took notice of my action and raised his eyebrow in a questioning way. I stilled my hand and raised the piece of ceramic in the air for him to get a better look at. His eyebrows pulled down in confusion. "I wanted to borrow a drill to make a hole in this. I want to wear it on a necklace."

Dad's face shifted into a thoughtful expression as his forehead crinkled to process my request. "A drill would be too rough. By the looks of that ceramic, it could break. I have something else in mind. Care to explain why you want to hang a piece of pottery around your neck?" Dad began to sift through his toolbox, and I recounted my lesson at grief therapy. That night… my dad and I both glued one piece back on the pot for each other.

One year later after Jessica was bitten…

[Jessica's POV]

"Come on, Jess! It's time!" Alice announced with too much excitement for my own taste. I shook my head at her with a passive smile on my face. They were making a big deal out of nothing. In the grand scheme, this one-year celebration would be nominal compared to, well, forever.

I let Alice intertwine her fingers through mine and lead me back to the house. She kept her eyes forward while mine absorbed every detail of the world surrounding us. I had nothing to compare it to. What my senses took in before living this life. Was the world always this clear and beautiful? Every blade of grass, every tree limb, each creature's minute details from a spider's web to a butterfly's wings? Each was unique and not a repetitive beauty. Even each member in our family had defining characteristics that magnified their beauty and weren't just cookie cutter golden eyes and pale skin.

I tried not to fixate on our appearances so much though. Something in me persisted it was not important. I was supposed to focus on what was on the inside. I attributed it to who I was before. Her personality was a mystery to me aside from what Edward and Alice revealed.

They saved me. Alice was my sister. Edward was my mate. Those were the three key points from the stories I was told. I wasn't aware of anything outside of my bloodlust the first three months outside of my birth. They…don't like to review the events of what happened in the earliest of that time for me. Too painful. I assume with time the memories will be less fresh and they can deliver the truth. Finding out doesn't change anything for me, but I am just curious. It was my birth after all, and I cannot recall anything in my human life. I just want to know. Alice often quips to me that curiosity killed the cat. Which is ironic since my sister can see the future. My mate can hear other's thoughts. Jasper can play with other's emotions. Carlisle and Esme are just plain ol' vampires. They think I am not one as well. Edward couldn't read my mind before and apparently cannot now as well. They think I have some repellant to mental vampire powers – untested at this point though. Which sounds like some voodoo you would read about in some YA novel on vampires. I want to read some of those books for research. Edward insists it is all blasphemy, but who knows what kind of stuff is out there. I have to wait longer before I can buy some of that literature from a bookstore. There is still doubt amongst the others that I can control myself around humans despite my strictly vegetarian diet. I also want to leave Canada and travel more-

"Jess?" I met Alice's perplexed eyes as I was reigned from my aimless thoughts. I had eternity to think over everything anyways. Alice was fully facing me as I stood over her by a good three inches. I liked to tease her on this. Being the taller but younger sister.

I reached forward and smoothed her black whispy bangs back into the straight line across her forehead that she always preferred. Her eyes dropped their confused shield and began to relax. "I was just taking in everything. We live in such a beautiful world." Alice was all smiles with my response.

"It gets old eventually," Alice chuckled as she turned around to finish our journey. We were closing in on the house. As vampires, we lacked warmth. The basic physical description of our kind was one of the first lessons I remembered in the early days. At that point, I was used to drinking animal blood but was still monitored in that dark room with shack- no! I cut off that trail of thought before I ventured down a treacherous path. I mentally shook it off. Happy thoughts. As vampires, we lacked warmth. But…when my sister held my hand, I swore the sensation prickling my dead senses must have been what heat felt like. I think. I had no experience to draw off of from the time when I could recall such a feeling, but it was fun to imagine what that and other senses must have felt like as a human. It was a secret game I played with myself.

My emotions sprung into overdrive when my eyes fell upon him waiting for me at the door outside the house. Edward. My Edward. Out of the corner of my eyes I caught Alice playfully roll her eyes before she released my hand. She stepped aside as I felt myself glide to Edward. An amused smile played across his beautiful lips as he mouthed "hi" to me. If I had a heart, I was confident it would have stopped beating in that very moment. Or any moment he was in my view. I don't know how I landed him in my human form, but good lord, well done Jess.

Edward's hand stroked my cheek before he claimed my lips with his own. Each kiss between us never diminished in passion. I could never get enough of him, and lucky for me that feeling was mutual. Often, he expressed he loved me more, but I doubted that. I would spend an eternity proving that to him as well.

Alice eventually grew tired at my relentless need to be glued to his lips. "Alright, pick it up later you two," she muttered with a feigned annoyance. I giggled as I pulled away from Edward. Before I tore myself away from getting lost in his eyes, I felt the familiar resurgence of my tongue knotting and shivered at the adoration radiating from his gold eyes. Every moment I looked in them, I knew he saw me. This soul he said he would love no matter what body it inhabited. The first and only time he told me that, it seemed odd. I detected no lies in what he told me. It was a sweet sentiment. I assumed his implied intention was that even though I forgot about him since I turned, we found our way back to loving each other. Just like with my sister…Alice.

Edward opened the door and the celebration was in full swing upon our entrance.

…

Edward astutely picked up on when I was growing tired of the party. He gracefully took my hand before leading me outside. Despite being the guest of honor, the party didn't skip a beat with my absence. I attributed that to the surprise guest appearance of Rosalie and Emmett. This was my first time to meet them. I had only heard about then in limited passing until tonight. Emmett was a riot and the life of the party from the moment he arrived. Rosalie…was not as thrilled about being in attendance. From the few passing glances I let myself have, she kept a closed off front. The two had a falling out with our family before I turned. No one ever spoke on it though…

My eyes flicked to the full moon outside before settling on Edward's wide grin. "You didn't like to celebrate your birthday before either." My interest peaked up on the mentioning of my human life. These days, stories from that time were divulged to me on rare occasions. I squeezed Edward's hand in encouragement to continue to avoid revealing how much I was dying to know. I craved to know more.

When the silence continued, I caved. "How so?" I feigned a nonchalant attitude with my question as I diverted my eyes back to the moon.

"You didn't want to tell me. Let's just say you radiated contempt when you were surprised at school. You didn't care for presents either, you just said you were a simple girl who doesn't need much from others. Thinking more on it, I figured out you just wanted their time."

"Why was that?" I think I know why. But what if I am wrong?

"I can only speculate, but you valued it because you and Alice were orphaned when you were young. Time was important to you because you weren't sure how much time you were allotted with someone you cared for." I nodded my head in approval. I was thinking the same thing.

"But now I have forever with you both." I flashed Edward a seductive smile. My mouth parted into an 'O' shape before I added, "and the rest of our family." My smile didn't falter with my cover up. I meant to include them initially of course as well. I really did. They all are my family. Guilt smothered my consciousness as I avoid Edward's gaze with my slip up.

Edward stretched his arms out and I stepped into them seeking his love. His arms wrapped tight around me. The light feather touch of his fingers stroking my back filled my soul with a calm and certainness that he wasn't upset over my oversight of our family. "I love you," he whispered into my ear before tracing my hair behind my ears. He planted his lips on my neck and I shivered with gratification at his simple touch.

"Jess," Edward released his hold on me and backed away so I could take in every inch of his delicious form in my eyes. Love and lust intermixed as I beheld the sight of my mate in front of me. He was perfect. What did I do to deserve him? A handsome smile broke out on his face after he studied mine. Although he couldn't read my thoughts, what he read in my eyes could not have been a mystery to him.

With one fluid motion, Edward bent down to one knee and withdrew a silver box from the pocket of his pants. My eyes widened at the implied gesture. Edward's smooth demeanor dropped for once and his voice trembled while he revealed the contents of the box. "Will you do me the honor of marrying me?" My eyes bounced between the apprehension dancing in his eyes and the gold band in the box. My throat clenched as my fingers enclosed around the ring. It was a braided gold band. Simple. Perfectly me. I slid it on my left ring finger and croaked out, "Of course I will". The second Edward covered me in kisses while I was entangled in his arms, our family surrounded us whooping and hollering in joy. My smile was returned but each one of them. Except…Rosalie. She held a tight smile that looked forced. I figured she needed time to warm up to me. We had all the time in the world, and maybe they would rejoin our family soon. I liked the idea of growing our family. It seemed…right.

…

"Jess, why do you stare at the sun so often? I mean it's not like it's going to kill your eyes but..." Alice asked softly. I thought on her question. I didn't have a reason, but some words forced themselves up that had an answer for her.

"It reminds me of something. Or someone. Maybe from before I turned? I think I viewed them as my sun? Or something silly like that." I laughed at the ridiculous response I offered her.

"Probably Edward?"

"Probably." I felt my smile tighten. It was telling me something, but I wasn't sure what it was. I shook it off and took my eyes off the sun to look at Alice.

"Hey...always." I held up my left palm to her. Just below it my scar shimmered in the sun. It carefully encircled my tattoo and did not mar it.

Alice smiled widely and took my hand. "Always." She squeezed it three times. "Now, let's get you into that dress. Edward has been waiting for this day for forever..."

"And I have not?!" I asked in amusement. Alice just winked in lieu of a verbal response. She led me back inside to the room where my white dress hung. Today, I was getting married to my soul mate.

…

I stared at my reflection while Alice put the finishing touches on my hair. My brown locks were twisted up in the front while a cascade of curls traced down my lower back. When the last bobby pin was stuck in my stiff hair, I bent over to pull up the tool of my wedding dress. I needed to put on my heels.

"Jess, why on earth do you still have that ugly green stool? It doesn't match with the room's decor and it looks worn out." I felt momentarily disheartened as she dissed the wooden stool I placed my right foot on. I paused while strapping on my heel and reflected on her question. Why did I care to keep it? I found it abandoned on some stretch of road between our normal hunting grounds. I adopted it without a second thought.

Every time I look at it...I closed my eyes. I was searching for the answer in my head. What did I see or feel when I looked at it? Nothing came to my mind. If I tried to give it away, my dead heart would protest. That's much I knew. It was enough for me to keep it for now. It struck a chord in me somewhere. So, I kept it.

"It has its uses, Alice. Plus, I like its character. The chipping green paint and every dent means it's seen some things but it's still here. Like me." I smiled at my sister and she gave up as she rolled her eyes endearingly.

"Finish putting on your shoes; you're almost late," Alice remarked as she touched up her own appearance in the mirror. My sister was beautiful. I almost couldn't even tell we were sisters by appearances, if I didn't know it in my heart. I secretly wished we shared some physical feature that linked us to any onlookers. Like maybe a dimple or the same smile.

...

"Come back soon," Edward murmured into my ear before I abandoned him in bed. I was inclined to take a morning stroll on the beach while the sun was rising. We were on day two of our honeymoon on Isle Esme. If Edward had it his way, he would have accompanied me. And I of course would have enjoyed every second of it. But…he understood I valued my alone time.

My me time.

My Jess time.

So, he let me go alone for the walk by myself this morning unlike yesterday morning. It was also his placement of trust in me. He knew as well as I did that I could avoid caving into drinking human blood. I hadn't touched a drop since I turned, and I wasn't going to start of all times during our honeymoon.

As I drew closer to the beach front, my eyes poured over the ocean. The view was somehow…familiar. Not that I had been here before per say, but the landscape. OR maybe I was crazy. Who knows?

Some days, I feel like I am living in a bubble with rose colored glasses on. I don't know where this feeling stems from. I try to sweep it under the rug every time the ugly feeling rears its head in my mind. I look around myself and feel lucky with how my life has turned out. I have my mate and my sister. The rest of the Cullen's are my family as well- of course. My life is perfect. I don't even mind being a vampire. Despite this, I feel this gnawing like I have forgotten something or someone. Perhaps from my lost memories of who I was before. But Alice and Edward have filled in enough for me. I am sure what I have forgotten cannot be that important. Maybe living in the bubble with my rose-colored glasses on is the best path forward? I am happy. Very happy. Why should I attempt to ruin it from a stupid feeling that is probably nothing?

I want to leave it alone. I mean...I have forever to live. I could change my mind. But likely not anytime soon. Forever is a long time and things change over time. For now, I'll keep my happiness and enjoy everything right in front of me.

Jessica.

I shook off the voice. Every now and then, it popped in my head. The voice could vary in who called the name. Sometimes they spoke the name Katie. I attributed it as being some glitch in my mind accepting I am a vampire now. My name is Jess, after all.

The End.

AU Sequel to "5 Years" in "Jessica's Happily Ever After?"

[Jess Arc]

"The Vampire and the Wolf"

[Main theme: Friendship; Hurt/comfort. Minor theme: Romance]

Eventual J&J pairing- FYI (member, AU)

"Forever is a long, long time and time has a way of changing things." - The Fox and the Hound

Chapter 1

"Love, I can go with you." I cringed at Edward's pet name for me. My face twisted in displeasure and I didn't have to speak on it before Edward admitted his folly. "Sorry Jess...it just slips off the tongue so naturally." His dazzling nature almost made me submit to let him call me whatever pleased him. Almost.

"Jess or nothing else," I insisted when I stuck my tongue out. Edward rolled his eyes at my childlike behavior. His century of experience over me often gave off some wave of superiority. He didn't notice though. I did. Most times it didn't bother me. Today it did. I just wanted some space. Being smothered in love from Alice, Edward and Esme constantly was enjoyable 99% of the time. This 1%, I just needed my space from everyone.

Edward sighed as he nodded. He was giving in to my request. I wanted to hunt alone. It wasn't my first time. But he always got antsy about it when we drew close to the Canadian and U.S. border. I falsely promised to not go within 20 miles of that dividing line. He was content and let me venture off with a soft smile. I loved him. Truly. So much. Yet I couldn't help but feel it wasn't right for my world to revolve around him. Wasn't there supposed to be more to life than just this wonderful, passionate love we had for each other? And my family. I can't forget them. As vampires, we are supposed to keep to ourselves. But I wanted to venture into the human world. I suppose similar to Ariel from the Little Mermaid. I wasn't a hermit. We had tv. And I had all the time in the world to watch movies and tv shows galore. It's not like it could kill my brain cells.

I felt a smile break on my face as I broke free through the trees in front of us and began to put temporary miles of separation from my life with the Cullen's. Every now and then, my head peaked over my shoulder to verify Edward wasn't following me. I needed his trust. He knew this. I, however, was still weary that he couldn't let me be. I was all too happy to be proven wrong. There was a reason we were mates.

...

Fear isn't a feeling the dissipates when you become a vampire. It is amplified along with every other feeling you are capable of having. Fear was surging through my body as my feet could not carry me away fast enough from the abomination trailing me. Out of nowhere, it began chasing me five miles ago.

Its speed outmatched mine. Every passing second, I knew it was gaining on me. Closing in. I was going to be its lunch despite being a lethal predator myself. I wouldn't get to see Edward or Alice a final time before it killed me. The graceful movements vampires were well known for were not being displayed in my rapid motion of avoiding my attacker. I was clunky. Careless. As I let fear and the drive to survive push me forward. Could I really outrun it though? Would I stand a chance fighting? If I was going out as dog meat, I was going to give it hell. This wild beast would not have an easy victory over me.

My feet dug in the ground to decelerate my speed. Each crunch of my feet ripping through tree roots that were haphazard road blocks inspired my fight. I was here for this.

I let a fearsome growl bellow from my core as I locked eyes on my opponent. It's reddish brown fur basking in the sun was not what I expected for a damn wolf. But it was also a monstrous size. So, it not being brown or gray as expected should not have surprised me. It growled back at me as if I was its enemy even though I was doing my own thing before it began to hunt me. Minding my own god damn business. Not even feeding yet.

Before I plunged forward to initiate the fight, it bounded forward and pinned my body to the ground. Effortlessly. Shit. No one has bothered to teach me to fight. What did I really expect to happen?

The wolf looked into my eyes and...whined. No snarl. Snap. Growl. Or whatever ugly sound it would make. If I could even process hearing with that pungent smell radiating off its fur. It backed away from me as if it knew me. No longer radiating loathing, pure hatred or contempt from its eyes.

I was frozen in place. Maybe it was playing with its food? Toying with me? It seemed authentic but... I began to make my get away when its second whine echoing in the air stopped me. Why did I stop? I looked back at the 100 feet of distance I already put between us.

Do you know me?

Author's Note: If you have read any Sarah J Mass series, you know that the love interest isn't always who you first think. This story was born from the original ending to Edward Arc in JHEA that has now been changed. This is an AU spin off from "5 years" because I really enjoyed writing the non-imprint relationship side between Jess/Jacob. In this story, I want to see where I can take it. For shits and giggles and all that jazz.

Leave a review or don't leave a review. This story I am so hyped to write, I don't need validation to continue and finish (it won't be a long Arc). I am writing it for my own reading enjoyment. Maybe you will enjoy it too? Idk - Lalaland972