CHAPTER 13

JACOB POV

I pulled the red SUV into my garage and glanced at the clock as I put it in park. This was the last car I had to work on today and I wasn't sure what I was going to do to distract myself when I was done. Bella should be off work by now and my heart had been racing for probably the last half an hour, both nervous and anxious, hoping to hear from her soon.

I had just shut the engine off when I heard a voice calling my name. Climbing out of the vehicle, I realized it was my dad. I quickly jogged out of the garage and headed toward the house. As soon as he saw me from where he sat on the front porch his deep voice echoed loudly through the space between us.

"Jake, Emily called. It's Bella, you need to go now…"

The urgency in his voice caused my heart to falter. Bella! I whipped my head around as distant howling cut through the evening air, emphasizing the urgency. Like a shot, I sprinted toward the woods, one moment on two legs, the next on four.

Sam filled my thoughts the moment I phased. Jake! You need to get to Bella's as fast as you can.

I was already headed in that direction at full sprint. Pictures flashed through my mind, showing me the pack finding the red-head's trail as she was headed to Forks. They were chasing her away when she took to the trees, higher than seemed feasible for the trees to be able to support her weight. Jumping from tree to tree, the pack lost sight of her, and she was gone.

We've picked her trail up again, Sam continued, and she's still headed to Forks but on a different path now. Quil and Paul are on their way straight to Bella's house and the rest of us are following the trail in case the leech is going somewhere else. You will probably beat them to Bella's, but you need to hurry. The leech had too much of a head start and we aren't sure how close she could be.

Damn, I thought and dug deep, increasing my speed even more.

Sam continued, Seth was heading to Emily's to get a message to Alice to bring Bella down to La Push, but I don't know if he's gotten ahold of her yet.

I pushed myself harder, running faster than I ever had before. He must have already gotten there, because Emily called my house not long before I heard your howls. I saw a flash of confusion from Sam… something about the timing between the howls and phone call not making sense, but he wasn't going to focus on that right now, so I put it out of my mind.

Without slowing down as I neared the highway I listened and didn't hear any traffic, so I took a chance and bolted across blindly before turning south toward Forks. As I was nearing Bella's, I heard her call my name, but it didn't sound distant; it sounded like she was inside my head… even clearer than when I heard the pack's thoughts. How was that possible?

I didn't have time to contemplate it. From a short distance away, the sound of crashing metal sent a flurry of birds squawking through the canopy above, then there was a scream that suddenly cut off just as several smaller, quieter cracks sounded through the quieting din of the birds. My stomach turned—was that a bone breaking?

I burst out of the woods and into the yard on the north side of Bella's house, hissing and snarling assaulting my ears as I took in the scene in an instant. The smoking front end of the black Mercedes was wrapped around the tree in the front yard while Alice and the red head danced around each other. Alice was doing a good job staying out of reach of the other bloodsucker and keeping her away from Bella, but she wasn't able to land any significant blows.

Bella was lying motionless between the tree and the house, her left arm twisted in an unnatural position, a dark stain spreading on the ground around her head. My stomach turned at the sight. Blood! Oh god! Lots of it! Is she… no, I can hear her heartbeat… still strong. She's so pale…

Focus Jake! Sam's command cut through my thoughts. We're on our way there now.

I shook my head and focused on the red head, my anger flaring, letting my fighting instincts take over and pushing the image of Bella out of my head. Alice was crouching over Bella now, snarling at the red head. Growling loudly, I launched myself over them and landed right in front of the red head. As soon as my paws hit the ground, I dug in my claws and lunged for her. My teeth caught the edge of her jacket, tearing off a piece as she dodged away, snarling. She turned to counterattack just as I spun to face her again.

We're almost there Jake! Quil thought. We can hear you now.

The red head and I both sprang, and this time my teeth clamped down on her arm as she took a swipe at me with both hands. Her other fingers barely grazed through my fur, then, with a twist and a jerk of my head, the creature let out a horrible scream as I snapped off her arm at the elbow. I jumped away and turned quickly to face her again before she had a chance to leap onto my back. With disgust, I flung the piece of her arm away and heard it land near the trees.

The red head was seething, but she hesitated as Alice and I both had our attention on her. Quil and Paul surged out of the woods to the south of Bella's house, barreling forward at full speed, heading directly at her. Her eyes flicked toward them for the briefest of moments and I used the distraction to lunge at her again. My teeth snapped closed on empty air, barely missing her other arm, as she turned with a hiss at the sight of the other wolves arriving. She dashed back into the forest to the north, Paul, Quil, and I right behind her.

I didn't want to leave Bella, but I also wanted to kill this horrible creature who had hurt her. I didn't make it very far, though, before I felt an incredibly strong pull to go back to Bella, causing my legs to slow on their own, the image of her lying broken on the ground crashing back into my mind.

Go back to Bella, Jake, Sam thought, we'll stay on the red head. We'll be intersecting with Paul and Quil any second now.

I continued trying to push forward though, confused at my body's unwillingness to obey. Both Sam and Jared had similar confused thoughts at the same time… a pull like that only happens with the one you imprint on.

I wondered what the hell that meant, but I wasn't expecting an answer right now. The memory of Bella's voice in my head returned.

Did anyone else hear her? I asked, more to myself, but they all confirmed they did not hear her, not even through my thoughts.

I had made it nearly a mile away, though it had only been about 30 seconds, and every step had become torture. As much as I wanted to get that filthy leech for what she had just done to my Bella, I couldn't fight it anymore. The desire to be with Bella was overwhelming everything else now, and I realized it was not something I could go against, no matter how hard I tried. I felt a shift inside and realized all I wanted now was to be next to Bella. That was my sole purpose, and I no longer felt any desire to pursue the bloodsucker.

As soon as I turned to head back to Bella, I found I could sprint again, and every step brought relief.

I quickly found the small tub of extra clothes Bella had put in the forest nearby the house for me—I hadn't stopped earlier to take off my clothes in my haste to get to Bella—she had even added a used pair of shoes in there… I smiled sadly and my heart ached.

My Bella. That was how I had referred to her just a moment ago, but I didn't know if that was still true anymore. Had she made her decision yet? Would she choose to stay with me?

I didn't have time to think about that right now. No matter what her decision was, it wouldn't change my feelings or actions in this moment.

I shook my head to clear it once more then phased back to human. I threw on a pair of shorts and the shoes. Grabbing a shirt, I sprinted over to where Bella was lying unconscious on the ground. Alice was crouched next to her, holding Bella's hand. I could see the tension in Alice's neck, straining away from all the blood that was saturating the ground. Bella was still losing blood and even more pale than before.

Just as I reached them, I heard someone else approaching from the street and smelled a new vampire. My head snapped toward the sound, and I leaped over Bella to put myself between her and this new threat, my body tensed and trembling. Before I could phase again, I registered the Cullen leader dashing through the yard toward us. So many warring emotions immediately flowed through me: anger caused by the scent and perceived threat of the new vampire; relief that it was the doctor, and he could help Bella; fear because of the amount of blood… what if the doc wouldn't be able to control his thirst; uncertainty because I knew he did this all the time, but did he really never lose control?... This wasn't just some random stranger; this was my life laying broken on the ground.

I was trying to control my instincts to attack, but a growl slipped out of my throat before I could stop it and my stance was not welcoming.

The doc stopped short, holding up his hands, an old-time doctor's bag hanging from one.

"Are you Jacob Black?" he asked.

Alice must have told him about me.

"Yes," I said harshly through clenched teeth, the growl still in my voice, warring inside myself to maintain control.

"My name is Carlisle Cullen and I just want to help Bella. I need to get the bleeding stopped…she has already lost a lot. I promise I will take excellent care of her… and I will not harm her in any way."

I shook my head, trying to get a grip on my emotions… I knew Bella needed help right away. A few deep breaths, concentrating on Bella, and I'd almost reigned it in, only my hands were trembling now.

"I know," I said, my voice reflecting my gained control, but my teeth were still clenched from the effort. "I won't stop you."

The doc nodded and walked by me warily, our eyes staying locked on one another. Alice moved aside to let him get to work, going a good distance away. I imagined she needed some relief from the smell of blood. I was suddenly impressed by the restraint she had shown.

After a few more moments, I finally felt in control enough to move and turned my attention back to Bella, going to kneel across from the doc, on her uninjured side. I was still trying to calm my shaking hands, but the scent of the vampire so near was making it difficult.

The doc gently prodded around Bella's most obvious wounds, lifting her shirt to reveal horrid bruising already forming on her back, and I winced at the sight of it. I saw her fingers move ever so slightly in response to the doc's request to squeeze his hand… she was at least somewhat conscious! I wanted to touch her, comfort her, but I wasn't sure where was a safe place to touch her and not cause more pain.

"Talk to her, let her know you are here, even if it doesn't seem like she can hear you."

I nodded and took her hand when the doc let go of it… that seemed safe. My damn hands were still shaking though and that wasn't going to help anything.

"Bella, I'm here honey." I could hear the worry in my voice. "We're going to take care of you. You're going to be alright now."

I glanced up at the doc and he nodded. "That's good, she's relaxing. Her heart rate just lowered considerably. Try to calm your tremors if you can Jacob."

Damn it, I was trying. I was having enough trouble fighting the urge to get away from the vampire… or attack him. I just needed to focus on Bella… she needed me, and I didn't want to leave her.

Bella suddenly let out the most dreadfully agonizing moan and whispered my name. It was so quiet a normal human wouldn't have been able to hear it and it was laden with so much pain. It struck me right through the heart and my tremors ceased immediately. Nothing remained but concern for Bella.

I leaned down closer to her face and spoke tenderly. "I'm so sorry honey, I know it hurts." Emotion knotted in my throat and pricked at my eyes. I stroked my fingertips softly over her cheek. "Stay strong baby."

"Bella, the morphine should kick in soon," the doc told her in a gentle voice. "Just try not to move right now."

I kept my face close to hers. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere Bella. Do what the doc says. I promise I'll stay with you."

A small, horrible thought crept into the back of my mind. It wasn't important enough to entertain in this moment, so I pushed it away as soon as it surfaced. However, it would probably haunt me until I could talk to Bella again.

What if she didn't want me to stay with her anymore?