Chapter 12, Jacob
Amber locked eyes with me in wolf form, and I could see all the pieces clicking together in an instant. Her eyes widened.
''Jacob?'' she all but whispered before collapsing to her knees. I phased and threw on my shorts quicker than I ever have and ran to her side. She was bleeding from multiple cuts on her back, side and face, and her throat was purple from where the asshole choked her. I called her name, praying she would wake up but it was useless. Her heart was still beating though. There was no time to get her to the hospital in town. I had to take her to the leech. Seth and Leah joined me on the porch in human form.
''You have to take her to the Cullens before she loses too much blood.'' Seth said in a ragged whisper. Leah scoffed.
''Seth, do you hear yourself when you speak? Bleeding, blood, bloodsuckers. Makes total sense.'' I waved my hand to silence the argument.
''Seth's right.'' I said, getting an eye roll from Leah. ''I'm going to phase. Put her on my back, then follow me.'' Seth nodded and I phased quickly. They laid Amber on my back gently, and I whimpered at the amount of blood on her, despite Leah helping me tie off the wounds. I ran in the direction of the Cullen home, Amber unconscious the whole way, with the exception of occasionally saying my name and the word vampire.
I started screaming in my head when I thought I was close enough for Bella's leech husband to hear me. Seth followed suit.
''Help! We need help. If you can hear me, bloodsucker, clear a path!'' Seth was a little more polite.
''Edward! Edward, Jake's imprint got attacked by a bad vampire! She's bleeding really bad!'' Leah had stopped running with us, but I heard her mutter 'Like there are good ones...' under her breath.
When we reached the clearing that the Cullen home was in, Edward was sitting on the porch, and he looked upset. I wondered idly why he would look like that over Amber being injured, but decided quickly that I didn't care.
''You've got the blonde one under control, right?'' I asked him. He just nodded curtly while I set Amber down and phased back to human before carrying her up the porch stairs. Edward led me into a small room on the second floor that contained a hospital bed and a bunch of machines. Carlisle came into the room, a similar worried look on his face. I saw Edward shake his head minutely to the doctor before exiting the room. Seth had not followed me in, and I wasn't sure where he was. Carlisle began to work quickly on Amber, not even asking what happened at first. After getting the glass out of her cuts, he spoke.
''Do you know where the vampire came from? From the looks of it, he wasn't trying to kill her.''
''It was her ex husband. He broke into the house while she was sleeping. I should have been there to kill him then...'' I sighed and shook my head. ''He was able to hide though. We lost his scent like he disappeared. The rest of the pack has been alerted. They are watching to see if he comes back.'' Jasper, the blonde leech, walked into the room then, and I tensed. He was the one with the least control. I stood between him and Amber defensively.
''Calm down, mutt. I'm not going to eat her.'' he said with an eye roll ''I was actually coming in here to tell you that we want to help. Edward takes personal offense to this attack, and with everything happening with Bella, we don't need another reason for Volturi attention.'' I stiffened. What was going on with Bells that would warrant the attention of the leech kings? Jasper raised an eyebrow. ''You really have imprinted. Interesting.'' He left the room before I could question him, so I turned my attention on the doctor. He was stitching a cut on Amber's cheek.
''Nothing is broken. Her trachea is bruised, but it will heal. Just no physical activity for a while, to avoid collapse. Her left shoulder was dislocated, so she may need help for a few days, because-''
''Cuz she's left handed. I know. Thank you, Carlisle. I appreciate everything you are doing for me. For us. When do you think she will wake up?''
''It's hard to say, Jacob. The head trauma combined with the shock of seeing you phase, added to the sick of her ex husband being a vampire... That's a lot to absorb. Maybe Alice can tell you? The only thing we can do now is wait and hope for the best. Come on, Seth is downstairs, and Esme is making dinner.'' He put his hand on my shoulder, and I tensed. He let go immediately, and I instantly felt bad. I liked Carlisle, but he was still a vampire. I gave him a small smile and followed him downstairs to the kitchen.
I hadn't noticed when we entered the house that the living room had been rearranged. All the couched were moved against the wall, except for one. The one Bella was laying on. And she was pregnant. Very pregnant. I coughed involuntarily, trying to swallow. How the hell was she this pregnant, she was only fine a few weeks! I looked at Edward for an answer, but he shrugged and looked at Bella again, his face twisted in worry.
''Jacob. It's good to see you.'' Bella said in a soft voice, her hand against her large belly protectively.
''Mazeltov, Mrs. Cullen. I hadn't heard the good news.'' I smiled at her, but it seemed forced. I glanced at Edward, and thought something to him while I walked over to Bella's side. 'How the hell is she pregnant, let alone this pregnant?! How is it even possible? You aren't alive!' Edward shrugged his shoulders and dropped his head to the couch next to Bella's lap.
'So you imprinted, huh? Who is she?'' Bella asked as I sat down next to her from the couch.
''She just moved to town. Her name is Amber. You have to meet her, she's wonderful.'' I said, keeping the conversation light, as to not stress Bella out. She seemed too tired, like the baby was draining her. I felt bad, but I couldn't stop worrying about Amber upstairs. When she was going to wake up, how to explain everything to her when she did, whether or not she would believe me. I sighed, and Bella winced. Edward and I both looked at her, but she smiled.
''Little guy has a lot of strength already.'' She said almost cooing. She shifted and the blanket fell from around her body, revealing her bare, battered and bruised belly. I felt a growl in my throat.
''Edward, do you think we could speak outside for a moment?'' I said as calmly as I could. He stood and followed me out to the front lawn.
''I don't know, Jacob. I had no idea I could... Our relationship is so rare, I had no idea that I... I didn't know!'' He shouted before I could even speak.
''That thing is killing her. I can see it. Why don't you destroy it?'' I asked. He shook his head.
''She won't let us. She wants to keep it. And Rosalie is encouraging her. They won't let us destroy it. You think I can't see what it's doing to her? I feel like the worst husband on the planet.'' He fell to his knees and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. If that was Amber in there... ''But... She is going to die. Look at her! She has no chance of coming out of this alive.''
''She doesn't plan on doing it human.'' he said in a whisper. I growled, then stomped to his side. He looked at me for a moment, and I could see the pain in his eyes before he spoke again. ''Jacob, I need a favor. If Bella... If it... If she doesn't make it, I need you to kill me too. My family won't do it, and they will stop me again if I decide to go back to Italy. Can you do this for me?'' I wasn't sure what to say. If this had been mere days ago, I would have jumped at the chance to have a shot with Bella again. My thoughts wandered back to Amber. I sighed, knowing that I would ask the same if roles were reversed. I nodded once, and offered him my hand. He took it warily, and climbed to his feet.
'Emmett, Jasper and Alice are going to try and track Matt tonight on their way to hunt. Which patrol are your pack taking?'' After I gave him a rough line of where the wolves were, I couldn't help but ask him why. Why they were so eager to help.
''I know it can't be the European leeches. They have no reason to think Bella is a threat. They have no way of knowing about it. Why are you so eager to track...whatever the hell he is?'' Edward sighed slightly.
''What you know of what he did to her is a mere fraction. I've seen it all. Every slap, every fist, every bruise, through their thoughts, and since I met him, I've wanted nothing more than to rip his throat out, but Carlisle had advised against it. Now that I have a reason to kill him, I am not letting anything get in the way of destroying that worthless excuse for a man. I won't let him tarnish the vampire existence more than it is.'' I couldn't bring myself to say it, but he heard the thanks in my head. Edward nodded once, as if sealing a deal, before walking back toward the house.
