Did they get you to trade
Your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
Did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?

How I wish, how I wish you were here
We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl
Year after year
Running over the same old ground
And how we found
The same old fears
Wish you were here

Wish You Were Here, by Pink Floyd, from the album Wish You Were Here, released in 1975

Bella's POV

The surrounding cold was almost enough to shrug off the pain in my pitifully empty stomach. Wherever I had been moved to, it was definitely cold. Well that, and small snowflakes seeped through the blanket or whatever it was on the cage definitely helped to confirm. The thing was, it wasn't like I had access to the pack mind. For all it's benefits, my shield was most definitely not a benefit at the minute.

I had tried to push it away like I did when Jasper was trying to read my emotions, but it was surprisingly difficult. Or not surprisingly to be honest- there wasn't an exact science to it. What's the best way to put this. It's like ripping off wallpaper. Without a slit or an edge to pull, it's difficult to pry it off., or even move. That's why it's so good- because it's easy to install in large chunks, and allows for more complicated designs then paint does.

Of course even if I could switch it off, it's not like I can tell them where I am. There are tons of cold countries in the world: Canada, Mongolia, Estonia, Iceland, Russia, etc etc. While I had counted the time I was on the plane- Seventeen hours and fifteen minutes by the way- even that wouldn't be much use. It would narrow it down quite a bit, but remember: Edward is a reckless driver/pilot. It could have cut down the time by any amount. Thus, making it difficult to track.

Still, with nothing better to do then lick my wounds, nurse my ribs, and commune with my wolf- who was becoming more quiet as time went on- I kept trying to get through to Jacob, either through our diminishing bond or the pack mind. I tried to chip away at my own shield, but it physically hurt. To describe it, it felt like shoving a needle through your ear as a werewolf.

It hurts as you push it through bit by bit, but it was slowly giving way. Then you take a brief break, and before you know it, it's healed. Leaving you back at square one. That was basically the situation I was in, but the pain amplified. It just made a shitty position even worse.

Of course, to make it even worse, Edward came back. In the middle of me trying to pry a metaphysical hole in my head. He moved the blanket, causing me to be harshly attacked by an influx of senses. I flinched back in surprise, but only to press against the cold bars. For a brief moment, I'd forgotten about the confining nature of the, well, cage. I almost came to the conclusion that somehow, the blanket, had to do with my senses being dulled, my bond being weakened.

I know, stupid.

But that was just stupid in the sense that it wasn't possible. Well, that, and the fact that removing the blanket hadn't made a difference. Whatever Edward did, this was remarkably methodical for a disease that caused 'mania and heightened aggression.' As I looked up unflinchingly into his eyes- unwilling to show fear- his ruby red eyes brought me alarm. He had slipped from the diet.. Honestly, I didn't know what to think any more. Like I mentioned before, he was remarkably coherent.

"I've got someone for you to meet Isabella. You might remember her."

Why did I have a feeling of foreboding..who on earth could he possibly have that would want to see me suffer? I didn't exactly make a habit of making enemies. I shifted around, favouring my left leg, while still keeping eye contact. Didn't have to be a perfect warrior to realise that taking your eyes off an enemy would be a very bad idea.

From behind Edward, I was greeted by someone I thought I'd never see again. A redhead with a matching pair of ruby red eyes, and a wicked looking snarl staring back at me. A face I hadn't seen since last year, where her partner gave me a crescent shaped scar on my palm, and pumped my then-mortal body full of her poison.

Victoria.

Jacob's POV

Alaska was cold. Perhaps not quite as cold as some places, but cold nonetheless. The chill nipped at my fur like a cheeky puppy, the wind leaving it's mark deep into my skin. Even with my exaggerated heat, I was not invincible from the cold. Resistant yes, but not immune. But the snow wasn't immune to me either- if you looked at my paw prints in the snow where it melted the surrounding area into a grey sludge.

We had ended up landing at a private airstrip about fifteen miles shy of Denali, and after the hours spent on the plane, I was longing to stretch my limbs. Shaking further snow off of my back, I couldn't help but look at my company. Upon landing- which was a tumultuous and smooth endeavour- we had been greeted by a trio of what looked like people. I knew better then that of course, because these were the Leeches' contacts.

The only human contacts they held were Bella, and of course that bridge had been burnt a long time ago.

Even if I somehow thought they were human, the hints that they weren't were all there. The godawful smell; not at all dampened by the snow, the golden eyes; inhuman and immoral in their unjustified glory, their stances; not quite human, almost seeming forced rather then smooth and natural. Carlisle and Psychic Leech stood a fair distance in front of us, as Jared stood in front of us in human form, as the others phased.

Normally it would be the Beta that would act as ambassador, but since I was currently indisposed, Jared had taken that roll, standing authoritative and tall, an echo of what my position would be if I had been doing it. Still, I leaded the trio of us who were in wolf form, with Seth and Embry flanking my sides protectively. If the trio of Leeches were surprised at our presence, they didn't show it.

There were no outward signs of hesitation, or even surprise, just cold golden stares. Doctor Leech stood forwards, nodding his head in that odd formal way that only someone of a certain profession could muster. Psychic Leech nodded as well, her hand waving a small gesture before returning to her side.

"Irina, Tanya, Kate, I wish we were seeing you under better circumstances."

I gritted my teeth, swallowing a vicious growl. My instincts were haywire, screaming 'Danger Danger, Imprint in Danger, Vampire in Vicinity', but biting their heads off or attacking them unprovoked would be a very good way to get them to stop helping us. And as much as I hated to admit it, without their help, our search would be much harder- and it was already an uphill battle.

So help me, if they mentioned Bella and what their son did to her.. or her powers without her specific permission- not that they could currently get it- then they would find my teeth in their flanks.. or at the very least, a very loud, ear piercing howl down their dead eardrums. It was Bella's secret to tell, and I wasn't about to let them throw it around like a ball. They bowed their heads, before the middle one, (I had no idea what the Leeches' name was, and had no desire to learn) stood forward, hands clasped together.

There was a quiet humming that seemed to echo around her, and I had to strain my ears to hear. I couldn't place what it was, but I definitely recognised it from somewhere. Still, I watched them dutifully, the snow melting around me and my claws firmly stuck into the dirt, to help prevent any 'accidents'.

"You have pets?"

Sparky asked, causing the three of us currently phased to growl. Yeah, I had figured out why the noise was familiar. It was electricity: the low hum was normally inaudible if you didn't have super hearing: but we did, go figure. This gave me the suspicion that she might have a freaky super power- just like the Leeches. And, if I were a betting man, I would guess something relating to electricity. I've shocked myself enough times, I'd rather not be on the receiving end of someone doing it deliberately.

Anyway, the reason we were growling. We weren't pets thank you very much.

"This is the Pack. They are not pets. They are helping us search for Edward using their expertise."

I had to give it to them, Doctor Leech knew exactly what to say to avoid limbs being torn apart. The only to have not spoken stepped forward, scowling all the while. Evidently, she didn't like us. That was fine. We didn't have to like one another, she just had to cooperate. I could see another reason why he hadn't mentioned the kidnapping: they would be less likely to help us in that case.

But if they believed that we were here to help save Edward- God tarnish the thought- then they would be more likely to help, out of good will for the Cullens. In a way, it was smart. Manipulative and arguably immoral, but smart. I guess you didn't live for a few decades without learning how to manipulate people. I will most definitely keep that in mind.

"My apologies for her. We wish to help you make sure that you get Eddie back safe and sound."

I could've sworn I saw the leader Leech- Carlisle, that is- flinch. And judging by our simultaneous looks, I would argue that all of us saw it. Although, we did snicker at the fact that she called Mind-Reader-Kidnapper-Leech 'Eddie'. Like a cat. 'Here Eddie Eddie. Come to me sweetheart.' I can definitely imagine an elderly person saying that. I have no sympathy for him however. Like I've iterated many times before.

"We last saw Edward heading down to Anchorage, like we mentioned before. Eleazar followed behind him before, but saw the plane lift off, in the north-east direction."

That was great. Just great. I had a few talents: hunting, car machinery, things like that. Teleporting and being able to narrow down her location from nothing, weren't one of them. Closing my eyes and tuning out of the conversation, I tried to investigate our bond further. It was about one of the few things I could do. Travelling along the rope, feeling the frayed nature of it and the dark surroundings, I tried reaching out for Bella.

It's like reaching out for something that isn't there- and feeling particularly odd and empty. My wolf, who had been silent, reached out with me, as we walked side by side towards where I ended and Bella began. This was unusual. Normally, I just travelled along the bond, but he was helping me as well- a silent companion.

There was something else different however- I could see a spirit and their wolf there as well. And obviously, even without the tell tale long brown hair, the chocolate eyes, and the loving gaze directed at me, it was easy to see who it was. My Bella.

I stormed forwards, determined, wanting to see her, reach out of her, like I hadn't been able to do in so long. By the looks of it, my wolf did too, as he barrelled forwards with me. But then I impacted a wall. Whatever this wall was, slamming on both sides did nothing to break it or even damage it. Pulling away sadly, I looked at the weary and slim form of Bella.

What was he doing to her? In both forms, she'd always been slight, looking like the wind might blow her over, but not this thin. An ugly purple splodge adorned her ribs, followed by a nasty cut on her face, and what seemed to be an injured hand. Whether it was broken or not, I honestly couldn't tell, but it didn't look right.

"Bella!"

I called out, placing the palm of my hand against the mirror like barrier that was preventing me from seeing my beautiful Imprint. She placed her much smaller palm against mine, as her wolf clawed the barrier helplessly. When I finally get to see her in some form, I couldn't because of some god damn barrier that shouldn't be here! Nowhere in the Imprint Legends had this ever existed, from what I knew! So what was causing it?

She stepped away, looking at her wolf in a shared look that I didn't catch. I could feel something trying to drag me back, but I fought it. I needed to see her. Even if it wasn't physically. Bella started to move her hands in a flurry of gestures, before finally miming looking at something on her left wrist. A watch! It made sense.

That was the only thing I'd ever seen her wear on that specific wrist, and even then she'd never worn it very often. I nodded, and then she quickly started counting on her fingers. Once she got to ten, she then started again on her other hand, before stopping at seven. Seventeen. So the watch meant time.. but why would the time matter. Unless it was the time flying!

That would help us narrow it down somewhat. Then she started counting again, this time stopping at fifteen. Quarter past five? That wouldn't be much use if we didn't know the time she left from. One thousand seven hundred and fifteen minutes? That's twenty eight hours loosely. That seems unlikely that she'd be able to keep count for that long..because she'd likely need to sleep. And eat. Hours.. Oh! Seventeen hours and fifteen minutes!

That's what she likely meant. Nodding towards her, she flinched a brief moment, before beginning to mime once again. Never thought I'd be glad for all of those charades games we used to play when we were kids. She crossed her arms, placing them just after her elbows, before moving them up and down and shaking. Was she trying to control a phase? Was she prevented from phasing?

Shrugging, and pointing to my wolf, head cocked in a silent question, she shook her head, no. Nothing to do with a wolf then. Pausing for a brief moment, she mimed pulling something on her hands, pulling something on her head, and wrapping something around her neck. This was related to the shaking from earlier.. Winter? I looked at my wolf, to see if he had any clue. He turned to me, ears pressed down, as he flicked his eyes towards Bella's wolf.

"Cold. Her wolf is acting as though Pack is travelling through snow. Mate means cold."

That made sense. She must be in a cold country then. I nodded, hoping that we were on the same page. We couldn't hear one another, so it wasn't like we could verbally commune, and lip-reading was surprisingly hard. Bella flinched harshly, as did her wolf. They seemed to be..in pain? And it wasn't an act, because I could tell by the way Bella was holding herself that she was in genuine pain.

As I began to be pulled back into the real world- hoping that nothing serious had happened while I wasn't paying attention- she mimed one last thing. She cupped her hands in a heart shape, before clasping it over her heart, before again pointing at me. I love you. I repeated the gesture back, before blowing a kiss towards her as she began to disappear. I pointed towards myself, before pretending to look for something, before pointing at her. I love you too. I will find you.

"She's roughly seventeen hours away, in a cold country, after flying on a plane."

I had no particular care for the fact that I was interrupting whatever conversation they were in. I had somehow returned to my human form- which I noticed almost immediately as my words came out as words rather then growls. The fact that I had three vampires staring at my naked form probably helped to be fair. The only reason that sprang to mind was that because I had seen Bella- even though she was far from healed- it had returned some semblance of control.

Now, don't mistake me, I was nowhere near not panicking, but I managed to get enough reassurance from our impromptu 'meeting' to wrangle in my body trying to force me to phase. Doctor Leech turned to me, as I stared impassively at our group. Jared had stepped back, allowing me to take point. I was more then happy to take the leadership for once.

"How have you come to obtain this-"

The one who had called Edward 'Eddie' spoke up, looking at me with an indecipherable look. Doctor Leech turned to look at me, an unspoken question in his eyes. It was evident that the same question I had just been asked was the one he was pondering. How did I know? I deliberated for a few moments. Although I was sure that they had some hint of why I was so protective over Bella, I doubted it was the truth.

I wasn't ashamed of Bella by any means, but I had other things to consider.

One: The Cullen's weren't aware of our Imprinting. Two: The Leech Coven- note, not the Cullens- weren't aware of Bella being kidnapped. They were just aware of Edward. And thirdly- it didn't seem very rational to those outside the pack that I had just 'seen' her via a bond in the back of my head. But, a small vengeful part of me wanted to shock the Cullens with a revelation- that Bella was mine and not his.

That she loved me and not the Leech. That she was both wolf and human, and not just the frail human that they loved to break. So, I smirked, puffing up my chest in a deliberate manoeuvre to piss them off, and deadpanned, much to the pack's amusement and hilarity.

"Oh that? She's my Imprint- I managed to finally contact her through this specific bond in the back of our heads."

I was not disappointed with the looks of disbelief echoing on their faces, but I truly couldn't care less at this point. Besides- I'm sure Bella would find the whole situation amusing- and perhaps, like a double edged sword, it would get them off both mine and Bella's backs.

Author's Note

Hello from a Volkswagen Passattttttt

I'm currently travelling up the M111111

I'd like to tell you, I'm tired.

During this journeyyy.

But soon, I will be,

at a flat in Edinburgh.

Or I would be, if I was actually in a car. Technically, at the time of writing this Author's Note, it's the night before, and I'm preparing to go to Edinburgh for a while. But when this is uploaded, I will actually be in a Passat (provided I'm not ridiculously late).

Also, another note. Next weeks chapter might be delayed. I'm heading to Edinburgh, which is a holiday for me. When I'm in England, I get time and stuff to write cause I'm just seeing family. But, I won't have wifi there, and while I'll have my laptop, whether I get time to write is something else entirely.

I'll try my best of course, but I can't guarantee anything. So if there isn't a update next week, you'll know why. I'm just apologising in advance, and so that you have some forewarning.

Anyway, here is this weeks question: What is your dream destination to go on holiday? I haven't travelled much, but I'd like to go to either Italy (Ciao, amicos.) or Australia (G'Day Mate). America seems pretty cool too- I'd like to go to either the Big Apple herself, or even LA. Of course, I'm open to smaller cities.

Anyway, I've got to go. Either annoying my brother with music he hates for whatever reason, or watching the road pass me by.

Have a nice week, and I'll see you when I see you!

~Cait