Summary: What if the Twilight Saga was re-written with Jacob as the Protagonist? What if instead of Bella being the new girl in Forks High it was Jacob? What would happen when the wolf warrior and the cold one parts crossed and their destiny was already written? Would the two of them be able to co-exist in peace? Or will they be torn apart.
Pairings: Jacob/Edward
Disclaimer: So I just got to thinking what if instead of the whole Twilight Saga being surrounded around Bella and Edward it was Jacob and Edward. To me it would be so much more drama. Vampire/Werewolf much more interesting that Vampire/Human. I take no credit for this work. It's all Stephenie Meyer ... I just decided to twist it. I own nothing.
Notes: This story was started on a profile Slash is the Way by my friend and it got nowhere. He said he was never going to finish and gave up on it completely it so he gave it to me. So I'm re-writing it and hopefully I will finish it. However, I am respecting his wishes to keep the plot as close to the book as possible. If it was me I would change it but a friend's a friend. So, there will be a lot of differences but as requested it will stick as close to the original Twilight plot as possible.
If I had to wait on my Beta this story would never get published so all errors are mine.
I hope it doesn't suck.
Thank you to all those who commented for me to update. It inspired me to actually find time to write this chapter (Blame work and school). Although it's not really what I want it to be I don't want to lapse any longer than I have (Again).
Chapter XI
The Calm Before the Crisis
"Why did this happen?" I asked. "Why me?"
He stared blackly at the road ahead obviously not expecting my question. "It's my fault - I was a fool to expose you like that." The rage in his voice was directed internally.
"That's not what I meant," I insisted. "I was there, big deal. It didn't bother the other two. Why did this James decide to kill me? I just don't get you vamps man."
He hesitated, thinking before he answered.
"I got a good look at his mind tonight," he began in a low voice. "I'm not sure if there's anything I could have done to avoid this, once he saw you. It is partially your fault." His voice was wry. "If you weren't a shifter. Weren't our natural born enemy he might not have bothered. It also helps that you haven't shifted as yet. This is probably his best and only chance to actually kill you. But when I defended you... well, that made it a lot worse. He's not used to being thwarted, no matter how insignificant the object. He thinks of himself as a hunter and nothing else. His existence is consumed with tracking, and a challenge is all he asks of life. Suddenly we've presented him with a beautiful challenge - a large clan of strong fighters all bent on protecting the one worthy target. You wouldn't believe how euphoric he is now with the chance of gaining bragging rights on killing a shifter. It's his favourite game, and we've just made it his most exciting game ever." His tone was full of disgust.
He paused a moment.
"But if I had stood by, he would have tried to kill you right then," he said with hopeless frustration.
"You say 'try' as if I could fend off a freaking vampire man. Shifter blood or no, at this current moment I'm very much human," I said.
"I'm almost certain you would've shifted. It would've been an automatic self defence response."
"So did you defend me because you thought I needed defending or because you were once again trying to delay the shift?"
Edward's silence and utter disregard for the question was answer enough. "I don't think I have any choice but to kill him now," he muttered. "Carlisle won't like it."
I could hear the tires cross the bridge, though I couldn't see the river in the dark. I knew we were getting close. I had to ask him now.
"How can you kill a vampire?"
He glanced at me with unreadable eyes.
"At some point in time I'm going to have to know Edward. You need to face that." I said.
His voice was suddenly harsh. "The only way to be sure is to tear him to shreds, and then burn the pieces."
I nodded. "And the other two will fight with him?"
"The woman will. I'm not sure about Laurent. They don't have a very strong bond - he's only with them for convenience. He was embarrassed by James in the meadow..."
"But James and the woman - they'll try to kill you guys?" I asked bluntly and again his lack of response was answer enough. "Is he still following?"
"Yes. But he won't attack the house. Not tonight."
He turned off onto the invisible drive. We drove right up to the house. The lights inside were bright, but they did little to alleviate the blackness of the encroaching forest. Emmett had my door open before the truck was stopped; waving his hand towards the ground while simultaneously bowing as if to say 'my lady'.
"Douche" I said laughing and pushing him out of the way playfully so I could get out of the car.
He laughed and before I could even blink Emmett had grabbed my hand and ran me through the door and we burst into the large white room, Edward and Alice at our sides. All of them were there; they were already on their feet at the sound of our approach. Laurent stood in their midst. I could hear low growls rumble deep in Emmett's throat as he skidded to a stop next to Edward.
"He's tracking us," Edward announced, glaring balefully at Laurent.
Laurent's face was unhappy. "I was afraid of that."
Alice danced to Jasper's side and whispered in his ear; her lips quivered with the speed of her silent speech. They flew up the stairs together. Rosalie watched them, and then moved quickly to Emmett's side. Her beautiful eyes were intense and - when they flickered unwillingly to my face - furious.
"What will he do?" Carlisle asked Laurent in chilling tones.
"I'm sorry," he answered. "I was afraid, when your boy there defended him, that it would set him off."
"Can you stop him?"
Laurent shook his head. "Nothing stops James when he gets started."
"We'll stop him," Emmett promised. There was no doubt what he meant.
"You can't bring him down. I've never seen anything like him in my three hundred years. He's absolutely lethal. That's why I joined his coven."
His coven, I thought, of course. The show of leadership in the clearing was merely that, a show.
Laurent was shaking his head. He glanced at me, perplexed, and back to Carlisle. "Are you sure it's worth it? He is in fact the enemy"
Edward's enraged roar filled the room and I placed a calming hand on his back hoping to stop him from doing something stupid; Laurent cringed back.
Carlisle looked gravely at Laurent. "I'm afraid you're going to have to make a choice."
Laurent understood. He deliberated for a moment. His eyes took in every face, and finally swept the bright room.
"I'm intrigued by the life you've created here. But I won't get in the middle of this. I bear none of you any enmity, but I won't go up against James. I think I will head north - to that clan in Denali." He hesitated. "Don't underestimate James. He's got a brilliant mind and unparalleled senses. He's every bit as comfortable in the human world as you seem to be, and he won't come at you head on... I'm sorry for what's been unleashed here. Truly sorry." He bowed his head, but I saw him flicker another puzzled look at me.
"Go in peace," was Carlisle's formal answer.
Laurent took another long look around himself, and then he hurried out the door.
The silence lasted less than a second.
"How close?" Carlisle looked to Edward.
Esme was already moving; her hand touched an inconspicuous keypad on the wall, and with a groan, huge metal shutters began sealing up the glass wall.
"About three miles out past the river; he's circling around to meet up with the female."
"What's the plan?"
"We'll lead him off, and then Jasper and Alice will run him south."
"And then?"
Edward's tone was deadly. "As soon as Jake is clear, we hunt him."
"I guess there's no other choice," Carlisle agreed, his face grim.
"Why should we?" Rosalie hissed. "What is he to us? To me? Except a menace - a danger you've chosen to inflict on all of us."
I rolled my eyes at the venom in her voice.
"Rose..." Emmett murmured, putting one hand on her shoulder. She shook it off.
"Look we get it Rose-a-bitch. You don't like me. That's fan-freaking-tastic but this is not the time to hash it out. Either you fight with your family or don't. It's as simple as that." I said.
She didn't reply but also made no move to walk away. In no time at all it appeared that everything had been settled. Edward and Emmett were ready to leave, Emmett carrying a heavy-looking backpack over his shoulder. Carlisle was handing something small to Esme. He turned and handed Alice the same thing - it was a tiny silver cell phone.
"Wait!" I said. "I don't think I should go with Alice. You need her with you guys to help track James."
"You can't go with just Jasper." Emmett replied.
"I know. So Blondie should come with."
"Now your pushing it mutt" she growled taking a step towards me.
"It's that charming attitude right there why I think you should. In the clearing everyone defended my except psycho there." I said nodding to Rosalie "Out of everyone, James is not going to expect Rose and I to be in the same room together. Hence why we should."
"He's right" Carlisle said and it was final."
"I hate you" Rosalie growled replacing Alice by Jasper's side.
"I know" I replied smiling.
"Rosalie, Jasper - take the Mercedes. You'll need the dark tint in the south."
They nodded. Jasper looked as though he was going into strategic mode while Rosalie was glowering at Carlisle with a resentful expression.
"We're taking the Jeep."
I was surprised to see that Carlisle intended to go with Edward. I realized that they made up the hunting party.
"Alice," Carlisle asked, "will they take the bait?"
Everyone watched Alice as she closed her eyes and became incredibly still.
Finally her eyes opened. "He'll track you. The woman will follow the Esme and I. Jasper and Rose should be able to leave after that." Her voice was certain.
"Let's go." Carlisle began to walk toward the kitchen.
But Edward was at my side at once. He caught me up in his iron grip, crushing me to him. He seemed unaware of his watching family as he pulled my face to his. "I'm sorry" he whispered and then his lips were against mine. Then it was over. He set me down, still holding my face, his glorious eyes burning into mine.
His eyes went blank, curiously dead, as he turned away.
And they were gone.
The silent moment dragged on, and then Esme's phone vibrated in her hand. It flashed to her ear.
"Now," she said. Esme touched my cheek as she passed and Alice gave me a hung.
"Be safe." Esme whispered "And don't die" Alice added as they slipped out the door.
Jasper and Rosalie waited. Rosalie's phone seemed to be at her ear before it buzzed.
"Edward says the woman is on Esme's trail. I'll get the car." She vanished into the shadows the way Edward had gone.
Jasper and I looked at each other.
"You're either incredibly brave or utterly stupid," he said with a quiet laugh.
"What?" I said shocked.
"I can feel what you're feeling now - and you're not even a bit scared."
I smiled "I'm not. I have faith in you guys but if push comes to shove I can handle my own" I said confidently. "So maybe it's a bit of both."
He laughed "Out of everyone that Edward could've been fated to be with I'm glad it's you," he said, smiling kindly at me.
"Why?" I asked shocked.
"Edward needs someone willing to let him take care of them"
I look at him incredulously and he laughed and then continued
"But he also needs someone strong enough to take care of him."
I had no other response to that than to smile. I heard nothing, but then Rosalie stepped through the front door.
"Let's go" she barked
When I woke up I was momentarily confused. My thoughts were hazy, still twisted up in dreams and nightmares and it took me longer than it should have to realize where I was.
This room was too bland to belong anywhere but in a hotel. The bedside lamps, bolted to the tables, were a dead giveaway, as were the long drapes made from the same fabric as the bedspread, and the generic watercolor prints on the walls.
I tried to remember how I got here, but nothing came at first.
I did remember the sleek black car, the glass in the windows darker than that on a limousine. The engine was almost silent, though we'd raced across the black freeways at more than twice the legal speed.
And I remembered Jasper sitting with me on the dark leather backseat talking about anything and everything as though we were long time friends. It was shocking how easily I got along with everyone from Edward's family (certain blonds excluded). It was almost as though there was a Jacob size hole within the family that I filled. It was easy to forget that they were vampires.
Sleep had evaded me; the confidence I had slowly draining away the further we moved from Forks but Jasper provided a nice distraction. I was sure he was using his powers but he claimed my emotional control was all me and he was doing nothing.
I was still awake when we came through a shallow mountain pass and the sun, behind us now, reflected off the tiled rooftops of the Valley of the Sun. I didn't have enough emotion left to be surprised that we'd made a three-day journey in one. I stared blankly at the wide, flat expanse laid out in front of me. There were palm trees, the scrubby creosote, the haphazard lines of the intersecting freeways, the green swaths of golf courses and turquoise splotches of swimming pools, all submerged in a thin smog and embraced by the short, rocky ridges that weren't really big enough to be called mountains. Florida maybe? I hadn't realized we'd been driving for so long. Probably helps when you're a vampire who doesn't need sleep.
I remembered nearing the airport.. but not passing it. I suppose that must have been when I'd fallen asleep.
Though, now that I'd chased the memories down, I did have a vague impression of leaving the car - the sun was just falling behind the horizon - my arm draped over Jasper's shoulder and his arm firm around my waist, dragging me along as I stumbled through the warm, dry shadows, Rosalie growling behind us.
I had no memory of this room.
I looked at the digital clock on the nightstand. The red numbers claimed it was three o'clock and the darkness outside told me it was morning.
I rose stiffly. I looked down at myself. I was still wearing the clothes from the baseball game. I need a long shower and to change. I padded to the walk in bathroom, only stopping to grab clothes from my duffle bag. When the hot water hit my skin it was a welcome relief. I was now fully awake.
It was only after I had finished with my shower and had thrown on a pair of sweat pants and a hoddie did I realize I was starving. I couldn't remember the last time I ate.
I was contemplating on the benefits of room service when a light tap on the door startled me.
"I'm coming in" Rosalie said already halfway in the room. "Jasper reminded me that you need to eat, so here." She handed me a plate packed to the brim with sausages, bacon, hash browns, waffles and toast.
"Did you poison it?" I asked, only slightly kidding. She was crazy.
"Yes." she said with a smile "We'll need to stay inside. Anything you want you gotta ask me or Jasper," she told me.
"Okay." she nodded and moved to walk out the room "Did you really poison it?" I asked again still not entirely sure.
"Yes," she repeated and this time her smile was more maniacal. Then she was gone.
I stared at the food for a while before deciding I was way too hungry to not risk it. It was probably no better than any other hotel food I'd had but at that moment it was the best thing I had ever tasted.
When I had finished I went through the door into the living room of the hotel suite. I could hear a low buzz of voices coming from the TV. Jasper sat motionlessly at the desk in the corner, his eyes watching the news with no glimmer of interest. Rosalie said on the floor drawing what looked like designs in a sketch pad.
"I didn't die." I said to no one in particular as I sat on the floor next to the coffee table.
"Give it a second" Rosalie replied not looking up from her pad and Jasper gave a quiet laugh.
"What do we do now?" I asked ignoring her.
"We wait for Carlisle to call."
"And should he have called by now?" I could see that I was near the mark.
"You ask a lot of questions." Rosalie bit out
"You avoid giving me answers." I replied but decided to switch the conversation. "That looks really good." I said point to her drawing.
"Bite me." she growled.
I scoffed "Oh wow. Try to pay a girl a compliment and she growls at you. Which one of us is the mutt again." I said with a roll of my eyes moving to get up.
"You really mean that?" She said in a small voice as I was about to walk back into my room.
It made me pause because I had never heard Rosalie speak to me in any other way than to growl and at the same time Jasper quietly got up and moved into another room.
"Yeah it's great." I finally replied when I regained the ability to speak. "What's it for?" I said walking back towards her.
"Nothing really. I just always loved designing clothes." she said sliding over the book to me.
"These are really good. You should have your own line."
"You're not messing with me?"
"Rose ..." I paused, "Can I call you Rose? It's easier that Rose-a-bitch."
She laughed and nodded.
"Rose," I started again smiling "You're the one that has a problem with me not the other way. And I think these are amazing. Not my style and probably way out of my budget bracket but amazing."
"Thanks." she said.
We sat in comfortable silence until Rosalie decided to break it "I guess Edward could've done worse."
I smiled "What's worse than a mutt."
"A human." both Jasper and Rosalie said at the same time. I didn't even see when he came back into the room.
The quickness of their answer had me laughing, which caused them to laugh and soon we were all laughing for no reason at all.
We stayed in the room. At some point Jasper and I began a game of chess which he won. I demanded a rematch and twenty six games later I finally beat him. Jasper swore that he didn't lose on purpose and I won on my own merit. Game twenty eight he won again. Rosealie called down to the front desk and asked them to ignore our maid service for now. The windows stayed shut, the TV on, though no one watched it. At regular intervals, food was delivered for me. Not as much as the morning but enough that I was never hungry.
As the afternoon wore on, I had somehow moved from playing chess with Jasper to talking to Rosalie and occasionally giving my input into her designs. I remembered again what I thought about the Jacob size hole and marveled at just how easy it was to get along with everyone.
They never treated me like an outsider even though that was exactly what I was.
"How do you become a vampire?" I asked no one in particular. The question shocked even me because even though I had wondered about it I hadn't meant to say it aloud.
"I think," Rose said, speaking slowly "Edward wouldn't want you to know," she said firmly, but I sensed she didn't agree.
"That's not fair. I think I have a right to know."
"As predators, we have a glut of weapons in our physical arsenal - much, much more than really necessary. The strength, the speed, the acute senses, not to mention those of us like Edward, Alice, and I, who have extra senses as well. And then, like a carnivorous flower, we are physically attractive to our prey." the answer came from Jasper who until now was in the corner but he moved to be seated next to me.
"We have another fairly superfluous weapon. We're also venomous," Rosalie said, her teeth glistening.
"The venom doesn't kill -" Jasper continued "It's merely incapacitating. It works slowly, spreading through the bloodstream, so that, once bitten, our prey is in too much physical pain to escape us. Mostly superfluous, as I said. If we're that close, the prey doesn't escape. Of course, there are always exceptions. Carlisle, for example."
"So... if the venom is left to spread..." I murmured.
"It takes a few days for the transformation to be complete, depending on how much venom is in the bloodstream, how close the venom enters to the heart. As long as the heart keeps beating, the poison spreads, healing, changing the body as it moves through it. Eventually the heart stops, and the conversion is finished. But all that time, every minute of it, a victim would be wishing for death." he finished
I was quiet.
"It's not pleasant, you see." Rosalie commented offhandedly.
"Edward had mentioned once that it was very hard to do... I don't quite understand," I said.
"We're also like sharks in a way." Rosalie laughed humourlessly "Once we taste the blood, or even smell it for that matter, it becomes very hard to keep from feeding. Sometimes impossible. So you see, to actually bite someone, to taste the blood, it would begin the frenzy. It's difficult on both sides - the blood-lust on the one hand, the awful pain on the other."
"Who wants to share their awfully personal becoming a vampire story?" I asked trying to keep the curiosity out of my voice so that they won't feel pressured.
Both Jasper and Rosalie looked at each other waiting for the other to start speaking. Just as I was getting use to the silence the phone rang. The shrill effectively pulling us out of our individual trances.
Before the first ring even finished Jasper had answered and looking over to me placed the phone on speaker.
"Something's changed." Alice said from the phone. Her voice was urgent.
"What do you see?" Jasper asked intently
"I see a room. It's long, and there are mirrors everywhere. The floor is wooden. He's in the room, and he's waiting. There's gold... a gold stripe across the mirrors."
"Where is the room?"
"I don't know. Something is missing - another decision hasn't been made yet."
"How much time?"
"It's soon. He'll be in the mirror room today, or maybe tomorrow. It all depends. He's waiting for something. And he's in the dark now."
Jasper's voice was calm, methodical, as he questioned her in a practiced way. "What is he doing?"
"I - I don't - I can't be sure. I can't see."
"Can you see where he is?"
"No, it's too dark."
"And the mirror room, what else is there?"
"Just the mirrors, and the gold. It's a band, around the room. And there's a black table with a big stereo, and a TV. He's touching the VCR there, but he doesn't watch the way he does in the dark room. This is the room where he waits."
And then the call ended.
"What does it mean? Besides the fact that for a cute pixy Alice can be creepy sometimes" I asked.
Neither of them answered for a moment, though they did look slight less tense than they were before then Jasper looked at me.
"It means the tracker's plans have changed. He's made a decision that will lead him to the mirror room, and the dark room."
"But we don't know where those rooms are?"
"No."
"But we do know that he won't be in the mountains north of Washington, being hunted. He'll elude them." Rosalie's voice was bleak.
"Should we call?" I asked. They traded a serious look, undecided.
And the phone rang again.
This time Rosalie answered but she didn't speak first.
"Yes," she said, glancing at me. She listened for a long moment.
"Yes," Rosalie said into the phone, and then she spoke to me. "Jacob?"
She held the phone out toward me. I ran to it.
"Hello?" I breathed.
"Since when does Rosalie call you anything other than mutt?," Edward said and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah well she couldn't resist once I turned on the charm." I said, then I rememebered we were in the middle of a crisis. "Alice saw that he got away."
"You don't have to worry, though. He won't find anything to lead him to you. You just have to stay there and wait till we find him again."
"I'll be fine. What's happening with the rez? Are they okay?"
"Yes - the female has been in town. She went to the reservation but it seems like Sam and the others increased patrol. She didn't risk crossing the border. You were right to warn them."
"Thinking clearly now?" I said not expecting an answer "And are you safe?"
"Yes. To both questions. I'm sorry I've been such a pain. I don't handle stress well."
I let out a strangled laugh "I miss you," I whispered.
"I know, Jacob. Believe me, I know. It's like you've taken half myself away with you. And I won't rest until it's safe enough for you to come back"
"I love you," I reminded him.
"Could you believe that, despite everything I've put you through, I love you, too? More than you could ever imagine"
"Yes, I can, actually."
"I'll come for you soon."
"I'll be waiting."
Then the phone went dead, and dead silence filled the room.
Immortality must grant endless patience. Neither Jasper nor Rosalie seemed to feel the need to do anything at all. For a while, Rosalie went back to sketching but when she was done, she simply sat, looking at the blank walls with her timeless eyes. Jasper, too, seemed to have no urge to pace the way I did.
I must have fallen asleep on the couch because the touch of Rose's cold hands woke me briefly just enough for me to walk to bed, but I was unconscious again before my head hit the pillow.
Notes: Chapter 11 everyone. It's not as good as I would like it to be (it never is) but I didn't want to take any longer than I already did to update and if I really waited until I found it was perfect who knows how long it would take.
As I said before, and I will continue to say I'm trying to keep it as close as the book as possible but yet different. Jacob isn't Bella. He isn't as shy or reserved or as dumb. He's also a werewolf, which he now knows - though he hasn't shifted yet. Poor boy doesn't even know the legends. Well he knows part.
Chapter 12 is on it's way. I have learnt not to make promises about time frame but know that I will finish this story.
Thanks a lot to all of you who are reading and those of you who favored and followed this story. Love to all my wonderful reviewers and those who are patiently waiting for updates. I hope it doesn't suck.
I was aiming to update weekly but obviously that hasn't been happening and I apologize for that. So as soon as possible chapter 12 will be up.
Also if anyone has an idea they would like to see in this story that was not in the plot of the original Twilight feel free to leave a comment or message. :)