A/N Usual disclaimer...I don't own Twilight, just play with it. This chapter is short, shorter than usual anyway. BUT, the next one will be posted in a couple of days *nods* My beta goddess, Mynxi, said that this chapter was "pretty freaky". I'ma take that as a good thing, LOL. Anyway...enjoy!

B~E~L~L~A

My previous plans of enjoying a normal night, with normal people, normal family, and doing normal things had all been scrunched up and thrown down the crapper. My thoughts were panicked and jumbled, running through my mind, and tripping up over each other.

What the fuck was going on? Where was I being taken? Was my dad alright? Since when had the Rez gone insane? Why the hell couldn't I just have at least the semblance of control over even just a small part of my life? When was I going to catch a break?

If I get out of this, I'm moving to Disneyland. Nothing bad ever happens in Disneyland.

Jacob was holding me in front of him, his arms tight around mine and my torso, leaving only my legs free. A fat lot of good that did me, no amount of flailing kicks, no matter how hard or how many times my heels connected with his shins and knees mattered; it seemed to have no effect on Jacob. I tried to twist and turn, tried to kick him right in his baby maker, but I couldn't get the leverage or into the right position. His pace remained steady, no breaks in his stride, hell he didn't even tell me to stop as he carried me through the trees.

We were going up...somewhere. I didn't recognise where we were, or where we were going. All I saw were trees, lots and lots of trees. I'd never been here, and there was no discernible path to be followed. Of course, the rain didn't help any, my night vision was distorted further by the down pour. The forest was dark and I had no light to see by, not that Jake seemed to have the same concerns. I was drenched from the rain and freezing cold where Jacob's body didn't have direct contact with mine. But his body heat, his unusual and downright wrong heat, was almost burning into my back.

"Jacob, put me down! Stop...please, just take me back. I...I have to check on my dad! People will miss me, you know? What the fuck have you been smoking? Just tell me what the hell is going on!"

My questions were met with nothing but shushing, and what I assume to him were supposed to be soothing, noises, and laments. I could barely hear them against the rustling of the wind and rain as it fell against the canopy of trees, dripping from the leaves and branches onto my partially frozen skin. Even if I could've heard what he was saying, it wouldn't have made any difference to me, not unless it was something along the lines of 'don't worry, Bella, I'm taking you back home and your dad is fine, this was all a joke'.

Somehow, I didn't think that that was going to happen.

Night was readily falling as we broke through the tree line, the wind picked up instantly, battering my skin and forcing my drenched clothing to become even tighter. The blustery air was unforgiving, chaffing my skin and flicking my wet hair into my face.

But, even after everything, I realised that my panic really hadn't gotten started yet. Not until I saw where we were. The cliffs. He'd brought me to the damn cliffs.

Jacob released me, my feet dropping unceremoniously to the ground, the wet denim of my jeans tight against my knees as I fought for purchase on the soggy leaves and mud as I scrambled away from him.

Escape.

A few skids and slips later I was off and running away from Jacob, away from his craziness and the cliffs and hopefully towards some sort of hiding place. Somewhere safe that I could wait until Edward came for him. Depending, of course, of whether or not he had recovered from his earlier lapse.

Alice would see. Alice would see and she would come, they would all come. And Jasper, Jasper would be there too, and it would all be okay; just as long as I could get away and stay away.

However, the theme of my life lately seemed to be that things just weren't going to go my way. Apparently fate really wanted me to dive head first into insanity because it had just thrown a huge curve ball into my path.

Literally.

Well, as long as the literal version of a curve ball was a freakishly massive black wolf that was currently skulking towards me.

Back up, back up. RUN!

I turned with a scream and ran blindly in the opposite direction, parallel to the cliff tops, the mud providing little traction. I grabbed onto anything to keep me upright, trees, branches, roots. Still, I ran straight into the path of another wolf.

Isn't it supposed to be cats that mean bad luck if you cross their path?

This one was silver and just as huge as the black one. And just as interested in me. I looked behind me as I backed up, my movement's jerky. The black wolf was still there, a little closer, and still watching me. They weren't natural; no wolf grew to the size of horses.

Two more joined in the fun, one chocolate and one grey, hemming me in and flanking Jacob. A very, if you ask me, unconcerned looking Jacob just standing there and not bothered that we were surrounded by giant freaking wolves.

But that was just it, wasn't it? He wasn't surrounded, I was. I knew enough of the Quileute legends that they 'came' from wolves, but this was taking it to the extreme. The only path left open to me was one that took me into thin air and ended with a cold splash and likely a broken back.

It was then that Billy Black appeared, looking pompous, regal and not just a little insane, as he and his wheelchair were carried by two more of the huge Quileute men, and set down next to his son .

"Isabella Maria Swan, you are the Chosen of my son, Jacob Ephraim Black; pack Alpha and destined Chief of the Quileute Nation," Billy intoned, his arms up and stretched wide as he announced what I'm sure he thought was awesome news.

Surprisingly enough, I didn't agree with him.

"This night will bear witness to your joining and acceptance of your destiny. You will be cleansed of past misconceptions and transgressions and inducted into our tribe as our Alpha's Chosen. The Spirits will bless your union, and the heir will be conceived as thanks for the gift of your innocence and heart to my son."

He said whaaaat?

I hadn't registered that I was retreating until the heel of my shoe met with nothing and panic erupted in my chest as I jumped forward and away from the edge of the cliff. A glance down and behind me confirmed what I feared; there was nowhere else left to run.

I turned my attention back to the others. Billy was watching me with interest; Jacob was leering at me with a huge smile on his face. But it wasn't the usual, good ole boy smile that he was sporting. Oh no, it was smug and vicious and not at all inviting.

"There will be no joining or acceptance or anything of the sort, Billy. Just let me go!" I shouted out, hoping that the man that had been like a second father to me all my life would come back to the man I had always known. My voice sounded pale compared to the power that had infused Billy's, my fear strangled my plea.

"First you must be cleansed, Isabella. The ocean calls for your Spirit and you shall be cleansed and reborn ready to conceive our Alpha's heir this night!" Billy carried on with his crazy spiel as if I'd said nothing.

The meaning of his words hit me and I froze, standing stock still as I teetered on the edge. The ocean calls for my spirit? I looked behind me at said ocean, I looked at its tumultuous depths and grey rolling surface, and my mind stopped racing and stuttered to a stop on an idea that I really, really hoped I'd gotten terribly wrong. Surely...surely he couldn't mean what I thought he meant? Right?!

"You...you can't mean...I'm not jumping off this damn cliff, Billy. It's a freaking storm out here, if the fall doesn't kill me, then the water would," I sputtered out, my arm making flailing motions towards the sea as I carried on, "Not to mention that I'm already mated, Billy. I have my Two, there is no more 'me' to go around to anyone." I blew water from my top lip and scraped my hand across my face in an, albeit futile, attempt to get the deluge of rain out of my eyes. I let my eyes plead with Billy as I went on, "I don't want you to get hurt, Billy, none of you. Or...or...the...er...wolves that you have...you know," I glanced from side to side, "here," I finished lamely. Right then, I wouldn't have stopped anyone from causing a bloodbath to get me out of there and my dad to safety.

"It is the will of the Spirits, Isabella. It is within their control, and their control only, whether you live or die this evening. Your choices have brought this upon yourself, Isabella. You have consorted with the unclean, the undead, and we are here to bring you back from the brink," he paused, his jovially zealous expression sobering for a moment. "Your death would be a blessing, also, Isabella. There is no life as a Cold One."

And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen; the tribe's superstitions and prejudice against the Cullen's are still alive and well. Of course, the Cullen's are vampires, or Cold Ones as Billy just called them. But Billy doesn't know that they're vampires, right? Because that would mean...

I glanced frenetically from side to side, stray strands of my sodden hair flicking back and forth over my rain drenched face. The Legends. The wolves. The wolves?

"Regardless of your...theories, Billy, it still doesn't mean that I will be jumping from this cliff." It was easy to make my voice as strong as my words, and also to still keep some semblance of diplomacy in there. Because there was no way in hell that I was jumping from the fucking cliff, and there was no way that I wanted to make this any worse than it already was by pissing anyone off. No matter what anyone, or anything, might believe.

"I never said that the cleansing had to be voluntary, Isabella," Billy said, amusement clear in his tone and features.

The two guys that had carried Billy up here to the cliffs moved to stand on either side of Jacob. I was busy hoping that one of my mates, either of them would do, would turn up and save me. I'd take them swinging through the trees on impossible vines, forgive them both of anything, at this point.

That, or an umbrella.

An umbrella with a really sharp, preferably silver, sword like tip on the end of it.

I was shivering, the heavy downpour having soaked me to the skin, my clothes wet and heavy and freezing cold. But my shivers were nothing compared to what the other guys were doing right at that moment. The steam coming off them, off them and Jacob, told me that they were all sporting the Flu-happy temperatures. But it was no fever that was causing the tremors in these guys, the two of them shaking so hard that they were beginning to blur, while Jacob stood there just as stoic as he'd been the whole time.

The blur become more, it became a distortion, and just before it seemed as though the men couldn't control anything anymore...they just exploded. They exploded and my questions about the wolves were answered.

I didn't get much time to analyse or think about what I had just witnessed, there was no 'Eureka' moment or any light bulb that went off in my head. Nope, because right then Jacob started forward, and I was more worried about how fast he was moving towards me than that the boys I'd played with every summer I visited had just turned into freaking werewolves!

There was less than half a step of space between me, thin air, and a watery death. Wolves covered every other angle of escape, and I had no doubt that even if I had somehow managed to slip through, that my escape would have been short at best.

I tried to get my breathing under control and centred my attention on Jacob, my neck craned back and eyelids flickering against the onslaught of the rain. He stopped inches from me and just looked down, his eyes so dark that in the evenings dark cast I couldn't see the brown that had used to be so alight with friendship.

"Don't...please, Jacob. Don't!" I pleaded, hoping that there was still the little boy that I had made mud pies with somewhere in there.

A howl sounded, starting from the wolf to my right and picked up, one by one, by the others. It was an eerie sound, spine chilling, and its lament stole my attention from Jacob. I didn't think it was possible, but the rain seemed to become even heavier, as if it were responding to the wolves call. The hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention, prickling my spine with an awareness that I never wanted to feel again. This was it, there was no help coming, no knight in shining armour on a white horse to come and rip everyone's throat out and take me to safety.

Reality finally got the better of me and I sobbed, my shoulders hunching in on themselves as I turned my head back to Jacob.

I screamed.

His eyes...his eyes were yellow. Wolf. Wolf eyes. Seeing them in his human face was far more terrifying than anything else. The shock kicked the age old instinct of fight or flight right back in to me and up a gear and I panicked. I jumped back out of pure reflex, realising too late my mistake.

And then there was only air.

E/N So there you have it, review if you wanna. I always love hearing what you think. Thanks for reading!