Casualties

Sam Uley felt a surge of gratifying pride as he tossed the first piece on the red headed bloodsucker into the fire he and Jared had built on the beach. As far as he knew, none of the last two packs had ever killed a vampire. The last one thought they were going to, but because of the treaty negotiated by Ephraim Black, that never actually happened.

As members of the pack that was charged with protecting the tribe from these and other vile creatures, he, Jared and Paul were fulfilling a sacred and ancient duty. For Sam, a part of that duty felt accomplished tonight. They had saved Jacob Black from a hostile combatant and there was one less vampire in the world.

Piece by piece they burned her. He and Jared had wasted no time getting here and building the fire. It was a task best completed sooner, rather than later. If only the pieces would burn rapidly enough, he thought, they could probably beat Jacob and Paul back home.

Jared tried to keep his thoughts as unobtrusive as possible as Sam stared at the multi-colored flames and tried to think of how they were going to explain everything to Jacob. Technically, nobody outside the council and the three of them were supposed to know about the pack. After what Jacob had just seen, however, there was no way to hide or deny it. Jacob had been acting pretty hostile to him lately, but he hoped that would change when Jacob fully understood the situation.

It actually might be nice, Jared added silently, to have someone else our age who knows, someone to talk to about it all, you know?

Sam agreed, but was more concerned with the immediate task of getting Jacob to believe and understand what they would have to tell him. Sam had a hard enough time coming to terms with it all. He had helped Jared and Paul, but Jared and Paul experienced the change for themselves which made it a reality easier to accept. Jacob would not have that luxury.

Both of them stood there, full of that sense of gratification that comes with fulfilling the purpose you were created for, watching the last of her burn. With his mouth, Sam picked up the small, plastic container they were supposed to use to keep some of the ashes with the tribal leaders and scooped it full of the dust at the bottom of the fire ring. He used his nose to snap the connected lid shut, impressing Jared with his dexterity.

Show off. You could have phased back to do that.

Or, he thought, I could be a good leader and be an example of how to not cop out.

Jared was amused, but knew that the real reason Sam didn't want to phase back was because he wanted to be able to communicate with Paul as soon as there was information to share. They had expected it would take Paul and Jacob awhile to get back to La Push, but Sam had expected to hear something by now.

As he and Jared began to make their way back towards La Push a familiar feeling rushed over both of them. It was the surge they each felt right before another member entered the pack consciousness. But what greeted them next was something they were not expecting.

It was an overwhelming feeling of rage and a sickening realization that something terrible had happened.

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For the first time that day, Bella was scared. Edward and his family kept telling her there was nothing to worry about, that visitors had a habit of stopping by from time to time, curious about their attempts at living a normal, human life, but nothing they said put her at ease. In Alice's vision, these foreign vampires were visiting her house. Charlie could show up there at any time and Jacob was already on his way.

"Everything will be fine, Bella," he said to her again as they walked out of the house towards her truck. They were taking it back so that it would be there later this evening when Charlie came home. Alice and Jasper were going to run through the woods on either side of the road. It was easier to catch the scent of visitors that way. Alice had not been able to nail down the timing of the arrival for the other two, the ones the female was travelling with, so she and Jasper were on the lookout for any signs of them.

Edward opened the passenger door and waited for Bella to climb in. She turned to look at him again, refusing to get in while attempting to make one last plea for reconsideration.

"It's not that I don't trust you, I just don't see why it would hurt to cancel on Jacob. Wouldn't it be better to have as few people near that house as possible?"

"Bella we've been over this. Rose will lead her away before he ever gets there. Even if he does show up at the same time it won't be a problem. Like Alice said, they're just curious and will probably move on soon. It's really important that we hear what Jacob has to say. If the Quileute had any idea…" he trailed off, unwilling to finish the thought. "So like I said, everything will be fine. Please get in the truck or we're going to be late."

She sighed, still refusing to move. "If someone gets hurt over this because of me…"

His golden eyes burned into her, full of concern and something else she could not describe. The sides of his mouth started curling slightly upward as leaned in towards her.

"Do you honestly think I would let that happen?"

As was becoming his habit, he raised his hand and let one cool finger trail down the side of her face before leaning in to kiss her forehead. Her knees started to give out as the sweetness of his breath crept into her nostrils, overcoming her senses. Her breathing grew heavy while his lips moved down her jaw, retracing the line he had just drawn there with his finger, until they finally found hers and started dancing in a fury of movement.

He instantly pushed her backwards into the truck, a gasp escaping her lips as his hands moved down her sides to grab her waist before effortlessly lifting her into the passenger seat and climbing in himself. In one swift motion he lifted her hips so that her knees were resting on the bench seat and her legs now straddled him. Never breaking their kiss he shut the door behind them.

Completely overcome, Bella could feel his hands, still attached to her waist, start to move down her hips and slightly pull at her jeans. A wave of electricity surged through her body. She responded by knotting her fingers into his bronze hair and pushing her lips deeper into his before pulling back to finally break for air.

When she their lips released he moved their positions again, flipping her so that now it was her back that was against the seat of the truck.

He stared at her for several seconds and she was completely lost in the beauty of his eyes and the perfection of his face. But her body was aching for him again so she moved her hands down from his face to the unbuttoned, crisp, white collar of his shirt that was sticking out of the sweater he was wearing over it and began to pull him back into her.

When he moved back in towards her his lips, rather than regaining their place on hers, he planted a swift kiss on her forehead before he rolled off her and settled himself in the driver's seat. Bella was left sitting there untouched, open mouthed and empty handed. The contrast was striking.

As Edward inserted the key he stole out her pocket in the ignition and put the truck in drive he smiled, obviously pleased with himself.

Bella was in shock and still breathing heavily as she realized what just happened. She just stared… first at him, then forward, jaw dropped.

Cocky, she thought, that was the look she couldn't put her finger on before he leaned in for his most unjust attack.

She shook her head in awe.

"I can't believe I fell for that," she said as she sat there next to him on the bench seat in her old truck, crossing her arms and refusing to look at him. When they pulled out of the driveway and onto the road, he tried to put his arm around her but she pushed it off, playfully but with purpose, trying desperately not to smile at his antics.

He leaned in and whispered in her ear, his voice rich like velvet.

"Don't be offended, I can be very convincing."

Her heart was racing but she was determined to protest his attempts to distract her into compliance. Still, she couldn't keep a slight smile from her lips.

"You don't play fair."

"Is it my fault you're so easily distracted?"

"Yes." She was pouting again and she knew it. "I never had issues with concentration before you came along."

He chuckled. "I'm sorry, love."

"No you're not." She was still facing forward with her arms crossed.

"You're right." Out of the corner of her eye she could see him turn to her. She felt him lean in to whisper in her ear again, a move that he had to know was sure to drive her wild. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck bristle as his nose brushed her earlobe.

"Given the opportunity, I would do it again," he kissed her cheek, "and again," he kissed her jaw "and again" he said as he kissed the top of her neck.

As much as she wanted to remain upset with him, Bella had learned over the last week that there were limits to her ability to resist his charm. Preparing to surrender, she was proud that she had been able to regain her senses quickly enough to be mad at him this long after what he had done to her. Then again, if there were ever a preferred method of distracting deception, his technique would be it. Her heart was still pounding so hard in her chest she thought it was going to come out.

Arms still crossed and eyes still forward, she gave in and leaned in to him, letting his arm drape over her shoulder as he pulled her closer. He kissed the top of her head as she laid it on his shoulder.

"You really don't play fair."

They sat in silence the rest of the drive to her house, each caught up in their own reflections on what was becoming a very long, very interesting day. Bella's breathing finally began to slow and she realized that Edward's sham assault had made her start to feel less worried about meeting with Jacob. Of course, she had been worried about his safety and Charlie's, that was the primary reason for her reluctant acceptance of Edward's plan. But that was not the only concern she had.

Now that she had been assured no one would be harmed, she began to think of what she was going to say to Jacob when she saw him. Surely he would start asking questions. When she had been talking to him the day before at the beach, Bella was sure that Jacob didn't believe a word of the stories he was telling her. He has done everything in his power to make sure she understood that he thought the superstitions were silly. But the concern in his voice on the phone tonight suggested that he might have had a change of heart.

She worried that he would start asking her questions that would require her to lie. Edward had explained to her that morning about how important secrecy was to their way of life and she understood why it was necessary. She figured this was why Edward had insisted on coming with her that night. He wanted to use his 'special hearing' to find out if the Quileute were breaking the treaty and warning people about the vampires. That is information his family would need to have.

Bella didn't like the thought of being thrown in to the middle of this argument between Edward's interests and Jacob's. The Black's were practically family and she had really connected with Jacob the day before. If he was there to warn her, she understood why. Vampires were not technically the most healthy friends for a teenage girl. However, she wondered if, by believing the vampire parts of his tribal legends, that meant he also believed the parts about the wolves. Surely, she thought, it would be hypocritical of him to warn her against hanging out with vampires when his people had once transformed into giant werewolves.

She drew in a sharp breath.

"Wolves."

Edward snapped his head towards hers. "What?"

Realization was washing over her in waves. She had been so focused on thinking about vampires this morning that the coincidence had never occurred to her. "I forgot to tell you. I didn't even make the connection until just now."

"Bella, what are you talking about?" Concern soaked every word.

"This morning, before I drove to your house, I was on the highway somewhere outside of La Push. I had stopped and pulled my truck over to the side of the road when this giant wolf jumped onto the hood. Another came running and knocked if off the hood and chased it into the woods and then a third followed them. It was so weird because I swore the one looked at me like it knew who I was."

He was silent for a moment before replying.

"So the pack has returned." She saw his hands tighten their grip on the steering wheel. His eyes never left the road but she could see that they were hard and focused. The energy coming off him now was dangerous. "This certainly complicates things."

She had hoped that he would elaborate but he remained silent, obviously processing the information she had just given him. They were nearly to her house. As her old, red truck turned onto her street she caught her first glance of the house. An old car she had never seen before was sitting in the driveway. It must be Jacob, she thought. He was early.

Suddenly the truck stopped as Edward slammed his foot on the breaks. Alice and Jasper appeared beside the truck next to the driver's side window. Bella gathered one thing from the look that passed between Jasper and Edward: something had gone terribly wrong. Bella's breathing started to grow heavy yet again.

"What happened, Edward?"

He put the truck in park, turned towards her and grabbed her hand.

"Jasper and I are going to look around to try and figure out what's going on. Alice is going to stay here with you." The worry in his eyes intensified that which she was feeling. "Please don't move until I come back."

She nodded as he left her there alone in the truck. He and Jasper moved towards the house. They walked around Jacob's car in the direction of the porch where they both stopped and stared at the ground for a few seconds before snapping their heads up to look at each other for what felt like an eternity. Then they both instantly took off running onto the woods that bordered her house.

Bella felt a knot in her stomach. This could not be good, she thought.

To her right, she saw Alice had moved over to her side of the truck, her face also full of worry. Bella could see that she was trying to concentrate on something, probably trying to figure out why she hadn't seen this. She leaned over and rolled down the window on the passenger side and Alice turned to look at her.

"What's going on?" She tried to keep her voice gentle. Her friend was obviously upset.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. This has never happened to me before. It's always been so clear to see but there are huge parts that are missing. I saw them coming but then they just disappeared. I can't even see Rose right now… or anyone else for that matter. All three were here. Their scent is all over the place but it's not theirs alone. Everything is mixed with a putrid smell I haven't come across before today."

"Do you think someone's figured out how to get around your vision?"

"I have no idea."

Alice shook her head and stared at the ground. Bella felt a surge of sympathy for her. It must be frustrating, she thought, to lose a sense that you rely so often like she did her vision. Bella reached out, opened the passenger door and got out of the truck. She placed one hand on the little pixie's back and started to pat it reassuringly. Alice seemed to appreciate her attempt to comfort because she turned her head back to Bella and attempted a half smile in thanks.

They stood there next to each other in quiet waiting for the boys to return. The sun was getting ready to go down and it was cold. A gust of bitter wind hit Bella's face sending shivers down her spine. Next to her, Alice stiffened and inhaled quickly.

"Oh my…" she said before she started to move back towards the house, walking first, then running.

Bella followed her as she turned up the driveway until she stopped, staring at something on the far side of the little, foreign car sitting in the driveway. It was the same place that Edward and Jasper had stopped before they took off running into the woods. As soon as Bella herself turned up the driveway she saw what Alice was looking at.

Curled up, in a heap on the pavement, were two tan-skinned boys. One of them looked dead and the other one was Jacob Black.

Alice moved toward the dead looking one as Bella fell to the ground in front of Jacob. His skin was still warm and she could see him breathing, but his eyes were closed and his body was limp. She placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to shake him. He didn't move. She took both of her hands and grabbed his face, gently patting it to try and get him to wake up.

"Jacob, wake up…" she was desperately asking.

He started to stir.

His eyes fluttered open and he looked startled when he saw her.

He cried out in pain. His voice was raspy and he was trying to sit up.

"Shhh," she replied as she put a hand on his chest to try and keep him from getting up. "I think you might be hurt, you shouldn't move."

He seemed to agree and laid back down, groaning as his back touched the hard pavement. She left one hand on his face and moved the other to his forehead. It was so warm she was sure he must have a fever.

Bella looked up at Alice to see how the other boy was. Alice wasn't touching him and he wasn't moving at all. She was just staring at his still figure shaking her head back and forth.

"Is he…" Bella couldn't finish the sentence.

She saw Alice move her head up and down once, very slightly.

"Bella listen to me," Alice's back was to her and she was whispering very softly. Bella realized was taking advantage of her newly sharpened hearing skills to make sure that Jacob wouldn't hear. "When your friend sees this he's likely to go into shock and pass out again. But we need to see if we can figure out what he saw before that happens."

The initial fright Bella felt when Edward stopped the truck cold was completely gone, replaced by the same numbness she had experienced at the house earlier that day. She nodded her head in agreement.

Bella moved to reposition her body so that it was blocking his sight in the direction of the other boy. His face was still in her hands, warming them against the bitter cold air. Bewilderment was the best word she could think of to describe the look on his face.

"Jacob, what happened?"

He focused on her eyes, finally recognizing who she was.

"Bella?"

"Yeah, you're at my house and you've been hurt. Do you remember what happened?"

His eyes closed as he began shaking his head furiously, obviously recalling something he wished he hadn't. Bella's heart was breaking for him as she started to get upset with herself for allowing Edward to talk her into this. This is exactly why she had wanted to call and cancel on Jacob. The numbness kept her from feeling the full effect of having an injured Jacob and his dead friend laying in her driveway.

"You'll never believe it."

"Jacob, it's okay. You can tell me."

His eyes opened and he looked at her again.

"Would you believe me if I said I think those stories I told you yesterday might have been true."

She looked earnestly back at him and brushed a piece of his long, black hair out of his face.

She nodded. "I would."

He looked back at her as if trying to determine if she was telling the truth. Eventually he seemed to understand that she really did believe him and began to explain what happened. His eyes never left her face, so she couldn't turn to see where Alice was and if Edward and Jasper were on their way back yet, but eventually she heard them approach. She tried to keep Jacob's attention on her until he finished his retelling, afraid that he wouldn't finish if he saw the Cullen's standing around behind her.

Bella was horrified as he described his encounter with the red-headed female and Rosalie. Though he only referred to her as the blonde, Bella was positive that was who he was talking about. When he described the arrival of the wolves, her heart stopped for a moment, positive these were the same three she had seen this morning. Without turning around, she could hear Alice gasp when he described what they did to the red head.

He started to shake when he recounted the conversation between Sam, Paul and Rosalie. Then he stopped. His eyes left hers and focused on nothing.

"Then there was this white blur and I got slammed into the side of the car. That's the last thing I remember."

Behind her, she could hear someone slowly approach her. Her gut told her it was Edward. A cold hand was placed on her shoulder.

"That's enough," he said quietly.

Jacob could now hear and see him, realizing for the first time that he and Bella were not alone. Forgetting the pain he was in, the boy shot up so that he was staring at all four of them. He got up onto his feet and started backing away from them, grabbing Bella by the wrist as if to drag her off with him. Bella had expected him to be scared when he saw Edward, Alice and Jasper now that he claimed to believe the stories about them and she wasn't surprised he would be trying to pull her away from them. But there was something else in his eyes that seemed deeper than a fear of vampires.

Edward, of course, would not allow her to be dragged away. Faster than she was able to see how, his hand darted to her wrist and replaced Jacob's hold to it before she was pulled backward into his arms. Jacob looked stunned at her, gone from his grasp, for a few second before his eyes turned towards the ground and quickly found the body that was lying there.

…

For the second time that day, Jacob Black felt like he had been slammed into the side of a car. Wave after wave of emotion came crashing down on him as he tried to force his mind to find the words to explain what he was looking at. After several failed attempts he finally formed the sentence.

Paul was dead.

Sorrow and confusion were instantly replaced by rage, the likes of which Jacob had never before experienced. His entire body started shaking with it. His breathing grew deep and heavy as he tried, unsuccessfully, to maintain control of his limbs. The shaking was coming from his core and nothing he tried could stop it. He watched Bella and her friends slowly start backing away from where he was standing next to his dead friend.

From somewhere deep within, a loud cry erupted from his throat. The sound of it echoed as it bounced off the empty house and the trees that surrounded it. He could feel an electric current forming in his torso that began to spread throughout his body, carried by his anger. The boy who had his arms around Bella moved her so that she was now behind her as he crouched into a protective stance. The other two leaned forward as well.

He felt a sudden and strong urge to try and grab Bella and run. He needed to protect her, to get her out of there but when he tried to move he found that he couldn't. The convulsions that had overtaken his body cemented him to the spot where he was standing.

Then, as he tried to move and lunge forward again, an explosion of energy inside of him propelled him forward. Arms forward, he went after the one blocking Bella.

"Let her go," was what he had intended to say. What came out was nothing more than an angry, animal growl.

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Author's Note: We're getting closer to the end! I think there will only be two or three more chapters before this story is done and another is set up to begin :)

I know the turn these last few chapters have taken is a little different and I hope it's not terribly disappointing. Do we like it or not? Is focusing on this plot worthwhile or should I have left either the Quileute or James, Laurent and Victoria out completely? Is there anything you think needs to happen before it's over? Please let me know…