CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

(BPOV)

Jacob's face was contorted in agony as his naked form lay writhing on the snow covered ground. I ran faster to get to him when his scream of pain reached me. The sound of it enough to make my knees want to give out. Panic gripped me hard when I saw the splatters of red that heavily stained the white canvas of Winter around us.

"He needs Sue. Go get her! Now!" Sam shouted to Paul, who turned in wolf form and took off through the woods with a blinding speed. My vision blurred from the unshed tears that threatened to spill as Jacob curled in on himself further, his hands covered in the vivid red that poured from the deep gash on his side. Firm hands suddenly took hold of me, forcefully moving me back away from him. I scrambled forward in protest, but stilled when I saw Sam shred his cut offs with one firm rip and press the fabric to Jake's open wound.

"What happened-" I choked out, as Embry hovered close, his hands coming down over Sam's as the blood began to soak through the material and gush through their fingers.

"We were ambushed." Quil huffed to me, his eyes wide when they met mine. "He cut in front of me. I didn't see them coming. They came out of nowhere. I should of-"

"He saved you." Sam irritably quipped, his eyes squinting to look ahead, just as Doris came running out of the house toward us. My screams had woken her up and Charlie wasn't too far behind her, his hand gripping a flashlight to lead his way through the darkened tree cover that bordered his back yard.

"They shouldn't see him like this-" Sam hedged, his gaze falling on me with clear expectancy.

"Why isn't he healing!" I gasped, moving toward him and smelling the rustic copper that was heavy in the air.

Sam exchanged a weary glance to Leah and Seth, his face falling when he tried to stop the flow of blood by pressing harder on the gash.

"Sam..." Seth hesitantly sighed, his eyes full of fear when he called to him.

"We don't know-" Leah harshly interjected, nudging her younger brother in the ribs.

"It should have stopped by now." Seth whispered back.

"Will the both of you shut up!" Sam snapped.

My hands trembled as Doris reached us first, her gasp full of emotion when she took hold of me by the shoulders.

"Bella- what happened? I heard you screaming and then I rushed down stairs to find Billy and your father in a panic-"

She stopped then, her eyes filling with tears as she looked over toward Sam and Embry, both of them still leaning over Jacob.

"Doris... I-"

"What are you doing to him!" She demanded to know, her hands releasing me as she nearly ran to Jacob. "Where is all this blood coming from? Tell me what happened!"

"We were out on a patrol run and we got attacked. We weren't prepared." Quil softly admitted, his face full of immense regret while he spoke.

"A cold one did this? He's been bitten?" Doris frantically asked, her eyes wide with fear.

I felt the panic course through me like ice in my veins, my breath coming out in gasps when I forced myself forward, moving past Seth and Leah and dropping down into the snow next to Jacob. His eyes were closed and his skin covered in a fine sheen of sweat as he lay there.

"Sam- Tell me!" I yelled, taking note of the bloods ever steady flow.

"There's a chance." He angrily admitted. "Where the hell is Paul!"

"How big of a chance!?" I cried out, my skin now crawling with dread.

There was an unsettling silence that fell over us all as we heard Charlie trudging through the snow while he headed our way.

"...big enough of one." Sam finally replied, his eyes fixed on my own with his admission.

I stripped off my coat and gave it to him, seeing the material from his cut offs now drenched with Jacobs blood. Sam snatched it from me and swiftly placed it over his wound, his whispered words now spoken in a language I didn't understand but recognized the reverence behind it. Sam spoke the unknown language in a hushed whisper over and over again, his eyes closing as I laid myself down in the snow next to Jacob.

"I'm here... I'm right here. I know you can feel me. Fight this. Whatever it is. Please..."

Charlie's voice was loud as he came on to the scene then. "What the hell happened here!?"

I knew he was in over his head right now and that he didn't understand anything, but I couldn't tear myself away from Jacob for even a moment to explain any of it. I stared into his handsome face, memorizing every beautifully perfected detail as I listened to his even breathing. Memories of us surrounded me now. Every time he had swept me up in his arms, every time he had made me laugh when I thought I would never smile again, every time his warm hand found mine.

I inched myself even closer to him, not caring that Sam and Embry were there, too... or that my father and Doris were looking on in utter shock at the scene before them. I didn't care about any of that. Jacob was all I could see. I could feel the heat radiate off him in waves as I pressed my hands to his chest and laid my head close to his. We were close enough that his warm breath would ghost over my face. I counted each breath he took, silently holding my own as the minutes drug on until Paul came back with Sue Clearwater in tow. She jumped down off his back, nearly falling as she spotted Charlie and rushed to our side.

"Jacob!" Sue breathed, her hands quickly digging through the small medical bag she had brought with her. "All this blood is his?"

Sam only nodded once to her, the two of them sharing a look that made me want to scream.

I couldn't lose him.

He was such a part of me. The only solid part of me. The only thing that made any sense in this crazy world we lived in. The chaotic mess we were both thrown into where the fables of stories come alive and monsters and magic are not just a good bedtime read anymore.

"He's not healing? Not at all?" There has to be venom somewhere in his system. Was he bitten? This doesn't make sense!" Sue asked, her questions all rushing together.

"I don't know." Sam defeatedly replied. "It's been over an hour since we were ambushed. He should be healing by now-"

"Sam... look-" Embry suddenly hedged, his gaze focused on my coat as he slowly lifted his hands and gestured for Sam to follow suit.

"What are you doing-" Sam harshly ground out to him in return, pressing down harder while Embry stepped back.

"No, Sam. Let go... The blood on Bella's Jacket isn't fresh anymore. It's drying. Look-... See for yourself!"

Embry quickly knocked Sam's hands out of the way and removed my blood stained coat from his side, their eyes narrowing down as the words I had wanted to say to Jacob for so long came rushing out of my mouth.

"I love you... Jacob... I love you."

"We have to get him back to Sue's and we have to hurry." Sam offered up.

"Wait!" Sue interjected. " Look closer. The gash is slowly closing itself. He's healing. What did you do?"

"Nothing... we didn't do anything." Embry replied. "We applied pressure and he's lost a lot of blood."

"I've never seen anything like this." Sue breathed, as she touched Jacobs skin above his now healing wound. "He's heating up like a furnace. His temp has to be at least five degree's warmer than any of yours right now, Sam."

I placed a kiss to Jacobs forehead, feeling the heat on my lips now as I stayed close to him, his breathing still even and his eyes still closed.

"I love you." I whispered again, seeing Sue's hand reach out to touch my arm.

"Bella... it's you." She firmly stated, her gaze roaming over Jacob and I with clear resolution in it. "Your presence... Your touch... is calling his wolf out to heal. I've never witnessed it before, but there are legends of it happening many years ago. Billy would know. He can tell you of them."

I nodded in understanding to her as the pack surrounded us further and lifted Jacob off the snowy ground to carry him back to the reservation where Sue could tend to him better. I took hold of his hand and stayed right by his side as Charlie suddenly stepped forward and spoke for the first time.

"I don't know what the hell is going on here, but you can't carry him through the woods like that. He needs to be in a vehicle. It's faster and it's safer."

Sam nodded to him and reached out a hand. "Thank you, Charlie. I know you have many questions and we'll answer them when Jacob is resting and better on the mend."

Charlie only sighed once in reply, his gaze lingering out over me as he gestured for Sue and I to get in his cruiser so he could drive us all to her house.

Sam and the pack helped carry Jacob to the cruiser and then swiftly disappeared into the woods without hesitation. Doris followed us until we reached the house and her eyes were still full of tears when she hugged me and made me promise to call her and Billy as soon as he was awake again.

"I will, gran. I promise." I assured her, leaning down to hug Billy before climbing into the back seat with Sue.

Charlie turned on the lights and rushed us all back through town, his silence making me know how truly shocked he still was. When we arrived in Sue's driveway, Sam and the pack were already there waiting for us. There bodies rigid with anxious tension as they gently pulled Jacob from the car and carried him inside. I never let go of his hand, until Sue set up an IV and insisted I sit down next to him in the room she had graciously given us now. She covered him with some blankets and offered me one, too. Her kindness touching my heart as I watched her diligently tend to the deep gash that was almost all but healed now. She cleaned it thoroughly the best she could and secured a large bandage over it, her hands working fast and her movements timed and skilled.

"You really know your stuff." I whispered, seeing her eyes meet mine with a soft smile.

"I've been a nurse for many years and a pack mama of sorts for a few, too. But nothing ever really prepares you for when it's one of your own." She softly replied, her hands reaching up to touch Jacobs forehead with motherly care. "I know he's not my son, but he and Billy sure do feel like family. Everyone watches out for one another around these parts."

"It's nice."

"You saved him tonight, Bella. I'm sure of that. Had you not been there..." She soon trailed off, her face filling with a near tangible sorrow. "It would have been a much different outcome."

"He's saved me enough times." I countered, laying my head down on his hand as I securely held it.

"True..."

"Sam said they were ambushed?"

"Yes, I don't know many of the details. But Seth and Leah said it was well orchestrated. They were split up for patrol and outnumbered. There was more than one of them and it gave them the advantage. Leah told me Quil would have died if Jacob hadn't intervened."

"That's Jacob." I replied, placing a kiss to his forearm. "Always the hero."

"He certainly gives his all." Sue replied, adjusting his IV and checking him over further for any other missed injuries.

"Is he gonna be okay? He hasn't hardly moved since-" I asked, the worry in my tone evident to her.

"His body is healing. He needs time, dear. He should come around in a few more hours. I've got him on a high dose of morphine because I'm sure he's cracked a few ribs at least. Quil said the newborn tried to crush him in the fight and there may be more damage than we know about just yet. So I'm airing on the side of caution."

I nodded and was careful not to press into him, for fear of hurting him without knowing.

Sue took note of my nervousness and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "He'd want you close, Bella. It's okay. Really. I'll be back to check on him in a little while. Try to get some rest. It's been an exhausting night for you, too."

I offered her half a smile and watched her as she quietly exited the small room, leaving me alone with Jacob for the first time since I'd seen him lying on the ground. His screams echoing out around me and filling the stillness of the night. I shuddered at the memory and placed my hand back in his, waiting until my eyes were too heavy to keep open before succumbing to my exhaustion. My eyes had only been closed for a brief few minutes when the feel of Jacobs hand squeezing mine forced them to open.

His face was pained as he tried to move, his eyes slowly opening to peer into mine.

"Jacob..." I whispered, hovering over him when he winced and spoke my name, his tone strained.

"Bella."

"I'm here."

"Wha-" He tried, moving himself in a way that made him suck in a sharp breath, his hand releasing mine when tried to touch the IV Sue had set up for him.

"You're alright. Do you remember anything?"

"Barely..." He forced out with a huff, his hand blindly reaching for mine again.

"You need your rest. Let me go get Sue. She can-"

"No-... Don't go. Please..."

The urgency in his plea stopped me where I stood and I moved closer to him. "She needs to see that you're alright-"

Jacob nodded to me once in reply and pulled me toward him, his eyes glossy and heavy as he tried to stay awake.

"Stay here with me."

"I'm not going anywhere." I replied, gently climbing onto the small bed with him and nestling myself close into his side. I tucked my head under his chin, as he let out a deep breath and pressed me tightly to him with what little strength he still had.

His skin was so warm that I found it nearly impossible to stay awake any longer. The sound of his steady heartbeat under my ear now lulling me to sleep with him.

A/N: Thank you for reading this new chapter and please leave a review with your thoughts. I appreciate all of your great feedback and support. Till Next Time...