A/N: Thanks to everyone who forgave me for the really nasty things I did to Leah and Nahuel in the last chapter. For those who heeded my warning and opted not to read it, I've included a brief summary at the end of this note.
Thanks to my bodacious betas Evelyn-Shaye and MunkeeRajah, both of whom have already seen BD1. If ours were not a bi-coastal trio, I'd have demanded we see it together! As it is, I'll have to settle for seeing it with DH, who will only be attending because he loves me, not because he loves Edward, Bella, et al. Sad, I know – but it's really his only flaw.
Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer, and I'm sure she's very happy about that right now!
Chapter 22 Summary – After breaking her pack link to Jake, Leah enters the building where she senses Nahuel is being held. He is there, horrifically restrained and totally out of it. While she's trying to wake him up so they can escape, she's attacked from behind by one of Joham's minions. He traps her against Nahuel's body to prevent her from phasing while he assaults her. Nahuel wakes up in the nick of time, breaks free and dispatches the evil vampire. The chapter concludes with both Leah and Nahuel injured, but happy to be reunited.
Chapter 23 – Slip Away
Leah POV
Running. We'd been running. And now … we weren't.
Why aren't we moving?
"Stay still, Lee-lee." Seth, shaky and unsure, using that nickname I hated. Annoyance pushed my awareness up out of the fog.
Oh, yeah, that's right. I can't move. Hurts too fucking much.
Someone had dissected my spine, drained it of fluid and packed the cavity with pissed-off fire ants. It was the only explanation for the searing strands of pain running down my back.
The cold numbness in my extremities, though … that I couldn't explain. Maybe I'd fallen asleep in front of the open freezer door. Again. Yeah, that must be it. I know a wonderful way to warm up ….
"Nahuel?"
"I am here, my heart." Worry and pain in his satin-and-smoke voice.
"Hold me, baby." I meant it to be a sexy coo. Instead, it came out sounding papery and pathetic. "I'm cold, and you're warm. Soooo warm …."
An anguished moan. "I cannot. You are injured. You must not move."
"Why couldn't we hear her? We should have been able to hear her long before she got to this point."
Paul? What was Paul doing in my kitchen?
"Get the hell out of my freezer, jackass," I muttered.
"I don't know, man. She's not making sense. Nothing makes sense." My brother's voice.
Why can't I feel my feet? Where are my fingers?
"Seth, get Paul out of the kitchen. Fucker's going to eat everything."
Laughter. Loud, obnoxious guffaws.
Emmett?
Surprised by his presence in my kitchen, I cracked my eyes open.
I wasn't home. I was on my side in the snow, surrounded by towering trees and five pairs of worried eyes. I was wearing nothing but a damp T-shirt that was about six sizes too big—Seth's. Nahuel and my brother were kneeling side by side in front of me. Paul stood behind them. Beyond him were Jasper and Emmett.
Why are they all looking at me?
"What's going on? Where's Jake?"
Seth's face blanched. "We were hoping you knew."
I tried to shake my head. The fire ants went from pissed off to ballistic. Apparently, they'd also gnawed their way to my lungs and punched a few holes, because I couldn't get a decent breath.
"How would I know?"
Seth's eyes were huge and damp and frightened. It freaked me out. My baby brother was always too happy to be afraid. Of anything.
"Seth, you're scaring me. What's going on?"
"Leah, do you remember anything?" He sounded like he was pleading with me, begging for something he wasn't sure I could give him. "Do you remember finding Nahuel? Fighting? Getting hurt? Getting away?"
I remembered. I was pretty sure I'd never be able to forget. Not even the parts that I'd give my left ovary to wipe from my memory.
"Course I remember," I mumbled, irritated.
It was the afterwards that I wasn't clear on. My mind spun in tiny, erratic circles before settling on a worrisome bit of minutiae.
"We couldn't burn the body," I blurted. "No matches."
Nahuel's long warm fingers stroked gently, lightly from my shoulder to my elbow, then back again in a soothing loop.
"We buried the pieces in seven separate locations. It was the best we could do." He looked at Seth.
"We ran for a while. Then we walked when Leah's pain became too great to run. Eventually we had to stop walking, too."
Seth dropped his head for a moment and rubbed the back of his neck. When he looked up again, his eyes were strained and desperate. "Did you see any sign of Jake or Nessie?"
"I … I don't remember …." I looked to Nahuel for help. He gave me a strained smile, full of effort and pain, and continued stroking my arm.
"None," he said. "But I did not know to look for signs at the time. It is possible I missed something."
I gasped, and the sharp intake of breath set the fire ants dancing like they were grooving to the world's hottest Mariachi band. I got just enough breath to whisper.
"Are you saying Jake and Renesmee are missing?"
Five pairs of eyes all trained on anything but mine. Five silent mouths. Did no one have the balls to tell me?
Gutless wonders.
I wanted to tear into all five of them. I wanted to tell them to quit dicking around watching me lay on the ground and start looking for my Alpha.
Except he wasn't my Alpha anymore, was he?
I'd cut him off without a second thought when he'd only been trying to protect me from myself. The awfulness of what I'd done, the sheer selfishness of how I'd betrayed my best friend, finally hit me. Guilt swamped me.
I started to sob, which was a really bad idea. The pain in my back now wrapped its fiery talons around my ribs and squeezed. It pinched the breath right out of me. Not that I'd had that much to work with in the first place.
My vision started to get fuzzy, and no matter how I tried, I couldn't bring Seth's face back into focus. After a few seconds, the blurriness faded to full black. Seth's voice, however, was clear and strong in my ears.
"Leah? Leah!"
Paul: "She's zoning out again."
"Dude, she's hurt bad. We gotta get her to Carlisle. Like, now." That was Emmett.
"You're not supposed to move people with back injuries, right?" Paul again. "I mean she's probably already made things worse with all the fighting and running she's done."
Seth: "I don't think we have a choice. She's having trouble breathing."
"I will carry her." Nahuel this time.
Jasper, gentle but firm: "Nahuel, you can barely walk yourself. Your arms are in no shape to bear her weight. Does anyone have a cell signal?"
No talking. Rustling of cloth. Faint electronic beeping. Three exasperated sighs.
"All right, I'm making an executive decision, here. Seth and I will run with Leah until we get a signal again and can reach Carlisle. We'll do whatever he tells us at that point. Emmett and Paul, you stay with Nahuel and follow behind us. You'll be going slower, so look for signs of Jake and Nessie on the way."
"I will not stay behind." Nahuel, an edge of defiant panic in his voice. "I must go with her."
Kindness. Calm. Comfort. In Jasper's voice and in my head. "This is best for her, Nahuel. She needs medical attention."
"I … I beg you … do not make me part from her. I cannot … bear it …."
Warm lips on my forehead. Warm drops of moisture splashing on my cheeks.
Don't cry, baby. Please don't cry.
A soft whisper from Seth. "I love her too, man. I won't let anything happen to her."
Jasper again. "We'll take care of her. You have my word."
"You have to let go, Nahuel." Emmett's voice, low and amazingly gentle. "They need to get going."
Motion again. Like levitating. Effortless upward motion. So smooth the evil ants barely reacted.
Wind on my face. Cold wind, chilling my cheeks. Every part of me cold. So god-damned cold.
Lifted. Carried.
Who? Why can't I feel his arms?
I summoned the last scraps of energy and will I had and forced my eyes open.
Jasper's face glided above me, the forest whipping by behind his golden head in a blur of gray. I could make out the faintest white traces of vampire bite marks on his throat and jaw—the scars that human eyes would miss. I'd never really seen them before because I'd never been this close to him, and I'd never gotten this close because, frankly, his intensity and aura of danger secretly scared the crap out of me.
He realized instantly that my eyes were on him.
"It's alright," he drawled. "I got ya, darlin'."
Though I knew they had nothing more in common than southern-sounding accents and the lack of a pulse, I couldn't stop myself from equating Jasper's voice and cold touch with his. Suddenly I was back in that tomb of a barn, imprisoned against cold, dead flesh on one side and hot, dying flesh on the other. I could feel again that frigid hardness seeking entry and the graze of deadly teeth against my throat.
The compulsion to flee, to escape in any way I could, was overpowering. But I couldn't feel my arms or legs to move them. Couldn't make my mouth move to tell Jasper to put me down.
So I did the only thing I could do: I escaped into my own head. I yanked open the hidden door of the school girl's secret closet, shouldered the hysterical bitch out of my way, crawled in … and slammed the door shut behind me.
SSW/SSW/SSW
Loud shouting. Angry voices.
My body was shaking, but it wasn't me making the movement. I was lying on my stomach atop a cloud—a really foul-smelling cloud. The pain was gone and I was toasty warm. The numbness was still there, but it seemed to have spread to my brain, too, so I couldn't find it in me to be worried by it. If it weren't for the damned shaking, I'd actually have felt really comfortable.
Comfortably numb, as a matter of fact. I snickered at my own mental joke.
"… ask you again, where are my children?"
Ah, vampires. That's why my cloud smelled so rank. There were vampires on it with me.
What? What children?
"Edward, take your hands off my mate …"
Mate? Whoa! Where did THAT come from?
"… or I will forget that your wife is to be her step-sister, and I will remove your hands for you."
Threatening snarls from both Edward and Nahuel. My cloud jostled, but the shaking stopped.
"Leah! Where are Renesmee and Jacob?"
"Edward, this is getting you nowhere." Alice, sounding like she wanted to kick her brother's ass. Damned if I'd want the pixie vampire cheesed at me. "She's got so much painkiller in her system right now that she can't even talk, let alone answer your questions."
"I don't need her to talk," Edward snapped. "I just need her to think."
"What is going on here?"
Oooh, Carlisle sounds peeved. Never heard him mad before. And just how many frickin' vampires are on this cloud, anyway?
"We need to find out what Leah knows about Jake and Renesmee's disappearance."
"Edward, this is not the time for questioning Leah. I need to realign those dislocated vertebrae and relieve the pressure on her spinal column. Her x-rays show that the damage has already begun to heal incorrectly."
Edward, sounding desperate now. He wasn't going to win against Carlisle and Alice, and he knew it. "Just a minute more, Carlisle. Please! If I can just get her to remember what she knows —"
"Get out of my way." Nahuel, also sounding aggravated. Man, there was a boatload of anger on this cloud.
His sweet cinnamon-and-spice breath caressed my cheek just before his lips brushed my skin.
"Ñi piuque, can you speak to me?"
Oh yes, baby, I have so much to tell you.
"… luhhvvv ewwww …" Something was really wrong with my tongue. I tried again. "I luff you, Naahh-welll."
"As I love you." His voice twinkled, and I really wished I could open my eyes to see the smile that went along with that sparkle. It would probably melt my panties, even if I were a geriatric nun. I wished we were alone on this lovely cloud, and that I could move. I'd give him plenty to smile about.
"Leah, do you remember that Jacob and Renesmee are missing?"
Yes. Missing. My fault. All my fault.
They followed me.
I started to cry—pathetic wheezing sobs that were surely soaking my lovely cloud with wolf-girl snot.
Why did they follow me?
Behind my closed eyes, I saw again the fury on Renesmee's face when she caught up with me. Felt the throb of her fist on my jaw, so much less than what I deserved for sucker-punching Jake in the balls. Felt Jake's hurt and betrayal at what I'd done to him. Remembered the minutes of ringing silence that followed my decision to break my connection to Jake and the rest of the pack.
It all flooded through my mind … and into Edward's.
"Yes! That's it," he hissed, swallowing the rush of images and emotions that comprised my memories of the past day. Then … "She doesn't know anything. She's not connected to Jacob anymore. She abandoned the pack link. She defied him. I didn't know that was possible."
Seth's voice. Appalled. Hurt. "That's why we couldn't hear her! How, Leah? How could you do that to Jake? To us?"
"That's enough. Everyone out of this room. I need to take care of my patient."
"I will remain, Carlisle."
"No, Nahuel. Your own wounds need attention. Edward and Esme will look after you while I care for Leah."
"I will remain, Carlisle." Adamant.
He is so fucking hot when he's stubborn. Or angry … or happy … or hungry … or sleepy ….
"Carlisle, there's room enough here for us to work on Nahuel while you take care of Leah." Esme, this time.
I really wished I could open my eyes. I'd have enjoyed watching Nahuel stare down the doc. Clash of the Titanic Hotties. I snickered again. I really liked myself stoned. I was as funny as a duck on ice.
"All right, we really don't have time to debate this. Just don't interfere, no matter what. Rosalie, I need your help, please."
"One moment." I felt my cloud dip slightly. And then the delicious, warm electricity of Nahuel's skin was against mine. I couldn't feel all of him. But what I could feel was wonderful. What I could feel was home.
"Beloved …"
Well that's new, too. Do I like it? Not sure.
"… Carlisle needs you to sleep for a while. He will make your back feel better. I will be here with you while you sleep. I will not leave you."
I sighed happily. "Know dat." My cloud shifted again and his wonderful charged skin began to move away from me. "Wait!"
He paused. "Yes?"
"Assshhk ah-ghin."
Confusion in his velvety, rich voice. "Pardon? I do not understand."
I worked my tongue against the back of my teeth, trying to limber it up. "Ask me again," I repeated, more clearly. "I'll say yes."
He chuckled. "I know. I promise that I will. Now sleep."
SSW/SSW/SSW
Heat, delicious sensual heat, stroked down my spine. I arched my back, encouraging his blazing hands to roam my sweat-slicked body. His sweetly scented breath caressed the base of my throat. His clever tongue delved lower, trailing a slow, scorching line of desire down the curve of my breast. When his tongue flicked lightly over my erect nipple, my whole body ignited.
His hands—Oh god, how I love his hands!—gripped my hips powerfully, pulling my straining body into position beneath him. I arched again and spread my legs wide, welcoming the stroke I knew was coming. I wanted him. I craved him. More than I'd ever wanted anything.
I whimpered my encouragement.
He laughed, a low, velvety sound. "Patience, ñi piuque."
Heavy and hot, he slid slickly home. Ecstasy. I writhed beneath him, in the grip of that familiar sensation of over-fullness that flirted with near-pain. He stilled within me, giving me time to adjust. Always giving me exactly what I needed—his passion, his warmth, his love.
Slowly, so slowly that it was the most erotic, delightful torture, he began to move. He withdrew his length until he barely remained inside me, before driving forward again with a maddening dip of his hips. Each thrust caressed that incredible spot deep inside me, the one that had remained undiscovered until him, the one that made me see stars, shooting stars, fucking super novae.
And while he moved, his lips whispered against my enflamed skin.
"…love you, Leah, my heart …"
"Love you too, baby," I gasped, my fingers buried in the silky perfection of his hair.
"… so beautiful, so warm. Like fire in my veins …"
"I'm burning for you, baby. Only you."
"… so sweet …"
With that word, his voice changed, the timbre climbing into a higher register. A drawl slithered into his accent. The hair between my fingers turned coarse and curly. His exotic cinnamon and spice scent morphed into something vile and sickening.
"Don't worry, sweetness. I won't hurt ya much."
I wanted to open my mouth to scream, but I couldn't. Wanted to open my eyes to confirm the horrible impossibility my ears and hands were claiming, but my eyes stayed sealed shut.
"Won't Joham be pleased?"
Cold, crushing cold, on top of me, surrounding me … inside me.
"So pleased," he crooned. "So pleased when he sees how well I've filled your belly."
My eyes and mouth popped open in the same second, and I wrenched myself into wakefulness. I gasped, dragging in air as my terrified gaze settled on the one sight that could erase the lingering horror of my nightmare: Nahuel, sleeping peacefully beside me.
We were side-by-side, facing each other. His left hand was extended toward me, his fingertips just brushing my arm. His breathing was even and placid.
He was safe. I was safe. We were together.
Calm washed over me. My eyes scanned my surroundings. I didn't recognize the room, but I assumed it must be somewhere in the Cullen mansion, given the fact that everything in it looked designer-made and ridiculously expensive. The bed I lay on with Nahuel sure seemed like the kind of luxury item the world's wealthiest vampires would have in their home. Then, too, there was the overpowering stench of vampire. That was a real give-away as to where we were.
Beyond Nahuel's side of the bed, a wall of windows trickled weak early morning sunlight into the room. How long had I been out of it?
Moving gingerly, I rolled to my back and paused to take inventory. Soreness lingered in my back and neck, but the miserable fucking fire ants were gone, exterminated. I wiggled my toes experimentally. Extended my left hand to lightly touch the bandage on Nahuel's arm. The numbness was gone and everything appeared to be in working order.
Well, everything except my head, because only a seriously fucked-up brain would have regurgitated my sexy dream of two months ago—the night Nahuel had arrived in Forks—in such morbidly twisted detail. I'd never had a dream so vivid or intense in my life.
What the hell was wrong with me? Sure, it had been traumatic, but the horndog leech hadn't succeeded in raping me. Nahuel had killed him. We tore the body to pieces, and buried those bits where the sun would never shine on them again. I wasn't really hurt then and he couldn't hurt me now. So why the extreme recreation of our encounter?
Was my subconscious trying to tell me something? Had I missed some important piece of information that bayou boy let slip?
My mind quickly circled back to the one mystery that had nagged at me since the moment Joham's oversexed lackey had attacked me in that barn: How did he know all that he seemed to?
And he'd known a lot.
First of all, how did he even know I existed? He hadn't gotten the information from Huilen, because while she'd seen the wolves, she hadn't known specifically about me. I hadn't interacted with her at all after the confrontation with the Volturi six years ago.
He'd known that I wouldn't phase if my body was in contact with Nahuel, which is why he'd held me against my imprint the whole time he attacked me. He'd known Nahuel and I were together, and not only together, but intimate.
What he hadn't known seemed important too. I wasn't stupid; I knew damn well what he'd meant by "taking care of" and "planting one." After all, making evil little half-vampire babies was what Joham and his sick coven were all about. But given how much information he seemed to have about me, it was really weird that he hadn't known I wasn't capable of being part of their twisted breeding program.
I was missing something; I was sure of it. Whether it was the lingering effects of whatever painkillers or anesthesia Carlisle had given me, or if I just wasn't entirely awake yet, I couldn't pin down what it was.
Beside me, Nahuel sighed in his sleep. Instantly, my attention refocused on my imprint. I rolled back to my side, facing him. Was he having a nightmare, too?
I studied his perfect features. The bruises and most of the abrasions on his face were already fading. While his arms were still bandaged, the split in his lips had healed completely, and his mouth was temptingly kissable again. I saw no reason to resist temptation; I wiggled closer on the bed and lightly pressed my mouth to his. He hummed sleepily against my lips.
Of course, there was no way one chaste kiss would ever be enough. He woke fully when I washed my tongue over his delectable lower lip and slid my hand under the waistband of the pajama bottoms he was wearing.
Where the hell did those come from? I do NOT approve. Then I realized I appeared to be wearing the top half of the same set of pajamas. Oh, well that changes my opinion completely.
He chuckled against my lips. "Good morning, ñi piuque. This is a most enjoyable way to awaken."
"I totally agree," I murmured, my fingers creeping toward his enticing ass.
He pulled away slightly to study my face. "Are you well? Carlisle said he was able to repair your injuries, but that you will require rest to fully recuperate."
"I feel great, baby. And so do you," I palmed his perfectly sculpted cheeks and gave a gentle squeeze.
His breath caught and his teak eyes darkened with desire. "Leah, I would enjoy nothing more than to make love to you right now, but it is too soon after your injury."
I snorted and drew my tongue in a long stroke along his jawline. "Werewolves heal really, really fast, baby. And horny she-wolves heal even faster when they get some hot loving from their half-vampire imprints."
He laughed quietly and nuzzled my throat, but he also reached behind him to gently tug my hand out of his pants. "I am flattered that you give so much credit to my prowess that you believe it has the power to heal," he whispered. "But we are not alone."
I jerked backward and gaped at him wordlessly. He smiled and threw a nod over my shoulder, indicating I should look behind me. I rolled over.
My back had been to the opposite side of the room, so I'd completely missed the small seating area—a plush leather couch and matching armchair in a rich burgundy hue. My mother was curled up in the chair beneath a blanket. Seth was stretched out on the couch, an arm and a leg hanging off the side. Amazingly, he wasn't snoring, which is why I'd had no idea he was there. Anjali was sprawled on top of him. They were all sound asleep.
Shit! Well that could have been really embarrassing.
Nahuel slipped one bandaged arm over my waist and gently drew me backward to spoon against him. "They have not left you, even for a moment," he whispered. "It is still early in the morning and everyone is very tired. Can you sleep for a while longer, my heart?"
I gently rubbed his arm, careful to avoid the bandage, and nodded. He sighed happily into my hair. Within minutes, his breathing returned to the deep, even cadence of sleep.
Although I'd truly felt energized when I first woke up, I found myself feeling tired again. Carlisle was probably right that I needed more rest. My accelerated healing required a lot of energy. Still, even though I closed my eyes and focused on the hypnotic, soothing rhythm of Nahuel's breathing, I couldn't fall asleep.
My mind kept replaying the encounter in the barn, only this time I wasn't dwelling on the horror of it. I was trying to decode any hidden meaning behind the little that Joham's lackey had said. What was I missing?
I got experience with you fragile types.
Had he fucked a human woman before? Or, since he was no relation to Joham, maybe not a human woman, but one who was half human and therefore slightly less fragile?
My eyes opened and settled on the couch, where my brother slumbered quietly beneath his tiny, delicate-looking imprint.
I can control myself just fine …
Whoever it was, she'd survived...
… I know just what to do to fill that pretty little belly of yours ….
… and he'd been really, really proud of his success rate.
As if I'd been speaking aloud and woke her, Anjali's hazel eyes shot open. Her gaze was instantly alert, aware … and calculating.
Oh. Fuck. Me.