Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters.
-Our Little Voice-
-Chapter II-The key to happiness -
-Peter's POV-
I couldn't breathe, not that I needed it but I wanted to smell her scent again. I could just stare at her beautiful chocolate brown eyes. I actually had to lean against Sam's shoulder. I felt the world shaking around me, but I knew better than that, it wasn't the world, it was me and everything I thought I knew. Over a hundred and fifty years and everything I had to go through was suddenly worth it because of this human girl.
"Fuck me Sam." I whispered. "Bella is my mate."
As soon as the words left my mouth I heard seven different gasps, and six rips in the air as the boys started phasing into fucking giant wolves. The front door slammed open so fast and hard that I am positive it came out of its hinges. I glanced at Sam for a second; he was staring back at me with his eyes narrowed. His body was shaking and the hands that were supporting me a moment ago were now pressing my shoulders painfully.
My eyes almost popped out of their sockets as I realized that the mutt was trying not to phase! Fuck! For the first time in my existence I was scared. He couldn't fucking phase just a few feet away from my mate and another female human! She could be one of my mates' friends and I couldn't let anything wrong happen to them. The other two mutts by the table were also shaking and trying to back away but the room was too small.
One of the things I love the most about being a vampire is how quickly our body reacts to a thought. As soon as I decided to get the humans away from danger my senses established the quickest mutt-free path to ensure their safety.
I pushed Sam away and before he could even register the motion I had both humans safely cradled in my arms. They shrieked so fucking loud that it actually hurt my ears a little, but their safety was more important. I leaped across the kitchen to the back door and was up on the roof by the time I heard some of the furniture in the kitchen crashing as the huge wolves finished phasing.
"You are safe, you are both safe." I cooed as I sat the humans down. They were shivering and clutching each other's hands tightly. I wasn't stupid enough to believe they were comfortable with my presence and they probably thought I was a crazy Vampire snatcher but my instincts were getting the best of me and I had to make sure my mate was unscratched.
I sat my mate on my lap and began ghosting my hands through her face and body making sure there was nothing wrong with her before I allowed myself to take a breath. Her scent was the most exquisite thing; I nuzzled my nose on her neck. She shivered and moved her hands to my hair, pulling from it a little. It felt amazing. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation of having my mate finally in my arms. A small part of my senses took notice of the mutts circling the house, growling and barking at us but I was in heaven. I could deal with them later.
I saw the other human walking towards the edge of the roof and heard her talking quietly to the mutts but I was much more interested in my mate. I felt her body shifting away from me and finally realized that she wasn't pulling my hair to make me feel better, she was trying to get away from me. I purred softly trying to calm her down.
"Please don't eat us, please don't eat us." She whispered softly. Eat them? I snorted and pushed her body away from mine a little so I could look into her eyes.
"Bella I wouldn't eat you even if you were the last human in the world and I wouldn't hurt one of your friends either." She glanced up at me looking like a deer caught in the headlights.
"I- I don't understand." She said and took a deep breath, her heart was beating so fast but I couldn't sense any fear coming from her until she looked down. She gasped and held on to my shirt tightly. "The wolves, they are my friends too please don't hurt them either!" She asked softly.
"I won't do anything you don't want me to." I cooed.
"Fucking stinky leech! Bring them down now motherfucker! I am going to kill you and dance around your pyre!" Paul shouted from the ground. Stupid mutt. I would have been annoyed at him for calling me stinky again but it made Bella giggle and anything that made my mate happy or amused was alright with me.
"I think the mutts finally came back to their senses. I will take you down ladies." I stood up with my mate still in my arms and gave an apologetic smile to the other human as I grabbed her and jumped down. I landed softly a few yards away from the house, made sure they were safe on their feet and leaped away from them in case the mutts shifted again to attack me. It didn't escape my notice that Bella took half a step towards me before she stopped herself.
I smiled at her before glancing at the half naked people by the house. Sam walked towards my mate and the other human and I couldn't stop myself from growling softly at him. The fucker better stay away from my mate. He nodded in understanding to me before enveloping the other human in a hug. He was whispering softly and checking her for any injuries much like I did with Bella up on the roof.
I couldn't believe my bad luck, of all the humans she had to be the Alphas' mate. They were surely going to try and eat me again now.
"What is your name?" He turned his head slightly towards me.
"Peter Whitlock." I told him.
"Why? Why did you take my Emily with you as well?" His voice shook a little and I frowned.
"Fuck man I didn't know she was your mate! I am sorry alright? But did you the size of that kitchen? There were three of you mutts inside. Besides I figured there was a good chance she is a friend of my mate." I answered with a shrug. He was more than aware what could have happened with the three of them shifting in such a small space.
"No Peter…" He hesitated for a moment. "Thank you." He nodded. I sighed in relief and returned the gesture before he went back to nuzzling all over Emily. Gross.
"Sam! What the fuck!" Paul shouted. "Another fucking leech can come and just claim Bella?" I growled. No one else can claim my mate! If that Cullen boy thought for a second that Bella was his, he must have been delusional. No one will keep me away from my mate. Not a Cullen or a silly pack of mutts.
"I saw it Paul. It seems Vampires are not as different from us as we thought; if we can forget about their awful smell of course. His face went all gooey just as we look when we imprint." He shrugged. "If you want to see what will happen if you try to keep him away from his mate go right ahead. I won't let the others interfere though. Just keep in mind that there were five of us when we first saw him in the woods and we couldn't even touch him." He added shaking his head.
Ah this Sam boy knows his shit better than I thought. I kinda like him whenever I am not breathing. I glanced to Paul and raised an eyebrow waiting to see if he was going to try and make a run for my Bella. He growled at me and hesitated. Bella gasped and looked at me pleading with her eyes. Pleading for what? Fucking beats me but I wasn't planning on hurting the pup… too much. We have an army of Vampires to worry about after all.
I was crouching in front of Bella before Paul could make up his mind.
"Stop right there pup. I may not have a problem with you mutts but you have no say whatsoever about what goes on between mates, just as you would protect your imprint make no mistake I will protect mine; from the lot of you and anyone else wishes to do her harm or take her away." I used the coldest tone I could muster for my little speech.
"What? She gets no say in this fucker?" He asked and I sighed. That wasn't something I would like to think about so soon. In theory because she is a human she doesn't feel the bond or the mating pull to the extent that I feel it. Humans are just not capable of feeling so intensely. I glanced back at her for a moment and grimaced.
"Of course she does, while she remains humans at least. And before you even dare to ask, of course I wouldn't change her against her wishes. I couldn't hurt my mate in such a way." I said softly glancing to the ground.
There was silence for a moment; the mutts were looking between me and my mate, a couple of them looked angry, Paul and another boy. The rest like Sam seemed to accept the news better. The most important opinion was Bella's though, I wanted to hold her and run away from the mutts and the Vampire army that was scheduled to arrive in a few days and just spend the rest of eternity with her in a secluded home somewhere in the wilderness.
I knew better than that though, or the little voice did anyway, as much as I wanted to do all that, for once my gift was useful and let me know that if I did it she would never agree to be with me. I wasn't into abducting and placing girls in tall towers so I could only wait for her to process the information and hope that she would decide to speak about it with me.
The silence became a little awkward and most of the mutts walked away muttering about the kitchen needing to be fixed. Sam was still holding Emily but they were both giving my mate sideway glances. Paul and the other boy were looking at her as well with their arms crossed and a scowl on their faces.
Bella was fidgeting and flushed with embarrassment. I sighed softly and decided I would just give her some space and time. I wasn't a very patient Vampire and my personality was childish as Charlotte often reminded me. I didn't mind, after everything I went through during the Newborn Wars I had little interest left for seriousness.
But unfortunately for me and my childish ways finding our mates, no matter what is serious business and my happiness was now in the hands of this human girl. I grumbled. I seriously had to have bad luck to be mated with a human, and even worse, a human with very bad experiences with my kind already. No matter what she decides, I will find the Cullens and remind them about what being a Vampire is really about.
In their wish to retain their so called humanities they made a mess out of my mate. I never understood how they cannot see that just because we were changed into Vampires doesn't mean our humanity suddenly vanished. We were humans first after all, the difference in strength, speed and the need to drink blood doesn't mean much in the long run. We don't wake up from the change being evil demons. Sure there are some sick and twisted Vampires out there like Maria, but there are even more sick and twisted humans in the world.
Humans don't need Vampires or any other supernatural creatures in their legends and horror stories to make this world a scary place; they manage to do that by themselves without any supernatural help.
"Sam..." I squeaked and quickly cleared my throat. He chuckled but I just shrugged it off and continued. "I may be able to get an extra leech or two to help us. With a little luck we might be able to just sit and watch while a friend takes care of the entire bunch of Newborns. "
"What?" He asked with a gasp.
"How is that possible?" Paul stuttered.
I shrugged again. "Some Vampires have very powerful gifts."
I glanced at the darkening sky. I wasn't sure if I would be able to get them to help and we already lost precious hours of training; the mutts need to sleep, unfortunately. If we are alone in this, it only gives me six days to prepare them for what's coming. I can't dismiss the possibility of some of the Newborns having gifts as well.
"We have six days and I am not sure if the fuckers will agree to help, so we have to train. I will be waiting for you first thing in the morning in the clearing you found me." I nodded to Sam and Emily before turning to my mate.
"Bella…" I whispered and hesitated, not completely sure of what I wanted to say. 'Let me change you right now, so you can instinctually love me too? Let me invite you to dinner so I can woo you? Let's have a quickie in the woods?' The little voice in my head was encouraging the quickie in the woods idea followed by biting her and marking her as my mate. Apparently the little voice is male as well.
"Maybe…" She hesitated and took a deep breath. "Could you take me home Peter?" I almost melted when she spoke my name. Taking her home was good. Better than she running away screaming at the thought of being near another Vampire and much, much better than asking one of the pups to go with her instead.
"Yes, of course." I smiled and nodded my head a few more times than necessary. She chuckled.
"Emily, Sam… I'll see you guys tomorrow." She smiled at them and started walking away.
"Bella! Are you really leaving with the leech?" The boy next to Paul was shaking a little but he looked defeated.
"Jacob don't… just please don't start with this again." She sighed sounding irritated and sad but she didn't give him a chance to reply and motioned me to follow her to her truck.
She was quiet during the drive; I could see her mouth moving slightly as if she was talking to herself. She was probably thinking about everything she heard in the mutt's home, her face and body language were easy to read. There was incredulity and apprehension along with hope and excitement. I wanted her to speak, to ask me whatever questions were running through her mind. I wanted to hold her and soothe the apprehension away.
Apparently I can behave like a grown man when it comes to my mate. Charlotte would be very proud. I chuckled too quietly to interrupt her musings.
Her house was small but it looked like a real home. The neatly trimmed yard was only missing the white picket fence. She led me to the living room area before going to the kitchen and getting a glass of water. I sat down on the couch, leaving enough room for her too sit down as well without feeling threatened by my presence.
I glanced around noticing the old creamy yellow paint that decorated the walls, there were many picture frames and small decorations, even though they didn't look expensive, I had a feeling everything was meaningful in some way. I wanted to ask her about them, to find out everything she thought and found special in her life.
She sat down on the couch, closer to me than I expected and drank half of the water in her glass before glancing at me shyly.
"So… It's not the first time I hear I am someone's mate." Bella said softly. I had to stop myself from interrupting her with a growl. 'She is entitled to question this.' I kept telling myself.
"How can you be so sure I am your mate?" She was biting her bottom lip; I shivered and took all my control to stop myself from leaning closer to her and nibbling her lip.
"Bella… That is very difficult to explain." I sighed.
"Try, please." She pleaded.
"It's like needing to breathe for the first time in over a century and a half. It's exhilarating and terrifying at the same time to feel this kind of connection to someone. It took a simple look into your eyes to know with every cell of my being that you hold the key to my happiness." I grimaced. "It seems like when you find your mate you also lose your balls." I murmured but she heard me and giggled.
"Y-you won't be happy without me? Not ever?" She gulped. "That's a lot of pressure." She added quietly. I am sure she didn't intend for me to hear.
I chuckled. "Well, I haven't been truly happy in all my existence Bella, it takes a mate for us to experience that, now I understand it. I have been content and I have enjoyed most of my time in this world, I could and would continue to feel that way if you don't want to be changed. Not at first of course, but Bella, eternity is a long time to dwell on things we cannot control."
"What happens with me though? Would I ever be happy if I don't become a Vampire?" She asked with a frown.
"I can't answer that sugar. Happiness is a tricky thing but no matter what happens you can find your own happiness, that's one of the few things I find worthwhile about being human. You change, adapt and grow with every passing moment, unlike most supernatural creatures. I don't regret becoming what I am though; I was never good at being human. I like watching the world change around me and I like having all the time in the world to do whatever I like, to learn anything and everything." I said leaning back on the couch, being so close to her was really difficult, all my instincts were screaming at me to change her.
"I don't think I am very good at being human either Peter." She said softly. "The only time I have felt like I fit in was when the Cullens were around. I guess the pack told you about them?" I nodded swallowing a growl. "When they left I felt like I would die. The pack helped me a lot though." She smiled and finished her glass of water.
"I didn't come here knowing I would find my mate, it was a pleasant surprise but regardless of your choice I will help the mutts with Victoria and her army. In a week you will be safe and able to continue with your life. If that is the only thing I can do for you I will be happy for the rest of my existence knowing you had a chance at happiness without the dangers of the supernatural world." I said honestly. It would almost kill me, I am sure but I would let her be happy as a human if that is what she wants.
She moved closer to me and took one of my hands in hers; she was so warm and fuck me! The pull was stronger like this, so close to me and touching me. I willed my body to remain still and bit the inside of my cheek hard.
"I…" She took a deep breath and whispered. "I want you to change me Peter." I gasped.
Thank you lots and lots for all the reviews you guys left in the first chapter. I still can't believe so many people liked it!
Some of you think Peter pouts too much while others don't seem to mind so I think I will just have him be a mix of silly with serious and scary, depending on the situation. But don't worry I won't have him pouting in the middle of the newborn battle.
I hope you all like this chapter, if you can please let me know what you think. I promise I will explain why Bella wants to be changed in the next chapter!