Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Twilight characters. Any original content, however, is probably mine.

A/N: Just a reminder that the four main characters are real people, people that I know, and some of the content contained in later chapters may anger some people. That being said, I did try to keep the characters as close to how Stephenie Meyer wrote them, though I know I could never get them perfect. If you feel so inspired, please feel free to review with criticism or compliments.

Chapter 12 -- Sunset

Joe and Sarah each walked down a separate side of the road in silence, the bright orange sun ahead of them, acting as their compass. The highway had long since ceased to exist after crossing into Alaska, and it was now a small, dirty one lane road. In some places, the pavement faded and cracked from lack of use, and weeds and other vegetation crept up sneakily. They hadn't passed a vehicle in hours, and it had been even longer since they had seen any signs of civilization anywhere. It was like walking into an entirely different world, one where silly things like cars and pollution didn't exist, and anything was possible. To Joe, this seemed like just the place vampires would live, not a small, homey town like Forks. It made sense to him that Tanya's clan preferred this extremely isolated environment. Sarah decided she much preferred Canada to Alaska; at least in Canada it was warm enough that you couldn't see your breath. It seemed that wherever they were headed, it stayed this cold all year round.

A sign ahead appeared on the horizon and Joe and Sarah headed towards it without any real enthusiasm. No doubt it would hold little new information for them, and as they got nearer and nearer, they realized they were right. Just like the last three signs they had passed, this one was the exact same, except for the steadily decreasing number on the right.

Denali 36 Miles

Sarah groaned heavily upon reaching it and kicked the sign angrily, causing frost to jump into the air.

"We're never going to survive all the way there!" Sarah cried out. "It's impossible. I'm ready to drop from exhaustion, and we still have another day's walk ahead of us. How are we going to stop for the night? We don't have anywhere to sleep, and I can't walk for much longer. It's so cold, we won't last..."

"Sarah!" Joe yelled, exasperated. "Don't be like that! If you keep thinking negative thoughts, negative things are going to happen. You just have to be sort of positive, you know? Even when things get crappy." He smiled meekly at his friend, hoping to improve her spirits.

"Right," she grumbled. "Just one foot in front of the other."

Joe laughed. "Just think," he said lightly, "when we finally get there, we'll be able to meet even more insanely beautiful women who want Edward just as much as you."

"Impossible," she replied darkly, "no one could possibly want Edward more than me."

Joe gave up on trying to cheer Sarah's spirits, instead choosing to keep his eyes on the sunset up ahead. The brilliant oranges and yellows, reds and purples blended together masterfully, the colors unmaimed by pollution or smog like they normally were. The thin, crisp air only seemed to magnify the effects of the warm sun, almost seeming to warm the two travelers as it slowly sunk into the earth for the night.

"Do you hear something?" Sarah had stopped a few yards back. Joe, being so entranced by the setting sun, had failed to notice.

"Um..." Joe paused for a moment, allowing himself to focus on the sounds around him. "Yeah, I think I do." He walked slowly backward until he was joined with Sarah once more. "What is it?"

"Footsteps," Sarah replied. Though the odd sound was far away, neither of them doubted the truth of Sarah's statement.

"They're fast," Joe said softly. "Too fast to be a person."

Together, the two of them looked around, searching the horizon for whatever could be running so quickly. What animal could make footsteps to heavy, and yet be so quick on their feet? Nothing but blankness and approaching darkness could be seen, however, and they continued down the road in silence once more. After perhaps another fifteen minutes, though, Sarah looked to her left and stopped in shock. Joe looked at her peculiarly.

"You okay?"

"Wolves," She whispered. "Look."

Joe followed her gaze and squinted his eyes, trying to see what Sarah could. After a few seconds, three dark spots on the white horizon could be seen. They were quickly gaining speed, and with each passing second their features became more defined.

"Oh my..." Joe exhaled loudly. "What do we do?"

Sarah looked around, confused. "We could run..."

"Okay," Joe agreed, "which way? Do we keep going to Denali, or do we run away from the wolves?"

"There's no way we could reach Denali before the the wolves catch us," Sarah said softly.

"Right." Joe looked around as if hoping to see some sort of miracle to get them our of this situation.

"Do you see something behind the wolves?" Sarah asked as she peered ahead. Joe looked where she was and stopped abruptly.

"It's people," he said.

"The Cullens!" Sarah screamed loudly.

"I wouldn't be too happy," Joe said glumly. "Even if it is the Cullens, what if the wolves catch us before they catch the wolves?"

Sarah was silent for a few moments, then she took a deep breath. Her legs were already screaming for rest, her entire body ached with exhaustion, but she had no choice. "Come on," she urged as she began running away from small road and away from the wolves.

Joe stared after her for only one moment before he too began running. As he ran he wished desperately for vampires to be faster than wolves.


Daisha was running. Well, running would be inaccurate. Flying would be a more appropriate term to use. Even faster than Edward, Daisha sped across the ground, not even looking to where she was going, not even knowing where she was, she just ran. She had escaped from Edward as he tried to teach her the rules to being a vampire. Bah, rules. Daisha didn't have to follow any rules. As long as she was away from humans, she could think clearly, and while didn't want to hurt anyone, the memory of how good people smell, how good they tasted, was too strong for her to resist. Besides, she was stronger and faster than any of the Cullens. As for the Volturi that Edward kept drilling into her head, she wasn't worried. If it ever came down to it, she was sure she could handle a few ancient vampires and their guard. Daisha just wanted to eat.

The hunger was so overpowering. The only thing she had eaten since the garbage man was a few elk, and that was nothing compared to warmth, the aroma, the delicacy that was human. She had hoped that she would happen upon a traveler of some sort and would be able to finish them off before Edward was able to catch up to her, but she had been running for hours now and had seen no sign of a single human.

Slowly, Daisha inhaled, taking in the scent of everything around her. All the normal smells were there: ice, water, air, trees, earth. Edward's annoying stench was far behind her by now, she could hardly tell it was there. But there was something else there too, something that was unfamiliar. It was sweet, but the trace of it was so thin that Daisha wasn't sure if she had imagined it or not. More deeply this time, she inhaled once more. Yes, there was definitely something there. She couldn't quite figure out what it was though. She ran through her mind, trying to place the smell with something she recognized. Finally, after several more miles of examining the beautiful scent, it hit her. Human.

Her mouth salivating already, she subconsciously shifted her direction, changed her coordinates to point her directly at where the smell was coming from. She could practically feel each of her senses hone in on this one, precious moment. Greedily, she gulped in mouthfuls of air, relishing in the sweet, sweet scent. She could hardly stand the anticipation. She pushed her stone legs to go faster than they already were, and she could feel them blurring with speed. The nearer to the smell she got, the more she could tell about it.

It smelled like two different humans, which was even better than one. The way their scents mixed together so fragilely, as if even the slightest of breezes could completely demolish such beauty, it was beginning to drive her insane. They couldn't be more than three miles away, and Daisha could feel herself start to lose control of her body, letting the animal within her take control. She was watching from behind her own eyes once more as she sped towards her highly anticipated meal.

And then, suddenly, as if a vacuum had sucked her back into focus, a new smell brought her crashing back down to earth. It was disgusting, like rotted hair and sour milk, the stench of it wafting through her nostrils threatened to overpower the delicious human smells. Slowly, the stench began to consume her, filling her with a volatile rage, one that she had never felt before. Even though she had never seen one before, she knew internally that there were werewolves around, and the disgusting rage was starting to overpower her hunger.

Then, once again, a new smell joined the mix. More vampires were behind the dogs, it smelled like. Disappointment swelled within her. She had wanted to take down the dogs herself, and now these new vampires were going to take them from her. That wasn't fair. She recalculated her plan, and decided that she would kill the dogs first, then move on and take the humans. She'd have to do it fast in order to beat the other vampires and Edward, but she would do it. She had to. Silently, she sped up even more as the humans entered her sight.


Joe and Sarah kept running, not knowing what else to do or where else to go. No matter how fast they ran, it was impossible to fool themselves into thinking that they could outrun the wolves. Before much longer, they would be caught, and then it would all be over.

WHAM! Joe felt his foot stick on something in the ground and he slammed into the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of him. His vision swam as he tried to force himself off the ground, but his legs didn't seem to want to be able to support him anymore. He glanced back and saw that a stray root had wrapped itself around his ankle.

"Joe, get up!" Sarah cried in anguish. Her eyes were glued to the three wolves that were now only minutes away from catching up with them. Joe struggled with the root, unable to untangle his ankle. Finally, with a wail of pain, he wrenched his foot straight up, pulling the root out of the ground. He forcefully pushed himself up and began running again, Sarah at his side.

Joe glanced over his shoulder a the wolves to see how much time they had left. He could see clearly some of the Cullens running behind them now. Emmett, Carlisle, Jasper, and Esme were sprinting towards them, but it was clear to Joe that they would never catch the wolves before the wolves caught them. The ferocity in the gigantic dog's eyes spelled murder to Joe, and he fearfully turned around and attempted to force his legs to push harder.

Out on the horizon ahead of Sarah and Joe, another figure could be seen running towards them. Both of the humans almost stopped running as soon as they caught sight of it. It was too much to believe that so many things could go wrong. Unaware of who this new figure was though, they continued running as quickly as they could towards it, refusing to surrender to their own inevitable deaths.

"Daisha..." Sarah mumbled in between gasps for air. Joe shot another glance at the oncoming figure and tried to make out any of its features in the dark. The sun had long since set and the darkness around was only penetrated by the moon high above in the sky. The pale light was enough though, and Joe could see a slight sheen of light reflected off of her marble skin as she sped towards them.

"Why does she look so pissed?" Joe wondered aloud. "Isn't she supposed to be with Edward?"

"Maybe she learned control," Sarah panted. "She's a fast learner."

Without warning, Sarah suddenly stopped, collapsing on the ground. "I can't keep running," she whispered while trying to catch her breath. "I'm sorry Joe."

Joe stopped and ran back to her. He too fell to the ground, grabbing her hand. "Come on Sarah," he urged. "We can do this."

"It's too late," Sarah gasped. "They'll be here soon."

Together they watched the oncoming wolves approach them at lightening speed, the Cullens dutifully behind them. Behind the Cullens, more figures were emerging from the darkness, and it looked like more wolves and a single human figure.

"Alice," Joe said softly when he recognized the tiny stature and the oping grace. "She's with more wolves."

"What the hell is happening?" Sarah moaned. "This is insane!"

"Well," Joe said in a mocking voice, "I suppose that's probably Edward behind Daisha then."

Sarah's neck whipped around, her eyes scouring the landscape for any sign of Edward. Sure enough, just as Joe claimed, a lone figure was running behind Daisha, off in the distance. It was too far away to make any details about it clear, but they couldn't think of anyone else it would be.

A loud roar made Joe and Sarah jump and look in the direction of the wolves, and they were rewarded with the sight of only fifteen yards in between them and their death. Together, they clenched their eyes shut and braced themselves for the ripping of flesh, the searing pain, but it never came. Instead, from directly above their heard, a malicious snarl ripped through the air and the sound of crunching bones reverberated. Joe and Sarah looked over to see Daisha entangled in all three wolves, masterfully holding off all three at the same time. She had her teeth buried into the neck of one, and she had somehow managed to have one of their heads beneath her foot. The other was preparing to leap at her when she whipped around, grabbing it by its tail. For a split second, one of the wolves managed to get its jaws around Daisha's leg and it seemed like it would turn the tide of the fight. However, as soon as Daisha's balance was thrown off by the wolf, Esme, Emmett, Carlisle, and Jasper struck hard, freeing Daisha from the wolves furry grasp.

"Joe! Sarah!" The two of them spun around at the sound of their names being called and saw Edward only about two hundred meters away and still running fast. "Get out of there!"

"Why?" Joe asked, rising to his feet as Sarah did the same.

"Daisha's distracted by the wolves now," Edward explained hastily as he approached them, "but as soon as the wolves are gone she'll attack you."

"You were supposed to be teaching her to control her instincts," Sarah accused. "What happened?"

"She escaped," Edward shot out, ferocity in every syllable. Sarah recoiled from the anger and his face immediately showed apology. "I'm sorry," he said slowly, "but all of this is just too much. Rosalie..."

Sarah put her hand in his and squeezed it gently.

"Thank you," he said after a moment. "But you two need to run, now. Daisha will go after you, and even though there are so many of us here, I've never seen a newborn with such tenacity before. She could break through."

"But..." Sarah gasped, trying to block her tears from spilling over. "Can't you..."

Edward's eyes turned cold. "I'm sorry Sarah. I'll come back when Daisha is where she needs to be. I won't be the one to try to teach her this time, I promise."

Sarah lowered her head and felt Edward's ice cold finger, so much colder than the frigid air around them, under hear chin.

"I promise," he repeated. He bent down to kiss her lips softly, barely brushing hers with his, and then he pushed her aside, forcing her to run away from the snarling battle taking place. Sarah reached out and took Joe's arm, and the two of them began running blindly through the cold Alaska night. A piercing whine from behind them forced Sarah to look back and see what was happening. With Edward in the fray, she hated to leave them behind. Without watching where she was going, however, she felt her leg get tangled with Joe's, and both of them went crashing to the ground once more. Sarah landed smoothly enough that she didn't think she had sustained any injuries, but Joe landed on his knees, feeling the rough ground cut into his skin. As he rolled over, he glared at Sarah.

"Nice," he shot, examining his knees. They were skinned badly, fresh blood oozing out from underneath his now ripped jeans. "Damn..." he muttered.

Back in the fight, Daisha had just delivered a bone crushing blow to one of the wolves heads, forcing it to emit a high pitched whine as it fell dead to the ground. It was just as she turned to kill the last wolf that she smelled it. In that one instant, Daisha could feel herself slipping once more out of control, and she turned toward the beautiful, delectable scent of the human. It had just grown stronger, the aroma wafting through her, controlling her, becoming her. She knew exactly what had caused the change, and without waiting for another split second, she launched herself toward the smell of blood. The two humans were standing up, and only one of them had the precious smell emanating from him. In a flash, Daisha was directly in front of Joe, he scarlet eyes appraising him as a butcher examines a fresh piece of fine meat.

Before Joe even had time to open his mouth and scream, Daisha reached out and grabbed his hair, yanking him into her. Her stone cold hands formed marble claws that slid icily around his neck, preparing to rip it apart.

CRASH! An earsplitting smack rang in Joe's ear and he felt himself slipping from Daisha's grasp as she flew away, another body joining hers. He spun around, trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening, and he was rewarded with the sight of Daisha rolling on the ground, a tiny Alice clutched in her claw-like grasp. Their scuffle was short lived and ferocious, and it resulted in Daisha crouching defensively on the ground with Alice perched imp-like on her back, her hands gripping Daisha's neck, ready to separate it from the rest of her body with a simple yank.

"Stop!" Sarah yelled, stretching her arm out in an attempt to drive her point outward. "Don't kill her!"

Alice looked up and Daisha struggled to free herself from beneath her. "Why?" She slammed Daisha's head violently into the frosted ground, curbing her violent escape attempts with an angry whine.

"She's still Daisha," Sarah cried back. "She's still our friend!"

Carlisle's voice sounded, the last werewolf finally slain. "She's right, Alice."

Alice sighed. As Carlisle approached her, she released her grip on Daisha. Before she could even attempt to get to her feet again, Carlisle had her in an impossible hold and was leading her away from the others without another word said.

Joe was lying on the ground, trying to force the air into his lungs. After several minutes, he looked up at Alice who was staring down at him with an unreadable expression.

"You saved my life," he said to her. It was more of a question than a statement, as if he was wondering if that was truly her intention. When she made no movement to respond, Joe continued. "I thought... I mean, you could have just let her kill me. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I don't want you dead," Alice attempted to explain. "I want you gone. Jasper has grown... attached to you lately. Dangerously attached to someone so expendable. However, if you were to die, I am doubtful as to how well he would be able to cope with it. I would never subject him to something like that. I was doing it for him. Not you. I would still very much like you gone." Without another word, she turned quickly and glided away, moving towards Esme.

Joe and Sarah moved quietly to join the other vampires in a loose circle around the three limp wolf bodies. Sarah moved immediately to stand next to Edward, and Joe began to head towards Jasper. However, at the look from Alice, he moved to be by Emmett instead. They had arrived in the middle of a hushed conversation that continued as if they hadn't walked over at all.

"Are you sure?" Jasper was asking, his dark golden eyes focused intently on Alice's.

"Positive," she replied briskly. "The pack leader isn't here. He's at least twice the size of these pups."

"We saw the pack leader escape though," Esme argued. "He was with these three wolves here."

"So where is he now?" Emmett asked. His usual carefree smile was gone now, his expression as cold and stony as his skin. Even his eyes seemed darker than the others now, even though he had last hunted at the same time as his family. Rosalie's death seemed to have sapped the very essence of what Emmett had once been, leaving only a stone shell.

Edward's eyes suddenly lit up. "Alice, didn't you say these wolves were after revenge against the Quileute tribe?"

Alice had caught on to him immediately, knowing what he would say as soon as he did. "And if they see Jacob as the Quileute pack leader than they had to have gone after Jacob."

"Where is Jacob?" Esme asked. "He needs to be warned."

"He's back in..." Alice's mouth drooped slightly. "Oh no."

"What is it?" Jasper asked, taking a step forward.

"He stayed in Forks," Alice said slowly, as if she were trying to concentrate on too many things at once. "With Jessica. They stayed at our house."

"Jacob's with Jessica?" Sarah asked suddenly, her eyes squinting. "She's been with him the whole time?"

"Apparently," Alice replied with a hint of vulgarity in her tone, "he imprinted on her."

"Wow," Joe said softly, his mind temporarily distracted from the present events.

"The Quileute tribe is already headed back though," Esme pressed. "Surely they'll help Jacob."

"If they knew what was happening, they would," Alice said more quickly now. She had started to pace absentmindedly and no one tried to stop her. "I don't see any reason why they would stop by Forks on their way back to La Push though, and with Jacob no longer connected to the pack plural, there would be no way for them to know that Jacob needed their help."

"We have to save Jessica," Sarah persisted. "If the pack leader manages to kill Jacob, do you really think he'll let Jessica live?"

"She's right," Edward said, scooping Sarah up into his arms. "We have to help them. For both of them."

"It will take us hours to get back," Alice replied with her arms crossed. "There's no way we'd make it back in time."

"We have to try anyway," Jasper agreed with Edward as he walked over to Joe, ignoring the piercing venomous gaze coming from Alice. Smoothly, Jasper lifted Joe into his arms and Joe closed his eyes, breathing in Jasper's addicting scent once more. He chanced a glance over at Alice to see if she was still glaring in their direction, and he was shocked to see she wasn't. Instead, she was looking away from them, her eyes hell bent on not showing an ounce of emotion.

Without another word, the Cullens began running against time and chance to try and save a werewolf and a human before it was too late.


Jessica leaned up and pressed her lips firmly against Jacob's neck. They were in the backyard, the sound of the nearby stream trickling in the background. Above, the stars shone brightly and lit up the landscape with a beauty and luminance not often seen in real life.

Slowly, as if she was testing dangerous waters, Jessica trailed her fingertips down Jacob's bare, russet chest. It moved up and down in time with his slow, steady breathing. Delicately, her fingers drifted lower, running over the firm abs that dipped and rose with each new muscle.

"I love you," she whispered quietly into the night.

"Not as much as I love you," he whispered back, lifting her head so she was looking into his eyes.

"I doubt it," she grinningly replied.

He laughed and with moves like lightening, grabbed her and lifted her into the air. He ran and jumped messily into the stream, sending water everywhere.

"Put me down!" Jessica shrieked in surprise.

"Alright," he grinned demonically, and with the smoothness of an Olympic diver sent both of them flying into the cold water.

"It's cold!" Jessica cried out. "You're insane!"

"You like it," Jacob cooed as he pulled her in tighter to him, pressing his almost bare body against hers. In just a few seconds, Jessica found that with Jacob there, the cold water wasn't so unbearable. "Better?" he asked.

"Much," Jessica breathed out, feeling the water around her and Jacob together, it almost felt as if they were one person. The warmth no longer seemed to be coming from Jacob, but from within her as well. Without even realizing what was happening, Jacob found himself kissing Jessica vigorously, unlike he had kissed her before. Her slowly moved down her neck, and Jessica felt herself take a sharp intake of air as his lips brushed lightly over her chest. Suddenly, however, something stopped, and they became two separate people once more, Jacob standing up, pulling Jessica with him.

"What is it?" Jessica asked, confused. With the added space between them and the cool night air around her, Jessica had begun shaking from her soaked situation.

Jacob looked at her, his shaggy hair dripping heavily in his face. His pants hung precariously low on his slender waist and Jessica had to struggle to keep her eyes off of them. She was upset that Jacob had ended their fun, and was desperate to solve the problem so they could get back to it.

"Earlier," Jacob started, looking deep into her eyes as if he were boring into her very being. "You asked if I would ever leave you. Why?"

Jessica was so shocked at his question that it took her several seconds to even remember what he was talking about. "That's what's bothering you?" she asked ludicrously.

Jacob merely nodded, his look of confusion etched into every line of his face.

"Well," Jessica tried to explain, "I don't really know. It's just a feeling I had earlier. Like we wouldn't be together for much longer."

Jacob stepped closer to her, giving her the embrace that she so desperately longed for. "I would never leave you Jessica. Not for anyone, not for anything. Not for the whole world. I'll always be here for you, and nothing will change that. I love you more than I ever thought it was possible for anyone to love, and then some. I don't even know how expansive my love for you is, but I know that it could never be broken. No matter what, I swear to you that we will be together until our time comes, always."

Jessica shook her head. "I know," she sighed. "I was being stupid."

"Just a little," Jacob smirked. "Let's go back to the house. You must be freezing!"

Jessica clung to him even tighter. "It's not so bad as long as I'm with you."

He laughed his goofy laugh, and Jessica was glad the serious moment was over. "Come on..." He paused for a moment. "Do you need me to carry you?"

"I think I'm good," Jessica said as she stretched out her leg. They had taken it out of its cast today at Jessica's request. It still ached, but it was nothing compared to how it had been just a few days before. "I don't think it was really broken, just really, really bruised."

For a split second, Jacob smiled down at her with love radiating in his stare, and then he stopped, looking up and past Jessica, a frown on his beautiful face. "Someone's coming," Jacob said shortly, pulling Jessica behind him. "Someone familiar. Stay back."

Jessica peered out from behind Jacob's wet shoulder and looked for any sign of the intruder, but there was none. Jacob began walking forward slowly and Jessica followed, not sure what she was being so careful for. Then she saw him coming towards them from the dark forest. A man with the same copper skin as Jacob, only darker, as if he came from a much sunnier place. Once he came closer, Jessica could see that it was also partly because he was covered in grime and dirt. His jet black hair hung down in long, greasy strands to his back. It wasn't his skin or his hair that made Jessica stop in shock, however. It was his sheer size. The man was at leat eight feet tall and was about the width of Jacob four times over, all of it pure, rippling muscle. He didn't look like an overbuilt bodybuilder. Instead, he just looked like he was born huge, lived huge, and would always be huge. Something about the way the man, the hulk, moved made Jessica wary. Almost as if he was constantly in a swagger, owning the entire world around him.

"You..." Jacob muttered, his form quivering dangerously under Jessica's grasp. Shocked, she let go of him and took a few steps back. Was Jacob going to transform in front of this stranger?

"Who is it?" Jessica asked, perhaps a little too loud.

"You've met him before," Jacob assured her without turning around. "In the forest. The same night you met me."

Jessica thought back to that fateful night, and she struggled to remember when she had ever met this mountain on terror before. Surely she would have remembered something like him. As he silently approached, however, Jessica realized what Jacob must mean. This man, this monster, was the same wolf that had tried to kill Jessica in the woods not even a week ago. Knowing she was coming face to face with him frightened Jessica more than she would have thought possible, and she slowly slumped to her knees. And Jacob was going to fight him? He didn't stand a chance against a beast of this caliber.

"Jacob Black," the monster rumbled. His voice wasn't o much a tone as it was a grown, constantly coming from the man's enormous barrel of a chest.

"At your service," Jacob replied through gritted teeth. Whatever he was doing to keep himself in control was obviously taking a lot of his strength.

"The famous packleader of the Quileute tribe," the man continued. "It's an honor, I assure you."

"And who might you be?" Jacob asked curiously through ragged breaths.

"Collin," the beast rumbled lowly. The name didn't look like it fit the man, and Jessica almost let out a weak laugh at the sound of it.

"You call me the packleader," Jacob said slowly, as if choosing his words carefully. "Why?"

"You're great grandfather was the packleader before you," Collin growled. "Therefor, you are the packleader now."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Muscles," Jacob shot, "but I'm not the packleader around here. You've got the wrong --"

"Shut up!" Collin roared suddenly, and Jessica saw the monster's form begin to quake as well. "You are the packleader according to the bloodlines. You really think that just because you don't want to be the packleader, that means your not? It doesn't work that way, Shrimp." Collin's dark eyes visibly moved from Jacob to Jessica. "This must be your mate. Yes, we did make a mistake with the other one. They look alike though."

"Screw you," Jacob shot back like lightening, repositioning himself between Collin and Jessica. "Leave her out of this."

"You're actually going to put up a fight?" The hulking mammoth let out a roar of laughter. "How pathetic. You know, now that I have you I don't have much need for her as bait, but she could provide a petty meal once we're finished."

Jacob snarled and Jessica could tell he was milliseconds away from phasing when suddenly, Collin's thick arm reached out and grabbed Jacob's throat. It happened so fast that Jacob didn't even have time to react, and he was soon struggling, his feet inches from the ground.

"Jacob!" Jessica screamed, unable to move from her spot on the ground.

"My whole life has been about destroying you," Collin snarled into Jacob's face, spraying him with spit. "I remember when my father was viciously slain by your ancestors for no other reason than for being a good leader. I remember it like it was yesterday."

Jacob's eyes widened as he continued to fight off the man, unable to draw a breath. Collin could practically see the gears turning in Jacob's head.

"Yes," the monster roared. "Your ancestors killed my father, and I'm here for revenge. You know as well as I do that while we share a wolves spirit, we do not age. You share the spirit of the wolf when a cold one appears. That is your purpose. Our purpose, however, is to kill you. Because that hasn't yet been accomplished, I still share the same wolf spirit as I did several hundred years ago. My entire life is about to come down to these few moments when I end your life. I do hope you'll pardon my melodrama, but I've been waiting for this for a very long time..."

For the slightest of seconds, Collin's expression relaxed and he was momentarily lost in the moment. In that one instant, Jacob took advantage of the moment and exploded in a burst of fur and claws. Collin, caught off guard, released the wolf. Jacob stood on all fours, his teeth bared and his eyes narrowed. With Collin standing straight up, he was about as tall as Jacob was in wolf form, which was definitely saying something.

In a flash, Collin snapped out and backhanded Jacob across the muzzle. Jessica thought this was a stupid move on his part. No human could ever hope to harm a werewolf in wolf form. However, much to hers and Jacob's surprise, the large dog went flying through the air, landing roughly on his side in the dirt.

Collin smiled, then turned to leer at Jessica. Almost as if he was in slow motion, Collin slumped down to all fours and jet black fur sprouted from every surface. His bone structure buckled underneath his skin and he began to grow. The difference in between the two wolves were shocking. Collin was at leat twice as huge as Jacob was, towering over some of the smaller trees in the forest. He seemed much bigger now than he did in the forest that night, but it was probably just the gigantic trees around them that made him look so much smaller.

With a roar, Collin launched through the air, landing with four loud thumps in front of Jessica. He growled menacingly, freezing Jessica in place on the ground. She couldn't move, couldn't scream, and Collin's teeth inched slowly towards her.

Out of nowhere, Jacob pounced onto the monster's back, his teeth dug into its flesh. Collin reared back and let out an angry roar and began shaking violently. Jacob was just barely holding on as he was flung back and forth by the gargantuan beast until finally he was thrown off, landing on all four paws a few yards away. Collin turned to face and bared his yellowed fangs, a deep growl emitting from his chest. Jacob lunged at Collin once more, but this time Collin was expecting it. He sidestepped Jacob's attack easily and then spun around, biting down hard on Jacob's back. Jacob involuntarily let out a high pitched whine and flailed his legs trying to get free. Collin shook him around like a rag doll until Jacob went limp, his whines silenced.

Jessica found that she suddenly had control of her legs and she stood shakily, watching as Collin clutched the now limp Jacob in his fangs. In the starlight, Jessica could see dark red liquid oozing down her love, matting itself inside of his fur. With what looked like a wicked grin, Collin raised his head high and threw Jacob as hard as he could into the ground. There was a final exhaustion of breath and Jacob laid lifeless in the grass, sprawled out in an odd angle. Without thinking of her own safety, Jessica ran towards Jacob, sobbing.

"You bastard!" she screamed when she finally reached him, kneeling down and looking up at Collin's huge form. Even in the darkness and in his wolf form, Jessica could tell the maniacal mutt was grinning at her.

He slowly lowered his huge head towards Jessica's, his hot, rancid breath blowing in her face. From deep within him, Jessica could just barely make out a low rumbling, almost like a purr. He was pleased with himself, she realized. It disgusted her more than his rank breath.

She glared angrily into his eyes, the inhumanity they conveyed only fueled her anger. "You... You..." But what Jessica thought Collin was was never uttered. Just as he was about to reach forward and snap at her neck, he stopped. His expression shifted, and the purring within his chest was cut off, only to be replaces by a low whine. He took several steps backward, casting a fearful and confused glance around the field. Then he fell down, his head twitching violently, his eyes rolling within their sockets.

Jessica had no clue what was going on, but she was thankful for it. She looked down at Jacob and saw that he seemed to be breathing shallowly, and Jessica cradled his furry head in her arms. "It'll be okay," Jessica whispered to him, not sure if he could hear her or not. "It'll all work out."

Suddenly, there was a distinct silence in the air that made Jessica look up. Collin had stopped thrashing on the ground, now lying still, breathing in ragged gasps. Jessica looked at him, wondering what was happening.

"It's amazing how incapacitating the proper level of pain can be," a voice sounded from the darkness. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Jessica looked around aghast. "Who's there?" The voice sounded like it came from behind Collin, but Jessica could see no one there. What shocked her the most was that it almost sounded like a little girls voice, very high pitched and innocent, but with a hint of maliciousness behind it. It frightened Jessica and she realized that whatever it was, she would have to face it alone.

Without warning, a pale shape appeared in the darkness by Collin's now still body. It looked like a little girl, not any older than eight or nine at the most. She had translucently pale skin and Jessica immediately recognized her for what she was -- a vampire. She wore black robes that trailed behind her when she walked. Walked was a misinterpretation though. This little girl staked, not walked. She was constantly in a form as if she were expecting someone to jump out at her. He blood red eyes were visible even in the darkness of the night. Without saying a single word, she bent down and grasped Collin's monumentally huge head in her tiny grasp. It was almost comical, such a small girl handling such a large creature. The head of the beast was nearly as big as she was. Then, all humor was erased from the picture when, with a twitch of her hands, she broke Collin's neck, the crack of it resounding and echoing over the large yard. Jessica tried to block out the sound, but it was no use. She knew she would never forget it, and it would continue to haunt her in her nightmares.

"So," the young girl started as she approached Jessica. "You must be Jessica."

"How do you know my name?" Jessica asked her, looking at her as someone might look at a two headed dog.

"The Volturi knows everything that goes on in our world," the girl assured her. "You and your friends are quite famous in our little circle. My name is Jane."

Jessica immediately blanched. It should have been obvious from the get go who this girl was, but for some reason Jessica's mind refused to allow her to consider the possibility. She knew all about Jane. How evil she was. How merciless, how dangerous.

"Wh - wh - why are you here?" Jessica stuttered. In her mind, she thought she would have rather have another round with Collin than deal with Jane. She didn't know how she was going to get Jacob and herself out of this alive. Surely they were breaking one of the Volturi's precious rules.

"The Volturi heard about the wolf war going on," Jane replied boredly, "and about you and your friends pretty much destroying the Cullen clan."

"Well no one else is here," Jessica replied quickly. "They're all up North. You came too late... again."

"We know," Jane said with disdain. "I told you. We know everything. The others have already met with the rest of the Cullens when they were on their way back down here. They told us about how they fell for a diversion and the real threat was down here, with you and your mutt. So I hurried down, hoping to get here before I missed any of the action. I was lucky too, I saw the whole thing."

"You saw the whole thing?" Jessica asked in disbelief.

Jane began walking around Jessica, keeping her diminutive stature always in motion. "Yep."

"Why didn't you save Jacob then?" Jessica asked through clenched teeth.

"Why would I?" Jane asked bewildered. "He's a dog. No loss."

"You bitch..." Jessica muttered fiercely. She could feel the anger begin to rise within her again and she fought to keep it in control. This wasn't the place or the person to lose control in front of.

"I saved your life," Jane shot back. "This is the thanks I get? I easily could have let you die and told the others I arrived too late."

Jessica glared at the ground, refusing to look at the demonic little girl. She felt the tears begin to well over and she attempted to fight them off.

Then, without warning, she was plunged into hell beyond hell. It was as if her very bones were on fire, her muscles were boiling beneath her skin. She was being slowly devoured by a livid, fiery beast, and she could do nothing about it. She was blind, unable to comprehend anything but the ferocious pain eating away at her. As suddenly as it had begun, however, it was over, and Jessica found herself lying on her side, curled into a ball, sweating as if she had just run a marathon. She looked up to see why Jane had stopped and was shocked to see Jacob biting into her leg with renewed vigor. For a split second, Jessica was touched beyond measure, knowing that Jacob had faced his pain and saved her from Jane. That was quickly replaced by fear for the life of her most beloved, however, and she tried to get herself off the ground to help him.

"Get off me you stupid mutt!" Jane yelled, batting at Jacob with both of her hands, but to no avail. Jacob's limp body held on tightly, not letting go for anything. With an evil grin, Jane raised her hand high to strike Jacob down for good, and Jessica screamed, covering her eyes.

"STOP!" An unbelievably pale vampire was standing not twenty feet from where Jane and Jessica were. His skin was much different from that of other vampires, however, and Jessica immediately recognized him as one of the Volturi. His jet black hair and blood red eyes contrasted so harshly with his white skin that Jessica almost didn't know if he was real for several minutes. "Jane," he continued in a softer voice as he flowed towards them. "I told you very specifically that you weren't to harm the human or her dog."

Behind the vampire stood Esme, flanked on either side by Emmett and Alice. Behind them, Jasper and Edward stood silently, and running towards Jessica across the grass was Joe, followed swiftly by Sarah. When they reached her, they all enveloped in a teary, unbelieving hug.

"Of course, Marcus," Jane replied quietly. She kicked her leg out suddenly, and Jacob released her, unconscious once more.

"We must leave," Marcus informed her. "Now."

"Marcus!" Jane hissed at him. "Surely you haven't forgotten our rules! These humans know of our existence, they cannot be allowed to live!"

"If you remember," Marcus replied, "I am one of the three who made the rules in the first place. I'm not likely to forget them any time soon. All has been discussed with Carlisle. This Daisha girl... She shows great promise."

Jane sighed, then turned to face Jessica. She shot her one last evil look and then turned to stalk off into the woods.

Marcus turned to Esme. "You'll give Carlisle my regards?"

"Of course," she replied sweetly, bowing her head slightly.

Marcus returned the gesture and then took one last curious look at the three humans before heading hurriedly after Jane.

Esme put her hand on Jessica's shoulder. "Come on dear," she said softly. "Let's get you inside."

Jessica looked up at her, unable to contain her tears for any longer. "Will he be alright?"

Esme looked down at her with a strange, unreadable look in her eyes. "Let's go inside," was all the solace that she offered her.

Quietly, they all trailed into the newly repaired house, taking Jacob with them as the sun rose in the east, not a cloud in the sky.


A/N: Wow. Sorry this took so unbelievably long to type up. I had a slight inspiration fault, but it's over now. One more chapter to go and then part one is finished!