(To those of you who are paying close attention, I made a minor change to chapter 23. I decided that Charlie didn't see Seth leave, so I took that part out. Sorry – I try hard not to change things after they're posted.)
Bright lights. Too bright. Seth carefully opened one eye, then the other, and found himself in some kind of warehouse. He was in an enormous cage, and he seemed to be alone. Outside the cage, a video camera was trained on it, the blinking light indicating it was running. He groaned as the memory returned, and he gingerly rose to his feet. He inspected the perimeter of the cage and found it was as strong as it appeared to be. He tried in vain to bend the bars, then sat in a corner with his back to the camera and waited.
It was only a few minutes until Jane walked in, holding a clipboard and wearing a saccharine smile. She spoke when she saw that he was awake. "Well, that's a relief! I wasn't sure what kind of dose to use with that crazy metabolism of yours, and we couldn't have you waking up in the van, could we? There's lots of work to do, Seth, and not much time, so we'll get right to it, okay?" she chirped pleasantly. "I need some information from you, and just to be sure you'll be totally frank, I've decided to use this." She held up a hypodermic needle. "I promise it won't do any lasting damage. It's called sodium pentothal, or truth serum. Now I need you to put your arm through the bars like a good boy."
Seth raised one eyebrow and glared at her. "You're kidding, right?"
Jane clapped her hands happily. "Oh, good. Just the reaction I was hoping for. I have a feeling I can persuade you to cooperate." She approached the bars and trained her evil gaze on him, focusing her awful power. Her smile never faded as she turned back to her clipboard while he collapsed to the floor of the cage, his screams echoing in the cavernous room. He felt like he had been tossed into a blazing conflagration, every inch of him burning in searing agony.
It only took three tries. On her third request, Seth quickly extended his arm through the bars and winced as she stabbed the needle into his shoulder, depressing the plunger to deliver the drug into his bloodstream. He shook his head as the room began to spin.
"Now, about this wolf pack. Who would you say is the leader?"
Seth answered her endless questions. The interrogation went on for hours, until Jane finally turned off the light over the desk. Seth's naked body was covered with a sheen of perspiration, but the drug was beginning to wear off. "I think you've earned a little nap, Seth. You've been a big help."
"I'll be back in about an hour, and I'm afraid we have to start the less pleasant part of our interview," Jane said cryptically as she flipped the light switch. "So be sure and get some rest."
Seth moved to the center of the cage, as far as he could get from the bars. He curled up on the hard metal floor and fell asleep instantly. It seemed only minutes before the light was turned back on, blinding him for a moment. He looked warily around the room, finally locating Jane. She was holding a metal stick that looked like a cattle prod, with two metal prongs extending from the end.
She smiled sweetly. "I've been instructed to see how much current it takes to force you to change into your wolf form, Seth," she explained patiently. "Unfortunately, my special gift can't be measured in volts, so we'll have to use this primitive method." She sighed dramatically. "Still, I can always hope that you'll give me another excuse to punish you." He wanted to smash his fist into her sadistic little smile, but she knew better than to get that close.
She fiddled with some dials, holding the prod inside the metal bars, and beckoned to Seth. "Okay, it's time. You need to come closer, Seth. This is the lowest voltage for my experiment, only 9000 volts, so it shouldn't be too painful."
Seth rose to his feet, his body trembling, and took a step toward her. Then he hesitated, and he saw her grin before she turned on her "gift."
She waited only a moment for him to recover, and the next time she ordered him to approach he staggered to his feet and walked quickly toward her. As soon as he was within reach, she jabbed the prod into his chest. Two red spots appeared, accompanied by the acrid smell of burning flesh, and then blistered. Seth fell to the floor, stubbornly refusing to phase.
The same experiment was repeated with increasing voltage until his chest was crisscrossed with angry, black scorch marks, and he finally phased involuntarily. Jane smiled as the large wolf emerged, snarling and panting, then collapsed on the floor of the cage.
She turned out the light, whispering "Rest up, wolf. The best is yet to come." She turned and bolted the door as she left.
Meanwhile, Paris had slowly come to on her living room floor. She didn't know how long she had been incapacitated, but the sun was sinking low in the sky. As soon as she collected herself, she hurried out the door. Had she imagined it, or had Seth been in her living room, reaching for her hand? She had to find Sue.
Of course Sam met her at the boundary and blocked her path. How did he always know? "I don't have time for this, Sam," she fumed. "I think something bad has happened to Seth, and I need to talk to Sue."
Sam stood his ground, shaking his massive head and growling. Paris had no patience with him this time. She knew he'd never catch her before she got to Sue's, and it just might be a matter of life and death. She crouched and growled back, muttering "Bite me, Sam!" as she streaked past him.
The enormous black wolf sprang into action, snarling and nipping at her heels. Paris ran like the wind, expertly dodging rocks and trees as she flew through the dense vegetation. Sam fell behind but kept up his pace, his huge paws thundering over the forest floor as he kicked up leaves and pine needles in his wake. He called for Paul, who was patrolling nearby. "I need your help, Paul. It's that pesky vampire again. Follow my voice."
The two wolves were snapping at her heels, and Paris regretfully turned back toward the border. She took to the trees, leaping gracefully from one to the next as the wolves followed closely below. As she crossed back over the boundary between the Cullens' property and the reservation, she stopped to glare at the wolves. "I hope your stupidity doesn't kill your friend," she muttered angrily.
As soon as Paris was back in her apartment, she picked up her phone and dialed Sue's number. Sue hesitated when she saw the name on the caller ID, then picked up the phone. "Hello, Paris," she said with a slight chill to her voice.
"Sue, I think Seth's been kidnapped," Paris said without preamble.
"Whatever gave you that idea, Paris?" Sue asked calmly. "He always goes out jogging at this time of day."
"Please believe me, Sue," Paris continued in a pleading tone. "A vampire named Jane set him up, called his phone while I was screaming. I didn't think he'd come," she said softly. "Anyway, her scent should be all over my apartment. If you can convince the wolves to track her, you should find Seth. She's amazingly strong, even for a vampire."
"Okay, Paris, thanks for calling," Sue said distractedly as she hung up the phone. She walked up the stairs slowly and found Seth's room empty. But she would not, could not, believe anything bad had happened to him. Hadn't he already lost an arm? Surely he was just out jogging and would come in the back door any minute, walking quietly up the stairs to his silent room.
Seth came awake instantly. His wolf nose had set off an internal alarm, and he immediately sensed that he was not alone. The bright lights had been turned back on, probably for the benefit of the ever-present video camera, and he heard a deep growl before he saw the huge grizzly bear, at least eight feet tall, inside the cage with him.
The grizzly outranked Seth in both size and strength, but Seth hoped his human brain would tilt the scale in his direction. As Jane stood mesmerized, her red eyes unblinking, the bear charged. Trying to avoid the lethal claws, the wolf waited until she was almost on him, then he leaped onto the bear's back. The bear bellowed and snarled, but the wolf had some pretty useful claws of his own. Unfortunately, he only had three, and his grip on the bear's fur was slipping.
Seth leaped to the ground behind the bear, giving himself a second to regroup while the bear turned to charge him again. The wolf was smaller and quicker, and he changed directions just in time to escape the deadly teeth. As the bear turned in momentary confusion, he swiped at her leg with his claws, tearing muscles and tendons. Now she was furious, bellowing in pain and frustration.
She shook her head to clear it, then came at him again, limping on her injured leg. Just as the bear lunged, the wolf jumped for her throat, tearing out her jugular as the blade-like claws raked across his back. The wolf fell, panting, to the floor, and phased to human form as the bear toppled onto her side and quickly bled out.
Jane applauded. "That was a perfect demonstration, Seth! And your healing power is amazing. Now turn toward the camera so we can see the burn scars on your chest."
Seth, naked and covered with blood, turned his back to the camera and hissed "Fuck you, Jane!" She shook her head, still smiling, as she aimed her crimson eyes at him.
"Actually, Seth, you've just fucked yourself," she chuckled. The word sounded even more obscene coming from the little girl's mouth. She held a key up so he could see it, then placed it on the desk in plain view – but totally out of reach. She hit him with her full power, and his agonized screams bounced off the distant walls and high ceiling. She carefully packed up her equipment as he lay moaning and twitching on the floor and, without a backward glance, walked out the door. In minutes, she was at the airport with her research materials and camera carefully stashed in her carry-on. She spotted Alec in the passenger lounge, and together they boarded a plane for Italy.
As the hours passed, Sue began to get nervous. Seth was never gone for more than two hours. Could there be some truth to Paris's rantings? As the sun began to set, she called Sam. "I think something's happened to Seth, Sam. Please meet me at Leah's."
Sue hurried to Leah and Jacob's house and found, to her relief, that Sam had already arrived. She quickly filled them in on Paris's phone call and offered to stay with Leah if Jacob and Sam would go to Paris's apartment and investigate. Leah's eyes were terrified, and she wrote on her note pad: "Find him, Jake. Please." He kissed her forehead and the two ran for Sam's truck.
Paris met them at the door. They wrinkled their noses as they picked up the scent of vampire, paying particular attention to the area where Jane had been. When they were sure of her particular scent, they went outside and phased, racing off toward Seattle as they followed her trail.
"Where does she think she's going?" Sam growled. Jacob looked back and realized that Paris was following them. Both wolves stopped and turned, baring their teeth.
Paris stopped, gazing at them levelly. "You don't have to like me, but you can't change the fact that I care just as much about Seth as you do. We don't have time for this, and I might just be able to help. So let's go!"
They continued on their way, following the combined scent of Jane and Seth easily although it appeared they had traveled in a car or van. The scent grew stronger as they approached the outskirts of Seattle, and it led them to a large, deserted factory building. There was no sign of any kind of vehicle, but the wolves approached the bay doors with caution.
They both jumped when they heard a loud grinding sound, and they jumped back as Paris ripped the large metal door off its track. She tossed it to the ground and entered the building, sniffing the air before heading toward the large metal cage. She took in the carnage in a single glance, both the dead bear and Seth's bloody form on the floor of the cage. She grasped two of the bars and pushed them aside, squeezing through and bending over him as she fought back the panic rising in her chest. "He's breathing," she reassured the two wolves as Seth opened his eyes, blinking in the darkness. "It's me, Seth, and you're safe now," she added, helping him to his feet.
The bear had sliced deeply into Seth's back, but it was beginning to heal by the time he got home. With Sue's support, he limped up the stairs and stood under the shower until he was afraid his legs would collapse. He threw on shorts and a tee shirt and went to his room, flopping on the twin bed. That's when he noticed Paris sitting in his desk chair.