A/N: I dont own Twilight
Chapter Fifty-Two: Jacob
"What is she saying? Is she ok? Are they hurting her?" Jacob asked Edward his words coming in a jumbled rush.
Edward held up his hand to signal him to be quiet and this sent him over the edge. He threw his arms up and growled.
"She's asking me to let off for a minute." Edward finally whispered. He looked over at Jacob and grimaced. "Will you please phase again. I can't handle naked Jake standing this close to me."
Jacob rolled his eyes and stepped another foot away from Edward.
"I need to be able to talk to you." Jacob hissed. "Is she hurt?"
Edward didn't answer at first and instead ran his hands through his thick hair nervously. "Not badly." He answered quietly his eyes sliding to Jacob's face to gauge his reaction.
"What is not badly?" Jacob demanded his voice deep and menacing.
"There is a fourth female and she apparently has some sadistic tendencies."
"What do they want with her?"
"I'll give you two guesses."
"So it is the Egyptians."
"Yes."
Jacob spun around and angrily pounded his fist into a nearby tree his knuckles chipping away a formidable piece from the trunk. Edward frowned at him his expression critical but he didn't care. He should have hidden her or taken her away until he knew the stupid bloodsuckers were gone. It was his own damn fault that his girl was now at the mercy of four bloodthirsty leeches that were using her to get to his friends. He could feel the rage coursing through his veins and he feared he wouldn't be able to hold back much longer. The shack that Charli was being held captive in was less than 100 yards from where he was standing. He was ready.
"Don't even think about it." Edward snarled.
"I hate when you do that."
"I hate that you have no clothes on, but you are my friend so I deal with it."
"Are you telling me I should deal with it?"
"In not so many words."
"Are you going to try to read her again?" Jacob asked impatiently.
"Yes. As soon as backup arrives."
"Which should be any second."
As soon as they knew they had found Charli's location they had contacted Jacob's pack and the rest of the Cullen's. Seth had told Jacob that they were not far away and would join him in minutes. Leah and Paul were already there and they were both pacing and eager for the fight to begin.
"When she does drop her barrier I'm going to try to get as much information to you as possible. This new female, the sadistic one, she is different Jake. I can't read her mind, I can't smell her, and if I hadn't seen her in Charli's memory I would've never even known she was there." Edward said to Jacob his tone full of caution. "Don't just jump in there balls out and ready for blood, the female won't hesitate to kill her."
Jacob could feel his heart hammering in his chest as he pictured Charli at the mercy of a monster. His stomach did sickening flip flops as he imagined what she might be enduring and he felt helpless not being able to protect her.
"Is she in there?" Jacob heard a familiar voice ask quietly. It was Alice, Jasper and Bella.
Edward nodded and Jacob could see the relief on his face.
"Carlisle, Em, Rosalie, and Esme are on the other side with most of Sam's pack." Alice explained when Edward shot her a puzzled look.
"Geez Jake will you please phase already?" Alice begged covering her eyes. With a huff Jacob phased back into wolf form and immediately was bombarded by his pack.
What the effing hell is going on? Leah demanded angrily. You can't just phase into human form and ignore us like that. What are you thinking!
Take it easy Leah, he's worried about Charli. Seth defended.
Thanks Seth. Jacob muttered watching Edward for any sign that he was about to try to contact Charli again.
So. . . Leah prompted impatiently.
It is the Egyptians –
Duh, tell us something we don't already know. Leah interrupted. I knew those gross leeches were up to no good.
Leah I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now. Jacob growled. It is the Egyptians plus another female. Edward said that this female is different than any of the others. He can't read her mind, none of us can smell her, and she is dangerous.
Dangerous how? Embry asked.
She is hurting Charli on purpose. Jacob felt the bile rise in his throat at the thought.
I will rip the sadistic bitch to pieces. Leah spat her voice full of venom.
Wow. Look who suddenly decided she liked Charli! Quil said in mock surprise.
Leah didn't respond but her silence said it all. Despite her rough exterior and outward display of hatred for Charli, Leah really cared about her just as much as the rest of them.
Jacob suddenly snapped to attention when he saw Edward lift his hand in warning. Jacob felt his muscles tensing and flexing beneath his fur ready to fight.
Seconds later the silence of the forest was shattered by Charli's shrill scream. The sound lasted for so long Jacob was afraid she would run out of air before it was over. He could feel a tear slide down his furry cheek as the sound bore its way into his chest and twisted around his heart squeezing it until he could barely breathe. The pain in her scream was almost tangible as is echoed through the forest and bounced off of the trees coming back to them like a sadistic boomerang. The rage he was suffering through at that moment was so blinding he felt like he wouldn't be able to sit still for even a second longer when he suddenly felt a cool hand on his neck.
"Don't Jake. You'll make things worse. She's ok, you need to listen to Edward." Bella's words did little to sooth his anxiety. Jacob shook his head trying to focus on something other than the rage and turned his attention to Edward. His pale face was twisted in a grimace and his eyebrows were knitted tightly together in a stern look of concentration. "She calls herself an unseen. Once she is out of our eyesight she also falls out of our memory. That is how she got past Alice. She likes to see others hurting – Charli doesn't think that they will let her go even if Alice and I agree to go with Amun. She will either come back for her, or she will kill her before it even gets to that. Amun, Kebi and Ashley have no idea what they've gotten themselves into." Edward whispered his tone making Jacob become less and less optimistic.
Almost as disturbing as the constant screaming was the abrupt silence that followed once it stopped. Jacob almost preferred hearing Charli's cries to the deafening stillness that now dominated the motionless air surrounding them.
I hate waiting. Jacob growled as he began pacing back and forth in front of his friends, his paws making no noise as he stepped carefully on the wet forest ground.
I don't think you have an option. Leah answered him her tone anxious.
"What are we going to do?" Alice asked her voice high pitched and panicked.
"They are about to come out. I can read the minds of the other's but they are trying hard not to think about their plan." Edward answered sounding irritated. "When they do finally come out, we play it by ear."
"That's not much of a plan." Jasper whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
"Do you have any better suggestions?" Edward asked. "I'm all ears."
When Jasper didn't reply Edward nodded and turned his gaze back to the dilapidated shed.
"Do you see anything Alice?" Edward asked, not breaking his watchful stare.
"Yes." She answered quietly. " Everyone keeps changing their minds and it is getting very difficult to see a definitive ending but I can tell you absolute certainty that they are going to come out with her any second."
As the words came out of her mouth Jacob heard yelling from inside the shed and the door crashed open so violently that it was forced from its hinges, the rotted planks splintered and then showered to the ground.
"Conniving little bitch then is it? Letting your little mind reading vampire friend into your head?" A female voice roared with so much hatred Jacob could feel the hair on his shoulders standing as he let out a low growl. "Well then let's show them a little proof of life shall we?"
Jacob felt his muscles tighten as a small female vampire pushed Charli out of the doorway and kicked her viciously in her lower back sending her sprawling onto the ground.
"Lyra! She is no good to us dead." Amun lectured as he followed her out the door.
"Oh Amun you silly prick, do you really think that her gifted friends will give themselves up for her now? You really are an idiot aren't you? They know that we will come back for her even if they do come with us to Italy. All of that screaming earlier was what happens when the mind reader gets in her head." Lyra was shouting loud enough for the wolves and the Cullen's to hear. Her tone was dripping with sarcasm and vehemence.
Amun turned to Ashley who was staring blankly at Lyra. "Do you know what she is rambling on about? We've all taken extreme measures to keep our plans out of our minds, and she's a shield; Edward doesn't know anything."
"Actually, he might." Ashley grimaced as she slid her gaze to Amun's face. "Sometimes human shields experience pain when Aro tries to read their mind, it is very probable that the same thing happens to this girl when she lets Edward past her shield."
"They are going to fight us Amun." Lyra hissed gleefully. She turned to the woods and shouted. "Let's go you cowards! What is keeping you? Are you afraid to fight us? Perhaps you need some motivation?"
She casually backed up several steps until she was standing in front of where Charli lay silently on the ground, scrambling to get to her feet. She did not move quickly enough because with a humorless laugh Lyra swiftly spun around and kicked her in her ribs. With a rasping wheeze Charli whimpered as she panted in an attempt to catch her breath.
Jacob felt the bile rise in his throat and the rage begin to take hold.
I'm not going to stand here anymore Edward, I'm going to fucking rip that leech's head off with my teeth.
Edward held up a hand in caution, his face pleading for Jacob to wait just a few more moments.
Fuck you. Jacob snarled ignoring Edward as he sunk down onto his belly and started creeping towards the shed his eyes red with rage and his heart pounding so loudly in his ears he didn't hear the warnings his friends were frantically hissing at him. He was focused only on the face of the pale vampire and the pull in his chest that was so raw and so real he knew that if it were to ever go away he would have no reason to live anymore.
That was something worth fighting for.
"What? No takers? Perhaps I should break her arm, would that piss you off enough to stand up to me?" Lyra reached down and grabbed Charli's long hair and pulled. "Or maybe I should just break her cheekbones, make her face a little less perfect."
Jacob caught sight of Charli's face and his heart stopped. Despite the bruises, dirt and blood that was smeared over her cheeks and forehead, her eyes were strong and full of hate. She bared her teeth at Lyra and challenged her with her stare that showed that she was fearless and would not go down without a fight.
"Full of piss and vinegar aren't you? Seems like such a pity to waste all of this beauty and talent on a human. Maybe I should just change you and all of this would be over. Would you like that?"
Jacob watched as Lyra bent down and wrapped her hand around Charli's wrist pulling it backwards painfully and raising it to her mouth. She looked up into the woods and laughed maniacally.
"Here is your last chance! Fight you cowards! Fight for her!"
Just as she began lowering her lips Jacob dove from the woods and slammed into her tiny vampire body easily pinning her to the ground. With his claws digging into her shoulders he stared down at her growling, all of his teeth bared in a frightening grin.
"Hello puppy." She giggled and then like it was nothing at all to have a giant wolf pressing down on top of her she writhed out of his grip and pounced onto his back, her hands tangling in his hair and her teeth gnashing as she tried to bite down on his vulnerable neck.
The forest suddenly rang with the loud and deafening howls of the other wolves as they simultaneously dove from their hiding places. Jacob could hear them and see the flashes of grey and russet fur, but he had only one thing on his mind and that was the feverish desire to kill the evil that had hurt Charli. He could feel the monster clinging to his back and hear her teeth as they clashed together coming dangerously close to his neck and the warm rushing pulse of blood that was buried shallow beneath his fur and skin.
He could also hear the Cullen's as they rushed to his aid cornering Amun and Ashley easily as the wolves circled around him trying to find a point of entry to help pull Lyra off without hurting him.
"You are too late you stupid mutts." Lyra hissed as she swung her leg around Jacob's chest and bit down on his neck.
Jacob felt a burst of fire in his throat and then a spreading of warmth through the fur on his chest and neck. The metallic smell of blood filled his nostrils and turned his stomach as he realized that the blood was his own.
"No!!!!!" Edward roared launching himself towards Jacob and grabbing onto Lyra's shoulders, pulling them both to the ground in a grinding pile of fleshy stone. There was a nauseating sound of ripping flesh and the wet sound of liquid as blood trickled from the wound in Jacob's neck to the ground in thick crimson droplets.
Jacob coughed and he could taste the blood in his mouth. This isn't good. He thought to himself as he stumbled blindly towards Charli gasping for breath.
"She severed his jugular Carlisle!" he could hear Alice shrieking. "Carlisle!"
Jacob could feel himself getting weaker as he collapsed in a heap of fur and blood on the ground beside Charli. He felt her arms circle around him and her sweet breath on his face. Her voice was like a song as she stroked his cheek and murmured in his ear. He could hear screaming, but he tried to block it out as he focused on Charli's arms around his neck. His eyes fluttered shut and he tried to listen for her voice but all he could hear was the screaming.
