Disclaimer: (and i owe it all to........Stephenie Meyer!)

hey guys, sorry
i know i suck at this updating thing, but i swear i'm trying
at least that's something, huh?

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Unexpected

Jacob continued…

I phased.

The vampire took a step back while raising his hands in defense.

"No need to get doggy, Black"

As the bloodsucker moved hesitantly between the trees, I knew I was going to have to make my move. I didn't even care if I got information from him anymore. He'd killed Embry and now I was going to rip his head off. I took a step to my left to block his sly escape.

"Why don't you calm down", he strained.

As he stilled his stance, the moonlight caught just the angle for me to see his throat muscles tighten as his eyes wavered through the surrounding woods. I could see he was trying to plan a way out, but I wasn't going to give him the time. A branch snapped under my weight when I took a step forward.

"I didn't kill him", he spoke calmly as he carefully eyed my front legs. "Your wolf is still very much alive".

The expression he gave off seemed to be one of extreme disappointment. Apparently he had been looking forward to making a game of the situation. Too bad I didn't fuck with vampires. Instantly I phased back. There was more to discuss.

"Where are they?", I demanded.

A smile overtook his previously nerv-wrecked face. I could see the lie he was already playing out in his head.

"Would you like to wear my shirt?", he quipped. Disturbingly his eyes dragged along my less than covered body and rested on my chest. "It's cold", he added.

"I'll be fine", I grunted. "Tell me where they are"

"You can't expect me to actually tell you?", he questioned headily.

Now I was seriously getting sick of the game he seemed more than eager to keep up. Time was running low, I didn't know where my pack was, and Bella was by herself.

"Well", I snarled, "I did, but if you want to continue this game I guess I could get "doggy" again"

He smiled at the term.

"I can see that you don't miss things. You should probably know that I really don't hold any real power over this situation. As you can see", he eyed me then himself, "I don't care much for physical fighting"

I scoffed at his wording.

"Of course you wouldn't, you wouldn't want to dirty your pressed pants"

"And correct you are", he chimed with a smirk. "But in all fairness, I was lying about your mutt, he's very much alive. So you have no reason to get "doggy" with me", then his eyes glittered with a wink. "Unless that is what you want?"

Whatever his insinuation was, I wasn't having it.

"Sorry, I prefer the living and breathing type", I answered. "Now tell me where the fuck my pack is"

"In living, do you mean the girl?", he inquired.

"She has nothing to do with any of this", I growled. God, I was going to full blast fucking phase if he kept on this track.

"Ah", he motioned. "But she has everything to do with this. I'm actually quite surprised that you hadn't seen it yet"

"Seen what?", I growled.

…

Bella

Edward was coming. He would be here. He would help.

If I continued to repeat this over and over, then maybe it would start to sink in. I could literally feel the trouble that was coming, and boy was it coming fast. Just after I'd made the call, I had heard the most pain filled howl that I could have ever imagined come ripping through the woods. Either Jacob was hurt, one of the boys was, or I was in a trap. I suppose I probably should have foreseen this, basing off my track record anyway. I walked to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. Frantic was started to set in as I gulped the liquid at a racing speed. The usual content tick of the clock was becoming a drum beat against my heart as each second passed.

What was taking him so long?

As I turned to place the cup into the sink, my heart stopped. If it was possible, and apparently it was, I was having a complete system failure. With my knees locked and my eyes wide, the image in the window's reflection was enough to make me wonder if I would ever live for another day. With hope of all hope I dropped to the floor and prayed that the man outside hadn't seen me, but most of all I prayed he wasn't the vampire that I knew him to be.

Why him?

…

Edward

Lightning. Sound. Light. All things I am slower than, and more than ever I am aware of this. I hate that when there is something I need to be doing more than anything, it's more often than not, harder than anything I've done before. And right now I needed to be where Bella was.

Carlisle only need say that she was at the dogs house and I was off, tearing through the woods. I'd be damned if something was going to happen to her there. Leaving her to the dogs was suppose to mean she'd be safer, apparently I was wrong on that assessment. Now, more than ever she was in danger.

If I was lucky, I'd get there before she was already gone, taken, or whatever those imbeciles had planned. If I was lucky, she'd still be alive.

…

Bella

Never had I been so closely acquainted with Billy's tiled kitchen floor. And really, the dirt that had clearly been building up for weeks didn't matter, definitely not when compared to what was standing outside. I tried to hold my breath as I heard the door unlatch and push from the frame. I tried to keep my heart beat at an all possible minimum. But all this was painfully done in blind hope, because it really wouldn't matter if he could hear my breathing or feel my heart's over excessive pumping. And when the door shut, followed by footsteps towards the only thing separating me from him, I prayed to all that I could that Billy's kitchen counter would provide enough of a barrier, because right now, my blood was all to blame.

I was going to die.

"I smell you", his voice droned. "So you might as well get up"

Do as he says.

Edward? Edward was here! But where, and why wasn't he stopping this guy?

Not knowing what to do, I decided to take the advice. Steadying my hands against the floor, I slowly pushed myself up.

Look him in the eyes. Don't show fear. Be strong Bella.

I wasn't sure if I could, but my eyes apparently had strength that I did not know of. Now I was looking right at him and he was countering me.

"You are to come with me. That is all that will happen", he voiced, still with a steady expression.

"Edward will know", I pleaded for a last chance. "The Cullen's will find out".

Don't threaten Bella. Just do what he says. This is not a game, he can and will kill you.

"Do you think that I care if your vampires know?", he spoke. "I could care less. I will kill them all regardless, and by then you will have already been dead"

"Then why should I come with you?", I argued.

"Because, it would be useless to have to kill you…for now anyway"

What do I do? I can't just go with him, he'd eventually kill me and then Edward. But what choice did I really have? Could I outrun him? Not at all, I doubt I'd make it past the dishwasher. Yet there was no way that I could just give up like this. I had to fight.

"I won't go"

He turned from the counter and vanished. Stuck in aw, my face must have looked like a deer mesmerized by a giant SUV's headlights. Where did he go! How? Then I felt a bush at my shoulder and I knew.

"Then I will have to make you", he worded against my ear.

…

Jacob

If he was saying what I think he was, then I was extremely fucked. This was a trap and I hadn't seen it, hell, I didn't even think about it. They weren't after my pack at all, they wanted Bella.

"The girl is the reason for why I'm hear. Actually", the vampire smirked. "I think I made quite a domineering distraction if I must say. By now she's more than likely with my partner".

I didn't even bother with what the leech said, once my realization hit home I was off. Running as fast as I could my mind was filled with distinct possibilities. Flashes of Bella dead, Bella surrounded by them, Bella on the brink of death. Nothing seemed as important as the feeling that I was having right then. It felt like my chest was being ripped out of my center. The core of me was diminishing with the thoughts of losing her.

Finally reaching the clearing, I could make out my house. But something stopped me. With my bare feet perched in the cold dirt, I froze and aimed my nose to the air. Something akin to the scent of mold and death filled me, causing me to snarl. Shit. They'd already come. I don't think I'd ever ran the distance from the clearing to my house in such speed before, but that thought was quickly dismissed as I took in the fact that the door had been left open.

Oh god, Bella.

I didn't even need to go in. She wasn't there, and she hadn't been for at least a couple minutes. I could already track her sent in the air that pointed her capture heading west. A thud of the ground muffled by the crisp dirt echoed in my ears as my knees hit the ground. Seconds passed where I just breathed, all I allowed myself to do was breath.

What do I do? How can I get her back?, I pleaded with myself.

The noise of a pebble kicked past my ear and heightened my senses back to reality. Opening my eyes I saw a pair of expensive black shoes painted in dirt.

"You're going to need my help", Edward answered.