A/N: I'd like to take a moment to thank those of you who have put this story on your alerts list, and especially to those who have reviewed this story, so far. It's those reviews that push me to do my best to get the chapters out quickly. Thank you so much!
On a final note, I mentioned earlier that this story is based on early BD, however, I did have to change some of the latter chapters, along with the general Timeline, in Eclipse, to tie this all together. So, in this story, Edward and Bella were already married by the time Chapter 23 of Eclipse came into play. I'm also going to be doing a little back and forth from time to time… This may seem a little strange, but TRUST ME, there really IS a method to my madness. Mwha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Jacob
"Kiss me Jacob. Kiss me and then come back."
Those words, and the moments that followed were the both the high and low of my existence. The reason for the high is pretty obvious. Especially for my pack-mates who had to relive the moment in their heads, not without much complaint, mind you. The low was, knowing that I didn't deserve it.
Man, I really was a dog!
But, damn it, she loves me, too… She just doesn't realize how much… Not yet.
Pipe it down Jacob, Sam's voice grumbled inside my head, We've got bigger things to worry about, at the moment.
We ran swiftly through the woods toward the sound and the smell of the enemy. Separate, yet connected as one through our minds, we spread out around the area like a spider's web, the perfect formation in which to ensnare our prey. This was what we were born to do.
The sounds and smells were horrible! Never before had I seen so many leeches at once! The damned bloodsuckers were everywhere. And, they were so strong!
We had been told about the strength of the newborns, but I severely underestimated them. They came at us in droves, and we met with them head on, attacking in sets of twos and threes. It seemed that for every one we would take down, two more would appear from around the trees. The Cullens fought alongside us. It was strange, fighting the enemy with the enemy, unlikely allies, battling together for the common cause. It was something I hope to never have to do again.
The little one, Alice, was setting fires to the mangled pieces as she went, causing nauseating plumes of purplish smoke to permeate the air. My nostrils burned and stung worse than my injuries. My wounds would heal themselves long before I got the stench out of my nose.
I searched everywhere, through every clearing we tore through, every group of newborn vampires, for that red-headed bitch. Victoria was nowhere to be seen. We continued, onward, pushing further and further out into the oncoming vamps…
Further and further out… Victoria was nowhere to be seen…
Oh hell, no!
Victoria knew about us. We had been tracking her for months. One thing I'd learned about her was that she was not stupid. She knew we would head straight for her newborn army. And, I'm betting she knew the Cullens would be with us, as well. If my suspicion is correct, she'll be counting on Edward and Bella being together. She would want him to watch Bella die…
This was a set up.
I broke formation and turned tail back the way we had come, zig-zagging through the trees and brushes, swerving around the various battles that were taking place.
Kiss me Jacob. Kiss me and then come back. Her voice crept back into my thoughts, again.
Those words, and the moments that followed were the both the high and low of my existence. I was a low-down, dirty, mangy mutt. I never intended to run off and die in a blaze of glory, just to clear the way for Bella to live out her happily-ever-after with Count Smugula. But, I'll be damned if I would just roll over and presume that Edward could handle the female, and whatever she had planned, on his own. I'd lay down my life in a second, if it would keep Bella alive.
Jacob!
There was Sam, again. I flattened my ears against my head and kept running back to the campsite.
Jacob, come back here, right now! That's an order!
No can-do Sam. Bella's in trouble. I know it!
I'm not messing around Jake! We need you here, now!
My feet slowed, my will being bent by the Alpha's command. But, I was still moving. That's when I remembered something that would change everything.
No, Sam… I'm going. I made a promise. Now, I've got to keep it.
I could feel Sam's anger at my refusal, but I shook it off. Something inside of me shifted… I'm not sure how I know this, but, I am certain that Sam cannot command me, any longer.
I'm sorry Sam. My place isn't here, any longer. I've got a promise to keep.
I listened, but there was no response. In fact, now I think of it, I can no longer hear the rest of the pack either. For the first time, since I became part of this mystical mess, I was alone in my head.
I was a lone wolf.
With a leap, I picked up speed and continued on my way, pushing myself faster and faster as I went. Bella's voice and her voice, alone, continued to echo in my mind.
Kiss me Jacob. Kiss me and then come back.
Hold on, Bella, Honey… I'm on my way…
Jacob shot straight up in bed, with a shout, and struggled to untangle himself from the sweat soaked sheets.
It was the same damn dream, night, after night.
His conscience wouldn't let him forget.
Swinging his long legs over the side of the bed, he rested his elbows on his knees and glanced at the clock on his bedside table, while he took a few moments to calm himself. Grimacing, he took note of the time.
3:42am.
No change, there, either.
He opened the drawer and pulled out the tiny, broken watch that he kept there.
Through the cracked crystal face, you could just barely see the hands which had been frozen forever, silently screaming the exact time that his life had lost its meaning.
3:42am.
Sighing, he placed the watch, along with a couple of other items from the drawer into the pocket of his sweats, before standing and walking out of the room.
Still barefoot, he padded silently through the little house, toward the front door, stopping only to grab a glass of water, on his way out. Once outside, he continued his journey across the new lawn, toward the detached garage.
A foggy mist hovered low over the ground and this, along with the cool sensation of the early morning dew which was wetting his bare feet, did little to alleviate his feeling of déjà-vu.
Inside the garage, Jacob leaned against the side of his old rabbit and emptied the contents of his pocket. There was one watch, one lighter and one pack of generic cigarettes. With shaking hands, he fished one out of the pack and lit up, taking one long pull after another before, finally, looking back at the fragile watch that he held in his palm.
He had been too late.
The sight Jacob stumbled upon as he burst through the trees and into the clearing where they had camped, was one that he would never forget.
Seth was already there. How could he have forgotten that he would be? He was pretty banged up, but still doing his best to tear apart some blond headed leech, despite his injuries. Edward was surrounded by three more of these putrid, bloodsucking maggots. The sound of screeching metal filled the air. Someone was being torn apart, but they were all wound so tightly together that for the life of him, he couldn't tell who…
And, Bella was screaming.
Hoarse, terrified, screams clawed their way out of her throat and pierced the night, and mingled with the other sounds of mayhem, around her.
And, she wasn't alone.
Victoria was holding Bella down on her knees, forcing her to watch the battle which was taking place between Edward and her newborn minions. She was covered in blood, much of it was pouring down her left arm which she waved in their direction, as though she were trying to draw their attention away from Edward and to herself, instead. But, there were many other wounds that were plain to see, as well. The red-head was grinning, widely and appeared to be whispering something into Bella's ear, before locking eyes with Jacob as she leaned in to take a bite out of Bella's right shoulder.
All of this, he took in within a matter of seconds, but it felt like hours. With a snarl, he had charged at her, teeth bared, fully intending to take off the bitches head before her teeth could make their mark.
As if this was what she had been waiting for, the bloodsucker had actually giggled, and called to him, "Here, puppy, puppy," while releasing her grip on Bella, who dropped, unceremoniously to the ground in a heap as she turned and met Jacob's attack head on.
They collided at full speed. The impact was what Jacob imagined it would feel like if he were to run his car into a brick wall. This was not his first fight with a vampire, by far. But, it was his first fight with one alone. It knocked the wind right out of him, causing him to lose his grip on her. Victoria took her advantage, clawing at his side, leaving bloody tracks in his flesh, before pulling back her fist and pummeling him, smashing his ribs. The pain was excruciating. However, her attention being focused on his body, rather than his head gave him the opportunity to latch onto her other arm with his teeth.
She shrieked, and tried to twist away. She ceased her assault on his side, and began lashing, instead, at Jacob's face, but he wasn't letting go. He had closed his eyes and shook his head, viciously, back and forth. He reveled at the sound of her cries, as the arm tore itself free.
He tossed the appendage behind him, and advanced upon her, again, letting his tongue loll out in a big wolfish grin.
He was really going to enjoy this.
"Do you think that killing me is going to save your little friend?" She asked him, in a remarkably innocent, little girl's voice, "Why, she's already as good as dead, to you. Tell me, if she survives… how much are you going to love her, when she's just. Like. Me?"
The rest was a blur to him.
He couldn't say, exactly, when Leah had arrived to help her little brother, or when the two of them had helped Edward defeat his newborn attackers. He couldn't recall, exactly, when the rest of the Cullens showed up, or how long it took him to finish off that life-sucking bitch. All he knew was that the second her head hit the ground, his focus was on the near lifeless body that was sprawled on the forest floor.
Upon closer inspection, he could see that Victoria's show of preparing to bite Bella had only been just that. Just a ruse to get his attention on her and away from Bella, to allow the damage she had already done to do its work. She had already been bitten at least once. It was hard to tell how many more there might have been with so many other wounds covering her body.
Jacob's vision had blurred with tears of anger and regret. He had phased back into his human form at some point, uncaring of the people around them, and his current state of undress, and had her in his arms. He heard Edward speaking to him, felt him tugging at Bella, trying to tear her away from him… Telling him that if they were quick enough, he might be able save her… Telling Jacob he had to let her go… That if he loved her, he'd let her go.
"I told her that I would come back," was all he could say, in response.
He watched through bleary eyes as Edward scooped her body up and out of his arms, noted the odd angle at which her limbs seemed to hang and sway with his movements as though she were nothing more than a ragdoll.
Edward ran with her. He ran so quickly that all Jacob could see was a blur and then they were gone. He heard Alice say something about letting him know whether or not she made it, and soon she and the other Cullens were gone as well.
Jacob had stayed, staring at the place where she had been on the forest floor, for a long time. In his hands, he held her watch. The band was broken, and the face had been smashed. The time read 3:42am.
Standing in the garage, he ran his fingers over the bloodstained band and closed his eyes.
He recalled, now, the days he spent wondering. Then on the third day, he received an envelope, addressed by one Edward Cullen, in the mail. Inside, there were only seven hand written words that told him what, deep down, he already knew.
"I did what I could. I'm sorry."
Jacob opened his eyes and looked around the garage. He and Bella had so many memories there. Funny, how something like a dirty old garage can give him some sort of peace. Those memories, a few letters and a broken watch were all he had left of her, now.
He found it hard to talk to Charlie, whenever he ran into him.
The last thing Charlie knew was that his daughter went on her Honeymoon, six months ago, with Edward and then never came back to Forks. Jacob had heard him, sometimes, talking to Billy about E-mails he would receive from her. How he had, originally, been upset about taking off like that, without even so much as a formal goodbye, but how he also realized that she was a married woman who had her own life. Of course, he also talked about how much he hated it because Bella would always be his little girl.
No, Jacob couldn't find words to say to Charlie. What could he say, anyway?
Oh, by the way, Charlie, your daughter is really dead. The Cullens have just been writing you, to keep you in the dark about it. What? Why would they do that? How did she die? Well, sir, she was killed by a vampire, whose mate was killed by Edward, because he was trying to kill Bella to begin with, because… Well, you see, Edward and the Cullens are all vampires, too. By the way, I'm a werewolf and I know that this is the truth because I was there, the morning that it happened.
Not only would the council come unglued, but Charlie would have him institutionalized for life.
No… Like it or not, he had to keep his mouth shut. But it sucked. It sucked hard. And, he missed Bella so damned much.
If only Edward, Bloodsucking Cullen had left her alone, to begin with…
Jacob got ready to flick the cigarette out into the yard, and then thought the better of it, dropping it, instead, into an empty soda can.
Billy would pitch a fit if he knew he was smoking. He'd probably be hollering stuff about how those things would kill him. Forget the fact that Jake's lungs would most likely heal themselves from any damage before sunrise.
Tucking his items back into his pocket, he slowly made his way back toward the house. He wanted to be back in bed before sunrise. Billy was an early riser and he had a spectacular nose on him, for an old guy.
Jacob crept back over the lawn, up the porch and opened the door as quietly as he could, turning it to close it as softly as possible, and turned back around to see Billy shaking his head and giving him the stern eye, from the kitchen table.
"Those damned things will kill you, you know."
Damn it, Jacob thought to himself.
If only I could be so lucky.
