Inevitability
12
Jacob's Point of View
I kinda feel bad now. I mean, it had been so easy to mess with him, but now Seth was really working himself up into a fit worrying about how the Cullens would react to this latest development.
"Seriously, Seth, chill. Nothing's gonna happen to you. I'll make sure you're not 'beaten into the ground'. Just calm the hell down," I finally snapped, his frayed nerves getting on my frayed nerves and causing a headache unlike what I had ever felt before. Pain in people's heads makes them snappy. I can sort of understand why mind-reader is always so crabby.
"I'm sorry, boss," he said. I would have been more annoyed at the nickname, but the fact that he was using it meant he was calming down a little, so I let it slide. "I just…the Cullens scare me, alright? Especially that big one."
"Yeah, but Emmett's just really no worse than I am."
"…That doesn't help, surprisingly."
"Hah. Oh young whippersnapper, your sarcasm is as biting as your baby wolf teeth."
"Bring it on, old man," Seth laughed, snapping his jaws together, his mental voice grinning as his tail wagged a little. It was made even more funny by the fact that we were only about five years different in ages. But the Alpha voice does give one a certain ancient quality. Passed down wisdom and all that.
I laughed. "Okay, cub, I'll race ya to the house. Ready?"
"Haha yeah bring it!" He barked the challenge, shooting off as a sandy blur into the forest. I followed soon after, making sure Wren was steady on my back before going my full speed. Though I was much larger than Seth, he had inherited the same gene as his sister that gave them the speed, cause he was a little bullet in the trees, and I was hard pressed to catch up.
"Your challenge is as pitiful as your size, cub!" I yelled to him once I had caught up, slowing down so I ran by his side.
"Old man, I'm just getting started," he replied, looking at me, not paying attention to where he was going.
"Seth watch out!"
"Woah!" Swerving, he narrowly missed catching himself on a tree.. One of the larger branches caught him across the back, and I winced as I heard it snap.
"You alright there?"
"Yeah. It's just a scratch," he said lightly, though I noticed he ran slower now.
"Your confidence is your downfall, young one," I mocked teasingly.
"Whatever, greybeard," he mocked back.
I laughed, falling silent as we kept running. I started to head slightly more towards the road, until I could hear the purr of the Cullens' engines, and sent to Edward that Seth was with us, and had decided to join. I didn't tell him why, but I was pretty sure he knew when the 'Thankyou, Jacob," rang back through the forest, the smug smile heard in his voice. I really needed to adapt my thinking to learn how to block him out. I mean, a guy needs his privacy, right? Right. Perhaps psychic could teach me a few things.
A soft pressure on my shoulder drew my attention to Wren, and I looked over my shoulder at her, cocking an ear as the universal doggy sigh of 'I'm listening'.
"I think someone's following us."
Frowning, I slowed to a stop, listening intently for any signs of pursuit. The loss of Nessie was still fresh wounds in my heart and my mind, and I didn't want to ever lose her again. There were no scents to give me clues; one downside to being a wolf. We could only really track a scent or find one if it's brought to us by the wind or the earth, but if it's behind us and downwind, then we're essentially no better than our human halves.
I nodded, to show her I had heard, then called Seth to my side.
"We might be being followed. I want you to run close to the cars, and take Wren. Don't leave their sight or Edward's reach. I'm going exploring."
"Alright, you're the boss," he replied dutifully, but I could tell he was worried, and didn't want me going off alone.
"I'll be fine, cub. My fighting's better than my racing."
"That's not what I hear," he said teasingly, but only his voice was light.
I crouched onto the ground, and after a moment's hesitation Wren slipped off. She touched my muzzle, a silent question. I merely pushed her towards Seth, already missing her once she was no longer touching me. She climbed onto Seth's back and I nuzzled her once, before taking off into the forest, and hearing Seth's near-silent padding to be near the road.
I back-tracked, listening for whatever Wren might have heard or felt to clue her into a pursuer. I couldn't smell or hear anything, which disturbed me. Even as a half-breed her senses were better than mine in some ways, and I doubted she had misfelt or misheard.
It was quiet. Too quiet. There wasn't any other wildlife, which was weird. Unlike with leeches, animals didn't flee from werewolves; we were the forest, as much as the rest of them.
I heard him a split-second before the body of marble crashed into me from my side. I snapped my head around to defend myself, only to find another pair or hands restraining my head. I felt three of them; one at my head, one pinning me to the ground, which was a feat in of itself, and there was a third, just on the perimeter. I could smell them all now, cursing myself for walking right into them.
I struggled, trying to buck the one on my back off, only to feel the pinch of fangs at my neck, followed by a searing pain through my entire being. God, this was the single most painful experience of my life. I couldn't tell where the pain was coming from though; it was emanating from everywhere, and my healing wasn't helping anything. It was getting steadily worse, actually, spreading like venom…
Venom…
That leech had fucking bit me!
Their venom was poison to us, I remembered Carlisle saying.
Damn damn damn damn damn damn…
I'm so screwed.
I heard the sickly sweet voice near my ear, like the hiss of a serpent, distant and menacing. Damn leeches.
"You have two hours before the venom will spread to the point where I can't suck it back out. Cooperate, and you'll live."
I stopped struggling. I didn't like this…the pain was driving around my head, like a jackhammer pushing in over and over again, making it difficult to concentrate, hard to think through a way of escaping. Though from the sounds of it, I didn't have much decision on that matter. I didn't want to die, I'll say it.
"Good…good dog. Now, you know what we want," the voice hissed, hands tightening around my head. "That half-breed girl. And you're going to be our ticket, dog."
Okay, that was getting really annoying now. I growled, starting up the fight once again, but found I couldn't move any farther. It was impossible; the poison was immobilising and debilitating. I couldn't think, couldn't even talk to Seth. All I could do was lay, silent and angry as I was dragged away into the forest.
Seth's Point of View
"Seth, Seth what's wrong?"
She knelt in front of me, holding my head in her hands as I curled up into a tiny ball of agony, linked through Jacob to the pain he was suffering.
Oh God, Jacob…
"Dad! Dad something's wrong with Seth!"
Cracking dry leaves alerted me to Edward's approach, and the sharp smell of vampire. Oh God oh God oh God…it hurt so much. I wanted to cry and howl and hit something, do something, to make it go away.
Jacob…I needed to help Jacob…
Wren's Point of View
"Dad, what's wrong with Seth?" I asked, frantic. We had been running, just in vampire sight of the cars, when he had stumbled, a yelp of pain escaping him. I had just managed to jump off before he would have rolled onto me, a crushing weight on my side. Not that I wouldn't have been able to lift it off but…
"I don't know, Nessie. He's in a lot of pain."
"But he's not bleeding."
"I don't think this pain is physical." He knelt next to Seth, opening his eyes, which were clenched in pain. "Seth," he said, a little louder than necessary, getting the boy to focus on him. I say boy, he's older than me in reality, but it's hard to think that way, with such a personality difference in us. He was still so immature and childish…maybe that's what love and children does to you.
Maybe when Seth finds love, he can grow up too.
"Seth, come on and focus. Where'd they take him?"
"Him?"
He looked over at me, his golden eyes dark. He seemed so tired all of a sudden, and a deep dread began to gather in the pit of my stomach. Him…the only one that Seth would know about immediately.
Jacob…
Oh my God…Jacob…
Seth relaxed suddenly, the pain from his eyes gone as he fazed into a man again, breathing heavily as he lay on his side on the ground. He was covered in sweat, something you wouldn't notice on a wolf body, and he was frantic, all of a sudden.
"Jacob...they took him. Those vampires took him!"
"Yes, I know that already Seth. Where did they take him?"
"I don't know! I only know his thoughts, not theirs! I mean…" he sighed heavily, putting his head in his hands. "I'm sorry…I don't know where they were taking him. I think they were going to use him to get to Nessie."
"Well, we have to go after them! I'm faster than any vampire except you, I can take them," I cried, getting to my feet.
"Nessie, no. That's exactly what they want. There people probably work for Aro, and he wants you. You can't go after them."
"Dad, you can't honestly expect me to wait here while the love of my life is dragged to his imprisonment or worse! If I don't go, they'll kill him!" I yelled, getting more hysteric by the moment as my Jacob was getting further and further away. The moments were ticking by and we were wasting time.
"And they'll probably kill him if you go, too. We need to think about this. Go, get Seth into the car and we can discuss this as a family at the new house."
"Dad, no. I can't do this. I can't let them carry Jacob away. My Jacob!"
"Nessie listen to me. We have to think about this," he got to his feet, putting his hands on my shoulders. Whether to make me meet his eyes, or to keep me from running I wasn't sure, nor did I really care. "Jacob is probably miles away by now, and we need to get back to the cars, get to the house and talk about this as a family. Carlisle will know what to do, and we'll do the right thing, and the smart thing, and we can work this out right. But right now, Seth has just suffered a lot of pain, and he's not feeling right. We need to get him to the car, because we won't be able to let him run again. Come on, help me get him to his feet."
With an angry sigh, I followed him to Seth, who was still rubbing his temples heavily, his breathing like a hollow racket in his chest.
"Come on, buddy, let's get up," I said gently, hooking an arm under his, while Edward took another and we both lifted him, until he could get his feet under him. Jasper and Emmett appeared a little later, helping us carry Seth to the Volvo, pushing him into the backseat, crammed in with Edward's many CDs and books. He muttered a little thanks as we watched him settle, then I turned to my father.
"Let's get the hell to Alaska," I growled, to his small smile.
"I'll drive."
Author's Note: Hey, I'm back, but I have nothing to say except lots of things will take a while in coming. I have exams and all sorts of shit. Anyway, I missed all of you, oh well.
Review please!
HigherMagic x
