This chapter is dedicated to twilightlover212 who was the first reviewer for the last chapter! Yay! I really hope you all love this chapter because I had a blast writing it.

The Truth and the Consequences

Chapter 22

Despite my resolution to do what I need to do in order to avenge Jacob – I'm still terrified. I have been in a lot of pain before in my life due to my clumsiness and the people I've associated with – broken bones and scrapes and scratches. But there is nothing like vampire venom. Without question, I have never been in more pain than when James had taken a bite out of my hand. The burning sensation that had grown into an inferno was something nightmares are made out of.

I can't imagine feeling that all over my body for three whole days. But I have to do this. I won't let them get away with murdering my soul mate.

Edward returns, a happy smile on his face. He thinks that he's won. He frees me from the bonds that have held me to the bed so that he can make it more comfortable. I watch in silence as he sets up a morphine drip.

"This will hopefully make your transformation easier," Edward explains.

I nod, not believing that for a minute. He hands me a shapeless blue hospital type gown. I slip it over my nude body in relief. I've hated being naked in front of him. It's so dehumanizing.

He next places a tub of water and a stack of washcloths on the nightstand.

I'm not sure what they're for but I don't ask.

"Okay, my love. Just lie down and close your eyes," Edward instructs.

I shiver. My hair is standing on end. I am fighting against running from the room. I know what is coming and I'm really afraid.

And there is always the chance that he could accidentally kill me. There's a small part of me that would be happy if he did. Then I could be with Jacob sooner.

Trembling, I force myself to recline on the bed. I close my eyes, too scared to watch.

First he lifts my arm and I feel a cold liquid being rubbed on my hand. The scent of alcohol fills the room. Then I feel a stabbing, pinching sensation as he puts the needle in for the IV. He tapes it down.

"There," he says quietly, "that should help somewhat."

I don't respond, even though my heart is beating at a rabbit's pace.

I feel Edward's cold hands brushing my hair off of my shoulder.

"I love you, Bella," he murmurs in my ear.

I fight to not show my utter revulsion as he tilts my head to one side, exposing my neck.

It seems an eternity before I feel him move down. It happens like its slow motion, I can feel his breath on my skin, and then the slight pressure of his lips, and just the beginning of sharp teeth scraping against my flesh.

I squeeze my eyes shut, every muscle in my body tense as I wait for him to puncture my neck.

But he doesn't.

I open my eyes and he's moved away from the bed, his head cocked to the side.

"Edward?" I ask, confused.

He holds up his hand and then a look of absolute fury replaces his normally blank expression.

"Stay here," he barks out roughly before vanishing from the room.

I hastily sit up and yank the needle from my hand.

An irrational hope blooms in me – and a deep and driving need propels me forward faster than I've moved before. The front door is hanging wide open and I step outside into the cold.

What I see has my mouth hanging open. I let out a strangled sob as I run down the stairs.

Jacob is alive.

"Stay back, Bella!"

Emmett's booming voice fails to stop me – my eyes are glued on my reddish wolf – growling and snarling magnificently – snapping at Edward who is in a crouched position in front of him.

"For God's sake!" I hear Rosalie exclaim before the whirling blonde has her arms around me. She's dragging me backward toward the house.

"No! You stupid witch, let go!" I scream.

"I'm on your side moron. Who do you think brought Jacob here?"

"Please!" I beg her.

"Keep her out of this!" Edward yells over his shoulder, not looking at us.

Rosalie pauses and leans down to my ear. "If you stay here you might distract Jacob. He's going to need all the concentration he can get. Emmett and I are going to help him so he'll have a fighting chance. But YOU need to knock it off. Stay inside. Look out the window if you have to but be careful."

Rosalie shoves me inside and shuts the front door behind me.

I rush toward the large kitchen window that faces the yard and watch in horror as Jacob charges Edward.

Edward dances neatly out of the way but is hit in the side by Emmett who sends him flying. Rosalie charges Edward from the back but he dodges out of the way and shoves her toward Emmett.

The boom of their bodies colliding shakes the foundations of the house and sounds like thunder. I cringe.

Jacob is fast – faster than I would have imagined, and charges again, catching Edward's arm and tearing it off in his mouth.

"Yes!" I hiss happily, vindictively.

Edward turns back toward the house for the briefest moment, a look of disbelief on his face before Emmett manages to hit him from the left, throwing him off balance back toward Rosalie who tries to get her arms around his head.

Edward flashes out of her grip so fast I can barely keep up with who is where – and he hits Rosalie hard, sending her flying. She lands on top of the limo still parked outside, shattering the windows and cleaving the car nearly in half.

Emmett roars in fury and rushes Edward but Edward uses Emmett's speed against him, flipping him over his shoulder and twenty feet away with an ease that is scary.

Jacob circles Edward, growling.

I can see a feral smile on Edward's face as he speaks quietly to Jacob. I don't know what he's saying but I'm sure Edward is doing his best to unsettle Jacob into making a mistake.

"Don't believe him!" I cry out. "Kill him, Jacob!"

Jacob launches his body into the air, mouth wide open, and manages to knock Edward down. All I can see at this point is whirling bodies, flying snow, and the awful sounds of bones breaking.

My hands are against the glass, palms flat, and my heart is beating out of control. I'm terrified for my wolf – I can't lose him again. I just can't.

Emmett and Rosalie approach the main fight, each of them flanking Edward and attack at the same time. They move in unison, so beautifully, and just when I think they've gotten Edward down, he manages to twist and avoid Rosalie, using her body as a shield.

Emmett plows hard into Rose and she screams out in pain, flying several feet away and hitting a large tree, causing it to shudder and snap backward.

Emmett tries to go after Rose but Edward manages to catch his foot, twisting it and breaking it off. He chucks the hard foot at Jacob, who has his teeth embedded in Edward's thigh.

I hear my wolf yelp in pain and I can't stand it any longer. I have to do something. Even with the three of them fighting and Edward with only one hand, he's holding his own and causing serious damage.

He can read their minds and knows what they're going to do before they do it. The only person he can't read is me. I have to do something to distract him, something big.

I look down at my frail body, my pale arms, and see the blue veins running along beneath the skin. I run into the kitchen and tear through the drawers searching for a sharp blade. But I can't find anything! All the knives are gone, anything with a sharp edge has been taken from the kitchen – probably after my latest suicide attempt.

I run through the house, searching frantically for anything I can use and stumble into the room where the morphine drip is. The needle might as well have been surrounded by glowing light and angels singing because I've never seen anything so beautiful. I yank it from the tubing and run headlong out the front door.

In my absence, Edward has managed to incapacitate Emmett and Rosalie. Rose is lying at an awkward angle in the snow on her side, and Emmett is a few feet away from her, facedown.

The smell of blood permeates the air and I see that Edward has managed to tear a hole into Jacob's side. He's bleeding profusely but fighting like there's no tomorrow.

Edward keeps trying to get his good arm around Jacob's midsection while trying to avoid his gnashing teeth.

I pull up the fabric from the hospital gown and pierce the inside of my arm, dragging the sharp tip of the needle all the way through my skin to the wrist. A thin red line of blood appears, and little beads well up along the incision, growing fat before they slide down my skin and drip onto the porch. The needle bends but it doesn't break.

Edward turns his head, his eyes wild and rushes toward me, so fast I don't even have time to blink before he knocks me to the floor.

I shriek, expecting his teeth to tear into me but he's being pulled back away from me. I stare up in shock and watch as Jacob locks his jaws around Edward's neck and pulls hard, decapitating him.

To my utter horror, Edward's body continues to move, reaching toward me.

Jacob drags the torso away with his teeth, pulling it out into the yard. I watch as he gather's all the pieces of Edward and puts them into one pile. I watch, sickened as the pieces move.

Jacob phases human and runs over to Rosalie. He digs into her pocket and pulls out a small bottle and a lighter. He pours the liquid over what is left of Edward and then flicks the lighter open before dropping it.

Jacob jogs over to me and I run to him. He catches me around the waist and kisses me hard on the mouth. Our mouths meet again and again and I cry as we kiss, because he's really safe and he's really okay.

Jake stops a moment and looks at me seriously. "Honey, are you okay? I'm so sorry…"

"I love you so much!" I exclaim fiercely, wrapping my arms around him.

I hear him suck in a breath. I realize that his side is open and bleeding, and that my arm is still bleeding.

"I'm sorry!" I hastily exclaim, pulling back.

"No you don't," he says huskily, pulling me around to his other side, pulling me in and keeping me close.

We watch as the fire burns hot and bright, the most beautiful flickers of gold, orange, and blue before it burns itself out. Jacob checks to makes sure that no pieces were left unburned.

"Bells, I need to go check on Blondie and the Hulk. They did help me get here and helped me fight."

I nod. "Of course."

Before we reach Rosalie she turns over. "Emmett."

I hear him groan. "Rose – you okay?"

She sighs. "Nothing that time won't heal. You okay, baby?"

"I can't believe I couldn't take him down. The bastard!"

Jake walks over and helps Emmett to a sitting position.

"Thank you," Jacob says, his voice deep and serious. "For helping me save her."

Emmett looks up and grins. "Just a walk in the park."

I snort. "Right."

Emmett looks over at me. "Well you look like shit."

I scowl. "Look who's talking."

He holds up his hands in surrender. "True that. But Bella - you're bleeding all over and its uh, kind of uncomfortable. You might want to go take care of that."

I pull my arm in. "Sorry."

"I'm going to take her inside and get her cleaned up as long as you two are okay?" Jacob asks.

"Go, go. Get her out of here," Rosalie grumbles.

Jacob leads me into the house. "Bathroom?"

"This way," I pull him along to the nearest one.

Jacob helps me to clean and bandage my arm. I'm about to offer to do the same to him when I notice that his skin has knitted itself back together.

"That is so amazing," I breathe, staring at his side.

"You are what's amazing," Jacob murmurs, kissing me lightly on the lips. He stares down at me, his eyes intense.

"I love you so much, Jake. I don't know what the hell I'd do without you."

He kisses my forehead. "You will never, ever, have to find out. I am not going to let you out of my sight again."

It's only then that I think of his brothers. "Is everyone okay back home? I heard that they were ambushed – that everyone had died, including you."

Jacob snorts. "Like those leeches could take all of us out. No way, Bells. You have to have some confidence in us, and in me. I'm sorta the Alpha now."

I stare at him, surprised. "How'd that happen?"

"It's a long story. I can tell you on the way back. Why don't we get out of here? It reeks like him in here."

"I'll go anywhere as long as I'm with you," I say softly.

Jake leads me outside.

Emmett and Rosalie are waiting, hand in hand. They look bad, but not like they'd looked before we'd gone in. I see that Emmett has both feet. I so don't want to know how that thing got reattached.

"Let's get a move on," Rose says.

"With pleasure," I say.

I never want to see this place again.