Chapter Fourteen: The Wolf Man

I wasn't sure how long it had been.

Corey didn't let me escape, despite my most valiant efforts. I managed to bolt a couple of steps before he tackled me to the ground, filling my mouth with soil and ripping my jean shorts. I didn't get another chance after that, as he kept his grip locked on my wrist.

He didn't talk, either. True to his word, Corey knew very little about why I was here and what his vampire friend wanted from me. I tried prodding as much as I dared, giving that up nearly as quickly as my escape attempts. The one truth I'd pegged about Corey from the very beginning: he wasn't much of a talker.

My only choice was to sit quietly and wait.

Wait for what, I wasn't entirely sure. Quil and the others would be searching for me, I knew that without question. As soon as word got back to Jake that I was in trouble, he'd tear the forest apart. Was I waiting to be rescued? Yes, and no.

Maybe it was just my morbid curiosity, but I almost wished the vampire would find me first.

I didn't want to die, of course. I just wanted answers, and I was so close to getting them. To be pulled away now, when the final piece to this puzzle was in reach, would leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

The sun continued to sag beyond the trees, casting an orange glow along the tips of the branches. I couldn't have been sitting with Corey for more than half an hour, and yet it felt like a lifetime.

Where was Jake? Leah? Alice and Emmett? Were they ok? What about the others, back at the house and no doubt wondering where the hell everyone else had run off to?

My stomach clenched uneasily and I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes, just as Corey tensed beside me.

I followed his suddenly sharp gaze, unsure what I wanted to find there, but I couldn't see anything. The trees were dark, the forest quiet, but his attention was fixated between two towering oaks.

The space was empty, and then it wasn't.

As if emerging from thin air, a woman floated into the clearing. She was petite, lithe, unintimidating, but with an ethereal beauty that made you want a second look. Her skin was the colour of a faded photograph, and I guessed she would've been tan had she still been alive.

The vampire smiled at Corey, brushing her thick, aubergine hair free of her neck.

"Right on time," she sighed happily, prancing across the grass. She was dressed in modern clothing- tight fitted leggings, teal tank top, and a cinched white cardigan- but everything about her was ancient; from the way she moved to the subtle lilt of her voice. This woman existed long ago, in an era I could only read about in history books.

To my dismay and confusion, I had no idea who she was.

Somehow, I expected everything to make sense when I saw her. Something would click into place, some lost clue that I was missing, but I was drawing a blank. That was worse, I think, than if I did recognise her.

She laced her fingers together dreamily, regarding Corey with the pride of an owner teaching a dog a new trick.

"You've done splendidly," she cooed, and Corey's shoulders sagged in relief. "I've bought us some time with the wolf posse, so let's get right down to business, shall we?"

Corey hauled me up with him and shoved me unceremoniously forward, and I had to react quickly to stay on my feet.

"This is her?" The vampire curled her lip in my direction, her bright red eyes scanning my body with a disdain rivalled even Paul's fierce scowls. "I was hoping she was just… horribly unphotogenic."

I scrunched my brow in confusion as she pulled out her phone, scrolling.

"These pictures weren't taken under the best circumstances, so I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt." The vampire shrugged, angling the screen so that I could see what she was talking about. When I did, my heart sank.

I was hearing the camera shutter on a smart phone before. Photos of me were littered throughout her camera roll- in town, on the beach, at the restaurant, even inside the house- Corey and his vampire friend had been stalking me all week.

"Why do you have these?" I squeaked, my voice faltering. I wasn't feeling as brave as I hoped I looked, and I certainly didn't sound it.

"I had to make sure I had the right girl this time," she slipped her phone back into her pocket, clicking her nails together as she did so. "I got it wrong so many times before, and sissy was getting worried about making a scene."

Sissy? But-

She said it with an air of boredom and exasperation, like drawing attention to herself shouldn't have been a concern. My eyes darted to Corey, watching her with a loving adoration that left me shaking.

"But I got it this time." The vampire clapped her hands together, eying me again with renewed enthusiasm. "Now, I just have to change you, bring you to sissy, and this horribly dull week will finally be behind me."

Sissy again. Hearing the word twisted my gut into a knot of certainty, making bile rise in my throat- there was still someone else involved. In all our discussions, in all our speculating, we never guessed we could be dealing with two vampires.

How could we have been so stupid?

I should've been more shocked to hear that she planned to change me, to make me a vampire like I'd wanted so long ago, but I wasn't. The information slipped easily into place, like a key into a lock. If she wanted to kill me, I would've been dead a week ago, I knew the truth of that deep in my bones. This was the only other possible outcome. I just didn't think of it before.

"What about me?" Corey cut in quickly, stepping away from the trees. A flash of anger sparked in the vampire's eyes, but she squashed it down before facing him. "You promised to change me too. Can we do it now? Please, Alecia?"

The name meant nothing to me, or perhaps I was just numb now. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this vampire was a stranger to me.

But maybe her sissy wasn't.

"Dear heart," Alecia cooed, running her razor thin nails through Corey's shaggy locks, "I can't change you now, not with Bella so close. You could kill her before she's finished with her own change, and that just won't do."

I frowned, realising instantly that she was lying to him. Vampire transformations didn't work quite like that. She could easily change us both now and get it over with.

"Then when?" Corey pleaded, cupping his hand over hers. Alecia paused in her soothing, going deathly still in that unsettling way vampires tended to be capable of. Corey gazed balefully up at her, pupils nearly consuming his entire eye.

"Patience, my pet," Alecia purred, shaking Corey's grip free. She trailed her nail along his jaw, pausing just beneath his chin. "Good things to those who wait."

And then Corey was gone.

It happened so fast, faster than I could blink. One moment, Alecia's fingers were poised delicately against Corey's chin and the next, her entire hand was protruding from the bloody remains of his neck.

Corey didn't even have time to scream.

I did, though. A strangled yelp ripped from my chest as Corey's lifeless body slumped to the forest floor, a gaping hole where his Adam's apple should've been. His limps twitched and jerked as he settled, buckling first at the knees and then at the hips, his skull cracking sharply against a stone embedded in the dirt. My legs buckled and I scrambled backwards, careful to avoid the quickly pooling stain of red spreading through the grass.

"There now," Alecia hummed, licking the remnants of Corey's blood from her pale wrist, "that wasn't so bad, was it?"

His wide eyes seemed to horrifically agree with her, the shock and hopeful pleading frozen on his face forever in stark contrast with the nauseating wound in his throat.

Corey was dead.

Alecia forgot him just as quickly as she'd killed him, stepping lazily over his corpse and making her way back to me. I struggled to tear my eyes from Corey, still expecting him to jump up, to roll his eyes and complain about this whole mess, to do something, but it wouldn't happen. I knew it wouldn't happen. Not anymore.

"What do you want?" I whispered, refusing to look directly at Alecia. Corey had faced her openly, and look where that got him. I heard her sigh from somewhere above me, flinching as her nails brushed over my hair.

The same nails that had nearly decapitated Corey.

"Humans," she sniffed, "always so fixated on the details."

Her fingers wrenched my hair from my head, hauling me painfully to my feet. I screamed, clutching my scalp to lessen the searing sting of her grip.

"I don't actually want anything," she clarified, using her other hand to trace patterns across my skin. Her nail mimicked the same route it had taken on Corey's neck, and my heart thundered wildly in my chest. "I'm doing this as a favor to my sister. She's very interested in seeing you turned."

"Your sister?" I demanded, realising with a pang of panic that the patterns she traced were familiar. She was following my veins.

"Come now Bella," Alecia tutted, her finger dipping lower, to my collarbone. I flailed my legs helplessly. "You're a smart girl, and you've only met so many vampires in your insignificant life. Let's try process of elimination, shall we?"

The pain on my scalp lessened as she loosened her grip, allowing me to think.

Alecia was right. I hadn't met many vampires, and I'd only met one woman aside from the Cullens. But that's…

"Victoria?" I guessed, not really believing it even as I said it. Alecia's resounding cackle confirmed it though- I'd been right on the money.

"Beautiful, bloodthirsty, impulsive Tori," Alecia sneered, something close to malice on her haunting face. "She's been rather interested in you lately, ever since she screwed around with that pathetically sad creature in Alaska last year."

Alaska.

"You don't mean-?"

"Bitty, baby, Eddie Cullen," Alecia spat, rolling her eyes so hard I thought she'd give herself a headache. "My God was he a sad sight. Maybe a bit skinny, but still a proud vampire, lanced through the heart by an ordinary, boring, human girl."

The air froze in my lungs, weighing down my chest. Edward wouldn't- he couldn't-

"The two of them had a legendary little fling," Alecia snickered, loosening her grip yet again. I could almost pull away from her, if I thought for even a second that I'd be able to get away. "And Eddie confessed all of his pain at losing the love of his life."

"Edward would never want to hurt me," I insisted, more to myself than to her. As hurt as Edward was, as much as I resented him, I knew he'd never conduct anything like this. Never. "You're lying-"

"Oh, Eddie didn't orchestrate this," Alecia snorted, "he'd never have the balls. No, this was Tori. She lost her mate recently, as I'm sure you know."

I did know. And the scar on my palm pulsated with each word.

"But Tori isn't one to hold a traditional grudge," Alecia lamented. "She's got a twisted little mind, my sister. She grieved James, yes, but when she was done, she set her sights on Eddie. To her, he had beaten James and become the Alpha male, and therefore was worthy of her affections. It's all a little… wolf-y for my tastes, but it keeps her murderous at least."

She paused for me to laugh. I didn't.

"So, when she found out that Eddie lost you to your own humanity, Tori decided to fix it." Alecia suddenly let me go, and I fell to the ground hard, catching myself on my hands and knees. "She knew she couldn't get close to you without your werewolf friends or the Cullens sniffing her out, so she enlisted my help."

A twig crunched under her boot as she crouched, her perfectly red lips twisting into a smile.

"I have a couple of unique talents, you see," she preened. "The first one you've already seen firsthand. A pretty good Leah impression, if I do say so myself. The other is a bit more complicated."

"You can hide your smell," I guessed, tired of listening to her shrill, arrogant voice. "To throw the others off your trail."

"Good girl!" Alecia shrieked, delighted at my deduction. "That's precisely it! Unfortunately, neither ability lasts very long, so I had to be strategic about everything. I would've gotten to you a lot sooner, but you'd be surprised how many brown-haired, pale, female humans live around here. It wasn't until I sniffed out your little wolf pack that I figured it out."

"What about Corey?" I snapped, angry at his death. Even if he was involved in this scheme, he didn't deserve to die like that. No one did. "How does he fit into this?"

"I'm good at hiding my scent, but I'm not magic," Alecia droned, like this was obvious. "I recruited him to scope out the target. Tori was furious with me once she found out how many people I'd killed. Said something about Eddie being a pacifist, of all things. I had to be certain I had the right girl this time, and I couldn't risk getting close enough to check. Corey didn't have that problem, since he was a mere human."

"You used him," I accused, much to Alecia's amusement. "You used him to lure me out, and you killed those women to cover up your mistakes."

"That about sums it up," Alecia pursed her lips, regarding me with interest. "Once I change you, I'll hand you off to Tori. I expect she'll offer you to Eddie as a gift- his ex girlfriend, all vamped up and ready for his pleasure- but she might change her mind and kill you too. I'm not one to judge."

"You can't do this!" It was a useless thing to say, but I was trying to buy time. Quil had to have seen my text by now, someone had to be on their way. Alecia may be able to cover her own scent, but she wasn't covering mine.

"What a cliched thing to say," Alecia pouted. "Try again for something more interesting, would you? I like my prey to bite back a little."

Her hand was at my throat then, nails piercing the sensitive skin beneath my ears. I cried out, clawing desperately at her wrists as she lifted me to her level.

"Do have the decency not to cry, won't you?" she whispered, "I'd hate for your first day as a vampire to be tainted with something so disgustingly human as sorrow."

She opened her mouth, canines glistening in the cold light, and then she stopped.

"Bella!"

I whipped my head around just in time to see Emmett skidding into the clearing, his expression twisted in anger.

"Ugh," Alecia huffed, curling her hand tighter around my neck. "What a pain."

"Let her go."

Alice's voice now, appearing somewhere behind me. Alecia twisted, her fingers loosening like she might listen, but then her arm came around my neck and I was stuck again. She held me tightly, squeezing enough air from my lungs to make me gasp.

I couldn't see Alice from here. All I could tell was that they had her surrounded, and they probably weren't alone.

"Why in God's name would I do that?" Alecia laughed, shifting her weight to her hip. "If any of you even think about getting close to me, I'll snap her neck."

"Won't Victoria be angry with you?" I baited, trying to convey as much of the story to Alice and Emmett as I could. "She wanted me turned, not dead."

"If you hurt Bella, you're not leaving this forest alive," Alice promised, sounding a bit closer now- or maybe it was just my imagination. "You're outnumbered-"

"Oh yes, I know," Alecia sighed, waving her free hand dismissively. "I can smell the wet dog from here."

A blur of motion caught my attention, and as I watched, wolves began to appear. They materialized from the darkness, snapping and growling low in their chests, all snouts turned towards Alecia and me.

One wolf prowled forward further than the rest, his thick, russet fur alive with fury, his mouth set in a vicious snarl, baring his formidable teeth.

Jacob.

"You'll have done all this for nothing," I tried again, my voice coming out in a rasp. Emmett's finger twitched, and I imagined he was struggling to hold himself back. "All those women, Corey, and you won't even have me to show for your efforts."

"You make the mistake of thinking I'm a goal-oriented person," Alecia smirked wickedly, catching sight of the hateful glare Jake was giving her. She paused to run her finger delicately over my cheek, drawing a rumbling roar from his chest. "As boring as this little scheme of hers may be, this is still the most I've killed in a decade."

After the wolves revealed themselves, Alice began to circle around so I could see her. She made eye contact with me, her expression lightly quizzical, as the pieces of Alecia's plan slowly came together in her mind. Emmett still looked confused, but he didn't have Alice's power of prediction to fill in the gaps.

"Is it worth dying for?" Alice prodded, curling her lip in malice. As tiny as she was, Alice was still a vampire- she could strike fear in just about anyone, except perhaps other vampires. "If Victoria has told you anything about us, then you'll know I can promise you a sure death unless you hand Bella over to us now."

"I forgot how annoying you Cullens can be," Alecia rolled her eyes. "Pathetic, really. The way your hearts bleed for mere fodder."

Jake snapped his jaws. Alecia paid him no mind.

"Regardless of our intentions," Alice continued, ignoring the insult to her family's character. "It's in your best interest to cooperate with us."

"My best interest?" Alecia repeated, outraged. If Alice was needling her on purpose, she succeeded. Alecia evidently had some of her sister's temper. "Don't forget who holds the cards here, Baby Vamp. I'll slice through her pretty little neck before you can-"

She thrust me towards Alice, her nails stabbing more tiny holes into my skin to prove a point. But Alecia made a mistake. In turning us, even just a little, her grip loosened just enough to let me breathe.

And then a wolf was tackling her to the ground.

It happened fast. Alecia was yanked away from me, the suddenness of the attack freeing me from her chokehold. I stumbled to the ground, gasping in welcome air, and then I was bombarded with fur.

Jake leapt over me, planting himself between my convulsing body and the chaos unfolding between Alecia and the Cullens. I staggered to my feet, using his ribs for balance, and coughing out the last of my fleeting breath.

Once he was certain I was unharmed, he growled, nudging me sharply backwards with his massive skull. I tripped again, backpedaling wildly with the force of his shove. At first, I was confused, but then my shoulders smacked into another wolf and I understood.

Jake waited until I was safely with another Pack member, and then launched himself into the battle.

Now that the way was cleared, I could see everything. Alecia was pinned to the trunk of a massive evergreen, burying her fist in the bark and ripping out jagged splinters to launch at her attackers. Alice moved easily between her projectiles, dancing gracefully through the trees like a trained ballet performer. Emmett was taking a more direct approach, hauling great, hulking boulders from the dirt and flinging them towards Alecia.

I recognised Paul and Quil circling, lunging fiercely whenever Alecia gave them the slightest opening, clamping their jaws on whatever they could reach. For all their efforts, Alecia was skilled. She seemed to know exactly what attack was coming from where; if she didn't have small gauges peppering her skin from minor mistakes, I'd think she was clairvoyant like Alice.

My knees buckled. I didn't notice they were shaking before it was too late, and I pitched forward into the dirt. The wolf behind me whined questioningly, and I belatedly recognised Embry's distinct pattern hovering in my sights.

"I'm okay," I promised him, refusing to take my eyes from the others. Jake had positioned himself between Alice and Emmett, showing impressive restraint for how angry I knew he must be. He flinched whenever Alecia made a strike for one of the Pack, but otherwise, he didn't move.

I dug my fingers worriedly into the dirt.

They were planning something, they had to be. My thundering heart screamed that they were in trouble, that this could only end in blood, but my mind crushed the thoughts before they could form on my lips. I had to believe in them.

My faith was rewarded only a moment later.

Jake turned back to us for just a fraction, making distinct eye contact with Embry. Embry lowed in the back of his throat, and then his paw appeared next to my head. He braced himself over me, my back covered by his belly, and forced me to the forest floor, shielding me with his bulk. I whipped my head up in alarm, and then the woods exploded.

Paul and Quil jumped in unison, drawing Alecia's attention to them. She whirled, bringing the remainder of the evergreen with her in an eruption of dirt, needles, and branches shooting off like shrapnel. The wolved ignored it all, with the exception of Embry who dipped his head to protect me from the flying debris.

Alecia sprung at Paul, nails and teeth bared in a shrill hiss, until Alice appeared at her back. Her slender arms latched onto Alecia's torso, locking her in position before she could properly scream. Emmett was next, using his brute strength to body her to the ground. Alecia wriggled and screeched, fighting desperately to break free, but it was useless. She was stuck, completely and utterly subdued.

And then Jake bit off her head.

.

Charlie didn't know what he'd been expecting when he finally arrived at the beach house.

Chaos, mayhem, panic, fear, any number of those things combined, maybe? He'd seen it all in his tenure, from varying sources no less, but it still turned his heart into a lump of cold stone whenever he got a case like the one his daughter had stumbled into. The fear was never easy to look at, doubly so when it was on the face of his own flesh and blood.

What he didn't expect was to fling open his door and hear laughter.

Charlie threw himself from his car, hand twitching towards his holster, but the sounds that filled the air made him pause. The beach house wasn't silent like it'd been when Bella and Jake arrived, though the building still stood like a stoic, pale blue warden, keeping guard of the line between the trees and the sand. The difference came from the gaggle of teenagers collected rambunctiously on the wraparound deck.

Eric and Mike were in the middle of a heated conversation with Paul and Quil. It looked like it could be an argument, if it weren't for the mischief in their eyes. Both Paul and Quil looked a little wild with their hair stuck up at odd angles and a scrape here and there, but that wasn't abnormal for the La Push boys. Angela and Jess were with Seth and Leah, worrying over a nasty looking gash on Leah's forehead. She was in good spirits though, laughing along with whatever snide comment Jess had made. Seth looked more concerned than she did, keeping as close to her as he could without Leah snapping at him. She did anyway, Charlie could see that much from the car.

His eyes finally landed on Bella- dirt smeared and dishevelled, much like the people around her. Jake had nearly pulled her into his lap, his arms a firm vice around her middle. Charlie's jaw twitched a bit at that, but he finished his appraisal before lingering on that paternal annoyance. They were seated next to Embry, who seemed to be challenging someone to an arm-wrestling match. It took Charlie a second to recognise the other two, but when his did, his hackles went up.

Emmett and Alice Cullen looked out of place with the rest, but their smiles were just as big. Emmett looked like he was considering Embry's challenge, when everyone finally noticed that they weren't alone anymore.

"Dad!"

Bella freed herself from Jake's secure hold, rushing down the porch steps to meet him. She hugged him fiercely, making Charlie forget for a minute that there was any danger in the first place. His daughter was here, happy and safe, and that's all he needed to know.

"About time," Jake laughed, sidling up next to Bella and elbowing Charlie in the ribs for good measure. "What took you so long?"

Charlie gave him a disproving glare.

"What happened?" He demanded, eying the Cullens over the top of Bella's head. He liked Alice and Emmett had never given him any trouble, but considering the circumstances that led him here, Charlie was skeptical. "Is everyone okay?"

"We're okay," Bella whispered, glancing over her shoulder. "But you're going to want to let us do most of the talking."

"Our cover story isn't exactly top tier," Jake shrugged, at least having the decency to look embarrassed, "but if it comes from a cop, we might just get away with it."

"Cover story?" Charlie echoed, dread already forming in his chest. "What in blue blazes did you two get yourselves into this time?"

"Trust me on this one, Chuck," Jake smirked, "you really don't want to know."

Follow, Favourite, Review!