Kiss Or Kill

Chapter 39

Immediately after his vote, Paul left Sam's house to go home and inform Bella of their decision.

"So?" She asked when he walked into the kitchen where she was preparing dinner

"We took a vote on it; Seth, Quil and Jacob all said 'no'. Sam, Jared and Embry said 'yes'." He said hopping onto the kitchen counter and pulling Bella so that she stood between his legs

"And you?" She asked

"I voted 'yes'." He sighed

Bella was shocked; she hadn't expected that at all.

"What? Why?"

"It's what you wanted isn't it?" He asked

"Well yes, but I don't understand. You were so against the idea in the beginning and I thought for sure that wasn't going to change."

"I wanted to say 'no', I really did. But I know you Bella, and even if I had voted 'no' you still would've found a way to be there."

"You know me so well." She smiled, trying to lighten the mood

"Mmhmm. Then I remembered why I phased in the first place; I have a duty to my tribe, to protect them and keep them safe and as long as Victoria is on the loose, no one here is safe. I most certainly don't like the idea of you being out in the forest, but then I thought about the possibility of the leech getting past us and finding you. If all of us are out in the forest there wouldn't be anyone here to protect you; so in the end, I figured you might actually be safer out there surrounded by the pack."

"Thank you for letting me do this. I know it won't make much sense to you but I just feel like I have to be there; like seeing her being destroyed will finally and completely close the door on that chapter of my life."

"Just promise me you'll do what we tell you to."

"I promise. Now let's eat."

Neither Paul nor Bella said much after that, both too focused on the events to come.

Paul hoped he'd made the right decision in allowing Bella to be there when they took out Victoria and Bella just hoped that everyone would come out of it alive and well.

As the days passed, the pack patrolled and discussed when they should implement Seth's plan. They also had Seth practice his phasing so that he would be able to phase within a matter of seconds instead of the usual minute or so it normally took. It was also decided that Bella would be riding Seth in his wolf form to a safer location so they had her practice riding him as well, to ensure that she wouldn't fall off.

Victoria seemed to be making appearances a lot more than she had before and the pack assumed it had something to do with the fact that they were constantly changing their route, who was phased and when, and how big or small the phased group was; they figured it had to be confusing her and she was appearing more often in attempts to figure out their routine.

Though Victoria had been unable to figure out the pack's routine, they had figured out hers and knew which days she tended to appear and at what time; they had also figured out that on certain days she would make a run through the forest more than once. So, figuring they were as ready as they would ever be, on the 15th of July, they set out into the forest.

They thought of masking their scents but then realized that that might seem suspicious to Victoria considering she had grown used to seeing them in the forest every time she was there; so it would be odd to her if she couldn't smell any of them, and would no doubt alert her that it was a trap. All the wolves, except Seth, headed out into the forest early that morning so that they could be well hidden before Victoria showed up. A few hours later, Seth and Bella headed for the forest themselves.

Before he'd left the house that morning, Paul had gone over the plan with Bella and made her repeat it back to him so that he knew, she had remembered it. He also held onto her for what seemed like a good ten to fifteen minutes, whispering his love for her and telling her that everything would be fine. Bella tried to reassure him that she would stick to the plan and that she loved him too. Finally Sam told them it was time to go, and with one last kiss, Paul headed off with the rest of the pack while Seth stayed behind with Bella.

Bella watched them disappear into the forest behind her and Paul's house and said a silent prayer to God and Taha Aki and whoever else might be listening, asking that the boys be protected and that they all come out of this fight alive.

When it was time for them to make their way into the forest, Seth turned to Bella and gripped her shoulders,

"Just remember, don't act nervous or suspicious an anyway. Don't look over your shoulder or look around more than is normal for a stroll through the forest, ok? Victoria will no doubt be watching and if you seem like you're expecting her to be there, she'll know something's up. Stay close to me and as soon as I phase, you hop on and we run for it. Don't hesitate and don't look around for the other guys. You climb on and grab onto to my fur, just like we practiced, and don't let go until we've reached our safe spot, ok?"

Bella nodded her head and blew out a deep breath, closing her eyes and running over the plan in her head once again.

"Got it." She said, once she realized he was waiting for a verbal reply

Satisfied that she understood and would stick to the plan, Seth gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze and then the two of them headed for the forest.

As they entered the forest, Bella had to force herself not to search out the other wolves and tried to focus all of her attention on Seth and what he was saying, instead of the impending danger. She was sure that when it was all over she wouldn't even remember what this conversation was about and she was pretty sure she wouldn't care either.

Seth kept his senses open and those his eyes remained focused on the path ahead and occasionally Bella, he was still aware of everything else around him. He knew exactly where each pack member was located and he was also aware of how close he and Bella were to the expected ambush spot.

Less than a half hour into their walk, Seth's nose picked up Victoria's scent and he made a quick glance upward, appearing to just be looking up at the trees, when really he was scouting for a sight of flaming red hair. Within, moments he had spotted her and his senses were on high alert. Every instinct in his body was telling him to phase, but he fought it down, knowing that he had to wait for the right moment. His ears tracked the sound of her dancing through the trees and he could tell that she was getting closer to them. He was a little surprised that she hadn't just made a mad dash for Bella, but he realized that she was under the assumption that she hadn't been scented or sensed yet and was going for the element of surprise; too bad it wasn't working.