Chapter Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Where For Out Thou Jacob?

It was Friday, two weeks after the wedding, and Jacob and I had celebrated in our new home. We were coming home from our spot when we decided that we should hunt and then go home and watch TV. I pretended to decide whether I wanted to hunt or not and when Jacob was aptly annoyed I took off running, calling as I ran “Catch me if you can Jake.” I heard the ripping of his body as he phased and I could hear him racing after me. I laughed and lengthened my stride, this was one time that I wasn’t going to let him win, as I raced further away from him and as I entered a clearing I caught the sickening scent that had been lingering around for the last fortnight but this time it was so over-poweringly sweet that I felt my stomach jump. This triggered a memory of a different field not that long ago, a field where my family faced death but somehow managed to escape. I paused mid stride and switching my direction, I ran towards Jacob and called out his name, it was as I did this that I saw the creature who’s scent I had just caught, he was hidden in a copse of trees to my left and even though he knew that I had seen him, he never moved. I wasn’t overly scared, that was until Jacob didn’t answer my call. I looked around for him without really taking my eyes from the vampire in front of me. I called for Jacob again and still there was no answer that was when the vampire in front of me spoke. “Is that the wolf? He has been... detained, unavoidable actually but whatever.”

                I swore softly and he laughingly said “Now what would your parents think about that kind of language?” I opened my mouth to speak when, with relief, I heard my fathers’ voice answer from behind me. “Why don’t you ask us yourself Alec? What are you doing here?” I felt panic mounting within me as I listened, their banter continued. Alec smiled at my Dad actually it was more a bearing of teeth before saying “Edward, Bella, it’s been a while. How have you been?” I heard my mother’s snarl and Alec’s chuckle before he continued “Did you honestly think that the Volturi were going to let you get away with the way you treated them before?” I waited for my dad to speak and I knew that he was searching through Alec’s thoughts to see if there was any immediate danger to us and when he growled I knew that it was not good. Edging closer to Dad I placed my hand in his and he shot me a confused look. He turned his attention back to Alec and he asked “Where is the wolf?” I felt my heartbeat jack up a few notches and the acceleration didn’t go unnoticed by the prowling vampire facing us. I saw his pupils dilate and his nostrils flare and I knew- even without the ripping snarl that came from my Dad- that Alec thought of me as food. I didn’t care about my safety I wanted Jacob, nothing had ever stopped him from coming to me when I called, and this thing knew where he was. I crouched into an attacking position and growled at him through my clenched teeth “Where is Jacob? What have you done with him?”

                Before Alec could answer my Dad said “He was sent as a diversion. Several others were sent to capture Jacob and any other wolves they could find. So far they have Jacob, Seth, and Leah. He hasn’t hurt them they were under strict orders to deliver them safely.” Apparently Alec had enough of my Dad poking around inside his head because he hissed “Enough, I am bored with this.” He crouched down into a position identical to the one I had held for several minutes. He launched himself at me and I tensed, waiting, for his body to collide with mine. I felt the flood of adrenalin flow through me and I had never wished more, than I did at that precise moment, that I was a full vampire and that I had the strength to take him on. As he sprung at me my father hissed “Bella grab Renesmee and leave.” He slid in front of me and Alec crashed into him, the sound was like two boulders smashing together. I felt my mothers’ arms holding me tightly against her and suddenly we were several feet away, even as I fought I knew it was hopeless, there was no way Momma was letting me go until she was sure that we were safe. The battle between my father and Alec lasted less than five minutes and in the end my father stood over the disassembled and flaming remains of one of the Volturi’s greatest weapons. The smoke that drifted skyward was so sweetly sick that I actually had to cover my nose and turn away. As dad walked towards us I saw in his eyes the pain and fear that I was feeling and it wasn’t until momma loosened her grasp and turned me to face her that I realised I had been sobbing, great wrenching sobs that wracked my frame. I watched as they embraced and a fresh stab of pain pierced my heart, would I ever see Jake again? Would I ever again hold him like that? I looked into the faces of two of the people I loved most in this world, beside Jake, and saw reflected there, in degrees less than my own, the pain I was feeling. Dad’s softly spoken words sounded false to my ears as he said “Ness, this isn’t your fault. Aro had them target you and Jacob because he knew that Alice couldn’t see either of you and that, as long as they didn’t plan to hurt any of us, Alice wouldn’t be alerted to their plan. We need to contact everyone, Carlisle and Esme’s place is closer and it’ll make a good enough headquarters so we can figure out where to go from here.”

                We raced back to my grandparents house and I wasn’t really surprised to see my entire family there waiting for us and that they already knew what was happening. As I mounted the steps Rose came forward and wrapped me up in her cold embrace, she kissed my forehead and said “Don’t worry Ness, the dog’ll be okay.” I almost smiled at the use of her name for Jacob, they had a hate-hate relationship, but the situation was far too serious for nicknames. Carlisle was standing at the front of our family line letting my dad see his thoughts and at the stiffening of my dad’s spine I knew that Jacob was in deeper danger than I had first anticipated. The silence stretched further and my nerves, being as taught as they were, couldn’t take the inaction any more. I pulled away from Rose and cried out “What are we waiting for? They have Jacob! I can’t stand here and wait for them to send him back to me in a box!” as I said the words my bravery crumbled and a fresh wave of panic and fear crippled me. I sank to the floor and whispered “Oh God what if they’ve killed him. What am I gonna do?” My mother crouched down beside me and pulling my hands away from my face she spoke in a clearly agitated manner “You need to calm down! We will get Jacob back. In the mean time we need to discuss our plans and you need some sleep. Go up to the spare room and crash.” I stared at her and as her words sank in the pain and fear were replaced by fury, I leapt to my feet and as I spoke I was amazed at how calm and rational I sounded “You want me to go and sleep!? You want me to get some rest when they could be torturing Jake right now?” I felt nausea roiling inside my stomach at the thought of what they could be doing to him right now as we deliberated on how to go about saving him and the others.

My voice rose as I continued to speak “How am I to do that? I can barely breathe for the pain I’m in and you want me to not have a part in this? No way! I am helping and there isn’t anything you can do to stop me. I have heard about your impromptu trip to Italy when dad had gone there after he thought you had died, and after feeling that way you want me to sit here and what? Twiddle my thumbs while you traipse off to try and rescue the wolves. Nah ah, no way, I am coming and that is all there is to it.” As I opened my mouth to continue to rant a feeling of peace and contentment washed over me, I knew immediately who was responsible for this feeling and I shot him a dirty look before snarling at him “Stop that right now. I have every right to feel this way, stop trying to make it go away. What if it was Alice they had taken?” Jasper stared open mouthed at me, I had never spoken this way to any of them and I regretted doing it now but Jakes’ life was at stake and I wasn’t going to sit idly by and let someone else go after him.

                I pushed past them and entered the house, I made a bee-line for the phone and the second I picked it up my dad was there to put it back in its cradle “You can’t ring Sam. We can’t risk anymore of them to try and get Jacob and the others back.” I was frustrated that my plan had been thwarted but I wasn’t going to give up. I turned to stare at him when a sharp pain in my chest caused me to gasp out loud, clutching my chest I sank down onto the pale carpet that covered the floor. Everyone was suddenly there, they all reached for me with concern and worry in their golden eyes and before I could tell them I was okay another pain hit me. This time it was like a serious blow to the abdomen, I had only once felt this type of pain and that had been when I had been mucking around with Emmett and he had forgotten that I was only part vampire and that he was a lot bigger than me; he had broken two of my ribs, I cried out as the pain struck again and again. Through the pain I heard my parents cry out for Carlisle to do something and I felt him examining my body as pain after pain ran through me. After several intense seconds there was a break in the pain and I was able to gulp in enough air to whisper huskily “Jake” before I slid into unconsciousness.

I came to with the awareness that for the moment the pain had stopped. I moved my limbs carefully making sure that everything was still where it should be before I swung my legs over the edge of the bed I was lying on. I could hear everyone moving about downstairs and I knew that my dad knew that I was awake and as I made my way downstairs I prayed, perhaps futilely, that there had been a break in the situation. The second I walked into the tense atmosphere in the kitchen, the only room that wasn’t used for its intended purpose, I knew that no further breaks had been made. I walked over to Carlisle and placed a hand on his arm, he shook his head as I ‘asked’ him if he knew what was happening to me. Everyone was staring at me and I waited patiently for them to ask me the questions that blazed in their topaz coloured eyes. It was momma who asked softly “Renesmee how do you feel?” I knew that they meant health wise but I couldn’t allow myself to worry about my health when Jake had been taken from me. “I’m worried. It has been long enough already can we please go and get Jake and the others? Hayley must be beside herself.” I said and I knew instinctively that she had been feeling the same pain I had been feeling earlier. My father creased his marble brow and said “I never thought about that.” I stared in confusion at him along with everyone else and he finally answered the room “Ness was just thinking about the pain she was experiencing earlier” I saw his agony as he relived the pain again before saying “Maybe she isn’t actually hurting.” I huffed in disbelief it sure had felt painful to me. The corner of his grimly set mouth twitched upwards as he continued “Maybe it’s a pain transference thing. Maybe Jacob was in pain and as his imprintee Renesmee felt the pain too.” This explanation clarified the pain I felt earlier but also caused grief to well within me, Jake was hurting and I couldn’t do anything to prevent it. I walked further into the room and said “We can’t wait any longer. We need to go to Italy, now, before they hurt him anymore.”

My proclamation wasn’t unexpected but it was still greeted with silence, well except for Emmett who growled “You can count me in, I’m always up for a fight, when do we leave?” I smiled gratefully at him only to have my hopes dashed by Alice “I don’t think it is going to be that easy. I can’t see them, the minute they grabbed the wolves I couldn’t see them anymore, we don’t even know if they’ve taken them to Italy. We have no way of knowing anything because we have nothing to go on. There is a way; well at least I think there might be a way, but...” Alice was cut short by the instant dismissal of my father “We can’t Alice. I don’t want to put them at risk; if we take them to Italy and the Volturi are ‘collecting’ them we are putting them in immense danger.” Carlisle broke in gently “Edward we need to ask them to help us, can you imagine if it was Renesmee that the Volturi had and the Werewolves never told us about it, we would be furious at being kept in the dark.” I was grateful that the rest of my family felt the same way I did; we needed the rest of the packs help. I walked across the room towards the phone and Dads’ sharp “Renesmee.” Would normally have stopped me in my tracks but I ignored him and picking up the phone I dialled Sam’s number. It rang twice before Emily’s soft friendly voice called down the line “Hello.” I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat and clearing it noisily I said “Emily, its Renesmee, is Sam there?” I heard her cover the phone with her hand before calling softly for Sam. It took barely a second for Sam to get to the phone and as he answered I could picture him standing in the kitchen of the house he shared with Emily and their kids, I could see his hands trembling as he waited for bad news, which would be the only reason I would be ringing and not Jacob.  His gruff voice masked his intense feelings of love and affection for his pack and I hated having to ask him what I needed to. I cleared my throat again and as I did he spoke “Where is Jacob?” I caught the sob before it escaped fully but I know he heard it and I said as simply as I could “The Volturi have him, and Seth and Leah as well. We didn’t know and they ambushed us while we were alone.” I couldn’t make the pleading note that had crept into my voice leave, I needed him to understand that I would have done anything to prevent this, Sam swore loudly in his native tongue and I cringed because I thought the curse was aimed at me but his next words confirmed that he didn’t hold me responsible “They used the flaw in Alice’s foresight to get close without alerting anyone didn’t they.” I was nodding my head until I realised that he couldn’t see me and I croaked “Yep.” He swore again and this time I heard Emily’s admonishment, before he told her what had happened, and when he spoke to me again he said “Was it the same one from when you were down here? What do you need from us?” and I felt tears of relief course down my cheeks. Between bouts of crying I outlined the plans we had for getting our pack back.