Chapter 1: Rewind
Chapter Text
November 2005
I caught a new lead. She had been spotted in Marìlia, São Paulo and I was going to find her this time. Every time I caught onto Victoria’s trail it would stop cold as soon as I got close. I couldn’t understand how she kept slipping past me. I would hear murmurings of her movements and see glimpses of her unmistakable, fiery red hair in the thoughts of others, but could never catch her myself. It was infuriating.
I was more determined than ever this time though. There were rumors that she had been trying to recruit new coven members. I would not allow her to amass any kind of power. She wasn’t getting anywhere near my family or… Dani. Pain.
Not now. I can wallow in my suffering later. I have a job to do now. One to keep her safe.
I forced it back down. As soon as I had to hide again I would allow myself to burn in it. Follow my memories, bury myself in them. For now I needed to just keep moving.
I made it to the city in just under a day. It was well before sunrise when I found my way into the sleeping streets. That’s when the search began. Using all of my senses, I began to hunt. But not for animals or humans. For my kind. Vampires. They were sure to be here and if they knew where she was, I was going to make them tell me.
Victoria played a large role in James’ attack on Dani. Helped him to isolate, trap, and torture her. She wasn’t going to live much longer. I would see to that. There would be no mercy. No chance for redemption.
After more than an hour of searching for scents and thoughts, I finally found what I was looking for. A male vampire who, judging by his thoughts, has been around for a while. He was hunting.
** I prefer when they have a little fight in them. Thought I was going to have to grab a sleeping one again. My lucky night. **
He was stalking a young man running through the streets. His thoughts indicated he was training. All of his focus was on the requirements to qualify for the Olympics in a couple years. Unless I got to his pursuer first, he wouldn’t be making it.
I followed the thoughts of the other vampire until I found him. He was following the man from a distance. Allowing him to occasionally get glimpses of him before disappearing from his sight again. He was toying with him. Trying to scare him, build up his adrenaline before he attacked. It was despicable. My anger may have gotten the best of me.
As soon as I had a clear shot, away from the view of the man, I took it. I quickly and silently came up behind him, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling him into the shadows with me. When we were far enough from anyone who might hear us, I pressed him into a wall by his throat.
“What the hell?! He was mine!” He snarled at me in Portuguese.
“I don’t care about him. I’m looking for someone. Maybe you can help.” I responded with pure acid in my tone.
He laughed. “Why would I help a piece of shit like you?”
My face pulled into a vicious sneer and I bared my teeth at him. I knew my eyes were dark, almost black, adding to the level of intimidation causing him to flinch back. “Because if you don’t, I will kill you.”
He tried to fight against me and I pushed him harder into the stone wall, crumbling parts of it behind him. He seemed to get the message.
“What do you want to know?” He asked, more cooperatively now.
“Victoria. Do you know her?” I demanded.
His brows drew down. There wasn’t a hint of recognition in his face or thoughts.
“Red, curly hair. High voice. A little insane.” I tilted my head.
“Red hair?” He said thoughtfully. “There was a woman with red hair through here. She left days ago. I did not get a name. Did not speak to her.”
He played visions of the aforementioned vampire. She was hunting in his territory. It pissed him off. From the glimpses I got, it could have been her. He didn’t seem to be lying.
“Where did she go?” I pushed him into the wall again, allowing my frustration to take the lead.
“How should I know?! East!” He growled, matching my frustration with his own.
I let out another snarl and tossed him aside before speeding back out of the town. I was nearly starved. Close to frenzying. Getting worked up like that didn’t help. I needed to hunt.
Making my way southeast, to the forested regions around the city, I started planning my next moves. I would first hunt, then scope out the area more thoroughly. See if I could find more vampires. Ones who were actually helpful. That hadn’t been the smartest approach. Being starved and angry while interrogating another vampire merely led to me gaining a new enemy. I would need to at least try to be more diplomatic next time.
As soon as I was far enough from civilization, I allowed myself to slip into my predatory form. Crouched low to the ground, I listened closely and scented the air. Silently moving through the forest, searching for something more appealing than a large rodent. Though, they all tasted the same these days. Ashen and lifeless. Like they would provide no more sustenance to me than the dirt they dwelled in. It didn’t matter. Disgusting or not, I still needed to feed.
It didn’t take long for me to find a familiar scent. High up in the trees, just upwind of me. A mountain lion. It had pressed its entire body down on a wide branch. Muscles tensed and ready to pounce on the slow deer straggling behind the herd below.
Sorry big guy.
I quickly and silently made my way up a neighboring tree. As soon as I was high enough, I launched myself through the air, landing on its back. I wrapped one arm around its front legs, pinning them down, and the other beneath its chin. Pulling its head back, I sank my teeth into its throat as I ripped it from the tree. It was dead before we hit the ground. I quickly drained the beast and dropped it with a wince. It tasted like burnt ash and dry soil. There was absolutely no pleasure in hunting anymore. Merely a means of survival.
I went to work digging a hole deep enough to drop my kill into. As soon as that was done I needed to find someplace to hide away before sunrise. It was twilight already, and by the looks of it, it would be a beautiful, sunny day. Great.
Not wanting to head back into the town, I found a deep, empty cave and settled in as the Sun began to rise. I was forced to sit with it now. The pain took over. An empty, agonizing chasm in the center of my body. Where she was supposed to be. I didn’t understand how the pain hadn’t killed me yet. It was an unbearable reminder of what I had. What I didn’t deserve. I should have expected that we couldn’t be together. Everyone knows monsters don’t get happy endings.
She was, is, the most important person in my world. Selfless, funny, smart, strong, stubborn, and far more than someone like me could have ever hoped to come across, let alone to earn the love of. Impossibly, she loved me. I didn’t deserve that love. I was a monster through and through. The very thing that transformed me and kept me from dying was pure poison to her. A sick joke played on us by a cruel universe. The chasm widened. Pain deepened. Bringing me to my knees and doubling me over on the cold, stone floor of this dead, empty cave.
Seeking any kind of relief, I got lost in my thoughts again. Rewinding my mind to a better time and picking up where I left off. Vancouver. I took her there right after the school year ended. It was the nearest new city to show her. The day was perfectly cloudy and I held her hand in mine as we walked through Stanley Park.
“These are so cool!” Dani pulled me over to one of the many totem poles along the path. “I’ve never seen anything like this in person.” She closely examined the colorfully painted, winged structure.
She turned back to me, beaming, and I wrapped my arms around her waist, kissing the top of her head. “This is nothing. Just wait until I get you to England. I’ll show you Stonehenge.” I murmured close to her ear.
~ Just one of many broken promises. ~
“I can’t wait.” She reached up on her toes to quickly kiss my lips and pulled me with her again to further explore the park.
I had one arm draped across her shoulders and she raised a hand to lace her fingers with mine. “Have you ever had an actual job?” She asked, curiously.
We both still wanted to learn everything about each other. I smirked down at her as she absently toyed with the crystal necklace I made for her.
“I assisted Carlisle for a while. Purely procedures where no blood was shed. I still don’t know how he manages that so well.” I huffed a laugh.
“Centuries of practice, I assume. Nothing else? You’ve never so much as worked retail?” She raised a mischievous eyebrow at me.
I laughed more genuinely now. “We have no need for a traditional job. It would also risk exposure. We generally avoid spending too much time close to humans. We stand out.” I gave her a grin, showing just the top row of my sharp teeth. A half-hearted attempt to remind her of how dangerous I truly was.
She laughed and reached up to kiss my jaw. Pure bliss. “So no jobs, but a dozen college degrees. Just a bunch of trust fund vampires.”
I scoffed down at her and she laughed. Her beautiful, bright laugh that should have restarted my heart. I pulled her close and pressed my lips to hers, consuming her laughter so I could feel it. My hand came up to cup her face and I instinctually traced my thumb down the thin scar on her cheek.
She pulled back with a warm smile and reached her hand up to brush along my jaw. I gently pushed her out to twirl her by our joined hands and spun her back into my arms. She let out a delighted giggle as I dipped her and kissed along her scar before devouring her mouth again.
When her laughter died down, we resumed walking the trail and talking about everything from our interests to the importance of maintaining ecological balance. Apparently the future was even more bleak for the environment than it was now.
As the Sun made its way to the other side of the sky, it was nearing time to get Dani something to eat. I quickly learned that she would get a little irritable when she was hungry, so I did my best to keep her properly fed. I took her to a small diner and watched her blissfully enjoy a plate of poutine.
“This is almost a religious experience.” She commented as she stabbed another couple cheese curd covered fries with her fork.
I smirked as she sighed contentedly around another mouthful. “I’ll take your word for it.”
When she finished her meal, I held her close as we hailed a cab to take us back to our hotel. At first, I thought it would be improper and offered to get a separate room for myself. She reminded me how ridiculous that was, considering she had been sleeping beside me every night for nearly three months. I would never tire of watching her sleep. It would have been my dream to do so every night for the rest of her life.
When we got to our room, she hooked her fingers in the belt loops of my jeans and pulled me close with a seductive smirk. I leaned down to press my lips to hers. Like every time we kissed, it was instant fire. Intoxicating flames brought me back to life, consuming every atom in my body. Our tongues met and she tilted her head just enough to deepen the kiss. The taste of her was still etched into my memory. Floral honey, vanilla, and a hint of something wholly unfamiliar. Something pure Dani.
I reached my hands up to cup her face and she lowered her hand down into my pants. Her other hand unfastened the button on my jeans, giving herself more room to work. She quickly found my throbbing cock and freed it from its confines. A low growl rumbled up from my chest as her soft, warm hand began to stroke me. A wave of pleasure traveled up my spine at the sensation.
Unwilling to be the only one getting off here, I slowly walked us toward the bed. As soon as we got to the edge of it, I wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her up. She quickly let me go with a delighted giggle and held onto my shoulders as I laid us down.
I went back to kissing her and lowered my own hand into her loose pants. Suitable for hiking and perfect for fingering her. Her hand moved right back to my cock, stroking the length of me, eliciting deep groans when she firmly gripped and turned her hand around the head on her way up. My own fingers moved through her slick folds.
“God, you’re so wet baby.” I murmured against her lips just as I plunged my two center fingers inside of her.
She moaned in pleasure. “It’s you, you do this to me.” She replied breathlessly.
I started thrusting my fingers into her, curling them up into the ridged spot deep inside of her that would soon have her moaning my name. My thumb quickly found her clit and I began firmly circling it. I had no problem multitasking with the same hand. It gave her the most intense orgasms so far. I was hopeful that I would find new, even better ways to please her with more time.
~ Time I would never have after all. ~
Her other hand moved from my shoulder to my hair, gripping it tightly as she started to moan into my mouth. I pulled away slightly, moving down to kiss from her neck to her collar bone. Soft fingers pumped my cock faster and harder. Tension built in my lower abdomen, my balls aching as she brought me closer to climax. She came first. Her core clenched spastically around my fingers and I moved up again to closely watch her face.
“God, Edward!” She cried out my name as she held my gaze.
The gold rays in her blue eyes flared and danced around her pupils. Her face flushed, mouth fell open, and her brows drew down. Pure pleasure overtaking her whole body. Pleasure I gave her. It was an unbelievable sight to behold.
Within seconds I was coming with her. Her hand worked me even faster, gripped around the head of my cock tighter and that was it. I groaned as I came, turning just enough so my cum spilled onto the bed instead of onto her. My own pleasure spread through my cock to my balls and up my abdomen. Sunshine energy sparking against my nerve endings and sending electricity through my veins.
“Fuck, you’re incredible.” I groaned as the last spurts of cum shot onto the bed.
She breathed out a faint laugh. “Pot, meet kettle.” She giggled and pulled me down with the hand she still had tangled in my hair to kiss me deeply again.
I lowered my forehead to hers as she panted beneath me. My fingers were still slowly moving inside of her. Her inner walls clenching sporadically as her hips rolled up to meet my hand. She was still receiving aftershocks from her orgasm and I was going to make sure she rode it all the way to the end. Extending her pleasure for as long as possible.
As soon as we were ready to part, she took a shower and I patiently waited my turn. Listening intently as she sang to herself. A song I’d never heard before. Something about a ‘wrecking ball’. She was so happy. As was I. Impossibly so.
Once we were both clean, she tucked herself against my side as she read a book. ‘The End of Eternity’, another Asimov novel. I read along with her until she started to yawn. Plucking the book from her hands, I set it aside and nestled her against my chest. I held her closely as she drifted to sleep in my arms. Took in her gorgeous face, listened to her steadily beating heart, and deciphered the mumbled words she spoke. She often said my name, declared her love. Sometimes she would mutter something about Maeve or Leah and talk about books. It often didn’t make much sense, but I loved the chance to peek into her thoughts, to take part in her dreams.
My phone rang. Not in my memory, but in the cave.
How the hell do I even have reception here?
I pulled it out and checked the caller ID. Alice. She called every once in a while to check in on me, the only reason I even kept it charged. It seemed a little too close to the last check-in, but I figured I might as well get it out of the way.
“Alice.” I answered neutrally, struggling to numb the pain again.
“Edward. I have… news.” Alice paused, her silence hanging on the other end of the line.
“Okay? Is everything alright?” I pushed for clarification.
She sighed. “I um… I don’t really know.”
“What do you mean? Is it Jasper? Did something happen in Ithaca?” Without me there to monitor his thoughts, he could have slipped.
“No, no. We’re all fine. It’s… Dani.” She replied in a worried tone.
My stomach dropped. “Dani? What happened? What’s wrong?!” I was instantly frantic. Had she been hurt? Or worse?
“That’s the thing. I don’t really know. She’s missing.”
My panic shifted to terrified confusion. “What do you mean she’s missing?”
“I’ve been trying to get in touch with her and she’s… she’s just gone.” She stopped again.
“Gone? From Forks?” I still didn’t know what she was trying to tell me.
“I can’t find her anywhere Edward. No one knows where she is. Maeve just said that she left almost three months ago. She couldn’t tell me anything else.”
I felt like I’d run headfirst into a solid steel wall. My head swam. Every part of me was tensed with terror. She was gone. Missing. Alone somewhere or worse.
“Thank you, Alice. I’ll find her.” I replied tersely and hung up.
I would find her, make sure she was safe. If she didn’t need me, I would have to just slip away again without her ever having to know I was there. But if she did. If she needed my help. I was going to do everything in my power to ensure her safety. Hopefully, I would be strong enough to do the right thing and let her go again.
Chapter Text
I quickly gathered the backpack I left in a storage locker at the airport and booked the quickest flight back to the States. Atlanta was the next available flight, and the first time I would be flying coach. It hardly mattered. My goal was to get to Forks as soon as possible. It was the last place Dani had been before she disappeared. There had to be something there to point me in the right direction.
After an excruciatingly long flight, I landed in Atlanta and convinced an airline clerk to book me a ticket on the Seattle flight that was already boarding. I knew I could make it to the gate in time if she would just sell me the ticket. I had to pull out every single smooth talking, mind reading skill that I had, but I did it. Ticket in hand, I stealthily sped to the gate and took my seat. Another miserable five and a half long hours later and I was on my way to renting a car and speeding back to Forks.
I had already wasted too much time. She had been gone for three fucking months already. Every additional minute felt like it brought me closer to losing her forever. I sped down the highway under clouded skies near 120 mph, the fastest this car could reasonably go. Not knowing where else to start, I went straight to Dani’s house to find Maeve. What I found there nearly destroyed me.
Her house was a blackened, hollow shell of what it once was. Half of it caved in and the rest covered in soot, ash, and debris. It looked as though it had been that way for a while. I carefully made my way into the wreckage. It appeared they had removed anything salvageable. All that was left was burnt rubble. In a mournful haze, I made my way up the stairs to Dani’s room.
I pushed the charred door open and was startled by the sight in front of me. The room, like all of the others, was burnt and blackened. With the exception of her oddly pristine closet. She must have cast a protection spell over it for some reason. My frozen heart felt heavy and painful in my chest as I went over slowly and pulled open the closet door. Empty. I scanned the barren shelves and hanging rod down to the floor. Not completely empty.
I bent down to pick up the photo on the floor. The glass in the frame was broken over the photo of us. The one from the dance. Our first date. She looked stunning. I couldn’t find this when I came to take the reminders of me. Anything that might cause her pain. She left it behind. I removed the photo from the broken frame and stared at it for several minutes before I added it to my pack and stood back up.
I quickly found the loose floorboard where I stored my jacket and her necklace. The jacket was nearly completely destroyed. Partially burned and covered in ash and soot. The necklace was also caked in soot, but salvageable. I clasped it around my neck to wear as a reminder of my purpose and my mistakes.
I walked through the house and around the perimeter. It looked like at least five fires had been started on the outside of the house. That definitely would have caused the level of damage here. If they were still inside, there was almost no way they should have survived. I needed to locate Maeve as soon as possible. Find out what happened.
I set back out, heading further from the center of town. As I neared the woods, I smelled it. A gag inducing, filthy wet dog odor. I froze in place, scanning the area for sounds and thoughts.
** Is that one of the fucking Cullens?! Shit! Sam’s gonna be pissed. **
The thought wasn’t close. I looked in the direction it came from and scanned the woods in front of me.
“Show yourself. We should probably talk.” I called out.
** Nope. Not doing that. **
I heard paws hitting the ground, quickly heading away. I sprinted toward the sound and followed until it hit the treaty line.
Fuck.
I didn’t realize I’d come so close to the border of their lands. The wolves were back. How long they’d been back, I had no idea. It couldn’t have been very long, so there were probably only two or three of them, but we would need to talk. Negotiate terms.
I walked along the border, waiting for them to find me. And find me they did. Three of them. The one in the lead, a large black wolf, snarled at me and I immediately moved into a defensive stance.
** That’s the one she was dating. He was in her picture. **
That caught my attention. I straightened up and locked eyes with the russet wolf the thought came from.
** Edward. His name is Edward. ** The third one thought. He sounded familiar.
“You know Dani? Do you know where she is?” I asked.
The wolf seemed to flinch back in confusion. He glanced at their leader, then back at me.
** I don’t care what its name is. We need to show it that it’s not welcome here. What the hell is it even doing back here?! **
“It can hear your thoughts. I’m here to find Dani. I heard she went missing. I’ll ask again. Do you know where she is?” I fought against the urge to snarl back at them.
** They can read minds?! Why the fuck wouldn’t she tell us that?! **
“Can still hear you. And it’s just me that can hear thoughts. Not all of my kind.” My eyes narrowed slightly.
** Dani isn’t here. ** The alpha informed me.
“Do you know where she went?” I asked, calmer now.
** No. She didn’t want us to know where she was. Said it was safer that way. ** The russet wolf again.
I reeled back in confusion. “Safer? Safer for who? What happened? How do you know her?”
His mind was suddenly filled with an image of Dani. Pale with dark circles beneath her sunken eyes. He was arguing with her, telling her not to leave. He hugged her close. Told her to be careful.
** Edward. Hey, Seth here. So, a lot has gone down since you all left. It’s been pretty rough for her. She left the day after her birthday. **
The leader growled at him.
“Seth?”
He’s a wolf? He’s just a child though. Not even fifteen. How did this happen?
The leader drew my attention back to him. ** You really expect us to believe that you don’t know what you left her to deal with? **
“What do you mean? Deal with what?”
** You abandoned her with a mess. She was being relentlessly hunted. Probably still is. **
More images flashed through his mind. The pack chasing Victoria through the forest, repeatedly losing her at the ocean. A group of them trying to put out the blazing house fire, desperate to get Dani and Maeve out. A vampire attack, at least four of them. Dani weakly performing CPR on an injured Quileute boy and passing out in the leader’s arms as soon as he convinced her to stop. There was blood all over her. She was covered in it. Her face, arms, chest, everywhere.
My chest heaved in agony and I clutched at it with my fingers. It felt as though the ground beneath me disappeared as pure shock raged through me. “What? What was all that? What happened?!”
** Vampire attacks. We tried to help her. After the last attack she left. Said she would lure the threat away and keep moving. **
I ran my hands through my hair, trying to comprehend what they were showing and telling me. That didn’t make any sense. Victoria wasn’t here. She was in Brazil. I was following her. I thought I was following her.
“How long ago did Victoria come back for her?” I looked back up at them.
** Five months ago. She hasn’t been back since Dani left though. We assume she followed after her. **
“Five months?! Ever since we left?” I drew my hand down my face. How was that even possible? “Is she okay? Have you heard from her?” I asked desperately.
** No. She gave us no way to contact her. Except… ** An image of a small, green stone appeared in his mind.
“Except what? You can find her?” I took a step forward and they growled. I stepped back again. “Please. I need to help her. She can’t do this alone.”
** Why do you even care? You left her! ** The russet wolf threw his furious thoughts at me.
“I thought I was keeping her safe! If I had known…” I gave him a pleading look. “Please. How can you contact her?”
The black wolf shook his head once. ** We can’t use it. She gave us very specific instructions. We won’t break her trust for you. **
I groaned in frustration. Frustration with them, but mostly with myself. “I don’t understand how any of this happened. What happened to her house? Where is Maeve? Is she okay?”
Their alpha tilted his head curiously. ** Victoria burned her house down in the middle of the night. Dani got herself and Maeve out at the last minute. It was close, but Maeve is fine. **
“What the fuck?!” I threw my hands into my hair and turned my back on them, taking several steps away. Probably not the best idea to turn my back to a pack of wolves, but I was spiraling.
** You should leave. Go back where you came from. ** Their alpha’s thoughts were resentful.
** Sam. ** Seth pleaded. ** We need to know that she’s safe too. At this point we’re all just assuming she’s dead. **
I turned back around with a growl. “NO! She can’t be dead!” I would know. Surely I would feel it if she died. The rest of me would have died with her.
They all snarled again.
** Dani is strong, Seth. She can hold her own. I’m sure she’s fine. ** Sam recounted memories of Dani fighting with them. Throwing wolves down, grappling and wrestling with men much larger than herself. Then another, unexpected memory of her with blood spraying from her forearm. The slashes healing before his eyes.
“What was that?” I asked in a pained whisper. “She was hurt?”
** She’s been through worse. Like I said, she’s strong. **
My jaw clenched. “Can you help me find her or not?”
** Why the hell would we help you? ** Sam growled and bared his teeth at me.
** Sam, if he can find her we should at least try. ** Seth responded.
** She’ll be pissed if we do. ** Sam growled again.
** Better pissed than dead. You were all supposed to keep her safe. Remember? She helped all of us, saved my life and then you just let her run away, unprotected! ** Seth was arguing back against his alpha.
Sam snarled and huffed out, what sounded like, a relenting sigh.
** We don’t know where she is. Maeve might be able to help, but she may not want to after what you did. ** The russet wolf again.
I scanned his deep brown eyes, waiting for more painful memories. He gave me nothing. “Where can I find Maeve?”
The russet wolf looked at Sam and he nodded back at him.
** Go. Don’t take your eyes off of it… him. **
He quickly shifted to his human form and threw on a pair of shorts tied to a string attached to his leg.
“I’ll take you to her. Name’s Jacob.” He nodded and walked past me. “Don’t try anything.” He growled out.
“Same goes for you.” I muttered. “How do you know Dani?” I asked as we made our way out of the forest.
The other two stayed in place, watching carefully as we retreated together.
“She helped us when Victoria showed up. Told us what she could. Helped when one of us was about to shift for the first time. Trained with us. She stayed with me for a bit after her house burned down.” He glanced back at me and sighed. “She went through so much horrible shit and still focused most of her attention on helping us. I really hope she’s okay out there.” He added sadly.
“She’s okay. She has to be okay.” The ache in my chest grew tenfold at the thought of everything she had suffered through. If I hadn't left her alone, none of this would have happened. I would have been able to keep her safe. I failed her. “She stayed with you? Were you and her…” I trailed off.
He laughed. “No. Definitely not. She was more like an older sister or a mom even. Now Embry,” he snorted a laugh, “he almost had a shot. Blew it by falling into a coma though. He’ll be pissed to know you’re back and looking for her.” He glanced back at me with a grin.
My eyes narrowed as I scanned his expression. “Embry? He was dating her?”
He laughed louder this time. “He wishes!” His brow drew down again, an almost angry look taking over his face. “She made it pretty clear that she wasn’t able to give her heart to anyone.” ** One guess why. ** “Didn’t stop him from trying though.”
I flinched at his thoughts. Images of her sobbing, falling into panic attacks, passing out from near starvation. A shell of the vibrant woman she used to be. “It was that bad?” I asked quietly.
“Worse.” He stopped and turned toward a small, ranch-style house. “This is Maeve’s. I don’t think she’s home yet though. I’ll wait with you, she’s under our protection.”
He sat with me and filled me in on more that I had missed. Dani training with them daily, helping them bring in new pack members, growing closer to them. Her magic quickly grew stronger as she relentlessly practiced. Her nightmares, breakdowns, the way she gradually lost weight. The attack at her birthday party. She saved them, nearly destroying herself in the process. Then she left. That was the last any of them heard from her.
“I’m so sorry, Jacob. None of this would have happened if we’d stayed. We could have taken care of Victoria by now.”
He shook his head. “No. I think she might have actually waited until you left. We got lucky with Dani coming in to help as quickly as she did. Victoria had just started testing our boundaries and we had no idea what she wanted. Dani somehow knew a lot about her as well as who would be shifting next. She was able to help us prepare them for it.”
“That sounds like Dani. She always somehow knew more than she should have and never hesitated to risk herself for others.” We chuckled together.
“Ain’t that the truth.” He stood up as Maeve pulled into the driveway.
She froze in her car, staring at me wide-eyed and mouth agape. She quickly composed herself, clenching her jaw and narrowing her eyes. She angrily threw her car door open and climbed out, slamming it shut behind her.
“You! What the hell do you think you’re doing here?!” She pointed at me.
“He’s here to help, Maeve. To try and find Dani.” Jacob interrupted her incoming tirade.
She froze and looked at him. “Dani? Is she okay?” Her expression grew worried.
“We don’t know. He says he’s gonna find her. We thought you might be able to help.”
She glanced back and forth between us and deflated a little. “I can try a locator spell. It’s not very precise. The last one I did placed her in southern Ohio. That was just over a week ago.” She walked past us and waved for us to follow her into the house.
“A week ago? You’ve been keeping tabs on her?” Jacob asked.
She glanced back with a deadpan look. “Of course I have. She’s my responsibility. As long as she’s still showing up, then she’s still alive. It’s not much, but it’s the best I can do to keep from worrying myself into a hole.”
The smallest wave of relief washed over me. “Thank you, Maeve.”
She glared at me. “I didn’t do it for you, asshole.”
I flinched in shock. I had never once heard her say an unkind word to anyone. “Of course.”
She dropped her things on the table and turned around, placing both hands on the tabletop and staring me down with fury in her light blue eyes. “Do you have any idea what you did to her? How broken she was? Still is?”
I shook my head. “I’m so sorry. I had to. I was hurting her. Just being with me was slowly killing her.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” She pushed off of the table. “All she would say was that she couldn’t ‘be what you wanted’. That she wasn’t enough for you.” Her words were spit at me like acid and I flinched again. Pain stabbing into my chest.
“None of that was true.” I replied quietly. “She is far more than I deserve.”
“You’re damn right she is. Tell that to her though. Because it destroyed her. She wasn’t the same after you left her. She stopped laughing, eating, sleeping even. ” Maeve went to work gathering the things she would need. A map, candle, a small hairbrush - Dani’s -, and a clear crystal. She angrily set them all out on the table. “If you find her, you need to help her. If you hurt her again, we will all kill you.” She looked at Jacob.
“Agreed.” He nodded with a small smirk.
“That’s fair. I promise you though, I will not hurt her again. I will do everything I can to keep her safe. To fix my mistakes. I swear.” And I would. I had thoroughly fucked everything up.
She narrowed her eyes again before pushing up her sleeves and lighting the candle. She quickly cast the spell and I watched as the candlelight moved through the crystal before settling on the map.
“She’s near Atlanta. A little south of the city. I can’t get it any more precise than that though.” She waved a hand toward the map.
I leaned forward and looked at where the light had settled. Around Fayetteville, Georgia. She was still alive. The relief that washed through me was like a warm blast of light over my frozen form.
“I can work with that. Thank you, Maeve. Of course I was just in Atlanta.” I huffed a humorless laugh. I was so close and I just missed her. I looked up at Maeve with a firm nod. “I’ll find her and bring her back home safely.”
“You’d better.” Her jaw clenched, but her eyes softened.
I gave Maeve my cell number, asking her to contact me if she had a new location and I would reach out if, when, I found Dani. Then I set out to book another flight as soon as possible. Back to Atlanta. To Dani.
Notes:
This legitimately wrote itself. It's completely written already and I plan to post weekly while keeping up with regularly posting the third work.
Chapter 3: Retrace
Chapter Text
My flight landed in Atlanta in the middle of the night. I didn’t even bother with a car, given the darkness. As soon as I made it far enough away from the airport, I took off running. I made my way south until the active, artificially illuminated city gave way to forest and farmland well on their way to winter hibernation.
As I neared Fayetteville, I scanned every thought I passed, took in every scent, looking for any hint of Dani. I had no idea how I was supposed to find her, but I would leave no stone unturned.
I spent four days in the area scouring a radius of dozens of miles and using every resource available to me for just the faintest hint of her, but came up empty. There was absolutely no sign of her anywhere. No activity on any of her cards, no reports on her license plate, no records of her name anywhere. She was a ghost. It was like trying to find an invisible straw in a haystack. I needed a more precise location. I called Maeve, hoping that she would be willing to help again.
“Hello?” She answered warily.
“Maeve, it’s Edward. I hate to do this, but I need some help.” I grimaced, readying myself for her ire.
Instead, I heard her sigh. “You haven’t found her?”
“No. There’s no sign of her here. Could you try another locator spell, please?” I requested as patiently as I could.
“Of course, just a moment.” There was a faint rustling as she put the phone down. After a couple minutes, I heard her reciting the incantation for the locator spell. She picked the phone back up. “Central Missouri. Somewhere between Kansas City and Jefferson City.”
“Shit!” I ran a hand down my face.
What the hell? How the hell did she end up there?!
“Why did she leave already?” I groaned in frustration. “Alright, I’ll head there immediately. Thank you, Maeve.”
It was possible that I had just missed her and she hadn’t even been here while I wasted time fruitlessly searching. I was going to need to get a car. I couldn’t keep running and flying everywhere. Especially if she was heading to the middle of fucking nowhere.
I found a small used car lot and purchased a gray Dodge Neon with dark tinted windows. Far less paperwork than buying from a dealership and I could take it straight from the lot. It was compact and fast, exactly what I needed to get to her as quickly as possible. It was nearly eight hours before I made it to the area in Missouri where Maeve located Dani.
Missouri ended up being almost no help either. It was a cold and almost empty region of the state. I couldn’t imagine Dani spending much time there. The most I found was another vampire, but I couldn’t ever directly find him. I caught his scent and heard his thoughts, but every time I thought I was getting close, he would disappear on me. Like he knew I was on his trail and was purposely avoiding me. Most vampires traveled alone or with only their mate, so it isn’t entirely unexpected to be wary and steer clear of one another.
The only break I took from searching for Dani was when I needed to hunt. I spent no more than an hour in the woods, draining two deer before setting out again to find her. After a week of chasing after the other vampire and hunting for any sign of Dani, Maeve called with a new location, southern Ohio again. Another frustrating eight hour drive away. I somehow missed her again.
It went on like this for another week. I spent a few days trying to find Dani, then Maeve reached out again with a new location. It seemed Dani was constantly moving. I didn’t understand why until I ended up back in Missouri. I went back to searching for her there, ready to hit the road again at Maeve’s next call.
This time was different though. More vampires were in the area and suddenly there she was. In their thoughts. My elation was short-lived. Three vampires had set a trap for her. It made no sense. They lured her to the middle of the dry, barren woods somewhere. Their primary focus was on incapacitating her, rather than killing her.
She looked so different. Her hair was short and blonde, her scar was gone, and she was so much thinner. But she appeared ready for a fight. Dressed in tight, black clothing with gloved hands.
All I could do was watch the attack unfold as I frantically tried to find her. They were miles away in the middle of the fucking woods though. No markers or signs that would lead me to her and their scents were everywhere. They had been scoping out the area, almost waiting for her. Like they knew she was coming. I had to just watch through one of them as they surrounded and lunged for her.
“No, baby, please!” I became practically frenzied as I smashed through evergreens and lifeless, skeletal trees. Overcome by a desperation I had never felt before as I tried to match the brown, frozen backdrop in their thoughts with my own surroundings.
“Where the hell are you!” They were still too far away for me to directly hear or to pick up Dani’s scent.
She was incredible though. Her movements were impossibly fast. She was skillfully dodging their attacks and taking them down. She quickly threw down two of them, decapitating one before knocking down the third.
“That’s it Dani, fight.” I gritted my teeth as I continued flying through the woods looking for any scent or sound that would point me in the right direction.
In the blink of an eye, she appeared behind the female vampire and somehow removed her head with a foot to her neck. She then conjured flames from nothing and casually flicked them at the bodies, setting them ablaze. A goddess if I ever saw one.
The third vampire though, the one I was watching through, he got his hands on her. I growled furiously and grew more panicked watching her fight against him as he pinned her to the ground beneath him. He seemed confused though. He had some sort of ability and it wasn’t working on Dani. Then Victoria showed up and I saw red. So she was behind it all.
Dani quickly threw him off of herself and went for Victoria. She attacked in response, smashing a hand into Dani’s chest, sending her flying across the forest floor. I watched, powerless to do anything but run through the woods searching for them. Dani quickly recovered, but blood poured from her nose. She was doing too much, but I picked up her scent now. Her blood was strong, I could smell it from miles away.
I redirected toward the source of her scent, still watching through the other vampire. Victoria flew at her, taking her legs out from under her. A sickening snap. Her pained scream. Then she disappeared.
The entire fight lasted merely a couple minutes. She teleported and had been weakened, so she couldn’t have made it too far. I just had to make it to where they were and I should have been able to follow her scent from there.
Victoria let out a frustrated roar, grabbing the other vampire by the collar. “What happened?!” Her high voice was laced with frustration.
“I don’t know, it didn’t work on her. I swear I tried.” He replied nervously.
She threw him away from herself with a growl.
He quickly composed himself. “How did she do all that?! She killed Raf and Bianca like it was nothing!”
She turned and visibly softened. “She’s gifted, remember? I’m sorry, Jordy. I know you liked them. We’ll gather more recruits.” It was a facade, she was definitely playing him. She raised an eyebrow and held her hands to his face. “Find her. And be careful, her mate is following her.” She pushed him away and they took off again.
That wasn’t good. Somehow she knew I was nearby and looking for Dani too. My need to find her became impossibly more urgent. By the time I made it to the area they lured her to, they were gone. All that was left were two smoking piles of ash. Dani had destroyed two of the three that came for her. She was strong.
There was also the fruity, almost cotton candy scent I recognized as Victoria’s lingering in the air. She was still chasing after Dani, and she had gotten close. Too close. There was blood. Not a lot, but enough to concern me. I found drops and smears of it in the dirt and leaves.
I had to make a choice. Hunt down and kill Victoria - I could do it, her trail was fresh, I was sure I’d find her - or get to Dani. She was gone again. Injured and alone. It was an easy decision. I went back to searching for her. I followed her scent back through the woods, retracing her steps until I got to a road. It stopped suddenly. There was no scent of her blood or sign that a car had been there. She must have teleported to this spot before venturing into the forest. She couldn’t have been too far though, her range was only a few miles. I spent far too long searching the area with no luck before returning to the nearest city and scanning people’s thoughts for her again.
Dani was still missing with Victoria closely on her trail. At first I didn’t know how Victoria had found her. Then I heard the rumors. Vampires were searching for the gifted human girl. Victoria had been sharing pictures and her scent. If they could bring Dani to her alive, she would reward them with a large piece of territory in the Olympic Peninsula. Our territory. She had put a fucking bounty out on Dani and nomadic vampires were taking her up on it.
As soon as I got my hands on Victoria, she would no longer have a chance to keep up her end of that bargain. I wanted to make her suffer for what she had done, but more than that I wanted to just tear her head off. Eliminate the threat to Dani as quickly as possible.
Other vampires were noting and apparently reporting Dani’s locations and movements as they spotted her. It wasn’t frequent though. She was doing a good job of staying hidden and on the move. Even the car she drove was constantly changing. But vampires were vigilant. We didn’t need to sleep, our minds worked relentlessly. As long as they knew what to look for, if she was nearby someone would likely spot or scent her. I needed to find her first. To protect her and put a stop to all of this once and for all.
That proved to be much more difficult than I anticipated. In the rare instance that someone actually spotted her, she seemed to almost immediately know and would disappear again. I never even saw or sensed her myself. As Maeve provided an updated location, I followed her trail in nonsensical routes all over the US from the east coast, then west to Utah, back east to Wisconsin, and south to Arizona.
It made no sense, which I suppose made the most sense. If she didn’t want to be found, then taking random routes all over the country was definitely the best approach. She was so damn smart. It was impressive, but frustrating considering I was the one trying to find her.
Every once in a while I would catch her faint scent outside of a spiritual shop or psychic business. However, they refused to answer any of my questions and, like Maeve, I couldn’t hear their thoughts, only the tone of them. They were all wary of me and unwilling to sell Dani out. She was seeking out and finding witches, though I had no idea why. After a month of moving from city to city, I reached out to Maeve in desperation. She had just given me a new location and I was hoping she could try to get it more precise after I arrived.
“She’s in New York City.” She informed me. She already moved again.
“Are you sure? Not just outside of it in one of the smaller cities?” So far she was steering clear of big cities, staying just far enough away from them if she ended up near anyplace more populated than Cleveland.
“I’m sure. That’s where she is.”
I sighed and ran a hand down my face. “I just need her to sit still for a minute. It shouldn’t have taken this long. I’m so sorry, Maeve.”
“Save it for Dani.” She replied bitterly. Then, softer, “Just bring her home. Please.”
“I will. I promise.” I hung up and sat with the pain for just a moment. Allowed it to overtake me and remind me that I did this to myself. I put her in danger and it was my job to make her safe again.
I wasn’t very far away this time. Her last location was in Pennsylvania, probably on her way to New York. I was in Harrisburg now. If I drove fast enough, I could be there in ninety minutes. And I would drive fast enough.
Chapter 4: Reunion
Chapter Text
The problem I had now was that New York City was large and densely populated. An endless swell of thoughts that would be impossible to sort through. The moment I arrived within a few miles of the city, I was overwhelmed. I had to tune it all out just to function. I aimlessly roamed the streets and buildings, internally begging the universe to just help me for once.
After nearly half a day I got lucky. Very lucky. I found her car by pure chance. It wasn’t her car. It was a black Nissan Sentra, but Dani’s scent was all over it. It was completely isolated. Parked on an empty road, away from any heavy foot traffic.
I tried to rein in my emotions. Excitement, trepidation, relief. Relief flooded my entire being. Relief that I was finally close and would soon be able to protect her, as I should have been this whole time. However, I hadn’t actually found her yet.
It seemed like she walked somewhere from her car. It was possible that she had abandoned the car already, so I followed her trail. Her scent took me nearly six miles away past shops and restaurants to an area packed with bars and people. I almost lost her trail due to the overwhelming sensory overload. Then I caught her in someone’s thoughts. I had been periodically scanning. Just quickly looking for her before tuning it all back to white noise again.
She was dressed in the smallest imaginable black dress. A monstrous excuse for a man was following her toward a dark alley. He was laser focused on her and his thoughts were abhorrent. He was visualizing the rape and murder he had planned for her as soon as he had her isolated. I noted the cross-street they were near when he glanced behind himself to check for witnesses. Finally, I knew exactly where she was.
I headed straight there and stopped short when I found her. I was initially planning to go right to her. To just get her out of there, make sure she was safe again, and beg for her forgiveness. But she was behaving strangely. I prepared to step in before he could even try to hurt her, then she turned and stopped him.
“Tell me what you want with me.” She demanded.
What is she doing?
He responded immediately. “I’m gonna push you against that wall, hike that tiny little dress up and then-”
A low growl rose up from my chest. Fury blazed through me. I was going to kill him.
“Stop.” She held a hand up and made a disgusted face. “Ew. And after that? What would you do with me?” She was compelling him. I drew back again, even more confused now.
Seriously. What the fuck is she doing?
He froze and robotically pulled his shirt up, showing her something. A knife tucked into the waist of his pants.
“Have you done this before then?”
He nodded in response as his heart rate increased.
“How many times?” Her eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched in anger.
“Three.” The word came out slow, forced. He didn’t want to answer her, but had no choice. He was terrified. Good.
She stopped and just stared at him for a moment. She looked like she was fighting with herself. Trying to make a choice. She suddenly deflated with a frustrated groan.
“You will never touch another woman again. And you will turn yourself into the police for every rape and murder you’ve ever committed.” With a wave of her hand, she threw him to the ground, and then she was gone.
“Shit!” I yelled, much louder than I should have. Drawing attention to myself. I fucking lost her again.
“No.” I gritted my teeth and made my way back to her car as fast as I could while still remaining inconspicuous. I couldn’t spend another month chasing after her while she was in danger. I finally found her. I should have gone right to her instead of just standing there like a useless idiot watching her.
I rushed toward the area where her car was parked. She was peeling away just as I approached. I did my best to follow her. I didn’t want to just jump in front of her car, potentially causing an accident, and I needed to remain out of sight. A ghostly pale man chasing a car down the busy streets at an impossible speed would certainly raise alarms.
I followed along the tops of buildings. Moving into the shadows when the buildings were too low or there were too many people around. Without her thoughts to work with, it was difficult to keep her in sight and remain out of sight myself.
Dani didn’t seem to be heading anywhere in particular. Just wandering around aimlessly. I temporarily lost her when she drove past a particularly crowded area and someone took notice of me. When I found her again, the car was parked in an abandoned lot. I circled the car. She wasn’t with it anymore, but I could see something in the backseat. She likely hadn’t abandoned it yet, but had gotten out to walk again. I followed her trail until I heard her voice.
“You’re okay. Forget everything that happened here. Get somewhere safe as soon as possible.” Her voice was trembling.
I heard the confused thoughts of a woman, saw Dani brushing her hair away from her face. She had compelled her too. The woman got up and quickly stumbled away. Heading to a friend’s apartment nearby.
I finally found Dani and could have sobbed from the victorious relief that flooded through me. Now wearing a large, gray hooded sweatshirt over her dress, with blood smeared across her arms and hands. She was crouched down in front of an unconscious man. He had blood dripping from his broken nose and she was holding a long dagger of some sort tightly in her hand. Her face was drawn down in near agony.
“Just fucking do it!” She gritted the words out quietly.
“Dani?” I called out.
She turned to me with a scream, falling backward onto the ground.
“What the fuck?” The words were barely a whisper. Her eyes were wide with terror. She squeezed them shut and reopened them. A small whine escaped her lips as her eyes scanned me up and down. “No no no, I’ve gone full Bella. I’ve finally lost my fucking mind!”
Her wide, blue eyes met mine. Complete horror and confusion all over her face.
“What are you doing?” I asked softly.
She squeezed her eyes closed again and threw her hands over her ears. “No. Nope. Stop that.” She muttered as she shook her head.
** Bitch! **
The man on the ground suddenly lunged at her, wrapping his hands around her throat. I was so focused on Dani, I didn’t even realize he had awoken. I moved to pull him away from her but Dani threw him off of herself. She pinned him against the wall with an outstretched hand and grabbed the dagger again.
“Fuck!” She yelled around a cough as she rubbed at her throat.
“Stupid bitch! I’ll fucking kill you!” The man spat at her.
“Shut up!” She ordered.
His mouth snapped shut and his eyes widened.
** How? What the…? **
She glanced at me again. I took a step toward her and she flinched back.
“Fuck! Why the fuck is this happening now? I can’t deal with this.” She looked at the man again. “Dormeo.” She held a hand to his face and he immediately went limp. She fell back to sit on the ground and gripped her hands in her hair.
“Dani, what’s happening?” My voice was filled with panic.
She threw her hands over her ears again. “Just do it. You fucking do this or you die! Those are your fucking options!” Her voice broke. She dropped her hands again and leaned toward the man, dagger in hand. “Do it. Just do it. Kill the murderer.” Her voice was trembling and tears began to fall to her cheeks.
She’s going to kill him?
“Dani, love, put the knife down. Please?” I asked in a soft, pleading voice.
She tightly shook her head with a small sob. Her fingers repeatedly loosened and tightened over the handle of the dagger as she leaned over the man. Suddenly she winced and dropped the dagger. Her hand flew to her right shoulder and she bolted to her feet.
“Shit!”
“Dani!” My voice rose now. “What are you doing?!”
“Shut up, hallucination Edward!!” She paced past me, then quickly went back to the man and grabbed the dagger again. “I don’t have time for this shit.” She groaned to herself.
Hallucination? Does she think I’m not real?
She touched the man’s face again. “Expergo.” She hissed and he jolted awake. “Go to the nearest police station. Confess every single detail of every crime you have ever committed. Now!”
The man scrambled to his feet and staggered away as quickly as he could.
** Police station. Confess. Assaults. Robberies. Murders. **
He started listing names, dates, and details in his mind. He was going to do exactly as she told him. Confess everything down to the smallest traffic violation. Was she just hunting down murderers and making them confess their crimes? Why?
She walked past me again, closing her eyes.
“Dani? Please, come with me. Let’s just get out of here.” I followed after her.
“Not now!! I can’t lose my fucking mind right now!” She held a hand to her head as she seemed to focus.
“I’m not a hallucination!” I stepped toward her in frustration.
Her eyes snapped open and she met my eyes again. “That is exactly what a hallucination would say!” She pointed the dagger at me and walked out from between the buildings, looking around the open area.
“Just one.” She mumbled to herself. Then, out of nowhere, she sliced her hand open. “Come get it motherfucker!” She called out.
“What the hell, Dani?!” I rushed to her only to freeze when I smelled a familiar sweet scent in the air.
Another vampire. I quickly found their thoughts among the sea of noise. His focus was on Dani. Her blood. He rushed toward her and I intercepted, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him off of his feet.
“She’s mine!” He growled as he clawed at my arm. His black eyes locked onto her.
“You won’t touch her.” I growled back with pure rage, tightening my hold on his throat until his marble skin started to splinter and crack.
“Wait, wait. Can you see him?!” Dani asked him with a panicked edge to her voice.
He glanced at her with a look of complete bewilderment.
** She didn’t say she was crazy. **
He growled furiously and was abruptly thrown away from me and laid out on the ground. Dani stood between us, looking down at him.
“Can you see him?!” She demanded, angry now.
“He had me by the fuckin’ throat psycho bitch! Of course I can see him!” He snarled back.
Dani glanced back at me with wide eyes. “What the fuck are you doing here?!” She practically screeched at me. She shook her head and looked back down at him. “Where is Victoria? Is she here?!”
He merely hissed at her.
“Fine. The fun way it is.” With her other hand she forced his arm out and balled her fist. He screamed as his outstretched hand crumbled to fine pieces. Venom and blackened coagulated blood pooled around his open stub of a wrist.
“You really shouldn’t have come alone.” She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “I can do this all night. Eventually I’ll get to an appendage you’ll really miss. Is. She. Here?!”
Holy shit. She might have actually lost it.
I was having a little trouble deciding if I was horrified or aroused. She was vicious but magnificent.
“No! She’s not here!” He cried out in pain.
“Where is she?” She demanded.
He cried out again. “I- I don’t know!”
“How were you supposed to take me to her then?” She asked in a confused tone.
He bared his teeth at her. She stretched his other arm out and his face fell. Blackened eyes scanned her and he realized where this was heading.
“You’re just going to kill me anyway! So why the fuck should I tell you anything?!”
She bent over him, leveling her face with his. “Because I can make it really quick for you. Or I can keep doing this.” She crushed his other hand and he screamed again.
I couldn’t do anything but watch as she tortured him. It was captivating. She was so much stronger and far more violent. I supposed it was for good reason. Vampires had been hunting her down for months.
“Phone! She gave a phone number!” He confessed.
She straightened back up. “That’s… unexpected.” She looked at me again and her eyes widened. “Why are you here?” She asked quietly.
My brows drew down and I shook my head. “For you. I’ve been trying to find you, Dani.” Agony tore at the center of my body.
Her shoulders dropped and she turned back to the vampire on the ground. “You and every other fucking vampire in this country apparently.” She stepped toward him again with a sharp nod. “Give me the number.”
He quickly rattled off the seven digit cell number Victoria had been giving out. He was rightfully terrified of Dani now.
She sighed. “I don’t have a fucking pen and paper or anything here, dude. Did she give you a card or something?”
He gave her a confused look again. “You are completely insane, aren’t you?”
“I’ve got it, Dani.” I tapped my head as she glanced back at me.
Her eyes narrowed and she turned back toward him. “Sorry, man.” She stepped on his neck and he barely had a chance to scream before his head was removed from his body with a metallic grinding noise. She stepped back and conjured a small flame in her palm, flicking it at him as she turned and walked away.
“Holy shit, Dani.” I followed after her.
“What do you want?!” She turned on her heels, facing me now. Her face was drawn down in pure despair.
“I’ve been trying to find you. You went missing and no one knew where you were! I’m so sorry, Dani. I was a complete idiot. I left you unprotected and…” Devastation flitted across her face. Pain shot through me again, nearly bringing me to my knees. “I can help you now though. I’ll keep you safe and put a stop to all of this.” I promised.
She shook her head and turned back around. “I don’t need your help. I’ve got it myself. You don’t owe me shit. Thanks or whatever, but you’re free to go!” She called over her shoulder as she kept walking.
“What are you talking about?! Clearly you are neck deep in vampires! You absolutely need help!” I followed after her, speeding in front of her to face her again.
She stopped cold and stumbled back with a gasp. “Not your help!” She pushed me aside with a wave of her hand and kept walking.
“Dani, baby, please. You don’t have to do this on your own!” I followed after her again.
She turned to me again with pure rage in her blue eyes. “Don’t you dare call me ‘baby’.” She hissed through gritted teeth. “You don’t get to call me shit like that anymore.” Tears started to well in her eyes and her breaths started coming in short, quick pants. “Shit.” She whispered before turning around and taking off at a sprint in the direction of her car.
“Dani!” I ran after her, careful not to overtake her, I didn’t want to frighten her again.
She stopped at her car, bracing her hands against the roof. Her heart was erratically pounding in her chest and she lowered her head. One shaking hand moved to her chest as she struggled to breathe. She was having a panic attack. Facing a trio of homicidal vampires and she’s perfectly composed, but having to face me was too much for her. Maeve was right. I destroyed her.
“Oh, Dani. I’m so sorry.” I said quietly as I slowly approached her.
She quickly spun around, tears streaming down her face. “Please.” She sobbed. “You can’t do this again.” The words barely made it out around her wheezing breaths. “I’d rather die.” Then she collapsed.
I rushed forward to catch her before she hit the ground. Her light, warm body fell limply into my arms. My heart shattered. This wasn’t how I wanted to hold her again. I cupped her face, moving her hair out of the way so I could look at her. She was unconscious. Her sunshine energy still traveled up my hand through my arm, heating me to my very core. I hadn’t felt that in six months, eight days, twenty hours, and twelve minutes. It felt like it had been so much longer.
“God. I am so sorry, love.” My voice broke as I looked down at her crumpled form.
I hooked an arm beneath her knees and lifted her from the ground. Carrying her to the passenger seat, I gently sat her down and buckled her in. I made her as comfortable as possible before moving into the driver’s seat beside her. After a long search of every crevice inside the car, I couldn’t locate the keys. I carefully checked the pocket of Dani’s hoodie. Still nothing.
The skirt of her short dress had ridden up high on her thighs. The dagger was held in a holster there so I removed it and put it safely on the floor behind her seat. It felt wrong to leave her like that. I pulled a small blanket from the back seat and covered her with it before getting out to find something to start the car with. It was too new to hotwire, so I was going to need something to use to break the lock pins in the ignition. Hopefully Dani wouldn’t mind. I was fairly certain it wasn’t her car anyway.
I quickly found something in the industrial area around us. A small metal bar that would do perfectly. After sliding back in, I carefully jammed the bar into the ignition key hole and turned it, successfully starting the car. New York City was a hotbed for vampires. If one of them found her already, it was only a matter of time before another did. I had no idea where to take her, I just needed to get her out of there. So I drove.
Chapter 5: Remorse
Chapter Text
I drove west, trying to get us as far from New York as possible. We might need to head back to Forks. It would be easier to keep her safe there with the pack. I could call my family too. Get them there as well, in case Victoria was following us. But I wanted to leave the choice up to her when she awakened.
She slept restlessly. Tossing and turning in the seat, whimpering, even crying out a couple times. Despite her clear unease, she slept for a few hours. I had stopped once during the night to refuel and still, she didn’t wake.
I kept my focus on her, taking in all of the changes since the last time I had seen her. It wasn’t just her hair and her scar. She was still so beautiful, but she looked miserable. Her face had grown thinner, dark circles bruised the skin beneath her eyes. I did this to her. I knew leaving would hurt her, but I thought she would recover and move on with enough time. She wasn’t frozen and unchanging, like me. She was supposed to have a chance at happiness again.
Looking at her now, I knew I would never be able to leave her again. If she could ever forgive me, give me another chance, I would find a way to make it work. I could keep my venom away from her. I could kiss her, hold her, please her. Anything she wanted, it would be hers. Eternity would not be enough time for me to atone for what I’d done, but I would spend every remaining moment of her life trying anyway.
I was desperate to touch her again. To just stroke her soft cheek with the backs of my fingers. But I held back, knowing I didn’t deserve even that much from her.
It was just before dawn when she woke up. I had gotten us almost to Ohio before she startled awake.
“Oh my god!” She cried out as she unbuckled her seatbelt and threw herself against the door.
“It’s okay, Dani. You’re safe.” I tried to reassure her.
“Pull over!” She yelled.
“What? No. Please, I promise I’m trying to help.” I gave her a pleading look.
She shook her head and pulled fruitlessly at the locked door handle. “Pull over!!” She groaned desperately.
With a sigh, I pulled to the side of the small road we were on and she threw herself out of the car. She immediately bent over and started vomiting.
Oh. Shit. I am a complete ass.
I sped around to her and gently pulled her hair away from her face. When I reached a hand out to rub her back, she jerked away.
“Don’t touch me!” She cried out before turning and dry heaving again.
“I’m sorry.” I held my hands away. “Are you okay?”
“Ugh. No.” The words came out as a low whine.
She spit once, then moved around me to rifle through the back seat of the car. She reemerged with a bottle of water. After rinsing her mouth out, she took a few slow sips of the water, tossing the half full bottle back into the backseat, and finally turned to face me again.
“What the hell is happening? Where are you taking me?” Her voice was strained, like she was desperately trying to keep it together.
I rubbed a hand nervously on the back of my neck. “You passed out. Honestly, I don’t know where we're going. I just needed to get you away from there.”
She turned away from me, looking down at her clothes. Her arms came up as she examined the blood on her sweatshirt. It wasn’t her blood, but I was hesitant to ask about it. Her breathing picked up and she quickly pulled it off, throwing it away from herself. She was left in just the small, black dress and it was well below freezing outside.
I followed as she moved to the trunk of the car. She opened it with a wave of her hand. The faint light from the trunk illuminated her as she started pulling clothes from a small duffle bag. Shadows contrasting against her cheekbones, drawing sharp angles over her stern face. The scars on her shoulder now held a tattoo nestled in the center, a Witch’s Knot. There were also four, wide scars trailing down the center of her back.
She threw a pair of light jeans on beneath her dress, then turned away from me before removing the dress, revealing her bare back to me. The scars started at the center of her shoulder blades and ran all the way down to her lower back. She quickly pulled a clean, black hoodie over her head and moved around to the back seat of the car.
I briefly lost the ability to breathe as I processed everything. “Dani, what happened to your back?” I asked in a pained voice.
She paused from whatever it was she was doing and looked up at me with a confused expression. Her eyes darted thoughtfully around the air in front of her before her face fell.
“Nothing. It was an accident.” She replied coldly, before looking through the backpack she found on the floor.
“An accident? What accident?” I drew in a short breath, the air seeming to stab and burn at my lungs.
“None of your business.” She came back out with a protein bar and ripped the wrapper off.
My still heart ached painfully in my chest as I watched her. She seemed so different, hardened, almost… broken. There was no atonement that would prove sufficient for the suffering I had caused her.
She quickly ate the bar in four bites, wincing slightly after each one. “God, I need coffee. Where are we?”
“Just east of Ohio, almost to Youngstown.” I watched in confusion as she pulled a map out of her car and knelt down, spreading it open on the ground beside the car. “I can take you somewhere for food and coffee.” I offered.
“Already ate, just need coffee.” She conjured a small ball of light and sent it hovering just above her head to illuminate the area around herself. Now able to see, she ran her finger across the map, tracing from New York to where we were now.
“You should eat more than that.”
She glanced up at me with a skeptical expression. “I’m fine.”
She reached back into her bag and pulled out a small necklace and a candle. She set it all out on the ground beside the car. The candle immediately lit and she held the necklace up, focusing on the map. After a second, the map started to burn away. When it stopped burning, she picked up the remaining piece.
“Wichita? Why the fuck is she in Wichita?!” She tossed the piece of the map away and stood back up.
“What are you doing?” I asked warily.
“Locator spell.” She ran a hand through her hair and started pacing. “Maybe I can try a morgue again?” She mumbled to herself. “Distraction spell, silencing spell, and maybe a concealment should work if I can hold them all. But then there’s the cameras and motion detectors too.” She groaned in frustration.
“Dani, what is going on? Please talk to me.” I begged.
She paused and looked at me. “I need to kill her.” She said matter-of-factly.
My jaw clenched. “I can help with that.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t understand why you’re even here!” A small, frustrated groan rose up from her chest.
“I’m here because you went missing! People are worried about you. I am worried about you! I never should have left you. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am, Dani.”
She shook her head again. “None of that matters. It’d be better if you just left again now. Don’t worry about me. I may be mortal but I can take care of myself.” Her teeth gritted together audibly. “I need to ditch this car though. Get a new one.”
“Dani. Just stop for a moment and talk to me, please.” I tried to catch her eye again, but she just kept pacing. “I’m not leaving you. Never again. Dani, you have to know your mortality is not why I left. That I would never want you to suffer the same fate as me.”
She paused and glared at me. At least she was making eye contact again. “I don’t know that! Because that is what you told me! We have no future, remember? What other reason could there be?!” Her voice rose higher with each question.
I ran a hand roughly through my hair. “God, I am so so sorry. I’ve thoroughly ruined everything.” I reached out again, pausing just short of touching her when she flinched back. “That is not why I left Dani. My venom is poison to you! I was slowly killing you!”
She reeled back. “What the fuck are you talking about?!” Her hands flew up in exasperation.
“Before I… left, I spoke to Carlisle. He said it was likely that every time you came into contact with my venom that it was harming you.” I slowly placed my hand on her arm now and she, thankfully, didn’t pull away.
Instead she froze. She stared at me for several moments. Slowly, her brows drew down, her chin jutted forward, and she pressed her lips together. Her expression shifted into one of pure rage. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” She pushed my hand away. “You abandoned me, destroyed my entire world, because it was likely that your venom was harmful to me?!”
She jabbed a finger into my chest before turning away again and releasing an enraged groan. Her hands balled into fists at her sides and she started walking toward the wooded area beside the road.
“Dani! Where are you going?!” I started to follow after her.
She turned on her heels and pointed a finger at me. “Stay there! I’m trying really hard not to accidentally hurt you right now!”
I stopped where I was as she continued forward. Eventually, she stopped amid the trees. With a sharp wave of her hand, she razed nearly a dozen trees in the forest ahead of her. She laced her fingers in her hair and stood there, breathing heavily for a few minutes. When her breathing settled, she looked at the trees again. She raised her hand, and I watched in awe as one-by-one they lifted back to their original spots and seemed to fuse back together. She somehow fixed the damage she caused.
“Sorry about that.” She mumbled to the woods in front of her before turning back to me. “Coffee, new car, then we’re going to Wichita to kill us a red-headed bitch.” She walked past me and slid into the passenger seat.
I moved into the driver’s seat and turned the car back on with the metal rod in the ignition.
“What did you do?” She waved a hand toward the ignition with an almost pained expression.
“I couldn’t find the keys.” I tilted my head at her curiously.
“This isn’t my car.” Her head tipped up to face the ceiling.
I suppressed a sigh. “I figured as much. How were you starting it?”
“Magic.” She looked back down and dropped her face into her hands.
“Are you alright?” I asked gently.
She shook her head. “No. I’m really not.”
More pain. “I’m sorry, Dani. For everything.”
“So you said.” Her words were muffled by her hands.
“I’ll do anything to fix this. Is there any chance that you’ll allow me to try?” I asked quietly. Agony teetering on the edge of ripping me apart.
Her shoulders started shaking. She was crying. “You broke… everything.” Her words were strained by her sobs.
“I know.” My own voice broke. “I will never forgive myself. What I did to you was inexcusable.”
She took a few deep breaths before looking up and wiping her reddened eyes. She sniffled and ran the sleeve of her sweatshirt across her face. “Please just get me to some caffeine. I can’t do this right now.”
She needed time, obviously. I could give her as much time as she needed. I would wait eternity for her if I had to. The drive into Youngstown was quiet, but I made sure she got coffee quickly. She, surprisingly, drank it black and refused my offer to get her a proper meal. She was so much thinner, clearly she hadn’t been eating well for a while. More damage I had caused.
The Sun was just beginning to rise when she directed me to drive us to an isolated area. Once she was satisfied with the location, I helped her retrieve her things and wipe down the car. It seemed her usual method of disposal was to just leave her stolen cars in the middle of an empty lot or plot of land.
“So, I’m gonna take us to a parking garage in Akron for a new car. It might be a little disorienting.” She commented as she waved a hand in the air, seeming to cast a spell around us.
“What do you mean?” I asked warily.
“Teleportation. Trust me, it’s better than walking there.” She held an arm out for me to take.
My brows drew down. “That’s way too far.” It was about fifty miles to Akron from where we were. I was also fairly skeptical that she could actually take me with her.
She snorted a laugh. “No it’s not. Are you coming or not?” She shook her arm at me once.
I carefully linked my arm with hers and she wrapped her other hand around my forearm. There was a sharp pull and a spinning, falling sensation as I was yanked from this plane of existence. Then we were standing in a parking garage. I stumbled on the landing. ‘Disorienting’ was a bit of an understatement.
She immediately let me go and started walking through the garage, scanning the cars, completely unfazed by what she had just done. Apparently teleporting large distances with a passenger wasn’t new to her. She stopped at a gray Honda Civic and peeked into the back seat with a small nod.
“Perfect.” She waved her hand to open the trunk and threw her things in. “You wanna drive or should I?” She muttered as she removed the license plate and waved her hand around the car.
“I’ll drive. What are you doing?” I asked.
“Distraction spell, just so we can get it out of the garage.” She looked at me carefully then sighed. “I can cast a concealment spell to cover your exposed skin, but it’s temporary. I usually sleep during the day, if it wears off before I can catch it, you might run into problems.”
I was wearing a light, leather jacket, so only my hands and face were exposed, but without tinted windows it was a legitimate risk. My brows drew down in concern as I took in her nonchalance at everything. “If you need to sleep, I can get you a hotel room.”
She shook her head. “No. That leaves an obvious trail. I sleep in my car during the day and keep moving at night. It’s the best way to avoid vampires.”
Agony at what I had done to her ripped through me again. I fought to remain composed. “You don’t need to do that anymore, Dani. I won’t let anyone harm you. We’ll find Victoria together and end all of this.”
Her expression hardened. She glanced away, then climbed silently into the passenger seat. I got behind the wheel and she placed a hand on the dashboard, starting the car. We made our way out of the parking garage and I pointed us toward Wichita.
“So… what have you been up to?” She unexpectedly broke the silence hanging between us for the past hour.
I glanced over at her. She was still facing forward, her knees pulled up to her chest.
“Well, I’ve spent the last month and a half looking for you. Before that I was in Brazil.” I offered.
She nodded. “Seems you’re not great at finding people.” She rested her chin on her knees.
I huffed a humorless laugh. “It’s difficult when I can’t hear the person I’m looking for and they won’t stay in one place for more than a few days at a time.”
She shook her head. “I’m assuming you were in Brazil chasing after Victoria. She was never even there. Probably a false trail she set for you to keep you busy and away from Forks.”
I turned toward her now. “How could you know that? That I was looking for her?”
She sighed. “I know a lot of things. Too many things.”
Truer words were never spoken. I scanned her carefully. She looked exhausted. “You know, I came really close to finding you last month.”
She tilted her head, resting her cheek on her knees to look at me. “Where?”
“Missouri.” I kept my gaze on those beautiful, blue eclipse eyes. The whites of her eyes were slightly bloodshot.
Her brow drew down. “Missouri sucked.”
“I know.” I gave her a pained look. “I had to watch them attack you.” Her eyes widened and she glanced away. “I tried so hard to get to you, but by the time I found where you were, it was too late. You were already gone. I’m so sorry.”
“That was my fault. I was so stupid. I fell right into her trap.” She rested her forehead against her knees now. “I don’t know how she knew I was coming for her though.” She let out a frustrated groan.
“She has a bounty out on you. Vampires all over the country are keeping an eye out for you and reporting to her when they spot you.”
Her head snapped back up to me. “What?! Are you fucking serious?! God, that explains so much!” She ran her hands through her hair with another groan.
“You were hurt. It looked like she broke your leg. Are you alright?” My chest felt heavy and a spark of rage shot through me at the memory, the sound.
She nodded and rubbed at her left shin, the leg that broke. “Yeah. I heal quickly.”
I let out a small sigh. “I know. Sam showed me a bit of that. How does that work?”
“Wait. You talked to Sam?” She sat up straight now, her full attention on me.
“Yes, I went to Forks first, after Alice informed me that you were missing. The wolves quickly found me. They seem to be very worried about you.” I kept my focus on her eyes as she thought.
“Are they okay? Has anyone else been hurt? Did you see Leah and Seth? Or… Embry?” She asked as tears started to well in her eyes.
“They seemed to be fine. Seth was there, he was actually the one to convince Sam to help me.” I huffed a laugh. “I didn’t see Leah or Embry, but your friend Jacob mentioned that he would be ‘pissed’ to know that I was trying to find you.” I carefully examined her expression.
A small smile pulled at her lips and tears fell to her cheeks. “Embry’s okay?” Her voice broke.
“I didn’t hear anything to the contrary. Why?” I pushed down the hint of unwarranted jealousy that was rising. I had no right to that particular emotion anymore.
She sniffled. “He was practically brain dead when I left. I was so sure he was going to die because of me.” A small sob came out with her words.
“He was the one you were trying to save when they attacked at your party?” I asked, remembering the image of her performing CPR on one of them.
She nodded and cleared her throat. “Seth has shifted?”
“Yes. He’s still so young. Why would he have shifted already?”
With a sigh, she wiped her face clean with her sleeve again. “Too many vampires hanging around. The gene kept triggering earlier and earlier to make more wolves.”
“How many are there now?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Dunno. Haven’t been back in a while.”
“How many were there when you left?” I clarified, hoping to get some idea of what was waiting for us back in Forks.
Her jaw clenched. “No. That’s their business. I doubt they want me sharing their stats with you.” She shifted uncomfortably, looking straight ahead again.
I merely nodded. That was fair. They were actually there for her. They were far more deserving of her loyalty.
“Can I ask what you were doing in New York? Why were you looking for murderers?” None of what I saw when I found her made any sense.
She stiffened and turned away to look out her window. “I was going to cast a spell. I needed something for it.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
My brow furrowed in thought. “What spell? What did you need?”
“It doesn’t matter now. I’m not going to do it.” She shook her head tensely.
“Dani. You said you were going to kill that man. Why?” My voice stayed low and soft, hopeful that she would be willing to open up to me about whatever was going on.
She sighed and looked over at me with an expression I could only describe as shame. “I needed a heart.” She whispered.
A small gasp escaped my lips. “What spell, Dani?”
She looked away again, wiping a hand down her face. “One to make me stronger... I’m so tired, Edward. I just wanted to stop running. I want to go home.” Her voice broke.
“This is all my fault. Sorry doesn’t even begin to cover it, Dani. I have monumentally fucked up.” My voice was heavy with remorse.
She snorted a small laugh before growing serious again. “Why didn’t you just try to talk to me?”
“Because I’m a moron. And I knew it would take very little for you to convince me to stay. My presence in your life was… is deadly to you.” I kept my focus on the side of her face as I drove.
She looked at me now with skeptical eyes. “You can’t really believe that. Can you?”
“You saw what our venom does to you.” My voice very nearly broke.
She shook her head. “No. I saw what Carlisle’s venom does to me.”
“Vampire venom, Dani. I am a vampire.” She had to understand this. That I wouldn’t have left her for any reason besides ensuring her well-being. She believed the worst so quickly. As though she wasn’t fully convinced of my love for her.
She just kept shaking her head. Her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed slightly. “You are an idiot, aren’t you?”
“I do believe we’ve established that. But why this time?” I gave her a small smile. I would do more to show her now, leave no room for doubt that she was my entire life.
She rolled her eyes, fighting back a smirk. “You’re not like other vampires to me. You’re warm, soft. Even now, I can feel the magic from you. It’s… magnetic.” She said quietly.
Our eyes met and I thought carefully. That was all true. The way she reacted to me was so different from every other vampire. Like our magic responded to each other. It was possible.
Fucking hell. If I had only talked to her!
“We can test it? When we see Carlisle again.” I offered, stifling the flicker of hope threatening to ignite into a raging fire.
She shook her head. “Let’s just kill Victoria. We can figure out the rest when I can safely go home again.”
It wasn’t a promise nor anything near forgiveness. But it still gave me hope. A possible chance to try to right my many wrongs.
Chapter 6: Reaching
Chapter Text
Wichita was less than a day’s drive from Akron. With my abilities, I could have made it in under ten hours. However, I had to think of Dani and her needs. That was the most important thing.
I managed to convince her to eat a proper meal for lunch. We stopped at a diner near Indianapolis where she ordered the first thing she saw on the menu, some sort of sandwich with fries, and another cup of coffee. I watched closely as she ate. She barely finished half of it before giving up and she didn’t seem to enjoy a moment of it.
“Why haven’t you been eating properly?” I asked carefully as she sipped her coffee.
She briefly met my eyes before glancing away again. “Nothing tastes… right.”
She met my eyes again and I waited patiently, trying to keep the anguish tearing my insides apart from showing on my face. “It’s all just dead and dry.” She quietly added with a shrug.
It was the same for me. Since the moment we parted, feeding had been a miserable chore. I was left with an aching chasm inside of me and could find no joy in anything. Pure hell is the only way to even come close to describing it. Had I subjected her to the same cursed fate?
I reached across the table for her hand. She flinched slightly, but didn’t pull away. I lightly held my hand over the back of hers where it remained wrapped tightly around her mug. “I am truly sorry, Dani. There is nothing that I won’t do to earn your forgiveness and, if I may be particularly greedy, your trust again.”
She looked down at our hands with a frown. Her fingers twitched and relaxed just the slightest bit. It was nearly two minutes before she spoke again.
Her voice was barely a whisper. “I was so sure I was going to die. I didn’t know it was possible to hurt that badly and continue living. If it weren’t for Leah, I don’t think I would have made it.”
A tear fell to her cheek and she quickly wiped it away with a trembling hand.
“Leah?” I gently pushed as my heart broke. Dani was my entire world and I caused her so much pain.
She nodded slowly. “Yeah. She refused to let me stop… living.” She huffed a laugh, wiped away another tear. “She made me run with her. It was surprisingly helpful. A distraction. She came every day, forced me out of the house. Just… was there for me.” She sniffed and her pained, blue eyes met mine again.
I was going to have to find Leah and thank her as soon as we were back. She took care of Dani while I hurt her. I would never be able to properly show my gratitude to her.
“I’m glad that you had her. None of this should have ever happened. I know that I can’t go back and undo what I’ve done, but I promise, I swear I will not fail you ever again.” I lightly brushed my thumb over the back of her hand.
She glanced down and pulled her hand away, bringing the mug to her lips again. “I’ll need to get a state map. So I can find a more precise location for her.” She opted to change the subject.
I nodded. “You should get some rest too. If we’re going after her together, we both need to be at our strongest. We can stop somewhere, so you can sleep on a proper bed.” I couldn’t bear the thought of her having to spend one more day sleeping in a car. She deserved so much better.
“Do you need to feed?” She asked quietly, carefully looking into my eyes. Likely assessing their color to determine how thirsty I was.
“I hunted less than a week ago. I can assure you, I’m fine. I can keep watch while you sleep.” I gave her a small smile. She didn’t return it.
“No.” She shook her head. “I slept a few hours already, I’m fine.” She sniffed again and ran a hand through her short, blonde hair. “We should really just keep moving. Get this over with.”
I carefully scanned her face. She still looked exhausted. I opened my mouth to argue and she interrupted.
“Seriously. I’m fine.” Her jaw clenched slightly and her eyes hardened.
I nodded. “Okay.” I replied quietly.
She threw cash down on the table and stood up to leave. I managed to at least get the door for her, but it seemed she didn’t want to accept anything from me. As much as it pained me, I was letting her take the lead. I would just do my best not to push her.
We hadn’t even made it to the border of Missouri before she started drifting to sleep. Her head slowly fell against the door as she wrapped her arms around the leg she had pulled up into her seat. I couldn’t help watching her again. Just being in her presence filled some of the missing pieces of me. It now seemed impossible that I managed to live without her for more than six months. We were so obviously two parts of a whole. Soulmates.
It took an immense amount of self-restraint to resist the urge to reach out and touch her. Her long, dark lashes fluttered as she started to dream. Her lips parted slightly, then her brows drew down. Without warning, she jolted upright, cutting off a scream a mere moment after it erupted from her throat.
“Dani!” I reached for her, placing a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her.
She threw a hand over her mouth and swallowed down a sob. After a couple deep breaths, she pulled her hand away and squeezed her eyes closed. “Sorry.” Her voice was hoarse and quiet.
“Are you okay? What happened?” I asked softly, keeping my hand lightly on her shoulder.
She shook her head and cleared her throat. “Nothing. Just a dream.” She rubbed a hand on her forehead. “Sorry about that.”
“No, Dani. Please don’t apologize.” More pain. Her beautiful face was drawn down with anguish. “Do you need anything? Let’s stop for a bit. You’re clearly tired, I’ll get you a room somewhere.”
She sighed, running a hand down her face. “Okay, yeah. I could use a shower anyway. Someplace that takes cash though. I have money in the trunk.”
I carefully ran my hand down the length of her arm, stopping just short of taking her hand. “That’s not necessary, I can pay for a nicer place.”
Her face pulled into an almost appalled expression. “It’s not about the money. Cards leave a trail. Were you doing that in South America?”
I tilted my head slightly. “Occasionally. When I needed a place to stay on sunny days.”
She gave me a deadpan look. “No wonder Victoria was able to easily send you on a wild goose chase. She probably knew where you were all the time.”
My brows drew down and I fought the impulse to scoff. “Vampires don’t typically track each other’s credit activity.” I raised an eyebrow at her.
“How often are they out there hunting each other?” She raised a challenging eyebrow back.
My eyes narrowed slightly. “Touché. However, if she were to find us, it would really only make our job easier. Would it not?”
A small smirk pulled at her lips before falling again. “She tends to bring backup.”
I scanned her face for a moment. “How many times has she found you?”
“Only twice.” She looked away again, crossing her arms protectively over her chest.
I moved my hand back to the steering wheel. “Missouri was the second time?” Panic rose in my chest.
She nodded. Pursing her lips and looking down at her lap. “I ditched my car after the first time. Changed my hair, cleared away my scar. I stopped using hotels and staying in the same place for more than a week at a time. Also stole my first car.” A chagrined smirk played on her face as she glanced back up at me.
I ran a hand through my hair. “I am so sorry, Dani. God, I can’t even tell you… I should have been there, protected you.” I looked over at her again. “You are everything to me and I just…” I shook my head. “I ruined your life.”
Her brows drew down as her eyes slowly scanned my face. “No. You didn’t know. I could have told Alice what was going on, but I…” She stopped, pressing her lips together.
“You what?” I gently pushed. I needed to know everything that happened to her. To understand the absolute hell that I had subjected her to.
She turned away again, looking out through the windshield before speaking. “I couldn’t watch you leave again.” Barely a whisper.
I reached for her again and she flinched slightly so I dropped my hand to the gear shift. “I promise you, I’m not going anywhere, Dani. I don’t have the strength to leave you again, even if I needed to. It was… worse than death. Being apart from you.”
She huffed a humorless laugh. “I know the feeling.” She slowly reached out, hesitantly laying her hand over the back of mine.
Her warm energy flowed through me as I fought against the strong desire to turn my hand and lace our fingers together. It was much more than I deserved. Far too soon, she pulled her hand away again. Her attention returned to her window and she began fidgeting with her fingers in her lap.
It wasn’t long before I found a decent hotel to stop at for the day. Not a cash motel, but still far from the level of comfort I wished to give her. She needed proper rest and I needed a chance to call my family and let them know what was going on. As soon as we were checked in, I walked her to the door to her room.
“I can wait with the car or somewhere else close by while you rest.” I offered.
She rolled her eyes and gestured for me to follow her into the room. “Don’t be ridiculous, it’s fine. You need to stay out of the sun anyways.” She dropped her duffel and backpack on the bed and pulled out a small toiletry bag and a clean outfit.
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. I also need to make some calls. I promised Maeve I would let her know when I found you.” I gave her a small smirk.
Her head snapped up to me. “You can’t do that! She won’t be safe if she knows where I am!”
My brows drew down. “Dani. How do you think I followed you? Maeve has been regularly tracking you with locator spells ever since you left.”
Her mouth fell open and she ran her hands down her face. “Why would she do that?”
“Because she loves you, Dani. She needed to know that you were at least still alive.” I watched as her expression shifted to one of remorse.
She let out a heavy sigh. “Please just don’t tell her where we are, it really isn’t safe for anyone to know where I am. I do desperately need a proper shower though.” She took her things to the bathroom and a moment later I heard the shower running.
I immediately texted Maeve, letting her know that I found Dani and she was safe. Next I called Alice.
“Edward?” She answered immediately.
“I found her, Alice.” I nearly broke into a sob as the realization hit me. I finally got Dani back and could keep her safe after spending so much time searching for her.
I heard a relieved exhale on her end. “Oh, thank you. Thank you. Is she alright? Why did she leave?”
“She’s… been through a lot. There’s a lot that all of us need to talk about, but I’m going to keep her safe. Tell the others that we may be moving back to Forks soon. At least I will be.”
“What happened, Edward?” Her voice grew wary. “I still can’t see her at all, even though she’s with you. She hasn’t made any firm decisions yet.”
“Victoria happened.” My voice grew dark, conveying my fury.
Alice gasped. “Victoria? I haven’t seen anything from her either though!”
“She came back for Dani as soon as we left.” I inhaled a ragged breath. “She has suffered so much because of me, Alice.”
“Can I speak to her?” She asked softly.
“She’s taking a shower now. She needs to rest, but we’re going to find Victoria and end all of this. Alice, she’s been running from her for so long. She’s been alone and hurt and scared. She flinches almost every time that I reach toward her. I don’t…” my voice broke and I brought a hand over my face, taking a deep breath before speaking again. “I don’t know how I can possibly fix this. How to help her feel safe again.”
“Give her time. Make sure she knows that you’re not leaving her alone again… you’re not leaving her again, are you?” Her voice reached a higher pitch.
“I’m not. I can’t, Alice. It was killing us both, being apart.”
“Okay. Don’t lose her again! I’ll let the others know. Do you need us to meet you somewhere? We can help you with Victoria.” She offered.
“Maybe. I’ll ask Dani, see what she wants to do.” I was committed now. Everything would be her choice from here on out.
“I also need to talk to her. Carlisle was the one who asked me to reach out to her in the first place.”
Confusion washed over me. “Why?”
Alice paused. “Dani really should be the first to know.” She replied hesitantly.
I was never more desperate to be able to hear thoughts through the phone than at that moment. “Know what? What happened?”
“Nothing happened, Edward. Carlisle just needs to talk to her.” She was being vague and evasive.
“Well, she should be out soon. I’ll see if she wants to call you when she’s done.”
“Are you two… together? Is everything okay between you?” She asked.
“No. I have a lot of work to do if I want her to ever trust me again. I’ve done a lot of damage, Alice.” I sighed.
“I could have told you that.” Her voice was laced with anger.
“I know. You did tell me. I’m sorry. I took her away from you too.”
“Just keep her safe and bring her back to us. Tell her that I love her.” She hung up before I could respond.
I sat in the chair at the small desk in the room, waiting for Dani to emerge from the bathroom. When she did, her short hair was damp and brushed away from her face. She was wearing a loose Ramones t-shirt and gray sweatpants, clearly ready to get some much needed rest.
“Do you need a shower?” She hitched a thumb behind herself toward the bathroom.
“I can wait.” I gave her a soft smile and slowly stood up. “Alice would like to talk to you.”
Her eyes brightened a little. “Alice? How is she?”
“She’s alright. Worried about you. She misses you terribly.” I took a hesitant step toward her. She didn’t react negatively, so I took another.
“I miss her too. I feel awful that I didn’t stay in touch after everything happened.” She turned and sat down on the bed.
I slowly came around and crouched down in front of her. “You have nothing to feel bad about.”
I tentatively reached a hand up and she, miraculously, took it in hers, resting our joined hands on the end of her knee. I carefully brushed my thumb over her hand as her eyes slowly met mine.
“I don’t know how to do this.” She said quietly, pain and fear evident in her tear-filled eyes.
“Do what?” My brows drew down in confusion.
“I’m still so mad at you for everything. But I… I missed you so much.” Her voice broke. “I want you to stay, but it also hurts just to look at you.” Her eyes fell to our joined hands as a tear hit her cheek.
“I deserve every bit of your anger. What I did to you was… reprehensible. And there is no way to quantify how much I missed you as well.” Her blue eclipse eyes flicked up to mine again. “I will do whatever you want, Dani. If you want me to go wait somewhere else to let you rest, I can do that. If you want me to stay here with you, I’ll gladly stay. I am at your every whim.”
“Even if you can’t have me forever?” Her voice was low and pained.
My heart broke further. “Oh Dani. I will take whatever time you are willing to give me. Even if it’s just this moment.” I slowly reached up to cup her face, wiping her tear away with my thumb. She didn’t flinch or stop me. Instead she closed her eyes and leaned into my palm, the warm skin of her cheek heating me in more ways than I thought possible.
Then she took my hand, holding both in hers, and pulled me to lay on the bed with her. I laid on my back and she tucked herself into my side, tentatively resting her head on my chest. More missing and broken pieces filled and healed.
“Is this mine?” She asked as she gently clasped the soot coated crystal pendant around my neck between two fingers.
“It is.” I replied, watching as she turned it to examine it closely.
“What happened to it?” She rubbed at the soot with her thumb.
“I left it in your old room, under a floorboard.” I reached up and slowly tucked a stray lock of her damp hair behind her ear. “I can clean it for you? So you can have it back.”
“Not yet.” She sighed and let it go, taking my hand in hers again. With one arm wrapped securely around her, we kept both of our hands held together as a comfortable silence fell over us.
“I love you so much, Danielle.” I said quietly.
Her breath hitched and she turned her face into my shoulder. “Me too.”
Her response was lower than a whisper, but it might as well have been the loudest declaration. Pressure swelled in my chest. An impossibly forceful wave of hope and solace nearly overwhelmed me. I hadn’t lost her completely. I would never break her trust again, never hurt her ever again. Everything I had to offer was hers.
I reined in my all-encompassing emotions and lightly kissed the top of her head. My breath was ragged when I breathed her in. Her honeyed freesia and vanilla essence mixed with the floral scent of her shampoo. “Sleep now, I’ll keep watch.”
She slowly fell into a deep sleep as I stroked my thumbs over her hands. I listened as her breathing settled, heart rate slowed, and her body grew comfortably limp in my arms. Eventually, one of her hands left mine to grip the fabric of my shirt and she held herself there firmly. I reached up and gently ran my fingers through her hair as I watched her sleep.
“Please stay.” A quiet plea escaped her lips as she dreamed.
“I will, I promise.” I whispered back. “Always.”
Chapter Text
Dani slept for nearly nine hours. Wanting to soak in as much as I could, I held her close and gently ran my fingers through her hair and over her back. It was evening again by the time she woke. She gradually came out of her dreams, turning her face into my shoulder with a small moan as she breathed me in and swallowed. Then she wrapped her arm around my waist right before letting out a small gasp. She quickly pulled her face away from my shirt, her head snapped up and her wide eyes met mine.
“Did I keep you trapped here the whole time?” She asked in a hoarse voice.
I smiled down at her. “I wouldn’t use the word ‘trapped’.” I could have stayed that way forever.
She let out a small sigh. “Sorry.” Slowly, she sat up and rubbed her palms into her eyes. “You wanted to get a shower too.”
“I wasn’t even the slightest bit inconvenienced.” I sat up beside her and gently placed my hand at the center of her back. “I can do that now though, if you’d like a chance to call Alice back? Then we can get something for you to eat and see if we can ‘kill us a red-headed bitch’.”
She looked back at me with a small smirk. “Sounds like a plan.”
I chuckled and handed her my phone before heading into the bathroom myself. It all hit me at once. She allowed me to stay, let me hold her as she held onto me for hours. I was somehow both blissfully happy and completely terrified. Whatever chance I had here at earning her trust and her heart again was so delicate. If I pushed too hard or said the wrong thing, I could lose her all over again.
I stared at myself in the mirror as steam began to build in the small bathroom. My eyes, nearly amber now, were shining and I was smiling. It had been so long since I truly smiled, since I had felt anything even resembling happiness. I needed to try to rein in my expectations, I had allowed myself to grow far too hopeful.
After a quick shower, I put on the cleanest outfit I had with me - a pair of dark jeans and a black sweater. I was going to need to either get new clothes or find a way to wash my things soon. I wondered how Dani had been managing this for months now.
Running my hands through my damp hair, I tried to get it just right. I was nervous. Terrified to face her again only for her to tell me it was too much too fast. If she asked me to leave, I would. It would absolutely break my heart, but I was ready to give her anything she asked for with no hesitation.
I stopped fruitlessly adjusting my hair and finally just turned back to the door, smoothing down my shirt before reaching for the handle. When I left the bathroom, Dani was sitting on the edge of the bed, her brows drawn down as she flipped my phone back and forth between her hands.
“Did you get a hold of Alice?” I asked warily, troubled by her expression.
She nodded but didn’t say anything.
“She said Carlisle needed to talk to you about something. Is everything alright?” I tilted my head as I examined her face. She was deep in thought.
“Yeah.” Her voice was low. She looked up at me and clenched her jaw. “Do you know what he wanted to tell me?”
I shook my head, confused by her almost angry expression. “No. Alice said you needed to know first. What is it?”
She relaxed a little and started chewing her lip nervously, then abruptly stood up. “We need to test this now. I can’t wait for Carlisle.” She went through her bag and pulled out a flat, solid metal knife.
“What are you doing, Dani?” I reached for the knife and she pulled it away from me.
“We’re testing your venom with my blood. How do you provide a venom sample?” She waved a hand at me.
“What did Carlisle tell you?” My eyes widened in concern. I hadn’t the faintest idea of what the hell was happening.
“Not now.” She sliced her hand open and let the blood trickle into one of the glasses provided by the hotel.
“Shit! Dani!” I successfully took the knife from her this time as the cut on her hand quickly healed closed again.
“Do… whatever it is you gotta do and add your venom to that.” She handed me the glass.
“Why?” If my heart could beat it would have been racing. The sudden shift was both concerning and almost optimistic.
“Please, just do it. If it turns black, your venom is just as dangerous as Carlisle’s. I need to know if that’s the case.”
My brows drew down as I scanned her face. Her eyes were focused on the glass, jaw set and shoulders squared. She was determined and clearly wouldn’t be giving me anything more until I did as she asked. I turned away with a sigh and took a deep inhale of her blood in the glass. My mouth instantly flooded with venom. It wasn’t the irresistible, excruciating burn that it once was, but it was still the most enticing scent I had ever encountered. I added my venom to the glass as smoothly as I could and turned back to her.
We watched together as her blood seemed to absorb my venom. It was as though they combined and became one substance. Her blood stayed a vibrant red, no hint of degradation or destruction of her cells. My eyes snapped up to meet hers and she shook her head. She carefully took the glass from my hand and placed it on the desk.
With her hands on her hips and an almost scolding look on her face, she looked up at me. “You really are an idiot.” Then she threw her arms around my neck and reached up, pressing her lips to mine.
The sound that came up from my throat sat somewhere between a gasp and a sob. I wrapped an arm around her waist and my other hand came up behind her head, fingers lacing into her hair. Fire. Blissful, all-consuming fire as her lips met and molded to mine. She urged my mouth open with hers and our tongues met. The intoxicating honeyed freesia and vanilla taste of her overwhelmed my senses and my hold on her tightened.
The excruciating chasm inside of me filled and healed almost instantly. It was as though I had been drowning these past six months and she pulled me back to the surface. Oxygen once again flooded my cells, reigniting the flame of life that had been all but extinguished when I left her.
I wasn’t dangerous to her. I was a complete and utter imbecile, but she was safe with me. The pain and misery that I put the both of us through could have been avoided entirely if I had just spoken and listened to her. Perhaps this was what Carlisle wanted to tell her. Did he know that my venom wasn’t poisonous to her afterall? But, why would he not tell me as well? This was absolutely information that I needed to know.
Dani pushed me over to the bed, falling on top of me and straddling me as we continued basically attacking each other’s mouths. Our tongues were desperately battling for dominance, teeth nipping lips, panting breaths mingling as we kissed each other with more fervor than two people have ever kissed each other with, of that much I was sure. I quickly rolled us over, settling myself between her legs. My hand on her waist moved lower, outside of my control, making its way to her thigh and pulling her leg higher up over my waist.
I pulled away from her lips to kiss her neck. “Does this mean I can call you ‘baby’ again?” I asked with a smirk.
“You can call me whatever you want.” She panted breathlessly.
I kissed my way across her chest. “Baby.” Kiss. “Love.” Kiss. “Soulmate.” Kiss. “Mine.” That last one was more of a growl than a word, but immediately became a favorite. My hips snapped forward, pressing my erection against her core. She drew a sharp breath followed by a soft moan. “Can I make you come? Please?” I spoke against her satin skin.
“If you don’t, I am going to lose my mind.” Her voice was low and pleading.
I exhaled an elated laugh and lowered my hand into her pants and down beneath her underwear, quickly finding her clit. I explored her folds and stroked her several times as she moaned and writhed beneath me before deciding that wasn’t good enough. Sitting back, I grabbed the top of her sweatpants and underwear, pulling them down her legs and tossing them across the room. Then I lowered my face between her legs, wrapping my arms around her thighs to hold her open.
“What are you doing?” She was breathless, her tone surprised.
“Making you come.” I practically growled before running my tongue up through her velvety soft folds and stopping at the crest over her most sensitive spot.
She tasted incredible, exquisite, divine. The richest honey with jasmine and the slightest tang of something citrus. I was going to stay right there until she begged me to stop. Following only my instincts and her reactions, I gently closed my mouth around her clit, lightly sucking and massaging my tongue over it rhythmically. The moan she released was the most beautiful sound my sensitive ears had ever been blessed with. Her hands moved into my hair, gripping it tightly and holding me to her more firmly. I was definitely on the right track.
I paused to run my tongue over her again and unwound one of my arms from her thigh, slipping two fingers into her pussy. I went back to working her with my tongue and found her g-spot, pressing into it as I thrust into her core. My pace remained steady, afraid that if I went too fast, I’d hurt her. Her breaths came faster, moans grew louder.
“Oh fuck! Edward! I’m gonna-” She didn’t finish her sentence before she came. Her core pulsed around my fingers and she released a high-pitched cry of pure ecstasy. The glass and lightbulbs throughout the room shattered and I was pretty sure that she broke the headboard above her. I couldn’t have cared less, I wasn’t stopping until she told me to.
“Oh god.” A whining groan this time, followed by another cry of carnal pleasure. She came again before her first orgasm even finished. Still, I didn’t stop. I kept tasting her, thrusting deep into her core, giving her every bit of pleasure that she deserved.
“Edward.” She moaned my name, drew it out like it was a desperate plea. “Yes.” Merely a whimper.
Her fingers gripped my hair tighter and she rolled her hips up, riding her orgasm out against my face. It was the most erotic experience of my entire existence. My cock was pressed so tightly against the zipper of my jeans, I was sure they would soon split open. I quickly readjusted myself so my erection was pressed up against my abdomen and continued giving her my all as she came back down.
My mouth continued working her throbbing nub, but I stopped thrusting my fingers. Instead tapping my fingertips into the sensitive spot deep inside her in time with the motions of my tongue. Her breaths picked up again, a low whine escaping her lips. “More, one more baby.” She panted. Her thighs tensed around my head and I heard more crashes and splintering sounds throughout the room.
“Mm, ah! Fu-yes!” She cried out incoherently as she came a third time. Her pussy spastically clamped down on my fingers as she practically keened above me. “Please, Edward. Can’t, please stop.” Her breathless words sounded almost regretful. Fear pulsed through me at the thought that she might have regretted this after all.
I pulled away, gently kissing her swollen, throbbing nub before removing my fingers from inside her and placing my hand on her waist. I slowly kissed the insides of her thighs, readying myself for her to ask me to leave. To give her space. Instead, she moved her hands from my hair to hold each side of my face just beneath my jaw and pulled me up over herself. I followed her physical commands, moving where she wanted me. She pulled my face down to hers to kiss me deeply. When she pulled away with a gasp, needing to breathe, I looked down at her.
“Are you alright?” I asked with wide eyes, trying to rein in my fear.
She huffed out a small laugh. “Pretty sure I don’t have bones anymore, but other than that, yeah. Phenomenal.”
A wide smile spread over my face. She didn’t regret it. Didn’t wish for me to leave. I leaned down to kiss her more gently and her thumbs stroked my cheeks. My own hands roamed her body. Gliding along her shoulders, breasts, waist, hips, thighs, touching every part of her that I had daydreamt of every second that we were apart.
She pulled away from my lips and met my eyes. “When I’m eighty years old, what does that look like to you?” She asked me suddenly.
I glanced between her gorgeous eyes, trying to understand the reason for the unexpected question. “I’ll be right there by your side, love. If you’ll still want me. Protect you, show you the world, love you just as intensely as I do now.” I was completely devoted to her until the end of her days and beyond. Taking every single second that she was willing to offer me and cherishing them all.
“And a thousand years?” Her voice lowered to a near whisper.
My breath caught as I felt a surge of pain at the thought of losing her. “I don’t know how to live without you, Dani. If I even can.” If the pain I felt from leaving her was anything to go by, completely losing her would surely kill me.
She paused, her eyes darting back and forth between mine. I sat up slowly, pulling her with me. She straddled my lap, her hands still holding either side of my face. “What if you don’t have to?” Her voice trembled slightly. “If we could have eternity?”
“What?” My brows drew down as I tried to decipher her meaning. “What do you mean? Dani, I don’t want this for you. To become a vampire is… it’s not a fate I would ever wish for you.” Was that what this was all about? Could I turn her after all?
She tilted her head with a small smile. “I’m not talking about becoming a vampire, Edward. I still don’t think I even can.”
I was even more confused. “I don’t understand. What are you saying? What did Carlisle tell you?”
“Eternity? Is that something you would want with me?” She asked as her fingers nervously brushed through the hair above my ears.
“Without a doubt. I would take a thousand eternities with you and it still wouldn’t be enough time.” There was no hesitation, it wasn’t even a question. I leaned forward and kissed her gently, still unsure where this conversation was going, but needing urgently to taste her again.
She pulled away with a small laugh. “Well, lucky you. Apparently magic is the driving force behind the whole ‘living forever’ thing and it affects me too. You’re gonna be stuck with me for a while.” Her lips met mine again as I absorbed that information.
I kissed her back for a moment before pulling away. “You’re immortal? That’s what Carlisle needed to tell you?”
She shrugged slightly. “I am aging very slowly. The more powerful I become, the slower I age. ‘Effectively immortal’ were the words he used.”
I reached up to cup her face in both hands. I took in her beautiful blue and gold eyes as I processed what she was telling me. A combination of joy and sadness surged inside me. She wouldn’t age. Wouldn’t have the normal, fulfilling life she deserved. Would have to watch her friends and loved ones grow old and die. Leaving them behind before her own lack of aging became too noticeable. A partially nomadic life with few bonds outside of our small circle. It seemed unfair. But I would get to keep her. To have my soulmate potentially forever. It was the most selfish moment of my existence to rejoice in this revelation.
“Are you alright with that?” I asked apprehensively.
“I don’t think I really have a choice, but… yeah? I think so.” Her brows drew down in thought. “I need more time to process, but I’m not really surprised by it either. I feel like I should have expected it given that both vampires and shifters have strong magic and don’t age. It seems like a logical conclusion now.” She breathed out another small laugh.
“And… eternity? Is that… something you want… with me?” I barely got the words out. Fear of her not wanting the same after everything I had done to her nearly crushed me.
Her expression softened. “You’re my soulmate, Edward. On some level, I’ve known that since the first time we touched. I don’t know how this works, a vampire and a witch, but I know I will never love anyone else even close to the way that I love you.” She pulled her lip between her teeth as her eyes moved back and forth between mine. “I don’t think I can live without you either.”
My heart soared. The Earth could have ceased spinning on its axis and I would have been none the wiser. “Well, I am yours forever, Dani. My mind is made up on that and vampires do not easily change.” I gave her a crooked smile and leaned in to gently kiss her lips once. “If you wish to have me for eternity, you will have me for eternity.”
Her arms moved around my neck as she kissed me firmly, tilting her head and parting her lips, inviting me in. I laid her back down, kissing every part of her, memorizing each delicate dip and curve of her body. We had a mission ahead of us, to find and kill Victoria, but all I cared about at that moment was giving her the best night of her life. Especially after the unimaginable pain that I had caused her with my bullheaded ignorance.
By her fifth orgasm, she was completely naked beneath me and my sweater had been torn away. I sat straddled over her, working her nipple with my tongue. One hand firmly held onto her leg, grazing a thumb over the valley where her thigh met her hip. My other hand had tangled into the hair above her ear. She reached a hand down and tried to unbutton my pants. I gently took her wrist and pulled her hand away. “No, this is about you, Dani.”
I licked and nipped at her neck until I found a spot right where her neck met her shoulder that left her nearly breathless. I focused my attention on that spot and her hold on me tightened, a small moan escaping her lips. It appeared I found a particularly erogenous spot for her. I would be using that as often as possible.
She let out a small whine and grabbed my pants again, nearly getting her hand on the head of my dick. I leaned back on my heels, out of her reach. “Uh uh. The only way my cock is leaving these pants is if it’s being used to please you.” I kissed across her collar bone to the same spot on the other side of her neck.
“Fuck!” She groaned. “Is it too much to hope that you have a condom?” She huffed a laugh and I pulled back to look at her. She was gorgeous. Glowing, damp with sweat and still writhing beneath me. Her lust-filled, blue eclipse eyes bore into mine.
My lips found her neck again, kissing my way up to her ear. “Why on Earth would I need a condom?” I murmured, pulling her earlobe between my lips as my fingers traced over her mound and found her clit again.
“P-prevention. Contra-contraception.” She moaned out a low, desperate whine.
I chuckled darkly. “We really don’t need to worry about that.”
God I wanted more than anything to make love to her. To give her every single part of me and please her in every possible way. I continued working her clit instead. My other hand cupped her breast, my thumb rubbing firmly over her hardened nipple, lips moving slowly along her jawline.
She moaned again. “We might. I- ah! I can’t be sure.” Her words were breathless. “I need you so badly though. So much.” The sounds she made reached a higher pitch as she started to come undone again.
“I am yours, Dani. Anything you want, it’s yours.” I covered her mouth with mine, cutting off her moans as she came beneath me again.
She let out another whine. “You. I want you.” She spoke against my lips.
“You have me.” It was no more than a growl. My cock grew harder at the prospect.
“Please. Edward, please.” Her words were slurred with lust as she came back down.
“Please what?” I asked, unwilling to do anything without her expressed permission.
She whimpered again. “Make love to me. Make me yours.”
My brain ceased functioning, body acting on its own accord. I hastily removed my pants, my previously trapped erection springing forward. With one knee, I gently pushed her legs wider apart, settling myself between them. “You’re sure?” I asked, trying to regain some composure.
“Yes. Please.” Her brows drew down, face flushed with need, then she pulled my lips to hers again.
Her legs came up and wrapped around my waist, ankles crossing on my lower back. I reached down between us to carefully line my cock up with her dripping wet entrance. I had spent the past two hours pleasing her, she was more than ready. Slowly, so slowly, I pushed into her. Her moans of pleasure matched my own as our bodies united.
One of my hands held firmly to her hip. “Mmh!” I groaned. “I love you so much, Danielle.”
She was so much hotter and tighter than I could have imagined. I paused after only a couple inches and retreated again. I knew I was much larger than average. I wanted to ease into it, unwilling to risk hurting her. After another moment I slowly pushed back in, adding slightly more of my length. My other hand shot up to grab the head board and it cracked under my grasp.
“Edward.” She moaned my name like it was a prayer. “I love you, Edward.”
I pulled out again and her legs tightened around me.
“Please, Edward. More. I need all of you.” Her voice was pleading.
Our eyes locked. “Does it hurt?” I asked tentatively.
“Not anymore. You feel incredible. Like we were made for this.” She tilted her head up to touch her lips to mine.
“We were.” I leaned into the kiss, deepening it. As promised, anything she wanted was hers. I thrust forward and my cock slipped in deeper until I bottomed out inside of her core.
Shit.
I bit the inside of my cheek and swallowed down a groan as I came, completely crushing the headboard with my hand. Her pussy squeezed me so tightly and she was so warm and wet. Hours of watching her come beneath me had me ready to blow and blow I did. I could feel my cum spilling out around my cock as it flooded inside her.
Thank all of the gods and goddesses that I was a vampire. I would remain hard as long as I was still aroused. I could keep going for her. Without pausing, I started to thrust and rock my hips against her, keeping pressure on her clit. I lowered my hand to the mattress beside her head. Her fingers dug into my back as she cried out. I wasn’t sure if the sound was one of pleasure or pain.
I pulled away from her lips. “Are you okay?” I asked through a clenched jaw as I tried to keep it together. My muscles tensing in an attempt to rein in my strength and speed.
“Perfect. I’m perfect.” Her panted reply told me all I needed to know. This was good for her too.
She reached a hand up and laced her fingers with mine. “My magic… it’s- ah! It’s strong. Stop me if I’m hurting you.”
I was so desperate to avoid hurting her that I nearly forgot she could harm me as well. I felt her pushing her magic into my hand as I continued giving myself to her. A warm tingle radiated from my hand throughout my entire body. It felt as though it could unfreeze my body, restart my heart, and bring me back to life.
Less cautious now, I started thrusting faster and a low growl escaped my lips. “Mine. You’re mine.”
My lips crashed to hers again before moving to her jaw. I kissed my way down to that spot I just discovered, nipping and sucking at the sensitive skin there. Her breaths came faster and I pulled away again.
“Yours.” She breathed out.
I met her eyes and cupped her face with the hand I had on her hip. Her mouth fell open, brows drew down and her thighs tensed around me. Dear god, she was about to come. I was going to make her come on my cock and I couldn’t have been more exalted. I kept my rhythm steady as I drove into her.
Her breath caught. “Don’t come inside, pull out.” Her back arched, pressing her chest against mine as she fell from the precipice with a loud moan.
“What?!” It was a half-strangled question.
Her core gripped me impossibly tighter, pulsing around me as she came. She practically milked my cock and I quickly followed after her. I groaned as my climax ripped through me and tried to pull out, but she asked a moment too late. The rest of my cum shot across her stomach and I cried out, pressing my forehead against hers and gripping her hand tighter as every single nerve-ending in my body sparked to life from my orgasm. My other hand moved back down to her hip, holding her tighter as we came.
“Oh god, fuck! Dani, sorry. I didn’t, ah!” I groaned again as pleasure continued rolling through my body. More ropes of cum poured out of me and onto her. We were going to need another shower after this.
I fell over her, breathing her in deeply. “Sorry, Dani. You gave me very little warning there, love.” I huffed a laugh. “Though, I don’t understand. Traditional procreation really is not an option for my kind.”
“What?!” Her weak exclamation was laced with panic. “No, it is. I don’t, I mean I was, but it doesn’t mean I am. But you’re not!”
I pushed up on my forearm to look into her eyes. My brow drew down at her wide-eyed expression. “Baby, I have no idea what you’re trying to say.”
She inhaled deeply. “You are still fertile. I don’t know if I am, but you are!” She was still struggling to catch her breath.
A small laugh erupted from my chest. That was ridiculous. “What? No I’m not.”
“You came inside me?” She asked.
“I uh…” My stomach dropped. I had no idea what was happening, but she seemed genuinely afraid. “I did… I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t think...”
She shook her head. “No. No, it’s not your fault. I was-” She ran a hand down her face and let out a disbelieving laugh. “God that was so fucking good. I’m a dumbass though.”
I couldn’t stop the crooked smile that pulled at my lips. “It was good?”
She raised an eyebrow and met my eyes again. “Fucking good.” Her hips bucked up against mine and she moved both of her hands into my hair again. “Somehow I haven’t had enough though.”
“Neither have I.” I breathed out as my lips met her neck again. I was still hard, ready for a dozen more rounds with her. We could spend eternity in this hotel room for all I cared. As long as we were naked in it together.
She pushed me over with a hand on my chest, reversing our positions, and kissed me harder. She hummed happily against my lips. “Again?” She murmured as she pulled away a little.
“Again.” I growled back. “Then I want you in the shower, floor, chair, desk, wherever I can have you.”
“God yes.” She reached between us and guided my cock back into her pussy with a satisfied groan.
I quickly sat up. That was much better. Being separated from her felt wrong now. She was right. This was exactly what we were made for. I wanted to officially make her mine as soon as possible. Marry her, if she would have me. Spend eternity making her happy and doing precisely this until the end of time.
Her arms wrapped around my neck and her fingers laced into my hair. She brought my mouth back to hers and started to ride me, much harder than I did her. I tightly gripped her waist and her magic pushed back, allowing us to give ourselves to each other completely. I was already thinking of the next time, when I could take control again and give her more.
She felt fucking incredible as I moved inside her. Judging by the tension quickly building inside me, I wasn’t going to last much longer. I quickly reached between our bodies to stroke her clit with my fingers.
She pulled away from my lips with a high moan and tucked her face against my neck, biting at my skin with blunt teeth. I growled as I sucked and nipped at her neck. Then she pulled back to meet my eyes and came again. She truly was a goddess. The gold in her eyes flamed to life, her face flushed pink and her mouth fell open as she moaned my name. More splintering and crashing noises filled the room.
“Should I pull out again?” I groaned, trying to hold off as long as possible. I was still confused by that request, but didn’t want to do anything she wasn’t completely comfortable with.
She moaned a drawn out ‘shit’ as her walls fluttered around me and shook her head. “Damage done,” she panted as she ground herself against me harder. I came at her words, emptying inside her with my own moan as she continued rolling her hips against me, riding out her own orgasm. More intense, all-consuming pleasure washed over me.
Encircling her with my arms, I pulled her as tightly to my body as I could without crushing her. Our lips met again, softer this time. She pulled back to look into my eyes. Her fingers began to lightly trace around my face.
“You’ll stay with me?” Her quiet voice held the slightest tremble.
“Forever, Dani. I never wish to part from you again.” I held my hand over her rapidly beating heart. “My only job now is to keep this safe. To make you happy. Forever.”
She leaned forward, resting her forehead against mine. “I love you.” She whispered.
“And I love you. More than words alone could ever convey.” My lips lightly met hers as we continued to hold each other. She melted into my arms and I was never letting her go again.
Notes:
Worth noting: I did not plan for them to go this far, but then they talked a lot and resolved some issues. THEN I went and put them in a hotel room together and they did whatever the hell they wanted anyway. Writing be like that sometimes. I suppose at least they aren't magically bound to each other yet, otherwise they would be stuck there boning each other for a solid week.
Chapter 8: Revenge
Chapter Text
After coming down from giving ourselves to each other completely, I took Dani to the shower. Made love to her there with less restraint, damaging the shower wall behind her. She repaired it easily before I took my time washing her and exploring more of her body. Once we were cleaned, I carried her back to the bed. She was starved and exhausted after everything we had just done. I didn’t want to leave her, so I ordered food to the room. Pizza. She used to love pizza.
She sat on the floor wearing only a t-shirt as she ate. I sat behind her, holding her and tracing my fingers over her back, arms, legs, and her scars.
“Is there a story behind the tattoo?” I asked as I traced the black Witch’s Knot inside her raised crescent scars.
“Kind of. I spelled it to warn me when I’m near someone who wants to hurt me.” She shrugged and took another bite.
A small pang of sadness rang through me at yet another hurt I had caused her. “How does it warn you?” I asked, remembering her reaction in New York when the other vampire found her.
“It burns. I didn’t know that’s how it would work when I first created the spell, but it’s effective.” She dropped the rest of her slice of pizza back into the box and closed the lid.
After wiping her hands clean, she turned in my arms and took my hand in hers, lacing our fingers together.
“Can you tell me about the scars on your back?” My voice stayed soft and low, I wanted her to feel safe with me. She still loved me, still wanted me, but that hardly meant I had earned any of the trust she was giving me now.
She sighed. “It really was an accident.” She glanced up at me and back down again. “You mentioned my party, that I was trying to save Embry. How much do you know about what happened?” Her blue eyes met mine and stayed there this time.
“There was a vampire attack, you saved your friends. It looked like you were hurt.” I reached a hand up to gently stroke her cheek.
She shook her head. “I wasn’t hurt in the attack, but Seth was. Embry too. I used all of my magic saving them, and then some. But Leah.” She sighed again and her brows drew down. “She shifted for the first time then. She was panicked, confused. She just watched a vampire nearly kill her little brother.”
“Leah shifted? But, she’s not… a man?” I said, completely confused.
Dani giggled. “Of course she isn’t. She is a wolf though.” I matched her soft smile. “Anyway. As I was healing Seth, she clawed at me. She didn’t know what she was doing, just that her brother was hurt. She immediately realized what she had done and backed off, but that was the last time I saw her.” Her face fell again and tears started building in her eyes. “I hope she’s okay.”
“I’m sorry, Dani. That you had to go through all of that and that I wasn’t there for you.” I stroked her fallen tear away with my thumb.
She leaned into my hand. “I could have emailed Alice at any point and told her what was happening. I was too stubborn.” She huffed a teary laugh.
“Because you didn’t want to risk me returning. You thought I would leave you again because I gave you no reason to believe in me.”
She pursed her lips to the side and looked down at our joined hands. I slowly tilted her head back up until her tear-filled eyes met mine again. “I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere without you ever again. My family… our family is there for you too. Would you like them to help us with Victoria?” I closed the space between us, pulling her into my arms.
“Not yet.” She sniffled. “Let’s find out where she is first, whether or not she’s alone. Then we can decide our next steps.”
She pulled me onto the bed with her and wrapped herself around me as though trying to ensure I wouldn’t disappear. I held her close, brushing my fingers through her hair and over her back as she drifted off again.
Dani slept less than two hours before stirring in my arms again. She nuzzled her face into my neck then moved lower to place firm kisses across my chest. The feel of her mouth on me sent fire through my veins. A blissful sensation that I still had not done nearly enough to deserve. I pressed my lips to the top of her head and caressed my fingers over her back, tracing between the scars there.
When she sat up, she stretched her arms overhead, her joints popping lightly. I sat up with her and ran my nose up her neck, taking in her intoxicating scent. I stopped at her jaw to lightly kiss her and her hand came up to brush through the hair above my ear.
“We need to get back on the road. Once Victoria is dead, we can work on making up for lost time.” She turned slightly, placing a soft kiss to my lips before standing up and picking the rest of her clothes up from the floor.
She took a look around the room and started laughing. “Holy shit, I trashed this room.”
I took the room in as well. She was right. There was shattered glass and broken furniture all over. She raised a hand and one-by-one each of the broken items began coming back together. Returned to their original, undamaged state.
“That was impressive.” I smirked at her as she finished fixing the shattered headboard.
“Maeve taught me this one. I’ve used it a lot. I have a habit of breaking things when I’m upset or… apparently having the best sex imaginable.” She bit her lip and smirked at me.
A low growl rumbled up from my chest and I pulled her to me by the waist. Her hands moved into my hair again as our lips met. I urged her mouth open, greedily tasting her, my hands moving down to grip her still bare ass.
She pulled away with a small whine. “We still have a lot to do. Then we can get back to this and talk about… everything.” She gave me a soft smile and one more quick kiss before pulling away from my arms and gathering her things.
It was late, still hours before dawn when we hit the road again. I drove us toward Kansas with Dani’s hand held firmly in mine. She told me about the fire and how she knew the wolves were back long before we even left. About how she also knew that I was going to leave her before I did. I clearly remembered the ‘nightmare’ she had the night before we found out about her blood’s reaction to vampire venom. I should have realized there was more to it.
We talked about her time with the wolves. She trained with them and helped them when she could. She also told me a little more about Embry. How he was there for her when she needed someone. She explained that she knew he wanted more and felt selfish in letting him help and comfort her, knowing she couldn’t give him what he wanted.
“Dani. Selfish is the very last word that could ever be used to describe you. You needed someone to help hold you together and he was there for you. If he felt that he was owed more, then he wasn’t a friend to begin with. From what you’ve told me though, I believe he was a very good friend.” I reached up with our joined hands to stroke the backs of my fingers down her soft cheek.
She pursed her lips and nodded. “He was. He deserves to be happy though. I hate that he was wasting his time on me.” She shrugged.
“Love, no time with you is ever wasted.”
She met my eyes again with a small smile. “So cheesy.” Her smile widened.
I chuckled and pulled her hand to my lips before settling our joined hands on my lap again. When we made it to a rest stop at the border of Kansas, Dani purchased a couple maps, including another atlas of the country. She noted that we may need to cast the spell a few times to zero in on Victoria if she kept moving.
We found an abandoned building where Dani could comfortably cast the locator spell. She gathered her things again and laid it all out, holding the necklace over the map again.
“Was that Victoria’s?” I pointed to the gold necklace curiously.
“No, it’s mine.” She replied as she lit the candle with her magic.
I tilted my head in confusion. “Then how are you finding Victoria with it?”
She paused and glanced up at me. “She touched it.” She silently cast the spell and the entire map of Kansas quickly burned away. “Shit!” She sat back on her heels, clear frustration on her face. “She left the state already.”
I sat down on the floor in front of her as she started opening up the atlas. “She touched it?”
“Yeah, the first time she found me.” She got everything ready for another spell as I thought.
She had her hands on Dani’s neck. Victoria found her and likely almost killed her. How close had she gotten? How close had I come to truly losing Dani forever? I reached out and took her hand in mine. Our eyes met and she must have seen the despair on my face.
Her other hand came up to cup my cheek. “I’m fine. I promise. It wasn’t great, but I got away from her. She didn’t find me again after that until I went looking for her.”
I shook my head. “How close was it? How bad?”
She gave me a sympathetic frown, her head tilting slightly to one side. “Bad.” She said quietly. “I learned from my mistakes though. That’s really all any of us can do.” Her thumb stroked my cheek.
I reached up to hold her hand against my face. “I’ll never forgive myself.” I said quietly.
She was so much more than I deserved. I truly didn’t understand how the universe figured I was worthy of this selfless, wise, incredible woman. I turned my head to lightly kiss the palm of her hand and she went back to her spell.
We watched together as the map burned away, leaving only a four-inch diameter piece centered south of Oklahoma City.
Dani sighed. “Okay. She’s moving south for some reason. So let’s head south.”
“I’d like to let my family know. They can send backup, should we need it.”
Dani nodded as she stood back up, wiping the ashes from her hands. “That’s a good idea. I can take on maybe three at once, but if she has more with her, we’ll need help.”
“You truly are remarkable. Even another vampire would struggle to take on three vampires. If I hadn’t seen you do it myself, I would never have believed it.” I huffed a small laugh and reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear, resting my hand on the side of her neck.
“Yeah, I’m pretty badass.” She smirked as she stepped forward into my arms.
I immediately pulled her closer, placing a kiss to her forehead and breathing her in. There would never again be any distance between us that was close enough. I needed to find a way to ensure that she knew that. Holding her tightly was the best that I could offer for the moment.
“I’ll call Carlisle and fill him in. Then we can make our way south.” I pressed my cheek to the top of her head, lingering for a moment before letting her go again.
I pulled out my phone, I was going to need to charge it again very soon, and called Carlisle.
“Edward.” He answered anxiously.
“Carlisle, would anyone be open to a trip south? We’re hunting down Victoria ourselves. It looks like she’s moving through Oklahoma now and we might need some backup.” I got straight to the point, not wanting to waste any battery on unnecessary pleasantries.
“Of course. Do you need to get Dani someplace safe first?” He asked.
I huffed a small laugh. “I doubt she would allow that. In any case, she would likely fare better than any one of us.”
“Oh?” He failed to hide the surprise in his voice.
“Yeah.” I smirked, completely enamored by this ‘badass’ woman in front of me. “We’re going after her now and we’ll let you know what the situation is when we locate her.”
“Alright. Be careful, son. Do not put yourselves into a situation that you can’t handle. I believe Jasper and Alice at the very least are on their way to join you. They left last night. As soon as the others are here, we will make plans to head there to assist.” Carlisle was always good about keeping us together.
“Thank you, Carlisle. We have a lot to catch up on as soon as this is over.” I glanced at Dani and softened at the look of pure love in her eyes.
He let out the smallest sigh. “It seems we do. Take care of each other.”
“Of course.” I hung up and quickly pulled her into my arms again.
She chuckled lightly and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Are we doing this then?” Her face was pressed into my chest, lightly muffling her voice.
I moved my hands up to hold her face, tipping it up until our eyes met. “We are. We’re going to be careful though. If the situation is more than we can handle, teleport the both of us out of there. Okay?”
“Obviously.” She rolled her eyes with a smirk.
Leaning down, I pressed my lips to hers. Her hold on me tightened and her lips parted. Her tongue darted out to meet mine and I lost all control. I kissed her more firmly, explored her mouth more desperately. In a flash, I had her held up against a wall, our bodies pressed flush together. The only thought going through my mind was that I couldn’t lose her again.
She moaned and rolled her hips against me. She started to pull away, she needed to breathe. I lowered my mouth to her neck as she gasped for air. I licked and nipped at the delicate skin of her throat down to the hollow between her collar bones, needing to commit every single inch of her to memory.
“Edward.” Her breathless voice washed over me and pulled me out of my frenzy.
I pulled back and met her eyes again. My hold on her face loosened and I gently traced her cheekbones with my thumbs.
“Sorry, love. I… I don’t know what that was.” I chuckled nervously.
“I think I do.” She rubbed her hands up and down my back, pupils blown wide in her bright eclipse eyes. “We only just found each other again and we have to go right back out there and fight. You’re anxious. I am too.”
I exhaled a long breath and brushed my nose against hers. “You really do know a lot. I have had no time to atone for my mistakes, to earn your trust back. Yet here you are, giving me far more than I deserve.”
She removed her arms from my waist and reached up to take my hands from her face. “We can work all that out later. I do trust you, by the way.” She kissed me softly and my nerves settled the slightest bit.
We set out again to find Victoria. This time moving south. The situation played out again. We stopped for a new state map and food for Dani. We then found a place to cast the spell and got a more accurate location.
She was still south of Oklahoma City. Somewhere west of Purcell.
“Okay, that’s good. She might be waiting out the daylight or something. We could call the number? Try to draw her out?” Dani suggested, like that wasn’t a truly insane idea.
“No, Dani. We shouldn’t make her aware that we’re close. We’re only a few hours away from that area. Let’s head there and try to find her. If we do, we can assess the situation and either take her out or wait for backup.” I held her gaze, hoping that she would be okay with this plan.
She nodded and I relaxed. “Yeah, let’s just find her, kill her, and go home. I’m completely over all the running.” It had clearly worn her down.
“I would imagine so.” I held her close again.
I made quick calls to Carlisle and Alice, updating them on our progress and destination before we went back on the road. We were going to need a break in a large, open area after this. I had no idea how Dani managed to live in a car for so long without completely losing it. The small, cramped space was already wearing on me and I’d only been living this life for a month and a half.
I decided I would like to take her to our home in Alaska. It was cold, but we could light a fire, keep each other warm. It’s wide open and beautiful there. I had never seen more stars anywhere else in the world. She was sure to love it.
I held her hand as I drove, picturing her dressed in white and walking across the snow beneath an aurora brightened sky toward me. The love in her eyes, matching my own, as we promised each other forever. I figured I could spend the drive back to Forks asking about her goals and plans. Find out if they had changed and the role she would wish for me to play in them. If she seemed open to it, I would propose at the first opportunity. I wanted our forever to start as soon as possible.
We made it to the area that Dani’s locator spell directed us to when she unexpectedly made us turn and head further west.
“I don’t want to leave us with no way out. We’ll park the car about fifty miles from here and I can teleport us back to it, giving us a solid head start if we need to bolt.” She explained.
“That’s what you did in Missouri, isn’t it? I didn’t know how you were able to disappear without a trace.” I huffed a laugh. “I spent almost a full day scouring a ten mile radius for any sign of you.”
She merely shrugged. “It’s been a while. I practiced a lot. I know a lot more spells and my range for feeling magic is much further too.” Her expression was almost cocky now. Rightfully so. “Though it loses precision the further out I reach. I can still get the general direction of a vampire and either follow them, or get away before they find me.”
Understanding and pride swelled in me. A lot of things were coming together now. I imagined she must have been regularly feeling for vampires wherever she was. She was so easily evading the ones looking for her the moment they got anywhere near her. It explained why she was constantly moving and they spotted her so infrequently.
“The fire balls, what spell is that?” I asked with a grin. That one would be very convenient in a fight. She used it so effortlessly as well.
Unexpectedly, her face dropped. “Oh. That.” She paused.
I looked over, examining her torn expression. She didn’t want to tell me about it for some reason. “Dani?”
She glanced at me and quickly looked forward again. “Um. That’s actually an old one. It happens when I’m angry.” She pulled her lip between her teeth nervously and toyed with the hem of her shirt. “I probably shouldn’t be using it.”
My brow furrowed in confusion. “Why not?”
She sighed and looked down at her hands. “It’s dark.” She said very quietly.
“Dark?” I pushed. Was she using dark magic? She was going to cast a spell that required a heart. That was definitely something dark.
“Living flame. It seemed to… stick with me. It comes up when I’m angry and if I pull at it… flames.” She held a hand up, reenacting the gesture she used to conjure the flames.
“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say. I couldn’t really blame her for doing what she needed to in order to survive, but I also didn’t like that she was using dark magic. “Can you control it or does it happen every time?” If she couldn’t stop it, she might need help.
She shook her head. “I can control it. I don’t have to pull at it. It’s just… useful.” She shrugged a shoulder, feigning nonchalance when she was clearly uncomfortable.
I nodded. “Well, I suppose you’ll have no need to use it again after today.”
I pulled her hand to my lips again, kissing each of her knuckles gently. A small smile played on her lips as she watched me. I was in no position to judge any of her choices, so she would have nothing but my love and my support.
We found an isolated area to park the car and Dani took a moment to carefully scan it all. She was committing it to memory for a visual to bring us back to when the time came. She refreshed the concealment spell over me, to prevent exposure, and put on a pair of black, leather gloves. Then she took my arm and effortlessly pulled us both back to the area we expected Victoria to be.
We landed and Dani immediately closed her eyes. She spent several moments feeling around us, her brows furrowing as she pushed further. While she did that, I reached out for any thoughts or familiar scents. I detected a few humans, but no vampires within my range.
“There.” Dani suddenly interrupted the silence. She was pointing east. “About six miles that way. Three of them. Victoria and the one who got away in Missouri. I’m not sure who the third one is.”
“Think we can handle three together?” I raised a brow at her.
She smirked back. “Definitely. I’ll keep reaching out in case the numbers change though. She’s done that to me before.” Her jaw clenched.
I pulled her close, placing a kiss to the top of her head before taking her hand and heading in the direction she indicated. I was surprised when she started running. She had told me it was something Leah and her did together, but I still hadn’t expected it given her strong aversion to running before. She noted that she didn’t want to waste time walking when I asked about it.
Dani continually reached out and redirected us as their location became clearer. After less than twenty minutes, I caught the male vampire’s thoughts. Jordan was his name. They were in an abandoned barn, waiting out the daylight. Him, Victoria, and Laurent. Laurent never went to Denali, that was lucky for him given I likely would have taken him out as soon as he made himself known.
“The third vampire is Laurent.” I told Dani quietly. “They’re discussing a plan to find recruits in Texas. It seems Victoria is planning on building an army to go after you. She’s tired of losing you.” I smirked.
“Well, we’ll just have to make sure she doesn’t get to Texas then.” Dani slowed her steps.
As we made our way closer to where Victoria was hiding out, Dani stopped me. “Distraction spell. I’ve never used it in a fight, but it’s worth a shot.” She shrugged as she lifted a hand and cast the spell over us.
As the barn came into sight, all three vampires stood at attention. They picked up on our scent. Victoria was eager to finally get her hands on Dani again, while Jordan was much more apprehensive. He refused to underestimate Dani again. Laurent, on the other hand, seemed to have no idea what the ‘big deal’ was. He didn’t believe she was as powerful as Victoria and Jordan indicated and was just hopeful that she would allow him to feed on Dani. I would make sure he suffered for that.
They stayed in the barn, unwilling to go out into the Sun and potentially cause themselves bigger problems. After a quick glance down at her watch, Dani went in guns blazing. With a wave of her hand, she tore away the doors. It appeared she held a lot of rage toward Victoria and wanted this over with as soon as possible.
Laurent lunged for her and she casually tossed him aside. Clearly they could still see us if we brought attention to ourselves. I suppose a distraction spell would really only work if you are not the distraction.
She held him down as he growled and fought against her hold, but her eyes remained locked on Victoria. I quickly dispatched Laurent, tearing his head from his body and tossing it away, before moving to help Dani with the other two.
Victoria glanced at Jordan, her thoughts indicating they were to both go for Dani. As soon as she moved to attack, Dani threw Victoria against the far wall. I intercepted Jordan before he could move toward her. I dug my fingers into his throat with one hand and prepared to rip his arm off with the other. As I turned him away from Dani, only one word came from his mind.
** Sleep. **
The next thing I knew, I was slowly coming to on the ground in the barn. Smoke filled the air and I could hear a struggle nearby. My focus abruptly sharpened and I leapt to my feet, taking in my surroundings. A burning pile that looked to have once been Jordan sat in a far corner, rapidly igniting that end of the barn. On my other side was Victoria. She had Dani by the throat, holding her up off the ground as Dani struggled against her hold.
Blood poured from Dani’s nose and she only appeared to be able to use one arm, clutching desperately at Victoria’s fingers on her throat. It was clear that she had already used all of her magic.
“This is going to hurt.” Victoria practically crooned as she pressed a palm to Dani’s chest.
She was planning to tear into Dani, grab her heart and slowly rip it out. She was visualizing it over and over. Hopeful that she could control herself enough to not kill her instantly.
I rushed to her as fast as I could, wrapping an arm around Victoria’s neck and gripping her wrist just above the hand she had on Dani’s neck. I sharply tore her hand off and Dani fell to the ground.
Victoria screamed and tried to flip me over her back. I anticipated her attempt and readjusted. Kicking her legs out from under her and throwing her to the ground instead.
Dani was coughing and struggling to breathe nearby. She needed help. Before Victoria could make her next move, I bit into her neck and tore her head off, promptly tossing it into the fire across the barn. I immediately rushed to Dani, lifting her into my arms, and carried her out of the burning barn as fast as I could.
Once she was outside in the clean air, I took in her state. Blood was still streaming from her nose down her face and neck. The skin of her neck was bruising as she continued to struggle for air.
“Dani, baby! Where are you hurt?” I took her face in my hands and assessed her heart rate and blood pressure. Both were outside the normal range, but not life threatening.
“My arm.” Her voice was thick and hoarse.
I carefully examined the arm she hadn’t been using before. It was dislocated again. “No, baby. Okay, I can fix this. It’ll hurt though.” I had seen Carlisle do it and my medical knowledge was more than sufficient.
She nodded. “Do it. Had worse.” She huffed a laugh before breaking into a coughing fit ending with a pained groan.
I held her face and kissed her forehead before carefully taking her arm. She cried out in pain as I straightened it to her side.
I grimaced and anguish rolled through me. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
Fighting against the urge to stop, I sharply pulled her arm away from her body and raised it above her head until the joint slipped back into place. She gritted her teeth and let out a tortured groan.
As soon as it was done, I laid her arm over her chest and pulled her to my chest. “God, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” I pressed my lips to her forehead again.
She nodded tersely through a sob. “Better.”
After brushing her hair away from her face, I gently felt around her throat. The tissues there were inflamed and deep, dark bruises were forming.
“You’re not healing!” My voice grew panicked.
“I know.” She shook her head. “Used too much magic. I’ll be okay.” Her voice was still hoarse. “But I think my wrist is broken.”
I looked at her wrist on the arm I just reset. She was right. It was bruised and swollen, likely broken. I pulled out my phone and called Carlisle.
“Edward?” He greeted me in a nervous tone.
“Carlisle, where are you? We’re in Oklahoma and Dani needs a doctor.”
“I’m nowhere near there yet, I’m sorry son. Alice and Jasper might be closer, if you need backup?”
Before I could get another word out I heard a familiar set of thoughts racing toward us. I huffed a relieved laugh.
“She’s on her way.” I hung up and lifted Dani from the ground. She passed out in my arms just as Alice and Jasper pulled up beside us in a black four door Lexus with darkly tinted windows.
Chapter 9: Recovery
Chapter Text
Alice stopped the car right beside us and the back door flew open. I quickly slid inside with Dani, keeping a secure hold on her. Alice peeled away again, driving us away from the burning barn as fast as possible.
“How is she?” Alice asked nervously.
“She’s hurt. I don’t think it’s anything life threatening, but she did inhale some smoke. She’s mostly drained.” I looked down at her curled into my lap. With one hand, I cupped her face and wiped the blood from beneath her nose.
My attention shot up to Jasper. “Is the blood too much?”
“I’m fine. We hunted on the way.” Jasper smirked, but the tense way he swallowed and his pained thoughts indicated it wasn’t as easy as he was letting on.
“She’s made some solid decisions. I can see a bit more of her now.” Alice shrugged.
I just nodded and focused on Dani again. Brushing the loose hair away from her face and making sure her arm was secure.
“From what I can see of you, she’s going to be asleep for a while. I’ve got a couple rooms for us in Colorado.” Alice quickly turned us onto the highway and effortlessly sped around traffic.
“Colorado? Why so far?” That made little to no sense, Dani needed help now.
“The Volturi are nearby.” She met my eyes in the rear-view mirror when I looked up. Visions of robed, red-eyed guards interrogating us flooded her mind. Some of the lines she saw even led to them flying the group of us to Volterra.
** If we stay much longer, they’ll find us. They’ll find her. **
I nodded with wide eyes. “Colorado it is then.”
I removed and wrapped my shirt around Dani’s arm to keep it stable and moved her into a more comfortable position. I had her cradled in one arm and gently ran my fingers through her hair as she slept. She was out cold.
“What happened? How did she end up so injured? I couldn’t see any of the fight.” Alice looked back, taking in Dani’s state.
“One of the vampires working with Victoria had an ability. I was unconscious for most of it.”
“What?!” They both exclaimed, Jasper turning quickly in his seat to face me.
I looked down at Dani again with a furrowed brow. “I have no idea what happened before I woke up. Dani killed him at some point and Victoria was moments from killing her when I came back around.” I brushed my thumb over her cheek. “I almost lost her again.” My voice was low and strained.
“You didn’t. I saw her with you at the hotel. You’re going to spend a fair amount of time watching her sleep.” Alice smirked.
A heavy sigh escaped from my tense chest. “Whatever happened, she fought hard. She’s strong.” I nodded and gently wiped more blood from her face.
Leaning down over Dani, I placed a lingering kiss to her forehead. When I sat back up, I returned to brushing my fingers through her hair as she slept soundly in my lap.
I filled them in on everything I knew while Alice drove. I went over everything that happened in Forks while we were gone, the Quileute wolves, Victoria, my search for Dani. All the while, Dani remained in a deep sleep.
“Holy hell. That’s way too much for one person to go through. She’s likely going to need a lot of support, Edward.” Jasper’s concerned tone almost surprised me. He was never very close with Dani and he even voted to leave against Alice’s protests.
“She’ll have whatever she needs. Anything she wants.” I kept my eyes on her.
“Have you seen any signs of PTSD, acute stress, or dissociation?” His tone was more clinical now.
“It’s a little better now, but she was so scared at first. Every time I reached toward her she would flinch away. I quickly realized I had to adjust and move much slower than normal around her now. She has nightmares and had a pretty severe panic attack too. It was bad enough to cause her to lose consciousness. There’s also the fact that she didn’t believe I was real when she first saw me.” I breathed out a humorless laugh. “She thought she was hallucinating.”
Jasper nodded thoughtfully. “If she’s open to it, I can speak with her when she’s ready. Try to help her process everything.”
** I’ve never actually practiced, but she can at least be honest with me. A human therapist would just commit her. ** His eyes widened and he gave me a pointed look.
“If she wants to.” Her choice. Always her choice now.
Alice got us to Colorado Springs in about six hours. She went to check us into our rooms while Jasper helped me more thoroughly assess Dani’s injuries. He was more experienced in combat treatment of humans than I was.
“It’s definitely broken, but it doesn’t look like anything is displaced. We can splint it until Carlisle can examine her though.” Jasper gently put her wrist back down. “Her neck isn’t looking great.”
The wide bruises had darkened to deep purple marks. Her breathing was slightly strained, but she wasn’t struggling for air. It likely looked worse than it was.
“Our rooms are ready.” Alice approached and flicked a key card to me.
I caught it and lifted Dani out of the car. “Thank you, Alice.”
“Of course. We have a lot of catching up to do when she wakes up.” Alice smiled softly and brushed a lock of hair away from Dani’s face. “And shopping. It looks like this is the only outfit she owns now.” She gestured toward the skin tight black leggings and blue, blood stained, long sleeved shirt Dani wore as we walked into the hotel.
“Right. She may want us to go back for her things at some point. She has more than fifty grand in cash in the trunk of that car.” I huffed a laugh.
Alice waved me off. “We can pay her back.”
“She also had other things. Books, personal items.” I raised an eyebrow at her and opened the door to our room.
Her brow furrowed as she looked back down at Dani, her mind scanning every thread of the future where we go back to her car. Searching for the safest path while Dani's presence made it more difficult for her to see. “We’ll figure it out. I’ll get her some things to hold her over. You just take care of her.”
“That is my sole purpose now.” My only reason for existing was her. I would never stop caring for her from this moment forward.
Alice quickly kissed my cheek. “Thank you for finding her, Edward.” Then she disappeared with Jasper down the hall to their room.
As soon as I got her inside, I laid Dani on the bed and removed her shoes and gloves. Then, with a dampened washcloth, I gently cleaned the blood from her face and neck. Dark circles surrounded her eyes, her skin was sickly pale, practically translucent.
After removing my own shoes, I moved onto the bed with her. My eyes stayed on her as I tucked her into my chest and held her close while she slept. I didn’t know how long ‘a while’ was supposed to be, but I wouldn’t be leaving her side. Never again.
It had been nearly eight hours and Dani was still asleep. Alice helped me change her into a clean, comfortable outfit and Jasper came to check in on her a couple times as well. Carlisle arrived long before she woke up. He came to examine her and still, she slept.
“Her lungs sound clear, but her throat is still inflamed. When she’s awake, she will likely need some pain killers for that. I’ll also pick up a wrist brace in case this wrist is still broken when she awakens. The splint should do for now though.” He gently laid her hand down and turned toward me. “You did well resetting her shoulder. I couldn’t have done it better myself.” He gave me a warm smile, placing a hand on my shoulder. “How are you?”
“I’ll be better when she’s awake.” I reached out and took her good hand. “I gave her up once, Carlisle, and it nearly killed us both. I can’t lose her again.”
“You won’t. She’s strong. She’ll heal as her magic returns. It appears she will also be with us for a very long time.”
I looked up, meeting his compassionate, honey-gold eyes. “Dani said you discovered that she is ‘effectively immortal’. What exactly does that mean?”
He looked back down at her curiously. “Her magic appears to repair her cells. Her cellular decay rate decreases as her magic grows. Her last blood sample showed that she was aging almost ninety-two percent slower than the average human. Her magic is significantly stronger now, so I expect it has slowed even further. Ergo, ‘effectively immortal’.” A soft smile adorned his face as looked her over.
“So she’s frozen like the rest of us. Stuck outside of time.” I took in her relaxed face and reached out to cup her cheek.
“I wouldn’t say she’s ‘frozen’. She is still very different from us. Her cells still change and regenerate, they just don’t degrade as quickly. I imagine it’s similar to the wolves. They continue to change without aging as well.” He gently explained.
I relaxed the slightest amount. It was the smallest consolation. “I feel guilty for feeling…” I swallowed.
“Happy?” He finished for me.
I looked up at him again for a long moment.
** You don’t think you’re allowed to be happy, son? **
I shook my head. “She has suffered and lost so much because of me and here I am… getting everything I could have ever wanted.”
“You weren’t out there living your life to the fullest or anything, Edward. Have you considered that it is very likely that she is also getting everything she wants with you.” He gave me a pointed look.
** You know your love for her is not one-sided. **
I merely nodded, overwhelmed by it all and unable to speak.
“Well, I’ll be nearby. Please reach out when she’s awake.” He gripped my arm in a comforting gesture before leaving us alone again.
I climbed back into the bed beside her. She was still fast asleep, but she instinctively moved toward me. I turned onto my side to face her and she gripped my shirt, pulling herself closer. My arm wrapped around her waist and I pressed my face into her hair.
“You are my entire world, Dani. I vow to love you and to earn your love every day, to honor your strength and your sacrifices, and to cherish every moment that you graciously give to me. I truly hope that will be enough.” I placed a gentle kiss on her head and held her until she woke again.
It was hours before she began to stir in my arms. She pressed her face into my chest and inhaled a deep breath, letting it out with a sigh. Then she groaned.
“Oww…” her voice was barely a whisper.
My breath caught. “What hurts?” I removed myself from her hold as gently as possible so I could look her over.
“Everything.” Her brows were drawn down, but her blue eyes were clear and bright as she looked up at me.
I quickly grabbed my phone and sent a message to Carlisle.
“Carlisle should be here soon, he can bring you something for the pain.” I gently caressed her cheek.
She slowly looked around the room. “Where are we?” She asked quietly.
“A hotel in Colorado. We needed to get away from the mess we made.” I breathed out a small laugh.
She nodded almost imperceptibly in response. “How long was I out?”
“A while. Nearly eighteen hours. You still aren’t healing quickly.” I frowned and held her face in my hand.
“Out of magic. Takes time to recover.” She responded groggily.
“I figured. Carlisle said the same thing.” I leaned in to gently kiss her forehead. “I’m so sorry, love. Once again you had to fight on your own. If I had known that Jordan could do that, I would have waited for backup.”
She lightly shook her head. “You saved me. I thought I was going to lose you though.” Her hoarse voice broke.
“What happened?” I asked, gently brushing my fingers from her temple to her jaw.
“Jordan knocked you out. He was going to kill you. I couldn’t get him off of you without hurting you too and hold back Victoria at the same time.” Tears filled her eyes as she looked up at me.
My brows drew down at her forlorn expression. She put herself in danger to save me. “Oh, Dani. I’m so sorry.”
She kissed my palm and shook her head again. “Victoria’s gone. We can go home now.”
We.
I pulled her close and breathed her in as she rested her head against my chest. “We can. We’ll do whatever you want.”
I heard Carlisle approaching a moment later. I stayed by Dani’s side as he entered with the key card I gave him. She looked up and I helped her move into a comfortable sitting position.
“Dani, it’s so good to see you awake. How are you feeling?” He greeted her.
“Carlisle.” She smiled warmly. “Tired. Sore, but I’ve had worse.”
“These should help.” He handed her a couple pills and a bottle of water.
She took the medicine without even asking what it was and drank most of the water before setting it on the nightstand beside her. “Thank you.” She said quietly as she leaned into my side.
“Do you mind if I examine your injuries?” Carlisle moved to her side of the bed, gesturing toward her injured arm.
Dani sat up straighter with a slight nod. Carlisle gently took her wrist and she winced slightly. Irrational rage burned through me. An involuntary growl escaped my lips and I cleared my throat to try covering it.
** It’s natural to feel protective of your mate. Just try to stay in control, son. **
I swallowed thickly and gave Carlisle the slightest nod in acknowledgement.
“Let’s replace that splint with a brace while it heals.” Carlisle smiled softly as he quickly removed the stiff cardboard and fabric splint and replaced it with a proper wrist brace.
She gave him a small smile in return. “That’s better. Thank you.” Her voice was still low and hoarse.
“How is your throat feeling?” He gently lifted her chin to examine the bruises there.
She grimaced slightly. “Not great.”
He nodded in understanding. “Any trouble breathing?” He asked.
“No. Just generally painful.” She replied hoarsely.
“I’m going to check your shoulder now.” He took her arm, slowly lifting it. “Any pain?” He asked.
“A little. This is the third dislocation.” She huffed a humorless laugh.
“What?” Concern colored my tone and our eyes met.
She just shrugged her uninjured shoulder and pursed her lips. We still had a lot to talk about. I reached a hand up to gently cup her face and leaned in to kiss her forehead.
Carlisle finished his examination and sat down on the bed beside her with a quick glance at me.
** We all owe her quite the apology, don’t we? **
I raised my eyebrows and nodded in response.
“I’m so very sorry, Dani. Leaving you the way that we did. Not taking the time to speak with you both and perform more tests before making such a rash decision. A lot of mistakes were made by myself and our family and you bore the brunt of the consequences.” He shook his head with a pained frown.
Dani reached out to take his hand. “You were all doing what you thought was best. Would it have been nice to be included in those conversations? Yes, absolutely. But I understand that you have to put your family first.”
My heart sank at her words.
His frown deepened and he covered her hand with his. “Dani, you’re our family too.”
My thoughts exactly.
“We failed to take that into consideration. I cannot change what we have done to you, but I can promise that from this day forward, you will be cared for and treated as an equal by our family, your family.” His gold eyes conveyed every bit of the regret and concern that filled his thoughts.
Dani glanced down and sniffed. “Thank you, Carlisle.” She replied softly.
“Try to get some more rest. If you need anything, I’ll be nearby.” He reached up to brush his thumb over her cheek with a small smile before nodding at me and heading out again.
“You should eat something. I can ask Alice or Jasper to bring you anything you’d like.” I offered.
“Anything is fine.” Her eyes met mine and there was still a hint of sadness there.
I held a hand to her cheek. “We all have a lot of groveling to do here, love. Anything you want, it’s yours.”
Her lips pulled up and she huffed a small laugh, rolling her eyes. “My throat is still killing me. Maybe a milkshake or something?”
I smiled and leaned in to press my lips to hers. “You’ve got it.” I sent a quick text to Alice and she promised to deliver.
We stayed in that hotel for three more days while Dani recovered. By then her injuries had fully healed and her magic was replenishing. She told me it usually takes about a week after a particularly draining event. I hated that this wasn’t the first time she’s had to fight for her life. I would ensure that it was the last.
We spoke more about what happened to her over the past six months and I shared my experiences with her as well. It was clear that she was beyond ready to go home though. She spoke on the phone with Maeve and Leah, letting them know that she was alright and would be returning home soon.
Jasper retrieved her things from the car we left in Oklahoma when we were sure it was safe to return. I took their Lexus and drove us back to Forks so she could get back to her life. A life that I intended to be a large part of, so long as she would still have me.
The drive was… intense. We talked more, I got to hear her beautiful laugh again and watch her face light up as she smiled. We rediscovered each other. Dani also introduced me to ‘road head’. If it weren’t for my supernatural abilities, I likely would have crashed the car the moment she took my cock into her mouth.
After that mind-blowing experience, I pulled us far enough off the road to remain out of sight and pulled her into the back seat. She straddled me as I held her up by her waist and thrusted into her. I followed her commands when she braced a hand against the ceiling of the car and begged me to go harder.
She really was so strong when her magic took over. I didn’t need to be nearly as gentle with her as I initially thought I did. I was done underestimating her. I gripped the back of her neck and pulled her mouth to mine as she came, swallowing down her passionate moans. This was definitely something I would never be able to get enough of. Sex with her was like a drug and I was thoroughly addicted.
When we were both completely satisfied I cleaned up the mess I made when pulling out, while she repaired the, not insignificant, damage we caused to the car. She was incredible in every sense of the word. When the car was functional again, I pulled us back onto the highway toward Forks.
“Do you plan to return to school?” I asked as we drove hand in hand through the black of night.
She huffed a harsh laugh. “I don’t know if I can. I think I might be a dropout now.”
“We can acquire any official records you might need. Should you wish?” I smirked and pulled her hand to my lips.
She laughed more genuinely. “We’ll see. That feels… wrong. I do really want to go to college though. I loved college.” She leaned her head against her seat and looked over at me.
“Where might you want to go?” I asked, examining her expression closely.
She shrugged. “Someplace with lots of clouds.” She smirked and gave me a wink.
Joy bloomed in my chest and a wide smile spread over my face. “We have a lot of options then.”
It was almost an entire day before we made it back to Forks. When we arrived, I reluctantly dropped her off at Maeve’s. She wanted some time alone with her and I promised to return as soon as she was ready. She kissed me firmly before rushing inside the house. I figured I should head back to my house. At the very least, I needed fresh clothes.
The house was not empty when I arrived, most of my family was already there. The only exceptions being Rose and Emmett. They were handling our affairs in Ithaca before returning to Forks.
Esme pulled me into a tight hug. “Oh, Edward. I have missed you so very much.”
** Will Dani be joining us? **
“Dani is staying with Maeve. I imagine they have a lot to talk about.” I answered her unspoken question.
Her face pulled into the smallest frown, but she nodded in understanding. “I have missed her dearly as well. Please let her know that she is welcome here anytime.”
“Of course. I’ve already told her as much.” My words seemed to ease her worries just a little.
** We need to talk, Edward. ** Alice’s thoughts interrupted our reunion.
I gave her a small nod and excused myself to go get cleaned up and into new clothes after months of traveling with just a backpack. Alice was patiently waiting for me as soon as I stepped out of my room. Her arms crossed and her face pulled down in an admonishing expression.
“You can’t do that yet.” She started. Her thoughts were filled with her visions of me proposing to an almost blurred, peripheral figure, Dani, in a variety of places and times, all relatively soon.
“Why not? Can you see her decision?” My heart sank. “Will she say no?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t know what she’ll say. But I do know that she still has a lot of trauma to work through. She loves you, that much is clear, but I also know that she still doesn’t feel entirely secure.” She gave me a sympathetic frown. “Work on that first. Help her heal and give her time.” She held a hand to my arm and pursed her lips.
“Of course. I want her to be happy. Above everything else.” I ran a hand through my hair, considering how eager I was to start my life with her and realizing I was on the verge of possibly pushing her too far, too fast.
“That’s what all of us want. For the both of you.” A small smile lit up her face. “When she’s ready, I’ll be the first to congratulate you.” She winked and left me to my thoughts.
I could wait. Give her as much time as she needs and be there for her in every possible way. Jasper had already spoken to her and she was open to accepting his offer to help her work through everything that happened. Alice was right though, I needed to properly earn her trust back and atone for all of the hurt I had caused her. Perhaps I could also take the time to have a ring designed for her. Something as unique as her, something that she would love.
I went back into my room and worked on cleaning the soot from her necklace. I was hopeful that she was at least ready to accept that from me.
It was several hours before she texted that she was ready for me to join her again. It was late in the evening, so I didn’t even bother with a car. Running as fast as I could, I made it to her window within ten minutes. The separation was already becoming painful. I never wanted to part from her again.
She left her window open and I carefully looked inside, spotting her at the far end looking through the few books on her shelves. Wearing only a small pair of black shorts and a hooded sweatshirt, she was absolutely stunning. Her short, blonde hair was damp and neatly brushed, indicating she’d only just come out from the shower. I lightly tapped on the windowsill, alerting her to my presence, and she quickly turned. A startled gasp escaped her lips and her hand flew to her chest.
“Sorry, I was trying not to sneak up on you.” I gave her a chagrined smile as I leapt from the ground and soundlessly entered her room.
She shook her head and came over to wrap her arms around me. “No, I’m just jumpy.” She huffed a laugh and closed the window with a short wave of her hand.
I smoothed her damp hair down and kissed the top of her head. “How is Maeve?”
“Good. Relieved to have me back home.” She sighed. “She’s having some trouble with the insurance company though. They stopped covering this rental and won’t give her the money for the house.” She let out a disgruntled sigh as she pulled away to look at me.
“I’m sure our family can help with that. We can be very convincing when we need to be.” I smirked and leaned down to chastely kiss her.
“I’ll ask her if she’s willing to take you up on that.” She sighed contentedly and pulled me onto the bed with her.
I held her close and traced my fingers along her cheekbone and the line of her jaw. Her eyes remained focused on my face, as though she were memorizing every detail of it, one of my favorite things to do with her.
“What happens now?” She asked quietly.
I settled my hand on the side of her neck, brushing my thumb along her jaw. “Anything you want.”
“Do we just go back to how things were before? Spending time with your family, traveling, dating?” Her eyes were filled with apprehension.
“We will do whatever you want, Dani. I’m following your lead. If you want to take things slow and get to know each other again, I am perfectly fine with that. If you want to move into my room with me, I will gladly add a bed there for you.” I gave her a devilish grin as a faint blush colored her cheeks. “Or anything in between those two options.”
She leaned her forehead against my chest as she laughed. “I just want you.” She was quiet for a moment. “I need to know that you’re not going to disappear on me.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
I lifted her face with two fingers beneath her chin until her eyes met mine. “I will never go anywhere without you ever again. I swear to you. My life is yours. Do with it as you please.”
Her eyes darted back and forth between mine before she glanced down at my mouth. Her hands slid up from my chest into my hair and she pulled my face to hers, kissing me passionately. She pulled my lower lip between her teeth, lightly sucking and darting her tongue out. We explored each other’s mouths and pushed our bodies closer together, creating as many points of contact as possible.
With a gentle push on my shoulder, she guided me onto my back and threw her leg over me. My hands moved around her waist, caressing down her body. I firmly gripped her ass and she started to grind against me. My dick stood rigid in my jeans as she dragged her core along the length of me. Small moans escaped both of us before she pulled away quickly and reached into the drawer of her nightstand.
“I got these.” She held up a strip of foil packs. Condoms.
My brows drew down slightly as I met her eyes. “You do know that I cannot get you pregnant. Don’t you?”
She shook her head and bit her lip. “I’m gonna need more convincing on that front.” She leaned down to kiss me again.
I huffed a laugh and quickly reversed our positions. “I won’t do anything that you don’t want. If you’re more comfortable using a condom, we’ll use a condom.” My mouth met her neck and I ran my tongue in firm circles down her throat to her chest.
“We might need a few of them.” She replied breathlessly.
I chuckled and slipped one of my hands beneath her sweatshirt to knead her breast. She moaned again and reached for the hem of my shirt, pulling it over my head as I sat back. Her soft fingers ran down my chest to my abdomen, stopping at the button of my jeans. I quickly pulled her shorts and underwear away as she worked on my pants. In less than a minute we were both naked and exploring each other’s bodies with our mouths and hands.
I was two knuckles deep inside of her and swirling my tongue over her nipple when I heard the tearing of a foil pack. I released my mouth from her and leaned back to meet her eyes.
“I need you, Edward. If you want?” She held the condom up hesitantly.
I smirked and kissed her quickly. “I will always want.” I growled and took the condom, removing it from the package and rolling it down my length.
I lined myself up with her entrance, rubbing my cock over her clit several times before pushing into her. She groaned in a delectably satisfied manner as I buried myself in her hot core. The sensation with a condom was different, but not in any way unpleasant as her walls wrapped firmly around me. Her legs came up higher on my waist and I gripped the back of one of her knees, lifting it even higher and pushing deeper into her. Her tight pussy pulled me in, accommodating every inch of me as though our bodies were made for each other.
“Ah!” She cried out. “You feel amazing inside me.”
“It feels amazing being inside you.” I replied huskily and started to move.
I rolled my hips against her, studying her reactions and breathing, looking for a force and rhythm that she seemed to respond best to. I had just begun working in long, deep strokes, forcefully thrusting into her, the bed slamming into the wall with each thrust. Given that no one was rushing in to investigate, she had to have cast a silencing spell over the room. Her thighs tensed and her nails dug into my back. She liked that. I continued, not changing a thing as her cries of pleasure started to become louder.
“Edward! Shit, that feels so good!” Her voice was high and breathless.
It was incredible for me too. Tension built in my lower abdomen, curling and winding tighter and tighter. My own climax was rapidly approaching. Given the condom, I needed to hold out longer. So I began running through every single major league baseball player from 1995 and their stats. Anything to distract me from this gorgeous, glowing goddess beneath me until she came. It wasn’t enough, I added a recitation of Beowulf in Old English, followed by the translation to modern English. The pitch of her moans reached a higher frequency and she began breathing faster. Thank god, she was about to come.
“I’m close, so close.” She breathed out.
I knew it.
I catalogued all of her reactions so I would know what to look for as we tried new things together. Her entire body tensed as she climaxed and the window beside us shattered.
“Fuck! God, yes Edward!” She cried out as her core spastically clamped down around my cock. Her thighs formed a vice around my waist, fingers dug into my back, and her back arched, pressing her breasts up against my chest.
Immediately, I was coming with her. “Dani! God, baby. I love you so much.” I moaned against the skin of her shoulder as the impossible tension finally snapped and my climax rolled through me.
My rhythm faltered and my hips stuttered against her as my cum spilled into the condom. I kept thrusting as she bucked her hips, pushing me deeper into her pussy.
“I love you, Edward.” She whimpered.
We held each other tightly as we came back down. When I was sure her orgasm was completely over, I slipped out of her and tied off the filled condom, tossing it in the trash while she repaired the shattered window. I quickly grabbed the necklace from the pocket of my pants on the floor before pulling her against my chest. “I cleaned this for you.” I held it up over her and kissed her temple.
She gasped slightly and tentatively touched the clear crystal.
“Could you help?” She pulled her short hair aside so I could clasp it around her neck for her. “Thank you.” She whispered.
“You are very welcome.” Some of the tension in my chest eased. One small step closer to mending and rebuilding what I shattered.
I kissed her softly as I held her in my arms. She pulled back to meet my eyes and I scanned her face carefully. She looked so blissfully happy. I wanted nothing more than to keep her that happy for the rest of eternity. Certainly achievable.
She nuzzled her face into my chest as she tried to stifle a yawn.
I chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “Get some sleep, love. I’ll be right here all night.”
We held each other close and I stuck to my vows. Loving her, honoring her strength, and cherishing every moment with her.
Chapter 10: Redemption
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
March 2006
Dani and I spent the last three months reconnecting, healing, and rebuilding everything that I had broken. Her forgiveness came far too easily and I was determined to properly earn it. I planned to give her the world and ensure that she would never have any reason to doubt my love for her again. Everything we did was up to her. I would never take another choice from her for the rest of our endless lives.
I quickly replaced her car as a Christmas gift with the same model and color of her old VW Beetle. The car that she loved. She weakly pushed back against accepting it. It took very little convincing for her to relent seeing as she was clearly delighted by it.
Maeve and her went right back to their routines together. She had been living with Maeve since moving back to Forks. There was a lot of groveling to be done on my part with Maeve as well. She was more upset by my reprehensible actions than Dani seemed to be.
Though grateful to me for finding Dani and bringing her home, she was still understandably angry about all of the damage I had done. Her push-back against my presence in Dani’s life had become so bad that Dani threatened to move out. After that, Maeve relented to at least allowing me into the house again.
I hated that I had caused tension between them and insisted I could work toward earning her trust again, but Dani wouldn’t let it go. It was slow, but Maeve and I were finally getting along again. The fact that Dani was truly happy again seemed to help.
I spent every possible moment by Dani’s side. The only times we were really apart were when she wanted time with her friends or when she went onto the reservation.
Earning Leah’s forgiveness was far more difficult than Maeve’s. I went to her shortly after we arrived back in Forks to apologize for my actions and thank her for everything she had done for Dani. She thoroughly ripped me a new one. Offering me an almost endless stream of images of the misery that I had subjected Dani to. I deserved every ounce of it. Leah still wasn’t fully on-board with our relationship, but at least didn’t seem to hold any of it against Dani.
Dani was seamlessly welcomed back into the pack that had become her family. She was always included in their celebrations and gatherings on the reservation. They continued with a more relaxed training schedule, now that the threat Victoria posed had passed. Dani insisted on continuing to train with them. Being able to defend herself made her feel more secure and, no matter how uncomfortable I was with her fighting with enormous, potentially violent wolves, I was not willing to take that from her.
We did need to renegotiate our treaty with the pack though. They wanted to expand the borders of their territory and we wanted to expand the truce area where we were both allowed to be.
Eventually, we came to an agreement. The truce area was adjusted to extend further into some of the previously banned forested areas where we were able to inconspicuously hunt, and other areas were reduced to Quileute territory only in order to include some of the newer developments to their community. The relationship between our two kinds was tense, but there was at least no conflict.
Dani started preparing for college as well. We were both accepted to Reed College in Portland for the Fall semester. Jasper was acquiring the documentation she needed, but she was committed to properly earning it. She spent her time completing her remaining coursework and endlessly studying for the SAT so that she could actually take it and earn the score we forged for her. It was truly admirable and nothing less than exactly what I should have expected from her.
After a lot of planning with Alice, Esme, and Carlisle, I was taking Dani to Alaska. We would be staying at the house our family maintained there and I planned to introduce her to our ‘cousins’ in Denali. I couldn’t wait for them to meet her.
We were taking our private plane to Anchorage before driving the rest of the way to our property near Denali. I was determined to give her only the very best that life had to offer. I knew she didn’t need or really even want any of it, but she deserved so much more than just a comfortable flight.
She was laid back with her head resting in my lap as she read one of the books I recommended to her, Great Expectations. Barefoot and silently reading as I combed my fingers through her caramel hair. Alice helped her dye it close to her original color, but the ends lacked the poly-chromatic dimension of her true hair. I closely studied the nearly seven inches of her natural locks that had grown out. Cataloging each individual color present. I counted eighteen distinct colors and shades. It was beautiful.
She let out a small sigh as she turned to the next page.
“You’ve been quiet for a while. Penny for your thoughts?” I smirked as her eyes met mine.
“I’m reading.” She bit her lip and smiled back up at me.
“And? What do you think so far?” I knew she preferred science fiction and horror and was a little worried asking her to branch out. It was one of my favorites though and I hoped she wouldn’t dislike it.
“Well, I haven’t stopped reading. Even though no one has died yet.” She giggled as I started to lightly tickle her sides. “No! I like it!”
I stopped my attack and leaned down to kiss her soft lips. “Really?”
She reached up to peck my lips once more. “I do. I wouldn’t still be reading if I didn’t. I don’t waste my time on bad books.”
My smile widened and I absently ran my fingers up and down her leg as she went back to reading. She was wearing a knee-length, mulberry dress, the dark shade contrasting beautifully against her creamy skin. It was very tempting to allow my fingers to explore higher up her thigh. To locate the treasures she had hiding beneath the skirt of it. I would follow her cues though. If she wanted to join the ‘mile high club’ with me, she would make it pretty clear. She was always very forward with what she wanted from me.
Sex had quickly become one of my favorite activities with her. I couldn’t believe I previously insisted on waiting until I was married to her to explore it. I was ready to marry her a year ago at that dance, but was certain that it was far too soon for her. True, there were plenty of other ways to be intimate, but having that complete connection with her was mind-blowing. A transcendent experience for the both of us.
We used condoms until recently, when I convinced her to finally just speak to Carlisle about it with me. I still didn’t understand where she had gotten the idea that vampires could reproduce, but she was adamant. I was perfectly content either way, I truly just didn’t want her to worry so much.
***
One week earlier…
“Okay, I understand your concern, but I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about, Dani.” Carlisle remained completely professional as he went over his findings with us in his lab.
“How can you be sure though? How many human-vampire relationships have you come across?” She pushed back, her arms crossed over her chest and eyebrows raised high on her forehead.
“True. You two are a unique pairing, but as you can see there is no sperm.” He pulled up a magnified sample of my venom ejaculate to show Dani on his computer. Handing said sample to Carlisle had been one of our more awkward interactions, but it was necessary. He spent centuries studying our anatomy and physiology, including this aspect of it, but wanted to be as thorough as possible for Dani’s peace of mind.
Our ejaculated fluid contained a slightly different version of the crystalline venom produced in place of saliva, but clearly no sperm cells. Her brows drew down as she closely examined it.
“You’re sure. Could there be another way? Without sperm?” She still wouldn’t explain why she thought this was possible, but she seemed utterly terrified by the prospect.
“No, Dani. Reproduction requires a female ovum and male sperm cells for all mammalian species. If you two ever wish to have children, you’ll need to explore other options.” He gave her an almost sympathetic look.
She waved a hand at him. “That’s not what this is about. Trust me.” She huffed a humorless laugh.
“Trust me. It’s just not possible.” He glanced at me.
** You may want to have a conversation with her about whether this is something she wants in the future. It’s the only reason I can think of for her persistence on the subject. **
I widened my eyes and shook my head slightly. We had already thoroughly talked about this together. She insisted she wouldn’t want a child unless it was 100% both of ours and given that impossibility, she was perfectly happy to share her life with me alone.
Dani seemed to relax the smallest amount, though her brows were still drawn down in confusion. “Okay...” She shook her head with a sigh. “Thank you, Carlisle. Sorry to put you through all of this.” She waved a hand at the screen. “It has been incredibly helpful though.”
“Of course, Dani. I am always available to answer any questions or look into anything that might concern you.” He gave her a small smile before standing to escort us out of his lab.
“Better?” I asked as we made our way down the hall.
She wrapped her arms around my waist and looked up at me. “Better.” Reaching up on her tiptoes, she kissed me firmly. “I can finally stop buying condoms at the one pharmacy that sells them here.” She said quietly. “I’m on a first name basis with the cashier now and it’s a little awkward.”
I laughed and firmly gripped her ass as I leaned down to kiss her more deeply. She chuckled against my lips and pulled me to my silenced room.
***
My fingers drifted slightly higher up her leg, grazing along her inner thigh. She dropped the book down to her chest with a sigh and looked up at me. One eyebrow was raised high, her lower lip pulled between her teeth, and her pupils blown wide. Excitement flared through me. She wanted me. A smile pulled up one corner of my mouth as my other hand started tracing a line from her ear down to her shoulder and back up again.
“Can the pilot hear us back here?” She asked quietly.
“Not unless you scream.” I winked and her eyes narrowed slightly.
She smirked seductively and opened her legs wider. My hand drifted beneath her skirt until my fingers found her soft, lace underwear. I brushed a finger over her center, then groaned internally while my cock twitched. She was wet already.
After casually tossing the book into the seat across the aisle, she rolled over and smoothly moved onto the floor between my legs. Her hands immediately went to work opening my jeans.
A startled laugh erupted from my throat. “What are you doing, love?”
She tugged my pants down and my erection sprung free. “What does it look like I’m doing?” Leaving no time for a reply, she gripped the base of my cock and wrapped her lips around me.
“Oh fuuuck.” I moaned and threw my head back against the seat. This was not what I initially had in mind, but far be it for me to deny her anything.
I gathered her hair up in one hand and held it away from her face. Her tongue expertly worked along the backside of my dick as she thrust me in and out of her warm mouth, taking in slightly more of me on each downward bob of her head. When her lips met the base of my cock, her hand moved lower to cup and work my balls.
“Shit, Dani!” My grip on her hair tightened, my other hand balling into a tight fist to avoid smashing it through the plane wall.
It never failed to surprise me how good she was at this. Taking all of me in and doing things with her tongue that seemed impossible. On the upward stroke, her tongue would flick and swirl around the head of my cock before moving back down and massaging along the back of it.
I never had been able to last very long when she had me in her mouth. Tension built in my lower abdomen, my balls tightened. I had seconds left.
“I’m… I’m about to come, baby.” I panted.
She hummed in response. The vibrations amplified my pleasure even further and I threw my hand over my mouth to stifle my groans as I came. Waves of pure pleasure passed through me. I could feel her throat swallowing around my cock as I pulsed inside her warm, perfect mouth. When my release finally settled, she pulled away from my dick with a faint pop.
I reached down and lifted her up onto my lap by the waist so she was straddling me. “That was not the plan.” My mouth latched onto her neck and I placed wet, open mouthed kisses down her throat to her chest.
“Hmm. I didn’t realize there was a plan.” She replied breathlessly.
I lowered the top of her dress, freeing one of her breasts. “Oh. There was.” Leaning forward, I pulled her nipple into my mouth, circling my tongue and carefully grazing my teeth over it.
Her fingers laced into my hair as she let out a satisfied moan. “Well, we can t-try your plan later. H-house, car, where-wherever.” Her words were low and stuttered around her panting breaths.
“Mm. Plane?” I replied with a growl.
“Yes, please.” She rolled her hips against me.
My cock was still out and almost painfully hard between us. It was so easy to just pull her underwear aside and shift her over my firm length. She threw her head back and bit down a moan when I lowered her down until I was fully sheathed inside her.
I wrapped my lips around her nipple again as she began to move. She rapidly rolled her hips against me, driving me deeper into her pussy while rubbing her clit against my body.
“Fuck, Edward.” She moaned quietly.
I pulled away from her chest. She was completely flushed, her pink lips parted, and her head thrown back, elongating her gorgeous neck in front of me. “Look at you. So beautiful.” I spoke just quietly enough for her to hear. “And all mine.”
I lowered my face to suck and nip at the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder. She held a hand around the back of my neck and her cries reached a higher pitch. Then she started moving faster. I looked up to see her eyes were still closed.
“Dani, eyes on me, baby.” My voice heavy with lust.
She tilted her head back down and met my eyes. “I’m so close.” She whimpered.
“I know. Show me.” Now a growl.
Her brows drew down and a cry of ecstasy erupted from her chest. Her core tightened around me as she came. Her brilliant eyes flared to life, like an impossible eclipse flaming in the bright, blue sky. Magic crackling between us as she pushed it into me instead of potentially damaging the plane. I gripped the back of her neck and pulled her mouth to mine, swallowing down her moans.
Gripping her tighter, I thrusted forcefully up into her pussy as it continued clenching around me until my own climax hit. I pulled away from her mouth, pressing my face into her chest. Sudden, powerful euphoria nearly doubled me over as I emptied inside her and held her tight.
“Ah! God, yes Danielle!” I groaned and ran my tongue from her collarbone, up her neck, until I got to her mouth and thrust it between her parted lips again.
We fervently kissed each other as we continued coming. Her gyrating motions slowed when her fluttering core settled and she came back down from her high. She pulled away from my mouth to press her forehead against mine as she caught her breath.
“Good?” I asked.
She exhaled a shaky laugh. “Very.”
“Then my plan worked.” I grinned and her laughter picked up.
I was eager to make her come again as soon as possible, but it would have to wait until we arrived at our destination. When we finally separated, we made a quick trip to the bathroom to clean up before settling in for the rest of the flight. It was a relatively short trip, so she hadn’t finished the book yet by the time we landed. Our intermission didn’t help with that, but she said she would read the rest while I drove.
I effortlessly guided the car down the darkened, isolated roads as I watched Dani read beside me. Her expressions always gave away her feelings. Her brows had drawn down and stayed that way as she finished the last few pages. Something about the ending was bothering her. I couldn’t wait to hear her thoughts on it.
When she finally closed the book, she looked out the windshield in thought before glancing at me.
“What?” She asked, her lips pulling into a small smirk.
“What did you think?” I nodded to the book in her lap.
She pursed her lips. “I liked it. A lot of critiquing of social structures and class warfare. It’s also very beautifully written and people died, so…” she shrugged a shoulder and smirked at me.
“But…?” I pushed with a low chuckle.
Her brow furrowed and she chewed her lower lip nervously. “I didn’t really like Pip. All he seemed to care about was becoming rich and moving up in society. Plus the ending was left kind of… open. Implying he got the girl, but not outright showing it.”
I smiled widely. “I didn’t care for Pip at first either. He improves though. Learns from his mistakes.” I gave her a rueful smile. “There are actually two versions of the ending. In the original, Estella is remarried to another man and Pip ends up alone. Someone convinced Charles Dickens it was too sad and he changed it.” I chuckled at her confused expression.
“She kind of sucked too.”
I laughed and nodded. “Not an unfair assessment.”
“I really did like it though.” She smiled softly at me. “Do I get to recommend a book now?”
I pulled her hand to my lips. “I will always read anything you suggest.” I murmured.
Which was true. I had read every book I even noticed her showing an interest in, wanting to fully understand her mind.
She leaned over to kiss my cheek. “I’ll come up with something good.”
A serene happiness settled over me. Her hand held in mine, our lives intertwining. I couldn’t wait to get her to the house and spend the next two weeks without having to part from her.
We pulled into the driveway of the two story house late into the evening. The wood and stone structure contained more than enough space for the two of us and was isolated enough that I would not be bombarded by the stray thoughts of anyone. We could truly be at peace together.
“We’re here, love.” I brushed a lock of hair away from Dani’s face as she slept.
She inhaled sharply through her nose and abruptly woke. “Hmm. Sorry, fell asleep.” She mumbled.
I chuckled. “It’s perfectly fine. Let’s get you inside so you can rest more comfortably.”
I unbuckled her seatbelt and smoothly lifted her from her seat. She didn’t resist. Instead, she wrapped her arms around my body and leaned her head against my chest as I carried her over the threshold of the house. Heavenly warmth bloomed in my chest as she held herself to me. I made her feel safe and happy.
She was already drifting off again, so I carried her to our bedroom. I set her down on the wide, king-sized bed and carefully removed her shoes for her before settling in beside her.
Once her breathing reached a slow, relaxed pace and I was sure she was completely out, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small box I kept there. Just wanting to check that it still looked and felt right. Alice assured me that there would be four straight days of auroras here during our trip. I still had a little time to prepare, but I was incredibly nervous. With no way of knowing her answer, I just had to try to ensure that everything was perfect.
I put it back and settled in with her, watching over her as she slept. When she woke I would show her around the house, make her breakfast, and perhaps take her out to the hot tub we had on the enclosed back deck. That would surely produce a delightful afternoon for us.
We had been there for three days when I decided it was now or never. I spent an hour that morning with my face buried between her thighs. I had to preface my planned activity with a request that she trust me and allow me to have full control. I expected to frustrate her, at least at first, and I absolutely did.
Using only my lips and my tongue I repeatedly brought her right to the edge, backing off again to kiss her thighs or stomach before she could climax. Slowly, I worshipped every part of her perfect pussy. She writhed and groaned and gripped my hair as I continued to work. It wasn’t until she was trembling with need, chest heaving as she panted for air, and breathlessly begging me to make her come that I finally allowed her to finish.
Her orgasm was so intense she cried out in ecstasy and blew up every light and window in the house. One of her hands crumbled half of the headboard while the other pushed some of her excess magic back into my body where she was tightly gripping my shoulder. It was absolutely worth every second.
When she finally came down, she tackled me onto the floor. We laughed together until she tore my sweatpants open and buried my cock inside of her throbbing pussy. I groaned at the full, tightness of her wrapped around me and rolled us over, taking back control.
Her arms and legs wrapped tightly around me as I relentlessly fucked her into the plush rug at the foot of the bed. My hips thrusting upward so my cock hit her g-spot and my body rubbed against her clit. We came together. Her core gripping me tight, pulling every ounce of pleasure out of me as I spilled into her with a deep growl.
She was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and panting beneath me as I kissed my way from the scars on her right shoulder across her chest to her other shoulder. I was definitely ready.
“You’ll want to wear something warm today.” I spoke against the skin of her neck.
“Yeah?” She asked breathlessly. “Where are we going?”
I smirked and pulled away to meet her breathtaking eyes. “It’s a surprise.”
Her smile widened and she giggled before pulling my lips to hers. We eventually stumbled our way to the bathroom where I drew a hot bath in the large tub for us. Next I made a brunch of French toast, fresh fruit, and coffee for her. I wanted the entire day to be perfect.
As soon as the Sun began to set, I ensured she was warm enough and took her out. Running with her in this cold was a terrible idea, so I took her on one of the four snowmobiles we kept. I drove her far enough from the house that there would be no ambient light anywhere within her limited, human visual range.
“Oh my god.” Her awed voice was just above a whisper. She let out a surprised laugh. “This is incredible!”
The white snow surrounding us glittered with multicolored reflections of the lights overhead. The night sky above us was alive with slowly swirling greens, blues, and purples over an ocean of stars. It was near the end of the season for auroras, but they were particularly strong at the moment.
“You are incredible. This is merely astrophysics.” I smirked and pressed my lips to her cheek as I held her closely from behind.
Her thick, wool coat and knitted hat kept her safe from the cold as we stood together in the snow, miles away from the house. Her warm breath escaping in dense clouds of fog around our faces. Meanwhile, I was doing my best to not breathe. To avoid alerting her to my own anxiety. My nerves were shot. If my heart could beat, it would have been hammering wildly in my chest. She laughed and looked back at me, placing a kiss just beneath my jaw.
“So cheesy.” She reminded me.
“Only because you’ve made me this way.” I murmured into her ear, then paused. “You have given me more than I could have ever dreamed of and so much more than I deserve.”
She turned in my arms with a small frown. “You deserve everything, Edward.” She reached a gloved hand up to brush her fingers against my cheek, pure love in her eyes. I instantly calmed.
“I thought I was content - before I met you - but I had no idea. I was living in the blackest darkness and you came in like a supernova, lighting up my world, igniting my very soul.”
A small smile pulled at her lips and she tilted her head. I kissed her once then moved my hands to her waist, stepping away just enough to give myself room to kneel down.
Her eyes widened and a small gasp escaped her lips. “Edward.” She whispered.
“You are the most incredible person I have ever met. My soulmate, my best friend, my life. I have already promised you forever and I swear to never break a promise to you. Though it may be greedy, I want everything with you. A life full of love and light and joy.”
I pulled out the ring I had designed for her. It looked perfect. A princess cut light purple taaffeite stone with eight small diamonds surrounding it. Esme helped me design the intricate, gold setting with fine, curling filigree to hold the diamonds in place. It closely resembled a star and I was truly hoping she would love it.
“Danielle Celeste Baker, will you-”
“Yes!” She suddenly knelt down in front of me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders, and pressing her lips to mine.
I pulled back with an elated laugh. “I didn’t even get to ask!”
“I’m sorry.” She sniffled and wiped a tear away on her shoulder as she released me. “Go ahead.” She nodded with a smile as more tears fell.
A wide smile spread over my own face and my heart almost ached with how full it was. “Will you do me the immense honor of marrying-”
“Yes!” She laughed and threw her arms around me again.
I figured that was as close as I was going to get and pulled her closer, kissing her deeply, ring still in hand. I laughed again as I pulled away just enough to see her face. “Do you want the ring?”
“Oh, right. Yeah.” She chuckled and wiped her fingers over her reddened, tear stained cheeks.
I pulled the glove off of her left hand and slipped the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly. She looked a little confused as she took it in.
“Is it okay? Do you like it?” I asked with uncertainty.
She looked back up to meet my eyes and her expression softened. “I love it. It’s perfect.”
“So, what’s wrong?” She still seemed off.
“Nothing is wrong.” She smiled wider. “It’s just… I thought it would be your mother’s ring.” She laughed lightly and looked back down at her hand. “This is better though. It’s beautiful, Edward.” She lifted an arm around my neck and pulled me into another deep kiss, urging my mouth open and touching her tongue to mine.
Of course she knew about my mother’s ring. I didn’t even bother asking how she knew. I figured we had eternity ahead of us for her to explain her many mysteries to me. For now I was basking in the joy of her acceptance and my eternal redemption. I would never have to be without her again and she was just as ecstatic as I was to begin our life together.
Perhaps I wasn’t a monster after all. Considering I was clearly getting my happily ever after.
Notes:
I hope anyone who read enjoyed this alternate version of the second half of Unbound! I have no plans to explore this further, I'm pretty happy with how it ended.
Note: The ‘no sperm’ thing is canon compliant. If you think it’s dumb, that’s because it is. Take it up with SM though, this was her doing. So, I’m just choosing to just wave my hands and claim ✨magic✨ because I think it’s hilarious that this is just another episode of ‘nobody ever fucking listens to Dani’.
chaosgroupie on Chapter 1 Thu 03 Jul 2025 02:53PM UTC
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catstronomer on Chapter 1 Thu 03 Jul 2025 04:06PM UTC
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yvonne2710 on Chapter 1 Fri 04 Jul 2025 10:26PM UTC
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catstronomer on Chapter 1 Fri 04 Jul 2025 11:21PM UTC
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yvonne2710 on Chapter 1 Sat 05 Jul 2025 06:46AM UTC
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chaosgroupie on Chapter 2 Thu 03 Jul 2025 02:58PM UTC
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catstronomer on Chapter 2 Thu 03 Jul 2025 04:06PM UTC
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catstronomer on Chapter 7 Mon 28 Jul 2025 11:32PM UTC
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