Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc of the "Twilight: Saga" are the property of Stephanie Meyer. The original characters and plot are the property of said author. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter Twelve: Vampire Army
*Bella's POV*
I woke up Tuesday morning and started getting ready for school. Jacob wasn't there, and when I heard Charlie downstairs in the kitchen, I knew that was why. Charlie was obviously happy that Jake and I were together, but I knew he would not be very thrilled in finding him in my bed.
"Bells, I'm leaving for the station. Have a good day at school, love you." Charlie yelled from down the stairs.
"Bye Dad, love you too." I yelled back while heading into my bedroom from the bathroom.
I got dressed quickly, and made my way into the kitchen. I poured myself a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. I was running late so I practically inhaled my breakfast, grabbed my backpack, and headed to the front door.
When I stepped outside Jacob was there standing by his motorcycle looking as gorgeous as ever in a tight black t-shirt that showed off ever muscle, a pair of dark blue jeans, and black biker boots. We both smiled widely at each other and I ran and jumped into his arms. He spun me around a few times and then crashed his lips to mine.
"Well this is a pleasant surprise," I said, breaking the kiss but staying wrapped in his arms.
"I'll say. I'm going to have to demand you greet me like that every time," he joked. "And you'll have to get use to seeing me every morning, at least until the vampire threat is taken out. Alice is going to be able to protect you at school, and I'm your official body guard to and from school every day."
"I'm quite alright with that." I said as I gave him another quick kiss on the lips. "We do have to get going though, or I'm going to be late for first period."
"Your chariot awaits madam," Jake said as he handed me my bike helmet.
I got to school with minutes to spare. Jacob pulled into the parking lot and helped me off the bike. I took my helmet off and shook out my hair, throwing my backpack over my shoulder. He put his hand behind my neck and brought me close to his body and to his lips. The kiss was a little rough, and full of passion and desire; I could feel him harden slightly against my thigh. When we leaned away, we were both breathing heavily and he pulled me in for one more quick hug.
"I'm going to miss you all day Bells."
"Me too Jake, but you're picking me up right?" I asked, hope obvious in my voice.
"Absolutely, I'll meet you back right here after school."
"Alright then, I guess I can make it through a few hours," I joked. "I love you Jacob."
"I love you too Bella, I'll see you later. Now go get to class, I think we put on enough of a show for everyone for one morning." He laughed lightly, and that is when I finally took my eyes off of him to look around and notice that practically the entire school, including Edward and Alice and all my friends, were in the parking lot staring and Jake and me. My face instantly reddened, and I turned to hide in Jacob's side as he put his arm around me like a screen.
"Bella, it is time to get to first period. I will walk with you; Alice and I were able to get back in almost all of your classes again, but only you and I have first period together." It was Edward, and just like each time I've spoken with him since he came back, his voice sounded mechanical and distressed.
I dared to look up and saw that Jake's face was hard but he smiled at me slightly and nodded, letting me know it was okay to go with Edward. I leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and told him I would see him later.
I started walking towards my first class while Edward followed close behind. He didn't say anything more to me so I didn't really feel it very necessary to start up a conversation either.
The morning went rather quickly, and I made my way to the lunchroom with Edward still close behind. When I got inside, I saw Alice sitting at my regular lunch table catching up with Angela and Ben.
"Would you like anything for lunch Bella?" Edward asked, now standing right next to me.
"Umm, yeah, but I got it. You can just go sit with Alice or whatever; I'll be over there in a few minutes… Thanks though." I tried not to sound rude, though I think it might have come out like that anyway.
He nodded, his eyes looking past me, and walked over and sat down next to Alice, slumping in his seat, very un-Edward-like.
"Oh my god Bella, who was that guy you were with this morning? He has a motorcycle? Are you guys dating? Why didn't you tell me about him? What's his name? Oh my god, he was so hot! You're so lucky! Tell me everything!" Jessica was practically shaking me senseless as she rambled off questions to me about Jacob.
"Hello to you too Jess." Was all I said in response as I walked away from her, grabbing a side salad and then went to get a water bottle.
"Aw, Bella, don't be like that, I'm just happy to see you with someone that's all. So come on, you know you wanna dish!" She sounded sincere, well as sincere as Jessica Stanley could sound. I grabbed her hand and led her to sit down at an empty table with me.
"Fine. His name is Jacob Black, and yes he's my boyfriend. Our dad's have been friends forever, so I've known him for a long time. He's actually my best friend, really too… Is that enough information?" I asked hopeful that she could tell I was uncomfortable and wasn't interested in divulging anymore.
"Uh, not really! Come on, I need more details. Pleeeeeese?!?" She begged, with her bottom lip in a faux pout.
I grumbled internally, and tried to think of something I could actually tell her. Other than just saying he was my boyfriend, there wasn't much more I could tell her. 'So yeah he's my boyfriend, and I love him with all my heart; we actually just lost our virginity to each other yesterday too. He's a werewolf by the way, crazy huh? So this mythical thing called imprinting is keeping us tied together for the rest of our lives, we are soul mates, cool right? OH! And!! I have a bunch of vampires after me, so the Cullen's, who are good vampires just to clarify, and all the other werewolves are teaming together to protect me. So much drama isn't it?' Yeah, I'm sure that would go over well.
"He lives down in La Push, on the Quileute Reservation – that's where he goes to High School. You actually met him, last year, when we all went down to First Beach. He looked a lot younger then though, so you probably didn't recognize him. Umm, he actually rebuilt that motorcycle he was driving this morning from basically scrap metal; he's really good at all that mechanical kind of stuff. I don't know what else you'd really wanna know Jess. I love him a lot, and he's really good to me, it's not complicated or anything if you were looking for some juicy gossip."
"Okay, well… I guess that's enough…for now." She laughed, and then got a devious look in her eyes. "Sooo, does he have any guy friends that are anywhere near as hot as he is? Maybe that you could set me up with?" Of course. That's probably what she had wanted to know all along. I wish she would have just started with that in the first place.
"Yeah, a few, but I think they mostly stick with the girls on the Rez. I could ask Jacob though if he knows if one of his friends might be interested." I wanted to tell her hell no right away, she would never be able to handle the Pack, but I figured I would be gentle about it.
"That would be awesome! Maybe we could do a double date or something? Ever since Mike and I broke up for the hundredth time last month, I've been really lonl…" She drowned on and on for the rest of lunch, and I just sort of blocked the rest out, nodding and looking like I was deeply interested in her love life.
I chanced a glance over to our normal lunch table once or twice just to find Edward staring in my direction and then looking away the second my eyes met his. He was acting so damn weird! The lunch bell rang dismissing us to our afternoon classes, and I couldn't have been happier. Acting interested in Jessica's conversation was exhausting me.
The rest of the day went just as quickly as the morning did and I was definitely grateful it had, I really wanted to see Jacob. I made my way out to the back parking lot where we were suppose to meet, but Jake wasn't there yet.
"I'm actually going to be taking you home Bella." Alice said from behind me, making me jump out of my skin. "Always so jumpy Bella," she laughed.
"Why are you taking me home? Jacob said he was." I asked, visibly upset that he was not here.
"He texted me about an hour ago asking me to bring you home because Sam had called an emergency Pack meeting." She said matter of factly.
"Texted you? Since when does Jake have a cell phone?" I asked, confused.
"We gave him and the rest of the Pack each a cell phone to keep in touch with my family, and with each other when they aren't phased. We need to all be as accessible to one another as possible until all this scorned female vampire craziness is behind us. You have one too by the way, it's in the front pocket of your backpack, and everyone's numbers are already programmed into it. Now let's go, I have Carlisle's Mercedes." She said as she walked away from me towards the slick black car that just screamed money.
I swung my backpack off my shoulder and pulled out a shiny silver flip phone from the front pocket. I opened it up and it said I had a message from Jacob:
"Guess the pixie told you where to find your new phone if you're reading this, lol. Sorry I couldn't be there to drive you home but we've picked up the scent of two new vampires in the area and need to check into it. Please go with Alice and stay with her until I get there. I'll come by your house tonight for dinner. Miss you and Love you!"
I was going to like having a cell phone, even if I was pissed at Alice for not even asking me if I wanted one. It was nice to be able to communicate with Jake when we couldn't be face to face. I texted him back quickly letting him know I would stay with Alice, and that I loved him too.
Alice and I got to my house in what felt like seconds the way she was driving. We went inside and I immediately went into the kitchen to get dinner started. I was going to make beef stroganoff with wide noodles, and the meat needed to cook for at least two hours in the Crockpot. Once I had everything settled for dinner, I went into the living room to sit with Alice.
"So, thanks for the phone." I said, trying not to sound too enthused – she needed to realize I didn't want her buying me things, or making decisions for me, without asking, which was where I was going to take the rest of the conversation.
"Alice, I need you to know that I am very upset with you and your brother for forging an application for me to Dartmouth, and also for just expecting that you can basically tell me I'm going without a choice. Oh, and apartment hunting in New Hampshire? Really Alice? You can't just order me around all the time. I'm not just some doll for you to play with!" My voice came out much more severe then I had expected it to. It was empowering standing up for myself. She actually looked stunned, obviously not ever expecting me to stand up to her.
"Bella, I never meant to… I'm sorry, truly, that I've made you feel that way. I love you very much, you are a sister to me Bella, and I just want what's best for you. I want you to be happy. I guess I was just going about that in the wrong way. I didn't mean to be pushy or make you feel like I wasn't giving you a choice, and I guess you're right, I really wasn't. From now on I will let you tell me what will make you happy, and I'll be here for whatever help you need in achieving that."
She gave me a great big smile, and I knew she meant ever word she said. I was glad that we've gotten this all out in the open, and I had high hopes that she would just be here for me from now on instead of dictating my life for me.
"Thank you Alice, very much; I still need and want you in my life. I need my best girlfriend, but I really do want to start making my own life choices, and deciding what I think will be best for me." I leaned over and gave her a quick hug.
"Now, don't take this as being pushy, it is merely a heartfelt request," she laughed lightly. "But I would really like it if you came to Dartmouth with me and my family. At least tell me you are considering it?" She asked, hope in her voice.
I didn't want to tell her I had no plans to go to Dartmouth, and honestly I don't know if that would be the truth anyway. It's an amazing school, and such a great opportunity for me and my education, and I really did want to go in some ways, but I just couldn't imagine being that far away from Jacob.
"You don't want to leave Forks do you?" Alice knew me well enough to realize that is why I hadn't answered her yet. "Bella, Dartmouth is a prestigious school; you would fit right in there, and do amazingly well. I'm not going to try and sway your decision one way or the other, but I hope you really think this out before you make any solid choices."
"I plan to think about it, I really do. I just need to talk it all over with Charlie and with Jacob first. I'm not just making a decision that will affect only me; it affects the three of us. And truthfully Alice, I don't think I could physically or emotionally be that far away from Jacob for that long. Even now, it's only been about nine hours since I saw him this morning, and my heart is aching to be near him again."
As if he knew my heart did in fact need to be near him, I heard the roar of a motorcycle outside the house, and moments later Jacob walked through the door. I shot up from the couch and launched into his arms. He held me tightly, caressing my back, and running another hand through my hair. I wanted to stay in his arms forever, for him to never let me go.
"Still the best kind of greeting I could ask for," he joked, and kissed me on the forehead, then lightly on my lips. "I've missed you so much all day. How was school?"
"It went fast, but even that was too long. Being away from you is like pure torture." I nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck, and he swept me up into his arms, carrying me back into the living room. He sat down on Charlie's recliner, and pulled me into his lap.
"It felt exactly the same for me." He kissed the top of my head, and then turned his attention to Alice, whom I had completely forgotten was in the room. "Thanks for getting her home and keeping her safe short stuff."
"It was my pleasure puppy." I scowled slightly at Alice for calling him puppy again, but they both giggled and I realized their little nicknames were their way of being playful with one another, so I let it go.
"So did the Pack find anything more about the new vampires?" She asked. It was nice that she and Jacob got along. I was certainly worried about him and the Pack resenting the Cullen's for indirectly bringing this new threat to the area, but they all got along pretty well.
"We lost the trails when they lead into the ocean on First Beach. But we know there were two of them, one male and one female. Their scents were also mixed with Victoria and Irina's, so we know they have to be working for them, most likely scouting the area. We picked up Eve's scent in this area too but she was nowhere around by the time the pack got here. With all this backup… I don't know, they have to be planning something big." Jacob's voice raised and grew angry; I could feel his body tense underneath mine.
"Well, we'll be ready. With all of us working together, no vampire army will stand a chance against us." Alice said with confidence in her voice.
I cringed and closed my eyes tightly at the thought of any sort of army coming after the one's I loved and me, let alone one made up of red-eyed ferocious vampires with death and destruction the only things on their minds. Jacob tightened his arm around my waist to hold me tighter.
"I hope you're right Alice." Was all Jacob said, and then he sighed loudly, shaking his head.
"I hope I'm right too… I have to get going though; Jasper and I are going to go up into the mountains to go hunting for a few hours. You and the rest of the Pack know where to meet us tonight right?"
"Yeah, in the large clearing by the waterfall, near McLear Mountain. We'll be there, 12am sharp." With that, Jacob and I said a quick goodbye to Alice and she was out the door. I turned to question Jacob about the conversation he just had with Alice.
"What meeting were you guys talking about?" I asked.
"The pack and I are meeting up with the whole Cullen family to go over some strategies, any new information we've picked up, doing a little fight training, that's all. We're going to be doing this every night until whenever the real fight comes. We'll always have a wolf here to watch over you and Charlie though, and we actually have two more guys showing signs of phasing soon, Collin and Brady, so we'll be able to up our numbers soon. We just need to be as prepared as possible. We want to protect you the best we can." He tightened his arms around me instinctively again.
"I just want this to all go away Jacob. I feel so guilty that all of you have to work so hard, are you even getting any sleep?" I hid my face in his chest; I could feel tears threatening to escape.
"A few hours here and there, but I'm fine, don't worry about me. Though I really could use a good meal, and whatever you've got cooking in there smells amazing." Jake said as he lifted my face up by my chin, and then kissed the tip of my noise.
"It should be done in about an hour and a half, just in time for Charlie to get home. Do you want a snack or something before then?" I asked, smiling at him.
"How about we use that hour of alone time for something a little more fun then eating?" He said, with a mischievous look in his eyes.
"Oh? And what's more fun then eating?" I joked, fully knowing what he was hinting at.
"Ravishing you of course, silly." He said, smiling my favorite smile, as he stood up and took off running up the stairs with me thrown over his shoulders.
We came back down from my room a little over an hour later. Neither one of us wanted to end our cuddle session after we had made love so passionately, but Charlie would be home soon and we needed to compose ourselves, and I needed to finish dinner.
Jacob sat in one of the kitchen chairs while I completed dinner, then he helped me set the table. Just as we got the last place setting down on the table, Charlie walked in.
"Hey Bells, be in there in a minute." He yelled as usual from the hallway. "Hey Son, nice to see you here for dinner." Charlie said to Jacob as he walked into the kitchen.
"Well I smelled Bella's cooking all the way from the Rez, and practically ran all the way up here." Jacob joked.
"More like you road that motorcycle that's parked outside all the way up here, I hope you're being safe. I didn't see a helmet hanging from it." Charlie responded in a mixture of a father tone and a cop voice.
"Yeah, Bella and Dad have been getting on my case about needing a helmet too, I'll get one soon sir, I promise," Jake lied. Neither of us were on his case because honestly he didn't really need one, and he also lied about getting a helmet because I knew had had no intention of doing so.
"Alright then, I just don't want Bella riding on that with you, but I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen," he turned and looked at me, "so I at least hope that you'll be safe young lady and wear one?"
"Of course dad, I have one. Don't worry. Now come sit down and eat before dinner get's cold."
We all sat down and ate dinner together, making conversation about our days, and about a strange case Charlie was working on. Jake and I both looked over to each other while Charlie was explaining that they had found a body drained of blood in the woods, but there were no signs of struggle from the victim. We knew what would have caused it, but obviously couldn't say anything to my dad about a vampire killing his Jane Doe. We both just nodded and oohed and ahhed as he went into whatever details he was allowed to divulge.
After we had finished dinner, Jacob helped me by drying the dishes I was washing and then putting them away. I filled a Tupperware container with half of the leftovers for him to bring to Billy for dinner. By the time we were done cleaning up it was time for Jacob to head home to bring his father the food and then to take a quick nap before heading to the meeting.
"You sure I can't nap here with you Bells?" he asked while we stood outside by his motorcycle, his tone playful.
"Besides the fact that Charlie is here and wouldn't really appreciate you sleeping in my bed with me, I doubt we would get much nap time in anyway, and you really need to get some sleep."
"Oh, alright. When you're right, you're right." We both smiled at each other and he pulled me into a vice grip hug. "I'm gonna miss you like crazy Bells. I'm going to drive the Pack nuts tonight thinking about you every second."
"Nothing that will embarrass me I hope? You know Edward can see your thoughts too, just keep that in mind." I asked leaning out of the hug while tapping my foot on the ground, hands on my hips, and giving him a teasing scowl.
"Oh I am fully, fully aware of that one." He laughed loudly.
"Just be safe tonight okay? I'm going to miss you too, but now that we have cell phones I want you to call me or text me if anything happens alright?" I asked, this time being fully serious in my request.
"Absolutely. Gotta love technology huh? It's nice being able to get in touch with you all the time." We both smiled and he pulled me into a long and passionate kiss. "I'll see you in the morning baby, sleep well."
"Alright, be safe. I love you."
"Love you too Bells." With that, he hopped on his motorcycle and I waved to him as he took off down the road. My heart instantly longed to have him back at my side.
"Bells, you coming back in the house hunny?" Charlie yelled from the front porch, I hadn't realized I was standing out there for so long. I nodded and headed inside the house.
"Soooo, you and Jacob… you're getting pretty serious huh?" He asked, very uncomfortable with the conversation.
"Yes Dad, we are. I'm very happy with him, and I love him… very much." I said, trying to keep the conversation short and vague.
"Good, I'm really glad. I care for Jacob as if he were my own son, and I know he will treat you right. I'm just so pleased to finally see you happy again, and since he's the reason, I fully approve of the two of you together."
"Thanks, it means a lot to me that you're okay with us together." I smiled, and he smiled in return, then nodded and walked back into the living room, ending the conversation.
"I'm going upstairs to get ready for bed, don't fall asleep down here dad." I yelled over to him as I made my way up the stairs.
"Alright Bells, goodnight sweetheart, love you."
"Night dad, love you too."
I changed into sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a hoodie quickly once I got inside my room and then headed into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. I ran back downstairs because I had forgotten my backpack and found Charlie was already snoring from his recliner when I got down there. I grabbed my bag, then shook him gently and pushed him back up the stairs with me into his room. He was back to sleep the second he landed onto the bed.
I went back into my room and pulled out my homework and then my cell phone from my backpack. It was blinking, telling me I had three messages. I turned the phone off vibrate so that I would hear it now if someone was trying to reach me, then I went into each of the messages to see who had sent them.
The first message was from Alice, sent about two hours ago: "Hey girl! Glad we were able to talk today. I will be here for you with whatever decision you make, and will support you fully. I'll keep a special eye on Jacob for you tonight too, so don't worry! See you tomorrow at school!!" I smiled at her text, ecstatic with myself for standing up to her, and for her still sticking to her word not to push me into any decisions.
The second message was from Edward, and I grumbled at what he could have possibly been messaging me about. I opened it up anyway and was pleasantly surprised at what I read: "Hello Bella. Esme and Carlisle wanted me to invite you and Jacob over for dinner this Friday evening. You can let me know your reply tomorrow at school. Have a lovely evening. I will see you in the morning. Goodnight – Edward."
I was glad that he wasn't saying anything to upset me, but even through a typed text message I could tell his tone was still solemn. Though I wanted to limit our contact with one another, I was going to need to eventually ask him why he has been so upset lately.
The third message was from Jacob, a huge grin spread across my face again, and my heart rate picked up as I opened it: "Just wanted to let you know that I am missing you so much right now, and that I love you more then anything and everyone. I'm going to be phasing in a few minutes and I think it would be kinda hard to text with paws, haha, so I'll just say that I love you once more. See you in a few hours to drive you to school. Goodnight beautiful."
I sighed, and laid back in my bed, slipping the phone into my hoodie pocket. I had homework that needed to be done but I just wanted to fall asleep so that I could see Jacob that much quicker in the morning. I closed my eyes and felt myself drift into a deep sleep.
I was asleep for what felt like minutes when I heard my window creaking open. I smiled thinking it was Jacob, and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I sat up slowly and that is when I felt a needle jab into my thigh, the warmth of something being injected into my blood running up and down my leg. When I looked up, I saw the blood red eyes of a female vampire I had never seen before looking back at me.
"That's going to make you very, very tired within seconds by the way; I figured this would be much easier without you screaming and thrashing around again like you did when Eve tried to take you." She said, her voice terrifying.
I tried to yell but my mouth wouldn't move. I tried to stand up but my legs were paralyzed. Within seconds my upper half flopped back onto my bed. I could not move my arms anymore either, and my eyes closed because I could not keep them open any longer. The last thing I was able to register was the feeling of being carried, falling from my bedroom window, and then being dragged away by the vampire… then every sound and feeling went away.
To be continued...
A/N: As always thank you all for reviewing the story! XoXo - Vanessa
