CHAPTER SEVEN

As Zora and Jacob broke through the trees, they were immediately enveloped in the foulest odor: the sickeningly sweet stench of a bloodsucker. Two pairs of pitch black eyes stared back at them.

"Always a pleasure seeing you, Jacob," said one of the vampires, his voice laced with heavy sarcasm.

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Kiss my ass, Cullen."

If Zora hadn't been both petrified and thoroughly repulsed, she would have burst into a fit of laughter. Instead, she remained behind Jacob, crouched low to the ground and extremely cautious. They were standing in front of vampires, after all.

"They won't hurt you," Jacob assured, the softness of his voice comforting.

"He's right," the sarcastic vampire said, his face pallid and ghostly against the darkness of the night. "We're not here to hurt you or anyone else. We're all working together to protect the same person."

His vague mentioning of Bella immediately ignited a barrage of negative thoughts to rush through Zora's mind. She couldn't control it – Bella was her competition.

A snarl ripped through the sarcastic vampire's throat, prompting her to shrink back with fear.

"Bella is none of those things you picture her to be," he hissed, his hungry eyes trained on her. "Least of all, your competition."

Still crouched, she inched closer to Jacob and nudged him with her nose. "Why does it seem like he's reading my mind? And what the hell is that stench? It's awful."

"Your scent isn't exactly pleasant either," the vampire said, a grimace of disgust marring his beauty. "And the stench you're referring to is how I'd lure in prey…if I fed on humans. Everything about us draws them in - our scent, our features, even the sound of our voices. Humans can't resist." He leveled Jacob with an icy glare as conceited asshole drifted through his thoughts. "Also, I am reading your mind. It's an ability I developed after I was turned."

Now, it was Zora's turn to snarl. Her muzzle pulled back, revealing a sharp row of teeth. A low, threatening growl emitted from her throat as the other vampire, the brawny one, gave a taunting smirk.

"We've gotta get out of here, Jacob. He's dangerous."

"Slow your roll," Jacob said casually. "He's harmless. And even if he tried something, we could take him."

She shook her head. Harmless? Vampires were anything but. "How can we trust him? Or the big one next to him?"

"Because we're allies," replied the sarcastic vampire. "And please, stop calling me 'the sarcastic vampire.' My name is Edward."


Edward, and the burly vampire whose name was Emmett, retreated shortly after Zora and Jacob arrived, leaving Bella in their care while they quenched their thirst. The thought of the marble-like bloodsuckers preying upon innocent animals made Zora feel queasy; however, the thought of the vampire army coming to town and feeding freely on Forks residents made her feel much worse.

"Are you always this pessimistic?" Jacob said, lazily sprawled in the grass.

Zora, who was upright and pacing, shook her head. "I'm not pessimistic. I'm just being realistic."

"Then can you turn your 'realistic' thoughts down a couple notches? They look like gory scenes from horror movies."

He had been hoping Bella would come down to see him, but she was asleep by the time he and Zora arrived. He could hear the movement of her mattress as she tossed and turned, the mumbling of incoherent words that left her mouth as she dreamed. He wanted to climb up to her room the way he'd done in the past, but the anxious wolf next to him kept him on the ground.

"Jacob…" Zora murmured. She had stopped her pacing, her gaze lingering on the trees and their ominous swaying. "Are you scared?"

"Scared of what? The leeches?"

She nodded. "What if there's a lot of them, and we actually have to fight, and what if someone gets kil—"

"Zora," Jacob interjected, his voice assertive. He got up from his spot and moved to stand in front of her. And when their eyes locked, it was like falling into the abyss all over again. "Honestly, yeah, I'm a little scared, but something that comforts me is knowing that we were born to do this. We were born to destroy vampires. And when the time comes, we'll tear them apart."

He began thinking about the first time he killed a vampire - the surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins as he and his pack mates surrounded the bloodsucker, a sound like metal being twisted and torn as they ripped his limbs from his body, and his scream, his final cry of terror before the final bite was delivered, separating his head from his shoulders. Pre-wolf Jacob would have detested the blatant display of violence, but in that moment, he only felt satisfaction and triumph.

Zora, watching the event unfold in his thoughts, was filled with awe. The destruction was equal parts terrifying and powerful, and seeing the graceful teamwork between Jacob and the others made her feel less afraid. He was right - she was born to do this, she was born to destroy vampires, and she would do so alongside the wolves who were quickly becoming her second family.

Still facing the trees, she glimpsed the darkness with hope.


(Revised 1/3/2021)