Moonlight in Forks

Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A Good Way to Go

Bella tried to mask her fear as she slowly climbed to her feet. This couldn't be happening. It was like a scene out of one of her nightmares. Her heart pounded like a drum in her chest, fast and hot, as she watched the chaotic scene unfold in front of her. It felt like she was on fire and might spontaneously combust at any moment, like someone had set a slow and steady match beneath her center, deep in the pit of her stomach.

How had Victoria found her?

The blonde boy was battling Seth, fear written all over his face, his movements jerky and uncoordinated. He was young in more ways than one. Bella guessed from his brilliant crimson irises that he couldn't have been a vampire for very long. He would be strong, but inept, his clumsy attempt to keep Seth getting the fatal hold on his neck was obvious.

Younger than his opponent in years, Seth was coming across as very self-assured. His mammoth shape flew through the air, throwing the blonde vampire to the ground. He ripped and tore at him, his sharp canine teeth gripping the blonde vampire's hand, literally yanking it off at the wrist. He flung it away, howling in triumph.

But the blonde vampire wasn't done yet. He managed to regain his footing, looking misshapen and haggard, he flung a vicious kick into Seth's shoulder. Bella could hear the bone crunching even at a distance. Seth backed off and started to circle, limping. His adversary had his arms out, ready, his missing hand looking grotesque…

Bella's stricken gaze moved a few yards away to the other fight. Leah's wolf and Victoria were circling each other. From a distance it looked like they were dancing, so gracefully did they move.

Not quite circling, because Leah's wolf body was not allowing Victoria to position herself anywhere near Bella. She sashayed back, moving from side to side, trying to find a hole in the she-wolf's defense.

Leah shadowed Victoria lithely, stalking her with perfect concentration and poise. She moved in exact synchronicity with the red headed vamp, aggravating Victoria immensely. She clearly thought that the gray wolf would be easy to dispatch and by now she would have been able to go after her true target-Bella.

Suddenly Seth lunged at the blonde vampire from the side, drawing Bella's attention back to him. Something tore with a hideous, grating screech. Another heavy white chunk flew right past Bella and landed a few feet away with a dull thud. It was the blonde vampire's other hand. He roared his fury and Seth skipped back-amazingly light on his feet for a wolf his size-as the blonde vampire took another vicious swipe at him with his mangled limbs.

Bella felt nauseated. She tried not to look at the decapitated limb littering the ground nearby. She wished Jake and the rest of the pack would get there. She knew they had to already be on their way. He would have seen through Leah and Seth's eyes that Victoria had fooled them all and was now on the res battling the siblings.

That is if he was able to come. She had no idea how the fight was progressing in the clearing. Maybe they were all overwhelmed, caught amid the battle there, and unable to assist.

Bella tried not think on it. Jacob had to come. Even if the battle was still raging where he was, he would leave immediately and head directly to La Push. She just knew it.

Victoria was leading Leah a merry dance through the tree trunks. There were flashes of light and gray. She appeared in the open again, with the gray wolf hot on her heels. She was torn, her feet pulling her toward safety while her eyes stared over in Bella's direction like a magnet, reeling her in. Bella could see the burning desire to kill warring with her survival instinct.

Then something awful happened-Leah's paws slid on a treacherous patch of mud. She skidded forward, unable to stop herself, she fell right into Victoria's path, allowing the red head to get in a vicious strike to her head. The force of the blow knocked the gray wolf sideways. Bella watched in horror as Leah staggered, her eyes rolling up in her head, right before she fell.

"NO! LEAH!"

Victoria gnashed her teeth, a snarl ripping from her throat at the sound of Bella's distress.

Seth, distracted by what had happened to his sister, faltered in his own attack. His adversary took advantage of that distraction and aimed a vicious kick to his right flank, cutting a deep gash, and winding him. A low yelp coughed out of Seth's throat. He backed away, his shoulders twitching, his eyes wide and despairing as he looked again at his fallen sister.

"Please!" Bella cried. "Leave them alone! Its me you want! I'm right here!"

The blonde vampire was closing the distance between him and Seth again. Seth snapped at his opponent, forcing him back. He wheeled his hurt body toward his sister, standing protectively in front of her, warding off both Victoria and her blonde companion with vicious snaps of his strong jaws.

Bella couldn't stand it anymore. She had to do something to stop this. Something that would turn Victoria and her injured companion's attention directly onto her, thus giving Seth and Leah time to recover so they could defend themselves. Bella was past caring about her own fate, she was focused now, all fear gone. She would save the siblings if it was the last thing she would do in this life.

She had a plan now-she had remembered the story of the third wife's sacrifice.

In the clearing, the newborn battle was still raging, but the tide was slowly turning in the wolves and Cullens favor. There were enough of them now to dispatch the last remaining vampires.

The clouds were rolling in the darkening sky when Jacob got his first glimpse of the horror that was happening in La Push through the pack mind. Terror struck him right to his very core. He immediately abandoned the fight in the clearing and raced away toward home. His strong paws kissed the earth as he ran, the wind keening wildly between the branches of the trees, and stinging his eyes as he plunged into the forest.

Behind him, he heard Sam howl, signaling a warning. The others joined him, one song, no words, just pure anger. Then they were off, bounding after Jacob, their paws flying beneath them as they made for home, ready to defend their borders, leaving the Cullens to finish off the rest of the fight.

None of them were aware of the shadowy figure following them at a distance. Edward Cullen had read their minds, and witnessed the unfolding tragedy that was taking place on the reservation. Anger and desperation made him reckless. He knew that it had been a bad idea to leave Bella on the reservation, protected only by a couple of the greenest wolves. She should have been placed far away, hidden in a place where Victoria would never have been able to trace her. He blamed Jacob Black for that. It had been his interference which had ruined all the carefully laid plans. If anything happened to Bella. If she was hurt or injured in any way, he would make the dog pay. He would kill him, even if it was the last thing he ever did on this earth.

Bella bent down and fumbled on the ground for any type of sharp object she could find. Adrenaline spiked through her veins, giving her a false sense of bravado. Her hand closed around the edges of a jagged piece of stone. She clutched it in her fist, her pounding heart sending the blood rushing to her ears. She felt the sharp edges of the stone dig into her palm.

Standing up again, behind the blonde vampire, she saw the twisting flame of Victoria's hair and a blur of white. The increasingly frequent snap of Seth's sharp teeth sounded loud, adding to the tension in the air. Leah was still down, eyes closed, her flanks rising and falling slowly as she breathed painfully through her slack jaws.

Seth was tiring. Bella could see it. His attempts to defend himself were slowing, his eyes glazing over with exhaustion at keeping the two vampires at bay. He was going to lose. He needed her help. And he needed it now.

Bella's hand gripped the stone so tightly, that a support in the brace snapped. She hadn't even been aware she had been holding the stone in her injured hand.

What did it matter?

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Bella held the stone aloft. She was strong enough. She was brave enough. All she needed to do was shove the stone hard into her body. It would buy Seth time to recover his strength. She could only hope her sacrifice worked like it had for the third wife.

I'm sorry, Jacob. I had no choice. I love you.

With this last thought in mind, Bella raked the point of the shard right across the silvery scar left behind by James' bite. She felt it was only fitting that her blood seeped out of the same source. Bella steeled herself for the sight and smell of her blood, praying that Victoria and her blonde companion would react the same way as Jasper had on the night of her fateful eighteenth birthday, when she accidentally cut herself.

Victoria's head turned swiftly up at the sound of Bella's gasp. Her eyes, holding still for a portion of a second, met Bella's. Fury and curiosity mingled strangely in her expression. Then the bloodlust took over. Her form became a blur as she sped away from Seth, arms outstretched, a maniacal expression taking over her white face.

Suddenly Bella felt cold, icy fingers gripping her throat. She was lifted bodily, her feet leaving the ground as Victoria hoisted her into the air. Her breath was cut off, black spots forming in her eyes, as she fought for air. She could see Victoria's eyes, black, dilated, mad beyond all reason with bloodlust, fixating on hers.

It felt like her innards were being replaced by some kind of black hole. Then nausea crept from her abdomen to her head and the world went black.

Bella had never given much thought to how she would die. But dying in the place of those she loved seemed like a good way to go.

A/N-thanks for reading!