I took the two minutes she and Nessie spent hugging and crying over each other to dart back to the car and scramble through our bags for any decent clothing. Jeans and hoody on, I returned to the road just in time for Rosalie to let Nessie back to her feet.
Then I grabbed the blonde and hauled her into my arms. She squirmed then paused – probably debating taking my head off – but then patted me once on the arm in the warmest greeting she could manage. "Jacob."
"Christ, am I glad to see you." Words I'd never expected to say to her. My nostrils flared with her familiar scent, wolf instincts fighting over sensibility.
Renesmee continued to cry, great big tears rolled over rosy cheeks, but she smiled, widely and uncontrollably. The most honest smile I'd seen on her in a year. Nessie leaned into Rosalie, squeezing her arm. Again, Rosalie couldn't help but lift her. She buried her face into Nessie's neck and breathed deeply, humming with content.
"I never thought I'd see you again," Nessie said.
"That was never going to happen," Rosalie whispered. "We knew we'd find you one day."
"We?" I asked. There were others? Before she could answer, a scrap of stone against stone caught out attention and all eyes flew to the remains of the Volturi guards on the road - A real sight if any human happened to turn off onto this road – but our focus landed on a severed arm attempting to crawl its way across to the head Rosalie had decapitated.
I sense Renesmee lean towards me and I took her willingly, holding her close.
"Take her down the road," Rosalie demanded. I grabbed our bags from the wreck of the car and hauled them over my shoulder, before turning and sprinting to the treeline.
"Auntie Rose!" Nessie called.
"She's not going far, she'll catch up," I assured her. We both heard the tear of stone and hiss of flames as Rose set the remains alight, ending the bloodsuckers for good. The hiss of flames quickly turned into the thunderous boom of an engine, tearing metal and the splash of gasoline against the tarmac. I knew what Rose was doing, rearranging the crash to appear more…human.
Nessie cringed at the sound, and I squeezed even tighter. Before we reached the crossroad, Rosalie appeared at our side.
"This way," she said, heading east into the trees. Unsure, I frowned at the back of her head, but Nessie leapt down from my arms and rushed after her aunt. I jogged to keep up.
"Rosalie, what did you mean by 'We?'," I called after her. "Who else is with you?"
"Not here," She announced from ahead. "There are likely more Volturi guards close by; we need to move." I wanted to argue but knew she was probably right. A minute into the forest and Rosalie commented over her shoulder, "You might wanna change, we're gonna be running for a while." She thankfully took our bags and dropped the straps over her chest.
I stripped beyond a thick bush, throwing my clothes to Rosalie to pack away – the look on her face at my 'stench' so close to her face was priceless, but I kept quiet for Nessie's sake. I phased, feeling the rush empower me. I felt better when Nessie took to my back, nestling herself in her usual spot deep between my shoulder blades, and we took off running.
An hour into the run and we'd put enough space between ourselves and the crash, enough space that Rosalie steadily came to a stop. Nessie, who'd fallen asleep some twenty minutes ago, woke at the change in our pace.
"We're stopping here?" Nessie asked for me as she slid off my shoulders. Nessie seemed completely unbothered by the dirt at her feet and her torn clothes. None of it mattered now Rosalie was here and alive. Rosalie launched a pack of clothes my way; I caught it in the air and hurried to throw on the jogging bottoms only. No point in dressing fully if we were heading off again anytime soon.
"We need to wait," Rosalie commented, perching on a boulder. I couldn't help but consider how different she looked. Gone were the high heels and pearly whites and pastel blues; replaced now with tight fighting black gear and deep, shadowed hoods.
"Who are we waiting for?" I asked, realising she was searching for someone, listening.
"Members of the Sanctuary,"
"Sanctuary?" Nessie and I echoed at the same time. Nessie skipped over a small stream, landing by her aunt's side. Rosalie reached down to take her hand, squeezing and smiling softly.
"A safe place," She said the words as if she'd been wanting to say them for months. Nessie gawked at me over her shoulder, eyes wide and glossy and full of hope.
"Let's go!" She squealed, attempting to pull Rosalie from the boulder she'd dropped onto.
Rosalie gently tugged her back and shook her head. "We can't yet. I don't know where it is." She answered, "We were discovered a month back and had to scatter, I heard we'd relocated but not sure where yet. They've sent a scouting group to collect us. They'll be so happy to see you."
Asher's Note:
Hello" Hope you're well. I wonder what you think of Rosalie's return and what she's told Jacob and Renesmee about the Sanctuary. Stay Safe.
~Asher~