Two Months Later...

My heart was pounding, the blood thumped through my veins as it tried to fuel my body for the extremes I was pushing it to. I needed to clear my mind, refresh it and remind myself of who I was and what I was capable of.

The nightmares struck again early this morning, after Jake had left for his pre-dawn patrol, the second time this month they had woken me. It was the same as always, I awoke in a panting, sweaty mess as I tried to get the image of the life leaving Jacob's eyes out of my head. It never got easier, it was only less frequent, but that seemed to be the issue.

After the confrontation I expected the nightmare each night, but now it was rare and messed me up more than it originally did. It was like a warning light, flashing in and out of life as a reminder that the Volturi would always be there. Alice would of course see if they were planning a return and I knew that we could face them, but not at the cost of our families.

Jake still had no idea I was still having these dreams... he thought that I was fixed. I felt terrible for keeping it from him but in the beginning he thought it was all his fault. Before the confrontation I told him to promise me to not go after Aro or the other leaders but the vision foresaw him going for Aro anyway and he got killed. I couldn't let him carry the guilt anymore so I just told him the nightmares had stopped.

"Hey, Aria, slow down!" Edward called from a few miles back, if his lungs worked he would be out of breath trying to keep up with me.

I needed to let off some steam, Alice had seen I was planning on vamping out for a while and gave Edward the heads up to join me— not that I minded. Edward got me, he knew what it was like to worry about those we loved who were not immortal. Jake was strong, we knew that, we knew that he could live forever with me, but that was only as long as he didn't get hurt.

"You're slacking, Cullen!" I quipped as I maintained my speed to stay ahead of him. We were racing over the centre of the Olympic Peninsula, about halfway up Mount Olympus, my aim was to reach the peak without Edward catching up with me. I liked his company, I just felt like being competitive. To be honest I felt like it would give me a better perspective on life at the moment.

I had reached where the snow drifts were beginning to recede due to the bloom of the new summer warmness. The air was thinning, not that it bothered me, but I just wanted to get as high as I possibly could. I leaped up into the air and locked my hands around a thick branch of a fir tree that was growing out of the mountain side and swung myself up onto it. The branch, tree and the surrounding trees were coated in a thin dusting of snow but the frozen water melted immediately under my touch due to my high body temperature.

I could see everything from up here, it was so quiet and relaxing. I felt like nothing could touch me, nothing could hurt me when I was this far from the ground. I took in a deep breath, filling my lungs with the fresh mountain air. There was a few other smells mixed in there as well. Edward's scent was fresh, blowing in from the east, from his thoughts I'd say he was about a minute away. There was the faint scents of some of the boys in their wolf forms; Jake, Quil and a new boy called Lewis who was learning the ropes. Since the new truce, both packs had expanded their patrol routes to include Cullen land as well.

The wedding was eleven days away. Pre-wedding jitters were setting in, I wasn't nervous about actually getting married, it was just standing up in front of everyone that I was scared of. Plus, we couldn't spill the water in the wedding vase otherwise our marriage would be doomed for all of eternity... if that wasn't pressure I don't know what is.

Two months had passed since the whole Scott fiasco. Mom came to look at Jesse and Scar's house alone, Scott remained at the hotel and because of the argument and the awkwardness they took an earlier flight home. They only stayed for two days unlike the week long stay they were meant to do. Mom had only called once or twice in the last couple months and from what I could hear on the other end of the phone Scott was nowhere in the proximity so I assumed she was doing it in secret. She hadn't mentioned him either. I just wished that she could be more involved in my wedding. She was due back tomorrow ready for last minute wedding details.

"You sure are fast." Edward announced his arrival with a slight breeze that twirled my dark hair across my face. He perched himself on the branch beside me, it didn't even shift under his weight.

"I just needed to get away for a few minutes." I clarified, not looking away from the horizon as I watched the white clouds roll across the sky like sea foam.

"Wedding jitters?"  Edward asked, I could hear the teasing tone hiding under the actual concern in his voice. I had shut him out of my thoughts, I didn't want him digging around in there to know what inspirational speech to give me.

"No, not wedding jitters. I just needed to get away." I deflected, I could feel him staring into the side of my head.

"You know you can tell me anything. I know when you're hiding something." He pressed and I huffed and whooshed my head around to look at him.

"Fine." I sighed, rolling my eyes. "I had the dream again. I don't think its the dream that scares me anymore, its telling Jake. What will he think of me knowing that I've kept this from him for years?" I admitted, tearing my eyes away from Edward's concerned expression to look down at my hands and then the ground that followed so many metres below.

"He'll never love you any less that he does now. The worse it could do is make him worry." He placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder just as a honking flock of geese passed overhead. We paused to watch them for a moment before continuing our depressing conversation.

"And he'll never leave my side at night ever again." I muttered as the guilt surged through me.

"That can't be all bad." Edward said suggestively, a smirk on his face as he nudged my shoulder.

"Edward, please." I shrugged him off, I did not want to discuss that with one of my older brothers, especially one that's usually so proper. "You know what I mean. He's the alpha, he can't not do his job."

"Well, then you need to talk to him about it. I'm sure he'll understand your reasoning." He said encouragingly but I didn't buy it, I knew that wouldn't be the case.

"That might just make it worse." I protested before pushing myself off of the branch ready to being myself back to down to earth.

I landed with a light thud, the small herd of deer grazing a few metres to my left didn't even stir, for a split second I felt triumphant with my vampire grace and that I hadn't disturbed them. A moment later Edward joined me. "You don't want to start your marriage with secrets." He said provokingly and I glared at him.

"No, shit." I smiled sarcastically at him. What an understatement. "I'll tell him, I just don't want to hurt his feelings."

"Well at least you're going to try. I've done my job." He smiled triumphantly and I rolled my eyes again.

"Yes, well done." I remarked as I readied myself to take off again, this time in the direction of the Cullen house.

"Wait," Edward stopped my grabbing my arm. "Let's not rush."

"Why?" I asked curiously, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"Just feel like walking." He shrugged, his face and mind were unreadable. There was nothing that jumped out at me that something was going on so I just accepted it and carried on walking.

Jake and I were joining the Cullens for lunch today. Our last lunch with the family as an unmarried couple. It was weird to think we only got engaged in March, everything was moving so fast — not that I minded. It was just after waiting for something to happen for so long it felt like it was happening all at once.

When we got to the Cullen house Esme, Carlisle, Alice and Jasper were missing. I just assumed they were out hunting before we would sit down and eat... well sit down to watch Jake and I eat. Jake's scent was fresh in the house when I arrived, and I found him sat on one of the cream couches in the den with Renesmee on his lap, they were currently playing Mario Kart on the family's Nintendo Wii.

"You got finished early." I announced myself as I entered the room. Jake immediately looked up from the game, allowing for Renesmee to surpass him and win the race.

"I win!" She beamed before sticking her tongue out at him.

"You cheated." He poked his tongue back at her before lifting her off of his lap so he could stand and approach me. "Hey, Paul took over a little earlier because he wanted to get out the house. Did you go running?" He asked, looking up and down at my attire; a sports bra and a pair of leggings.

"Yeah, just felt like it this morning." I shrugged, before leaning up onto my tiptoes to peck him on the lips. "I'm gonna go shower quick."

"Okay, I'll be waiting here with Ness." He nodded and then tapped my ass lightly before turning to go back to the couch to sit with Renesmee. I rolled my eyes at his cheekiness and then left the room to get the sweat and forest smell off of me.

* * *

"Right, they're both finished, let's go." Alice burst out, springing out of her chair, she then blurred over to the balcony closest to the dining table and swung the glass door open.

"Huh?" I spluttered, my mouth still full of my last mouthful of food.

"Go where?" Jake asked, teetering back on his chair as he looked at Alice expectantly.

"Now guys!" Alice shouted and then suddenly I was blindfolded and my ears were covered with industrial strength ear protectors.

"What's going on?" I demanded as I heard Jake begin to complain as well. Not even a second later I felt Bella's shield wrap around me and then separately around everyone else. As I was about to push through it I felt Nessie's small hot hands on my own and she flood the memories and melodies of herself and I playing the lullaby that Edward wrote for her.

Clearly there was a surprise and they didn't want me to spoil it for myself. I couldn't help the little giggle that escaped me as I realised the extremes my family would go to, to keep me happy.

Renesmee's thoughts then momentarily transferred to those of Alice and Jasper as they took each other's hands and then jumped off of the balcony to the ground below. Nessie led me outside, the breeze hit me bringing smells of pines and the dampness of an incoming storm, if I listened close enough I could hear the distant thunder rumbling across the mountains Edward and I were on this morning.

Through her thoughts Ness asked me if I was ready to jump, and then with one nod we leapt up into the air and whooshed down to floor gracefully. I pictured Jake jumping after us, he was more than capable but he lacked the same effortless grace that the rest of us did, he thumped to the ground on his heavy feet.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we began to run through the forest, at a slower pace than usual so that Jake could keep up in his human form.

"Secret." Nessie whispered to me in her special way.

We ran upriver for about a mile or two, the rushing river was so loud I could hear it through the noise cancellers and Nessie's piano playing. The ground was soft under my feet so I knew we were really close to the riverbank. Again, Ness indicated we were to make a jump again and this threw me off as we were crossing over onto Quileute land.

Once on the other side we continued into the forest until I could smell the hint of saltiness from the sea air... and then it began to mix with the smell of freshly cut wood, paint and cement. Our pace slowed and then we came to a stop when my feet hit the uneven surface of shifting gravel.

There was a faint mumbling of everyone else talking and then Nessie's hands released my own as the beautiful melodies she was relaying stopped. Bella let her shield continue its pulsing wall around me as someone removed the noise cancelling headphones. "Right, no peeking mentally. You can only look when we remove the blindfolds." Edward announced from my left.

"Can't you guys ever just walk anywhere?" Jake complained as I felt him move forward to stand beside me. I smiled to myself as I felt him take my hand in his own warm one.

"No. Stop whining." Alice quipped as she took a few steps away from us. "Now, Esme, over to you."

"Okay," I could hear the nervousness in her voice. "Carlisle and I had been going back and forth over what to get you two for your wedding present. And then one day it hit me, you guys have been talking about this for awhile now and I know it's been somewhat difficult for you to make it happen... well," I could picture her smiling at Carlisle with that familiar loving, warm smile.

"Well," Carlisle took over, his tone was somewhat giddy. What was going on? "I think it would be best of you just took off your blindfolds."

For just a moment I dropped Jacob's hand and reached behind my head to untie the thick piece of material. I blinked as the bright sunlight and my sparkling family members blurred my vision and then suddenly my eyes focused and I realised the reflective light wasn't coming from the family, but from some big glass windows that were part of an even bigger house.

"W-what?" I stuttered as I felt my mouth drop open in shock. Across the gravel driveway was the most beautiful and modern house.

The house looked like it was cut out of some celebrity magazine. It was beautiful, I could see where Esme got the inspiration from. Everything was geometric, the roof was flat for a start and the house was split into two different upper floor sections. The front door was as wide as it was tall and matched the windows that took up the entire walls on the second floor, with only polished steel beams to break them into yet more rectangles. The first floor was made out of sandstone bricks, with the majority of the front of the house made out of a massive garage and the other side leading to the front door with a slate grey concrete driveway leading towards the front of the house.

"This is yours." Carlisle said happily, a wide smile on his face. "Welcome home!" My head shot to Jake — who looked just as stunned as I felt — then back to the house and back to Carlisle again.

"This is way too much, guys." He began, his voice shaking and dazed. "We had money saved—"

"Nope. No excuses." Esme blurred forward to cover Jake's mouth with her hands.

"This is our gift to you. Use the money you saved for something worth while, like your honeymoon perhaps?" Esme offered as I still couldn't muster the force to close my gaping mouth. All I could do was blink at her. "I know you still need to book that."

"Ari, what do you think?" Rosalie asked, coming to stand next to me to hug me into her side.

"I think she's still in shock." Emmett chuckled as I struggled to form words.

"This is— I mean, how? Like—" My stuttering was becoming embarrassing. This was beyond amazing, I couldn't believe they had done this for us, my blinking became more frequent as I tried to stop the new forming tears.

"Oh, honey, don't you like it?" Esme asked with worry as she stepped in front of me to bring me into her arms.

"She's happy on the inside." I heard Edward say and I began to nod in agreement.

"This is wonderful." I began, my voice wavering as Esme stepped back so Jake could take me into his arms. "Thank you, so, so much."

"I suppose it'll take a while for me to get used to it, but man, how did you guys get away with this? It looks amazing." Jake blurted out, his eyes locked onto the dazzling house.

"Come on, let's go take a tour." Esme offered, coaxing for us to follow them towards the front of the house.

We stepped off of the light coloured gravel and onto the slate grey drive. Around edges of the drive were small, green potted plants, with buds ready to bloom any day now. "Right, so it's not completely finished, most of the furniture is in, however, you guys won't be able to move in until after your wedding." Alice explained as we reached the enormous glass front door.

Through the glass the first thing I could see was an open staircase similar to that at the Cullens'. The steps seemed to look like they were made from birch, a set went immediately up to the next floor and another went down to the basement. Almost immediately after the front door there was a small foyer for hanging coats and storing shoes and bags, a little way down the hall was the door for the garage.

Inside the garage there was space for three large cars, and along the side walls was multiple storage cupboards and along the back wall, highlighted in small spotlights was a workbench with small compartments attached to the wall stocked with tools of all shapes and sizes. From the expression on Jake's face I could already tell this would be where he'd spend most of his free time.

Back through into the hallway and towards the staircase there were no windows upon the back wall. The house was built into a hillside and from what appeared to be the first floor from the front was actually a basement from the back. To the left of the staircase was a small, quirky study filled bright colours and a beautiful view of the river. To the right of the staircase was an open plan lounging area with a small fireplace and seating area. Esme explained that this wasn't the main lounge, it was just a secondary one in case we wanted to sit down here. We could change it if thought of something else we'd like down here.

Then we continued down into the main basement and Jacob's eyes nearly fell out of his head when he took it all in. Alice and Esme has given us our very own bar, complete with multiple flat screen TVs, a pool table, a foosball table and a large seating area. I guess this made me the new pack mother... I had to expect a full house of smelly boys from now on. Luckily Esme had thought ahead and installed a shower along with a restroom down there.

Once we were finished in the basement, we went back up to the first floor and then continued onto the second floor. This floor was totally open plan, with all walls being made up of the gorgeous windows. The rooms was filled with slate greys and dreamy yellows, it had the perfect mix of modern times with slight accents that held character.

Couches lined a small coffee table at one side of the room, pointed at a grand fireplace and another flat screen TV that hung above it. The lounge area led out onto a balcony with a fire pit and lounge chairs with the most amazing view of the forest and mountains. Back behind the stairs was the most amazing kitchen, there was a long breakfast bar and elegant walnut wood cupboards and worktops and across from the breakfast bar was a large booth that sat along one of the windows, showered in comfy decorative cushions. For the more fancy dining experience we also had a large dining area on the other side of the kitchen. It matched the grey and yellow colouring but also had dimmed lighting for the more intimate nights. Jake winked at me when Alice said that.

On this floor there was also a spare bedroom in case anyone wanted to stay, it had an attached en suite and had a cute minimalistic theme. It didn't have quite as good a view of the rest of the floor but it did have a door that led out onto the fire pit balcony. It was a great place for a couple to sleep if we decided to have a few friends over for a gathering or something after the wedding.

The next floor held the master suite and yet another spare bedroom. The spare bedroom like the one downstairs had its own bathroom and the colour scheme was mostly similar, I supposed that Esme had left them for me to design as she wasn't sure what Jake and I would want to do with them. It made me a little sad as knowing the rooms would only ever be spare rooms, they would never be inhabited by tiny little versions of Jake and I.

Despite the numb sadness the rooms created, seeing Jake and I's bedroom took the thought right out of my head. I wasn't drawn to the the décor or the closest size or the massive en-suite, my eyes were locked in on the view. It was breathtaking. Absolutely stunning. The forest stretched for miles, but, in the distance, I could see the shimmering blue of the sea.

"Wow." I breathed out as I approached the glass window.

"You have your own private balcony as well." Alice announced, motioning to the door by the side of the bed... which was massive as well. She then proceeded for us to follow her out onto the balcony where there was a few more lounge chairs and a hot tub.

"Woah, you guys outdone yourselves." Jake grinned as he tried to take everything in, just like I was trying to do.

"You guys deserve it." Esme shrugged, a prideful smile on her face.

"Oh, Esme, Carlisle thank you so much." I flew at them, wrapping my arms around the couple to hug them tightly.

"It's okay sweetheart." Esme rubbed my back soothingly as she kissed the side of my head.

"We just wanted to help." Carlisle added as he then kissed me on the top of my head.

"We really appreciate it." Jake thanked them with a bright smile on his face. "How can we ever make it up to you?"

Esme released me and rushed over to hug him, her strength shining through as she pulled him down from his great height to kiss his forehead. "Hush up now, this is a gift."

"But, if you ever feel like sending us on a nice vacation in the future we wouldn't say no." Carlisle mused as he slung his arm over my shoulder.

"Carlisle!" Esme scolded.

"I was joking." Carlisle shrugged but when Esme turned back to Jake he winked at me, causing me to giggle.

"I saw that." She muttered as she released Jake and turned back to the rest of us. "Right, let's leave the new owners of this house to it. Let them explore." She announced as she began to usher everyone back inside of the house and off the balcony. "Let me know if you want anything changed."

We followed them back down to the lounging floor, Jake and I hand in hand. I was just waiting for them to leave so I could jump up into the air with ecstatic happiness. "You guys don't need to follow us all the way down, stay here for a bit and have a look around. We'll see you soon." Alice grinned at us and then winked at me. I furrowed my eyes at her and was about to ask what she meant but then she was gone, the whole family too as they just blurred out of the door.

Only when I was sure we were alone, I turned and jumped up into Jake's arms. "Oh my god!" I burst out before crashing my lips against his in a hungry, excitable kiss. He large hands held me up under my ass as he walked us further into the large room.

"I can't believe they did this for us." Jake breathed out with the biggest smile on his face as he broke our kiss.

I wiggled out of his arms and dropped back to the floor. "Like, this couldn't be anymore perfect." I twirled into the lounge area and stared out at the forest. It was so us, I loved the openness but I also loved that we were so far away from anyone else. It just looked like we had our own personal forest. "I just can't get over the view." I sighed happily.

"Yeah, neither can I." I turned to look back at Jake, his voice had dropped an octave, it was suddenly deeper and more husky. I found him looking at me and only me, his eyes focused on my face and not the view out the window.

"Please." I laughed a little giddily, how could he still make me blush like a teenager? "Stop looking at me like that." I chuckled trying to wave him off.

"Like what?" He replied with a smirk, his eyes now trailing down from my face to look at my cleavage.

I turned to face him properly but kept in my place by the window. The light was shining in around me, giving the room and Jake a honey coloured glow. He couldn't get any yummier. "With those eyes." I clarified, a smirk playing on my lips as he took a few steps closer to me. He was still in the kitchen area, in a few quick strides he'd have me up and in his arms again.

"I know you want it too." His voice sent shivers down my spine and my insides clenched as I could see him beginning to grow hard through his grey sweatpants.

"You don't wanna look around?" I teased, pretending I wasn't interested. I crossed my arms over my chest and leant back against one of the steel beams that separated the glass panels on the windows.

"Not right this moment, no, I just want you. In our house." He couldn't help but grin then, it was surreal that we had gone from not even looking at houses yet to having one built just for us. "We do need to christen it after all. I want you in everyone room. This is our home now, and we need to make it feel like home. So where you wanna do it first?" He asked me, moving closer again. He was so hard now that the fabric was straining over his crotch, my insides clenched again with delight.

"But I wanna see the house." I said innocently and his eyes grew dark with need and desire.

"Stop playing, don't think I won't do it right here." I grinned internally when I knew this wasn't going to be a slow love making session. Don't get me wrong I loved those intimate moments too, but I did like it when we got a little rough.

"I don't doubt that one bit." I teased again, unfolding my arms as I stared into his eyes.

"Is that what you want?" He stepped closer, just out of reach of me. He ran his tongue over his bottom lip, making his lips look irresistible.

Yes.

"No."

"You're lying, baby." He groaned in his sexy, husky voice. His body was on me in an instant, pushing me back against the cool steel. I gasped as he pressed his throbbing hardness against me.

"You're the biggest tease I've ever met." He groaned against my neck, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine. I moaned in response, enjoying his lips against my skin.

"I'm not that bad." I muttered breathlessly as he ground himself against me. I just hoped that this glass wall was going to be strong enough to hold us. He stepped away from my body and began to strip me down, kissing over my thighs and calves.

"You were lying, Ari, it's like, dripping down your thighs!" He said in a lusty, hungry voice, his eyes wide in adoration as he looked back up at me. He began to kiss over my thighs again, back up to pussy and kissed it through my underwear. I moaned, letting my hands find his hair so I could run my fingers through it, he growled deeply and then hooked his fingers under the waistband of my panties and ripped them from my body.

"Jake!" I half-heartedly complained but shut right up when he ran his hand down my leg and lifted it, placing my foot on his shoulder.

He leant forward and ran his tongue over me, then again, the tip of his tongue sliding through my lips the slightest bit. I moaned out, pulling a little tighter on his hair. He licked his lips again as he ran his finger over my clit. As he continued his movements by making little circles over my centre I became a moaning mess.

"God, I love the noises you make." He whispered before placing his lips against me again to finally push me over the edge.

"Shit," I sighed contently as he slowly placed my foot back on the ground and stood up to his full height to remove my top and lacy bra. My hands go straight to the bottom of his shirt so I can pull it up and over his head before sliding his sweats and boxers down his legs.

In lightening fast move, he pulled me up from the floor as up into his arms, my legs wrapped around his waist. He turned away from the window and carried me into the kitchen area as I caressed every inch of his skin I could reach. He laid me down across the island in the centre of the kitchen and leaned over me to kiss his way up my body. He sucked one of my nipples into his mouth, making my back arch up off of the work surface.

Jake ran one hand down my leg, fitting himself between my legs that were hanging over the edge of he island. I felt a little more turned at realising he was tall enough to fuck me whilst standing at his full height. I knew that I had always like tall guys, and Jake had brought that to a whole new level, but the fact that we could do this from such a high surface made it even more exciting.

He reached between us to grab his length; I watched with desire filled eyes as he ran the tip over my clit, another moan breaking out from my throat. He teased me with entering his tip into me but I too control of that by wrapping my legs around his waist to force him into me deeper, a groan eliciting from his lips.

His thrusts start a rhythmic place, his lips peppering kisses across my neck and chest. "More, Jake." I groaned out, digging my nails into his back.

"If you say so baby." He smirked before he swung me up back into his arms and carried me back to the lounge before taking a seat in one of the arm chairs. With us still joined he leaned forward and whispered into my ear. "Make it your own, Ari."

I moved closer, bracing myself on his shoulders as I lifted myself and then slowly brought myself back down again. He groaned out loudly in pleasure, his head falling back against the chair. As I began to quicken my pace, Jake bright his hand up to caress my cheek. "I love you." I whispered as I leaned down to capture his lips with my own.

"Fuck, I love you too, Aria, I'm gonna cum." He said quickly as I rode him even faster. Just hearing him moan was enough to drive me on.

"Me too." I panted, digging my nails into his shoulders.

His hands moved from my hand and face to grip my hips and lift me away from his own. He then began to thrust up into me from below, going so hard I thought I could see stars. I screamed out, reaching my release for the second time as he filled me over and over again before reaching his own climax. "Fuck!" He moaned out as he emptied his release inside of me.

We sat there staring into each other's eyes for a few moments before it dawned on me. Alice has winked at me because she knew what Jake was deciding to do.

"What are you smiling at?" Jake asked as he stood us both up and walked us to nearest bathroom.

"Nothing." I waved him off with a shake of my head.

"Oh, well anyway, welcome home baby." He kissed the tip of my nose as he placed me on the counter in the bathroom.

"Welcome home to you too." I smiled up at him, one of my hands placed against his chest, the other playing with his hair.

I pulled him down so I could savour this moment with a kiss. It wasn't a sexual kiss like before, it was sensual, romantic and intimate. We finally had our first ever house — now christened house — it was like all the little stepping stones were falling into place ready for us to start our lives together.

We only had one last step to take, and that was our wedding. In just eleven days time I would finally become Aria Marie Black, and I couldn't be more excited.

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