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Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.
Chapter Seventeen-Fight
Edward stared at Jacob unblinkingly. He did not move a muscle. There was no pretence at breathing or any of the physical mannerisms he used in front of normal humans. Jacob thought he looked exactly like the dead creature he truly was. The stench was overpowering, it was so sickly sweet that it made him want to gag. He was having a hard time controlling the urge to phase: images of ripping Cullen to pieces ran through his mind on repeat.
"You are predictable as ever, Jacob Black." Edward had been reading his mind of course. "I must commend you on your vivid imagination."
"You son of a bitch!" Jacob clenched his fists. "You nearly caused a catastrophe today. My son could have died because you just won't leave Bella alone because of your sick, twisted obsession with her."
"My obsession?" Edward's golden eyes burned brighter as he glared at Jacob malevolently. "You cannot comprehend the pure and unadulterated love that I hold for Bella. I worship her, unlike the carnal thoughts that run through your head. You disgust me."
Jacob lost control completely. He just couldn't contain his rage anymore. It was like a volcanic eruption, burning inside of him. Without thought he punched Edward hard on the jaw with enough force to make even the stone vampire reel backwards.
Edward had not hunted in days and it made him weaker than normal. Still his stone skin made Jacob's knuckles crack on contact. Jacob gritted his teeth and ignored the pain as he hit Edward again, making his head rock back and smash into the wall. The impact left a hole in the wall.
Finally, Edward gathered himself together enough to make a mad dash toward his hated love rival, his own hand clenched into a fist. He lashed out but missed as Jacob dodged him easily. He whirled around hastily only to be met with a kick in the balls. He bent over to protect himself as Jacob kicked out again, sending Edward sprawling to the floor.
"You really have no idea how to fight, do you?" Jacob taunted him. He was in a lot of pain, every time he hit Edward, his hard skin cut or fractured one of his bones. Thankfully his quick healing ability knit them back together almost instantly. "You were the same during the newborn fight, that's why you hid up in the mountain with Bells. If Seth hadn't been with you to save your pathetic ass, you would have been a pile of ash by now."
Edward staggered to his feet, his pupils had coalesced, the centre turning black as he glared at Jacob with pure hatred. His veneer of respectability and sophisticated poise had completely vanished. There was no one to put on a show for. He was now the deadly creature he was supposed to be, a vampire who sucked the life blood out of humans. Jacob saw Edward's mouth drop open and the liquid venom shine on his white teeth as he bared them at him.
"You have no idea what I am capable of?" Edward snarled. "I have lived decades longer than you, dog. I have killed many humans and drank them dry. You think you can better me? There is not a chance in hell. When I tear you apart there will be nothing left to stop me taking Bella and Ethan away."
Cullen's venomous words sent a flare of pure fury through Jacob's veins. The flood of heat brought his spirit wolf to the surface. His form shimmered briefly before his clothes ripped apart, the pieces of cloth bursting into fragments as he phased. More chunks were torn out of the wall as his large wolf body failed to fit in the narrow hallway.
Jacob noticed none of this as he launched himself at his hated enemy. Edward seemed stunned; his few seconds of hesitation allowed Jacob to sink his sharp teeth into his shoulder. Pulling back on his haunches, with Edward yelling and frantically trying to claw him away, Jacob bit down hard and ripped the cartilage apart with a sickening crescendo.
The taste of the leech's skin made Jacob want to gag. He spat the arm out of his mouth and onto the floor. Edward quickly tried to grab it with his remaining hand. If he could reattach the limb, it would be saved. Jacob's huge wolf body filled the hall, preventing him from doing so. His russet fur rose up along his spine as he crouched low and growled menacingly at Edward. The wolf had completely taken over Jacob's mind, he was in total control and was determined to end his mortal enemy for good. No rationality was left inside him, this cold one had caused danger to his family and so must pay the ultimate price: Death.
Edward looked deep into Jacob's dark eyes. He saw the rage and hatred gleaming forth. He had never feared another creature ever since he had been turned, but seeing the maddened wolf quivering in front of him, sent a sliver of fright down his spine. He began to retreat from the house, making sure to keep his gaze fixated on the red wolf, and prepare to flee if it launched another attack. Retrieving his arm was a lost cause. He reached the open plan kitchen, the enraged wolf stalking and growling at him every step of the way.
"You really don't want to do this." Edward warned the wolf as he felt his back press against the closed patio doors which led out toward the swimming pool. "You will be seen."
The wolf just lunged at him again with its teeth bared, growling and snarling. Edward fumbled with the lock to the door and managed to slide the glass doors open. Quick as lightening he spun round and sprinted outside. His white skin sparkled like an array of diamonds as the bright sunlight hit his body. It was so blinding that it hurt the wolf's eyes as it followed him out and leaped high into the air, landing right on top of Edward. Their bodies rolled over and over on the patio, knocking the chairs and table out of the way. They grappled with each other, both trying to inflict damage as they wrestled.
Their bodies rolled one last time and fell straight into the swimming pool. The water closed over their heads as the shock made them pull apart. Edward did not need to breathe, but Jacob's wolf did. The chlorinated water filled his lungs, burning his throat as he thrashed about in the water. Edward smiled grimly as he kicked the wolf hard in the ribs, breaking the bones. The wolf tried to howl in agony, but that served only to cause more water to pour down his throat.
Edward quickly swam to the surface and pulled himself out of the pool. He looked up and his eyes met the startled ones of the neighbour's, who had come out to investigate the source of all the noise. The man's eyes widened as he took in Edward's sparkly skin and golden rimmed eyes. "I'm going to call the police." His voice trembled as he spoke to Edward.
"That wouldn't be a wise thing to do." Edward muttered. "I can't have witnesses."
Before the man could react, Edward had sprinted toward him and knocked him out cold with his remaining hand. He quickly looked left and right before dragging the man's comatose body toward his own house and taking him inside.
The pain of his broken ribs forced Jacob to come back into his right mind. He instantly phased back and swam to the surface of the pool. He glanced around, wincing as his ribs ached with every movement. He saw the furniture scattered around and gouges along the stone surface of the patio where he and Edward had fought. Jacob couldn't see Cullen anywhere. He cursed under his breath, knowing that the bastard had got away again. Making doubly sure that no one was looking, Jacob hauled his dripping body out of the pool and sprinted back inside the house.
Carefully he checked every room but there was no sign of the leech, the only evidence he had been there was the arm that Jacob had managed to tear off at the shoulder. Reluctantly picking it up, he rummaged around in the kitchen drawers until he found a lighter, then threw the limb into the sink and set fire to it. The arm burned brightly for a few seconds, emitting a sickly-sweet scent, before disintegrating into ash.
Holding onto his injured side, Jacob went into Phil and Renee's room. He hated doing it, but he needed to borrow some clothes. He opened the wardrobe and pulled out a clean shirt and some shorts belonging to Phil. The shorts were a bit tight, but at least he was covered. He pulled the shirt on, wincing as pain shot through his side. The sleeves of the shirt were too small, but he rolled them up above his elbow and this seemed sufficient.
Jacob then went back out into the main house to assess the damage. The hallway was the worst affected, there were several chunks missing from the walls. The rest was superficial damage that he could easily clean up. Jacob cursed himself at his loss of control. Never in all the time he had been phasing had his spirit wolf managed to battle him and win. Normally Jacob was always in total control of his wolf's body, but today his blind rage at Edward for the hurt he had caused Ethan, and the threat he had issued about taking his family away, had caused him to snap and the wolf's instincts had taken over.
Worst of all they were in a hugely populated area with no tree cover. What if they had been seen when they charged out of the house and fell into the pool? There didn't seem to be anyone about when he got out of the water. Luckily the houses were not right next to each other, but still Jacob was surprised that no one had come out to investigate.
All these worries were flying through his head as he began to clear up as much as he could. He cleaned the hallway down and then the kitchen. After that he headed outside to sort out the scattered furniture. Within an hour his ribs had healed up and he had managed to make the house look presentable again. There was nothing he could do about the gouges in the patio or the missing chunks from the wall though.
Jacob sat down on the cream sofa in the living room and looked around. He wondered where Cullen had gone. He was angry that Edward had managed to slip away, even though he was missing an arm. Sighing, Jacob picked up the house phone, his cell had been damaged when he phased. He dialled Bella's number from memory and waited for her to answer her phone.
"Hello?"
"Bells, its me."
"Jake, are you alright?" Bella was whispering so her mom and Phil wouldn't overhear.
"Yeah." Jacob replied tiredly. "Where are you, honey?"
"We're on our way back now. We should be at the house in ten minutes." Bella told him. "Is Edward still there?"
Jacob hesitated a moment before answering. "No, he's gone."
"Gone? Do you mean gone as in you know?" She questioned him.
"No, unfortunately. He's missing an arm, though." Jacob replied grimly.
"You're not hurt, are you?" Bella asked frantically.
"I was a little, but I'm healed now." Jacob assured her. "We have a problem though, Bells."
"What?"
"The house is beat up a little. I don't know how we are going to explain the damage to your mom or Phil." He admitted.
Bella sighed. "I'll think of something. The main thing is you are okay. I love you, Jake."
Jacob felt the constriction in his chest ease at her words. "I love you too, honey. So much."
"I'll be there soon, Jake."
"Okay." Jacob heard the dial tone as Bella ended the call. He put the phone back in its cradle and leaned back on the sofa, letting his eyes close as exhaustion overwhelmed him.
"What the hell has gone on in here?" Phil demanded as he glared at Jacob. "I know I said we'd leave you alone to have words, but why is there huge great chunks missing out of my walls? Did Edward use an iron bar on you or something?"
Bella held Ethan as she exchanged a look with Jacob. Renee was standing next to her staring around in stunned silence. Jacob ran a hand through his hair as he approached Phil. "I'm sorry. Yes, things got very heated. I promise while I'm here I'll fix up the damage."
"You bet you will." Phil grumbled, his temper easing off as he saw how contrite Jacob looked. "Where is Edward anyway?"
Jacob shrugged. "He crawled off with his tail between his legs."
A small smile flickered across Phil's face. "Good, the man was a complete tool."
"I thought he had very nice manners." Renee finally found her voice.
"For god's sake, Mom! Edward was a creep. He shouldn't have even been here and to be honest you shouldn't have let him stay." Bella reprimanded her.
"Baby girl, I was only thinking of your happiness." Renee protested.
"No, Mom, you just weren't thinking period." Bella retorted irritably, tired of tiptoeing around her mother's feelings.
Easy tears welled in Renee's eyes. She looked to Phil for support, but he just held up his hands. "She's right, Ren. I did warn you."
Renee gave him a hurt look before sweeping out of the living room and into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
"I'm sorry." Bella apologised to Phil. The noise had woken Ethan up and he began to whimper.
Jacob took Ethan from her and began to try and calm him down. For the first time Phil looked closely at Jacob and his eyes narrowed. "One more question?" He said suspiciously.
"Yeah." Jacob replied distractedly as he rocked Ethan gently.
"Why are you wearing my clothes?" Phil demanded.
Jacob exchanged a glance with Bella before giving Phil a sheepish smile.
A/N-thanks for reading!
