Speak || A Twilight Fanfic

Chapter 25

"I'm gonna kill him," Paul seethed, his hand closing into a tight fist. "I don't care about being a pack brothers or whatever bullshit. I'm gonna fucking kill him."

The boy was enraged. His brain had fogged with ire, and his veins ran hot with unrest. But unlike the anger that overtook him before a shift, this one was cold and calculating. It made his senses sharp, pointed. He wanted vengeance. He wanted payback. Most of all, he wanted to fight in Gabi's honor.

But before he had stepped out of the house, he had no idea he would feel that way.

"We gotta talk to you, Paul," Jared said, his usual joking aura long gone. "It's, uh, it's serious."

"What happened?"

"It's something to do with Jake," he grimaced before continuing, "and Gabi. About last night."

"Did the vampire come back?" Gabi worried, squeezing Paul's hand tightly as her heart raced. "Did she attack him?"

"Oh no," Embry said angrily. "But Paul just might."

"Why don't we go outside, Paul?" Sam feted. "Gabi can stay here for a bit before you take her back home."

"No, I wanna know. If it has something to do with Jake and me, I have a right to know."

"She stays," the boy said. "No more secrets. We're doing the honesty thing."

"Right," she smiled. "The honesty thing."

"Okay, then," the alpha sighed. "But this is a very sensitive topic, and I'm gonna need you to stay levelheaded here, Paul. We've had enough tragedies happen, one right after the other. I don't think we could take one more."

"You're scaring me, Sam," Gabi said. "What happened?"

"I'll let veg tell you since he's the one that witnessed it."

The younger wolf stepped in front as Sam motioned him to do so, his cheeks growing red as everyone's eyes turned to him. What he had to say was not easy; everyone knew that. Jacob was his best friend, and speaking I'll about him was a betrayal like no other. But if had to be done. Something had to be done.

"Okay, so we've all seen firsthand how good Jake is at hiding his thoughts when we're in wolf form," Embry started, fiddling with his thumbs to avoid looking directly at anyone. "Like, he's unnaturally good at this whole wolf stuff."

"We get it, El. Or best friend is the best at this," Paul complained. "Get to the point,"

"Yes. Okay. Sorry," he stammered. "Well, we were out on our shift this morning before the funeral, and I could tell something wasn't quite right with him when we met up. I just thought he was sad about Harry. But a few minutes into our run, he let a memory slip though, about last night, and what went down with Gabi and Victoria.

"After he left Bella at her hip use, he ran back to our side of the woods," he continued. "That's where he came upon the vampire and you, Gabi."

"No, Embry. Jake wasn't there," the girl said confused. "I only saw Victoria and Paul."

"He was there," Embry restated, shaking his head. "He saw Victoria attack you and stayed hidden behind some trees. He thought... I shouldn't."

"Don't you dare hold back, Embry," Paul ordered through gritted teeth. What the hell did Jacob think?"

"Gods, this is horrible," the younger boy worried. "He thought if Gabi got hurt or... or worse, that Bella would seek comfort in him and finally forget about the vampires."

"You better not be saying what I think you're saying, Embry."

"I'm sorry, Paul. But, yes. Jacob thought that if Gabi died, it would send Bella right into his arms. So, he hid and watched as Victoria attacked. He left when you were taking her here," he admitted sheepishly, as though he had been the one to commit the wrongdoing. His face had grown bright red, and she was sure she could see his chest rising and falling at an unnatural pace. "I'm so sorry, Gabi. I never thought... I can't even believe he would do something so despicable."