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Chapter 12

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Kim frowned when she pulled into the driveway of the Swan's home. Usually, whichever wolf already present in the house would come out to greet her and let her know if Bella had woken up yet or not. She checked the time on her phone- 9:45am- and sighed. She was only 15 minutes late and she'd even called Bella's phone to let her know. She and Bella had been having breakfast every Thursday since Jared imprinted on her, and neither of them liked being late to their weekly social outing.

The closer Kim got to the front door, the louder the alarms in her head sounded. Biting her lip, she decided to wait and called Jared. She knew he'd just be finishing up breakfast with Sam before they started their patrol and she only hoped she could catch him before they left.

"Hey, Kim, what's up babe?"

"Jared…" She swallowed hard when she saw the front door cracked open.

Jared instantly went on alert at the tone in her voice. "Kim… what happened? Are you ok?!" Panic started to set in as he looked at Sam across the table.

"I-I'm at b-Bella's… Jared, something's wrong…I got to her front door… it's standing open… there's no wolves..."

"Kim… listen to me… ok? Get back in your car and lock the doors. Sam and I are on the way. Do you see Seth or Embry outside anywhere?" His voice cracked as he tried to remain calm.

"No… I don't think anyone's here…" She whispered.

"I'm coming... talk to Emily… ok? Stay on the phone with her. I'll see you in a few minutes."

No sooner had Emily taken the phone from his hand than Jared and Sam were out the back door, stripping as they went. They phased and made quick work of the distance between them and Bella's house. They weren't sure when Quil and Jacob joined them, but they welcomed them all the same.

Jared found Kim in her car still talking to Emily with quiet tears of worry and fear running down her tanned cheeks. Jared thanked Emily and hung her phone up before slipping into the car, sweeping Kim up to him. Sam motioned for Jacob and Quil to follow him inside after making sure that Kim was alright. Their noses were assaulted right away with the scent of Edward Cullen. Before Sam could stop them, Quil rushed into the living room and Jacob darted up the stairs.

Huffing, he settled on hunting down the two wolves on guard duty. He could hear Jacob cursing the fact that Bella was nowhere to be found, but he stopped dead when he saw Quil checking for his friends' pulse.

"Are they…" Sam couldn't bring himself to ask if they were still alive. He could barely hear their heartbeats.

"Holy shit, Sam… they've been sedated." Quil muttered. Jacob stood at his back growling at the sight.

Sam couldn't believe it. "They shouldn't be like this!" He said nodding to the sprawled-out bodies. Their positions were too unnatural. It raised the hairs on the back of his neck. They were too still.

"It would take a dose big enough for a horse or a cow to put one of us under… but to do this… he must have given them a dose big enough to take out three horses each… they feel normal… they're not hot at all." Quil whispered in shock. "Fuck me… the son of a bitch was out to kill them, Sam!"

"Find the darts!" Sam growled.

Jacob rifled around and found four darts in the kitchen trash. "He must have gotten Embry while he was still asleep… Seth must have heard the dart gun fire… maybe by the time Edward had it loaded again he started to charge." He offered.

"Sam… they need help." Quil whined.

A growl from Jared and a squeal of fright from Kim had the three wolves outside and standing next to their brother in mere seconds. The Cullen's were there, each of them looking sullen and resigned.

"He already has her, doesn't he?"

Sam eyed them and ignored the obvious. "Where did he get the darts?"

"We heard a report this morning while we patrolled the town. Someone broke into the Forks Veterinary office. The entire place was vandalized… drugs and money are missing as well as some horse tranquilizer darts and the gun. We put two and two together that he was likely to try and muscle way in… I never expected him to attack like this..." Carlisle sighed.

"And you, pixie, can you see her?" Jared asked.

Alice ignored the barb and nodded. "He's in an old building… a lodge of some kind. I saw him biting her at the new moon's peak. Other than that, he's not making clear decisions right now..."

"But that's tonight!" Jared hissed.

"He can't!" Jacob gasped.

Quil was horrified. "Paul… Sam, if she dies…"

Sam rubbed his hand over his face. "We don't know what will happen."

Jared sighed. "Someone has to tell Paul."

"I'll keep looking. Maybe Edward will give something away… some way to find him." Alice said.

Sam nodded in thanks. "Jake, Quil… try to follow the trail. We all know Bella's scent. He'll be careful with her. That means no trees."

Carlisle stepped forward then. "Take Jasper and Emmett with you. Please. They know how he fights, they can help."

Again, Sam nodded. "Fine… if I were you, I'd stay in the trees. Once Paul finds out, he's liable to see you as a threat for being what you are."

"Noted." Jasper quipped, the sarcasm heavy in his voice.

Jared growled in warning. Carlisle sighed. "Jasper, please. He's trying to offer advice. Bella is the mate of a wolf and she was stolen by a vampire. Think of how you'd feel if Alice had been taken by a wolf and another wolf offered to help..."

"She's still our friend!" Rosalie hissed. "I'm going to research the area for old lodges." She said before rushing off so she could hide her own grief. Carlisle and Esme watched and offered to help with the wolves before being brushed away. They left as quiet as they'd come much to Sam's relief. He turned to Kim and smiled.

"Kim, can we use your car? Seth and Embry need to be seen by Doctor Redwind. If we take them to the hospital there will be too many questions."

"Of course. Let's go." She said.

The wolves sighed and eased Seth and Embry into her back seat. Jared moved to the passenger seat and Kim moved to the back to allow Sam to drive. It took them fifteen minutes to cart them through the doors of the tribal clinic.

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Paul growled and wrenched his front door open. He glared hard at both Collin and Brady for waking him up after only a half an hour of sleep. He'd just finished patrol and wasn't in the mood to be bothered. The two shifted from foot to foot, too afraid of his reaction to talk.

"Well?" He growled.

"There's… uh... S-something…" Brady trailed off with a gulp, trying to find the right way to tell him his mate had been kidnapped.

"What? One of you had better spit it out or so help me I'll-"

"Bella's gone!" Collin shouted.

Paul went still. "What. did you say?" He hissed.

Brady gulped. "Edward took her this morning." He whined. His wolf told him to submit before the older wolf lashed out in anger.

Paul's eyes flashed. "Where the hell were Seth and Embry?!"

"Edward pumped Seth and Embry so full of tranquilizers they're barely breathing." Brady whined.

"Jake said it looks like Embry went down first. They found two puncture wounds in his chest… Seth went next after he woke and tried to charge the leech." Collin offered in explanation.

"Are they alright?" Paul asked. His brothers were hurt and the wolf in him needed reassurance they'd recover.

"Doc Redwind thinks they'll be ok, but he doesn't know how much of a dose the leech gave them. Quil said they were cold… their body temps are normal… human normal." Brady said before biting his lip in worry.

Paul cursed. "Not only did he attack the pack- my brothers- but he stole my mate, is that right?" His voice sounded too calm- eerie even.

The two youngest pups glanced at each other. They gulped and nodded before looking back to Paul. His smirk made him look feral.

"Well then boys… it's time to go." He chimed.

"Go?"

He nodded. "It's open season and there's a bonfire with Edward's name on it. The leech won't live to see the dawn of another day." He said before phasing.

It took them a few moments before they followed along after him.

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Jared and Sam paced the clinic floor. Seth and Embry hadn't woken up yet, and as far as they knew, their temperatures were still low. The elders had been informed as well as both Sue Clearwater and Tiffany call. Kim thought ahead and called Charlie to inform him- while Bella was in the bathroom- that she'd be spending the day with her and possibly the night too. She'd forgotten her phone at home since Kim had driven them to the reservation. Charlie thanked her for the thoughtfulness and asked that Bella call him in the morning.

"Sam…"

Sam walked to the doctor's side. "How are they?"

"Stable. Finally. I've brought their temperatures back up so now it's a waiting game. They're still in a deep sleep, however. Without knowing just how much was given it's dangerous. They were nearly in a coma..."

"How long before they do wake up again?" Sam asked.

"A few more hours, possibly not until tonight."

"Fucking Cullen!" Jared hissed. He'd heard every word spoken.

The doctor merely nodded in agreement before leaving to check on the wolves again. Sam only sighed. He felt torn between staying and joining in the blood bath sure to come.

Billy knew what had to be done. He took one look around at the elders, each of them nodding. "Go Sam. Your pack needs you. We'll stay here with them."

"But…"

"Go." Harry nodded.

With a deep sigh, he and Jared were gone. They caught up to Paul, Collin and Brady, all of them racing to Jacob and Quil.

"Paul, you good?" Sam asked.

Paul growled. "Oh, I'm good."

"Jake? Quil… anything?" Jared asked.

Jacob huffed. "They got into a car. The scent's just gone."

Paul growled in frustration when they stopped next to Jacob and Quil. "He's dead!" He yelled in frustration through the pack mind.

His pack corralled him before he could bolt. None of them paid any mind to Jasper or Emmett- both of them watching from the safety of the trees. Noses to fur, rumbling growls, the licking of muzzles and soft soothing nips of affection to the underside of his jaw from Collin and Brady were all used to calm the near feral wolf. Jasper had never seen anything like it. Emmett looked just as fascinated and stared in awe of the rare sight.

"Thanks." It was quiet, but it was no longer the wolf.

Sam leaned his ebony furred body against that of his friend. "Don't worry about it. We'll find her. And you'll save her from the monster. And she'll save you from yourself."

"His family turned on him?" Paul asked eying the vampires for the first time since he'd calmed.

Emmett, for his part, remained silent and waited for them to make the first move. He was a predator too, after all; It just so happened that he was the wolves' only source of prey. He respected the food chain enough to know that the wrong move would have him killed quicker than he could react to, and no matter how childish he appeared- he wasn't stupid.

Jasper's phone alerted everyone to the text he'd just received. "Ali's had another vision. Bella will be awake soon. Brown walls, a single bed and a large basin- a sink."

"That sounds like those old trapping lodges up by Neah Bay." Quil mused.

"Would he stay that close?" Jared wondered.

"Best way to hide someone is to do it in plain sight I guess." Sam mused.

Paul sighed and sat on his haunches. "If he had her on foot before taking her in a car, that'd only be a what… two or three-hour drive?"

"He must have knocked her out then. Bella would have tried to leave a scent trail for us to follow otherwise." Jacob growled.

"We found a package of chloroform compress pads where her scent disappeared. He must have subdued her with one." Quil reasoned.

Sam shook his coat out and growled in frustration, his paws raking at the leaf litter under him. "He's good, but he forgot something." He finally said after sitting down next to his pack mates.

"What?" Brady and Collin asked.

Paul stretched and sat beside Sam, taking comfort in the presence of his friends. "He messed with the pack."

Brady nudged Collin's side with his muzzle. "And here I thought he hated us." He quipped.

Paul's growl was sharp as he shoved him. "You know better than that." He reprimanded.

Brady submitted quick to the older wolf. His belly touched the ground, his tail tucked beneath him and he bared his neck. Again, Jasper and Emmett watched in awe of the inner workings of the pack. Jasper was amazed at the emotions flowing so pure through each wolf: loyalty, love, respect, caution, brotherhood, determination- it was an influx and yet, it didn't disturb him in the slightest.

"Paul is a lot of things," Jared huffed. "An ass mostly,"

"Hey!"

"But he's pack!" Jacob finished.

"And the pack is all that matters." Paul said with a nod.

Sam sighed and phased back. He regarded the two vampires in the safety of the trees with his head canted to the side for a moment. "They won't hurt you." He finally said with a raised eyebrow and hushed tones.

Emmett snorted. "One near feral wolf says otherwise."

Sam smirked when Paul chuffed in amusement. "The lodge you said the pixie-"

"Alice!" Jasper growled. Sam arched an eyebrow.

"She's his mate." Emmett offered. "We're just as protective of ours as you are of yours." He shrugged.

"Fair enough. The lodge you said Alice saw… we think we know where it is… the old trapping and fur lodges outside the Makah reservation, up around Neah Bay are a good four to five-hour run, but it's all we've got so far."

"I'll call Carlisle." Jasper sighed.

Emmett looked thoughtful. "That sounds like the lodges we stayed in when the last pack was here." He mused.

Paul was quick to phase back. "You know where they are?"

He shrugged. "Carlisle will know for certain."

Sam clapped Paul on the shoulder. "I'll call the elders. We're going for a hunt."

His statement was echoed by a cacophony of eager howls. If Jasper and Emmett had been alive, their blood would have chilled. It was a sound they never wanted to hear again.