Disclaimer: Yeah… and unicorns ride on silver moonbeams and shoot rainbows outta their ass…

18. Blood-Trails

It was dead silence between the whole party for the rest of the four hour journey up the trail until they met up with Jake. Again, dude was just in a pair of shorts, and bare-chested – no doubt showing off his abs for Bella. He was carrying a down parka which looked odd considering he was only in shorts. But the parka was for Bella because apparently it was going to get really bad tonight. Dean looked up at the sky through the trees. It had gone from being a rare sunny day in Washington to the usual overcast sky, with darker clouds rolling in over the mountains as they spoke.

Bella and Edward were wearing strained faces which Jake raised an eyebrow at. As Bella and Edward stepped away from the group for a few minutes, Dean approached Jake for a few words with him, a little wary as the last time he'd seen Jake human, the guy slugged him one and his jaw was still sore because of it.

"What did you do?" Jake asked him before Dean could even open his mouth.

"Huh?"

"Bells and Eddie." He nodded at the two who were off in their own little world. "What'd ya do?"

"What makes you think I did anything?" He asked indignantly. What was is about him that people automatically thought he'd done something wrong? Sam walked up when he heard the tone of his brother's voice change and came to see what was going on.

"Cuz I know that girl." Jake said simply. "She's upset about something, you've been around her the last couple hours, and you're a troublemaker."

Dean shrugged. You couldn't argue logic. "I yelled at her. A lot."

Jake actually chuckled a bit. "Yeah. I heard it."

"How…?"

"I was running wolf. Leah and Embry were there, so we all heard it. Quil in particular liked the sequined tutu bit."

Dean was frustrated. "If you already knew I'd yelled at her, why would you bother to ask me?"

Jake shrugged. "Wanted to see if you'd man up to it or not."

"Dude. This ain't kindergarten. I'm not gonna lie about yelling at some chick 'cuz I think she's making a monumental mistake."

"Yell at her all you want about that. You're not the only one who thinks she's making the wrong choice."

"What's the deal between you two anyway?" Dean narrowed his eyes at the big guy.

Jake shrugged again and looked over at Bella and Edward. "She's my friend… but she's more than that to me now. Dickhead was gone for awhile – left because he thought he was protecting her. It fucking killed me to see her with him – before I knew what he was – but I figured that eventually they'd split up, you know how it is in high-school… that shit never lasts and then I'd have a shot at her. So after he left her, she was in bad shape – real fuckin' messed up – and she and I started hanging around all the time and I fell for her hard. She started coming around after a bit. I was willing to be as patient as possible 'cuz I knew I was in love with her and it would just take a little while for her to realize that she and I were right for each other." He sent a frown Edward's way, no doubt sending clear mental messages to the vamp-fuck as his voice got darker. "She was starting to come around, when the fortune teller showed up on her door and told her that he'd gone to Volterra seeking a death sentence because he thought Bells had committed suicide on account of him."

"Why'd he think that?" Sam asked surprised. Dean had to agree. Bella was nuts to be with a vamp, and an idiot to want to become one… but suicidal? That was messed up.

"She wanted to try cliff jumping." Jake shrugged. "I was gonna take her but she didn't wait for me and apparently the fortune teller saw her jump off the cliff."

"Alice didn't see her come back up?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"I was coming up the trail when I saw her jump. I waited a second for her to come up, but when she didn't, I jumped in to pull her out. She nearly drowned. So the fortune teller didn't see her come back up because I was with her, and the little bitch can't see us." Jake looked shrewdly at Sam. "Any idea why she can see your brother but she can't see you, Slick?"

Sam stiffened immediately. His face went tight and his brow furrowed as his eyes narrowed. "I don't know."

Jake actually snorted in laughter at him. "Alright. You don't know. But with a poker face like that one… Don't go betting any big money anytime soon. 'Kay?"

"Fuck you." Sam bristled and Dean stood between the two giants with an arm out towards each to keep them apart because Sam looked ready to nail the guy and Dean didn't think that would be productive at the moment as it was gonna be bad enough with Alpha-Douche on their asses without adding Jake to the list as well.

Which brought up Dean's next question. "You wanna tell us what that whole thing this morning was about?"

Jake smirked and nodded towards Leah several yards away in the trees. "Ask her."

"Kinda hard when I don't understand wolf and Douchebag over there won't translate for me."

"Look," Jake huffed. "There are some… issues… going on in the pack right now. Sam's a little stressed lately and you seem to have a knack for setting people off."

Dean couldn't argue that point either.

"Just… Just don't go after him okay?" Jake sounded like he was pleading with him.

"Dude, we can handle ourselves." Dean snorted. He wasn't scared of the guy – he'd gone up against bigger and badder and he was still kicking while they were charred and buried.

Almost as if he heard Dean's thoughts, "But you'd have to kill him, and that wouldn't be any good to anyone. And there may have been guys siding against Sam this morning, but that doesn't mean that we'll take kindly to you shooting our pack-leader."

"But what was it about?" Dean nearly shouted. "Fuck man! We're gonna be shit deep in it tomorrow and we gotta know if your pack can hold it together long enough to take these fuckers out!"

"Don't worry about us. We got a job to do and our pack problems come second."

"But what are the pack problems?" Sam insisted. "Are we gonna have to worry about some of your guys coming after us now? 'Cuz that's what it looked like what was happening this morning when that other wolf went up against Embry and me and your Alpha going after Leah."

"No." Jake growled. "Sam Uley stepped over the line and stuck his muzzle in somewhere where it didn't belong. What happened this morning was the pack working out our issues."

Dean laughed angrily. "Him attacking Leah was 'working out issues?' Dude – you guys belong on Jerry Springer."

"Why? Do you guys do the whole touchy-feely-EMO bit?"

Dean scowled. Point of logic number three went to the Quileute. But the Winchesters didn't get to argue with Jake anymore as Edward and Bella came back over.

Edward asked Jake, "You know where the campsite is located?"

"Yeah. I'll come in at it from the east and I'll follow your stink in from there."

Dean snorted as Edward rolled his eyes, leaning in to kiss Bella on the forehead. "I'll see you soon, Love." He turned to the hunters. "Good luck in tomorrow's fight. Give 'em hell." And damn if he didn't sound genuine. The mind-reader turned on his heel and ran into the woods, darting in between trees and holding a girls shirt in his hand that he allowed to smack against tree trunks to lay a false trail for the Newborns to follow in case they managed to miss the blood trail the boys were setting.

Bella stared off after him miserably before turning to Jake. "Ready Jake?"

Jake gave her a rakish grin and scooped her up in his arms bridal style. He looked like he was enjoying himself way too much and Bella smacked him on the bare chest telling him, "Behave."

"Toss her over your shoulder man." Dean suggested. "She likes that." Jake laughed but Bella just scowled at him. Dean rolled his eyes at her. Chick had no sense of humor. He pulled his scent amulet out of his pocket and dropped it into her hand, folding her fingers over it tight. "Put that on and tuck it under your shirt so it presses against your skin. It doesn't work if it's not touching your skin."

"What about the blood trail? And Jasper? If you go back there without this and you have open cuts, he'll lose it." Panic and concern leeched into her voice and as much aggravation as they'd given each other since the standoff last night, it was kinda touching that she was worried about them.

"You let us worry about Jasper. You just don't trip down the side of the mountain."

She groaned at the shot at her clumsiness before she smiled at Jake. "If I have this, you don't need to carry me." She dropped the wooden disk over her head and slipped under the neck of her shirt, patting it proudly.

"You don't have eight hours to reach the camp Bella." Sam smirked.

"Besides," Jake grinned, holding her against his chest tightly. "This is just so much more fun."

"Jerk."

"You love me."

"I barely tolerate you."

"Keep lying to yourself, Honey. You and I both know you'd prefer hot blooded male over cold, dead and creepy."

"You wish."

"You're right. I do." He said with simple honesty and Dean wondered how the guy could wear his heart so openly on his sleeve like that.

Bella seemed to blanch at that, if that were even possible as she was nearly as pale as the vampires she hung with. "Jake. I can't do this right now. We can't do this right now." And she looked pointedly at the hunters.

"Come on Sammy." Dean cuffed him on the back of the shoulder. "Lovebirds don't need an audience."

Jake turned on the trail and called over his shoulder. "Be careful, and see you in the morning."

"Yeah." Sam answered. "You too. Good luck."

They watched for a moment as Jake jogged up the trail holding Bella in his arms as if she weighed ten pounds instead of a buck ten. Dean pulled a clean knife from his waist and pulled the sleeve of his shirt back to reveal his forearm. "I'll go first and spill a little here to give them a chance of disappearing without the Newborns stopping to wonder why her scent vanished."

The knife had been honed to razor sharpness, and Dean didn't even feel the pain the slice across his flesh should have generated. Not at first anyway. After he worked his fist a couple times to get the blood flowing out of the cut, he let some pool on the ground at their feet.

"Let's go."

The hike back down went much faster than the one up. First, gravity was much kinder to them in this direction, and second, they didn't have Bella's klutziness to hamper their speed. The wolves were still their silent shadows, several yards out in the trees and keeping their eyes and ears on things. Dean wished he could ask Leah what the hell was going on in her pack, but all he could do was focus on the hike and the wisps of Leah in his chest that just wouldn't go away.

They stopped after an hour of walking to sit on a fallen tree to eat some of the food that Esme had packed for them. Dean would never admit it, but he was getting a little lightheaded from the hike, the sleep deprivation, the elevation and the constant bleeding. He'd just been letting his arm hang down as they walked, the blood dripping slowly to the ground while he worked his fist to keep the blood from clotting too quickly. And once it stopped flowing, he'd carve another slice into his arm. He had three now on his left arm, a bit of a mess really, and he was glad that he wasn't squeamish because the thick streaks of blood on his arm were pretty nasty looking. He hadn't let Sam slice himself up yet, not wanting to chance Jasper going after him. Sam tossed him a bottle of water, the bag of M&M's and a sandwich. The sandwiches were huge, made of thick, fresh bread and full of cold cuts and cheese, and Dean wondered if mommy-vamp had a little mind-reading ability of her own because it was the best damn sandwich he'd had in weeks. Both brothers offered half to their wolf escort, who both turned their muzzles up at it like the food offended them. So Dean stuffed himself on the sandwich, and packed away half the bag of M&M's before Sam pulled a small first aid kit out of the black book bag.

"Hey man, let's clean you up and wrap up that arm." Sam offered.

"No dude, I'm good."

Sam huffed at him. "Dude, I'm not a little kid here. I can add to the blood trail so that you're not bleeding out before we get back."

"I'm fine. That lunch break was just what I needed."

"Dean, it's almost six." Sam said exasperatedly. "We need to get back down this fucking mountain, get out of here, and be rested up enough to fight in the morning. We can't do that if you pass out from blood loss and I have to drag your heavy ass back down." And Sam didn't even wait for Dean to argue with him before he grabbed Dean's wrist and poured half his bottle of water over his arm.

"Dude! What the hell!"

"It's water, not peroxide. Don't be a baby." Sam muttered as he pulled some napkins from the book bag and started wiping at Dean's arm.

"You were drinking out of that bottle." Dean snapped as he yanked the napkins from Sam's hand and started wiping up his own arm. "You just got your cooties all over my cuts."

"Cooties or gangrene, take your pick man." Sam rummaged around the small kit and pulled out a tube of antibiotic ointment, a roll of gauze and some tape. Sam snapped the top off the ointment tube. "Gimme your arm." He didn't wait for Dean to object as he yanked on his wrist again and squeezed the stinky contents of the tube over the cuts.

"I've pulled bullets out of myself with fucking pliers and a fifth of Jack," he grouched, "…I don't need you putting band-aids on my booboos." Sam ignored him as he unwound a length of gauze from the roll in his hand. "You have got to be the ugliest nurse I've ever had, Sammy." He shot at him.

"We could always get Doc Cullen to patch you up." Sam said distractedly as he folded the gauze up into a thick square and pressed it to his arm.

"Think I'll pass. Thanks." Dean replied, sarcasm thick in his voice. "What was with that earlier anyways?" He groused. "Getting pretty chummy with the leeches weren't you?"

"They're not so bad." He said, ripping a length of tape off the roll with his teeth.

"They're vampires Sam. Enough said."

Sam looked him in the eyes as he said, "We shot them full of poison, held Bella hostage and you were an inch away from killing Edward – then they packed us a fucking lunch." Sam broke eye contact and pressed the tape to his arm, securing the gauze in place. "They're not so bad – give them a chance."

"Looking to add Alice to your Facebook Friends after all Sammy?

Sam rolled his eyes as he ripped another length of tape off and pressed it to his arm. "Okay. The kids are assholes, but Carlisle and Esme are okay." He glanced over at the wolves, "Can you guys smell the blood over that ointment?" Embry lifted a massive paw and gave it a so-so wave.

Dean snorted scathingly. "Here I am trying to convince Bella to pick Jake and stay human, and here you are joining Team Cullen."

Sam face scrunched with anger. "I'm not on Team Cullen – whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean! I just don't think you're being fair to them because they're vampires." Sam tossed the first aid supplies back in the book bag. "Bella was right. You are prejudiced." He stood up abruptly, slung his gear and Esme's backpack over his shoulder, and pulled his own knife from his belt.

"Sammy! Don't!" Dean jumped up from his seat but it was too late. Sam had raked the blade over his arm, splitting the skin and red started oozing up from the wound immediately.

"I'm not a kid anymore Dean." He sneered. "And in case you've forgotten… I gotta start doing all of this myself because you're not gonna be around forever."

Dean stood there, mouth gaping in shock like Sam had just slugged him one as he watched his baby brother stalk angrily down the trail.

Sam was in a murderous mood. It was getting late, they still had at least an hour to go before they made it back to the clearing, his legs were sore and he was suffering from sleep deprivation. Mix that with all the other shit going on, Dean's deal and the fact that his brother had been singing off key for the last half hour, and yep – Sam was in a pretty piss poor mood. And it wasn't as if he wasn't used to Dean singing along with the music. He'd done that their entire lives and it drove him bat-shit… but Dean was on a pretty solid theme today. Namely, whatever he could sing to make Leah laugh and to goad the pack's Alpha. Dean shuffling though such songs as 'Clap for the Wolfman – to which he'd altered the chorus so that it talked about burning pee and ointment – Bark at the Moon, and currently, Move it on over.'

"Move over little dog, the big ole dog is movin in." Dean sang enthusiastically because he knew it was bothering him, bothering the Alpha too – if he was listening – and killing Leah. Dean evidently wasn't planning on heeding Jake's advice about staying clear of the Alpha because he was outright provoking the asshole.

Everything was such a fucking joke to his brother. Sam hadn't been able to sleep in weeks because of this shit, and Dean was fucking singing. Add to that, that Dean was adamantly refusing to see the good side to the Cullens, and Sam was at the end of his rope. He wasn't sure when the idea first hit him, it just kinda sidled up to his brain and took root there. And it's not as if Sam expected this to go down easy – Dean was explosive about the least of things – he'd had to listen to an entire ten minute tirade about engine oil brands before – so there was no way he'd expected Dean to swallow this giant-ass pill easily. Still, he was being stereotypically Dean towards the vampires. In other words, stubborn and pig headed. There was so much of their father in him that it was scary sometimes.

He wished that Dean would see the Cullens the way that he was starting to see them.

As a solution.

If Dean became a vampire, it could save him – give them more time. He'd be stronger and faster, and the Hellhounds wouldn't be able to kill him because they wouldn't be able to decapitate him. Hellhounds killed by gouging and tearing a victim to death, and vampires couldn't bleed out. Sure it would hurt, but he wouldn't die – and any fighting chance was good news. Sure, eventually Lilith or one of her minions would come after him themselves, but that could give them the extra time they needed to get him out of this fucking mess or at least kill the bitch before going down.

He just needed his brother to realize that the Cullens weren't monsters. Life had handed them a shit hand and they'd dealt with it the best way they could. Sam knew exactly what the reasons behind his brother's coming explosion were going to be because they'd already been down this road before with that Doc Benton case two weeks back. And Sam realized now that that idea was never gonna take flight with Dean. Killing humans to harvest their organs? Yeah... my bad. Dean never would have gone along with that and Sam always knew it – it was just the desperation leeching through that actually made him think that it could have worked. But the Cullens? They didn't feed off of people and Dean was far from a vegetarian. The guy single-handedly kept several cattle ranchers in business every year. He could live off animals like the Cullens – they could live off animals – 'cuz Sam would take that path too if it meant Dean lived.

He just had to show his brother that he wouldn't be ostracized for taking this route. Dean had to know that he wouldn't lose the people he loved if he went vampire – that Sam would still be there beside him. He knows that Caleb will flip when he finds out, but honestly? Caleb would want Dean alive by any means necessary too – the same went for all of them. No one in their crazy extended family wanted him dead and in hell so this was a perfect option.

He just had to convince his brother of that.

The silent treatment was pissing him off. Sam hadn't said a word to him since they'd stopped to eat, and that just didn't sit well with him. He'd done everything to try and piss him off enough to snap out of it. Hell, Sam taking a swing at him would have been a welcome bit of brotherly entertainment – but the kid just kept striding down the trail, cutting a fresh slice in his arm whenever the last one dried up, much like he'd done earlier. And Dean hated seeing Sam slice at himself. He couldn't help it… he was just wired that way. Look out for Sammy had been his mantra since he'd been a kid and his dad started leaving them alone, drilling that little message into his brain.

Look out for Sammy.

And look what had happened when he'd failed the only job he'd ever had. Jumped and stolen out of a backwoods diner, made to run a gauntlet devised by that yellow-eyed sonofabitch so that he could find his chosen one. Then, when he'd finally tracked his brother down… too late again and the dude in camo knifed him. Severed his fucking spinal cord and left him crumpled and dying in the fucking mud. Dying in his arms. Dean having to watch the light leave his baby brother's eyes as death claimed him.

But not for long.

No. Death was not going to claim Sam Winchester. Not his Sammy. He hadn't even thought twice about it. Just drove to the nearest cross-roads, dug a hole and kissed the evil bitch to seal the deal.

He'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Dean snapped his phone shut after finishing a check-in call with Caleb. There hadn't been any reception on the mountain, and when they finally found a signal, there were two messages waiting for him from his friend. Both of them telling him that if he didn't hear from him by evening, he was taking the first flight north and bringing his fucking machete.

Finally, they were nearing the end of the trail. Silence and anger reverberating between him and Sam and only another half hour to go before they reached the clearing. Of course that meant another half hour to the car, a twenty minute drive back into town, darkness falling hard and fast around them as they went because the sun had lost its battle with the clouds hours ago.

They heard Leah and Embry growl, turning towards the wolves to see where they were looking and to see what they were pissed about.

A tall and broad Native man walked out of the thick trees like he was king of the fucking forest. Striding out and standing in front of them, blocking their path with his bulk. Arms crossed over his bare chest in defiant confidence and a cocky smirk on his lips.

"Let me guess." Dean smirked back at him, anger and rage welling up from deep within him. From where the Leah tendrils were wafting up and reaching out to the Quileute like they wanted to choke the ever loving shit out of him. And Leah was beside him now, growling viciously at the man in front of them.

"…You must be Alpha-Douche."

A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this guys. Christmas time equals busy time. Hope you guys enjoy the cliffie.