Perpetual Existence

Uninvited

I groan at the sensation of her touch, of her warmth surrounding me. My eyes roll back, my body shaking with the desperate need to move. Another sound falls unbidden from my lips; my quick, cool exhale causes goosebumps to form across Bella's skin.

Bloodstained skin. Worry tightens my brow, forcing my thoughts from the feelings her touch brings me.

"No, close your eyes and just feel." Her fingers tighten around me—a slow, heated slide of them pulls me away from the call of her blood.

A part of me realizes it isn't only her exquisite touch. Worry has been the number one thought, the pleasure a close second, or at least competing for the top spot.

"Bella." My voice, only a rough whisper, is enough for her to cradle my face with her free hand. I want to see her beautiful eyes, but they could be drenched with pain. Shouldn't she be screaming from the bite?

"I'm okay. Keep concentrating on this." She gives me a thorough exploration with her tongue and lips along my jawline; the sensitivity of my skin there seems to have grown under her sweet kiss.

Something in my thoughts alerts me, a warning, but being so lost in Bella, I can't respond fast enough. Jasper crashes through the door; I crouch over her body as she screams, snarling at the threat.

Jasper's eyes are deep onyx, an indication that bloodlust is what drives him. It hardly matters; the beast within me reacts to the threat of both our meal and mate. The state of my nakedness matters little as Jasper reaches for Bella, his hand clamping down on her ankle as he pulls her toward the foot of the bed and him.

She screams as her tiny, delicate bones break under his grip.

I roar and launch myself toward Jasper; a metallic crack reverberates around the room. His arm comes off with ease, and I toss it over my shoulder. He snarls at me, his remaining arm trying to pry my hands from around his throat.

"We're too late!" Alice screams from the hallway; the booming footsteps of Emmett are coming up the stairs.

"What the fuck?" Emmett manages to pull me off Jasper, but it's too late. Jasper lays in pieces at my feet; the only sound in the room is my labored breathing and Bella's whimpers. I gather her in my arms; she's the only thing I can focus on, and not even Alice's heart-wrenching sobs stop me.

I fly out the window with my precious cargo. Bella's head tucks against my neck, her tears, almost bring me to my knees.

The consequences of what I've done to protect my mate have not hit me fully. Not until I come to a stop at the edge of our meadow; though, pristine in its beauty, it's stained with blood now. Painful memories superimpose over all the peace it once brought me.

"Please stop."

I don't want to, because I know what she'll ask of me.

"Please, just d-do it." She gasps as her body arches in my hold. My venom has already started to work its way through her. I fall to my haunches, cradling her in my arms. "You'll never be able to live with his death on your hands and neither can I."

There's a chance they can save him, and put him together, but I know from experience, that reattached limbs are one thing, but a severed head...they are never the same. In my rage, I almost managed to separate Jasper's head from his shoulders. But the damage is too much to comprehend.

"I can't." My eyes burn, my lips peppering her forehead. She's burning up, from the inside out; a fever has made her skin flush angry pink. The change is happening faster than either of us has anticipated.

Death lingers on the fringes of this perpetual reality, watching us, still neutral and with no indication of malice present. It's found a way to complete its mission to ensure her death, by somehow influencing Jasper's curiosity of my sudden disappearance earlier. I had left the house without a word or explanation.