herumtreiber

Title: Accompanied sonata - 17
Author:

herumtreiber
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: A bit of angst
Characters: Edward/Jacob
Chapter length: ~4,230 words
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. I don't make any money from this writing.
Summary: After the events of Eclipse, Edward mulls over his upcoming marriage. A relationship slowly develops between him and Jake. They face opposition from the pack and some members of Edward's family. What will happen to Bella and how will the Volturi react?

Table of contents

Chapter sixteen

"Who was that man?"

I grabbed Alice's leather jacket. I needed answers from her. The man with the red eyes had been a vampire, and he might have had something to do with her attitude towards my wolf. Alice was strictly for Bella and against Jake, and the way she blithely disregarded my preferences was extremely frustrating.

"Who do you mean?" She shied away, evading looking into my eyes, which told me it was someone important.

"Alice, you just remembered a man - a vampire judging from his eyes - visiting you in the asylum. Tell me, who was he?"

She shuddered and took a step back. "It must have been a dream you saw in my mind, Edward. That time was full of nightmares!"

Her gaze slid to the plasma screen and she tugged the hem of her jacket. "When I was trapped there, I wanted to remember my past so much! After the treatments wreaked havoc with my brain, I started hallucinating you know."

She wrapped her arms around her thin waist, rocking back and forth, a motion that mimicked the ones she remembered from those times. Sighing, I motioned for her to continue.

"When you add my power into the mix, you'll realize I was plunged into chaos. I've wanted to remember my past so much!" She gulped and walked to the couch, grabbing the remote and turning off the TV just after Bogart said, 'You're a good man, sister.'

I frowned while I tried to read her thoughts but it was in vain. Alice appeared determined to evade the topic. She was visualizing the new Fall collection. It was a habit she had developed when she didn't want me prying into her thoughts. Knowing my dislike of her fashion-obsessed mind, she would dwell in those boring details for hours or until I ceased reading her thoughts.

Completely fed up with her tricks, I stormed out of the house and hopped into my car. Toying with the keys, I debated whether to drive into the Reservation and gaze at my sleeping wolf, but I knew I couldn't anger the council by disobeying their strictures. I didn't want to put Leah in trouble when she had been so thoughtful as to provide me with access to my wolf.

I smiled tenderly when I remembered Jake's slim flanks wrapped in the sheet, his eyes closed in repose as his chest heaved with the sureness of his breathing. I treasured this image of Jake, sleeping innocently in his bed.

I stepped out of the car and closed the door with a loud thud. My gaze drifted to the trees around the house and the moon that hung high over the horizon. I felt strangely restless, just like that night - which seemed so long ago - when I had run to free my mind of worries about the upcoming wedding and met Jake, who had obsessed me for a while. On a whim, I ran to the forest, just like I did then.

While I sidestepped a big boulder and landed on an upturned tree, I recalled my meeting with Jake when everything started and the way things had seemed to flow so easily between us. I shook my head, recognizing we both acted on the feelings we'd been harboring for a while. Honestly, I hadn't forgotten Arthur nor would I ever do. And Jake had once looked at Paul with lust, not like a simple pack brother.

The fights we had, I had come to realize, were fueled by more complex feelings than the desire to attract Bella's attention.

oOoOo

I rushed through the forest, the pines and firs a blur on my peripheral vision until I reached a clearing. I sat down on a felled tree and gazed up at the distant moon. So heavy and majestic was she, and lonely like me.

Breathing deeply the night air while I listened to the tell-tale scurrying sounds of the night life, I was reminded that this was Jake's land. This was territory he would not willingly give up for long, even if he yearned to visit faraway places. Grabbing a handful of soft loam, I smiled fondly, imagining the Quileute as the Alpha of his pack, barking orders left and right.

A wave of longing came to my mind. The texture of the thoughts made me think for a second it was my wolf but then I realized it was someone else; a person close to Jake, a pack member.

The rumbling earth betrayed the wolf's approach. I turned to the north and saw the wolf advancing towards me with sure strides. His tongue lolling, Quill nodded at me.

'Strange meeting you here, Cullen.'

"Likewise, Quil. I was restless tonight."

'Heard Leah got you permission to visit the Rez.'

"I've just come from there." I grimaced, remembering the words of Jake's father. "Billy told me I couldn't stay past midnight."

'Like Sleeping Beauty, huh?' Quill shook his head, his chocolate-colored shanks dark by the light of the moon. The wolf sat down on his haunches.

'Wait, that's Cinderella, right? Sorry, can't keep them straight. I've gotta know them well so I can read them to Claire later on.'

Quil lifted his muzzle at the sky. The wolf inside him was tempted to howl at the moon to express his love but he refrained to spare my sensibilities, which I appreciated.

There was a deep sense of contentment in Quil's mind as he visualized the girl he had imprinted on. His feelings were a mix of fierce protectiveness and respect as he imagined Claire and his future with her. He loved her with such utter devotion, it took my breath away.

Quil's thoughts dwelled on the occasion when he imprinted, recalling vividly the feeling he had been transported out of this world, to a place where gravity was meaningless and simple worries did not apply. He was content to wait eternally for his love to come to fruition. Such complete love would have escaped my comprehension a few months back but now I understood him well, for I loved Jake the same way.

I looked down at the ground. Until that moment I had not appreciated fully the force of the imprint. Recalling Billy's words about Jake half-imprinting on Bella and me, I wished my wolf could enjoy such utter love as Quil felt. I knew that Jake loved me, but if he wouldn't imprint on me or anyone else he'd be lonely.

Just as forlorn as me, away from my wolf in this night of the full moon. Just as lonely as I felt while I listened in on the love that Quil felt so deeply for Claire. I was condemned to be privy to other people's secrets, relentlessly reading their thoughts. No one would ever know what I felt deep inside. Of course, Jake knew me very well and even then, his love enveloped in a warm cocoon which shielded me from despair. And yet my wolf would never know my innermost thoughts. As I had been ever since I died and became aware of my second, undead life, I was condemned to live my life in solitude.

Playing the piano fit me so well. I was a solo player despite Rosalie's help in scoring Jake's song. My life was like an unaccompanied sonata, because not even Jake could listen in on my thoughts.

It was a sobering reflection and it must have affected Quil too. The wolf walked towards me, nudging my shoulder with his big muzzle.

Without another word voiced in his mind, the big wolf stood there, accompanying me for a while. My mind meandered down my memories and I was afraid I lost track of the time. I visualized Arthur's face as he greeted me in Alaska, a moment that was irretrievably lost to me.

Quil howled once in farewell and left me to complete his patrol. I half-heartedly waved my hand at him and returned to my thoughts. Melancholy enveloped me so much; I didn't even notice the light of the dawn casting long shadows on the tall grass.

I stared mesmerized at the tall grass until warm thoughts betrayed the presence of a visitor. I smiled at the fact that the wolf walked very carefully but his great weight disturbed the wildflowers. His thoughts, so carefully shielded to keep his presence secret, still leaked.

"I didn't know you had patrol, pup."

Jake walked towards me and lifted his front paw to ruffle my hair softly. 'Fixed it with Leah. I woke up and you weren't there. Felt a bit lonely.'

I shook my head and grabbed his paw, softly rubbing his pads. "You don't have to lie, Jake. I saw in your mind that Quil called you on the phone."

The wolf took back his paw and shifted. I picked a wildflower and then turned my face to look at his body but the wily pup was faster. He had put on his cutoff jeans before I could gaze at his soft cock.

Jake sat beside me, his hand wrapping around my neck. "Well, he was right you know. When my lover is sad, what am I supposed to do?"

He turned my head and stared at my face, reading it for any signs of sorrow. "Just walk away? No way, man!"

Jake leaned forward, rubbing his nose against my cheek as he inhaled my scent. It was still a bit uncomfortable for him because it affected his wolf, but he treasured the distinctiveness.

"What's wrong, quo pat?" said Jacob softly, continuing in his mind, 'Kwó pkalawoli.'

I grabbed his hand and kissed the palm. "Love, you should finish. I can read your thoughts."

Jake kissed me, his lips nibbling on mine as if he wanted the moment to last forever but was unable to. He looked deep into my eyes, and I was surprised to see how liquid his dark eyes were. He was holding back tears.

He said in a raspy voice, "I don't want to say it because I've said it before, and Bella didn't love me back. She left me for you and broke my heart." Cupping my cheeks, he whispered, "It was you, Edward, who made me whole again."

Jake angrily swiped his cheek with his thumb to wipe the lonely tear that made its way down. "Don't want to jinx what we have by saying it again, and then watch you leaving me. Couldn't bear that, as I told you."

Looking into his eyes, I whispered hoarsely, "I'll never do that."

I understood how much it took for Jake to bare his feelings. The fact that Bella had left him for me still hurt him. If Billy was right, it affected deeply that part of the wolf which considered both of us his imprints; that sliver of Jake's soul that waited for the child that would never come.

He gently turned my face towards the rising sun and laid his cheek next to mine. I felt the wet teardrop that shared its brief existence between our skins as Jake pointed at the sun.

"Do you see that?" His hand beat against his chest, and then he put his palm against my shirt, right where my unbeating heart was.

"To me you are the rising sun, Sunquima."

'My hope,' Jake whispered in his mind as he looked at me with love shining in his eyes. "Never doubt it."

He pushed me against the tall grass, kissing me with a predatory and all-consuming hunger. It was an assertive wolf gesture, an Alpha kiss that made me shiver in want and need, forgetting my doubts. And yet, baring his feelings and opening up made Jake feel vulnerable and needy.

In his mind the wolf was picturing the time we spent in Seattle and how wanton and free he felt. His cock grew under my body as he wrestled me to the ground and embraced me; his strong, warm arms holding me tight as he made me feel loved and cherished.

Jake broke the kiss. He looked at me with intense dark eyes, panting; the bulge in his jeans unmistakably.

My hand slid down the planes of his smooth cheeks to his neck, toying briefly with the Walkman he had tied around it. I twisted his nipple between my thumb and index finger, enjoying the moan that escaped his lips and the thrusting of his hips. Caressing his sculpted abdomen, I lifted my eyebrows. "Do you want to make love?"

Jake shook his head. "We don't have to, Edward." He clutched me tighter and nuzzled his face against my neck. "We have time. This moment… it is yours. Don't feel pressured, man."

"But you're horny."

"Sure, man, sure. But I can wait."

"I'm sorry, Jake." I kissed his russet neck, licking a path down to his shoulder blades. "I know it must be hard for you, dealing with my anguish."

"Hey, if I dealt with Bella when she was in a funk, I can sure deal with you." Jake laughed and his rich, unadulterated expression of joy made me smile.

My gaze strayed to the black Walkman and I frowned. "You've heard your song?"

Jake shrugged guiltily. "I'm waiting for the right moment, want it to be special. I know how much you effort you put into it, though I may not say it out loud, man."

Jacob smiled while his mind continued, 'I just want the perfect moment to hear it.'

My finger traced the chiseled chin of my stubborn wolf as I leaned down to kiss his lips. "I'm worried that you haven't. Please do it soon, mutt, I couldn't bear to lose you."

"You won't."

We stayed like that for a while, I was safe wrapped in his arms. The shadows on the grass moved slowly until I felt Jake squirming under me.

Reading his thoughts, I smiled and rolled to the side, pointing to the tree.

"Do your business, Jake."

The wolf stood up, his knees creaking while he sauntered to the bushes. He flashed me a smile, "Don't go, we still have a few minutes until I return to the Rez."

oOoOo

He came back, closing his zipper and smiling apologetically at me; but then he stood still and sniffed.

I didn't need to read his mind to know someone was approaching. The chaotic jumble of my siblings' minds was very worrying. Alice's thoughts were almost incomprehensible while Rosalie and Jasper's were filled with quiet determination. Emmett felt like a coiled spring, ready for action.

"What's going on?" said Jake, standing beside me and frowning at my siblings, who glided upon the grass like a summer mirage in the desert.

Alice reached us first. She grabbed my hand while she babbled, "I didn't see it until a few minutes ago. Wanted to reach you but didn't know where you were. The damned wolf shielded you from my sight! That's why I don't want you to… it's all hell! Promise me you'll…"

I placed my finger on her lips and turned to look at Rosalie and Jasper. "Can anyone tell me what's going on?"

Rosalie shuddered minutely. "Alice told us something. You're not going to believe it. Thankfully Jasper has Seth's phone and we called him. Turned out Quil was there and told us you two were here."

She visibly calmed down as Jasper's power soothed our emotions. I shuddered; if Jazz felt he had to do that, it could only mean Alice brought dire news indeed.

Jasper tightly held Alice's shoulder and smiled at Jake. "Seth and Quil are coming here. Don't worry; together we'll plan what to do."

He gently nudged Alice. "Tell him, sweetheart."

My sister took a deep breath and rushed her words. "I had a vision. Edward, you should have taken care that no one saw you when you and…" She trailed off while she glared at Jacob. "The wolf rescued Bella!"

Jake growled, "What do you mean, pixie? We had to save her, the thought of her being in prison." He stopped and punched his right palm with his fist. "Anyway, there was no one; the crossing was free of cars."

"Jacob is right." I squeezed my wolf's shoulder, needing the assurance of his presence because Alice's ominous words didn't portend anything good.

Alice crossed her arms. Even through Jasper's blanket of calming thoughts, she couldn't recover her poise.

"Then how come this will happen?" She lifted her eyebrows at me, inviting me to read her thoughts.

In a flurry of images, I saw a man watching a monitor. The wall in front of the bearded man was filled with screens showing street scenes around Forks. I failed to see what was interesting in that which had Alice so overwrought.

The man shook his head and apparently made a decision; he opened a drawer and took out a DVD. Shrugging, he put it on the tray of the desktop and closed it with his fingertips.

The pot-bellied man took out a sandwich from the drawer and started eating while his gaze slid across the monitors. From an overhead vantage point, I saw Jacob and myself running in a blur. A few moments later Jake shifted into a wolf onscreen, followed by Leah. The two of them, joined by me, crashed against the side of Bella's Mercedes and changed its direction so the crash with the minivan was averted.

The man opened his mouth in disbelief as pieces of bread fell to the floor. He rubbed his eyes in astonishment. His fingers fumbled with the keyboard until he hit the rewind key. The scene moved backwards and it played again and again. Finally, he was forced to acknowledge the truth and took out his phone from his shirt pocket, making a call.

I left this particular moment in her vision and rushed forward in time. Continuing Alice's premonition, I saw an older woman sitting on a lounge chair. I recognized the view from the Seattle airport. She was talking with a friend until the other woman nudged her elbow, her jaw hanging open. The middle-aged woman turned to the monitor overhead and watched in the news a replay of the scene I had just seen.

The text strip at the bottom of the screen read, 'In a strange incident in Forks, an enormous wolf and an incredibly fast man made news nationwide. Watching the footage, local authorities contacted the FBI asking for reinforcements. More to follow.'

The inexorable vision shifted forward in time. I saw myself, bound in shackles, fighting the hold of several state troopers as Jake was led to a helicopter.

I plopped down on the grass, pulling my hair in despair. Would I lose Jacob? How the hell did this happen?

Remembering the crash, I tried to recall the scene. Jake and I had run through the street but there had been no cameras!

Unless… I visualized the bird's eye view on the monitor the man was watching, and I remembered the strange shape in the traffic light above the black Mercedes. So the damned camera had been there all along!

"Edward, please tell me what's going on! You're scaring me!" Jake's warmth over my shoulder and his worried voice brought me back to the present.

"Alice had a vision, they filmed us, Jake! A supervisor will watch the moment when you and I rescued Bella. He will alert the police, damn it! They'll even broadcast it!"

Jake shook my shoulders. "We've got to stop it! Surely the pixie knows when it'll happen?"

Turning to look at my sister, I said, "When, Alice?"

She shrugged exasperatedly. "The premonition just came to me! The man must have made the decision to watch the DVDs today. We rushed here to meet you. In the vision? Did you the man was eating a sandwich? The taskbar on the monitor said 12.10 pm. It's today!"

Jasper grasped her shoulders gently. "It's morning. We have time enough, if we can discover where it'll happen."

Alice hugged herself as she cried out, "That's the problem, Jasper! I don't know!"

Jake looked at the trees east of us and waved his arms. "Over here, guys!"

Two wolves approached, silhouetted by the glare of sun. They paused for a moment while they hid behind a tall cedar. Then Seth and Quil strolled towards us.

"What happened, Jake?" Seth said, nodding to me and my siblings. "Jazz said it was urgent."

While my wolf told his pack mates, I fidgeted as I tried to remember Alice's vision. The monitor room was nondescript and functional; there was nothing that could tell me where it was. I paced back and forth as I recalled the man pulling his sandwich from the drawer. I couldn't tell where the damned room was!

"So you see, we've got to stop that man from watching!" Jake finished.

"Wait a sec." Quil frowned, nudging Seth's shoulder. "Didn't your mother say something about that, Seth?"

"When?"

"Embry and I were there. It was when your sister called us to set up the patrol schedule."

"Yeah, Leah really tore you up good. She was angry that day."

"Your mother said something to us?" Quil puzzled his eyebrows in thought. "I don't remember. Leah was really mad."

"Mom said you should be careful when you drive." Seth bit his lips and furrowed his brows. "Chief Swan told her about the new traffic cameras."

"Mom heard about them." Quil added. "There are a few; they want to test them before they put them all over."

Jake went to them and put his hand on Seth's shoulder. "Did she mention a monitoring place or something like that?"

"Lemme think."

"Concentrate, Seth." Jake said, squeezing the Quileute boy's shoulder.

But it was Quil who spoke up. "I think I know where it is."

"You sure?"

Quil nodded earnestly. "Went to Forks one day. There's a baby store on Rankin Road, you know?"

Jake said gently, "And?"

"Went to buy stuff for Claire." Quil paused for a second. "On the building across the street? They were laying cables and stuff. A moving van was parked on the curb. Didn't pay that much attention because I was late for patrol, but I saw it was full of computers and cables."

I held up my hands. "Fine. This is what we'll do."

Quil had imagined vividly the building, and I was sure I could find it again. I pointed at Rosalie and then to Jake. "We'll go there in Rose's car."

Waving at Emmett and Jasper, I said, "You and Alice will be our backup. I trust we will convince the man, but if we can't, I want any overhead cable that leads out of the building cut out."

"Got it, Edward." Jasper smiled reassuringly. "I see you're not taking any chances."

Jake patted my shoulder. "I like the way you think, Cullen."

Seth scowled at me. "What about us?"

"You'll stand guard. I also want you to find out if there are any satellite dishes. If so, you know what to do."

Seth rubbed his hands. "Disable them."

"Right, Seth." Jake turned to the forest. "Where's your car, Edward?"

oOoOo

Armed with Quil's knowledge and Alice's vision, we made our way to the building. I rushed through the traffic, concentrating on reading the thoughts of any police officers on the way.

I found the building and parked the car. Rosalie grabbed Jake's arm and mine as we walked inside while she made small talk, intending to convey the impression of high school students visiting a friend.

We found the room. It was just like Alice's premonition, with a deadly difference.

The pot-bellied man was sprawled across the desk, dead. The lingering scent in the air told us this was no ordinary murder.

"Damn!" Jake checked the man's pulse, his thoughts roiling in turmoil. "A fucking vampire killed him! How could they pass through our borders?"

I caressed his shoulder, muttering, "It wasn't your fault, Jake. We'll get them!"

Rosalie keenly watched the room. Everything was in order; there was no sign of struggle. The monitors still showed traffic scenes, but the drawer was ajar and some disks lay on the floor, near the man's chair. She picked them up.

I shook my head. "This looks too neat."

I pulled open the other drawers and took out the stacks of DVDs. "Just in case, we'll take these."

Rosalie went to the shelf on the wall and started looking for more discs. "Something tells me whoever killed him took the DVD we're looking for."

Jake sniffed the air; the scent was tantalizing to him. It was a vampire he hadn't smelled before. "Who was it? Doesn't look like a newborn did it, or a crazed bloodsucker like the redhead."

As Jake meticulously opened drawers and I carefully ruffled through the room, to make sure there were no other discs laying around, I voiced my worries. "You're right, Jake. This was no ordinary vampire; I think it was someone with a special power."

Rosalie turned to look at me, hefting three discs. "You mean-"

I nodded. "The Volturi were here."

Chapter eighteen