AN: Guys TERRIBLY sorry for the extra 2-day wait! My beta RenesmeeCarlieBlackxo had some internet probs so I only received the finished edit this morning. But I'm back and so's the riveting chapter 19. Guys, breathe easy; this chapter is the build-up to next friday's extraordinary one. But not to say this installment goes without excitment ;) ...Just try and take'er easy and don't die of hopelessness or heart attacks. :p Haha, enjoy; Your Voice Was All I Heard. PS; thanks to cjfed95 ;)
"It's getting better outside... I can hear the rain slacking off."
Rosalie stood near to the collapsed-in entrance; her senses alert at the slightest change amongst their dreary environment. Well she wasn't the only one; since finding a way out almost everyone in the cave had stuck their ears to the walls and prayed for give sooner than later.
Looks like things might finally be going their way.
(Not a chance.)
"But we can't leave yet anyway." Embry sighed, pacing back and forth around the remnants of the slow burning flankers left behind by their fire. "We can't go without Quil and Jasper."
"And god only friggen' knows how long it'll be before they're back.." Paul murmured, crossing his arms and staring up at the craggy rocks above them. "So far they've practically been gone days at a time.."
"We'll have to go and look for 'em." Emmett stated. "Once the storm quiets down we don't really have any other chances. If Leah's gonna make it she needs a hospital, like pronto."
No one liked to admit that the most brain-dead of them (well.. There was Paul) was absolutely right. Leah was constantly detereorating... Getting closer and closer to slipping away with every hour that passed and the pack and the vamps felt that goddamned useless to stop it that there was no chance in hell they were gonna let this one opportunity pass them by.
"Well there are a lot of us.." Alice crooned, hopping off a rock she'd so delicately dubbed her's and flitting closer to the weary bunch.
"So..?" Paul cocked an eyebrow.
"So; some of us should go look for Jasper and Quil. The rest of us should make a run for it with Leah."
Seth's head shot up and he was the first one nodding.
"I agree; let's do it. I'm done waiting." Leah's little brother's courage gained a new altitude now that he was sure he could finally make a move to push back the night encroaching on their last chance at dawn. Seth turned on his heel and strolled into the cavern where Sam held Leah.
The Alpha looked up at him as Seth made his grand entrance; and the little guy's heart swelled when his sister's eyes tracked him as well.
Seth took in a deep breath.
"It's time to go."
XXXXXX
"Are you sure it was a good idea to let Carlisle go?? What if something goes wrong?" Embry questioned, eyes that were trained on his failing sister like a stab to his already grieving stomach. Yet he couldn't take them off her and he knew they weren't about to let her get hurt again.
"I won't let anything go wrong."
Sam's voice was firm and had regained the Alpha hardness that lead his pack through the years of war and challenge; mourning and happiness. He was leader again; strong and sure, hopeful and honest.
Seth bit down on his lip and thanked the heavens above for Sam's returning attitude.
(The only thing that could even have a hope at being compared to the agony they felt for Leah, was the pain they felt for Sam, as they watched him lose all the faith he had and waste away to nothing.)
"What about those fuckers who did this to her huh? We're gonna track em down right?" Paul seethed, a wave of anger very poignant echoing down the long cavern Seth had found and making the boys itch with the want to phase.
"Now isn't the time, Paul." Sam's voice was eerily calm; like.. Like he was unsure..? Had his tone moments ago been a lie? "Leah comes first. We need to get her to a hospital."
"Besides... We can't fight them like this."
The hot-tempered wolf's head turned towards his second Alpha. Jacob had been eerily quiet the whole time this had been going on. Many of them found it weird considering Jake's past friendship to Leah and the connection they'd apparently formed... But then again, that may have very well been the problem.
(He wouldn't be the only one who couldn't stand to see the strongest thing around crumble to pieces.)
"Why not?!" Paul growled, fists clenching at his sides and the waves of predatory energy puled.
"Because we're outnumbered. If you hadn't noticed, Quil's still gone. All the Cullens are gone. The only ones who can fight are me, you, Seth, Sam, Embry and Jared. And someone needs to look after Lee so that's minus one again." Teeth gnashed into lips as the information sunk in and Sam hissed out a growl. "The other pack has that Alpha, that chick, her imprint, the Beta, that one other guy and god only knows how many more of them there are.. Carlisle said that book told 'em how to phase people quicker."
"Then let's not resort to that," Jared said, "Let's avoid those bastards and come back for 'em later. We'll have all the time in the world once Leah's okay again."
"That's the plan." Sam commented. The girl he carried in his arms turned her head inwards, warm forehead pressed against his hot chest. "We're not dealing with them. Not if we don't have to."
Seth watched the couple from the corner of his eye and noted how Sam's gaze spent minutes on her, a second ahead of him to make sure he didn't walk into any rocks and then went right back to Leah again.
The fifteen-year old sorta knew he shouldn't of counted his chickens before they hatched, but at the same time he felt reassured by Sam's newfound strength; felt like maybe they actually had a chance to save his sister.
But nothing gave Seth more hope than the light that currently dwelled in Leah's dark eyes. She'd been awake for almost three whole hours now according to Sam and that was a new record; maybe a good sign. Leah'd managed to utter a few words; hell, Sam even let Seth hold her hand for awhile.
He honestly believed that maybe his sister would be okay.
"How much farther is it?" Embry asked, the darkness of the tunnel only increasing the pack brother's newfound claustrophobia.
"Not too much farther. Just up over that pile of rocks.." Seth bounced ahead, his bare feet anything but silent against the creaking rocks and began to scale them. The smallest of their pack (outside of Collin and Brady) was at the top in a few seconds. ...Then his heart dropped.
"Fuck."
Jacob's kind eyes narrowed on instinct and he quickly trekked the same few rocks Seth had to get a view of their trail to freedom.
"...So much for your plan Sam."
Standing at the foot of the hill, halfway across the wet foggy field was the Cree pack. Waiting for them.
And there looked to be a lot more than five; closer to eleven. And all of their eyes shots up to the encroaching La Push boys at the mere sound of a creaking rock.
"About time you guys got here! We've been waiting for nearly three days now!" Karl screamed up at them, eyes searching the cave top for Sam and the girl that had been taken from him.
(The girl he would soon reclaim.)
Jacob turned his head quickly to his packbrothers still climbing the rock hill.
"Sam! Don't bring Leah up here! They're all down there, waiting.." The last word in Jake's sentence turned into a grisly growl halfway that seemed to shake the cave. "We're not gettin' out of this without a fight."
"Then that's what they're gonna damn well get!" Paul snarled.
"How many?" Sam's firm voice.
"..." Seth began to count. He swallowed a couple times. "Twelve.. Might be more up through the trees."
"Jesus christ..." Jared muttered, "How the hell-?"
"Any way. Any way we can." Sam's throat clenched as he walked with Leah in his arms a little closer towards the opening at the top of the pile. Once there, he stepped to the left where the shadows were the darkest and bent down.
God, no one would ever know the feeling he felt at having to put her down and step away from her.
He kissed Leah's forehead; looked into her open eyes.
"..What...?" She said to him, a low, broken whisper hindered by a sore throat. He forced a weak smile and kissed both of her cheeks.
"We have to go. Just for awhile." She grabbed his hand faster than he thought possible. "We'll be back; even if it fucking kills me Lee, I swear to god I'll be back." He kissed her forehead again. Sam had a guess that she knew why he had to leave her; her hand released his. Hell she could probably distinguish that dirty pack's scent after all the time she'd spent locked up by them.
One more kiss. He kissed her lips quickly and softly before he stood up and turned back round; stepped into the light and faced the sons of bitches below.
"Don't attempt the Alpha. He's mine. Tear all of them apart. Even the girl. Show no mercy. Fight as if it were a leech. Kill them all."
XXXXXX
The Cree pack stepped closer; watched the men from La Push step gracefully down over the rocky hill slicked with rain and dew. (Karl hoped they tripped.)
Once they were close enough that yelling and roaring seemed inappropriate Karl stepped up to them; about fifty feet from Sam and holy fuck did he look pissed. Karl smirked to himself. The other Alpha may have gotten to the drop on him back at the cabin, but there was no way he would now.
They were outnumbered; massively. He wondered where the sickly sweet people who'd followed them disappeared to.
"So how's my little vixen? Still breathin'?" He asked. One second on the left's lips curled into an ugly marred sneer. One behind him had eyes that flashed with pain; probably related to Leah, they had the same dark blue pools.
"I would worry more about yourself." Jacob, Karl remembered him. He'd been the one to speak. But Karl was awaiting the tall one's words; Sam's. He wanted to know how he felt.
Should be interesting. Karl tilted his head and shot his beta a look. ('Get it ready.')
But Sam never talked. His eyes were hard; furious and smoldering with the want, Karl knew to rip him limb from limb. But why didn't he voice it..? He hardly seemed like the silent type. He sure wasn't when he found Karl fucking the girl, that's for sure.
He did move, though; Sam nodded his head. And then he was the first one to phase into a snarling, growling beast. Karl marvelled at the sight of him. He was huge; a beautiful black storm cloud waiting to unleash all hell upon the earth. Sam was breathtaking, his silky midnight fur glimmering under the brilliant sun shining through a sliver in the darkened clouds. His eyes were calm. However, despite the tranquility in his gaze, the pack knew their leader's gaze was threatening as they heard the thoughts in his head.
'Kill.'
And that was the first moment Karl had felt uneasy, at the sight of the brilliant monster in front of him.
But he also knew that it wouldn't last long. (Reassured him to no end; lips curled into a wicked smile.)
Sam's brothers followed. The smallest one exuded less charisma then the others and more pain at the battle that was to be raged. But it wasn't visible once his detectable eyes became shrouded by a silver-sands type of fleshy toned fur. Seth. The one who'd looked the angriest, the most hostile was a large dark grey animal; teeth were dripping like he was hungry for blood. Paul. Another seemed pretty calm, despite his humongous size and still he was shorter than Sam. His thick brown fur did nothing to disguise the deadly glare in his eyes. Jared. Another was farther behind the others and was thinner; but he looked fast as lightning in his smokey fur complete with spots of black; a runner. Embry. The other Alpha was the last to phase; Jacob, the one who'd talked. He exploded into a rusty mass of muscle and teeth, fur the same as his smooth russet skin. His eyes too, stayed the same; sweet and gentle even when angry. His gaze was one of pure intelligence as he surveyed the Cree pack.
All of them, machines meant to kill.
(But hey; weren't they all?)
The pack behind the brutal Alpha was carefully silent; Karl knew Brandon was scanning each of his opponents, waiting for the one who would make the first move and be the first to feel the familiar sting their pack sister had felt.
XXXXXX
'They're not phasing, Sam... I don't like it.' Jacob thought; hackles on his red back huge and raised.
'I don't either.. Something is off here but we don't exactly have the time to analyze the situation. I want them dead; gone, and that's it.'
'Aye aye, captain my captain.' Paul growled; he'd been primped for a fight since the very day Leah's necklace had been discovered upstairs.
'Then let's go get them.'
Sam's final thoughts sent the burrage of La Push wolves barreling towards the twelve humans, faces they didn't know with families perhaps but they were beyond the point of caring. After all; they'd been kind enough to destroy their's.
As soon as their paws hit the ground running Brandon's hand was shoved into his pocket again and he withdrew one syringe (where did they keep getting those!?); poised and ready for action. The angrier one; Paul, he believed his name was all but leaped the black Alpha's head and jaws were open for Brandon; he skipped over Karl.
"Just a little closer you fucker."
Paul pretty much jumped into the needle; and by then it was too late because the attack had been launched. Jake's huge body was like a boulder as it slammed into three of the people behind them; perhaps one had been killed, nobody seemed to care but one had been quick enough to stick up an arm and bam Jacob received his dose as well.
The brown one was coated in blood; he'd made a successful hit and Janice was screaming because the hit was Keith; he was still alive though, dragging himself back from a wounded leg as the chocolate wolf let out a high pitched howl and staggered backward (Leah all over again).
Then Embry; he fell next with a loud bark and his teeth ripping the syrine out of his massive front paw.
Karl turned around to see the action and came face to face with satan in black fur.
He was on the ground in less than a second and he could all but scream as Sam's terrifying teeth tore into his belly and broke a rib or two. Hell, Uley would've been able to do more hadn't Karl took advantage of Sam's timed strike.
He used two on Sam; figured he might need to. Two white needles stood out against the ebony carpet that was Sam's fur and fuck was that dog taking all the time he could take to tear Karl into shreds. Before he stopped to what was wrong even though the poison must've been tearing the wolf from the outside back into him by now he kept his claws moving and all but nearly slit Karl's throat.
Sadly though, he lived.
And as Sam finally stumbled backward off of him, his again-human arm pulling the needles out of his back with ease now, Karl sat up with a hand pressed to his bleeding neck; fuck, half of his ear was gone.
"Not so tough now, are yah Sammy..?" His grotesque voice echoed.
Sam's heart dropped; eyes bugged out as he looked at the syringes in his hand. He cursed; threw them to the meadow floor and looked around at the carnage.
Five of the Cree pack were dead; four nameless, Nathan fellow half torn apart. That meant seven remained.
Sam bit his lip as he gazed at his brothers.
Paul picking himself up from crashing into the wall of a rocky slope off to the side.
Jake seething, finally as he rubbed his bleeding stomach.
Jared was splattered with blood that was not his own but he was still just now standing again.
Embry was on his knees, adjusting smashed fingers with hatred burning in his eyes.
Seth must've been the last to get stabbed; only now was he phasing back with a howl.
"Now Sam; same thing I told Leah three weeks ago. Rest of your life can be easy; or it can go hard. Make your choice."