Chapter – 24
Her hair was red as wildfire, eyes the color of rubies, skin white as snow, face filled with rage and vengeance. Last time she'd seen her, Lily had been consumed by fear, not this time, this time she was out for blood. Victoria stepped out of the trees, immediately focusing on Bella and Lily, giving them a smile that maybe a few days before would've sent shivers down Lily's spine. Edward growled, calling Victoria's attention, she hissed at him with hate in her eyes before they widened as she saw the pack, and for a split second fear crossed her face.
Victoria was accompanied by another vampire. Riley as she called him, a teenage vampire, about a year or so younger than Lily when he was turned, medium build and height. He looked at Victoria with love-struck eyes, following her every command. Eighteen newborn vampires followed, filling the clearing as Lily's stomach turned to knots, a pressure in her chest, making it hard and painful to breath. This was not fear but panic, but not for herself, for Jake and her werewolf and vampire family.
Her vision went into high def and slow- mo as the battle began. Her hearing also went into thx, making her head pound due to the screams, squeals, howls, barks, grunts, and hisses that echoed through the clearing. She fixed the problem with her mp3 player.
The Cullen's and the pack lead the fight to the outskirts of the clearing, as far away possible from Bella and Lily, leaving them to be guarded by Edward who wouldn't move an inch away from Bella and Seth who was ordered by Jake to stick to Lily. The deadly dance Edward and Seth were having with Victoria and Riley seemed endless, Lily was get frustrated knowing there was much more she could do than holding Bella's hand, keeping her from passing out. That's when Jasper's words ran through her head, "They can't control themselves".
Lily grabbed the knife from her back pocket, let go of Bella's hand and cut her own wrist as Bella watched in horror. Small droplets of blood ran down Lily's hand, catching Riley's attention instantly, turning his sole focus on her, allowing Seth to shred him to pieces. At the sight of Riley's dismembered chunks of flesh, Victoria was distracted, only for a split second but it was enough for Edward to make his attack and rip her head off. In a matter of seconds, both vampires were in pieces, the deadly dance over. Edward and Seth collected all the pieces, setting them on fire before running to Lily and Bella. Edward hugged Bella who was freaking out on the floor with her head between her legs, and looked up at Lily.
"Jacob is right" he stated "You are crazy"
"It got the job done, right?"Lily answered
"Your wrist" Edward stated, stretching out his arm, wanting to inspect it.
Seth howled and turned toward the forest.
"We don't have time right now" Lily blurted out "We need to go, now!"
"Seth you stay here with Bella" Edward ordered a howling Seth "I'll deal with Jacob" Edward added, answering whatever Seth was saying. Seth gave a few low whines as Edward flung Lily over his back, and ran.
"You sure you want to do this?"Edward asked
"Just get me there and make sure to keep Jake focused" Lily answered
Thanks to Edward's speed, they entered the battle unnoticed. As planned, he placed Lily down, moving away from her, yet keeping his eyes on her at all times. She quickly glanced around, looking for Jake who was several yards away fighting a crazed newborn. Her shallow cut had stopped bleeding, making her presence unnoticed. She grabbed the knife, knowing she had to get the psycho newborn's attention and quick. Edward looked around before nodding, letting her know everyone was ready. Lily slid the blade over her wound, making the cut even deeper, causing her blood to run down her hand onto the grassy floor.
"NOW!!!" Emmett voice boomed across the clearing
Within a millisecond Lily had dozens of ruby eyes on her. It was one thing having her friends come at her in a simulated fight, another completely to have deranged vampires who wanted to suck her dry attack all at once. Lily's mind went blank, ignoring all sounds, allowing her instincts to take over; giving her powers free reign, the witch quickly took over. She jumped; dodged, slid and ducked hundreds of times seeing the vampire's every slow move as the Cullen's and the pack killed them one by one.
*** JPOV ***
"NOW!!!" Emmett voice boomed across the clearing
The mad, deranged bloodsuckers stopped fighting and turned to the middle of the clearing as if they were hypnotized. The pack became as confused as Jake, as the Cullen's smiled. Jake followed their gaze and was horrified to see his Lil with blood streaming down her hand. She slit her wrist! "NO!!!!!" An agonizing howl escaped Jake's chest
"Focus, Jake!" Sam ordered "Kill them now!"
"Focus, Jacob!" Edward yelled "Get them or her sacrifice will be in vain"
With the psycho's attention solely on Lil, it was very easy to grab them and shred them to pieces. Every time one of them leaped at her, she moved out of the way allowing the Cullen's and the pack to catch the psycho leeches and destroy them. The Cullen's and the pack worked as one, managing to kill them very quickly. Unfortunately, Irina, the leech that wanted to kill Lil to get back at the pack for killing her mate, didn't show. Jacob swore to hunt her down, he would have the pleasure of shredding her to pieces if it was the last thing he ever did.
The Cullen's started a large bonfire to burn all the dismembered newborns. Everyone was grabbing pieces and throwing them in, making sure not to miss a thing. Most of the pack was able to calm down enough to phase back and make things faster, to nobody's surprise Jake, Paul and Leah were the exception. Jake was searching the outskirts of the clearing, Leah a few feet away when she found a psycho leech hidden in the trees and stupidly decided to prove herself by attacking it, alone. With all the commotion, no one had bothered to count heads and he'd been missed. The leech overpowered Leah and was going for the kill when Jake was able to knock her free. Unfortunately he was unable to guard himself as the psycho's arms clamped around him like iron bars, crushing him slowly. Jake howled in agonizing pain as his bones began to disintegrate. He was losing consciousness and knew his end was approaching.
"Jacob!" Edward yelled, calling everyone's attention.
The first one to react was Lily who flew to Jake's side. Jacob howled as the psycho dropped him to attack her. Lily's eyes grew brighter than ever before as she tackled the psycho head on. They rolled around the floor a few times, struggling for control before Lily punched him in the throat, taking the upper hand as she pinned him down, knee on each bicep, knife to his jugular. Then she froze.
*****
Seeing Jake under attack was enough for Lily's full powers to kick in. She didn't think, she reacted. It all became a daze of red, the next thing she knew she was pinning a vampire down, Edward's knife to his throat. That is when she recognized the eyes looking back at her. She'd seen those eyes every day of her life for 15 years. Those big eyes that had once been coffee brown were now fire red, that skin that once had been tanned was now pasty beige. It all became clear. The one that had been watching her, the one that had been in her room and Bella's, the one that gave information to Victoria and Irina, the one that informed her of what Lily was. It had been Manny all along. Lily jumped off and away from his as fast as possible.
"Why?" Lily whispered "Why are you doing this?"
"You weren't supposed to meet him" he hissed "You weren't supposed to fall in love!" he yelled "You were supposed to miss me" he said crawling over to her "You were supposed to be here waiting for me"
"And you were supposed to be my best friend" she answered backing away until she hit a tree
"I am your best friend" he answered in a voice that once belonged to the Manny she knew.
Lily shook her head, pushing her way up the tree bark. "My best friend is dead"
She wanted to keep him talking, to make sure he didn't realize the Cullen's and the pack were moving in on him but she was unable to do it. He wrapped his right hand on her throat, slightly lifting her off the ground. "The slightest move from any of you and I snap her neck" Manny growled. Please back away. I have a plan. Picking up on her thoughts, Edward signaled everyone to step back. "I will kill you in a way" he winked at her as he lowered her enough for her feet to touch the floor.
He didn't know she couldn't be turned. "My heart will always belong to someone else" she answered.
"We can get rid of that someone else very easily" he smiled, letting go of Lily and zooming to kneel over Jake, the knife that she once held to his throat now was in his hand and to Jake's throat.
"No!" she cried "You can have me" she blurred out "You want me, you can have me" she took a step closer "I will be yours as long as you leave him and everyone here alone. We will go far away from here and never look back"
"You promise?"
"I do" she said extending her wrist to him. An offer she was hoping he would take.
Manny dropped a broken Jake and zoomed over to her, taking her wrist in his hand. He smiled triumphantly, pulling her from her wrist, wrapping an arm around her, pinning her body to his. He turned to smile mockingly at Jake before brushing Lily's hair away from her neck. She never thought that was how that story would end. She always knew Manny wasn't gone for good but she never imagined it would come down to killing her once best friend/brother/family. Tears rolled down her face as Manny turned her head and she met Jake's terrorized eyes. "I love you" she mouthed to Jake before Manny sank his teeth to her neck.
She wasn't sure which pain was worse, the bite or the howl that came from Jake. Lily would not let Manny see her down and hurting because of him. She held on to every ounce of strength she had and remained on her feet until he collapsed at her feet, choking on her blood. It was then that Emmett picked her up as Edward and Paul took over, ripping Manny to pieces. Doc and Sam ran to Jake as Emmett held Lily, who almost broke his arm off before realizing who he was. The moment Emmett sank his fangs on her neck, everything went black.
******
"Most of his right side is broken" Doc informed Sam "Take him to our house. We have a bit of a complication here, but it'll only be a few minutes"
"He has a home" Sam answered sourly
"I have all the medical equipment necessary to treat him at my home office" Doc answered"Unless you want to take the risk of taking him to a hospital"
"Tell them to take me" Jake told Edward
"Jacob says to take him to our house" Edward told Sam, who hesitatingly nodded.
"And please try to get him to phase. I need him in human form" Doc instructed "At the rate he's healing his bones will set wrong"
"What about Lily?" Jake asked Edward as he saw her limp in Emmett's arms.
"In shock" Edward answered Jake
"Don't worry, bro" Emmett said to Jake right before he threw up, again "I got her"
The pack and Jake stared in distress as the doc ripped off a piece from his shirt and tied it around Lily's wrist to stop the bleeding. Suddenly Edward snapped his head up to look at Tink, who had a blank expression on her face, the way she did at the graduation party.
"What is she seeing?" Jake howled "Is it about Lil?"
"No" Edward answered him "The Volturi is coming" he announced to his family
"Volturi?" Sam asked
"When?" Doc asked
"5 Minutes, maybe 10"Edward answered Doc before turning to Sam"The Volturi is sort of the royalty of vampires. They are the law makers, enforcers, judges and executioners. They were tracking the newborns"
"Nice timing" Paul growled
"The Volturi will not honor treaties with werewolves" Carlisle said to Sam "You need to leave before they arrive"
"I'm taking Lil home" A now greenEmmett added "You and your boys grab Jake and follow me"
"I'll take Lily" Sam said picking her up "You can barely hold yourself up"
"I promised Jake" Emmett complained before blowing chunks again.
"Jake says you kept it, Emm" Edward said as Jake thought it "You don't wanna drop Lily, do you?"
Emmett wasn't happy about it but he agreed. It took Jake several tries to phase back. Something he wasn't happy to do since the pain was extremely worse in human form. It took, Jess, Quil and Embry to carry Jake to the Cullen house. Seth followed close behind, trying to hide between Jared and Paul.
"Where were you???" Jake growled at Seth
"I couldn't pin her down" Seth cried
"Calm down, Jake"Jess said"No one can keep Lil from doing what she wants"
"Not even you, Jake" Embry added "What did you want the kid to do?"
"Seth, go to Billy's and let him know what's going on"Sam ordered as they arrived to the Cullen house"Bring him back"
Seth and wolf Paul ran off as Jake and Lil were taken to Edward's room. Minutes later Doc and the rest of the Cullen's arrived.
"Take care of Lil first" Jake breathed
"She's stable, Jacob" Edward answered "Besides, I don't think she should be conscious while Carlisle fixes you up"
"Why is that?" Sam asked
"Jacob's bones need to be re-broken and set properly" Doc answered "I doubt Lily will take that well, even if he is unconscious"
"Carlisle will give you plenty of morphine" Edward informed Jake
"But since this is my first time treating a werewolf, we're going on trial and error" Doc admitted "I'll try to give you enough to free you of pain"
"Do what you gotta do" Jake answered as Emmett picked Lil off the bed
"Where are you taking her?" Sam asked
"I'm not taking the chance of Lil waking up while Jake's getting re-broken" Emmett answered "That would be too much for her to handle"
"It's ok" Jake breathed "He won't hurt her"
"Your boys still don't get it, ha? Emmett chuckled "She's more likely to hurt me" Emmett added as he left the room.
"How are you feeling?" Doc asked as he gave Jake a third shot
"High" Jake smirked
"Means you're almost ready"Edward smiled"Try to go to sleep"
"How is he?" Jake's dad asked filled with worry as Paul barged in with him in tow
"His right side was completely broken" Doc answered "Due to the speed of his healing and his inability to phase back right away, his bones began to set wrong. I'll have to re-brake them and set them right. A bit painful but he will be perfectly fine in a few days"
His dad nodded, lips pressed together, obvious he was still worried. He looked around the room a few times with a bit of confusion.
"Where is Lily?" he finally asked "Does she know?"
"Lily is in another room" Sam answered "She's unconscious"
"What happened?" his dad asked, filled with worry once again.
"She slit her wrist"Jared answered"Twice"
"And got bitten by a vampires" Quil added "Twice"
His dad's eyes grew wider than ever.
"The wrist thing was to get the newborn's attention" Embry stated
"Lil knew the newborns would not be able to resist her blood, so she slit her wrist to distract them, giving us a chance to kill them quickly and easily" Jared answered
"But she was fine after that"Quil pointed"She passed out after saving Jake"
"Lil attacked the vampire that was crushing Jake" Paul informed"Saved his ass"
"But it took getting bitten to do it" Jared informed "Then she had to get bitten again by Emmett to suck out the venom"
"Lily was at the fight?" his dad's voiced boomed "I want the whole story, Sam" his dad's tone meant it was not a request but an order from the chief.
Sam told Jake's dad everything, not leaving a single detail out. He bragged like a proud big brother about her training and fighting with the Cullen's in the clearing, her involvement in the fight and in Jake's attack.
"Excuse me" Tink said as she peeked in "May I come in?"
"Tinkerbell" Jake slurred "How's she doing?"
"Still out, but she's fine" Tink assured him "She'll just need a few stitches"
"Why is she still unconscious?" his dad asked "Is it the loss of blood, the venom, or both?"
"None" Doc answered "She lost a fair amount of blood and will be a tad weak for a few days, and Emmett made sure to suck out every drop of venom in her system. The loss of consciousness is physiological. She has been through a lot today; her mind is trying to protect itself. I'll examine her after I'm done with Jacob, just to make sure and give her a shot for her nerves, to help her sleep through the night. She should be fine by morning"
"Is everyone else ok?" his dad asked
"Everyone is perfectly fine" Doc answered
"Thanks to Lil the fight ended very quickly" Jared said
"They all focused on her like we weren't even there" Embry added
"They all leaped at her and got out of the way every single time" Quil smiled
"You should've seen her when she saw Jake being attacked, Billy" Paul smiled"She went postal and kicked serious vamp ass. It was fucking awesome"
"Language boy!" his dad scolded as everyone laughed
Jake felt like he was deep underwater, voices fading, vision becoming blurry until things were nothing but blobs. His eyelids became heavier and heavier until he was out like a light.
*****
Jake! What happened to Jake? How is he? Lily jumped off the bed, looking around for Jake. She was surprised to see she was at the Cullen house but not in Edward's room. She was in Emmett and Rosalie's room, probably why it was him who was with her. He jumped off the bed and stood in front of her, holding his hands out to catch her in case she fell.
"He's ok"Emmett said, obviously knowing what she was thinking"Sleeping off all the morphine Carlisle gave him. He'll be running around in no time" Lily exhaled in relief and allowed her body to fall back to the bed. "How are you feeling?" Emmett asked as he sat with Lily on the bed
"Sore" Lily whined
"Soreness can be a side-effect of an adrenaline rush" Carlisle stated as he walked in "Your wrist needed a few stitches but the scar will be hardly visible"
"How are you feeling?" she asked Emmett
"Much better" he smiled patting his stomach
"Thank you, Emm" she smiled, giving him a big hug "I owe you one"
"Don't worry about it" he smiled, flashing his fangs and rubbing his shoulder "The bite was payback"
"How long have I been out?" she asked
"About 17 hours" Emmett answered "Carlisle sowed you up and gave you something for your nerves while you were out"
"Emmett has been with you the entire time" Carlisle smiled "He went as far as to guard the door while you were bleeding"
Lily turned to Emmett who would've been blushing if he could. He treated her like his blood sister which after swapping blood they probably were. She loved him for being the big teddy bear he was and felt a lump in her throat as she placed her hand over his.
"It's what Jake would've wanted" Emmett shrugged "And I didn't want anyone to go near that shit, it's nasty"
Lily was laughing when Rosalie walked in the room "Alice says Fido will be up in five minutes" she announced "He'll probably be here in five and a half" Rosalie smiled, giving Lily a kiss on the forehead before running her fingers through her hair. "I'll leave you alone for a few minutes" she stated "But I'll be back to help you shower. You need to get all this" she pulled on Lily's bloody shirt with a disgusted look "Off you as soon as possible"
"Esme will be bringing you something to eat in a minute" Carlisle stated "You need to eat and drink plenty of fluids. The loss of blood will have you weak for a few days as it is, being dehydrated and starved won't help"
Carlisle, Emmett, and Rosalie walked out the room to give Lily and Jake some privacy. Lily's heart was beating frantically. She needed to see him, she needed to witness with her own eyes that he was safe and sound, that everything was gonna be alright. She needed to see those beautiful big brown eyes looking lovingly at her, she needed to see that breathtaking smile of his, and she needed those big strong arms to hold her tightly. She needed Jake.
*****
Jake felt like he'd been sleeping for days. He was a little sore but felt refreshed and ready to go. As long as his body cooperated.
"How you feeling?" his dad asked
"Great" Jake smiled "Like I have fresh batteries"
"Get over here" he said pulling Jake into a big hug "I've been on pins and needles"
Jake gave his father a big hug. It was such a relief to know everything was over and everyone he cared for was alright. For the first time since his change Jake felt like a kid, safe and protected because his father's arm were around him.
"Let me know when you're done having your moment" Tink yelled from the door
"Lovely girl" his dad smiled "Easy to forget she's a vampire"
"Tell me about it" Jake half-smiled
"Keep it up and I won't give you an update on Lil" Tink teased as she skipped in
"How is she???"
"Anxious to see you" she answered "She woke up about 10 minutes ago"
"It's funny how ironic all this is" Jake smiled "I go crazy protecting her, making sure she's safe, and she saves my life"
"Silly little wolf" Tink laughed"Lily saved your life the moment she walked into it"
Tink helped Jake walk over to Emmett and Blondie's room, where Lil was, sitting up against the headboard. The moment they stood in the doorway, Lil snapped her head up to look at him with a smile across her face. His heart skipped a beat before in went into double speed.
"How you feeling?" she asked as Tink sat him next to her
"Still a little high"Jake joked"Doc shot me up pretty good yesterday. How are you?"
"A little woozy" she whispered "But other than that I'm good"
"Well, you haven't eaten anything in almost 36 hours and you've lost a lot of blood"
"Probably why I feel woozy" she smiled as she struggled to sit up higher.
Jake slid his hands under her arms and sat her up, leaning her back against the headboard. She smiled at him as she rolled her eyes.
"What the hell goes on in that head of yours???"
"Don't give me that, Jake" she smiled shaking her head "You would've done it too"
"It's not the same thing and you know it"
"Like hell it isn't"she snapped"You'd die for me. Now you know I'd die for you too"
"You scared me to death with the wrist slicing. And did you forget the Cullen's are vampires too? They could've lost control just as easily"
"You didn't tell him" Tink asked
"Tell me what?"
"My blood doesn't attract them" Lil answered "My blood, like my scent, is of candy. Probably a witch thing" she added shrugging her shoulders
"The newborns attacked her due to the sight of her blood and her heartbeat, but not her scent"Tink explained
"That doesn't explain why you attacked a vampire head on, and alone?" Jake scolded "What the hell were you thinking?"
"Of saving your ass" Tink laughed
"I didn't think, Jake. I reacted" Lil smiled
"Do you wanna talk about it" he asked, knowing it was probably very hard on her.
"No" she shook her head "My best friend died many months ago. The thing that choked on my blood was a mere shadow of someone I once knew. I don't regret it"
"Crazy little girl" he smiled hugging Lil tightly
"Yeah" she breathed "But that's why you love me"
"Thank you" Jake whispered
"Huh?" Lily smiled
"Thank you for saving me" Jake said as he looked into her glorious eyes
"I would hardly call what I did; saving you" Lil smiled "I just killed some time while Edward and Paul did their thing"
"No" Jake smiled "You saved me. I was dying and you walked in and brought me back to life. Thank you"
"Thank you for brightening my days and being my warmth"Lil smiled"My own personal sunshine in an otherwise cloudy and rainy existence"
Jake wrapped his arms around Lil and held her tightly. He was so glad and relieved that everything was over. The psycho bloodsuckers were dead, his brothers and friends walked away unharmed, he was gonna bounce back in a matter of hours and his love and reason for existence was safe and sound in his arms. Now the only thing he had to worry about was Tink going crazy over wedding details, but as long as Lily got the wedding of her dreams, and Jake could live the rest of his life with her as his wife and mother of his kids, Tink could go as crazy as she wanted.