Chapter Forty Two

Sam Uley

When the Denali guardians melted away I knew we were on our own and that we couldn't look to Johnny H for any help against the Cullens. In retrospect lying to his deputy had been a bad move but I knew what we had done was right whatever he may think of our actions and the facts we had hidden from him. We were so close to success, if the hybrid boy hadn't been allowed to escape they would have been taken to new homes before Johnny H even got back but now, well now we were alone. The pack were split on what to do especially once they heard from Sue that the village was destroyed and both Joe and Billy were dead. I understood Jake's desire to fight and Leah's to get back and salvage whatever she could but ultimately it was my decision and I knew we had no choice but to stand and fight.

To allow any of the pack to split off and do their own thing was to sign their death warrants, I knew the Cullens would be hunting us down and our only chance was to stick together and fight as a pack so I gave an Alpha command and we discussed whether to make a stand here where we had the mountains sheer face to our backs and the river to one side with flat land to give plenty of warning of the enemies approach or to move on and choose another battlefield. Paul and Jake agreed with me that here gave us our best chance of success and we set about fortifying the area by digging trap pits to slow the vampires down.

I had tried to contact Emily using a Denali cell phone before they left but once she heard my voice she cut me off. The quicker this fight was over the quicker I could get back to her and try to make her understand my motives. If we waited here too long then there was the danger that she might have packed up and moved on although I would trace her in the end, I had to, she was my imprint. I reminded the pack that the only way to destroy the vampires was to rip off their heads and scatter the body parts. Fire was beyond us in wolf form and that was the only way to fight the vampires with any hope of success and could come later once we phased back, but Paul did come up with a plan that might help to even the odds, if he could find what he needed in time. Quil and Brady went off with him but I only gave them two hours, it was quiet in the forest but we had no idea how long to would be before the vampires arrived.

As it was they got back not a moment too soon, as they set up their booby trap one of the lookouts sounded the alarm with a howl and we braced ourselves for the fight of our lives. Little did we know that there had been a vampire watching us for some hours and knew our position and the location of the traps we had set but somehow he missed the booby trap Paul had suggested and we almost got our first enemy as Carlisle Cullen tripped and almost fell into it. Paul who had remained human to spring the trap set the gas alight but Carlisle managed to hold on and spring free with no more than scorch marks to his face and singed hair and clothing.

After that it was hand to fang combat and at first we seemed to be holding our own with Paul and Jake taking on The Major's friend while I concentrated on The Major himself. We were well matched in speed and agility and I began to feel more confident but then I lost my first wolf as Emmett Cullen snapped Embry's spine and left his dead human body to be trampled in the fight. The pain shot through us all and unnerved some of the pack which was all the vampires needed to give them the edge. Next Quil and then Brady went down under the onslaught while Leah was losing ground to a female I recognized as The Major's friend's mate. I lost my footing becoming tangled in a mess of bodies and almost died myself but Jake left Paul who was still fighting strongly to come to my aid. I recovered and waved him back but then lost my footing again on the wet grass and The Major took advantage of this slip to grab hold of my neck and started to squeeze blocking off my airway. I struggled hard and almost dislodged him but my sight was becoming clouded and before I could release myself everything went black.

Jasper

With their Alpha defeated the wolves lost heart and one slipped away running fast through the trees but pursued by Justin and Esme who were beginning to catch up even before they were lost to sight. Charlotte killed the smallest wolf which turned back into a girl I recognized as Leah Clearwater and she was soon followed by two more.

Eventually the only wolf still fighting was one Justin had identified as Jake and his opponent Peter was enjoying every moment although both were slowing and wounded. Peter had a long gash down his arm that leaked a constant flow of venom while Jake's flanks were stained red with blood from bites Peter had inflicted on him. The end came quickly and all the Quileutes were dead.

Johnny H

I heard the news from my guardians who had not returned to Denali but instead went on to the Quileute reservation to send me an eyewitness report on the damage. The village was a total loss, no cabins left standing and even the store had been torched. The animals rooted around in the ruins, the only living things left alive. One went to find the elders who had made a makeshift camp in the forest about ten miles from their village along with the rest of the tribe waiting to find out their fate. Atiqtalaaq had caused this devastation though his blind acceptance of the Quileutes story and so he would be the one to put it right. I told him his orders and though he stood rigid and tight lipped he didn't object.

"You will take four of the Denali craftsmen and go to the Quileute reservation. I want you to stay there with them until the village is rebuilt and the tribe is able to support itself once more. You will stay inside the treaty boundary and you will apologize to the tribes people for the havoc your actions or inactivity has wrought."

I had spoken of my idea with Annie before I told Atiqtalaaq of his mission and she agreed it was a good lesson in checking information before accepting it as the truth.

"He is too rash and impulsive at the moment my son but he will learn from this lesson. You should keep him close when he returns and show him how a good leader deals with problems."

"Yes, you are right mother, I gave him too much power too soon, I too have learned a valuable lesson and I thank our ancestors who kept the Volturi eyes from our mistakes."

"I just hope our mistakes have not brought the Volturi's attention to the Cullens and the children."

I didn't answer that, I accepted we had acted wrongly but I did not approve of vampires bringing up human children or creating hybrids but it was none of my concern any longer.

Quil Ateara

We elders had learned a bitter lesson from this and when the bodies of the pack members were brought to the treaty line and left for us to bury I told the others that never again would we allow a pack to work autonomously from our control. If circumstances created a new pack that was. The Cullens would not be here much longer, they could not risk it and it had been their presence that stimulated the young men to become guardians. Now we were vulnerable to any passing nomads and once the Cullens left the area would be open to any passing vampires. Ironic that their presence while creating a guardian pack also guaranteed our safety. My personal guilt lay in Chief Swan's death, he was innocent of anything, all he had done was to follow the trail to the children. The authorities had tried to tie the destruction of the village to his disappearance but there was no evidence and after a long hunt for him and his body it was assumed he had been killed by the same gang that had driven us out and fired our homes, strangers no one could give a description of as they had appeared in the middle of the night. We had learned a hard lesson from this and I would make sure it was passed on down the generations so our tribe would never face such horrors again.