Chapter 37:

Jacob POV:

I had fallen asleep again. This time, I opened my eyes to see Aro standing over me. He smiled at me. One of those smiles that made me think of a crocodile looking at it's next meal. Motherfucker. "Hello, Jacob. We meet again."

I looked quickly to my right to see if Leah was still there. She was. She looked at me and I could see the terror in her eyes.

I rolled my head back to the left. "What are going to do with us, you fucking psycho?" I said evenly. "I think we have a right to know."

"You should be happy, Jacob. You and Leah here are like voyagers. You are going where no one has gone before," he laughed what only could be categorized as an evil villain laugh, like you usually hear in a low-budge horror movie. I was starting to believe that was exactly where I was.

I squeezed my eyes shut in anger. God I just wanted to plant my fist into his pompous face!

I opened my eyes and said, "OK, here's an idea. Use me, but let Leah go," I said.

"I'm sorry, Jacob, but she is more valuable than you, actually. But I still have some plans for you, don't worry," he said with a smile. He stepped over to look down at Leah. He was practically salivating as his hand slid through her hair. She closed her eyes, and I could see a tear roll down her cheek.

"Get your fucking hand off of me," she managed to spit out.

"But, Leah, you are so beautiful," he said softly. He held a strand of hair in his hand and let it slide through his fingers. "I'm so happy that you will be carrying my baby."

"DON'T TOUCH HER YOU FUCKING LEECH!" I struggled against the restraints.

He turned and laughed again at me. "Please calm yourself, young one. As much as I would enjoy doing this the 'biological way,' I am too afraid of hurting her." He turned back to look at Leah. "She is too precious. Unfortunately we will have to have the doctor assist us."

Just then, the doctor walked into the room. "Ah, Doctor. How soon will we begin? I am anxious to get started."

"I have just begun to take specimens. I have much testing to do on them," he replied.

Anger flickered across Aro's face. "I want to begin now. I have waited long enough!" he bellowed.

The doctor looked up from his clipboard. "If you vant this done properly, you vill have to have patience. Ve only have a few chances to get this right."

Aro calmed himself. "Alright. Keep working." His hand again slid through Leah's hair then he turned and walked toward the door, stopping to say, "I will see you both later." He closed the door behind him and I let out my breath that I was holding. The old vampires stunk worse that any of the others.

The doctor checked Leah's blood pressure and pulse. "You must try to calm down. Your pulse is much too rapid. I vill have to give you a sedative if you do not calm yourself. You do not need to be so afraid. I have been a doctor for many years. I vill take good care of you." He smiled and walked out of the room.

"Goddamnit, motherfucking, son of a bitch, cocksucking . . ." I unleashed a string of obscenities as I struggled with every ounce of strength I had against the metal restraints. I hated feeling so vulnerable and weak. Finally I ran out of steam and lay back panting, feeling the tears of my frustration fall down my cheeks into my ears. "FUCK!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I turned my head to see Leah staring at me. Then she started laughing . . . really laughing! "Oh my God, Jake. I had no idea you even knew half of those words." I joined her and soon we were both laughing . . . hysterically. Our nerves were raw and I guess laughing was just another way of trying to deal with this shit.

Once I got control of myself, I said to Leah, "Look, I guess we both just need to try and stay calm and be patient. We know we have people who miss us and will be looking for us. I really don't want them to sedate us, OK?"

She tried to nod then she said very quietly, "I don't want to do this. I don't want them to make me pregnant with some fucking vampire monster baby. Jake, I don't know how, but we have to get out of here."

"I know." I hated that we so far from home that we couldn't phase. "I feel so damn helpless! I hate that I can't phase and get us out of here. I feel so weak."

"Me, too," she answered with a sigh. She was quiet for a few minutes then she spoke again. "You know, I never told you this, but I kind of like the whole wolf thing. I mean, at first I fucking hated it. I hated being around all of you, all of the time. Especially Sam. It was . . . unbearable." She was quiet for awhile. I thought maybe she fell asleep again. Then I realized that she was crying. "I know I've been such a bitch, but, it was so hard, you know? I loved him . . . and for him to just be with someone else . . . let alone, my own cousin . . . damnit. I am so fucking sick of crying over him. But I guess you know how that feels, huh?"

"Yeah, I do."

"But, hearing his thoughts, and seeing him with her, all the time . . . then the wedding, and now, Lily . . . it's been hell, Jake. A fucking nightmare that I can't seem to ever wake up from." She sniffed then went on, "As if losing Sam wasn't enough, I find out I am the only female werewolf, ever! How fucking great is that? Dealing with phasing, and trying to figure out how to carry clothes . . . like I want my little brother to see me naked, God," she huffed and went on, "I finally get a handle on the wolf thing, then . . . " she started crying again, harder this time. "Then, my dad dies."

"Leah . . . I'm so sorry," I said softly. "I should have been there for you . . . we all should have instead of treating you like we did." I was quiet and let her cry. I wished that I could hold her.

She took a deep breath. "I know. I'm sorry I'm losing it here. I guess I haven't ever really let all this out. Sorry you had to be the one to listen to all of this shit."

"It's OK, Leah. I'm always here for you, I hope you know that."

"Yeah, I do, and it's been a little easier for me since you took Alpha . . . you know, to not have Sam ordering me around. I'm glad that you stepped up, Jake and not just because of that. I know this is something you didn't ask for . . . hell, none of us did. But . . . I'm proud of you."

"Wow, thanks, Leah," I said quietly. "That means a lot to me." It does . . . I can't believe how much.

"You know, there was a time, back when Bella was engaged to . . . him, that I . . . shit, forget it."

"What? Tell me," I insisted.

"God, this is so embarrassing," she admitted with a sigh. "There was a time, I thought about us, maybe pairing up, you know? I guess I thought since we both had broken hearts, maybe we could help heal each other."

I smiled. "Yeah? Or was it just seeing this hot body naked?"

She snorted and said, "And there it is. God you guys are so arrogant!"

"I'm sorry, Leah. I couldn't resist," I told her.

"Jake, I really like being part of the pack. I like feeling strong and independent, but yet, I like that I have all of you to back me up. It's frustrating, but at the same time, I don't ever want to leave it." She started crying again. "What if we never get home? What if I never see my mom again? Or Seth? Or Evan . . ."

"Come on, Leah, don't do that. What about me? I just married the woman of my dreams and she's pregnant with my kid? You don't think I want to get the hell out of here? We have got to stay strong somehow. I will not give up, and neither will you."

Bella POV:

We finally landed in Italy and Carlisle and Edward met us at the airport. Edward rushed over and took me in his arms and I let him hold me, even though I knew Jake would blow a gasket if he knew. He pulled back and said, "We know where they are, Bella. We will get them out."

I quickly introduced them to Evan as we made our way through the airport. Edward ushered us over to a big black SUV that could hold all seven of us. Carlisle drove, and Emmett jumped in front with him. Alice, Jasper and Evan climbed in the back, and Edward and I sat in the middle seat. He reached down and held my hand. Again, I knew that Jacob would hate that, but I really need his strength right now.

While he drove, Carlisle told us his plan. "Edward and I are going to ask for a meeting with Aro. While we are meeting, Alice, you will stake yourself outside where you can hear Edward. He will be reading Aro to see if he can find out where they are hiding Leah and Jacob. As soon as you have a fix, you take Emmett, Jasper and Evan and use any means to find them. Bella, you will come with Edward and me. I think that will throw Aro off just enough for Edward to get a good read. He is still intrigued with the baby you are carrying. Does everyone understand?"

Everyone nodded and agreed. As we sped through the streets toward the Volturi headquarters, I looked out the window and remembered the last time I was here. I made a deal to save Edward's life. Now he was here with me to save Jacob's. I just hoped we were in time.

We arrived at the creepy castle the Volturi called home and Carlisle, Edward, Alice and I walked into the fortress. Jasper, Emmett and Evan would stay behind now then find a way to work themselves into position. Carlisle went to the desk and demanded an audience with Aro. The girl sitting there smiled so sweetly then picked up a phone. She told whoever was on the other end that Carlisle Cullen and party wished an audience with Aro. She laughed and said softly, "I know. He is rather pompous – I guess he must think he's really important."

I rolled my eyes at Edward, and he smiled. He was still holding my hand, I noticed. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't let go. We waited for a few minutes and then heard the girl say, "He will see you now."

A guard came forward to lead us to the elevator that would take us to Aro. I remembered how bizarre I thought this was the first time I was here. We stepped out of the completely modernized elevator into a gothic underworld to walk through seemingly endless hallways until we arrived at the door to Aro's audience chamber.

At the door, Carlisle turned and said to the guard, "Only Edward and I will enter."

"What!" I looked at Carlisle and said softly, "No, I'm coming with you!"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Bella. Please stay here with Alice," he said calmly. I looked into his eyes and saw a little sparkle there then realized this was part of the plan. He wanted me to argue with him.

"No! I am going with you, Carlisle. I did not fly all the way to Italy to stand out here like some scared little girl," I yelled, hoping that Aro was listening. He was.

"Please, Carlisle, let the girl accompany you. I do so enjoy her lively spirit!" Aro called out.

I looked at Carlisle and he gave me a small, quick smile. I sucked up all the courage I could muster, then turned away and stalked into the chamber, Carlisle and Edward following me. I stopped about 15 feet from Aro, and Carlisle came up to my right, and Edward to my left. Aro was accompanied by two guards, Renata, his shield, and Jane and Alec. I looked over and gave Jane a smug look. She squinted and looked like she wanted to kill me if only she could get to me. Yeah, go for it, bitch. I glanced at Edward out of the corner of my eye to see him smile then quickly hide it.

"To what do I owe the honor of this visit?" Aro began.

"I want to know where my husband is!" I said angrily.

Carlisle cleared his throat and said, "Aro, my old friend. Apparently two of our Quileute friends have gone missing: Jacob, Bella's husband, and their young friend, Leah. For some reason, Bella believes that you had something to do with this. I tried to assure her that you would have no reason to take them, but she wants to hear it from you herself."

Aro smiled. Oh I hated that smile. I wish I could punch it off of his fucking face! "Bella, Bella, Edward has already satisfied my curiosity over the paternity of the baby you carry. All is well with me. Unless, maybe, you have changed your mind? Maybe you have decided that living with the dogs is not to your liking?" he asked, still smiling.

"I would prefer 'living with the dogs' any day to sucking the life from humans like you," I said slowly.

His laughter rang though the chamber. I saw Edward move his head ever so slightly. I hoped that was the signal to Alice. Carlisle turned toward me, put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Bella, please." Then he turned back to Aro and said, "I'm sorry, Aro. She is spirited, as you say. We do have reason though to believe that maybe you were involved. I mean, you did send someone to spy on Bella and Jacob. We also know now that you sent a young man named Evan to find out more about the tribe. May I ask why?"

Aro dropped the smile. "Why do you think I would do this?" he asked Carlisle.

"I know that you have always had a certain fascination with werewolves, Aro. Much to Caius' aggravation. I thought maybe you were gathering information for some reason," Carlisle replied.

Aro's face was growing more guarded. He knew that Edward would be reading him. He was trying hard to stay focused.

"Is that why you are interested in my baby? Not because you thought it was Edward's, but because it will be part wolf?" I asked him boldly.

Aro shot me a look. "Why would I be interested in your baby, Bella? It's half human and half dog. I have no interest in your mutt."

Carlisle looked over at Edward who gave a slight nod. Carlisle looked at Aro and said, "I have reason to believe that you are interested, my old friend. Let me tell you this: You always covet that which you cannot have. I have seen this many times in all of the centuries we have known each other. I have seen this with Alice and with Edward . . . and Bella. This is MY family, Aro. Even though Bella has chosen to be with Jacob, I still consider her a part of my family. And the members of the Quileute tribe are MY good friends. We established our treaty many, many years ago, and I will see to it that it is NEVER broken. Do you understand? This must stop, Aro. You cannot take what does not belong to you to satisfy your every whim. My family is not a threat to you now, but there are those out there that are. I ask that you concentrate on them and please, leave us in peace."

Aro did not respond. He just stared at Carlisle. To my delight, Carlisle did not back down.

Aro gave him a small nod. "If you swear you and your family are no threat to us then I will have to trust you, old friend." I didn't like the way he said the word family, as if it left a disgusting taste in his mouth. Aro suddenly turned to leave the room without so much as a wave goodbye. I wasn't sure I liked that. I was afraid it meant he had somewhere he wanted to be . . . like wherever he was holding Jake and Leah.

Edward used the hand on my back to turn me to leave. Carlisle led the way, and we followed. We walked out the door of the chamber and kept going down the hallway. I looked over to Edward. "Keep walking, Bella. Don't stop," he said urgently. So I did.

Jacob POV:

I tried to figure out how many hours we had been lying here. There was no clock, so I no idea what time it was. There were no windows, so I couldn't tell if it was night or day. I drifted in and out of sleep. So did Leah. Every now and then, I would hear her crying softly. I tried to keep her calm as best I could, but as more time went by, it was getting harder to keep myself calm. My body ached from lying flat on a metal table for hours and my nerves were frayed. I tried hard to concentrate on my breathing . . . in and out, in and out. Anything to keep my mind occupied and keep me from going crazy.

I also tried my hardest to keep from thinking about Bella and the baby. Thoughts like: What if I never hold her again? Or kiss her, or have wild sex in the kitchen? What if I never see my baby? Thoughts like that were going to kill me.

The doctor had inserted IV's into us to give us fluids. It helped with the hydration, but not with my hunger. My stomach finally gave up growling. So far, he had collected blood from us, twice, but nothing else.

I knew that Bella would call Edward and Carlisle. I just didn't know how they could get us out of this. I hoped that Bella had listened to me for once and had stayed home where she would be safe. I doubted it though. I secretly loved her stubborn streak, but I would never tell her that.

I heard voices in the other room. I was straining to hear what was being said. Suddenly the door burst and three robed figures walked in. They were wearing hoods, so I couldn't make out faces. I didn't know if they were men or women. Two of them went over to Leah's table, one at the foot, and one at the head. The other walked to the foot of my table. They just stood there while the fourth person was talking to the doctor.

"Aro wishes them to be well-rested before you begin your procedures. He also believes they should be fed. I have prepared a chamber for them, and we will take them there now. When would you like them returned to you?" I know that voice! Who is that? Think, Jacob. Alice! I looked down at the foot of the table. The figure tipped its head back far enough for me to see Emmett smile and wink at me. I laid my head back. Thank God. I was never so happy to see these fucking leeches!

"Have them back by 6:00 a.m. That should give me plenty of time to finish my tests. Then ve vill harvest the eggs. I vill send someone down soon to collect a sample from the male," the doctor finished. Good timing, guys.

Alice walked in and went to the head of my table. She looked down and stuck out her tongue at me. I smiled. Good to see you too! Emmett turned the table to fit it through the door, as Alice guided it from the top. The IV bag was hooked to a pole on the bed, and it was swinging back and forth. They pushed me through the door, through the lab and into a very large open hallway. It looked like something from an old scary movie. The other two figures did the same with Leah. Alice and Emmett waited in the hallway for them to catch up.

"Vait!" the doctor called out. NO . . . so close! "Here is the key to the restraints. So they can eat. Nothing after midnight."

"Oh yes, I forgot. Thank you. We will return them in the morning," Alice said calmly as she took the key from the doctor. "This way," she said to the others.

They pushed us down this long hallway, no one speaking. We turned a corner and Alice said quickly, "Over here!"

She opened a door and Emmett pushed me into a big, empty room. They followed with Leah and then Alice quickly closed the door. She handed Emmett the key, and he smiled and said, "Yeah, like I need that," as he threw the key over his shoulder. He reached down and snapped the metal restraint off of my arm. He continued with all of them until I was free. "Thanks, man." I said. I sat up, but I had no feeling in my arms and legs. I tried to move them a little to get some circulation back into them. I felt so damn helpless.

The other two figures finally put down their hoods. It was Jasper and Evan. Emmett snapped the restraints for Leah and she sat up and cried, "Evan!" as he put his arms around her and held her.

"Where's Carlisle and Edward?" I asked Alice. She didn't reply for some reason.

"I am so sorry, Leah. God, I'm so glad you're alright." He pulled back and looked at her. "They didn't hurt you, did they? They didn't . . ."

"No, I'm fine. Just scared. Look at you." She reached up and touched his black eye. Then she noticed the cast. "Are you OK?"

Evan smiled. "It's broken, but it will be fine. We need to get you out of here." He looked over at Alice. "Now what?"

I put my legs over the side of the table and tried to stand up. Whoa! My legs felt like Jello. Emmett reached out to steady me and made me sit back down.

Alice reached to touch the IV line that came from my arm. "We have to get these IV's out," she muttered. She was quiet for a moment then she looked at me. "Look. This has to be done carefully. We cannot let any blood spill at all, do you understand? Any blood will be smelled immediately by anyone that might be walking by. And I . . . I don't think that we should be in here. Evan? Can you help Leah and Jacob do this?"

"Of course I will," he answered.

"Alright. We will step outside and keep watch. Please do it quickly and cleanly. Very cleanly." She reached behind her and took two more robes off of a chair that was sitting by the door. "I found these and stashed them here. Put these on then knock on the door so we will know it is safe to come in," she said to Leah and me. "And hurry!"

Alice then moved to the door and stood quietly with her eyes closed. Then she nodded to Jasper and opened the door and the three of them slipped out quietly and Emmett closed the door behind them.

Evan looked at Leah. "This will hurt a little I'm afraid."

She smiled and said, "It's OK. I just want to go home."

He took her arm and quickly peeled the tape off that was covering the needle. "I need something to soak up the blood." He stepped back and took off his shoe and pulled off his sock. "OK, here goes," he said to Leah. He put the top of the sock on her arm and held it against the needle as he pulled the needle out of Leah's arm. He used the sock to soak up the blood from the needle then held the sock in place to catch any blood from the injection site. He looked up at her and asked quietly, "Are you OK?"

She smiled and nodded. Watching them, I could tell he really did care for her. I still wished I had had a chance to tell her that Evan was sent to us by Aro. I had a feeling he would tell her. I would let them enjoy this time right now, cause when Leah found out, I felt sorry for Evan. I had a feeling she would kick his ass! But, then she would forgive him. That's what imprinting does to you. It gives you the ability to forgive just about anything. It's pathetic really.

"Hold that there tightly to help the bleeding stop. I'm going to help Jacob," Evan said to Leah.

He took off his other shoe and sock and came over to me. I had already ripped the tape off, so he proceeded to pull out the needle, clean it and put the sock on my arm. I took it from him and applied pressure to it.

He sat down and quickly put his shoes back on.

I checked the site to make sure the bleeding had stopped. The circulation was coming back into my legs so I stood up again and put the robe on. "What do we do with these?" I asked Evan.

He looked around the room. He spotted an urn sitting on a shelf. He picked it up and brought it over to me. He lifted the lid and I put the sock inside. He walked over to Leah and she did the same. Then he replaced the lid and put the urn back on the shelf.

Evan helped Leah up and she put the robe on. Then he went over and knocked softly on the door.

Alice poked her head in and asked us to put our hoods up. "OK. Coast is clear. Follow me," she said quietly. We walked two-by-two down the hall. Alice and me in front, then Leah and Evan, and Jasper and Emmett. I felt like we were in a maze, there were so many twists and turns. We got to a door and Alice held up her hand and stopped. Emmett slowly opened the door a slit. He held up two fingers. Jasper came up beside him. They waited then they stepped out quickly, each grabbed a guard and turned their neck to the side and SNAP! They broke their necks and let them fall to the floor. I heard Leah gasp. Wow . . . that was bad ass.

Emmett motioned for us to come through. Alice led us and Jasper and Emmett fell in line after we passed. We turned down yet another hallway. We heard footsteps coming from the opposite direction. "Keep your heads down," she whispered. We did.

I glanced to the side to see a legion of four guards walk by. My heart jumped and began to beat wildly. Keep walking, Jake. Don't trip, don't fall, just keep walking. One of the guards looked at us as we walked by. I thought I heard him mutter, "Humans?"

Before I knew what to do, Emmett and Jasper sprung at the guards. Emmett had the first one down before he knew what hit him. Jasper snapped the other's neck quickly. The back guard went for Alice, who flipped herself quickly over him, and as he looked for her, Jasper ran straight into him and knocked him to the floor. I quickly grabbed Leah out of the way and put her behind me. Evan moved to the side of her to shield her. Emmett had the last guard in a hold and we heard his neck snap.

Alice turned quickly down the next hallway and whispered, "To that door at the end of the hallway! Fast!"

I ran to the door and whipped it open and ran through. Evan shoved Leah through in front of him and the rest followed. Alice shut the door quietly. "Where are we?" I whispered.

"This is a tunnel that leads out. We need to go quickly. It won't be long until someone finds the mess we left and they come after us!"

I ripped the robe off and started running. Everyone behind me did the same. Someone shot by me in a blur. We made it to the end, and there was Alice, standing with her eyes closed. We all stopped and watched. She opened them and looked at me. "When I open this door, go out and turn to the right. Take the alley all the way to the end, then look left. There should be a big black SUV parked there. Get in. Got it?"

I looked around. Everyone nodded. She opened the door. I looked out, took Leah's hand and we ran down the alley. When we got to the end, I looked left. No SUV! I just stood there and waited for them to catch up. "Alice?" I pointed to where the car should be.

"Oh!" she said. She looked down the street one way then the other. She closed her eyes and stood quiet. "Wait," she said quietly.

Suddenly, I heard a squeal of tires and a huge black car screeched to a stop. A door was thrown open and I heard someone say, "Get in! Quickly!"

I threw Leah in ahead of me, then Evan. Emmett practically picked me up and threw me in next. I landed on a seat and heard "OH MY GOD! JAKE!" Bella?

I turned around quickly and there she was. I pulled her into my arms and held on tight. "Oh, Bella. Bella." I buried my face in her hair. I breathed in her scent. I couldn't believe I was actually holding her.

Everyone was in and the SUV took off. I pulled back and looked at her. "Are you alright? The baby . . . " I asked.

She was smiling. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. She nodded and said, "Yes, I'm fine. The baby's fine. Are you . . ."

"I'm fine, Bella. Both of us . . . we're good," I said, hoping she understood. Then I kissed her soundly. I thought I would never get to do that again.

She pulled back and laughed. "Jake . . . the baby just moved."

I smiled and put my hand on her belly and held it there as if to let it know it's daddy was here. Then I looked around. Edward was driving like a maniac – there's a surprise. Carlisle was in the front with him. I reached up and put my hand on Carlisle's shoulder. "I can't thank you enough for coming to our rescue. I don't know how we can ever repay you."

He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry about it. Let's just get you home first, alright"

I relaxed back against the seat and took Bella in my arms. She laid her head on my shoulder. I said to her, "I thought I told you to stay at Emily's?"

She looked up at me and smiled, "Since when have you ever known me to do what I was told?"

"Do I have to show you again who's boss?" I asked with a grin.

"Yes, please," she said quietly as she laid her head back on my shoulder.