The sun was slowly setting by the time Lizzie and Edward arrived at the campsite. Jacob was setting up the last of the things while Bella sat on a rock and watched him. She instantly perked up when she saw the two Cullens and Jacob immediately felt at ease when he sensed his imprint near.
"Hey, beautiful," Jake smiled.
"Hi, handsome," Lizzie said and left Edward's side to walk up to her boyfriend's instead.
Bella also stood up from where she was to almost trip over a small tree root and land in Edward's overly cautious arms. He hugged her tightly and kept Bella's hand in his grasp as a sort of anchor.
"You okay?" Jacob asked.
"Mm," Lizzie nodded and smiled. "I'm fine."
He used his hand to push the hair out of her face and behind her ear before he cupped her cheek and planted a kiss on her forehead. Lizzie closed her eyes at the affection and found herself instinctively melting into Jake's embrace with his arms protectively wound around her waist.
After a minute or two, Edward and Jacob meet each other's gaze and nodded. As much as the wolf hated when the vampire read his mind it was the easiest way to communicate what he needed to without making Lizzie and Bella more worried than they already were. Edward shook his head in confirmation and Jacob let out a breath.
Everyone was beyond anxious at this point.
"We should get inside the tent before the storm hits," Jake stated once nightfall was finally surrounding them.
They couldn't make a fire because the smell would attract attention once the newborns and Victoria arrived. So all Bella had to keep warm were the layers she was wearing and the blankets Edward had packed. Initially, the tent they were going to bring was only big enough to fit two people, but when it was official that Lizzie would be joining them, Alice insisted on getting a bigger one. And it was lucky they did, too, since the pack sent Seth to the mountains as well.
"Babe, you're burning up," Jake said, a worried expression on his face.
It was somewhere after midnight already, Bella was asleep beside Edward, and Seth was curled up in the corner of the tent nearest to Jacob and Lizzie. The youngest wolf felt calm whenever he was with Lizzie and since his sister and Damon weren't with him, she was the closest feeling to comfort he had. Jacob didn't mind and even offered up his pillow and sleeping bag to Seth, who was more than happy to take them from him.
Lizzie held a hand to her forehead and cheeks. "I'm fine," she shook her head.
She really was running a fever, but she guessed it had to do with the period she was still unluckily suffering from. She didn't think too much about it and was more concerned about her cousin, who was starting to shiver with the symptoms of hyperthermia.
"Bella's getting too cold," Lizzie said voicing what Edward was panicking about in his mind.
"I could try and warm her up," Jacob offered.
He looked over at Edward for permission and reluctantly the vampire gave it to him. He wasn't jealous of Jacob hugging Bella, he just didn't like the wolves in general and especially since this particular wolf had attached himself to Edward's favorite sibling.
"You're sure you're okay?" Jake asked again.
"Jake, I'm fine," Lizzie reassured him.
The imprint bond was killing him with worry and anxiety. What was going on with Lizzie, why was she suddenly getting hurt, bleeding, sleeping, and now running a fever?
Just as reluctantly as Edward had or even more so, Jacob left Lizzie's side to lie himself down beside Bella and hug the Swan girl into his side. Edward also switched his position and went to sit next to his sister, who immediately used his shoulder as a pillow. He could feel the warmth radiating off of her and it made him frown with a different feeling of worry.
Lizzie unblocked her thoughts from him and the two carried on with a silent conversation for the better part of the early morning. She reassured him while he worried and by the end of it, the two's anxiety were no longer obvious. They were joking, smiling, and laughing, and if Jacob wasn't used to their silent mind conversations by now he would have been severely freaked out.
Lizzie changed positions and went to lie with her head on her twin's lap. For the hour before everything started Edward watched as his sister slept soundly and so did his La Tua Cantante.
"She's fine, Jacob," Edward said after a while.
He could hear the wolf's loud thoughts. How worried he was about his imprint instead of focusing on the newborn battle that was to come. Jake didn't fall asleep for a second the whole night and just made it his duty to be Bella's personal heater while his mind spun with what could possibly be going on with Lizzie.
"How do you know? Has this happened before?" Jacob asked.
Edward didn't feel the need to lie to his sister's mate and rather shook his head honestly. Of course that only made Jacob's heartbeat race more. He pulled away from Bella and sat with his back to the supply bag in the corner of the tent.
"Lizzie's never been the usual case when it comes to her vampirism," Edward admitted. "You know that already or at least you've noticed it. She doesn't shine in the sun and she can't drink blood on its own. She's always been this way. Carlisle's never managed to figure out the cause to her abnormalness and that's why he's always thought of her gift as humanity."
"And you don't?" Jake questioned, raising a single eyebrow.
"My sister's special," Edward said. "She's never lost control before and she's never been tempted to either. Her mere presence can calm our family down. She can communicate with me when I read her mind and she can hear my thoughts, too."
"Does that mean something?"
"A vampire's gift is a one-way street."
"But what's going on with Lizzie," Jacob said. "It's getting worse, isn't it?"
"In these past two years, yes," Edward confirmed. "After Bella was attacked by James and Lizzie protected her. She's begun to bleed again, her eye color changed, and the rest you've witnessed yourself. She's sleeping and Carlisle suspects her gift's getting stronger because of it."
Jacob didn't say anything. He stayed still with his arms wrapped around his knees as he stared down at his imprint, the girl he fell in love with, the one person in this life he could never live without.
"She's going to be okay though, right?"
"She's not dying if that's what you want to hear," Edward bluntly stated.
✦✦✦
When the time for the battle arrived everyone was getting into their positions. The Cullens were down on the battlefield waiting for the newborns and Victoria to arrive while Bella stayed as close to Edward as she possibly could.
"Promise me, you'll be careful," Lizzie said and caught Jacob's arm before he could run off.
"Babe," he smiled at her and cupped Lizzie's face in his hands. "Everything's going to be fine. I'll see you when this is all over, okay? Besides we still have a vacation to plan."
Lizzie managed a laugh and Jake grinned.
"I promise," he vowed and kissed her.
This kiss wasn't quick but it wasn't long or passion-filled either. It was a deep and meaningful promise that they'd see each after this and nothing was going to stop that. Jacob pulled back and pressed a peck to Lizzie's lips again, then her nose and forehead.
"Wait for me, Loca."
Lizzie nodded. "Go kill some vampires for me."
Jacob chuckled before he broke away from their embrace and took off running down the mountainside. Just like back when Bella found out the truth about werewolves, Jake phased in mid-air and kicked at the snow with his gigantic paws as he disappeared from view.
The cold wind whipped through the air and blanketed Lizzie enough to make her shiver, but she doubted it was because of the weather. Seth slowly walked closer to the youngest Cullen, he was in his wolf form now and his huge brown nose nudged at Lizzie's arm. She smiled at him and ran her fingers through the fur on his large head.
"Hey, Seth," she whispered.
Edward stood by the nearest cliff edge as he listened into Seth's racing thoughts. He could hear the pack through the wolf's mind and without seeing it for himself he could have a play by play of the battle their family was engaging in.
"It's started," Edward declared.