Ok, so first things first. SORRY, SORRY, SORRY, SORRY If anybody is still out there and reading this then I apologize for the epic update fail but sometimes the characters that have talked in your head for so long, suddenly decide to shut up and nothing that you say can get them going again. But all it takes is a little inspiration- in the form of a stripping Taylor Lautner- for them to start talking again, and while they are, I am damn well listening. This was written in the 24 hours that have passed since I cried through Breaking Dawn 2, so am sorry for any typos or errors. Enjoy and hopefully this will be the start of something new Much love Tink xx
It's just Jacob, he won't hurt me, he won't hurt me, he won't hurt me, I chanted to myself, staring up into the eyes of the feral creature above me. Its muzzle twisted as it let loose a snarl, exposing his razor sharp fangs. The eyes I loved no longer glinted with warmth or humour, instead I saw hatred so strong it stopped my breath as it see sawed out of my lungs. The thick fur I had once loved to stroke my hands through, stood on end, as he snarled and snapped above me.
"Jacob, please" I murmured "Don't do this, to me, to us, to yourself...it's me its Nessie"
My heart thundered inside my chest for the first time I was afraid of him, of his size, of the lethal claws gouging the wood beside my face, the fangs which made him so deadly. I wanted to cry and scream and shout, unable to comprehend that it had come down to this. My reason for living, my protector, my Jacob was gone, in his place stood a snarling horrific beast. I realized that I wouldn't have the eternity with him or anyone else I had thought and sadness welled inside me, sadness for me, for my family but mostly for Jacob and what the Volturi had reduced him to. If he ever remembered who I was to him and what he had done, it would kill him slowly and painfully, I didn't want that for my Jacob. Unable to watch my own destruction and the destruction of the man I loved, I closed my eyes, preparing for the inevitable.
Several Hours Earlier
Uncurling from the sofa, I threw myself into the stone cold arms of my mother, tears trailing down my cheeks as she rocked me gently in her arms. In the hours since Alice's call and the packs frantic searches for Jacob my world had crumbled. Now they were preparing to leave, to face the Volturi, my family and the wolves, history repeating itself only this time I was only too aware of the danger. Despite my advanced intelligence as a child, I had only an inkling of the danger we had been in, this time I was filled with the terror of knowing. Was this how my parents had felt all those years ago?
"Mom," I buried my head in the crook of her neck, the smell of her skin comforting me with its familiarity.
"Ssh it's okay sweetie, we'll find him, and everything will be okay Nessie,"
In the background I could hear the muted murmurs of my father and the other wolves and strained to hear them over the frantic beating of my heart.
"What if they've got him Mom, Alice said the Voltu-"
"Honey, you know she's operating blind. We will find him baby," she murmured against my forehead, her lips freezing against my fevered skin.
Behind my mother I caught a glimpse of Leah's face; she looked as miserable as I felt and it reminded me her last words with Jacob had been in anger. I felt bad for her, she loved him too, he was her family. And now she faced losing everyone else too.
Sucking in a deep shuddering breath I turned away from Mom and flopped down onto the couch, drawing my knees up to my chest and rubbing my sore gritty eyes with the heel of my hand. The room became a hive of activity, Emmett appearing with the other Wolves, all talking in low voices. It was too much, the glances they cast in my direction, the pity in their eyes, I felt like it was going to be over before it had even begun.
Crouching low, I glanced around me spotting Quinn to my left and Embry to my right, echoing my position as Ephraim's voice resounded in my head.
"The cold ones will defenseless against us...we are the power, we are the protectors of innocence and they must die. Quill and Embry will attack first, Jacob you will remain with me, I will need your help with strongest members of their clan."
There was an uncomfortable prickle in my mind for a second as I felt the urge to deny him but in a heartbeat it was gone.
"Yes Ephraim." I heard my assertion join those of Quill and Embry.
"I alone will watch them tonight, you must stay here, hidden, for if they find you they will attempt to destroy you."
I felt the weight of his power pressing down upon me as he spoke and knew what he said was truth. As a pack, as one, we slunk towards the forest, moving silently, stealthily, unquestionably towards our destinies.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me! Why the fuck do I have to stay?"
"Leah please, Sam just thinks it would be better if you stayed here to protect Nessie –"
"No he thinks it would be easier, well fuck him...you need all the help you can get and some of the pups can't track for shit, you need me!" Leah all but snarled in his face.
"Nessie needs you more...if that leech comes back you need to be able to take care of him."
"This is just his way of putting me in my place"
Seth shook his head with a sigh "You're over reacting Lee. Do you really think he would choose something like this to make a power play? This is important , please for all our sakes stay with Nessie, your needed here."
Her face twisted angrily and I saw the light shudder move through her body, she was close to phasing. Guilt surged through me, everyone was always protecting me, given the choice I would rather be left alone to fight my own battles so they could find Jake, Quill and Embry.
"I'll run patrols around the house," she grudgingly conceded, glancing briefly in my direction and I gave her an apologetic look.
All too soon it was time, my family moving towards me. I was numb, the ice cold of their bodies never really registering as they embraced me one by one. I felt Mama's breath hitching and knew she was crying or as close as she could get, as she crushed me to her.
"Be safe Baby, we love you, you know that right?"
"I know Mama and you too Daddy"
I reached out my hand and was instantly clasped against his chest. My heart ached, he smelt so familiar, like home and there was a huge part of me that knew I may never get to stand this way with him again. "Tell Aunt Rosie and Uncle Emmett and Alice and Jasper I love them, please" I gasped fighting my own tears, desperate to be strong, to save them the pain of seeing me cry.
"They know sweetie, they love you too. We all love you."
I was handed off to Grandma and Granpa, their sweet smell lingering in my nostrils, I wanted to cling to them and beg them not to leave. Suddenly I was four again, unsure and scared. After today my life could and probably would change forever and every fibre of my being railed against it. I wanted security, comfort, the knowledge that everything was going to be okay.
"We love you honey," Grandma murmured her lips cool and brief against my cheek.
"I love you too, so much."
The shock my family's freezing embrace was replaced by the heated skin and gentle touches of the pack. So with much hair ruffling, forehead kissing and tight squeezes from my parents once more, I found myself in the doorway, watching them disappear from the yard, a lone tear escaping in spite of my determination to be brave.
Leah appeared beside me, her arm slung around my shoulders as we stood in silence, both of us wondering if we would ever see any of them again. How long we stood there lost in our own thoughts, I couldn't tell but I noticed the tell tale purple shadows of twilight were drawing in and Leah stepped outside onto the porch.
"I'm going to check in, see you in five" she called over her shoulder, as strode swiftly towards the tree line and exploded into wolf.
I was alone again, not even the pulse of the imprint to keep me company, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders I wandered into the living room, to restless to sit, I paced, trying not to torture myself with images of Jacob lying somewhere broken, helpless, dead.
As we drew closer to our destination my nose began to prickle with the sickly sweet smell of death and instinctively I attempted to veer towards the source.
"Jacob" Ephraim's voice rang loud inside my head "Stick to the path, do not concern yourself with the others, they are of no consequence now"
"But there are so many of them, we can't ignore this, humans will be in danger." I felt a spark of rebellion ignite deep inside only to be crushed immediately by the Alpha's voice.
"Remember who you are Jacob, do not question me boy!"
The weight of his alpha command made me whine, as did the swift nip to my ear. Everything within me tensed, I felt I wanted to snap back, assert my dominance. I was ready to challenge him, I was meant to do this.
But then I felt the pressure again, heavier harder and my mind was suddenly blank. My paws picked up the pace, following my pack, gaining momentum as we grew closer to our destination. The urge to destroy built inside me, angering me, as twin scents invaded my nostrils, a leech and another...wolf? The scent of wolf was fainter, lingering in the air mixing with that of the blood sucker.
It seemed impossible that I would find the two together, yet there they were.
"It is an abomination that must be destroyed my son that is your purpose. Come with me now. Embry, Quil you must stay here, anything that tries to get past you, be it leech or wolf, must be destroyed, do you understand?"
I heard their voice as one "Yes Alpha."
"Come Jacob, let us finish this"
I couldn't think straight, my mind was a mess and I didn't know whether to throw up or cry or both. My feet barely made a sound on the floor as I paced back and forth, chewing my nails, jumping as Leah finally came back from her fifth patrol that evening. The room was dark and only dimly lit by a lamp that neither of us needed.
"Are they still fighting?" I asked tremulously, my voice an agonized whisper.
She nodded, unable to meet my eyes and my heart sank.
"Are they," I paused to clear my throat "Are they okay?"
"I think so, I couldn't see everyone and they seem to be getting the upper hand," she murmured and I watched as a tear escaped, sliding down her unusually pale cheek.
"What is it? What's happened Leah?"
She sucked in a deep breath, "Embry and Quil have turned up."
My heart soared for a split second, hope flaring inside me, "Is Jacob with them?"
The expression on her face said it all "They've gone rouge Nessie, last I could tell they were fighting against Sam"
"Rouge? How is that even possible?"
She shrugged "I don't know but it explains why we can't hear them. I can tell Sam is trying to hold them off, he doesn't want to hurt them but he won't let them hurt anyone else" a sigh escaped her, "He's torn, he doesn't want to end them but he will if he has to."
My heart plummeted for the boys I had known and the knowledge that if it came to it, they would die; for me for my family. Selfishly I knew any explanation of what had happened to Jacob would die with them.
"I'm so sorry Leah."
"This is so frustrating Nessie, I don't understand any of it...those boys loved Sam I know I was in there heads for years, what's changed? What happened to them, they-"
Leah froze, going silent as the smell reached us at the same time. I darted to the window and there in the yard stood a massive black wolf, its jaws stretched wide as it howled and snarled. A deep breath sounded as Leah swore suddenly and crudely.
"Fuck! That can't be a rouge, it smells like leech."
My nostrils flared as I took in the scent of wolf but also the sickly sweet smell of a vampire. A hybrid? Everything seemed to slow down, moving slowly, so slowly even to my advanced vampire senses. Leach screamed at me to go and hide just as the sound of claws reached me. I glanced up; expecting to see the huge black wolf instead there was Jacob. My heart took flight and a sense of safety washed over me, as I scrambled towards him.
Stumbling, I was jerked away by Leah who thrust me behind her.
"What are you doing Lee, let me go!"
Leah shook her head wordlessly as the large black wolf appeared, slinking to a halt beside Jacob. I flinched and moved to the side.
"Get. Behind. Me." She enunciated slowly.
I watched in horror as the wolves moved as one towards me, their bellies low to the floor as they stalked us.
"Jacob," I cried "It's me, Nessie"
"Shut up Nessie, that's not Jacob"
"I can smell him, let me go to him"
"He's feral again Ness, look at him" she whispered as she backed us towards the door, one step at a time.
Still they got closer, taking their time, moving herding us, where they wanted us, their snarls increasing in volume and anger.
"Move slowly Ness and when I tell you to, run and hide get as far away as you can" she murmured as I felt her body tense.
I looked at the wolves, at my Jacob, watching hoping for a spark of recognition but his face was contorted in a savage mask, growling and snarling.
"Now Nessie, Now!" she cried and stepped forward as she phased in an instant and the wolves surged towards her.
Heart pounding, legs shaking I darted from the room and headed for the stairs. Jacob was there in an instant, knocking me onto my back, his harsh breaths in my face, his snout twisted and fangs exposed.
It's just Jacob, he won't hurt me, he won't hurt me, he won't hurt me, I chanted to myself, staring up into the eyes of the feral creature above me. Its muzzle twisted as it let loose a snarl, exposing his razor sharp fangs. The eyes I loved no longer glinted with warmth or humour, instead I saw hatred so strong it stopped my breath as it see sawed out of my lungs.
"Jacob, please" I murmured "Don't do this, to me, to us, to yourself...it's me its Nessie"
My heart thundered inside my chest for the first time I was afraid of him, of his size, of the claws gouging the wood beside my face, the fangs which made him so deadly. I wanted to cry and scream and shout, unable to comprehend that it had come down to this. My reason for living, my protector, my Jacob was gone, in his place stood a snarling horrific beast. I realized that I wouldn't have the eternity with him or anyone else, I had thought and I closed my eyes preparing for the inevitable.
I followed Ephraim and the scents in my nose. A wolf and a vampire, together? Ephraim was right, it was an abomination. How could that wolf turn its back on its own species, their scents overlapped and intermingled, telling me they spent a lot of time together. We stole into the house and faced our prey. The wolf was like me, a shifter, a defender but she was a traitor to our kind. I could see from the way she pushed the leech behind her she wanted to protect her. This would be easy; the vampire was tiny, diminutive, the wolf not the strongest of her kind, not as strong as me and not as strong as Alpha.
"Patience my boy, do not be fooled by their appearances, we must tread carefully, slowly if we attack she will phase and summon the rest of her traitorous pack," he spat inside my head.
I snarled at the thought of Wolves turning their back on their duties to protect human life, allowing this creature to live. Traitors. This blood sucker deserved to die. The vampire spoke, softly gently, seemingly to me.
"Do not listen to her; she speaks with poison on her lips and in her blood. She is the key to winning this war, we take care of her and the rest will follow, the humans will be safe once more."
Like me he had picked up on the scent of humans in this place, her prey? I stalked towards her ready to strike, ready to kill.
"The traitor will attempt to protect her, I will isolate the wolf and you must follow the cold one"
Anticipation rushed through my veins as in a second the wolf phased and Ephraim rushed her, leaving me to follow the leech. Arching through the air I was at her side instantly. The feel of her skin giving way under my paws, sent a shock wave of pain through my body, as I knocked her to the floor, the scent of her blood twisting my gut.
"Jacob, please" she breathed "Don't do this, to me, to us, to yourself...it's me its Nessie."
Poison! I remembered Ephraim's words and bared my teeth, growling my fury into her face, so close I could feel her breath on my fur. The closer I got the stronger the scent and found myself surprised her eyes were a golden color, not like the scarlet I associated with leeches. Rearing back I bared my fangs, ready to strike as beneath me, her eyes fluttered shut to close forever.