Bella sat in her idling truck, listening to the pounding rain beat down on the old red metal. Staring out the windshield at the small wooden house Jacob Black shared with his father, Billy; she hung her head. She had looked for her friend everywhere she could think of. Now, she sat in Jake's driveway, unwilling to give up the search, but had no idea where to look.
Just when Bella was about to back out of the gravel drive and check in her friend's usual spots once more, Jake stomped right by her, not even noticing the familiar truck in his drive.
At least, she thought it was Jake. His beautiful long hair had been cropped short, and he was only wearing a pair of shorts and sneakers. Plus, he looked like he had grown a foot since she had last seen him a week ago.
Still, Bella quickly hopped down from her truck and ran after the retreating figure. This was her chance. "Jake!" She shouted at her friends back. He stopped, but did not turn to face her. "You cut your hair?" He finally turned around. "And got a tattoo?" So, it was Jake. He looked very little like her Jake, however.
Jacob just sighed, like the weight of the world was bearing down on his shoulders. "Bella…"
"I thought you were too sick to come outside. Or pick up the phone when I called," she said. Bella wasn't so sure of her mission anymore. Jake was just standing there, looking at her with pity and resignation in his eyes.
"Go away."
"What?" Bella asked incredulously. Why was he acting like this?
"Go away."
"What happened to you? What's wrong?" Bella's normally bright and happy friend would barely even meet her eyes. "Hey, what happened? Did Sam get to you? Is that what's happening?"
The mention of Sam Uley finally seemed to cause some sort of reaction in her silent friend, and he sneered at Bella as he answered. "Sam's trying to help me, don't blame him. But if you want somebody to blame, how about those filthy bloodsuckers you love? The Cullen's." He spat the name at her like it disgusted him.
The blood drained from Bella's face. Jake knew. How did he know? She couldn't betray the Cullen's secrets, even though they had abandoned her. It just wasn't her story to tell. "I don't know what you're talking about." Bella struggled to keep her voice steady and her face straight. It didn't matter, she knew her friend could tell she was lying.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You've been lying to everyone. Charlie…but you can't lie to me. Not anymore, Bella." Jake turned to walk away.
"Come on! Jacob!" Bella was begging him now. He was the only friend she had left. The only thing keeping her out of the pit of depression Edward had thrown her down. She would do whatever he wanted to keep him in her life.
"Look, Bella…we can't be friends anymore."
No! He was going to leave her, just like everyone else had. Her voice broke with the tears she was struggling to keep from falling. "Jake, I know that I've been…hurting you. It's…it's killing me. It kills me. If you, maybe, gave me some time…"
"Don't! It's not you."
"It's not you, it's me, right? Really?" She wasn't enough for him. Just like Edward.
"It's true! It is me! I'm not good. I used to be…a great kid. Not anymore." He shook his head and stared out at the woods before stating, "It doesn't even matter, alright? This is over."
She couldn't stop the tears from falling or her voice from breaking as she pleaded with Jake one last time. "You can't break up with me. I mean…you're my best friend. You promised me."
"I know. I promised that I wouldn't hurt you, Bella. And this is me keeping that promise. Go home. And don't come back. Or you're gonna get hurt." Not giving her a chance to respond, he turned and stormed past where Sam Uley and his gang of angry-looking shirtless men stood.
The rain was coming down harder now, plastering her hair against her face and gluing her clothes to her skin. But Bella couldn't make herself move. She just stood and stared as Jacob disappeared into the woods. Once again heartbroken and alone; she watched her best friend, her personal sun, break his promise and leave her behind.
Bella stood before Laurent, resigned to her fate.
After standing in the rain for close to an hour, it became clear that Jacob wasn't going to come back and tell her it had all been some sick joke. He wasn't going to laugh and ruffle her hair or wrap her in one of his tight hugs, resting his chin on the top of her head. So, she had forced herself back to her truck and driven around aimlessly. She found herself on a dead-end gravel road when she saw the dirt path that entered the woods.
Didn't take her long to run into Laurent, who of course saw right through her lies about the Cullen's whereabouts. And now she had no one left to save her from the nomad vampire.
Her eyes flickered shut as she whispered a goodbye to Edward and waited for her life to end.
Then she heard it; a deep snarl and rustling of branches from the dark woods to her right. An enormous black wolf stepped out from the tree line slowly and steadily, snarling and snapping its jaws. Four more wolves as large as the first followed closely behind.
They were beautiful. Powerful corded muscle rippled under thick fur as the giant wolves stalked forward, eyes trained on Laurent. A dark grey wolf, two lighter silver-toned wolves, and a russet-colored wolf now stood in the clearing behind the black wolf. The russet wolf was only inches away from her. She had to stop herself from reaching out and threading her hand through the soft-looking fur.
Somewhere in Bella's mind she knew she should be afraid of them, but she couldn't make herself feel fear. Maybe it was being seconds from death only moments before. Maybe it was because the wolves seemed to have all their focus on the vampire. All she knew is watching the giant predators prowl out of the woods had filled her with a sense of something close to…comfort.
Drool dripped from bared fangs and violent snarls rumbled from the throats of the five wolves that were quickly closing in on the vampire in front of her. Bella watched surprise and fear flash across Laurent's face before he took off running towards the other side of the clearing in a blur. The black wolf led the chase after him, flanked by three of the other wolves. The russet wolf turned its head to look at Bella. The beast towered over her, close enough to feel it's hot breath wash across her face as it panted. The chocolate brown eyes looked so familiar to her, but she didn't know why. Then a growl from one of the other wolves carried back to woman and beast, and the russet wolf was gone as quickly as it had arrived.
She watched in a trance as the wolves raced after the Laurent-shaped blur. The grass-covered ground shook under Bella's feet as the wolves thundered across the clearing after their prey. Laurent raised his hand and hit the black wolf as it reached him, throwing the wolf across the field. Without so much as a whimper, the black wolf was back on its feet, running to attack the vampire again.
The obvious muscle mass and sheer size of the creatures should have prevented any real attempt at grace. The giant wolves defied the very laws of physics as they ducked and weaved, leaping over obstacles as they worked as a pack to take down the nomad vampire. Bella watched them run, in awe of the creatures that had so suddenly saved her from certain death. The wolves reached the woods on the other end of the clearing, and her trance broke. She quickly turned and ran into the woods where the wolves had first appeared.
It felt like hours had passed when Bella finally found the hidden dirt path that leading back to the gravel road where she had left her old red truck. Her hands shook as she pulled the unlocked driver's side door open, hopping up into the cab and collapsing on the worn bench seat with a frustrated, exhausted huff. Pushing the hair that was still wet from the earlier rainfall back out of her face, she gently shut the truck's door. Dropping her head to rest on the on the steering wheel with a light thunk, Bella tried to sort through the mess of thoughts running through her head.
A pack of giant, vampire-hunting wolves had come out of the forest, stopping Laurent mere seconds before Bella became his dinner.
She had just gotten used to the reality of vampires existing. Her life wasn't strange enough, let's add some horse-sized wolves. Her head had barely reached the beast's shoulders, for heaven's sake! There's no way those things weren't supernatural. What was going on with this town that she had met a family of vampires here, and now this?
She was lightly banging her head against the steering wheel in frustration when a sharp rap on the driver's side window sounded.
Predictably, she and sat up abruptly with a loud screech, smacking her head into the hard metal above the top of the torn fabric bench seat.
Rubbing the back of her head, she turned to see Embry standing at her window, wearing only a pair of cut-off shorts and a nervous grin. Bella began to crank the old truck's window down, sucking in a deep breath. Hopefully he wouldn't notice the cuts on her face and hands from running through the brush in the woods. "Uh, hi, Embry. Why are you…what are you doing out here?" Bella stumbled slightly as she struggled to keep her voice steady.
He must have grown at least a half a foot since she had last seen him at the beach. Embry had always been attractive, but in a cute, puppyish kind of way. Now, he was at least 6'5" and he looked like he had been working out, too. He looked years older. It was something in his expression, the way he carried himself. Like he wasn't a kid anymore.
Tucking stray wet hair behind her ears, she narrowed her eyes slightly at the dark-skinned Quileute as she watched him fidget next to the truck.
What are you hiding? She wanted to ask Jacob's friend if he knew about the wolves that had just saved her life, but she obviously couldn't explain why her life had been in danger to begin with. Plus, for some reason she felt she needed to protect the wolves. Not that they would ever need her protection. From what she had seen, they could protect themselves just fine. But still. Best to keep it quiet for now, Bella thought.
"I didn't mean to scare you, Bella! Just saw your truck and wondered if you needed a hand. You're pretty far away from town." Embry ran his hand through his newly short-cropped hair, still not meeting her eyes for more than a few seconds at a time.
"I'm fine, Embry. I went for a walk in the woods. I just got back when you showed up." Bella knew she sounded annoyed, but she didn't care. He was obviously not telling her something. "I'm gonna head home now. I'm sure you have to go meet Sam, right?"
"Wait. Bella," Embry ignored her sarcastic question and held up a hand. "Stay out of these woods, okay? They're not safe."
Bella stopped rolling up the window to shake her head at the boy that was quickly becoming a man. Meeting Embry's eyes with a look she hoped showed how serious she was, she bit out, "I am so beyond done with people telling me what to do. I'll go where I want, when I want. If people aren't going to trust me with the truth, then I'm done trusting these vague warnings I'm expected to blindly follow." She started to roll the window back up. "Bye, Embry," she finished softly, all the fight gone from her voice. Turning the key that had been left in the ignition when she left for her walk, she pulled the truck out of park and slowly drove off; leaving Embry to watch her go, a defeated look on his handsome face.
After leaving Bella in his yard, Jacob decided he was going to go for a run; a normal, human run, to burn off some energy. He hadn't made it a mile down the road when he spotted Quil. Shit.
Sam had told the Pack that Quil would probably Phase soon. He hoped it would hurry the fuck up. He remembered how he shitty it had felt seeing Embry with Sam and the others. Like his friend had abandoned him. Quil had been trying to get ahold of him nearly as much as Bella had.
Except Quil had known Jake much longer than Bella had. He knew all Jake's hiding spots and secret places. It had made avoiding Quil a lot harder than avoiding Bella.
As Jake approached Quil, who appeared to be out walking, he slowed his run to a quick jog. Maybe he could just kind of nod at him as he passed and Quil would let him go.
Passing Quil, Jake glanced at his friend and gave him a single nod before picking up his pace.
"Jacob Ephraim Black! Are you fucking kidding me?"
Fuck. Jake stopped and stared at his shoes. The only pair of shoes he had left. Of course it couldn't be that easy. With the day he was having, why would he expect anything else?
"What, Quil. I'm busy." Jacob tried to sound casual, like he was just out for a run and hadn't been ignoring his closest friend. The friend he had bonded with before either of them were old enough to remember. The friend that had listened to him bitch and moan about Bella since she had moved back and promptly jumped into the bloodsucker's arms. Jake wanted nothing more than to tell Quil what was happening. He would have, too, if Sam hadn't stopped him with an alpha order. Sam said it was some bullshit tribal law that Jake had no desire to try to understand. It was just another way for the tribal elders to control the Pack, Jake thought angrily.
"Yeah, you've been real fucking busy, haven't you?" Quil's voice was shaking with anger. "What the hell is going on? Why are you hanging around with Sam like the rest of those assholes?" Quil was marching towards Jake now, a determined plastered to his face.
Jake held up his hands, trying to pacify his long-time friend. "Wait, Quil, calm down."
But Quil didn't look like he could calm down. "Don't tell me what to do. You know something. Why won't anyone fucking talk to me?" He was yelling now, stomping closer to Jake, who just stood there, unable to give Quil what he wanted. He shoved Jake, hard. "Answer me!"
Jake didn't know what the hell to do. Sam's alpha order bound him against talking to Quil about the wolves. He couldn't tell Quil a damn thing. He couldn't say anything to help him through this. So he just stood there, opening and closing his mouth like a fish.
Quil shoved Jake again. "What the hell is wrong with you? Say something!"
Jake was shaking with anger. He wasn't great at controlling his anger yet, and Quil pushing him around and shouting at him was not helping. His voice came out deathly quiet, dripping with barely contained rage. "Stop pushing me, Quil."
Quil's face twisted into a satisfied smirk. "Or what? You gonna do something about it?" He shoved Jake again, harder now. Quil looked annoyed that he wasn't able to move his friends new muscle-bound body an inch.
"Quil, back up." Sam's voice called out as he walked from the woods, quiet, but strangely compelling. Still, Quil stood his ground.
"I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what's got this asshole all wound up." He turned back to Jake, who looked like he was struggling to stay still, arms straight down at his sides, hands balled tight into fists. He looked like he was about to snap. "You doing drugs now, Jake?"
The words had barely left Quil's mouth, when suddenly Jake was inches from his face. "I'm not on fucking drugs!" Jake roared at his friend, before finally shoving Quil back.
Except Jake wasn't just human anymore. He wasn't human and he wasn't in control. Quil went flying back across the road, the back of his skull cracking loudly against the pavement.
The anger drained out of Jacob instantly as he saw what he had done. Running to where Quil was lying still on the concrete, he collapsed to his knees and put his head in his hands. Sam reached Quil just after Jake, gently rolling the young man on his side to check the extent of his injuries. Finding his pulse slow but constant, and his breathing shallow but steady; he decided that Quil was going to wake up with a skull-pounding headache, but would probably be fine otherwise. Sam could tell that Quil's body temperature was much higher than a human's should be. The transformation had already begun, and his accelerated healing would take care of the injuries much faster than if he was human.
"He's going to be okay. Jake, go run it off. Calm down. I'll get Quil home." Sam's voice was quiet, but laced with the strength of his alpha position. He watched as the angry young man stomped to the edge of the road, stopping when he got the edge of the woods. Jake looked back at Sam hunched over Quil's lifeless body and felt the fury at what he had done to his closest friend rip through him like wildfire.
He was helpless to stop the Phase from tearing through his body, breaking his bones and shredding his clothes and the last pair of shoes he owned. Billy wasn't going to be happy with him.
The russet wolf turned back to the woods and ran.
Bella had more questions than answers as she drove down the gravel road leading to the rural highway.
What had happened today in the clearing? What did it have to do with the vampires? Had Edward known about the wolves when he left her in the woods? Did he know, and still leave her alone?
She still felt the hole Edward had left with his absence throbbing, but she wondered if it was more the ease at which the entire Cullen family had abandoned her that had really broken her. Edward had known how worried she was about him growing bored with her simple human life. Yet he waited until after he had her trust to yank the rug out from under her and abandon her in the very woods that he warned weren't safe. If Edward had actually believed the wolves were dangerous, why would he leave her unprotected and let Sam Uley be the one to find her and carry her limp body home to Charlie?
Bella pulled into the driveway of the house she shared with her dad, Charlie. Her rusty old truck groaned and moaned and creaked before grinding to a halt in her usual parking spot. The spot her dad's cop car sat when he wasn't working was empty. Checking her watch, she realized she still had a few hours before he'd be home. He'd reminded her this morning that he was going to be covering a young deputy's shift and would be working late. He wouldn't be home until close to midnight. She was getting hungry, however, and figured she'd get dinner started set aside a plate for him for when he made it home. It was Thursday night, but there was no school this Friday. The cafeteria at lunchtime today had been filled with students sharing their plans for the long weekend. Bella's only plans involved a good book and her favorite spot on the couch.
Stepping down from her truck, Bella walked up to the first house she had ever lived in. The paint was much more faded and worn and chipped than it once was, but it had an overwhelming sense of home that she had just never felt at the places Renee found for them to live in the years following her split from Charlie. She took the steps leading up to the front door two at a time, tripping on the top step. Catching herself against the solid front door, she fished her house key out of the pocket of her zip-up hoody. As she fit the key in the lock, she paused. Bella could feel eyes watching her. Whipping around and eyeing the tree-line beside the house, she squinted as she tried to see into the darkness surrounding the woods.
She couldn't see anything. Stupid, useless, human eyes. If I were a vampire, I would know right away what was out there. But she would never be able to see Charlie, Renee, Angela…or Jake, ever again if she was turned. Was she really willing to give up her family, her friends, her whole life for an eternity with Edward and his family? The same family that had packed up and left town with even saying goodbye?
She huffed out another annoyed sigh. Jake. Her good-natured, light-hearted best friend who had sworn to her he would always be there. It obviously wasn't so hard for Jake to give her up, after all. What was wrong with her that made everyone leave just as soon as she opened up to them? The things he said to her today…those weren't Jacobs words. That haircut, the same tattoo on his arm that the rest of Sam's cult had…Jake was in trouble.
Bella tried and failed once more to see what might be lurking in the woods, before shaking her head and turning back to go in the house. She figured her nerves were probably on edge after the day's events. Kicking off her shoes at the mat beside the door, she unzipped her hoody and draped it over the back of the couch. Time to get dinner started. Opening the fridge, she pulled out the pork chops that she had defrosted for tonight's meal, and started to prepare dinner.
When she had finished her meal, set aside a plate for Charlie, and cleaned up the kitchen, Bella stepped out the back door with the trash. She tossed the bag in the bin before zipping up her blue hoody halfway and plopping down in one of the faded Adirondack chairs on the deck. Staring out at the woods, she let her mind drift to thoughts of thick fur, brown eyes, and powerful muscles. Had her protectors been able to kill Laurent?
Those giant creatures had to be here for a reason, and Bella didn't think it was eating random hikers in the woods. Otherwise, why hadn't they attacked her as well? It would have been so easy for that russet toned wolf to rip her throat out, and he had looked at her…gently. Softly, and with those chocolate brown eyes that were so familiar. No, they hadn't been there to hurt her.
It felt like a whole different world in Forks. She had loved the warm weather and perpetually sunny skies of Arizona, and had only moved by Charlie so she wouldn't be a burden to Renee. Here in Forks, it was cooler and rained more than she would like. But her pale skin hadn't been sunburned once since she moved, and the air seemed so crisp and clean here. Besides, she just wasn't the same naive girl that had packed up her life and moved back to her hometown. She had fallen in love, had her heart broken. Bella had learned that the world wasn't as easy to understand as she had thought. There were things out there that she never would have imagined.
It was hard for her to understand why she felt so much more at peace than she had just this morning. Since leaving the house that morning, she had been broken up with by her best friend and been saved from near death by a pack of giant wolves. There was more to this thing with Jake than him not wanting to be friends with her anymore. That was clear from the way he was acting. And she was going to find out what was going on. Jacob had pulled Bella from her pit of despair, and now it was time to return the favor.
Bella dragged in a deep breath of the air that smelled like fresh rain and pine trees and slowly leaned back in the old wooden chair. The stars seemed so much brighter here, too. It was difficult to feel empty and alone staring up at the shining and sparkling specks of light in the now black sky. The moon was almost full and the only sounds she could hear were the light rustling of leaves and the occasional car passing in the front of the house.
After an hour of staring at the stars and enjoying the silence and solitude she could no longer ignore the late spring chill. With a sigh, she stood and turned to go back inside, catching her foot on the leg of the chair. Bella ungracefully belly-flopped onto the deck, barely stopping herself from smacking her face into the damp wood. She laid sprawled across the deck for a moment, cursing herself for being so damn clumsy.
Grumbling, she pulled herself back up, dusting off her legs. Once again turning to go inside, movement from the edge of the woods caught her eye. A large pair of eyes glowed at her as the faint outline of one of her protectors became clearer. Bella could just make out the shape of the wolf's large head, solid chest, and powerful front legs as it took several large steps out of forest before stopping to stare at her.
It was huge. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest as she slowly and quietly inched towards the dark grey wolf, her hands held out in what she hoped was a non-threatening way.
In the only the dim light of the moon and stars, the giant animal stood in the grass, strong and proud and silent, watching the small woman shuffle her way closer to him.
Bella stopped about twenty feet from the beautiful creature, dropped her hands to her sides, and waited for something to happen. Her heart was thumping and she was shaking like a leaf, but she knew, knew without a single doubt, that he was not here to hurt her.
"Thank you for saving my life." Bella's voice came out clear and steady, but barely a louder than a whisper as she stood in awe of the mythical wolf in front of her.
The pair stood in silence for several moments until the wolf turned his massive grey head, listening to sounds far too faint for her human ears. With another short glance back at Bella, it turned and trotted into the woods, disappearing into the darkness like a ghost.