Chapter 3

Jacob

Jacob focused on the dirt under his paws as he ran towards the howls emanating from the west. Bright colors blurred around him as he raced foward, pushing himself faster and faster. The pack mind was chaos. He could barely focus on the single phrases he got from Sam. Those came in clearer. He was attuned to his alpha. The same could not be said for the new voices shrieking inside his head.

I'm almost there.

He could feel the urgency of the others, some scrambling to take up the post they had previously abandoned in the chaos, others trying to make sense of the two new voices that had joined them in the last few minutes. As Jacob burst through a stand of trees into the valley on the western side of the tribal forest land, he tried to concentrate on the scene before him.

Two new wolves cowered before him, surrounded by Sam and Quil. They were crouched low, writhing in different directions as they snapped at the air around them. The bigger one, a deep chestnut against the surrounding green forest, radiated nothing but fear. The other, smaller and more grey in shade, had anger rolling off them in waves. They continued snarling as Jacob drew nearer, completing the circle around them. Red, pulsing heat surrounded his vision as he tried to focus on the pack mind. Sam's mind was still the loudest.

You need to focus. We can help you.

Sam snarled in their direction and began to pace back and forth. All the noise was almost more that Jacob could take. Thoughts split in all directions as he caught glimpses of a scene here and there. The ripping of fabric. Cursing. Utter chaos. Grief.

The grey wolf howled, a melancholy sound that filled the air. The chestnut one seemed to settle a bit, lying down next to the smaller one, its eyes wide and searching. It was then that Jacob caught the first clip of a complete thought from the grey wolf, and to his surprise, it was a feminine voice he heard.

I-..I don't..understand. Wh-…

Her thoughts trailed off and Jacob began to recognize the voice.

Leah Clearwater. Holy shit.

Are you serious? But I thought…

That can't be!

The pack mind burst alive with curiosity at the new development. Sam quickly drew up to his full height and a sense of authority emanated from him.

Enough. Leah. Seth. Listen to me. You're okay. It's going to be okay. Just focus.

A small whine escaped Seth as he glanced up at Leah's wolf form. She was still pacing but had stopped snarling at them for now.

Seth? Jesus, he's only fourteen!

Shock filled Jacob at the realization, and he wasn't the only one, though the pack remained silent. Tonight was turning out to be one for the books. A female shapeshifter. Another barely into his teens. Add on the fact that they were in a frustrating game of cat and mouse with a vengeful vampire and it was the cherry on top of a pretty fucked up cake.

But Dad- Oh what have I done!

Someone needs to check on Harry. Apparently he saw her transform. Jacob- go.

Jacob nodded in agreement and took off in the direction of the Clearwater's cabin, leaving Sam and Quil behind to try to calm the others. It was going to be a long night, that was evident.

Bella POV

Minutes slowly bled into hours. Bella didn't know what to do with herself, so she paced back and forth, wearing a path in the rug on her bedroom floor. She couldn't hear the howls anymore from her bedroom window, and she didn't know if that was a good thing or not. She thought about calling Jacob, but quickly decided against it. She didn't want to be a distraction if the others needed him. As night went on, she tried to distract herself with trinkets in her room. She had donned her headphones for a few songs from her cd player before quickly retiring it. She couldn't focus on the music when she thought she kept hearing the faint howling of wolves out in the woods. She even got out her scrapbook again, thinking the photos inside would help distract her. That proved to be an even worse plan when the smiling faces in the photos just reminded her of how alone she truly was.

She checked the clock on her nightstand and saw it was almost midnight. Charlie had gone to bed, maybe she should too. She quickly changed into her worn pajamas and crawled into bed, but sleep wouldn't come, just the back and forth thoughts of worry and impatience. Was Jacob okay? What was going on? Would Victoria use the distraction to finally get to her?

Bella shook the last thought off and forced herself to close her eyes and focus on her breathing. At some point, she must have dozed off, because she woke to faded light streaming in through her window, the grey skies outside offering a dim reflection of the forest outside. She quickly dressed and headed downstairs, intending to call Jacob from landline. Before she made it down the stairs she heard it ringing and picked up her pace. Charlie beat her to the phone.

"Hello? Billy? What's going on?"

Bella listened in silence, holding her breath as she tried to draw nearer to where Charlie stood leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Are you sure?...Yes. Okay. I'll be there soon."

Charlie quickly hung up and gruffly hummed in disapproval before noticing Bella's eyes on him.

"Dad? What's wrong? Is it Jake?"

Bella couldn't hide the worry she felt and squeezed her ribcage tight as she waited to hear what Charlie had to say.

"No, no. It's Harry…Harry Clearwater. Apparently he had a heart attack last night. It doesn't look good. I'm going down to the hospital now."

Bella let out a breath and nearly shivered with relief and guilt.

"Oh no, Dad I'm so sorry. Do you want me to come with you?"

Bella watched as her father shuffled around the kitchen, not seeming to know which direction he was going in.

"Why don't you stay here? I'll call if there's any news."

Bella nodded and let Charlie pass her as he made his way to the front door. She hated to see him like this, hated to see him hurting. She didn't quite have the words to say so, so she just quietly hugged him, hoping he felt what she wished she could say instead. Charlie briefly hugged her back before gathering his coat and leaving. The house felt even more empty than usual.

Bella couldn't take the silence, so she returned to the kitchen and picked up the phone receiver, hoping she would catch Jake at home.

No luck. Billy told her he was still out, which meant whatever had happened last night was still happening. She glanced out the kitchen window into the forest edge that surrounded her house. She thought she saw a large animal like figure quietly stalking just inside the tree line, but she couldn't be sure. If it was Jacob, surely he would have come to talk to her by now?

She spent the next few hours alternating between pacing back and forth and trying to occupy herself with housework. She checked the window often, hoping for a glance at Jacob, but there was nothing. She only seemed to be getting more worked up as the day drug on, so she finally settled onto the couch and flipped on the TV. She rarely watched anything, but mindlessly scrolling through the channels seemed to help calm her. Bella nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone rang in the kitchen a short while after she had decided to watch one of those celebrity game shows that always seemed to be on. She quickly muted the TV and ran to the kitchen.

"H-Hello? Jake?" She was breathless as she answered, hoping it was her best friend on the other line.

"No Bells, it's Dad."

"Oh…um, sorry. Is everything okay? How's Harry?"

She tried not to sound disappointed as she waited for Charlie's reply.

"He uh… He didn't make it."

"Oh, Dad! I'm so sorry. I know you were close. Is there anything I can do?"

"I don't think so, Bells. I'm gonna stay here and help Sue with a few things. It will probably be late when I get in."

Bella nodded before realizing her father couldn't see her and answered.

"Sure thing, Dad. I'll save you some dinner in the fridge."

Charlie gruffly responded with his thanks before saying goodbye. Bella hated how helpless she felt right now. She wondered briefly if Harry's death had something to do with the chaos that unfolded in La Push yesterday, but all she could do was speculate, as she still hadn't heard from anyone in the pack. She got to work making dinner, hoping the lasagna she had planned would serve as a distraction.

She had just finished putting the casserole into the oven when the phone rang again. Bella quickly set a timer on the oven and rushed to pick up the receiver.

"Hello?"

A soft, feminine voice greeted her in return.

"Hey Bella, it's Emily. How are you doing?"

"I'm alright, just worried. Everything happened so fast yesterday. Is everything okay?"

"It will be. I was calling to see if you would like to come over tomorrow. The boys will all be gone but I thought you might like some company."

Emily was right, some company from someone who actually knew what was going on in her life actually seemed pretty welcoming at the moment.

"Sure, I'd like that. What time?"

"Oh I'm up early, so whenever you arrive should be fine. And Bella, try not to worry too much." Emily gave a small laugh before saying goodbye.

Don't worry? Yeah right. Is she on the same planet as me here?

Bella shook her head and replaced the receiver back on the cradle before turning back to the oven to check the timer. She spent the remainder of the time walking around the kitchen, wiping off nonexistent dust off the counters and checking the fridge for any leftovers that needed to be thrown out.

When did I become such a worry wart?

Bella wrung the dish cloth out into the sink and hung it up to dry as the over timer blared in the otherwise silent kitchen. She quickly took it out and dished up two plates, one for her and one for Charlie, before wrapping the casserole dish and putting it in the fridge. She wrapped up Charlie's plate and left it on the top shelf for him. She hardly seemed to taste her dinner as she stared at the now darkened sky outside the window, only her reflection staring back at her.

When at last her plate had been cleaned and the table once again wiped down, Bella trudged up the stairs to her waiting bed. Her night was filled with fitful sleep, the faint sound of howls echoing through her forgotten dreams.