Creation & Destruction [3] | Jasper Hale

-07-

  "What do we do then?" Joanna questions Leah, stress causing her stomach to do tight curls. Rosalie and Esme had mentioned before that stress wasn't healthy for both the mother and the child, but that thought didn't enter her head at the moment. All she could focus on was the m-word. Murder. Murder.

Murder. Sam Uley and his pack would murder her.

  Did that mean Leah would tag along too? How about Seth? Paul saved her at one point, would he still end her then?

  Question after question buzzed in her head, blurring her from Leah as she spoke to her. Her words became hazy, being thrown away from Joanna's train of thoughts. Her voice wasn't on the ride, only Joanna's subconscious.

  Her subconscious told her the worst things. Her subconscious imagined the horrific things that could possibly take place any moment at any time while she still wobbled around with her protruding stomach.

  Oh no, she wouldn't let anyone that wasn't an immortal touch her. If she dare saw Sam Uley's face, her fist would instantly connect with his jaw. If she broke her fist, she wouldn't give a damn. He wouldn't touch her, her baby, and her family.

  She possessed a beast inside herself, too.

   "Jo!" Leah cursed, grabbing the woman's shoulder when she saw how mortified she looked. Eyes blown wide, fingers removing themselves from where she patterned her skin with crescent marks, she looked into the eyes of the wolf-girl. "You gotta calm down. I'm not allowing Sam or anyone to lay a finger on you," she explained with a velvety voice, heart humming in her chest.

  Reassuring her made Joanna feel safe, but only a tiny bit. Leah was always there for her, a lot more back then than now, at least. With everyone growing older, their apologies and promises became less truthful.

   "Are you still part of the pack?" Joanna questioned with a bitter tone that stunned Leah for a moment. She recovered quickly, though,

  "I'm not sure."

  "So you're in on it, too?" Joanna asked, but she already knew the answer. No, Leah wouldn't. Leah, even after knowing her for so many years and dealing with a thousand battles, she wouldn't do that to her. She supports Joanna and her choice to keep the baby, even if the state she was in made her heart crumble to dust.

   "Never."

  "Darlin'," Jasper decided to invade their privacy then, though the whole household heard what was going on. The blonde shared a look between the Quileute girl before focusing on his mate who was fuming. Her emotions were heavy, so heavy that he was trouble even standing still. "Come on, let's step outside for a moment for a breather."

  With one final glance at Leah, Joanna followed Jasper out of the room.

  They quickly made their way onto the back porch where Joanna crashed onto one of Esme's wicker chairs, the wood scratching at her arms uncomfortably. Yet, she couldn't focus on herself, only on those around her. Jasper watched worriedly as she clutched her shirt, moving her hands around her stomach.

The stress, he realized, feeling dumb almost for not knowing.

  "Please, just do it," Joanna begged, wanting him to wash away her worries with a quick nod of his head.

  He did just that.

  A sigh rolled off her lips when she felt tranquility cover her like a heavy blanket. The cramps in her stomach subsided and her breathing became even. Still, she felt fear crawl and dig into her skin.

  "We heard," Jasper admitted after a moment of quietness, the sun sparkling his skin. She had seen a glimpse of him like this before, it was months ago when she saw him bathe in crystals. He resembled a sculpture carved out of marble, he wasn't too far from it, actually. "What Sam is planning won't happen."