{{Charlotte's POV}}
I woke the next morning with a burning throat. I groaned as I rolled out of bed. I noticed another body in the bed next to mine. I guess I had slept through Leah's arrival. I made my way to the bathroom then the kitchen. Seth was sitting at the table when I walked in. I sat across from him and pressed my forehead against the cool wood.
"Hey," he greeted.
I grunted in reply.
He chuckled as he stood. "What are you doing up s early?"
"Early? It's nearly noon." I lifted my head to look out the window. My eyes flickered to him. "What's wrong?" There was a frown on his face.
"They're closer than we thought." I raised an eyebrow. "The Volturi?"
"Oh." What was I supposed to say? I didn't know who they were or how powerful―although if I had to guess, I would say pretty damn powerful if everyone cringed at the name 'Volturi'. "So . . . now what?"
"You stay here, within the boundary of La Push. Don't go anywhere unless you're with one of us."
"Okay."
I noticed I was a little too calm with the whole situation. Someone was after me, and here I was acting all calm and unaffected. In truth, the thought of these people terrified me. I didn't want to be hunted down like some rabid, wild animal. Is that what they saw me as? I didn't think I was a threat, but to these people apparently I was.
"Who are they exactly?" I asked after a few moments of silence. "What do they want with me?"
Seth sighed. "They are like the government of the vampires. No vampire wants to upset them, unless they want to die. They're horrible monsters that use fear and force as their greatest weapons." Something in his eyes told me that he had experienced this on a first-hand account.
"Twice, the Cullens ran into some trouble with them. One, a few years back because of an uprising with vampires newborns. Then another a little more recent because of Renesmee. We ended up helping because Jacob had imprinted on her."
"They're someone to be feared?"
He nodded. "This would make a third time. I don't think this will be one of those 'check-up' situations. But then again, their second visit was only thanks to Alice." He sighed again and ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know what to do."
I felt guilty. Everyone was stressing and being anxious due my turn of life events. They didn't deserve this. Especially not Seth.
"What can I do to help?"
"Stay safe."
I groaned. "I guess this would be a bad time to say I need to go hunting." I frowned as the burn began to worsen. "Immediately."
He nodded as he glanced over my face. "I'll call in a few of the guys while you get ready."
I showered and dressed in dark blue jean shorts and a white tank top with a short grey jacket. When I finished I made my way to the living room. Jared, Paul, and Jacob stood in a circle around Seth. They stopped talking as I walked in. by the looks on their faces, I knew they were discussing the Volturi. That's all anybody seemed to be talking about today.
We made our way out to the house and to the line of trees. I turned away from them as they shed their clothing and transformed. I felt a head press against my back when the grunts had settled down. I looked over my shoulder to find a sandy wolf looking down at me. Seth. He nodded forward and trotted off. As soon as I started to follow we began to run. I felt the others surround me as we took off.
{{Jane's POV}}
I don't understand why we didn't just get rid of them in the beginning. I knew those werewolves would turn out to be a problem. Now I had to sacrifice a week to come to Forks and investigate. It wasn't even the Cullens this time, although I bet they had some knowledge of it. I wasn't even sure what I was looking for. All I smelled was dog around these areas.
"Jane?"
"What?" I snapped. I was truly aggravated. All I wanted was a nice week-long break, but here I was, working.
"We haven't run into any of the Cullens. It seems as if they left for a vacation."
I highly doubted that. I vaguely remembered that one of them could see the future. Maybe that one saw our arrival and warned the others to leave. I smiled to myself. Not bad.
"Anything else?" I questioned as I sat perched on a tree branch.
"Well, we found a new scent. It was mixed with the others. We also ran across a carcass along the way. It was ripped to shreds . . . and drained of blood."
My eyes widened slightly. "Show me."
I followed the guard. The carcass was more than shredded. It was destroyed. It looked like someone had played tug of war. I bent to feel the warmth of its body. It was still slightly warm; no more than a couple hours. I sniffed the animal. The scent was something peculiar. There was an underlining of vampire but also the scent of a human. The smell of dog heavily saturated the surrounding the area as well.
I frowned in confusion. It was with the werewolves? But the carcass . . . it was drained. It had to be some type of vampire. This didn't make sense . . . .
"Gather the rest of the guards." I stood and scanned the area. "We're going on a little hunt."
{{Charlotte's POV}}
I leaned into Seth as Jared, Jacob, and Paul wrestled around us. I watched as each wolf tackled each other to try to gain the upper hand.
"Why don't you go join them?" I asked Seth. "It can't be fun just sitting here with me." Seth let out a snort that sounded like laughter and shook his head. "Suit yourself." I leaned more into his side, placing my chin on his shoulder.
He didn't seem to mind that I had blood and dirt streaked across my clothing, and that some of it rubbed off on him. I really needed to learn not to make a mess, or rather "play with my food" when I hunted. My instincts just took over, and I usually didn't notice the extent of the mess until I came back from my scenes. Seth had to drag me away this time. I was more than sure that anyone who came across it would wonder what really happened. But we were miles away now.
I was starting to drift off to sleep when Seth's ears twitched and perked up. His head snapped up causing me to fall face-first into the ground.
"What? What's happening?" I asked as I looked franticly around. I noticed the others had stopped fighting and were now standing rigid. Something wasn't right. I could feel the tension in the air.
Seth stood on his feet in front of me, blocking me from whatever potential threat he detected. I strained my ears for a sound. I heard distant footfalls—multiple pairs—coming towards us . . . maybe five miles off.
"Seth . . . " I gripped his fur, tugging slightly to get his attention. He turned his head slightly in my direction without averting his eyes; I guess this was as much acknowledgement as I was going to get in this situation. "Who's coming? Who is it?" He merely shook his head and growled. Someone behind us let out a howl.
The footfalls were closer-a lot closer. Whoever these people were-they weren't human. Their speed was incredible. Faster than mine for sure, maybe even faster than the werewolves. Is this why we weren't leaving? Was the threat so big that if we couldn't outrun them then . . . .
I didn't want to finish that thought.
More growls ripped through the air. I looked around to see the others surrounding me. What was going on?
Every one of them stiffened as the footfalls slowed to a walk about fifty feet away. Seth took a step back, taking me with him as I still held onto him.
"So it's true. There is a more trouble in Forks, or rather La Push." The voice was angelic with a slight edge and hardness. "Typical of you werewolves to be responsible, always causing trouble."
A sweet scent washed towards me as a breeze swirled through the trees. The scent made my nose itch to an uncomfortable degree causing me to sneeze. What was this scent? I sneezed again.
"It seems we are not the only ones here," the voice said. I heard Seth growl and snap as footsteps approached. "Relax, dog. I'm not going to hurt her. She's the reason we're here. I'd advise you not to interfere." Seth growled again and took a step forward where he paused and collapsed onto the ground, emitting howls and yelps that ripped a gash through my whole being. I watched in horror as he squirmed and made deafening noises of pain.
I sank to my knees beside him. "Seth? Seth! What's wrong? What's happened?"
I glanced around to see the others either staring at Seth or growling across from them. My eyes landed on the people in front of us. The one closest to us, a girl, was staring down at Seth with a mischievous grin plastered her face. Her eyes locked with mine. I noticed that Seth was no longer making any noises. I took a glance at him too see him sprawled out on the ground breathing heavily and glaring at the girl across from us.
"Maybe that will teach you to not interfere with business. Maybe that will teach all of you."
My eyes widened as I put two and two together. She was the one who cause his pain! But . . . how? She hadn't touched him, yet he looked like he was in undeniable pain.
"What did you do?" I asked her as I shifted closer to Seth.
"Shouldn't the question be 'who am I'?"
Before I could blink I was away from Seth and seized by strong arms. A yelp of pain filled the air. I saw the others pinned down to the ground and struggling to escape from the many figures that held them down.
What the hell was happening?
"Now that I have your full attention," the girl stepped in my line of sight blocking Seth from my view, "there's a matter which I must evaluate." She stepped closer and sniffed. "You have three scents coming from you. Werewolf, vampire, and human. In a way, that shouldn't be possible. You are seen as a threat to the vampire nation according to the Volturi. What do you think should happen now?"
Her question was asked directly at me. I didn't know what she expected me to say. I knew the Volutri were to be feared, at least that's what I'd always heard. And they saw me as a threat; that definitely didn't seem like a good road to be on. What were my options? None. I didn't know what this girl meant as she asked me what I thought should happen now.
She arched an eyebrow at my obviously confused face.
"No idea? How about I give you one . . . ." Her lips curled into a smile, one full of satisfaction.
A wave of pain ripped through my body as I fell to the ground. I could hear snarls and crashing distantly in my ears as my screams took over. My eyes squeezed shut and my body locked up. My heartbeat increased and my vision went black. After a few seconds that felt like hours, the pain stopped. I laid on the ground breathing heavily unable to move.
Strong arms lifted me and began to run. I knew I was safe as the arms felt unnaturally warm. It had to be one of the guys carrying me. I felt the wind ripping my hair across my face. I was too tired to open my eyes. Whatever had caused me pain had taken all my strength. I felt the arms tighten around me as I tired to move.
"Don't," a voice said. "You'll only hurt yourself more. Just rest."
I let myself relax against the warm arms. I vaguely heard snapping and growling from behind me. What was happening? Where was Seth? Was he alright?
My thoughts wondered as my body started to relax more into darkness. My body was numb as I fought to stay conscious.
"Don't fight it," the voice said.
I listened as my body protested when I tried to move again. But I had to ask.
"Seth?" I heard myself whisper in a hoarse tone.
"He's fine. He's coming. Don't worry. Rest. That's what you need to do right. Now."
I was completely drained. I wanted nothing more than to sleep, but I wanted Seth by my side. But I trusted the voice as I went under, no longer able to keep the darkness at bay.
(A/N): So after this there are three chapters left. I might upload them on the weekend, but that's not a promise. I would have uploaded sooner, but I've been writing papers non-stop. After this week, I think I have all this major school stuff out of the way. These finals are going to kill me. Sooooo ready for summer and Graduation! Senior week is going to be a blast! So ready for this to be over. So yeah, enough rambling. Hope you guys enjoy and have a great week! :)