Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Twilight world.
Bittersweet Chapter 10:
Jake flew through the trees with Leah by his side as they searched for any hint of a trail left behind of Quil. It did not add up. Why would he not show or say something to Leah before he was possibly attacked?
When they got to Sam's he saw the light was on and the gang was still at the house. He felt a tremendous sense of urgency as he howled loudly over the music that was blaring from inside. A few seconds later three more wolves joined them.
Whatisgoingon? Sam asked first.
Seriously. Paul stated with a deep tone that warn Jake that he was not pleased to be interrupted from his "off" time.
Quil disappeared. We can't find his trail. Not one scent nor sound from him. Jake reported.
Whatthehell! Embry cried out furiously.
Jake suspected that Embry was more scared for his fellow pack member than angry.
Exactly. Weneedtosplitupandsearchforhim. Jake ordered as they all set out in different directions.
Ohandguysreportineveryfewminutes. Leahsaidhewasinmidthoughtliterallywhenhedisappearedfromher. Jake warned them.
Yessir. Sam replied.
Fine. Paul replied.
Noproblem. Embry agreed more easily than Paul had.
Jake would discuss Paul's bad attitude of late with him once he had some free time and was not looking for his friend, his pack member. He felt guilty. If he had been out patrolling tonight instead of back home making out with Bella he might have prevented this from happening. Not that he even knew what was happening exactly but he felt a heavy sense of doom ahead of them.
After a hour of searching they finally came across what they were looking for. Quil laid underneath a large hollow log completely naked and in human form. He was passed out. Jacob was the first to approach him.
"Stay back." Jacob ordered as he transform into human form.
Leah turn her head slightly.
"Quil." Jacob whispered as he drew closer to his friend.
Quil laid motionless. Jacob could not see any apparent wombs that might explain why Quil was in human form and laying so still.
Jacob drew closer, crouching down he nudge Quil. Quil didn't stir.
"I think he is passed out." Jacob gulped hard hoping that his friend was not dead.
Jacob cautiously slipped his hands underneath his friends naked body lifting him up in his arms then turning toward the others who were still in wolf form.
"I am going to take him to Sue's." Jacob stated as he began to walk in the direction of Sue's house.
They all began to follow him, watching his back as he traveled to the Clearwaters. He prayed that Sue would know what was wrong him or at least how to help him wake up.
Bella had tossed and turn all night. She kept having disturbing dreams of a red hair woman chasing her in the woods. She kept telling Bella that it was only fair that she kill her. Bella could not fathom why the woman thought it would be fair to kill her. She never met the woman in her life. She could not think of one thing she might have done to offend this stranger. Still she ran and ran in her dream until at last the wolf had appeared scaring the red hair woman away. Bella had collapsed in front of the wolf who had wrapped his body around hers while she rested.
When she woke up at last she saw she was alone, safe in her room.
Her throat felt parch. Crawling off the bed she nearly forgot about her twisted ankle until she put the slightest pressure on the floor.
"Ouch. Damn it." Bella groaned as the pain return quickly.
Hopping on one foot she went to the bathroom. Opening the small medicine cabinet she hoped that Jake had some sort of pain relief medication. She located Tylenol. Taking a couple with a small glass of tap water she made her way downstairs. She wondered if Jacob had ever made it back inside after his sudden departure.
She knew that he had enjoyed the kiss. She had felt his evidence in her hands.
She felt lousy. He was probably still hoping that Sienna would return to him someday. It was obvious that he was physically attractive to her but anything deeper than that was not so evident.
She was going to have to keep her head on straight. She needed to focus on why she was originally here and let all this extra stuff go.
It was important to keep Lizzie safe and alive. Nothing else mattered. Someday soon she would leave this world behind her.
She heard a soft buzzing sound. Looking around the living rooms she saw her purse laying on top of the coffee table. She remembered she had left her cell phone in it.
Hopping over she rummage through her purse until she found the small pink object.
Opening it up she saw she had missed a call from Collin.
She dropped the phone as if it had burn her hand.
Why had Collin called her out of the blue? They had not spoken in months.
Stopbeingsuchacoward. HehasnoclueaboutLizzie. Justlistentothemessagestupid. Hecannotharmyouwithamessage.
Bella pressed on the message button as she suck in her breathe waiting frighteningly for the words she was sure would only bring doom to her already complex situation.
"Bella, it's Collin. I really need to talk you. I am concerned. I went by your apartment and you were not there. The landlady said you paid for a month and then disappeared. Call me and let me know you are okay. Please. I just…well…I know we are no longer married but I still care about you. Please Bella. Call me." His voice was shaky.
Bella heard the genuine pleading in his tone. She smiled sadly. How was she going to call him with out telling him about their daughter. She knew it was horrible even selfish of her not to tell Collin that his daughter truly existed in the world. Still, she also knew how he would overreact and that would do no one any good.
She had to put Lizzie first. She knew the way it would affect her daughter if Collin came flying into the picture trying to take her away from everyone and everything she knew. Once Lizzie was better she would discuss with Jake the idea of letting Collin know about Lizzie. Until then, she was not going to speak to Collin.
Collin looked around the darken room as his chest heaved heavily. He had woke up from another nightmare. They had been occurring for weeks now. He could not explain it but he feared that Bella was in some sort of danger.
When he had called her mother to check on her, Renee had informed him that she had gone on some kind of vacation. Bella did not do vacations, at least not solo. Her landlady did not know much either. Was she okay? Was she in danger? He hoped like hell that she had not gone off to do some sort of harm to herself.
He knew how hard the loss of their child had been on her. He also knew the divorce had not been a easy ride for her either. He had only agreed to it when he realized that the longer he stayed with her the more he was going to hurt her.
He had once loved her with all his heart. He had truly cherished her. She had been such a bright light in his dark world. The longer they were together the more restless he began to grow. When they lost the baby, he had tried so hard to be there for her but she kept pushing him away. He hated how she seemed to walk around like a zombie. She ignored him. She pushed away his comforting arms.
He had not intended to sleep with the first girl. It just happened. He was so sad and lonely, the girl was pretty and giving him so much attention. Attention that he no longer received from Bella.
After the first time he felt dirty inside. When he went home he hoped that he might be able to break through Bella's depression but she only grew angrier with him each time he tried to force her out of the dark sadness.
It became unbearable. It felt like someone was stabbing him with a knife straight in his heart. When he looked at the lovely baby furniture all set up in the room where their daughter had been meant to be brought home too, he ache so hard that it crush him. So he turn to the liquor at first, when that no longer numb him he went back to the attention that the ladies gave him.
He just wanted to feel something again. Something that did not have sadness or bitterness attached to it.
Bella did not want to get past their pain. She feared if she smiled or had one good moment that it would be a act of betrayal to the life of their daughter. He argued with her that he did love his daughter but life had to go on. They both were still in the realm of the living. It was not fair for them to act as if their very own lives were over. She refused to budge.
So he did what he had to, to survive through the pain. While she turn to medications and counseling he turn to alcohol and women. Eventually it ran it's course and Bella had decided the marriage was not good enough for her anymore.
He felt betrayed. How could she walk away from him? Did she ever love him at all? With out considering how immature he was acting he demanded half of the money and the house. He knew he was being a jackass but he was hurt by her rejection and he wanted to hurt her back.
Now months later after the divorce he felt lost with out her. He ached for her. He dreamed about her. He was seriously still in love with his ex wife.
"Where are you Bella?" Collin ask out loud in his room. A lean, long legged blond slept peacefully next to him. He hated himself. Looking at the stranger he had met at a club last night he wondered what she would think about him if he told her how he had been a father for a brief moment before life kick him in the nuts and stole her away from him. She probably would not give a damn. Women like her was only out for one thing. A good time. He had provided her with that and in a few hours she would dress herself and leave the house. It was the same old same routine.
He hated it. He hated his life. He hated himself. He just wanted to feel needed and loved again.
"Its happening again. There was five bodies in the morgue this week, drained of blood." Alice spoke firmly as she sat the kitchen table with her family.
"Why now? Do we know who is responsible for it?" Carlisle asked. He was the head of the family.
"Not a clue. Each were found in different locations of the city." Jasper shook his head with a disgusted sneer.
"So we have a vampire loose in our town." Esme sighed heavily.
"Sounds like it. We need to find it before it draws more attention. We don't need the Volturi showing up." Carlisle ordered the others.
They all cringe at the sound of the name of the vampire society that ruled them all. They knew how ruthless the Volturi would be if they showed up. They would eliminate anything they saw as a threat with out hesitation. They would not think clearly about the 'whys' or the "whos" they would just strike their deadly blows.
"What have we learned about the wolves?" Carlisle remembered that they were also watching another possible threat to their clan.
"The woman, Bella, has went in to see if she is a match to save the child." Rosalie commented dryly.
"Any news if she is a match yet?" Esme asked hopeful. She hated to think of any child suffering longer that necessary.
"It looks good so far. I push the blood work to top priority." Rosalie nodded her head with a blank face.
"Good." Esme smiled brightly.
"Speaking of Bella is she still staying out at LaPush?" Edward asked hoping to mask his keen curiosity in the girl.
"So far." Emmett answered.
"Do you think she knows yet?" Emmett asked with a big grin on his face as he turn his attention toward Alice.
He and Jasper had made bets on how the human would react to learn that she was living among werewolves. Carlisle swore up and down that they would never reveal their true nature to the human girl. Emmett's gut instincts told him that she would pick up on their differences and put the piece together even if they did not reveal it to her. Jasper disagreed with him. So they made their usual betting wages on it. It was a silly game to the others but it was just about the only source of entertainment he got these days.
"Nope. However I think a threat is approaching her that might make it harder for them to hide it from her." Alice revealed as she pressed her lips tightly together.
"What sort of threat?" Carlisle looked alarmed as he stared at Alice.
"I see a red headed woman chasing her. She wants to kill her. That is all I can see." Alice admitted.
"Red headed woman? Maybe it's one of their ex's jealous that a white woman lives with one of the wolves?" Emmett teased.
"No. She isn't one of them. I think she is one of us." Alice looked away as she felt the heavy stare of Edward across the table from her.
"What?" They all cried out in surprise.
"It came to me a few minutes before we started the meeting." Alice replied in defense.
"Shit." Emmett knew that this situation was about to grow a little bit more trickier.
"I can't see her face. I just saw the back of her. She seems so familiar." Alice thought out loud as she replayed the vision in her head.
Edward sat there contemplating what she had told them when it occur to him that the only red headed vampire he had ever came across was the one that had been another vampire they had taken out about a year ago.
It had been a rainy day. No, it was more than a rainy day, it was storming like crazy. They chased the vampire for weeks. He had been killing off young girls with out any remorse or with out hiding the bodies. When they finally located him they discovered he had a mate. When she saw that she was out numbered she had fled. They had destroyed him a few minutes after she had abandoned him. Was it possible that this was the same red headed vampire? If it was why was she after Bella then? Bella had nothing to do with his death.
"What are you thinking about Edward?" Carlisle asked as he caught the way Edward seem lost in thought. He knew his oldest son was considering something important. Carlisle could always count on Edward to see the big picture while the others just saw the pieces.
"Do you remember when we killed that James vampire a year ago. He had a mate that was red headed. Could it be the same vampire?" He looked around at the others. The realization that they had all forgotten about her crossed their faces.
"If it is, why would she go after Bella?" Jasper asked softly.
"I don't know. It's the only red headed vampire I have seen in this area." Edward shrugged his shoulders.
"He has a point." Emmett patted Edward on the back.
"Yes, we know that." Rosalie rolled her eyes at her mate.
"What is the connection?" Esme asked out loud as she search each of her family's faces.
No one answered. No one had a clue. They had more questions than answers at this meeting. All of them suspected that life around their house was about to get a bit more messy and a hell of lot more complicated.
"I can't tell you what happen to him exactly, except that he has one hell of a goose egg on the back of his head. If he had been in human form when this occurred he would be dead by now." Sue calmly stated to Jacob and Sam who both look furious and quite scared out of their minds.
Sue knew if the Alpha and Beta were this worried then this meant that the unknown danger that had did this damage to Quil was far worse than any of them wanted.
"Will he wake up?" Sam asked in a deep voice.
"Hopefully. I really need to take him in for some x-rays." Sue admitted as she wrung her hands nervously in front of her.
"You know if you do that it might risk our exposure." Sam reminded her of how they tried never to go into the local hospital for any type of medical procedures. Their blood work alone could expose them to anyone who might know of the world that existed with vampires and werewolves.
"I know but what else can I do?" Sue cried out in despair.
"Let her do it." Jacob finally found the strength to speak up. He could not help but considered what it would mean to the tribe if Quil died. He would be the first of the pack to go and he was not ready to have that happen. Quil was young and strong. He should have woke up by now. Something warn him that Quil needed to be looked at.
"What? Are you crazy?" Sam argued as he took a step back from Quil.
"No, I am not crazy. We have to keep him alive. We will find away to hide his medical records afterwards." Jacob suggested.
"What if we don't, I mean what if something happens that we don't predict." Sam continued to argue.
"We could sit here all night playing the what ifs and Quil could be dying Sam. Do you want his death on your hands?" Jacob growled in his alpha tone as he glared angrily into Sam's eyes.
"No. Of course not." Sam bowed his head.
"Then YOU are in charge of making sure we don't get found out." Jake ordered as he sighed heavily.
"Okay." Sam agreed as he lifted Quil up and followed Sue out to her truck.
Leah followed Jacob to the room where Lizzie slept peacefully.
"I will watch her. Go home, get some rest." Leah whispered.
"I will be by early to pick her up." Jake nodded his head as he patted Leah on the back.
"I'm sorry Jake. I did not see or hear anything." Leah swore to him.
"I know. Don't beat yourself up. It could have happen to any of us. We will get him better." Jake vowed to her and to himself.
"Okay." Leah fought back the tears that stung her eyes.
Jake stayed in human form as he ran back to his house. He had to clear his head before he saw Bella again. He had left her in such a sexual frenzy he was sure that he would have a lot of apologizing to do when he saw her again.
He was worried about her safety here in LaPush. Should he send her back into town to stay? Or was it better for her to be near him? He was scared for the first time since he became Alpha. Something did not feel right about all of this. First a vampire got through their magical barrier, slipped into his house, and then Quil was found with his head smashed in. What was going on ? Why were they suddenly under attack?
As he walked up the porch he felt his heart stirring madly as he heard Bella hopping around the living room. He knew it was late for her to be up. Did she wait up all this time for him? If she had, then she might be in there waiting for some answers. He could not blame her. He had after all been the one to instigate the flirting.
She seemed to think that she was not a beautiful enough woman to be worthy of his attention. He wasn't sure if it was the imprinting magic or his own sexual behavior that drew her to him. He just knew that he felt lousy, he was hurting inside. He was scared of loosing Lizzie, scared of Bella taking her away from him, he was afraid of whatever was out there threatening his people. He was so damn tired of trying to do everything on his own.
When he open the door he found her sitting in a chair with her eyes wide open.
"Did you wait up for me?" Jake asked curiously as he stepped inside feeling the instant pull toward her.
"Not exactly. I went to sleep but had a terrible dream." Bella replied honestly.
"Another bad dream? Do you have those often?" Jake asked as he strolled toward her.
"No. In fact they started when I came here." Bella stated firmly.
"I see. Another wolf?" Jake chuckled.
"Yes, and some crazy ass red headed woman chasing me in the woods, telling me she wanted to kill me." Bella spoke with a shaky voice.
Jake felt his whole body grow rigid with fear at that final part of her dream.
"Do you know her/" Jake asked in a low tone.
"No. Why do you keep asking me that?" Bella demanded with a loud sigh.
"Just thought maybe your mind was picking up on some deep fear." Jake answered.
"Well, trust me if I see this red headed woman I am going to run as fast as I can." Bella chuckled bitterly.
"I hope you do." Jake agreed with a tender smile. Deep inside he feared that Bella might be in some sort of danger and was unaware of just how truly close she was to it.
"Why were you gone so long?" Bella suddenly heard the question pop out of her mouth. She knew it was none of her business but curiosity got the better of her once again.
"I …well…went to check on things and got a call. Quil fell somehow and hit his head hard. We had to take him to Sue's. She could not fix him so they are taking him to the hospital." Jake answered trying not to lie too much to her. He knew how much trust meant to her.
"Oh no. How bad is it?" Bella cried out in alarm.
"Not sure." Jacob admitted.
Bella pulled herself up from the chair, staring up at his face she saw he was scared for his friend. With out considering how it might disturb him she wrapped her arms around him laying her head against his warm chest.
"I'm sorry Jake." She whispered as her hands glided up and down his back.
Jake closed his eyes as her love soar between their bodies. He could feel her compassion, her loyalty, her desire for him all bundle up. It was so intoxicating. His arms wrapped around her as he held her closely to him. He nearly wept at the intenseness of the moment.
Bella was so open and honest with her emotions that he felt like he was drowning in her. She was such a pure hearted woman. His hand slid up circling around her neck as he leaned her head back, pressing his lips against hers.