When I wake up, Edward's gone. I reach over to my side, thinking it's a dream, but he's really gone. This suddenly feels like a nightmare. I can still smell him on me, and for once I want more of that scent instead of less. He smells like iron and the way skin smells when you come inside when it's snowing outside.
Shit.
I sit up. The rising sun is casting a soft gray light through the overcast sky into the bedroom. I run into the kitchen. There's nothing except a few hundred US dollars on the counter-I take it Edward wanted to be courteous to our unsuspecting host before he went towards his death.
Stupid stupid stupid. Stupid him for wanting to do this alone out of some twisted sense of obligation after one night. Stupid me for not realizing what he intended to do.
I'm out the door and running as I shift. I reach out for Seth and to my relief, he's there. Quieter than yesterday, but alive.
You hanging in there, buddy?
Jake? I think there's one more leech. He doesn't smell like the rest though.
I almost howl in relief. Edward and Seth are both still alive. This isn't unsalvageable. The landscape is deadly quiet as I run. If I wasn't sick with worry and also pissed off to all hell, it might actually be peaceful, but right now, it feels almost like a slap to the face.
I follow Albion's sickly scent and Seth's thoughts all the way to a rundown building in the middle of nowhere-what's with these bloodsuckers and ruins? It's too quiet when I get there, but there's blood on the ground in front of the building. From the smell, I know it's not Edward's, and I almost shudder with relief.
Seth, you gotta help me out. Where are you?
I don't know, Jake. Somewhere underground I think .
I circle the building until I find a hatch that leads down. What is this place? It smells almost sterile, like an old research facility. I easily nose open the hatch and follow a stepped walkway downwards. This place reeks like death. Albion's only been here for a day or two and his scent has permeated this small space to such a degree that it makes me want to wretch.
I hear him before I see him. It's a familiar groan, unlike the one from last night. More pain than pleasure.
Um, excuse me? You and Edward did what? Jake, that's disgusting , Seth says. Shit. I forgot to shield that from him. Sam didn't tell me that being alpha was such a pain in the ass.
Mind your own business .
Don't make your business my business .
Kid's still sassy even in his condition.
Another sound join's Edward's moan. It's a sickly slurping sound, and if I could sweat in this form I would. I round the corner of a dingy corridor and find Edward pressed against a wall, his head turned at an unnatural angle and a massive leech attached to his neck, pinning him against the wall with the weight of his entire body.
I don't wait to see what happens next. Have you ever been so angry that you black out? Because next thing I know, I have the leech's disgusting head between my jaws, his body spewing dark red blood across the corridor. I bite down, fracturing its skull into pieces and tearing it off the body. I spit and shift, to catch Edward as he slides down the wall. He's clutching his neck which has a ghastly purple bite mark on it that's...pulsing.
"You should get that check out," I say, unable to take my eyes off of it.
He's too out of it to even give me one of his "I'm not thrilled about this" looks. I hold his limp body in my arms and a surge of anger runs through me again. I hold him tighter.
"Jacob…" he manages to gasp. "I...took...down...one…"
"You're so fucking stupid," I say, my voice tight from trying not to cry. How is it that he managed to fend off three of those things alone, never mind kill one before being taken down? "How do I help?"
"I'll...be...fine...I'm...just...diz...zy."
That bastard was toying with him before burning him. I wish I could resurrect him just to kill him again.
"Go...find...Seth….I'm...right...behind...you…."
"No the fuck you're not." I place my hand over the gruesome bite mark, as if that would stop the grotesque purple veins that branch out from it from spreading.
"It...will...take...a...few….minutes...just...go..."
Jake? Something's coming .
Shit. Seth needs me. I look down at Edward in my arms.
"Promise me you'll be okay."
Edward nods and I lean down to plant a quick kiss on his cold lips. I ran and he followed. I have to trust him. I gently sit him against the wall before shifting again. Time to end this.
Albion is in the deepest part of whatever this underground abandoned lab is and he's waiting for me when I break down the door. Seth is stuffed into what looks like an iron dog crate behind him. If he was one of us-just a little bit older, a little bit bigger-he could have easily broken out, but this scumbag decided to go for the weakest of us. He looks terrified and his mind is panicked. I'm going to tear Albion's throat out.
Jake, you can't be here. Listen to me-
I tune him out, my rage deafening me.
"Welcome, Jacob Black," he says, startling me. I break my sprint and slow down until I'm pacing in front of him. He's seated in a chair in front of Seth, looking completely undisturbed by my presence. "I have to say, I was so hoping that you would have brought the rest of your pack with you. You see, young wolf, we were perfectly content to live and hunt around you, until you and the Cullen coven kept getting in our way. Which is so unfortunate. We are ever so pleasant company if you get to know us."
Albion flicked his bright red eyes towards me. "I was so hoping that you and the young Cullen would have brought the rest of your little families with you. Now, you'll just have to suffer alone, and I'll have to continue to wait for the rest."
I huff. Yeah, him and what army?
"And my children are oh so starving…."
That's when I smell it. It's so strong, like old blood and moist earth. My eyes almost start tearing. That's when the ground erupts.
At least ten, starving leeches emerge from the ground, bursting through the rusted floor, their eyes black.
Looks like Albion didn't do his research. Small bites are nothing, but if his kind drinks our blood, it's game over for them. I look back towards Seth, who's cowering. Time to take one for the team.
Jake- he says as soon as I lower my mental barrier.
Stay put. Edward will come to release you .
No, wait-
I cut him off again and launch myself at the closest one, tearing into it. But these leeches are strong. He latches onto me. Then another finds my hide and another is tearing at my neck. Every curse in the book goes through my head.
Then I think of the monster drinking from Edward and that cold rage overtakes me again. I can feel Albion's eyes on me as I throw off his spawn. He's amused. Bastard. To his surprise, I barrel through his eerily strong children and latch my jaws around his throat.
He tastes like something that's been long dead and rotten. I almost release him from the stench alone, but before I can, he smashes my shoulder with one swift movement. I hear a crack and release him just as I'm overwhelmed by stinking bodies. They're everywhere, nails and teeth raking my body, pressing hard into the cracks that Albion left, reaching for my throat. This is it.
I was alpha for three days and this will be the end. At least no one will have to feel my death. They might feel the chord that strings us together being cut, but it won't be nearly as bad as the last time. I struggle, but there are too many of them. Wolves were never meant to hunt alone.
At least I wasn't alone for my last night on Earth.
I'm coming, Brady.
Just then, I'm freed from their grasp. Edward Cullen is grappling two of them, crouched with his shirt torn and blood covering his chin and throat. He looks like an animal, even more so than I do. I don't wait to make any more observations, desperately tearing at whatever flesh I can. The vampires screech around me, but there are too many for just the two of us.
That's when I hear it. A howl in the distance, the slow, but the steady pulse of broken conversations in my head. And then it bursts through:
Jacob?
SETH!
JACOB!
They're here! They're alive!
Seth!
Tell the Cullens...
Billy and Sue are going to...
Holy shit...
Injured…
Edward's alive…
Did Jake and Edward…
...WHAT?!
….GROSS! With a bloodsucker…
They're close. They're coming. And not just them, the Cullens are with them. The image revitalizes Edward and he fights as if he's not even injured. Adrenaline overtakes me. Someone laughs. It's me. I'm tearing and shredding through the sea of white bodies, taking way too many bites to be able to survive, but it doesn't matter. Edward and I are fighting carelessly. My laugh is infectious and he's laughing too. I can do anything. We can do anything. They're coming.
I don't know how long it lasts before I see Quil's stupid head come bursting through the door, but it's enough that as soon as I can tag out, I'm crawling towards a corner, like a beating dog. Everything hurts and Edward isn't in much better shape. One of them tried to take his head off and it looks like he's physically holding himself together.
I try to speak to him, but I'm still in my wolf form and besides, there's too much blood in my mouth. The last thing I see before I blackout is Sam soaring through the air and taking Albion's head clean off.
I wake up smelling like gasoline and smoke. My head is throbbing, but I'm human again. I try to sit up and lose the contents of my stomach in a conveniently placed trash can. Moonlight is streaming through the open window. It takes me a minute to realize that I'm back at that little hunting cabin that I had stayed the night before. Has it just been a night? How long have I been out? What the hell happened?
"Oh good. You're awake." It's the short vampire-Alice, I think. She's dressed in a fashionable skirt and a nice top as if she were out on a night stroll in place of killing vampire fledglings.
"What happened?" I ask, my voice hoarse.
"We won," Alice says with a smile. "I don't know how you and Edward did it, but they're all dead. It took two whole days to burn their bodies, but it's done."
I nod, happy at this news, but barely able to show it in my state.
"How long have I been out?"
"Four days."
I stand and the room spins so I immediately sit back down. "Four days?!"
Alice nods, as if this is normal. "Are you hungry? Seth made dinner." Seth? I stand-slower this time-and kind of lurch my way to the door, trying not to fall. I'm starving and desperately in need of a shower, but I want to see Seth and the rest of my pack. Somewhere along that line, that lineup started to include Edward as well.
But when I stumble into the small kitchen, it's just Seth standing over what looks to be at least a dozen fried eggs.
"Jake!"
I barrel into him, not caring if I stink like leeches and unwashed dog. He hugs me back.
"At least I won't have to hear from Sue Clearwater about this," I joke, though I'm pretty sure Seth's mom is going to kill me as soon as I bring Seth home. It's a punishment I'm willing to face. "Did you call your parents?"
"The rest of the pack is going to talk to her. Sam, Alice, and I decided to stay behind until you and Edward were well enough to travel back."
I try not to react too much to the sound of Edward's name and take a seat at the bar that overlooks the kitchen.
"So everyone else left?"
Seth nodded "Dr. Cullen treated you and Edward a bunch for the number of bites you received and told us that we shouldn't crowd the two of you. Edward was back to normal almost overnight-it was the creepiest thing I've ever seen."
I reach over the bar and cuff Seth on the ear, conscious of Alice.
"What?" he says.
"It's okay. It's pretty creepy to us too," Alice says with a bright smile.
I take a plate of eggs from Seth and bite into it. I can feel them going all the way down. It's the best meal I've probably ever had.
Then I ask the question that I've been itching to ask since I woke up: "So...where are they?" I'm worried about Sam too, but everyone in the room knows by "they" I mean Edward.
Alice's smile widens, knowingly, and I ignore her.
"Edward had to hunt so Sam went with him." I raise my eyebrows at that, wondering what could have changed Sam's mind about the Cullens so quickly.
"Speaking of Edward," Alice says, taking a seat next to me. "Did my brother tell you that I can see the future?"
I blink, unsure what to make of that. Edward can read minds, so sure. Why the hell wouldn't his sister be able to see the future?
"But," she continues as if this was completely normal. "I can't see the future when your pack is involved." Well that's a relief. I like it better than Edward's powers already. "And for the last two days, whenever I see the future of my family, Edward's role is strangely fuzzy. Almost as if I can't see him because he's with you."
My face immediately heats up and Seth is looking at the skillet of eggs as if they were laid by a golden chicken. Without warning, Alice takes her hands in mine and beams. "I think you're going to make a great addition to our family, Jake. You and your whole pack. What shall we call ourselves?" How about crazy? Because this chick is crazy. "Oh! The Quileute-Cullens? Or the Olympic Coven?"
Those names are ridiculous, but warmth pools in my stomach.
"I like that," Seth mumbles.
"No one asked you," I say, taking a sip of warm coffee.
Just then, the door opens and Sam comes in, completely naked except for his pants, but he has a smile on his face. Closely behind him, steps in Edward, amusement in his eyes. It's not the blood on his shirt or undeniable hard on his appearance gives me that catches my attention, though. It's the scar on his neck and the countless bite marks that litter his arms. He almost looks like his blonde-haired brother. Like he's been in a war. I glance down at my own marks on my forearms. I guess I didn't fare any better, but my scars don't bother me nearly as much as his do.
Edward frowns at the thought and I can almost hear the "We need to talk " radiating from him.
He pats my back as he passes me to hug Alice.
"Jake! You're awake!" Sam exclaims before I can excuse myself. He barrels into me and I can't help it. I melt into his arms, this man who was basically an older brother to me and who is as close to a brother as I can get now. I can't believe that there was ever a moment when I thought I'd never see him again.
I can feel Edward's eyes on me as we hug. He's joking with Seth and telling him about the elk he hunted with Sam, but his eyes haven't left the back of my head.
"Can you give me a second," I say, pulling away from Sam and moving into the back room. Edward follows and the other three are too polite to act like this isn't weird.
"What?" I say as soon as the door shuts behind us.
His eyes soften. "I'm glad you're okay." I can't help but wonder if this is it. If the weird tension between us was just that and we mistook it for something else. Does fucking change anything? Alice and Seth seem to think so. Where does the rest of the pack stand on it? Where does he? Fuck, where do I?
Edward's jaw flexes at my onslaught of thoughts.
Yeah. I guess used something similar to technically seduce him the night before the fight, but did he even want to? Was it just guilt? Was he just horny? I would be after a hundred years. Can vampires even get horny?
"You know the answer to that," he says. His teeth are gritted. He's pissed.
"Great. One answer out of a billion."
Edward shakes his head and my stomach drops.
"Right. I guess it doesn't matter. Thank you for helping me get Seth back. I guess we'll just… go back to being mortal enemies or whatever with the exception of weeding out killer leeches. Sorry about...yeah." I move to leave, and Edward grabs my arm. There's a fire in his eyes that does something to my skin.
"You've got to be kidding," he says, low. So low that it's almost a growl. Fuck, there's something about when he's demanding that does something unspeakable to me.
He's standing so close that I could bend down and kiss him.
"I didn't chase you down and risk my life for you to be sorry." he snaps. "Don't ever mistake anything I do with you to be out of pity or guilt, Jacob Black. I'm not that selfless." With his hair wild and his shirt covered in blood, he's almost like some ancient, unattainable god. "Stop admiring me," he says. "It makes it hard to hate myself and be angry with you when you see me like that."
"Is hating yourself something you do often?"
"Less and less recently." He swallows-I think it's more of a habit than a necessity. "Let me tell you something." I'm very conscious of his hand on my arm. "I didn't spend a hundred years alone just for you to think I would just use you to assuage my own guilt or just because I was horny. I-" He rubs his face out of frustration. "I don't know exactly what this is between us, but I'd like to make it work. I've never-"
My heart speeds up. Shit. He's pissed because he likes me. Shit. I like him and not just his weirdly perfect hands.
"I could've told you that weeks ago," Edward says, annoyed.
"You have an advantage on me."
"You'd be surprised how often you think without acting. It's...nice actually. Keeps things unpredictable."
"Does this mean we're...what? Dating?"
Edward grimaces almost at the same time as I do, and we both break out laughing.
"That's a very...small word for it."
"What'd you have in mind?" I ask. "I mean I know you're Catholic or whatever, but I can't be getting married at 17 just to keep fooling around with you." Did I say that aloud? Did I mean it? For a second, I think of Billy's horrified reaction.
Edward raises an eyebrow. From his face, I can tell that getting married immediately after fucking isn't as ridiculous to him as it is to me. Of course, of all the people in the world I want to be with at all times, I end up with an ancient, old-school vampire who's basically a Mormon.
"Alice says she sees me in your future," I say, quickly backtracking.
"More like she knows you're there because she can't see me. How about," Edward says, sliding his hand down my arm and into mine. I feel like a deer in headlights. I don't know why it's so hard for me to wrap my head around the idea of my hand in Edward's. It's almost easier to think when we're shoving each other against things or when I'm inside of him. He runs his thumb over the back of my hand. I stop thinking.
"Let's just say we're...together?" I try, "And leave it at that for now? Does that sound okay to you?"
He reaches up to pull me down to his level until I'm looking directly into his golden eyes. It's not a gentle look, and I like that it's not. "It does," he says, before pressing his lips to mine.