Allies Ch.9

Jacob's POV

We need to stop and get some clothes. Jake told Seth as they thundered through the trees toward his house. Once there, they burst in and ran to Jake's room and tied pairs of gym shorts to their ankles, ignoring the quizzical looks that Billy and Charlie gave them for busting through the front door butt naked.

"No offense, Billy." Jake heard Charlie mumble to his best friend as he and Seth bustled back through the living room to go outside. "But you Quileutes are strange people."

So where does he live? Seth inquired once they'd phased and continued their mission. Jacob showed him a mental picture of a small white two story nestled in a copse of trees nearly in the center of town with a wrap-around porch and gobs of flowers adorning the front steps.

I've been trick-or-treating there before. Jake explained. I think it's his grandmother who lives there with him. She must have raised him.

Great. Seth grumbled as they neared the edge of the forest, right on the outskirts of town. Old people really get on my nerves.

Hey, you never know, Jacob said lightly. Maybe she's one of those sweet old ladies who like to invite people in for milk and cookies.

"What do you punks want?" The gray haired woman demanded once she'd opened the door to find Seth and himself standing, half naked, on her porch. No lie, she was holding a shot gun in the crook of her feeble arm and held their gazes with her own terrifying glare. She was tiny, with a face so wrinkled she looked maybe 100, but she could pack some punch with the gun. Jacob didn't doubt it for a minute. But, from the way she handled the deadly thing, he could tell she didn't have a clue how to use it. Just great.

"No wonder he's crazy." Seth muttered under his breath, so only Jake could hear. Not that the woman could hear either way.

Jake elbowed him and put on a very pleasant smile. "Is Greg home? We're friends from high school. You know, we graduated with him," he said lightly.

The hag's beady eyes narrowed suspiciously. "He never had any friends in high school," she spat, raising the barrel of the gun to Jake's taut midriff.

He put on a mock expression of confusion. "No, Greg had us."

"Yeah," Seth put in. "We used to play Pokemon with him during lunch hour."

Jake rolled his eyes but, surprisingly, the old woman lowered her aim and stepped aside to let them in. "Alright, then," she grumbled. "But if you two cause any trouble in my house I'll pump you both full of lead."

Jeez! "Yes ma'am." They both chorused in unison. Seth even saluted her, fearful that she may be telling the truth.

"Pokemon?" Jake whispered harshly as they squeezed up the tiny staircase to the upper floor. He could tell the house belonged to an old lady. The walls were covered in flowery wallpaper, trinkets and doilies adorned nearly every surface and it just smelled like old people in there. It was an unmistakable odor, kind of like roses mixed with the sharp scent of Bengay.

"Well, he's supposed to be a nerd isn't he?" Seth hissed back. "That's what nerds do!"

"Ok, shh!" Jacob ordered as they came to stand outside a door at the very end of the frilly hallway. They knew it was his. No little old lady would have a biohazard sign nailed to her bedroom door no matter how crazy she seemed to be.

"How old is this guy?" Seth muttered.

Jake gave him a stern glare, meant to shut him up, and made himself knock. He would control himself as best he could, but if the door didn't open he was going to break in down. "Greg," he said. "Open the door." He tried the handle, but it was locked.

There was a distinctive sound of breaking glass that came from inside the room and Jake knew Greg had gone and made a run for it. Again. The coward.

"Break it down!" Seth urged hastily.

Jake nodded and turned to ram his strong shoulder into the door, causing the tiny house to rattle and a crashing sound to reverberate through the halls. No matter how much junk and frills the old woman had in the house, it wasn't enough to muffle the splintering sound. The fractured door flew open on squeaky hinges and ricocheted off the back wall with a loud thump.

The two men stormed in to find the tiny room cluttered with trash, empty soda cans and candy bar wrappers, dirty dishes and glasses on nearly every surface. But what surprised them the most was the walls. They were terrible. Covered in sketchy drawings of both wolves and of Leah, they sent a chill down Jacob's spine. Greg was indeed obsessed, infatuated with Leah.

He glanced at the window above Greg's messy bed. It was shattered, the blinds bent and torn from his hasty get away.

"This guy is sick!" Seth exclaimed as he pulled a rather lewd drawing of his sister from the wall. Jake bent his head to see her, portrayed nude and poised in a very compromised position. He felt his face get hot with anger, his ears ring with fury.

"What's going on up there?!" Came the old woman's crackly voice from below. "Greg?"

"Damn it, let's go!" Jake said as the two monsters of men squeezed, one after the other, out through the tiny window. Suddenly they heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire, just as Jake managed to pull his tall body completely out.

"What the hell?!" he cried as they began to scale the roof top like escaping felons. "That woman is nuts!"

They scurried around the roof to the back of the house where the backyard was surrounded by a dense cluster of trees. Figuring their quarry had escaped through the forest's shadows, Jacob led Seth in the chase, and jumped from the roof's overhang and hit the ground running straight into the woods, his companion right on his heels.

He stopped though, once they'd gotten deep enough inside, and took a whiff of the sweet smelling pines and summer air, searching for Greg's now familiar scent.

"I think he pissed himself." Seth said as he too sniffed the noontime air, scrunching his nose in disgust.

Jake nodded. "He's running toward Leah's cabin. If we don't catch him the others surely will. Sam's probably got them swarming the place."

"Alright," Seth said. "Let's go before—"

"Hoodlums!"

Together, Jake and Seth turned their heads in surprise just as the old bat came bustling toward their hidden spot, gun raised high and eyes filled with unbridled fury. Under any other circumstances the sight would have been hilarious, but at the moment Jake had no time for the lunatic. He had to find Greg and it would be easier to accomplish without a bullet wound.

"Jeez, she's fast." Seth breathed in admiration.

"Go, Seth." Jake ordered as they dashed deeper into the forest, yanking their shorts off awkwardly as they ran. They paused only to tie them to their ankles, and were phased again before the old woman could get anywhere close to them, ready to hunt.

As Jacob sniffed the madman's trail he kept imagining the many ways he could punish the guy. Aided by Seth's own imagination, they'd come up with a plan – a very unlikely plan – that they knew they'd never get away with, but it was awesome anyway. First, they would tie him up butt-ass naked to a tree – upside down of course, beat him within an inch of his life, and then kill him dead with a bazooka, of which they hadn't figured a way yet to acquire.

Seth had opted to cut the man's junk off and feed it to the bears before they blasted him into a million tiny pieces, but the idea made them both gag with revulsion. How could they stand to touch his slimy package, much less submit the poor bears to such a disgusting snack?

Maybe we can rough him up a little. Jake suggested. You know, before the cops come and put him away.

What's your definition of 'a little'?

A lot. Jake said with an inward grin.

Luck was on their side. It only took about a half hour to catch up with Greg thanks to the strong urine smell that christened his putrid scent. Like the freak he was, Greg was holed up in an abandoned bear cave only a hundred or so yards from Leah's back yard, of which was in sight of the cavern's wide mouth. The walls of Greg's refuge were painted, not with their peoples' ancient symbols, but with English words of hate and anger. The dirt floor was a copy of his bedroom, littered with blankets and trash.

They found him, huddled in the far back corner, shaking noticeably and muttering frightened oaths. When he saw the red and tan colored wolves appear at the cave's entrance his eyes bulged with terror. He didn't reach for a weapon so Jake figured he hadn't thought to grab one in his haste to escape his bedroom, thank God, or it wouldn't have been so easy for Seth to reach his enormous paw in and yank Greg out and them subdue him with his razor sharp teeth. Their captive thrashed about wildly, yelling for help, kicking and punching. But it was to no avail.

Let's get to the clearing. Seth said. And hurry. This guy reeks to high heaven!

They made their way to the gathering ground as fast as they could, Greg still trying desperately to get free of Seth's jaws. Jake gave a great howl as they ran, summoning his brothers to join them and their prisoner. It was show time, Jacob thought with excited anger. He couldn't wait to get his paws on Greg. He could actually feel the spirits of his forefathers surround he and Seth as they moved, igniting a revengeful fire inside their racing hearts. He could remember all the ancient legends and folklore, the way his people used to punish their captives or traitors. They should scalp Greg, or hang his severed head from the old lodgepoles still standing in town to warn the enemies of a similar fate. Greg deserved it after the man dared to hurt Leah in such a way.

Jake's thoughts lingered on her face, smiling for once in an old memory and his heart beat faster with a now familiar protectiveness towards her, but also a new feeling. He cared for her, but could he actually be falling for her? If he was, could he forget about Nessie? Would Leah have him?

Jake… Seth said, confused by his alpha's slip of feelings.

Jacob shut his mind immediately and a beat later he and Seth cleared the trees and entered the small meadow. Again, Sam and his pack were already gathering, their chests heaving with exertion. Seth dropped Greg in the center of the clearing and placed his giant paw on his stomach, daring him to move.

Sam phased and strode over to Greg in three determined steps, stood above him and glared with ice cold eyes. "You're going to pay dearly for the stunt you pulled this morning," he said through gritted teeth, his face red with fury. Greg's body actually convulsed with fear at the menacing stare Sam gave him, his eyes nearly bulging from his greasy head.

Jake phased then and pulled on his gym shorts, He came to stand beside Sam, looking just as dangerous with his own livid stare. "What do you have to say for yourself?" he demanded. Greg merely let out undistinguishable sounds.

"Speak!" Sam roared.

Greg cowered, but attempted to obey. "I-I love her." He whimpered.

"So you stab her?" Sam exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"She wouldn't have me," he explained, voice trembling. "She betrayed me with—"

Jake backhanded the scoundrel before he could say anything further, before he could reveal to Sam what had occurred between him and Leah the night before. He needed to break that news to Sam gently, for he knew for certain now that his former alpha was still heartbreakingly in love with her. Nonetheless, Sam eyed Jacob curiously, but turned his attention back to Greg.

"Well it doesn't matter." Sam said ominously. "You will pay heavily for this. First by our hands, and then by the law's."

"W-what are you going to do to me?"

"You know where I can get my hands on a bazooka, Sam?" Jake asked and Greg gasped.

"No, no! Please don't hurt me!" he begged. "It was a mistake, I didn't mean to- I'll do anything you ask, just don't hurt me…"

"You coward." Came a voice from behind the gathering. Every head snapped toward the edge of the trees. Leah stood there, wearing her father's burgundy BassPro Shop tee and a pair of shorts. Her body looked so weak, but her eyes blazed with unrestrained anger as she gazed upon her stalker's pathetic form.

Jake breathed a sigh of relief as she walked slowly to them and stood between him and Sam. Sam touched her slender arm reverently and looked at her with admiration plain in his eyes, but Leah only had eyes for Greg. She quickly informed the men of the happenings in her bedroom, giving every detail of Greg's pathetic sob story, but leaving out the part where he mentioned Jacob's involvement with her.

"So you wish to be a wolf, huh?" Jacob scoffed.

Sam sneered. "Some wolf you'd make…" he said sarcastically.

Greg snapped. "I am Ephraim's heir!" he shouted, tears pooling in his bloodshot eyes. "It should be my right! Leah should be mine, not yours or his!" He indicated Jacob with a nod of his head and Sam's brows furrowed but he said nothing.

'"No, Greg." Leah said quietly. "We are honorable and brave warriors. We fight without fear and show no mercy when it comes to protecting our people and our imprints."

"And if we should be captured," Sam added with disdain. "We do not beg like cowards. If it is true, that you are indeed Ephraim's heir, then he would be ashamed."

Greg's tears spilled over. "I am the true alpha!" he screamed. "Me, not him!" Again, he indicated Jacob. "Leah should be my beta, my lover."

"You have no virtue!" Leah insisted. "You are apparently a bad egg and our tribe has no use for your genes. That's why you do not phase, because your children would make poor warriors." Her voice broke then, and Jake knew she was thinking of her own similar dilemma. She couldn't pass on her genes, so did that make her a bad egg as well? He gently caressed her arm to let her know that he was there, beside her and she sighed, reluctantly accepting his comfort.

"No," Greg breathed angrily.

The others phased then and crept slowly to where Greg still lay underneath Seth's paw. He too phased and Greg quickly scrambled to his feet. "Get away from me!" he bellowed, backing away.

"I don't think so." Embry said mischievously.

"You're supposed to be protectors, remember?" Greg tried. "I've read the legends. You shouldn't hurt me!"

"All that shit went out the window the second you laid your filthy hand on Leah." Jake said. "Now, you're fair game."

A/N: Love, love, love the reviews! This was part of Ch. 8, but then it would've been too long so I made it Ch.9. Anyway, one more chappy and the tale will be told. I've got a sequel in mind though…