Disclaimer. All publicly recognizable characters, settings etc., are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I only do this for fun.

Dhampir: Broken Moonlight

A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here's my gift to you guys for the new year! Hope you like it! I have been getting a lot of reviews both on here and Wattpad to update, so here you go! School has really been kicking my ass this year, lol. College has been crazy hectic! Enjoy!

NEW TWILIGHT BOOK: Also, has anyone read SM's new Twilight: Life or Death? It's a 10th anniversary eddition of Twilight with new additions to the first novel, but also a completely new one where she switches the characters around and has a female as 'Edward' and a male as 'Bella'. The whole book is switched around and characters renamed. Ex: Bella is named Beau and Edward is named Edythe. Check it out, it's pretty good!

If you have any questions, post them in my reviews and I will answer them in my next Author's Note at the bottom of the chapter. I hope that you enjoy the story and look forward to hearing your thoughts!

REMINDER: If you go to my Wattpad page – where I have also posted most of my stories, including this one – you will see that I have posted PICTURES of a scene from each chapter inside the story with the chapter! So, take a look and tell me what you think! There are even Jasper Romance pics! The user name (penname) is the same as this one so it won't be hard to find. Or you can click on the link on my profile! - Bella'Xo

Previously…

(Lilly's POV)

"Hey," Charlie said, his voice suddenly suspicious again, and I paused. "Didn't you say Jacob was gone for the day?"

"That's what Billy said," she told him, confused by his question.

He studied her expression for a minute, and seemed satisfied with what he saw there.

"Huh."

"Why?" she demanded. It sounded like he was implying that she'd been lying to him about something.

"Well, it's just that when I went to pick up Harry, I saw Jacob out in front of the store down there with two of his friends. I waved hi, but he...well, I guess I don't know if he saw me. I think maybe he was arguing with his looked strange, like he was upset about something. And...different. It's like you can watch that kid growing! He gets bigger every time I see him."

As I listened to Charlie talk, I realized that he must have seen Jake with Sam and Paul when they went to the store for Emily before they started patrolling. I was relieved that Jasper and I had decided not to go, staying with Emily back at the house, or it would have ruined everything.

"Billy said Jake and his friends were going up to Port Angeles to see some movies. They were probably just waiting for someone to meet them." Bella explained.

"Oh." Charlie nodded and headed for the kitchen.

"I'll see you upstairs," I whispered as I opened the front door.

Bella seemed deep in thought, but nodded, regardless, as she stood in the hall, closing the door behind me.

Chapter 31: Soulmates and Cults
(Bella's POV)

I began thinking about Jacob arguing with his friends. I wondered if he had confronted Embry about the situation with Sam. Maybe that was the reason he'd ditched me today - if it had meant he could sort things with Embry, I was glad he had. I was also glad that Lilly and Jasper were back in the area, and they couldn't have come back at a more perfect time.

I paused to check the locks again before I went to my room to meet her. It was a silly thing to do. What difference would a lock make to any of the monsters I'd seen this afternoon? I assumed the handle alone would stymie the wolves, not having opposable thumbs. And if Laurent came here…

Or...Victoria.

A tapping on my window caught my attention and I realized that I forgot to unlock it since their return. I made my way over and pushed it open before Lilly climbed inside, closing it behind her before making my way over to my bed to sit down.

I was still shaking really hard and I felt her wrap a comforting arm around my shoulders.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" She asked softly in concern.

I nodded and began to regale her with everything that had happened, starting with Jake's confusing, illusive behavior and what Billy had said, to finding the meadow, and the near death confrontation with Laurent, ending with the pack of giant wolves who saved me as I ran home.

Bringing my legs up to my chest, I knew that there was nothing I could do. There were no precautions I could take. There was no place I could hide. And there were only two people who could help me.

I realized, with a nauseous roll of my stomach, that the situation was worse than even that. Because all those facts applied to Charlie, too. My father, sleeping one room away from me, was just a hairsbreadth off the heart of the target that was centered on me and Lilly. Our scents would lead them here, whether we were here or not.

The tremors rocked me until my teeth chattered.

"Shh…" Lilly calmed me, pulling me into a hug. "Everything will work itself out. We'll protect you and Charlie. We won't let anything happen to any of you, my parents included."

"But there's only two of you, and -"

"It will be okay," she cut me off. "I promise."

I nodded with a sigh, knowing there was nothing else to say on the matter, and, to be frank, I was completely wiped out.

"I'm going to go and talk to Jasper about this, but we won't be far. Call me if you need me." She said, having noticed the way I was forcing myself to keep my eyes open.

I nodded, giving her a weak smile. "Thanks."

"It will all be okay, Bella. You'll see." She promised me one last time before climbing out the window and dropping to her feet.

I watched as she disappeared before my eyes in the direction of the treeline and sighed, pushing my window shut and locking it - for my own piece of mind.

Slipping under my quilt, I curled into a cramped ball. To calm myself, I fantasized the impossible: I imagined the big wolves catching up to Laurent in the woods and massacring the indestructible immortal the way they would any normal person. Despite the absurdity of such a vision, the idea comforted me. If the wolves got him, then he couldn't tell Victoria I was here all alone with only two vampires for protection, one of those vampires being Lilly, who she wanted dead, as well. If he didn't return, maybe she'd think all the Cullens were still protecting me. If only the wolves could win such a fight…

The rest of my good vampires were never coming back; how soothing it was to imagine that the other kind could also disappear.

I squeezed my eyes tight together and waited for unconsciousness - almost eager for my nightmare to start. Better that than the pale, beautiful face that smiled at me now from behind my lids.

In my imagination, Victoria's eyes were black with thirst, bright with anticipation, and her lips curled back from her gleaming teeth in pleasure. Her red hair was brilliant as fire; it blew chaotically around her wild face.

Laurent's words repeated in my head. If you knew what she had planned for you…

I pressed my fist against my mouth to keep from screaming and squeezed my eyes shut as tightly as I could, hoping and praying that Lilly's words of encouragement and promise would come true.

(Lilly's POV)

Jasper's eyes were pitch black when I arrived back home to the Cullen mansion. He grumbling on the phone with who sounded like Jake, but immediately hung up with him when he saw me walk in, flitting over to me to take me into his arms.

"Thank God, you're okay," he murmured into my hair, taking in deep breaths of my scent.

"Of course I'm okay," I smiled to myself, running my hands up and down his back in a comforting manner.

He let out a deep breath and I felt the tension leave his body as he practically sagged against me before pulling back, looking me up and down as if to reassure himself that I was really as okay as I said I was.

"So, what happened with Laurent?" I asked hesitantly, not wanting to send him back into a rage. Going by the darkness of his eyes, it didn't take much to guess that the Major had made his appearance this evening.

His expression hardened and a growl rumbled up and out of his chest. "He's dead."

"Hm," I hummed, running a hand down his bicep, over his elbow and forearm to take his hand in mine. "I thought as much," I admitted as I pulled him over to the loveseat and sat down, tugging him down to sit beside me where I rested my head against his chest and curled up in his arms. "You want to tell me what happened?"

He sighed, "He's been drinking human blood behind everyone's back the entire time. Apparently he hadn't anticipated the discipline it took to truly become acclimated into our lifestyle. I could tell that he at least felt somewhat apologetic for wasting everyone's time and resources on a lost cause, but that was mostly for Irina's sake."

Irina…

"She's not going to like this," I pointed out.

Jasper winced, "I don't imagine that she'll take this well. But, on a positive note, they weren't true mates, just companions. So, there won't be any real pain, only grief."

"Doesn't make it any less sad," I murmured.

"No," he agreed, "It doesn't. But he was too easily manipulated and would have caused a lot more damage than it was worth keeping him alive."

I nodded. "What else did you get from him? What about Victoria?"

He pulled me tighter against him at the mention of the fiery redhead, and sighed. "She supposedly got in contact with him the day before he left the Denali's, though I have reason to believe that he never truly broke contact with her. He claimed she sent him here to ascertain how difficult it was to get to Bella, not knowing that we were here, as well."

"She really didn't send him here to kill her?"

"No," Jasper confirmed. "He was just hungry and willing to suffer Victoria's wrath to make a meal out of her."

I gritted my teeth at the vampire's blatant disregard for innocent life. "Anything else?" His body tensed at my question, causing me to pull back to look up at him. "Jasper?"

He swallowed thickly and nodded. "She wanted to take out Bella first, believing she would be the easiest to kill, but then plans on coming after you next."

I sucked in a breath. "Me? Why? What did Bella and I even do to warrant any of her anger?"

I could feel his anger unconsciously seeping out of him and heard him gritting his teeth, "You heard Laurent when he was talking to Bella. She believes it to be justice since I killed her mate, and, while Edward wasn't the one to necessarily dispose of him, he played a large role in James' death. She knows that your death will make me feel the pain that she does now that I killed him - a mate for a mate."

"But it's not your fault that her mate started to hunt Bella, trying to kill her and kidnap me! He caused his own death by trying to take something that didn't belong to him in the first place!" Jaspers anger was feeding into mine, causing my outburst. He must have realized this too, because I suddenly felt calmer, a large portion of my anger gone.

"I know that, Darlin'," he placated me, rubbing his hand up and down my arm as I laid my head back down against his unbeating heart. "I won't say I agree with her logic, but I understand it."

I snorted, "Really? How?"

"What would you do if it were the other way around and it were me that was killed, no matter the circumstances surrounding my death?"

I sucked in a breath as my hand shot up and clutched at my chest, the sudden pain I was feeling taking over my senses. My eyes teared up, threatening to spill over and down my cheeks.

"Exactly," he responded, having made his point, leaning down to press a hard kiss to the crown of my head. "It wouldn't matter what you did to provoke anyone into killing you. I would do whatever it took to avenge your death in the way I saw fit before I could be with you again."

"Be with me again?" I questioned.

He scoffed, "Do you really think I would be able to survive in this world without you now that I've found you?" He gave me a dubious look. "No. I would do what I had to in order to punish those responsible - no matter how long it took - before diving face-first into the nearest pire."

"But why seek out death?"

Jasper let out a long sigh, "Do you remember what you were just feeling when you pictured my death?"

I swallowed thickly, doing my best not to let that thought consume me again; it was painful enough the first time. "Yes," I nodded, focusing on the feel of his body against mine in the here and now, knowing that he was here and safe.

"Imagine feeling like that for all eternity."

I let that information digest. "It never goes away or gets less painful, does it?"

"No," he confirmed. "It only gets worse. The reason why the call us soulmates is because you are the other half of my soul. Once the two halves are finally together, like ours have become, one half can no longer truly live without the other. Sure, we can go through the motions since we technically aren't alive in the same way a human is, but that's just a vessel..

"When a vampire loses his or her mate, they usually will seek to avenge them before seeking death themselves. If not, the vampire will slowly begin to emotionally disintegrate from the pain. Most who don't succeed in death end up losing their minds and do something to warrant the attention of the Volturi where they are usually destroyed - unless that said vampire has a gift Aro covets to which he will use Chelsea to manipulate their bonds."

"That's horrible!" I gasped.

He nodded, "I agree."

"Does everyone lose their sanity?"

"No, but it's very common and slow building. It depends on several variables, the strength of the bond being the main one."

He started to lose me there. "What do you mean 'strength'?"

"Well, as you know, you and I have an abnormally strong bond and there are different things the pair can do to strengthen their bond as well as weaken it. For example, if they were bonded mates, which is when the vampire sired their other half. However, that is really rare. Carlisle and Esme are the only bonded pair I know of. Also, when the pair consummates their bond - that adds strength."

"What else?"

He ran his fingertips over his claiming mark on my neck, sending chills down my spine. "Marking is another way to make a bond stronger." He smirked. I smiled at that as he went on, his smile fading. "But, like I said, there are ways to weaken it, just like with any bond. For example, dishonesty, abandonment, infidelity, and, though it goes against instinct, physical and emotional harm. Though, none of that is very common as it also hurts themselves as well as their mates, going against their instincts."

We lapsed into silence for several seconds as I soaked in all of the new information I had learned about our kind and soulmates.

"Have you ever met a vampire who lost their mate?" I suddenly asked.

"Yes," he replied solemnly. "I won't go into details, but the majority of them are dead now. Maria was always very strict when it came to mated vampires. She didn't allow any in her army, which is why Peter and Charlotte kept their relationship a secret. It was too messy and the army wasn't the place for mated pairs."

"I can see why," I murmured.

"One of the first rules she taught me when we went into battle was to always dispose of the mate of any vampire you kill."

"Then why..."

"Didn't we hunt and kill Victoria after we killed James?" He finished for me, and I nodded. Jasper let out a long exasperated sigh. "I tried to tell Carlisle that we needed to do so. But, as I'm sure you might have noticed, Victoria is supernaturally gifted when it comes to evasion. Edward had convinced him that she wasn't a threat and, you know Carlisle. He is against any unnecessary killing."

"And look how well that turned out," I grumbled.

"I know," he agreed, "But we won't make the same mistake twice." He paused, shifting the conversation, "There is only one vampire that I know of who is still alive after losing their mate; Marcus Volturi."

I thought about that for a moment. "Do you think that's what she's planning - to kill herself after she gets her revenge?"

"It's definitely possible," He admitted, but pulled back to look down at me, his dark eyes shining back at me. "But, either way, I won't let that happen - I promise you, Lils! She won't get anywhere near you if I have anything to say about it, and, believe me, I do."

I smiled softly and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. "I know you won't. I believe in you."

"That means the world to me, that you have that kind of faith in me." He let out a deep breath of air through his words.

"I'll always have faith in you." I promised as we settled back in and I curled into my favorite place against his chest. "Did anything else happen with Laurent?"

He shifted awkwardly. "I'm not sure. I don't think so, but I blacked out at the end after he mentioned Victoria's plans for you. I was just on the phone with Jake when you got back, but never got to finish the conversation."

"We'll talk to him tomorrow," I decided. "For now, lets just relax. It's been a really hectic day."

"Agreed."

(Bella's POV)

Each time that I opened my eyes to the morning light and realized I'd lived through another night was a surprise to me. After the surprise wore off, my heart would start to race and my palms would sweat; I couldn't really breathe again until I'd gotten up and ascertained that Charlie had survived as well.

I could tell he was worried - watching me jump at any loud sound, or my face suddenly going white for no reason that he could see. From the questions he asked me now and then, he seemed to blame the change on Jacob's continued absence.

The terror that was always foremost in my thoughts usually distracted me from the fact that another week had passed, and Jacob still hadn't called me. But when I was able to concentrate on my normal life - if my life was ever really normal - this upset me.

I missed him horribly.

It had been bad enough to be alone before, but now I was scared silly. Now, more than ever, I yearned for his carefree laugh and his infectious grin. I needed the safe sanity of his homemade garage and his warm hand around my cold fingers.

I half expected him to call on Monday. If there had been some progress with Embry, wouldn't he want to report it? I wanted to believe that it was worry for his friend that was occupying all his time, not that he was just giving up on me.

I called him on Tuesday, but no one answered. Were the phone lines still having problems? Or had Billy invested in caller I.D.?

On Wednesday, I spend most of the day alone, Lilly and Jasper having gone out to try to pick up Victoria's trail, and I called every half hour until after eleven at night, desperate to hear the warmth of Jacob's voice.

Thursday I sat in my truck out front of my house - with the locks pushed down - keys in hand, for a solid hour. I was arguing with myself, trying to justify a quick trip to La Push, but I couldn't do it.

I knew that Laurent had gone back to Victoria by now. If I went to La Push, I took the chance of leading one of them there. What if they caught up to me when Jake was nearby? As much as it hurts me, I knew it was better for Jacob that he was avoiding me. Safer for him.

Lilly and Jasper were another story altogether. They were always working to hunt Victoria, doing their best to watch over Charlie and I. But there was only two of them and they couldn't keep watch all the time. When I voiced my concerns, they would only tell me not to worry and that she wouldn't get anywhere near me. However, their words were in vain as worrying was what I did best.

Lilly and Jasper had taken to spending her nights outside my house. I had offered for them to come in, but Lilly confided in me that it was harder on Jasper to be enclosed in such a small space with me where my scent was the strongest along side with another vampire - her thirst affect him via his gift. But he would always send me to sleep with a wave of lethargy, which helped more than anyone knew as I would never be able to fall asleep without it.

I talked to them frequently about my worries regarding Jacob, and their best advice was to give him some time, that he was probably trying to get over my rejection from when we all went to the movies with Mike. Easier said than done. I wasn't even really convinced that this was the case. They said that they hadn't heard from him either, but wouldn't say more than that. Sometimes, it felt like they were hiding something, and I could tell from the uncomfortable, distraught looks shared between them that something was definitely going on there. But one problem at a time.

Friday afternoon, as I drove home from school, something suddenly hit me out of the blue. I wasn't paying attention to the familiar road, letting the sound of the engine deaden my brain and silence the worries, when my subconscious delivered a verdict it must have been working on for some time without my knowledge.

As soon as I thought of it, I felt really stupid for not seeing it sooner. Sure, I'd had a lot on my mind - revenge-obsessed vampires, giant mutant wolves, a ragged hole in the center of my chest - but when I laid the evidence out, it was embarrassingly obvious.

Jacob was avoiding me. CHarlie saying he looked strange, upset...Billy's vague, unhelpful answers, Jasper and Lilly's uneasy glances when the subject was brought up.

Holy crow, I knew exactly what was going on with Jacob.

It was Sam Uley. Even my nightmares had been trying to tell me that. Sam had gotten to Jacob. Whatever was happening to the other boys on the reservation had reached out and stolen my friend. He'd been sucked into Sam's cult.

He hadn't given up on me at all, I realized with a rush of feeling.

I let my truck idle in front of my house. What should I do? I weighed the dangers against each other.

If I went looking for Jacob, I risked the chance of Victoria or Laurent finding me with him.

If I didn't go after him, Sam would pull him deeper into his frightening, compulsory gang. Maybe it would be too late if I didn't act soon.

It had been a week, and, according to Lilly and Jasper, no vampires had come for me yet. A week was more than enough time for them to have returned, so I must not be a priority. Most likely, as I'd decided before, they would come for me at night. The chances of them following me to La Push were much lower than the chances of losing Jacob to Sam.

It was worth the danger of the secluded forest road. This was no idle visit to see what was going on. I knew what was going on. This was a rescue mission. I was going to talk to Jacob - kidnap him if I had to. I'd once seen a PBS show on deprogramming the bainwashed. There had to be some kind of cure.

I decided I'd better call Charlie first. Maybe whatever was going on down in La Push was something the police should be involved in. I dashed inside, in a hurry to be on my way.

Charlie answered the phone at the station himself.

"Chief Swan."

"Dad, it's Bella."

"What's wrong?"

I couldn't argue with his doomsday assumptions this time. My voice was shaking.

"I'm worried about Jacob."

"Why?" he asked, surprised by the unexpected topic.

"I think...I think something weird is going on down at the reservation. Jacob told me about some strange stuff happening with the other boys his age. Now he's acting the same way and I'm scared."

"What kind of stuff?" He used his professional, police business voice. That was good, he was taking me seriously.

"First he was scared, and then he was avoiding me, and now...I'm afraid he's part of that bizarre gang down there, Sam's gang. Sam Uley's gang."

"Sam Uley?" Charlie repeated, surprised again.

"Yes."

Charlie's voice was more relaxed when he answered. "I think you've got it wrong, Bells. Sam Uley is a great kid. Well, he's a man now. A good son. You should hear Billy talk about him. He's really doing wonders with the youth on the reservation. He's the one who -" Charlie broke off mid-sentence, and I guessed that he had been about to make a reference to the night I'd gotten lost in the woods. I moved on quickly.

"Dad, it's not like that. Jacob was scared of him."

"Did you talk to Billy about this?" He was trying to soothe me now. I'd lost him as soon as I'd mentioned Sam.

"Billy's not concerned."

"Well, Bella, then I'm sure it's okay. Jacobs a kid; he was probably just messing around. I'm sure he's fine. He can't spend every waking minute with you, after all."

"This isn't about me," I insisted, but the battle was lost.

"I don't think you need to worry about this. Let Billy take care of Jacob."

"Charlie…" My voice was starting to sound whiney.

"Bells, I got a lot on my plate right now. Two tourists have gone missing off a trail outside crescent lake." There was an anxious edge to his voice. "This wolf problem is getting out of hand."

I was momentarily distracted - stunned, really - by his news. There was no way the wolves could have survived a match-up with Laurent…

"Are you sure that's what happened to them?" I asked.

"Afraid so, honey. There was -" He hesitated. "There were tracks again, and...some blood this time."

"Oh " It must not have come to a confrontation, then. Laurent must have simply outrun the wolves, but why? What I'd seen in the meadow just got stranger and stranger - more impossible to understand. Maybe Lilly or Jasper can shed some light.

"Look, I really have to go. Don't worry about Jake, Bells. I'm sure it's nothing."

"Fine," I said curtly, frustrated as his words reminded me of the more urgent crisis at hand. "Bye" I hung up.

I stared at the phone for a long minute. What the hell, I decided.

Billy answered after two rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Billy," I almost growled. I tried to sound more friendly as I continued. "Can I talk to Jacob, please?"

"Jake's not here."

What a shock. "Do you know where he is?"

"He's out with his friends." Billy's voice was careful.

"Oh yeah? Anyone I know? Quil?" I could tell the words didn't come across as casually as I'd meant them to.

"No," Billy said slowly. "I don't think he's with Quil today."

I knew better than to mention Sam's name.

"Embry?" I asked.

Billy seemed happier to answer this one. "Yeah, he's with Embry."

That was enough for me. Embry was one of them.

"Well, have him call me when he gets in, all right?"

"Sure, sure. No problem."

Click.

"See you soon, Billy," I muttered into the dead phone.

As I stared at the phone, I decided that if I was going to do this, I would need back up. Jasper wasn't allowed on the reservation, but Lilly was.

I dialed her number, but no answer.

Weird.

Maybe she and Jasper found something?

I left a voice message. "Hey Lilly, it's Bella. Listen, I think I figured out what's going on with Jake and I'm getting ready to head there right now. Meet me there when you get this. I'll talk to you soon."

Hanging up the phone, I grabbed my keys and dashed out the front down and climbed back up into the cab of my truck before heading towards the La Push reservation.

A/N: So, what did you guys think? I hope it was worth the wait. The next chapter Bella confronts Jake! Any ideas? I wanted to show Bella's POV so you could see what was going on what was going through her head when she decided to finally go and 'rescue' Jake. Let me know what you think will happen next! Review!

If you have any questions or comments, post them in my reviews and I will answer them in my next Author's Note at the bottom of the chapter!

Guest: Will it show the first heat? Also, can you have a scene with Lilith and Jasper?

Bella'Xo: Yes, it will show her first heat and there will be more future scenes with Lilith and Jasper! Thanks for the review!

griezz: I just noticed something that I'm not sure whether or not it was a mistake, either on the author's part or on the character's part. During the class introductions, Rosalie mentions how much she likes to spend time with her hubby, Emmett. Isn't it SOP for the Cullen kids to identify themselves in public as boyfriend/girlfriend rather than as spouses? Was this a slip by Rosalie or did the writer goof? I have been enjoying the storyline, and hope another chapter appears soon. Thanks for sharing!

Bella'Xo: Hubby wasn't meant to be used as the word 'husband' but in an affectionate term for her serious boyfriend, while discretely mentioning him as her husband to the other Cullen's present as a joke. Thanks for the review!

The Yin and Yang Fallen Angel:I really like your stories they're really good. Update soon please and also to the other stories you also have. I have a question: when is Lilly going to heat since you said it happens every few months?

Bella'Xo: I've noticed a lot of you have been wondering about her 'heat', and what is happening is that she won't get her first one until she hits the point where she will no longer age. Since she is a Dhampir, she is still growing, even though she is approaching the stopping point. After she hits that, she will get her first heat and you will all see what happens then! Thanks for the review! ;-)

CRAZYNERDGIRL: Will we ever find out who Lilly's father is?

Bella'Xo: Yes, we will be finding out who he is, but it probably won't happen until either the end of this book or sometime in the next (Eclipse). Thanks for the review!

SierraBolt: Are we ever going to find out who brought Lilly to the orphanage?

Bella'Xo: Yes, we will be finding out around the same time that we learn about her father, as I answered in CRAZYNERDGIRL's question above. Thanks for the review!

To see PICTURES from the story, check it out on my Wattpad page! (Same user name: Xo BellaItaliana oX)

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- Bella'Xo