Oh my Edward…I got over my 200 reviews limit! THANK YOU! I posted this chapter earlier than usual because after reading your lovely reviews I just couldn't back away from my computer. I was glad that I got your brains spinning with the mystery behind Bella's scream. Now I don't normally do this, but I have to request a song that I think best goes with this chapter, hopefully I will do this with other chapters as well. The song is: Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine. I hope y'all enjoy! Without further ado…
Disclaimer: not mine.
The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out
You left me in the dark
No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight
In the shadow of your heart
Forks, Washington Forest, 2008
Isabella Marie Whitlock Mason Cullen's POV:
Have you ever noticed that no matter what time of day it is, the earth is always lit up by a single source of light?
The sun, the more common one, always displays its radiant energy by creating a faded orange glow. Its barrier circles the atmosphere and quiet literally sheds light on all that adapt in their homes. Without the sun, we wouldn't be able to see the beauty that daytime brings to our planet. Over time we would possibly adapt to the darkness, but it just wouldn't be the same.
As the sun sets, the moon takes its place. The moon doesn't leave an empty promise because it substitutes the light from the day. The faded orange turns into a silvery ray of moon light that caresses the forest and gives a sense of serenity to all who live under its orb. Without the moon, our nights would be harsh and utterly cold with its darkness.
The sun and the moon created me, because they guided me. The moon helped to create the ocean currents and shed light with the stars. Without that I wouldn't have been able to escape from Kara. The sun bands all immortals from trespassing in mortal territory. Without it I would have been forced to kill many more innocents than I wished for. But also, they give me love.
Edward has a darker side to him, that much is obvious. Yet he displays his affection for live because he wants to continue living. In his world, he is a dark soulless monster with no redeeming qualities. He believes that everyone should fear him and stray from his path. But, like the moon, he sheds light in the darkness. He adores his family and protects them from the smallest of things all because he cares for their safety. He doesn't tend to yell or act out in aggressive ways because he still kept his gentlemen-like manor from when he was mortal. In my eyes, he is still that seventeen year old boy who loves life no matter what cost him to live. Time and time again he curses himself by saying he has no soul. But tell me this, can a soulless monster love? Edward is my moon because no matter how dark and unfair life seems to be, he is always there shedding light.
Though most people find Jasper as very hesitant and cold, he is the friendliest and most loving soul I had ever met. Jasper's past is very similar to mine, very dark and frightening. He believes that every crime should have a punishment so that crime could never be committed again. He made this 'rule' and so he lives by it, always hiding away his pain and thirst because he knows of the consequences. Like Edward, he too has no faith in souls. To him, we are just the carcass of what used to be. Everyone should be wary of immortals and immortals should hide away from mortals. Jasper believes the two worlds should never collide.
Yet everyday he displays his appreciation for the living and adoration for life. Jasper, like the sun, creates a sense of happiness and peace with just his presence. Though he seems strict, I know he is playful and very mischievous…because I have seen it. He believes vampires are a nothing important and shouldn't even be real. But tell me this; can 'nothing' have emotions? Jasper is my sun because no matter how painful it is to see life grow and flourish the earth, he keeps me alive.
While all of this was spinning around my head making my mind go into overdrive, I was also worrying about their 'meeting'. I had overheard a few things they said to each other when I 'left' and I couldn't have been any more heartbroken. They honestly don't see how much they both mean to me and how much they should mean to themselves. They aren't monsters because if I was their 'angel' how can my soul revolve around their wellbeing? I really hope they work this out, because I honestly don't know what I will do if they can't even be seen with each other. Next thing I know, they will be making time schedules for when I was allowed to visit the other. If it ever came down to that, I would have Alice help me kick both their asses' then yell at them for being idiots.
I finished my quick meal and buried the carcass of the dear near an old oak. I was going to turn and venture back to my family, but the wind picked up and the scent of mountain lion drifted from the north. I felt the venom in my mouth spilling over onto my razor sharp teeth and pooling in my cheeks. I swallowed painfully and flew backwards, tracking the delicious scent.
The trees around me became blurs and the light precipitation that plunged from the hazy grey clouds trickled down my cheeks. My strides were quick and my arms moved back and forth with grace as I flew past every patch of dirt and every moss covered boulder. The scent got stronger and I detected a family of five lions. I felt my excitement take over and I jumped from a small cliff that was divided by a medium sized river, and landed with a slight crouch on the other cliff.
I sprinted forward and leapt from a boulder. As I was airborne, a huge ball of fur snarled fiercely and threw me backwards, creating a small crater in the ground. My head snapped back as I hit the ground hard and felt myself skidding into a tree. When I opened my eyes I immediately went on red alert. I jumped back onto my feet and dipped down into my predators crouch. I narrowed my eyes at the huge silver wolf in front of me, though I couldn't keep the look of shock and fear from my face. Where wolves supposed to grow that big? How the hell did it get so powerful as to toss me back a couple hundred feet?
The wolf barred its massive canines at me and let loose a feral growl. I matched it with my own menacing snarl. It didn't take long to charge at me. When it got close enough, I hoped onto its back and flipped over it. The wolf swerved so it didn't hit the tree as I whirled around to meet its annoyed face. He charged me once more and this time I didn't move. I took the blow head on and felt its weight plunging me into the ground. I lifted its huge head up and howled an almighty sound that had me flinching underneath it.
The wolf ducked his head down and tried to take a chunk of my shoulder off with its teeth. I quickly shot my hands forward and grabbed at his throat, tossing him off of me. I got back to my feet and contemplated running back to my family. Then I thought it's just a lone wolf, right? I can handle this thing easily.
I stood corrected when seven more wolves appeared from all different angles. They circled me and I glared at all of them, silently telling them to try me. The silver one ran at me and I wasn't prepared for what happened next. A brown wolf ran at me from my left, causing my to turn my body and face him at last minute. The silver wolf leapt in the air and successfully bit into my shoulder as it passed. I felt pain burst through my shoulder and I cried aloud. I shot my head to the side and gapped in horror at my arm that hung limp in the wolf's mouth. I frantically looked down and saw that the wolf had indeed taken off my limb.
I shrieked in agony and in anger as I tried to leap over another wolf that charged me. Since I had a disadvantage, this wolf pinned me in no time. I shot my left hand forward and punched its nose, making it stumble off me and howl in pain. Another wolf pounced on top of me before I could get up and glared down at me. I narrowed my eyes at its huge black orbs and felt the wolf suddenly stop struggling. I was confused and I didn't move, not wanting to encourage another round of fights. I just wanted my arm back and I wanted my husband and brothers to beat the crap out of this damn wolf pack.
Looking back up at the massive russet wolf pinning me to the earth, it slowly backed off of me and continued to stare at me in awe. I looked at the other wolves and they too were staring at me like I sprouted another head. What the hell was going on?
La Push, Washington 2008
Jacob Ephraim Black's POV:
I curled my lip in disgust as I glanced at Sam and Emily making out in her kitchen. I don't get imprinting and I hopefully never will. It seems like Seth, Leah, Quill, and I were the only ones who weren't brainwashed by all this crap. The again, the others just pity us because we are the only ones who haven't imprinted yet. Well I pity them because they are prisoners to their imprints. And the most messed up part is that their bodies and minds tell them that it's good. It sick, really.
Quill and Embry were devouring a basket of Emily's muffins while Leah was painting her nails on the couch and Seth was sitting next to me across from his sister, watching the poor quality satellite T.V. Paul and Jared were on guard near the border between La Push and Forks. Those stupid leaches better stay on their side. Even though we all knew we were dying for a good brawl.
I was playing with a bottle cap when suddenly I heard the sound of Pauls' howling echo from the forest. We all dropped what we were doing and raced outside, immediately transforming and leaving behind a heap of scrap clothing. We tore up the ground with our huge paws and sharp nails. I saw in Paul's mind a tiny brunette leach trying to hunt on our lands. We each gave off our own feral growls and I could feel the anticipation burning throughout our bodies.
We finally broke through and circled the leach. She looked afraid and I smirked. Paul yelled in his mind hey Jared! Charge her while I try to go for her arm! Jared smiled and nodded his head. He leapt forward while Paul ran to the leach and tore her arm from her body. She shrieked in agony and anger while the rest of us flinched a little. Damn blood-sucker had lungs! Quill ran to her and she tossed him off of her. I got angry so before she could make another move, I pinned her back to the ground. She let loose a growl and looked up at me with her frightened eyes. I looked down at her and felt the world stop.
It's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like… gravity moves. When you see her, suddenly it's not the earth holding you here anymore. She does. And nothing matters more than her. And you would do anything for her, be anything for her… You become whatever she needs you to be, whether that's a protector, or a lover, or a friend, or a brother. (Jacob Black, Eclipse, Chapter 8, p.176)
I stared at her in awe. I saw her struggling a little bit so I hesitantly got off of her. She didn't move after that and looked at me in confusion. I heard one thought fly around from the rest of the pack before we smelt more blood-suckers. Oh shit. I had imprinted…on a vampire. What the hell?
Forks, Washington Forest, 2008
Isabella Marie Whitlock Mason Cullen's POV:
I smelt my family coming and I felt a smile tugging the corner of my lips. I had no idea what the hell these mutant wolves were, nor why they seemed so angered by my presence, but I knew Edward, Jasper, and Emmett would surely take care of them. I heard the trees rustling across the river and saw a head of honey and bronze race onto the cliff and over to us. Jasper and Edward had arrived.
I felt two strong arms wrap around me and pull me into their chest. I heard Edwards's chest vibrate as he growled at the wolves. Jasper stood only two feet in front of us, crouching low and barring his teeth. Edward finally seemed to notice my disfigured shoulder and he gasped loudly, making Jasper turn around to stare at me in horror. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Edward screamed at the wolves. They growled in return, but didn't attack. They looked almost restrained and the russet wolf was still staring at me. Jasper didn't like this so he blocked the wolf's view by standing in front of me. I heard the wolf whimper and saw the rest of them growl at my brother.
A big black wolf turned around and a few seconds later, a half-naked man appeared from behind the bushes. He looked pained and slightly confused as he approached us, but chooses wisely to stop a few extra feet away. "I'm Sam, the leader of this pack. It appears one of your kind decided to hunt on our land." How did a human know about vampires? What the hell did he mean by 'our land'? My head spun but Edward just tightened his hold around me while keeping his angered expression on his face.
Jasper decided to answer his question in a deadly voice that still rung with his southern accent, "The treaty was made after she was taken from us. She didn't know." What…treaty? Then it clicked. The giant wolves, the human from the bushes, the angry brawl…they were werewolves! I had heard about them from Kara and Maria, but I didn't pay attention to their small bicker seeing as I was a little busy at the time trying to plot my escape.
"It is still your job to acknowledge any blood-suckers about our treaty." I didn't like the way he referred to my family and I as 'blood-suckers' and surprisingly neither did the russet wolf because he growled along with Jasper and Edward. Sam looked down at him and sighed, scratching the back of his head. "As it appears, she has an advantage that no others are allowed." I looked confused and so did Jasper and Edward. Whatever they knew, they were blocking from their mind so Edward couldn't read it. I was guessing these wolves knew a lot about my family. That thought alone pissed me off.
"What do you mean?" Edward hissed at Sam. The russet wolf ducked his head and the silver wolf that still had my arm in his mouth, spit my arm out and ran into the bushes followed by the brown wolf. Three seconds later, two other men walked out. "He means that Jacob imprinted on your filthy blood-sucker!" Edward froze in my arm and Jasper's face looked impossibly whiter. They looked frozen with their eyes wide and I felt Edward practically mold his body around mine.
"Don't you dare call her that, mutt!" Jasper screamed at him, breaking out of his trance. The same time Edward snarled out, "WHAT?" Sam turned to the silver wolf and yelled, "Paul, calm down! Jared stop it!" I was so confused. Imprint….imprint…where had I heard that before…
I quietly entered the shed where Kara and Maria were lounged on a love seat. Katy was draining a man while Matt was twirling rock in his hand with utter boredom etched across his face.
"The wolves will be easy to attack, if needed be." Maria said in a cocky tone that had my rolling my eyes. She was so dense.
"What do you mean?" Kara asked skeptically raising a brow.
"They have this thing called an 'imprint' or as I like to call it, a weak spot." She chuckled to herself.
"What's that?" Matt asked, finally seeming interested in something. I silently glided across the room and sat on the far end of the couch Matt was occupying.
"An imprint is a person a wolf…falls in love with. Their only goal in life is to make their imprints happy no matter what they want. Their entire life depends on it, and without their imprint they are nothing. It's not exactly a love at first sight thing; I have heard it is more like a science. Or a cosmic love, because it's not true love its chosen for them. They are bound to be with that person and they have no control over it whatsoever."
"What!" I screeched finally understanding the situation. No, no, no, no, no! I belong with Edward, not some wolf I had just met! Edward is my mate and we are madly in love. No stupid mongrel is going to mess that up for us. We won't allow it. Although I did feel pity for the wolf. He had no choice as well, and apparently it will pain him to be away from me. Maybe I could be his friend? God my head hurt.
The russet wolf leapt into the forest and came back out as a…well I had to say he did look…nice? I wasn't attracted to him in any way, I was simply stating a fact. He seemed like a well fit guy. He kept staring at me and Edward glared fiercely at him when he tried to approach us.
"Please…Edward he can't control it-"Sam started to say but was cut off by Edward furious voice, "She is my mate! My wife! I won't allow this to happen. She belongs to me and me only." I shivered a little at how sexy that sounded coming from his deep angered voice. He pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arms around me, as if showing off his possession. Normally I would have playfully growled at him for being so possessive and demanding, but this was a very serious situation.
"At least let him go onto your lands. The Le-girl can come onto ours as well. They can be strictly…friends…" Sam struggled with his words as Jasper's upper lip twitched in disgust towards the situation. Edward seemed to be having a silent conversation with Sam and I knew it was about me and Jacob. He was probably telling Edward how a wolf cannot bare to be away from its imprint for long. Was this how it was going to be from now on? Edward me and Jacob? Not if I could stop it. There had to be a loophole.
Edward growled at something and looked away from Sam. He was going to ignore the wolves now, wasn't he? I sighed and looked towards Jasper for answers. He looked at me and I saw a piercing emotion run through his eyes before he turned back to Sam. "Fine. Only Jacob can cross the line though." Sam nodded and replied, "And only the girl can cross our line." Edward growled softly and muttered, "Her name is Bella." I was beginning to wonder where the rest of the family was. They must have gone home from the hunt early, so that means they were in for a shock when we returned with a wolf. Hopefully Alice had seen this and told everyone where we were.
"Now that we seemed to settle this dispute" Jasper said with anger clear in his voice, "Do you mind giving back my sister her arm?" Paul glared at him but tossed my arm to me which Edward caught and started to hold it near my shoulder. I felt it bond back together and I whimpered in pain as I clenched my teeth and snapped my eyes shut. Edward held me closer to his body and rubbed my arm while snarling at Paul. "Next time, you will be the one to lose an arm dog." He said in a menacing voice to which Paul just snorted.
"Alright…what's done is done" Sam said then looked at Edward with pleading eyes. Edward rolled his eyes, still annoyed and angry but reluctantly nodded his head. The wolves left one by one, all but one. The russet wolf, Jacob, walked closer to me and said a shy, "Hi." I smiled a sad smile at him, he did seem sweet enough. "Hello Jacob, I'm Bella. This is my brother Jasper and my husband Edward." He nodded to both of them and we all took off into the forest. I could tell Edward was pulling on my arm slightly, trying to move us away from Jacob. I sighed and I knew I would have to have a talk with him once we got home.
The house was only a few miles in front of us, the bright lights cascading a soft glow around the midnight forest. We walked inside and found the rest of the family in the living room. "Bella, thank god!" Alice yelled as she threw herself at me and suffocated me in a hug. I hugged her back and she smiled as she stepped back then frowned when she noticed Jacob. Everyone stared at him and he looked down at his feet, a little embarrassed. I felt bad for him so I took his hand and lead him inside the living room. I didn't miss how Edward tensed when I touched Jacob.
"Guys…this is Jacob…." They continued to stare and finally Carlisle snapped out of it and walked over to us. "Hello Jacob, I am Carlisle" he outstretched his hand and Jacob hesitantly shook it. He said his small 'hello' and Esme walked over to give him a hug to which he reluctantly returned and smiled at her. Emmett looked confused and stayed where he was on the couch with Rose in his lap. "Sup Jake" he said with a large goofy grin. Rose just glared at our poor visitor.
"Bella honey it's not that we don't want your friend here but…" Esme said looking confused as she trailed off. Edward growled and crossed his arms over his chest while jasper sighed and decided to answer for me. "Jacob…well…it seems impossible but he…" Edward walked forward and took my left hand which wasn't holding Jacob's and said harshly, "He imprinted on her."
Carlisle and Esme stared at Jacob and I with worry while Alice and Rose looked quiet angry and Emmett looked wary about the entire situation. They were all shocked though and Carlisle made that point clear by stepping up and asking the golden question. "Is that even possible?" I sighed and murmured, "I guess so…" The rest of the night was spent asking questions. We all sat down in the lounge while Carlisle asked about the Quileute's beliefs and how an imprinting works. The more Jacob told us, the more Edward seemed angry. When Esme asked about our encounter Jacob reluctantly told them what happened between me and Paul. Needless to say, Emmett lost it and lunged for Jacob, but Carlisle and Jasper held him back. Edward just smirked as I sighed. We then found out that Alice can't see her visions when wolves are around, thus making Rose even more aggravated.
Currently I was cuddled up to Edward lying on top of our sheets in our room wearing only our pajamas. Well…he was wearing his boxers and I was wearing a blue baby doll. He twirled my hair in his finger and I smiled at him as I lazily scrawled circles into his arm. He leaned in to kiss me and I allowed him while I wrapped my arms around his neck. Our kiss was shortly lived when we heard Rose and Jacob starting up again downstairs. "Those two have been going at it since he arrived" I sighed into Edward's chest. I heard his heavenly chuckled as he flashed me his crooked grin and said, "I can't blame her. For the first time I think I owe Rosalie a thank you." I playfully slapped his arm and got out of bed. "Where are you going?" He asked me while I put on some black skinny jeans and a white V-neck T-shirt. "I am going to make sure they don't kill each other." He groaned and buried his face into the pillows. I smiled and made my way downstairs.
I was walking to the last step when I tripped over a thin string and lost my balance. I would have regained it in a second, but I was wrapped in someone's scorching hot arms. I heard Emmett's laughter stop when he saw Jacob carrying me and I looked up in worry. I only hope Edward didn't see this- "Jacob!" I heard him yell and I felt myself being lifted into another pair of arms. I looked up to see Emmett looking down at me with an apologetic grimace. I turned around and saw Edward and Rose glaring daggers at the outraged werewolf.
I couldn't keep track of the words they threw at each other, just that I didn't want to hear them. I was annoyed that Jacob was here, but I didn't want them fighting all the time. I saw Emmett walking towards the door with me in his arms and I opened my mouth to ask him where we were going. He just smiled sadly and shook his head. Once we were outside he let me down on my feet and jasper appeared from the back door. "What's going on?" I asked the two of them. They smiled at me and Jasper replied, "We thought you would need some brotherly talking time." I laughed at them and Emmett kneeled down in front of me. "Get on squirt!" I chuckled and hoped onto his back as the three of us raced off into the forest.
FREEZE! NOBODY PANIC! IMPORTANT: This is all part of my plan, just TRUST ME! I promise there will be a loophole! After all this is an E/B pairing Okay, now you can review! LOL!