Beta: Jessipooks/Mist
Banner: Mist-Whom I get to meet in person for the first time on Monday!
A/N: Thanks for the love and support and the patience you guys have displayed for this story. It won't be long and it will sadly be down. I see maybe 8 or 10 chapters left.
Xoxox
Chapter 10: Bittersweet Sundown
Jake had fallen asleep next to Bella but a few hours later his body alerted him that there was still danger that needed to be taken care of. He slipped out of bed, making a call to Sam and the others so they could meet him at his place in twenty minutes.
He gave himself enough time to shower so the others wouldn't detect what he had been doing while they had been waiting patiently for his instructions. He knew he could hide his thoughts from them when he wanted too but the scent would be much harder to keep from them.
"Where are we on locating Leah?" Jake asks as soon as they walk up in human form.
"I caught her scent a few miles on the outskirts of town." Embry states with an angry growl.
"We have to find her and fast." Paul glares at Jake.
"I know. I plan on saving her and bringing her home to us." Jake was picking up on their animosity. They felt like Jake was putting Bella before the pack. They were geared up earlier to kill some vamps and get Leah back and he allowed Bella to side track him.
"I'm sorry for coming back and not staying focused but I don't regret bringing Bella home. She wanted to come home. She informed me we are going to have a ….baby." He looks proudly at them.
Their anger fades just a little as their frowns turn up into smiles.
"That's good news Jake." They each took turns patting their Alpha on the back but then got back to the seriousness that had brought them there in the first place.
"Where's is Collin?" Jake inquired almost expecting to fight Collin in an effort to calm him down from the tension surrounding Leah.
"I don't know." Embry shrugged his shoulders.
"Wasn't he with you tonight on patrols?" Sam looks alarmed.
"I …yeah but when you returned here, I thought he was following the rest of us back." Embry looked around feeling panic sinking in.
"Shit! Who told him about Leah?" Jake demanded.
"No one. But honestly it was hard not to think about it." Sam ran his hands through his hair looking guilty as the rest of them.
"I handled this all wrong! Shit! If we don't find him alive. Bella is never going to forgive me." Jake pinches the tip of his nose trying to calm down and think rationally but it was so hard when he knew what he would do if Bella had been taken. He couldn't really blame Collin for wanting to go after his imprint but it wasn't smart to try and attack a house full of vampires alone.
"Let's go. Takes us where you smelled their scent." Jake looked at Embry to lead them.
In seconds they were all back into their wolf forms as they raced out of La Push and straight across the boundaries of town and directly toward the house where they could smell the filthy bastards who had killed two of their members and had one wolf held hostage. It wasn't going to be an easy attack and they all knew it.
"Where's Collin?" Paul says to the others.
"I'm not sure. Can anyone reach him?" Jake asks. They all began to search their minds trying to pick up any random thoughts that Collin might be having, anything to indicate if he was here like them. They needed as many numbers as they could get if they were going to go up against what was inside of that house. Jane was a force to be reckoned with. She had a mental power that could cause pain, although it really didn't affect Jake as much as it had the vampires she had used it on.
"I think I found him." Brady calls out with his mind. They all look into the deep forest.
"Where?" Sam and Jake shout at the same time.
"He's close by but he isn't in there." Brady answers.
"Then where is he?" Paul's voice shouts. He didn't like knowing they had a love struck blood thirsty wolf somewhere nearby. He feared that Collin wouldn't think straight and attack before they were ready to join him.
"Oh shit! No he didn't." Brady shakes his large head with a low disgusted snarl slipping between his teeth.
"What?" Jake wasn't sure what was up but if easy going Brady was pissed then it wasn't good news.
"He brought the Cullen's. A couple of them anyways." Brady answers.
"What?" The rest of the wolves cry out in unison.
"Jake, it's me Edward. Can you hear me?" Edward calls out low enough so the wolves can pick up on it but no human ears could've detected it.
"Edward why are you here? Where's Collin?" Jake answers back.
He hated the way Edward could hear their thoughts. It made him uneasy knowing that one of their enemies could listen to them and prepare others if they decided to attack.
"Collin came to us. He caught your scent at our house and when we detected him, I talked him down from going after Jane by himself." Edward explained.
Jake had to hand it to him, at least he prevented Collin from killing himself.
"Why can't I hear Collin's thoughts?" Jake asked still in a tense alert mode.
"Jake. I'm here. I'm just….pissed off man. You had no right not to tell me." Collin's voice quivered between pain and rage.
"We were trying to locate them before we told you. We didn't want you to do something rash and get yourself killed for nothing. We didn't know for sure if she was even…alive." Jake gulped hard as he forced the last word out of his mouth.
"Is she?" Collin cried out, his thoughts of the times he had spent with Leah, the shared kisses, and the dreams they shared nearly broke all the wolves' hearts as they felt the waves of emotions that belonged to Collin.
"I…don't know." Jake felt as if his heart was breaking in two. It was crazy but Collin's love for Leah was somehow transcending to all of them.
"Why are you here? Do you guys have a plan? Let me help Jake. She is my…she is…everything to me." Collin's voice crackles and ended hoarsely.
"Of course you can help us Collin but you have to follow my orders no matter what. Do you understand me?" Jake's voice was firm and strong as he slipped in his Alpha tone that made each of them tremble with fear. They understood their places in the pack. If they disobeyed Jake's orders then they knew what the penalty would be. It wasn't pretty.
"I understand." Collin nodded his wolf head as he ran up to Jake.
"Good. Now I don't see us doing this the way we normally would. They know what to expect from us in wolf form but they wouldn't expect us in human form." Jake thought to himself, clearly forgetting for a moment that they were all on the same telepathic signal.
"What are you suggesting? We grab some stakes and holy water then rush in and kill them?" Sam asks with a sarcastic tone that wasn't lost on any of them.
"Of course not! But what about the guns that my dad and the others used to hunt with? What if we do this old style? I was thinking we could start with burning the house. That way they will rush out and we can shoot them. I know we won't kill them this way but it will weaken them so we can phase and attack them. They think they are coming out to hunt humans. But they will get the shock of their miserable lives when they see us as wolves." Jake looked around at the others as he heard each of their thoughts.
"I could see that working." Edward said as he stood behind them.
Jake really didn't like the fact that the Cullen's were involved in this attack but he had to admit they were extra hands that could assist with the shooting part and of course helping them grab the vampires who fled the house.
"Sam, Paul, Embry….what do you think?" Jake wasn't trying to purposely leave any of the others out in this vote but they were the eldest in his pack and they had more experience than the rest.
"I like it." Paul's wolf grins wickedly.
"I think you're on the right lead as far as not attacking in our usual way but I'm not sure about the rest of the plan." Sam sighs.
"Embry?" Jake waited patiently for his friend to be honest with him.
"Since we have the Cullen's here we at least know they will spare us time to phase back in order to kill them." Embry looked at Sam and knew he was disappointed in his answer but he could see the possible outcome being in their favor.
"Then let's do this. Sam take Collin, Embry and Brady to go get the guns. Edward and the rest of us will watch the house closely. We need to know the exact number of vampires inside so we don't miss any of them. We don't need another one of those bastards seeking revenge on us. It's time to take out every one of them that knows about us. We can't risk them going back to the Volturi." Jake finished his speech with a confident air.
"On it." Sam and his small group raced back toward La Push while Paul moved up next to Jake's side.
"I hope like hell you're right about this." Paul snickered.
"Me too." Jake agreed as he turned his head looking directly at Edward who like Jake was hoping that he had made the right choice.
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Bottles with gasoline and flames were thrown tactically around the house. A few minutes later they saw vampires fleeing from the house. Each one of them tried to flee for safety but were filled with bullets moments before the wolves shot out of the woods and ripped their limbs off.
Edward knew it was only a matter of seconds before Jane and Alex made their way out of the house. They were the two he was more concerned about. Emmett and Jasper were out there aiding the wolves with the slayings.
Edward kept a close eye on Jake as he made his way into the house with Sam right behind him. They had located Leah in the basement. She was still alive but they weren't sure what condition she was in.
As they were making their way back out, Edward caught Alex's scent as he darted through the house directly toward the wolves.
Edward flashed by the feud making his way inside of the house. Sam was carrying Leah's body in his human form. Jake was still in wolf mode as he help guard them.
Alex came up from behind them. Edward jumped over Jake who looked like he was about to take a bite out of him. He landed against Alex, smacking him into a fiery wall. They rolled back and forth both holding the other's neck. Edward knew that Alex could easily kill him and he just might do it tonight but to his surprise, Alex was ripped away from his hands and thrown directly into the inferno. Jake scratched the floor and let out a loud howl as Alex tried to climb out of the fire. His screams for help were lost on Edward. He turned and walked away allowing Jake to take down the bastard who helped kill his father and Jared.
"Come on Sam, I've got your back." Edward helped lead Sam out of the house. As they reach the fresh air of the night, Sam didn't make it more than two steps before Collin had phased back and grabbed Leah into his arms.
"Oh God Leah what did they do to you?" Collin held her weak body in his arms as tears streamed down his face. Her eyes were closed and she appeared to be passed out.
"She was like that when we found her, chained up." Sam explains. He couldn't take his eyes off of Leah. He had been so terrified that he had lost her. She was a part of the pack but she was also the first woman he had ever loved and the thought of her dying alone by the cold ones made him crazy
"Where's is Jake?" Paul calls out as he walks up.
"He was inside killing Alex." Edward answers. Squinting his eyes he looks up at the house that was about to fall down from the fire. He wondered why Jake hadn't made it back yet.
"Where are you going?" Sam asks as Edward runs toward the house.
"He should be out by now." Edward shouts back before racing inside the house.
Jake jumped through the flames, knocking Edward smack on his ass.
"Shit." Edward shouted furiously. Jake's jaws open wide and bite down into the collar of his shirt. Edward was so scared he feared he was about to die. If he had been human this would be one of those moments when a person literally pisses on themselves from fear.
Jake threw Edward out into the front yard as he jump out of the way of the crumbling house.
Edward jumped to his feet and wiped the dirt off of his clothes. Jake transformed back into his human form. He had a smug look on his face when he saw the fear in Edward's eyes. He knew he was acting immature by enjoying the fear he had cause in Edward. Especially after Edward had helped protect Sam and Leah earlier but he was still a little pissed about his part in hiding Bella's pregnancy from him.
"I'm sorry Jake. She asked me not to tell you." Edward understood why Jake was particularly pissed off at him today. He always seemed to have a reason to hate him more than the rest of his family.
"Of course she did but Edward don't ever come between me and MY family again." Jake points his finger at him as he purposely says his warning in his mind about the things he will do to Edward personally if he ever got in his way again.
"Was that all of them?" Paul asks as they start grabbing the dead limbs to throw into the house fire.
"No." Edward shook his head with a disgusted look on his face.
"Who did we miss?" Embry growls with frustration. He was growing tired of this battle with the foreign vampires.
"Jane." Jasper answers him.
Jake and Edward share a mutual look of understanding. They both know that she was the most dangerous of all and she would definitely inform the Volturi of their existence if given the chance.
"Who were you killing in there then?" Paul scratches his head wearing a confused look.
"Alex. Jane's brother. She is going to be more pissed than ever now." Jasper warns them.
"Well fuck!" Paul shouts furiously.
"I second that." Embry sighs heavily.
"We have to find her tonight." Jake looks over at Collin who is still holding Leah in his arms with a protective stance.
"Take her back home. Have her mother look at her. Stay with her. If Bella calls looking for me tell her I will be home soon." Jake orders Collin.
Collin gives them all a relieved looked as he nods his head and leaves.
"Where the hell was she? Are you sure she wasn't inside the house somewhere hiding?" Sam asks with his hands on his hips while staring into the flames.
"Trust us, we would have felt her presence." Emmett scoffs.
"She would attack us right away with her powers." Jasper backs up Emmett.
"Where? Why wasn't she here? Did she know we were coming somehow?" Paul looks directly at Edward with open suspicion.
"How would I know?" Edward answers calmly.
"Where is the little one with the visions?" Embry turned his attention at Jasper knowing he was the spirited female's mate.
"She is at the house with the rest of our family." Jasper replies casually.
"Did she see this night happening? Does she know where Jane went?" Jake looked at the Cullen's with an angry glare.
"She knew you would attack here but she didn't see Jane leaving." Edward answered for them.
"When I came to your house earlier tonight you had Bella distract me, didn't you?" Jake's heart ached at the part that Bella played in their scheme. Did she willingly know what she was doing? Why would she aid the vampires? This would make the others question her loyalty to him and to the pack.
"There were a few vampires that stayed here who weren't involved in the attacks. They were forced to give Jane and her brother shelter here. We didn't think it was fair to have them killed like this." Edward nodded his head knowing that Jake was more upset at the moment with Bella's part in this than at them directly.
"Oh my God! These vampires you spared probably told Jane!" Sam shouted angrily at the vampires then his fury was directed straight at Jake.
"What? I didn't know until now." Jake swore to Sam that he didn't know that he had been played until it suddenly occurred to him.
"They will be in our debt now. This is good for you as well." Jasper tried to make them see their logic in sparing their lives but he knew it was going to be lost on the wolves who only saw black and white where vampires were concerned.
"How's it good for us? They killed one of us and Jake's father. They would have killed Leah if we hadn't saved her." Sam argued heatedly.
"Look, if Jane knew of our plans she wouldn't have left her twin brother here. She only cared about him and the leaders of the Volturi. She wouldn't have sacrificed her brother's life in order to flee with her own." Jasper hoped they would calm down and listen to reason, as he sent out soothing feelings around them simultaneously.
"Jake do you hear this bullshit? Do you?" Paul shrieks.
"I hear it. I hate to say it but I actually half believe it." Jake choked on the words as they spilled out of his mouth.
"WHAT!" Sam and Paul exclaimed in unison.
"Look Jake, when Alice got the vision that your father had been murdered it was already too late for us to step in. We knew how upset you were going to be and we didn't want you to get killed. You know the way you were concerned about Collin's actions earlier. We were only trying to protect you and Bella . Bella didn't know that Jane would escape you by helping us." Edward watched as Jake struggled internally with his turmoil.
Jake knew that Edward was trying to defend Bella's actions because it was hurting him like hell that she didn't tell him sooner. If she had been straight up with him then they might have gotten her sooner and taken down all of the vampires including Jane.
Did she come back home because she really wanted to be there with him or did she do it just to protect him? He remembered how she said she wanted to tell him about the baby sooner but wasn't sure about his feelings for her. Did she mean anything she had told him tonight? How could they get past this? He knew it wasn't the same as cheating but it felt very similar to it. She had betrayed him and made him look less of a leader to his men and to his friends.
None of them would let this pass so easily. They wouldn't trust her where the Cullen's were concerned now. This was not going to be an easy fix for him, for her, or the pack. When trust was broken it was harder than hell to regain it and let's face it, it's never the same as it was before.
"We need to focus our energy and minds on locating Jane. The rest of it WE will deal with later." Jake looks at his guys with an understanding that he knew they felt betrayed but now wasn't the time to hash it out.
"Where do we start?" Sam asks as the entire pack looks toward the Cullen's.
"Let me call Alice." Edward pulls out his phone hoping like hell that Alice had managed to locate Jane by now.
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An hour later they were all standing outside the gates of the airport watching as Jane's plane took off into the cloudless sky. Alice reported she had seen Jane come up on the scene of the house fire. She seemed to being staring at the house fire for a few moments and then fled to the airport. She would get on the first flight available out of the state and then would head out of the country.
Jake and the others were not too pleased by her departure. They would have felt better if they had killed her but there wasn't anything they could do now.
"Go home. Get some rest." Jake told his pack followed by an exhausted yawn.
"When she returns, if she does, we will get her." Jake informed them hoping it would give them some sort of hope.
Edward approached Jake, his lips were pursed together as he stood there just looking at him for a few moments as if they were playing the staring game before he spoke up.
"Don't hate her for loving you enough to want to protect you. You would've done the same thing for her." Edward replies softly.
"I'm not going to discuss my feelings about this situation or Bella with you. Just remember Edward what I said before. Stay out of our way. Leave her alone. She doesn't need your protection anymore." Jake exhales deeply.
Edward was about to say more until he felt Jasper's hand on his shoulder.
"Let it go man. He's right. She is his business now not yours." Jasper understood Edward's need to protect Bella but it wasn't his place to be her protector any longer.
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Sue finished cleaning up Leah's wounds that were already starting to show signs of healing. She had been truly upset to learn that her daughter had been taken by the vampires and none of them had informed her.
Collin had explained that like her, he had been in the dark about her situation until he accidentally discovered it.
They were both in agreement that Jake should have told them right away about it but they also understood Jake was the Alpha and he had the right to do things the way he saw fit. They didn't have to like it but they had to follow it.
"She hasn't woken up yet." Collin sobs as he holds her hand in his, brushing his thumb back and forth across her soft skin.
"She will. She's probably in shock. I can't blame her. She lost a lot of blood and I'm happy to see that the few bite marks she had on her didn't seem to do any permanent damage. I'm not entirely sure how this will affect her wolf side though." Sue chewed on her thumb nail as she stared at her daughter's weakened body.
Sue knew that Leah was a fighter. She would somehow come through all of this but she just wasn't sure what kind of condition she would be in now. The vampires used venom in their victims when they bite them to paralyze their victims while they fed from them. Leah wasn't dead and it didn't look like they had bit her for the sole purpose of food or else she would have been drained and dead when they found her.
No, this was something they had purposely done. They must have studied her reaction to their bite. Perhaps they had been curious if they could change her into one of them.
They wouldn't get any answers until Leah woke up. When she did, Sue had a bad feeling that the Leah they once knew might be slightly different.
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Bella woke up to the smell of fresh brewed coffee. She grabbed her house coat from the back of the door and slipped it on before she walked across the hall to check on Lizzie. She found her daughter still deep in sleep. Smiling fondly at her she fixed the blanket so it would cover her up more before she left the room.
When she entered the kitchen she was wearing a brilliant smile on her face as she looked at Jake with admiration. When he looked up at her she didn't see the same feelings from his eyes. No, she saw pain, anger, and confusion. She wasn't sure what happened after they had fallen asleep together but she knew something enormous had.
"Jake, what's wrong?" Bella took a seat in front of him. She reached out to try and hold his hand but he pulled it away and set it in his lap.
"What happened? Why are you angry at me?" Bella felt a strong wave of pain flow between them. She wondered if this was still about the death of his father and Jared or if this was something directly toward her.
"Jake. What?" Bella spoke louder and strongly as her heartbeat began to double in beats.
"I went in search for Leah last night. We found where the vampires were held up at." Jake began watching as Bella's face turned an awful chalk white.
"Edward and his brothers were there also. They helped us kill everyone in the house but of course some of them weren't there. The Cullen's helped some of those leeches escape. Why did you help them? You purposely distracted me so that the Cullen's could give them time to flee." Jake's tone was icy as he glared at her with raw anger in his eyes.
"I …well…I didn't do it to protect the vampires Jake. They told me you were going to go and do something reckless because of your grief. I couldn't let the father of my children die like that." Bella explains her voice was almost like a whisper as she looked away from him and stared at the wooden table top.
"Are you sure this was about me Bella and not about helping out your new friends?" Jake's voice cracked as tears formed in his eyes.
"What? Are you crazy? I love you Jake not them. You are my family. You and the pack and everyone else here. I am loyal to you Jake." Bella cries out in anguish as she starts to hear the accusations and mistrust in his voice and his words.
"Well, you let me down. You let the pack down Bella. Jane got away. She saw the others leaving and probably knew something was up. When she returned to the house she saw it burning down in flames so she took off to the airport before we could locate her. She will probably go back to the Volturi and tell them everything she knows about us. WE are doomed." Jake's voice rises toward the end of his speech.
Bella's mouth drops to the floor. She had no clue that by protecting Jake she would somehow ultimately sign the death warrant of the tribe. She thought if she kept him alive it would assure the safety of the tribe. After all, he was the Alpha. If he died who would lead them? Who would protect them?
"So you're saying that because I asked you to take me home and distracted you from your Alpha duties that I'm going to be the very reason your tribe is exterminated from the earth?" Bella felt the warmth of her tears as they trickle out of the corners of her eyes.
"Pretty much. Couldn't have said it better." Jake's fist pounds loudly against the table top.
"So what? I should have told you at once that Edward's family knew where the vampires were so you could have taken off with no plan, no rational thought in your head and when I was told later about your death I could just simply tell our children that "hey I was just being honest with him"! Is that what you expect of me?" Bella's voice shook but her tone grew louder as she sat straight up in her chair. Her body was tense from the anger that was starting to boil over.
She knew he would be upset if he didn't get them all but she was never told that Jane would manage to escape if she distracted Jake for a few hours. She wasn't sure who she was more pissed off at. She could blame herself for caring so damn much, the Cullen's for not revealing everything to her or Jake who acted like she had cheated on him somehow with the Cullen's. It truly didn't matter who got the blame because she couldn't change the results now.
"I honestly don't know what to expect from you anymore. One day you love me the next day you don't." Jake huffed as he force his eyes to look away from her. He hated seeing her cry and he hated it even more that he was the reason she was crying.
"That's not fair and you know it!" Bella stood up from her chair, both of her eyes shooting daggers at him.
"Fair! How do you think I've been feeling these last few months while you were living it up and making new friends with my enemies?" Jake's eyes were cold along his with tone as he glared furiously at her.
"Living it up! Is that what you think I was doing? Do you think I was enjoying their company so much that I wasn't going to return to you and MY daughter?" Bella knew she just hit beneath the belt but she was so upset that she couldn't think clearly. He had been the one hitting beneath the belt. She was just giving him a taste of his own medicine. If he wanted to play it like this, then by God she would give him a fight that he seemed to need from her.
"OH! So now Lizzie is YOUR daughter and not MINE!" He jump up from his seat as he curled his hands into fists by his sides.
"If you want to get technical about everything then YES!" Bella shouted as she flung her hands onto her hips, her chin lifted as she dared him to keep it up and she would only make things worse for him.
"That is so low Bella! I knew you would do this someday." Jake shook his head as he snorted loudly.
"Do what Jake?" Bella demanded.
"Throw it in my face that you didn't really see Lizzie as my child but yours and Collin's." Jake answered as he looked up with tears in his eyes.
"Well you're the one who is accusing me of purposely losing my memory Jake. How stupid and low was that?" Bella reminded him he was the first to throw the mud. All she did was fight fire with fire.
"I didn't mean it like that and you know it!" Jake could feel his body trembling as the pain and anger began to seep into his soul.
"I'm sorry Jake if I didn't make the right choice. I was only doing what I thought was best for OUR children. I didn't want to raise them alone." Bella's voice faltered as more tears streamed down her face.
"I understand that Bella but you put me in a hard spot with the pack. I'm the Alpha. I'm supposed to protect them and do whatever is necessary to keep them safe. I didn't do that last night. I lost my father, Jared and nearly Leah. Then when it was revealed to my entire pack that you played a part in keeping us from killing the bitch who was behind it all ….well…it made me look like a bigger dumb ass." Jake turned briskly away from her view. Standing with his head low he fought back the sob that was stuck in his throat.
He knew she had a valid reason for looking out for him and he also knew she did love him but it still stung his ego that she hadn't been completely honest with him.
"I'm new to this Jake. I honestly didn't ask for this but I accepted it because I loved you and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I wanted to watch Lizzie grow up with you as her father but if I'm expected to be so damn perfect maybe I should go now before I make any more mistakes." Bella states.
The room was suddenly so quiet that they could hear each other breathing.
"If that's what you want to do." Jake heard the harsh words slip between his clench teeth as he struggled to remain calm enough so he could escape the house and release his wolf far away from her. He couldn't stand the thought of harming her accidentally.
"Is it what you want me to do Jake?" Bella held her breath awaiting his response.
Jake opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Turning his head so he could look at her face he saw the pain and fear in her eyes. He knew that he was overreacting because of the loss of his father and dear friend Jared but he also knew he had to make a point to her that she had to trust him and obey his will in order for this relationship to work between them.
Jake fled the room, slamming the kitchen door behind him as he raced off to the woods.
Bella set back down as she covered her face with both of her hands and wept harder than she could ever remember crying before.