CHAPTER TWENTY - FIVE

(JPOV)

I was on all fours the moment I crossed into the woods, my shorts shredded and lying in fragments in the distance. Pauls howling became frantic and his thoughts were shouting when I phased in.

"Cullen's here... been chasing him down for miles. I alerted you as soon as I could. Embry and Jared are on their way."

"Just him? He's alone?" I huffed back, as I came to a skidded halt in front of him.

"No, there are others with him this time. They've been toying with us since last night. He's here for a reason and he's not leaving."

Bella's face flashed before me as I took off after the scent, my speed making it hard for Paul to keep up. We had been on high alert for them since Bella returned home but somehow they had slipped through, even with us running double patrols.

"They keep dancing back and forth between borders. I know the treaty states-"

"Fuck the treaty! You catch them... you destroy them. I don't give a shit which border their on." I barked out to him. My anger causing my tone to be harsh and demanding.

"Understood." Paul complied.

Their scent made my throat and lungs burn, as I roared aloud, splitting up from Paul and taking the trail drenched with the most acidic stench.

It was Edwards... I was certain.

I slowed my pace when the scent became mixed with human, making my stomach churn as I recognized it immediately.

Charlie...

I whipped around, hearing the movement from behind me as Edward dropped down from a towering tree. His eyes red and his hands covered in the same rustic color. His smile was sinister when he turned on his heel and took off through the forest again. I was fast to follow, coming inches from him before he hurled himself off a cliff, throwing himself into the water. I skidded to a stop and roared furiously.

"Their all headed for Forks now!" Paul roared, coming up fast from behind me. "They've got to be going to Charlie's to look for Bella."

We ran there like hell itself was on our heels... for it was.

I made it to Bella's house first, phasing back to human form and barely pausing long enough to slip into my cut offs before bounding up the porch steps. My hand froze near the door handle, seeing the trail of a bloody hand print smeared across it.

"Fuck!" I cussed, yanking open the door and shouting for Charlie.

The house was a disaster... his furniture turned over and tossed about. My lungs burned with the sickening sweet scent they left behind.

I ran upstairs, stepping over the broken pictures thrown there, and heading for Bella's room.

Her things had been demolished. Her bed torn apart... her laptop smashed and her clothes missing from her closet and drawers. Violent tremors rocked through me as I spotted a note taped to her bedroom door.

"Come and find me mutt. I'll be waiting for you."

I crumpled the note in my shaking hands just as Bella's frantic cry tore through the house. I ran back down over the stairs, seeing Paul now in human form trying to keep her away.

"You can't go in there! It's not safe-"

"Get your hands off me!" Bella shrieked in return, maneuvering herself out of his grasp and nearly tripping up over the porch steps. "It's my dad!"

I caught her before she could hit the floor, her face full of panic as she looked around.

"-Tell me... is he-..."

"I don't know where he is, honey." I admitted, holding her to me as she began to sob.

"He called me, Jake. I heard him- Edward has him."

"What did he say, Bella?" I asked, taking her by the shoulders.

"He wants a trade... me for Charlie... or -"

A low growl escaped me in response to her words.

Like hell...

"Edward swore he would kill my father if I didn't go back."

"We're gonna find him, Bella." I promised, taking her out of the house.

"You know he'll kill him!" She yelled, yanking out of my grasp, her eyes wild with despair for Charlie. "I have to make this right... he-"

"You're not going to him!" I yelled back, aware of her thought before she spoke it. "...No way."

"He has Charlie, Jacob! I have to do something!"

"You're not going near him. I need you to trust me." I begged her.

"There's no time."

"Yes there is." I replied, taking her face in my hands. "I know you're scared, honey... but I promise you. I'm gonna find Charlie and bring him back home to you. I need you to go to Emily's house right now... stay there with her. Sam will be there on watch... can you do that for me?"

She nodded, but her distant gaze told me something else.

I instructed Paul to take her to the Res and to leave her with Emily. He nodded to me in wolf form and lowered himself down so she could climb on.

"Be careful with her... and don't let her leave your sight... not for a second." I ordered before he took off into the forest.

I knew She would run for Edward if left alone... she was that desperate to save Charlie... I could see it in her eyes and it terrified me. The thought alone sent shooting pain through my chest and nearly knocked the wind out of me.

I couldn't have her that close to him... to any of them.

I ran with the others back to the Res, following the scent that made my insides churn. I was in my back yard in mere moments, relieved to see my father waiting there for me on the porch, his look frantic.

"Jacob... what's going-"

"The Cullen's have Charlie."

My father's face paled and he grabbed my arm as I passed by.

"Have they-"

"I don't know, dad. Bella is with Paul at Sam and Emily's. It's the safest place for her. I want you over there too. I'll take you myself."

"No!" Billy huffed in protest. "I want to be here in case Charlie calls again! He got through once to Bella... What if he calls again and I'm not here!"

Tears welled in his eyes as his fist came down hard on the table. I knelt down close to him, making us eye level.

"I need you safe, dad. Please go."

He sucked in a sharp breath before slowly nodding his compliance.

"I'll pack a bag for you and we'll leave in just a minute." I instructed, quickly packing his medications and grabbing him a change of clothes.

"You can't take them all on... they have ... aged experience Jacob... you and the pack aren't ready for-"

"We are ready and we're gonna end them... once and for all."

I dropped him off with Emily, seeing her eyes meet mine with sadness as she welcomed us in.

"Thank you for letting them be here."

"Of course, Jacob. Just... be careful."

I nodded and shot a glance to Bella, noting her blank stare as if she hadn't even heard me come in. Emily followed my gaze and pulled me closer to her.

"She hasn't moved or spoken a word since she got here with Paul."

I handed her my fathers bag and went to Bella then, her eyes red rimmed and her face as pale as I'd ever seen.

"Bells..." I whispered, taking her hand in mine as she slowly turned to look at me. "Billy is here with you and Emily... and I have the place surrounded. I'm gonna find him."

She slowly nodded and released my hand, her tears falling one after the other. I kissed her on the forehead and joined Seth, Embry and Quil by the door. Their faces full of anger as we left. Leah stood on the porch her arms crossed as she cussed.

"Filthy bloodsuckers!"

"We end them all... and we don't come back without Charlie. Understood?" I ordered, seeing them all phase with me and fall in line. "We follow the trail until we find them!"

Embry and Leah took off ahead and we were all quick to follow.

I wasn't returning home until Edward and his clan were destroyed and I had Charlie back with Bella... safe.

These were my only two options. There was no third.