I hadn't ever really had the want or need to really stretch out and run, but, as soon I was out of sight, I snapped myself back to earths' plane and really ran. Half an hour and I'd hit the Canadian border, my breath coming rapidly, but not uncomfortably. I stopped and sat for maybe ten minutes, before deciding head back. I thought I took it slowly, but, before I was ready, I was back in Forks. I slowed to a walk.
I sniffed, pressing away the ache in my cheeks with my fingertips. It wouldn't let up. Instead, I stuffed my hands deep into the pockets of my jeans. I groaned out load when I saw the state of my clothes. This is why I didn't run.
Oh, my shoes! I slipped one off and tried rubbing the suede back and forth to clean it, before giving up and resigning the pair was a goner. I did nothing for my mood, I felt quite fond of them. I slipped the one back on in a huff.
A small twig broke, purposely, behind me. I stiffened and looked around wearily. I could hear them, but see nothing unusual.
I shut my eyes, and felt the energy.
Four. Big animals. Wolves.
I gasped. No way.
The energy was too complex for just a simple minded wolf. It had to be human. A form of human, anyway.
What had I got myself into? I opened my eyes to see what I'd felt. Four horse-sized wolves stalking closer to their prey. And I was their prey.
'Oh, Lord,' I gasped, taking steps backwards.
My breath in triggered the realisation that the woods smelt different. Much, much more intense. It was them: the wolves; they smelt like living, breathing woods.
My body shook with fear. I managed to look into the closes ones' eyes. They were so much more than the piercing brown that they were coloured. It was like looking into their soul, somehow no longer guarded by human emotions. And it looked into mine. The expression on his face would have been comical if I weren't trembling and certain I was about to die.
Oh my Lord, I'm going to die. I had, literally, just found my Anthony again, and I was going to lose him. Again. At the realisation, a gasp chocked and gagged in my throat. I doubled over to hold myself together. Shooting pain ran down my arms where they touched my skin. I actively fought to hold all my neurons together with the feeling that my body would just break apart and disintegrate.
The wolf squinted at me before finally stopping its progression forward, less than three feet from me. Its energy was so forceful, demanding dominance. I was already preoccupied and tiring. It was exhausting trying to keep it, too, from dominating me.
He sniffed the air, reminiscent of any old house dog. His eyes grew wide. Without even turning to look at the other wolves, they circled around me, evenly spaced, with one coming up close to my left. I stepped twice to the right to keep distance.
It stepped once again, the equivalence of my two steps. So, I stepped away again, the first wolf still, but now by my side.
They were herding me, I caught onto it quick. And the first wolf: was he meant to be my escort?
I wouldn't take it any longer. I clenched all my muscles, preparation for an exhausting run, and clicked. It had been years since I'd had to disappear this much and I was sure feeling its tole.
An agonising yelling alerted me to the fact that I was not alone. Oh, my God, I'd taken the wolf with me. His instinct must have kicked in because, then, he pounced on me. He pinned me under him easily. I was more agile than him. I got out of his hold, only to be pinned again. In my fight, I was controlling my talents with only my mind. We reappeared again. I pushed him off, and disappeared again, only to have him come with, again. My mind was going into panic mode and I was acting irrationally. He was stronger than me. We were playing a game of cat and mouse and disappearing and reappearing. I wanted him to let go so I could be in my space alone.
To the others, we must have looked like a faulty, flickering analogue television with the amount of times and speed we transitioned. I must have changed over 100 times in less than thirty seconds before I stopped, no energy left to fight. I was tied in the boy's arms; no wonder I couldn't shake him. I felt hot for the first time in a century, too hot, like I was burning up. I sighed, looking into the boy's eyes; they were guarded now. His skin was tanned dark, his black hair fluffy in its shortness. I lifted a hand and smoothed my thumb over his cheek bone. He shifted his face awkwardly backwards under my touch, tucking his chin in so he could look down at me. He was so tall.
'I'm Bella,' I panted, feeling the need for him to at least know who I was while forcing my eyes to stay open.
'Jacob,' he returned; his voice was deep and rumbling.
I was going to die, I knew it. I could feel it in my bones.
'Can...' I sighed. 'Can you tell Anthony…? No, Edward.' I took in another breath, my vision was clouded, and I sounded a million miles away in my head. 'I Lo '
My knees buckled, my fingers blindly and weakly grasping at Jacob's shirt, but found no purchase; my vision went black, hearing fading. Then, I collapsed and found peace in the darkness.