Lost

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-thank you for the kind reviews everyone!

Chapter Seventeen

Bella could feel her soul being suppressed. There wasn't another way to describe it. The last thing she remembered was trying to eat Emily's muffin, then her nose started to bleed. Her ensuing panic had overloaded her emotions and she had sunk into unconsciousness. But now she was awake but couldn't control her body. She could feel her mouth moving. She could hear a voice, but it wasn't hers. The words being spoken were not her words. But Bella could hear every one of them.

"It's a bit late for that. Your girl finally gave up the fight. This is my body now. I have already sacrificed myself and for what. I'm owed this life. It won't be long before Taha Aki comes back and claims me. You're too late Jacob Black. This is our time to live."

Bella's mind was filled with confusion. Who was this woman speaking with her voice and inhabiting her body and threatening Jacob? She was talking about Taha Aki. At the mention of his name fuzzy memories stirred in her brain. She had been through so much over the intervening months; she was so exhausted and weary of being ill. Bella began to drift. She felt like she was floating. The woman was still speaking, but she could no longer hear what was being said. It was like she was shrinking, getting smaller and smaller, more insignificant with each passing second. Bella's soul departed her body and she died.

"Open your eyes Bella." The voice was deep, commanding.

There was no way she could refuse. Bella opened her eyes and gasped. She recognised this place. She was in the spiritual realm. It was beautiful, primal and raw. She was sitting atop a high cliff. Down below she could hear the sea crashing violently against the rocks. The sky above was a beautiful azure blue. Seabirds wheeled in the air. They cawed harshly as they circled around and around. They seem disturbed. The more Bella looked the more distorted the scene became. It was like there was a crack in it that could only be detected if you really concentrated hard. There was a man kneeling in front of her. He was in shadow. Bella couldn't see his face no matter how hard she tried.

"Who are you?" Bella asked hoarsely.

The shadowy figure laughed throatily. "I am Utlapa."

Bella didn't recognise the name. She gazed around in dismay. The sky was darkening now. The crack was widening. The sea birds became more restless. More panicked. "What is this place?" She begged.

"Hell…if you believe in such things. It is a mirror of what was and a shadow of what could be again." The man replied cryptically.

"What are you talking about?" Bella twisted her hands in her lap. She longed for Jacob. She yearned to feel his strong arms around her, to feel the security of his sturdy presence. He always chased the demons away. But now she was alone in the dark, with this usurper her only guide.

The shadowy figure laughed again. "I have to admire your tenacity, Bella Swan. You still fight even though you have already lost. Cassiopeia has shown her true intent. She was never going to return to the spiritual realm. She has grown bitter over the intervening years as she hid in one corporeal form after another searching for her true love." His tone was full of sarcasm. "She wants to live again, to finish the life that she should have had with Taha Aki now that he is within reach."

Vague memories of a noble warrior resurfaced in Bella's subconscious. He was kneeling in front of her; he was beautiful, fierce and strong. He was young and old, ageless. His hair was long and black and fell around his face, smooth, shimmering in the bright sunlight. This was Taha Aki, Jacob's ancient ancestor. "He was the first." Bella quoted verbatim. "He will be the last."

"Your memories are coming back to you." Utlapa's shadowy figure mused aloud. "Good, good." He continued. "Taha isn't wrong. He will definitely be the last of his line. To reunite permanently with his great love, Cassiopeia, he needs a permanent body of his own…someone young, powerful. I wonder who that could be." He laughed as if in amusement at his own joke.

"Jacob." Bella whispered in despair. She felt panic welling up inside. This Utlapa was her torturer. It was all coming back to her now. He was the evil one who had taken over Carlisle's body and used his medical knowledge to keep her drugged, and abused her in order to make sure Cassiopeia couldn't escape. Bella strained her eyes as she tried to pierce the darkness and look upon Utlapa's face. "You are a monster. Why would I believe a word you say? Taha Aki is a noble warrior. I met him. I remember it all."

"Taha Aki is a desperate man." Utlapa hissed. "You call me evil but he is succumbing to it. He has resided in the old man's body for too long. He has experienced life again and with it comes all the same selfish desires and wants that every human is prone to." His shadowy figure darted forward. Bella still couldn't see him, but she fancied she could feel his rancid breath as he whispered in her ear. "He inhabited your lover's body. It was only for a short time but it reminded Taha of what he used to be."

Bella scooted backwards in disgust. "Jacob is strong. He would never allow that to happen."

"Jacob is at his weakest. You are his Achilles heel. Right now he is grieving for his lost love. He thinks you are dead and lost to him forever. He doesn't realise that Taha Aki is close. When I was expelled from Carlisle Cullen's body Taha took my place." Utlapa sneered.

The seagulls wheeled above. They began to fly lower and lower. The sky was darkening with every second. The sea crashed against the side of the tall cliff, rising higher and getting wilder. A strong breeze lifted Bella's hair and sent it whirling around her head. "You are a liar." She screamed at Utlapa. "What can you possibly gain by helping me?"

The seabirds were morphing into something else. Bella shrank back in fear as two black vultures sailed down, their claws extended as if ready to snatch her and throw her into the roiling sea below. But they weren't aiming for her. Utlapa rose to his feet. The vultures hovered above him until they finally landed on his wide shoulders, looking like two black sentinels. She was still on her knees, she made the mistake of glancing up and to her horror she finally saw Utlapa's true face.

"My battle with Taha Aki is still not over. I cannot return to the corporeal world for the next one hundred years. But you can send Taha Aki here. This is where he belongs." Utlapa roared. "Return and reclaim your body and be reborn. Return Cassiopeia to the spiritual realm and Taha Aki will follow. You want to save your lover, you want to save his tribe then you must fulfil your mission. Taha Aki is a powerful spirit warrior. You lose and he will take your lover's body and become the most powerful shifter that ever lived, but he has already been corrupted. You think I am evil but imagine the consequences if Taha Aki remains in your world and lives for an eternity."

Bella quailed under Utlapa's ferocity. She wished she could rid her mind of the image of his face forever but she knew it would be burned in her memory. The wind was turning into a hurricane. She could hardly see. Utlapa's form was shimmering. The two black vultures took off, their huge black wings beating at the wild air. A huge cyclone appeared as the storm intensified. It scooped Utlapa up into its midst and he was borne away out of Bella's sight. Then just as suddenly it all died. The clouds broke, the wind dropped and everything returned to peace and order. Bella stared breathlessly up into the azure blue sky. She watched the seagulls swoop down and tip their wings at her before sailing back up into the white clouds. The sea was calm again, gently brushing the rocks below the cliff face.

It was time to go home.

Jacob grabbed Bella's upper arms in a tight grip. He stared into her eyes, but he couldn't see her. It was a stranger looking back at him. A vicious streak of rage, like nothing he had felt before, coursed through his veins. His wolf was close to the surface. Jacob could feel it pacing, ready to be joined with him to defeat the enemy. But this wasn't a fight that he could win. He couldn't harm this intruder. She was inside Bella. He didn't know how to get her out.

"Leave." Jacob roared.

"She is already dead. You can't get her back." Cassiopeia smiled at him with Bella's lips. She used Bella's mouth to spread her poison, to slowly destroy him with her words. Her expression turned grim. "There is nothing you can do." Cassiopeia continued coolly. "There wasn't room for both of us." Her gaze drifted above his head as she locked gazes with Carlisle Cullen. "My love." She whispered as her brown eyes blazed with an inner fire. She extended one arm as if reaching. "It is time, Taha. It is our time."

Jacob released his hold on Bella as a dawning realisation filled him with horror. He stood up, raising his eyes to meet Carlisle Cullen's. It wasn't the vamp doctor staring at him through his golden brown eyes. No it was someone else. It was Taha Aki. He had been duped. Just for a brief second a smidgeon of uncertainty broke through on the vamp doctor's face as he hesitated, but then Cassiopeia called to him again and Taha Aki was lost. In the blink of an eye he left Carlisle's body and landed in Jacob's.

Bella crashed back into her body like the sea crashing against the rocks. Her soul collided with Cassiopeia's. She felt her body shake as Cassiopeia's ancient spirit ricocheted with the impact. Bella's body fell to the ground as the two women faced off against each other. Bella could see Taha Aki's third wife clearly for the first time in her subconscious. Cassiopeia wasn't hiding now. She looked old, frail. Her long black hair was streaked with grey. Her tanned face was heavily lined, but her dark eyes were still young, fresh and burnt with an inner fire.

"You see me." Cassiopeia circled around Bella. "I see you."

"Yes, I see you." Bella felt lighter than air. She copied Cassiopeia's movements, always keeping out of the older woman's reach. "Your time is over."

"My time is just beginning." Cassiopeia screeched. "I have sacrificed enough."

"You lived your life. You had your children. You made your choice. Have you forgotten why you made that sacrifice? It was to save Taha Aki, the man you love. It was to save your people. Why would you dare to destroy that now?"

Cassiopeia glared daggers at Bella. "You brought nothing but danger and misery to my descendants." She accused. "Jacob Black is weak; he allowed his love for you to endanger everyone. With Taha Aki back in control and with me to support him we will become the most powerful force in the world."

Bella was horrified. She saw the corruption that Utlapa had so gleefully pointed out. Cassiopeia had succumbed to the worst of the human emotions, in doing so she was dragging Taha Aki into the same insurmountable pit of darkness. Soon he would be wearing Utlapa's face and not his own. "I won't let you win." Bella said determinedly as she continued to circle around the older woman. "This is my body. This is my time. This is my LIFE!"

Cassiopeia felt a violent jolt tremor through her soul. She gasped, looking around wildly. She couldn't feel him. She couldn't feel Taha Aki anywhere. She tried to look through Bella's eyes to see, but there was nothing but blackness. She began to wail, crying for her lover. But he didn't respond. The ties binding her to Bella's body began to weaken. "What have you done? What have you done?" She screamed at Bella as her image began to fade.

"I wanted to live." Bella said quietly as she watched Cassiopeia vanish right before her eyes.

Taha Aki felt as light as air. His soul was exhausted. He had never factored in that Jacob had already won the fight. He couldn't possess the young Alpha's body twice. There was a price to pay for that. He would be banished to the spiritual realm for one hundred years. For a brief second he caught a glimpse of Cassiopeia. She was crying for him, her arms outstretched in despair, her face tormented. Taha Aki saw her soul shrivel as blackness consumed her. She was in Utlapa's possession now.

"I was the first, I will be the last."

Taha Aki spoke the truth. He was back where he had started. Bella had died and been reborn just like he had predicted. She had saved the tribe from his power hungry self. He opened his eyes and found himself sitting atop the cliff; the azure blue sky burnt his tear filled eyes as he wept for Cassiopeia. His great love was gone, hiding once again in the shadows. He would be forced to search for her all over again. Up above the seabirds swooped down, dipping their wings in a silent salute. A shadow fell across Taha Aki as he wallowed in his despair. He turned around, his tan cheeks glimmering with tears, and turned to face his wolf. The ancient warrior let out a soft sigh as his form shimmered and he once again inhabited the wolf's body. Then on silent paws he left the cliff top and began his search for Cassiopeia all over again.

"Bella?"

"Jake?"

They stared at each other for a long moment, both their eyes filled with hope, but also fear.

"Are you you?"

"I'm me. Are you?"

"I hope so."

Bella cried tears of joy. Of course it was Jacob. She would always recognise him whatever form he took. His soul was part of hers. They were one. She dropped all her shields, finally accepting in that moment that she did deserve him. That she did deserve to be loved. In seconds she was in his arms, their lips fused as he kissed her. Their tears mingled together as his fingers tangled in her hair. He lifted her right off her feet, intensifying the kiss as he swung her around and around. "I love you." Bella murmured against his mouth as she continued to kiss him, breathing him in, letting his love and strength surround her. She heard him saying it back to her and she clutched onto him, never wanting to let him go or lose this exultant feeling ever again.

Carlisle Cullen gazed at them in wonder. He wished he had some writing implements to hand so he could record his first sighting of an actual imprint taking place. It was deeply fascinating. He was so entranced by the sight that he didn't hear Esme come back into the room. It was only when he felt her arms slip around his waist that he finally tore his eyes away from the joyful young lovers. He gazed down at his beloved mate and dropped a kiss into her soft hair. It felt so good to be himself again. He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a memory stick.

"What is on that?" Esme asked curiously.

"It's for their eyes only." Carlisle placed it on the leather sofa. He was sure that Jacob and Bella would notice it eventually. He took Esme's hand and smiled down at her, placing a kiss onto her inviting lips, before leading her silently out of the room.

A/N-thanks for reading! I hope all that made sense. I should have called this fic The Body Snatchers instead. LOL ;)