Well, hello, again. Chapter 30. I know I've been gone for a while. I do have reasons, so just know I wasn't ignoring you guys. I love you too much to do that. Soooo, those of you who like Caden may very well like this chapter, and I hope you do. I debated for a while about his part. But I just had to do it to make this chapter work. I'm still working out some kinks on the last couple chapters so just bear with me. It's a little rough. But thanks for hanging in there with me through this.

*Disclaimer*

Please Enjoy!

JPOV

The next morning, I dragged my ass out of bed and into the shower. Charlie was able to get me, Caden, and Walker into the morgue to see Luke's body. Caden still needed to see it. He said he needed to see in person what Tristan had done to him, that maybe there was some sort of mark that could be another message.

I had to say that I was not looking forward to this. I didn't want to see a dead human body that was ripped apart. But Charlie didn't trust the other two without me there to referee. Caden and Walker weren't fond of each other for some reason I didn't know, and I needed to be there to step between them if things heated up.

Once I was done with the shower, I went into the bedroom, scrubbing my hair, to find Nessie sitting up with the sheet around her chest. She was breathing hard and drenched in sweat. Her eyes were hollow and dull as they stared out into the room at nothing.

My heart pounded and my gut clenched as I went for the bed, sitting down on the edge of the mattress. "Nessie? You ok, baby?"

She swallowed hard and couldn't seem to focus on me. Her eyes darted here and there. She mumbled something.

"What?" I scooted closer, pushed her hair out of her face, and cupped her cheek. "Nessie, talk to me."

"Another nightmare," she whispered.

I pulled her to me. She came but only because I moved her. It was like she was a puppet. Her forehead rested against my chest.

"Why didn't you call for me? I'd have been here in a heartbeat."

She swallowed again as her breathing started to even out. "I woke myself up this time. It's ok." She sure as shit didn't sound ok. She sounded dead, like it was more than what the usual nightmare was.

"What did you see?"

She shook her head against my chest, slowly at first. "I can't," she whispered. Her head-shaking became more vigorou. "Oh, god, I can't, Jake."

Resting my chin on top of her head, I stroked her back. "Shhh, it's ok. It's ok."

The question seemed to have forced some life into her, but not in a happy way. She started sobbing. Crying just wasn't the right word. Crying wasn't this messy, nor this control-shattering.

Like a mirror smashing to bits, her nightmare washed over me in tiny cuts as her mental walls crashed to ruins. Immediately, I was thrown into dark woods with slivers of moonlight flashing here and there. Normally, I don't see moonlight as threatening, but this stuff just seemed ominous. I knew I was seeing this through Nessie's eyes, so the view was shorter than what I normally see. But this wasn't just a vision. I could feel her heart beating fast with fear and dread, smell it, taste in on the back of my tongue. The dream flashed forward. This was what was familiar to me. She'd once shown me her nightmares so I knew what to expect. Or thought I did.

As soon as we walked over that tree, I knew what had her so dead. It wasn't just me lying there in the dirt with my throat ripped open, dead eyes staring at nothing. No, that wasn't what this level of reaction was for.

I fell to my knees with her as we stared at the small, broken body of a child. An exact copy of me right down to the wounds and position of the body. But it wasn't me as a child. No, it was my and Nessie's son sprawled out beside his father. Both dead.

Nessie's scream in the dream and in reality brought me back to the bedroom. Tears were running down my face and neck, into her hair as she screamed. It wasn't a scream of fear. It was despair. Her nails dug into my skin, bloodying me, but I didn't care.

I held her tighter against me and cleared my throat as best I could. "Nessie, baby. Sweetie, please. It's not real. It's not real. That wasn't William, ok?" I stroked her back and rocked her as I kept whispering in her ear.

Upstairs, I heard the door open and the security system beep. I didn't really have the urge to yell at whoever it was not to come down here. I just held my mate as she struggled with what was real and what wasn't.

"Jacob?" Adam said from the stairs.

Nessie's screams had died down to little shrieks, hiccups, and whimpers.

I swallowed hard. "We're ok, Adam. She just had another nightmare."

I felt more than heard Adam come around the bed to look at me. A towel was still wrapped around my waist and Nessie was wrapped up in a sheet. Besides, Adam was gay and in love with Derek. He'd never disrespect Nessie like that.

There was a pause, and then, "Jacob, Charlie just called Edward. Another body was found in the woods."

It took a moment before it sank in, and I just blinked at him. "What?"

He knelt down in front of me. "Jacob, the body was torn apart, just like Luke. According to Charlie anyway. Charlie asked if you and some of the pack would go into the woods and watch from a distance. He says he'll do whatever it takes now to stop this from happening so if we have to see the crime scene, we can, but from afar."

I shook my head. "I can't, man. We gotta ask Charlie if it can wait another day. I can't leave her."

"Go," she said softly.

"What?" I said in shock.

"Go, Jacob. You have a job to do for our home."

I held her away from me and tried really hard not to glare at her. "Nessie, my first and foremost concern is you. I can't just leave you here like this."

She swallowed hard and met my eyes with a force of will that hadn't been there before. "Leave Adam or Derek with me. You'll have someone to go down with you, and I'll be safe. We can call another pair to run patrols around the lake." We stared at each other, and slowly, I saw her personality fill her again. She wasn't going to back down. She was being selfless. "Go, Jacob. Now."

I sighed and looked up at Adam with a nod. Nessie put her hands on my chest and pushed away from me to lean against the headboard. She took in a deep breath and blew it out as she closed her eyes. Rubbing her knee for one last touch, I stood up, nodded to Adam, and went for the closet.

"Meet me upstairs, Adam. I need to talk to you."

Five minutes later, I was standing in the living room with Adam and Derek staring at me.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Adam, you stay here with her. Under no circumstances does she go back to sleep without me here."

"How bad was it, Jake?"

I just shook my head. "Just another nightmare."

"Bullshit, man. It was bad. You were just as shaken up as she was."

For a long moment, we just stared at each other. Taking in a deep breath, I told him what I saw, what Nessie had shown me. All I wanted to do was break down again. That last image stuck with me. The image of my son dead beside me, me unable to protect him. Dammit! That was not going to happen.

Instead of breaking down, I felt a flood of determination wash through me. I had to keep my shit together in order to protect what was mine. Falling apart would do nothing but get us all killed.

"Adam, you stay here with her. Derek, you come with me. I'll send two others up like Nessie said. Don't you dare let her go back to sleep."

"Don't worry. I don't plan on going back to sleep unless you're with me."

I spun to find Nessie standing at the top of the stairs in one of my old hoodies and a pair of sweats. Her hair was in a knot on top of her head. I held my arms out to her, and she came to me. Holding her tight to me, I kissed the top of her head.

"Jake," Derek said.

He was right. We had to go. But I really didn't want to. I wanted her warmth next to me.

It was the hardest thing I'd done, leaving her there. But I had to do it. I ripped myself away from her and stalked for the door.

"I love you, Jacob."

Not daring to turn around in fear that if I saw her again I wouldn't be able to leave, I said, "I love you, too, Nessie."

An hour later, Derek, Caden, Seth, Walker, and I were standing uphill behind some pine trees, staring down at the new crime scene. I brought my wolf to the front of my mind, and my eyes sharpened. Everything was crystal clear, even yards away. I'd called Charlie to let him know that we were there. He'd asked where but I'd just told him that we were there.

We all stood there, unmoving and silent, watching all the crime scene guys do their jobs. While we waited, I took inventory of the atmosphere around me. The air was warmer than yesterday. Not a good sign. Eventually, all the men dispersed to let the camera person click away and we saw the body. Caden and I shared a look as a breeze rushed up the hill to brush over us. The scent of blood and other things hit us hard. The body was female, not male. She was, indeed, torn apart. Claw marks ran down the left side of her body, face included. A claw had caught her eye, bursting it open. Her clothes were torn to shreds, stomach ripped open. I was kind of surprised I didn't really feel anything. It was more like I was watching a movie in science class or something. It would probably have been different if I were standing down there over her.

Caden leaned over to whisper, "Whichever wolf it was took time to feed."

Walker's head whipped around. "What?!"

My head snapped over to stare at him, too. "You eat people?" Seth's and Derek's eyes swung over.

He shook his head. "I don't. I can control it."

"What are you talking about? What aren't you telling me?"

He turned so his back was to the crime scene and whispered, "When we shift, the animal in us craves meat. Remember, the beast is separate from us, unlike your wolf. Our beasts crave to feed, to hunt. The wolf that did this wasn't a partial shift. It was in complete wolf form and attacked. Her clothes were jogging clothes. The wolf attacked her from the woods and took time to feed. Which means that it had shifted not long before." Pausing he swallowed hard and looked as if he were debating on whether to say anything else. When I was about to prompt him with a glare, he went on. "My guess is the wolf scared her in some way. Fear is a fine spice to us. Even in human form, the scent of fear on someone else can bring our beasts to the very edge. It can cause us to start shifting. It scared her, and when she started running away, it gave chase."

I couldn't handle the nasty surprise, so I just stuck with moving forward. I pointed at him threateningly. "You and I are going to have a talk later. Now, let's move on. Can you tell who it was?"

He shook his head. "The wind is too muddied with her blood. I can't detect anything."

I couldn't either. "You think you could get a scent if you got closer to the scene? Or if you were close to the body?"

"If Charlie could get me to her clothes, then yeah, I could probably get a whiff of something."

I shook my head, and Seth said, "He'd never break evidence protocol for us. Can you get close enough now?"

He turned back around and looked down the hill. "I can try. Half the cops are throwing their guts up anyway."

With that, he slowly made his way down the hill. Luckily it wasn't steep. He moved silently through leaves and over roots, going tree to tree so that the camera person wouldn't look up and see some strange guy just walking out of the woods. From our perch, I had a perfect view of all the cop cars and Charlie, standing watch over the crime scene tech clicking away at the body. When a branch snapped under Caden's foot, Charlie glanced up. We all held our breath, but the tech didn't look up. He was too involved in his work. Charlie looked in the the direction of Caden, and then up to me. I nodded and lifted my hand. He didn't nod back, just went back to staring at the body.

When he looked back up again, Caden stepped a little out from the tree. He jerked his chin toward the body and tapped his nose. Charlie frowned for a moment before understanding dawned on his face. He nodded.

Walking forward, he said something to the tech, drawing him away from the girl's body. Caden waited until they were far enough away before he made his way to the very edge of the trees, staying behind the one closest to the body. Barely sticking his face out into the wind, he sniffed, taking a deep breath into his lungs. After a long moment, he let out the breath, looked back to me and nodded. He got it.

As he was making his way back up the hill, the breeze changed direction and went down past us. But that wasn't what caught my attention. It was the scent on the breeze. I whipped around, eyes searching the woods behind me. Derek, Walker, and Seth did, too.

"Jacob...," Seth said.

"I know. Disease and blood. Walker, stay here to wait for Caden. Derek, Seth, let's follow that scent while the breeze is in our favor."

Derek, Seth, and I headed further into the woods. Whoever was here wasn't that far away. The smell of blood was getting so strong that I could taste it in the back of my throat. They were either bleeding a lot or they were covered in someone else's blood. Why hadn't I caught this before? The thought that this could be the killer crossed my mind and made me pause.

Someone stepped up behind me. I turned to find Caden there. He nodded at me as Walker stepped up beside me. We moved forward, but didn't have to go far. Rounding a tree, we came up on a really young girl. She was leaning up against the tree, breath shallow and fast, eyes closed. There was a slash across her cheek and claw marks into her stomach. The wound on her stomach wasn't gushing as much blood as I thought it should be for how nasty it looked.

I looked over at Caden. "Do you know her?"

He shook his head and looked as shocked as I did.

Our eyes snapped back to her when she made a pained noise. Her eyes opened and stared at us. When Seth took a step forward, she flinched back ,fear filling her eyes as she realized she was alone in the woods with five big males.

Seth held his hands out. "It's ok. We're not going to hurt you."

"I...I tried-," she coughed and tried to sit up a little. The pain was too much and she sank back down. Seth knelt next to her slowly, and when she didn't pull away from him, he brushed her hair out of her face. She looked up at him. "I tried...to-to stop...him."

"Shhh," Seth said soothingly. "It's ok. Can you tell me your name?"

"Lucy." She gritted her teeth and breathed harshly.

He smiled. "My name is Seth. How old are you, Lucy?"

She took another breath through her teeth. "Thirteen."

Caden knelt next to her. "Lucy, I need you to tell me something, ok? Try to answer as best you can. We need to get you out of here as fast as possible."

She nodded.

"Ok, were you attacked? Before today?"

For a moment, she just stared at him as if she were wondering how much he knew and could he possibly know. Eventually, she nodded.

"Yeah," she said softly.

Caden nodded. "So you can scent me, can't you?"

Again with the stare. And again with the nod.

He smiled at her. "Good. Then you know I'm like you. I'm one of the good guys, ok? So are they. I know they smell different, but it's alright. I trust them. Will you let us help you? We know a doctor."

Her eyes went wide. "No!" She moved fast and rough, sitting up and trying to push away.

"Lucy-," Seth started after her.

"No! They said no doctors. They said they'd kill me."

I touched Caden's shoulder. He moved so I could kneel next to her. "Listen to me, Lucy. Tristan will never hurt you again."

Her eyes widened again.

"Yeah, I know about him. I know he's sick. But we're not part of that pack, ok? He's attacking us, too. Come stay with us. We'll take care of you, let you heal. And if you want to get as far away from here as possible, we'll send you wherever you want to go, ok?"

She stared at me for a long time. Then swallowed hard. "I won't stay with vampires. They freak me out."

I laughed a little. "The doctor you're going to see is a vampire."

"What?" Her eyes turned scared.

"It's ok. They're family. I promise. My mate is half vampire, half human. You can stay in our place after he treats you. It's just me and her there. Can you handle that?"

Her eyes darted from me to the others. Derek and Walker were watching the woods while we dealt with the terrified teenager. She nodded sheepishly without meeting my eyes.

"One of us is going to have to carry you. Do you have a preference?"

She shook her head again.

"I'll do it. Seth, call Charlie. Tell him we got what we needed."

As he dug out his phone, I scooted closer to Lucy.

"You want me to tell him about her?"

I shook my head. "Let's wait until we get more info. And when you're done with that, call Edward and Carlisle. Tell them we need medical attention."

Lucy was back to breathing heavily and uneven. Her eyes were closed as her blood-soaked hand clutched her belly.

"Ok, Lucy. I'm going to pick you up now. Just keep breathing. It's going to hurt but I'll be as gentle as I can."

She nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. Wiggling my hands under her knees and at her back, I lifted as gently as I could. She still hissed through her teeth. Seth was talking in low tones as we all started marching through the woods toward the Cullen house.

Twenty minutes later, we were walking up the porch steps. Carlisle came out the front door and ushered me inside. When Lucy was able to open her eyes, they widened when she got a good look at the doc. She tried to shrink away from him, closer to me.

"It's ok, Lucy. This is the doctor I was talking about. This is my mate's grandfather. You're safe with these vampires. Let him help you. I'll stay with you if you want."

She looked from him to me, then dropped her eyes and nodded.

I nodded and looked at Carlisle. "Let's go upstairs, doc."

Carlisle and I waited outside while Shelby got Lucy into some clothes that would be easy access to her wound. She wouldn't let Esme or Bella touch her. While we waited Carlisle asked Caden about treating wounds inflicted upon their kind of werewolf.

"You can come in now," Shelby called.

Edward, Carlisle, and I walked into the room. Lucy looked terrified as the other two men got closer to her. When she looked at me, I just nodded at her. Swallowing hard, she laid back against the hospital bed in my and Nessie's old room.

Carlisle went to his work table, pulled out materials, and snapped on a pair of gloves. "Alright, Lucy. I need you to raise up the shirt. I need to see the wound."

Grabbing a chair, I pulled it up next to the bed and sat down. Lucy reached for my hand while Edward took her blood pressure and heart rate, and Carlisle probed at the wounds. After about five minutes of that, Carlisle took off the gloves, put on a fresh pair, and came to stand next to the bed.

"It looks like you're healing ok. Slowly but ok. Caden said that you might heal slower because you were attacked by one of your own kind. However, I still want to give you some stitches until you heal."

She looked down at the slashes across her stomach and nodded. "Ok. If you think that's best." She glanced at me.

I nodded. Carlisle glanced at me.

"This is going to hurt. I can put you under if you'd prefer."

She looked up at Carlisle. "Would you suggest it?"

"I would."

"Ok. Do it."

In a matter of moments, Edward had given her a shot. She was down for the count a second later. An overhead light was turned on. The kind that you see at the dentist. Carlisle bent over her, prodded the wounds some more, and frowned.

"What is it, doc?"

He shook his head a little and sighed. "The damage is more extensive than I thought. She's going to need more stitches."

Edward went for the medical closet and came back with two different types of thread.

When I raised an eyebrow, Edward smiled. "One is water-soluble so that it disintegrates in her body without us having to re-open the surface wounds."

"Ah, ok. I think I'm going to let you work in peace." Surface stitches were one thing. I didn't think I could handle watching or hearing them dig around inside her.

Getting up, I went for the door. I needed food. By getting rushed out of the house and going straight to the crime scene, I hadn't been able to eat anything. Esme and Bella always kept this house stocked with food for the wolves and humans. Surely there was some quick fixing stuff in the fridge.

Twenty minutes later, I was washing up my plate when the back kitchen door flew open. I turned to find Nessie standing there with wild eyes and breathing hard. Adam was right behind her, holding a stuffed overnight bag.

"Nessie?"

"Jacob?" She came to me, eyes searching my body. "I got this call from Seth saying to come down to the house and bring some clothes, that Dad and Carlisle were tending to someone's wounds...oh, god, is that blood?"

I followed her eyes down to my bare arms. Dark, reddish-brown stains nestled into my skin. The tank was black so the blood wouldn't show. I hadn't even thought about the blood from carrying the girl.

Nessie rushed for me again. "What happened, Jake? Are you ok?" Her voice was rising fast, octaves climbing higher and higher. Her hands hovered over my body as if she wanted to touch me but was scared to.

I gripped her upper arms and shook her a little so that she'd look at me. Her frantic eyes were wide with fear and panic.

"It's ok. I'm ok. It's not my blood. I swear to you that there's not a scratch on me."

She went slack with relief. I moved her over to a chair so that she could collapse into it. She gripped my fingers. "If you're not hurt, then who is?"

I knelt in front her, smoothing my thumbs over her hands. "You don't know her. She doesn't look like she's from around here."

"She?"

I nodded. "Yeah, she's thirteen. Her name is Lucy. She said she was attacked before today."

"Attacked? By what?"

"One of Tristan's pack." I shared a look with Adam. "A woman was attacked today by something with claws. Lucy said she tried to stop it from happening. She was sliced up pretty bad. Carlisle and Edward are fixing her up as we speak."

"Why is this happening?" she whispered.

Stroking her arms, I tried to think of an answer and came up with one that just flat out sucked.

"You said it yourself. Tristan wants to scare us, to let us know he's got us trapped. And Alice's vision? That storm is coming pretty fast."

"So you think he's going to attack us when this blackout happens?"

I scrubbed my face with one hand. "That's what Alice is thinking. The vision gave her bad vibes. Something's coming, and I seriously doubt it has anything to do with the Volturi. I think this is all Tristan. Jane did her part by maneuvering and planting the seed. Now she's setting her dogs after us."

Moving forward, Nessie pressed her hands to her face and rested them on her knees. "I just want all this shit to end. What did we do to deserve all this?"

To that, I had no answer. So, I just rubbed her back and shared a look with Adam. Thankfully, my cell rang.

"Yeah?"

"Jacob, it's Christa. Caden, Walker, and I are in town. Ethan's here, and he's alone. What do you want us to do?"

"What does Caden think?"

A sound came over the phone like she was shrugging. "He said to try to get him alone."

"Do it. Caden knows what he's doing. Whatever we're going to do, we have to do it now. This fight is coming fast."

"Will do."

The phone clicked, and I was listening to air.

CadenPOV

Things were too quiet around here. For Tristan wanting a battle within the next day or two, the town was quiet. Nobody was wise about what was going on. Their scents were the normal levels of stress and anxiety, some puppy love, irritation, contentedness. Then there were the two werewolves following me.

Christa and Walker had a lot of crap to wade through. They were throwing glances at each other when the other wasn't looking. Scents of sweet chocolate floated around us in spurts. They were both fighting the imprint, the attraction. But I knew it was there. I could smell the protectiveness, the testosterone emanating from Walker. Whenever someone got too close or brushed against Christa, he went rigid and the protectiveness strengthened.

And Christa? She instinctively stayed close to him, stealing glances at him from under her lashes. It was a submissive gesture that I doubted she knew she was making. A female sticking close to her dominant male, making sure that he didn't get jumpy for nothing. He tried to pretend that it meant nothing, but he liked that she stayed close, that she trusted him.

As we turned a corner, the breeze rushed past us and I caught an achingly familiar scent.

"We're getting close. Stay together."

I felt more than saw the two step closer to me, eyes wandering the streets and shops. Ethan's scent aura was a deep forest green, and now that I had the scent, the color unfolded before me, showing me the way. There were faint traces of others' auras, but nothing strong enough to worry me. Ethan seemed to be the only one in town right now. He was heading for the grocery again.

When we arrived at the store, I stopped the other two. "We'll wait out here. I want to confront him with witnesses present and room to maneuver."

They both nodded and moved away as I leaned against the brick wall. Ethan's scent was fairly fresh so I knew he'd be a while. To pass the time, I watched the two of them. They stayed close to each other but very studiously didn't look in the direction of the other. Every time Christa inadvertently touched Walker, he tensed, closed his eyes, and breathed deep. Inhaling the breeze, I scented masculine chocolate, if such a sweet thing could be called masculine.

Smiling to myself, I thought that Walker was wasting his time trying to deny the pull of that woman. And it wasn't the imprint. Our kind of werewolf had a distinct draw to their true mates. I had suspected from the level of their animosity toward each other, but Christa's imprinting had sealed the deal on the fact. Just as Leah's imprinting of me had sealed my deal. I'd known from the moment I first saw her that she was my true mate.

Alora had never been my true mate, and I had known that from the beginning. But she and I had been happy, in love, and had started a family. When I was away from Leah, like I was now, I was ashamed to admit that I felt the loss of my son, Damien, more than the loss of Alora. And because of the loss of Damien, Alora, and our unborn child, I would do anything to keep from innocents dying again. If anyone or anything dared to touch Leah or even look at her in a threatening manner, I feared my temper would break its leash and that person or thing would cease to exist. With Alora, I had survived her loss. If Leah were to perish of something other than natural causes, my revenge would only sustain me long enough to peel the skin off the thing that hurt her before I fell.

Leah was one hell of a woman. But ever since she'd shifted, she'd told me that she'd felt like she couldn't actually be a woman. She'd felt as if she'd had to be one of boys so as not to be vulnerable, even after other females joined the pack. Now, with me, she could let that vulnerability shine because she had a male that could kiss away her insecurities. When we were around the others, she kept her tough facade, but when we were alone, she was all soft femininity. I loved that about her. I was the only one who got to see all sides of her. Even Seth, her own brother, wasn't privy to certain aspects of her life, such as her fears.

A smile tugged at my lips as I remembered her telling me about her fears of whether or not she could have children. But also that she wanted to wait to try until I was ready for a family. She knew about Damien, and my pain over losing him. And my unborn child. To this day I still had no idea what sex the child had been. Alora had found out that day, and I had been on my way home so that she could tell me in person. I hadn't been able to be at the doctor's with her.

I'd been too late to save the three of them. But I'd never forget the face of the bloodsucker that killed them, their blood smeared over his pasty white skin. Blond hair glittering in the moonlight. For my lost family, there were things I wanted to do to that thing, things that would have, in a past life, disgusted me. And I might just get the chance at him. Leah and I were going across the pond after Jacob and Nessie's wedding to find help. Seth and I were working on a plan to sneak us out. But if I could get Ethan on our side, there may be another way to go about it.

"Psst!"

Shaking myself out of my head, I looked up to see Christa step into Walker's body and jerk her chin toward the door. Leaning over, I saw Ethan's dark head bent over and heading this way. Walker had wrapped his arms around Christa and bent down over her. The motions of a make-out session started up, and my eyebrows met my hairline. Either they were really going at it or they were damn good actors.

A second later, the sliding doors opened with a hiss and out stepped Ethan. Taking a deep breath, I stepped out in front of him. With his head still down, he nearly ran me down, but at the last moment, he looked up.

I smiled when his eyes met mine and widened.

"Caden?" he breathed.

Reaching forward, I caught the bag that had slipped from his fingers.

As I set it on the ground next to him, he said, "You're alive?"

"I am, old friend. I take it Tristan lied to you."

For a heartbeat, Ethan just stared. Then, "We all thought you were dead. Tristan told us he saw them rip you apart in cold blood." Before I could say anything else, he stepped forward to embrace me. I clapped his back in return.

Stepping back, I quirked an eyebrow. "Really? After all I did to save that poor girl?" I shook my head. "I'm alive, Ethan. They've taken care of me. I even found my true mate."

His eyes widened. Emotions fought on his features. Disbelief turned to rage, then to confusion.

"That bastard lied to us."

I nodded as I felt Walker and Christa come up behind me. Ethan looked up. He smiled and shook his head.

"I knew it," he said.

"We need your help. We know what Tristan is doing, that he's herding us, making us stay here."

Ethan didn't answer. Instead, his eyes roamed the surrounding area. As the breeze whipped around us, he and I inhaled deeply. Nothing of importance was near us.

"You got a place more private where can talk?"

"You'll help us?" Christa asked.

Ethan's gaze shifted to her and he smiled, which made Walker growl. It was really cute that he was resisting her.

"Yeah. Tristan lied to me. Besides, he was never the one who had my loyalty. That was always Caden. But on the way to wherever we're going, we need to make it look like you're guarding me. Like I was caught. He has spies in the woods."

"How do you know we'll be going into the woods?" Walker asked, suspicion plain in his tone.

Ethan snorted. "Are you kidding? We know all about the big, white house across the river, the cottage, the two cabins. We know all about that. But let's talk somewhere else." He set down the other bag next to the first and started walking. If this were to look like a capture, we wouldn't let him keep groceries.

Walker and Christa fell into step behind him. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I caught up with them and walked in front of Ethan.

When the call was answered, I said, "Jacob, we're on our way back. Where do you want the precious cargo?"

"You found him?"

"It wasn't all that hard actually. What I'm shocked by is the actions of Walker and Christa. Kind of rocked my socks. But that's not the point. We need to know where to go."

He spoke away from the phone. "Edward?" Silence. Then, "Yeah, bring him here to the house. Is he gonna help us?"

"I'm pretty positive, but he...resisted pretty hard."

Silence. "Ah. Ok. Well, bring the hostage home. We'll see what we can do with him."

There was a smile over the phone.

"Roger that, boss."

Ending the call, I marched us back to the Cullen house.

RPOV

I was still shaking. The call from Seth had scared me. As soon as he'd told me to pack a bag for both me and Jake with extra clothes, I completely panicked. I'd just thrown anything and everything into the bag and all but flew out the door. Poor Adam barely knew what was going on. He just followed me around like a puppy. An angry, irritated puppy. As we'd entered the clearing, I'd thrown the bag at him and burst through the door.

Now, I was sitting in Jacob's lap at the dining room table, my head buried in the hollow of his throat. Other members of the pack were milling around the house or sitting at the table with us. Apparently we were waiting for Caden and the others to come back. Leah was out pacing the foyer at the front door. Dad and Carlisle were still with Lucy, monitoring her and taking blood samples. When she'd woken up, she'd asked for Jacob. A twinge of jealousy had rushed through me, and I'd gone with him. The moment I'd seen her, the jealousy had been swept away. She was so young and tiny in that bed that it was hard not to immediately feel protective over her.

The front door clicked open, jerking me out of my thoughts.

"Caden!"

"Hey, love."

Jacob and I stood up as the sounds of kissing reached us in the dining room. We reached the door just in time to see Walker lead a guy in by a firm grip on his arm.

"Seriously, Walker. Don't hurt the guy," Christa said irritably on the way in behind them.

Walker didn't say anything until the door was closed. "Well, we had to make it look convincing, right? Especially if they're watching the house."

Christa rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"You do realize that people only say that when they know they've lost, right?"

"Bite me."

"It's ok, guys," the man, Ethan, said. He gave them a once over and a grin. "Seriously, I get it."

They gave him puzzled looks. In return he gave a questioning glance to Caden, who shook his head with a shrug. Ethan's eyebrows went up as if he understood completely.

"Leah, this is Ethan. Ethan, this is my mate, Leah."

Ethan gave her a grin, too. Boy, was he a happy guy. "Nice to meet you."

Leah gave her man a look. "Um, you, too. I guess."

Caden motioned me and Jacob. "And that's Nessie. Jacob, beside her, is the Alpha."

Ethan gave me a smile and Jacob a nod. "I guess you're the one I need to be talking to."

Jacob stepped up in front of me, blocking me from view of the other man. "Yeah, I am. Hopefully Caden's right and you'll help us."

"I'll do what I can. Tristan needs to be stopped, but it won't be easy. There are plenty in the pack that won't care that he lied. Some of them think that Caden's supposed death was a blessing. And that Luke kid and the woman? They aren't the first deaths or disappearances. Here in Forks, yes, but not other cities."

"The first question is, then, where did Tristan move the pack?" Caden asked as he took Leah into his arms. She rested her head on his chest with a sigh.

Ethan glanced at Caden, then back to Jacob. He licked his lips, took a deep breath, and a said, "They're up north. That spy? He wasn't spying for the natives. He was spying for Tristan."

Jacob growled low and dangerous.

"Now, I'm not going to defend the chief's actions because he initially let us in, but now Tristan has threatened, sexually, all the women in the tribe with the male members of the pack. Even some of the female members."

Every wolf in the room growled. I joined in.

Ethan nodded. "Exactly. And he's coming for you."

"When?" Jacob demanded, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me possessively to him. It was as if he were trying to protect me from the threat of the males.

Ethan shook his head. "I'm too low in the pack. I don't know. All I know is that he's separated the pack into groups and assigned leaders to those groups. The leaders know the details. He doesn't trust me because of my tie to Caden, so I was dropped in the structure." He stepped forward, toward me and Jacob. "But what I can tell you is that he has an uncanny ability to sense things, and he's been going on and on about this storm. Apparently it's rare around here to get massive thunderstorms. Well, one is coming. Every time he talks about it, he gets this...maniacal gleam in his eyes."

"What's his plan, Ethan?" Caden said.

Again Ethan shook his head and shrugged. "I don't think he's planning a slaughter with this blackout."

Jacob's arms tightened around me and I dug my nails into his skin. "So what do you think is happening?"

The man's eyes dropped to me, back to Jacob. "He wants you to hurt. He'll do his best to weaken you. That's how he likes his victims. If they're strong, he wants to beat you to a pulp, take away everything that's important to you, strip you of your will to live. And he'll make you watch as he…tortures those you love. He may even find a way to make you do it yourself."

Again, Jacob's arms tightened but this time in reassurance that he'd never hurt me nor all me to be hurt. I noticed Caden's grip around Leah tightening as well. Walker stepped closer to Christa, and she stepped back to meet him. When they bumped into each other, they glanced at each other in startlement, looked away quickly, but didn't move away.

"Jacob, you are what he's after. You're his target because you lead these people. This is your kingdom in this section of the country. And as his target, he'll do everything but come straight at you." His eyes met mine, but he continued to talk to Jacob. "My advice would be to get all your nearest and dearest down on the rez, and all of your wolves up here. If I'm right about the whole not slaughtering thing with this storm, that means that those groups he made are to only make a ring of flesh around the perimeter of Forks. He has enough wolves to do it, and keep it that way long after the storm. Keep all your fighters up here. He's going to try to find a way to hurt you or Caden. There's nothing I can do about it. I'm not strong enough to take him. Only Caden can. You might be able to, but I couldn't say for sure. I've never seen you fight."

With that, Ethan clapped his hands together. "Alright. I've told you everything I can. Now, someone's gotta beat the crap out of me."

A moment of silence greeted that happy statement.

Then my brain came back online. "What?"

He scoffed. "Please. This house is being watched. I can't walk in unscathed and walk out the same way. They'll know I talked."

Caden stepped forward. "Ethan, no. You're staying here with us."

Ethan looked at his friend sadly. "I can't. You know that. I've got to gather those still loyal to you. Tristan will believe I said something, but since he hasn't been feeding me crucial details, I really didn't give you anything of importance. But those that followed you will want to know that you're still alive. We can plan to get away or something. But you're alive, and we'll follow you. I just have to get back to them." He put a hand on Caden's shoulder. "Please, old friend. For old times' sake, give me a beating I'll actually feel."

Caden took a deep breath and shook his head. "I can't. I can't raise a hand to you. Not now."

"Well, somebody's got to do it."

"I will."

All heads turned in Walker's direction. He shrugged. "What? I have the itch to move, to fight."

Ethan cracked his knuckles with a grin. "Awesome. A newbie."

Caden cleared his throat. "Don't get cocky, Ethan. He's good. I've been training him."

"Even better." He looked around the house. "Is there a room in here where it doesn't matter if we destroy it?"

I shook my head as Jacob said, "No."

"Alright." Ethan shrugged his shoulders a few times as if loosening them up. "Punch me a few a times, rough me up. I'll barrel out the front door and we can go at it out in the yard. I'll even let you catch me. Sound good?"

Walker grinned. "Perfect." As the word was leaving his mouth, he swung out, landing a solid blow to Ethan's face.

Jacob pulled me out of the way as Walker moved in close and didn't give Ethan even a second to recover. He used fists, elbows, and knees up close and personal, pushing Ethan toward the door.

Within five minutes, Ethan looked as if he wanted to tap out. And Walker's knuckles were busted and covered in blood. Red smears appeared on his face when he swiped it with a hand. Seemingly barely conscious, Ethan groped for the door handle, found it, and shuffled out. The further away he moved without any more beating, he healed. Some of the minor cuts I could see sealed up as he went. Walker gave Ethan a minute to go before he shoved out the door himself with a loud roar.

When Walker tackled the other man to the ground and they both jumped up to face off, the real fight began. Ethan hadn't defended himself in the house because he'd needed to look the part of the tortured hostage, but now? Now he fought. Both men were fast, blurringly so. Punch after punch, kick after kick, blood flew and grunts sounded as well as curses. It was all out battle and Ethan was fighting to get free.

Finally, he had a moment, while Walker stumbled back from a particularly nasty punch to the solar plexus, to set up for something. It took me a moment to figure out was a roundhouse kick. Before he moved though, he winced and said a silent apology. Then, he spun in a blur of speed and his booted foot connected with Walker's temple. Walker dropped like a stone as Ethan turned and ran for the woods.

We all stood frozen for a moment, waiting for Walker to move. Blood was seeping down several gashes on his face, including where Ethan had just landed the final blow.

"Walker?" Christa said, pushing through all of us standing in the doorway. "Walker!"

She shoved Jacob so hard that he stumbled into me as she ran, jumped over all the steps to the porch, and booked it for Walker's still form. When she reached him, she threw herself down on the ground next to him and brushed his hair out of his face. Placing her hand near his nose and mouth, she felt for breath.

"Carlisle, Edward, get out here! I want him looked over."

"He'll heal," Caden said. "No claws or teeth were used."

Christa threw a glare at him over her shoulder. "Do I look like I care? I want him looked over. Now."

A moment later, Dad and Carlisle were at her side. Dad gently moved her back so he could be close if Carlisle needed him. My grandfather took pulse and heart rate. After a heartbeat of my own, he nodded.

"Jacob," Dad said. "Come help me get him into the house. We'll take him to the recovery room."

Jacob went to help Dad heave Walker off the ground. I think we all gasped as we caught a look at all of him. He was covered in mud and blood and bruises. Over his temple, a nasty black-purple bruise had spread from his forehead down to his jaw along with a jagged laceration. We all parted as they dragged him past us with Christa practically attached to Walker. Though they weren't together and always at each other's throats, she stayed close to him. It was endearing.

Eventually, they got everybody settled and I took the bag of my clothes up to Lucy's room. We weren't the same size but my clothes would fit her better than anybody else's in the area. Once that was done, Jacob dragged me home with Adam and Derek close on our asses. I sensed that nobody was joking around now. Ethan had said we were all being watched, spied on. So now, all the wolves were vigilant, ready to attack shadows if necessary. When we got to the house, Adam called Embry. He said he wanted one of the three guys to stay in the cabin with us. He'd also called a third for Seth and Shelby's cabin with the same instructions. Then he'd called the backup patrol threesomes.

Jacob and I moved silently around the house, building up the fires. Both of us were lost in our own thoughts about what Ethan had said. Or, at least, I knew that's what I was thinking about. There was no cuddling on the couch tonight. Tonight, we undressed each other and snuggled up in bed. Jacob's fingers drew little designs on the bare skin of my back while I traced the remnants of my love bites in his skin on his chest.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly.

I nodded, but snuggled closer. "Yeah, just worried. We can't protect everyone and he has to know that we want to keep the entire town safe. And grampa's not going to just go down and stay on the rez for a week or so, not with two murder investigations going around."

"Well, I'm sure that you can find something to get him down there. Tell him you want some time with him, because you'll be down there, too."

Sitting up to lean on my elbow, I gave him a raised eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

He gave me a look. "Come on, Ness. You have to go down there, too. To stay safe."

I shook my head. "Absolutely not. I'm staying up here with you."

"No, you're not. I'll be too busy worrying about you and something will happen. I can't let it. You have to be safe."

We glared at each other for a long moment.

"Jacob. I am staying with you. I'm safer with you and I can protect myself if need be. Remember that I've been training, too, right? And don't you dare try to order the wolves to keep me down there. I'll find a way to sneak out and back up here. It's your choice whether we do this the easy way or the hard way. But either way, I'm staying with you. We're stronger together."

Jacob's features softened as he placed a hand to my cheek. "Nessie, you are my one weakness, my heart. You heard Ethan. Tristan will use you to get to me. And I can't bear the thought of that man's hands on you. Every time I think about what he did to you, that he hit you, I seethe with rage. But also utter agony that I wasn't there to protect you." He held up that hand to silence me, and then put it back to my face. "Don't try to justify any of it. It's just how I feel and that won't change. Please. For me, just stay on the rez. Keep the people calm. I'll see if I have enough pull to keep people from leaving. If I can swing it, that'll make our job so much easier, and the people we love safer."

My gut clenched hard at the thought of him feeling agony over something that wasn't his fault. But I understood his reasoning.

"Tristan can use you against me, too, you know. If he hurts you, if he k-kills you...I-I don't know what I'd do."

Leaning up, he placed a soft kiss to my lips. "You heard Ethan, Ness. He won't hurt me. Not yet. He wants to get at you, Rach, or Becca. Definitely Henry if he knows about him. Or dad. I just can't, Nessie. You have to keep everyone down on the rez. I trust you with that. Please."

My heart tugged in different directions. But eventually, I caved. Nodding, I said, "Ok. Ok, I'll stay on the rez."

His smile was sad but appreciative. "Thank you, love. You're my everything. If I lost you, I'd wish for death in a heartbeat."

"Promise me you'll be careful when all of this starts."

Reaching over, he brought my left hand to his mouth so that he could kiss the band on my finger. "I promise."

Staring into his chocolate brown eyes, terror gripped my heart and froze it with those two words ringing in my ears.

Dum, dum, duuuum. So...Ethan? Will he stick around or will he go? I'm not sure how permanent he's gonna be. What say you? I know he had a short part but I wanna know! So PLEASE review! Makes me smile, loves. xoxoxoxoxo