Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer and do not own any of the Twilight Series characters; I'm just a fan having fun. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 33

Nessie's POV

I was paralyzed. I simply stood there, unable to take my eyes off Jake's limp body, my senses so focused on his heartbeat that if a vampire were to come up behind me, I'd never know. It sounded so weak and slow, so different from the way it usually sounds, the way it usually beats fiercely and full of energy. I could hear my own heartbeat coming out of my ears and pulsating through my throat; I was panicking, big time.

Frantically I analyzed the situation; I was injured, Jake was barely alive and from what I could tell, unconscious, and there were two of these things, that according to what Rose said, could call for backup in a matter of seconds. It was only after I'd analyzed all possibilities and strategies that I really panicked, recognizing there was no hope. My best chance was to find my way toward Jake's pack and guide them back here, but with Jacob's heart so weak, I didn't know if he could hold out for as long as it took for me to come back. And what if they moved him while I was away? Would I be able to find him again or would he be lost forever? I could feel a sob building up in my throat but repressed it; this was no time to be a girl, no time to be a coward.

Don't do anything stupid.

Jacob's last words to me rang in my head, over and over again. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know if I should honor my promise to him and find help or do what I'd always been forbidden to do, fight and help like the rest of them. Either way, the odds were against me; I was outnumbered if I stayed and tried to rescue him myself and Jacob appeared too weak for me to go and find help.

What would Jacob do? I desperately tried to find a solution, feeling my heart splinter with pain as his began to beat even more slowly. This was it, I needed to act now.

I took in a big breath when I saw the two werewolves turn around and walk into one of the tents. This was my chance. I barely considered it and simply acted on impulse, swallowing my nervousness and unsteadiness; swallowing my fears and focusing solely on Jacob and the fact that he needed me.

I crept into the campsite and made my way slowly onto the center. I was exposed, with nowhere to hide; if the werewolves were to come out of the tent, they'd easily see me and both Jake and I would be goners. I held my breath as I reached him, turning him over with my trembling hands.

I was shocked when my skin made contact with his, because he was so uncharacteristically cold. His eyes were closed and his face was pale, almost all of his gorgeous color drained out of him. He looked dead, so much so that I even questioned if the heartbeat I was hearing was actually his, causing me to kneel down and press my ear to his cold bare chest. There it was, faint but alive. I pressed my eyes shut and could feel the sobs coming but tried my best to repress them, sensing how only a few tears dripped down my chin.

All I wanted was to crawl to his side, wrap my arms around him and just give up, just let them kill me too, because the thought that he might die before me was too terrifying. But I couldn't accept defeat, Jacob would definitely expect more from me. So I took in another deep breath and pulled back to examine the damage.

He had several bite wounds, wounds that hadn't already healed like normal, bites caused by the werewolves, which meant they contained vampire venom. It was until then that I understood his condition, the venom was killing him. Without another second to spare, I did the only thing I could think off, I placed my mouth over one of the bites and started sucking, draining blood the way I would when feeding. Immediately I was taken aback when I felt the venom in his system, so thick that I could barely taste his blood, so abundant that I worried I might be too late. So I continued to suck faster and faster, feeling the horrible acid metallic taste of the venom, until I couldn't taste it anymore. Instantly I pulled back once I tasted his blood and only his blood, fresh and pure and free of contamination.

Without delay I spit out the venom and continued with the rest. One by one I sucked on the opened bite wounds, until I'd cleared the venom from four of them. I could hear the werewolves inside the tent, talking back and forth in their strange wolf language. They seemed to be looking for something, because I could hear them rummaging and throwing things around. My heart was beating faster and faster as I made my way through Jake's wounds, anticipating that the werewolves would come out in any second. I was already sucking on a fifth wound when a sound startled me and made me pull back, spewing out the venom in my mouth.

"Ness…"

I never thought hearing Jacob say my name would cause me such pain, but it did. His voice was so frail, so broken, that it made my insides twist in agony. I quickly took his face in my hands, searching for his eyes that were barely starting to open. Once he was able to focus his vision and look at me, I felt like the world made sense again.

"Jake… Jacob…" – I whispered, my eyes slightly blurring from the flush of tears coming out of them. My body was still trembling in fear and panic, but at least he was alive, at least he was looking up at me.

"I feel numb… what happened?" – He could barely speak or make eye contact, his eyes rolling to the back of his head in the most alarming way. He was so weak I thought my heart would just break apart in half.

I projected everything in a flash; not wanting to risk speaking out loud and having them hear us. When I was done, Jake opened his eyes again, this time confusion and weakness replaced by fear.

"Hide… go… now." – His words came out in gasps of air.

"I won't leave you."

"I… I can't protect you… I can't protect you if they find you here… please… go…" – He raised his hand with difficulty and cupped my cheek. There was a mask of pain on his face, one that I knew had nothing to do with the physical pain he was feeling, but more with the fact that I was unprotected and in harm's way. He never seized to amaze me, because despite the fact that he was so on the edge of his own demise, his worry was still focused on me, my needs were always above his.

I didn't bother answering him, simply kneeling back down and continuing my mission to drain him of all the vampire venom. Three more wounds and I could see the color slightly returning to his face, could feel his skin growing warmer.

I knew this was my cue, because the werewolves were getting more and more quiet, probably losing interest in their quest. So I took hold of his arm and placed it around my neck, picking him up off the ground using my full strength.

"Can you walk?" – I whispered. He pressed his eyes closed and nodded, placing his feet on the grown but managing to support only about a third of his weight. So I had to use my strength to practically drag him away from the campsite; if only we could reach the others, then we'd be safe.

We'd made it about fifty yards when I felt the stench, the horrible putrid werewolf stench; I felt them before I ever saw them. I tried to move faster but before I could get away, they were around us, all around us. Five enormous werewolves, two in wolf form while the others remained "human".

Jacob let go of me and collapsed on the ground, still unable to hold up his own weight.

"Run!" – He managed to growl out, but that just wasn't an option for me. So I instinctively stood on top of him, my legs on either side and defensively crouched. They'd have to kill me to get to him, something I was sure they'd be able to do.

He was shaking, trying to phase but not being able to. The sight of him doing this was devastating; I could only imagine his horror upon not being able to transform and defend me. I took in a deep breath and waited, crouching with Jacob under me in between my feet and the werewolves circling us.

"It's the one we are looking for… do you see, she is protecting him." – One of the werewolves in "human" form spoke, his words more like growls and barks than actual words. I could feel their eyes on me, appraising me. By now I was sure they knew just how outnumbered and vulnerable I was, with my leg and shoulder still not quite healed and my husband at my feet, shaking in desperation.

"They said to take them alive." – Growled another werewolf, a woman, the only female in the bunch. – "Attentamente… fare attenzione."

The fight started and it felt like a dream. My senses were heightened beyond belief, to the point where I wasn't even thinking anymore, just moving my body instinctively this and that way, dodging blows and bites but also delivering punches myself. All the while I kept hearing Jacob's heart, growing stronger and stronger, and for the briefest moment allowed myself a surge of hope.

I killed one of them; the only reason why I knew this was because I saw its corps lying there, because I had no recollection of doing it. Things were happening so fast it was hard to take it all in. I fought in circles around Jacob, hoping to create a perimeter around him and keep him safe, not that any of them were concerned with him, knowing that at the moment he wasn't a threat.

Even though I was fighting my best, I was still getting beaten. At one point I looked down and realized I was dripping in blood, some belonging to the second werewolf I was able to slay but most belonging to me. I was beginning to feel dizzy and disoriented. Sooner rather than later, I'd pass out, collapse, and then they'd have us, both of us. I didn't know what the Volturi wanted, but I knew it couldn't be good.

The few seconds it took for me to lose hope where enough for the creatures to subdue me. Two held me in place while the remaining one approached me, in wolf form, his eyes murderous. It was getting so hazy I couldn't even see Jacob where I'd left him. I searched for him but came up short. That's when the panic started to creep in, I thought for sure they'd taken him again. So I closed my eyes and awaited, feeling the werewolf's breath getting closer and closer to me, the smell a mixture of blood and putrid spit.

A rush of wind blew in my face and the creature's smell went away. I opened my eyes just in time to see a wolf landing on top of the werewolf, having just tackled him away from me. The wolf bit into the creature until I didn't see it struggling anymore; then he turned to look at me, still held by the two surviving creatures. It was Jacob.

My heart fluttered with relief. He still looked weak, but at least he was standing up, at least he'd been able to phase. He menacingly growled at the werewolves, who instead of retreating, sprinted forward toward him, phasing in the process. I watched in horror as they were able to pin him down on the ground, one of them biting into him.

Again I felt it, the agonizing soul searing heart wrenching pain. I shrieked in agony and collapsed to my side, with my face lying on the earthy ground, looking at Jacob and him looking back at me. I could already see the energy dripping out of him, could already see his eyes growing cloudy the way there were when I found him. The pain was puncturing straight through me, the same pain he was feeling as his veins filled once more with vampire venom. I couldn't let them keep hurting him.

I willed myself to stand up despite the pain, willed myself to find strength in my love for him. Everything inside me went quiet the second I was able to stand up and ram my fist into the werewolf biting him. I felt his moist insides and pulled at whatever organs I could reach. He instantly became immobile and rolled on to Jacob's side. The second werewolf holding Jake down turned to look at the bloody torn apart mess that was his partner. He narrowed his eyes and let go of Jake, who by now was in no condition to keep fighting, and stood in front of me, his legs in a position that could only mean attack. I braced myself for his tackle, knowing that I was far too weak to take him down as well, not when I'd used up my last bit of strength rescuing Jacob.

"Jake." – I breathed, knowing it would probably be my last words. I could no longer hear his heartbeat, maybe because my own was beating and pulsating in my ears, maybe because I was so weak my senses were malfunctioning or maybe because I'd been too late and I'd lost him. I reluctantly took my eyes of Jacob's wolf body and turned to face the creature, but something wasn't right. The menacing attacking face I'd seen a second ago was replaced by… fear.

I wasn't sure what was going on until I caught a whiff of a cluster of musky earthy animalistic scents; scents so similar to Jacob's that I immediately relaxed and landed on my knees, half unconscious. Leah, Quil and Embry's wolf bodies ran beside me and toward the creature, tearing him to bits. I crawled on my hands and knees toward were Jacob lay, as the others continued to kill the werewolf.

"Jacob… please… you promised." – I was sobbing uncontrollably, because if his heart was still beating, I couldn't hear it. So I placed my lips on the last wound the creature had given him and sucked his infected blood out, hoping, wishing, that I wasn't too late.

I spit a large amount of venom aside just as Leah, Quil and Embry came up beside me. They were whining like dogs. Quil even came up next to Jake and licked the side of his wolf face. I bent down again, sucking away at his blood and realizing the last werewolf had secreted far more venom than the others. Again I spit out the mouthful of venom, almost swallowing it because of my crying.

"No! No!"

I bent down a third time. This time I sucked until I felt his fresh pure blood, immediately stopping and pulling back to see him. I tried to convince myself that he was just resting, just passed out, that any minute now I'd hear his heart, but all hope went away when half a minute passed and I'd heard nothing but our four frantic hearts beating as one. He didn't have any more venom in his system, did he? I'd gotten everything down to the last drop, hadn't I? Then why wasn't he waking up?

He couldn't be dead, there was no way, I knew this for a fact because the second this were to happen, I was sure I'd die too. But then I thought of Emily, and how she hadn't died when Sam had.

"No! Jacob… please baby… please wake up… please! Don't leave me!" – I threw myself on top of his furry body and pressed my sobbing swollen face to his chest, inhaling his scent and wishing I were dead too. My hands instinctively reached his face, and out of habit or simply because I couldn't speak, I projected. There were so many things I wanted to say to him that I let it all wash out of my hands, every single beautiful thought I ever had of him, my world made whole because of him, my entire being connected to him in such a way that my soul was dead without his, the children we never had, the eternal life he and everyone else had promised we'd have together.

I was so injured that I figured I'd just lie here with him, waiting for my wounds to bleed out. So I closed my eyes and prayed for God to take me away. I'd never truly believed in God's existence, not when I'd lived my entire life enraptured in a world so crazy and supernatural that God seemed pretty farfetched, but in that moment I believed, believed he'd grant me the miracle of not healing and dying next to Jake.

Ten seconds later, I got my miracle, just not the one I'd prayed for. I was so deep in my own mourn and grief that it took me a while to distinguish the sound pressing against my face, the sound of life, the sound of salvation, the sound of love… Jacob's heart… strongly beating.

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This chapter is small but I just really needed to get it out there. Love you all so much, let me know what you think!