Hello guys, sorry I've been away for a while but a rather depressing anniversary hits around this time of year. It's a sad day for everyone but thankfully it's passed now and I can focus on getting this story back on track. This isn't a very long chapter. I originally wrote a rather long chapter for this but it was too much to put into one chapter so I had to split it. Once I get the rest back from my beta reader I'll upload it, hopefully it won't be any longer than a couple of days.

I've also given the story a new summary, hopefully it's better than the old one but let's be honest it couldn't be worse.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, if I did then Jake would marry Paul and Bella would never have been born alas...

Chapter Fourteen:

By Mcvities22

Jake's POV:

I can feel Paul touching me through the imprint, whether subconsciously or not I can feel myself responding to it. I seem to draw strength from somewhere and fly back at the wolf. A sense of satisfaction runs over me as my teeth sink into flesh, the copper taste in my mouth churning my stomach slightly but I force the feeling away. My attacker falls back in a heap, squirming on the floor in a series of whimpers.

Turning my head my eyes catch Sam. His wolf is far larger than my own, in fact it's not that much smaller than Sam is. Despite his injuries he's holding his own better than I would have expected. With my attacker neutralised for the moment I head straight over towards my alpha, jumping to his aide. Between the two of us we just about manage to keep the wolf at bay. On any day we would have this down no problem and it occurs to me, somewhere in the back of my mind, that maybe this is what they planned. I shove the thought to one side and focus on the situation in front of me.

I realise a moment too late that Sam is struggling far more than I first thought, unfortunately the other wolf seems to realise this as well. A sharp strike to Sam's side, right where his previous bite was, sends him reeling away. He launches at my alpha and my instincts take over.

My head spins from the head butt I give him but it has the desired effect. The mystery wolf is shoved backwards several feet and I find myself placed directly between the two of them. To my surprise the wolf doesn't attack straight away instead it prefers to circle the pair of us for a moment. Thankfully the smaller wolf has yet to get to its feet which leaves me only one to deal with.

Sam, you okay?

His response is hesitant but surprisingly strong.

I will be...be careful Jake...

He attempts to get to his feet but winces, groans and falls to the floor once again. I know he'll be okay but only if he stops now, he can't keep this up much longer...neither of us can. Just as the mystery wolf looks set to restart the attack my heart fills with relief as I spot my imprint burst through the trees. Pauls on the wolf in a second his claws quickly drawing blood, I don't hesitate before leaping into action.

It doesn't take long for the wolf to realise that he's not getting past Paul – the imprint forcing him forward – and after one last swipe it takes off through the forest. Paul won't give up that easily and before I can breathe he takes off after it. At first I make to go after him but I can feel the pain soaring through my ribs and I'm forced to come to a halt.

You okay?

Sam's words remind me that he's still lay on the ground, he makes to stand but thinks better of it.

Yeah...

I take a few breaths before heading over towards him. How's the pain?

It'll get better, just give me a minute. Paul will be fine. I want to respond, to say that I know but we've seen how dangerous these wolves are. I shake the worry from my mind and focus on Sam. Just winded me a little.

Before I have time to respond a shout goes through my mind.

JAKE LOOK OUT!

I spin round just in time to dodge the wolf launching itself towards me, on instinct I respond with a tackle of my own. A resounding crack hits my ears as we fall to the floor.

Jared's POV:

Paul go, we've got this...

The words are barely thought before Paul's tearing through the forest after Jake. I make the mistake of watching him go and in that moment receive a paw to the face. I can feel the blood beginning to trickle down my cheek as Leah pounces on top of the wolf in question, Seth following her move just a second later. Seeing that they have the wolf covered I instead turn my attention to another wolf attempting to pin Carlisle down.

He seems to realise what I'm going to do before I do it and holds the wolf in position. Launching myself forward I bare my teeth and sink them hard into the biggest chunk of flesh I can find. My plan works perfectly and blood splatters onto the forest floor. The wolf jolts away from the fighting and scampers off into the forest, blood trailing behind him. Carlisle's on his feet in an instant and straight back into the heart of the fight.

The tide seems to be turning in our favour and we know it. The other wolves seem to quickly realise this and after a moment they dart off into the forest. Embry and Quil make to follow for a moment but quickly return back to the group. We're all silent for a few minutes during which I realise that they are waiting for someone to decide what to do. Realising that with Sam and Paul gone I'm now in charge I think for a moment before deciding what to do. Looking around everyone seems to be in pretty good shape. Leah has a couple of scratches to her front leg, nothing that won't heal in a day, whilst Quil is sporting some blood down his right side. One of the vampires has a few marks on his shoulder but the other two seem just fine. All in all we came out of this one on top.

Sam, you okay?

I will be...be careful Jake...

My mind jolts slightly at the words but within a heartbeat we move as a group. For a moment I'd forgotten all about Sam and Jake. I'd gathered they had their own fight to deal with, there's no way Paul would have taken off otherwise, but clearly it's worse than I first thought. We race through the forest at lightning speed towards our alpha, praying that we make it in time. The imprint means Paul would never allow Jake to be hurt but we don't know how many there are. For all we know there could be an entire mob down there.

Thankfully there's only one wolf down with Sam and Jake, unfortunately Jake's got his back turned to it.

JAKE LOOK OUT!

Seth screams before I can react. Just in the nick of time too as Jake skilfully dodges the attack and launches one of his own.

Carlisle POV:

The wolf pinning me down – or trying to – is stronger than I'd thought possible. It's no secret that wolves are faster than vampires, not that you'd meet a vampire that would admit to it, but these wolves are stronger than anything I've faced before. Out of the corner of my eye I spot a wolf darting my way in a moment I know exactly what to do and grip the wolf as tight as I can. A high pitched squeal tears through my ears and blood spurts down onto me. The injured wolf limps off into the forest, trailing blood where it goes, I feel for it for just a moment before I leap towards my sons.

Merely a moment later our enemy sprint off away from us, two of the wolves race after them but return just a moment later. The wolves gather together, no doubt discussing something with their telepathy.

"You okay?" Emmett questions as he walks to my side. I give him a nod before checking him over, thankfully he seems to have escaped serious injury. Jasper appears at my side as silent as ever and it's obvious in a second he's injured.

"Be fine." He mumbles as I pull his top to one side. Even after all these years he still feels odd when someone other than Alice shows him concern. It breaks my heart to see him so shy about these things but I've learnt to accept it as being just the way that he is. As much as I would love to change it I don't feel that there is anything I could do.

"It's not too bad, nothing that can't be fixed." I say this more to myself than to Jasper. He gives me an I-told-you-so expression before our attention is thrown back to the wolves. In less than a second they're on the move and with the speed they're moving at it's obvious that something is wrong.

As we come to a stop it becomes obvious what the problem is. Jacob and Sam are both in the clearing; Sam is lying on the floor in obvious pain whilst Jacob is hovering next to him. Jacob's attention is so focused on his friend that he fails to see the wolf behind him regaining its footing. He dodges the attack with seeming ease before seizing hold of the wolf. A distinct crack reaches all of our ears and the wolves move forward to their brothers.

I think that's everything for now. I'm not too happy with this chapter since I'm no good with fight scenes but this is the best that I can do with it. I hope I'm forgiven for my absence, if not then keep your eyes peeled since I've already got the next chapter written. As soon as I get it back from my beta reader it'll be up here (hopefully just a few days) until then bye xx