It has come to my attention that I have not ended this story correctly. I needed to add in a part with Amber fighting, so the end has been revised it case you care to reread it. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks to Tessadragon for all her helpful hints!

Chapter 25

Jamie couldn't leave Bella and her father alone, but she couldn't stay here either. She could hear the shots echoing up the slope. The battle was still raging. Her friends were probably getting hurt, maybe even killed. She tried to push the thought from her head as soon as it presented itself. She couldn't think about that.

She sent a frantic glance toward Bella's father, who was healing slowly, but still unconscious. It was a relief to know that he would make it. Bella was cuddled up to his unconscious form. She stared at Jamie with wide, scared eyes. Her gaze kept on darting to the noise up the hill. The sound would have been terrifying to anyone—not to mention a seven-year old girl.

Jamie bit her lip, following the girl's gaze. I should be up there right now, she thought. I should be helping them. If only she weren't such a coward. But she knew it was more than that. She had a responsibility to look after Bella. Not too long ago, she had been contemplating leaving Bella to hurry up the slope. And then Doug had appeared. As safe as it seemed in the tall grass at early evening, she could never anticipate what would happen next. She didn't know who would happen to track them down.

There was a small groan. Jamie started, turning to Bella. The groan had been too deep too belong to the child, but Jamie couldn't help but turn to her anyway—afraid Bella was going through some terrible pain. The marks on Bella's skin had fully cleared minutes before. She looked as healthy as ever, her ears pricked to the groan she had also heard.

It was more than Jamie could say for herself. Her skin was still marked by bits of silver shrapnel. It was scary to see her blood slowly leaking from her body, and her natural defenses unable to do anything about it. Her blood wasn't clotting at all. It was a good thing they weren't big cuts.

She heard the groan again and Mr. Carlyle's chest moved as a shuddering breath was taken into his lungs. He was starting to come to.

Bella sat up straighter, her hands finding their way to one of her fathers. Her eyes were wide with anticipation. "Daddy? Daddy, wake up! Daddy, it's me, Bella."

The blond man blinked slowly, blearily. He rubbed a hand over his eyes as they wandered between Jamie's and Bella's faces. After a few moments, his eyes locked on the tiny blonde girl who was gripping his larger hand excitedly. Recognition and wonder filled his eyes. "Bella?" he rasped.

"Yes, daddy!" Bella jumped into her father's arms with childlike joy. He winced slightly as her knees landed on the purple dark bruise etched across his stomach. Luckily, it wasn't bleeding anymore. Bella wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and held on for dear life. "I was so scared," she intoned. "I wanted to come home."

Mr. Carlyle hugged his daughter to him, a hand on her sweaty and tangled curls. "It's you," he said disbelievingly. "It's really you. I never thought I'd see you again."

"I love you, daddy," the little girl mumbled into his shoulder.

Jamie looked on, smiling proudly. Seeing them embrace touched her heart. This is what a real family should be like, she thought. This is what it's really about.

Mr. Carlyle smiled at her over his daughter's shoulder. "I can't tell you how thankful I am," he told her. "You've done more for me than I can ever repay."

Jamie shook her head, feeling embarrassed for the first time. She didn't want the praise. It didn't really matter to her. What mattered to her was their closeness, their warmth. Their love for each other. While living with the Carlyle's she had caught a glimpse of that—that feeling of being wanted and accepted. And yes, even having them worry about her—as inconvenient as it was at times. It meant more to her than she ever would have thought possible.

Her eyes darted back up the hill. Mr. Carlyle's eyes followed hers knowingly.

"You're not responsible for this anymore. You've done your part more than enough. For once, just be a teenager. This isn't something someone your age should have to deal with."

Jamie shook her head in disagreement. "It's my duty."

She turned to Bella's father with a pleading glance. "If I leave you two, will you be okay? Will you be able to protect yourselves?"

Mr. Carlyle was silent for a moment. Finally, he nodded resignedly. "If you must go, you must," he said. "Go prove whatever it is that you need to prove to yourself."

"Thank you," she said with a grin and took off at a quick run. She felt the strain in her muscles and in the cuts in the soles of her feet as they stubbornly refused to heal. It wasn't enough to stop her. Mr. Carlyle was right. She did have something to prove to herself. She had to prove that she could do what it took for what was right, no matter what the cost.

She could have gotten there faster if she had chosen to change to wolf, but she didn't have the energy right then. And if she was to be completely honest with herself, she would admit that she still wasn't comfortable with the transformation. It still scared her.

She thought the shots and the sound of fighting would increase as she moved closer, but they didn't. The fighting was beginning to die off. It was as she was climbing the last ridge that the shots seemed to die. The ground was almost vertical at this point. She found herself grasping on to weed that weren't firmly placed within the hillside. Clumps of dirt were being pulled up with the weeds. Jamie gripped the top of the plateau with one hand, steadying herself. She used this arm as leverage to bring her other arm up and latch on. She pulled up with her arms, wishing that she'd spent less time on reflexes and more on weight training.

She could just barely see over the lip. What she saw made her breath catch in her throat and sent her blood pulsing through her veins. There was a being at the Colonel's throat, half-human and half-wolf. They seemed to be the only moving beings on the whole plateau. Bodies were littered across the ground in a way that would have made Jamie gasp with horror if she weren't so transfixed with the sight before her.

It was clear to see the 'wolf was a weaker one. Her teeth were snapping out of her elongated face. Blonde hair whipped behind her that hadn't quite made it into her skull. Her legs were all messed up in this half form. She wobbled unsteadily as the Colonel sent a hard punch to her gut. Jamie could hear the girl gasp.

With a sudden realization, Jamie took in the half-wolf figure once more. It was Amber. She was nearly unrecognizable in her half-form with blood dripping down her muzzle. Amber threw herself at the Colonel again, jaws snapping and her half-formed claws raking. Jamie stared on in utter, paralyzed amazement. Distantly she knew she should be doing something to help, but she couldn't bring herself to move.

She knew that bullheaded look in Amber's eyes. She'd seen it many times—especially when fighting. She remembered their argument that one night. Whether Amber was right or wrong, she always won. In that case, Amber had been right. She had that look now, like a challenge was trying to overtake her and she wasn't going to stand for it.

Jamie watched with dizzying horror as the Colonel wrenched at one of her arms, pulling it into an impossible angle. Jamie thought she would hear a cry, but none came. Amber whirled on him again and just for one moment she caught the look in Amber's eyes. It was utter and pure fury.

Jamie wanted to help and hurt her just then. She could feel her body trembling with anger and fatigue. She didn't want them to kill each other. She just wanted them to be reconciled—to stop fighting. But she couldn't make that happen. And she couldn't hurt either one of them. She opted for holding on to the ledge for dear life.

Amber ripped at the Colonel with all the fury of a 120 pound teenage girl. She wasn't thinking clearly, but she was working effectively. Her claws raked across the Colonel's chest several times before he got a handle on her. He kicked her to the ground.

Jamie closed her eyes with a cringe. She didn't want to see this part. No matter how much determination Amber had, the Colonel was going to win. Pure will just wasn't enough. She took a deep breath a prepared herself to vault up onto the ledge but a sound made her stop in her tracks.

A shot echoed through the air.

Jamie refused to open her eyes as she heard a body thud to the ground. It was Amber…it must have be Amber. It's all my fault because I didn't go to help her. I didn't try to save her. Jamie let in a quick, gasping breath.

What had she done?

Then another thought entered her mind. Wait a minute…hadn't Amber already been on the ground. How could she have fallen?

She wrenched her eyelids open and let out a cry that echoed through the suddenly dark and very cold night.

She took another gasping breath. "No," she whispered.