AN: For once, I'm not apologizing for a long wait between chapters, lol! You guys are so spoiled… ;)

Thanks for the wonderful reviews, everyone! I'm working on responding to them, but know that I read and love every single one! Also, a special shoutout to Jasondra, who asked me if I could update again for her birthday July 9th. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it, but here it is, a new chapter in record time. Consider this my birthday present to you, bb! ;)


Chapter 7 – The Coast Road

Jacob

They traveled in tense silence once they were on the road again, Jacob setting a quick pace, almost a jog, Nessie following as close behind him as her still-jittery horse would allow. The animals weren't the only nervous ones – Jacob was all too aware of Nessie's hands clenched on the reins behind him, of her eyes darting around at every little sound and movement in the countryside around them.

He hadn't meant to frighten her. This was exactly why he'd tried to make light of the situation earlier, so she wouldn't be scared. But he should have known better… She was smarter than that, much too smart to let a few quick jokes distract her from what was really going on. She knew exactly what kind of danger they were in, possibly even better than he did, with the common ancestry between her people and the Volturi, the way she still responded to blood like they did-

No. Not like them. Renesmee was nothing like those monsters. She was good and sweet and intelligent and selfless and… And everything opposite of the Volturi and their mindless, bloodthirsty destruction.

It was odd, though… As far as he could tell, she, and all the rest of the Cullen people, didn't seem to possess any heightened abilities of smell, hearing, or any other senses. It was just the odor of blood that stood out to them. His people were the same way, all living happily oblivious to the myriad of bright scents and sounds that surrounded him every day. It was only on that one night a month when the full moon brought them together in the Packmind and they were able to experience the reality he lived in. The next morning, most people could be found suffering from what they called 'moon sickness,' a kind of sensory-deprivation hangover, the world suddenly a muffled, scentless place after the overload of information their wolf bodies had taken in the night before.

Jacob hadn't experienced moon sickness himself since he was a child, before he became a Shifter, but he could remember it well enough. Perhaps, on some level, the effect of the blood-scent was the same for the Cullens: they still recognized it, still longed for it even, but it had no place in their dull human existence.

He kept his head on a swivel as they moved, scanning every detail of the terrain around them, his nose constantly testing the wind for traces of the vampire's sickly-sweet smell. He knew the creature was still out there, somewhere. And he knew that there were probably more tailing them, more than just the one male he'd fought already. His hackles rose, sending an involuntary shudder down his spine, and he felt certain they were being watched, even then.

They continued to push westward toward the sea, the grasslands receding behind them and giving way to sand and rocks and more of the scraggly trees they'd camped under last night. The mountains paralleled their course, racing them to the water's edge and creating a veritable chokepoint through which they would have to pass. It didn't take a genius to guess that that was where the bloodsuckers would try to cut them off.

Not if he could beat them there, though. If they could just make it up the coast, past the mountains, onto Quileute land… The leeches wouldn't dare follow them into the forest, where the entire Pack would be waiting, ready to tear the intruders to pieces. They just had to actually get there first.

The wind began to shift as they neared the seashore, bringing with it wafts of salt, fish, brine, and that overripe, burn-your-nostrils vampire stench. Jacob tensed, readying himself for an attack, but then the smell had gone, evaporating on the unpredictable ocean breeze. Maybe it was just an old trace, left behind from whenever the leeches were last in this area… Or maybe, they were here, and they were doing it on purpose, taunting him.

The town rose up out of the rocks ahead of them just as they came within sight and sound of the ocean, the dark roofs of the buildings standing in stark contrast against the blue background of the water and sky. Jacob kept up his jog, not yet willing to relax – even a little pocket of civilization like this wouldn't protect them from the Volturi monsters that were after them. His tested the air cautiously, frowned, and took a deeper breath.

The stillness as they approached only confirmed what his nose had already told him. There was no one alive in this village.

He glanced back at Nessie, and she met his eyes briefly before looking ahead toward the dark buildings, her gaze tentatively hopeful but her knuckles clenched white around the reins. She could tell something was wrong, even if she didn't know what. He faced front again, trying to swallow past the growing knot of dread in his throat. He was fairly certain of what they would find here, and he only wished he could shield her from it.

He'd seen this sort of thing before, though it was usually lone travelers in the mountains, explorers or hermits who ventured too far out into the wilderness and met a grisly death. There usually wasn't much left by the time the Pack stumbled across them. Just bones, stripped clean of flesh, and sometimes even those were broken, the marrow sucked from their cores. The monsters took everything from them.

It was bad enough finding one person out there, having to look through the little shards and fragments that had once been a person, but this… An entire town wiped from existence…

Half a century ago, this town had probably been a popular stop along the road between their kingdoms, a cozy place for travelers to stay the night on their way to the hot springs in the mountains. It probably hadn't ever gotten especially large; the tiny, fishing-village feel would have been part of its charm, just as long as it had a comfortable inn and a few small shops of trinkets and keepsakes for visitors to pick through. There had likely never been much draw for larger merchants and industry to move into the area, as even before the events of forty years ago, the Quileutes had been a reclusive people, never allowing much trade to reach them from the outside world. Now, with the dark history associated with the springs and tensions rising between their peoples, the road and therefore the town had been all but abandoned, left to fend for themselves against the encroaching Volturi threat.

He knew the instant that Nessie smelled the blood, old though it was. She sucked in a sharp breath through her teeth and held it, and her face was deathly pale when he looked back at her. Her eyes had gone wide, staring around at the tomb-like buildings in silent horror, and when her gaze met his again, she looked on the brink of tears.

"Jake…" she started, then choked and looked away, her whole body trembling.

"Come on, Ness," he said gently, turning around to face her, "we just have to keep moving." He wanted to go to her, to carry her through this and keep her from having to see what he knew lay ahead, but he couldn't get any closer while she was on her horse. The animal was already tense and jumpy from the events of that morning; it wouldn't allow him to approach it again without trying to bolt, or worse, go wild and throw Ness from its back.

She nodded, looking up, but then her eyes strayed past him, over his shoulder, and the color drained from her face all over again. "Jake- What-"

He turned back around and saw them: laid out neatly side by side and coming into view as they moved through the center of the village, three skeletons, a man, a woman, and a child – a family. They were each lying spreadeagle, their wrists and ankles lashed to stakes driven into the ground, bits of decaying flesh and connective tissue still clinging to their bones. Their heads – skulls – were thrown back in unmistakable agony, their mouths hanging open in silent screams.

They'd been eaten alive. It was a common enough Volturi practice. Rip into them while the blood was still warm and flowing, save the tender, beating heart for last…

He shuddered, turning away.

"Nessie," he ground out, feeling tremors sweep down his arms, making his fists shake at his sides. Gods, she shouldn't have to see this. "We're getting out of here, okay?" He stared hard down at the rocks beneath his feet, trying not to see the silent, screaming skulls in his mind. "You're going to close your eyes, and we're going to run, and when you open them again, we won't be here anymore. Okay?"

He looked back up at her when he finished speaking, and she was staring back at him with tears running down her cheeks, her lips pursed to hold back her sobs. But she nodded her understanding, leaned forward, and kicked Noble into a faster trot, following as Jacob turned to lead the way through the town to the open seashore beyond. The horse seemed only too willing to escape the gruesome scene, matching Jacob's pace and pushing faster still, without any encouragement from his rider. Jake glanced back once to find Nessie clutching the horse's reigns, her face pressed into the animal's neck and eyes shut tight as they bounded away.

The carnage whipped past him in a blur of grey, but his keen senses still managed to pick out all the details around him – the bodies nailed to the walls of their own homes, the bonfires where whole families had been roasted alive, the stench of death and decay, the tall red-headed woman watching them from the roof of what must have once been a church–

He did a double take, catching only a flash of bright auburn as she disappeared from view. He hadn't imagined it, though – that was the other one, the second one he'd been smelling. And they were here, watching him and Ness run for their lives through the massacre these creatures had left in their wake.

This town must have been their playground. They'd been coming here for years from the look of some of the bodies he'd passed. The cool, well-trained part of his brain analyzed and catalogued each of the murders, absorbing what the dead had to tell him about their killers. The town was tiny, isolated, and had probably sustained itself almost entirely on what the people could catch from the sea. They hadn't had anywhere else to go. No escape. No choice but to hunker down, cling to the only life they had ever known, and wait for the end.

Jacob let out a tense breath when they blew past the last of the town's outbuildings; not quite a sigh of relief, but a release of some of the pressure, at least. The road swung them straight out toward the water, finally turning north when it met the edge of the rocky beach below, and he continued to run until he was sure they had left the ghost town and its grisly inhabitants behind.

He could hear Nessie doing her best to quiet her sobs, still clinging to her horse and shaking like a leaf when he looked back at her. He slowed, the horse still trying to give him a wide berth and so matching his pace, and finally stopped in the middle of the road, turning around to look up at Nessie.

She looked back at him, one hand alternating between covering her nose and mouth and scrubbing at the tears that continued to course down her cheeks. The other still held Noble's reigns in a vice-like grip.

He swallowed, taking a step forward, the need to hold her and know that she was alright pressing in on him, but the horse snorted, stopping him in his tracks as it pawed agitatedly at the ground. Jake glared at it, but didn't try to get any closer.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking back up at Nessie. He had to tilt his head back just slightly to catch her gaze from her seat on the horse's back.

"Yeah," she said weakly, squeezing her eyes shut in a grimace. "Jake, all those people…"

"I know," he said, feeling suddenly hollow. He had hoped she wouldn't see any of that… It was bad enough that she could smell them, smell the life that was sucked out of them by those demons. She shouldn't have to carry the memory of this place with her. He should have protected her from this.

His thoughts were cut short by a movement out of the corner of his eye. His gaze refocused over Nessie's shoulder, on the flash of red from among the buildings. The she-vampire was watching them, her pale face visible above one of the nearest rooftops. She was letting herself be seen – taunting him again.

He tried not to make any sudden movements, tried not to let it show that he had spotted her. Nessie stilled beside him, her eyes focusing sharply on his face, sensing the change in him. "Jacob?" she asked, her voice steady and serious.

"Ness," he said, turning his face and eyes toward her, though his attention was still tracking the splash of scarlet against the dark village roofs. "When I tell you, I need you ride as fast as you can up the coast. Okay?"

She frowned at him, her brows knit. "It's him, isn't it? The one from this morning?"

Jacob pursed his lips, studying her face carefully. The tear tracks still stood out wet and bright on her cheeks, but her eyes had hardened somehow, deep brown backed with steel. He nodded once. "Him, and his mate."

She swallowed, understanding settling around her. "You're going to fight them."

He nodded.

"And you want me to run away."

"I can't have you in danger, Ness," he said, holding her gaze, wishing he could make her understand. "I can't." She opened her mouth to protest, looking unconvinced, but he spoke before she could. "I'll be right behind you the whole way," he assured her, trying a lighter tone. "I just want to know you can get away quick in case something happens." Like the bloodsuckers ganging up on him. Right, that'd never happen. "It's just a precaution." Really.

Granted, if they did gang up on him, and if they were too much for him – he wasn't saying they would be, he could handle himself in a fight after all, but just in case – if something were to happen, somehow, and he couldn't protect her – well, he'd be dead before he let that happen. And even then, her horse wouldn't be nearly fast enough. Not against these creatures. But if they got close enough to Quileute lands… If she could make it into the forest, she might be saved…

His heart clenched at the direction his thoughts had taken; he had to prepare for the worst, though.

"A precaution," Nessie repeated, frowning. She shook her head. "Fine. But nothing better happen," he heard her mutter as she turned away, and he found himself grinning despite the somber situation.

"Are you going to transform?" she asked, looking over at him as she moved her horse into position to take off up the road like he asked. Her eyes were still hard, but she bit her lip, watching him uncertainly.

He cast a glance back at the village, discretely testing the wind with his nose. "If they get too close."

She nodded, and then her next words came out in a rush. "You can still understand me, right? When you're like that? You're still you?"

Jacob blinked, surprised at how she suddenly quailed asking that. This one little thing seemed to have her more worked up than even the thought of running for her life with the Volturi snapping at her heels. "My body's the only thing that changes, Ness," he said, watching her. "I'm still me."

She let out a breath, nodded hesitantly. "Just… don't leave me, okay?"

His voice felt suddenly thick as he looked up at her. "Never."

They held each other's gazes for a moment longer, and then simultaneously glanced back at the village. He couldn't say if he'd actually seen movement there or not. "You'll be right behind me?" Nessie asked, looking back down at him.

"Right behind you," he confirmed. She nodded, squaring her shoulders, then leaned forward and urged the horse first into a walk, then a trot, and finally a run. Jacob fell into step several yards behind them, easily keeping pace with them, his senses going on full alert as he once again scanned the terrain for signs of the vampires following them.

The female was more obvious in her pursuit than the male had been. She seemed to like the attention, teasing him by slipping in and out of view, appearing first on one distant rock outcropping and then disappearing and reappearing somewhere else, always showing off little flashes of her bright hair. The male's scent followed them as well, mirroring his mate, though he stayed mostly out of sight. Jacob only caught a few glimpses of him, pacing them from among the craggy rocks and crashing waves below the road.

Their path began to weave uphill, the mountains rushing up on their right as the sea dropped away below the sheer cliffs on the left. Jacob kept up a steady stream of profanity in his head as they ran. This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to come this way, why no one came this way anymore. It was a naturally formed trap, a strategist's nightmare, nowhere to seek refuge or escape with the wall of steep rocks on the east and the unforgiving waves to the west.

And the vampires knew it, too – he could feel them closing in, their hungry gazes crawling up his back, dancing over Nessie, making him bristle, making his teeth bare and his limbs shake… Why didn't they just attack already? Why all the waiting? Why let them get any closer to their goal rather than just ending it here?

They made it a good ways up the coastline at their ground-eating pace, Jacob feeling the whole time like he might snap from the tension, focused entirely on keeping track of where the vampires were, readying himself for their inevitable attack. It was then that the wind suddenly changed, blowing in his face and whipping his hair straight back from his shoulders. The scent hit him full-force, stronger than it had been since the fight that morning, burning his nose and sending his entire body trembling. And then, ahead on the road in the distance, he spotted a solitary, pale figure standing, blocking their path, waiting.

"Ness, STOP!" Jacob roared, leaping forward to try to get in front of her. Nessie gasped, Noble whinnying in protest at his sudden approach.

"What's the matter?" she asked, looking down at him as she reined the horse in.

"Up ahead-" he started, pointing, but Nessie's gaze was taking in the landscape around them, her eyes growing impossibly wide.

"We're at the springs," she murmured, her voice suddenly small and frail.

"What?"

"The hot springs," she repeated, her eyes refocusing on him after a moment. "Where it all started."

He looked up the road again, at the waiting figure, and then the land around him – half a mile ahead of them, there was a break in the cliffs, a sudden indentation in the mountains' high walls. Now that he knew to look for them, he could pick out the scents of fresh water and healthy vegetation on the breeze, previously masked by the vampire's overpowering stink.

If they were at the springs, it meant they were halfway to the Quileute border, as far as they could get from the safety of either kingdom, yet only a handful of miles from their goal. Just a little farther, and they would have made it. But there was no more running now; if they wished to gain any more ground, they would have to fight for it. He would have to fight for it.

"They herded us here," he growled, a fresh tremor sweeping down his spine. Then, movement behind them – his eyes snapped back to the find the female on the road, stalking slowly towards them, her head cocked to one side and face split with a cat-like grin. He snarled at her, but she only smiled wider and then took off at a run towards them.

He didn't have to think about the motion as he leapt forward through the air, the transformation coming as easy as his own breath. This was what he was built for, what he'd been born to do, to fight these monsters, to protect his mate-

Nessie's startled scream was echoed by the host of new voices in his head.

Jake!

Where are you?

Vampires!

He picked out Quil and Embry's minds among the others, their familiar thoughts as at home in his head as in their own. They were patrolling the southern border, right near the coast – they were only minutes away.

We're coming! Embry cried, taking off in a dead sprint through the trees, he claws tearing up dirt and loam as he sped past.

Be there in a sec! Quil was running to intersect Embry's course, coming from the other direction, farther north, with another behind him. Jacob didn't waste any time trying to figure out who it was, instead turning his full attention back to the fight.

The she-devil leapt straight at his face, fingers curled like talons and teeth bared viciously, but he caught her mid-air, his jaws clamping down on one extended arm, shaking her like a rag doll and managing to slam her into the ground a few good times. She hissed at him, thrashing in his hold, and her free hand went for his eye, trying to gouge it out with her claw-like nails. He yelped in pain, releasing her arm and sending her flying away into the side of the mountain just as Nessie screamed behind him.

He spun around, the female vampire instantly forgotten. In the few seconds that he had been distracted, the male had darted forward, snatching Nessie from her saddle before she could even react. He held her up by one wrist, her feet dangling above the ground as she tried in vain to kick at him or scratch his face with her free hand. Jacob snarled at the creature, teeth bared and every hair on his body standing on end as he edged menacingly forward. The threat was clear: put her down or else.

"Oh, is this one yours, pooch?" the blond man asked, turning a wicked grin on him.

"Let go of me!" Ness screeched. Her knee connected with his stomach, with no effect.

"She is pretty, isn't she?" he continued as if she hadn't spoken, curling two fingers under her chin. Nessie tried to bite his hand, but he pulled it away, chuckling. "Feisty, too." He glanced back at Jacob, his smile widening to expose his perfect, lethal teeth. "But then I've always had a thing for redheads."

Nessie screamed his name just as the female collided with him again.

She landed half on his back, almost riding him like a beast of burden, and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing with impossible strength from her two slim arms. This was exactly the worst thing that could happen when fighting one of them. His training played in the back of his mind, echoed in the minds of the rest of the Pack, ingrained in all of them. Never turn your back on them. Never let them jump at you. Never let them get their arms around you. He tried to shake her off, but she was cutting off his blood flow, his air. If he could slam her into the rock wall again, perhaps he could loosen her hold… He stumbled sideways, but his vision was beginning to darken as she wrestled him to the ground. Nessie was screaming…

Jake? Jake! What's going on?

"You will make a nice little snack," he heard the male vampire purr, sounding very far away. "And then we'll finish off your canine friend there…"

One of the bones in his shoulder splintered with a snap, and his left foreleg went numb. Nessie screamed his name.

He was clinging to the edge of consciousness by sheer force of will, his mind chanting a cadence of Renesmee, Renesmee, Renesmee, the thought seeming to pulse in time with his heartbeat. He had to get to her, he had to protect her. He couldn't let them get the better of him like this. His claws scrabbled feebly against the ground as he tried to drag himself forward.

Suddenly, the pressure around his neck let up, and the she-vampire was standing over him, hissing and spitting angrily. He blinked blurry eyes, the world a hazy, sideways mass.

Hang in there, Jake!

We got you, man! You're gonna be okay!

Quil, Embry. They had made it.

Yeah, no worries! Easy pickings, huh?

And Seth. He grimaced, pulling his paws under himself again and pushing himself to his feet. What was that kid doing out here?

The three made short work of the red-haired vampire. She might have gotten the drop on Jacob before, but now she was far outnumbered. She managed to get a few good swipes in, but just as soon as she darted past one of them, there was another wolf there, snapping at her. In moments, they had her surrounded, and then set to work tearing her apart.

Jake ignored them, his gaze on Nessie alone. She was sitting on the ground, looking shell shocked, and her eyes were filled with terrified tears when she looked up at him. He sank gingerly to the ground beside her, and she silently leaned over to bury her face in his fur.

His head felt like it was stuffed full of feathers, both from the encounter with the female vampire and with relief that Nessie was alright, so it wasn't until his brothers began pulling at his memories that he realized the inconsistency: the male vampire was nowhere to be found.

There were two, weren't there? Quil asked, even as he sifted through Jacob's memories of facing off with them here and fighting the male earlier in the morning.

Uh, guys, Seth interjected, looking up from where he'd been snuffling along the edge of the road that dropped off to the sea, I think I found him.

Embry moved to join him at the ledge, while Quil kept watch over the female's remains and Jacob stayed beside Nessie, both of them craning their necks though they would be able to see through the others' eyes just as well.

Far below, a crumpled form could be seen among the rocks at the edge of the water, the cold waves crashing over him. It was the blond vampire, and he wasn't moving.

A fall like that shouldn't have killed him, Quil said, cocking his head to one side. Unless you finished him off before that, Jake?

Jacob shook his head. He hadn't even been able to get close to the male before the female had attacked him again. The last thing he saw was the monster leaning down toward Nessie, about to make her his next meal…

He looks pretty dead to me, Seth said, mentally shrugging. That's what counts, right?

Quil and Embry seemed to exchange a glance, their thoughts carefully blank, and then agreed with him. The vampires were dead; that was what mattered.

Jacob blinked at them, his thoughts churning slowly. How had the Volturi male been killed? And how had Nessie gotten away from him? One moment, he was threatening her, and then he was just gone

Wait, Embry thought at him, cutting him off, then continued in an easier tone, We should phase back, take care of these remains. He nodded at what was left of the female vampire.

And introduce ourselves, Seth added cheerily, gesturing in turn toward Nessie.

Jacob looked down at Renesmee, still curled against his side, her tiny hands fisted in his fur. I don't really want to move right now…

Jake, Embry thought. Just that, his name, one word, but he could tell what the other wolf wanted. Embry was one of the best at communicating something without actually thinking it, and right now, he wanted Jake to phase back, and he wanted to talk to him. Discretely.

Jacob snorted, then turned to gently nudge Renesmee with the tip of his nose. She raised her head after a moment, looking up at him exhaustedly. He whined quietly in what he hoped would come across as a soothing manner. I need to get up, Ness. I'm not going anywhere, I promise, but I should probably go find some pants, and see what these jackasses want that's so important that I have to hobble around on a broken shoulder for them… He felt Embry and Quil both roll their eyes behind his back.

Nessie blinked at him a few times and then carefully leaned away from him. "You… need to change back? Is that it?" she asked hesitantly, her eyes darting around to the other three wolves. He nodded, nudging her reassuringly with his nose one more time, and then climbed laboriously to his feet. His shoulder was beginning to mend itself, but it was still painful and would no doubt be stiff and sore for days.

They moved a short distance down the road from where Nessie sat and quickly phased back to human. The others untied their trousers from around their calves and pulled them on while Jacob sat, rubbing his abused shoulder and frowning up at them.

"Alright, what's this about?" he growled, anxious to get back to Nessie.

"In a minute," Embry waved him off, turning to Seth. "Seth, why don't you go see if the princess has any clothes or blankets she can spare? It looks like Jake managed to lose his pants in that fight."

"Sure thing," the younger boy grinned, turning to head back up the road. Jacob craned his neck, trying to keep an eye on him as he approached Nessie.

"Jake," Embry said then, almost admonishing.

"What?" He didn't move his gaze from watching Seth talk to Nessie. She didn't look exactly afraid of him, just shy and worn out from the events of the day. Seth seemed to be acting his usual overly-cheerful self.

"You've got the hots for the Cullen princess," Quil said bluntly. Jake looked back at him sharply, and Quil smiled widely. "Don't you?"

"I- No-" Jake sputtered.

"Hey, she's cute," Quil shrugged, still grinning. "If you like that pale look, I mean."

"It's not like that," Jacob growled at him, bristling. A part of him was surprised at himself – this was Quil, one of his best friends – but the rest of him was more concerned with how Quil was talking about Nessie.

"Your thoughts were pretty loud back there, man," Embry said, folding his arms over his chest. "And you kept thinking of her as your mate."

Jacob felt the color drain from his face. Had he really thought that? And with the whole Pack for an audience? He'd been operating on nothing but rage and instinct when the Volturi attacked them, and hadn't paid any attention to what thoughts he was broadcasting and what he was keeping carefully hidden. "Who else heard?"

The other two exchanged a glance. "A lot of people heard, bro," Quil said, looking down at him. "But I don't think very many of them picked up on your meaning. It was all wolf-thought, anyway, no words."

Jacob let out a breath, nodding. Wolf-thought was how they referred to the flashes of emotion, instinct, and sensation that drove their other forms. It was pre-lingual, more basic than human thought, and was less easily deciphered, except by those closest to you. With any luck, no one else had understood any more than the very surface of his thoughts – he had phased, he was angry, he was fighting the enemy. His motivations, hopefully, had remained buried deeper.

"What about Seth?" he asked quietly. As one, they all glanced over at the boy, who was laughingly accepting Nessie's cloak from her as she tried to hide the bright red blush spreading across her face.

"I don't think he got much out of it," Quil said, still watching the younger two. "He was just excited about getting to join a real fight."

"What's he doing out with you, anyway?" Jake asked curiously, looking up at Quil again.

Quil shrugged. "Showing him the patrol route along the border. Can't really fault the kid for wanting to get out from under Leah's thumb."

"I guess," Jake conceded, casting a dark look up the road to where Seth was talking animatedly to Nessie. "Just as long as he doesn't go running off to Sam about this."

"Is there something going on between you two?" Embry asked pointedly.

"No," Jacob said, looking up at them both, then back down at his hands. "No, there isn't." He could feel their suspicion and skepticism as they continued to watch him, but just then Seth came trotting down the road to join them again, carrying the cloak Nessie had given him.

"Found you something to wear, Jake," he said brightly, holding up the small woolen cape by its hood.

"Thanks, pup," he replied, standing to take the cloak from him.

Seth rolled his eyes, smiling exasperatedly. "Come on, man, I'm almost eighteen, I'm not a puppy anymore."

"Your mouth says one thing," Quil grinned at him, "but the size of your paws says another."

Jake held up the diminutive cloak for a moment, trying to decide how he could get the most coverage out of it. He could let it hang down normally from around his waist, but then he would be left with an open slit all the way up one leg… Decidedly, he turned it sideways and wrapped it around his middle like a bath towel, securing the loose ends with the neckties, the hood hanging off one of his hips. Quil gave a loud guffaw when he finished and Embry raised an eyebrow, grinning.

"Shut up," Jake grumbled, turning to start making his way back up the road. "You're just jealous you don't have an awesome pocket like this," he said over his shoulder, waving the hood at them.

"Yeah, or a pretty skirt like that. If only I could be as pretty as you, Jake!" Embry simpered, pitching his voice higher on the last sentence.

"I just hope you're not planning on giving that back to her," Quil commented, pulling a disgusted face. "I'd burn that thing when you're done with it, if I was you. No telling where it's been now." Jacob mock-snarled at Quil as Seth and Embry laughed, leading the way back up the road to where Nessie was waiting for them.

She stood when they approached and Jake made a beeline for her, striding ahead of the other men to her side. She smiled hesitantly up at him and then turned shy eyes on the others, who stopped a few paces away.

"You okay?" Jacob asked quietly, and had to fight the desire to wrap an arm around her shoulders, instead contenting himself with placing his hand under her elbow.

"I'm fine," she replied, looking up at him. Her eyes took in the dark bruises on his swollen shoulder. "Are you-?"

"It'll heal soon enough," he nodded, reassuring her, just as Embry cleared his throat, reminding them they had an audience. "Right, Ness," Jake said, looking up and speaking at a more normal volume. "I guess I should introduce you guys… These are my best friends, Quil and Embry," he indicated them each in turn and they nodded, smiling amicably down at her, and then he gestured at the younger boy, his tone turning just slightly sour. "And you've met Seth."

Nessie nodded, returning their smiles. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"The pleasure is ours, princess," Embry replied, sinking into a graceful, formal bow. Quil and Seth followed suit, the three of them straightening again a moment later.

"Oh, um, thank you," she murmured, responding with a curtsy of her own. Jacob winced, watching as her face and posture sank back into the too-formal lines of when they have first met. She was steeling herself for what lay ahead, every inch the martyr princess once more.

"Well, we should get moving again. Nessie," Jake said pointedly, his hand moving to the small of her back. He needed to remind her that with him, she was still just Nessie; she didn't have to be anything else. He couldn't stand the thought of her pulling away from him, wrapping herself once more in the shroud of doom that she had carried with her as they were leaving her homeland.

She looked up, blinking wide brown eyes at him, seeming almost startled by his presence beside her. But then a moment later, a hint of a smile ghosted across her lips, reaching her eyes, and she was his Nessie again. He let out a relieved breath, turning back to the others to make preparations to set out once more.

The pack animals had run off into the springs when the vampires attacked, seeking the only available refuge from the monstrous predators, but they were easy enough to track down, especially with all four of them sniffing them out. Once they were found and Nessie was able to calm them down, it was only a minute before they were out on the road again, jogging through the last of the mountains toward the Quileute forest. Jacob decided to keep his human form, not wanting to run on his injured shoulder, and the others followed his lead. In Seth's case, it seemed to be an eagerness to talk to Nessie some more; in Embry and Quil's, Jacob suspected they didn't want to risk giving away any hints of the things they have spoken of earlier, not until they had had a little more time to process and temper their thoughts.

The path gradually began to slope downhill again, the mountains pulling back and the solid ground on either side of the road widening out as they traveled north. And then, finally, the mountains fell away completely, and the view ahead opened up on the wide valley and dense forest spreading out beneath them.

Jacob heard Nessie gasp at the sight, and then, running on her other side, Seth looked up at her, smiled widely, and said, "Welcome to the Quileute Kingdom, Princess Renesmee!"


AN: Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think in a review! :D