PREVIOUSLY-
Jared closed his eyes and leaned into me, pressing his face into my stomach.
After a moment, he looked back up at me. "I know, but I don't want to run with him unless we're all running or chasing. It's just too much right now by myself."
I nodded to him. "I'll talk to Sam about it."
"I still can't believe we're going to be parents. I can't wait to be able to hear the baby's heartbeat and see your belly growing."
I laughed. "I can wait for that part."
"Nah, it'll be the best proof. Until the baby is born, that is." He smiled brightly before reaching up and pulling my head down to kiss him.
We spent about an hour there just talking before I started shivering, making Jared decide it was time to go back home.
I talked to Sam about Jared not running with Jacob for a while by himself and he reluctantly agreed after talking to Jared himself, making sure it wouldn't be an issue when they all had to be phased in at the same time.
Two weeks later both of them woke up being able to hear the baby's heartbeat. They said it was barely noticeable, but it was unmistakable. It was faster than an adult's heartbeat, but I'd read that it would be so that was reassuring.
I could tell a visible difference in both of them once they could hear the heartbeat. It was as if they were both less tense. I assumed they could tell the same about me. I knew I was relieved that they could hear it because then it was tangible, and they would be able to tell if anything was wrong.
It was another two weeks before anything else happened.
I was at the Grocery store in Forks after having visited Charlie. I knew that Sam was patrolling near me, but Jared was in Port Angeles picking up something for Harry and Sue Clearwater.
Everything was fine as I walked through the store, piling the cart full of groceries, until I stopped in my tracks. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and a horrendous smell burned my nose and made me instantly nauseous.
It smelled like a combination of bleach and sugar. Something I'd never before smelled, but I knew exactly what it belonged to.
I could feel my heartrate start rising as I turned around in fear.
All I saw was a boy before Sam filled my view, wrapping his arms around me. The one thing I'd notice immediately, was that the boy had bright red eyes.
"Bella, honey, we have to go. Now." Sam told me insistently as I realized I'd zoned out for a moment.
I snapped back into reality and looked at Sam with clear fear in my eyes.
"That was a—" I looked over his shoulder, trying to see if the man was still there as Sam ushered me away.
"Vampire. Which is why we need to get back to the reservation. Quickly." Sam continued, abandoning my cart and leading me by hand out of the store and back to my truck.
He opened the passenger door for me to get in and then quickly jumped into the driver's seat, pulling onto the road and speeding down to the res as fast as my truck could go.
I was still in shock as he drove, continuously having a hand on my leg the whole time.
I knew the boy's face looked familiar but I couldn't place it, and I'd only had just a small glimpse in the first place.
"Are you okay, Bella?" He asked, snapping me out of it again.
I looked over at Sam. "I- I could smell it…"
His eyes snapped to mine quickly. "Smell what?"
"The vampire." I spoke to him. "I could smell him before you came inside. It's how I knew he was there."
Sam stared at me in shock before returning his eyes back to the road.
"What did it smell like to you?" He questioned after a moment.
"It was like you and Jared always described it. The bleach mixed with sugar smell. It burned my nose and made me feel sick." Just the reminder of the smell made my stomach turn. "I don't understand – he wasn't even close to me. And I've never been able to smell a vampire before."
Sam seemed deep in thought as we crossed the border back into the reservation again.
"Sam?" I asked after he'd been quiet for a long time. He looked over at me.
"Sorry honey. I was just thinking about who that vampire was and why he looked familiar. As for you being able to smell them now, the only thing I can think of is because you're a pregnant and mated to wolves. You're carrying a child with the wolf gene. It's probably somehow connected to that in some way." He said to me as we pulled into our driveway.
I nodded. "That's what I was thinking too. And Sam, he looked familiar to me as well." He looked over at me again after he stopped the truck. "Not as in any relation to the Cullens, just like I feel like I've seen his face somewhere before. Or a picture of it maybe?"
I could feel the nausea building up in me again. This time I couldn't swallow it down.
I opened the door of the truck and ran over to a bush next to the driveway, expelling the contents of my stomach immediately.
I felt Sam behind me, rubbing my back. When I was finished, I stood back up and Sam walked with me inside where I sat down on the couch while he grabbed me a glass of water.
"Are you alright now?" He asked me after I drank some of the water. I nodded. "Who it is doesn't really matter. What matters is that he was watching you, Bella."
I just sat there contemplating things for a minute.
"Charlie?" I asked him, worried that whoever it was had tracked me to Charlie's house where I had just been.
Sam sat down in front of me and ran a hand down his face.
"I have Jacob patrolling around Charlie's house. Embry is following the leech. I need to call Jared." Sam said, reaching over for his house phone.
He called Jared and told him what had happened. Luckily, he was already on his way back, but I knew that he would now arrive sooner than he would have had he not known.
As soon as Jared was home, he ran inside and gathered me in his arms, holding me close and scenting my mark.
After a minute, he pulled away.
"What happened?" He asked me worriedly as he sat down in front of me.
"I was just in the grocery store and all of a sudden I smelled it. That bleach and sugar smell that you guys always talk about. It burned my nose. Even the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I turned around and saw a boy with red eyes and then Sam was there holding me and getting me out of the store." I explained to him.
Jared's eyes widened when I told him I could smell it.
"Wait, you could smell it?" He asked, looking from me to Sam.
"The leech never got less than 100ft from her." Sam told him with a look.
"But how—"
"The only thing we can think of is that I'm pregnant with a child that carries the wolf gene. It's got to be some form of protection. I read in my book that the mother carries her child's DNA in her blood while she's pregnant. That means technically right now I have wolf DNA." I had just remembered that fact and both of them looked at me when I said it.
"You don't think it would cause you to somehow phase, do you?" Jared asked quickly.
"No, no it wouldn't be enough DNA to cause me to phase. Like I said, it's probably just enough for me to be aware of my surroundings so that I can protect myself and our baby." I told them both, making them relax a little bit.
"Jared, you stay with Bella while I go out and check on Jake and Embry." Sam told Jared who nodded.
Sam took off out the door as Jared walked over to the kitchen. I knew he was upset about the whole situation.
I walked over to the kitchen with him and stood at the counter while he heated up some food in the microwave.
"Tell me what's on your mind?" I asked him.
He sighed. "We have a new threat to worry about now while we still haven't even taken care of the first one. Now I'm wondering if they're connected in some way. If they are, does she have more leeches out there that'll come after you too?"
I was worried about that as well. I didn't realize I'd let my head drop until Jared was lifting my chin.
"Bella, I promise that we'll keep you safe no matter how many leeches it is. You know that, don't you?" he said to me, wrapping his arms around me and holding me tightly.
"I know that… I just don't want any of you to get hurt anymore because of me." I felt a tear drop from my eye as I buried my face into his chest.
"Please don't worry about that. None of it is your fault. If anyone is at fault, it's those damn Cullens." He rubbed circles on my back. "Hey, don't cry. I promise that we'll take care of these two leeches and then you won't have anything to worry about. You just focus on not stressing out about it. You know that's bad for the baby."
I knew it was. I took a few deep breaths and felt myself calm down as Jared held me, long after the microwave had finished beeping, letting us know the food was ready.
He held me until Sam came back inside when I finally let go to see what was going on.
"Embry chased the leech halfway to Seattle before it jumped into the river and he lost it. Jacob said there wasn't any scent around Charlie's so that's good. I told Jacob to go with Charlie to finish getting the groceries and bring them down so that you don't have to go back there." Sam replied as he dried off. It wasn't until then that I noticed it was now raining out.
Sam hadn't even been inside more than two minutes before we all heard a howl ring out.
Sam and Jared both looked at each other immediately.
"New wolf." They both said in unison.
"It has to be Quil. He was starting to show signs yesterday. The leech being so close must've set him off." Jared said to Sam who nodded.
"That's what I was thinking too. I'll go back out there with him." Sam replied before kissing my forehead and heading back out the door.
A/N- New threat and a new wolf. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thank you for all sticking with me after so long being away.
-Bex
