By the Light of the Moon I Will Always Love You

“Try Alice,” Jasper pleaded, “Again, just one more time…please find her!”

A pained look came across Alice’s face as she looked at her husband, whose loss of Ariel was so clear in his hurt, golden eyes.

“I have Jasper, I’ve tried and tried, I simply can’t find her. She must be with the werewolves…she has to be in La Push."

Jaspers’ mouth twisted and he got up. He had been searching non stop for Ariel over the last two weeks, but with the fresh torrent of rain almost every night her scent had been washed clear of the trees and no footprint, animal or human could be found. She’d simply disappeared.

Jasper knew his pain of losing Ariel was derived from his pain of never seeing his little sisters back home grow up. He’d grown to love her like a sister and at the moment she needed his protection against Edward he’d failed her.

She was part of his family now. Part of his heart and if Edward couldn’t deal with that, he had Jasper to answer to…

Getting up from where he had been kneeling in front of Alice, Jasper set out the front door. Alice followed,

“Jazz, where are you going?”

He looked back at her, “To find Jacob Black.”

~

Jacob stared glumly out the window and finally unable to stand the death like silence of his small empty house, shifted not even caring as his good shorts ripped to pieces.

He trotted into the forest, looking for the other and tried to stop thinking about Ariel.

She was a vampire! A fully changed, undead vampire….. At least Renesmee had some humanity in her, at least her heart still contained a beat. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before, he couldn’t believe he had been so stupid. He had been blinded by his own imprint, he believed that nothing could be wrong with her…yet everything was wrong with her.

She was his imprint but how could he love her now?

He should have known she was simply too perfect to be true. But she had been different from any other girl he’d ever known, be it human, vampire or werewolf…she was simply Ariel…but he had to stop thinking about her like that and face the facts that she was a rotten bloodsucker.

His thoughts were interrupted by a shout in his head that belonged to Sam,

“Vampires on the border. Jacob, Seth…check it out.”

Jacob set off at a gallop. Who could it be? The Cullens or enemies? The last thing he needed right now was another stupid vampire.

Seth reached them first and his thoughts instantly relaxed Jacob,

“It’s only Jasper and Alice.”

Seth’s thoughts cut off then as he shifted and Jacob soon reached the edge of the thick forest where a bare-chested Seth could be seen talking to two beautiful pale people, that, with a painful twinge reminded Jacob strongly of Ariel.

He stopped beside Seth, his tongue lolling slightly in his mouth as he panted, not feeling comfortable enough to shift naked in front of Alice’s curious gold eyes and he remained in wolf form.

“They’re here about Ariel,” Seth informed Jacob gently.

Jake let out an involuntary growl but stopped as Jasper looked at him, sending Jacob a wave of calm.

“You know Ariel?” Seth questioned their Fork neighbours.

Jasper sighed, “Yes…she was staying with us.”

Jacob stiffened in shock but then Seth tugged out a folded pair of soft cotton shorts from his pocket, handing them to Jacob.

He grinned “I always carry around spares” as Jacob took them softly in his mouth and ran into the trees, minutes later emerging as a muscular boy.

“She was staying with you! The Cullens!”

“Yes…but Edward and Rosalie…They scared her off when they found out her vampire gift”

Jacob raised an eyebrow

“Shape shifting into a wolf” Jasper finished

Jacob suddenly felt an overload of guilt drop down onto his shoulders. The Cullens had been Ariel’s family; the family that hadn’t wanted her. They had turned their backs on her for being a shape shifter just as he had abandoned her for being a vampire. It appeared she couldn’t fit in anywhere no matter how hard she tried; he started to understand why she hadn’t told him her immortal secret. She was completely isolated and Jacob was now part of the reason for that. He gulped back tears.

“Where is she now?” Alice asked Seth; worry laced into her sweet voice.

Seth sighed, “She was staying with Jake and Billy for a few weeks but then Sam found out she was a vampire and well…”

“You didn’t want anything to do with her,” Jasper finished.

He looked at Jacob, who tried to avoid his penetrating golden stare, “You’ve no idea where she went? We need to find her. She needs to be safe…she needs to be somewhere she can’t be found!”

Jacob looked up then, “What do you mean?”

Alice spoke up, “If the Volturi find her…they’ll kill her.”

~

Saying goodbye to Seth and Jacob, the immortal couple turned for home, running as fast as the wind itself.

Alice stopped, causing Jasper to skid to a halt. Her eyes were wide and haunting; she was having a vision.

After a brief moment of an unseeing stare, Alice gasped and turned to Jasper,

“I found her…she was running and running and crying! She kept switching forms, disappearing amongst trees and shrubbery. I think she’s heading for Canada…but she’s stopped near the border to rest.”

Jasper grabbed Alice’s hands, “Let’s go.”

With their supernatural speed and their doubled determination to find their friend, it took the pair at least three hours to find the spot identical to Alice’s vision. They reached a small cliff, next to a glistening blue lake and Jasper walked along the rocky wall, running his hand over the rough surface searching for an entrance, finding it within minutes…

Stooping into the small cave entrance hidden by a covering of ivy and vines, he looked around letting his night vision eyes sweep the small cavern falling on a huddled white wolf in the corner.

She stared blankly at Jasper for a moment before resting her muzzle back onto her grimy paws. Unlike the last time Jasper had seen her in animal form, Ariel was filthy, her furry coat was unkempt and caked in dried mud and he sighed sadly at the sight of the heartbroken female.

He knelt down, not moving an inch as Ariel shifted closer to the wall, attempting to get away from Jasper, turning her magnificent, proud head away from him, refusing to look at her brother.

Carefully, he laid a tender hand on her soft back, feeling the muscles tense under his touch,

“I’m sorry Ariel,” He whispered “I’m so sorry.”

Ariel didn’t move but her ear flickered slightly, betraying the fact she was listening to him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t keep you safe. I should have protected you better. Forgive me.”

If Jasper could cry, tears would be running down his face at the distressed whimper that escaped Ariel’s mouth.

“Come home sister…I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”

She turned her head to look at him, her magical silver eyes full of questions.

He held out his arms, “Come home.”

Within an instant, the wolf melted away and a fragile, sobbing girl collapsed into her big brothers arms and he held her as she cried.

He rocked her back and forth, not even glancing up as Alice entered the cave, to sit down beside him and help comfort Ariel. He held the little sister he had finally found again.