Jacob POV:
Jacob, focus
I could hear Sam's voice breaking through the chaos and the fog. My mind was reeling and despite all four of my paws on solid ground, it felt like the world was shifting sideways.
Jacob, snap out of it, we need you
Sam's voice was becoming stronger, I was slowly remembering where I was and what we were doing. Panic set in. The bloodsucker was still standing right in front of us, right by a smaller figure with a distinctly human scent. I shook my head to clear my thoughts.
Jake, what just happened? I heard Embry say.
Now is not the time! Get in formation!
Sam commanded in his superior alpha tone. I felt my brothers bend under his command and we all shifted our mind and thoughts forward towards the vampire. It had only been a few seconds, but my world had changed. No, I had changed, but I didn't have time to think about it. The bloodsucker was slowly retreating back into the woods, we only had a few seconds to act. Sam commanded us forward to attack and we all leapt to action, advancing on our enemy with the insane speed I had already grown accustomed to.
As we advanced and my vision cleared I heard an audible gasp and whipped my head towards the direction of the sound. It couldn't be...
"Bella!" I screamed, but nothing more than a shocked growl came out.
How could she be here? We were nowhere near a hiking path, it was impossible. Bella could barely navigate from the front of her house to her car without incident.
Jacob, please focus, if we kill the bloodsucker she'll be safe. If we don't we are all in danger, and he will go after her first. FOCUS.
I knew he was right, I cleared my mind and focused my attention on the matter at hand. I stole one last look in Bella's direction and saw her running away into the tree line and couldn't help but suppress a chuckle thinking about her tearing through the woods, with her two left feet. Then, I pounced.
Bella's POV
Pure adrenaline coursed through my veins as I ran through the thick forest. Branches and vines didn't slow me but were making it considerably harder than normal to run straight with purpose. The shock and the fear had all but wiped my mind of any thoughts except survival. It was a strange feeling, it was as though the fear was coursing through my veins making me glow from the inside.
After what could have been 10 minutes or an hour, I wasn't sure, I stumbled onto flat earth and fell face first to the ground. I groaned as I rolled over flat on my back to look up at the wide canopy of trees. The only thing I could hear was the sound of my own heart and my desperate attempt to get air into my lungs. I stayed there until the sounds of the forest returned and my heart slowed back to a normal pace. I checked my watch and jumped up again with alarming speed. The movement made me dizzy and I had to balance myself on a nearby tree. I only had a few hours of light left and I had no idea where I was. This is not the time to panic, pull yourself together and take out your compass.
I spent the next several minutes figuring out which way to go and headed off in seemingly the right direction. The sun was still shining brightly in the sky, streams of it came through the thick canopy of trees. But the light dimmed as the hours went on until finally I found my way to the road. Nearly no light remained as I pulled my truck up to the house. I could see the lights on, Charlie was home already. With abnormal force I burst through the door, startling Charlie.
"Bella where….what happened?!"
Oh crap, I must look like the woods themselves attacked me. I looked down at my clothes and saw that nearly every article of clothing was ripped and stained with mud. It was under my nails and in my shoes, and most likely smeared across my face.
"I'm okay! I'm okay! I just fell while running out of the woods." I said, in a voice that I did not recognize. It had a strange energy behind it.
"The woods?! Why were you in the woods? What was chasing you?" The moment the words left his lips his face went white. "The bear?" he said, weakly.
I opened my mouth to respond but hesitated. It wasn't a bear, it was a wolf. No, not a wolf, wolves, plural. Sure, they were bigger than any wolves I had ever seen before, but unmistakable.
"Bella?" Charlie insisted, "What happened?"
Something in my bones was screaming at me that this was information that should not be shared with Charlie. But why? They were surely dead by this point, killed by Laurent.
Laurent.
It all came crashing back to me. The strange pulsing energy that had been driving me to safety up to this point seemed run out. I couldn't open my mouth to form words, and my legs were wobbling. Laurent was back and there was no one to keep me safe, not this time.
After months and months of feeling like I wanted to die, I suddenly was overwhelmed with fear. My survival instinct came in full force like a tidal wave. The weight of it made me crumple to the ground.
"Bella!" Charlie yelled, running for me and wrapping his arms around me.
His frantic voice was the last thing I heard before I passed out.