A/N: Before I start, I need to give thirty points to shaqbarcalis. (S)He had the right answer to all three of my questions at the end of the last chapter. Nothing else really to say about this chapter, except that I hope you enjoy it.
JACOB
I pulled the door open to find Leah and Erick standing on either side of Seth. His arms were around each of their shoulders, and their arms were around his back. They were doing their best to support him. Sweat was pouring off his face, and he was hunched over as if he was in pain.
"Jesus, Seth, what happened?" I asked stepping aside to let them come into the room. I took a glance down the hallway just to make sure that no one was watching. We didn't need the police or paramedics called right now. There was no time to deal with them.
"I think they're hurting her." Seth gasped as Erick and Leah laid him on the bed.
"Who's hurting who?" Alice asked. The confusion in her tone was foreign to me. You could always count on Alice to know what was going on before anybody else in the room. To find out that she didn't know was a little scary. It meant we would be going into this whole situation blind. I didn't like that.
Yet, I wasn't sure if I was grateful for the fact that I understood what he meant or not.
"The Volturi." I answered Alice horrified at what they might be doing to my little girl. "They're hurting Rosemarie."
"How does he know that?" She questioned. I could tell that she was upset that someone else in the room had advanced notice that something was going on when she didn't have a clue.
"An imprinter can feel when the object of their imprint is in pain." I explained going to stand beside Seth. "And because both Seth and Rosemarie are wolves, it's more intense for both of them. What are they doing to her Seth?"
"I don't know." Seth answered taking deep breaths. "But it has been going on since before we got off the plane."
"And you're just now telling us about it." I asked. "Why didn't you mention it when it started?"
"It wasn't that bad in the beginning." Seth answered. "I didn't want to make you anymore upset than you already were. And honestly, I barely even felt it before and it wasn't constant. I thought at first that it was just my own panic over what was happening to her."
"What do you mean it wasn't constant?" I pressed.
"The pain would last for a minute or two then it would stop. Sometimes the break would last ten minutes and others only a minute or two. This last time was the worst, though. She's so weak and scared, but they don't care." Seth explained.
"What are they doing?" I looked up at Edward hoping he had some kind of in sight. He had dealt with these monsters in the past, after all.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Edward answered with a shrug. Concern, anger, and hate were etched all over his face. He wanted to get her away from those monsters as much as I did. "They're using pain and torture to get her phasing under control."
"But why?" I asked. Aro seemed like the type who would want to use werewolves as guard dogs. You'd think he'd want to train her to stay in wolf form the whole time. Not force her to stop phasing altogether.
"No." Edward responded to my thoughts. "He doesn't want a guard dog. He wants a replacement for Bella. He wants another pet. And the only way he can get her to be a good one is if she doesn't randomly phase while she is in bed with him."
I swallowed the bile creeping up my throat. Deep down, I had known that's what they were going to do to her, but I convinced myself that they wouldn't do that to a child.
"They don't have enough humanity left to care about how old she's is." Edward placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. "They'd molest a ten year old if they ever got their hands on one."
"We can't let that happen to her, Edward." I shook my head. "We can't. She doesn't deserve to suffer for her parents' mistakes."
And that was the truth of the matter. It wasn't just Bella's mistakes that got us to this point. While I didn't take advantage of Bella's vulnerability the night we made Rosemarie, I didn't do much to remind her that she was a married woman who had just lost her father.
I had wanted Bella for years and, when she finally wanted me in the same way, I couldn't resist. It was wrong and stupid, and if I could've changed it, I would've.
"Number 1," Edward said. "I don't need a play by play of the night you slept with my wife. And number 2: don't ever think like that, okay? If you and Bella hadn't slept together that night, Rosemarie wouldn't even be here. True, none of this would be happening, but the world would've missed out on the amazing person that is Rosemarie Swan. And from what I've seen of her and heard in her thoughts, the world needs more people like her. But, no matter what, she's your daughter, Jacob. You shouldn't want to change anything that brought her into the world."
"None of that matters right now." Erick snapped cutting off any chance at a reply from me. "Rosemarie is being hurt. We need to get her out of there. We can argue over the past later."
"You know, kid, I'm getting a little sick of your attitude." Edward growled. "You need to remember who you are dealing with."
"Back off, bloodsucker." Leah growled back moving to stand in front of Erick. "I don't care if we have a truce right now. You touch him and I will tear you to pieces."
"Enough!" Alice said pushing her way between them. "Edward, Erick's right. We need to focus on getting Rosemarie out of their before they hurt her even more. Now, Seth, are they still hurting her?"
"No, but she's really scared and weak." Seth said from his spot on the bed.
"Okay, then we need to get started." Alice continued. "Jacob, you and Sam get the pack something to eat then start your patrol of the city. Edward, go to Carlisle and Esme's room, and tell them to round the others up. We are going hunting. And Erick, you need to stay here."
"Hell, fucking no!" He yelled. "I'm not gonna sit here while the girl who has been like my sister since day care is in danger. I'm going with one group."
Edward rolled his eyes, and Leah growled in response before turning to look at Erick.
"We admire your courage, but this fight is no place for a human, Erick." She explained. "The vampires we are facing are nothing like the ones you see in movies. It takes more than a stake through the heart to kill them. You have to tear them apart and burn the pieces. Only werewolves and other vampires are strong enough to do that. Honestly, you'd be a liability that could get people killed."
Erick opened his mouth to argue.
"She's right." Seth cut him off. "You wouldn't be able to fight, and you need someone to protect you. And, because of the imprint, that someone would be Leah. If she's focusing on keeping you safe, then she's not focusing on keeping herself alive. Do you want to be responsible for her death."
"That's a little harsh, Seth." Leah said.
"Maybe, but it's the truth. If you want to give Leah and the rest of us the best possible chance to live, then you need to stay here. Okay?"
Seth was right. Reminding the object of someone's imprint of the danger they pose to the imprinter during a fight is the easiest way to convince them they shouldn't come to the fight. It was something Rachel and Emily had learned early on, but it took awhile for Claire to get the picture. She still struggled with it when Quil went into a fight. I hoped Erick wasn't going to be like Claire. We didn't have time to try to talk him out of following us.
"Fine. I'll stay, but if you don't bring Rosemarie back, I will find a way to kill every single one of you."
I was sure none of us took his threat serious. There was no way he would be able to kill Leah, and killing the rest of us would hurt her. He wouldn't be the one to put her through that kind of grief.
"Don't worry." Alice said. "If we don't bring her back, it's because we aren't coming back at all."
Erick nodded.
"Now, Edward and I will leave you guys to say goodbye and take care of whatever needs to be taken care of." Alice said. "But Jacob, I need a word."
I followed Alice and Edward outside wondering what she possibly needed to say to me. Edward headed up the hallway and entered a room two doors down from us. I knew everyone in the five rooms we reserved would be able to hear us, but it was nice to have the illusion of privacy.
"Because of your involvement, I can't see what is gonna happen, but I don't know if Damon will be able to see us coming. I'm pretty sure he has the same limitations as me, but you need to be aware that the guard might know you are coming. If they do, then you need to be prepared."
"Don't worry." I said. "Sam always make sure that the pack is ready for anything."
"Good. Now, if we haven't returned to the hotel by sun up, then we are dead." She continued, and I swallowed hard. "If that happens, you go in there and kill as many of those bastards as possible, get your daughter back to Forks, and finish raising her. Just make sure she remembers her vampire family from time to time."
"I will." I told her.
"Good. We'll see you at sunset."
Then she disappeared into the room next to mine leaving me alone to pray that everyone would live through the night.
LEAH
As Edward, Alice, and Jacob left the room I faced the crushing reality that I might never see Erick again. It would definitely be the greatest irony of my life. I've finally found happiness and got over losing Sam, only to get lose my life in a battle to save someone who meant as much to Jacob and my brother as Erick did to me.
I took Erick's hand and led him over to the armchair next to the window. I was never one for emotional goodbyes, but if this was going to be the first, last, and only goodbye I shared with Erick, I wanted it to be a good, honest one. I gestured for him to sit, and when he did, I sank into his lap wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face in his shoulder.
"This is the part where I'm supposed to tell you that everything's gonna be okay." I said lifting my head to look him in the face. "I'm supposed to promise that we will get Rosemarie safely out of there and be back before dinner. I'm supposed to be all positive, and I wish I could be. Unfortunately, the imprint won't allow it. I have to be completely honest with you."
"I'd rather hear the cold hard truth, then be told all that positive bullshit any day. Besides, I already know the odds aren't in our favor. I was paying attention when they were talking to Rose yesterday." Erick said wrapping his arms around me.
"Then you know the likelihood of us getting out of this alive is very slim." I whispered snuggling closer to him. If these were going to be my last few moments with him, I wanted to get as close to him as possible.
"Sadly, yes." He responded. "I have faith that you will all return safely, though."
"Yeah, well, just in case that hope is false." I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the extra plane ticket. "This is a one-way ticket back to Jacksonville. The plane leaves at 10 tomorrow night. If we don't come back by sunset, you are to get on the plane, go back to your old life, and forget about all of this. Tell people that Rosemarie found her father in Forks and chose to stay there with him, and move on. Forget what you know, so the Volturi don't have a reason to come after you.
"No." Erick shook his head refusing to take the ticket from my hands. "I can't do that, Leah. I can't just walk away from this."
"You have to, Erick." I pleaded. "If you don't, the Volturi will come for you, and they will kill you. I don't want that to happen."
"Do you honestly think that I would even want to live if you were gone? Because I wouldn't." He argued. "If you die tonight, I'd go to the Volturi and beg them to send me to join you."
"And do you honestly think that's what I want for you?" I snapped back pulling away from him.
"No, but how do you expect me to move on without you?" He asked.
"The same way everyone else does. You take a deep breath, you mourn and you move on."
"And how I am supposed to do that when, by your own admission, losing you is going to leave an empty hole inside my chest? How am I supposed to move on when simply breathing without you will be utter agony? I mean, it is hard enough to lose someone you love, but when you add the supernatural stuff, it's gonna be almost impossible."
"I know, but you just have to do it, because that's what I want for you. I want you to get married some day and have lots of babies. I want you to grow old with someone you love and be with me again once you've had a full life."
"Stop talking like you're already dead." He growled pulling me closer to him. "There's still a chance that you will come back alive. I need to hold on to that chance."
"Okay, but I need you to promise me that you will move one, if I don't return. I need to know that you will not die if I do. Only then can I focus on coming back to you in one piece. I can't worry about what will happen if I don't come back to you."
He swallowed hard and was silent for almost a full minute before he said,
"I promise that I will do my best to move on if anything happens to you."
His voice shook and cracked as he spoke, and tears pooled in his eyes.
"Then I promise to do everything in my power to not only come back to you, but make sure Rosemarie makes it back safely."
He nodded as a few tears fell from his eyes. I reached up to wipe them away before snuggling back into his chest planning to enjoy what could be my last few minutes of happiness.
That was until Seth, who had been silent this whole time, started gasping for air…
ROSEMARIE
I stumbled along behind Demetri as he dragged my down the hall by my hair. My body was so weak and sore from torture of the last few hours that I could barely keep up. Demetri didn't care, though. He seemed to relish in my struggle.
When we finally reached my "room", he shoved me through the door, and I stumbled landing hard on my front. I swear I heard bones break when I threw my hands out to avoid breaking my face. Demetri just laughed and gave me a little kick.
"Get in the bathroom." He ordered. "We need to get you cleaned up." I struggled to push myself into a standing position, only to be shoved back to the floor. "Bitches have floor legs for a reason. Crawl." He growled.
I did as he said cringing through the pain shooting through my wrists every time I put weight on them. Demetri laughed at my whimpers as I made slow progress to the bathroom. Occasionally, he'd give my ass a sharp kick in order to speed up the process.
Once in the bathroom, I huddled into a small corner while Demetri ran some water in the tub. From the steam rolling off it, I could tell that it was purely hot water.
"You know," Demetri mused as he watched the water filling the tub. "I always wanted to do this to with your mother, but thanks to the agreement she made with Aro, she was allowed peace from all of us when she was in this room."
"What do you mean?" I asked in a shaking voice. The Cullens had already informed me that my mother had made an agreement with Aro to save me, but I hadn't known what the details of the agreement were. Honestly, neither Aro nor his brothers seemed like the type to show any type of mercy.
"Get in the tub." He ordered, and I thought he was ignoring my question. Not wanting anymore trouble, I did as I was told slowly and carefully trying not to hurt my sore body any more than necessary. "Aro wanted to punish your mother and the Cullens for breaking the law," Demetri continued answering my question. "And spitting in the face of their second chance."
"The Cullens had nothing to do with my mother's decision to leave." I said through clenched teeth as I slid into the scalding hot water.
"Perhaps not." Demetri shrugged. "But if Edward had been able to satisfy his wife, a mere human, she wouldn't have had to resort to fucking a dog."
Despite the position I was in, and the fact that I was scared to death, Jacob and Edward were my family and I wasn't about to let this monster insult him like that. I hulked back my snot and spit it into his face.
"Edward Cullen and Jacob Black are better men than you and your disgusting friends will ever be."
Demetri just chuckled and wiped the snot off his face before dipping it into the water to rinse it off.
"You know, I was going to try to make this a pleasant experience for you, considering what you've just been through, but now you can forget it."
Faster than I could even see, he put one hand on each of my shoulders and pushed down hard. I didn't even have a chance to defend myself before I submerged in the scalding water struggling against the force of his hands on my shoulders. Even tapping into my werewolf strength, I was no match for him.
Still I struggled against him. I wasn't about to give up now. Not after everything that I had been through this last month. Not after I found a hand full of things to fight for.
I fought against the hands that held me submerged in the water just picturing all those people. The father I still had to build a relationship with, the love of my life, my new werewolf family, Erick, my vampire family, and my mother. I needed to fight for her because I was the only one who could save her.
Fighting got harder the longer Demetri held me under the water. I could feel the water leaking into my lungs as I fought to get air. And just when I thought he was going to break Aro's rules, and let me die, he pulled me back up.
I choked out the water and gulped in lungfuls of glorious air as Demetri, laughing with amusement, pulled several things out of a cabinet. He laid then out on a counter out of my eye sight and turned back to me with a smirk.
"Let's have some fun, shall we?"
JACOB
"Seth, what's happening now?" I hear Leah practically scream from inside the room.
I figured she'd want some time with Erick, so I hadn't yet gone back in. The panic in her voice now told me that I was needed. I yanked the door open and ran into the room.
Seth was still lying on the bed. His mouth was open as if he was trying to speak, but no sound was coming out.
"Seth, what it is?" I said kneeling on the side of the bed opposite Erick and Leah. Leah was looking over her brother with wide eyes.
"Someone's," Seth gasped. "Trying," Gasp. "To drown," Gasp. "Her." Gasp.
I looked over at Leah, and it was a scary sight. She was just as panicked as I was, and I couldn't blame her. This was her brother lying here suffering and there was nothing any of us could do. Even worse, none of us had ever seen the imprint connection get this bad before.
It was common for the imprinter and the object of the imprint to feel each other's pain. They could even feel it when the other died, but it was a subtle thing. It felt like someone was punching you in the gut and knocking the wind out of you.
Never before has someone felt exactly what their other half was feeling. Did that mean Seth would die if Rosemarie did? Or would he just suffer through everything that she did? We had no idea, and now was not the time to figure that out.
"Leah, go get the others. We are leaving now." I said. "Forget about eating. We need to get her out of there before they kill Rosemarie and Seth."
"Right." Leah got up, shared one last meaningful look with Erick, and took off out of the room.
"Erick, I know staying here is gonna be hard for you, but it'll be helpful because we can't leave Seth here by himself."
Before Erick could respond, Seth started choking and gasping. I patted his back, not sure how much good it would do. He wasn't the one who had just swallowed a bunch of water.
"I'm going with you guys." He said between coughing fits. "I want to do my part in saving her."
"You can't, Seth." I shook my head. "You remember that speech you and Leah gave Erick." He nodded. "Well, it kind of applies to you now. In this scenario you are like Emily, Rachel, Claire, Kim, and Erick."
"No, because I'm not a liability." Seth argued. "I can fight. I won't be a sitting duck while everyone else is fighting."
"And what if they start hurting her while you are fighting?" I pressed.
"I'll deal with it." Seth snapped.
"You can't know that. Yours and Rosemarie's imprint is uncharted territory for us. We don't know all of the effects to werewolves imprinting on each other will have. What if they knock her unconscious or, God forbid, kill her while we are fighting? You don't know if you will share those effects or not. If you do, then you become a liability."
"But…"
"No buts, Seth. Do you think that Rosemarie wants to be saved only to find out that you've been killed? Of course she doesn't. You need to stay here with Erick, okay?"
"I'm not staying, here."
"You have to."
"No, I have to go help save Rosemarie!" Seth yelled back. "Jacob, I can feel everything they are doing to her. I can't just sit here and not do anything about it."
"You can, and you will." Sam's voice came from the door. Seth narrowed his eyes at the alpha tone in Sam's human voice as we turned to see him standing in the doorway with Leah next to him. "Seth, I forbid you to leave this room until it is time for you and Erick to catch the plane in the morning. You are to go home after that and never return to Volterra or take revenge on the Volturi."
Seth's eyes narrowed as Sam gave him the orders that could not be disobeyed.
"I hate you." He growled.
"Yeah, but you'll get over it." Sam replied. "Jacob, let's go."
A/N: I know this isn't my best chapter and, to be completely honest, it wasn't a chapter I intended to write. I realized the timelines had gotten a little away from each other and I wanted to catch them up a bit. This is just a filler chapter. Now everyone is caught up to Bella at the clock tower. Which is where the next chapter will pick up. Hope you enjoy this one.