Chapter Seven

Bella

I showered then made hot chocolate and went up to my room and curled up on the window seat staring out at the trees dripping with the pouring rain that hit the glass with a steady drumming sound. It was a sound I had once found really annoying but it had become so familiar I found it hard to sleep on a dry night. Tonight however my mind was miles away, back on the river bank remembering the sensation of Jasper's cold fingers on my lips as he fed me with tidbits from the picnic something that had seemed quite natural with him but would have appeared a little too intimate with anyone else this early in a relationship. There was something nagging at the edges of my consciousness though and I knew if I let my mind wander where that it would come to me eventually.

The poem Jasper had recited was all about loneliness, very sad and dark and I wondered at what time he had felt like that. Possibly after his parents had died, that must have been a terrible time for two young children. If they had disappeared into the foster system then presumably they had no relatives, no one who cared about them. He had been lucky he had his sister with him, it would have been terrible if the two of them had been separated but then as twins maybe that couldn't have been allowed.

Then it hit me, the thing that had been bugging me, it had been something he had said, a strange phrase he had used,

"WHEN I came from" not where but when was it a slip of the tongue? After all, I was great at getting words mixed up and making gaffes when I was nervous but Jasper didn't strike me as a person who would make mistakes. Well, whatever he had meant I would be seeing him again in a few hours and it hardly mattered.

I had no idea if he would greet me warmly at work tomorrow, he might want to keep his private and work lives separate although I doubted I could be so close to him and not want to touch him, to speak to him, and be in his company. I sighed and picked up my latest book, Gone With the Wind. I had promised myself I would read it before I watched the classic film and soon found myself immersed in the deep south, on the battlefields of the Civil War.

Jasper

I hated leaving Bella but I knew I should take things slowly, she was young and although I thought she knew what she wanted and was mature enough to make decisions of the heart I wanted to court her properly. As I drove back to what I knew was going to rival the Spanish Inquisition in intensity I wondered how she would greet me at work tomorrow? Would she want to keep our burgeoning romance to herself? Would I have to smile, nod and walk past her? If she did then I would but the thought of being so close to her and not being able to touch her, hold her, was going to drive me crazy.

Of course, I was right, the girls didn't even give me a chance to get inside the house, they cornered me in the garage and demanded a blow by blow account of my day. I thought I might get some ribbing about the boat trip but they seemed genuinely pleased that it had gone so well. Even Esme and Carlisle smiled when I told them I would be taking Bella out again during the week.

"I'm just glad Edward bumped into Garrett and decided to stay a few more days. I can see his glee at trampling through your thoughts picking at your memories Jazz."

I looked at Alice all mirth was gone from my face and my voice,

"If Edward tries it I will rip out his tongue and barbecue it. My thoughts are private and it's about time he remembered that."

Esme took my arm and smiled at me gently,

"I think he learned his lesson last time he tried Jasper but don't worry, Carlisle has said he'll have a word when Edward gets back and warn him to behave."

"Thanks, Esme but I mean it, I won't have him trampling through my brain."

I went up to my room relieved to shut the door knowing no one would disturb me while it was closed, and collapsed into my chair staring out at the rain and thinking about today, the happiest I had experienced in a very long time. Carlisle had told me about the mating pull and how wonderful it felt to find your soul mate and I had listened with some scepticism but he had been right. Emmett had told me of the feelings he experienced when he first set eyes on Rosalie and now I had felt them too. All I had to do was to find somewhere for us to go during the week. I wasn't quite ready to bring Bella here yet, I was just jealous enough to want her all to myself a little longer. I guess I should have been worrying about how she would react when she discovered my secret but somehow I thought by that time she would love me too and it wouldn't matter any longer. Of course, I hoped she would ask me to change her so we could spend eternity together but it was early in the relationship yet and I intended to enjoy every moment with her.

Jake

I hadn't broken any law, I'd stayed at a good distance from Bella and the leech, just close enough that I could watch over her and intervene if he appeared ready to attack her. I had to give him his due, he had acted like a real man, like a normal boyfriend which made me hate him even more. Every time he touched her I wanted to sprint forward and tear his throat out, rip his eyes from his head with my claws and leave him a mound of vampire crap but I couldn't. Every time I considered it Sam's voice echoed in my brain, the Alpha command on a continual loop I couldn't break free of or silence.

Surely she could see through the mask, Bella was intelligent so why didn't she see the monster beneath the pretty boy veneer? His flesh was cold and hard, not warm and soft like hers so why didn't she shrink from the feel of his hand in hers, his lips on her hand. And what the fuck was that all about? He was acting like some silent movie actor or medieval knight, guys didn't kiss their girl's hand any longer, why didn't it set alarm bells ringing? It was all so false yet she seemed to be lapping it up.

I followed them back to Forks relieved that she didn't invite him in but I could hear them make arrangements to go on another date. There had to be something I could do? I couldn't go near Bella or the leeches but Sam hadn't said anything about Charlie, maybe I could drop a few hints to him. He wasn't going to be too happy to hear his daughter was associating with the kind of guy I would make the leech out to be. I couldn't spill our secrets or theirs but that didn't stop me blackening his name to the Police Chief, now did it?

"Jake!"

Cursing I growled whipping around to see Paul standing in the shadows, arms folded, watching me.

"What?"

"If you are going to think about doing something so fuckin' stupid then don't do it in wolf form so we can all hear you dumb nuts!"

Cursing I phased back to human form, I had been stupid, preoccupied, and now everyone knew I was trying to find a way around Sam's Alpha command.

"He wants to see you now and he is not happy, you were told to stand down."

I could run but it wouldn't make any difference, the pack would soon find me and Sam would not go so easy on me this time. How could I keep Bella safe if the pack were against me? Didn't they understand? This was our chance to rid the world of the Cullens once and for all or they would take Bella, maybe kill her and then in a few decades they would be back ready to start over again. We were guardians, we should be protecting Forks and the tribe not letting a group of leeches take over our town.