I ran from the campsite, pleased with myself. I tried not to get distracted by my thoughts. My mind couldn't wander now; I made a promise to come back. And I would, I could handle myself.
The battle with the newborns was more difficult that we imagined it would be, but everything went smoothly. We gathered up the remains of the vampires we tore apart and all met in a group in the middle of the clearing. All of us except for one.
Hey, anyone know where Leah is?
I thought I saw her over to the west, looking for stragglers.
Well, what does she expect to do if she finds one alone? Those suckers are fast, dude.
Ugh… I will go find her.
Because that's always what happened. I had to babysit everyone in the pack, make sure no one got hurt. I wasn't even the alpha. Wasn't that Sams job?
Just do it, Jacob. Sams alpha voice commanded.
I shot him a glare and trotted off towards the trees. I would find her, escort her back like a good boy, and go find Bella. We had some business to take care of.
All of a sudden, Leah ran past me like lightning. Man, she was fast! That's when I saw it behind her. There was no way she could out-run it, which is what she was obviously trying to do. Without a second thought, I intervened. The vampire on top of me, and I felt the most excruciating pain I had ever felt on the right side of my body, especially in a spot right above my shoulder.
I felt my bones splinter and crack, and I know that sucker had broken every bone in my body.
Jacob! I'll go get help! Leah darted off like lightning again, but I knew no one would be back in time. I tried to fight back, but my right side was completely flaccid. I bared my teeth, growled, tried to support myself with my left side, nothing worked.
Then they came out of nowhere. Sam and Jared came from behind and tore the beast to pieces. The edges of my vision started to cloud. I was drifting… the pain was unbearable… radiating from that spot on my shoulder…
Edward POV
I watched as they carried Jacob into the house. He was a mess. Every swear word that crossed his mind came out through his lips in a never ending stream. Charlies face crumpled, but he didn't say anything.
"Jacob, I need to examine your injuries, if you would please try to stay still" Carlisle asked politely, and Jacob cringed at his touch.
"Definitely a broken humorous", "OW!" "radius and ulna", 'ARGH!", "4 ribs", "that HURTS ya know??", "femur" "%&)$^!", "fibula and tibia" "HOLY COW, are you DONE torturing me!?" Jacob interjected with every fracture Carlisle had to realign.
"Jacob, I'm going to give you a strong pain medication called Morphine now. It might make you feel sleepy, but don't fight it. You will heal quicker if you sleep."
"Fine, whatever, just give it to me." He said. He had his eyes closed tight, he was hiding the pain more than what he was showing.
Charlie stepped towards him, "Jake, what happened to you?" Jacob was obviously struggling with an excuse, so Carlisle interjected, "an incident with a motorcycle. A car pulled out, he tried to turn, and landed with his right side on the pavement. This might pinch a little, Jacob." He assured as he injected the needle into Jacobs arm.
"Yeah… compared to the rest of my suffering, a needle is really gonna bother me." He mumbled. His mind was slowing down as the morphine kicked in.
"His injuries are extensive, but I think he will be okay. He is healing relatively fast, but not as fast as I thought he would' Carlisle quietly explained to Billy, so Charlie wouldn't hear.
I tried to keep my eye on Jacob. After I realized how much Bella cared about him and how far he would go to keep her away from me, I has a little more respect for him. After about 5 minutes, he was snoring. Billy rolled over to him and took his hand.
Jacob rolled over on his left side ever so slightly, exposing his right shoulder. Carlisle and I saw it at the same time. An unmistakable bite mark in the skin on back.
I looked at Carlisle and read his thoughts. It will have spread by now. Especially with his increased body functions. Perhaps a werewolves reaction is different?
Obviously, Billy spotted it too, and read Carlisles faces, guessing the silent conversation we were having.
"Vampire bites do not change werewolves. They kill them." He told Carlisle with hard eyes.
He turned to his son and laid his face on his chest and began to sob. Something none of us have ever seen from the wise old man.
"Billy? Billy, whats wrong? The Doc said he was gonna be fine, didn't ya hear him? He's gonna he alright." Charlie rushed over and put an arm around his friend. Billy looked up into Carlisle's eyes, but found no comfort there.
"Charlie… I think Id like to speak with Carlisle alone. Bella should be home soon, why don't you go check on her." Billy said in a monotone voice, eyes still on Carlisle.
"Yeah… right… well, I'll see you guys later I suppose. Good luck, Jacob," he said to the unconscious werewolf, and walked out the door, closing it quietly behind him.
Billy continued to look at Jacob's sleeping face. "How long." He asked. "Carlisle, how long does he have." He managed to choke out.
"I… I can't be sure. It could be anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks. His body is strong, but its in a compromised condition. It has already spread too far for me to do anything for him now. I'm so sorry, Billy. So sorry." He confided, putting his hand on the mans shoulder. "We'll leave you alone with him." Carlisle said, looking up towards me.
"I'd actually like to stay a few minutes, if you don't mind, Billy." I inquired.
Billy continuted to lay on his sons chest, his face buried in his bloody t-shirt. I could see his head move up in down with each of Jacob's breaths. He was silent.
I sat and waited for Jacob to awake.