CHAPTER FOURTEEN

(BPOV)

The screaming that filled Aro's lair from Jacob was ear piercing as the slaughter began. Jane had kept her eyes locked on him for minutes and it was going to kill him if she didn't release her painful gaze. I saw nothing but red in return. The hatred I had for her stole away any reasoning or prior thought. I wanted that bitch destroyed for what she'd done to him. Sam tore through the mass in a rush and was soon locked in a death match with Aro, the two of them circling each other with loud roars and hissing, as Quil and Embry took Jane down and held her there beneath their massive paws. It broke her focus from Jacob and he fell to the floor with a choked gasp, his body in so much pain that he had shifted back to human form briefly before the tremors could take hold of him again. In an instant, he was back on all fours and snarling.

Jane screamed at them for the attack and tried to cripple Quil with her deadly gaze first, but I focused on the two of them, my shield projecting out past the chaos unfolding around us now, and effectively blocking her move before she could make it. Her head sharply whipped my way, her red eyes glowing with hatred and undiluted rage as I stalked toward her. Snarls poured from me and she became my only focus, creating a tunnel vision to cloud my mind and block out everything else around me.

I focused hard and manipulated the shields hold, stretching it out further toward Jacob as she struggled to get away from Embry and Quil. She hissed furiously and tried to crush Jacob with the same pain she had from before. He screamed out in agony through the pack mind only once, the sound of it forcing me forward in desperation to protect him in the only way I could right now. My thoughts reached him first before the impenetrable shield had reached far enough to stop her attack.

"I won't let her hurt you, Jacob."

I heard the shrilling sound of Jane's final scream then as Embry tore into her throat and Quil finished her off, the two of them phasing back to human form just long enough to set her remains on fire. I dropped the shield and turned just in time to hear Jacob's warning as Alec barreled his way into me from the side, the hit knocking me down as we rolled. He was enraged and I felt my ribs crack, sending a shearing pain through me when his vice like arms wrapped forcefully around my middle. I fought back, trying to break his hold and remembering what had happened to Jacob in the newborn battle when one of them had done the same to him. Alec's strength was weakened in comparison but his ability to crush me was still there. Given my size alone and inexperience, he knew I wouldn't be able to fight him off alone.

I shrieked as another rib cracked, whipping my head around and thrashing as I tried desperately to get free from him. The warm voice I heard in my head covered the pain and made the throbbing dissipate just from the sound of his words.

"Hold on, honey. I'm coming. Just hold on for me."

Jacob pulled furiously on the chains with a final deafening and thunderous roar then, the force of it ripping them out of the floor like they were suddenly weightless to him. Alec hissed and tightened his grip around me just as Jacob charged our way. He plowed into Alec, knocking him away from me, the power behind the blow enough to crack the marble floor beneath them as they began to fight to the death. I collapsed in a heap there, feeling my aching body pretest the movement. Jacob's thoughts were vile and murderous when he swiftly ripped away Alecs left leg. The crackling sound making me mentally cringe.

"I'm gonna tear you apart you filthy fucking parasite."

I forced myself back up and ignored the pain as I spotted Seth struggling to get the upper hand with a furious and lethal Demetri. I tore off after them, soon taking hold of Demetri's arm with a snarl and dragging him backwards while Seth took the lunge for the kill. His thoughts of gratitude and concern spreading through the pack mind before we went on to another.

"Thanks, Bella. Stay close. I have your back."

We took on three more of Aro's guard together before moving on to over a dozen more, destroying them all as a team, and huffing when the thick purple smoke filled the room around us like a heavy blanket. I felt as if I was on auto-pilot. Like I was detached from my own body, as I watched Quil and Paul phase back and toss the many ripped apart pieces of the Volturi's guard into the growing pile stacked high in the middle of the room.

I could feel my energy depleting more and more after every attack, but I kept pushing through, my wolf gaze meeting Jacobs more than once when he rushed to Sams aid and helped him swiftly end the long fight with Aro. We had the upper hand and we were winning, but when Sam whipped around to face Felix, the battle swiftly changed.

I heard Jacobs roar and felt his panic as it ran through the pack mind, striking each of us and starting a frenzy when a flood of thirsty newborns suddenly rushed in around us, all of them with eyes of bright crimson red.

"Sam! We're surrounded!" Jacob roared, running toward Seth and I and taking a protective stance in front of me.

"Where did they all come from?" Seth nervously hedged.

"We're fucking outnumbered." Paul snarled, taking hold of the first newborn with a viscous whip of his head and ripping out his throat.

Jacob's wolf form began to shake in front of me, his huffing and snarling growing louder as he backed himself up further, pushing the rest of us against the far wall.

"We can take them." He huffed. "Destroy them all. Burn their ashes till nothing remains."

It was heard through the pack like a battle cry and I watched in utter disbelief as Jacobs size grew right in front of our eyes, leaving us all stunned behind him. His new height and massive build now coming to be nearly twice what Sam was in stature.

We spread out and I felt the fear wash over me when Seth tried to attack the first newly turned man in front of him by himself. The two of them sparring off and Seth taking several blows before he destroyed him.

There were too many...

I roared viscously as the flood of them headed straight for us, causing Jacob to charge forward and meet them head on. He took on three of them at one time and I fought faithfully by his side. The two of us anticipating the other ones move before it had been made and tearing into anything we came into contact with. Some of the newly turned were so young, looking to be no more than mere teenagers and it made me pause longer than I should have. I backed away from the petite dark haired girl who hissed my way and showed her venom soaked fangs, the sight of her child like face making me hesitate. Jacob read my thoughts and took hold of her from behind, ending it quicker than I could have found the courage to.

We didn't stop because we couldn't stop. We pushed tirelessly through pain and broken bones and odds that were suddenly stacked against us.

I couldn't keep count of how many I'd taken on myself, let alone tally up all the others. I tried not to think of the faces behind the red eyes that came at me in endless pairs, but I couldn't stop.

They had all belonged to someone. They had all been taken away from a life they used to have and a reality they used to know. It was cruel and I felt my remaining stamina drain out of me as the numbers began to steadily turn back in our favor. We were dwindling them down.

A/N: Thank you for all the kind reviews. There will be another update tomorrow. Till next time...