For all those times you stood by me
For all the truth that you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life
For all the wrong that you made right
For every dream you made come true
For all the love I found in you
I'll be forever thankful baby
You're the one who held me up
Never let me fall
You're the one who saw me through through it all

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'cause you believed
I'm everything I am
Because you loved me

Because You Loved Me, by Celine Dion, from the album Falling Into You, released in 1996

Notes. There is a brief allusion, and I mean brief allusion to rape. It does not happen, but Jacob is worried that it could have. There is also graphic descriptions of abuse carried out on Bella, so be aware of this as you read. It is not my intentions to trigger anybody, so please, please, miss out the underlined parts or just this chapter in general if you are not comfortable.

Being absorbed in the shadows was one odd experience to say the least. If Bella's shield was warm feeling and comfortable, then his shadow power was cold, and foreign, kinda like the snow hammering down above us. Of course, snow was hardly foreign to us considering we lived in Washington, but the country and the sheer amount of snow most certainly was something we weren't used to.

The whole experience was weird to us as it was. To be in the shadows- well that could be interpreted as something dark (hah) and dodgy, or something illusive and mysterious. But that wasn't the way I meant it at all. It was like we were walking under the ground if that made sense. Below us, there was a smooth purple path that we were all treading along, without any effort required.

Above us, you could see what I thought was the sky- I think it was what we would see if we were actually walking normally. God, I'm terrible at explaining things, aren't I. Anyway, we walked along in silence, and I found myself disliking this whole scenario. It just.. felt weird. Like we were bodiless, when we actually weren't.

Of course, just because I disliked the feeling didn't mean I was going to treat the kid any differently. Especially not because of a power he had- that would be like me treating Bella differently because of her shield. I wouldn't do that. We stopped padding along after a minute, as the underside of what looked to be a concrete wall came into view. Shadow turned to face us all, which consisted of one glance since we were in a straight line essentially.

"Follow me up here, and we arrive out at the second floor. I will let you know if there are any Vampires."

In front of Shadow, who was leading, there was a purple staircase. He slunk up it slowly, and at the top a square purple door appeared, as he walked through it, disappearing from sight. Since I was next in the queue, I walked up through it, blinking rapidly at the influx of light. I kept walking forward as my entire perception twisted and warped for a minute, giving me an odd sense of vertigo.

After the last of us exited whatever you wanted to call 'the shadows', the doorway shut closed without any fanfare. We padded along quietly, but the whole thing seemed off. Call me cautious, but the lack of vampire smell or company was jarring. We made it down a flight of stairs and to the first floor without any issues. There was no noises made from any of us, we didn't knock anything over, and we didn't come across one of the two different Leeches we were hoping to maul.

Well, I don't know if Shadow wanted to maul them, but we definitely did. Now we were just making our way to the stairs that would take us to my Imprint. There was an odd smell emanating from the stairs, and it was only proceeding to get stronger as we neared the stairs. It encouraged me to hurry up but I couldn't risk Bella's life.

The smell was sickly, smoggy, and alarm bells started ringing- not that they weren't already. The smell was distinct of a sick wolf, injured wolf, lost wolf, and I wanted nothing more then to find the source of it. But I think I knew the source of it… and at this point, I was just kidding myself.

Stairs, I had come to find out, were pretty evil when they wanted to be. Not only were they long, but they were difficult to navigate when you were a quadruped. You had to carefully position your back paws so that they were both on a step, and then you had to very carefully manoeuvre your front paws down a step, before inverting the process and repeating it.

See, it even sounded complicated. Plus, another downside of stairs, they were often confining, especially if they were used for secret purposes. It's cliché, I know, but it was also true. I think that either of the Leeches couldn't make this any less dingy if they tried. Although I would've thought that mind-reader Leech wouldn't settle for anything less then 'rich' considering the house they live in.

Can you tell I'm trying to distract myself from whatever we're going to find down there? A part of me was just thinking that everything would be okay, that it was all sunshine and rainbows. But obviously, I knew that was unlikely. The facts that we had just didn't add up into that. Her abnormal bond state.. the peculiarity of our bond, the lack of contact available, the sick smell emanating from the basement.

If all that added up to good things, then I was evidently stupid. The innocent side of me was not one I indulged in often, one I couldn't afford to indulge often. Not if I wanted everyone to be safe.. or as safe as I could make it. Shadow paused, his fur almost invisible- like a shadow- against the wall, stopping in the slight straight that was there before you got to the door.

"Tree should go first, as Strawberry's mate. It is one's right, and upon being separated, a mate's first sight should be their mate upon reunion."

There was something old about the words he was repeating. Old and weighty. He was either older then we had first anticipated, or had been through something so traumatic that he'd been forced to grow up. Although, there was something that was nagging at me- whether he knew it or not, he was human born.

His mannerisms and idiosyncrasies were too human to be a coincidence. But remembering his earlier reaction to the word 'human-born', I wasn't going to mention it. Shadow was an enigma.. and one that I wanted to find out. Nodding, I nudged open the door as quietly as I could, the five of us entering the room with a melancholic silence.

"Bella?"

There was no answer, no feeling of the comfortable barrier slipping over us, no soft words of love or even a hint that she was there. Searching in the pack mind, where the slot that was distinctly Bella's rested, we could feel the shield. We pushed, and we pushed, we knocked, we did everything we could. Even Shadow tried, poking at it as soft as one would stroke a puppy, but it made no difference. There was no answer.

The stench of blood, of sick wolf, only became stronger as we paced towards where it was coming from, and I could feel tremors adorn my body. But it wasn't the tremors that came with phasing, or when my wolf came too close to the surface, no, it was one of fear. Real, unadulterated, undiluted, fear. In the middle of this musty room, there was a black box. I looked at Shadow, and he nodded slowly. This was where Bella was.

The blanket was no normal blanket, rather being dense and almost impossible to see through, even with our enhanced eyesight. I grabbed the corner, feeling the heavy weight of it and the rough texture within my mouth, before digging my back paws in and tugging it off, bit by bit, inch by painful inch. Then there was a cage, with metal bars that were difficult to pry apart. I could tell that just by looking at them.

But that wasn't what I was looking at, no, it was at the wolf lying on it's side within the cage that I was looking at. Her frame was thin, her skin looking like it was clinging to her bones. It only severed to make her injuries more prominent. Clumps of fur were matted with blood, thick and dense, knotted to the extent it didn't look like separate strands of fur. It looked like part of her rib cage had partially caved in, being indented in the shape of a fist.

Her front paw was misshapen, broken, with drips of blood patiently oozing- that wound had been recent. There was something wrong with her hind leg, with it pulled back far more back then it should have been. On the floor, near her muzzle, there were two teeth, jagged, and bloody. That would explain the trail of blood coming from her mouth to the floor.

And that was ignoring the chains, attached to the bars of the cage, and wrapped around both her midsection, and all four of her legs. They were digging deeply into her flesh, blood similarly clumping around it like it was in the rest of her fur. If it wasn't for the shallow rise and fall of her chest, I would… I would think she was.. think the worst. I can't bring myself to say it. The thing is, despite all the injuries, I knew it was my Bella.

Deep within my soul, my mind, I knew. I didn't need to see her eyes, or her fur, or even her voice to know it. Both me, my wolf, and everyone in the room, knew it was Bella. I could feel my stomach churn, vomiting becoming a real possibility, and I could almost feel myself pale. We didn't waste any time, with the five of us trying to break open the cage.

God, he'd kept her in a cage, chained up like a wild animal. What a sick bastard. No, bastard was too tame, but I had a lack of words to explain my convoluted emotions. We needed to get it open, but without aggravating the shackles on her various limbs. We were strong, but without leverage, we couldn't get it open- we wrapped our teeth around that (the bars), they weren't coming out, but a few teeth would be.

"Find something to use as a brace. Make sure it's long- like a belt."

That sent several thoughts off in my head as we scoured the lower floors, and none of them were good. It was a deep, dark thought, taboo, and I hoped and prayed that if that Leech had any fucking sanity, he hadn't touched her in that way. If he did- there was nothing that could stop us from tearing him limb from limb.

We opened some of the large boxes, only to see that they were filled with either fabric, or thread. But they all looked significantly aged. This must have been a textile factory at some point in the past. Perhaps it was significant in Russia's history, but I wouldn't know. History had never been my strong suit.

"Found something."

Seth's voice was quiet and subdued, and I felt a flash of regret flood through me. Again, I wished I hadn't chosen Seth to go with me. I wish I'd picked Quil, or Paul, or Leah. Anyone but innocent Seth. I snapped out of the thoughts quickly, nodding as Seth trotted in front of me, a large trail of what looked to be a leather belt trailing behind him. Not as in the one you would wrap around your waist, but the ones that would go around old machines to tug them along.

This one was severed, but it was most definitely strong enough to do what we needed it to do. Everyone gathered back together once more, as we looped the belt around one of the bars that didn't have a shackle attached, and pressed it together. It was easier then one would think, considering our lack of opposable thumbs. Once that was done, we all got into position, alternating being on different sides, and bit into it hard. We tugged, claws scrabbling against the concrete, as we pulled.

Creak by anxious creak, tug by vicious tug, the bar came loose, sending us all jolting backwards with a large crack. While we had a reaction, Bella hadn't- no twitch or whine, and that only served to prove how her desperate her condition was. We repeated the process for the other bars, and after ten minutes- ten minutes too long- we had successfully broken off one of the walls of the cage.

I was about to try and collect myself enough to phase, to take note of how she was, but I was interrupted by the smell of Leech. I turned sharply on my hind legs as did the rest of the pack, and hissed. They say when a wolf gets too angry or too upset, growls and snarls turned to hisses. Evidently, that was true- or I was part shifter cat or something.

"It's just me, Carlisle. I've got medical supplies."

He was calm, and just appeared out of nowhere, but he approached us nonetheless. Although still angered about where he had disappeared off too, I couldn't deny that Bella needed medical attention that I couldn't give her.

So, we parted at my command, and he approached the still form of Bella. You could hear a pin drop as he sucked in his breath, and that was how you knew things were bad. Still, he went down on his knees, noting her various injuries, as well as reaching for the scruff of her neck, feeling for what was probably a pulse.

"There's a pulse. She's still alive, but she needs medical attention, urgently. We need to get her back to the plane- but I'll do all I can to stabilise her for now."

I sat down next to Bella's limp form, watching diligently as Carlisle opened his bag, which was filled with various medical supplies. He looked at her, before carefully moving around the shackles. He wrapped his cold hands around them, and tugged them apart with ease, leaving an indent in Bella's fur. He moved all around her, doing the same until he got to the one around her midsection.

That one didn't look like it was going to come off any time soon, because it was so tight around her ribs, that even I could tell that removing it could break her ribs… worse then they were already. Slowly, Carlisle moved to where the chain to the shackle was attached, before pulling it off, causing it to clang to the floor, bloodstained and bent. While it was still attached to her ribs, at the very least she could be moved now.

"I can't remove the chains without damaging her ribs further. It'll have to stay on until I can remove it at my home."

The fact that Carlisle was explaining everything he was doing, helped calm me down. It was in that moment that I realised something crucial. I couldn't trust him and his Coven to do anything for the well-being of Bella or the pack, but I could trust him to keep her alive right in this moment. And this is what kept me from lunging at his throat every time I saw him move her injuries, every time I imagined what he and his Coven put Bella through when they upped and left.

I moved around, nosing her on one of the few uninjured spots, hoping to elicit some response. I got none. Not even a huff or puff. Shifting out of the way, Carlisle approached her jaw, pressing his fingers underneath her lip and pulling it up, showing her full row of teeth. Or rather, her full row minus two. He moved his fingers away, before carefully cleaning a wound that was aggravated and sore.

"Can you make a stretcher? We need to move her."

Although it pained me to move away from Bella, I had to make sure we could get her out of here. We separated as I threw a wayward glance at Bella, before trying to find either a large pole, or a long, strong, thin piece of fabric. I guess it was a good thing that we were in a textile factory. It was one of the few things I could be positive about.

Positivity wasn't easy to have when your Imprint, who you haven't seen for so long, is unconscious and severely injured. Jumping up on my hind legs, I rested my paws on the large box, poking my head over the top in an odd imitation of a dog. Bella would probably call it cute.. Using my front paws to hold myself steady, I pushed off the floor and landed neatly in the box.

In case I hadn't mentioned it before, when I said box, I mean like those giant industrial boxes. Thick wooden planks, deep and filled with different things. Pawing at the bottom, there were a series of sheets of fabric. Different textures, and smells, and strengths, so I did what anybody who didn't know two damns about fabrics did- kick them out, with a backward scrabble.

Kinda like cats in litter trays, just minus the litter tray. Perhaps not my best analogy. Once it was empty, I jumped out, clearing the border with ease.

"Seth, you any good at recognising fabrics?"

"I can recognise a few, why?"

"I found a whole box ton that we could use for the stretcher."

Between all of us, Seth was the most likely to be able to identify fabrics. I had no chance of knowing, because my Dad wasn't particularly crafty, (or at least not with fabrics), Embry's Mom wasn't particularly creative either, and Jared.. well, the last time she tried to make anything, we had a fallen down wall to contend with. To be honest, that was probably why Jared had Kim cook for him so often.

Seth appeared from round the corner, nose snuffling and his own claws carefully poking at the threads. As he poked through the large pile, I returned to searching for metal. The confined room and the fact that it smelled mostly like sick wolf made it difficult to narrow down the scent of sick wolf, because it was so overwhelming. Pushing it aside, I got the smell of copper. I waited and double checked the scent, because it could so easily be blood, but no, from what I could tell, it was actual copper.

I didn't need to check however, because this time Jared had found some steel rods. The ends were jagged and sharp, but I took one of them from where he was nudging it, carefully gripped it in my mouth, turned my head, and dragged it along the concrete. The sound was ear-splitting, like nails down a chalkboard, but it was blunting the edges so that they were easy enough to carry. While I was doing one pole, Jared was doing the other, so the noise was doubly as bad.

Still, with a bit of superhuman strength, and a strong force, they were blunt. As we returned to Carlisle, Seth did with a deep purple fabric, draped around on his back like a cape. Even if the purple was a bit off putting. Carlisle turned away from where he was working on Bella, and I could see four bandages matching the injuries that she was given by the cuffs, and there was two IV's being hung up on the bars.

One was a deep ruby red, the other was a clear, gooey like substance. I guessed the former was blood- leaving me absently wondering how he knew her blood type- and the latter was something to do with dehydration. Carlisle flitted over to us- that's how Bella referred to it, I remember,- a needle in his hand, connected with a white thread. We dropped the stretcher materials on the floor, and nudged the poles in line.

Carlisle folded the fabric up and around the pole, before his hand became a blur as he rapidly sowed the flap together. I blinked, looking at the rows of neat white stitches, as he did the other side. He then dragged it over to Bella's side, before frowning as he crouched down.

Before he could even verbally say anything, our home-made stretcher momentarily disappeared in a flash of purple, before it appeared under Bella, without jostling Bella in the slightest. Then, dark purple barriers made their way around the edges of the stretcher, and I found myself thanking Shadow silently, as he nodded.

"I'm going to need someone to help me carry her."

I took a deep breath, before closing my eyes and trying to get it together enough to phase back. I can't get her back without being human. We can't carry her as wolves. I bit into my lip, before eventually phasing. Perhaps it was the desperation to save my Imprint that did it. Carlisle threw me a t-shirt and jeans, slightly too big for me and draping over my body, but it would at least keep me warm.

Carlisle grabbed the front of the stretcher with ease, and I carried the back, with the other four wolves flanking us on two sides. As we hurriedly walked up the stairs, being forced into single file, I found myself looking at her limp form with human eyes, and begging for her to be alright.

Please Bella, hold on.

Author's Note

Hello!

So I'm back at school now. *Sigh* Got two tests (not exams) coming up this week, Chemistry and Maths. That'll be fun. And when I don't have tests coming up, I keep getting reminded about next years exams. Which, y'know, aren't until next May. I do love my life sometimes.

But I should stop complaining, because I'm far from the only one in that scenario. So, for a more exciting topic. Well, exciting for me. The original, original, Bloodmoon, was a grand total of seven chapters long, which was twenty four pages, and had a grand total of 15,594 words upon completion.

Bloodmoon now, the rewritten version, currently unfinished, is 69, 259 words right now, twenty chapters long, and 123 pages. But anyway, it's not that statistic I want to go over. As of now, we have a grand total of 85 reviews, 69 favourites, and 116 followers, with 14,380 views. That's... awe inspiring, it truly is. I've never had so many people comment on something I've written, and the fact that so many of you love my story means more to me then I can ever express.

I know I've mentioned it before, but thank you all. Thank you for your support,your reviews, your views, and for supporting the story of a sixteen year old. Yes, age drop. I'm sixteen in case you didn't guess sooner. Anyway, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all. I owe you a lot more then I can ever say.

On that joyful note, I have a question of the week for you. It's got to be a special one, but I'm really, really unoriginal. So, here it is. What is one thing you don't understand about yourself.

It's a rather loaded question, and there's an awful lot that I don't know about myself. I guess the most pressing question is why I often feel left out and an outsider. I have some ideas, but nothing concrete. My main idea is that because I'm so much of a tomboy, most girls don't feel comfortable talking to me. And the boys.. well, I'm a girl so they obviously won't talk to me. So it leaves me in a weird place, because I don't really fit in with many people.

There are other notable things, but I guess that's the first thing to spring to mind.

Anyway, I've got to go to bed, but I'd better finish this off first. Thank you once again for reading, reviewing, even just interacting with this story. I really appreciate it, and my heart swells thinking about all of you readers.

Have a great week, and I'll see you all next time!

~Cait