I'm cutting my mind off
Feels like my heart is going to burst
Alone at a table for two and I just wanna be served
And when you think of me am I the best you've ever had?

Happily ever after
How could I ask for more?
A lifetime of laughter
At the expense of the death of a bachelor

Death of a Bachelor, by Panic! At the Disco, from the album Death of a Bachelor, released in 2016

The minute the heated emotions of distress, anger, and fear, ran through the bond I shared with Bella, I wanted nothing more then to run to her. But I was stuck, and I couldn't leave my dad alone in Port Angeles. Carefully trudging behind Dad, I whipped out my phone, slamming in Bella's number with such force that I was surprised the phone hadn't snapped. Ring. Ring. Ring.

It went to voicemail, and I took a breath to avoid launching it across the store. I tried again, but to only get the same go-damned response. Trying to avoid phasing in the middle of the store, (because that would be a great way to give up a secret), I punched in Embry's number, knowing he wasn't phased and should be at home.

"Hey Jake-"

"Can you go check on Charlie and Bella? Something is wrong."

I skipped the pleasantries, as I could hear Embry getting changed in the background. Distantly hearing the sound of the door close on his head, he quickly muttered out two words, before hanging up with a sharp tone.

"Going now."

Slipping my phone back into my pocket, I purposely strode towards my father, who was wheeling towards the checkout. As I tried to contain my lightly trembling hands, he gave me a look, before nodding at me. I put the various items on the counter as the guy scanned it (all too slowly), with Dad wheeling to the bit where you had to pay.

"Let me buy this, and we'll go."

Apparently, I managed to convey most of the situation via my eyes. I consider that a talent. The damn cashier was scanning our items so slowly, that I was tempted to snatch them out of his hands and do it myself. My Imprint could be in danger, and this idiot was taking his god damned time when it came to scanning some bloody items.

After a few minutes of barely contained anger, a wolf pacing and yowling in worry, and a growl being choked down, he had finally finished scanning them. Dad threw the money to him, and grabbing the handles of his wheelchair, literally ran to the car. I was awaiting a return phone call from Embry, but my phone was staying stubbornly silent in my pocket.

Quickly getting my Dad situated into the car, and throwing his wheelchair into the back- I didn't particularly care if it got damaged, I could fix it easily enough- and slid into the driver side of the rabbit; putting my foot down on the clutch, turning on the engine, almost stalling the car because I released the clutch too fast, before slamming down on the accelerator, causing the wheels to spin and for us to speed out of the car park.

"What's going on? I could practically feel the anxiety rolling off you in waves, and was about to think I'd have to explain why my son could become a giant wolf."

"Something's wrong with Bella."

I explained, tersely, concentrating heavily on the road as I weaved in and out of traffic. While I could survive a car crash at this speed, my dad most certainly couldn't. I'd rather not kill one of my last remaining family members.. My grip was tight on the steering wheel, knuckles white and my whole form still and rigid, trying to get back to La Push as quick as I could.

Bella's stream of emotions up till now had been constant, the feeling of abject terror, fear, and fury constantly feeding into the back of my mind, mixing with my own emotions, further fuelling my own terror. When it cut off though- that made everything even worse. Because there were two ways that stream stopped: death, or being unconscious. Even during sleep, the stream was still there, linking the two of us.

I would know if she was...dead...because I had heard stories of previous wolves who had lost their Imprints, and I didn't feel the hollowness settling in my soul, the shattering grief. But I couldn't consider that a positive, not when I still didn't know what happened to Bella.

As my phone began to vibrate, I tossed it to my dad, who caught it with a much gentler hand then I would have managed. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him answer, and put it on speaker phone, so that Embry's voice rang out loudly into the car.

"She's gone Jake- a Leech has been here. Charlie's unconscious at the minute, but we can only assume he's been a witness to it all. Sue's looking after him now."

Swallowing the urge to phase, I floored the accelerator even more, so hard I was convinced the pedal was going to snap under the pressure. Dad seemed to realise that I was trying my hardest not to phase mid car journey, because he took the chance to reply on my behalf, his own jaw set, and worry settling in his eyes.

"We'll be there soon."

The minute we pulled into the drive, tires screeching and leaving imprints (pun not intended) on the ground, Sam and Embry were waiting for me, standing patiently by the side. Sam's expression was one of anger, fury, and it was obvious that he was angry that this had happened. My wolf was pacing furiously and in anguish, feeling like we had failed to protect Bella.

And we had- I make no mistake there. But. Despite that lingering guilt, a part of me realised that other then staying glued to Bella's side until the end of time, there was nothing I could have done, unless I suddenly mastered teleportation. But that didn't do much to relieve the guilt.. Embry moved around to my Dad's side of the car, retrieving his wheelchair, as I got out of the driver's side, with Sam instantly going to meet me.

"Who?"

"We believe Edward. The other Cullens are with Quil, Jared, and Paul, as they swear they had nothing to do with it. Charlie has just woken up, and is with Sue. He has minor injuries, but is otherwise fine, just in shock. Would you like to see him?"

I took a deep breath in, trying to calm myself down. I had to see Charlie- he could, at the very least, tell me about the state of Bella before she was taken. And, considering he was the closest to me out of the whole pack, he would no likely want to talk to me about the pack.. But I couldn't do that if I was on the edge of phasing. I don't want to give him a heart attack.

"Give me a minute."

Sam nodded, and I stalked off into the forest. I had no intentions of phasing, but I finally released the vicious snarl that I'd been holding in since the phone call. I slammed my fist into the nearest tree, and saw a hand print in it, the bark crumbling around it. To the best of my ability, I howled into the sky, as wolf like as I could in this form, hoping, naively, for a response from the one I loved.

As deer scattered, the sky splitting, and the trees vibrating from the anger, each returning my chorus, the one answer I was looking for stayed stubbornly silent. After about ten minutes, with the cold air being my only solace, I turned on my heel and headed back inside, where my Imprint's father was waiting, no doubt worried sick.

I'd have to tell him the full story to do with the Cullens..but I was going to keep him safe regardless. I wouldn't let him try and go after Edward by himself- and I most certainly would keep him safe in Bella's absence- I knew that would keep her happy. Something told me that, if it came down to Charlie or Bella, Bella would sacrifice herself every time- and I didn't find that a comfort.

Eventually, once I had a firm handle on my emotions, I walked to Sue's, where I knew Charlie was. And when I said walked, I do mean I literally walked, on my own two feet. You might think, with good reason, that I would want to be in wolf form, to try and find Bella. Truth be told, I would be spending a lot of time in wolf form later.. especially once the Imprint kicked in and would force me to stay in that form- yeah, a lovely side affect from the Alpha's imprint.

Because the wolf was a lot easier to search with, stronger, and able to track Bella more efficiently- and since the bond relied on the two of us being near each other, it wanted Bella to be found as soon as possible. It didn't have qualms about forcing me into wolf form. Anyway, the reason I wasn't in wolf form now, was because I knew Bella wasn't conscious yet- her side of the bond remaining stubbornly silent- but that she couldn't contact us, even if she wanted to.

In-between training sessions, we had investigated to see what Bella's shield was like: in order to hear the pack mind, she had to physically wrap it around at least one other wolf. Even then, she could choose whether we got to hear her thoughts or not. She could wrap her shield around me for over a greater distance then the other's, but once she was out of range (about ten miles) it became a hell of a lot harder- causing her pain for every second she stretched out.

And that pain only grew as the distance grew. So that was why I wasn't phased yet. Snapping out of it, I carefully placed my hand to Sue's door, knocking very gently- I didn't want to break it by mistake. She answered almost instantaneously, and I could see sadness flickering in her eyes. I ignored it, as she stepped aside and allowed me in, and I forced myself to put my anger to the side.

Going into the forest beforehand had helped, but I was still uneasy, and underneath that, terrified. I'd already had one near death experience where I'd nearly lost my Imprint.. call me selfish, but I was terrified it was going to happen again, when I wasn't able to help.

"He's waiting in the living room. He's got questions..I told him to wait for you. But he's adamant that he saw what he saw, so don't try and bluff your way through it."

She whispered, although to my ears it might as well have been normal volume. Nonetheless, I nodded sagely, rubbing my eyes before walking in, where I could see a pale faced Charlie, with a plaster on his face, and a wrist support on his..well, wrist. Sue came in with an extra chair, one a fair distance away from Charlie, and I sat down in it slowly.

Mirrors of my beloved's eyes stared at me, but where hers would be warm, his were hurt, hard, and flinty. But amongst all that, worried. He had seen his daughter presumably shift into a wolf before his very eyes, and I was glad to see he still possessed his protectiveness of his daughter.

"Jake.."

He voice started off wavy, his voice hitching for a fraction of a second, before he coughed harshly, rubbing his throat over a littering of bruises. Bruises in a hand shape. He removed his hands from his throat as I suppressed a growl, directed at Edward yet again. He dared to do this to Charlie? A human no less?

"Do you turn into a-"

Choking on his words, he waved his hands, pointing at the picture of a wolf hanging on the mantelpiece. It was a picture of Edmund Clearwater- a member of my great Grandfather's pack- wolf, grey with sandy streaks running through.

A mixture of Seth's and Leah's wolves respectively. I nodded slowly, as I carefully watched him. He was standing still, calm, and hadn't made an attempt to attack me or do something just as bad. I watched him take a slow breath in, before taking a sip of whatever Sue had gotten him.

"Was Bella always?.."

He trailed off again, almost as if he was unable to say the word 'wolf'. I shook my head slowly, suppressing the flinch as the memories of that day threatened to overwhelm me. I shook it off, before clenching my fist, an action Charlie no doubt noticed.

"In brief terms..what happened?.."

I took a deep breath in again, my wolf pining for Bella, and our bond shut like the slamming of a door. How was one supposed to summarise the fact that Bella was beaten up to the point of near death by her ill ex boyfriend who is also a vampire, and we had to try an experimental legend to safe her life which then turned her into a wolf. Huh, I guess I did summarise it, but perhaps I should be less blunt.

"Edward..inflicted injuries that would have been fatal. We intervened..which saved her life but turned her into a wolf. We've been helping her grow accustomed with it."

Charlie, looking like he wanted to murder Edward- to be fair, we all did- glanced at me. I decided to not go into details about her shield, or anything else like that- because that didn't exactly fall under brief. It wouldn't really play an effect on him anyway. Realising that he began to get up, I hurriedly continued on with my explanation, trying to discourage him from trying to murder a vampire. It wouldn't go well for him..

"We're actively hunting for the two of them now, tracking them. The Cullens are working with us as well."

"What can the Cullens do?"

Judging by the scowl coming from them, I would guess that Charlie wasn't their biggest advocate. I had nothing to do with this, I swear! I didn't like to push my views onto someone..although I guess I am guilty of that considering that at the very beginning I had been trying to tell Bella they were bad. I was only too right..

"They..are mythological creatures just like we are. They are using their..abilities..to track her down. The only problem is, is that the lee- Edward, possesses those abilities too, so he can disappear well. There isn't really anything humans can do."

Charlie seemed to pick up on my slight stumble when referring to Edward, but didn't press. He instead slumped down on his chair, and put his hands on his heads. It physically hurt me to see him so defeated..but I clenched my jaw, and I could tell my eyes were flashing, much like my wolves.

"We'll find her. I won't rest until we do."

Bella's POV

It was dark. The floor was concrete, my claws scraping against them, not making a dent or any mark. The bars were thin, the surroundings dark, barely illuminated, even to my eyesight. Round my neck was a chain, thick, weaved with something that even my tugging couldn't snap. I was either too weak, or the chain too strong. Somehow, everything looped back around to not being strong enough. I paced the cage, the little room there was, trying to get out.

Digging the concrete floor did nothing but draw blood on my claws, and irritate my already injured paw. It hadn't healed right. Trying to slam myself against the bars had little effect, but only serving to hurt my already injured ribs. Edward had been gone once I had woken up, the only sign he had been there was the disgusting smell he left, smothering both the air and my fur.

I tried pushing out my shield, pushing out as far as I could, but it only served to bring me more pain. It was like having millions of drills into my head without any anaesthetic. Abandoning that for now, I focused on trying to search out Jacob through the bond, trying to ignore my sluggish feeling. I allowed myself to sink into the background, giving my wolf free reign, as I tracked back along the bond.

He was feeling vengeful..but also relieved. Presumably because he could feel our bond once again, but something was wrong with it. It was weakened..almost limp from my side. I didn't know what I could do to fix it, and my wolf wasn't much help either. She was anxious, a feeling I hadn't ever felt from the being that was usually confident and guiding. Looking into it, I realised it was the fact that we were caged, restrained, and injured.

It wasn't an optimal position to be in. Easing her from her discomfort, I forced myself to stand, refusing to lie down and give in, refusing to accept the pain. I had to get back to Jacob, to Charlie, to Sam and the pack, to Emily and the other Imprints. I had to get back. I had to fight.

I would claw and scratch and bite and do whatever it takes for me to escape- because I had to see everyone I loved again. It wouldn't be goodbye like this. For once in my life, I was going to fight back. I didn't have to like it, but it was for a matter of survival. And survival was the name of the game.

Author's Note

Ugh I'm sorry this chapter is so short. I don't really have a good reason, other then the fact I had a camping trip the other day, and I've been pretty anaemic. I'll try and make sure that next weeks will be longer!

On another note, I had the fun experience of trying to change the strings on an electric guitar. Said electric guitar is probably older then I am, considering that it was my dad's, and with the combined force of me and my mum, managed to snap 3 of the original strings. That was a learning experience.

Before I bid you adieu, I have a question. What is everyone's favourite time of the year? I quite like winter: something about the snow, the various holidays in it (Guy Fawkes, Christmas, etc etc), and I just find it alluring.

Anyway, I've got to go..sleep, presumably try and get more iron in my system, and rub my eyes until they go blurry.

See you next time!

~A sleepy Bookworm