Clouds fill Jacob's mind as the wampus's clubbed tail slams against his ribs. The sharp sting drills deep under the numb of his painkillers as he breath's through his massive muzzle. A deep growl bellows from deep in his throat as he backs away from the beast of a woman. His black, intense eyes never leave her's.
"Come here, kitty," the wampus shouts. Her voice matches her appearance, a hideous conglomeration of panther and woman crawling through the woods on all fours. Her nose and lower jaw extends and flattens with her upper lip divided in two, exposing elongated fangs. Inch-long claws top her extended fingers. Her legs are now that of a jungle cat. Short, dirty yellow fur covers her body from chest to tail, a mace-like weapon that she skillfully wields. Her bright orange hair flows down like a mane are her pale, human colored face.
His lip curls as Jacob catches his breath in the darkness. His mind clears.
"Please," she says with a laugh.
His claws dig in to the wet ground as he bounds forward through the rain drenched night. They both rear on to their back legs and roar together as they exchange primal swipes back and forth. Their teeth glisten like angry stars.
She loses her balance first, falling forward underneath Jacob's massive chest. Landing on top of her, he clamps down on to her back. He tastes the wildness of hair-covered skin, the intensity in her sweat. His teeth wrench in to her flesh.
Screaming, she reaches around, her long fingers entwining into his mane and yanks down. His neck twist painfully, the bones and muscles throbbing at the motion, forcing him to release her as he flips on to his side. The claws of her other hand rake deeply across his cheek, the cuts hot on his face against the cold air. He presses against her as she lays across him, her tail rising in preparation to fall.
No, no, no, he thinks. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
With a loud thump, her tail hits the empty ground after he curls under and away from her. Adrenaline and drugs coat the pain he senses tearing through his body. He clamors to his paws and runs to put space between them, her shouting roar echoing in his ears.
He finally looks back, seeing her in the distance through the trees. The scent of her is powerful as the breeze rolls in to his face. The moist brush whispers his location as he crouches down, panting.
The power in her strikes surprises him. Despite his larger size, she has greater leverage. Pure power won't cut it.
Should have picked an elephant, he thinks.
During the lull, he's aware of Edward's voice in his radio. 'Twenty-two' or something. It doesn't matter as he watches the wampus deliberately creep toward him. Her mocking purr glides under the steady hum of rain against the leaves above. She smiles grotesquely.
"I've never killed a lion," she says. There's a taunting lilt in the sound, like a spoiled girl before her birthday. "I know you're not a lion. But I'll take it."
With a heavy brow, Jacob glares ahead. His breath stops.
The wampus jerks around violently at the sudden chirping of a bird in the trees. She's close. She's not watching him.
Before she can react, Jacob's claws rip in to her hips as he rolls over her. She cries out as he drags her around, the blood staining his paws, the mud cooling his back. He tucks his hind legs in to his stomach, pulling her on to his feet before exploding them out. The wampus flies through the air before slamming against a massive tree trunk with a sickening crack.
The sound gives Jacob pause, as he watches the heaped body shutter. Clouds of fog surround his face with his deep, growling sigh.
Her body shifts with her breathless groan. Dragging her arm through the damp earth, she slowly brings her chest off the ground. Grass, leaves, twigs cling to her matted and tangled hair as it hides her face. She wheezes with shallow breaths.
Jacob lowers his massive head as he watches her, cautiously. A branch snaps under his paw as he steps forward.
The sound reawakes the wampus as she jerks her head around, her furious eyes glinting in the dim light. With a burst of speed, she rushes up the trunk of the tree. Her arms reach around the trunk as her hind legs support her, each claw digging in to the wood.
Chasing after her, Jacob is forced to stop at the base of the tree. With his front paws resting on the trunk, he watches her find a branch just out of his reach. A frustrated roar bellows deep in him that echoes through the forest.
Her laugh is infuriating. She wraps her fingers as if she's bored with watching Jacob pace below her.
"Kitty can't climb trees?" she scoffs.
Fuck you, Jacob thinks, anger bubbling in his fur-covered chest. Lions can climb trees. The desire to change form grows. Something more agile. Something, what's the word, utilitarian. But the transformation takes time, and it leaves him too vulnerable.
Again, he stands against the tree. Its bark presses deep in to his padded paws. His muscles tighten and pulse. His weight shifts forward. A loud creak.
Dropping his focus from the wampus to the trunk he presses forward again, harder. Another creak. The tree shifts slightly away from him.
Her hands reach tightly around the branch as she feels the motion in the air. Through the falling rain, she snarls loudly as Jacob continues to push against the tree.
He drops to the ground, circling away and taking several paces. He turns back, sprints forward and leaps. All four paws slam against the trunk, which whines in protest as his muscles explode in to it. The oak begins to lean as he turns in midair. He immediately repeats motion, moving away from the tree before turning around and jumping towards it. His inertia and strength his best solution.
"Stop it," the wampus yells. "Bad lion."
Louder, the tree creaks as it leans further. Jacob has a rhythm now, his steps and strides identical . Through the rain, he focuses only on the targeted trunk. The wampus' taunts, the breathless ache in his lungs, fade to the sound of his feet on the ground before every hit on the tree. Turn, run, jump, hit. Turn, run, jump, hit. Turn, run, jump-
Like a gymnast, the wampus swings down. The wood burns against her palms as she slides around the branch, her weight causing it to break in to a cacophony of timber. She flings herself forward, her beast-legs tucked in to her as her tail whips under her body. It's clubbed end cracks into the airborne Jacob's neck, ceasing his flight.
He falls to the ground, pain surging through him as if his very bones are fighting against him.
Maintain, he thinks.
A frantic blur of orange and yellow lands on top of him with all her weight. Wildly, they flail against each other. Their claws ripping and shredding. The roars and cries smothering the noise of everything around them. Mud, brush, hair flies as they twist and vie for dominance.
A gunshot brings sudden stillness. He feels the thick drops of the wampus' blood on his fur as she stops, stunned at the noise. He kicks her off him, quickly getting to his feet and backing away.
"You have guns?" the wampus says, curling around to lick the wound in her side. The thick crimson forms a dark stain against the golden fur along her stomach.
Jacob simply growls, his eyes dark and narrow as he blocks out the stinging scratches that cover his body.
"Where did that come from?" she asks, staggering to her feet. Fur starts to shed from her pale skin. The muscles and limps shorten. The face reverts to normal as she gingerly stands, her hands tight over the bullet hole. "Really?"
The loud metal click of a rifle's charging handle reveals Bella above them. Her wings spread wide amongst the branches to support her as she stands with her rifle aimed directly at the now-human wampus.
"Holy fuck," the wounded girl cries in shock and disgust. "What the fuck is that?" She falls back, thick mud splashing over her bare skin.
The tendons in Bella's index finger pulse over the trigger. She wants to. She really wants to. It's their mission. Through her scope, the woman's green eyes are wide with fear and curiosity. Dirt and blood cake her face, but underneath it all she's still very young.
Never taking her eyes off her target, Bella reaches behind her and pulls a set of zip-cuffs out of a back pouch. She holds them up on display before letting them fall to the ground. The thin white plastic cuffs land a few feet from the girl. Wincing from her wound, the girl gingerly reaches for them and slides them over her wrists.
It's only after she's tightened them down that Jacob feels like he can muscles loosen as the hair covering his body recedes back into his skin. The ache of his bones scratching against each other clamors over the numbness of the weakening pain killers in his system. He stands, dirty and tired, and leans back against a tree. Its rough surface soothing the muscles beneath his naked skin.
"I don't know what you are," the girl says, "But you're hot."
"Quiet," Jacob says, fatigued and flattered. He glances up towards Bella, who nods back down to him, before he disappears in to the trees.
"Are ya'll, like, partners or something?" the girl asks Bella as she continues to put pressure on her wound.
Bella says nothing, as she keeps her weapon raised. Her concerns about the severity of the gunshot gradually fade with the girl's lack of concern. It's possible changing forms expedites healing in a wampus like it can for mandarugos.
"Can't talk?" the girl continues. "That sucks."
Yes, it does, Bella thinks. She hears Edward and Emmett talking over the radio, and it makes her sigh.
"It's starting to get cold." The girl looks arounds at the continual rain. She tucks her knees up in front of her, wrapping her cuffed hands around them for warmth. "Why are ya'll here, anyway?"
"Quiet," Jacob repeats as he reappears from the darkness. His chest is bare under his tactical vest as he wears his pants and boots. He sets his rifle and pack down on the ground before slowly approaching the girl with his black field jacket.
"Are ya'll military?" she asks. Her face tightens as she shrinks from Jacob's approach.
"What's your name?" Jacob asks, kneeling in front of her to wrap his jacket around her naked shoulders. She reaches up, pulling the damp cloth tighter around her.
"Vicki."
"How old are you, Vicki?"
"Nineteen."
Jacob glances back at Bella momentarily before pursing his lips.
"Can you tell me anything about the utlunta?"
Vicki's face is blank.
"Have you seen anyone at the nuclear plant?" Jacob asks, falling back on his rump and crossing his legs casually. He leans back, using his arms for support. "Or anything weird?"
"Just my cousin," she says, frowning with furrowed eyes. "Who are you guys?"
"We're with Lilim Division," Jacob says. He shifts back on to his knees as he reaches into his pocket.
"What's that?"
"What are you doing out here?" Jacob says, ignoring the question.
"Um," her eyes flutter, weighing how to answer, "Hiding."
"Hiding?" Turning his head, Jacob gives a understanding smile. "Because you're a wampus?"
"Is that what I am?" Vicky says laughing. The shake of her body causes her to wince painfully, and she tightens down on the healing wound. "Ow."
"That's what you are," Jacob says. He looks up to Bella, patiently waiting in the trees. "Is your cousin a wampus?"
"Heidi?" Vicky says, shaking her head. "No, she's normal. She just didn't want to leave me alone."
"It's just the two of you?" Jacob says, dropping his eyes with a frown.
"Yeah."
"Okay."
With a single, fierce movement, Jacob withdraws a small syringe from his pocket and plunges it in to Vicki's calf. The short needle quickly sinks into her skin, and Jacob gently presses on the plunger.
With a squeak of shock, her gaping face melts to relaxed sedation. She slumps over to her side and sinks in to the mud. The soaked jacket slides off her limp shoulders, leaving her exposed.
Bella lowers her weapon as Jacob replaces the jacket covering the girl with the poncho from his pack. He rolls his jacket in to a ball and gently slides it under her sleeping head. Pride tightens her chest at Jacob's professionalism, his empathy.
"Love you, Alice," Jacob says.
"Love you, too," Alice says over the radio. "Now get inside."
His girlfriend's voice returns the spring to his step as he grabs his machine gun and looks up at Bella.
"Thanks, by the way," he says to her.
She briefly points at her upturned nose in response as she smiles. Then, with the rushing sound of cracking branches she returns to the sky. Her wings pump as she follows Jacob running towards the plant, the unconscious wampus behind them.