Chapter 8

"Bella, Bella, wake up. Princess, wake up!" a grouchy voice mumbled in my ear. I groaned a rolled over. I felt like a bloated tick. Had I really ate that much last night?

"Huh?" I managed to say though it came out as a 'humph'.

"It's time to get up. You have been asleep for eight hours. I was getting worried about you. You never sleep that long." The voice spoke again. It took a few moments for his words to register in my mind. Eight hours? Eight hours of sleep? The only time a vampire sleeps for eight hours is when they are a baby. There is no way I had slept eight hours.

And what about that dream? What did that mean?! I really had to sit down and think about those dreams I kept having. Well, I wouldn't call them dreams either; more like nightmares.

I sat up rigid. I took in my surroundings quickly. There were branches around me… Oh yeah, I had slept in a tree last night… There was a voice a moment ago. And there is someone leaning against the tree. I looked down and saw that it was Jacob. Ugh, I forgot to think about what was going on last night. And me going right to sleep, and sleeping eight hours at that, did nothing for that cause.

"Yes?" I asked him calmly.

"I thought you had enough rest. We need to talk." Jacob turned and stalked away without glancing back at me. I figured he expected me to follow. With a quick stretch, I hopped down the tree and followed.

"Hey," I said to Seth as we passed a ball of sandy fur by the hill.

"He's very tired. He stayed up all night. I gave him a break." Jacob's tone was flat and he didn't look at me as we climbed the hill and entered the packed tent. In there I noticed Leah, Quil, Embry, Jared, and Sam. Quil and Embry smiled at me; Jared and Sam gave me a small nod of acknowledgment, better than usual; while Leah glared at me openly. I ignored her and returned the other's smiles and nods.

"Let's get this over with," Leah sighed glumly and plopped down on the ground. The tent was packed. All of the Lycans were large, Leah was slim, but she was still tall. I have a slight frame, so I was able to squish in between Embry and Jacob. We all followed Leah's example and took a seat. Everyone's knees were brushing against each other's as we had sat Indian style.

I looked at their faces and noticed how serene they were. But each other eyes shone with grim and bitter feeling. Leah's dark hair was chopped carelessly around her shoulders. I watched as her brown eyes flickered from glaring at me to Jacob intently. Embry was jumpy next to me. His black cropped hair was nested with leaves. As were the other's heads.

"Alright," Jacob pulled out a map. "Sam, Jared, you tracked a group from Volturi five miles away from the outer premises of the north side of the camp. Embry, Quil, you found another ten miles out from the west wing. Leah, what about you and Seth?" Jacob turned to her, all business. While speaking about the groups from my home, he circled the areas on the map. I looked at it closely.

I discovered we were in the Forks Woods; only thirty miles from my kingdom. From the tree I had slept in, all I would have to do is go straight and then follow the Phoenix River west. I stored this information for later.

"We found another group of forty by the River on the east side of the camp. It is fifteen miles from the edge of the clearing." Leah informed while Jacob marked the map.

Oh this was perfect, the nearest group on my way home. I could find them and they could escort me back. That was if I could escape here. I hadn't been thinking of escaping until now. I'm not sure why, but I was starting to feel uncomfortable with them. I also didn't understand why they were displaying this information in front of their prisoner. Even though Jacob had pointed out countless times that I would never be treated as a captive, I was starting to get another feeling that was about to change.

"Bella, if we send someone to speak with one of these groups, will they listen?" Jacob turned to me. Oh, that was the reason. They wanted me to answer their silly questions about my troops.

"Only if they see me with them," I answered after calculating my options. This was my best one: Tell them the messenger would be killed on sight and the troop would only stop if they saw me with the messenger.

"No, you cannot go," Jacob didn't even hesitate to answer. "That will definitely get one of my pack killed. One messenger, or even a whole group, would be slaughtered on the scene if your troop saw you. They wouldn't stop until you were safe in their possession, and then they would return you to your father with a shiny bow. No, you are not going." Jacob's voice was final. I didn't protest.

"You can try then to send someone. It is up to them if they listen or night. But you might want to make it clear that it is the La Push pack and not just some wild wolf. They would definitely kill it on the spot." I said.

"Okay, that is what we will do. Seth is our best communicator. Leah, Sam, and Jared, you will follow Seth as back up. Leave now. You know the message." Jacob instructed. They obeyed and left the tent in silence. Quil and Embry left after a nod from Jacob excused them. That left Jacob and I alone.

"Bella, I was hoping I could speak with you," Jacob put the map in a drawer in the small makeshift desk in a corner of the tent.

"Yes?" I inquired, my skin was tingling and my gut was telling me to run for it. But I stayed still and calm.

"We never got to finish that wonderful conversation we were having yesterday." Jacob came and sat beside me, not noticing how I flinched at how close he was to me.

"Yeah," I said, it came out like a squeak. Jacob leaned in closer to me. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me onto my back. He hovered over me.

"If you don't fight, it won't hurt." Jacob lowered his head and I screamed.

Edward's P.O.V.

"Edward, I am stoked to get home! I miss Rosalie, and Bella, even Alice. I want to get home now! Can we hurry it up people?" Emmett rambled from the horse next to me. I sighed, but my spirits were high. I would see Bella soon. We were only twenty miles from Volturi's gates. I was anxious. I had been dreaming of this moment since I left. I imagined Bella waiting at the gates for me. Her arms open wide, waiting for me to pick her up into my own. My heart panged at the thought. Yes, I would see her soon.

We had driven out the Lycans from Gigandet finally. We didn't lose very many. It was a very successful win. The Lycans were extinct in the area for the time being. Jasper was happy to have them out of his kingdom. We had fought hard and were now going home to our ladies we had promised our safe return. I was gladly willing to prove this to Bella.

"Emmett, we're going to be home in just a few minutes," at that prospect, we pushed the horses faster. We passed the others and reached the front where Jasper was leading everyone.

"Jazz, are you not in a hurry?" Emmett questioned in wonder. Jasper was going at a steady pace. His face was calm, like always. It had stayed calm while ripping Lycan's heads off and stabbing them through the heart with a long, silver sword.

"Yes, but nothing good comes for those impatient. I want this to be a special moment," Jasper said, always the romantic.

"I don't know about you, but I'm impatient. So, later," Emmett sped his horse up. We rounded a bend in a forest and saw a checkpoint up ahead. Emmett circled and came back to our side.

"What's up with the troops?" Jasper inquired.

"I was just about to ask you that," I muttered. They were the troops that had to stay just in case the kingdom was attacked.

"I will talk with them," Jasper sped up so that he was leading us all. He reached the checkpoint and I pulled my horse to a stop. Everyone behind me followed suit. Emmett pushed his forward a bit more so he could hear the words being exchanged.

I watched as Jasper talked to one of the guards. I watched as Jasper's face turned to one of alarm. He thanked the man and rushed back.

"What in the hell did that guard mean by 'Bella's missing'?!" Emmett demanded, only catching a word or two of the conversation. But I had stilled. I tried to listen to Jasper, but my ears were ringing. Bella was missing. Emmett was enraged and Jasper was quiet and solemn as he explained.

"Supposedly, two weeks after we had departed, Bella had gone out for a ride. Her horse had returned hours later without her. They said the horse was wild and wouldn't calm down. She led them to an area in the woods. There was blood on a rock where her horse had brought them. There was a strong stench in the air of Lycan. They have much reason to believe it was the La Push pack. Everyone packed up and headed to where their pack was supposedly hiding, even Aro went. They thought they had trapped them. They sent one of the pack's posts to tell them to send Bella up. They never did. When their time was up, the troops blasted into the tunnels and found they were deserted. There were several different tunnels they could have taken to escape. That is all they know," Jasper informed us gravely. The troops behind us were listening intently.

I felt like my whole world had come crashing down. Bella, my Bella, was missing. Gone. Gone away from her kind. Being held captive by vicious creatures that were probably torturing her. My sweet, innocent Bella, who could take care of herself against two Lycans with no weapons, was captured by the very creatures she hunted for fun. I had to find her. It was my duty to find her. These worthless guards were just sitting there instead of out in the woods hunting her down. I would find her. I vowed to find her. If it was my last dying breath, I would find Bella.

A/N: Okay, what do you think? I wanted to add more. But that was a perfect spot to stop. I put in Edward's P.O.V. just to see what was up on that side of the Underworld. Next chapter will start in Edward's P.O.V. too. So, it will be a bit before we get to Bella and Jacob. Trust me though, the wait is worth it. Is Eddie and Bell's reunion coming up? We will have to wait and find out.

Review and tell me your predictions, thoughts, questions… Sorry it was short and sorry for the wait!

3

Haley