Title: Blood on the Moon [Part 3] Series: Twilight
Type: Alternate Universe (Eclipse) Pairing: Jacob/Edward Rating: PG
Summary: Jacob and Edward have been struggling to get over Bella's death. Their shared grief seems to forge a tentative alliance between Jacobs pack and Edwards coven and an uncomfortable relationship between the natural memories.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Twilight characters or anything from the universe of Twilight. I am just taking the characters and playing with them a while – promising to restore them whole and unblemished! Thanks to Stephanie Meyer for creating these toys for me to enjoy. Please don't take any of my playing as having any bearing on the actual books. Enjoy.
()
JACOB BLACK
Rachel never returned to college. She chose to study long-distance. My stomach turned at the thought that she and Paul would be spending more joyous time together.
The best time I had was when I was alone in my wolf form. Not thinking. Just allowing my animal instincts to take over.
The others were there of course, in my head and in my mixed-up thoughts, trying their best to give me privacy and failing. I knew exactly how much my sorrow and depression was affecting them. At first, Quil and Embry had tried to console me. I couldn't take it. I almost made an injunction to ban the subject.
On top of the pain was a tremendous guilt. What right did I have to feel this way over Bella's loss? How could I justify it when the pack had lost their Alpha… and Leah...
Leah spent most of her time away from us, not that it was ever easy for her before. But she has lost her brother, her cousin and the man she loved all in one night.
Without her husband, Sue did not know how to comfort her daughter. The family were grieving for such great loss.
How could I make out like I was the only one who felt this way?
Billy had told me Leah had stopped eating, stopped sleeping. She spent most days locked in her room and nights returning to the field where she had lost her brother.
Which is where I was heading now; following her trail.
I skidded to a halt as her scent mingled with a familiar smell.
What are you doing here? I growled in my mind, stopping abruptly and blowing hard through my nose to dislodge the lingering burn.
"I was following you. You aren't exactly on your territory."
I couldn't help a growl of frustration, I know that. It stinks worse here than our side, thanks to your little visits.
That was another thing the pack weren't commenting on. They had become aware that Edward had been a regular visitor over the past few weeks. He was coming through La Push once or twice a week to see me.
Most of the time he ran with me during my patrols, eavesdropping on my thoughts and asking me about the memories I had of Bella. I allowed him that much. At least I didn't have to bug anyone else with those thoughts as long as he was around.
Not that everyone else approved of my method of pain relief. The whole thing was strange enough without having to hear the packs revulsion at the thought of him. They felt there was no need to continue with the treaty if it meant his constant presence on our lands.
As Alpha, I made an exception for Edward. But the rest of his… family were to stay clear.
Edward smiled and leaped down from his perch in an old willow. He made his way over to me, the smile fading on his lips like he was as happy with our situation as I was. He must find it as confusing as I did that we had this connection.
"I do." He murmured.
Sure, sure. Didn't stop him from coming back… I felt my eyes roll. What do you want this time?
He shrugged, a gesture that looked too stiff to be casual, as he gazed out to the west. "I thought I felt something strange."
I suppressed a huff, So… what? Now you're letting your primal instincts takeover?
"You embrace the wolf. Nothing wrong with utilising my supernatural intuition."
Get over yourself.
He smiled. "What are you out here for?"
I hesitated.
"Leah again?"
Why do you even ask?
"I told you. I can't read your mind. Just your thoughts. Anyway, that was a guess."
I scowled. Leah has been patrolling at night... without the pack. I explained, So far we have let her do her own thing. But we're worried and we want her back. I… my thoughts chocked a little, I want her back. It's not right she should go through this alone.
From his silence I could tell he agreed.
"Which way?"
I looked at him, Can't you use your supernatural intuition?
"I wouldn't want you to feel redundant."
A laugh barked out before I could help myself.
Try and keep up. I challenged, slightly enjoying the rush of anticipation before I pushed off hard, spraying the bloodsucker with dirt as the ground gave-way under the force.
There was one thing about the vamps I had to hand to them; they were quick. The forest blurred around me, but Edward was at my side sliding between the trees.
I followed Leah's scent further north, Edward adjusting to stay just at my left flank.
The werewolf began mingling with another, sharper scent.
Vampire! The thought echoed in my head.
"Think she's in danger?" Edward shouted at my side.
She can handle herself. I snapped. There's something weird about the scent though. Do you suppose it's a friend of yours or should I call in the reinforcements?
"I don't know. It is familiar. If it wasn't for the wet-dog smell, I might be able to recognise it."
I snarled; I need you to be sure.
"No. Don't call them in just yet." He said, "Let's you and I check on her first."
I silently agreed, moving faster until the trees broke into a large clearing.
I gasped in a lung of fresh air, stung slightly by the stronger trace of bleach that signalled a vampire. Edward was right. Now we were close, this scent was familiar.
Slowing, I skidded to a halt at the centre of the clearing, Edward close to my side.
I don't see it.
"You mean him." Edward corrected, bending to pick a scrap of material from the grassy floor. "You remember the scent because it's Jasper."
I blinked, Why would that leech be with Leah?
Edward bristled, "That's my brother."
Your brother who left. I added, trotting round to catch the breeze. Think he has a grudge?
"What do you mean?" Edward asked stiffly.
I levelled my eyes with his. I'm just saying that if Leah hadn't fallen… if Sam hadn't tried to defend her… Alice might still be alive. Your kind have a thing about going after those they hold responsible for their partners death.
He shifted, uneasy at the thought. "What happened happened. Jasper understands that."
Then why is he back?
"I'd be more concerned with why his scent is mixed-in with Leahs."
I huffed impatiently; I think the trail leaves off round the east base of the mountain… I motioned to the far side of the clearing, where the ground gave-way to the rocky incline.
Just as he went to say something, a deep snarl echoed up the rocks and through the trees.
My hair shot up at the base of my neck. She's under attack!
The sound was followed by an accompanying battle-cry.
Son of a bitch! I moved with the wind, flowing past the base of the mountain to a staging area.
The enormous, if malnourished grey she-wolf rose up on hind legs, spitting blood and snarling as she recoiled from a blow to her muzzle.
I braced, ready to ram the blonde bloodsucker, but a restraining hand clamped my shoulder, cold as ice and tough as diamond.
"Wait." Was all he said.
The lithe vampire arched upward, fist punching through the air and aiming at Leah.
Just as I was certain the hit would deliver, she twisted.
Jasper followed his own momentum; Leah caught him in the middle with the brace of her back. It sent him sprawling to the side and crunching into a cluster of rocks that would have broken a normal human.
The pair landed in crouches, watching each other for less than a second before launching from the ground. They caught mid-air, Jasper holding Leah hard around the middle.
I motioned forward, Edward holding me back as the pair before us landed in a mass of limbs and muddle of growls.
It took a moment to realise that the growls I was hearing had morphed into laughter. I watched Jaspers arms clamp tighter around Leah as her form shimmered and reformed into human... then she was laughing too.
I didn't need to see Edwards face to know he was just as dumbfounded as I was.
I watched as their laughter faded, as the blonde vampire gently shifted his fingers through Leah's dark hair. She shivered and he rolled over and away from her, retrieving a black dress she shrugged on happily. He turned her in his arms.
Can I ruin the moment now?
Edward nodded.
I let a low, rumbling growl echo around the clearing. The pair startled, almost as though they had not sensed our approach.
The scrawny, blonde vampire leapt up into a low crouch before Leah, arms outstretched, one in front and one curled back around Leah. It took a moment to process this as a defensive position.
Leah was next to react, forcibly shouldering the leech to her side, giving him a glare for treating her as though she needed protection.
I snorted, That's my girl! Like she can't handle herself.
"I think that's the point." Edward murmured, less than amused.
What?
Edward shook his head as we approached the pair.
I took in every centimetre of them.
The blonde, Jasper, relaxed his stance slightly, still edgy and uncertain. He eyed both Edward and I with equal mistrust. He seemed paler than I remembered, though his eyes shone, brass-like, and bright with adrenaline from the encounter we had partially witnessed. His stood, defensive and coiled for attack, one marble hand stretched out to Leah, almost holding her back.
Leah gripped the vampires stretched hand, not through fear, but almost in the way a diver grips the edge of the pool before launching into the air. She was equally tense, ripples of anger shuddering through her frame, ready to phase in an instant. Leah was thinner than I remembered, her hair tangled down her back. She caught sight of me and a moment of defeat and shame washed over her, before she caught and straightened… tall and defiant.
"Good evening." Edward began, slightly too casual for the way I was feeling at the moment.
What the hell is going on here! Leah, you have got one hell of an explanation to -
"Jacob", Edward mumbled.
What?!
"You're still a wolf."
Right. I'd forgotten. Be right back…
I flew into the thicket, shimmering back to human without conscious effort. I hauled on the joggers I always carried and emerged to a bashful Leah and guilty Jasper, under Edwards unwavering stare.
"Well?" I asked.
Leah dipped her head; Jasper burning from her submission took a step forward. "We don't owe you explanations!" He snarled, "Either of you." He shot at Edward.
"The hell you don't." I argued, turning back to Leah. "We're all worried about you Leah. What were you thinking doing... whatever you're doing with this bloodsucker."
Leah sucked in a breath, straining against Jaspers arm. "It's none of your business what I do Jake! Don't pretend like you own me just cause you're some all-powerful freak I have to obey in my wolf form!"
"You think that's why I'm out here?" I heard my voice kick up a decimal. "Because I have to be?"
She faltered a moment, the blazing anger in her eyes dimmed.
"We care about you, Leah." I tried to explain, slightly more subdued. "You're our sister."
Mellowing slightly, she let some tension relax in her stance.
Then I added, "But I don't know how to explain this..." I angled a finger between the two of them.
She all but leapt over the vampire to get to me, "Do you want to explain that, Jake?" She wailed as her vampire moved to catch her about the waist and drag her back from me. "How can you, of all people, question how I spend my time? Or who I choose to spend it with?"
"So you are spending time with him?"
She snorted loudly, "Perhaps I am."
"It looked more like a coffee and a chat."
"I don't care what you think, Jacob."
"What am I thinking Leah?"
She threw her hands into the air, frustration building tears in her eyes. "Whatever I say now, I won't win." Leah glared at me, her face a turbulent wash of emotion. "So what if I would rather talk to him than you." She threw her head in Jaspers direction.
The vampire didn't move, he remained fixed on me and Edward.
"At least he listens." Leah hiccoughed through an involuntary sob. "At least I can stand to talk to him. I don't feel like some looser. I don't feel his pity like bile in my throat. That weight. That weight isn't so heavy with him." She glanced toward Jasper, momentarily lost in her own mental cascade.
Perhaps the impassioned speech was just as much Leah sorting through her own emotions as it was offering some defence for her actions. Not that she needed a defence. I was guilty of my own tenuous alliance with the enemy.
I caught Edward watching me from the corner of his eye and sighed. "Leah." I moved forward. "We just want you home."
Anger was flooded by the onslaught of tears as she crumbled and chocked out, "And home is the last place I can be."
Then she turned and ran for the tree cover, phasing as she leapt the last meter into the dense forest.
I watched Jasper turn slightly and gaze after her, before looking back to Edward.
"I can't blame you." Edward intoned, almost a whisper. "Whenever you're ready."
The faintest smile crossed Jaspers lips. Then he was gone. Following Leah, no doubt.
"No doubt." Edward confirmed.
I paced the tiny space, clenching and unclenching my hands in an effort to ward off the rising aggravation with the situation.
I waited, blowing out hot breaths that curled steam against the cooling air.
Eventually I looked up, locking eyes with the man I knew was watching my little performance. "Are you going to tell me what we just witnessed?"
Edward didn't move. Didn't blink. For a moment I wondered if he had heard me at all or if the shock had been that severe it had set his marble skin as a statue.
"I think we witnessed the beginnings of a friendship based on mutual need."
I snorted, "What does Leah need the pack can't offer?"
"The same thing Jasper cannot find with us."
I glared up at him. What was that supposed to mean?
"A solace where understanding overrides pity." Edward explained. "Companionship that needs no words."
I remained silent, almost worried to think anything.
"You could say it is like our relationship." Edward admitted.
Ugh! Relationship. I shuddered at the sound.
"Would you call us friends?" He asked.
"No." I said quickly, "I wouldn't."
"Then would you prefer allies?"
"I'd prefer you to just-" words failed. What would I prefer him to just? Just shut-up? Just leave? Who would I speak to? Who could remember Bella the way we could? Who would understand?
I kicked a boulder at my feet. The rock splintered, scoring a thick gouge from toe to ankle. I hissed and bent to swipe the blood and flick it away as the injury healed.
"Great." I muttered, looking up. I was almost knocked sideways by Edwards expression.
Every part of him was alert, ready to spring. If I hadn't had enhanced vision I might have missed his pupils expand like ink across a page, overtaking the whole of his eye in rapid fever. His breathing halted with a ragged intake as he fixed on my blood-soaked foot.
"You're kidding me." I grumbled.
He was visible shaking, but wrenched his eyes away from the blood to meet mine.
"When was the last time you hunted?"
His lips parted, parched like a man who had crossed the desert midmorning. "It might have been a while."
I huffed, "More than a while if you're willing to drink dogs blood." I joked.
There was no humour in his eyes as he stared at the fluid quickly drying on my hand.
I wiped the remnants across my pants, "C'mon, you great leech." I said, motioning my head to the forest. "It's elk season. Last one to find prey is the most pitiful monster in history!"
I let the wind take me, phasing free of my human restraint and leaping into the wolf mid-stride.
For now, this was my home. This was where I felt most at ease. And Edward was at my side.
()
