Chapter 26: Betray

In the early hours of the morning, we headed off into the horizon to begin our journey back home. We took our two horses, Asuba and Tsakar Dare, and loaded them with supplies we'd need for the trek.

It's been about an hour into our ride back to the castle through secret routes only Jacob would know of, using them as shortcuts. I keep my furs wrapped tightly around my body and urge my horse on through the terrible cold of the winter. The pain on my back is nearly unbearable...I've never been so miserable in my entire life.

Jacob constantly looks back at me to see if I'm still hanging on, and like the stubborn woman I am, I always remain determined, even through this weather. It shan't disarm me of my strength. He scopes out the surroundings before waving me on as his horse gallops down a hidden pathway in the forest. It's surrounded by thick pine and the snow is not as deep as compared to when were out in the vast fields that once had abundant plant life.

"Can you believe how dead this forest is?" I say, my voice echoing out in the quiet area, my voice cutting sharply through the crisp air. He turns around and shushes me. I nod my head quickly, forgetting myself. The enemy could be anywhere. They could strike at anytime. And what an opportunity to capture the queen and the king of La Push?

As we travel through the small pathway, he answers me. "Winter kills all. I despise the demons of the cold." He looks back at me through his peripherals and sighs. "Winter and I have had long histories."

My horse huffs loudly beneath me. I smooth a hand along her smooth, warm neck and scratch behind her ear. "Good girl. Keep going. Only a little more to go…right?" I look up at Jacob, who has turned back around. His long animal skin cloak hangs down over the sides of his great black steed and blows in the wind.

I remember some of the surroundings around me but not all of them. I remember when I'd rode off into the forest on this very same horse and saw the barbarians massacring a nearby village in a raid.

My mouth doesn't seem to want to shut as I ask a question that renders my husband into a shocked state. "Why do you raid if you know that it causes problems with other lands? Is it greed?"

After a few moments of stunned silence, my husband finally lets out a growl. "Greed," he whispers. "My people have had long histories with the surrounding kingdoms. Centuries ago, La Push was no more than a small tribe in the south that had a castle the size of a nobleman's house and no riches. The three kingdoms stomped all over us, stole from us, took our women, like we were the scum of the earth."

My eyes widen as I'm listening to him. He leads me further and further into the shortcut path.

"Scum of the earth, we wanted to be no more. Slowly, we assembled groups that the king named raid parties to go into small villages around us and steal our goods back from them. We captured our women back, saved them. We reclaimed what we had lost." Jacob tells me. "We began to build up an army. The Three Kingdoms saw this and, in the Battle of the Red Dirt, massacred us and killed our king. For at least a century we were a weak people. No army, no navy, no place to call home..."

I exhale as I realize I'd been holding in my breath the whole time. I want him to continue his story.

"Then came a new king. He was the Strong Wolf of the South, or so the people called him. He was said to have the strength of ten men and determination of a hungry animal. We built our empire back up while those foolish royals had their backs turned, unaware of what was happening around them until it was too late. We raided Forks and slayed their king like they did ours, took all their jewels and brought it back to the south. We named our land La Push, and then took back what was ours from other kingdoms who took advantage of the Battle of Red Dirt to swoop in and weaken us further," Jacob explains.

I am silent. "I…I never knew that was the reason behind raiding. I had no idea-! That is why my people thought your people were savages, because you defended yourselves and retaliated and kept your pride… Oh, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because some kings abused their power," he tells me. "They raided, killed too many, stole too much. We got a reputation and they began to call us the Barbarians."

"Why do you still order the raids?" I ask.

Jacob looks ahead into the cold, vast expanse. "It was the only way I've ever known. It's the only way to maintain that we are powerful and not to be trifled with." He looks back at me with a blank expression on his face. "I am my father's son. I am reckless, I am a fool, I am a beast. But one thing that I will never be is a tyrant. I love my people, and I will lead them to victory. I will lead battles if necessary. And…if it's what you desire, I will stop the raids." Jacob whispers.

I'm in shock at his proposition. I dig my heels into Daybreak's soft underbelly to make her catch up with Jacob's horse. "You'd do that for me?" I ask. My breath curls out of my mouth like smoke.

"I'd do anything for you," he replies.

Another gust of freezing cold wind blows in my face. I close my eyes as snowflakes catch on my eyelashes. Tiny sharp crystals sting my face and color my cheeks a scarlet red. I wipe my face with the sleeve of my animal fur coat. "Will you kill her then?" I ask him.

He snorts humorlessly. "Yes. She will die." His eyes begin to blacken at the thought.

Suddenly I feel nauseous at the thought of us being separated. I'm also sure that my child isn't helping with the nausea will all of the activity he's doing inside of me. I can feel my baby's kicks constantly. "Oh," I say when the baby kicks me right on my bladder.

Jacob steers his horse right next to mine so that we're in arms reach of each other. He smoothes a hand over my belly right in time to feel the child kick. "He's already strong."

"Your child," I chuckle softly. "Of course he'd be strong."

I don't really know if my baby's a boy but Jacob's been calling the child by said gender ever since I found out that I was pregnant. He just seems to know, somewhere deep down in his gut, that this child's a boy. A prince.

"How far away are we now?" I ask him as another freezing cold gust of wind blows through the stick thin trees and nips at me again.

He looks around at our surroundings, searching for some sort of landmark. "About five miles," he whispers. "But there's a small village very nearby. We can rest there for a little while and receive food and drink from the villagers."

I nod my head. "Okay. Which way?" I ask.

He points off into the distance. "Just over that hill should be the town Thunder Bird," he replies. "Let's go."

Our horses break into a gallop, swerving through trees until we reach our destination. Jacob and I easily maneuver our mounts down the hill until we see the sets of little wooden houses and curls of smoke leading from a lone fire by a larger house. It's unusually desolate.

"Shin wada a nan?" he calls out loudly. His voice splits through the air and echoes in the emptiness of the forest. He dismounts his horse and walks around. He walks around through the snow and looks for any signs of life. "Kar a ji tsoro. Yana da na, sarki. Raye-raye da wolves." (Is anyone there? Do not be afraid. It is I, the king. Dances With Wolves.)

Still no answer. "It doesn't look like anyone's here," I whisper. I slide down from my horse and tie her reins to a small post to keep her from wandering off. I look up when I hear Jacob gasp quietly. He looks down at a small puddle of red that he's accidentally stepped into. Then he opens the door of the cabin, only to turn away from it a second later.

"Don't look," he warns me, but it's too late. My interest has peaked and I look anyways like the curious creature I am.

My eyes widen. I see a man and woman, skewered together onto a sharp spear. I see the type of spearhead it is—Forks. But then I see a shiny teal cloth lying on the ground—Pateros. They must have done this together, as allies.

The smell of rotting flesh hits me as Jacob's closing the door. He looks deeply upset and saddened. "How did they get this close? My armies have been pushing north and dominating." His fingers tug at the roots of his hair. "Thunderbird was once prosperous little trading post for travelers through the Forest of Thieves. Now look at it…burnt, people slaughtered."

I cover my mouth with my hands and lean against my horse. "You're trying your best," I whisper to him. "You can't be in 10,000 places at once. You've the weight of the world on your shoulders."

Jacob's boots crunch in the snow as he inspects the other cabins for any signs of life. But no one is alive; they have all been slain in the attack. He sees a small child's cloth doll lying burnt on the ground. He rubs the stubble on his chin as he looks at it before bending to pick it up.

I study his face for his reaction but he's completely blank. He sighs, his shoulders slumping. He murmurs something that I can't hear before thrusting the doll away into the brush. He can't stand to look at it anymore.

"Oh Jacob," I murmur. "You can't blame—"

I'm cut off as I suddenly can hear twigs snapping behind me. I look around and see a huge white beast emerging from the forest with blood smeared all over the muzzle. My heart stops as Jacob sees the creature and whips out his sword, ready to slay it.

But as I see the beast look up into my eyes, something inside of my head clicks. Just before Jacob gets close enough with his sword, I scream out for him to stop. He halts his movements as the beast creeps forward on his front paws towards me. "Bella, it will kill you if I don't do something!"

I ignore Jacob's pleas as I cock my head while looking at the white beast. "Because he's my wolf. It's Scar."

Once I say his name, his ears perk up and his tail begins to wag. But what completely blows my mind is how big he has gotten. I pet the young wolf's head as he comes submissively over to me, still wagging his tail. I suppose it's quite plausible for him to have grown this large in the time that I had been gone.

Jacob sheathes his sword and walks over to the wolf. "He's fully grown," he says. "I didn't recognize him."

"Well it's a good thing that I did, then." I reply to him. "He's truly a magnificent beast. But he will never match you," I smile.

Jacob's lips quirk up in a half smile. He's still not thrilled about being a shapeshifter, but he's glad his questions have been answered. He mounts his steed again. "We must go now. I cannot be here anymore. This stench of death is disabling."

I climb onto my horse. Scar follows us, running alongside my horse's long strides in the snow. I can only wonder why his muzzle is bloody. He is just doing what he does best; protecting.

0o0o0o0o

When we finally return to Castle Rock, it is midday. The sun beats down on the white snow, reflecting it up into our eyes. Even though the sun shines, it is still mercilessly freezing cold. Jacob knows the secret entrance into the castle so he takes me that way, instead of entering through the front gates. He doesn't want the whole world to know that we have returned home. That would cause a ruckus in the villages, and that would draw the attentions of Forks and Pateros.

We dock the horses in the stables before traveling on foot through the door that leads into the heart of the castle. The first thing that hits me once I am inside is the heat. It is so hot inside, compared to the cold I'd been surviving in for about a week. Scar runs alongside of me until we get to the grand hall; there he turns and stalks down another hallway.

It's so quiet and empty except for servants and maids bustling around the castle, keeping the stone fortress warm and comfortable. It's almost too quiet. I know something's up, and apparently so does Jacob. Down the hallway we can see a young maid scurry out of one of the rooms with dirty laundry in a basket. Jacob calls out for her to stop. The maid nearly has a heart attack when she turns round to see the King of La Push demanding her attention.

"Ni gida yanzu, yarinya. Gaya mani abin da ya faru a lokacin da ta iznin." Jacob spits out quickly in his mother tongue. (I am home now, girl. Tell me what has happened during my leave.)

The maid bows her head and curtseys weakly before standing up to face my husband. "Ban san za ka dawo don haka nan da nan. Na sarki, da dan uwa ya mayar da. Sai ya ce da ka aiko shi gida don duba a kan sansani, da kuma gudanar da abubuwa na xan wani lokaci. Ya ke an jeruwar bias mana a kusa da…har ma a zaune a kan kursiyin." (I did not expect you to return so soon. My king, your brother has returned as well. He says that you sent him home to check on the castle, and run things for a while. He's been ordering us around...and even sitting on your throne.)

Jacob's eyes widen as he gasps silently, taken aback by what the maid is telling him. "Ina ya yanzu, maid?" he demands. (Where is he now, maid?)

"Na karshe na ga of shi ne lokacin da yake faruwa a sama zuwa ga harem," the maid replies, pointing a small finger at the great staircase that leads up to the harem room where I once called home. "Amma ina tsoro cewa shi ne awa daya da suka wuce, na sarki." (The last I saw him was when he was going up to the harem, but I am afraid that that was an hour ago, my king.)

Right now Jacob is seething. "Oh, I know exactly where my brother is." And then he takes off up the stairs, each fall of his foot against the wood making a loud thump through the quiet castle. He is calling his name loudly, rousing the harem girls from their slumber and stirring the interests of other castle workers.

"Brother!"

0o0o0o0o

JACOB

My heavy footfall rouses the men at peace in this castle but I do not care. I am on a mission and that is to find my brother. My brother that has betrayed me, and the whore that had tried to kill the only light I had left in this wretched world.

The faster I walk, the closer I near to the dark corridor in which my brother's bedroom lies. My hair whips around my face as I come to stand in front of his door. I know he's inside. I can hear that whore moaning his name. And like the fool he is, he never locks his door.

I bust down the door without even turning the knob, bursting into his room. She's sitting on his cock, thrusting up and down on him. Dirty. That's all I can think about. "Bastard!" I scream loudly, grabbing Emilia by the hair and yanking him off of his weeping cock and throwing her onto the floor.

He's more stunned than angry that I'd walked on him. He shouts and stands up, not caring to hide his male genitalia from my eyes. "What in Azazel's name are you doing—"

I don't give him time to finish. My fist cracks into his head, snapping it to the side. He falls back onto his bed. "I told you to lead them into Pateros! Because of you, the villages on the outskirts of La Push were slaughtered!"

He holds his nose, watching as blood pours out of it. "I can't believe it," he mutters. "You're truly still alive."

My face scrunches up with confusion. "What-"

"I knew that Cullen was useless." He lets out a menacing laugh.

A horrible realization sinks in slowly. Iron Coyote was in league with Pateros and Forks in attempt to overthrow and kill me. He must have gotten Emilia to get rid of my woman, and told Edward Cullen my coordinates as I hid in the forest. All of it was starting to make sense.

A deep pain resonates in my chest at my own brother's heartless betrayal. "Why do you hate me?" I cry. "All I've ever wanted my whole life was for you to love me like a brother."

"All I've ever wanted my whole life was to be king!" Iron Coyote stands to his feet, letting the blood trickle down his face. "And you took that from me. You took everything that was rightfully mine."

Anger and hurt bubbles inside of me. "I saved your life," I bellow, the tears stinging at my eyes despite my best efforts. "I loved you!"

Iron Coyote smiles at me. "You should have killed me when you had the chance, brother."

He suddenly lunges at me, tackling me to the ground with a force unparalleled. My head smacks against the ground, pain radiating through my body. I beat at him with my fists, but he's fighting back well. He's the only person who could ever match me in hand to hand combat. He lands a blow to my stomach and then another to the side of my face. I feel my body beginning to shake violently, just like I had before I phased for the first time in the forest.

A rush of strength and adrenaline courses through my bloodstream as I manage to throw him off of me so powerfully that his body crashes into the wall a foot away. Seemingly unphased, Iron Coyote lunges at me again. I roll out of the way and onto my feet just in time to block his forceful punch.

I swing at him, landing several punches on him until he's lying in the corner, unable to get up. He looks terrified. I know he sees it. I know he sees the change in my eyes. I never take my eyes from my brother. His eyes frantically dart around the room, holding his limp, injured arm. "No," he groans. "It can't be."

Emilia starts to scream as I feel my bones elongating and my skin beginning to tear.