Forever Young

Chapter 3

Without warning, Jacob's body shook so hard that it began to blur. So quickly that even my own mostly-vampire eyes couldn't keep up, the big wolf began to morph and change shape.  In place of the wolf stood a man- or a boy. I wasn't sure which he was. But he was naked.

I gasped. Then, realizing my own stupidity, I smacked my hand over my mouth- making even more noise. I squeezed my eyes shut in frustration with myself, then realized I needed them to be open in case of an attack. But nobody seemed to hear me. The other wolves were changing now, turning into humans themselves as they laughed and shouted and reached for the backpack Jacob had dropped from his ankle when he shifted.

I averted my eyes. Though I had never had to worry much about nudity because I had never been around anyone else, that had also meant I had never worried about seeing someone else naked. Especially a teenage boy.

"You better save me some of that food. I'm the one who brought it!" Jake's voice sounded sharp as he threatened the other boys, who were reaching into the bag. I decided to use their distraction to my benefit, and turned to leave. One last glance behind me confirmed that the bag was almost completely empty now, and I needed to get away quickly, before the distraction was gone.

Despite my hurry, a cold gust of wind made me freeze just as I prepared to jump from the branch. My ability to control wind made me incredibly sensitive to it, and I could feel the powerful current that carried this wind, feel the buzz of energy within it.

A storm was coming. And I had no coat, or real shelter.

Even more hurried now, I raced back to my treehouse as fast as I could. It had no walls, no ceiling. If I ran, would I be able to get far enough away to miss the storm? With how powerful the wind would become soon, I would likely lose control of it before I got far enough away, and wouldn't be able to run as quickly if I wasn't using the wind to help push me forward.

Or maybe I could go just go a little ways away. Just far enough that I could get a good, strong fire going without fear of the nearby vampires and werewolves seeing.  But was that a risk I could take? The scent of smoke was powerful. And unless I moved closer to where the wolf pack was currently located, the smoke would be pulled downwind, towards the Cullens house. 

No. My only hope was to do what I could with my shelter. I quickly started gathering large branches, leaning them on eachother to build walls and a roof over the platform Renesmee and I had created. I then covered the branches with a layer of mud, hoping that would prevent the leaves from blowing away, exposing me to the storm. 

As the sounds of thunder rolled towards me, I climbed into the shelter, hoping the mud had enough time to dry and form an extra layer of protection. I was so, so stupid. Why hadn't I been working on my shelter over the last two days instead of sitting down by the river, staring at the path Renesmee had used before? Why hadn't I noted how eerily calm the wind had been, leading up to a huge, charged storm? Why hadn't I gone in search of materials I knew I needed to live in such a rainy area?

The wind started to blow hard, and I knew almost immediately how bad the situation was. Some of the branches holding up the makeshift ceiling began to topple, causing the branches above me to hit me hard as they fell. I felt one of the sharper pieces cut into my cheek, and I smelled the scent of my own blood. I wasn't too worried, though- I was a very quick healer.

The wind, though, was  a big issue. With my shelter falling in, the storm was hitting me hard, a mix of rain and large hail slamming into me. I curled into the fetal position, trying to protect myself from falling branches as well as the cold. I grabbed onto the branches nearest to me, somehow hoping they could still help to protect me despite having lost all their mud and leaves.