We ran, fast, for countless miles. The lush foliage was blurring beside me, as I watched Bella carefully. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I was nervous because she had only been a vampire for one day, and we were already running from the most powerful vampires in the world. It was everything I had feared. As if she could read my thoughts, which she could, she turned around and fell into pace with me.
"It's just my bad luck being carried over," she tried to joke, "This is the best decision I have ever made, don't you ever forget that." She held tightly to my hand, and we ran together like that for a ways.
After a few minutes, something occurred to me. "So you were…inside my head weren't you?" I inquired in a light-hearted tone. "Listening to my thoughts?"
Even with the wind blowing her hair across her face, I could still read her guilty expression. "I can't help it," she admitted, "I've wanted to know what's being going on in your head for so long, I have just been taking a little peek, now and again…"
"I don't mind," I said truthfully, "I'm sure you have already found that almost all my thoughts have been about you."
She smiled, "So they have." She grabbed my hand tighter.
"Let's slow down for a bit, I think we've covered enough distance for the time being," Jasper suggested, calling over his shoulder. "We need to plan our next move."
"Good Idea," Alice agreed, as she visibly slowed down.
Emmett and Rosalie followed in suit, coming to a halt behind me and Bella.
I scanned our surroundings, noticing that we had run to the border of Canada. There were mountains jutting out on every side, and the temperature I could tell must be cold. Luckily I didn't have to worry about Bella freezing any longer. I shuddered at the memory, and the image of her and Jacob that still haunted my mind. She turned and frowned up at me.
I pulled her into my arms, "Listening again huh? Well, I'm not surprised you heard something you didn't like, you know what they say about eavesdroppers," I said throwing her words back at her.
"Ha, Ha," she replied mockingly, obviously remembering.
"C'mon you two, I see a clearing up ahead that should be perfect." We followed Alice to a small expanse of grass, the tips of which were littered with ice crystals, indicating the cold weather. I sat down casually against a tree trunk, and Bella sat between my legs, leaning back against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her protectively.
I did however, keep my ears open. I needed to remember the task at hand, and I knew the Volturi could sneak up on us at any moment.
"Alright," Emmett began, sitting at the head of the circle. I truly did admire him, he was silly of course, but he could be counted on during situations like this. Rosalie sat very close his side, watching him respectfully. His versatile personality was the thing she loved most about him, because it was something she lacked in severity.
Everyone listened intently as he began to speak. "First things first, Bella, can you see where they are now? What they're thinking? Anything that could help us?"
Bella stiffened in my arms, and we all waited for her response.
"They're traveling," she stated calmly. "I can't see where, but it doesn't look like somewhere we've been."
Everyone remained silent as she closed her eyes again. "And you were right Emmett, right now, they expect us to keep running, they're planning to ambush us."
"Whos mind was that?" I asked her.
"Aro," she responded quickly.
"What is he thinking about the ambush?" Jasper asked. "Can you see their plans?"
"Not clearly, Aro is more concerned about what power I have been given. He thinks that it must be great if it forced us to run away from them."
"Try Felix," I scowled, "I'm pretty sure his mind will be on all the different ways he plans to kill us."
She closed her eyes, thinking of Felix, and at the same time I heard a soft voice inside of my head. Sneak up on them; think they can outrun us, opposite direction. It was the voice of Felix, but inside my head; the thoughts were a little broken up because he must still be far away, but he was close enough for me to hear that little bit.
To confirm my fear, Bella snapped her eyes open and stood up. "They are trying to trap us, they knew which way we were coming, and they plan to try and corner us in."
The whole group rose to their feet but Alice stopped short, eyes glazing over. She shook her head forcefully. "We need to get out of here, now. If we stay here, they will find us." She was visibly shuddering at the scene unfolding in her mind.
"Which way should we go?" said Rosalie, grabbing Emmett's hand. Emmett was crouched possessively in front of her.
I looked up, and the only thing I could see were mountains. They seemed like the perfect place to hide, and we needed to get out of the forest.
"North," I said. "Mountains will give us better cover." We all raced quickly to the edge of the woods, until we reached the base of the mountain. We spent the next hour climbing up the jagged rocks. It wasn't tiring, but it was taking us longer than running through the forest. The ground was constantly un-level, and I spent the whole time worrying about Bella, and if she could get used to her new agility. But she seemed to be doing just fine. I couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked as the light snowflakes scattered across her skin. How desperately I wanted to be alone with her, for just one second.
After a couple more hours of climbing, we neared the top of the shortest peak, which considering the view, really wasn't that short at all. Alice had found an inlet in the rocks, which would give us cover from the snow. It wasn't cold, but it was easier to be alert when you could see clearly.
Emmett stood outside our small shelter, scanning the ground below him. I walked up beside him, and Jasper followed me.
"See anything," I asked him, looking down at the forest myself.
"No," he answered reluctantly. "You?" He turned to me and Jasper.
"No, we're miles up though, and the snow is falling pretty thick now," replied Jasper.
"Well if we can't see them, they can't see us," I said, glancing back toward the forest just in case.
"Right," agreed Jasper, "Plus, Alice said we're safe here for the time being, she doesn't see them finding us."
I sighed in relief. At least we had a few more hours of safety. I turned behind me and saw Bella talking to Rosalie and Alice in hushed whispers. I smiled despite myself; I found I was doing that a lot lately.
I walked back and held my hand out to her. "Care for a walk?" I bowed gracefully, throwing her an eager smile.
"Certainly," she answered in a prim voice. She grabbed my hand and raised herself up, tugging on her shirt to straighten it out. We walked hand in hand outside, and started to head a little ways back down mountain.
"We will be back soon," I called to my brothers, who were still standing guard outside.
'Stay close' Emmett warned, throwing me a stern glance. I nodded to him in response.
"Want to jump on my back, for old time's sake?" I asked happily.
She laughed, and nodded, jumping onto my back with ease. I climbed down the mountain steadily about a quarter of a mile, and stopped when we came to a small flat overhang. I dropped her carefully and we both sat on the edge, dangling our feet over the side. She snuggled up close and rested her head on my shoulder.
"Were going to be okay right?" she questioned.
"Yes," I stated confidently, "We'll figure this out, and once we do, I'm going to take you all over the world, show you all the beauty it has to offer."
She didn't answer but lifted her head, looking out on the horizon. The snow was a bit lighter now, and the trees far below us were sparkling in the setting sun. The forest was wide beneath us, a brush stroke of green, covering every place we looked.
"This is beautiful," she said, motioning toward the picturesque scene in front of us. "You don't have to take me places, I just need you." She turned to look at me, eyes wide with contentment.
"You're beautiful," I couldn't help but respond predictably, for those were the words screamed from deep within me. I pressed my lips gently to hers, sighing heavily. I had been waiting so long for this alone time, it was like a huge weight was lifted of my shoulders.
A low moan escaped her lips at the contact, and that flare of fire started to burn deep in my gut. Now was really not the time, or the place to get carried away, but it was hard not to.
She snaked her arms around my neck, as we both scooted backwards to lean against the rock. I kissed her passionately, my hands rubbing her sides anxiously, wanting to feel as much of her as possible, who knows how much time we had. We both leaned against the rock, but the position wasn't allowing me enough access, so I grabbed her and placed her on my lap, which caused a squeal of surprise from her, that only fed the fire within me.
Her hands traced their way down my chest, and I pressed my head against the rock to look at her. She pulled back to do the same. When our gazes met, I felt it again, the electricity. The tangible spark of our love that made me weak, it was engulfing me, rendering me powerless to her. I knew she felt it too, because I could feel the love radiating out her eyes.
Gravity was pulling me to kiss her again, but as I was leaning in, her fingers traced the top button on her blouse.
"Planning on stopping me this time?" she questioned coyly. I watched her finger the button, feeling my resolve crumble.
"Not a chance," I managed to say through my thick throat.
"I didn't think you would," she smirked, as she shifted on my lap, indicating that she could feel my excitement.
My hips rose instinctively, and her head dropped back. She opened her eyes, lids heavy, to gaze back at me.
"Don't distract me," she scolded, unhooking the first button, revealing a small bit of her skin. She played with the next button, smiling in my direction. I waited impatiently for her to keep going, she was taking too long.
"Bella," I pleaded, her name slipping past my lips as my hips rose to meet hers again. It took her by surprise and I heard her gasp. She unhooked the second button. And that was how it went, for the rest of her shirt.
I was so aroused with our game that I could hardly keep my head up, so I was thankful for the rock I had to support it. She shrugged off her shirt, one arm at a time, and I felt her bare arms encircle me.
The desire in me exploded, and a low growl escaped my throat. I no longer felt weak. There was so much adrenaline running through my body, and the surge of energy over took my senses. I grabbed her roughly, pressing myself aggressively to her. Her eyes smoldered, and she pushed back, causing us both to cry out with longing. I reached behind her back to remove her bra, when I heard thundering footsteps above me.
It was Emmett.
"Get up here, hurry," he yelled.