Chapter one

Chapter Two

Jacob POV

I didn't remember much from the last month or two. Ever since Bella had chosen to become one of them, I had tried to run, run, and forget everything. It was easier… more tolerable.

My instincts dictated my actions, not human thought.

Hunt.

Hunt.

Hunt.

I needed to hunt. It was easier than thinking, or…

Jacob, when are you going to snap out of this? Came Leah's annoying voice in my mind.

I ignored her, using the best tactic to ward her off I'd found so far. I channeled my instinct-driven feelings to her, and smirked when she snapped out Damn it, Jake. She's GONE.

She left, after ripping me open once again.

I channeled my thoughts away from Vampires in general as I addressed my dire need to hunt. Heading in a generally western direction, I let the world fly behind me, feeling only the sheer speed. It felt like flying, I thought. Of course, I'd never flown, but this was as close as I would get.

A herd of caribou were soon near enough, and I wondered idly for a moment where I was. Somewhere in Canada, I thought.

I headed toward the caribou, a fierce grin on my face.

That was when I realized something. I wasn't the only one hunting.

I went instantly into high gear as a sickly sweet, all-too-familiar scent hit my nose.

I growled deep in my chest as I headed downwind from the vampires.

HUNT

KILL

KILL

RIP

TEAR

My instincts tore at me as I ran from those I thought of as my greatest enemies and my potential meal.

"Wait!" one of their voices floated behind me, and a young girl raced beside me, suddenly cutting me off. "Wait!" she said, holding her hands up in front of her, in front of me.

I lunged, my teeth sinking into the marble flesh of one hand. With one jerk of my head, I ripped it off, tossing it onto the snow. I growled darkly at her.

The vampire let out a moan of pain, but went and picked up her hand, moving out of the way. Carefully fitting it to her wrist, I watched in slight consternation as it knitted itself to her wrist and even the scar disappeared within seconds.

The girl glared at me. "My name is Irina. Are you Jacob Black?"

Memories hit me like a sledgehammer. Bella laughing. Bella crying. Bella trying to hold herself together. Bella kissing that leech. Bella…

The girl looked impatient. "I said, are you Jacob Black?"

I growled at the girl.

"I'll take that as a yes," she said softly, with a trace of a Russian accent. "You're one of the wolves that killed Laurent, then," she said, her face carefully neutral.

Laurent. Laurent trying to kill Bella. I crouched, fighting off the mental pain as I glared at Irina, pain constant in my eyes.

If Irina could cry, it looked like she would have been. "Well then," she muttered, dropping into a crouch. "Let us finish what has been started."

I had no idea what was happening.

Irina smiled. "Your aura is a very confused orange. It doesn't fit you. Perhaps I should tell you why I am going to fight you?" she said seductively.

I began to circle her, my paws crunching the snow beneath my feet. Pushing memories to the back of my head, I enjoyed the rush of adrenaline that this was giving me. Finally, I felt alive.

"Laurent was my mate, and you and your pack killed him. It is only fair that I have my revenge, is it not?" she said in her too-cool voice.

I scrambled back. Mate? This was the black-haired leech's mate? This could get complicated. I snarled, lunging for her.

Irina twisted, attempting to slam her hand down on my head, but I ducked away, taking a chunk of her waist with me. We continued like this, in a fight to the death.

"Oh, we heard about you. You're the one that loves Edward's fiancé… Bella, is it not?" she half snarled the last few words, going in on my side.

I saw red. The conscious, thinking Jacob shrunk in the background, battling the pain Bella's name had brought. The other side, the instinct-driven wolf side, took over.

I don't really remember what happened. I was in a pain-filled haze, ripping and tearing at anything I could touch with no idea of strategy or sneakiness.

The next thing I knew, Irina lay in pieces. I didn't have any matches, or any other means of starting a fire. The pain filled up behind my eyes, and I raced off further into the west.

I had gone on for about five minutes when something crashed into my back with enough force to knock me off of my feet. I crashed into the ground, the thing rolling off of me, and a piece of fabric settling over me.

My anger still wasn't under control, and I growled deep in my throat.

Bella…

I howled in pain, ripping through the insignificant sheet and pounced on whatever it was that had knocked me down.

A normal-sized girl, tied-up by the strings of the parachute, stared at me in fear with huge blue-green eyes.

Then it happened.

It was like the pull of a magnet suddenly shifting.

Suddenly, nothing else mattered but the trembling girl between my paws. It was like there was a pull from my heart to her.

No. I love Bella!

I thought I did… But this is totally different.

Is this how Bella feels about the Bloodsucker?

Abbey POV

I was frozen in terror.

Do it. One blast…

I was considering it, when suddenly, the monster got up and stepped back, loping toward a snowdrift. It dissapeared behind it and didn't reappear.

Jacob POV

I raced behind the snowdrift, heart pounding. With her large, sparkling green eyes and light brown hair, she had a slightly… well, almost earthy feel about her. Her scent was some combination of the sea and the air that was amazingly fresh and invigorating.

Suddenly… It didn't matter anymore that Bella was going to marry a vampire. It didn't matter that she was going to turn into one. The only thing that mattered was the girl out in the snowdrift, slowly freezing to death.

I quickly changed back to my human form and put on my long-unused sweatpants. Quickly, I ran, head low, around the snowdrift and around the other side, coming from behind the girl. It felt strange, using just two legs after being in my four-legged form for so long.

The snow melted under my feet, and despite my heat, even I could feel the cold. I had to will myself to slow. If it was cooler than usual to me, then what was it like to her? She had looked so fragile.

I came on her quite suddenly. The surprise that flooded across my face was real. Very real. I'd almost tripped over her.

Kneeling, I began to rip the cords apart with my hands.

Abbey POV

The cords pinned my arms against my sides, and my legs together. I wiggled, but to no avail. I wasn't even in a position to shoot the cords off with a laser beam. Yes, one of the gifts of being half-illuse is that I can shoot laser. Nifty, eh?

Laser-powers aside, I really don't have anything that could help me out of this mess. My fingers were numb and stiff with cold, bloodless from the constriction of the cords. My fingers weakly plucked at the cords that dug into my parka, driving it to the breaking point. One strand had actually broken through the fabric of the parka, digging into my skin. Blood blossomed from the point.

I could feel the cold digging into my limbs, like the cords keeping me from life-giving movement. My eyelids began slowly to waver, then close as the cold began setting into my very core.

The crunch of snow was barely registered by my ears as someone came up behind me. I was already half-gone. All I could feel was the burning cold of the snow digging into me.

So, it was natural that it was a surprise when he crouched over me and began ripping the cords off with is bare hands.

He towered over me for a mere second before he began the methodical process of setting me free. He had russet-colored skin and dark, shaggy hair, down to his shoulders. His eyes were almost black and set deep in his handsome face.

Once my arms were free, I attempted to sit up – and failed. After my minor attempt, I slumped back into the icy snow and winced, though the blood was creeping slowly back into my limbs, slowed by the cold.

Sleep weighted down my eyelids, closing them so that I could barely see the young man working frantically at my feet.

Suddenly, he was leaning over me and pulling me to a sitting position against his burning hot chest. My eyes flew open at the heat. "What?..." I asked slowly. "Who are you?" I asked after I could talk clearly. Heat seemed to radiate from him. Is he an Angel? I wondered idly. He stared at me with worried black eyes, and a streak of recognition hit me. "You're the wolf!" I said, answering my own question.

He stared at me in shock. "How…?"

Jacob POV

I stared in shock at her. How could she guess so quickly? She should be half-delirious with cold, not guessing what he was. But then again, she might be half-delirious and that was why she guessed… He shook his head.

"How…" he asked incredulously.

The girl smiled. "Your eyes. They're the same," she said almost sleepily.

I was stunned. She'd been able to tell both my forms because of my eyes? I slowly stood and began to sprint in the general direction of La Push. South. I'd know when I ran into familiar territory…