I squinted my eyes harshly, trying to adjust to the lack of light. A dark skinned man with dreadlocks hanging past his shoulders walked into the clearing, followed by a swarm of different vampires. Judging by his appearance and red eye color, I assumed he was the leader. But this guy was someone I had never seen before…how did he know my name? Jasper moved behind me and nudged my back with his elbow. I turned, seeing more and more creatures coming from the shadows. We were surrounded and had no way to flee. My skin burned as I crouched, facing directly at the horde in front of us.

"I am Laurent" the man spoke, in a thick Jamaican accent, holding his arm out as to stop the others from advancing. Everyone stood stock-still as he calmly talked.

"I have to say – this is the first time I have ever seen a werewolf side with our kind."

I growled, taking a step forward, ignoring the hisses and angry glares I received. Jasper moved his head to watch our confrontation while still keeping up his defensive posture.

"Mind telling me just how you know my name?" I asked in a deadly tone, trying to get the message across that he was messing with the wrong person.

"It seems that you don't remember me. I'm deeply hurt" he mocked, eyebrows turned up in fake sadness. I straightened a little, trying to think back weeks ago. The picture of him walking from that doorway instantly came to my mind. He was there when I was staying in the old Cullen house…the night I was attacked…

"So you're with that cocky asshole, James, are you?" I yelled, feeling tingles run up my spine at the mention of that name. He smiled, flashing bright white teeth, his fangs growing to a semi-long state.

"James does whatever I tell him to. He's just like you are – nothing but an obedient puppy. So tell me, why are you living with the Cullens?"

"That is none of your concern" Jasper stated, looking right at him.

Laurent just shook his head, smile never leaving. "I don't want to have to force answers out of you, dog."

This guy was really starting to tick me off, but I didn't wanna test my boundaries– he seemed pretty dangerous. Confidently he started walking toward us, head high as to come face-to-face with me.

"It'd be a shame to have to kill you before I got what I was looking for, now wouldn't it?" he asked, cold breath hitting my face. I tried to control my urges, to keep the wolf side down, but it was getting harder. Laurent started to walk circles around us, motioning for the crowd to get closer. I put my back up against Jaspers as we prepared for any sudden attack.

"Now…will you tell me what I desire? It's rude to keep me waiting when I've been so nice to you."

I spit on the ground near his feet as he came back my way, shrugging my shoulders back to show him that I wasn't afraid, when in reality my human side wanted to run for it. But there was no way I would run – if he wanted answers, he'd have to force them from me.

"It's a shame, and I was so looking forward to you being cooperative" he mumbled, brushing some hair off of his shoulder.

With a sudden snap of his fingers a group of young vampires' rushed toward us. Jumping, Jasper and I were able to avoid the ambush and stand ground on opposite sides of the lake. One after the other they came, most backing off after a few hits, and it didn't become difficult until the second wave struck. All at once I found myself being restrained from behind, frigid hands grasping my wrists tightly to stop any movement as a female slammed her elbow into my gut. Dropping to my knees I clutched my stomach, barely able to leap out of the way of a fist coming straight for my face. I glanced over to see how Jasper was doing, and it looked like he really wasn't having that any problems. Then again – he'd been alive for centuries, with many years of training on his side. There was no way I could shift like he did, knowing exactly where to hit the enemies pressure points. Yeah, there was no way in hell.

Laurent sauntered forward after awhile, parting the group that was standing mere feet away from me with one hand.

"You seem to be struggling. Come now, don't tell me that was enough to make you obey" he said, stopping and pulling the gloves on his hands down tighter.

I stood straight up, acting as if it didn't hurt at all, especially since the throb was slowly fading. My shoulders shuddered as the mild burn in the pit of my stomach turned into a full inferno within seconds. His eyes narrowed as he observed my body movements, taking two small steps backward.

"Fine then. I'll just have to end this here, it seems."

As soon as that was said he was next to me, reaching up and ramming my chin up with a flick of his wrist. We were in mid-air before my mind registered what was going on and, right before he could connect his foot with my back, I twisted, grabbing it and swinging him toward the ground again. We fell a good distance away from one another, and I managed to land on my feet. Finally allowing my inner side to take over I sprinted to where he was standing, feeling all my muscles shake and rip apart with a blinding power.

Laurent widened his eyes as I landed, earth shaking with the force. My claws dug into the soil, allowing better traction as I ran, and my lips pulled back – fangs beared. While stalking around his now quivering body I could smell a small amount of fear, smiling inwardly to myself. He faced me then, a predatory gleam in his angry eyes. As he tried to reach around my body to get a better grip I sunk my fangs into his arm, hearing the satisfying crunch as bones snapped. An agonizing pain in my ribcage followed the bite, causing me to let go, howling in pain. With his free hand, Laurent had stuck a large, sterling silver knife into my chest. I felt it break the flesh and sink deeper with every passing moment.

My eyes were beginning to lose focus at an alarming rate, and Laurent took that as his chance to send me flying back toward the edge of the clearing. I stood on all fours, shaking my head to try and clear my vision, and was just able to rake my claws across his face as he plowed through the crowd to get to me. With one hand on his cheek he put his arm out again, jumping back to the safety of the shadows once more. All the other vampires followed suite, knowing they didn't stand a chance without their leader present. I staggered, feeling my lungs ache with every intake of breath. Jasper was by my side in less than a second, holding onto my arm as I transformed back, then laying me gently on the grass.

It was cool against my fiery skin and, before too long; a black figure appeared in my line of sight. The last thing I remember was being lifted by strong arms, hearing soft voices talking, currently hushed thanks to my current position. There was no way I could make out who was saying what, and frankly – I didn't care at that moment. I just had to keep myself breathing…

"It almost reached his heart…there's a chance he might not survive…"

"No…he has to…just hold on, Jacob…"