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KISS PROTOCOL
Chapter 13: She's here.
As the wolves ran faster than they ever had, the vampire they were chasing shot glances to his back, taunting them, and making them angrier. This vampire also knew very neat tricks about how to escape the wolves. He continued his taunting in the high branches of a tree. It sat there for a few hours, studying how the wolves rounded the tree, howling and groaning. The vampire quickly realized that the howling called more wolves. So, he stood there, surrounding by more than five angry wolves.
However, his thirst got the better of him, and quicker than any would have thought, the vampire left the safe confines of the high tree branch and resumed its marathon on the ground. But the wolves were ready. Jasper had told them, how often vampires would seek refuge in a high place, but once they came down, it took them a few seconds to regain their speed and take off running again. So, the wolves had those few seconds to their advantage. Jared took him down first. However, the vampire managed to get out from under Jared's wolf body, he seized him and launched him high in the air against the trunk of a very massive tree. Jared hit the tree with loud crack, that made him wine, but his falling on the floor was way more painful that the crack they heard before. Jared's right femur was broken, the height had been too much, and the wolf retreated into himself, leaving Jared laying naked on the floor, crying, moaning, and clutching his leg with one arm.
Paul has witnessed everything in slow motion, terrified that the vampire would decide to crush his bones, or worse, bite him. But it didn't. Not that breaking his leg was better. "Jay!" Paul's panicked voice resonated in the pack's mind.
He nudged Jared's side carefully with his big nose. "I'm ok." He managed to mutter. "Finish him off." How he had not passed away from the pain was beyond everyone's mind. Sam directed everyone to follow the leech, while he stayed with Jared.
The problem was that he would also be naked if he phased back to human, and it would be an inconvenience in the public eye of the reservation if he strolled around naked, carrying a naked crying Jared. So, he sat there, not taking off his attention from the vampire pursuit, but not taking off his attention from Jared either. Rapid healing worked on flesh wounds, but broken bones were another matter.
The wolves were used to flesh wounds, but they had never experienced a broken bone, so they didn't know what to do, or how to react, beyond not touching Jared as every little movement send him into a fit of cuss words and calling someone's mother. Sam was worried that the bone had dislocated and punctured anything important in his leg, but as Jared seem very much lucid, he had hopes that the extent of his injuries was just the bruised shoulder, and the broken femur.
The other wolves ran deeper into the forest for what seemed like ages but might have been in reality, about half an hour. Paul was hyped because he had had the brilliant idea of ripping the leech's arm and question him. He didn't say much, but they gathered he was acting alone. At least, they hoped so.
Once the hyped diminished, they needed to plan how to get Jared back to the Reservation and get Sue Clearwater to help them fix whatever was broken.
"We're closer to Forks, than the Reservation, and he needs rest." Jacob observed. Jared's condition had gotten worse. His pain was heightened, and the bone was trying to settle in the wrong position. "We can get him to Bella's. We'll do everything from there."
Sam agreed with the plan, and phasing out of the wolf, he managed to lift him with the help of Paul, to his two feet. The transit was very slow, but Sam ordered Jacob to go ahead and tell Bella everything. That way, they could rush things, and maybe, with a little luck, Sue could be there when they arrived.
On the way back, the only way to keep Jared distracted was to give him a very detailed story of how they had disposed of the vampire. It was gruesome, and Sam was sure that half of what Paul was saying was a big embellishment of the actual events, but he was too immersed in getting Jared to Bella's house that he didn't mind the fantasy.
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Bella was a set of blurry motion once she got Jacob to relay what had happened. Lucky for him, she had a set of his clothes in the house (yes, they were both equally surprised about that). However, she only had clothes enough for one wolf, and she was sure Charlie would not appreciate her giving his clothes away, so she grabbed a sheet from the linen closet upstairs and had it at the ready for Jared's arrival. She thought he might appreciate something to conceal his nakedness.
In the haste of things, she had only called Sue, but she wondered if she should call Kim and tell her what had happened. She knew she would have appreciated being called if it had been Jacob instead of Jared. But ultimately, it wasn't her decision, but Jared's or in any case, the Alpha.
She was a bundle of nerves for around twenty minutes after Jacob's retell of events, she had already everything ready, but she couldn't stay still. Jacob was also nervous, he was pacing around the living room, so much so, that if wolves could dig holes just by pacing, her living room would have a big hole by the moment Sam and Paul arrived half dragging a sweaty and groaning Jared.
She blushed at the sight of three naked wolves but didn't say anything. That was not the moment to be a prude. She was all action, conveying Sue's instruction of laying him on the sofa and covering him with the sheets. They didn't have to wait long for Sue's arrival.
Bella appreciated in her head that Sue had enough state of mind to bring the guys a pair of shorts at least. It's not that it was making her uncomfortable to have two (as the third was already covered) naked guys in her living room but seeing as she had never seen a naked guy with her two eyes and in a sort of face-to-face situation, it was kind of difficult to decide where she should focus her stare. If Jacob was that well-endowed, well, she was in for a treat (no, she hadn't had the time to detail his dick when he arrived all flustered). She blushed way more furiously at the thought, but no one noticed, because they were all too busy checking with Sue.
"Enough!" Sue's order caught her by surprise. She jumped from her seat in the kitchen and stood to attention, trying to see what was going on in the living room that had made Sue mad. "Leave the room, all of you. You're crowding me and I can't work like this." She was equally surprised to see all the guys retreat into the kitchen. Apparently, they not only followed orders from Sam, but from Sue as well. She hid her amusement, but it was a hard task to do when they all looked like chastised little kids.
Jacob hugged Bella from behind in one corner of the kitchen, while they observed the guys pacing the small place. She was very nervous and wanted to do something; but couldn't decide what task could be useful enough in this situation. The guys didn't look like they would eat anything. She wouldn't if she were them.
"Has anyone called Kim?" She asked suddenly, remembering her previous thought.
Paul shook his head. "I'll do it." There was no point in him asking for her phone. She gave it to him without any more explanations. He kissed her cheek and resumed his former post.
He relayed the message to Kim quickly and without as many gruesome details as he had told Sam and Jared. Sam appreciated the effort, no need to frighten the poor girl any more than she might already be at the news.
"She'll be here in 10 minutes." Was all Paul said while returning Bella her phone.
Bella could see that even though everyone was equally distressed, no one looked as worried as Paul.
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Sometime later following Kim's arrival, who took post next to Jared's face, Sue declared him healthy enough and out of danger. It was as if someone had been holding a string and tensing it to its limits, and suddenly decided it had had enough stress and decided to cut it with a scissor. All the wolves' mood increased significantly, and they shared hugs and howls of joy.
That was until Bella's phone rang with an incoming call from Alice, who only managed to say, "She's here.". The wolves immediately jumped into action. Jacob kissed Bella deeply but quickly and strip of his shorts, not having time to give them to her, same as Paul and Sam. She saw a few naked butts before they turned into blurs of fur.
She reached the living room to offer some help, now that the wolves had gone. She saw Jared trying to get up, and Kim trying to hold him back. Bella noticed that Sue was not in the living room at the moment.
"Lay down, Jay. You're not going anywhere in that state." She begged. Her eyes were red, which clearly indicated she had cried.
"They need me." He managed to say through clenched teeth.
"It won't do them any good if you're limping behind them, and unable to phase." Bella said. "That would not only put you in danger, but the others as well." And she wasn't about to lose anyone because of anyone's stubbornness.
Kim agreed with Bella, but Jared kept trying to stand up. "If you so much as put one leg in the floor, I will drug you for the next week." Sue's threat did not fall in deaf ears. Jared gaped at her and let himself fall down with a grunt on the sofa's cushions.
Bella wondered if Sue would have followed through with her threat. She was a very strict woman, but she could see she was also very sweet. The loss of her husband had not detered her from her duties to her reservation. She kept going on, with her face held high. Bella decided that she admired her resiliency, and if there was someone she wanted to resemble in the future, was her.
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To Bella's surprise and amusement, Emily arrived at her house with a basket full of groceries. Emily's answer to problems was food. But then again, Bella would had backed around a hundred different cookies when Alice told her that Edward was coming back. She could understand how she was feeling.
"How have you been feeling?" Bella asked pointing at her lower belly that still remained flat.
Emily smiled widely. "It hasn't been as bad as I thought. I hadn't had any morning sickness, but I do have cravings all the time. Sometimes it's salty, and sometimes it's sweet. And very specific. Not anything salty satisfies me, it has to be chips, the greasy kind. And when it's sweet, it's either cookies or ice cream. Sam has had a very nice few days picking up different kinds of ice creams in the store for me." Her face lit up at the mention of Sam. It was admirable how they had pulled through and thrived after everything they've been through. It was clear as day to anyone who knew them, that they were perfect for each other.
"Do I hear wedding bells in the future?" Kim asked while she walked into the kitchen.
Emily hugged her and asked how Jared was doing. Kim told them that Jared had finally fallen asleep. The pain meds that Sue had administered had worked its magic. She also told them that Sue had asked to tell Bella that she had to leave but she appreciated everything she did.
She hadn't done anything, she said, and the girls laughed.
"Well?" Kim pressed staring at Emily. "Wedding bells?"
Emily smiled like the cat that ate the canary and looked away. Kim and Bella exchanged a look and prodded Emily for information.
"Fine!" She caved with a smile. "We were going to tell you all today, but giving the circumstances, it didn't happen." She extended her left hand towards her friends who gasped. "He proposed last night. It was the most beautiful thing ever. He was so nervous he didn't eat anything. And he reassured me like a thousand times that he wasn't proposing because I was pregnant. 'I've had the ring for a few weeks now, but I didn't know how to ask'" She mimicked Sam's voice to the amusement of her friends. "As if I would say no!" She finished with a dreamy smile.
Bella smiled. She wanted that. She wanted a romantic proposal, she wanted a family, kids, nosy friends. She wanted something normal amid all the crazy. And she could have that with Jake. She thanked the forces of the universe, or God, or the Quileute's spirits, whoever had helped her realize that what she wanted had been in front of her since the very beginning. She sent a quiet prayer for the guys well-being.
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It had been almost five hours since the wolves left her house, and the girls were getting antsy. Jared continued sleeping profoundly in the sofa. He would whimper from time to time, but otherwise he was in dreamland.
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How long can it take a pack of wolves and a clan of vampires to dispose of a vampire? Bella thought as she realized that it had been almost seven hours since they've left.
It was a good thing that Charlie had gone to that police thing in Seattle for the week (not before giving Bella a very stern warning of having Jacob over at the house. She had never been so red in her life).
The door burst open and in came Paul, Sam, Jacob, Embry, Quil, Leah, and Seth.
The mix between relief and surprise was such that neither of the girls knew what to say. Emily's mouth opened and closed a few times. Bella suspected that she wanted to greet Leah, but she wasn't sure what she could say.
Jacob broke ranks and approached her. She noticed he was limping. She raised an eyebrow, to which he shook his head. "Twisted ankle." She nodded. She could question him later. She was not going to let him go home that night. She would throw Charlie's rules out of the window.
She passed her stare from Jacob to the rest. Embry, and Quil seemed fine. They were dirty, but they seemed unharmed. Sam was wrapped around Emily, reassuring her that he was also unharmed.
It didn't go unnoticed to Bella how Leah flinched at the sight.
Paul was also unharmed, though he had a frown. Maybe he was still worried about Jared.
But it was Leah and Seth that made the silence persist. Now she kind of understood why it had taken them so long in getting here.
"Long story." He whispered to Bella when he noticed her looking at the siblings. "How's Jared?" He asked louder.
"He's better." They all turned around to see Jared standing in the doorway, smiling satisfied and much, much better. He was no longer sweaty, and pale. He had color in his cheeks and a satisfied smile. His sheet was tied to his waist in a very funny way. She appreciated the effort. Although, perhaps, if he had been naked, the silence in the room could have been filled with something else.
Paul reached him first. They hugged like guys hugged. Jared said something to Paul, which earned him a punch in the arm, which in turn caused Jared to chuckle. He opened his arms staring at Kim. "What? No hug for me?" He asked her. She smiled happily and hugged him tightly. Bella had never seen the two of them share affection in public, but it was a sweet image. They were kind of private about their relationship, but it was clear they loved each other.
This brought the question of how hers and Jacob's relationship looked from the outside. Did they seem as close and tight as Jared and Kim, and Sam and Emily? Was it obvious that she was crazy about him? That they loved each other very much?
Jared asked the million-dollar question then, bringing her out of her musings. "Did you get rid of the red-head?"
