The Mission
Jacob's POV
The constant thith-thith-thith of the V-22 Osprey kept time with my heart. It was the dead of night, not a star in the sky, and even though the pilot was wearing night vision goggles, I was on edge. My team and I would be landing in a remote region of one of the most volatile countries on the planet in twenty minutes. Our commander, Sam Uley, sat to the right of me and was reviewing the map one last time.
No one said a word. We all knew the drill. Once we landed and got off the Osprey, we were on our own. There would be no turning back, and if we were caught, the United States would deny any knowledge of our mission, deny us. It was something we were all well-prepared for. Though, if truth be told, there was no way we'd be caught. We were a unique lot of elite Navy Seals, being shapeshifters and all. Our wolf heritage was something we had to keep quiet. If top command found out… I shuddered. Best not think about the unlikelihood of an outsider finding out. Personally, I'd like to see Area 51, but not as a specimen.
Leaning forward, I rested my elbows on my knees and focused my gaze on the men across from me. Like me, they were dressed in black fatigues and stocking caps. To the untrained eye, we would look like thieves. There was no insignia to be seen, and the only way to know rank was by looking at the individual.
Sam shifted and stood. I didn't give him my attention, like normal, though this time, he hadn't told given me a briefing beforehand. "Okay, men. We're in for another tough mission, and you all know the drill. If any of you are not up for heading out into unknown danger, stay on the helo. I won't think any less of you." He turned to me. I could feel him staring at me and looked up. His eyes were hard and cold, but his meaning was clear—if you stay, you'll be branded a coward.
Sam and I have butted heads on more than one occasion. I attributed it to our wolf-nature. Being the eldest son of the Quileute tribal chief, I should have been the pack leader. However, Sam was four years older than me and went through the painful transformation first. My genetic curse was triggered three and a half years after his. And before my change, he had taken three of my friends under his wing. It had freaked me out how they had constantly watched me, waiting for me to show signs of having the same genetic trait as them. At first, I was fine with him guiding me, but after hearing the true legends of the tribe from the pack elders, I learned the truth. I was the rightful alpha. I had yet to officially challenge Sam for the role of alpha; we'd only exchanged heated words. Until I did, I was stuck in the beta role.
Sam broke eye contact with me and shifted his gaze to the group. "Once the helo is gone, I'll reveal the nature of our mission."
And here comes the question, I thought, peering at Seth Clearwater. His transformation took place nine years ago, but he was young, the youngest male member of the tribe to change. His sister, Leah, changed three days after him, becoming the first female to be cursed.
"Why can't you tell us now?" Seth asked.
The men and Leah groaned. Seth had yet to grasp the sensitive nature of our task force. Why he was chosen to protect humans outside the tribe was beyond me. There nearly fifty wolves and half joined the military. Sam was able to sway command to let us stay together. I shook my head. Before I could open my mouth, Paul Lahote, third-in-command said, "Because, runt, this is a covert operation. The fewer people who know what we're up to the better."
Seth sat back, slouching with his arms folded across his chest. I knew how he felt. It was demeaning being a fledgling, not that Seth or I was anymore, and I wish I could do something to help him out, but my hands were tied by military law. Sam was, for the time being, our commanding officer.
The Osprey started descending. My heartbeat picked up, pounding in my ears. As much as I didn't want to step off this bird, I didn't want to let the men down. I sighed, hating my life. Why did I let Embry talk me into joining the Navy?
My self-loathing was cut short. The helo landed with a soft thud, and Sam threw up the doors. Sucking it up, I stood and lead the way. Keeping my head low, I ran about twenty yards away.
All twenty-four members of the team were accounted for and turned as one to Sam, waiting for orders.
Sam said nothing until the thith-thith-thith was a faint thrum. "Recent intelligence has shown unusual movement by the Volturi Guard," he said.
The US Military believed the Guard was a terrorist cell, but in reality, they were made up of the bane of mine, our, existence. Vampires. Bloodsuckers.
"Hell yeah," Quil shouted. "Let's hunt them until they're ash."
Paul stepped forward, baring his teeth. "As much as I would love to do that, the report further states they have civilian hostages," he stated in a bored voice.
I swung my head, taking in Paul's profile. He knew our mission. I thought he had been left in the dark, too. I balled my hands into fists, to challenge Sam or to demand answers, I didn't know. Now is not the time, I silently chanted.
"That's not a good reason not to hunt them," Quil said, looking to me for an answered. I shook my head, having none; his eyes went wide as understanding dawn in them that I knew nothing about this mission.
My attention turned back to Sam. He seemed to be debating telling us something. "Jacob, I wish you would have stayed behind," he said, rubbing his neck. "They have Bella, Edward, and Renesmee."
I sank to me knees. Renesmee. I couldn't breathe. She was my heart. I had imprinted on her when she was three hours old, literally. What in the world was she doing in Italy? She was seventeen now, though in reality she had only been on this earth for six years. She was a hybrid- vampire-human. Bella was human when she gave birth to Renesmee, and Edward was one-hundred percent vampire when he got Bella pregnant. Bella had a low survival rate but made it through the pregnancy and the transformation into a vampire. Anyway, Renesmee should be starting her final year of high school, not traipsing close to a war zone with her parents. Blindly, I reached into my vest pocket, pulling out my phone.
"Jacob," Sam yelled, coming to kneel in front of me. Softening his voice, he went on. "I know what Renesmee means to you, we all do, but you can't call her." He held out his hand. "Please give me your phone."
I growled low in my throat but didn't relinquish my phone. "I know I can't call her," I said, slipping the cell back into my pocket after viewing the image Renesmee set as the background before I departed. It was a picture Rosalie took. Renesmee and I were walking hand-in-hand on the shoreline of First Beach. Her head was on my shoulder. Boy, I missed her. Our relationship was platonic, at the moment, and only because of her age. I was only five years older than her, but then, the lifespan of a Quileute wolf was long. A vampire's life was even longer and with her accelerated growth she would be twenty-one by the time my tour of duty was over in two months.
Sam patted my shoulder, leaning in and speaking in hushed tones. "I'm sorry, Jacob. I should have informed you of the nature of the mission yesterday."
I shoved him away from me. Standing, I started stripping off my fatigues. The others followed my lead. I was enraged but not at Sam. "Where are they being held?"
"Volterra, Italy," Paul answered.
"Direction? How far?" I asked, having no clue where we were.
"We're in Monti Picentini Regional Park," Sam replied. "By car, Volterra is six hours to the north." He pointed in the direction we needed to go.
Taking off at a run, I phased without much thought with my gear bag in my mouth. I could care less if anyone followed. Renesmee, I had to get to her.
"Jacob," Sam called in my mind. "You can't go rushing into Volterra blind."
I stopped in my tracks. Even in my enraged state, I had to admit it, Sam was right.
"What's your plan?" I asked through our mental link.
The rest of the pack had stopped. Keeping their distance. Waiting. Watching.
"Three teams. I want you to lead the team that will infiltrate the fortress," Sam communicated.
Inclining my head, I turned and glared at the enormous, jet black wolf standing as tall as a horse, but thicker and more muscular, less than a yard away from me. It sounded like Sam was placating me, but I couldn't be sure. "I like the sound of that."
Sam bared his teeth in a broad smile, and his shoulders went up and down a few times. "I'm glad. But I need someone in there who can think of their feet." He looked over his shoulder, and then back at me. "And, besides, you know the family better than anyone else."
Condescending bastard. He knew what to say to get my hopes up, to get me to think he trusted me. All he wanted was to keep our perfect extraction record intact.
My ears went forward, eyes narrowing as I stared at Sam. I growled in warning. I was ready to pounce, but instead, I swung around and took off at a run. The others would, hopefully, think I was sent ahead to recon the area.
Once I was a good distance away, I phased back to my human self and dressed. The area was highly populated and a wolf with a bag in its mouth wouldn't go unnoticed. Even though it was close to midnight, the clubs were hopping. I stayed to the shadows, using my heightened senses as a guide. A sickeningly sweet smell reached me, and I recoiled. A vampire was among the clubbers. I wasn't repulsed by the Cullens anymore; this vampire wasn't familiar.
It was easy to hone in on the bloodsucker. Gold eyes turned in my direction, and a wicked smile spread across the vampire's face. "Child of the moon," she called in a flat, almost bored voice. "You're all alone. Where's your pack?"
She hadn't moved nor did I acknowledge her question. "Out for a hunt, I see," I replied, leaning back against the wall. Her eyes told me she meant no harm; she lived on animal blood not human. She had long, curly, strawberry blonde hair and was five foot five. Even from where I stood, I could see she was beautiful. A succubus.
"No," she said.
I chuckled. She was hunting, just not for nourishment, but for prey. Willing, yet unknowing men. "Can I have your name?"
Her eyes wandered over me, considering. "Tanya Denali," she replied.
So this was Renesmee's second cousin. Maybe she could provide me with some answers, I thought. "Have you seen Carlisle Cullen, lately?" I asked.
"You know Carlisle. How?" Tanya took a step in my direction.
My hand went to my chin, rubbing it. "He's granddaughter is my girlfriend."
"Ah, I see. You must be Jacob Black." She nodded her head in respect.
The bobbed my head. "The one and only," I said, a little cockily.
"Renesmee speaks highly of you," she said. "Said you're a shifter, not a moon child, and that you're a soldier."
My eyebrows rose. I was surprised to hear that my heart spoke of me to others outside her immediate family. "What she says is true, on both accounts."
Tanya looked over her shoulder as if expecting someone to appear in the crowd. "She and her parents were supposed to meet me here three days ago. They haven't arrived, and my calls go unanswered. I'm worried something has happened to them."
I needed more information. Whatever she could give me. "When's the last time you talked to them?" I asked, letting worry for Renesmee slip into my voice. "I got an email from Renesmee a week or so ago asking me to meet her here if I could get leave."
The smile dropped from her face. "We traveled from the States together. My sisters and I headed to Rome while went on to Venice. That's was over a week ago."
Blood drained from my face. Renesmee, Bella, and Edward were taken sometime in the past week. It had been some time since I study the geography of Italy, but if memory was serving me correctly, Volterra was somewhere between Venice and Rome.
I whipped out my phone, hitting Sam's speed dial. Hopefully, the pack had phased back to human form by now. He answered after the fifth ring.
"Jacob, what did you find?" he demanded.
"What does the timeline say?" I asked, being cryptic. Tanya was still near, and I didn't want her to know what had happened, to worry her more.
"They didn't make it to an appointment in Venice," he answered.
"When?"
"Seven days ago."
I dropped my cell, collapsing to my knees. A howl rose in my throat but didn't escape. Taking a deep breath, I calmed the animal in me before picking up the phone again. "Avoid the club district," I instructed. "There are harmless, vegetarian vampires in the area." My gaze lifted and found Tanya still staring at me, question in her eyes. "I'll meet up with you soon." I hung up, slipping the phone into my pocket. "Tanya, you and your sisters might be in danger. Get as far away from here as you can."
"Has something happened to the Cullens?" she asked.
My chin dropped to my chest, not knowing what to say.
"No!" she shouted. No one paid any heed to her.
"My team and I are doing everything we can to find them. Leave Italy," I said, rushing off.
She yelled something, something about Aro and a threat. I stopped in my tracks, facing her.
"What was that?" I asked.
Tanya seemed hesitant to share what she knew. I took a step forward. "Tanya, any information you can provide that can help me rescue your family would help," I said, playing on her adopted role to the Cullens. "Think of Carlisle, of how you would feel losing a son, a daughter, and granddaughter. Think of how he would feel if he found out you had information about what might have happened to them."
Her upper lip curled up, revealing her teeth. "You don't play fair, Jacob."
"Where innocence is concerned, I'll use whatever method I can to get information," I replied.
The contempt fall from her face replaced with a genuine smile. "You really care about Renesmee." I nodded. "For Renesmee, I'll tell you what I know," she said. "You know who Aro is, don't you?"
Again, I nodded. "He's one of the three leaders of the Volturi—the dominant coven of the vampire world. Although, he's widely accepted as the overall leader," I responded, showing I was knowledgeable about my mortal enemy.
Tanya seemed pleased. "He's evil. It's been rumored he trying to gain complete power over the Volturi, icing out his brothers. Alice Hale had a vision; saw Aro was up to something sinister that centered on obtaining Renesmee." I balled my fists. "Alice shared the information with Edward about six months ago. Edward was on a business trip at the time, and he extended his trip, coming here to Italy. He confronted Aro, told Marcus and Caius what Alice saw. According to Edward, Aro denied everything."
My barely contained my rage showed in my voice. "And what of the threat?"
She was silent a moment. As she starting speaking, her shoulders dropped, the perfect seductress gone. "Three weeks ago, Edward received a message. I'm not sure exactly what it said, but he wanted to cancel our trip. Renesmee wasn't happy. She was looking forward to possibly seeing you, so he relented, not being able to deny her or Bella anything. He confided in Bella and me, after we confronted him, but he refused to answer any of our questions about what the threat was exactly."
That sounded like Edward. He was a protector by nature, making decisions without a thought of how others would react. He once broke up with Bella, and he and his family left Forks. Six months later, he called to check on Bella (only because Alice couldn't see Bella's future). I had answered the phone. When he asked for Charlie, I told Edward that Charlie was at a funeral. Edward being Edward thought I was referring to Bella and didn't ask any questions. He had come here to Italy and asked Aro to kill him. I was never told why Aro didn't grant his request; it probably had something to do with Edward's ability. All I did know was that it took the combined efforts of Alice and Bella to stop Edward from doing something stupid.
I sighed. "Thank you, Tanya. I appreciate your candor."
Twenty minutes later, I was back with the pack, sharing the information I gathered from Tanya. Sam was pacing back and forth, deep in thought. "Do you believe her?" he asked, facing me.
Having finally read the intelligence report, I confidently answered, "Yes, I do. The report supports what Tanya told me. The only thing we didn't know was about the threat."
"And she could tell you nothing about it," Paul yelled, throwing up his hands. "What good is the information if we don't know how the Cullens were threatened?"
Paul was in my face. I pushed him away from me. "It's more than we had." Pacing, I tried to figure out some way to get more information. Duh! I thought mentally slapping my forehead. "Alice," I said. "She might know something." I looked to Sam.
"Call her," he said with a wave of his hand.
Digging out my phone, I hit a speed dial. "Hello, Jacob," Alice answered. "I was expecting your call."
I was relieved. Maybe she could provide me, us, with more information. "Have you seen anything?" I asked.
"I see many things. Anything in particular you're asking about?" she asked.
"Aro," I replied.
"Oh… hasn't Edward told you?"
I was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Renesmee told us that you were going to meet them in Naples."
A ran a hand down my face. "I told her I would try." Once again, I ran a hand down my face. "Listen, Alice, I am in Naples, but not to meet Renesmee."
"Oh, God, no," Alice said. "Edward told me there might be trouble. Oh, God. What's happened to Renesmee?"
How Alice made the jump to Renesmee was beyond me, and I could care less that she guessed right. "Calm down, Alice." I waited a beat and then continued. "I don't know what's happened. I ran into Tanya, and she told me they were supposed to meet her three days ago. They haven't arrived."
"What?" Alice yelled, and I had to pull the phone away from my ear. I had never heard Alice or any of the Cullens raise their voice before. It was quite deafening. "What did Tanya tell you?"
"I don't have time to tell you, Alice. What I need to know what the threat said."
"Threat, what threat?" she asked.
Great! She didn't know anything. Who would Edward have told? "Is Jasper around?" I asked instead of answering her question.
"Yea," she replied.
A half a second went by before Jasper was on the phone. "I tell you what I know," he said. "But it's not much." He paused a moment. "Edward did receive a threat about two and a half weeks ago. While he and I were out on a hunt, he showed it to me and asked for my advice."
"What did you tell him?" I asked.
"No to go on the trip," Jasper answered. "I was present when he told Bella and Renesmee."
I ran a hand down my face. "And Renesmee wasn't happy about it. What was the threat? Tanya told me it was centered on Renesmee."
Jasper hmm'd uncomfortably. "Not exactly, Jacob. Aro threatened to kill—you."
I felt the blood drain from my face. Swallowing, I asked, "Why didn't … uh … why did Edward change his mind?"
Jasper sighed. "Renesmee had a compelling argument."
"And that was what?" I demanded in a low and strangely calm voice.
Again, Jasper sighed. "You're a vampire hunter, Jacob," he said.
A laugh escaped me. "True, but there has to be more to her argument than that."
He laughed, too. "I wish I could tell you she had more to say, but sadly, she didn't. It was her way of reminding Edward that you can take care of yourself."
Turning, I looked at the men gathered behind me. "Thanks, Jasper. Have Alice keep an eye out. I know she wouldn't be able to see my future, but the others …" I said, trailing off.
"I message you if she sees anything," Jasper said before ending the call.
Taking a deep breath to keep my fear at bay, I slipped the phone in my pocket and asked, "Have I been told everything?"
Sam nodded. "I didn't hold anything back."
I glared at him long and hard. There was nothing in the way he was looking at me that indicated he was lying to me. "The threat Edward received was indirectly aimed at Renesmee and the Cullens. Aro is using them to get to me."
There was a chorus of growls from the men.
"There's no way he can go with us," Paul said, facing Sam.
"Like hell. I'm going," I said in a loud voice, leaving no room for question. "And don't even say I'm not point when we get to the complex."
Sam and Paul turned to face me, eyes wide. "Jacob, you can't seriously mean that," Paul said. "They are after you."
I just glared at them, not saying a word. Paul turned to Sam. "What do you have to say about this?" he asked.
If Sam tried to assert his authority over me that would be the last straw. I would challenge him for alpha.
"He goes in as planned," Sam said. "But… if we get more intelligence that suggests there's a greater danger of going in, not one will enter the building."
Growling low, I nodded. Whether or not Sam ordered me down, I was going to rescue Renesmee and her family.
