A/N: I want to apologize. I had taken a poll early in this story and my readers wanted this story to be changed to an M rating. I thought I had changed it, but apparently it did not happen on the rating and I offended a couple of readers last week. This is an M story and I have fixed the rating. Although M content will not appear in every chapter, please be aware of the change in rating. This is my first M rated story, so if you like my writing but do not want to read anything with M, check out my other stories that I have published. I truly never meant to offend anyone. Thank you and sorry again. Enjoy the new chapter. Sorry it's so short. I promise a longer one next week.

Chapter 24 – Sacrificial Lamb

Sacrifice… it was a word Paul had learned when he was nothing more than a mere child. It was something that was necessary if he planned on saving his tribe, his friends, and his family… the people he cared about. Sacrifice… he knew he understood it more than anyone else he associated with. They may think they embraced the word and its meaning wholeheartedly, but they were far, far from truly comprehending what it meant. And that included Sam.

He remembered the first time he had been introduced to that word and what it represented, or at least when he was informed that "everyone had to make sacrifices". That day... that one day changed his life forever. His father and mother had been fighting a lot and it seemed as if the fights were getting longer, worse, more personal; and then one day his parents sat him down with his favorite treat and informed him that they were getting a divorce. Without consulting him, it had already been decided that he would live with his father in another town, away from his own mother. His parents never asked what he wanted, they just expected Paul to go along with the decision. And he did for their sakes because they told him that everyone had to sacrifice in order to be happy. This was the sacrifice he had to make for his parents. His mother had not fought for him and had sacrificed her bond with him so that he could live on the reservation in La Push without her. His father had come back to the place he had left in order to raise his son… sacrifice. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. The loss of one person in order to save an entire tribe and town was worth the cost and price.

Bending over, Paul took in a deep breath. The smell of the fresh blood matting Charlie's head permeated the air and the wolf believed it would be just enough to lure the rogue vampire to his location. The pack member may have tried to stanch the flow of blood, but only because Charlie needed to be alive when the guest of honor arrived. And hopefully that would happen before someone else found his little hideout. The police chief would be the distraction and while the vampire was partaking of a snack, Paul would kill the intruder. It was simple, it would work, and then he could focus on getting rid of the other vampires who made Forks their home. This town didn't need any monsters.

Stifling a chuckle that would have been more self-derisive than humorous, Paul shook his head. Monsters. Wasn't he a monster? He turned into a giant wolf. Stopping briefly in a meadow, Charlie had come to and screamed before passing out again. He dove back for the cover of trees upon hearing paws pounding the ground and coming closer. He had needed to get out of there, and he had managed to escape. No… he was right, vampires were wrong. He may turn into a wolf, but he was no monster. He didn't drink blood to survive, he didn't kill for sport, and he wasn't enjoying what he was about to do, but it had to be done.

Foot prints could be heard outside the small structure. Had the vampire already arrived? Ready to shift at a moment's notice, Paul braced himself, his muscles tight and ready to spring.

Everyone had been looking for Paul, and although he didn't understand why, Jesse Lahote knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he needed to find his son. What had Paul done this time? Did something happen when he let his temper control him yet again? Jesse had no idea, but something told him that he needed to find his only son before anyone else did or before his son did something stupid… if he already hadn't. Remembering the small fishing shack he used to take Paul to when they first moved back to La Push, the parent had carefully made his way there and found the structure to be still standing, "Please let him be here."

Slowly making his way closer to the door, Jesse called out when he was about ten feet away, "Paul? Son?" He wasn't sure what that child of his had gotten himself into, but just in case his son was armed, Jesse wanted to call out and inform the inhabitants of his presence.

"Leave!" Paul bellowed from inside.

"I can't do that. You have to let me help you."

"Help me?" The wolf scoffed at that directive, "You can't help me."

Jesse felt like he was grasping at straws, "You have to let me at least try. I don't know what you did, but…"

"Leave."

"Paul!" His son was not listening to him, not heeding his words. What exactly was Paul doing that he would not allow Jesse to help? Shaking his head, he tried again, "I can…"

"Shut up old man! You can't help me!"

Jesse was frantic and didn't know what he should do. What could he do? Taking a step towards the shack, he paused only long enough to tell Billy Black where his son could be found. He would do anything to save Paul, and that meant sacrificing his son's trust in him.

Cullen house…

"Alice, tell me you've found Charlie!" Jasper begged.

Shaking her head, her eyes dropped to the floor, "No. I can't see him anywhere and I don't know why."

Jasper growled. It had taken time to calm down his mate and he swore he would find her father. The problem with the promise was that he had no idea where to begin. Emmett and Rosalie had followed the trail to the tribe's land, and then they couldn't cross the border. Granted he wasn't allowed on the land due to the treaty, but he would break that agreement and more if it meant finding Charlie for Bella.

A frown on her face, Alice informed her friend, "I think we have other problems. Edward is back. He knows you have Bella and he wants her."

"When?"

"He hasn't decided on when or how yet, but I have a feeling it will happen soon. What should we do?"

"Shit!" While it was true that Edward was outnumbered, they also had the nomad to contend with, and James was proving to be an elusive prey. Sighing, he clenched his jaw and answered, "The safest thing to do would be to get her out of town, but I don't see that one happenin' unless we can find Charlie. We need to set a trap for both Edward and James, and I'm not sure how to do that without puttin' Bella in danger."

Eyes darting to a wall, Alice narrowed her eyes, "Don't do it Bella!" As soon as Jasper had said those words, the seer had received a vision of Bella running out of the house and using herself as bait.

Before Bella could blink, she was staring at the chest of her mate. She should have known that Alice would have said something, would have done something to stop her, but if it drew out the enemy and brought her father home safe, shouldn't she do whatever it took instead of hiding?

"Darlin', we will deal with the threat and we will find your dad for ya, but you need to trust me," Jasper urged.

"I do JW, but…" a finger on her lips prevented her from saying anything further.

"No buts, we'll find him and make sure no one else can hurt you. I promise." He could only pray that they were not empty words.