I came, I saw, tore down these walls
Block one way, I'll find another
You know you'll always be discovered
If it's me, you choose, I can't lose
I'm in love with you if you love me too, yeah

Don't ever change, and I'll stay the same
We'll be swimming in the same direction
And we'll never lose this connection
Nothing they can do can stop this army of two
We're marching to the future, yeah, it's me and you

Army of Two, by Olly Murs, from the album Right Place Right Time, released in 2012

Call me paranoid, but there was something off about the Leech we'd caught and dismembered. It was too easy, and why would they come on claimed territory, for no reason at all? Something wasn't right, but I didn't know what, and I had no evidence to prove it. In every other instance, the Vampires that had passed through had been mid-travel, running through the forest, rather than just standing and waiting.

"What're you thinking?"

Sam asked me, staring at the ashes and keeping his eyesight off my own eyes. The flames still licked at the edges of the neat pile, the smell of Leech thankfully wavering away into the sky. The question Sam asked was one that nobody could answer.. and there was a lack of leads, only suspicions and worries. Blinking, and taking a glance at the ashes, my claws curling into the dirt and leaving deep arching marks, I couldn't but help but think of Bella.

"Something is coming. This was a test. No Leech is that stupid. We need to prepare."

Sam nodded in agreement, before swiping his paw across the pile of ash, scattering it and causing it to flutter harmlessly into the wind. I turned my back on it, with some heavy thoughts that I was trying desperately to keep from Bella. Was keeping this hidden from her a bad thing? Likely. It would most definitely end up biting me in the ass. But I was not letting her get involved with another fight if I could help it- not when she was still recovering from her previous ordeal.

"Are you?.."

Paul asked, cutting his sentence off halfway through. I sighed, walking back towards where I knew the rest of the pack were, mind in turmoil and my wolf silently trying to offer me support. Plus the block I was forcing myself to put on our bond, as not to worry Bella, who should be currently enjoying her time out of bed. I wasn't about to burden her with this.. but keeping it secret while we prepared, and keeping it out of the pack mind would be a very difficult job.

"Yes."

"Hey Bells."

I greeted, nuzzling her as her shield wrapped around me securely, indulging me in all the various conversations. She headbutted me lightly, her ears perking up and swivelling curiously. Looking around, I saw little Claire curled up on the blanket, with Bella wrapped around her protectively, not allowing any harm to come to her.

"How're you feeling?"

She shrugged, or at least, the best she could considering she was swaddled in both bandages and a blanket that was now draped over her. I wanted to ask her how her wounds were and if she was in any pain... but I equally didn't want to bring it up. I didn't get any chance to even open my mouth, because Bella, filled with a burning curiosity that I currently wished she didn't possess, asked me a question that I didn't have an answer to.

"What was that about?"

Clamping down hard on my thoughts, and heavily restricting what goes through, I fumbled for an excuse. The birthday planning was no excuse considering it was October... Uh... Aha! Becoming Alpha! That's technically not a lie.. just a half-truth. Still... I hated lying to her... Still, it was my job to protect her and our pack, and I would not fail again.

"They wanted to ask me when I wanted to take my mantle of Alpha.. and I said soon."

Bella watched my eyes for a moment, and I forced myself to keep her stare. I didn't twitch, and my wolf subtly bled into my form, helping me to conceal any signs of deceit. She seemed satisfied and nodded, watching as Quil came over to give her thanks for looking after the sleeping Claire.

"Does that mean I have to become Alpha Female?"

I shook my head. She should only become Alpha Female when she was ready. I said as much, and she smiled softly, looking at me with unwavering trust.

"I want to do it at the same time. Together until the end, I think."

And God, if that didn't pull at my heartstrings and made me sick with guilt.

I didn't sleep well that night. I had pulled a mattress onto the floor and had made my bed there. I could have slept on the plain floor, and that had been my plan, but Bella had insisted, and well, it hadn't been worth causing an argument. Not when I had the feeling we would have a lot of those in the coming months.

I tossed and turned, the mattress feeling more like I was lying on a bed of spikes then on soft cotton. The duvet was one I had long since kicked off, shifting awkwardly in an attempt to settle, but to no avail. Looking at the clock on the wall, it read 3:02 AM, meaning I had been in bed for just shy of five hours. Normally, I would go out and do a patrol if I couldn't sleep, but I had promised Bella I would stay with her for the night. And I'd rather not break her trust again.. or any more then I was already.

I'd tried everything I knew to sleep.. counted sheep, tried phasing, tried pacing, tried reading, and I'd tried listening to music. Nothing worked. So I propped myself up on a pillow, and borrowed Bella's copy of Wuthering Heights, as it was the nearest book to hand. Literally, because she kept it on the side of the bed, and it saved me risking waking anyone else up.

I honestly had no idea what she saw in this book because it was seriously one of the most boring books I'd ever read. I wasn't the biggest reader in the world, being much more 'get up and do it', but sometimes I could settle down to read occasionally. But, Wuthering Heights... God, it took the biscuit. Not only was it written in old English, but, it also had a thick Yorkshire accent written in it. I doubt even a modern Yorkshire person could understand it!

But, at the very least, I hoped it would be a good sleep aid. That's all I needed it to be. I'd managed to struggle through the first couple of paragraphs, feeling no more tired than when I had started when I heard whimpering. I tore my eyes away from the book- a difficult feat, trust me- and turned to look at Bella, who's legs were flailing limply in the bed. I could see the bumps of the duvet move as she twitched.

Her whimpers and whines were something that I'd unfortunately grown used to- hurting me every time they were uttered- because while she could be careful while she was awake, nothing was stopping her from jostling her wounds when she was asleep. We'd tried a lot of things to keep her comfortable, attempted to pad her bandages extra thick to absorb some of her movement, tried giving her some extra-strong painkillers. Nothing seemed to work.

So, I'd grown accustomed to her occasional yet often exclamations of pain, but still looked up to check on her out of habit. There was something different this time though. To accompany her whines and whimpers, and flailing back legs, I could see her entire body trembling, seeming so small in the bed. I got up, quietly and walked over to where she was laying, trying not to disturb her.

Whimpers of fear rang out as she thrashed wildly in the bed, muzzle snapping on empty air, and claws reaching nothing but sheets. Gouges littered the sheets, threads separated as neatly as if a professional seamstress had done it. I didn't want to touch her for fear of making it worse, so I tried the bond first, peering through it like I was walking on eggshells.

Bella?

The bond was shut tighter than Alcatraz. Nothing slipped through, no emotions, not even the faintest trickle of thoughts. Normally, the bond would be permanently open, freely keeping the bond open, everything shared between person and person, wolf to wolf, Imprint to Imprint, and heart-bond to heart-bond. The fact that it wasn't should have been worrying, if not for Bella's shield. It was a safety power mostly, so it didn't surprise me that it was sealed around her when she was most vulnerable.

Still, I was reluctant to force my way through unless there was no other way because I could make things a hell of a lot worse. I carefully stroked her back in an attempt to calm her down, but she only thrashed more, so I pulled my hands back. Even injured, her claws could cause some serious damage. Shaking her awake was unlikely to be an option, and would likely make things worse.

Can you talk to Bella's wolf?

There was a pause, and I could feel my wolf treading along the bond, softly and shyly, without making a dramatic entrance. Halfway through, I could feel him trying to project thoughts, but to no avail. There was no answer at all.

No. She seems to be trapped in her thoughts. It is an endless cycle.

Looks like we're going it the hard way. I took a deep breath in, before trying via the pack mind. It took a second or two to access it from human form, but I got there, eventually. There were a couple of other wolves phased, patrolling as they had gotten the night shift- I had day shifts for the next week or so, but they ignored me, their thoughts quiet as they knew Bella was stuck in wolf form for the foreseeable future.

"Bella? Bells?"

The other wolves currently phased were confused about why I was trying to wake up Bella. Surely I wanted her to get some rest? Yes, I did. But I didn't want her to be stuck in a nightmare either. I wasn't expecting a response, and I didn't get one. The pressure was beginning to form in my head, beginning to give me a little bit of a headache, so I tried one more time before retreating out of the pack mind. Time to try an injunction.

"Bella. Wake up."

There was no response whatsoever. Even with the current of power underneath, me trying to enforce my will, it simply washed over her like I was just speaking in plain old English. Sighing, and with the need to wake her up becoming more urgent with every increase of symphony and every flinch of pain, I'd given up doing it the relatively nice way.

No, I wasn't about to throw some ice-cold water over her, because that's just cruel. I traipsed carefully along our bond, with my wolf flanking me. Bella's mind was closed off, and I was reminded all too clearly of when she was kidnapped. Reigning in a snarl, we were going to have to try and pry through it with the force of two. We didn't need to, however, because it simply parted around us when I tried to move through.

Well, I had tried to slam through, with it parting, and managed to gracefully- not- land, sprawled on the floor. Well… whatever we were walking on. Could it be defined as a floor? Anyway, with my wolf snickering despite ourselves, and no Bella to greet us, we soldiered on. It was a deep and dark place, nothing like my hall of memories from earlier. The distinct feeling I was getting was that of solitude, of being alone, which was both one of our, and our wolves, worst nightmares.

There's something wrong. It should not be so... lonely.. here.

I agree. The fact that Strawberry isn't answering is unusual indeed.. and the fact that she would not wake up from her night cycle. This is very unlike her.

I was no experienced person at travelling through someone's mind. But instinctively, I knew something was wrong. Her mind should be a place of safety, or warmth, a place to be protected, somewhere she could retreat if she wasn't coping. It shouldn't be such a cold and almost fearful place to stay in. Yet again, it left me wondering what had Edward done to her.

I will go find Strawberry. I suggest you find her counterpart.

From that point onwards, we split. My wolf heading left, further into the inky darkness, as I forged onwards. There were no sounds, nothing to help me distinguish left from right, light from dark, the right way from the wrong way. It was unnerving, and honestly, I felt invasive for even doing this, but it was either this, cold water, or letting her suffer. And call me selfish, but I couldn't let her suffer. Not now. Not again.

"Bella?"

I kept walking through, trying to gather Bella's attention or get a clue to where she was. Soon, the shrouded walls were exchanged with wooden floors and bricked walls. It was still cold, and I could feel the wind slash at my body. Keeping myself collected, I kept walking, further into the cold air. Around my feet, barefooted as they were, snow melted away, parting as the ground does during an earthquake.

"Bella!"

I called out again, shouting as my voice echoed around, bouncing off every wall. I tried to listen out again, and faintly, ever so faintly, I heard whimpering. For better or for worse, I picked up my pace into a jog. I headed towards the sound, running through various corridors, that I was convinced would never end until I came to a doorway.

I didn't even think about it, pushing open the door into a dark room. Concrete floors greeted me as I jogged through, the cold even more noticeable now. It took me a minute to realise that I knew this room. Looking around, I saw Bella in that damned cage again, chains restraining her yet again.

"Bella!"

There was no response as I tried to get her attention. It was like I wasn't there in the first place. I saw Mind-Reader Leech leaning over her, hands outstretched as he kicked her again and again, striking her. I ran over to him, and pulled my fist back, throwing it with as much power as I could behind it. I wanted him to hurt. It made no difference though because it just passed through him like I wasn't even here in the first place.

For a brief second, he retreated from hurting her, looking directly at me. I bared my teeth, wanting nothing more than to hurt him yet again before I realised he was looking through me. Turning sharply on my heel, I saw my wolf standing, chained up like a dog. Blinking rapidly, and lunging forward, I tried to pry off the chains, before my wolf talked to me, from wherever he was.

That is not me. I am currently waking Strawberry. She should wake soon. Bella may require touch to wake.

That was the first time I had ever heard him refer to Bella as Bella, but I wasn't about to judge. So this must be part of Bella's dream. I chose, for the moment, not to dwell on the fact that she was envisioning me being hurt, and instead tried to break into the cage. Turns out, for once in my life, it was as easy as it sounds.

Upon inspection, my hand passed through harmlessly, and after experimenting with a few shaking limbs, and waves, I stepped through, none the worse for wear. Crouching down on my knees, I reached out, grasping the back of her neck loosely, and tried to ground her, murmuring her name. I could hear Edward taunting, the whines of the nightmare-me as he was pounded upon, and focused on trying to draw her attention to me. Bella was fixed on Edward though, and nothing I did would draw her attention.

My wolf and Strawberry- which is what I was calling her wolf- appeared out of thin air, before pacing over to us, but not without a glance towards the nightmare figures. Bella's wolf slipped through the bars, flanked by my wolf, who looked remorseful, wrapping herself around her. Bella's eyes seemed to clear a little, as her wolf kept doing that, as I and my wolf ran our hands/tongues down her fur.

"It's okay Bella. You're safe now."

And just like that, sharply and surprisingly, we were violently tugged back into my mind, back into my body, and nursing the violent metaphysical whiplash and headache. Upon opening my eyes and immediately shutting them again due to the world deciding to spin, and then opening them again, Bella had snapped awake, breathing shallowly. I rushed to her side, falling part of the way due to the dizziness, before trying to soothe her and let her scent me as a soothing mechanism.

"Shhh… Bella. It was just a nightmare. We won't let that happen again."

I just hoped it was a promise I could keep.

Victoria's POV

The army was progressing nicely. Powers of various forms, from pyrotechnics to the mind-warpers, littered throughout. With the additional training that was being provided thanks to a former general, they would be an army to be contended with. There was one power, one person with power, that she cherished most, however. That was the key to this whole situation.

Nicole. A young vampire, one of the ones she had turned herself, could neutralise shields, which would stop that bitch in her tracks. No shield meant she couldn't protect her pack of mutts, which made a glaring hole in their defences. She made sure that her key players were receiving one to one training because they could not fall. One of her scouts, another new vampire by the name of Troy, came back from scouting the wolves.

Something she had not been able to do, because she was keeping her firm control on the army. Troy had a passive ability, that was he had no scent. Riley, her first turned and for all intents and purposes, her love, had come across the boy while hunting for blood, and had taken the initiative to turn him. He had been highly rewarded for that.

"Report."

"Three of the wolves, the Russet one, the black one, and the grey one, seem aware that something is happening, but they do not suspect us yet."

The longer that they were unaware of the plan, the better. She would avenge her James, and make that bitch pay. She nodded sharply, looking over her drilling army, who were engaging in hand to hand combat and various drills.

"Powers?"

"Other then the female, none of them seem to have any powers. I await more reconnaissance, Mistress."

He was too valuable to lose, and so she restrained herself from giving him a lashing. Nodding stiffly, she planned out more strategies in her head, which was going a mile a minute.

"Find out who's family is who. Return with the information- strictly reconnaissance only."

He bowed, before disappearing. Watching over her army once again, Riley flitted to her side. Yes. She smiled, her predator-like grin shining in the light. This will be fun.

Author's Note

Hello all! I'm on holiday now so I've got time to dedicate to writing. It'll probably be my last proper holiday before exams, because of prelim revision taking up most of the Winter Holidays, and actual Exam Revision taking up the Easter Holidays.

Anyway, I'm actually in the middle of playing video games with my friends, so I really need to wrap this up, because idk what time it will finish. So I hope everyone has a nice week, and are enjoying themselves, regardless of what they are doing.

QOTW: What is your favourite thing to do with friends? I love playing football with my friends, but also Quadbiking and gaming. Simple pleasures. What about you guys?

Right, I'll see you all next week for another instalment of Bloodmoon!

~Cait