Hi everyone. Sorry for the slight delay in posting this, it started out as one chapter and has now blossomed into two. The bad news is, this is the shorter of the two, the good news is the other chapter is a lot longer and is pretty much finished, aside from editing :) Thank you so much for all the reviews, I am so glad new people are finding their way here. Hopefully the next chapter will be up by Wednesday at the latest, so leave me some love Till next time. Tink xxx
Jacob
I didn't understand what was happening. Ephraim had ordered me to submit to the leech, to lay supine under him no matter what happened. To willingly give in to a blood sucker took everything I had but even so, I still could not prevent the growl of protest which left me. Then all was silent, my alpha's voice absent from my head. The leeches held a heated conversation, talking to the littlest killer who was seething as they spoke. I felt the anger in her sparking my blood, the instinct to protect her following it closely and it confused me further. As I lay on the ground beneath the huge vampire, I wanted to get to my feet and go to her but I couldn't decide if I wanted to tear her head from her shoulders or stand beside her and reassure her. Every span around and around in my head, one thought chasing another until there was nothing but confusion.
"Now Jacob, now is the time, we must act!" Ephraim's voice suddenly crystallized in my mind as all hell broke loose around me.
With a growl I rolled to my feet and the leech went flying again. Wolves were fighting tooth and claw, jumping and surging and snapping at each other. Ephraim was stood to the side of one of the leeches, a blond child this time, who regarded the proceedings with a smirk. The tiny dark haired female stood off to one side watching, frowning, concentrating as her mate fought off another leech. This one was huge and his eyes flashed scarlet as he moved. Every so often her hands would press against her head and she would shake it as though in pain.
Behind them stood a bronze haired leech, guarding his mate, crouched low and hissing any time anyone was unlucky enough to come close to them. The female he protected had the same look of concentration on her face as the tiny vampire, her gaze fixed on the movements of the others, her head turning slightly from side to side to mirror them.
I felt a kick to my ribs and yelped; turning with a snarl as the devil angel came tearing from the house as though the very hounds of hell were on her tail. Two things happened at once, the tiny dark haired vamp looked to the bronze male and he nodded taking the hand of the female just as his mate did. Distracted by this I found myself falling, the giant landing on top of me with a swift elbow to my ribs.
Nessie
Mom's shield! Why had no one thought of it before? Her power was a defensive one and could protect other vampire powers from acting on minds. If she could shield Jacob, could block Gianna's voice from his mind then surely he would be able to come back to himself. Because my family now thought of Jacob and the others as the enemy now, nobody had bothered to try shielding them. If Mom managed to block the order to attack us through Jacob's mind then because of the way the pack mind worked, it would also stop Quil and Embry too.
There was even a remote chance that if Gianna used the power of her mind to alter her body, Mom could even prevent her from changing. Forcing her to stay as a vampire, would prevent her from causing any more damage to us and to the wolves.
I fled the house and entered the melee, heading for my parents, my hands out ready to grasp their own. I dipped my chin and averted my gaze, trying to make it look as though I were staging a show of solidarity with my parents rather than communicating in the way only I could.
Frantic with worry, I tried to show them the images streaming through my head of my mother's shield wrapping around Jacob, thus preventing any mental contact with the Alpha wolf. I pictured him becoming still, calm and the alpha reverting to her naked more vulnerable form. Embry and Quil suddenly became silent too and dropped to their bellies. Praying the message got across I relayed the same pictures again and again until I felt Mom's hand squeeze mine imperceptibly and I knew she understood.
It had felt like a lifetime but was in reality only a few seconds. If this worked there may be a chance to save us, if not the fighting would continue until someone gained the upper hand and people began to die.
"Clever girl," she murmured with a hint of smile just for me and then it was gone again, her face still and expressionless once more.
Her eyes narrowed as she attempted to push out her shield, searching for Jacob, she bit her lip and seemed to pant although it was unnecessary for her to breathe. Stood between my parents I tried to be strong but the sights and sounds of the fighting around us would stay with me forever. Everyone I loved was embroiled in some sort of battle, mentally or physically and I didn't know where or when this would end.
Mom huffed out a breath and the hand holding mine, relaxed for a second and I knew she had managed it. Jacob continued to fight and the hope I held inside began to slide away. Nothing had changed.
"Patience Renesmee, the pack mind is not the same as a vampire one and therefore requires different shielding. Once both Jacob and Gianna are under the shield we should see a difference," My father placed a fierce kiss to the side of my face and breathed the words into my ear.
Glancing at Mom, I followed the direction of her eyes as she looked at Jane and the wolf stood beside her.
"Sweetheart this can only work if her power is a mental one...if it doesn't work and it goes wrong, I want you to go with Nahuel and find somewhere safe, he will protect you."
I squeezed her hand and showed her the image of Leah and Nahuel's faces, swiftly followed by that of Jacob and my determination not to leave him.
"Sweetheart please," she breathed in an agonized whisper, her eyes still trained on Jane and Gianna.
My entire body shook and I looked helplessly at my aunt Alice who alternately shook her head or grasped it in pain. The wolves, she couldn't see around the wolves. Beside me I felt my mother's entire body tense and her nose scrunched up as air whooshed from her mouth.
"It's working, I think," my father murmured so quietly his lips barely moved.
The rogue shook its huge head slowly for a second, almost like a dog trying to shake off the last drop of water. My eyes flew to Jacob but I could see no difference at first. Only a few seconds passed before he looked around, confusion written all over his face as Ephraim Black disappeared once more and Gianna stood in his place. Her eyes flashed to my mother and look of hatred crossed her face, she knew instantly what had happened and who had caused it. I watched as she obviously tried to shift back into her wolf form, her frustration growing by the second. My heart started to pound, it was working, it really was working. I cast my eyes towards Jacob who was stood nose to snout with Emmett his fangs bared, growling a warning to him.
This time it wasn't fury that drove him, or the urge to kill I could see from the looking his eyes he was confused, scared. The animal in him didn't understand what was happening and I wanted to go comfort him, offer reassurance that it was ok, everything would be okay now. Taking a step forward my mom's hand caught in mine and she tugged me back to her side.
"Oh no you don't, Renesmee. Give him some time."
I felt like time was the one thing we suddenly didn't have too much of, as soon as Gianna or the Volturi realized he was no longer under their control they would kill him, of that I was certain. Quil and Embry had also ceased their aggressive attacks and now faced the other Sam and Seth, whining slightly, almost cowering before them. Emmett glanced swiftly at my father who shook his head, after only a few seconds pause, Emmett began to back away slowly.
Jacob
Something was wrong, something didn't feel right. A pressure I didn't know existed until it was gone; suddenly cleared from my brain and I found myself staring up into a familiar masculine face. Who he was to me I couldn't say but there was something about him, something familiar and almost... safe. That couldn't be though, he was a bloodsucker and they were my enemy, weren't they? I growled at him and bared my fangs, warning him to stay away from me.
Surprising me he suddenly took several steps back, his eyes lowered in a clear sign of submission, as he moved at near human pace. I looked around for Ephraim but could not see him anywhere, his voice and alpha command gone from my mind. Quil and Embry looked equally confused and they cowered in front of the alpha from the other pack, soft whines of fear escaping them. I should have felt the urge to attack if everything alpha had told me held true, but instead there was nothing. I waited, sure something would happen.
"Jacob" I heard a voice crackle though my mind, almost like a radio that wasn't tuned correctly.
"Jacob, can you hear me? Its Sam, do you remember me?"
His voice sounded far away and full of static. Sam. I repeated the name, trying it out, getting a flavor of it. There was something familiar, just out of reach in the corner of my mind but I couldn't quite access it.
"Listen to me Jacob. I was your alpha, these creatures have deceived you...Ephraim Black has been dead for many years. They have used you Jacob, used to try and destroy the Cullen's, to destroy your family, your mate."
Mate? I had a mate? My eyes darted to the tiny leech with hair like liquid bronze and found her watching me intently, a frown marring her delicate features. Could it be her? Surely I could never forget her, forget what she was to me?
"The leader of the vampire coven has powerful gifts Jacob. Listen to your instincts, you could have killed her several times already this evening but you haven't...look inside yourself and remember who you are."
I wanted to snarl, frustrated, confused, unsure what or who to believe any more. If the voice in my head was to be believed, then I too was a traitor to my race, to my people.
"No Jacob, the Cullen's are good people, they are not like others of their kind. We are not traitors Jacob because they are no threat to us or the humans...it's the ones with red eyes, they are the betrayers Jacob not you."
I allowed his words to sink in and cast my eyes around me; everyone was looking my way, wolves, bloodsuckers and my Nessie. I paused, allowing that to sink in. Nessie. Nessie, my Nessie. Suddenly the air around me trembled, small waves vibrating against my skin, my body shrinking as I lurched to my hind legs, to find myself stood on my human two. Oh dear god, what had I done?
Nessie
Beside me, Daddy squeezed my palm and smiled at me in the same instant I saw him shift to his human form. Would he remember me? The power of moms shield had blocked Gianna's voice in his head but that didn't mean that he was back to normal. Slowly I lifted my head. Tears pricked my eyes and I glanced across to see Jacob gazing at me, sorrow, regret and love shining from his beautiful eyes.
"Hello handsome," I murmured tearfully, my eyes fixed on him.
Daddy cleared his throat and looked pointedly at me. I couldn't help the blush or the giddy rush of happiness flowing through me and I averted my eyes from the stark rugged lines of his body, staring instead at the masculine beauty of his big feet.
A furious low hiss met my ears and I looked up as several things happened simultaneously, almost too fast to process and certainly too fast to stop.
Alice looked at my father in horror and then at me, as Gianna darted towards Jacob her arm partially shifted into a deadly looking wolf paw, five times the size of her other hand, razor sharp claws protruding.
"The dog is mine." She snarled, her arm swinging in an arc, moving toward his throat. In that instant everything and everyone around me seemed to freeze. The world moved in slow motion and I felt compelled, the pull of the imprint moving me when nothing else could. Alice had seen it and though I wasn't psychic I knew what was about to happen.
A wolf in his human skin, versus a vampire with wolf claws, would stand no chance in hell at surviving. A half human, half vampire hybrid would. I loved Jacob, he was my life and so there was no question of what I would do to save him, even if that meant risking my own life.
Fear made me faster and in a fraction of a second I was between them, twisting and jumping slightly to block her attack, my foot connecting with her chin, forcing her head to bounce back, at the same time as her arm came up. Alice was there a second behind me twisting her head from her shoulders. Surprise shook me as a tortured scream ripped from her throat and I became aware of scalding heat, burning its way down my neck, streaking across my torso.
Jacob, was he bleeding on me? Had I failed? I felt sick. Then only a heartbeat later, I felt it, pain like I had never experienced, as though my very nerve endings were on fire. My legs dropped from under me and I fell back, the cries of my family, the laughter of the Volturi echoing in my ears as darkness closed in on me.