As I lay by your side and hold you tonight
I want you to understand,
This love that I feel is so right and so real,
I realize how lucky I am.
I don't know how I could do without
Holding you close every night.
I've waited so long just to have you to hold.
Now that I've got you,
I'll never let go
There's no way I can make it without you,
There's no way that I'd even try.
If I had to survive without you in my life,
I know I wouldn't last a day.
There's no way.
~Alabama, There's No Way
"No, Bella, you must focus!"
After spending hours talking and laughing with Jess and Angela, Edward had somewhat impatiently swept me back to our cottage. We were all incredibly grateful for the seclusion it provided as Edward brought me to countless orgasms before finally entering me. He came harder than I'd ever witnessed, with an inhuman sound that reverberated around the walls. He was deliciously sexy.
"If you don't turn off all of your thoughts and focus on your inner being, you might as well give up now," Renée huffed in exasperation.
My new husband, which I felt giddy saying even to myself, had drawn me a bath and let me soak in the hot, fragrant water until my muscles had relaxed. Using my healing abilities to my advantage, I stepped out of the tub completely nude and walked over to the man I never would tire of gazing at. I sank to my knees and pulled him to me even as he asked what I was doing. I gave him a short laugh as I flicked out my tongue.
"Isabella!"
"What?" I yelled as I was snapped back to reality.
"Wherever you are, it sure as hell ain't here," Renée muttered.
I blushed furiously. "Sorry." I wasn't even sure how many times we'd had sex last night.
I pushed thoughts of blow jobs and dirty sex acts out of my mind and zeroed in on the komodo dragon I wanted to change into. When I'd asked my mother if she'd ever been a mythical creature, she'd laughed and said when she pictured a fire-breathing dragon once, she popped into a tiny gecko. I knew that lizards weren't going to win us a war, but I wanted to practice shifting into anything other than a wolf, even though she would most likely be my chosen form to fight in. Renée had even practiced becoming a wolf similar in size to ours.
The men had gone over to Jake's house to practice fighting techniques. That left the Cullen women, Leah, Emily, Renée, and me, and the four female vampires from Denali. Their names were Carmen, Kate, Tanya, and Irina. Carmen was a gorgeous, dark-haired Hispanic woman changed in her thirties, while the other three were young blonde sisters. Carmen's mate, Eleazar, was the last family member, and he had gone with the men. Charlie admitted before leaving that he was going to phase for the first time since he returned to Forks, and I was curious to know what he looked like. Unfortunately, I'd have to wait.
Alice and Rosalie had watched Jasper give some training tips the night before while I was otherwise occupied. Esme and the cousins had chosen to spend their time enjoying the remnants of the party atmosphere, so now they were receiving pointers from my sisters-in-law. Emily surprised me this morning when she said she felt a strange dizziness come over her, and then she'd morphed into a giant black wolf. It was unnerving, considering how much she resembled Sam's wolf. I would take what I could get, knowing we needed each and every person we knew to stand and fight. I would have to spend some time teaching her to contain her urges and change on cue, but for now, Leah was working with her.
It was more difficult than I suspected it would be to say goodbye to my roommates. I was going to miss out on the beginning of the next semester, but I was using the excuse that I had found my birth parents and wanted to spend time with them. If I lived through the Volturi, I was determined to go back to Seattle and enjoy some time being normal. I was looking forward to the quiet boringness of college.
I focused once more, pulling my thoughts inward to my gut, and pictured the large lizard. I felt a pop and a pull on my muscles, and I opened my eyes to find myself much lower to the ground. My vision was poor, the usually vibrant green of the pines and other flora appearing to be washed out in tones of grey. My hearing was muted, and when I was spoken to, I could only make out that the person was speaking, not what they were actually saying. It was almost like they or I were under water. This form might be good for practicing, but it would not likely serve me well for any real purpose.
I thought back to myself, to being Bella Cullen. I laughed internally at the sound of my married name, and I found myself rising from the ground and returning to two legs.
"Wow, Bella, you did it." Emily had come to stand near me, and I tried to ignore the fact that I was naked. Renée brought me a robe and wrapped it around my shoulders.
"How do you feel?" she asked solicitously.
"Better than before, but a little dizzy." I put my hand to my forehead and closed my eyes to avoid the spinning sensation.
"It's possible that the shifting gene simply didn't manifest as strongly in your DNA as the other talents. I know that gifts typically get stronger through the generations, but you have your father's blood, too. Maybe a wolf is what you're meant to be." Renée patted me on the shoulder as I thought about her words.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe I shouldn't keep focusing on this when I have other things I can be doing. We should practice shielding and even throwing rocks if that's all we have at our advantage."
"We have more than that, honestly. You can create fissures and dump the Volturi in them," Leah offered helpfully.
"What's this about shielding?" Carmen asked, coming closer. She spoke with a thick accent.
"I already have proof that I can shield Edward's ability, but I don't know what else I can do with it. My mother has a basic mental shield ability, but she believes mine is stronger than hers."
"Have you tried this for defense?" Carmen questioned. I shook my head. "You should spend some time with Eleazar; his talent is determining the gifts of others."
"So he could tell me exactly what I'm capable of, is that how it works?" I asked her.
"Yes, that is how it works. He gets a feeling and a sort of vision of what you can do. A flash, he says, of the person using their ability."
"Well, I know Renée is telekinetic, and she tells me I can manipulate all of the elements. I've had success with water, rocks, I accidentally created fire… and I cause earthquakes, apparently, but I don't know how it happens."
"Wow," Emily breathed. By now, all the ladies were standing around me and I felt like I was on display.
"So between you and Renée, we could win easily if they come looking for a fight," Irina pointed out.
"It sure sounds that way, huh?" Leah commented.
"Well, we're going to need something big. They have plenty of talent of their own." Rose put her hand on my arm. "How do you feel?"
"Um, better. Fine, I think." I hadn't been focusing on it, but it seemed that I was really feeling normal.
"Good. I think you stick to your wolf form, and I think you should practice how to shield and throw objects as the wolf. You can defend yourself more easily in that shape, and you heal faster, too. You know what I mean?"
Rose had a point, but I wasn't sure it would work. I thought I needed my hands for at least some of those gifts. "Let's give it a try."
By now, my nose was cold and my face was probably red, matching Renée's, but I shifted smoothly into my wolf, letting the electricity flow through my veins.
"Whoa, you sparkle just as you morph into that thing!" Tanya exclaimed. "It looks so much like our skin in the sun."
"She's the only wolf that sparkles like that. I think it's from her mother's bloodline." Leah was stripping as she spoke, not in the least bit ashamed of being naked in front of so many women. She shifted easily, her huge grey form coming to stand near mine. I watched as Emily closed her eyes and frowned. We really had to be in a heightened state of agitation to change without practice, but I had faith that she could figure it out. Besides, there were plenty of vampires around for motivation.
When the black wolf was in front of me, we formed sides. Renée stood with the wolf girls, and the vampires dashed to the other side of the yard. When we charged across the space between us, the ground shook. When we clashed, the sound was deafening. Neither side wanted to hurt the other, but we had to practice realistically. Renée was hurling rocks, dirt, and anything she could cause to rise in the air. Her shield seemed to repel Alice as the little vampire tried to come at her from different sides. It was like she was surrounded by a bubble.
Kate was a force to be reckoned with. She radiated electricity from her entire body if she chose, but typically issued it from her palms for ease. She dropped Leah first, then Emily, and as Leah came back up from the ground, Kate was heading for Renée, who saw her coming. Renée turned to Kate and lifted her hands, palms up. The air in front of her shimmered in a light blue color, visible as heat on a horizon. Whatever she was doing stopped Kate in her tracks, and she struggled against invisible bonds. Emily and Leah pretended to attack Kate as she stood in that frozen state, and she couldn't protect herself.
I tried to use my elemental powers in my wolf form as I saw Tanya concentrate on me. She flew at me, running so fast her feet didn't appear to touch the ground. I thought of a gust of air, and when it actually blew up in Tanya's face, she stopped before she could reach me, shaking her head rapidly. I discovered I could lift rocks but not direct them, and I created a ball of fire but it never went anywhere. I needed my hands. She came at me again, and I lowered my shoulders and rammed her chest with the top of my skull.
The sound we created rivaled a sonic boom.
She fell on her ass, but of course she wasn't hurt. She got up and would have come back at me, but Esme called out to her.
"Tanya, enough. We should take a break and let them regroup and rest."
She was right. We needed to strategize.
We were discussing the pros and cons of me remaining in my human from when the men returned. It was an odd reunion, like the end of a typical workday where men and women came back together to have dinner and discuss their day.
Edward moved rapidly to my side as I headed into the kitchen for a drink. "How did it go?" he asked, stopping me to kiss my forehead.
"We learned some things. I need to be human to manipulate the elements, so I can either be a badass wolf or badass Bella."
He chuckled. "Well, we have time to decide."
I stepped into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. "How did it go for the guys?"
"Your father is a huge wolf, mostly silver, but with some white. He picked it up like muscle memory and was fending off Jasper by the end of the day."
"As fierce of a fighter as he seems to be, that's excellent. I won't have to worry about him or Renée. Her shield is awesome; which reminds me, I need to practice mine." I swallowed most of the water before putting the cap back on and carrying it with me back outside. The sun was setting and the temperature dropping. I shivered.
"Tomorrow," Edward murmured into my ear before he kissed the shell.
I shivered again.
"Are you ready to go home for the night? I can make you something for dinner," he said in his deep voice, causing me to sigh happily.
"Yes, let's."
I laughed shrilly as Edward threw me over his shoulder and ran off with me, and I tried to shout a goodnight as I clung to his back. The world passed upside down until he reached the river, and then he righted me until I clung to his chest. There was something to be said for him holding me so intimately while he ran.
We were at our front door before I knew it, in the house as soon as he could open the door, and Edward was inside me as soon as he could pull our clothes from between us. I threw my head back, shuddering at the sensation.
"Jesus," he groaned, pistoning his hips as he drove inside me. His strong hands held me close to him, and I held fast around his neck. It was coming back together at the end of a long day, it was fast and rough, and there was nothing sweet about it. There was so much friction between us that I came with little warning, clamping my arms and legs around him as I called out his name. He followed me, grunting his release as I felt him pulse inside me.
"I never want to let you go," he said into my hair as he rested his head on mine.
"Neither do I, Edward. We're lucky we found each other, that we have whatever time we're blessed with." I slid my legs to the floor, wincing as everything went back where it belonged.
I took his face in my hands, memorizing his golden-eyed perfection, again. "I love you."
"As I love you," he responded, crushing my body to his once more.
