Waxing Gibbous

Giant Wolves (AB)

Alex POV

The sickly-sweet smell has gotten closer to town, actually it was in town. this resulted in more patrol, so instead of nighttime I was patrolling during the day too. The sweet smell was getting stronger and closer, but we were still having a hard time narrowing it down.

This was because he or she moved so fast and was always sneaking behind our lines and every time I caught it, it would move. The humans also provided an issue, that we couldn't avoid.

The first sign of trouble happened this morning though, when a hiker went missing. Paul and I began the search, hoping that the man simply disappeared, and we could find him but when we caught the sweet smell it didn't give us any optimism. We turned to finding the vampire. I led the search with Embry while Paul contacted Sam. Soon everyone was in the woods searching for the man, all while avoiding the humans wandering around.

It was midday when I caught the scent, a particularly sweet smell but it held something else – blood. The vampire who killed the hiker was nearby. The impulses began thrumming through the ground and I was starting to identify the strange feelings from the vampire.

'I got it. Off the one-ten' I relayed to everyone.

'stay there, we're on the way' Sam replied.

'it's strong so I don't think he's moving, I'll let you know if it starts fading' I replied as Paul and I waited. It would only take a few minutes for them to meet us. But the scent of something else the impulses of something else sent a spike of fear and anger through me. It was floral and human. I could hear Paul's attentive grumble and the paws banging on the ground as the others approached.

I led the pack through the woods, following the scent of blood and flowers. My fur rippled and thrummed as if something was close by, the electric current flowing through the ground led me. Each step was stronger than the first, if I got off track, I could feel the pull it weakening. My body and mind knew where to go and soon the pack and I were staring down at a meadow.

Bella POV

"Yes," he assured me. "I'll be very quick. You won't feel a thing, I promise. Oh, I'll lie to Victoria about that later, naturally, just to placate her. But if you knew what she had planned for you, Bella..." He shook his head with a slow movement, almost as if in disgust. "I swear you'd be thanking me for this."

I stared at him in horror.

He sniffed at the breeze that blew threads of my hair in his direction. "Mouthwatering," he repeated, inhaling deeply.

I tensed for the spring, my eyes squinting as I cringed away, and the sound of Edward's furious roar echoed distantly in the back of my head. His name burst through all the walls I'd built to contain it. Edward, Edward, Edward. I was going to die. It shouldn't matter if I thought of him now. Edward, I love you.

Through my narrowed eyes, I watched as Laurent paused in the act of inhaling and whipped his head abruptly to the left. I was afraid to look away from him, to follow his glance, though he hardly needed a distraction or any other trick to overpower me. I was too amazed to feel relief when he started slowly backing away from me.

"I don't believe it," he said, his voice so low that I barely heard it.

I had to look then. My eyes scanned the meadow, searching for the interruption that had extended my life by a few seconds. At first, I saw nothing, and my gaze flickered back to Laurent. He was retreating more quickly now, his eyes boring into the forest.

Then I saw it; a huge black shape eased out of the trees, quiet as a shadow, and stalked deliberately toward the vampire. It was enormous – tall as a horse, but thicker, much more muscular. The long muzzle grimaced, revealing a line of dagger-like incisors. A grisly snarl rolled out from between the teeth, rumbling across the clearing like a prolonged crack of thunder.

The bear.

Only, it wasn't a bear at all. Still, this gigantic black monster had to be the creature causing all the alarm. From a distance, anyone would assume it was a bear. What else could be so vast, so powerfully built?

I wished I were lucky enough to see it from a distance. Instead, it padded silently through the grass a mere ten feet from where I stood. "Don't move an inch," Edward's voice whispered.

I stared at the monstrous creature, my mind boggling as I tried to put a name to it. There was a distinctly canine cast to the shape of it, the way it moved. I could only think of one possibility, locked in horror as I was. Yet I'd never imagined that a wolf could get so big.

Another growl rumbled in its throat, and I shuddered away from the sound.

Laurent was backing toward the edge of the trees, and, under the freezing terror, confusion swept through me. Why was Laurent retreating? Granted, the wolf was monstrous in size, but it was just an animal. What reason would a vampire have for fearing an animal? And Laurent was afraid. His eyes were wide with horror, just like mine.

As if in answer to my question, suddenly the mammoth wolf was not alone. Flanking it on either side, another three wolves. One was jet black, like the first, but darker. The beast stood up front with the other, it was the tallest, it's shoulders were just higher than the others.

It looked lankier and weaker than the others perhaps because it's fur was shorter, tighter to the skin revealing the thick muscles along its shoulders and legs. Just like the first wolf it's muzzle was pulled back revealing pearly white, razor-sharp incisors, larger than the others.

Flanking the two on either side, another two gigantic beasts prowled silently into the meadow. One was a deep gray, the other brown, neither one quite as tall as the others. The gray wolf came through the trees only a few feet from me, its eyes locked on Laurent.

Before I could even react, two more wolves followed, lined up in a V, like geese flying south. Which meant that the rusty brown monster that shrugged through the brush last was close enough for me to touch.

I gave an involuntary gasp and jumped back - which was the stupidest thing I could have done. I froze again, waiting for the wolves to turn on me, the much weaker of the available prey. I wished briefly that Laurent would get on with it and crush the wolf pack - it should be so simple for him. I guessed that, between the two choices before me, being eaten by wolves was almost certainly the worse option.

The wolf closest to me, the reddish brown one, turned its head slightly at the sound of my gasp. The wolf's eyes were dark, nearly black. It gazed at me for a fraction of a second, the deep eyes seeming too intelligent for a wild animal.

As it stared at me, I suddenly thought of Jacob - again, with gratitude. At least I'd come here alone, to this fairytale meadow filled with dark monsters. At least Jacob wasn't going to die, too. At least I wouldn't have his death on my hands.

Then another low growl from one of the leaders caused the russet wolf to whip his head around, back toward Laurent. Laurent was staring at the pack of monster wolves with unconcealed shock and fear. The first I could understand. But I was stunned when, without warning, he spun and disappeared into the trees.

He ran away.