Chapter Seventeen

I apologise for the shortness of this chapter. I can't really explain it.

Disclaimer – I do not own Twilight but I do own Hetani.

I was in my living room with Paul, Jake and Embry on the day they were to fight the newborn vampire army. I had cried, I had pleaded and I had gotten angry but nothing could talk them out of doing it. Once again, Bella had royally screwed up and my boys were paying for it. The three guys were trying to brighten me up but it wasn't working, my mind was thinking too hard and too fast. A knock at the door drew our attention and I knew it was Elisha. We'd scheduled a shopping trip (any excuse to get me out of La Push and Forks, so we were heading to Port Angeles), so her mum was driving us. I waved weakly to all of the guys and rose on shaky legs, grabbing my bag. I made my way to the door but suddenly halted, head tilted to the side. Whirling around, I threw my arms around Paul who froze but hugged me back. I pulled away and hugged Jake even harder, tears filling my eyes. Then, it was Embry's turn. We simply stood about a foot apart for God knows how long until I caved and jumped at him, holding him close. His arms wound around my waist, caressing my sides as his lips brushed my neck. Our lips found their way to each other and we kissed frantically, scared to say goodbye, scared to face the fact that Embry was in danger, no matter how cocky they all were about it and terrified to acknowledge possibly never seeing each other again. Not caring that we had an audience, I allowed his tongue to meet my own as I wanted him as much as possible before leaving. Panting, we separated, clutching at each other desperately.

"Be safe," I whispered, tears spilling over. He kissed them away but more followed.

"I'll see you soon," he replied quietly, a small, pained smile appearing on his worried face. I smiled weakly back, pressing a quick peck to his lips. I fully pulled away from him, looking at Paul and Jake once more before flitting to the door.

"Jeez, took you long enough! Hey, what's wrong?" Elisha's once irritated expression reformed into a concerned one as she looked me over. I wiped my last tears away and gave my best smile.

"Nothing's wrong. Let's go shopping," I said as eagerly as possible. Elisha looked hesitant but decided not to press the matter apparently. She took my arm and dragged me to the car. With one last fleeting expression to my little red house, I got into the vehicle and we drove away. I tried not to think of the consequences of the fight and focus on my day with my best friend.

XXX

I did not expect what I saw when we returned back to my house. I was laughing hysterically with Elisha in the back seat when we pulled up to the little red building but we both froze at the sight outside. Ever single member of the pack was gathered along with my dad and Sue Clearwater. I didn't understand why my dad wasn't in the house. Elisha looked at me worriedly but I shook my head to reassure her, thanked her mom for the lift then got out of the car with my many bags in hand. I heard the black Ford Focus pull away and waited for its engine noise to fade into the background before taking my first step forward. Embry instantly shot towards me and stood in front of me, his expression regretful.

"Where's Jake?" I asked in as calm a voice as possible. Embry opened his mouth to answer but an Earth shattering yell/scream came from within the confines of my house, causing me to drop my bags into a cloud of dirt. Tears welled in my eyes as I realised that the scream had come from Jacob. Embry looked at me sympathetically, stroking my arms soothingly.

"He got hurt in the vampire attack. His bones have to be re-broken so that they set right," he told me softly and I whimpered, trying to get towards the house. My wolf wrapped his arms around my torso and held me back easily, despite my kicking and shrieking. I fought against him in an attempt to get to my brother but Embry wouldn't let me go.

"LET ME GO, EMBRY! I HAVE TO SEE HIM!" I screeched. The shocked faces of the rest of the pack barely registered in my mind although I knew that, even though they were used to me speaking, they were not used to me yelling.

"Shh, Hetani, he'll be ok," Embry whispered in my ear and I slowly yet reluctantly relaxed until I was shaking against Embry's naked chest, tears flowing over his firm abs. It hurt to know that my brother was in pain and I couldn't see him. The sound of an old truck pulling up made me glance away from Embry who had stiffened. I knew why – Bella had arrived in her beaten up piece of crap that didn't look cared for like Embry's. She leapt out of the truck and stormed towards the house, with the nerve to look anxious. I snarled (as much as a human can anyway).

"Billy, how-." She was cut off by another scream from inside the house and I would have glorified in her wince if I had not winced myself. Embry was rubbing my arms again and I knew that he thought I could possibly injure Bella badly if I was closer.

"Are you happy now?" I snapped, noticing all the wolves move their attention from Bella to me. I didn't care; they were all thinking my thoughts. Bella had the audacity to look confused.

"Hetani, what are you talking about?" Embry sighed next to me, knowing very well that my temper would spike at that comment and the patronising tone.

"What am I talking about!? If it wasn't for you and your pathetic need to cling to what you don't deserve, Jacob would not be in there having his bones re-broken along with his heart! Do you even know what a heart is?" I hissed venomously and she took a shaky step backwards. I didn't know why, Embry downright refused to even loosen his hold on me.

"You don't choose who you fall in love with," she told me with a pointed look at Embry. I gave a hysterical snort.

"But you choose who you hurt. You didn't have to keep coming here – it would have been better for everyone if you had just stayed away with your leech," I countered and she gaped unattractively at me. "You broke my brother in more ways than one and I hope that karma gives you a huge bite in the ass for it. Get out of here and do not come back or I will get very, very angry," I warned and Bella huffed, stepping forward with a defiant glare. She looked ready to snap at me but she had crossed my Embry shaped line and he gave a threatening growl. Bella halted, glanced at Embry before she turned around and returned to her truck. She pulled away without looking back and I smirked triumphantly. Jake gave a final cry of pain before everything went silent and a pale, blonde man came out of the house. He was carefully dressed and looked relaxed with golden eyes. I gave Embry a wide eyed look but he shrugged, silently telling me that he'd explain later.

"He'll heal in a few days. He's asking for Bella, though," the vampire said, his amused eyes drifting to me and making Embry tense.

"Tough," I muttered and the vampire smiled before moving to depart. My dad stopped him and, in a movement that caused my jaw to fall open, held out his hand. The leech shook it with a smile and departed in his swish black Mercedes. I gave my dad an incredulous look and he simply looked away as though my eyes weren't falling out of my head. That was weird.

Ok, there you have it! Advance warning: this is where it starts getting a bit rushed. The next chapter is Breaking Dawn. Another thing: we're so close to 50 reviews, so I have faith in you, my wonderful readers, to get me there with this chapter. Come on guys – three reviews and I'm there! I'll update on Thursday morning (British time). Love Bianca :) x