They fear it, too.
But they wont do anything about it.
Protecting Bella Swan.
We cant let that influence us.
The safety of our families, of everyone here, is more important than one human.
If they wont kill it, we have to.
Protect the tribe.
Protect our families.
We have to kill it before its too late.
Another of my memories, Edwards words this time: The thing is growing. Swiftly.
I struggled to focus, to pick out individual voices.
No time to waste, Jared thought.
It will mean a fight, Embry cautioned. A bad one.
Were ready, Paul insisted.
Well need surprise on our side, Sam thought.
If we catch them divided, we can take them down separately. It will increase our chances of victory, Jared thought, starting to strategize now.
I shook my head, rising slowly to my feet. I felt unsteady therelike the circling wolves were making me dizzy. The wolf beside me got up, too. His shoulder pushed against mine, propping me up.
Wait, I thought.
The circling paused for one beat, and then they were pacing again.
Theres little time, Sam said.
Butwhat are you thinking? You wouldnt attack them for breaking the treaty this afternoon. Now youre planning an ambush, when the treaty is still intact?
This is not something our treaty anticipated, Sam said. This is a danger to every human in the area. We dont know what kind of creature the Cullens have bred, but we know that it is strong and fast-growing. And it will be too young to follow any treaty. Remember the newborn vampires we fought? Wild, violent, beyond the reach of reason or restraint. Imagine one like that, but protected by the Cullens.
We dont know I tried to interrupt.
We dont know, he agreed. And we cant take chances with the unknown in this case. We can only allow the Cullens to exist while were absolutely sure that they can be trusted not to cause harm. This thing cannot be trusted.
They dont like it any more than we do.
Sam pulled Rosalies face, her protective crouch, from my mind and put it on display for everyone.
Some are ready to fight for it, no matter what it is.
Its just a baby, for crying out loud.
Not for long, Leah whispered.
Jake, buddy, this is a big problem, Quil said. We cant just ignore it.
Youre making it into something bigger than it is, I argued. The only one whos in danger here is Bella.
Again by her own choice, Sam said. But this time her choice affects us all.
I dont think so.
We cant take that chance. We wont allow a blood drinker to hunt on our lands.
Then tell them to leave, the wolf who was still supporting me said. It was Seth. Of course.
And inflict the menace on others? When blood drinkers cross our land, we destroy them, no matter where they plan to hunt. We protect everyone we can.
This is crazy, I said. This afternoon you were afraid to put the pack in danger.
This afternoon I didnt know our families were at risk.
I cant believe this! Howre you going to kill this creature without killing Bella?
There were no words, but the silence was full of meaning.
I howled. Shes human, too! Doesnt our protection apply to her?
Shes dying anyway, Leah thought. Well just shorten the process.
That did it. I leaped away from Seth, toward his sister, with my teeth bared. I was about to catch her left hind leg when I felt Sams teeth cut into my flank, dragging me back.
I howled in pain and fury and turned on him.
Stop! he ordered in the double timbre of the Alpha.
My legs seemed to buckle under me. I jerked to a halt, only managing to keep on my feet by sheer willpower.
He turned his gaze away from me. You will not be cruel to him, Leah, he commanded her. Bellas sacrifice is a heavy price, and we will all recognize that. It is against everything we stand for to take a human life. Making an exception to that code is a bleak thing. We will all mourn for what we do tonight.
Tonight? Seth repeated, shocked. SamI think we should talk about this some more. Consult with the Elders, at least. You cant seriously mean for us to
We cant afford your tolerance for the Cullens now. There is no time for debate. You will do as you are told, Seth.
Seths front knees folded, and his head fell forward under the weight of the Alphas command.
Sam paced in a tight circle around the two of us.
We need the whole pack for this. Jacob, you are our strongest fighter. You will fight with us tonight. I understand that this is hard for you, so you will concentrate on their fightersEmmett and Jasper Cullen. You dont have to be involved with the other part. Quil and Embry will fight with you.
My knees trembled; I struggled to hold myself upright while the voice of the Alpha lashed at my will.
Paul, Jared, and I will take on Edward and Rosalie. I think, from the information Jacob has brought us, they will be the ones guarding Bella. Carlisle and Alice will also be close, possibly Esme. Brady, Collin, Seth, and Leah will concentrate on them. Whoever has a clear line onwe all heard him mentally stutter over Bellas namethe creature will take it. Destroying the creature is our first priority.
The pack rumbled in nervous agreement. The tension had everyones fur standing on end. The pacing was quicker, and the sound of the paws against the brackish floor was sharper, toenails tearing into the soil.
Only Seth and I were still, the eye in the center of a storm of bared teeth and flattened ears. Seths nose was almost touching the ground, bowed under Sams commands. I felt his pain at the coming disloyalty. For him this was a betrayalduring that one day of alliance, fighting beside Edward Cullen, Seth had truly become the vampires friend.
There was no resistance in him, however. He would obey no matter how much it hurt him. He had no other choice.
And what choice did I have? When the Alpha spoke, the pack followed.
Sam had never pushed his authority this far before; I knew he honestly hated to see Seth kneeling before him like a slave at the foot of his master. He wouldnt force this if he didnt believe that he had no other choice. He couldnt lie to us when we were linked mind to mind like this. He really believed it was our duty to destroy Bella and the monster she carried. He really believed we had no time to waste. He believed it enough to die for it.
I saw that he would face Edward himself; Edwards ability to read our thoughts made him the greatest threat in Sams mind. Sam would not let someone else take on that danger.
He saw Jasper as the second-greatest opponent, which is why hed given him to me. He knew that I had the best chance of any of the pack to win that fight. Hed left the easiest targets for the younger wolves and Leah. Little Alice was no danger without her future vision to guide her, and we knew from our time of alliance that Esme was not a fighter. Carlisle would be more of a challenge, but his hatred of violence would hinder him.
I felt sicker than Seth as I watched Sam plan it out, trying to work the angles to give each member of the pack the best chance of survival.
Everything was inside out. This afternoon, Id been chomping at the bit to attack them. But Seth had been rightit wasnt a fight Id been ready for. Id blinded myself with that hate. I hadnt let myself look at it carefully, because I must have known what I would see if I did.
Carlisle Cullen. Looking at him without that hate clouding my eyes, I couldnt deny that killing him was murder. He was good. Good as any human we protected. Maybe better. The others, too, I supposed, but I didnt feel as strongly about them. I didnt know them as well. It was Carlisle who would hate fighting back, even to save his own life. Thats why we would be able to kill himbecause he wouldnt want us, his enemies, to die.
This was wrong.
And it wasnt just because killing Bella felt like killing me, like suicide.
Pull
it together, Jacob, Sam ordered. The tribe comes first.
I was wrong today, Sam.
Your reasons were wrong then. But now we have a duty to fulfill.
I braced myself. No.
Sam snarled and stopped pacing in front of me. He stared into my eyes and a deep growl slid between his teeth.
Yes, the Alpha decreed, his double voice blistering with the heat of his authority. There are no loopholes tonight. You, Jacob, are going to fight the Cullens with us. You, with Quil and Embry, will take care of Jasper and Emmett. You are obligated to protect the tribe. That is why you exist. You will perform this obligation.
My shoulders hunched as the edict crushed me. My legs collapsed, and I was on my belly under him.
No member of the pack could refuse the Alpha.
11. THE TWO THINGS AT THE VERY TOP OF MY THINGS-I-NEVER-WANT-TO-DO LIST
Sam started moving the others into formation while I was still on the ground. Embry and Quil were at my sides, waiting for me to recover and take the point.
I could feel the drive, the need, to get on my feet and lead them. The compulsion grew, and I fought it uselessly, cringing on the ground where I was.
Embry whined quietly in my ear. He didnt want to think the words, afraid that he would bring me to Sams attention again. I felt his wordless plea for me to get up, for me to get this over with and be done with it.
There was fear in the pack, not so much for self but for the whole. We couldnt imagine that we would all make it out alive tonight. Which brothers would we lose? Which minds would leave us forever? Which grieving families would we be consoling in the morning?
My mind began to work with theirs, to think in unison, as we dealt with these fears. Automatically, I pushed up from the ground and shook out my coat.
Embry and Quil huffed in relief. Quil touched his nose to my side once.
Their minds were filled with our challenge, our assignment. We remembered together the nights wed watched the Cullens practicing for the fight with the newborns. Emmett Cullen was strongest, but Jasper would be the bigger problem. He moved like a lightning strikepower and speed and death rolled into one. How many centuries experience did he have? Enough that all the other Cullens looked to him for guidance.
Ill take point, if you want flank, Quil offered. There was more excitement in his mind than most of the others. When Quil had watched Jaspers instruction those nights, hed been dying to test his skill against the vampires. For him, this would be a contest. Even knowing it was his life on the line, he saw it that way. Paul was like that, too, and the kids who had never been in battle, Collin and Brady. Seth probably wouldve been the sameif the opponents were not his friends.
Jake? Quil nudged me. How do you want to roll?
I just shook my head. I couldnt concentratethe compulsion to follow orders felt like puppet strings hooked into all of my muscles. One foot forward, now another.
Seth was dragging behind Collin and BradyLeah had assumed point there. She ignored Seth while planning with the others, and I could see that shed rather leave him out of the fight. There was a maternal edge to her feelings for her younger brother. She wished Sam would send him home. Seth didnt register Leahs doubts. He was adjusting to the puppet strings, too.
Maybe if you stopped resisting, Embry whispered.
Just focus on our part. The big ones. We can take them down. We own them! Quil was working himself uplike a pep talk before a big game.
I could see how easy it would beto think about nothing more than my part. It wasnt hard to imaging attacking Jasper and Emmett. Wed been close to that before. Id thought of them as enemies for a very long time. I could do that now again.
I just had to forget that they were protecting the same thing I would protect. I had to forget the reason why I might want them to win.
Jake, Embry warned. Keep your head in the game.
My feet moved sluggishly, pulling against the drag of the strings.
Theres no point fighting it, Embry whispered again.
He was right. I would end up doing what Sam wanted, if he was willing to push it. And he was. Obviously.
There was a good reason for the Alphas authority. Even a pack as strong as ours wasnt much of a force without a leader. We had to move together, to think together, in order to be effective. And that required the body to have a head.
So what if Sam was wrong now? There was nothing anyone could do. No one could dispute his decision.
Except.
And there it wasa thought Id never, never wanted to have. But now, with my legs all tied up in strings, I recognized the exception with reliefmore than relief, with a fierce joy.
No one could dispute the Alphas decisionexcept for me.
I hadnt earned anything. But there were things that had been born in me, things that Id left unclaimed.
Id never wanted to lead the pack. I didnt want to do it now. I didnt want the responsibility for all our fates resting on my shoulders. Sam was better at that than I would ever be.
But he was wrong tonight.
And I had not been born to kneel to him.
The bonds fell off my body the second that I embraced my birthright.
I could feel it gathering in me, both a freedom and also a strange, hollow power. Hollow because an Alphas power came from his pack, and I had no pack. For a second, loneliness overwhelmed me.
I had no pack now.
But I was straight and strong as I walked to where Sam stood, planning with Paul and Jared. He turned at the sound of my advance, and his black eyes narrowed.
No, I told him again.
He heard it right away, heard the choice that Id made in the sound of the Alpha voice in my thoughts.
He jumped back a half step with a shocked yelp.
Jacob? What have you done?
I wont follow you, Sam. Not for something so wrong.
He stared at me, stunned. You would you would choose your enemies over your family?
They arentI shook my head, clearing itthey arent our enemies. They never have been. Until I really thought about destroying them, thought it through, I didnt see that.
This isnt about them, he snarled at me. This is about Bella. She has never been the one for you, she has never chosen you, but you continue to destroy your life for her!
They were hard words, but true words. I sucked in a big gulp of air, breathing them in.
Maybe youre right. But youre going to destroy the pack over her, Sam. No matter how many of them survive tonight, they will always have murder on their hands.
We have to protect our families!
I know what youve decided, Sam. But you dont decide for me, not anymore.
Jacobyou cant turn your back on the tribe.
I heard the double echo of his Alpha command, but it was weightless this time. It no longer applied to me. He clenched his jaw, trying to force me to respond to his words.
I stared into his furious eyes. Ephraim Blacks son was not born to follow Levi Uleys.
Is this it, then, Jacob Black? His hackles rose and his muzzle pulled back from his teeth. Paul and Jared snarled and bristled at his sides. Even if you can defeat me, the pack will never follow you!
Now I jerked back, a surprised whine escaping my throat.
Defeat you? Im not going to fight you, Sam.
Then whats your plan? Im not stepping aside so that you can protect the vampire spawn at the tribes expense.
Im not telling you to step aside.
If you order them to follow you
Ill never take anyones will away from him.
His tail whipped back and forth as he recoiled from the judgment in my words. Then he took a step forward so that we were toe to toe, his exposed teeth inches from mine. I hadnt noticed till this moment that Id grown taller than him.
There cannot be more than one Alpha. The pack has chosen me. Will you rip us apart tonight? Will you turn on your brothers? Or will you end this insanity and join us again? Every word was layered with command, but it c
ouldnt touch me. Alpha blood ran undiluted in my veins.
I could see why there was never more than one Alpha male in a pack. My body was responding to the challenge. I could feel the instinct to defend my claim rising in me. The primitive core of my wolf-self tensed for the battle of supremacy.
I focused all my energy to control that reaction. I would not fall into a pointless, destructive fight with Sam. He was my brother still, even though I was rejecting him.
There is only one Alpha for this pack. Im not contesting that. Im just choosing to go my own way.
Do you belong to a coven now, Jacob?
I flinched.
I dont know, Sam. But I do know this
He shrunk back as he felt the weight of the Alpha in my tone. It affected him more than his touched me. Because I had been born to lead him.