Jacob PoV

When I came up to my patrol duty this night, I was in an excellent mood. Not even Sam's constant growling and the bad looks he gave me could turn down my mood.

This night I was paired up with Seth who was excited to finally get on patrol with someone else than his sister. His was still young and sometimes didn't take his job as serious as he should. Sam thought it best to pair him with someone else each shift so the kid could learn from all of us.

It was all the same to me. I liked Seth well enough. He was like a young brother to all of us and we liked to take care of him. And when shit came down, he was a good fighter, you had to give him this much.

Sam assigned us the western border which suited me perfectly because I would have a chance to check on Bella from time to time, even if it were only from the woods.

After me Seth was the fastest one and when he suggested a little race to see who was really the king of speed, I agreed. It was a cool, cloudless evening and I enjoyed the wind brushing through my fur. Seth grinned as he passed by me which I took as an almost personal insult. I sped up and passed Seth again, making it look easy whereas it cost me a lot of strength. The younger one didn't want to lose so he sped up once more.

In the end I won but only by a few seconds. Seth breathed heavily, his tongue sticking out his mouth, but I knew he was happy.

Good run I praised him.

Next time I'm gonna beat you.

Yeah, yeah, keep talking kid.

You'll see!

We continued our friendly bickering as we ran through the woods. When we came by Bella's house, I couldn't resist a quick look up to her bedroom. It was dark so maybe she was already asleep. What bothered me more was the fact that the whole house was dark and Chief Swan's car wasn't parked up front. This was strange. Considering the time, he should have been sitting in front of the TV right now, watching the game, a beer in his hand.

He could be with my dad I supposed but he hadn't said anything about Charlie coming over when I left. I motioned for Seth to wait while I shot a quick message via our connected minds.

Has anyone seen Chief Swan? His car is not at his house and everything is dark inside.

We all knew that the red-haired bloodsucker was after Bella and so we also kept an eye on Charlie, her closest relative in town.

Nope, haven't seen him.

Maybe he is with your dad?

Or just gone eating something or to the movies?

To the movies, Seth? Really?

Well, why not? Everyone likes movies.

Jacob, check the house. Seth, you stay close in case anything comes up.

The last thought was a command from Sam. I was glad I had the okay from Sam to turn and go up. I would have done it nonetheless, but I was glad I could avoid another conflict with the pack leader. I nodded to Seth, then I phased. I hastily put on my shorts and practically ran all the way up to their front door. I tried ringing the doorbell but just as I had feared, nobody answered.

After that I tried knocking. "Bella? Chief Swan? Is anybody home? Hello?" With each passing second my anxiety grew. I looked behind my back in the woods where I knew Seth was standing, watching me. With a brief shake of my head, I signalled him that nobody was home.

The next thing I did was turning the handle of the door, but it was locked. I circled the house, calling Bella's name again and again. "Bella? Bells, are you there?" Still nothing.

My heartbeat quickened. I sniffed the air but there was no sign of bloodsuckers anywhere. What had happened?

I ran back into the woods and phased once more to communicate with the others.

Nobody's home. All dark and quiet. I couldn't keep the fear out of my voice.

Alright. Seth, Jacob, you search the woods. Leah and Embry will come and help you. I'll go back to Emily and phone around to see if he's with anyone in the reservation or in town. Every other team search the area. Look out for any sign of the red-haired vampire. If you find something, report back immediately!

Everyone agreed then we zoomed out. I focused with every cell in my body on finding Bella. I ran through the dark forest, occasionally stopping to sniff at the ground. But I couldn't detect anything. No sign of Bella, Charlie, or Victoria.

Bells, where are you?