Defined - Jacob Black {2}

Chapter 6: Surprise

Two Months Later...

My heart was pounding, the blood thumped through my veins as it tried to fuel my body for the extremes I was pushing it to. I needed to clear my mind, refresh it and remind myself of who I was and what I was capable of.

The nightmares struck again early this morning, after Jake had left for his pre-dawn patrol, the second time this month they had woken me. It was the same as always, I awoke in a panting, sweaty mess as I tried to get the image of the life leaving Jacob's eyes out of my head. It never got easier, it was only less frequent, but that seemed to be the issue.

After the battle I expected the nightmare each night, but now it was rare and messed me up more than it originally did. It was like a warning light, flashing in and out of life as a reminder that the Volturi would always be there. Alice would of course see if they were planning a return and I knew that we could face them, but not at the cost of our families.

Jake still had no idea I was still having these dreams... he thought that I was fixed. I felt terrible for keeping it from him but in the beginning he thought it was all his fault. Before the confrontation I told him to promise me to not go after Aro or the other leaders but the vision foresaw him going for Aro anyway and he got killed. I couldn't let him carry the guilt anymore so I just told him the nightmares had stopped.

"Hey, Aria, slow down!" Edward called from a few miles back, if his lungs worked he would be out of breath trying to keep up with me.

I needed to let off some steam, Alice had seen I was planning on vamping out for a while and gave Edward the heads up to join me— not that I minded. Edward got me, he knew what it was like to worry about those we loved who were not immortal. Jake was strong, we knew that, we knew that he could live forever with me, but that was only as long as he didn't get hurt.

"You're slacking, Cullen!" I quipped as I maintained my speed to stay ahead of him. We were racing over the centre of the Olympic Peninsula, about halfway up Mount Olympus, my aim was to reach the peak without Edward catching up with me. I liked his company, I just felt like being competitive. To be honest I felt like it would give me a better perspective on life at the moment.

I had reached where the snow drifts were beginning to recede due to the bloom of the new summer warmness. The air was thinning, not that it bothered me, but I just wanted to get as high as I possibly could. I leaped up into the air and locked my hands around a thick branch of a fir tree that was growing out of the mountain side and swung myself up onto it. The branch, tree and the surrounding trees were coated in a thin dusting of snow but the frozen water melted immediately under my touch due to my high body temperature.

I could see everything from up here, it was so quiet and relaxing. I felt like nothing could touch me, nothing could hurt me when I was this far from the ground. I took in a deep breath, filling my lungs with the fresh mountain air. There was a few other smells mixed in there as well. Edward's scent was fresh, blowing in from the east, from his thoughts I'd say he was about a minute away. Their was the faint scents of some of the boys in their wolf forms; Jake, Quil and a new boy called Lewis who was learning the ropes. Since the new truce, both packs had expanded their patrol routes to include Cullen land as well.

The wedding was eleven days away. Pre-wedding jitters were setting in, I wasn't nervous about actually getting married, it was just standing up in front of everyone that I was scared of. Plus, we couldn't spill the water in the wedding vase otherwise our marriage would be doomed for all of eternity... if that wasn't pressure I don't know what is.

Two months had passed since the whole Scott fiasco. Mom came to look at Jesse and Scar's house alone, Scott remained at the hotel and because of the argument and the awkwardness they took an earlier flight home. They only stayed for two days unlike the week long stay they were meant to do. Mom had only called once or twice in the last couple months and from what I could hear on the other end of the phone Scott was nowhere in the proximity so I assumed she was doing it in secret. She hadn't mentioned him either. I just wished that she could be more involved in my wedding. She was due back tomorrow ready for last minute wedding details.