A/N: I promised a quicker update with this chapter and here it is. Credit goes to my amazing betas, MunkeeRajah and Evelyn, who reviewed this chapter at warp speed. I love them more than Jacob's abs! I actually had this chapter "in the can" and was going to hold it a bit longer, but then I looked at my own favorites list and noticed that a couple stories I'm following haven't updated since April and May, and I just couldn't do that to you folks. So here it is, a bit earlier than planned. Thanks to everyone who's reading, reviewing and following this story.
Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.
Chapter 10 – Run
Leah POV
… myfaultmyfaultmyfaultmyfault …
Self-blame pounded through my head, beating in counterpoint to the thud of three sets of paws as Seth, Jake and I raced through the towering trees. Beside us, Nahuel's footfalls raised quiet splashes on the soggy forest floor. The morning's drizzle had turned into a steady rain—gotta love Washington. The background static of rainfall muted all other sounds, but it couldn't overpower my inner monologue.
My initial relief at actually doing something—instead of just waiting for Joham to make a move—had faded fast. Its rapid retreat left a whole lot of room for guilt to move in, and I was wallowing in it. I didn't regret forcing Charlie to face the truth about his family. But even I had to admit that my delivery and timing, less than an hour after he'd nearly had his throat ripped out by a half-vampire, were not the best.
Charlie was unknowingly speeding toward a rendezvous with a savage newborn, and my big mouth had set him on that course. If he were killed because of me, no treaty, no ties of familial affection, would be enough to keep Bella, Edward, and possibly even Renesmee, from coming after me. The wolf packs would have no choice but to intervene. The peace Jake had worked so hard to nurture over the past six years would be over, all because of my temper.
I would have fucked things up even worse than Charlie had.
… myfaultmyfaultmyfaultmyfault …
Cut the crap, Leah. Jake's reprimand sliced cleanly through my mental self-flagellation. Keep your head in the game. Alice said we'd get there in time.
In time for what, though? Seth wondered, replaying our pack memory of Alice's frantic call to Jake.
Alice had seen Charlie decide to confront Bella and Edward at the Cullens' house. She had seen the newborn's decision—although not the motive behind it—to attack Charlie's cruiser on an isolated stretch of highway. Her vision went blank, however, immediately after the newborn made contact with Charlie's car.
That's because we get there and block her vision, Jake insisted. That's the only explanation. She can't see what happens next because we're there with Nahuel and she can't see around us. We'll be in time.
Unaware of our mental conversation, Nahuel moved fluidly and gracefully beside us. I wondered if he felt uncomfortable being around three giant wolves, if the smell of wet wolf was offensive to him. Was he afraid of the coming confrontation? What if Joham showed up? I knew Nahuel wasn't ready to face his father, the beast who had tortured him and murdered his aunt.
Jake's phone rang in Nahuel's hand. He answered it without breaking stride, his voice even and smooth. "Yes." He hadn't bothered to put on a shirt before we left the house, and I couldn't help but admire the lithe movement of muscle beneath his coffee-and-cream skin. Seth caught that observation and his astonishment rang through our pack link. I ignored him. By now, even my bone-headed brother had to know something was up between Nahuel and me, but I sure wasn't going into it with him right now.
Nahuel listened for a few seconds, then ended the call. "Alice says the newborn has decided on a different route, one that will intersect Charlie's path sooner. Edward and Bella are on their way, but will not make it in time. We need to be faster."
Want me to? I asked Jake. He knew I'd been holding back to keep pace with him and Seth. I was smaller than my hulking pack brothers and possibly less strong because of it (although I would never admit it to them), but the trade-off was that I was also a lot faster. I could get to the scene well before they could. I probably wouldn't be able to take out the newborn by myself, but I would be able to protect Charlie long enough for the big boys to arrive. That could make all the difference.
Jake thought it over for less than a second. Yes. Take the highway.
I didn't question his order. I'd move faster if I was making a straight run and not dodging trees. We'd just have to hope that I wouldn't be seen. I broke left, quickly leaving my pack brothers and my imprint behind. I thought I heard Nahuel shout my name, but I didn't slow my pace. Back at my house, before phasing, Jake had given Nahuel strict orders to hang back and stay out of the fighting. I had to have faith that Nahuel would do as he'd been told, that Seth and Jake would take care of him. And I had to seize the opportunity to make up for my fuck-up by saving Charlie.
We'd been running parallel to the highway, and my paws hit rain-darkened macadam less than a minute after I left the guys behind. With nothing in front of me but open road, I picked up speed, pushing everything else from my mind but the mechanics of running.
Front paws touch ground, push asphalt under and behind. Hind paws whip forward, strike down, propel. Tail held just so for balance and stability. Ears flat, minimizing wind resistance. The abrasion of asphalt against paw pads. The layered scents of tar, exhaust, rain and faintly, but growing stronger, Charlie.
I was so focused on my movement that I almost ran up the tail pipe of Charlie's cruiser before I realized I'd made it. The newborn was nowhere in sight. I flanked the car, moving quickly to run beside the driver's side door. I'm not sure I had any kind of plan, but Charlie must have seen me out of the corner of his eye. His head swiveled to the left, his startled gaze locking on mine.
Maybe the surprise of seeing a huge, soaked wolf running beside his car, its eyes at a level with his, freaked Charlie out. Maybe he didn't realize it was me. Whatever the reason, he jerked the car to the right, away from me. The right front tire skidded off the wet pavement, picking up dirt and gravel from the shoulder of the road and spraying it into the air.
Plowing through that shower of stone and grit, the newborn struck. It hit the passenger's side of the cruiser with a sound and a shockwave as loud and powerful as a sonic boom.
Like something out of the pivotal chase scene of a bad action movie, everything slowed down and played out in agonizing detail. I saw the right side of the cruiser crumple from the impact and both front-seat airbags inflate. The momentum sent Charlie's head crashing against the driver's side window, which shattered with a loud crack. The car lurched toward me as the newborn continued to push it across the highway.
Shit! Move!
I coiled my hindquarters and jumped. I managed to get up and over the roof of the car just as the newborn's blow pushed the heavy vehicle over the pavement where I'd been running. My claws scrabbled on the rain-slicked roof. The sickeningly sweet stench of vampire assaulted my nostrils. I saw a flash of hate-filled, blood-red eyes just before I slid down the other side of the car tail-first.
Right on top of the newborn.
And holy crap, was it big. I mean, bigger-than -Emmett huge. Bigger than that Volturi guard that Aro always sent to do his dirty work. Was there such a thing as steroids for leeches? Because if there was, this undead fucker was definitely on them.
I didn't have time to think or plan or strategize. I didn't even have time to bend over and kiss my ass good-bye. As soon as my fur made contact with the newborn's cold, hard flesh, I began clawing and biting, twisting and squirming, desperately trying to sink my teeth into it without allowing it to get a hold on me.
The scent of Charlie's blood soaked the air now, overpowering the dank odor of the rain. A small part of my brain wondered how badly he was hurt. The bigger part realized that his blood was making the newborn crazy, and I could possibly use that to my advantage. The distraction was just enough to give me a tiny opening, and I sank my fangs into the top of the tick's skull. This thing was so damn big that I thought for a second it would ignore me completely. I planted all four paws on its shoulders and pulled for all I was worth.
I actually thought I might be making progress toward popping its head off. Until the damn thing reached up over its head and grabbed my forelegs just below my shoulders. Icy fingers dug into my flesh, easily piercing through fur and hide.
The newborn backed away from the cruiser, seeking room to maneuver. Snarling, it started to lift me up and forward, trying to bring me over its head, in front of it. I remembered what had happened to Jake when one of Victoria's newborns had gotten its arms around him. If this leech got me in front of it, it would crush me. The situation was now the true definition of a deadlock—we were locked together and one of us was definitely going to end up dead. Unfortunately, it was starting to look like that would be me.
Stomach-churning pain radiated out from my shoulders and through my body, but I refused to give up my bite on the leech's scalp. I spread my toes and tried to dig into its shoulders with my claws, but I felt my body being drawn forward. I probably had seconds left before it got me where it wanted me. Had I bought enough time? Maybe I'd delayed the newborn just enough to let the others arrive before it could get to Charlie.
My paws lost their grip on the blood-sucker's shoulders. I was out of time. As the newborn pulled me forward, one thought crystalized through the chaos in my head: Would Nahuel finally feel the ache of that damned psychic cable when my dead body was at the other end of it?
Something hard, heavy and hot slammed into me painfully, ripping me away from the newborn. Clumps of my fur and skin stayed behind in the blood-sucker's hands as I was torn from its grasp. I tumbled tail over teacups across the highway. I landed belly-down on the grassy shoulder of the road, with that heavy, warm missile on top of me. Electricity sang along my nerve endings everywhere that weight touched my body.
Cinnamon and spice. Comfort and longing. Nahuel.
Apparently, the cavalry had arrived. Across the pavement, Jake and Seth were engaging the newborn. It was already missing one arm; as big as it was, it was still no match for two wolves the size of my Alpha and kid brother. Each had another limb clenched in his teeth, slowly tearing the appendages off.
Suddenly, Edward was there. He sprang atop the newborn, taking the same position I'd held just moments before. I saw his teeth flash briefly, his head dip toward the other vamp's throat. With a sound like ripping metal, the newborn's head separated from its shoulders, and the hulking body collapsed, twitching, to the ground.
Seth and Jake stepped away, each still holding a severed limb. Seth spat his out on the asphalt, choking and gagging like a cat trying to hack up a hairball.
Bella had already ripped the door off the mangled cruiser. I could hear her low, urgent voice telling Charlie to hold on. I doubted he heard her. Carlisle's Mercedes lurched to a halt beside the wreck, Renesmee behind the wheel. Carlisle leapt from the passenger's side, medical bag in hand. He rushed to Bella's side. Renesmee left the driver's side door open and flew into Edward's arms.
Good work, Leah. Jake and Seth were calmly dragging the dismembered pieces of newborn to the cruiser, pushing the fragments under the car. I knew when Charlie was free of the wreck and on his way to the hospital, they would light those pieces and let the fire destroy all the evidence, including the mangled car. You okay? Jake asked.
Mostly.
I hurt all over and the two raw patches on my front legs oozed blood. Nahuel had moved off me and was now running his hands over my legs and body, searching for breaks and wounds. Still dazed, I wondered why the scent of my blood wasn't bothering him. Maybe he didn't care for eau du dog? Though I knew his touch was meant to be purely clinical, my flesh tingled beneath the fur everywhere his hands trailed their current over me. Jesus. Even when I'm a dog, he has this effect on me.
Suddenly, Carlisle was there, gently pushing Nahuel out of the way. His examination was quick and efficient.
"No broken bones, although you probably have a bruised rib or two," he said, then chuckled. "I'd say to go home and put some salve and bandages on those abrasions, but knowing wolf metabolism, I expect they'll be healed by the time you get there. You need to rest, but you should be fine in a few hours."
Edward's designer shoes appeared in front of me and I looked up at him, expecting anger and accusation. I figured I deserved at least a little of both. Of course, he picked that thought out of my mind.
"You're right that you deserve my anger," he said, but his voice was mild. "Charlie's ignorance was for his own safety. You had no right to take that from him. Thanks to you, it's going to be impossible to keep him in the dark any longer."
His eyes flicked to Nahuel for a second, then back to me. I held my breath, waiting for him to give me away. But when he spoke again, his reference to my imprint was so veiled I was sure no one else would have caught it. "Still, your actions were … understandable. And your quick intervention helped save Charlie's life. Carlisle says Charlie's wounds are superficial. So let's call everything even, shall we?"
And then he was gone, with Carlisle, loading Charlie's unconscious form into the Mercedes. I was relieved that he wasn't going to hold my paws to the fire over all this. I wasn't sure that Bella would be so forgiving, however. She shot me an angry glare before jumping into the backseat of the vehicle beside Charlie and Carlisle. Edward left a long strip of rubber on the road as he peeled away. Typical Cullen driving.
All right, Leah, you and Nahuel head back to your house, Jake directed. Send Sue to the hospital. She'll want to be with Charlie. Seth, Ness and I will clean up here. Then we'll head over to the hospital, too. I'm sure Bella and Edward will want me there when Charlie wakes up.
Will do, boss man. The aftermath of the crisis was finally hitting me. I was shaky and exhausted with the aftershock. I wanted to wash the newborn's stink off, and my body needed a nap to facilitate my accelerated healing. I stood up, and Nahuel rose beside me, his hand lightly brushing my back. For the first time since he tore me from the newborn's hands, I looked at his face … and yipped softly in surprise at what I saw there.
He was pissed. Royally pissed. White-lipped, narrow-eyed, nostril-flaring, shaking with rage pissed off.
What the hell did I do this time?
Or course, being without human vocal chords at the moment, I couldn't ask him what his problem was. His fury-filled eyes flicked to the others. Jake and Seth had finished stacking tick parts under the wreck. Renesmee had moved the Mercedes several hundred yards down the road, away from the crash site, and was walking back with a lighter in her hand.
Nahuel's angry glare returned to me. Without a word, he twisted his fingers into the fur between my shoulder blades and tugged me toward the trees in the direction we'd come from. Back toward the reservation. Toward home.
SSW/SSW/SSW
Mom was just climbing into her beat-up old Buick when we stepped out of the trees. When she saw us, she paused, one hand on the car door, and watched us approach. Her eyes were wary, and I hated the guarded expression on her face. I had to talk to her before she left. I had to apologize and tell her myself that Charlie was going to be okay. I phased without a thought for my nudity and launched myself into her arms.
Her arms closed around me immediately and relief swept through my body. "I'm so sorry, Mom," I babbled. "I shouldn't have said anything. I was just so mad. I've ruined everything, but Charlie's going to be okay. I'm so sorry …."
She shushed me and then pushed back out of my arms. She gently cupped my cheek, waiting for me to meet her eyes. "I know, Leah. I'm sorry, too, for how I reacted. Everything is going to be fine. I'm going to the hospital to be with Charlie." Her eyes drifted over my shoulder and her body stiffened. Heat surged up my spine as I realized Nahuel must have come to stand very close to us.
"Sue, I have far more to apologize for than Leah does." His voice was low, rough and regretful. "I am ashamed by the lack of control I displayed with Charlie. I have no right to ask for your forgiveness right now, but I hope you will give me the chance to regain your trust."
Mom's lips pressed into a tight line, and the wary look was back in her eyes. She didn't speak, but gave him a curt nod before returning her gaze to me. She had battled a lifetime of prejudices to accept Nahuel for my sake. I couldn't blame her if his attack on Charlie had revived her innate distrust of vampires. My imprint would have his work cut out for him rebuilding his friendship with my mother.
"You need to deal with this," she said, and I knew she wasn't referring to my temper—or at least not just my temper. She pulled me down to press a kiss on my forehead, climbed into the car and slammed the door. Without another word, she drove away.
Although my back was to him, I was intensely aware of how close Nahuel was to my very naked body. I still didn't know what had made him so angry back at the crash scene. But the encounter with Mom seemed to have distracted him, and I saw an opportunity to dodge another confrontation with him.
I drew a shaky breath and barked over my shoulder. "I'm going to take a shower." I double-time marched into the house, giving him a brief view of my amazing ass. I paused long enough to grab some clothes from my room before slipping into the bathroom. Nahuel appeared to still be outside, and I debated with myself for half a second before deciding to lock the bathroom door behind me.
The hot water felt wonderful on my sore muscles, and Carlisle had been right; the wounds on my arms were almost completely healed already. I'd just finished the first round of lather, rinse and repeat when I heard a loud metallic popping sound. What the hell was that? I reached for the shower curtain to take a peek … and squeaked like a scared little girl when the curtain was yanked aside.
Nahuel stood with his knees against the low side of the tub, the broken bathroom doorknob in one hand and the shower curtain, now ripped off its rings, in the other. Droplets of water bounced off my body and onto his face and naked chest. I couldn't look away as one lucky drop traveled down his perfect abdomen to pool in his navel. My eyes shot up to his and my breath caught.
The anger was back, but there was also something else there in his eyes. Something I hadn't seen since that night on the beach: raw, driving lust.
The doorknob clattered on the bathroom floor. His eyes never left mine as he stepped into the tub, still wearing his jeans and shoes. Feeling crowded and breathless, I backpedalled a slippery step until the shower wall blocked me. Water spilled down over Nahuel's dark hair and face, but he made no move to wipe the drops out of his eyes.
Christ, he's even more gorgeous wet!
He continued to press forward until my naked, quivering body was firmly sandwiched between his delicious heat and the coolness of the tile at my back. In typical Nahuel fashion, his nimble, warm hands immediately began roving over my skin.
My arms were squashed between us, bent at the elbow. Without actually deciding to do it, I dropped the soap and bath sponge I'd been holding. I ached to touch him, and I pressed my tingling palms to his chest. Then it occurred to me that there was a much better part of my body—okay, two parts, really—that I'd like to rub against his chest. Before I could act on that thought, however, I realized he was saying something. I shook my lust-addled head, trying to focus on his words.
Oh yeah, that's right. He's still pissed at me.
"You left me behind." His voice was a lethal hiss, just barely audible over the rushing noise of the shower. His hands slid roughly up my sides, trailing wet, scalding heat from my hips to my ribs. "You gave me a promise and then left me without fulfilling it."
What's he talking about? What promise?
"If I am not allowed to die, neither are you. Not until you have kept your promise." My legs had been shaking since he stepped into the tub with me, and they completely gave out when his thigh pushed between mine. He pressed his leg forward, taking my full weight as I rode that magnificent, muscled thigh. The friction of his jeans against my sensitive flesh sent waves of desire spiraling through my entire body. Was it possible to spontaneously combust when you were soaking wet?
WHAT promise?
"If you intend to take such risks with your safety, I am unwilling to wait any longer."
His hands continued moving, one snaking up to span my jaw, holding my head immobile. The other slid behind me to cup my ass and pull me more firmly against the bulge in his jeans. Even through the wet material I could feel his heat. I was gasping now, gulping in lungful after lungful of his spice-scented breath. When he spoke again, I barely registered his words before his mouth seized mine and reality fell away in a shower of flame.
"I will no longer accept 'not now' as your answer."
Oh! THAT promise.