"Alright. Enough is enough, time to get your ass out of bed."

Haven felt the need to roll her eyes at the sound of her mother's voice, the woman had been on her case for the past few days and Haven was just about ready to ram her head against a wall. All she wanted to do was wallow in her own self pity, ever since the training session in the forest where she nearly killed Edward, Haven had been like this.

She didn't dignify Casey Eldridge with a response, hoping that if she simply ignored her mother she would poof away from her. But Haven should have known better, she got her strong will from one of her parents and it was most definitely not her father.

"Who would have thought that I would raise a moping child? If your father was here he would be shoving you out of bed and into the big bad world." Casey sat down on the edge of her daughter's bed, both sympathy and slight anger whirling through her head at the predicament she was put in.

It had been around three days since the training session and three days since Haven lost her cool unwillingly, again. After that, Haven had barely talked to anyone. Jacob came around, but the brunette didn't want to see him. Bella did the same but was met with the same fate as the huntress' boyfriend.

Casey was worried, as any parent would be. She wished that Chris was there to help, he would have known the right things to say to reassure his daughter and would have fixed the situation in no time. Casey wasn't him though and she didn't have the magic ability of a strong, convincing voice. It was odd to the woman that she had been hunting werewolves for years and knew her way around a crossbow like no other, but couldn't even motivate her broken teenage daughter to get out of bed.

"Look, Haven. I can't imagine what you are going through. Control is something that we value as hunters, and the loss of that-" Casey paused, not sure how to approach what was happening, especially because it was something she couldn't relate to. "Must be the hardest thing. But you're my daughter and you're strong. We can figure something out."

Haven abruptly sat up from her cocoon of bed sheets. "Why does everyone say that? That I'm strong?" The brunette lost track of the amount of times her parents, Jacob, Bella and even the Cullen's had used that adjective to describe her. It made no sense to Haven - especially because she felt anything but strong right now. The world felt like it was crumbling around her and she saw no way out. "I don't feel strong, Mom. I only feel like a failure."

Those words felt like they stabbed Casey in the gut. Any parent never wants to see their child in pain and upset, especially when it was out of their control. But essentially, this was her and Chris' fault. Haven didn't chose to be born into this family who were involved with a possessive vampire clan, it wasn't her burden to bear and yet she was doing it, more than both Casey and Chris combined.

"Hey," Casey grabbed her daughter's face in her hands, thumbs smoothing over her cheekbones affectionately. "You are not a failure. I have met a lot of hunters in my time who claim to be brave and selfless, who say they want to help people and make a change. It wasn't until I have seen you grow up that I have actually seen those qualities come to life."

Haven didn't stop the tears from escaping her coffee colored eyes, opening herself up fully to every emotion flowing through her brain.

"You are everything a mother wants to see in a daughter. You have never failed me, or your father and you never will. You're the epitome of a huntress and I couldn't be more proud to say that I had a hand in creating you." Casey knew that tears had also started to run down her cheekbones, both Eldridge girls letting guards down that they kept up around other people - guards they kept us to keep them safe.

Casey wasn't done however, putting her heart on the line wasn't something she did often and now that a crack had opened it was all to be let loose. "I don't think you realize the impact you have had on how your father and I's work. When we arrived in Forks it was to hunt the werewolves and vampires out of the town, although both of us are retired we were to train you to do it. You didn't let us though, you chose your own path and chose the way you wanted to live - not the way that your ancestors have lived for centuries. In turn, your stubbornness and passion for protecting humans and not harming people just because of their kind has changed the way we look at things. You have united us, Haven. The Eldridge's now work for themselves, not anyone else. That was all you.

"And I hate what Aro is doing to you. That bastard is using you as a pawn in his game that you don't even want to play - you of all people don't deserve that, Haven." Casey had moved to the side of Haven, pulling the teen into her arms so they were both resting against the headboard.

"You know what they say," Haven finally spoke, feeling a lot more confident than before this talk. The words her mother had spoken seemed to have a power over Haven, the approval coming through meant more to her than she could ever express. "It's always the strongest people who get the hardest battles."

No statement could have summed up Haven's life better than that. She knew she was strong, people told her everyday, but she believed it was all the experiences and challenges she had faced in her short eighteen years of life that made her that way.

"What if he has truly broken me, Mom?" Haven's voice quivered, her cheeks sticky with dried tears that had pooled out of her eyes - which now held a glistening light. "Maybe that was Aro's plan all along, to make me feel like I had no control so that I give up entirely."

"Hey, I will not let this be your ending, Haven. You understand me? We are going to fix this. Somehow."

Haven felt her body surge with power at the uplifting words of her mother, like her mind was truly starting to believe that this wasn't the end of how she would live. She could get through this, and she may have an idea of how to actually do it.

---     

It had been a long time since Haven held her bow in hand.

The sleek metal feel almost melted in to her skin, feeling so comfortable there that it would seem weird to anyone who didn't know about her world. It was her favorite weapon, the one that she would prefer to use if given the chance. Of course, she was trained in many others and her parents always encouraged her to switch it up so that she was able to change weapons if need be and still be able to defend herself.

She was anxious to be behind something that had the power to kill though, ever since her last outburst at the training session Haven had decided that she had had enough. Everything going on was too much, she had lost all control and she needed to do something about it.

Sunlight warmed the back of the huntress' neck, her backyard seemed to be glowing from the sun's rays. Haven aimlessly fired a few standard arrows into the tree trunk, all landing relatively close to one another even though the brunette was barely giving the actions a second thought. Not only was the weapon her preferred, it was also the one she was the most skilled with.

"Back in the forest when you fired your first arrow I knew you had a knack for it, clearly my hunch was more than right."

Jacob watched his girlfriend cautiously, not entirely sure what to do. He didn't want to treat her like she was fragile, because he knew that was something she detested immensely, but he felt it was appropriate. So much had happened and Jacob couldn't do a thing to fix it - something that he felt a great pull to do.

"You came." Haven turned to see the familiar werewolf, Jacob looking as he usually did; so beautiful that it wasn't fair. Her heart warmed at seeing the boy, needing nothing more than his comfort right now - Haven just wished she realized that before she wasted nearly three days ignoring him in bed.

"Of course I did," Jacob took a hesitant step towards the brunette. She had texted him only twenty minutes ago and Jacob didn't think he could have made his way here any faster. After three days of silence the simple message saying for him to come over was music to his ears, hopefully meaning he could stop worrying about the huntress' wellbeing. "I'll always be here when you need me."

A bubble of nerves fluttered inside Haven's abdomen at the words she was planning on saying. She had come up with a strategy to herself last night, knowing hopefully a way that she can begin to tackle and control the feelings Aro was able to push on to her. She needed to get a grip on Aro's control over her, the unprovoked attacks had gone on too long and Haven knew she was so close to hurting someone she cared about.

Jacob hadn't even meant to move so close to her but his instincts got the better of him. His body swiftly moved to her side, hands finding Haven's easily. She was nervous, that much was clear and the werewolf wanted to do anything he could to help. "You okay?"

"Getting there," Haven answered honestly knowing that okay was definitely not a word to describe her right now. "But I think I know a way to control everything Aro is doing to me."

Jacob's face lit up eagerly. "What is it?"

Haven let out a short laugh, her hand clenching Jacob's tightly. "It's actually a pretty simple thing, something that my dad mentioned once. It's to focus on one feeling, so that I can keep the other ones from boiling over."

She let out a breath, knowing that although she was anxious to say the words, they were going to feel more than right coming out of her mouth. "Back when I was in Volterra, Aro was testing how I would react when he sent feelings of anger into my body. Obviously it was a new thing for me, maybe even hurt a little. As soon as I got angry, my dad told me to focus on one feeling so that I could maintain control. That feeling, was how I felt around you."

This was not what Jacob had expected to hear. He was immediately angry at first, hating anytime her situation was brought up with the Volturi as the boy knew he had let his girlfriend slip out of his fingers and that he had failed in keeping her safe. But the majority of his body felt like it was on cloud nine. The imprint was always interesting to Jacob; he knew how he felt about Haven, the way she made him feel but to finally get a glimpse into the impact he had on her was something Jacob never wanted taken away from him.

"It immediately calmed me down, in an instant I felt like myself again and I knew it was because of how I feel around you; happy, secure, comfortable. I love you, Jake."

If Jacob was on cloud nine then, he was on a cloud in the triple digits right now.

Haven let her fingers dance across his arms, the feeling of his soft skin under her palms was euphoric. "I love you because you make me feel more like myself than I have ever felt in my life. With you by my side I know that I can conquer anything, you make me stronger, Jake and I don't ever want that feeling to go away."

Her heart was on the line here, and Haven was fully comfortable in herself that she didn't necessarily need the lines returned to her. As much as this was about how she felt, it was also about the brunette being able to try and tackle the emotions Aro was throwing her way. She wished she had come to the realization earlier; Jacob was all she needed because he made her feel strong, like everything else she may tackle in her life would be a breeze.

Jacob couldn't contain himself any longer, instantly pulling her lips in to meet his. The kiss sent feelings of electricity through his veins, a fire erupting in his stomach. Hands gripped his shoulders, flushing his body hard against hers.

Her heart soared; Haven quickly deciding that being separated from this boy would turn her world upside down. Their mouths moved in sync, dancing against one another in a battle of who could outlast the other. It was like she hadn't had a taste like this in so long, an unknown drought of his touch being ingrained inside her.

Jacob detached his lips from hers, keeping her close so that one hand remained cupping the side of her cheek. "I love you too, I feel like I knew I would fall in love with you the moment I started talking to you at Bella's search party."

In didn't take long for the pair to be moving towards the empty house beside them, making their way through doors while getting distracted in the embrace of one another with their newly confessed feelings out in the open. Haven didn't think she had heard the three words uttered to her so much, Jacob kept saying them under his breath as he kissed her fiercely.

Haven couldn't remember walking down the hallway to her bedroom, but she was there. Jacob gripping her waist as his mouth traced hers delicately, yet still with a passion that sent shivers down her spine.

"Even if I didn't imprint on you, I have total faith that I still would love you as much as I do now. Nothing in my life ever made sense until you came to town and I know that even if you lived on the other side of the world we would still have found one another. We belong together, and that will never change." Jacob pushed a strand of chocolate locks behind Haven's ear, his eyes never leaving hers. His shoulders felt newly relieved at confessing the thing he had known for so long.

Haven's heart clenched and warmed - she swore it was going to burst out of her chest at the rate it was beating. Her lips were back on his in an instant, her knees hitting the back of the bed so that her body slowly lowered down to rest on her quilted bed cover. Jacob hovered over her, his eyes roaming around her face that he swore had never looked happier than it did now - something that in turn made his grin widen knowing he was the cause of her smile.

With familiar lips attached to her neck, Haven's mind reeled at the electricity boiling up her nerves. Nothing had ever felt so good, his touch was like a drug and Haven wanted to be an addict. Her hands pushed his toned chest back, giving her room to grip the hem of her tank top and pull it over her head. Haven hadn't felt this comfortable with someone before, but nothing about her felt nervous at what she knew was going to happen.

Jacob's shirt came off in turn, the two teenagers ogling each other quickly. Lips smashed together again, Haven's hands feeling the landscape of his muscular chest, fingers dipping and sliding across all of the ridges.

"I love you so much," Haven muttered out, a gasp coming straight after as Jacob's hands gripped the side of her stomach - his touch against her bare skin making her feel like putty in his hands.

Both of them couldn't stop touching, grabbing and kissing. Like it was a competition as to who could do it the most, hands fumbling around one another's bodies with a sense of urgency, yet the touches were nothing more than gentle. Moans and groans joined the mix, both of the teenagers never feeling anything like this in their lives.

Their items of clothing dwindled, the pair being completely and utterly vulnerable in front of one another. The touching continued, both finding crevices and ridges on their bodies that they never knew existed.

"You are the most beautiful person I have ever seen in my life," Jacob kissed her cheekbone delicately, never once did he look away from the face that he had fallen in love with. He was sure he memorized the crinkles by her eyes, the exact color of her porcelain skin and the sloping shape of her angled jawline. She was so beautiful and he had no clue why she had been put on this earth, someone so prized that he didn't believe she was actually real and laying underneath him.

And they both united in a way more intimate then they had ever experienced, being as close and connected as two people could ever be. They went there as one, never once faltering in the touch of each other and not doubting for a second that it was a mistake.

They did it together, just like they would handle anything else.

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