The Bride and the Motorbike

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.

Part Twenty Six

Chaos greeted Jacob as he ran into the surrounding forest and phased. Mental images from the other pack members assaulted his mind and it was hard to focus for a moment as he felt all of the wolves intense rage. He concentrated hard and zoned in on Sam, who was always the calmest member of the group. It had only been twenty minutes since he had spoken to Sam, who had headed off to organise the new patrol shifts. Jacob had been waiting impatiently for Leah and Seth to arrive when he had felt Bella's panic. It had caused him to run to comfort her and in doing so he had not been aware of what had been occurring. It was the howls that had alerted him that danger was on the horizon.

To Jacob's horror he saw, through Sam's eyes, a large vampire circling him. Sam was twisting and turning in his efforts to avoid being grabbed round the middle and having his bones crushed. On the edges of his vision another vampire came into view, a smaller one this time, red eyes gleaming. They both appeared to be trying to ambush Sam and drive him back against some rocks, so that he would have no chance of escape.

Jacob raised his head in the air and roared out his anger and to alert the others that he was here. "I am coming Sam," He sent his thoughts to his beta.

More howls sounded in the air as Jacob recognised Quil and Embry's voices. A loud whimper could be heard and Jacob felt his heart beat faster. He could see through Quil's eyes that Embry was hurt, two vampires were pinning him down and Quil was rushing to his aid.

"Don't worry Jake, I've got this bro. Go to Sam." Quil reassured Jake.

"Thanks Quil, take care." Jake increased his pace as he rushed to help Sam.

"What the hell is going on?" Jacob could not understand where all the vampires had come from. According to Rosalie it was Alice who was bent on revenge...Jacob suddenly remembered Bella telling him about the vampire royalty as she called them, the Volturi. He recalled they had been at the newborn battle, after all of them had been dealt with. They had come to check on the situation and to see if Bella was still going to be changed. He remembered Bella's fear as she had talked about them. Edward had gone to them initially to be killed when he thought Bella was dead. Could the little pixie have been in touch with them the whole time? Could this be her ultimate revenge, destroying them all?

He could ponder no further as he burst out into the clearing where Sam was surrounded by the two vampires. Sam had managed to clamp his jaws around the neck of the smaller leech but the bigger one was advancing on him. Jacob immediately leapt into the air and landed on the back of the larger vampire, crushing him beneath his paws. The vampire flailed his arms in the air madly, trying to push Jacob off of him but to no avail. Jacob gripped the leech around the neck and pulled his head from his shoulders.

Sam had also managed to tear the smaller vampire apart. Both of them phased back into their human forms as Sam pulled a lighter out of his shorts pocket and set the two vampires on fire. Smoke billowed in the air as the fire burnt brightly sending out a horrible sickening stench.

"What the hell is going on Sam? Where have all these leeches come from?" Jacob asked, breathing heavily.

"I don't know. Quil and Embry were the only ones on patrol and they reported nothing unusual around La Push. It was only when they reached the outskirts of Forks that they detected a faint smell of leech stink. I was on my way back to La Push after speaking to you when I heard them give a warning signal. I never made it there. These two were hiding downwind from me, so I didn't smell them until the last minute before I was ambushed. You came just in time." Sam informed him, speaking fast.

"Embry was hurt, we need to go and help Quil." Jake phased back, followed closely by Sam and they sprinted off side by side toward their pack mates.

Inside the Swan house Bella, Charlie and Billy were sitting at the kitchen table. Renee had been banished to the living room to keep an eye on Mrs Hodges, who had been talking in her sleep about Clark Gable and Chief Swan's moustache. Charlie had to be very forceful with his ex-wife as she was becoming increasingly angry, accusing them of hiding things from her. It was blatantly obvious to her that Bella was upset about something but they all denied that there was a problem. In the end she had resentfully retreated to the other room.

Bella was holding on to both Billy and Charlie's hands as they all anxiously waited for Jacob to return. She could not hold back the tears as she kept hearing howls reverberating through the air.

"I'm scared." Bella confessed.

"It's all going to be okay Bella. Jake and the pack are strong. They will be able to deal with one small leech." Billy replied, exchanging a look with Charlie.

"But what if it's not just Alice? She has an ability to see the future. What if she knew that this was a possibility and has managed to get some help." Bella felt panic shoot through her. It was almost like she could feel Jake's emotions being reflected back to her and her anxiety increased.

"Who would she get help from Bella? She would have no time to turn anyone..."Billy stopped short when he saw Bella's eyes widen as a horrible thought occurred to her.

"The Volturi, Alice could have contacted them. They had delegates at the wedding to make sure that...oh my god. How could I have been so stupid? I have been so caught up in my own little dramas that I completely forgot that they had representatives in the area to check that I went ahead and married Edward. I was supposed to be changed after my honeymoon...Oh god I have placed everyone in danger...Oh I need to warn Jake...I..." Bella pulled her hands away from her father and Billy as she stood up. She began to run for the door but Charlie caught her by the arm and stopped her in her tracks.

She gazed up at her dad and was surprised that he had an angry look on his face as he glared at her. "What do you mean that you were going to be changed after your honeymoon? You actually intended to become one of them?"

Bella's face turned even paler as she realised that her father did not know that part of the story. They had sketched over some areas when they had to inadvertently tell him the truth after he had found out about Jake's alter ego. This was one bit of information she had kept to herself when she had revealed to him the full extent of her relationship with Edward.

"Dad I'm sorry I..." Bella stammered as she could think of nothing to alleviate the stark truth. She had at one point been set on becoming one of them. There were no words that could make it sound other than it was.

A look of intense disappointment shone from Charlie's eyes as he let go of her arm and headed back to the kitchen. Bella felt more tears run down her cheeks as she watched him turn his back on her. Her emotions were in turmoil as she felt weighed down by the fact that all of the past traumatic events had been created by her poor decisions and life choices. If she had never become involved with the Cullen's in the first place then none of this would be happening now. Once again it was her fault that everyone she loved was being placed in danger.

Renee heard her daughter crying, so she hurried out of the living room and embraced Bella. "What is going on Bella? What's the matter?"

"I've let everyone down. It's all my fault." Bella pulled away from her mother and stepped back.

Renee looked at her in confusion. "What is your fault? Talk to me Bella please."

Bella shook her head no and without thinking of the consequences she ran to the front door, yanked it open and made her way outside. Renee followed after her.

"Bella wait...Bella," Renee called after her as she watched her daughter run aimlessly toward the tree line.

Charlie was talking things through with Billy when they both heard the front door being opened. They exchanged puzzled glances and Charlie immediately got up from his seat and went to investigate. His heart beat faster with trepidation as he realised Bella had left the safety of the house and gone outside. He called out to Billy that she had left and he was going to get her to come back inside.

"Be careful chief," Billy yelled out to him, cursing the fact he could not help.

Jake and Sam had made their way over to Quil and Embry. The glow through the trees and the sickly sweet scent of leech stink indicated to them that the other two had despatched the vampires and burnt them. The immediate crisis was over for the moment. Jake could hear the other pack members in his mind. Paul and Jared were patrolling the borders of La Push, making sure there were no leeches near the tribal lands. Jacob told them to stay there and continue to keep watch.

Leah and Seth were heading in their direction. They were following a vampire trail and Leah was certain that one of the scents belonged to the little pixie leech. She seemed to have two other companions with her, but neither of their smells was recognisable.

"They seemed to have wanted to split us all up and cause a diversion," Leah thought as she kept her nose to the ground. "With us all occupied fighting, she and her companions have slipped through the net."

"I think I have an idea who these leeches are. Do you ever recall me mentioning the Volturi to you all after the newborn battle?" Jake broadcast his thoughts to the whole pack.

Jacob replayed his past conversation with Bella about the Volturi. Whines and growls emanated from the wolves as they felt their collective instinct to destroy the vampire's course through their veins.

"I need to get back to Bella and talk to..." Jake never finished his thought as he fell to the ground and sank into unconsciousness.

Like he had once before, Jacob was experiencing a vision. His mind went black and he felt like he was having an out of body experience. A bright piercing light made his head hurt, his mind eventually cleared and he could see Bella. She was standing in a grove of trees. Renee was close beside her, eyes wide with fear. Circling them were three vampires, a small blonde, child like one with fierce red eyes, accompanied by a male vampire who looked very much like her. In the middle of the trio stood Alice Cullen, her golden eyes were locked on Bella and a smug smile played about her lips.

On the ground in front of them all lay Charlie Swan. He was writhing in agony as the small blonde haired vampire stared down at him with her glowing red eyes. Jacob could see that Bella was pleading with Alice, but he could not hear her words. Pain suddenly shot through his head as the vision dissipated and he came back into consciousness.

A/N-OMG, I hope this all makes sense. I really tried my best. Please let me know what you think, thanks.

*Runs and Hides*