AN: I know I said this would be the last chapter, but it really ran away from me. There will be more! This is un-beta'd so be nice. On an unrelated note, anyone want to beta Ch. 21 and the epilogue? They would come out faster for sure. Hit me up. Thank you for reading!
Last time: "I know Bella is alive. Bring her here. Now."
Chapter 20
Leah flicked through the point of views of her pack members like cameras in a security system, scanning their territory for threats through every pair of eyes. The best part of being so tuned in to her wolf was that the Alpha was able to do this while sprinting through the forest at full speed. The wolf lithely dodged trees while cutting the most efficient path through the forest, leaving Leah the mental space to get a feel for the situation through her youngest pack member's eyes and minds.
She could tell immediately that Collin was on the same trail Brady had found, just a few miles back. They didn't need to waste time or manpower by sending wolves in his direction. Instead, the pack followed Leah towards Brady while Collin continued his patrol route to look out for any friends that might be tagging along with this leech.
Said leech was currently tapping her foot impatiently as if she expected the wolf in front of her to verbally respond to her command and she thought he was just being petulant.
Jacob guessed that this was Alice Cullen.
Bella didn't talk about the Cullens for a while after they left. She would flinch as if the topic physically hurt her when anyone asked about them or even Forks High. Once she'd thawed out a little from what he now understood was withdrawal, Bella told him all about Count Chocula and his undead family. One of the sisters had become one of Bella's best friends, so Jake had been regaled with shopping horror stories thanks to whoever Alice was.
This had to be her. She fit Bella's physical description perfectly, but the incongruent fashion statement confirmed the theory. Only a Cullen would be dressed in all white in the middle of the woods. She had a pinched scowl on her face as if the dirt would dare to jump up and attack her white designer skinny jeans.
Paul was able to positively confirm the identity of the leech. He recognized her from many of the pictures hidden in the floorboards of Bella's bedroom. One of them looked like a family picture at a birthday party. Specifically, a birthday party designed to make Bella as uncomfortable as possible, based on what Paul now knew about her. The Cullen's didn't really know Bella then and they certainly didn't know her now.
'What makes her think Bella would even want to see her?' Paul asked through the pack mind.
Leah was the first on the scene to backup Brady, directing the other wolves to check the surrounding area for the rest of the family. She made sure the command was clear not to step a paw on Cullen territory. This left their options limited, unable to circle around this tiny vampire's position, but Leah was going to follow the treaty to the letter.
Alice's scent permeated the area. Either strategy or coincidence, Alice had approached the border where she would be up wind, leaving the pack nose-blind to the territory behind Alice. She seemed to be alone. There was no sign of her mate or the other coven members present. This wasn't much of a comfort because with their speeds, the rest of the coven could be hiding back a mile into enemy territory and still be here in seconds.
"I know she spends most of her time with you dogs," the vamp they assumed was Alice Cullen huffed, stomping her foot indignantly. "That must be why I can't see her usually. My vision is completely muddy just being near you."
Leah growled a warning when the vampire's pristine stiletto inched closer to the border line. The wolf knew where their territory reached with a precision Leah would never consciously understand. The bloodsucker raised her hands in a show of innocence, stepping back again.
"I know not to cross the treaty line. I'm Alice Cullen and I'm here to help my brother."
The conversation wasn't going to progress in this state, but Leah wasn't ready to give the vamp any advantages by shifting into her more vulnerable form just to talk.
Jake reassured her from where he was running through the woods to catch up. 'They aren't going to break the treaty just yet. Edward thinks she's dead, but this one doesn't seem to believe him.'
Leah shot back, 'Why would Wonder Douche think Bella was dead?'
Leah did not like secrets, especially between her mate. Especially when it involved vampires.
'He called right after the accident yesterday. I meant to tell you all, but things have been kinda hectic. I never even got a chance to tell Bella.'
Paul's outrage was beyond words. The basic instincts of protection and possession flashed through the shared mind space like a red blinking "Danger" light around Paul. The fur on their backs bristled, but nobody moved an inch. Alice stomped her foot with a huff, getting visibly flustered with the lack of progress.
"Edward refuses to exist without her!" The pixie vamp shrieked. The pitch hurt the packs' sensitive ears. "I need Bella to come help!"
'What does that even mean? Refuses to exist?'
The sentiment and the general feeling of confusion was coming from too many wolves to tell who actually formed the question, but Leah answered.
'One less vamp, the better, but we should find out what's up just case Eddie does something stupid.'
As to not show their hand, Leah instructed most of the wolves to stay back in the trees except Jake. 'Come watch my flank, I'm going to talk to her.'
Before Jake could protest, Leah phased onto two legs with grace. Jake leaped forward to put his giant body between her posterior and the view of the pack. Apparently his pack's eyes weren't the only appreciative gaze Jake needed to worry about.
The manic look in Alice's eye froze in shock for just a moment before raking up and down Leah's nude form. "I didn't know they made dogs that look like you."
Jake growled at the leech, reminding her to get to the point.
Leah either didn't notice the open gawking or chose to ignore it. The Alpha crossed her arms and straightened her spine in a display of dominance and power, towering over the tiny vampire. "Bella Swan is not coming within five miles of a leech ever again."
Before Paul could add his two cents, Alice fired back in her haughty, condescending tone, "I think that is for Bella to decide. As much as I hate the way Edward hurt her, I've seen how his mistakes have strengthened her fortitude and her convictions. I know she would be determined to make her own decisions after her choices were taken away by my imprudent brother. His foolishness has gotten him into trouble again and I need Bella to save his life."
The last thing Paul wanted was Bella experiencing the rollercoaster of vampire thrall again just to talk to this stuck up thesaurus. It certainly wasn't worth saving Twatward's life. Begrudgingly, Paul could admit Alice was right about one thing. It was not his place to decide what Bella did or did not need to know.
Paul already didn't like that Jake had kept the phone call from her and he definitely wasn't going to keep this from her too. Bella had been hurt by the whole family's abandonment, not just his. Paul wasn't sure how much of that was the thrall, but he wasn't going to give them the benefit of the doubt. It wasn't this particular bloodsucker's fault and they had been supposedly best friends after all.
Maybe Bella would want to see her?
No matter how much he hemmed and hawed, it boiled down to one point. 'Bella can decide for herself.'
Jake nudged Leah's shoulder blade with his cold, wet nose before nodding his muzzle up the side of her neck. Paul suspected again that the Alpha's could communicate telepathically in any form when Leah repeated Paul's words almost exactly.
"Bella can decide for herself if she wants to talk." Before Alice could get too giddy, Leah clarified, "She will have the boundary line and the pack between us for her protection."
Alice dropped any previous air of decorum and huffed impatiently, "Whatever, just hurry!"
~0o0o0o0o0~
Most of the gathered crowd had dispersed, recognizing the jovial spirit of the occasion had been lost. The council confirmed their next meeting, families said goodbyes, and everyone insisted on being updated the second anyone knew what was going on. The remaining few settled around the fire.
Quil was posted between the humans and the forest. The occasional swish of his tail or flick of an ear was the only sign he wasn't a very life-like statue. An Alpha had most likely given him an order to stay put and watch the forest carefully. The wolves tended to take these orders very literally and with battle readiness. Bella would have found Quil's uncharacteristically serious demeanor more concerning if it wasn't for Seth's polar opposite attitude.
Seth was the picture of contentment, relaxed by the fire with his giant, wolfy head in Bella's lap where she stroked an absentminded hand through his sandy fur. His conversation with Jake hadn't been very promising, but the idea of life getting back to normal was enough to daydream about. He was riding high with the possibility of his nightmare being over.
Charlie had stuck around out of concern and a hesitancy to return to Forks alone, especially when Joy was still here. Emily had tried to clean up from the party, but Joy had insisted she stay and keep her company. Emily thought Charlie had that covered just fine, but the younger woman suspected a wolf had let slip her secret and Joy was just trying to keep her off her feet. Sam would appreciate Joy insisting his fiance relaxed for the sake of their unborn pup.
Charlie and Joy talked about the pack and Joy's life up on the Makah rez. They shared stories about Quil, ignoring the wolf's huffs of chagrin from his position. What were parents for if not for embarrassing you in front of your friends? The adults occasionally tried to bring the two girls into the conversation, but they both seemed a little dazed, watching the trees where the pack had left.
Waiting was always the worst part. It was the first thing Emily had told Bella about being a wolf girl. Every instinct told them to help their wolves and to be there for them, but they all knew that was meant for the aftermath. In the meantime, they wait. They wait and feel helpless until their wolves return, only to repeat the process every time that werewolf Bat Signal cuts through the night.
It was a little easier when one of the wolves stayed behind to act as a conduit between the wolves and their mates. The imprinted wolves were calmer when they had a live feed of their other half safe and sound through the packmind.
Only a couple of minutes had passed when Seth tensed up under Bella's touch. He didn't move or growl, so Bella continued her stroking to try to force her worry to subside. There was no sense in panicking before they knew what the situation was. The adults were talking about something, but she didn't hear a word of it.
Quil had stood up from his defensive position by the trees at the same time Seth's demeanor had changed. The older wolf began to pace, his tail twitching back and forth. Bella knew this was a sign of agitation, but as long as Seth was still laying here, she rationalized that it couldn't be that big of a deal. The wolves could see whatever was going on with the rest of the pack and if it was bad, Seth would be more worked up like Quil.
The devil's advocate in Bella's mind spoke up instantly. What if Jake ordered Seth to remain calm in order to not freak out the imprints. Bella's ever analytical mind unintentionally encouraged her fear, noting that an Alpha order would override any physiological reaction to stress.
What if more vampires were here to kill her and drain everyone she loved. Rationality was struggling to explain away that postulation and her dark thoughts chugged along like a runaway train.
What if one of the pups stumbled across a Wendigo or some other supernatural creature that isn't just a myth. Of course Bella had been reading about other creatures of the night since discovering vampires were real. Her traitorous brain supplied a list of monsters that could be gnawing on Paul's corpse right now. Ghouls. Or dragons. Or a kitsune. Or Baba Yaga!
Seth let out a light whine and Bella realized her fingers had tightened uncomfortably into his scruff. She patted his head with an apology and settled back into her whirlwind thoughts. She tried not to think about the pack facing some new threat and all of them dying, bleeding out on the forest floor.
Okay, now she knew that was just her anxiety talking. Her research on coping strategies back when she was putting herself back together had called that "worst case scenario thinking" and she knew it was just her brain working against her. She took a deep breath to center herself and try to understand where this sudden fear was coming from.
It felt like a rubber band around her chest. Around Paul's chest. Like a lightbulb flicking on over her head, Bella understood she was feeling Paul's anxiety compounded with her own.
Paul was just worried about her. Nothing too unusual there. Emily wasn't freaking out, so Sam must not be too worked up. Quil had stopped pacing so his mate must be fine too. The wolf moved back towards the group by the fire, pushing his front paws up off the ground and shrinking down into skin, continuing on two legs without a pause in his step.
Bella was in awe of the shifter's grace until Charlie's sputtering cough into his beer reminded her how new her dad was to the pack. Bella turned an impressive shade of tomato when she realized her father had just witnessed his daughter witness an eyeful of Quil's junk. The boys were far too comfortable in their bodies and the girls had gotten used to ignoring the unavoidable nudity that came hand in hand with pack life.
Quil gave a halfhearted effort of modesty with a hand for Charlie's sake before nodding to Bella. "Pony up, princess, your presence has been requested."
Bella's mug of hot chocolate went tumbling when she struggled to pull herself out of the adirondack lawn chair. She hoped more than anything that Quil did not mean what she thought he meant. Pony up? Her last wolf-ride through the forest was traumatizing on it's own even if she ignored the events surrounding the night of the ride. Paul had lost his mind, nearly beheading Leah, and Bella still considered the wolfback ride the worst part of that evening. Her churning gut was justified when Quil gestured a thumb to his back.
"Chop, chop, little onion," Quil quipped before falling forward back onto four paws. He settled as low to the ground as he could for Bella to climb on. The second he popped back into the packmind, Quil could hear Paul already devising a strategy vicious enough to kill a werewolf if Quil let Bella fall off his back.
Charlie wanted to protest, but Bella stopped his words with a mollifying hand, "It's alright, Dad. It's totally safe and you know Paul would eviscerate Quil if he let anything happen to me."
Quil squeaked a frightful whine when the whole pack chuckled at how well she knew her wolf. Seth was instructed to stay behind while Quil took off into the trees.
Paul found a pair of sweats and a sundress for Leah stashed in one of their hiding spots while they waited for Bella. He wanted to stand by her side where he belonged. Staying a wolf amongst the pack just wasn't an option and he really wanted a chance to punch a leech in the face with his human hands.
It didn't take long before Quil's loping strides could be heard approaching. Paul stopped them far enough back for his imprint to be out of range of Alice's sickly sweet stench. He helped Bella slide down from Quil's back, not because Paul didn't trust her to catch herself with her new and improved reflexes, but because he needed to touch her. He needed to feel that she was really here and this wasn't all a bad dream.
Paul leaned in to whisper low enough the vamp wasn't likely to catch, "She says she needs you to save Twatward's life. We don't know anything else yet, but I wanted to give you the chance to tell her to fuck off yourself. The pack supports you and will protect you no matter what. Is this far enough back?"
She knew what he meant. Now wasn't the time for a thrall relapse and Bella would make sure she wasn't here long enough for it to become a problem.
"Thank you, Paul." She squeezed his hand reassuringly. His heart swelled at the new feeling of the cool metal band on her finger. He pecked her cheek and stepped back for her to lead the way. This was her fight. The wolf needed something so Paul kept a hand on her lower back, purely for the contact.
Seeing Alice again was neither heart stopping nor life altering as the Bella of six months ago would have imagined. Back then, a Cullen would have been a relief, a respite, from the months of sleepwalking through her life. Understanding the effects of thrall transformed that pathetic longing into white hot anger. Bella stomped forward to stand next to Leah who had not once taken her eyes off of the vampire.
The tantalizing thrall Bella had braced herself for had been replaced with a stinging chemical burn. She didn't bother trying to hide the look of disgust. Bella was proud to be so much a part of the pack that she wasn't even drawn to their smell anymore.
"What the fuck gives you the right to come back here?" Bella spat with a vehemence that made Paul proud.
Alice looked taken aback, glancing up and down Bella as if to make sure it was really her. The usually chipper and chatty vampire was at a loss for words.
Bella plowed right ahead, "I don't care what you need from me. You can leave now."
Alice sputtered out her explanation before she was dismissed entirely, "Edward saw my vision of the car crash. He saw your truck overturned and blood everywhere. Whoever he talked to on the phone didn't correct him when he assumed the worst. He thinks you're dead so he wants to die too."
Bella turned back to the pack with murder in her eyes. "Who—"
Paul cut her off before she got too off track. They wanted to get this over with and she could make a rug out of Jake's pelt later. "I promise to hurt Jake for you later, but we gotta deal with this first, Princess."
He bodily turned her back to face Alice, hopefully redirecting her ire as well. Jake had poor decisions to answer for, but Bella could determine an appropriate punishment when they were back at home.
Taking advantage of the rare opportunity of someone being shorter than her, Bella lifted her chin to speak down to the vampire with a tenacity and strength of character that Alice had never seen in the girl. "You can explain, but I'm not making any promises. I don't owe you or your family anything."
Alice took in a reluctant breath in order to speak, poorly concealing the disgusted wrinkle of her nose.
"I've tried to tell Edward that you're fine, but he doesn't believe me because I can't see you at all anymore. A month ago you cut out of my sight completely and I thought it was simply because your connection to our family had faded out in time. Edward was unsettled that I wasn't seeing visions of you anymore, but he had come to the same conclusion I had. He had accepted that he needed to let you go."
She paused, closing her eyes for a brief moment as if to gather herself. Bella could tell Alice was making an effort to slow down and speak clearly. There was no Jasper here to translate Alice's usually rapid-fire speech. Another deep breath and Alice continued.
"And then the vision of Charlie's accident came to me while we were on a hunt. Edward, Jasper, and I were somewhere in the Canadian wilderness and Edward was close enough to witness the vision in real time. He returned to Denali immediately. You know he's always been the fastest. We were a couple of hours away from the house, but when Jasper and I caught up, he had already made the call. We had just missed the accident and someone didn't bother to let him know it was Charlie and that you were both fine."
She broke Bella's eye contact to glance over the pack. Paul and Leah were the only ones in human form, but they didn't acknowledge the accusation. This was not their pack's fault, no matter what Jacob did or did not tell some leech.
"After the phone call, Edward was convinced. But if I really try I can see bits of visions where Charlie is talking about you years down the road. Talking in the present! I knew you were fine, but of course my brother wouldn't listen. He lost his mind, Bella. He can't stand to live in a world where you don't exist."
Her amber eyes pleaded with the young woman, "He's going to Italy to ask the Volturi to kill him. Please make him see reason."
Bella was speechless.
Nevermind her questions about who or what the Volturi was, her mind was stuck trying to process the unhinged antics of her ex-boyfriend.
Bella couldn't believe Edward would ask to die just because he thought she was dead. Even he wasn't that dramatic.
Right?
Hoping someone could confirm she was hearing this correctly, Bella looked between Alice and Paul. It was like looking from her past to her future. The stark difference between the two was more obvious than ever, standing in the dim light of the twilight forest.
Paul was her present and her future. Her love and her life. He was rugged and he belonged amongst the trees and his pack. He was one with the spirit of the land and the other half of her soul.
Alice was her past. She represented the future that Bella had once thought she was supposed to want for herself. Perfection, pretense, and a storybook ending.
But the vampires weren't the heroes of the story anymore. The devil wears Prada, afterall. Alice had once told her they wear light colors to look less pale, but it just highlighted the stark differences in this situation. Alice's ethereal visage practically glowed where she reflected the moonlight. In the forest, she looked as out of place as she now was in Bella's life. She stood defiant in her red-bottom heels, expecting to get her way because Alice Cullen always got what she wanted. Was Bella going to give her what she wanted?
Alice and the rest of the Cullens had meant so much at one point in her life. This wouldn't just be helping Edward, this would be saving their whole family from the grief of losing a brother and a son.
Her heart ached for Esme at the thought of losing Edward. Bella had moved on from the loss of him, but what could that compare to the eternal loss Esme would have to overcome? The loss of a child? Could Bella live with herself feeling responsible for his death if she didn't do what she could to prevent it?
Paul's jaw clenched tighter with every passing moment that Bella remained silent. His mind was racing a mile a minute trying to predict every possible outcome. Bella was stronger than this now. She wasn't the girl to go running back to the abusive ex-boyfriend the second he said he needed her. Maybe six months ago, but not the Bella that threw plates and called him every insult in her extensive vocabulary.
Paul's jaw ached with the force of keeping his mouth clamped shut. He idly wondered if his teeth would heal themselves if he cracked his own tooth right now. Can werewolves get cavities? Damn, when was the last time he went to the dentist? Thank fuck he wasn't phased right now. He would never hear the end of it from the pack about the state of his mind right now.
Waves of heat and anxiety emanated from Paul. Now that she knew where the anxiety was coming from, Bella could feel it like a homing beacon. She would always know where he was. Bella's small, cool hand reached back and slipped unerringly into his own.
The beast calmed.
She wasn't going anywhere. Her silence wasn't acquiescence, she was just processing. She wasn't actually considering the leech's proposal. A shaky exhale released the cagey tension that had pulled every one of Paul's muscles taut. Bella was still here, holding his hand.
She wasn't going anywhere.
Alice shifted her weight from one hip to the other, an unnecessary fidget that gave away the cracks in her confidence. The vampire understood in the same moment as Paul that she didn't have Bella on the hook. If begging wasn't going to work, there was always Plan B.
"Bella, I—"
"No," Bella stopped her before she could come up with any more bullshit. "Why can't you just call him, Alice?" Bella sounded exasperated at being forced to state the obvious.
"He isn't answering his phone. He could already be on a flight!"
"Then how could we possibly get there fast enough?" Bella asked, continuing before Alice could answer with another excuse. "Why can't you just go to Italy alone and he'll read your thoughts and see that I'm alive and kicking?" Preferably kicking him Bella finished silently.
"He'll think I'm lying! You have to come with me!" Alice demanded.
"This is insane," Bella muttered to the ground before meeting Alice's eyes again.
"He always did romanticize the tragedies, didn't he?" Bella barked a derisive laugh. "Is he really so far stuffed up his own ass to not see that he's not my Romeo? He can go ahead and get turned to ash by Voldemort or whatever the fuck and I'll wake up with my Paris. You can go ahead and tell wannabe-Shakespeare that he was right about one thing: leaving was the best thing he ever did for me. He can write sad music and wax poetic for some other girl with no self-esteem. I'm not running off to Italy with you, Alice. Getting into hijinks and playing along with your capers isn't going to magically bond us into sisterhood and it definitely isn't going to have me swooning back into Edward's arms."
Alice opened and closed her mouth, completely at a loss for words.
Bella took a moment to catch her breath before letting out an exasperated squeaky groan of frustration. Paul recognized the build-up from right before Bella started throwing plates. She stomped her foot and screeched, "And if he wants to die so badly, why can't he just crawl into a fucking pizza oven?!"
"Bella! Doesn't he mean anything to you?" Alice looked genuinely offended now.
"Not anymore, Alice!" Bella screamed, emotionally exhausted after her rant. She rubbed her face and ran her hands back through her hair before collecting herself and looking back up at her former friend. A slow, cheeky smile had replaced the rage. "How about this? I'll send him a "Wish You Were Here" postcard and hope it gets there in time."
Huffing breaths from the pack behind her sounded suspiciously like laughter. Leah had kept her poker face, but Paul didn't bother containing his laughter. He loved this side of sweet little Bella.
"Bella! This isn't a joking matter," Alice stomped her little designer heel into the forest floor. "You aren't being at all helpful."
"Exactly," Bella deadpanned. All humor dropped from Bella's face as she squared her shoulders to stand taller than the frantic vampire. To the pack it looked like kittens squaring up, but Bella felt powerful over the shorter woman. Bella's words could have cut steel, "That is exactly how much I care about what Edward does with the rest of his life. The Italians can have him."
Alice gave a huff, pouting her lips. She shifted her weight to the other hip and raised her hand to snap her fingers. On cue, movement could be heard behind her. Paul pulled Bella behind him with an inhuman growl.
A disheveled Edward Cullen skidded to a stop next to Alice, keeping a healthy distance behind the boundary line. He raked his hands through his unkempt hair with a strangled groan. He looked unhinged. Not like a feral, out of control vampire, but like a strung-out escapee from an institution for the criminally insane.
Jasper caught up to the clearing a breath behind Edward with an apologetic look to Alice. Clearly, the Major hadn't been able to contain his detainee or he wasn't prepared for whatever signal the other two siblings had worked out between themselves.
"Sorry, darlin'. There's only so much I can subdue him without his notice," Jasper drawled. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry Bella. The rest of the family tried to talk them out of it, but you know how these two work each other up. I—"
"Did you ever even love me?!" Edward screeched, cutting off his brother. "You would just let the Volturi kill me?!"
To her credit, Bella did not look shocked or scared at the sudden appearance of the man who once held the power to break her. She looked resigned. Maybe even disappointed. She sighed. Bella didn't sigh so much these days. The frustration was a painful reminder of the girl she used to be when this eternal teenager made her sigh so often. She took a deep breath to finally give him the look into her mind he always wanted.
"Once I sobered up from your influence," Bella spat the word. "I realized how manipulative you were the entire time I knew you. Before we were even together! I'm not surprised that you're back to manipulate me again." Bella threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "With a boldfaced lie nonetheless. And of course nobody in the family stopped you because they enable your psychosis."
Jasper had the decency to look properly chastised.
Edward fell forward limply to his knees on the ground. Leah warned the eager wolves behind her with a gesture to wait before they tore into him. He was still clearly on his side. She had to be very careful how she played this to ensure the pack couldn't be deemed instigators in any conflict. She could see that Edward wasn't preparing an attack, unless you considered the ruthless destruction of his own dignity.
Quil rolled his eyes as best as a wolf could. 'Oh my god, this is like a daytime soap opera. When do we get to kill that douche bag?'
Jake reminded the pack to 'stand down and wait for orders.' He agreed with his pack brothers whole-heartedly, but now wasn't the time to get sloppy. There were four other Cullens unaccounted for and he needed to be prepared on all fronts. He needed to send some muscle, not just a pup. He remembered one of the Cullen brothers was seriously huge and by the looks of these two, Bella had to have been describing a different sibling.
'Sam, go help Collin keep an eye on the rest of our borders. We don't know if the rest of the coven is in on this.'
Leah gave the slightest nod of acknowledgment to her russet wolf when she saw Sam leave. The Alphas knew the pack joked that they could speak telepathically in any form and they would never confirm nor deny. They liked to keep an air of mystery to the level of their power. They couldn't, of course, but they didn't really need to. They intuitively understood each other flawlessly when it came to pack matters. Like now, the Alphas both knew that the newest leech was going to be an issue. Leah could sense the tension building in Jasper like a weapon charging to strike.
Leah just hoped they had time to get Bella out of here. Bringing her this far out into the middle of nowhere was a terrible idea, but Leah didn't have much choice without inviting the vamps into La Push to chat with Bella on their territory. Next time Leah had to organize a parley with vampires, she'd make sure to save a table at the Pinkberry in Forks.
Leah met Paul's eye and nodded back to the rez whispering, "One of the pups."
The Beta was in complete agreement with his Alpha. He wanted Bella miles away from what he hoped was about to be a purple bonfire. In one swift movement, Paul had Bella lifted up by the waist and deposited on Brady's back. "Hold on, Princess." As soon as her hands were holding on, a slap to the wolf's flank sent Brady off like a racehorse. Paul was back on four paws in an instant.
Edward called out her name desperately, scrambling forward with a jolt as if he was bodily tethered to the retreating woman.
The first step of his perfectly shined wingtip on Quileute land hit the ground with no more force than normal, but it pounded the Earth like a shockwave reverberating through the heart of every wolf.
The ancestral drums beat in their chest, synched to their pulse. The pack would never forget the moment that the spirits of their land called out to it's protectors. This is what they were created for. They would protect their land from these unnatural monsters.
"Edward, no!"
Alice's cry was drowned out in the snarls of wolves lunging for the attack. Leah rolled her eyes while she still could before phasing into her silvery wolf. She enjoyed the look of horror on Alice's face as Paul, Embry, and Quil lunged for the sparkly fucker all at once.
Jake stood by his mate, understanding on an instinctual level that Jasper was the real threat here if he chose to act. He obviously didn't agree with the others, so Leah was prepared to let Alice and Jasper walk away if they kept to the terms of the treaty. This was Edward's mess and it could end with him if they let it stop here.
Edward ducked and dodged snapping jaws, but he was outnumbered. A chunk of granite flesh ripped from his forearm with the horrible sound of rending steel. He could hear their intentions echoing through the pack mind. The overlapping voices from every direction not only rendered his gift useless, but was even a disadvantage. He couldn't think through all of this noise. All he could do was struggle and blindly flail, hoping to land a hit.
The fight was over in seconds. Embry and Quil both had an upper arm between their teeth to hold him steady. Paul hesitated just long enough to see the fight in Edward's inhuman black eyes. This jackass was beyond reason and a direct threat to Paul's imprint. The wolf would not accept any other outcome and an Alpha command hadn't stopped him yet. Paul lunged for the final blow, detatching the bloodsucker's head with a twisting snap.
Alice's shriek pierced the night and chaos descended. Her loyalties weren't with Carlisle, they were with her favorite brother. She knew Jasper would always back her up, so screw the treaty, she would fight for Edward.
Perhaps she thought the smallest wolf would be the easiest target, but lunging for Leah was the worst possible choice Alice could have made. The silver wolf dodged Alice's first attack easily and the two began to spar with Jake ready to step in at her side the second she needed help. He knew Leah better than anyone, and she would want to fight for herself. As much as he told her otherwise, she felt she had something to prove.
Leah was not happy with the way this was playing out. She had hoped this could have been handled civilly. Not because she didn't want to fight, the wolf was itching for it, but because it would be messy. By the look of him, Jasper was just as disappointed in Edward and Alice's brash actions. The scarred vampire looked annoyed at having to stoop to fighting alongside his siblings.
Jasper ran forward, dropping his shoulder to tackle Paul before he could remove any more of Edward's appendages. Paul went flying, rolling through some underbrush before getting his feet back under him. Jasper expertly deflected Quil and Embry's bites and swiping paws while trying to engage the reddish giant wolf approaching his wife.
The pack mind was a frenzy. Adrenaline sharpened the eyes and ears of every wolf, honing them for the fight. Few of the wolves had actually fought a vampire and never a trained fighter. The emotions alone would have been overwhelming, but having nine perspectives whirling through the packmind was debilitating for the newest wolves.
Collin was trying to run back across the rez to help, but he kept losing track of his vision, swiping trees and stumbling over obstacles he never would have had a problem navigating before. This was nothing like patrol with one other wolf or pack meetings when they were all phased. His patrol partner, Sam, was nipping at his sides, trying to direct the pup and get him moving faster with no success. When Collin ran full speed into a tree, Sam gave up and left him behind. He apologized profusely, but he couldn't afford to wait for the disorientated kid.
The eldest wolf was still a couple of minutes away from the fight and at this rate he was already afraid he'd be too late. He tried his hardest to block out the turmoil of the younger wolves. Seth's panic was the hardest to bear. Sam firmly agreed with Leah that he was to be kept out of the thick of it as much as possible, but Seth's need to protect Leah was just as strong. He could feel the kid's fear, but also the resentment for being stuck playing guard dog.
Brady had gotten almost all the way back with Bella before the fighting began. He slowed to a crawl, whimpering at the same mental barrage that debilitated his best friend. His Alpha had told him to return Bella safely and Brady would not, could not, abandon his duty, but the best he could manage was shuffling forward with his eyes clamped shut. They were so unprepared for this.
Bella tried to calm the young wolf with reassuring hands through his fur and gentle words, but he still couldn't open his eyes. She climbed off the wolf much easier than when she rode Quil and squatted in front of the animal's head. He was one of the smallest in the pack, but his height put his wolf somewhere between Seth and Quil, barely bigger than Collin.
He had come to a complete stop now, trembling on the forest floor. She had a vague idea of what the problem might be, but she had to think of a way to help. "Maybe you could phase back and we can walk back together? I'll even let you give me a piggyback ride if that fulfills your orders more appropriately."
Brady's eyes shot open with excitement at the loop hole. He shrunk back to the man-sized boy still on the ground, shaking his head now that it was finally clear of the chaos and he could think again. He looked bashful, afraid to meet her eye in his state. She turned around for him to slip on the gm shorts tied to his ankle and murmured, "Thank you, Bella."
She climbed on his back and he started back towards the Uley's at a clipped pace on two feet. He was still completing his task, but now the pack didn't know where he was and more importantly, now Paul didn't know where Bella was.
The vicious Beta roared into the night at the loss of the visual connection to his imprint and charged back at the vampire that dared to break one of his ribs. He joined Quil and Embry trying to get a chunk out of the seasoned veteran.
Jasper had more experience fighting vampires than any of his family knew, but wolves weren't that different. The one and only rule was the same: Don't let them get their teeth into you. It was difficult to land blows while dodging snapping jaws, especially when the third wolf lunged back towards him. He managed a hooked blow to the temple of a dark brown wolf before twisting out of reach of a snarling bite.
Thankfully Paul's attack had the pair rolling away from Quil's limp form on the first floor. Paul captured the majority of Jasper's attention, allowing Embry to react to Quil blacking out of the packmind. Jake was able to maneuver himself between the imprints and Jasper and Paul's brawl while maintaining his position as Leah's backup against the deranged pixie.
The two women were lightning fast. Human eyes would not be able to follow the movements of the two forms jumping and dodging around each other. If Leah was able to get a hold with her teeth, Alice was able to twist out of it before losing a limb. Leah was swiping away any hits before they even got close with Alice's shorter reach. Finally Leah got a chunk of forearm in her jaws from a defensive movement, but Alice landed a kick to the wolf's shoulder immediately after.
The two were well-matched, leaving Jake little room to help his mate. They way they twisted and jumped around each other didn't give Jake an opportunity to leap into the fray without the risk of getting Leah as well. They were just too fast. She seemed to be handling her own, which left Jake to deal with Embry.
Jake was screaming through the packmind trying to get logic through Embry's hysteria. Quil was not dead. The Alpha could still feel the dull presence of his brother, slightly more muted than if he was simply taking a nap. He was probably going to have a gnarly concussion, but he wasn't gone. Now wasn't the time for this. Nudging Embry out of the way to block Jasper, Jake ordered him to pull Quil to the side before he got injured from being in the way. Alpha orders were meant for this exact thing, overriding panic when he needed his wolf to focus.
'Embry, help Paul.'
The black patchy wolf was back in the fray immediately, scrapping claws down Jasper's back. Jake spared a moment for the unconscious wolf to make sure he wasn't giving empty promises before rejoining the fight himself. While checking that Quil's pulse and breathing were even, Jake saw movement on the ground beyond his friend. One of Edward's hands was twitching through the pine needles and dirt. Jake shuddered at the unsettling sight before following Embry back.
He surveyed his pack. Paul wasn't doing so hot and Jake could see that Sam was at least two minutes away. Collin was down for the count, Seth was chomping at the bit to help keep Leah safe, and Brady was gone. Jake didn't have time to think about that. He had left with Bella and there were no other leeches so they were fine. They were fine. The pack would be fine.
Paul took another hit to the jaw and staggered back. His reaction time was slowing down with every punch he took, but Jasper had a few good bite marks and slashes to show for it. He needed to catch his breath and gather his wits. Embry kept him occupied long enough for Paul to take a couple steps back.
Before the Major could attack again, Jake leaped over Embry and took Jasper to the ground with paws on his chest. Jake's snapping jaw nearly missed Jasper's head only to get a mouthful of dirt instead. The leech pulled his feet up to kick Jake's underbelly, flipping the red wolf up and over to land hard on his back.
Jasper was back on his feet instantly, ready to attack Paul again when Embry managed to leap from a blindspot. He caught the bloodsucker's wrist in his teeth and yanked the hand free from his body. Jasper had fought hundreds of vampires, newborns even! His luck had to run out eventually. The absolute shock of losing his hand held him still for a second too long. Long enough for Jake to latch his jaws around the back of his neck and tear the blonde head from his body.
The sickening sound distracted Alice from her fight with Leah. Their equally matched agility and speed had drawn out their battle with neither of them landing any hard blows. As Jasper's body fell to it's knees with a hollow thud, Alice's cry was cut short with a swipe of Leah's paw cleanly decapitating the leech.
Quil stirred at the piercing sound, thankful it had been cut short. The minds of his brothers felt like a distant staticky radio in the back of his head. He tried lifting his head, but a sharp pain in his neck stopped that attempt right away. He could open his eyes though. He blinked until the blurry world around him came into focus, but it still felt fuzzy like all of it didn't quite make sense yet. If he tried really hard he could see through his pack mate's eyes, but it doubled the pounding in his head so he stopped.
Embry was alright, so Quil didn't have to go anywhere right now. He could feel his imprint to his right, all jumpy with the adrenaline high and not banged up too badly. Embry was just fine, so Quil could take his time. He was proud of his boyfriend for finishing off the scary leech and he could tell the small, shrill one was done for too. He couldn't remember their names. Or much of anything from the past few hours, come to think of it. Thinking hurt his brain.
He couldn't look around without tweaking his neck, but from his position to the side of the clearing he could see a shoe sticking out from behind a tree. The fancy dress shoes like his horrible grandfather wears on special occasions. These definitely looked nicer though.
'Wait where did the shoe go?' It had been sticking out from behind that tree, but —'oh there's the other one.'
Stepping out from behind the tree, holding on to keep steady, was what looked like a mannequin. Quil was terrified of mannequins when he was small and this one was extra spooky. The white dress shirt was all torn up and dirty and blood was dripping down from the neck where...there was no head. 'Oh there is the head,' Quil thought.
This mannequin had red-auburn hair and it was silly because the form was holding its own head! Quil chuckled to himself at the funny mannequin, but laughing made his head and neck hurt. He tried to reach out in the packmind for his Embry. Embry would think the mannequin was funny because he knew Quil used to be scared of them. Joy had told a very embarrassing story about Quil freaking out at the mall one time when he swore it moved and nobody believed him.
This mannequin could move! He wanted to show Embry. It stumbled forward, adjusting its head back to where it belonged.
'Embry! Babe!' Quil tried calling out mentally, but he still couldn't feel the packmind clearly.
The wolves were preoccupied with gathering leech bits to start a fire. It had ended as suddenly as it began with barely a few minutes in between. Leah cleared loose branches and whatnot from the surrounding area so they fire couldn't spread. The other wolves took inventory of their injuries to see what was most pressing. It was mostly bruises, but those healed the fastest so they weren't worth bothering over. Paul had it the worst with a broken jaw and a few cracked ribs.
Embry could feel Quil rousing, but his presence in the packmind was still just a hum. He'd help get the fire going and then they'd see about getting Quil back. When Jake had reassured him that it was just a concussion, Embry was able to calm down enough to help gather wood for a proper fire.
The pull in his gut that connected Embry to his mate tingled it's familiar pleasant tingle that meant Quil was near, so he must be coming round. He thought he heard Quil's voice faintly so he dropped the stick from his mouth and looked across the clearing to find where his mate was finally waking up.
He looked over Paul's shoulder where he was licking his wounds and met eyes with a nightmare.
Edward had moved slowly and silently enough to advance unnoticed. Limbs can be reattached as long as it hadn't been burnt. It was just especially uncomfortable when it was your head. He carefully surveyed their minds, swimming through the layers and echoes of disarray that was the packmind. They wouldn't notice his scent any differently, he only needed to keep quiet to try and sneak up on the bastard that had defiled his Isabella.
Just as another wolf finally noticed him, Edward lunged the last few steps to grab the grey wolf from behind. Before he could throw him off, razor-sharp teeth sunk into Paul's meaty shoulder.
~to be continued~