The bloodsuckers are staying put, right? I asked. The entire pack had shifted, except Sam, who was remaining human, so we could talk to the Blackfoot tribe.
They're staying out of it, Paul assured me.
Good, I muttered. It was one thing for us to stop another pack from trying to kill in our territory. It was completely different for the leeches to come out and kill some of our own. Sam was probably right. It would start a feud, and it could bring other packs down on them.
As a whole, our species was pretty low in numbers. The Quileute pack was unfortunately large, the biggest that we knew of in the country. If the Ahtena's, up in Alaska, had more tribesmen, they might have had just as many wolves. I felt pretty envious that they didn't. It was awful, having so many shifters in one place. Watching your best friends and some of the res kids go through the hell of their first change, knowing that it's all because some stupid leeches decide to make a home here. It wasn't fair.
Stop the monologue, Jake, I heard Leah hiss. It's annoying as all hell.
Bite me, I snarled. She was in a good mood today.
Cool it guys, Seth protested. Sam's telling us to form up. Jake, he wants you with him. I raced off, following his scent until I found him. Seth was close by, nosing the air carefully. If I had strength, and Leah had speed, Seth had the nose. That kid's sense of smell was crazy. It made me wonder how he could stand being around the bloodsuckers at all. I wouldn't be able to handle it, if I had a sense of smell like his.
"Scouts are coming back," Sam said shortly. I could hear them running towards us through the woods.
They're close, Seth gave out a soft sort of whine, his ears flattening.
Buck up, kid, I looked over at him. We might still be able to talk them out of this.
Sure, sure, Seth mumbled, his eyes still narrowed with worry. Jared and Quil burst through the trees just then.
"They coming in?" Sam asked. Quil nodded. "Form up," Sam ordered, taking a few steps forward. I moved to just behind Sam's right, taking my place as beta. I could hear the others approaching now, being lead by someone on two feet. I tensed. Around me, the pack fell in place, all of us looking anxiously forward.
A large, muscular man dressed only in a pair of jeans, walked carefully towards us. Around him, his wolves followed. There were a lot. Too many, I realized, quickly taking a head count. They had at least 20 members! How the hell could that be possible? We'd always had the largest pack . . .always. A large, black female stood as his beta, second-in-command. She looked fierce. Her eyes met mine, and she growled. I snarled, showing my teeth, but didn't move an inch.
"Cool it, Koko," the alpha called to the black wolf. She slowly lowered her head, but didn't take her eyes off of me.
"I'm Sam," Sam stepped forward, his hand extended. If he noticed their overwhelming numbers, he didn't show it. The other alpha stood there, staring blankly at his hand, not accepting it.
"You've come to head us off," he said.
"No, we've come to stop you," Sam dropped his hand.
"This is a mistake, cousin," the man warned. "We mean you no harm."
"But you would kill in our territory, break our treaty. We can't have that," Sam's voice was calm. "You would do the same, cousin, if it where your home."
"But if you allow those creatures to exist so near to your home, it can't mean that much to you," the man shook his head slowly.
"You sound like a fool," Sam scoffed. "This isn't some ancient time, when we were forced to go to war to protect our way of life. You've come out here looking for a fight, for no real reason. The Cullen family has done nothing to you."
"Those creatures turn quickly," the man snapped, "one day they act as your allies, the next they're feeding on your children, and taking your wives." Sam shook his head,
"You live in an old world, cousin. We have no quarrel with the vampire family here. They do not hunt humans, they do not step foot on our land, and they have never violated either of these terms." I felt my ears flatten. This wasn't going well.
"But they have forced us into this!" The alpha was suddenly furious, gesturing around at both packs. "We watch our children and grandchildren suffer from the shift, we watch good boys turn into angry, hateful men, and we all feel so obligated to protect this way of life? My tribe is done! We will go out and destroy these cold ones, so no more ever have to go through this. This ends now! We will not let your false sense of honor endanger the rest of us," the man snarled.
"You are a fool," Sam muttered in a low, dangerous voice. "Our blood is a gift! We praise our ancestors for the ability to run with our brother wolf, not scorn them!"
"We are through here, cousin," the other man turned, and began walking away. Sam shook his head, his expression angry. The other alpha had made a few good points, I supposed. But, his surety in his cause would make him a hell of a lot harder to defeat.
"Be prepared," Sam said in a low voice. "We'll run rounds all night. These people aren't setting one foot in La Push, or Forks." I nodded.
It was a tense night. As darkness enveloped the trees, I led my half of the pack on a patrol. Sam had taken the rest, and was doing the same. More than once, one of the Blackfoot wolves would dart in front of us. Small fights broke out everywhere. My tension was growing. It was like the first few shots fired in battle; everyone knew it was the beginning of something horrible. We were testing each others defenses, pushing and picking and prodding, waiting for the tension to snap, and unleash hell.
Come back to me, Sam said suddenly. They're forming up a few miles downstream. I whipped us around a thicket of pines, my paws easily gripping the slick, mossy ground. Sam and the others were only about a mile away, standing in a grassy opening that lead right down to one of the rivers. His breath rose in a heavy mist. It wasn't cold out, from what I could tell, but we breathed out something a lot hotter than the air around us. Jake, I want us to stick together through this. You guys remember what we've talked about. They brought this on themselves. This isn't good, but we have every right to defend this land. I looked over at the pack. Their eyes were narrowed, tension was obvious in their canine faces. No one said it, but I could hear the ghostly murmurs of worry - we were outnumbered two to one. Everyone knew it. No excitement ran through us tonight. We all felt horrible about what we had to do. And we were all worried, about how badly we were going to loose.
Smell that? Seth asked suddenly, his nose high in the air.
Course we don't, I told him, rolling my eyes.
I smell smoke, he said slowly. They've started a some fires.
Little over-confident, I sneered.
They won't get the chance to use them, Sam assured us.
It seemed like time had sped up, maybe because we were all dreading what came next. The Blackfoot pack was on us in what felt like minutes. Where the night had been almost quiet, and peaceful, it was now filled with the sounds of snarls, snapping jaws, racking claws, and ripping teeth. I smelled blood in less than a minute.
Beta, break off! Take five with you.
That's completely stupid, Sam! I snarled, my teeth gnashing at forearms, snouts, flanks - whatever, as I ran by. My tactic was to hit them hard and fast, never stopping to engage. Whittling them down seemed to be the only way to win this. Have you noticed that we're outnumbered? And they don't have any 15 year old kids in their pack?
Hey! Seth complained loudly, narrowly dodging a snapping jaw.
Damn it, Jacob! Sam roared. I don't want to hear you disagree! Take five and run! It was a command, I whined under the pressing weight of his authority and quickly did as ordered.
Quil, Leah, Seth, Embry - with me! I lead the way out of the brawl, punching through a few wolves trying to block us in. We sprinted for the east.
Flank left! Sam called. I pounded through the trees, leading the small squad, with Leah right next to me. Seamlessly, we pulled to the left as a single group, traveling at break-neck speeds to the south. I hoped this worked.
Do not get ahead of me, Leah! I snarled. Stay with the group! I saw her squirm a little as we ran.
You guys are slow, she complained.
Seriously, Leah, Seth howled behind us. Stop being a jerk, this is already a bad night, don't make it worse. I half expected her bolt off, but she didn't, instead she pulled back, stopping just behind my right side. I turned us back to the north, pushing our speed.
Stay tight, I warned, hearing the fight ahead. Stay tight . . . We broke through the trees. Now! The five of us split off, bowling over targeted opponents. I was incredibly surprised it had worked. It shouldn't have. They had to know we had split off to flank them. Why weren't they prepared for it?
I went for the black female beta, the one the alpha had called Koko. She was trying hard to tear at Jared's neck, but I slammed into her, throwing her almost ten yards. A ghastly snarl ripped from her throat, and she charged me. Bracing myself, I waited. When she was just about on me, I lowered my head, letting her almost run me over. I threw myself up, with her heavy bulk straining my spine, and heaved her behind me. She struck a tree, hard. I watched, with a grim satisfaction, as she went limp. It wouldn't last though, her healing would have it fixed in minutes. I had to finish it. Grimacing, I sprinted towards where she laid, and opened my mouth wide. My sharp fangs sank deep into her scruff. I bit down, my ears lowering as I heard a splay of high-pitched yelps escape her mouth. Cringing slightly, I tightened my jaw more, trying to make it quick. Coppery blood filled my mouth, I felt my teeth hit the spot, and I quickly shook my head, back and forth, snarling slightly. It did the trick; her neck had snapped. If she was lucky, it didn't kill her. It would just keep her out of the action.
I circled around, and body slammed a huge silvery wolf who had Seth pinned. The wolf flew, landing in a sprawl on the ground. Snarling, I leaped into the air, and came down squarely on his spine. He yelped, but before he could move, I was already tearing mercilessly at his flesh, ripping out hunks and tossing them heedlessly to the side. The silvery wolf eventually stopped moving, massive, gaping wounds glistened wetly in the murky night. He'd be back up, in about 10 minutes.
Hard and fast, hard and fast, I chanted, as much to myself as everyone else. I noticed a disturbance behind me, and quickly danced to one side. I had guessed correctly. A tawny colored female was leaping at me with incredible speed. She missed her landing. I charged before she could recover, tossing her small frame in a spiral. She whisked around, striking a tree towards its towering middle, and hit almost every branch on the way down. I smirked. Hard and fast.
Jake! I heard Seth scream. I whirled around, panicked. It didn't take long to see why he was freaking out.
Strolling through the forest at a very normal pace, like he owned the damn place, was Edward. I growled. He was heading right for the alpha of the Blackfoot's.
What the hell is he doing? I screamed, bolting towards him.
Edward, stop! Seth called. We knew he could hear us, but apparently, he wasn't listening. It took next to no time for the wolves engaged in battle with us to redirect, their snarling fury aimed at him.
Protect him! Sam shouted, rushing the swarming pack.
Stupid freaking bloodsucker! I snarled, bulling over two wolves trying to get as his neck. Edward just stood there, like a statue, unnaturally still. What the hell? I demanded, do you want to get us killed? I could just barely see him shake his head. Get out of here! I roared. Sam had engaged in a ferocious squall with the other pack leader, their snarls and yelps drowning out almost every other noise. The smell of blood was getting thicker. Leah and Seth were teaming up on a big brown hunter, his sheer mass was giving them some serious trouble. I looked around. Only Quil and Embry where with me. I couldn't protect him. I tried again, flattening my ears. Damn it, Edward. You will die. There aren't enough of us to stop all of them. The smallest smile flitted across his lips. I almost missed it, I was so busy trying to keep the overwhelming numbers at bay.
"You won," he whispered. I faltered, for half of a second, staring at him. This was about Bella. I could hardly believe it. My momentary lapse in movement was enough. The pack quickly over-ran Quil and Jared, and I got a nasty bite to the throat, before being knocked aside. Within a few slow heart beats, Edward was utterly shredded, his body dissected into a splintery, marbled mass. I felt my heart skip uncomfortably. Bella.
The Blackfoot wolves where darting into the trees, each carrying hunks of what had been Edward. I cursed, and let out a high pitched, alerting howl.
The pieces! I whined, don't let them burn the pieces!
The skirmish was momentarily forgotten. Everyone darted into the trees, the enemy wolves following quickly behind us, running interference. I snarled, tossing one who paused in front of me over my head in high arch. The wound on my neck was stinging, and blood matted my fur. I could feel it healing though. I kept running.
Damn it! I heard Sam roar, Leah, get your skinny ass up there! Stop them! His voice was heavy with the weight of the command. Whining, Leah darted ahead of us, her quick legs carrying her farther into the trees.
Jake, follow! He didn't need to make it an order. I flinched, and pushed myself harder, my paws all but invisible to my eyes. I blindly darted the wide tree trunks, relying more on my instincts than my sight, to keep from smashing into them.
Up ahead I could just make out Leah's long, silvery tail. And just a few feet from her was one of the enemy wolves, his mouth full of the vamp.
Trip him up! I cried, willing myself to go faster. I saw Leah put in an extra burst of speed, her jaws snapping at the wolf ahead of her. She narrowly missed, and had to run wide in order to avoid a huge, staggering boulder that cropped up directly in her path. What will this do to her? I asked myself, my mind racing as fast as my legs. Would she be able to deal with this? Her beautiful, smiling face burst into my mind. I couldn't let this happen, for her sake. I had to stop this.
I heaved a few deep breaths and flattened my head so it streamlined with my body. I was flying, running faster than I'd ever run before. I outstripped Leah in a few seconds, and miraculously, managed to catch up with the enemies.
A huge, lumbering male with a coat very similar to mine, was just reaching the fires. He had Edward's expressionless head clamped tightly in his jaws. With an almighty leap, I sprang, flying through the air at a reckless speed, my forelegs stretched out in a desperate kind of way. SMACK! I collided with the huge wolf with the force of a bullet. I yelped as I felt what was normally my wrist, snap cleanly. The big wolf went hurtling backwards with me. He'd lost the head, at some point. We collapsed under a towering tree; he had taken the brunt of the impact, while my head had smashed pretty hard into the trunk. Luckily, my skull wasn't soft. I stood up, my fore-paw curled under me, racing as fast as I could on three legs, to where I spotted the bloodsucker's head.
The alpha was slightly quicker. He leaped forward, and knocked the head directly into the flames with this snout.
Damn it! I cried, enraged.
Jake! Sam's voice was unnaturally loud in my head, watch out! I turned, a second too late. Something long, and sharp came singing through the air. With a sickening thunk, it sank right between my ribs. I whined, as hot, sticky blood came gushing out in a veritable river.
Oh . . .damn. My body slumped. I fought to keep my eyes open. There were more snarls and growls around me, more sounds of gnashing teeth and quivering howls. My eyes started to slip shut. The horrendous, acrid burn of Edward's flaming body invaded my nostrils. I squirmed; the pain was unbearable, and more low, anxious whimpers clawed up my throat.
God, I'm . . . hurt. I felt suffocated with pain. I was on fire. This was bad.
"Close your eyes, Jake," Bella's voice was soft, and impossibly, right next to my ear. "Go to sleep."
Bells? I tried to look around. The world spun in a quick, black circle. I whined in a low voice. A wave of dizziness hit me, making my head flop useless back to the ground. Bella, I love you. Even in my head, my voice was fading. My eyes slipped shut; I'm going to sleep, honey.