One More Night
Chapter Nine
Jacob thoroughly cleaned Bella's body and hair so she would be completely fresh when she woke up. He towel dried her body before he dressed her, unsure why her body was still so skinny. He thought she might look healthier, but yet, this wasn't the same transformation as his.
He phased, passed out for an hour, then he was fine. Bella, her body had to adjust because it wasn't naturally a part of her.
He put her in shorts and a t-shirt before he slipped her tennis shoes on. He brushed out her hair before he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
"Wake up soon, honey." He rubbed her cheek sweetly before moving away from her, packing up the stuff he used to clean her up. He put it all up before he went back to her. He picked her up in his arms, her body limp, before he walked her out of the makeshift hospital room and walked into their room, laying her down on their bed where she could be more comfortable when she woke up.
He remembered when he shift, he woke up on the forest floor and his back was in a lot of pain. He didn't want her to have to go through that.
He silently slipped the ring she always wore back on her finger, the pearl shimmering when the light hit it.
Edward strolled into the room with Leah stuck to his side and Jacob looked to them.
"Is Carlisle sure about this? She's been out for three days. What if she doesn't wake up?" He asked and Edward smirked.
"She's going to wake up, Jacob. Don't worry. The medicine Carlisle gave her is designed for this. He made it to keep someone asleep and pain free until their transformation is complete. He used it on Emmett when he was changed." Jacob nodded as Leah walked over and placed her hand on Jacob's arm.
"She will be fine. She has too much to live for." Jacob smirked at Leah for her words of encouragement when she went back to Edward's side, his arm going around her waist.
"She's waking up!" Alice's voice boomed through the house and Jacob gasped before he looked down at his girlfriend.
"We will leave the two of you alone." Edward said as they exited and closed the door behind them.
Jacob watched Bella's body as he saw the last bit of her transformation. He saw her rib snap back into place, raising her chest higher. Her skin darkened just a shade to her old ivory complexion and her hair went from the unhealthy dark brown to her mahogany shade, a little more red poking out in it, thickening. He watched as her legs gained a healthy amount of muscle and fat to them and the same went with the rest of her body. Her cheeks gained their rosy shade from before she got pregnant. Her lips became the light pink he knew and loved on her while her breasts filled out with the right amount of flesh for her body.
He moved back to the wall in case she phased when she woke up.
Suddenly, her heart sped up to that of someone who was awake and alert and she took in a deep breath before exhaling it. Her hand slipped over her chest to over her heart, feeling the strong muscle beating in her chest.
What? I thought they changed me. How is my heart beating? She felt an intense strength in her and her eyes slowly opened, fuzzy at first then everything became much sharper. She blinked again before she lifted up her hand, seeing a very slight shimmer to her skin. To a human's eyes, it would have been invisible, but she wasn't human anymore.
She quickly sat up and faced away from Jacob, not knowing yet that he was there with her. She moved much faster than her normal and she felt much stronger which got a small grin from her.
Wow. This is amazing. She thought before he softly chuckled and she turned around. Her vision blurred then cleared, her seeing the man she loved standing near the window, watching her with amusement.
"Hey, Bells." She ran to him at the speed of a vampire and made a hard impact with his chest, earning a groan from him, as he wrapped his arms around her. His hand came up and he placed it on her cheek while she gazed at his chest, placing her hand over his. "We are the same temperature, honey." She smiled to herself, unsure of how it was possible, and she relished in his intimate touch.
"We are the same temperature." She whispered his words before she looked up into his eyes, both of them being instantly captivated until both of them got lost in each other.
It had never felt like this any other time they looked at each other and they weren't sure why it waited to happen until then, but they both knew exactly what had happened. They felt it when they both saw the same thing.
In that very moment, they imprinted on each other right there.
She never knew she could feel more confident in her love for Jacob until that very moment.
"I love you." She said as she gazed up at him and he felt his love for her become almost all consuming.
"I love you so much." He spoke passionately before they kissed wildly, him holding her close while she gripped her hands in his hair. She moaned as she pressed him into the wall, cracking it. "God, Bells. We can't right now." He knew exactly where her thoughts were going and it was a very erotic place.
"Why not?" She pulled out of the kiss with lustful eyes and he groaned, placing his forehead to hers.
"House full of vampires and werewolves. We don't want them to hear us, honey." She nodded in understanding before wrapped her arms around his neck with what felt like a death grip, pulling him close to her. He groaned as he placed his hands on her hips. "Um, Bells?" She nodded as she smiled into his neck. "You are way stronger than me right now. You are choking me a little." She loosened her grip with a giggle before wrapping her arms loosely around his waist. He pulled himself back before smirking at her amusingly. "I never broke you. Don't break me, now." She quickly grabbed his bottom before he chuckled and pulled her close to him.
"I won't ever break you, Jake." He smirked before he sweetly kissed her again and she held herself close into his chest before a thought hit her, making her gasp. "Vanessa!" She exclaimed and he smirked proudly.
"She amazing, Bells. Really, she's perfect. She's so much like you." She smiled happily.
"I need to see her." She went to move to the door when Jacob pulled her back to him. "What are you doing? I need to see our daughter." He took a deep breath before looking to her sternly, a look she hadn't seen on him in so long.
"Bella, when we injected you with the venom, it caused a reaction in you with Vanessa's blood. Her gene attached itself to you." She knew what he was saying and he didn't even need to finish.
"I'm a wolf now?" He nodded while he stroked her hair.
"You need to get your emotions in check so we are going to go for a run before you see Vanessa. We won't be gone long. Running is the best way to rid yourself of negative feelings, like that." He pointed to her hands and she hadn't even noticed they were shaking. She was irritated that Jacob was right about needing her emotions in check.
"Let's go, Jake." He smirked and opened the window for her. She moved over to it, seeing they were three stories up, and smiled. She perched herself in the window as he did the same and both of them jumped down. She smiled as her feet made contact with the ground and both of them ran into the woods.
She was surprised when she saw how fast they could run in human form. Jacob kept up with her and grabbed her by her waist, stopping her in the middle of the woods. She giggled as she pressed herself back into his chest, laying her head against his soft shirt.
"Slow down, Bells." She turned to him and kissed him excitedly. She loved the rush of running as he knew she would.
"I didn't know you could run that fast in human form. I thought you could only go that fast in wolf form." He chuckled softly.
"I'm not a show off. Close your eyes." She smirked before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Listen all around." She cancelled out the sounds of hers and Jacob's heartbeat and breathing. She heard the sounds of different animals around them before opening her eyes, looking up into the trees.
"Wow. That's beautiful." She closed her eyes again as he watched her face contort with amazement. She heard the spider in the tree weaving its web, the rabbit nearby eating its breakfast, and she heard a squirrel squeaking up in the tree. "I never thought it would be this amazing." She opened her eyes as he smirked down at her. "This is impossible. Things this wonderful, this wild, they don't exist." He chuckled knowingly before pressing his forehead to hers.
"Welcome to my world." She giggled before she smirked up at him, happy as could be.
"I never thought the woods could be so comforting, like being able to breathe after holding your breath for a long time." He nodded then a scent hit her like a ton of bricks.
The icy, strong smell with a floral accent to it filled her nostrils as he noticed her start to tremble and her wolf instincts kicked in. He smelled it, too, and before he realized what was happening, she disappeared, running towards the scent.
"Goddamnit, Bella!" He ran after her as she made it to a cliff, climbing up as fast as she could towards the sickly, icy smell. Bella wasn't there, just the wolf within her. "Bella, stop!" He yelled as she made it to a cliff below where the scent came from and she turned to him, her normal brown eyes turning yellow, when she looked at him. "I didn't know Jasper would be hunting this close to the house."
She groaned as she looked up the cliff and thought, That's Jasper? God, why do I want to kill him right now? She trembled more as her teeth grinded forcing in her wolf instincts.
"I need to get out of here." He nodded and extended his hand to her.
"Let me help you." She shook her head and ran off the cliff, jumping down the two hundred feet to the bottom. He looked over the edge with an amused smirk. "Guess you don't need my help after all." He did as she had and she stopped running when her instincts calmed down. She felt his arms encase her before he kissed her temple, relaxing her. "You did good, honey. You resisted your natural instincts. It normally takes weeks to be able to do that. You have great control of yourself." She turned to him before smirking.
"Thanks. I wouldn't have stopped if you hadn't said anything. I can't believe I almost killed Jasper. How am I going to be able to handle being around them now?" Her voice was filled with sadness and he softly rubbed her cheek.
"You will do fine. I have faith in you, honey. It may take some adjusting, but I know you will persevere." She felt more confident from his words of encouragement. She smiled up at him before he graced her with a loving kiss, pressing his forehead against hers. "Bells, don't ever scare me like you did." She wasn't sure what he meant until he continued. "I thought you were never going to wake up and that you were gone forever." He stroked her hair and she sighed from the intimate touch.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was soft as she gripped his shirt in her hands. "I never wanted to make you feel like that, but you never have to feel like that again. Everything is okay now." She place her hand on his cheek and he sighed. "I'm okay now, Jake. I'm alive, we are together, and we have our daughter. Everything is going to be fine now." He smirked at her before giving her a sweet kiss.
"Everything is fine now. Let's go back to the house." She nodded and clutched Jacob hand in hers.
"I'm proud of you, Bells." She blushed as they approached the house and his arm laid over her shoulder. She watched as Edward strolled out the front door by himself and confusion filled her. She reminded herself over and over that she couldn't hurt him.
"Edward?" He smirked at her as he slowly walked down the porch steps. "I'm actually surprised to see you." He nodded before letting out a long breath.
"Same here. I didn't really expect the wolf Bella to look so...like the Bella we all know." She smirked proudly as he took a step closer, but she tensed.
"I would keep my distance." He sighed, giving her an irritated look.
"It's better for Vanessa if you deal with me first." Bella tilted her head in confusion, not understanding where he was coming from.
"Since when do you care about my daughter?" She didn't mean to sound so callous, but it came out a lot more spiteful than intended. Edward looked to Jacob who took a deep breath, not quite sure how Bella would react to the news of Leah and Edward being together.
"Right. Well, take a whiff, but please, don't kill me." He teased and she giggled before taking a few careful steps, only two feet from Edward. She took a deep, long breath, filling with the icy, floral scent before a look of disgust covered her face, a giggle leaving her lips.
"Wow! Now, I see what Jake's been talking about." Edward amusingly chuckled as Jacob approached them, chortling. "Edward, you really do stink. You really need to invest in some cologne or something. It's like the worst B.O. ever." Bella teased as Jacob wrapped his arm around her waist and she turned her face, pressing her cheek into his chest. He pressed his chin to the top of her head while smirking happily.
Edward couldn't stop the words that left his lips. "You two...you look really good together, a very happy couple." She looked to him in bewilderment before he turned and went back into the house.
"What the heck was that about?" She looked to Jacob and he softly chuckled.
"You will see in a minute. Are you ready to see our daughter?" She nodded. She was more excited to see Vanessa than to confront Edward's sweet statement concerning her relationship with Jacob.
"Definitely." He took her hand and walked her into the house, instantly seeing Carlisle, Esme, Alice, and Emmett by the door.
"Welcome back." Carlisle stated warmly and she blushed as Alice smirked at her.
"You look beautiful, Bella. Beautiful like Bella." Alice knew this is what Bella needed to hear. She had always been self-conscious about her looks and to be called beautiful as herself was helpful.
"Hey, Bella." Paul smirked playfully at her. "Looks like we have another wolf girl among us." He teased and she rolled her eyes before seeing Edward standing with his arm around Leah's waist, her hand on his chest.
"I'm glad you are okay, Bella." Leah said and Bella's jaw dropped when she saw this.
"Oh, wow. You two are...together?" Bella spoke with disbelief and Leah scowled as Edward looked nervous of this talk. "Hey, I'm not one to judge. Congrats, I guess." Leah smiled happily as Bella moved through the crowd until she came to Rosalie and Seth who were facing away from her. "Rose?" She turned around with a big smile on her face, a happy baby in her arms.
Bella gasped as she saw her beautifull baby girl, gorgeous chocolate eyes and raven hair complementing her medium skin tone.
"She has been waiting on you." She smiled as her daughter giggled and extended her arms towards her. Rosalie reached over and placed the child in Bella's arms who smiled happily at Vanessa.
"Hey, beautiful. Sorry I was gone so long." She said softly as the baby giggled before Bella pressed a soft kiss to the child's forehead. Vanessa reached her tiny hand up and placed it on Bella's cheek.
Bella's mind was filled with the sounds of her voice, muffled, then she saw her own face, skinny and pale, looking down at her.
You are so perfect. Bella gasped as her daughter retracted her hand and she stared down at the small child before standing back up straight.
"What was that?" She asked and Edward softly chuckled.
"She just showed you her memories of you." Bella gulped before looking up at Edward.
"Sh-showed me how?" He smirked before looked towards Vanessa.
"How do you think? How can I read minds? How can Alice see the future? How can Jasper influence emotions? She is gifted." Bella smirked at her daughter who giggled again. Bella gasped as a thought hit her.
"Wait, I haven't been out that long. How does she look this old?" She looked around and saw Jacob's sad eyes before Carlisle spoke up.
"Her growth rate is unprecedented. I'm trying to figure out a way to slow it down." Bella nodded and Seth began to feel uneasy about Bella being so close to his imprint. She was a new wolf and her hand started to slightly tremble. It wasn't much, barely a worried tremor, but it set him on edge.
"Alright. You probably need to relax, Bella. I can take her." Seth moved to Bella who looked at him confused.
"Seth, she's fine. She has good control." Jacob said and Seth gulped.
"Yeah, but I wouldn't push it." Bella pulled back, holding Vanessa close to her.
"Seth, what's going on?" She asked, unsure of his sudden fear of her daughter getting hurt. Rosalie giggled to herself as Seth looked nervous.
"Oh, do tell her, Sethy." Rosalie teased and Bella looked to everyone suspiciously.
"Blondie, don't escalate it." Bella snapped her eyes to Seth as she handed Vanessa over to Rosalie, looking at Seth with stern eyes.
"Seth…" She growled his name and he shuffled his feet, rubbing his hands on his pants.
"Um, Bella…" He trailed off, unsure of what to say. "Well, it's a, um, wolf thing." With what he said, it reminded her of when Jacob first told her about imprinting and her arms convulsed violently.
"What's a wolf thing?" Emmett snickered off to the side.
"I think she already knows, Seth. This should be good." He rubbed his palms together excitedly before Seth gulped nervously, scared of the new wolf's wrath.
"Bella, you know we have no control over it or who it happens with. It doesn't mean what you think it does, I promise you that." He pushed the words out so fast that a human would have missed it. Bella growled deeply, overflowing with unimaginable disgust.
"Rose, take my daughter out of the room." Seth bounced in his place nervously.
"Oh, god." He was petrified and Jacob tried to defuse the situation as Leah looked on worried.
"Bella." Jacob sweetly said her name while placing his hand on her shoulder, but she quickly shrugged it off.
"Don't touch me, Jake. I don't want to hurt you." Seth shook with fear of what she would do as Rosalie left the room with the infant. With a final burst of anger, she snapped up and grabbed Seth by the back of his neck, dragging him through the front door, groaning and protesting.
"Oh, shit. Let's make sure she doesn't kill your brother." Edward said to Leah and everyone ran out behind Bella as she tossed Seth off the porch, his body hitting the closest tree hard enough to snap it in half before hissing.
"You imprinted on my daughter!" She snarled at Seth as he struggled to get to his feet.
"I didn't have a choice, Bella. You know that, don't you?" Seth tried to reason with her, but she just saw red.
"She's a fucking baby!" Bella's anger was just getting worse.
"It's not like that at all, I swear! Do you think Jake would let me live if it was? He's her father. He would be the most inclined to try to keep me from her." Jacob huffed as he leaned against the railing.
"I'm still struggling with that." Jake joked, but Bella growled at Seth.
"Seth, I have gotten to enjoy holding my daughter once.. One fucking time!" Seth gulped fearfully as Bella stepped down the porch towards him. "Suddenly, you think you have this moronic, pedophiliac, wolfy claim on my daughter?" She approached with a murderous look in her eye and Leah ran to the woods to phase if she needed to protect her brother. "She is mine!" Bella kicked Seth in the gut, sending him a hundred feet from her with a groan. Leah ran over, growing at Bella, as she approached him.
"It's fine, Lee. I can handle myself." He challenged his sister's worries and Bella ignored Leah in wolf form, channeling all of her anger toward the boy before her.
"You are going to stay the hell away from her!" She commanded and he shook his head, standing before her, tall.
"You know I can't do that. She's my imprint, damnit!" He challenged her request and she decked him, sending him to the ground. Edward approached Jacob quickly before grabbing his arm.
"You need to stop her. She's going to kill him." Jacob huffed in disbelief.
"No, she's not. She's teaching him a lesson. She's doing pretty well for herself, isn't she?" Jacob was purely amused by Bella's ability to stand her ground, taking her place instantly as the alpha female. Seth groaned as he struggled to stand.
"Bella, please, listen to me." She stepped back a moment, fists clenched. "Do you remember how much you always liked having me around whether I was being my normal goofy self or just sitting around being silent? That way you thought I reminded you of Jake? That feeling is gone now, right?" She snarled at him with a deep rumble in her chest.
"Fuck, yes, it's gone!" He nodded while trying to reason with her.
"Exactly. It took me some time to figure out. It's gone because it wasn't you who liked having me around. It was never you, Bella. The real you doesn't care one way or another if I'm around. From the very beginning, when Jake introduced us at the bonfire, it was her, your daughter. From the very first time you realized you liked me being around, it was Ness who wanted me there." She growled aloud.
"Ness? Ness! YOU NICKNAMED MY DAUGHTER AFTER THE LOCH NESS MONSTER!" She charged at him and Leah got in her way to protect her brother. Bella, without realizing what she was doing, kicked Leah away, straight into a tree. She yelped as this happened and Edward ran to her.
"Leah!" He knelt next to her and placed his hand on her side as the horror of what she did impacted Bella.
"Le-Leah, I'm so sorry." She gasped in fear of what she had done and Leah growled before nodding, struggling to stand up.
"Bella?" She looked to Seth as her anger left, her filling with regret. "Look, we don't actually know each other very well, but Jake knows me. He can tell you that I'm not looking to have anything romantic with Ness-" He started, but quickly corrected himself. "Vanessa. I'm only fifteen and, like you said, she is just a baby. I'm not after that. All I want is for her to be safe, happy, full of life like she naturally is. I want her to never know sadness, heartbreak, or tragedy. I want her to live a life that is painless." She took a deep breath as did Seth. "Look, my life has never really made much sense. Since I phased, I've had the most identity crisis out of everyone. I'm the oddball wolf who likes to be around vampires and isn't bothered by their scent in the least bit. I connect more with the Cullen's than I do with my own kind. I've never been a normal wolf. I never met someone who liked their company as much as I do until Vanessa was born. She loves them, Bella. She has already made my life make sense because finally...I'm not alone." She gulped as she saw the truth in his eyes, sad as they were. "I didn't understand the imprint until I realized that she is just like me. She is the same kind of wolf as me. She is an oddball, like me. She is a wolf who loves vampire. I think you can understand being the only person in your life that liked the Cullen's at one point." She knew what Seth was referring to. He was talking about when they left and the pack was constantly bad mouthing them around her.
She took a deep breath before she bit her lip, nodding.
"Okay, Seth." He looked to her relieved as everyone gasped. "If you are going to be around, you will abide by my rules. You are not to be alone with my daughter, period. Is that understood?" He nodded and she groaned. "You are not going to be alone with her for even a single blink of an eye. You will not be left alone with my daughter until you decide to marry her. Am I clear?" He nodded excitedly as she rolled her eyes and turned away from him, walking back up the steps. "You better not become a pain in my ass, Seth."