Pairing: Jacob/Bella

Rating: M, language, discussion & aftermath of assault

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Word count: Sigh… 926. In my defense, though, there's a fairly good reason that I didn't stress the rules this time. You'll see it at the end. And, yes, it's my second drabble this week. I wrote one for both prompts.

Prompt: "Do you think I'd be here if I cared?"

A/N: I've been kicking around this idea-what if SM's vamps were the real stuff of nightmares? Would Laurent have been content just to drain her? A vampire with no mate—a real monster—wouldn't pass up an opportunity to slake his lust as well as his thirst, I suspect. You've been WARNED. ;)

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Promises Kept

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Silvery moonlight washed pale and luminescent over Bella's pallid yellow skin, interrupted only by the fresh bloom of dark purple and sickly green bruises.

Still, Jake had never thought she looked more beautiful than she did in that moment.

She was alive.

Hands clasped beneath his chin, Jake thanked the Spirits for his curse for the first time since he phased three weeks earlier.

Bella was barely conscious when the pack arrived in the clearing. Clothes torn and face swollen, the leech hadn't been content to simply drain her.

The dreadlocked motherfucker was getting off on playing with his food first.

Bella's clothes were shredded. Not even enough left to cover her for modesty's sake for the run back to the clinic on the rez, one of his brothers had snagged a sheet from someone's clothesline near the forest's edge.

Sporting no obviously broken bones, she had been lucid just long enough for them to make sure she could move her arms and legs.

Mercifully, she lost consciousness from the trauma she had endured before Jake tried to wrap her in the sheet.

They brought her back to the clinic, knowing their doctor would ask fewer questions about her injuries before they could come up with a likely story.

She had been quietly admitted while the Elders decided who was going to contact Charlie and what they should tell him.

The Elders agreed that Charlie was still an outsider and weren't sure if he could be trusted with the tribe's greatest secret.

Jake warned them that they could tell him or he would, but either way Charlie would know by the end of the day that his daughter had nearly died because the Elders kept the secret of vampires from him.

As far as Jake was concerned, Bella was as much a victim as any other human who got taken in by vampires.

His own father had argued that he warned her about them, but no one knew for sure whether or not Bella was under the influence of the vampires' thrall or if the human mind was even strong enough to heed those warnings while under the thrall.

To Jake's and his brothers' way of thinking, the tribe had failed to protect Bella, a human like any other.

The Elders had lost their sense of purpose, blinded by long-held ideals and thinly-concealed racism.

But there was no room in life or death situations for outdated politics.

By an overwhelming majority, the pack had decided it would no longer take its orders from the Council of Elders.

The sight of Bella's broken body weighed heavily on each of their minds.

Bella stirred and Jake realized her meds must have been wearing off about then.

A low, pained whine escaped her throat as she brought a shaky hand to her forehead, fingertips grazing lightly over the gauze at her cheek.

Fighting to open her eyes, her throat dry—desiccated from her screams, she was barely able to slit her bruised eyelids open a millimeter or attempt asking for help.

"Shh… Wait one sec," Jake murmured, rising to fetch a washcloth from the bathroom. Returning with a bowl of warm water, he wiped her eyes and cleaned her face, gently bathing her with tender touches and soft words. Then, he held a small cup of water to her lips to ease her parched throat.

It was the sounds of her excruciating screams that put the pack on the alert in the first place. Otherwise, they might never have found her.

Parting her lips, she tried to speak—a single word, "Jake…"

"Sh…" Jacob hushed.

But Bella paid him no mind, insisting, "He's… gone?"

"Yes," he confirmed. He was hesitant to ask, but he needed to know, "Do you remember the attack?"

A fearful whimper escaped her throat as she wrapped her arms around her body and turned away, breaking Jake's heart again.

She tried to ask, "Did- did he…"

"He did not rape you. We got there in time," he swore, deeply grateful that it was true.

"M- my fault," she began, stuttering.

"No," Jake's denial thundered, echoing off the walls of the small room.

Shaking her head and recoiling from him, she continued, "Billy … warned me. Dated one… them. Their … pet."

"Do you think I'd be here if I cared about that?" Jake murmured softly, itching to reach out and take her hand, but wary of causing her more pain or emotional distress. "He warned you, but did nothing to protect you. Dad has a lot to answer for today, first and foremost to Charlie. There are some things I have to tell you, Bells, secrets that were kept that put your life in danger. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me most. I broke my promise."

"Didn't," she hissed, grabbing his hand with what little strength she had left. "You... there when... needed you most. Kept your promise."

"And I always will," he promised once more, grateful to have a second chance. He bowed his head over their joined hands as a single tear spilled over. Pressing his lips to the warm and reassuring pulse beneath her delicate skin, turned florid with the marks of her ordeal, he felt the rhythmic drub of her life's blood—all the promise he needed to remind him that she was still with him.

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E/N: This is a test of my ability to write a drabble with the hands-free, voice recognition software on my phone. I hurt my left wrist badly, so the only way to type with any expediency is with the voice rec software on my iPhone. I'm also editing (poorly) with my right thumb while I try to keep my left hand and wrist immobilized in a brace. Please be patient with any errors or typos and I'll do my best to catch them.

Review if you like...