Bite Me (Jasper Hale X OC) (On permanent hiatus)

Chapter 24 - Preparing

   It was a few days after, which meant Victoria's army was almost here, I was waiting in the clearing with Edward. Jacob was bringing Bella up to the mountains, we'd figured out that his werewolf scent disguised human scent, which meant Bella and I could get to a safe place without leaving a scent trail the vampires could follow.

   I hated the idea of Jacob carrying me, but it was either that or being eaten by a bunch of newborn vampires. I hate how mine and Bella's safety depends on him, why couldn't it have been Sam or Paul? Someone I don't hate with every fibre of my being? I thought angrily.

   "I hate him too, but our most important task is keeping you and Bella safe" Edward said, he must've read my mind. "I know that, I just wish none of this was happening, the army, the stupid love drama, it's all so exhausting" I said.

   "You miss Jasper" he said, I looked at him, "I haven't seen him since the graduation party, I didn't go with you guys when you were training, that was my only chance to see him before the battle. It may have been my last chance to say goodbye, if he dies during this battle..." I trailed off. I didn't want to think about that.

   "Listen, I know you hate me, and I know it's because you think I follow Bella around like a puppy, you think we need some distance. But Bella is everything to me, she's my life, nothing matters more to me than her, please, try to understand that" he said.

   I was silent for a few moments, then I looked at him, it was time to be honest to both him and myself. "I don't hate you, I envy you" I said, he looked at me, "don't read my mind, I want to tell you this" I said. He nodded.

   "You might think being a vampire is a curse, and in some ways, it is, but it's also a blessing. Think about it, you have these extraordinary powers, you can run 100mph, you can crush metal with your bare hands. Even when you're running, you can see, smell, and hear everything around you, and you're nearly impossible to kill. Then there's your own special ability, you can read minds, that's incredible" I ranted.

   He shook his head, "no, these things don't make me incredible, they make me a monster. I drink blood to survive, I can't be near humans without wanting to drain them, you have no idea how hard it is to control myself when I'm near blood" he said.

   "You're right, I don't, but I will one day" I said, he shook his head, "why do you and Bella want this so much? If I had a choice, I'd never choose this" he said.

   "If it's between the Volturi killing all of us, and me being a vampire, there is no doubt in my mind, I will choose vampirism" I said. I heard rustling coming from the tree line, then I saw Jacob coming over.

   "Ready to go?" He asked me, I nodded and he picked me up, I tensed as he started walking into the forest with me in his arms. We were both silent for a while, it was an uncomfortable silence, a very uncomfortable silence.

   "Why do you hate me?" He asked suddenly, not looking at me, I didn't say anything, "Maya, why do you hate me?" He asked again.

   "Do you really want to know?" I asked.

   "Yes, I want to know what I did for you to hate me this much, we used to be good friends then you suddenly started treating me like crap. Is it because I'm a werewolf?" he asked.

   "No, it's not because you're a werewolf, but I can see why you would think that since that's when you started acting like a dick. Bella is in love with Edward, not you, and you can't change that no matter how hard you try. The fact that you won't realize that is one of the reasons why I hate you" I said.

   "What's the other reason?" He asked.

   "What?" I looked at him and he met my gaze, "you said that was one of the reasons, what's the other one?" He asked.

   "What you do to Bella, it's unfair, you constantly hurt her and then you get angry that she doesn't want you. You may not see it, but the more you act like this, the more you're going to hurt her" I said.

   We didn't talk for the rest of the walk, then we reached the top of the mountain, Bella and Edward were waiting for us. He must've sped up here while Jacob carried me. Jacob set me down and I walked over to Bella, she hugged me quickly before letting me go.

   She looked at Jacob, "you should get back before the storm hits" she said, he shook his head, "no, I'm staying. You'll need my connection to the pack to keep tabs on what's going on" he said.

   "You're not going to fight?" She asked.

   "Seth will spell me in the morning, he's not happy about missing the action, but it'll keep him out of trouble" he said. Great, I thought in annoyance, "let's get you inside" Edward said to Bella, walking into the tent with her. This was going to be a long night...

***

Last night was horrible, it was freezing cold and I couldn't sleep, I was shivering the whole night through. Bella had Jacob for warmth, much to Edwards discomfort, but I didn't want to be anywhere near Jacob. It was good that Bella was warm, but Jacob was acting so smug about it.

This morning I was sitting in the tent with Bella, Edward and Jacob were somewhere outside, I didn't know where. We heard footsteps outside so we came out, seeing Seth in his wolf form, "hey Seth" I greeted him.

He huffed in greeting, turning his head as Edward came over, "where's Jacob? Did he already-" Bella started but Edward cut her off. "Not yet. He's checking to see if the woods are clear before he goes" Edward said.

I watched as Seth left, leaping over a large rock, "I'm really sorry about last night, that couldn't have been easy on you" Bella said to Edward. He shook his head, "it definitely won't make my list of top ten favourite evenings" he said jokingly.

"You have a list?" She asked, chuckling a bit, "all ten I spent with you, number one is when you said you'd marry me, Mrs Cullen" he said. My eyes widened as I looked at them, but I didn't say anything.

"This is the 21st century, I at least want to hyphenate my name" she said.

"You're marrying him?" Jacob asked angrily, emerging from the bushes, "Jake, I..." she started before turning to Edward. "You knew he was listening!" She said angrily.

"He deserves to know" Edward said, Jacob started to walk away, "Jake, stop!" Bella started to go after her but Edward grabbed her arm. "Bella, let him-" he started but she cut him off. "Don't!" She yelled before running after Jacob.

Edward sighed quietly, you idiot, I thought, he glared at me "can you keep your thoughts to yourself?" He asked. I crossed my arms angrily, "no, this little feud between you and Jacob is getting really old. Seriously, it's infuriating! You know Bella loves you more than she loves him! So why do you keep stirring up trouble?" I asked angrily.

"I-" he tried to talk but I stopped him, "no, I don't want to know, I was just beginning to think you might actually be a decent person, then you pull this crap! Now, you may be engaged to Bella, which means I'm not allowed to hurt you, but if you do something like this again, I won't hesitate to slap the shit out of you" I said.

He didn't say anything, I couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling, "you two are unbelievable..." I muttered, walking away so I didn't have to look at him anymore. I sighed quietly and sat down on a rock, I could hear Bella and Jacob yelling.

The yelling quieted down and I watched Jacob run down the mountain, then I heard Bella and Edward talking quietly. I heard some pawsteps and growling, so I walked over, making eye contact with Edward. "It's starting" he said grimly.