Chapter 32

Battle

Paul

Leaving Kelsey is one of the toughest things I've ever had to do. Knowing that she's anxious and there's nothing I can do about it makes my heart ache. I wish I could just run away from everybody and live in a world with just me and Kelsey.

We make our way to the clearing where psychic-leech said the newborn army would meet us. The Cullens and the pack stand on opposite sides of the field, glaring at each other. We've long since fazed into our wolf form, ready to battle. Those of us with imprints are not only fighting for the safety of everyone in Forks, but to return to our imprints as well. Sam's thoughts are on Emily, Jared's are on Kim, and mine are on Kelsey.

The army hits and everything divulges into utter chaos. I charge one of them, clawing at him. I manage to rip him into shreds and deposit the remains onto a fire we have burning. Then I'm off to help Seth rip apart another vamp. The death-screech of vampire skin getting ripped apart echoes around the clearing.

Jacob runs into the clearing, and I have to resist the urge to kill him for leaving Kelsey. I focus my anger on a vamp, tossing him like a Frisbee into the air. Nobody's up there with Kelsey, and I really want at least one of the pack up there. Both to protect her from the army of vamps, just in case, and from Cullen. I don't trust him.

Seth, seeing in my head that I'm plotting murder, leaves us to go up there. I make a mental note to thank him later before returning my attention to tear apart yet another vamp. The fuckers just keep coming!

I notice psychic-leech drop kick a vamp's head into the fire. My respect for her goes up just a tiny bit after that. Not enough to stop thinking of her as a mortal enemy, but maybe enough to use her name. It's Allison, right?

Jacob's taking out some serious rage on a few vamps, his mind going over and over the argument he had with the leech-lover and Kelsey's reaction to said argument. My worry for her notches up a little.

Arms, legs, heads, and other unidentified body parts go flying by. The sound of screeching metal echoes through the woods and surrounding area. I idly wonder what the locals would think. I break rule number one. Rule number one for fighting vamps: don't get distracted. If you get distracted, they'll kill you. And I break rule number one.

I go flying backward, slamming into a tree. I roll forward, wincing as pain racks through my body. I'm lucky my body heals quickly.

Leah and Jared had pounced on the vamp, ending him off quickly. I force myself back into the fight, this time making absolutely sure I'm not distracted.

The battle goes quickly after my little meeting with the tree. We make it through with no casualties, thankfully. We carefully pile up all the body parts that are scattered around the clearing and relight the fire. One of the vamps had kicked it out right before he died.

Dr. Leech and Allison have another leech by the fire. She's curled into a tight ball, rocking back and forth. Apparently, she'd surrendered.

The pack stands together by one of the trees, as first from the leeches as possible. We have fazed back into our human forms, and are talking about the best vamp kills we've made.

"Did you see that head?" Collin gestures with his hands. "It flew a good ten feet!"

"That's nothing." Jared cracks a small smile. "I used a vamp arm to bat one's head in the fire. Home run!"

I turn carefully around in a small circle, looking for any other vamps. Fortunately, I don't find any. Although I spot Mind-Reading Leech with the leech-lover in his arms. Seth, in wolf form, has Kelsey on his back.

I run forward, lifting Kelsey into my arms. I press my lips to hers, savoring the taste of mint and chocolate. She melts into the kiss, her whole body shaking a little. I carefully lower her down to the ground, keeping my arms wrapped tightly around her. She's crying now.

"Hey. Hey, sweetheart." I reach up to gently wipe the tears from her cheeks. "It's okay. We're okay." I rub her back until her tears stop.

"Are you okay?" She pulls back, bluish green eyes quickly scanning my body for injuries. Her fingers gently trace over a small cut on my cheek. "Oh my gosh, you're bleeding!"

"Only a little." I take Kelsey's hand, leaning down to kiss her knuckles. "I'll be fine in just a few more minutes. It won't even scar."

Kelsey leans against me, and I rub her back. She throws her arms back around me, tears in her eyes. Her pump buzzes, and Kelsey forces herself to step back and check her pump.

"Are you okay?" I ask, reaching down to rub her shoulder.

"My blood sugar was high. The bolus just finished delivering."

I nod, pulling her back in. I don't plan on letting go of her any time soon.

"Get a room, you two." Quil yells.

"Shut up, Quil." I yell, flipping him off. Kelsey's blushing slightly.

"How was everything up there?" I turn to Seth.

"Insane. I went up early and just in time to watch Kelsey and Bella go at it. Those two can fight."

"What about?" Jacob demands.

"None of your damn business." I snap, rolling my eyes. Jacob Black is one annoying motherfucker.

"It's okay. We were arguing about how Bella emotionally manipulates everyone. Bitch thinks she's the best thing since fucking sliced bread."

"Hey. Bella's not manipulating anyone." Jacob snaps. "Stop talking about her like that." Jacob is shaking.

"Jacob, go somewhere to faze." Sam orders. Jacob flashes a glare at Kelsey and storms off to faze.

"Yeah." Seth continues. "And then that bitch Victoria shows up, and Bella decides to go on a self sacrificing kick, and damn near cut her arm open. The only reason she didn't is because Victoria got a whiff of Kelsey's high blood sugar."

"What?" I demand, my whole body beginning to shake.

A/n: Haha, cliff hanger; again! I'm so sorry I didn't update earlier; I'm taking two additional classes this semester and school is kicking my ass. Next chapter, you'll finally see what happens with Victoria. I'm not good with writing fight scenes, so any constructive criticism is appreciated. Okay, so if we can get to 117 reviews by Sunday, I'll update then. If not, it'll be on Tuesday. And yes, I'll actually update on time this time. I have the chapter all ready to go up. Later!

Lauren.

Replies to Reviews:

Twilightfanjm: Haha, yeah. That was very satisfying to write. I hate how Bella treats everybody in cannon and how she gets away with it. I hope you like this chapter, too; please review and let me know.

AnnaMarry: Hi, Anna. I'm glad you are enjoying my story. If you wish to reach out to me, feel free to Private Message me at any time. The link is at the top of my profile. I'm usually pretty quick at responding. Thank you for your review. I hope you like this chapter, too; please review and let me know.

Royan Granger-Nott: I'm glad you are enjoying my story and that you like Kelsey's character. Of course I had to leave off on a cliff hanger; there's one here, too. I hope you like this chapter, too; please review and let me know.