Chapter 18:

Jake:

Meghan had been right. Not even an hour after we'd set out that next morning, we heard them. As we got closer, their voices became clearer, more pronounced. The air was suddenly buzzing with excitement and energy. I wished there was some way I could reach Cara, talk to her, tell her I was almost there but physically being this close was good enough- for now.

Okay, quiet and keep watch. They've got guards. Meghan's voice filled our heads. Images of different colored wolves, wolves we didn't know, soon came too and I realized they were some of the one's who would be out, watching. She was amazing me more and more each minute.

The Pack, plus Meghan, visibly altered how we walked, how we moved in the shadows and brush. We crouched low to the ground, our ears slicked back. Without even having to look, my feet moved along the quietest possible path. Like shadows themselves, we moved along through the trees, getting closer and closer.

While the Pack got more and more pumped as we went, Meghan seemed to get more nervous, more jumpy. I brushed my shoulder against hers, to show a bit of support for this girl who seemed like a younger sister to me. It was weird, but I felt this need to protect her for some reason, this need to watch over her, out for her, and I made up my mind that I'd keep an eye on her today.

When I looked up there was a house looming ahead of us, breaking the steady pattern of trees and greenery. It was huge, four times the size of my own and that was just at this angle. The wood was worn down, probably creaked every step you made. My eyes scanned the entire face of it and suddenly stopped on one window. I couldn't look away from it, some nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach pulled me toward it. Cara was there, I was sure of it.

Laughter exploded from somewhere around the house, getting closer and louder. We ducked for cover, places where we could see without being seen. A group of men came around the side, talking and laughing. I bit back a growl at the sight of the people who had kidnapped her, Sam sent me a warning look.

"Have you seen her?" My head snapped up, ears pricked. Their laughter stopped, new curiosity in the question.

"No but he has, haven't you?"
"Yeah… she's kind of waif-ish. Tiny thing, kind of sad just looking at her really"
"David seems to like her already though so that's good. At least he'll be gentle with the little girl"

David. Just hearing his name made my teeth grind and my claws sharpen. The idea of David having anything to do with Cara made me so sick and angry I almost charged right at the men, the need to fight something really desperate in me. My ears slicked back, my fur bristled as I lowered onto my haunches. With my lips pulled back across my fangs, my shoulders rolling, I was just ready to pounce when Sam bit down on my tail.

Calm, Jake- Yeah, don't blow it already- We came all this way, relax- Haha… blow- Ugh, grow up, Paul.

Anger went through me in waves so strong I was almost shaking from the force of it, I swear I was almost seeing red. The men walked by, completely oblivious to me and thankfully the Pack. I was breathing hard, seething, for a while after they'd disappeared around the other corner and only once I'd calmed down did Sam let go.

Never, ever, make me do that again. He thought, pulling a face.

I took a deep breathe and turned to face them. It was still early, they'd be caught unaware, hopefully giving us the advantage and time we needed. Vaguely, I was still aware of that window- two floors up, tattered white curtains- but I shook it off and forced my mind to clear and focus. I was just about to relay a plan to the others when I saw something, a flicker in the shadows.

There was a shuffle shortly after and we turned as one toward the sound. The steady rhythm of my heart starting skipping beats, started losing some of its order into something more frantic and frenzied.

We circled closer to the source of the scuffling, our bodies tensed and ready, and when we'd gotten within ten feet of the shaded underbrush, they ambushed.

Cara:

David. She was going to make me marry David. Marry him. It felt like the floor was rushing up at me, the walls sort of closing in. I felt dizzier than I had before when I'd actually found I was getting married in the first place. Because there was only one person I wanted to marry and he wasn't there.

"W-why?" I was breathless and stammering, shaky just sitting down. Now more than ever I was trying to convince myself that this was a dream.

When I open my eyes, I'll be safe and home, Jake will be ringing the doorbell any second. I'll have to thing of something to make for dinner for Dad and me. Oh, and I can't forget to do the laundry.

"Birthright, responsibility, tradition. Take your pick" My clouded, wide eyes traveled up, up from my clenched fists to my mother's face. Her steady gaze didn't intimidate me anymore, just angered me, pushed me.

In a burst of energy, I flew to my feet, hands balled at my sides, jaw grinding, eyes glaring. It was all because of her in the first place. I'd been mad at David when really, he'd been following orders- despite how he says nobody can make him do anything he doesn't want to do. He listens to Diana- mainly because she'd probably kill him if he didn't. And that aggravated me even more. What right did she have to ruin people's lives? Who gave her that power?

I opened my mouth to speak just as there was a startled scream from outside. Her eyes widened just a fraction. In seconds, shouts and yells came bleeding in through my window. Was I afraid, excited? Whatever it was, my heart started its rapid fire beating. My fists slackened as we listened in the tense silence to the apparent chaos outside.

Men and women were yelling, feet were pounding down the hall outside, doors slamming all around. It genuinely sounded like the world was coming to an end in this small community until another sound echoed above the human voices. It was loud and angry and fierce… and it filled every corner of my body with light.

"Jake!" I ran to the window, threw it as wide as it could possible go and stuck my head out. The growl was still ringing in my ears but it had to be the greatest sound I'd ever heard.

There were crashes, heavy thuds, the loud snaps of trees bending. Down below, people stood in a gathered mob, all facing the woods where the sounds were coming from. More angry growls and howls came pouring out into the air and the sounds made my heart soar. Diana came and stood behind me but I barely noticed or bothered to feel awkward at how close she was. My eyes were fixed on the trees below.

Suddenly a big, black wolf came flying out of the trees- Sam- followed shortly by a chocolate brown one- Paul. Paul limped slightly on his hind, left paw but he seemed otherwise stable. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of them. My heart was beating so fast I almost couldn't breathe because of its speed. Tears stung my eyes, my throat started to choke up and Embry came tumbling out. I saw his dark eyes dart up, lock on me, and he howled, loud and almost happy.

Enemy wolves worked their way through the people, circling my Pack members and with a sinking heart I realized they were outnumbered. By about thirty. Leah, Quil, Jared and one I didn't recognize.. They all came rushing into the open and before I even realized it, before my eyes could send the image to my brain, so did Jake. And he was beautiful.

He crouched and growled, his sleek red-brown fur shining in the sunlight. Jake was big and powerful compared to the other wolves- even Sam and Jared. Even the wolves who when human were over twenty years older than Jacob Black from La Push, Washington. Still, he was so strong, so fierce I almost couldn't recognize him, but my heart knew him instantly.

"Jake" I sighed, a whole new wave of tears threatening to spill over at the sight of him, here, trying to save me.

Then he looked up, directly at me, like he'd known I was there, like he'd heard me whisper his name. I smiled down at him, feeling really silly like a Disney Princess stuck in her tower, and he gave that goofy wolf grin- the only he could pull off with fangs. I almost broke down in sobs of joy.

"Brave. But foolish"

My smile slipped at the quiet comment behind my back. Her cold, calm voice sent shivers down my spine while my eyes stayed locked on Jake's form. They were trapped now, surrounded and outnumbered. I forgot how to breathe as I watched, fear almost paralyzing me in place.

"To risk an entire Pack's safety…"

Diana's pack moved in on my Pack, forcing them to surrender. Paul was already hurt, Quil had one long gash on his shoulder, bleeding pretty badly, Leah could barely walk on her front leg. They were completely trapped, completely beat. Jake looked up at me with a look I knew I would never forget, as long as I lived, as they were taken down… because of me.

"For a cause so helpless. They should have known they could never win"