"Here then at long last is my darkness. No cry of light, no glimmer, not even the faintest shard of hope to break free across the hold." ― Mark Z. Danielewski
The bloodsucker smiles at us as Bella clings to me. I push her behind me further. The scent of decay is even more pungent than I remember it from dealing with the dark-skinned leech. She smells positively drenched in the aura of death.
Her eyes are bright red. Instinct tells me that means she's recently fed. I don't know how I know that so certainly but now isn't the time to question it.
"Victoria," my imprint whimpers. The fear in her voice causes Bella's whole body to shake.
This-Victoria-shines even brighter at hearing her name. She looks at us like we are ants carrying crumbs to her colony. Everything I've been training for dissipates instantly. I don't know how to fight or talk. Not even facing and killing another bloodsucker before her helps here. Still, I muster what strength I have left.
"I recommend you leave right now," I bite out at her. "You know what I am."
She laughs like nails on a chalkboard. My direct words haven't surprised her at all. That confirms that she is the one who has been tempting us these last weeks. She's been killing people for us. My stomach threatens to eject out all of my food at this realization.
"I really am rather impressed by your little group. You manage to protect your land quite well. Always hunting in a pack," she laughs at the last part.
I don't know whether this is flattery or the biggest insult. The way she talks makes me feel as if she's been counting on this fact the whole time. But now can't be the moment where I falter. Not with Bella near me.
"Then you should be wary. Leave and stay away from our land and we won't follow," I respond, broadening my shoulders.
She takes a step towards us and I stiffen in response. Her own movement looks as if she's floating across the grass. Inhumane and deadly. A creature should not be as majestic as this; it's a disguise of a predator.
"I would," she says, "but I have some unfinished business to attend to."
"Whatever it is, it can't be worth your own life," I threaten her.
The left corner of her mouth lifts high, "Maybe it is."
"I could destroy you here," I growl.
She smirks, "I believe it. It's not death I'm particularly opposed to. Losing James has caused that. No, it's the lack of justice before my death that gets me. I simply won't have it."
The same James Bella has just talked about?
I grind my teeth, "You don't strike me as the arbiter of justice."
The wind howls and her putrid smell hits me again. If I feel so close to vomiting, I wonder how Bella must feel. But I take a look at her and remember she's human. She can't smell a vampire like I can. She's much more vulnerable here. I hold onto her tightly as we continue to stare at the redhead.
"Typically I'm not," she agrees. "But Bella knows what I'm here for, right?"
My imprint sucks in a breath behind me and whispers, "A mate for a mate."
I turn to her, "What?"
But Bella doesn't answer. Victoria just tilts her head approvingly in response. I wonder if she's got the same power that Bella just told me Edward Cullen has, the sick fuck. Can she read our minds? Or does she just know a lot more than we do? Worst of all, it seems Bella knows exactly what Victoria wants and by the sound of it so far, it isn't good.
Danger, threat, my instincts sing to me.
The vampire looks over at the mansion behind us and her expression changes for the first time since she's been here. A look of sorrow and pain glistens behind those blood eyes. But it's not nearly enough for me to care.
"It's a shame how they left you so lonely here," Victoria coos.
"Bella is with me," I growl.
Another revolting laugh, "That so? My, my, Bella. You must teach me how you manage to get so many people to like you. Though to be honest, I would have expected the Cullens to have taken you with them when they ran. Not very hospitable."
"They're gone," she speaks out. "I'm not important to them anymore."
Another step forward from Victoria and we both brace for impact once again. Bella's grip on my arm would be excruciating if I was a regular man. I thank the gods I'm not so I could stand a chance in protecting her here.
"I really don't believe that," the vampire posits. "I think you're very important indeed."
"Just to me," I snarl. "And if I were you, I wouldn't want to stick around for me to prove it."
She throws up her hands in a faux gesture of kindness and regret. "No, no, wolf boy. I have no intentions of hurting Bella right now. Though it's the least of what she deserves."
I bristle at that. She's dead, she's so fucking wrong.
She chooses to elaborate, "Bella here is responsible for my mate's death. And frankly, I've decided that she will pay for it."
"Please," Bella begs behind me.
"Not today!" Victoria laughs. "And, I have a feeling your little group is responsible for the death of my close friend since I haven't heard back from him in months. Surely that deserves justice too?"
Her friend?
Bella turns to me, "Laurent. In the meadow."
The dark-skinned vampire. Shit.
"He was in our land, I feel no remorse for his death," I say instead. And how could I when the freak was about to bite Bella? The redhead bitch probably doesn't know that.
Victoria shrugs, "It hardly matters. You see, the important thing for me is to have the Cullens here to see Bella die. That's my price."
"Not happening," I nearly yell at the top of my lungs.
Bella shakes her head behind me, "They don't care."
"They do!" Victoria snarls at her, breaking her easy-going facade, but immediately snapping back into it. "I would like it very much if you could bring them back."
Bella moans, "I can't." She digs her fingers into my arm even harder, finally eliciting a hiss from me. But I'll endure all the pain in the world to keep her safe.
"Well, then let me provide an incentive: I'm going to kill someone close to you every few weeks until they return. Simple!"
A sob of horror comes from behind me.
"You can't do that," Bella cries. I smell the salt of her tears and become even more agitated to rip this leech's throat out.
"I can and I will," Victoria smiles. "Starting tonight."
"No!" Bella screams and thrashes against me, "Just take me! Take me instead! I'm the only one who needs to die."
I curse under my breath. The only one? How could Bella want to sacrifice herself when that's going to kill two people?
My breath hitches. I've spent the week not thinking about it at all. I tried to rationalize the sound coming from her, maybe it was a congenital heart defect I could only hear recently. But now, its truth sticks out to me. And another terrible fact does as while: Bella doesn't know. Because if she did, she wouldn't offer to die for everyone.
I clutch her behind me, preventing her from moving to be at all near the bloodsucker.
It pains me more than I know to contemplate who else has been with Bella, who the father of her child is, but I won't let either of them die for a deranged killer. There's no hostility in me for the life of an unborn innocent and I'm sure there's none in Bella either, whenever she figures it out for herself.
"It's not going to happen," I finally say. "My pack won't let you get near anyone."
"Is that a challenge?" she winks at me.
I'm filled with disgust.
The monster looks behind her shoulder out at the forest as if she's already late for something. The rage that I'm filled with at her behavior is nothing I've ever experienced before. If not for my years of practicing self-restraint coupled with copious self-hatred, I know I would have phased right here and gone for her throat.
She turns back to us with a sly smile, "I think you better prepare. I hear funerals can be quite expensive these days."
Victoria leaves us there without even so much as
The world stands still once more.
I hear a sob coming from Bella. It's enough to bring me back to reality. There are things a lot more important than me and my own horror at the situation. It's time to be a leader. And above that, a protector.
I grab her by the shoulders, "It's going to be okay."
"No, no," she cries, not even caring to wipe the tears from her eyes. "They're going to die."
"No one is going to die tonight," my voice is stern despite knowing I can't actually promise her this. "I need you to go to your truck right now, okay? I need to phase and talk to the others."
Bella cries, "Please don't leave, Sam. I can't, I can't!"
"I will not leave you out of my sight. You've got to trust me, Bella," I lead her to her metal truck and guide her inside on the passenger side.
She seems to lose control of her body entirely, violent sobs overtaking her. I wonder how unhealthy this is in her current state, but there's not a moment I can dedicate to thinking about it.
"Two minutes and I'll be back. Trust me," I beg at the end.
She doesn't even look at me. I close the door, keeping her inside.
I run off to a somewhat hidden location and discard my clothing. I keep my word to Bella and watch her bury her face into her hands as she continues crying.
Immediately I'm hit with panic from my pack mates. They each show me images of them running around in the forest tirelessly. But the jumps between each of their memories are impossible to form a coherent picture with. Even their voices layer over each other in our link.
It's another mess.
"Sam!"
"Where have you been?"
"Shit's gone crazy," Paul says.
I can finally see out of someone's eyes, maybe Jared, and their confusion around smelling the death scent of vampire near us has led them on a chase throughout the forest. They've been hoping I would catch a sniff of it soon, but they didn't know I agreed to meet Bella off the rez land. A careless mistake.
They've been convinced they were on the heels of a vampire, but they weren't able to catch up just yet. And fuck, Jacob's been gone too. Baby Alpha could have been useful for once.
I show them very quickly the demon I've just encountered. My feelings of rage at her for threatening Victoria echo throughout them. Then the terror of whoever is going to be targeted tonight comes.
"It's not going to come to that," I say again. "We're going to meet up soon and hunt this bitch out."
But I look over at Bella again and try to decide what to do with her. I can't bring her back to her father's house so unprotected right now.
"Fuck, fuck," I think. "Harry's house is closest, I'm bringing Bella there now. Someone needs to reach Jake and Billy."
"Are you expecting me to leave my mom unguarded?" Embry cries.
The other two think of their own families. Paul even thinks of Emily.
"We don't have to worry about anyone if we don't let Victoria out of our sight, understand? I need you in the forest hunting for her now."
They don't believe my words easily. I don't have fucking time for this.
"NOW."
They scramble.
I phase back and run to Bella, opening the car door and starting the engine. She looks at me with wide, sore eyes.
"I'm taking you to a safe house."
"There's no such thing when dealing with them," she moans.
I hold onto her hand as I spin her truck around, the inertia almost causing her to slam into me. I steady her again as best as possible, but she cries more.
"Remember what she said," I try to look into her brown eyes as I sped down the road. "She's not going after you tonight. We've got to mount a defense right now."
She cries fully now, but I'm speeding down the highway in her pathetically old truck that can barely go about 50mph, thanks Jacob, and I don't have any words to say to comfort her. I don't have them for the pack either when we regroup. And I don't have any for myself.
"I'm trying to remember," she hiccups, "what happened in Phoenix. But it's so blurry."
The sun sets behind us and we go further into the night.
"What happened?" I know my tone isn't gentle and it hurts me to be this way, but I put on a voice close to the Alpha voice to coax her words.
"James, her mate," Bella says.
Then she holds up her wrist and I see.
I know what those marks are. And I know what a bite usually means. I breathe in Bella's scent through my nose. Different, yes, but still human. It should be impossible.
"How are you still alive?" I grit through my teeth.
She cries and only now tries to wipe away her tears. "Edward sucked the venom out. That's why they killed him. Because he was hunting me."
I hit the steering wheel and she flinches.
"I'm sorry, Bella. Fuck. Jesus," I swear a million other things underneath my breath.
She stops sobbing and reaches over to touch my shoulder. I don't flinch at all despite my anger. Her touch soothes a crying part inside of me. I helplessly lean into it.
"It's okay. I'm alive."
For now.
"Now she's going to hunt you until she dies," I swear. "And I swear that's going to be soon."
Bella says nothing, only grips the seat buckle against her lap tighter. I look at her and wonder how far along she actually is. It must be recent if she's not showing.
"Wherever you're taking me, she shouldn't go near, right?" Bella asks.
"We won't let her."
There are a million more things that could be said, but we arrive in front of Harry's place. Small, but bigger than Billy's. They should be able to accommodate her just fine.
"Explain to Harry and Sue what's happened. They know our secret. Just not Leah or Seth," I tell her.
I get out of her truck and toss her the keys. Bella blinks at me, words stuck in her throat. I want to stay and comfort her more, I do. But her future safety and the immediate danger to everyone else means I can't. It'll be worth it if she's alive and upset more than dead.
"Sam, wait," she clutches my hand.
I look into her worried eyes and do as she says.
"Victoria has an ability too. I remember now. She's able to tell when she's close to danger. You'll never be able to get to her."
Fucking shit.
"Well," I hiss, "if we can't catch her then we'll have to chase her out."
She squeezes my hand, "Please be careful. I don't feel good about this."
I turn my hand over beneath hers so we're grasping each other. I almost get lost in her eyes. Maybe I'm just lost right now in general.
"I will be fine. The pack will be fine."
She nods and releases my fingers.
I want to kiss her now. Not even on her lips. Her cheek or her forehead. I want to bend down and press a remnant of my feelings onto her skin, but we part without anything happening. There's no time to spend wanting and being destroyed over it.
Only after I've scattered far enough away do I turn back to see that Sue opens the door for her. Good. This first problem has been dealt with. I hope Bella can trust them enough to tell them what's needed. Harry knows how Bella was entirely abandoned by that wretched vampire family anyway.
I end up shredding my clothes as I phase again. I won't waste a second regrouping with the others.
They immediately bombard me with images of Victoria running cliff edges and jumping from trees. Each time one of them got close, she'd twist down a hidden path and increase the distance. Shit, we need Jacob, he's the fastest of us now.
Though I'm not sure if speed is going to be of any use now that I know the bitch has some kind of power to detect immediate danger. I relay this information.
"Shit, Sam, this is impossible," Paul yells.
I don't have time for this whining.
"We're going to find a way," I answer immediately.
By my estimate, I'm still a few miles off from them, but I know enough shortcuts to catch up quickly. I know this forest, better than any of them actually.
"And we all know this land better than her," I say. "Give me more memories of her movements. There's got to be a pattern."
I know she's been around the area, but her kills have never ventured onto our land quite yet. She's got to be flying blind here. And when you're in an unknown territory, you're left with only a few strategies to find an out.
The three of them show me flashes of her movements. She's not dumb, I'll give her that. But if I look close enough, her reactions tell me she's gambling on whether each spot can give her a new path forward. Vampire minds work quickly so she's been able to figure out something so far. We've got to corner her in a place where there's no escape.
My conclusion bolsters the group's confidence just enough for us to pick up our speed.
Right when I join them in their chase, Jacob's red form meets us on the left flank.
"I smelled leech," he hisses. "Phased immediately."
"Where's your dad?" I growl.
I see the last image of Jacob leaving his father by their TV and sprinting so quickly he hadn't time to hear our conversation about the threat.
He picks out my recent experience with Bella, but shockingly doesn't entirely flip out.
"She's so dead."
We all agree.
"But the bloodsucker said she's going for someone close to Bella, wouldn't that mean Charlie? Or maybe her other friends in Forks?" Jacob asks.
Fuck. Bastard is right.
"Then she's got to be planning to turn that way," I conclude. "Where are we at now? We've got to block any turns she makes south."
They all agree and rearrange their positions so Victoria can't easily make a turn right. When she looks back to see what we're doing, she smirks.
Disgusting redheaded witch.
She might even wave back at us. I snap my teeth together and bark. I'm absolutely rabid. She will not hurt my imprint. If she harms a single hair on her body, I swear to god. I will burn the bitch alive.
Jared gives me a look that tells me he'd do the same if the shoes were reserved. I'd nod back to him if I could. It may be the first time I don't bristle at his mention of our similar imprinting.
I quickly shift to relaying the images of Victoria's movements as I'm heading the pack while chasing her. I tell Jacob to be ready to pounce as soon as I see an opening where she'll get trapped in.
She takes us across cliffs and even jumps between trees. We growl at her from below, whenever she decides to take momentary flight. Victoria later decides moving about like an orangutan doesn't give her enough speed so she joins us on the forest floor again. How unlucky for her.
There are a few times I can almost see where she's getting claustrophobic. Ravines too skinny, trees too bunched together. Both of us could run through them, splintering the wood in seconds, but that would be too long a delay for her and she knows it.
I don't know how much exhaustion is a thing for vampires, but at the very least she can't sustain quick-thinking getaways forever. She's going to be overwhelmed eventually.
I rally my troops with this reasoning and we all manage to pick up the pace once more.
We're running, we're running fast. Maybe we can catch this bitch. I can almost sink my teeth into her heel. I just need a little bit more. Just an ounce more.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see two pale hands come out from the treeline. They push a giant boulder down a cliff. It falls right towards us.
My mind freezes but my body keeps going. I'm still on Victoria's heels. I don't know how to slow myself. None of my pack does either. We're going too fast now. We're going to collide with the massive rock. My vision turns black in a matter of seconds. I'm heading straight into my death with no brakes.
The impact never hits me. There's a sound too loud behind me that it wipes out my eardrums for a few moments.
My muscles tense up, but my limbs work without my impact. I haven't been hit, I need to keep going. Victoria can't have what she wants.
I realize I'm the only one still running. The others have phased back and gathered behind Embry as he wails in pain from being stuck underneath the boulder. Jared, Paul, and Jacob manage to move the thing off of him. I can see enough of what they're thinking to know Embry's been mutilated.
But I push their thoughts out of my mind and still trail Victoria. She turns behind and laughs at me once again.
"Sam! What do we do?" Jared yells into my mind.
"Dude, his leg is fucked," Paul tries to say with a neutral tone, but I can hear nausea behind his words.
And Embry's leg is indeed broken. So broken in fact that it has been turned the opposite direction it should go. His body is already repairing the skin that got torn off by the impact, but the pool of blood on the ground is still huge. Red and sticky.
The wound is a mess. Since he is healing rapidly, the leg is starting to set in the opposite direction, swollen and so purple it's nearly black.
"You should get back here," Jacob hisses in my head. Neither of us comments on our knowledge that if I give up chasing Victoria now, she's going to kill someone.
But fuck. The images of Embry screaming on the forest floor. The pain I can nearly feel in my own body. He's not able to fight like this or run even at half pace. He's been completely devastated.
He's my half-brother. I've already made my choice before I thought about it.
I'm back in front of them within minutes.
"Get me a stick now!" I bellow at the others as I press into Embry's chest to keep him down. He thrashes around, his entire face turning bright red from the exhaustion of his body trying to heal itself over and over again.
Jared turns away and gags. Paul is also immobilized. But Jacob gets it together enough to get me what I need. A thick twig that I immediately shove into Embry's mouth. He sobs and tries to get it out of his mouth. I'm far stronger at the moment so I hold it down despite his protests. His sounds are instantly muffled.
"Bite when it hurts," I tell him. I don't look into his eyes as I do this. My stomach goes sour knowing he doesn't have an idea of what I'm about to do.
"Jared, Paul, get back here and hold down his arms," I order as the Alpha. It's enough to snap them out of their shock.
Jacob looks at me with apprehension, the only one of them composed enough to do so. Fuck, maybe he's destined to be Alpha after all. He watches as I move to Embry's legs and lightly grip onto the deformed one.
"His other leg," I point out to the baby wolf. Jacob nods and sits across from me over Embry.
My half-brother begins to go delirious. His eyes roll back in his head as if he can't remain on this conscious plan any longer. It's shock. I know that much. A prelude to worse if I don't act fast.
"Hold him down no matter what," I tell everyone. I can't bother to wait if they hear and agree.
With my hands spread out on each end of his broken leg, I snap the wound.
Embry's eyes open wide and he screams into the forest.
"Bite down," I hiss at him. It'll destroy me later, I'm sure. The inability to offer him any comfort at this moment. There isn't even any morphine to take away his pain. Only a rotten twig between his teeth. It's another thing that'll eat away at my soul. I have no place being the leader of these teens.
I have to inspect my results. His leg is now rehealing the right direction, but it's still crooked. If it were to be left like this, he'd walk with a limp. I'll have to break it again.
God, I'm sorry, Embry.
I swallow and look up, meeting Jacob Black's eyes. He nods at me to go ahead again. My heart threatens to beat out of my chest, but I look down at Embry's broken leg and know he deserves to be whole again.
The second crunch is just as sickening as the first. Embry lets out a strangled cry that tells me he's choking on his own spit. But he can't continue to make noise for very long, his whole body going slack as his nerves seem to reach a breaking point with the pain.
His leg is now reset fine. I know he still can't walk right now. The red swelling around the wound is healing too slowly, but the absence of those deep purple bruises is a welcome sight at least.
I sigh and wipe the sweat off my brow. The others release Embry's working limbs as he starts to shake. He turns to the side and attempts to hug himself in a fetal position.
We can't leave him here in the forest to chase after the leech. I look out as far as I can with the night still dark. She's long gone by now, there's no point for me to even try to sniff her out. Embry's back is being rubbed by Jared and I can see everyone's opinion on who deserves help the most.
I'm sorry, Bella. I couldn't protect the people you were willing to sacrifice yourself for.
Tears form in the corner of my eyes, but I can't deal with it now. The responsibility of being an Alpha does not wane ever, especially not now.
"Let's carry him back," I announce.
We're miles off from Harry's place, but with our strength and speed, it shouldn't take too long. Embry's not fighting us anymore as he's passed out cold. It makes for an easy carry. I still handle his injured leg while the others lift underneath his shoulders and torso.
As we walk, I think of the hands I saw push the rock in front of us. The image was clear at the time, but now my memory becomes hazy. If Bella was right about Victoria, then perhaps she could sense the incoming boulder and lead us straight into a trap. Either way, she's going to take full advantage of our distraction. I only beg the universe that I don't have to tell Bella that her father is dead.
Something prickles on the back of my neck. I know this feeling. It's all instinct, all-knowing, and all dreadful.
Vomit rises in my throat. This can't be happening now.
Someone else has phased.
I immediately think of Quil Ateara's face. Young and impressionable like the others. Not deserving of this burden. But why the fuck did he have to phase now? I can't help him. I could barely help Embry. And I certainly failed Bella.
Though more panic seeps into every cell in my body, exhaustion overwhelms my mind. Everything is going fuzzy once again.
I don't consider myself a religious man. There's hardly a unifying religion between the tribes on the rez. But I still send up desperate prayers to the gods I can imagine. Their faces carved out of wood and creepy to me as a kid. Somehow, it's all I have to keep walking. The phrase 'no atheists in foxholes' stands out to me. Maybe it's true; I do need a supreme being's help to survive this.
I only know that more despair awaits when we return.
A/N: Sam has not had a good night so far. And sadly it might still get worse for him and Bella :/ But I can promise it will NOT be Charlie who Victoria targets! I like him too much to kill him off lol (plus I'm certain you all would go crazy if I did :p). Stay tuned for part two of the mid-point climax next week!