Disclaimer: (nothing here is mine. except the plot. and even that doesn't compare to stephanie)

i hate myself. i really didn't mean to make you guys wait so long
i won't give excuses, cause i'm not like that
but i'm sorry
i really hope you'll stay with my story and enjoy the newest chapter
there's only a few more left...

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Jacob, Bella and Edward

JACOB'S POINT OF VIEW:

I smelled it. Right as we walked out the door I caught the difference in the air and I knew. The rest of the pack was gone, probably taken. Bella was clinging on my arm and realizing that she would be here for this swelled me with anger. My hand tightened in her grip so as to steady myself. Those bastards. Those stupid fucking bastards. I was going to kill them.

"BLACK!"

My name roared through the woods at a splintering speed. I hadn't heard the voice before. It was foreign to me, but I would remember it. Bella didn't seem frightened yet, but I knew it was coming. Her pale face was massively getting paler and her grip on my hand was unyielding. I could see in her eyes the fear building and taking home. She seemed to be reading the same thing from my gaze as well. Some shit was going to happen and it was going to be fucked up. Fuck I hated werewolves sometimes.

"BLACK!", the voice bellowed a second time.

In the fastest motion possible I swooped down on Bella and grabbed her shoulders. With a last glance at her quickly breaking face I barged into a hug.

"RUN", I yelled. "GET OUT OF HERE BELLA!"

Then I let her go.

Not even looking back because I couldn't, I ran. From my previous scan of the wood line I figured the bastard was somewhere near the south end. I thought about phasing, but figured better of it. I wanted to see this fucker in my own eyes. I wanted to kill him with my own hands. This was how I was going to finish it. All to quickly I noticed a shift in the scent. It wasn't headed south like I'd originally thought. Stopping in my tracks, I froze and scanned my surroundings. Trees. Dark sky. A breeze ruffled my hair as it passed my nose. The smell seemed off, not like the one from before. Instantly I turned to my right.

"You're faster than I expected", the dark figure spoke.

Taking a step closer so the moon light would show his face, I could now see who it was. Pale face, tall figure and a crippling stance. This was not a werewolf.

"Well, you're uglier than I thought", I spit.

"Touché", he purred.

"So they have parasites working for them now?", I accused.

"You are quick to assume that it is them that are in charge. I expected more from you Black. You really are like they say you are-"

"Where's my pack?", I interrupted with a voice verging on anger.

I wasn't at full rage yet, but I could feel it coming. The feeling just before a phase started itching at my back. I was going to have to act quick. If this guy thought I was the type for small talk then he was obviously dumber than I'd originally considered. Just as I thought that he stepped out of the light and rounded towards my left.

"Hasty are we?", he purred yet again. God I hated it how the bloodsuckers purred out every syllable as if they were a cat. Sick bastards.

"Who are you?", I growled. A sided smile caught his face. The slight lighting that hit his profile at an angle gave the look as much malice as could be perceived.

"Does that really matter? I know who you are and I know what you want. Does my name hold any real importance in this?"

So he wanted to play games. I fucking hated games with these creeps. It always seemed to come down to that. Apparently life after a few hundred years can lose it's spice if this is what they have to do to get a thrill. Bunch of fuckers. I was particularly starting to hate this one.

"Don't fuck with me leech, I'll kill you"

He didn't even flinch at my threat, which is usually not a good sign. Instead he dropped his smile, leaving his face expressionless.

"I have no doubt of that", he spoke with an air of knowledge. "It's not like I haven't met your kind before. Werewolves aren't the smartest or the best smelling creatures in our world, but if anything they do know how to put on a show. Killing machines is what my partner describes you as"

"Your partner?", I questioned.

"Oh yes, you didn't think I'd be coming alone. Don't worry though, you'll meet him soon", he smirked.

I took a step to my right, causing our stances to look more like a dance. Slowly the leech prowled in a circle as I countered it. Just the smell of him was pissing me off, this little game of his wasn't helping the cause. Phasing was going to take place soon if I didn't do something.

"Where's my pack, leech", I spit. The only tone such a creature deserved.

A smirk grew on his face as he straightened out his shirt. It was then that I noticed his attire. Long black coat. Red silk shirt. A pair of pressed pants, possibly grey. A taste of bile grew in the back of my throat. Preppy-ass vampires, always going for the posh look. Then I saw his shoes. They didn't fit with the rest of his look. Just at the hem of his pants stood a pair of faded converse. Blue with a red star. The fucking leech was wearing Embry's shoes.

"Nice shoes", I casually drawled.

Then the fucker had the balls to look down with an eye of innocence. Tilting his head back up he was now sporting a smile from cheek to cheek.

"Yes, rather fitting I think", he added.

"Actually I was just thinking how they didn't go with your outfit at all. A little to normal for a blood-sucker like you"

"Oh, you have a fashion sense! How extravagant!", the vampire purred with delight.

"Where's my pack", I demanded.

"Now now, lets not get hasty again. As I said, I know what you want so there's no need to ask", he spoke prissily. "Your dogs are quite fine…for the time being"

"What the fuck is that suppose to mean?"

The vampire smiled again.

"Everything and everything", he spoke quickly. "But the question is, what do you think you can do about it?"

From the feeling I was now getting, I could tell that a smile was forming on my lips. The blood-sucker may be pissing me off, but I wasn't about to lose my cool just yet. I had to keep this little game of his going if I was going to get what I wanted. For Bella and my pack I was going to play and I was going to win.

"First I'll get you to tell me where they are", I answered knowingly. "Then I will find them, kill whoever stands in my way and then I'll come for you", I added with a smile. "I'll kill you"

For a split second it seemed as if I'd scared him. A slight shimmer of actual fear plagued across his face, but in an instance it was replaced with a side-long smirk and a quirky laugh.

"What if I promise to give the shoes back?"

A silence took over the woods as both my eyes and his matched. I wasn't sure why this statement of his seemed to have taken such a toll in our banter, but for some reason it struck me as odd. Why would he mention giving the shoes back? Was it normal for a vampire to steal then return? I remembered all to clearly the story of Bella's encounter with a particularly nasty group about a year back who collected from their victims. I had only assumed this one would be the same. I guess not.

With a bellowed laugh the nameless creature continued.

"Yes, that is right. I'll give you the shoes as I said". Then a particularly evil grin overtook his already vice features. "It's not like he'll need them though"

I phased.

BELLA'S POINT OF VIEW:

My breathing was already labored, but even over my shallow breaths I heard the howl from the woods. Something was wrong. As fast as I could get my legs to cooperate, I pushed off the garage and headed for the house. I needed to call someone.

EDWARD'S POINT OF VIEW:

Five days earlier…

I hate myself.

Currently all I can think about is the various ways I could rid myself of this place. It's become clear that all my presence does is cause pain. I saw it in Bella's eyes and I know my family doesn't need me. I don't live like them anymore, so now all I can do is take myself away from it. Bella doesn't need me and she's made it clear. Maybe by doing this, I will be giving my one last gift to her. Letting her have her dog and live a safe life will be my goodbye.

After she walked away from me in the hospital I knew it was over. Her pain was so surviving I could taste it in the air. I could tell that the tears in her eyes were caused by me and the realization of that did it. It was time for me to leave. Yet still I followed her. I don't think she knows this, but when she walks towards something she doesn't want it is so visible it hurts to see. Her feet shuffle and her head hangs low as she tries to make the distance stretch. And even though I knew her pain, all I could think about was mine. For a soul-less dead vampire, I felt so much pain at that moment nothing else could matter. I felt like I was dying all over again.

For a moment she just stood outside Charlie's room, watching. First at Charlie, then I noticed her eyes steer towards Jacob. Her dog. The expression she made was so full of love and care that it made me sick. For that I hated her and I'd never thought that possible. For someone I claimed to love so much, I could now hate her just as equally.

Personally I blame the dog.

Two days later…

One of their pack was attacked last night. Some other group of dogs had been running around the past few weeks and it seemed evident that something would happen soon. If anything those mutts are territorial. When the call came for help I told Carlisle not to go. It really wasn't anything that had to pertain to us. Separate species, separate problems. The only response I received was silence. Not even a thought. When he came back covered in the dogs blood he walked right past me and went to wash up. I don't even know why I bothered coming out of my room anymore. Aside from the fact that I can read their disapproving minds, their lack of presence speaks enough. They hate me.

Alice asked me not to come to her anymore. For weeks I'd been asking questions about Bella. It started off with wanting to know if she'd come back to me, then to weather or not she'd be okay. She didn't have to say anything to stop me from coming, she pretty much gave it off by singing the Canadian National Anthem in Spanish in her head.

I did catch a glimpse of Sam Uley. I guess the dog lived. Congratulations to them.

A couple hours later…

"I'm not coming back Carlisle"

Carlisle tilted his chin towards the window and seemed to be looking for something off in the woods.

"Do you smell it?", he asked.

The question was unusual and when I searched his head for possible hints I found nothing.

"Smell what?", I questioned.

"It's in the wind", he frowned. "If you can't pick up on such things maybe it's right for you to leave". He looked back from the window to me. "Perhaps sooner than now".

Again I searched his thoughts and came up with nothing. Fed up with this oddness, I asked him.

"Why can't I hear your thoughts?"

"Because I'm blocking you", he stated simply.

"How-"

"I'm not that unobservant Edward, so don't make me out to be. I know you've been killing humans and living off their blood".

The only words to describe this moment were guilt and pain. Guilt because I knew I'd shamed him and pain because I knew I'd never be welcomed back. And yet there was still more surprise. The pain seemed more physical than anything and I couldn't understand it. Why was I feeling this when I shouldn't have cared at all? If I was murdering people then why was I able to feel remorse for it? Perhaps I should have stayed in Italy with the Volituri.

"It hurts me to say this Edward, but you are not welcome here anymore. You may not go with the name Cullen and you must leave at once". His eyes filled with something of remorse. "We've already discussed it as a family and we'd like you to leave", he finished.

I gave it ten seconds to sink in. I was no longer a Cullen. No longer a brother or a son. I didn't have Bella and I didn't have my family. I was simply a killer. Anger took over me.

"Where is this family then!", I demanded. "No one wants to see me off?!"

"Calm Edward", Carlisle warned. "Leave with dignity"

"How can I leave with dignity like this! I have nothing! I am nothing! I'm a killer and the worst part is that I like it!", I shouted. Speaking evenly, he quietly responded.

"And that is why you don't belong with us anymore. You enjoy it and that doesn't leave room for change. You'll never change Edward, not for us anyway"

Searching his thoughts for one last piece of hope, I found nothing. Still his mind was forbidding me access. I didn't quite know how he was doing it, but I could only assume it had to do with drinking human blood. Without taking a second glance, I turned from Carlisle and walked out the front door. Walking past my car, I continued heading for the woods and closer to the wolves. I was going to kill them, all of them.

Then just as I stepped through the forest line, I heard a phone ring behind me.

"EDWARD!", Carlisle's voice ripped through the woods. Both his thoughts and his speech was filled with worry.

As quick as I left, I turned around and ran back. Still with the phone in his hand, I reached Carlisle at lightening speed in hurry.

"It's Bella. They're in trouble", he spoke.

For a split second I was in instant fear for her life. Bella was in trouble and I was going to save her. Then the image of her at the hospital pushed it's way back into my mind and I knew better. She didn't want me. I started to turn away, back to my original destination when Carlisle put his hand on my shoulder.

"She needs you", was all he said and I was stuck.

"Where are they?", I asked.