Lost and Found
Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.
A/N-thank you for the kind reviews on the last chapter. Apparently there were some issues with the story last night. I didn't know about it because I was asleep, LOL ;) Thanks to the readers who kindly PM'd me about it. It seems to be up alright now! Hugs, Nikki :)
Part Seventy Four-Fight
Bella felt uneasy. Something was definitely wrong with Jacob, she could feel it. Sarah was resting in her bedroom and Rebecca was keeping her mother company. Carlisle was in his study. He had retreated there after receiving a phone call which seemed to have disturbed him greatly. He had not reappeared since. Esme, Rosalie and Edward had gone on a short hunting expedition. They wouldn't be back for a while. So, for now, Bella was all alone. She wandered from room to room, restlessly picking stray objects up and putting them back down as she tried to fight down the uneasy feeling which seemed to have turned her stomach into knots and made her heart race with anxiety. Jacob and the others had been gone for over a week now, with no sign of their return. A couple of days ago they had all heard some wild howling and loud roaring coming from some distance away. Carlisle had rushed to reassure them all that the pack was fine and that they were all letting off some aggression. It was natural. The others had been reassured by this but Bella remained unsatisfied.
Eventually her restlessness drove her outside. She sat down on the porch steps and stared at the encroaching forest, wishing she could see through the impenetrable scrub and locate Jacob and the others. For a brief second she thought she saw a flash of black weaving amongst the trees, but couldn't be sure. She was so pent up with worry that she had to be imagining that Sam's black wolf was somewhere in the midst of those trees. Bella ran her fingers through her hair as she continued to stare at the same spot where she had seen the brief glimpse of black fur. Her eyes nearly crossed, but she was certain she saw it again. What the hell was going on? Bella was getting impatient. If it was Sam why didn't he reveal himself? Or had things escalated between him and Jacob and Jacob had ordered Sam to keep his distance and not approach. Bella frowned as she decided to take a chance and investigate.
Warily she approached the trees, their long branches overhanging the gravel driveway made her think of spiders legs coming out to capture her. She shivered slightly as she tried to calm her overactive imagination and slipped into the darkened forest. She peered around, waiting until her eyes adjusted to the gloom. Before she could collect herself she felt something soft brush against her side. She clapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself emitting a surprised scream when she noticed the shadowy outline of her black wolf as he began to nuzzle the top of her hair gently.
"What are you playing at Sam?" Bella chastised the wolf as she pushed his muzzle away and took a step back. "Why are you here and where are Jake and the others?"
The black wolf huffed irritably, obviously irked that their reunion was far from pleasant. His large eyes studied her for a long moment before he retreated further into the darkness before finally remerging in his human form. "Nice to see you too." Sam said sullenly.
"Why are you alone?" Bella demanded as she recalled Rebecca's advice and tried to harden her heart a little. She couldn't let herself feel compassion for Sam; he would only use it against her.
"I came back to check on you." Sam retorted angrily as he stared her down. "Unlike Jake I worry about your welfare."
"That's a low blow, Sam, even for you. Jake isn't here because he can't be, not because he doesn't want to. Stop trying to drive a wedge between us. It won't work." Bella scowled as Sam just smirked at her.
"You look cute when you're angry." Sam reached out and ran a finger lightly over her furrowed brow. Bella slapped his hand away and his mirth disappeared.
"Sam, what the hell is going on with you?" Bella hissed. "Do you think this is some kind of game? Do I have to spell it out for you?"
Sam locked eyes with her as the tension ratcheted up between them. He could hear Bella's heart pounding in her chest and her beautiful brown eyes were as hard as steel. When he saw her open her mouth to continue speaking he shook his head at her and began to retreat. "I need to go. I only came back to check on you." He said defensively.
"Sam, you need to lis…." Bella sighed in exasperation as he ignored her and disappeared back into the trees before she could say anymore. She knew he had guessed what she was about to say and he had run before she could verbalise it aloud because he just didn't want to hear it. Bella had never felt so frustrated in her life. There was nothing she could do. She could hardy chase him down and force him to listen. It would have to wait. She had other worries. Bella marched back into the light. As her boots crunched on the gravel driveway she breathed in the fresher air. A light wind picked her hair up from her neck and cooled her feverish skin. The uneasy feeling that was making her so antsy was still there. "Where are you, Jake?" She muttered under her breath. "I need you to come home."
"Again!" Ephraim commanded as he braced himself for impact.
The russet wolf emitted a low rumbling growl as he circled his dark red counterpart. The two wolves snarled at each other before the russet one lunged, his huge jaws snapping as he tried to go for the other's throat. The red wolf swung around, and at the last moment, managed to avoid the other's swift attack.
"Not good enough." Ephraim's voice thundered through Jacob's mind. The other wolves milled about agitatedly as they watched the two leaders fight each other. "Again!"
The russet wolf launched another attack. This time he managed to get a tentative hold on the red wolf's scruff and he used his great weight to force the other wolf down. The red wolf snapped wildly with his sharp teeth as he forcibly shook the younger wolf off. He retreated, his keen eyes continuing to watch the other's every move. "Better, much better. Focus your anger. Do not let it rule you; use it to aid in your attack instead. That's enough for today." Ephraim ordered as his wolf shimmered and he phased back to his human form.
Jacob did the same. He quickly pulled on his shorts and ran a hand over his sweaty brow. Ephraim was a formidable opponent. He had defeated all the others very easily, but Jacob was glad to at least have got a hit in. But perhaps that was because of his underlying anger at the situation he now found himself in. He tried to push his resentment to one side. Now was not the time to stew on what his future held. He didn't even want to think about it. Ephraim had to be wrong. What affected the older man would not affect him. Their situations had been completely different. Jacob had to hold onto this faint hope; otherwise he didn't think he would be able to cope. He was longing for all the training exercises to be over so he could return to see Bella. He was missing her badly. It felt like his heart was in stasis when he was away from her for too long. It physically hurt. Jacob noticed Ephraim staring at him with a deep frown, and wondered whether his ancestor could actually read his mind, even though he was now in his human form.
He was interrupted from his dark thoughts when he heard his brothers begin to growl. He glanced behind him for the source of their sudden tension, and his eyes narrowed as he watched Sam's black wolf slink in amongst the others as he re-joined the pack after going AWOL for two days. When it was noticed that Sam was missing, Jacob had wanted to track him down but Ephraim had advised against it. He told Jacob that Sam would soon return and that would be the time to deal with his desertion. Jacob felt his anger and resentment boil over as the black wolf turned to look his way warily. The whole pack had gone silent as they felt the tension between the two males crackle in the air. Ephraim crossed his arms across his expansive chest and studied Jacob and Sam astutely.
Like a gun going off, Jacob suddenly phased back to his wolf form and roared his defiance at Sam Uley. Without warning he launched himself at his rival, and using all the new moves that Ephraim had taught him, he began to pound the black wolf into the ground.
When Bella next came across Carlisle she was shocked at the grave expression on his face. The others had not yet returned, and Rebecca was still in Sarah's bedroom, keeping her company while she rested. Bella's anxiety went into overdrive as he cautiously approached the head of the Cullen clan to ask him what was ailing him. Carlisle heard her coming and gestured for her to take a seat opposite him. There was no hiding that he had received troubling news.
"I was hoping to give you a few more days grace my dear." Carlisle said regretfully as he took a seat opposite Bella. "But today I received a call from Alice. You have heard us mention her before, haven't you?"
"She's a sightseer." Bella replied. "Has she seen something? Is it to do with Jake and the others?" She splayed her fingers over her heart as it began to race for the third time that day with fear.
"Alice cannot see the wolves. Her gift is subjective precognition. That means that she can see into the future, but what she sees is based on decisions being made; thus she must wait for a decision to be firmly rooted in the mind, or acted upon, before she can see the end result." Carlisle explained. "Her talent is limited to humans and vampires as she has been both; she cannot see the futures of werewolves or hybrid vampires."
"Oh." Bella felt crestfallen. She had been longing for news about Jacob and the others.
Carlisle leaned forward in his seat and looked at Bella sympathetically. "I know that you miss Jacob intensely. I cannot imagine how hard that must be for you. I can assure you as of right now he is fine. Ephraim will be taking good care of him and his brothers."
"Then what's wrong?" Bella questioned worriedly. "Why do you look so disturbed?"
"I would have liked to have told all of you. I was waiting until Ephraim and the other wolves returned, but time is running out. Once Edward and Rosalie return I will be sending them out to scout for the pack. They need to come back immediately. Danger is perilously close and we must all begin to prepare." Carlisle's words only increased Bella's panic. Carlisle took her hand this time. His cold touch was hardly soothing, but Bella ignored the chill and begged him to explain. "The red head that attacked you and Sarah in vengeance for the loss of her mate is on her way here. Her given name is Victoria. I understand it was Jacob himself who ended her mate's life many years ago."
"Yes, it was his first kill." Bella blanched when she realised what she had said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…."
"It's fine. I like to think of myself as separate from the aggressive nomads who wander around like savages." Carlisle smiled sadly.
"You are." Bella rushed to reassure him. "You are more human than many I have been unfortunate enough to cross paths with. You and your family have been so kind and welcoming to all of us."
Carlisle knew about Bella's troubled past with her mother. He refrained from commenting on it and continued on with his explanation. "As Victoria failed to get her revenge using her own brute strength and cunning after she attacked you and Sarah, she went away and licked her wounds. During this time she began to plot and came up with a devious plain to make sure that Jacob and the whole pack were destroyed. She decided to build up an army of new born vampires that she has changed herself. In a vampire's first year they are at their most bloodthirsty and vicious. They are very strong, but also unorganised. Many lose their lives in the first year when they come across other more experienced nomads. No vampire wants to be discovered. There are rules, even in our world."
"You have rule makers." Bella's head was spinning at all this new information.
"I will speak about them later. That is Ephraim's story to tell. More will be explained upon his return. Now if you will excuse me my dear I must hunt down my family." Carlisle released Bella's hand and swiftly vanished. She sat back in her chair, her eyes wide and staring at nothing. This news was worse than anything that she could ever have predicted.
Before Jacob lost control completely and ended Sam's life, Ephraim finally intervened. He morphed into his wolf form, grabbed Jacob by the back of his neck and hauled him away from the black wolf, which was lying on the ground, bleeding heavily from his various wounds. Ephraim used his great weight to pin an exhausted Jacob to the ground, while he mentally instructed the others to deal with Sam's wounds. Embry and Paul phased back and began to assess Sam's extensive injuries. They exchanged grim glances as Sam finally morphed back into his human form. He cried out in agony as his brothers tried to ease him into a more comfortable position.
"You need to calm the fuck down." Ephraim ordered Jacob as the younger wolf fought him. "If you had carried on you would have killed him. You have made your point. Do not allow your personal anger to compromise your goals. Samuel Uley will never disobey you again. Now let the red mist go and phase back."
Jacob's head slumped to the dirt as he gave in and closed his eyes. It took him a moment to gather his strength to phase back. When he did so, Ephraim finally released him. Jacob struggled to rise, but pushed the older man out of his way when Ephraim tried to assist him. Instead he marched over to Sam, who was lying supine on the ground. Embry was using material stripped from his sweat pants to try and staunch the blood flow from Uley's wounds.
"Never disobey me again." Jacob growled as he glared fiercely at Sam. "This obsession with Bella stops right now otherwise I will not hesitate to kill you." He warned before he raised his head and faced his brothers. "This ends here, we are all heading home. The training has come to an end." He told the pack. "When Uley is able to move we will begin the journey back." He looked around at his brothers and was satisfied when he saw no looks of dissent.
Behind him Ephraim smiled proudly as he watched the young Alpha take charge.
A/N-thanks for reading!