~ Denali Residence, Alaska - July 6, 2005 ~
"Wake up, love, we're here," I whispered to my sweet Bella as she slept in my arms.
After our flight into Anchorage, we took the Alaska Railroad train north to Talkeetna. From there, I enjoyed holding my mate close, while I ran through the wilderness until we reached the Denali's family home.
Bella stirred and sighed in my arms, before jolting herself awake. She blinked a few times taking in the Denali homestead and the surrounding landscape.
"How long was I a sleep?" She asked.
"About an hour," I replied. "You needed your rest. You hardly slept on the plane or on the train."
Given that Charlie, Irina, Carlisle, and Esme joined us on the plane, we could hardly do what we did on our previous flights back from Paris and Jacksonville.
"Even going on foot, we beat Charlie and company here," I continued. Charlie and company were picked up in Talkeetna by Garrett. Given that overland was more direct than the winding and rustic roadways leading to the Denali's property, we still had over an hour before the rest of the family arrived.
Bella looked around and smiled, while cupping her chin in thought. "Hmm, I wonder what we could do until they get here?"
I couldn't help but chuckled at my little amorous Bella. Too bad I had to burst her horny little bubble.
"I hate to tell you this, but we'll be visiting with Carmen, Kate, and Eleazar. Our family may not be here yet, but they are."
Bella face dropped and she gave me the cutest little pout, while up at the house I could hear the three Denali family members laughing at our expense.
I quickly kissed her nose, before heading towards the house. "I promise we'll be alone soon and you can have your wicked way with me then."
"So, are you ready for this?" I asked Irina as we watched Bella and Charlie say their goodbyes to one another.
"Yes! I am so tired of worrying about Charlie's health, or whether he is going to get hurt at work, or crossing the street, or when we have sex. I don't know how you stay so calm all the time."
"I have my moments. The beginning of the last school year was tough. Between guys lusting after Bella, and girls plotting schemes against her. It took me a good three months to suppress the urge to kill a dozen or so of the Forks student body. Plus having to deal with the various school illnesses that went around was a challenge. I'll tell you, when she got the flu in January, I was beside myself with worry, especially since my parents died from Spanish influenza."
"Oh! Don't get me started on other women flirting with him. He doesn't see it, but I do. I can't even imagine what it would be like hearing their thoughts!"
Irina shook her head as she recalled one woman who ran into Charlie at the produce isle of the grocery store. She kept touching him and she asked him to help her pick a good cucumber. Irina was standing only few feet away, yet the other woman was shameless in her advances towards Charlie. In his defense, he registered none of it because he only had eyes for Irina.
Alice left her conversation with Carmen and literally bounced down towards Irina and I. Since she and Jasper arrived a bit ago, she had been translating Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice into Mandarin.
"I'm so excited!" She squealed. "You both are going to be so happy! I wanted you both to know that I don't see anything bad happening in either change. Charlie's will take about seventy hours, three minutes. Bella will speed through hers in sixty-one hours and thirty-four minutes."
I was happy Bella's change would be quick, relatively speaking. I really dreaded the pain she would have to go through. Irina's thoughts were similar.
"Well, Bella's ready to leave, so I'll see you both afterwards!" Alice said before giving us each a hug before skipping off to be with Jasper.
Right on queue, Bella and Charlie approached.
"I'm ready, Edward. Dad and I are both ready." Bella said as she wove her fingers with mine.
"Ok, love." I replied before facing Charlie. "I will take good care of her. Alice has seen everything going smoothly for both of you."
I offered my hand to Charlie as my promise to not screw up making Bella into a vampire. Charlie eagerly gave me a strong handshake…well strong for a human.
"Thanks, Edward. Bella and I were talking, and I think it would be best for you to change Bella first. That way Carlisle can be out at the cabin as a precaution, then come back here and be our safety net as well. I know I'll feel a lot better knowing Bella's change was underway."
I looked over at Carlisle. He had been listening in on our conversation. "That plan sounds reasonable. Esme is going to be with me as well, just in case." He said in his thoughts.
"That sounds good." I told Charlie. "Good luck! I'll see you both in a month or so."
I scooped Bella up in my arms which caused her to giggle. "Well, I guess we should go, love." I then turned Bella and I towards everyone else.
"Good bye!" Bella and I both called out as we waved towards our families. Every single thought I read expressed how happy they were for Bella and I.
"Take care of my little girl!" Charlie told me in his thoughts. "I am trusting you, don't make me regret it."
I remembered the previous times he has said the same exact thing to me. I looked back at Charlie and winked, before running into the woods with the love of my existence.
It took about an hour to get to our cabin. Carlisle and Esme went ahead of us. All I needed to do was follow their scent to find our cabin. During the trip we talked about a number things, including the memory journals Alice had helped both Bella and Charlie make. It was important to Bella and Charlie that they preserve as many of their human memories as possible. The memory journals were a combination of writings, pictures, and videos that documented key, and some inconsequential, moments from each of their lives. The plan was for Alice to deliver the journals once Bella and Charlie felt they could concentrate on them.
We also talked about the change itself. Bella had definite ideas on how she wanted the change to happen.
"Edward, for the change, I don't want to wait long at the cabin. I want us to get settled in quickly and then get on with it."
"If you wish, love, but we have all the time in the world, so you don't need to rush this."
"Oh, I know, but I am kind of anxious," Bella paused and bit her lip before continuing. "I am also a bit scared," she said in timid voice.
"Bella, you have every right too feel both anxious and scared. This is a big event. One that we only get a single chance at. I would be lying if I said I wasn't anxious and scared too." I kissed Bella chastely and held her closer to me as we traveled through the wilderness. "However, I am also excited and eager to have you join me."
"I am those too!" She added. "It's just, well…today is the day and…I…I wanted to…"
She looked away from me as if she was too embarrassed at what she wanted to say.
"Love, look at me." I softly asked. After a moment and a deep breath, she turned her gaze back to me. "Bella, I love you more than anything. There is nothing I will not do for you, so if there is something you want to do before the change and it is within my power to grant, we will do it. I promise. Ok?"
Bella hugged me close. "Ok," she said slowly. "What I want is for you to change me while we are making love."
She looked at me with an expectant, almost pleading look. I was only slightly surprised by her request. Sex and blood are very closely related to one another for a vampire. It would be another lie to say I'd never imagined changing Bella while we were being intimate.
"I know it may sound weird," she added, "or even a bit kinky, but I want my last human memory to be of us joined together physically, while you use your venom to join us permanently to one another. It seems…and I know this will sound weird…but it sounds very romantic to me."
"Bella, it's not as weird as you may think. I have fantasized about that very scenario as well." Bella's eyes went wide at my admission before I trailed kisses from her lips, down her cheek, and to her ear, which I then whispered into. "And I too think that being joined with you physically…sexually…emotionally…is perfect as I bind us together in immortality. Your wish is my command, love."
Bella shivered in my arms. Her blooming lust was easy to detect, so I picked up our pace and sped quickly towards our future.
Author's Note...
They are in Alaska! I went there a five years ago on vacation. Talkeetna was one of my favorite stops on the trip. One highlight of our time in Talkeetna was meeting Mr. Thumbs (a very lazy cat) at the little coffee shop in town. Also, the ride on the Alaska Railroad from Fairbanks to Anchorage was amazing! I recommend adding it to your travel bucket lists.
I know this chapter was a little short, but Monday's update will be what everyone has been waiting for...if you catch my meaning :)
Thank you to everyone that has left a review! I love reading your thoughts on this story. Finally, OTL has pickup up some new readers this week...welcome!
-Chris