Truth & Consequences
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Twilight characters and simply continue on writing about them because I love them that much...even if I did think Breaking Dawn was the biggest load of crock ever written. #1 most hated book in my eyes. The Time Machine (the remake) is my most hated movie, in case anyone was wondering.
The command is dominant, force stopping and Jacob realizes too late what he's done as his entire pack freezes, the wolves that were in midair quickly falling to the ground. Snarls are frozen in place, paws raised in mid-step as shock consumes them. The female vampire struggles against the ground that holds her in place, snarling, screaming and snapping at all of the wolves surrounding her.
Jacob looks on, his heart aching for the girl that was a close friend when he was at his worst. Bella continues pulling and he can feel the pack's questioning eyes and Leah's worry as Bella continues working on freeing her hand. He whimpers quietly, wondering how this could've happened, how he hadn't been made aware of it as Bella's hand breaks free from the ground; dirt, gravel and debris blooming around her as her eyes settle on him. He wants to apologize to her for not protecting her better but he had felt certain that the 'Cullens' wouldn't have taken his offer for granted.
There's a loud growl as Leah narrows her eyes at the freed vampire that only has eyes for their Alpha. Pushing herself forward Bella lunges toward the russet wolf, teeth bared, venom dripping from her fangs and a look of bloodlust in her eyes.
Gone are the deep chocolate brown eyes of the Isabella Swan that would spend hours listening to Jacob talk while he worked in his garage. He wasn't in love with her but he still loved her like a friend. Jacob can't help but feel regret and guilt that maybe had he done things differently that Bella would still be alive; maybe if he had challenged the leeches that night and destroyed them when he had the chance, maybe if he hadn't been so cold towards Bella she wouldn't have felt the desire to fall for a vampire that could offer up death. Jacob can't find it in himself to be angry towards the vampire, the monster because she still represents Bella to him.
I'm sorry Bella.
'NO, JACOB!' Leah cries out straining against the Alpha command that has been placed on her. Her heart clenches seeing the vampire lunge for him and for an instant she feels helpless to save him; helpless to do anything.
The feeling only lasts for a moment as the Alpha within her snarls in rage at the idea of some Cold One hurting her chosen mate. With a vicious growl the invisible chains of the command fall off and Leah chases after the leech, jaws open and ready to tear the bitch's head off.
There's a cry of warning and just in a matter of seconds Leah sails over Bella, her jaws coming up with air as two figures jump down succeeding in pining the girl to the ground. Landing on her paws she quickly skids around to face the leeches with her fur bristled and teeth bared while freeing the others from Jacob's foolish and misguided command.
Bella lies on the ground still snapping, snarling, spitting and struggling against the two vampires that are holding her in place. She still looks like some feral, insane monster that is incapable of human speech and thought.
"Please don't!" The older blonde male cries out looking up at Leah. She recalls him being named Carlisle and only snarls at him angrily.
Jacob's eyes widen as he sees Edward Cullen looking down at Bella with hurt and sad eyes. The lethargy of regret and shame that had consumed him only mere seconds ago quickly melts away and is replaced with pure rage, anger and hatred for the male vampire before him. It is his fault that Bella was now dead – now a part of the undead, an abomination and nothing but a plague upon the face of the earth.
'You fucking BASTARD! You killed her.' Jacob snarls as his ears lay back flat against his head and his muzzle pulls back showing the canines that are ready to rip the offender apart.
"Just – just let us explain." Carlisle pleads as he struggles to hold Bella down until the caramel-haired vampire, Esme, shows up and helps in holding the newborn down.
"Explain?" Leah snaps as she quickly phases into her human form and stands glaring at the vampires in shock as her hands form tight fists. "There is no need for an explanation for why you all pissed on Jacob's offer to continue on existing."
"Charlie had sent her away – to a mental institution." Edward speaks up looking down at Bella with a deep frown.
"Yea, because the girl was delusional AND suicidal." Leah yells trying to keep her wolf from losing control. It was bad enough to be naked in front of the vampires but it was even worse to have stand aside and listen to these spoilt, rich vampires try to talk their way into having some kind of diplomatic immunity for breaking a rule put in place, specifically, against them and the girl in question.
"She wasn't suicidal." Edward growls quickly standing up letting Esme takes his place.
"Don't you fucking growl at me." Leah snaps fearing her patience starting to wear thin. Patience was encouraged for your fellow shifters and the humans around you – vampires were nowhere on that list. Leah freezes as she feels Jacob's arms wrap around her, pulling her body close to his and a warning growl rumbling from his chest to his throat.
"She stood there and told Charlie that you were going to change her. You were going to make her better than what she already was." Jacob states gruffly while keeping a close eye on the vampires before him. He had made the mistake of dropping his guard and even worse of hindering his pack's movements. Leah could've been easily hurt, even killed, when Edward and Carlisle landed. Realizing that he lost Bella was bad enough but to then have stood aside and watched Leah be killed would've been unbearable.
"Our intention was not to hurt your mate." Edward replies with a hint of bitterness in his tone.
"You have to understand." Carlisle breaks in trying to smooth out the situation. "The doctors were drugging Bella and there is no telling what she would've said if she'd stayed in their much longer."
"Oh because spilling her guts about us being wolves is perfectly fine but when she starts speaking of vampires it's time to call in the fucking 'Sparkle Brigade'?" Leah snarls viciously fighting against Jacob's hold. "Look, they would've told her that she was crazy; that werewolves and vampires don't exist. That it was all just a figment of her imagination." Leah states coldly. "Eventually she would've had to come to accept that it was true – that she'd made the whole thing up."
"And then live with the stigma that she was crazy; possibly schizophrenic and suicidal?" Edward asks.
"I heard modern medication has come such a long way from using 'leeches' to exorcise the demons."
"This isn't a joke!" Edward snarls.
"At least she'd still be alive!"
"What kind of life is that – within a psych ward?"
"What kind of life would she have with you?" Jacob growls out quickly ending the back and forth between Edward and Leah.
"I – I couldn't bear her being in there for much longer. She thought that I had abandoned her." Edward adds with a pitiful look. "I can't live without her, surely you understand that." Edward says looking from Jacob down at Leah and back again.
"Don't you fucking compare me to that – that thing." Leah snarls feeling her skin crawl as she instinctively huddles into Jacob's body.
"And don't think I'll let that sway me from the agreement that we reached." Jacob grumbles out with a deep frown.
"Haven't you mutts punished us enough?" Jacob's eyes dart over towards the blonde-haired female, Rosalie, who had captured Seth that night. "We're here as part of our punishment. For being associated with him and his moronic attraction for the klutz." Edward growls at her angrily for the insult.
"We thought that we'd only have you and your 'pack' to contend with when Edward announced that he was going to break the rules." Esme speaks up softly as Emmett takes her place in holding down Bella.
"The moment he got his 'suicidal' lamb then the rest of your kind was on to us. Alice tried to escape with Jasper but they were killed." Esme says before breaking down into dry sobs.
"And by that time Edward had already bitten Bella injecting his venom inside of her. It was too late to undo the damage and they carried us away – to here." Carlisle states hugging his wife and rubbing her back soothingly. "We've not fed in over a week and since Bella's a newborn it has made her thirst even more uncontrollable."
"She can be taught to accept animal's blood as a substitute." Edward states hopefully.
"She'll never have that opportunity." Jacob states gravelly as he slowly and sadly shakes his head.
"So, what you intend to kill us here and now?" Rosalie asks slipping into a defensive stance as the wolves growl and snarl at her.
"Well, unfortunately for you all, you've been dropped into the middle of shifter's battle." Leah says with a dark smirk as the vampires' eyes all widen. "And judging by those oh so fashionable collars around your neck, you're being forced to remain within the same confines as us." The Cullens each, save Bella, immediately touch the collars around their necks. The devices that dealt such a powerful shock of electricity that not even Bella in her madden state was able to break through. "So no doubt this 'game' isn't over until one pack wins and eliminates the leeches as well."
"We do not wish to fight." Carlisle says shaking his head.
"You don't have much of a choice – not anymore." Leah says slowly shaking her head. "Like I said earlier you all chose to break the law implemented on you by an Alpha. Sadly, in the real world there are consequences for breaking the rules. Shame you all never learned what rules are,"
"We know what rules are!" Rosalie spits.
"Of course you do but that didn't stop him from breaking them and we've learned over the years that you don't just destroy one vampire in a coven. You destroy them all." The Cullens look around at the wolves surrounding them, a low deep bark of a menacing chuckle escaping them as the situation occurs to them that this isn't a matter that they can simply talk their way out of or even flee.
"However, we have more pressing matters to contend with and we don't need to tire ourselves with you – just yet." Jacob states earning strange looks from his pack and relief from the vampires.
"So you're not going to fight us?" Carlisle asks with a hopeful smile.
"Not now we're not. I hope I can trust you to not,"
"We will not cause any more problems." Carlisle says quickly interrupting Jacob. There is no doubt in the wolves' mind that he is trying to figure out a way to escape from the arena in the meantime.
"What's your problem?" Leah asks nodding her head at Edward. The vampire had grown suddenly quiet Leah had noticed, his eyes narrowing and brow scrunching up as if he was experiencing a headache or migraine. At first she had dismissed it as it possibly being that with the pack's thoughts going a mile a minute to possibly confuse the mind reader or Bella's insane bloodthirsty thoughts were eating away at what remnants of a conscious he had from his short time as a human.
"I – I don't know." Edward grumbles out, his hand going to his temple trying to relieve the pressure that is building. For the last couple of hours it felt as if something was inside his head; sometimes his vision went out and he saw something that he couldn't recall having seen before or somehow his body would feel very heavy – almost lethargic. "It just feels like – like,"
"Oh shit." Jacob whispers out as wolf howls and an uproar of growls echoes in the forest around them.
A/N: Alright, so here goes the next chapter. Sorry for the delay but…well…my chapters are everywhere. Literally, in a notebook, red ninja flashdrive, my laptop, blue journal, black journal, notebook at work. So it is taking me a while to piece everything back together but since I finally had some quiet time to myself I decided to proof and post. So here you go. Wish I had more to say but it is freezing in the house and I'm going to snuggle underneath the covers and read a book on my e-reader.