Jacob's POV

Damn! I saw Leah jump the leech. I heard Bella cry out in alarm, and saw Quil dart around and block her from the two. And I heard voices. I heard Leah's screaming, and I heard parts of another voice. Cold, and malevolent in its own way, it was jeering at her. Something like, "Cullens…Deserting for Emily…" -- it was really unclear, but then it somehow got louder, and more pronounced. It was like the voice became separate, or walked out of a dense fog. I felt nauseous and angry at what I could hear. "… Allowing the Swan girl within your territory in defiance of your treaty…For their blindness to what she is and her elusive tricks…" What elusive tricks? And what she "truly is"? She's human, I know it. But a creeping doubt that I had been pushing away was re-surfacing. I might have actually lost her? Impossible. She was still…

"Jacob, get your priorities straight. Quil—bring her over. Embry, Jake; flank her on both sides. Go!" Sam interrupted my thought process and I went to save the leech I was growing to despise more with each second the doubt lingered. Sam issued instructions to the rest of the pack. Two were to drag Edward away after one was to head butt Leah off; Quil would stay with Bella and keep her out of the way. But I noticed a change in Leah's posture. At that moment, she snapped out of Cullen's hands and tore towards Quil, who braced himself against the attacker, standing like a fortress over tiny Bella. We re-organized ourselves with Cullen about to spring into action himself, but all too soon, Leah stopped gnashing her teeth against Quil's shoulder. She removed her claws from his ribcage and backed away slowly and shakily.

"He's gone…" Said Cullen, and he was next to Bella in a flash. She smiled meekly and rubbed Quil's uninjured shoulder in thanks. Bella had Cullen's hand on her shoulder and stole a glance at Leah, who eased herself to the ground and covered her face with her paws. She curled up into a ball and whined. I sat down next to her and nudged her shoulder.

"I tried… He was- I couldn't- it just-"

"We know… it's over now."

She stared at me, eyes wide and fearful. "The things I'd seen. The visions of their world, his face… her..." she nodded towards Bella.

"What about it?" I pounced at the bait. I had to know. If the leech that invaded Leah wanted something with Bella, then—

"Yes, I am familiar with him. His name is Aro; he was one of leaders of the Volturi. There seems to have been a change in rankings, and he no longer is enjoying life on the top of the food chain. However, this is something unexpected…"

I felt like shoving my paw in his mouth to make him shut up. I had no interest in what he had to say, and most of us had heard the majority of their conversation. But like it started, it had faded away. As if he had re-entered the dense fog, as if Leah's invader had erased himself slowly. We heard everything up until "remove them from…" and I wasn't sure what the implication was. My blood boiled at the thought of the ex-head-honcho parasite looking to do something with Bella. It was sickening. But my stomach was more upset for another fact. I heard Arrow or whatever his name is congratulate Cullen on a beautiful dead wife. And yet, there she was, getting to her feet before me, innocent and human as she could possibly look. I don't know what to believe anymore. And it frightens me to think that Bella's mortality could have slipped through my fingers so easily. But there were several things about Bella that I noticed which made it obvious she was still human. She didn't reek of leech like any of the other Cullens; it was just like as if she had spent a day in one of their cars and stepped out. It was more of a transfer than her actual scent. She still smelled like flowers with strawberry shampoo. And if she was in fact a leech, she wouldn't be clumsy. No vampire in history is as accident prone as she is, and the fading bump on my head from the kitchen cupboard proved it. But did she feel like marble? Was she frozen to the touch, and frozen in this form forever?

"But now he knows the mechanics of your communications. He understands what walls he needs to raise and which ones he has to tear down…"

Cullen was still talking to Sam and those who were listening. Some of the pack had departed to look for the body that housed the mind, but their thoughts projected no findings. I was still bitter about the possibility of Bella being a… you know. But I knew if I didn't focus on the leech before us, I'd get in trouble. It figures, just as he finished his speech, I'd started to tune in. I went through a summary of the present danger and realized with both a jolt and a sinking feeling that the plan was to exterminate us. Great. This would be fun. The remaining pack members, except Leah, went back into the bushes to phase back and get dressed. Sam was the first one to emerge, and took the liberty of escorting the… two to their car [I almost said couple, but I hated the thought of it]. I decided to stay at La Push, knowing that not only was my presence necessary, but I'd get in shit if I didn't stick around. Leah still hadn't moved, her desire to curl up and disappear painfully evident. Although I wasn't all too fond of her, sympathy was hard to ignore. So I plopped my hide next to her, not phasing back for the sake of some normalcy.

"You don't have to stick around, you know."

"Sure, sure."

"You're probably worried about Bella, or- or"

"Him, I know. Hope he goes after Cullen,"

"Jake, don't be an ass."

"What?"

"He's trying to help"

"Doesn't really change much, does it?" I grumbled.

"Jake, it was her choice. If that's what she is, that's what she is. She doesn't seem like a different person. But that-that thing... it wants her too. Jake, what if we're just bait?"

"Doubt it. Since when do you give a damn about Bella or the Cullens anyway? Any mention of them makes you swear like a sailor!"

"I saw things…"

"So what?"

"I saw what he wanted the Cullens to become. It doesn't change what they are as leeches, but it changes what they are in morals."

She showed me the picture—Edward, Bella, and the psychic pixie one—all standing next to three figures in black cloaks. One was a child, the others were grown, and every being there had eyes the tint of a garnet or a ruby. Saturated blood tones. And they were in a room of humans. And the humans knew what was coming. Each vampire advanced with a grin. And then the vision stopped. Leah was panting, and I felt a chill run across my spine. I'd had enough. So I walked back to where I'd ditched my clothes, phased back, and stood next to her.

"It's not going to happen you know. Now go get dressed and let's go have lunch."