Wolf Boy

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!

Part Thirty-Eight

Jacob took off running, not for the dirt path through the weedy hedge, but in the shortest line to the forest. Trent was easy to follow, his scent was everywhere, smouldering like a dying fire in the strong wind. Jacob hurdled the first line of driftwood easily and then ripped his way through the briars, still running full pelt. He felt the little tears as the thorns cut into his skin, but he ignored them. Their sting would be healed within seconds. His whole focus remained on his target.

His brothers were coming toward him from different parts of the forest. All of them suddenly converging together as they hunted Trent. The fire trembled down Jacob's spine, throwing tight spasms through the taut muscles along his haunches. The nightmarish memory of Bella's close call was haunting him, tearing at his self-control. If Colin hadn't been there…?

Heat flooded his vision as he thought about the new young shifter. He owed Colin a huge debt. A debt he would never be able to repay in this lifetime. It was a testament to the young boy's courage that he had managed to defend Bella against Trent and actually have enough wits to chase him off all at the same time. Jacob's own phasing had been traumatic enough, but it paled in comparison to what poor Colin had suffered.

Jacob threw his heavy paws against the matted earth and stretched his back in one long, rolling extension. Being a wolf was easier when he was centred like this. When the whole pack was working toward a common goal. He could feel his brothers getting closer and closer. Soon he glimpsed them between the trees. The pack was together now-moving in one choreographed motion, one family of canine dancers flowing over the earth. But these dancers were deadly, on a mission to kill the one who had tried to harm one of their family.

"Jake, maybe you should hold back and leave this to us." Sam cautioned. "You're too close to this."

Jacob hated it when Sam laid down the law like that. He hated the feeling of having no choice. Of having to obey.

"Don't even try and pull rank on me here, Sam." Jacob challenged him.

There was a heavy sigh from Sam. "That's not what I'm doing. I'm just concerned."

Jacob felt his resentment die down. "I know. I'm good, Sam."

"Okay." Sam's voice faded out as he took the lead, running fluidly by Jacob's side as they sped up, increasing their pace to try and catch up with the crazed new-born.

There was a low grumble around the pack as they realised where Trent was leading them, right back toward the Cullens old place. They became more cautious, their silent footfalls barely stirring the leaves on the forest floor. They continued in a parallel line, Sam making sure to stay very close to Jacob in case of any trouble.

"What do we do when we get there?" Paul thought.

"We kill him." Jacob replied coldly.

"Are you gonna be the one to take him down?" Paul demanded. "Especially considering what your mother did to hi- "

"Shut up, Paul." Sam snapped when he heard an angry growl erupt from Jacob's throat.

"He's not ready for this fight, Sam." Jared voiced his own doubts. The whole pack could feel Jacob's ambivalence seeping through the pack mind, his guilt over what Sarah had done to Trent and his family, which had warped and twisted Trent's mind, sending him spiralling down a dark path he had never recovered from.

"He will do what needs to be done." Sam turned his large head toward Jacob, looking for reassurance from him.

"I'm good." Jacob said again as he stared into Sam's black eyes. "You don't have to worry about me."

"Okay." Sam said, giving in and pushing his own doubts aside. He had to trust that Jacob was strong enough to remain impartial and carry out his duty without letting his personal feelings cloud his judgement.

As the pack continued on toward the Cullens mansion, swiftly following Trent's haphazard trail, Jacob tried hard not to think about what was going to happen next. He let his humanity bleed out of him until he became more animal than man. He would live in the moment; he would not let his family's tragic connection to Trent make him lose sight of his goal.

Soon they were in jogging distance of the house. The drive opened up into the meadow, and the smell hit him like a rotten tomato to the face. Ugh, reeking vampires. His stomach churned. The stench was almost unbearable. There was no sign of life around the big white crypt.

"What do we do?" Jared was the first to voice his opinion. "Do we wait?"

"We should go in and attack!" Paul snarled.

"You don't even know what part of the house he's in, dumbass." Quil sneered.

Paul barred his teeth at Quil which caused Sam to issue an Alpha command for them to shut up. They fell silent but continued to throw resentful glares at one another behind Sam's back.

"We have to flush him out somehow." Embry mused.

Jacob's dark eyes burned with an inner fire as he regarded the house. God, he hated the place. It brought back nothing but bad memories. It was an eerie place, when he thought about it, nothing living had ever resided there. He took one big gulp of air and turned to find Sam's big black wolf staring at him thoughtfully.

"Burn it to the ground." He stated harshly.

"The treaty." Sam reminded him.

"Is irrelevant. The Cullens don't live here anymore." Jacob's eyes tightened. "We could wait forever for him to come out. I, for one, do not want to spend days staking out the place in the hope that he's gonna appear. This way we force him out and end him quickly."

"And get rid of the mansion at the same time so the Cullens have nowhere to come back to." Embry knew ambushing their mortal enemy wasn't the only reason that Jacob wanted to raze the place to the ground.

"Yes." Jacob didn't bother to deny it. If he wanted to secure not only his future with Bella, but also for future generations, then getting rid of the Cullens base seemed a good place to stop them coming back to Forks ever again. If they tried, they would have to rebuild and it would prove costly, as well as attracting unwanted attention.

All these thoughts flowed through his mind and were shared by his brothers. But it wasn't their approval that he needed. It was Sam's. The massive black wolf and his russet counterpart stared at each for a long time, the only thing that moved was their thoughts as they had a silent discussion in their heads. In the end it didn't take long for Sam to be persuaded.

"Do it." He ordered.

"The flame has no culture, no pity, no mind, yet it consumes whatever it pleases. Its only criteria are, if it can take it and reduce whatever it burns to ash or something molten and foul, then it will," Jacob couldn't remember where he had heard the quote before but he knew it described Trent perfectly. He watched from a safe distance as the flames burned hot, short and violent, with no care of what would be left behind.

The smoke was being carried to the left by the wind, over the tree tops, raining down dirty ash like anti-snow. The flames continued to burn with varying degrees of colours. With each flare another of the Cullens possessions was set alight. The radiant heat was intense, like a colossal campfire, it cast its yellow glow into the night. The acrid smell dominated every breath, the flames louder than expected, roaring as they consumed what was once a fine home.

And roaring with them came Trent. Out of the choking black smoke he appeared, wild eyed, angry that his sanctuary was being destroyed. His black hair was scorched and singed in several places, his marble like skin smeared with ash. His eyes burned as crimson as the flames consuming what was left of the house as he began to run, his form blurring in an attempt to escape the wicked fire.

But there was no escape. Like a wall of impenetrable steel, the wolves were waiting for him.

A/N-thanks for reading!