A/N: My first Twilight fic! I seem to be jumping into different fandoms a lot recently, hehe. These chapters are going to be relatively short at times compared to my other fics, but I decided to stop forcing myself to try and write a long chapter and write just what flowed. Well, here we go, a fic that will, for now, focus solely on my favorite shapeshifter and a couple of OCs, possibly later on containing more canon characters. I apologize now for any out-of-character moments he might experience, for I'm still getting used to being in his head. Rated T for now, rating will possibly change as the story progresses due to violence and death. Reviews are welcome, but please, no flames.
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Twilight. The only bits here that belong to me are my OCs and the twisted plot-thoughts in my head.
Prologue – "Jacob"
Silence reigned through the farmhouse nestled in a clearing of the forest, the usual night noises issuing throughout the trees. Somewhere off an owl hooted, sending a field mouse—its would-be prey—scurrying for cover. A long wooden fence encircled the large barn that contained a horse and a couple of hens, providing a nice grazing area. A dirt road wound its way off into the blackness of the trees, perhaps leading to civilization.
Inside the house, the soul occupant slept in an upstairs bedroom. She tossed and turned, her peace interrupted by a dream. It was dark and shadowy, far off in the woods. A large animal, running between the trees. Dark, shaggy fur, too dark to tell the color in the night. It had the shape of a wolf, but a size closer to a bear.
Her head jerked to the side in her sleep, eyes twitching under closed lids as her mind struggled to keep up with this racing animal. Something was chasing after it now, a large predator that ran effortlessly along behind it. This sudden presence distracted the wolf, caused it to twist its head back and curl its lips in a snarl, warning the unknown predator to stay back.
The pursuer paid no heed to this warning though, and persisted, seeming to be herding the other animal towards the approaching cliff. Snarling again, the wolf started to circle around, but a dark form hurtled out of the night. It plowed into the wolf's side with enough fore to knock it over the edge. With a growl and a yelp, the wolf scrabbled uselessly at the rock face, plunging down into blackness.
Her eyes snapped open, and all at once she sat up, taking deep breathes. Him.
He was trying to focus all his attention, all his thoughts, on running. Another sleepless night, his mind plagued with the reasons he'd left home in the first place. Become the wolf again—that was what he was trying to do—let go of his human side, forget about Bella and that filthy leech.
Wait-what was that? A welcome distraction to his human troubles; another set of paws, a rhythmic running some distance behind him. It sounded large, and was obviously fast to be gaining on him. He lifted his nose, trying to catch a scent, but the wind was blowing head on, sweeping his own scent straight back to whatever was behind him. Twisting his head halfway around, his lips curling back from his teeth, he issued a warning growl.
His unknown pursuer gave no response, but also didn't stop. This piqued his interest; this large animal might possibly be a predator—since it hadn't fled at his snarl—and it might possibly be looking for a fight—he was passing through its territory after all. A fight would do him good, it would help clear his mind and lessen some of his anger.
Uttering another low snarl, he began to circle back on whatever was following him. Without warning, a large dark form burst from the trees off to his side, moving so fast that he had no time to react—and that was saying something. It plowed into his side, the impact cracking a rib or two. The force knocked his feet out from under him, sending him skidding over the edge of the cliff he hadn't even realized he'd approached, too distracted by his pursuer.
He gave a growl and then a yelp, long claws scrabbling useless at the rock face as he tried to pull himself back up. He was unsuccessful. The large russet wolf plunged down into blackness, his unknown assailant gone as quickly as they'd appeared.
The large predator that had been pursuing him stopped a few paces back from the cliff, its pure white fur glowing faintly in the moonlight. It tilted its head to the side, listening intently, and was able to pick up the sound of the wolf's labored breathing from below; it was alive. In pain, unconscious from the fall, but alive.
A sudden branch snapping made the predator whirl about, teeth bared in a surprised growl. A dark shape darted away through the trees, quite possibly the same thing that had forced the wolf over the cliff. Lowering its head for a moment, the predator moved slowly in the direction the shape had been, sniffing at the air as it went. Large paws picked their way between twigs that would snap loudly beneath its weight—surprisingly delicate and careful—as it made its way forward.
The wind changed direction then, blowing the sought after scent to the predator—and it froze at once. The scent…it was almost sickly sweet, somehow cold—if a smell could be cold—and there was something vaguely familiar, some sort of spice. Its ears flattened back against its skull, and it turned quickly, seeming to be agitated, its tail twitching. It made its way back over to the cliff, leaping out into space. It stretched its paws out, long claws extending, and hit the top section of a large pine, claws gouging into the bark and finding purchase.
Leaping from branch to branch—and taking care to stick to only the largest ones, as the smaller branches would quickly snap underneath its weight—it reached the ground where the unconscious wolf lay. In the dark, it couldn't tell the extent of its injuries, but it was alive, and it didn't think the wolf was in any immediate danger of dying. Both standing, the wolf would be taller than the pure white hunter, but physically they would probably be quite evenly matched. To prove this fact, the predator lowered its head, fixing its jaws carefully on the fur at the back of the wolf's neck, and lifted. Like this, it easily half carried-half dragged the large wolf off into the darkness.
