Chapter 14

Alec POV

The wolves were already out and scouting the woods by the time that Sam and I arrived at the house. I skidded to a halt when I caught a glimpse of Leah's silver wolf through the trees. She froze, her dark eyes meeting mine for a split second before she turned away with an almost pained huff. She raised her head and barked once before darting back into the trees without another glance in our direction. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair in frustration. How was I ever going to fix things between us? Did I even want to?

I shook my head and forced myself to focus on the task at hand. No, now wasn't the time to deal with my doubts. I needed to make sure that everyone was safe.

Sam and I both glanced up as Seth made his way towards us through the trees, his normally tanned skin pale beneath his messy black hair, his dark eyes tired. He stopped a few feet away from us, his gaze going to Sam warily.

"What're you two doing here?" he asked slowly.

"We heard the screams," I answered before Sam could speak, earning myself a glare from the werewolf alpha. "We were worried. What happened?"

Sam growled and shifted into his human form before Seth spoke, his arms crossed in front of his bare chest.

"Who screamed?" he demanded.

"Jayna and Renesmee," Seth sighed wearily. "At least, we're assuming that it was them. Jayna left a note for Embry on his bed. Something about seeing one of their friends asking for help... obviously, it was a trap."

"Have you caught any scents?" Sam asked, his brow furrowing in a frown. After a slight pause, he added. "How are Jake and Embry taking it?"

Seth sighed and glanced back into the trees.

"They're taking it really hard," he murmured. "They feel like we should have watched the girls more carefully. We haven't found a scent yet. That's why we're looking through the woods, we're trying to find the place where the girls were taken-."

A howl rose up through the trees, cutting off the rest of Seth's sentence. Without another word, the three of us took off in the direction of the howl, Leah's silver wolf joining us halfway. I glanced at her as we ran, trying to determine whether or not she was still angry at me. Her dark eyes were focused on the forest ahead of us, never once straying in my direction. I sighed, causing her ears to twitch.

"We need to talk," I whispered, hoping that Seth and Sam couldn't hear.

Her ears twitched again and her eyes met mine for a millisecond, the answer clear in her eyes: Now wasn't the time. We had the others to worry about.

"I know," I sighed. "But we will talk, Leah. After this is over."

The wolf hesitated for a moment before nodding, her eyes wary. I sighed with relief and allowed myself a small smile. We would talk. Perhaps there was a way to fix this.

Jake and Embry were pacing along a short stretch of the forest floor, their ears pressed flat against their skulls. They glanced up when we approached, their tortured dark eyes barely showing surprise at Sam and I's presence.

"What did you find?" Seth asked eagerly.

Jake shifted into human form and gestured towards a small scrap of land around which he and Embry had been pacing.

"We found a scent," he told us. "I can't recognize it, but it's definitely a vampire."

"Let me look at it," I murmured. I waited for Jake to give me a nod of approval before walking forward to get a better look at the piece of soil. My nostrils flared as a familiar scent overwhelmed me, a small groan escaping my lips. I absently put out a hand to steady myself, my palm pressing against the rough wood of a nearby tree as if to find comfort.

"What is it?" Jake growled, his demand echoed by Leah's whine of concern.

"Jane," I gasped. "My sister... she was here. With the other three hybrids. They must have gone to Aro, gotten his attention..."

"How did they find Aro?" Sam demanded. "More importantly, how did your sister find us?"

I didn't say anything and glanced at the other four wolves, who were now staring at me with expressions that varied between rage and (in Leah and Seth's case) disappointment. They knew. Leah had heard me, she would have told the rest of her pack. She knew what I had caused.

"You bastard," Jake hissed, his black eyes flashing with anger. "You... you caused this. Bastard! I'm going to kill you for this!"

"Jake, no!" Seth yelled. He ran to the furious werewolf's side and wrapped restraining arms around the teen's shaking shoulders. "You can't. Leah-."

Embry howled and launched himself towards me, only to be blocked by a snarling Leah. I watched the exchange, my dead heart nearly breaking inside of me. I had caused this...

"This was your fault?" Sam gasped, his shocked expression slowing giving way to fury.

I nodded.

"I sent the three hybrids to Aro," I told him tonelessly. "To give me more time. They must have told Aro about the other two. He must have sent Jane with them to get the girls."

Jake and Embry snarled and tried to move towards me again, only to be blocked and held back by Seth and Leah. Sam shook his head, his eyes narrowing.

"I warned you," he growled.

I met his gaze without flinching, already seeing where this would go.

"I told you that I had made mistakes," I murmured.

"This isn't some f#4ing mistake!" Jake screamed. "Nessie and Jayna have been hurt because of you! They're with some f#$ing psychotic vampires because of you! This is your fault!"

"I know," I murmured. "But I can fix this. Please, let me help-."

"We don't need your help!" Jake interrupted. "Get the hell out of here leech!"

I winced and glanced at Leah once. There was anger in her eyes again, anger mixed with a deep sadness.

I knew then that I needed to leave. I couldn't cause these people anymore pain, I couldn't hurt Leah more.

I knew what I needed to do.

"Then I'll leave," I agreed flatly.

I turned without another word and ran away from the werewolves, straining to catch Jane's scent among the trees. I paused for a moment as I passed another patch of ground where her scent was particularly strong. I glanced in the direction of the scent and hesitated for a brief moment before following her trail, my nose picking up faint traces of the hybrids mixed with a cold, harsh smell. Wolves. Aro had brought his wolves with him as well. This would make my plan more difficult... Would I be killed before I could accomplish what I wanted? I shook my head and increased my speed as I drew closer to my sister and her master. I wouldn't fail, not this time. I needed to succeed for the sake of the innocent hybrids and their imprints. For Leah's sake.

Hey all, I'm back from my trip! England and Ireland are gorgeous! Any of you readers that live there have awesome countries! Yeah, I know this chapter is short (I'm so sorry! hides in a corner from shame*) but I promise that the next one will be longer and more action filled! Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed because you are amazing! Please continue reviewing!

Love you all! And I don't own Twilight or any of the characters... sniff.