A/N: This is a Jacob/Edward story, and if you don't like reading about that, then please turn away. I don't want any discriminating comments. Thanks. xx


1. SPENT WAITING

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The pain was excruciating. It was almost like sleeping in a bed of hot coals.

She enjoyed watching me wither, listening to my cries of agony until my throat is hoarse and there is dried blood caked under my fingernail from all the scratching at my flesh, trying to rid away the torture. Like the sadistic bitch that she was, Jane gave me a good hard kick in the side of the head.

"That'll show you to speak poorly of my brother." She snapped, grinning with pure malice. For an outsider, it would have looked almost comical- a full grown werewolf being knocked and beaten to the ground by a fourteen-year-old girl. But for all those in the know, those who had eyes everywhere and were probably enjoying this as much as Jane, knew what was really happening.

These vampires- and I'm pretty sure every other living bloodsucker on this planet- were as sick and as twisted as they came. Jane lightly pranced to my other side and dug the toe of her boot into my ribs until they gave sickening cracks. I barely let out a squeak. The darkness invading my mind was fighting dominance with the pain.

Don't give up. Don't give in. Don't let him down.

As Jane was heading towards my rear, her shoe now aimed at the most vulnerable place between my legs, another stench and presence entered the room. Jane froze, her kick in mid-air, and gave a creepily innocent smile, like a kid caught with her hand in a cookie jar.

"That is enough." Aro said, walking with mute steps. As per usual, his mere company near me made my shackles stand on end and the wolf in me- no matter how broken and bloodied- was growling like a broken radio. Out of all the vampires here in this hellhole, he was the one to be feared. Although he didn't have any remarkable gifts like Jane's torture or Alec's sensory deprivation, he was the leader, the one who could unleash evil on the world in an unstoppable force.

I wasn't surprised to see Jane's childish eyes grow almost black at the sight, her gaze on him and him alone. She lusted after him in a way that was almost obsessive- and gross. He (not including vampire years) had the body of a forty year old while Jane was just a pre-teen. It was icky, yet things such as age and appearances never seem to matter when bedded by a vampire.

"What did this young wolf do to deserve such hostile punishment?" Aro asked kindly, taking Jane's head in his hands.

Jane, if she could, would have blushed at the contact. "He speaks ill of my brother, master. He had to be disciplined."

"Is this true?" Aro directed this question at me. I had to squint through the blood fall down my face and gave a half-nod, knowing denying it would be impossible. Truthfully, it was a lie, but I was covering for someone who I knew couldn't deal with this, couldn't live through such agony and not lose their mind in the process.

But Aro was a wise man, as much as I hated to deny it. In a swift motion, he clasped my dark hand in his pale one, reading my mind. It was an odd sensation, like bubbles popping inside my brain in little wet splatters. After a moment, Aro dropped my hand to the marble floor and gave a sigh of almost-pity.

"He is not the wolf to be punished. I suggest you find the younger-…"

"No!" I interrupted, my fists shaking. The two bloodsuckers looked at me in amusement, eyebrows raised as if I were a stubborn but amusing toddler. The silver collar around my throat made it impossible to phase without severing my head from my shoulders. They both knew this and waited until I stopped quivering before continuing.

I was so tired anyhow, and even at full strength, the fight would have been over before it even really began.

"We have other matters to attend, Jane my dear. We will leave the wolf alive for now." He said this like a scolding father, and Jane played to the role well of a sulking teenage daughter. They both left the room with sweeping of their robes, though not before Jane shot me a look over her shoulder to tell me this wasn't over. She would be back, we both knew it, but as of now, I forced myself to move and got to my hands and knees.

Even with the fast healing process, it was going to take me a while to recover from this. The skin on my back was peeled and crisp from the silver chain she had whipped over it, again and again. I felt some of my bones re-breaking into place as I got to my feet, letting out another gargle of pain.

The journey was not easy, but somehow I made to the slaves dorms, even in the shape I was in. The kitchen was unoccupied- what with the lack of food and all- therefore I enjoyed the blissful silence and took a stool at the bar, resting my forehead against my forearm.

This was my life. How it got from there to here is a question I ask myself too often. I can barely remember what it used to be like back in La Push, spending days with my pack and brothers, and living it up at the beach side with my father. I haven't smelt the ocean in so long, it was almost a craving. Nor have I seen my father in five years, much less know if he still living, breathing, or grieving.

I'll never forget the look on his face the day I was dragged away into slave labor.

Utter helplessness. Tears running down his withered cheeks. His arms stretched, as if to pull me to him and hold me away from the red-eyed monster. I was eleven when they took me. Next month, I would be sixteen.

"Jacob?" A small voice quirked, making me stiffen involuntarily. I lifted my head to glance one at the young, terrified looking kid in the corner, his eyes puffy from crying and his shoulders sagged inwards as if he knew he was never going to feel hope again. I gave him a weak grin. I never wanted to see such a look on a face so naïve.

"Hey Seth. You okay, bud?"

And just like that, he burst into tears again. I knew he didn't cry often, not when he was taken away at just eight years old, or when he himself watched his first kill right in front of his eyes.

But now he was blubbering, sobbing.

I embraced him like a good-natured older brother, patting his naked back. "Its okay, Seth. It wasn't your fault. I don't blame you. I'm not mad." I cooed and rocked us back and forth, ignoring the protest of my bruised internal flesh.

"B-b-but it is m-my f-fault. I didn't mean f-for her t-to r-read it. I h-hid it and everything."

"I know you did." His salty tears were seeping into my wounds and I pulled back, trying to place his head in another direction. But Seth caught on and cringed away, his eyes widening as he took in my appearance for the first time.

He began wailing again, yet this time it was in anger. "I'm sorry, Jake. It is my fault! I'm stupid! I'm fucking stupid!" He was trembling like a live wire and I knew I needed to calm him down, otherwise his collar would end his life. It happened so many times before that Seth and I were the only ones left of the La Push pack. Sometimes, the other vampires would deliberately try to provoke us for that very reason.

But I needed Seth. I needed him as the only person that kept me sane. "Seth, chill out buddy. It's okay. Look…" I pointed down at myself. "It's almost all healed up nice. Besides, I think the scars will be more intimidating."

I forced Seth to take a deep breath before he simply slumped forward. "Sorry, Jake. I'm sorry Jane found my book and tortured you. I shouldn't have written that stuff about Alec." He sniffed and scuffed his bare heels. "I'm sorry you have to look after me. You deserve better."

I scoffed, and although it stung like a bitch, I stood up and pressed his full body against me, trying to portray a hug that would tell him what my words often couldn't. That I would keep him safe. That I needed him to keeping fighting. That somehow, someday, we were going to escape Italy.

He sniffed again and hugged me back, though he was wary of my cuts. We stood like that for a while, perhaps a half hour or so, before exhaustion took its toll and I began swaying on my feet. Seth, feeling this, helped me limp to our "room" which was just two mats on the floor and a toilet. He lay me down and lifted the cotton blanket over me.

My eyes closed, but just when I thought I was asleep, I heard his voice.

"The Cullen's are coming."


A/N: I decided to leave it there so the next chapter can have a lot more. Please review. I wanna know if this any good. Lee-Lee04