A New Hope
S.O.S
Chapter 4
It was a quiet day in Paris, France. The sun was shining, everything seemingly peaceful. Little did any Parisian shoppers that day know, that a half-breed was fiercely making an attempt to free herself from her shackles. Well, not literal shackles that is. Janelle, as most vampires and werewolves in Europe alike knew, was a half-breed who's family had been slaughtered by the Volturi. Not many knew why she had been caught. Those that did, kept it hushed for the poor girl's sake.
Any how, Janelle was on the run. Slipping through the mucky sewers of Paris. Something was rotting down here, and she is wasn't just waste. Lovely, just lovely. Rotting human corpses that other vamps were too lazy to dispose of. Now i have walk through their mess. Just lovely. She thought. Well, at least they wont be able to follow my trail down here.
She sniffed the fresh air. What a relief. Putrid, rotting flesh was not exactly her cup of tea. Janelle relished the fresh grass between her muck covered toes. However, her enjoyment was short lived. She had to get moving and now. She sensed them. She didn't know who, but someone was watching. A wolf? Smelled like a wolf. Janelle didn't want to stay and find out.
She hoped aboard the nearest ship, and prayed that it was going somewhere far away, and it was. The mighty ship was going to the New World. What could a hybrid stowaway do to cause trouble for a crew who had seen everything?
Janelle had been on the run for awhile now - 4 months, to be exact. The Volturi had noticed that she had slipped away, though it took them a long time to discover her disappearance.
She let out a huff and hopped down from her hiding place. She had recently taken to hiding in the New World. There were a lot of werewolves here, which was quite disheartening. Werewolves had been the practical bane of her existence. Everywhere she went, there always seemed to be one to stop her from catching prey. Sometimes they even attacked her. They could smell her vampire blood much better than her werewolf blood. This was only becasue the vampire side had grown stronger after being pressed under the Volturi's thumb for a year. Her wolf blood was her stronger blood! Why wouldn't they let her prove herself? She huffed again and crouched low in the brush. Another werewolf. Great. Ever so slowly, she pushed through the bracken. Darned wolves! Those idiots had enough sense of smell to pick up her vampire side, but her wolf blood, WHICH WAS STRONGER! Janelle shook her head, Great, stuck in forrest teeming with werewolves. Couldn't get any better than this!
Janelle slowly stalked through the bushes to a small clearing. There was often prey to be found here, such as an unsuspecting human or werewolf. She didn't have a preference; she'd eat either species. The year with the Volturi had hardened her; both in mind and body. Prey was scarce and she would get it, one way or another. However, she was finding it hard to catch prey. The wolves had probably caught onto her presence by now. Darned wolves.
She slowly made her way up a tree and sat there, waiting. Humans frequented the area often. It was a safe bet that they didn't know her territory spanned this far. Janelle tensed as an Indian man walked by bellow. She took a sniff. Alpha. Werewolf. She shrunk back so not to be notice. CRAP! She thought as he turned his line of sight on the tree she was hiding in. She was weak right now, she couldn't transform properly like this! She hadn't eaten anything or drunk any blood for nearly a month. Her stomach growled, reminding her of how hungry she was. Janelle prayed that the werewolf hadn't heard it.
"Who's there?" His voice was loud and clear. Janelle shrank back as far as she could. She heard a crack. Oh no, he's climbing the tree! She thought. She pressed back into the tree so hard the tree scraped her hands. His face appeared just a few feet down the branch. Janelle gulped hid her face, wishing that was all she had to do to make him go away. She felt a hand on her shoulder and let out a small squeak. She couldn't meet his eyes. She was terrified. Janelle felt trapped. Her chest was tight with panic and there was knot in her throat.
"What is your name?" The voice came in a low rumble. Her head snapped up.
"Janelle Vesaulius." She said loud and clear, despite the waver that threatened to creep into her voice. The man's eyes widened ever so slightly. This werewolf's voice, his smell. It was, familiar. "Wait a second! You're the wolf from the docks!" she cried.
"You're Romano's niece? Yes, that I am. I was trying to catch you before you left. But you ran, I am a friend." He said softly. She nodded and took the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. He smiled.
"I'm Konto. Your uncle was a good friend of mine. Come along. I know your situation. I think my pack will be more than willing to help you out," Konto said. Janelle nodded and moved from her perch. She felt much safer now that she knew this wolf was on her side. He hopped down and she followed.
Konto quickly moved through the brush, though in an upright position. Janelle felt safer down on all fours. In her mind, the enemy was lurking around every corner. This mentality had been drilled into her since she was two, after all. She and the wolf pressed onward, deep into the forest. She was a bit startled when he suddenly transformed beside her.
He whimpered apologetically for scaring her and motioned for her to hop onto his back. She scrambled on, almost slipping off thanks to her small demeanor.
That's when she heard it: an ear splitting howl. Konto raised his head and howled in response. She knew it wasn't necessary, but it was very fun formality. She felt it rise within her to do the same, she raised her head and let out a loud deep howl. Konto flattened his ears to the loud noise.
"Sorry," she said softly, "Don't know my own voice well. I haven't used it in a long while." She then consented to pressing into his fur as he bolted.
Konto slowed as they neared a small craggy clearing. Rocks jutted out like the large ribs of some menacing creature. Wolves of all different colors and sizes were perched on the rocks. Janelle felt the hair on the back her neck raise at the threatening atmosphere. Some of them snarled, others growled, but most just stared. The ones that stared scared her the most. The Volturi had been like that: emotionless, staring, regarding her an object instead of a person. She found herself pressing close and burying her nose in Konto's warm brown fur. Janelle curled her fingers into the fur on his shoulders, starting to shake. He offered a few gentle licks in comfort. It helped a bit, and she felt brave enough to stare up at the leader of the pack. Her jaw dropped. There was a moment of tense silence as the leader's shocked eyes stared back at Janelle. Then she regained her bearings – and wrath.
"DESIDERIO!" She screeched. She jumped off of Konto's back and leapt at the black haired man. "YOU! YOU LEFT ME! YOU GAVE ME OVER- OVER TO THEM!" She screeched, shaking him by his shirt collar. Before she knew it, tears had started streaming down her cheeks. "Don't ever leave me again!" She cried, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Desiderio, very bemused by the sudden onslaught of emotion, gently hugged her back. After he saw that he was no longer in danger of being ripped to pieces, he hugged her harder, burying his nose in her shoulder.
"They had my brother Janelle. I'm so sorry!" He cried out. His pack was staring now. He gently stroked a thumb over her cheek. "I'm sorry..."
Janelle quickly pulled away. "Desiderio, you have apologized, yes. But I am very cross with you'll the same." she growled. "And that is why, I am going to find my ally. You are certainly not him." Janelle spat the last part viciously. She tunred on her heel and started to stalk off. What gutsy bluff for being so weak.
He grabbed her arm roughly, "What makes you think you can go?" He growled. She was on his land, why not keep her here? She hissed and recoiled. Janelle slashed at him with her claws, catching his arm. He cried out and retracted his hand as if it were burned. Janelle bolted. She knocked over wolves left and right. Konto was quickly at her side, seeing the situation was turning ugly.
"Konto!" She cried, hopping onto his back. Her fingers curled into his thick brown fur,"He's going to kill me! We need to get moving, NOW!" She screeched. Konto growled his consent and bolted. She and the wolf streaked down the path and deeper into the forest. When the trees started to thicken, Konto slowed to a trot. He nuzzled Janelle's clenched fingers. She relaxed her grip and pressed close to his warm hide, feeling his muscles move as he walked. He stopped off at a small clearing deep into the forest. They had taken several twists and turns so that they couldn't be followed. "Thank you for helping me." She mumbled, jumping and nimbly landing on the ground. "My uncle would've been happy to see you." Janelle waved to him as he trotted out of sight.
Great, now what? She then remembered the offer that Cullen person had made. Whenever she needed help just call him right? Well, how was she supposed to do that? She did the only thing she could think of. Janelle ripped out an earsplitting howl, which sounded more like banshee screech. She hoped that would be enough. Her skin prickled at the thought of being caught. She lowered herself down onto the soft grass and curled up. She hoped the howl had found the right set of ears and slowly, but surely, feel asleep to the soft sounds of the forest. Janelle comforted herself that the next sight she would see would either be her dead family or the face of a rescuer.