Chapter Six
Always the Soldier
Jacob was at complete ease in the passenger's seat. He kept himself occupied by examining every inch in front of him, from the dashboard, to the controls underneath the seat. More than once he asked to drive, but while he was nearly invincible himself, she had clearer vision, and a slightly quicker reaction time. She would never tell him that, of course.
Alice veered off the road and up to her house nestled deep into the woods that her and Jacob would run through to meet their family. She beamed at him at the wood's edge. "Do you want me to carry you?"
He guffawed. "No, I'll change." And he began stripping off his jeans.
While she was tempted to admire what was hers, she stared straight ahead into the woods. They didn't need to be late, after all. Ahead of them was the beginning. She would soon see for her very eyes how it was going to be, the merging of two families.
There was a loud ripping noise, the sound of Jacob's human growl shifting into the animalistic version. And there was Jacob, in his wolf skin, as beautiful as when he was a man. He bowed down to allow her on his back. She understood, he ran faster than her. It was an odd feeling, for only Edward ever ran faster than she was capable.
She climbed on, her fingers moving through the fur on his neck in a comfortable, yet tight, grip, hugging him with her knees. She moved her mouth to his pointed ear. "Ready, wolf-boy?" And he set off.
It was exhilarating. It was better than being in her Porsche going two hundred miles an hour. It was better than anything, to feel Jacob's muscles flex and move beneath her. It was the best place to be. Her new favorite place.
She wasn't done enjoying the ride, but they reached their destination Jacob slowed to a trot, to a stop. His pack and her coven at opposite ends of the clearing. It wasn't due to her infallible memory that she would always remember the look on their families faces, but due to that it would be the first memory of her new life that she would hold of them.
Edward's face was smooth and it would have been unreadable if she hadn't known him as well as she did. She could tell he was having mixed feelings. He wanted to support and trust her, but there was the underlining protectiveness and the distaste and distrust he had for the pack.
Emmett was joyful, but Rosalie was disgusted. Rosalie hadn't turned her nose up so high since Alice had foreseen Edward falling in love with Bella. In fact, it wasn't nearly as high as it was then. It was one thing, falling in love with a meal; another falling in love with a wolf. They were much farther from being related by species.
Carlisle and Esme simply looked worried. The parents of a daughter who was dating a dangerous rebel. Alice couldn't understand a parent's worries, but she could understand why they were worried, and she felt the need for them to know that it went both ways and that was clear by the pack's reaction.
It was there in the wolves eyes, the aversion to what had happened. She was surprised to see, however, the lack of hatred. There was none. They were only worried for their pack mate, their brother. Again, she couldn't fault them, she worried too, the chance of something horrible happening.
By his love for her, Alice knew Jacob could never kill her, but for Alice, she could. It would be on accident. One graze of her teeth and Jacob would die. She would forever worry about it, it would plague her mind, and every day that she didn't slip she would be thankful that he was with her.
Alice slid off his back, and straightened her clothes. Then, as she heard a crunching sound behind her, she turned, seeing Jasper exiting out of the woods they had come through.
"Hello, Alice." His eyes went to Jacob, who had stepped forward, his shoulder against Alice's. Jasper's neck and hands tightened.
"Hello, Jasper. This is Jacob."
Jasper elicited a growl, and Jacob bowed his head, his paw sliding forward, readying to attack. "Alice," Jasper commanded. Always the soldier.
"No, Jasper. Jacob is my mate."
He didn't believe her, he caught Edward's eye, and his features fell, and his offensive position became reposeful. "Alice." It was sad that time.
"Jacob," Alice implored pleadingly, and against his better judgment he disappeared behind the thick of the trees. They said nothing, there was only the soft breaths of her family and the labored ones of the pack.
Jacob returned as a man, buttoning his jeans. He was showing weakness, he was showing his throat to the enemy, and with that, how much he trusted Alice. He was showing that fighting was not necessary, and that he loved her enough not to. He didn't take his gaze off of Jasper though as he stood next to Alice, touching her hand lightly. Just like a dog, he was showing what was his. He may as well have peed on her for all it was doing.
Jasper looked sick, and he walked past them to join the others.
Jacob muttered, "sorry," in her ear.
She bumped his hip in response, and he grinned.
There was no more contact between them. Jacob and Alice stood off to the side, listening to Jasper give instructions, and watching as he demonstrated the techniques of fighting with every single one of them, except Alice. He paired her with Edward, which was a losing battle since neither of them could gain an upper hand on the other.
While Edward could read her mind, she could read his moves, and they were dancing around the other. It was more poetic than it was of any use, but his reasoning became clear when Jasper used the opportunity to tell Bella that was why she shouldn't worry about her, because Alice was virtually untouchable. They all knew that it was a lost cause, Bella would never stop worrying about them, being the odd little human that she was.
They were there, until daylight was nearly approaching. They retreated to their homes, promising to meet the next night. Jasper said not a word, but looked sorrowfully at her when he left.
Jacob and Alice retreated to their suite. Jacob ordered a meal meant for three and turned on the television. Alice brought out her sketches, drawing new designs for the company she desired to impossibly own one day.
Although they were in disjointed worlds, they were together. Her feet were propped against his leg, and idly he would stroke her calf, his palm to her knee grazing down her ankle, and back to her knee. They traded meaningless words. When his episode was over, he clicked the television off and shifted fully to her.
"What are you doing," he asked.
"Sketches for cocktail dresses." She showed him.
"Wow," he said, nodding, not knowing what he was really looking at. "These are good." He meant it.
Alice took them back. "I've always wanted to own a fashion business. Be the mogul of it all."
"Why don't you? You have the money."
There were many things her and Jacob never discussed, and money was one of them. Jacob had obviously not given the idea that her money was now his money. That he was rich now too.
"Because, my face would have to be seen," she explained. "After twenty years people would ask serious questions as to why I was never getting older."
"Be the phantom mogul," he suggested. "Like the man on Charlie's Angels." She giggled, but he continued, berated. "His face was never seen. He communicated through an intercom. You could do that. You could send everything through computers. They would never have to see you, and you could name a head person for all of the meetings that need to be face to face."
She nodded thoughtfully. "That could work... It would have to be a trustworthy human..." She thought of the man who dealt with their identifications and certificates. She didn't like the idea of Jasper scaring her spokesperson.
As if Jacob read her mind, he said, "Emily could do it. Sam's fiancee. She's been looking for work."
A woman who was trustworthy and knew their secret. Her children could take on the job as well. "That sounds perfect," Alice said happily, an elation filling her at a possibility for her dream to come true. She imagined everything from what would be her fist designs, what the building would look like, from all the messy bits of signing papers and approving orders. And the fashion shows she would put on... They would be a heart-stopper in France and Japan.
"I'll give you Emily's number," Jacob said before he lunged and kissed her ferociously, hungrily. "I love you, Alice."
"I love you, Jacob."
And they lost themselves in the kiss and the ideals of the future.