Bella's Point of View
Alice and I sat at the edge of our seats, watching tensely as Irina paced the room. She looked a little flustered. She had just broken free of Jacob's command over her. She was overwhelmed by the conflicting feelings she was going through. I felt bad for her, it seemed that she was a bit unhinged. But once she got some control over herself, she faced the both of us with a serious expression coming to her face.
"Jacob plans on taking complete control over both the La Push pack and the blood moon pack."
My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. "How could he possibly do that?"
"With the help of the vampire coven." Irina's eyes flickered to Alice. "That was the plan, he wanted to get you out of the way, blame your death on the La Push pack, so Henry and his clan would fight his battle."
Alice's eyes watered as she glared. Her shoulders trembled as she took a few sharp breaths. "He's a lunatic, why would he want to do something so cruel? What did the La Push pack ever do to deserve this?"
"It's not that, he just wants to take over our pack. He is greedy for power, isn't he?" I looked at Irina, attempting to keep my expression casual. I needed to be strong in situations like this. I would be the future luna of the blood moon pack. And with how things are going at the minute, I needed to be prepared for war.
Irina nodded warily. "His plan is to remove all the men, and reproduce with all the females of this pack, so he can have a large amount of offspring. Our pack is large, but it is mostly made up of men. And the women that we do have, are imprinted on. So, he put his sights on the La Push pack."
Alice snorted. "If he thinks he has a chance with anyone in our pack, he will be sadly mistaken." She leaned back in her seat with a huff of annoyance. "That arrogant fool. So much for wanting peace and harmony among the packs."
"That was a lie from the very start. He probably hates vampires more than any other person in our pack. He is using the vampires, because of their abilities." Irina replied.
"What are their abilities?"
"Well, I'm sure you know that Henry can read and manipulate a person's future. Claire can manipulate the feelings of others around her. Liddie can erase and distort memories. The leader, Raymund, can paralyze any living object. I never met the other two, apparently they are away on a honeymoon. But Jacob mentioned the woman, Sophia is the ticket to taking control of the others."
"What can she do?" Alice muttered.
"It's hard to explain, basically she can permanently change someone's complete personality. She could create a fiercely loyal group of people under her control, if she wanted. Jacob even tested her powers. When he and Jane imprinted on each other, he had Sophia use her abilities to affect his feelings towards Jane. It worked. She pretty much removed all of Jacob's feelings for Jane. It's like he doesn't even care about her." Irina said with the shrug of her shoulders. She didn't appear bothered by this in the slightest.
"That's insane, why would he do something like that?"
"Isn't it obvious? He wants to whore around and make babies with everyone. He can't do that if he has an intact imprint on someone."
"Just when you think Jacob couldn't get much worse," I said, shaking my head. "So, why would he think that he imprinted on me?"
Irina frowned slightly. "He thinks, since he broke off the imprint with Jane, that he might imprint on someone else. But I highly doubt that's possible. I think he knew Edward imprinted on you. And wants to steal you away, just to really hurt Edward. Or maybe he is just a big delusional asshole."
"Whatever the case, we need to tell Sam what's going on here. And the vampires should know as well. Is there any way you can call your dad? And fill him in on all this information?" I asked, turning to look at Alice.
"Yeah, I'll give him a call," She nodded, before bouncing up onto her feet, to make a call in the kitchen.
Irina and I stared at each other for a moment, but out of nowhere, Irina fell to her knees, leaving out an agonized scream. I quickly went to her side, panic striking my body. I moved on pure instincts. I took her shaking hand. "What is it? What hurts?" My eyes scanned over her. She looked perfectly fine. But the pain was clear on her face. A look of anguish. As if someone had plunged a knife into her chest. She clasped her hands to her chest, right over her heart. My first thought, was she having a heart attack?
"F-Felix. Something is wrong. I have to go. I have to go now." She sobbed, sitting upright, hysterical. "He is hurt… or something… All of a sudden… I feel pain and emptiness. Like he disappeared."
I knew exactly what she meant. Even though Edward and I were apart at the moment, I could still sense him. His thoughts, emotions, his soul. It was like our connection was always there, no matter the distance.
"Okay, let's go then." I said, helping her to her feet.
"No, you have to stay here." Irina swallowed hard, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It's bad enough that I have to disobey Edward's wishes, to stay here and look after you and Alice. I need to go make sure Felix is alright… but it's too dangerous for you." She said resting her hands on my shoulders.
I shook my head. "It's going to be alright, you shouldn't go out alone either. Pregnant or not, if there is something going on, some kind of fighting, you shouldn't go alone."
"She won't be going alone. I'll be going with her." A strained voice called out from the doorway. The both of us jumped in response to the sudden sound. But relief filled me to see Sam standing at the door. However, that relief turned to sorrow as I took note of the emptiness in his eyes. He kept a stoic expression, but I could see the heartbreak in his eyes. I didn't know what happened, but I didn't expect him to react like this. If he knew what was going on, he didn't act like it.
"Sam, I'm glad you're back, I'm not sure how much you know, but Emily was kidnapped. Edward and Felix went looking for her." Irina said, her lips trembling as she spoke. "But, right now, I need to leave and find Felix. I can't sense him anymore."
Sam's brows raised and lowered, still not responding in his usual nature. "Alright, what direction were they heading?"
"The south boundary," Irina said eagerly walking towards him, she passed him through the door. She had only one thing on her mind and that was finding the man she loved. Nothing on this Earth was going to stop her from leaving.
As Irina walked out, Leah came stumbling in. She glanced between Sam and I with timidness. It was something I've never seen on Leah's face.
She moved to Sam's side, clinging to his arm. "Babe, is this Emily?" She leaned up on her tiptoes to whisper, not so quietly in his ear.
"No, this is Bella Swan, you two were friends." Sam reminded her gently, leaning down to place a single hand on the top of her head. The touch was intimate, and brought a huge smile to Leah's face.
She looked at me, nodding in acknowledgement. "Sorry, I don't remember you. But I'm hoping some of my memories will come back eventually."
"Go ahead and get comfortable, you remember where the shower is. Emily has some clothes you can wear in my closet. Just get some rest, keep an eye on Bella and Alice. They are pregnant." He said with a slight smile. "Make sure to stay in control around them."
Leah nodded, her eyes now darting down to my stomach. "Alright, you be careful out there." Again she leaned up and pecked his lips, before walking away. She bounded up the stairs and by the sounds of it, straight to Sam's bedroom.
I turned to him incredulously. "What the hell is going on? What's with all the kissing, and mushy stuff? Emily was kidnapped, not murdered."
Sam flinched, his eyes lowering to the floor. "I was ambushed, when I went in to get Leah. A bloodsucker was waiting for me there, she was acting as Leah's nurse. I didn't recognize the damn parasite. But she had gold eyes. I'm guessing she might be from Raymund's coven."
"Well what happened?"
"I don't know how, but I think she completely dissolved my imprint with Emily. I just… can't feel her anymore. There are moments that I feel a twinge of something, but the connection has been severed." He admitted quietly, his eyes didn't meet my gaze.
That was a bit disappointing to hear. I felt really bad for Emily, this was turning out to be a very difficult day for her. And to top it off, she is imprinted to a man that is no longer in love with her. He regards her as a stranger. Now, his heart seems to be turned back to Leah. But what would happen once she meets her imprint? History would repeat itself. But this time, it would be Sam that's left heartbroken.
That vampire, Sophia, she would be trouble. If she is lined with Jacob and his ideals. We would have to worry. Hopefully, whatever she has done, she can undo it.
"Sam," A frustrated growl from outside caught both of our attention. Irina was still impatiently waiting on the porch. I could see that she was back to manic pacing back and forth. Tears still flowing down her flushed cheeks. "Worry about your woman troubles later, Felix needs our help."
"Alright," He sighed heavily, before looking at me again. "I've called on Jared, he will be patrolling this area, to make sure the three of you are safe for now. I'll be back soon."
I nodded. "Make sure, they all make it back alright."
It was hard staying behind. My mind would come up with all kind of awful conclusions to this incident. I always jumped to the worst possible thing. I just hoped that whatever was going on, everyone would be okay. I watched tensely as Sam and Irina phased and took off towards the tree line.
My head was pounding. With everything going on. This was turning out to be a really busy night. I flopped down on the couch and laid down, resting my head in the pillow. The ceiling fan above my head was spinning slowly, letting a cool breeze blow down over my face. I watched the propeller blades rotate for a while, allowing myself to get lost in thought. I could hear the My chest felt tight. It felt like there was pressure, sitting directly over my heart. It was stress. Anxiety. And fear. I couldn't stop worrying about Edward.
It was nearly thirty minutes before Alice came walking back out of the kitchen. The color was completely drained from her face, leaving a ghostly look to her.
"Alice, what's wrong?"
"Felix is dead and left Emily, raped in the woods, Emmett is on his way right now, with Emily,"
Edward's Point of View
It was taking longer than I thought to pin down Jacob, he was fast but he wasn't smart. We were able to get him surrounded. Raymund and Henry blocked him from the North, Jasper and I had him blocked from the South. Sam and Irina had him blocked from the East. Paul and Rose had him blocked from the West.
I couldn't help but pity Irina, I could see that she was falling apart. She was already phased, and barely keeping herself together. Sam was next to her, keeping one strong hand down on her back. I could see him muttering something quietly to her, it did seem to be helping. I knew that she wanted to blame Jacob for Felix's death, but it had been Raymund that took his life. At the time, Felix was acting against me, he had a purpose to kill. He was following the orders of his Alpha and protecting him. This was just a complete mess.
"What are we waiting for," Raymund sighed, looking at each of us. "Haven't we all waited long enough?"
Jacob was frozen, still in wolf form, his eyes peered out into the forest, a howl rippling through his clenched fangs. No doubt he was calling in for help. If we didn't finish this quickly, we would start an all out war. His pack was enormous. There was no doubt that many lives would be lost, if we don't end it.
"If we just kill him, all of those in his pack will attack out of revenge. We have to do this the right way." Jared said with a tense look between Sam and I. "Only a fight to the death against an Alpha will resolve this."
"I don't understand, why does it have to be like that? Why does Sam and Edward get to have all the fun here?" Henry asked with a dark look towards Jacob. "Shouldn't we all get a turn, beating him senselessly."
Sam phased back, not bothering to pull his pants back on, he looked at me with silent fury. "I'm not interested in adding any of Jacob's little followers to my pack. So, by all means, go ahead Edward."
The thought of absorbing Jacob's pack into mine brought on some mild anxiety. I didn't trust them. I knew Jacob had some loyal members of his pack. I wasn't sure if it would be wise to accept them all into my pack. But we would decide on that, after this.
Suddenly Jacob phased back into his human form, covering himself with a tattered pair of shorts. He stood, trembling in fear, his hands raised up above his head. As if symbolizng his surrender. "My actions were terrible. I admit that. But I don't deserve to die. I haven't killed anyone. I was just acting on instincts. We all know mating season begins in just a few hours. I couldn't help myself."
His pleading was ineffective.
"Who cares, no one is safe if you are left alive. It could have been Alice. Or what if he had kidnapped Bella?" Raymund commented, no emotion could be read from his face. His eyes were a dark gold. A vampire that doesn't drink the blood of humans, but with the spirit of killing. He had no regard for humans, not really. Human life didn't matter so much to him, especially without Claire by his side. He looked like a true murderer. Darkness was hidden under the surface. It was startling. The hairs on the back of my neck raised.
Henry on the other hand, didn't share the same look. His shoulders were tense, he looked pained, and angry. But there was hesitation. He had a bit more concern for human life. Even though Jacob did awful things, he still didn't lose sight of the situation. He stayed unbiased.
"No, he is right, death may not be what he deserves, there should be punishment, but something of equal nature." Henry said with a frown.
"What could we possibly do? Emily was kidnapped and raped? Are you suggesting we do the same to him? I'm not sure there will be any volunteers for that punishment."
Jacob's eyes widened, shaking his head roughly. "You all had more mercy for Mike Newton for his crimes. I'm the Alpha of the eclipse pack. Have respect for my title." He bellowed.
"You don't deserve that title anymore. That can be part of your punishment. You will step down as Alpha of your pack." Sam demanded, taking a few steps forward with a glare on his face. It was strange to see how calm Sam was in this situation. If it would have been Bella that was kidnapped, I would have killed Jacob in seconds. Without talking, hesitation, or pity. I would destroy him. But Sam was staying in control. He looked pissed, sure, but not with murderous intent. It was odd.
"Not only that, he should be banished from the state of Washington entirely." Raymund sighed with a dejected expression. "If we aren't killing him, we should at least be free of ever having to see him again."
"Castration wouldn't be an outrageous request, would it? I know in Mike's situation, it had been an unfortunate situation, one only to save his life, after he was attacked… but it could be necessary in regards to Alpha Jacob here." Henry said with a glare.
"You can drop the act. We know the real reason that happened to Mike. And it's understandable. If it had been my daughter, I'd feel the same way." Sam said, narrowing his eyes at Henry and Raymund both. "However, you should have been honest. And discussed that with me, before taking it upon yourself, to punish Mike. That is my job."
"Excuse us, but you weren't doing your job very well, mutt. Mike was still roaming freely. He was coming on our land, and sleeping with Liddie, every chance he got. Not to mention he was able to attack Alice twice. Under your supervision. We had to do something." Raymund snapped.
"Enough, we need to stay focused here. Before Jacob gets any ideas of escaping. Not to mention the rest of his pack could be coming here, in any minute. We have the numbers now, but if the eclipse pack gets here, we will be outnumbered." I reminded everyone.
Just as I said that, I watched as three wolves came creeping out of the woods, one behind Sam, one behind Raymund and one behind me. They were snarling and growling fiercely. This situation wasn't good.
"Back off," Jacob commanded, sweat dripping down his neck. "Stand down, or we all are going to die."
I don't know what gave him that idea. No one wanted to start a war here. We wanted to do this as peacefully as possible. Only Jacob needed to die. No one else. I didn't care what he said. If it was put up to a vote, I wouldn't mind being the one to take his life. It would give me peace of mind. I had children to think about now. If any of those babies end up being girls, I wouldn't want Jacob around to threaten them.
The wolves responded, but not in the way I expected. They didn't stop. Their eyes were locked on Jacob. Aggression. Hatred. Uncontrollable anger. It was like the three of them had turned against Jacob as well. But I wasn't sure how. The wolf behind me took a few steps back and phased. It was Lucy. She covered herself, although she didn't seem bothered at all being naked. She did it more so, because of the sights of her husband on her. For his sake, she would be modest in front of other men.
"Hope we aren't too late." She smirked, lifting her chin up. "Turns out, the eclipse pack is in need of new leadership. I have his subordinates here, Kate and Alec. They have broken free of Jacob's command. They wish to follow me, from now on."
Jacob's jaw dropped in outrage. "You traitors!"
The two remaining wolves growled quietly in response. All signs of respect were gone. It was becoming clear that Jacob's allies were fading away. This was over. No matter what happened now, Jacob wouldn't be around anymore.
"As the new Luna, I will be fighting for leadership of his pack. He will die. I want his pack. Anyone that gets in my way, will be my next target." She met my gaze, then Sam's.
Sam shrugged his shoulders. "So be it,"
I nodded as well but remained quiet. Lucy was nothing like Alice. She was so forceful and passionate. Rough around the edges. But I think she is a good woman. She would be a good leader for that pack. Maybe there would finally be a chance for peace after all.
Raymund smirked slightly, watching Lucy with the shake of his head. "You have such a strong-willed mate, it's comical how opposite the two of you are."
Henry ducked his head with a chuckle. "She is everything I could ever hope to be."
"Well, like I said, I won't fight any of you. I don't want to die. I'll give up my status willingly. No need for fighting." Jacob growled, kneeling down on his one knee. He hung his head, appearing embarrassed and furious.
Lucy rolled her eyes, letting her shoulders slump in defeat. "Well, that's not as much fun. But fine. I'll do it your way." She marched over to him, without any fear or caution. But Jacob didn't move an inch. He didn't even flinch as she placed both hands on his shoulders. He didn't raise his head.
"You will leave, you won't come back to the state of Washington. If any of us spots you, you will be killed on sight from this day on." Lucy demanded.
Jacob bobbed his head.
Why does it feel like Jacob was getting away with something here? After everything he has done. It doesn't feel like justice. Sam must have had the same idea. He barged over, with contempt. "It's not good enough. He did harm to Emily. He raped her."
Lucy gave Sam a look. "Don't worry. He will be under lock down for seventy two hours before he will be transported out of the state. You will get to do whatever you want to him, until then."
"Except for kill," I muttered.
Lucy's eyes locked onto me. "There are some things worse than death. Have you ever considered that? Death is more of an escape from punishment. Torture is the ultimate form of punishment. Being a wolf that can heal quickly, makes torture even more effective. I should know. That's all I've known for the past seventeen years."
Sam nodded, unaffected by her words. "Fine, once he is locked up, let me know, I'll be there to avenge Emily." He turned his back and walked back to where Irina was waiting.
Irina looked beyond angry. And hurt. It's clear that she was dealing with emotional trauma, after losing Felix. I wasn't sure how she would recover.
The two wolves that had come along with Lucy were now at her side. She bound Jacob's arms and legs and tossed him onto the back of one of the wolves. He remained quiet, but I could see the fear and regrets on his face. Henry practically danced over to Lucy's side, pulling her into his chest. She smiled brightly, and for a second, she looked a lot like Alice. That smile was so familiar. I almost smiled as well.
It was a relief that we had prevented a war between the packs tonight. But I was still left feeling like something was completely wrong with this entire situation. It just all seemed too easy. I thought Jacob would put up more of a fight.
For Lucy's sake, I hope Jacob didn't have any more tricks up his sleeves.
Everyone was lingering in the area, until Jacob was at a safe distance away. The vampire were already gone, along with Lucy and the wolves carrying Jacob. they began to phase back into human forms as they approached Sam and I. They all had a lot of questions. They didn't seem particularly happy with this outcome. But I figure we will get a deeper understanding in the next few days. Mating season was just a few hours away. We needed to get away from each other, quickly. There wouldn't be a lot of time to talk. And I wanted to get back home to Bella as soon as possible. This has been the longest I've been away from her. I was worried.
"We will discuss what happened here, in greater detail after the mating season ends. You all have my contact information, if something else happens. Or if there is any further news about Jacob that you would like to add." Sam announced.
"What about those that are in Jacob's pack? Does this mean that they are all following under Lucy?" Jasper asked with a raised brow.
"Like I said, we will go into the finer details after mating season. For now. Just be on guard." Sam replied.
That was that. Discussion over. Everyone went their separate ways. Except for Sam, Jasper and Irina. They hung back to walk with me. We were all heading to the same place. Sam was anxious to return to Leah and Emily. Jasper was worried about Alice. And Irina just didn't have anywhere else to go. She was lost and felt the need to return to Bella. She has become very close with her. I think she viewed Bella in a very mother-like way. I've thought that, even before she broke away from Jacob's pack.
The walk back to Sam's place was quiet. There was tension in the air between us. So much had happened. I don't think anyone was pleased with how things were left. But Lucy was in control of this now. She has become the new leader over the eclipse pack. How would this change the dynamics? Would they all accept her? Or would a few of them leave? I tried not to let my thoughts consume me. But I couldn't stop worrying. Something was off. I couldn't figure out what it was…
Jacob's Point of View
I messed up big time. But I always had a plan. I may have handed my alpha status over to Lucy. But I knew the bonds I've created in my pack would remain. Maybe not with all of them. But I could count on a few. The battle was lost tonight. But this war would continue, until I regained control over all the packs.
A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter. If so, leave a review. I really appreciate hearing what you all think. If anyone is interested in becoming a Beta for this story, reach out to me. I'm open for some help.