Renesme's Dream

Chapter 39:

Chapter 39:

**Bella’s POV**

“Mom look! I caught a tiger!” Max called to me from up ahead. I laughed at his delight, it was adorable! Zafrina was using her gifts to make the kids think they were in an African jungle, hunting tigers. In reality, a deer lay at Max’s feet.

A tingle at the base of my neck made me pause. I focused all my attention on the woods around us. There was someone watching us…

I snapped my shield out in an instant reflex.

“Hey!” everyone chorused.

“Quiet!” I hissed. “Renesme! Max!” I motioned for them to leap into my arms. Max, disappointed, obeyed me without argument.

“What is it, Bella?” Kate asked.

“There’s someone out there. Watching us. We need to head back.”

We all turned, and started running.

“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Renesme asked me.

“Hopefully nothing, we’re just being overly careful. We need to get home.”

After a few miles, I could plainly hear the footsteps behind us, keeping up with us. Gaining on us.

“Faster!” Garrett hollered.

I increased my speed, going as fast as I could. I’d never run this fast before. It’s interesting what you’re capable of when your children are in danger. I remembered reading that a woman’s body can produce extra adrenaline when her children are threatened or in danger. Did that also apply to vampires?

The wind shifted, and a strange smell hit my nostrils like a punch. It smelled of old leather, and smoke.

“I know that scent!”

“Who is it?!” Kate demanded.

“He’s catching up! Damn this person is fast!” Garrett yelled.

I couldn’t risk a glance behind me, it would slow me down. I heard the footsteps getting closer….closer….

**Edward’s POV**

We raced through the woods, following the distinct scents of Bella and Renesme.

“We’re almost there!” Alice informed us.

“Faster!” I heard a man shout, it sounded like Garrett. Seconds later, “Bella! Lookout!!”

I pushed myself past my maximum speed, to a point I never knew I was capable of.

I saw Bella and the others running towards me, over a thousand feet away. Our two kids were in her arms. Normally that distance would only take me two or three seconds. But today of all days, that was not enough.

I watched in horror as Ben overtook Bella, tackling her to the ground. He  snatched Renesme out of her arms and took off. Bella got up, handing Max to Garrett, and raced after Ben. I followed, a mere second behind them.

The entire exchange happened in less than a second, but it appeared in slow motion.

I had never been so desperate for speed. My legs seemed to be made of cement, and they would not run as fast as I was instructing them to. I had not had this problem since my childhood. Playing tag in the streets as a young boy, my legs never seemed fast enough, I could never run as fast as I wanted to. When I became a vampire, the extra speed had been my favorite part. My legs could move as fast as I wanted, and I had not felt that sensation of the need for speed in over a hundred years. Until today.

I caught up to Bella, taking her hand. She jumped slightly, shocked to see me. She gave me a timid smile, and we ran faster, the combination of our strengths giving us an extra boost.

Ben was only 20 feet ahead of us, but no matter how hard we pushed ourselves, we could not catch up to him.

“Mommy! Daddy!” I could hear my daughter screaming from Ben’s arms. We had been chasing him for a half an hour now. There seemed to be no end in sight.

“Edward!” Bella gasped for air beside me. “I’m actually tired! My legs hurt!”

“Ignore it love, it’s all mental. You don’t need air and your legs cannot hurt you from physical activity. Try to ignore it the best you can.”

She nodded and slowed her breathing to a normal pace.

“Do you hear that?” I asked her.

“It sounds like…”

We turned to look at each other and grinned.

Moments later, a huge russet wolf jumped in front of Ben, barely giving him time to stop himself. It gave me the time needed to snatch my daughter from his arms. I had barely gotten her a safe distance away before I heard the sickening tearing of porcelain and cement. I covered Renesme’s eyes and turned to look at Ben. His leg was laying a few feet away from him, and Jacob was sitting on top of him. Emmett, Jasper, and Garrett secured Ben so that Jacob could shift. He came running towards me a moment later, reaching for Renesme.

“She’s fine.” I assured him. He held out his arms, but I refused. I was too busy hugging her to let her go yet. Bella hugged us both, stroking her hair and kissing her cheek.

“Are you ok sweetie?” She asked gently. Renesme nodded, still shaken up.

“Edward, we gotta get him back to the house!” Emmett called to me. I nodded and handed Renesme to Bella.

A moment later, Zafrina and Kate came running up, carrying Max.

“Dad! Is she ok?!” He asked, jumping up to see his sister. Bella picked him up so he could see her better.

“She’ll be fine.” I assured him. “Come on, lets move this guy.” I helped secure the struggling Ben, who was still screaming about his leg.

***Sorry this one is so short! Hope you like it, please comment!!