Thanks so much to my lovely beta, KJ. She is seriously amazing. All mistakes, however, are mine because I don't leave stuff alone. :D

And as always, love to K, Kay, Lizzie, Mandy, and Gail. I couldn't do it without you.

Disclaimer: All things Twilight belong solely to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

From Chapter 6:

"Jacob—"

"Listen, bloodsucker," he interrupted in a condescending tone. "I don't have time to talk. Leah and Bella are missing. While you're out galavanting, I have to go find them."

Before I got a chance to respond, the line went dead. My knees buckled, and Jasper swooped in, catching me before I landed on the ground. Cradling me in his arms, he asked, "What is it? What did he say?"

"Bella. Oh, God. She's gone."

Chapter 10

APOV

Almost immediately after receiving Jacob's call, Jasper and I left the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Desperate to find Bella, we abandoned our vehicle and camping gear, running the entire distance to Washington. As we traveled, I attempted to locate Bella using my gift, but that only proved to be an exercise in frustration. Since her birth, I struggled whenever I tried to see Bella's future—it was as if she unconsciously blocked my ability. Any visions involving her were always too fuzzy and unclear to decipher. Even though I couldn't get a clear reading of her location, I was at least certain that she was still alive, and that gave me hope.

When we arrived home ten hours later, I called Jacob, who answered after the first ring. "Any news? Have you found them?"

"Leah got home a half hour ago. She and Bella snuck out last night to attend a party in Port Angeles."

With a palm pressed to my chest, I sagged against Jasper, who stood next to me, listening to the conversation. Even though I was surprised by Bella's uncharacteristic behavior, I was relieved she was safe. "Thank goodness. I'm glad they're okay."

Jacob laughed dryly. "Hold up. You're not paying attention, bloodsucker. I said Leah came home...Bella's still missing."

My stomach knotted at his words. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Leah thought Bella returned to La Push last night. She's calling a few people who were at the party to see if anyone knows what happened to her."

"I don't understand. Why doesn't Leah know where she is? I thought the two of them were best friends."

"Leah came home smelling like a mixture of alcohol and weed. My guess is she doesn't remember much, if anything at all, about last night. Hold on a second." He paused to speak to someone in the background. "Leah found out something. Supposedly, Bella fell down at the party and was taken to the hospital in Port Angeles."

"F-fell down?" My voice cracked at the thought of Bella injured.

He sighed deeply. "That's all I know. I'm sure she's fine. Bella's a klutz and falls all the time. Mom and I will go get her. I'll call you when we get home."

Before I could respond, Jacob hung up. Turning toward Jasper, I met his concerned gaze. "None of this makes sense. If Bella was taken to the hospital, why wasn't anyone contacted? She's a minor. Isn't that standard procedure?"

He cupped my cheek, tenderly running his thumb along my skin. "I'm not sure. Maybe Bella was scared and gave them a false name."

"Or maybe she's unconscious," I said, leaning into his comforting touch.

"Shh. We don't know that. There's no reason to borrow trouble. Instead of worrying, let's do some investigating of our own." After placing a kiss on my forehead, he walked across the room and opened his laptop.

While we waited to hear from Jacob, Jasper hacked into the hospital's system. There was no record of Bella, but there was one for a Jane Doe who was brought in with a broken leg and multiple minor injuries.

"This has to be her," I said as I read over the file's details.

"I agree, but according to the report, Jane Doe was released from the hospital around four this morning."

"That can't be right." I rubbed my forehead and leaned over Jasper's shoulder to reread the record. "It has to be a mistake."

"Give me a minute, and I'll see if there's anything on the surveillance tapes." After he typed in a series of codes, Jasper pulled up footage from the previous night. He located a recording of Bella being dumped off in front of the hospital. "Shit. Look at her leg." His fingers clenched so tightly around a pencil laying on the desk that it turned to dust.

The sight of Bella lying crumpled on the ground brought out the vampiric side of me that I fought to control every moment of my existence. I wanted to destroy the heartless humans responsible for leaving her in that condition. "How could someone just abandon her like that?"

When two orderlies appeared a short while later, I uttered a silent prayer of gratitude as Bella was lifted onto a gurney and taken into the hospital. Jasper then continued his search by looking for video taken around the time of her discharge. He discovered a recording of the main corridor in the hospital. Bella was unconscious, slumped in a wheelchair. Her leg was encased in a cast, and she had an IV attached to her hand. Two hospital employees escorted her to the rear exit of the building.

"Hold on," Jasper muttered, clicking on the keyboard. "There they are." The three appeared on the monitor. They were outside the hospital near a nondescript white van. A second man exited the driver's side and helped load Bella into the back of the vehicle. Jasper paused the film and took screenshots of the three individuals and the van's license plate.

"Oh, God. Where did they take her?" I said as the vehicle sped off in the thick, early morning fog.

"I'm not sure, but I got a clear shot of the plates." He quickly hacked into a different database. "They're registered to a Waylon Forge, and it looks as if he owns property out near Elwha. I say that's the first place we check. Call Jacob while I try to get names for the other two using the hospital directory."

Jacob picked up after three rings. His tone slapped her with its harshness. "What?"

"She's not at the hospital—"

"Wait," he interrupted me. A few seconds later he said, "Why are you calling? We just arrived in Port Angeles. My mom's anxious to go inside."

"That's why I'm calling. Bella's not there. Three people took her from the hospital around three-thirty this morning."

"What do you mean 'took her'?"

"They kidnapped her, Jacob! But we have a lead on where she might be."

"Dammit!" he said with a low groan. "How am I supposed to explain this to my mom?"

"I have no idea, but figure out something. We need to go find Bella."

"No. Why don't you go find Bella, while I deal with my mom. Because let's face it, Bella's more than likely dead, anyway. And if she's not—don't bother bringing her back to the reservation. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of dealing with my father's poor decisions."

My mouth gaped open at his declaration. I couldn't believe what he was saying, and the way he was disrespecting Billy's legacy. "You can't seriously mean that. Bella is your sister."

"Wrong. All she has ever been is a burden. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take care of my real family."

I hurled my phone across the room. It crashed against the living room wall, splintering into tiny shards all over the floor as well as cracking the plaster. "What a fucking asshole!"

Jasper rushed to my side. He cradled my chin and lifted my head, forcing me to meet his eyes. "Ali, we don't have time to dwell on Jacob. We need to focus our energy on finding Bella."

Swallowing my anger, I hummed my agreement.

He turned toward the desk and picked up a piece of paper. "The woman is the only one of them who's an employee at the hospital. Her name is Victoria Howard. She's a registered nurse who lives in Port Angeles." He handed me the paper that had a picture of her employee identification card. "I can't find any employment records for Waylon, and I still haven't located a name for the second man."

"Do you still think Elwha is our best bet?"

"Yeah. The woman rents a small apartment. Not the most ideal location for a hideout—"

When a loud knock sounded, cutting off his sentence, Jasper dashed to the entry and peeked through the door's peephole. "Who is it?" I asked, wondering if Jacob had a change of heart.

He looked over his shoulder with a puzzled expression. "It's one of the Quileute." Opening the door, a tall, shirtless teenager stood, nervously running a hand through his close-cropped hair.

After he cleared his throat, he lifted a hand in greeting. "Hey. I'm Jared Cameron. I was with Jacob when you called about Bella. He told me where you lived, so I ran over from the hospital."

"Come in." Jasper gestured toward the living room where I waited. "I'm Jasper Whitlock and this is my wife, Alice."

"W-wife? Your kind gets married?"

Jasper tilted his head, and a small smirk passed across his lips. He wrapped his arm around me. "Yeah, it gives us something to do when we're not terrorizing the townsfolk."

When Jared's eyes widened, I smacked Jasper in the chest. "Excuse my husband. He can be a jokester."

Jared chuckled awkwardly. "Oh. Good one." He shuffled his feet and ran a palm across his jaw. "Sorry. I've never been around bloodsuck…I mean cold ones before. I wasn't sure what to expect."

"It's okay." I smiled, attempting to calm his nerves. "Sorry to be rude, but how can we help you? We're in a bit of a hurry. As you know, Bella's missing, and we need to find her."

Jared met my questioning gaze. "That's why I'm here. I want to help you with the search. I don't agree with Jacob. Bella is as much a member of the Quileute Tribe as I am."

AN:

I always thought it was weird that Bella blocked some vampires, but not Alice and Jasper. I wanted her to be difficult for Alice to read as well.

Some may wonder why Jacob gave Jared Alice and Jasper's address—that will be revealed in a future chapter as well. (Patience.) And if anyone is desperate to know, Alice and Jasper live outside of Port A.

Until next time,

He