I know I already have The Eyes That See, and I'm working on uploading chapters this week, but I've had an idea for this story for a while, and I had to get it out there!
"Come on, Seth! Pick it up, or I'll leave you behind!" Snarled an irritated Paul from ahead of the youngest member of the pack. His long legs taking at least three steps, whereas Seth took two and struggled to keep up as they jogged around the treaty line, scoping out the area for any cold ones that could pass by.
Seth huffed out in frustration, not understanding why he had to do these runs with Paul, a total tyrant, instead of Sam or his sister, who occasionally stopped to let him catch his breath. Sure he was a shapeshifter now and was stronger than the average teenage boy, but he wasn't nearly as experienced or used to his new gifts as his other pack members.
The least they could do was give him a break...
"Stop complaining and run!" Paul chastised, hearing his thoughts loud and clear.
Clenching his jaw, Seth pushed his legs to go as far as they could go until his usual cool, even emotions started to grow heated, starting from his chest and traveling over his head. A slowly simmering anger accompanied the heat that followed. The usual anger that helped fuel him to change into his wolf.
"Control. That's what you need to work on, Seth," He remembered Sam's words of advice the night before when they sat on his back porch discussing pack laws.
Control is the only way to avoid hurting someone...like mom.
"I can do this," He huffed to himself but received an unimpressed grunt from Paul as the boy caught up to his pack brother, both running at a steady pace now. They'd made it to the trail that usually led towards La Push when a cry of pain reached Seth's ears. Paul stopped when he sensed the boy slow down behind him, coming to a stop and looking towards the trees surrounding First Beach.
"Did you hear that?" Seth murmured, following Paul as the latter was already trudging through the forest.
The waves' crashing could be heard clearly now, but it was the least of Seth's concern when he heard another distressing sound, a female voice that he instantly recognized.
"Jake...Stop!"
Picking up the pace, the two boys ran until coming to a halt by the treeline, confusion registering on both their faces as they recognized Jacob Black standing on the beach a few feet away, towering over Isabella Swan. His arms wrapped around her waist, hands gripping the back of her shirt as his mouth was on hers.
Should we...
Before Seth could ask if they should leave the two alone to have privacy in...whatever was happening, Bella shoved Jacob away, the anger and shock on her face evident. She swung her fist towards his face, only for a loud crunching sound to make his ears twitch. Seth grimaced as she whimpered a second later. He could only imagine the pain she felt after having punched a man whose skin was practically made of cement.
"Oh shit," Paul took a step forward only to stop when Jake moved in on her.
"Bella, come on, don't be–"
"Stay away from me!" She sneered, taking a step back when he took a few steps closer, ignoring her completely as his body started to tremble. Seth's eyes widened as Jake's hand grabbed the front of her shirt, ignoring her cry while the other gripped her face. "Jacob, stop it! You're hurting me!"
A ripping sound made Paul tense before he called out to his friend, "Jacob!"
"Get off me!" Bella cried as she tried to push him back, but Jake shook his head, unable to form the words as his thoughts became a jumbled mess of anger and bitterness for being rejected by the girl he'd been fantasizing over for months.
"Just tell me you care for me the same way I do!" Jake growled as he tried to put his lips on her neck next, completely overpowering Bella as she shoved at his chest, her shoes sinking into the sand and making her stumbled back. "Come on, Bella. I'm sorry...just let me-"
"I said stop!" Bella screamed louder than Seth had ever heard her before, the distress and fear evident in her voice as she slipped out from under his arms. Seth took off, hoping to stop Jacob from going after her before his friend exploded in a fit of rage and made a mistake he could not take back. He could hear Paul calling out Jake's name once more, but it seemed as if Jake didn't hear a thing.
It all happened before they could reach the girl.
Seth gasped as he watched Jake, in his fit of rage, pushed Bella back with more force than he'd probably intended, making her twist at an odd angle as her legs gave out and the sand shifted, making her fall onto the ground.
A sickening crack made the chaos around them come to a sudden stop as Bella's head slammed against the cluster of rocks.
"Bella? No...shit, no!" Jake ran to Bella's still form, leaning over her, shock making his whole body tense and his anger withering away with dread.
She didn't move again. Bella stayed on the ground, her legs and arms motionless as her hair circled her head like a halo, strands covering her eyes. Chest heaving with every breath that she took.
Paul was by Jacob's side in an instant, wrapping his big hand around his friend's burly arm and yanking him back before he could touch her again. A warning came out in the form of a growl as Paul spewed harsh words that Seth couldn't quite hear.
Seth ran over to the human girl and kneeled before her, "Bella?! Are you okay?" His hands hovered over her as his eyes scanned every inch of her, assessing the damage as best he could.
The first disturbing thing he noticed was how her tear-stained face looked paler than normal. A wave of pain ran over the boy when he noticed the red marks on her cheeks, scratches marring one side—where she'd landed on one of the rocks. Bella's eyes were shut tightly, a shaky breath leaving her trembling lips.
Seth covered his mouth with his hand as his eyes went down to her shirt. The fabric was ripped, exposing her collar bone and right shoulder, where he averted his eyes the second he noticed the strap of her black bra.
"Bella?"
A choking sound escaped her lips, and he leaned forward to hear her better just as thundering voices muffled out her voice from behind. Sam was here now, his stern voice radiating over Seth like a great storm approaching—the electric yet daunting feeling he got whenever an Alpha was nearby.
"What?" Seth whispered gently. "What is it, Bella?"
"Car...lisle..." The girl practically wheezed out, making it evident that it was too hard for her even to speak.
Carlisle...
Who was he again?
Dr. Cullen.
A memory resurfaced of the last time he'd seen the kind doctor that worked in the hospital. When he'd sprained his ankle weeks before, he'd shifted for the first time, and Carlisle Cullen had tended to his injury in the emergency room. The man always seemed gentle and non-threatening—even if he was referred to as a blood-thirsty vampire by his brothers—Seth never saw anything other than compassion shining through the doctor's eyes.
"What about him?" Footsteps approached from behind him. Several different people were calling Seth and Bella's names as they rushed over to them.
"Please..."
The boy took her small hand in his and squeezed, looking into her glassy brown eyes as she opened them just a bit.
The pain in them made tears fill in his eyes, only being able to imagine the pain she must be in.
Moments later, the smell of blood reached his nose, and he winced.
"I'll call him Bella. Okay? We're going to get help for you now."
As soon as the rest of the pack gathered around Bella, chaos began once again. Sam barked orders at Leah to call an ambulance before shoving a shaken Jacob forward to walk ahead of him, disappearing into the forest.
Turning away before he heard an enraged roar in the distance, Seth's eyes landed on a small silver cellphone resting atop a jacket.
It must have fallen out of Bella's pocket...
Seth gathered up the girl's jacket and the cellphone before following closely behind Bella as the paramedics wheeled her off.
"Someone needs to call her father and tell him..." Paul said darkly, his own expression from as he watched the girl on the gurney.
Seth clutches her green jacket in his hand before looking down at her cellphone again.
"I'm going with her." Before anyone could say a word to him, Seth climbed into the ambulance and sat beside Bella, who was now unconscious.
As the ambulance raced down the road, heading out of the reservation, Seth gingerly skipped through Bella's phone contacts until he found the name of the man the girl had been asking for.
Taking a deep breath, Seth whispered to Bella, "I'm calling him right now, okay? Just hold on, Bella."
Parking his Mercedes in the garage and smiling as he heard the soft banter of his sons carrying through the house from upstairs, Carlisle switched off the ignition.
"I'm telling you there's no way you weren't cheating! I was going to win that round, and I would have if you-" Emmett's loud voice made Carlisle sigh the moment he entered the living room.
"How would I cheat? By manipulating you into just being horrible at this game? I think you did that yourself," Jasper rebuked as Emmett chucked a pillow at his brother. The two chuckled as they started roughhousing, only settling down when they noticed Carlisle was home.
"You boys are still playing that game?" Carlisle sighed with a hint of amusement in his tone.
Jasper grinned and gave his father a nod in greeting while Emmett began complaining about Jasper's gift allowing him to win.
Shaking his head, Carlisle made his way up to his room to change out of his suit, sincerely wishing his wife would return from her hunt soon. If not, he feared the only thing the boys would be doing tonight would be arguing over a video game.
Esme and Edward went on a two-day long hunt while Rosalie and Alice were in Seattle shopping, and once they all returned, Carlisle planned on going with his sons on their own hunting trip.
He was just walking down the stairs when he heard his phone ringing in his bag.
Going to the bench by the front door where he'd left it, Carlisle smiled as he saw Bella's name pop up on the screen of his phone. It wasn't often when Bella would call him, but it always brought a smile to his face whenever she did. The girl was slowly becoming a part of his family, and he sincerely loved having her around the house, becoming a daughter to him and Esme in every sense of the word. Sometimes all she did was call just to say hi, and sometimes, it was all he needed to bring a smile to his face.
"Hello? Bella?"
A shaky, hesitant breath made him stiffen, making him forget all about his initial thoughts.
"Bella? Are you there?" He asked, walking back up the stairs to the living room where Jasper and Emmett played another round though the empath seemed to sense his concern because a second later, he turned his head back to look at Carlisle.
"Um...Doctor Carlisle Cullen?"
Carlisle blinked, speaking slowly as he replied to the voice on the other line, "Yes...who is this?"
"It's Seth...um, C-Clearwater," The boy stammered his last name after a second. Carlisle frowned as he waited for the boy to continue, the familiar sound of a siren growing louder in the background, "Bella's been injured. She's being taken to the hospital now."
"Injured? What happened?" Carlisle asked, worry lacing his soothing voice. Noticing the way his sons stopped their game completely and gave him worried looks. Jasper, having sensed the rising concern, immediately sent Carlisle a soothing wave of calm. Carlisle couldn't bring himself to smile at his son to convey his gratitude as thoughts of an injured Bella stopped him from doing anything other than listen to the boy's intake of breath on the other line.
"She... took a nasty fall, and I think she hit her head."
"Is she conscious? Talking?" Carlisle was already walking back down the stairs, grabbing his jacket from the hanger by the door.
"Carlisle, what's going on?" Emmett asked as both he and Jasper trailing behind him.
The silence and hesitation made Carlisle push harder, his compassion sounding strained as he spoke, "Seth. What happened?"
"...It's really bad, Carlisle. Jacob...he..."
Carlisle's dead heart sink, and his hand squeezed his cellphone harder, dread-filled his senses, and Jasper was by his side in an instant. Carlisle shook his head with a frown, "What did Jacob do to her?"
A growl made him look towards Emmett, who already had the keys to his Jeep in his hand, and another wave of calm flooded his senses while Jasper tensed.
There was more silence, and Carlisle pressed the speaker closer to his ear as if his hearing could miss anything, "We're on our way now." With that, Jasper and Emmett hopped into the Jeep, and Carlisle followed suit.
"I don't want to get anyone in trouble..."
"What is it?" Running his hand through his hair, Carlisle watched the road as Emmett shot out of the garage and was on the road in seconds, speeding towards the hospital. "Seth?"
Taking a shaky breath, Carlisle stiffened as he heard Seth's next words, "I think Jacob tried to..."
No...
"Seth, what did Jacob do? Please, tell me."
Emmett gripped the steering wheel harder, the sound of leather bending under his fingers.
"Did he hurt Bella?"
Seth took a deep breath, and Carlisle could almost see the boy looking around, worried that he'll get into trouble for what he was about to say.
Please, don't say it. Don't say it.
"Yes...he did."
Emmett drove fast down the highway, his foot pushing down on the pedal until the red line shot up on the speedometer.
"Emmett, slow down. We won't get to Bella faster if we get pulled over," Jasper chastised his brother before sending a wave of calm his way. Carlisle was on the phone with one of the receptionists who filled him in on Bella's arrival.
"What the hell happened? What did he do to her, Carlisle?" Emmett practically demanded as soon as his father got off the phone.
Carlisle sighed with a severe expression, "I'm not sure yet. Seth didn't sound too certain either. The ambulance is five minutes away."
"Carlisle," Jasper broke the tense silence in Emmett's Jeep, leaning forward in his seat to look at his father closely, "what happened?"
"All Seth told me was that Bella had a bad fall and hit her head. I'm not sure about the specifics. He'll be there when we get to the hospital."
Jasper frowned, his own concern for the girl growing as he tried to imagine what his father and brother must be conjuring as well. If Jacob had lost his temper and shifted, if he hurt her—it would destroy Edward. Not to mention it would devastate Esme and Carlisle, who'd already started seeing her as one of their own.
Emmett and Alice love Bella, and if he was honest with himself, Jasper had started to care for the clumsy, naive girl too. Even though he made an effort to keep a distance so as not to risk harming her. Bella's birthday came to mind as the perfect example of just how valid his efforts to protect her were.
"Does Alice know?"
"I don't think so. She wouldn't have been able to see Bella if Seth is still with her," Carlisle reminded them as they neared the hospital now. The blare of sirens made all three tense, and bright blue and red lights could be seen bouncing off the walls of the hospital's main entrance. "Emmett, call Alice now and tell her. Jasper-"
Jasper interrupted his father before he could suggest he remain outside as well, "Not a chance, I'm coming with you. If there's any way I can help her, I will."
Carlisle gave his son a sympathetic smile, understanding and appreciating what Jasper would have to endure to help the youngest member of their family, "Thank you, son."
While Emmett grabbed his phone to call the rest of the family, Jasper and Carlisle ran across the nearly empty parking lot. Both struggling to keep a slower pace than usual so as not to arouse any suspicion. The strong smell that could only belong to a shapeshifter reached Jasper, and he did his best not to make a face to show just how unpleasant it truly was when they saw Seth standing in the waiting room. But it was the strong familiar scent of freesia and lavender that instantly caught Jasper's and Carlisle's attention.
Jasper faltered just a step behind Carlisle when he saw the fragile girl across the room—the girl he'd started caring for as a little sister—laying on the gurney with doctors and paramedics all leading her towards the double doors. Carlisle gently pushed one of the paramedics aside to hold her hand, "Bella? Sweetheart-"
The pain. God, it was unbearable. Jasper felt another sharp pang of panic, fear, and confusion radiating from her, and it nearly sent him reeling.
What the hell did he do to her?
Jasper followed the doctors until they pulled Bella into a separate room for examination, and he held his breath when the unmistakable sweet scent of blood reached his senses. Bella's blood.
He didn't care about that, though—not now when he focused on lessening Bella's pain even as she lay unconscious on the bed. Jasper held Bella's hand while being careful not to crush her fragile bones when he did as Carlisle spoke to one of the doctors, getting as much information as he could.
He'd been so concentrated in taking her pain that he barely listened to doctors that spoke to his father, keeping his eyes solely on her as he took in every bruise that was forming on her cheeks, the ripped shirt he wished to cover with his jacket to give her the privacy she deserved but knew he couldn't when they needed to monitor every inch of her that had been touched. More confusion and fear rushed toward him, and Jasper wondered if Bella was conscious when she'd flinch and whimper with any little movement.
"Jasper," Carlisle placed his hand over his son's shoulder and gently pulled him away until the two went out into the hallway while Bella was left alone with the nurses and doctors. "Let's let them work."
"God..." Jasper choked out, the pain he'd absorbed tasting sour in the back of his throat. Like bile and Jasper wondered if he were human, he'd be throwing up right now after witnessing Bella's condition. "I can feel her pain, Carlisle. It's really bad isn't it?"
Carlisle ran a hand through his hair, "...yes, it's bad. They have to run a few tests and x-rays, see if she didn't break anything, but it looks that way. From what I could gather so far, Bella has a sprained hand and most likely a concussion from the fall."
"But why is she in so much pain then? There's blood too. Where is she bleeding from?" Jasper snapped, leaning against the wall as he heard Bella whimper once more in the room. Running his hand through his hair, Jasper silently cursed the man responsible for hurting her this way. He'd make sure to question Seth about everything as soon as he ensured Bella was no longer in any pain. Either he would do it, or Edward would, and there was no telling who would be worse. Actually, he knew Edward would be worse given how distraught he must be right about now since Emmett called to tell them of Bella's condition.
Carlisle gave his son a stern glance before softening, clearly understanding why his son was so upset. He placed a hand on his son's shoulder and squeezed, sharing his love and gratitude for Jasper.
"I promise I'm going to find out, Jasper. Why don't you go with Emmett and wait for Edward to arrive? I'm sure he'll be out of his mind with worry. This can't be easy for you, being here either but don't think that I'm not grateful for all that you're doing for Bella right now."
Jasper crossed his arms, glaring at the door in front of him, where Bella's pain only seemed to increase.
"I'm not going anywhere, dad."
It hurts...
Bella's whole body felt as if a weight had been dropped on her, pulling her down into endless darkness.
Where was she? She could hear unfamiliar voices all calling her name, all rushed and distant. A jumble of words and terms she couldn't understand as they lapped over one another.
"Get the x-rays...yes...broken...her back..."
A movement made her cry out, a strangled sound that made her ears hurt until the unbearable build-up in her back and head lessened, if only for a fraction of a second before she was moved again. It came in waves, but she didn't care. At least it took away the pain for a moment, instead replaced with warm comfort. Whoever was helping her with it made her want to give them a big hug, thank them when the pain made her desperate.
Where was she?
A voice she recognized finally reached her ears, and she sobbed, calling out for him before something cold touched the side of her face that ached too. Her whole body ached...an unbearable heat coursed through her body, making her wish she could jump into a cold bath to rid herself of it.
"Bella...she's not..."
At one point, she must have blacked out because the voices all faded away into a distant buzz. Luckily the relief she felt had not gone away, allowing her to gain some sanctuary from the heat that made it insufferable to lay on her back. She must have spoken again because a deep voice with a drawl whispered, "Edward's on his way, Bella. We're here. You're safe now."
"Jas..." Her throat burned, killing away the word in her mouth before she could say his name. She didn't know where she was or what happened, but she knew who was here, taking away her discomfort. Jasper, he was here with her now, and if he was here, she expected Carlisle to be nearby too. In a way, she could feel them close by.
"I'm here." His hand tightened on her hers, the one that didn't feel stiff or stuck beside her for some reason, "I'm so sorry, darlin'."
Sorry?
Why was he sorry?
Bella wanted to ask Jasper, but the words didn't come, just as she barely felt her mouth open and close again. Everything felt slow and fast all at once, and she couldn't keep up. She couldn't do anything. Just as she couldn't do anything when Jacob kissed her. When he put his hands on her and...
"Sorry..." Something cold and hard brushed her cheek before he shushed her.
"Rest, Bella. It's going to be alright."
Lethargy swept over her moments later. Warm, soothing tendrils running down the back of her head and to the nape of her neck, relaxing her fully. She gratefully accepted it as she fell unconscious once more, taking anything she could to get away from the pain radiating in her back. Hoping it will all be gone by the time she wakes up again.
Thanks for reading x
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