Temper, Temper – Chapter Thirty Two: He's Gone

"Gone? What do you mean he's gone?" Alex shouted running up the whole pack which stood in a large group and joining the conversation as she listened in. Sam shook his head with a tired sigh,

"Jacob has run off because of Bella and the vamp are getting hitched" Embry explained mater of factly, filling in for the alpha who seemed at a loss for speech or action. Paul piped up angrily,

"So let's go and drag his ass back" He yelled, gesturing with his arm aggressively to the woods behind him before Alex put her hand on his arm to sooth his temper. Quil scoffed at this suggestion, making Paul's forearm clench while his hand formed a fist.

"Jake's a big boy, he can handle himself"

"He'll come back for their wedding and then there's another job for us, guarding the leech ceremony so the treaty isn't broken – Thanks a lot Black" Leah said dramatically, 'It's not like she has anything else to do' Alex countered silently.

"Do you think of anyone but yourself?" Seth spat angrily at his sister. Alex spoke before Leah could lash out a reply,

"What about Billy?" She said, stepping forward more and holding onto Paul's arm with two hands rather than one. Sam lifted his dipped head and rose to his full height,

"I'll tell Billy – the rest of you can leave. Alex, Paul – You're on patrol"

In unison on the outskirt of the group circle, both of the wolves nodded their compliance. Paul turned around first and easily shifted before looking back to wait for Alex who followed suit after a moment of thought.

'He must of travelled far by now, I can't hear him' Paul thought as he strained the mental links between pack members in vain. Alex lowered her head and thought the same before thinking,

'Yeah…Canada won't know what hit it'

Paul aimlessly loped forward before hopping onto the boundary rocks, Alex lay down on the ground as she caught up slowly and rested her muzzle over her front paws.

'I don't like this' She stated, making Paul look down at her from his sitting position. 'I have a bad feeling coming'

'Yeah well I haven't stopped getting them'

'I'm gonna go check what's going on after patrol' Alex thought offhand, she needed to go and see Alice and Emmett anyway. After an urgent phone call proclaiming their anger at her overdue visits, this would be a good opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

Paul said nothing at first but Alex knew his hate for the leeches was something that had not changed, despite the friendship his imprint maintained with them.

'I don't like you over there' He thought plainly after a moment. In his mind wolves and vampires were enemies. That was it, black and white, no room for grey.

'Tough' Alex dismissed firmly only to see Paul's lip quiver into a light growl, showing his dislike for this conversation or where it was going.

'Well of course, you just keep up this little friendship. Don't bother thinking about anyone else' Paul huffed and collapsed lazily to the floor.

'Paul you're so dramatic' Alex responded and chuckled when her reply was a simple grouchy groan from the wolf that had decided to roll away from her and face the other direction.

'You don't just leave your pack behind' Paul's comment made Alex wince slightly, she had left two packs and more than once.

'Sometimes people have to do what's right for them and the situation and-" She grew louder when she felt Paul go to interrupt her, 'Even if that is a mistake, than making it makes you realize what you have. That's how people grow'

Silence fell over them, and it remained unbroken when Alex slowly walked towards the edge of the cliff, carefully she let her paws guide her down the path. Already on the other side of the boundary, Alex wasn't surprised when Paul had to have the last word in the conversation.

'Loyalty and team work in our species out ways everything else – We do what we do for the sake of our brothers and the people we protect' He said decidedly choosing the words carefully. It got a fiery reaction though, making Alex snort and pick up her pace to the vampires.

So Paul wanted Jacob to ignore all his feelings and pull together so everyone would be less stretched on patrol shifts. 'That's bullshit' She thought angrily, knowing she hadn't travelled far enough for her thoughts to be lost from Paul's ears.

"I told you she would be here anytime soon!" Rosalie's voice echoed out, she held onto the balcony's edge as Alex loped onto the road that circled the Cullen home.

"Couldn't wait for your wedding invite?" Edward produced a white envelope when Alex, back in human form, walked in a tipped her head to the side. Taking it, she neatly removed the seal and read the details intently.

"Congratulations" She nodded at couple, smiling as Bella moved closer to her fiancé after watching Alex's reaction to the invite off her mortal vampire to be.

"How is he?" Bella asked, craning forward expectantly. Alex flicked her eyes to Edward and then over the rest of the Cullen's, they were all looking at her.

Alex stammered a little, but recovered enough to give a simple answer,

"He's gone" She said sadly.

The vampires in the room had no major reactions, it was as if they all expected it but Bella didn't, she gasped a little and took a step back, grasping Edward's arm.

Trying to restore the happiness back into the room Alex smiled at Bella reassuringly, "Well put a pew out for me and have Alice find me a decent enough dress-"

"My taste in dresses is far greater than decent Alexandria" Alice interjected making Alex shudder at the use of her full name, never insult Alice's taste in fashion. At least the subject had been changed for now though.

"I wonder how wolf boy is gonna handle you going to your first vampire wedding" Emmett laughed and Alex re-read her invite again before dropping it to her side and raising her eyebrows.

"He's not very open-minded about this whole Supernatural versus Supernatural situation" Alex admitted, wondering on a scale of one to ten how Paul would react to this.

"We know" Practically everyone said simultaneously, watching Alex timidly smile and turn to leave. As she opened the door, Alex added,

"…and some decent shoes Alice"

Quickly she shut the door, preventing the television remote hitting her head and instead smacking into the wooden door frame.

"Vampire wedding eh?" She looked at the invite in her head again before jogging into the forest again, but keeping in her human form so her thoughts remained her own.