𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠¹| 𝙏𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 ✓

III.XIII

Jacob's screams could be heard from outside making everyone wince every once in a while. Lucine didn't lose much blood surprisingly but the stress and shock from everything took a harder toll on her body than she imagines.

"Please let me see him." She begged Rosalie as she sat next to her. "I've told you a thousand times and so has Carlisle. You need to stay in bed and rest." Lucine sighed and laid back in bed. "But, I'm fine. I don't feel sick or anything."

"You only feel like that because of the medication," Carlisle spoke as he walked into the room. Lucine gave up on trying to convince them.

"Can one of you two at least tell me how he's doing?" She asked as she looked between the two. Carlisle sighed. "I won't lie to you Lucine, he's not doing well but I can assure you that he's going to get better." She nodded, silently processing his words. "Anyways, there's someone here to see you." He said as he stepped aside to let Paul in.

Lucine sat up looking at the tired disheveled man. It made her heart ache. Rosalie could feel the tension that suffocated the room and silently left with Carlisle, closing the door behind them.

"I'm sorry." She said as she looked down at her hands. She couldn't bring herself to look at him any longer. Her conscience cursed her for breaking her promise.

"You don't need to apologize. The heart wants what it wants." Lucine shook her head as she looked up at him. He was now sitting in a seat next to her bed. "I did love you, Paul. If it weren't for my soul awakening and my memories coming back, I would still love you." He smiled somberly at her as he placed a hand on her cheek. "I know you would but, deep down, I always knew you would somehow make your way back to Jacob." She kept quiet, not knowing what to say.

"Jacob and I might not get along much but I know he's a good guy that loves you dearly. Even when he was pining after Bella, you were all he thought about. You two were meant to be from the start and it doesn't take a genius to see it." A small tear fell down her face.

"Then why didn't you reject the bond? Why did you play into a lie you knew would come to an end?" He looked into her eyes for a second, taking in her beauty. "Because I knew that this would be my last chance. I know it was wrong but I took every ounce of that lie and ran with it. I cherish every moment and every thought because I knew that one day it'd come to an end." They stayed silent for a second.

"I love you, Lucine. Even without the bond, I have always loved you. I gave in to my own desire and fell into the lie because I wanted to be loved by the one person that had been haunting my thoughts day and night for years."

Lucine looked at him, believing every word that left his mouth. "I wish I could've kept returning that love. You deserve so much and I'm sorry but I can't be the one that can give you that." She said silently. He lifted her head by her chin slightly, just enough so they could look into each other's eyes.

They still loved each other. Just, not the way they used to.

"Can I have one last kiss? To close this story for good?" She nodded, leaning into his touch as their lips connected.

A tear fell down his face as he kissed his first love for the last time. Her lips were so soft yet, the kiss so passionate.

They parted and Paul stood up.

Just as he was about to leave, he turned around and looked at her with a smile on his face.

"You were my first love and that is something I will never regret." He left before she could speak. Leaving her to revile in her thoughts. His words were everything she needed to know that she was doing the right thing.

She won't deny the fact that she once did truly love Paul but Jacob had always been in her heart.

Shawn has always been in her heart.

Her soul and Shawn's soul had finally reunited after years upon years of waiting and they couldn't be happier.

She lay in bed, suddenly feeling tired as the medication started to take effect.

***

"You can't tell me what to do anymore! I am not a child." She screamed at the top of her lungs. She was breathing hard as her heart beat rapidly. She tried to control her voice, not wanting to be too loud.

They stared at her, shocked that she had such power in her lungs. "Everything we do is for you. We just want you to be safe." She scoffed. "I love you three dearly, but I shall not fall to such depths. I have accepted my fate and so should you." She said calmly as she sat back down.

"Whatever it is that you have is eating you alive. Sister, we merely want you alive and well." She looked at her three brothers. "Either way, I am dead." Marcus looked at his little sister, not having said a word the entire time.

"I understand what you three are trying to do but please, I'd rather this thing take me than subject myself to an eternity I was not meant to live." She didn't let them input anything anymore, leaving the dining room and heading to her bedroom.

She sat on her bed, taking out a tattered journal from under her mattress. Inside were stories her brothers had told her from their experience out in the world. She would be lying to herself to say that she didn't occasionally think about what it would be like to turn. But, she couldn't imagine a life without Shawn. She couldn't imagine living hundreds of years from now, cold and without a heartbeat.

It felt unnatural.

There was a knock at her door. "Come in." She said as Marcus opened the door and stood near her vanity. "If you are here to try and convince me like our brothers I won't-" he cut her off.

"That's not why I'm here." Marcus rarely spoke. Being the eldest, he was always more of a watcher, only interfering when needed. "Then why have you come?" He looked at her for a second before he sighed, taking a seat on her vanity chair. "As much as I would love to spend eternity with you and our brothers, I understand why you won't turn. You love Shawn but you love being alive more. The thought of not breathing the air on a spring morning or the feeling of your heart beating hard against your chest after a run through the woods, terrifies you." She stayed silent, knowing that everything he had just said was true.

"I'm scared, Marcus. I won't lie to you. The thought that I must die soon and rejoice with mother and father scares me but I'd rather go through the natural process of life than subject myself that that." He nods. "I know. But, brothers and I are looking for alternatives." She raised an eyebrow.

"Alternatives?" She questioned, making him nod. "We have consulted with witches and warlocks on alternatives to live forever without losing a life." She shook her head. "You're crazy. That's not possible." But, deep down she was excited.

He stood up and headed towards the door. "You just wait sister. We will find something." He left her to think of the possibility that, maybe, she'd be able to stay with her brothers.