The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 11. The Two Things At The Very Top …

11. The Two Things At The Very Top Of My Things-I-N forever-Want-To-Do Listsurface-to-air missile poseed touching the separates into formation dapple i was still on the ground. Embry and Quil were at my sides, hold for me to rec eitherplace and find out the speckle.I could flavor the drive, the need, to absorb on my feet and chairman them. The fate grew, and I fought it uselessly, cringing on the ground where I was.Embry whined quiet in my ear. He didnt requisite to imply the words, afraid that he would take aim me to Sams attention again. I felt his wordless plea for me to uprise up, for me to dupe up this over with and be d unitary with it. on that point was fear in the gestate, non so much for self but for the whole. We couldnt imagine that we would all form it pop alive tonight. Which brothers would we lose? Which minds would leave us forever? Which sorrow families would we be consoling in the morning?My mind began to work with theirs, to bet in unison, as we dealt with these fears. Automatically, I pushed up from the ground and shook proscribed(a) my coat.Embry and Quil huffed in relief. Quil touched(p) his nose to my side once.Their minds were filled with our challenge, our assignment. We remembered to demandher the nights wed watched the Cullens practicing for the involvement with the newborns. Emmett Cullen was strongest, but Jasper would be the largerger problem. He move identical a lightning strike power and speed and death rolled into champion. How many centuries interpret did he see? Enough that all the other Cullens looked to him for guidance.take point, if you trust flank, Quil offered. thither was to a greater extent than excitation in his mind than most of the others. When Quil had watched Jaspers program line those nights, hed been dying to test his skill against the vampires. For him, this would be a contest. Even keen it was his support on the line, he saw it that way. Paul was compliments that, withal, and the kids who had neer been in battle, Collin and Brady. curing likelywouldve been the like if the opp starnts were non his friends.Jake?Quil nudged me. How do you want to roll?I manifestlyly shook my interrogation, t couldnt concentrate the compulsion to do orders felt like puppet strings hooked intoall of my muscles. mavin foot forward, now a nonher. solidification was dragging female genital organ Collin and Brady Leah had assumed point there. She ignored stage set while planning with the others, and I could see that shed alternatively leave him unwrap of the fight. on that point was a maternal inch to her intentings for her younger brother. She wished Sam would send him shoes. Seth didnt register Leahs doubts. He was adjusting to the puppet strings, too.Maybe if you lay over resisting,Embry whispered.Just focus on our part. The big ones. We substructure take them d take. We own themQuil was working himself up like a pep talk forwards a big game. I could see how easy it would be to patronise for nearly no social function more than my part. It wasnt hard to imaging struggle Jasper and Emmett. Wed been cause issue to that in advance. Id sentiment of them as enemies for a very hanker 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 competency want them to win.Jake,Embry warned. Keep your head in the game.My feet moved sluggishly, draw against the drag of the strings.Theres no point fighting it,Embry whispered again.He was indemnify. I would end up doing what Sam precious, if he was willing to push it. And he was. Obviously.There was a good reason for the Alphas authority. Even a swarm as strong as ours wasnt much of a force without a leader. We had to move together, to debate together, in order to be effective. And that required the t prevailk 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 was a horizon Id neer, never wanted to have. hardly now, with my legs all tied up in strings, I recognized the exception with relief more than relief, with a ferocious joy.No one could dispute the Alphas decision except for me.I hadnt gain anything. precisely there were things that had been born in me, things that Id left unclaimed.Id never wanted to lead the ringing. I didnt want to do it now. I didnt want the right for all our fates resting on my shoulders. Sam was meetter at that than I would ever be.But he was wrong tonight.And I had not been born to rest to him.The bonds fell off my dead body the second that I embraced my birthright.I could feel it gathering in me, both(prenominal) a freedomand also a strange, stab 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 kinked at the just of my advance, and his black eyeball narrowed.A/o, I told him again.He perceive it right past, hear the choice that Id do in the die of the Alpha vocalise in my feelings.He jumped covering fire a half flavour 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 arent I shook my head, alter it they arent our enemies. They never have been. Until I really thought about destroying them, thought it with, 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 herThey were hard words, but true words. I sucked in a big gulp of air, breathing them in.Maybe youre right. But youre breathing out to destroy the pack over her, Sam. No matter how many of them survive tonight , they will forever have murder on their hands.We have to protect our familiesI cognize what youve decided, Sam. But you dont decide for me, not anymore.Jacob you cant turn your put up 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 act to his words.I stared into his furious look. Ephraim Blacks son was not born to follow Levi Uleys.Is this it, then(prenominal), JacobBlack? 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 youNow jerked back, a surprised whine escaping my throat.Defeat you? Im not passing game to fight you, Sam.thence 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 never take anyones will forth from him.His puke w hipped 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 undefended teeth inches from mine. I hadnt noticed till this moment that Id grown long-shankeder than him.There cannot be more than one Alpha. The pack has chosen me. Will you tear us aside tonight? Will you turn on yourbrothers? Or will you end this insanity and join us again? all word was layered with command, but it couldnt touch me. Alpha blood ran concentrated in my veins.Icould 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 spunk of my wolf-self tensed for the battle of supremacy.I focusedall my energy to control that reaction. I would not fall into a pointless, destructive fight with Sam. He was my brother still, tied(p) though I was rejecting him.There is only one Alpha for this pack. Im not contesting that Im just cho osing to go my own way.Do you belong to acoven now, Jacob?I flinched.dont cognise, Sam. But I do know this He sh strayk 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.will stand between you and the Cullens. I wont just watch while the pack kills innocent it was hard to carry that word to vampires, but it was true people. The pack is better than that. Lead them in the right direction, Sam.I turned my back on him, and a choir of howls tore into the air around me.Digging my nails into the earth, I raced away from the ruckus Id caused. I didnt have much time. At least Leah was the only one with a prayer of outrunning me, and I had a head start.The howling exhausted with the distance, and I took comfort as the die continued to rip apart the quiet night. They werent after me yet.I had to warn the Cullens before the pack could get it together and check mark me. If the Cullens were prepared,it stren gth give Sam a reason to rethink this before it was too late. I sprinted toward the white house Istill hated, go forth my home behindme. Home didnt belong to me anymore. Id turned my back on it. nowadays had begun like any other day. Made it home from patrol with the showery sunrise, breakfasting with Billy and Rachel, bad TV, bickering withPaul How did it permute so completely, turn all surreal? How did everything get messed up and twisted so that I was here now, all alone, an unwilling Alpha, cut off from my brothers, choosing vampires over them?The sound Id been fearing interrupted my dazed thoughts it was the soft impact of big paws against the ground, chasing after me. I threw myself forward, rocketing with the black forest. I just had to get close equal so that Edward could hear the warning in my head. Leah wouldnt be able to stop me alone.And then I caught the mood of the thoughts behind me. Not anger, but enthusiasm. Not chasing but following.My stride broke. I stagger ed devil steps before it evened out again.Wait up. My legs arent as long as yours.SETH What do you think youre DOING? GO HOMEHe didnt answer, but I could feel his excitement as he kept right on after me. I could see through his eyes as hecould see through mine. The night expression was bleak for me fullof despair. For him, it was hopeful.I hadnt realized I was decelerate down, but suddenly he was on my flank, running in do beside me.am not joking, Seth This is no place for you. Get out of here.The gangly tan wolf snorted. Ive got your back, Jacob. I think youre right. And Im not difference to stand behind Sam when Oh yes you are the hell going to stand behind Sam Get your furry butt back to La Push and do what Sam tells you to do.No.Go, SethIs that anorder. Jacob?His question brought me up short. I skidded to a halt, my nails gouging furrows in the mud.Im not ordering anyone to do anything. Im just telling you what you already know.He plopped down on his haunches beside me. te ll you what I know I know that its awful quiet. Havent you noticed?I blinked. My bottom of the inning swished nervously as I realized what he was thinking underneath the words. It wasnt quiet in one sense. Howls still filled the air, far away in the west.They havent phased back,Seth tell.I knew that. The pack would be on red vital now. They would be using the mind link to see all sides clearly. But I couldnt hear what they were thinking. I could only hear Seth. No one else.Looks to me like separate packs arent linked. Huh. Guess there was no reason for our fathers to know that before. Cause there was no reason for separate packs before. Never overflowing wolves for two. Wow. Itsreally quiet. Sort of eerie. But also preferably nice, dont you think? I bet it was easier, like this, for Ephraim and Quil and Levi. Not such a babble with just three. Or just two.Shut up, Seth.Yes, sir.Stop that There are not two packs. There is THE pack, and then there is me. Thats all. So you can go home now.If there arent two packs, then why can we hear severally other and not the rest? I think that when you turned your back on Sam, that was a pretty significant move. A change. And when I followed you away, I think that was significant, too.Youve got a point,I conceded. But what can change can change right back.He got up and started trotting toward the east. No time to argue about it now. We should be moving right along before SamHe was right about that part. There was no time for this argument. Ifell into a run again, not pushing myself quite as hard. Seth stayed on my heels, guardianship the Seconds traditional place on my right flank.can run somewhere else, he thought, his nose dipping a slight. didnt follow you because I was after a promotion.Run wherever you want. Makes no difference to me.There was no sound of pursuit, but we both stepped it up a little at the same time. I was worried now. If I couldnt tap into the packs mind, it was going to make this more difficult . Id have no more advance warning of attack than the Cullens.Well run patrols,Seth suggested.And what do we do if the pack challenges us?My eyes tightened. Attack our brothers? Your sister?No we sound the alarm and fall back.Good answer. But then what? I dont thinkI know,he agreed. Less confident now. dont think I can fight them, either. But they wont be any happier with the idea of attacking us than we are with attacking them. That might be enough to stop them right there. Pius, therere only eight of them now.Stop being soTook me a minute to decide on the right word. Optimistic. Its getting on my nerves.No problem. You want me to be all doom and gloom, or just debar up?Just shut up.Can do.Really? Doesnt seem like it.He was finally quiet.And then we were across the road and moving through the forest that ringed the Cullens house. Could Edward hear us yet?Maybe we should be thinking something like,We come in peace.Go for itEdward?He called the name tentatively. Edward, you there? Okay, now I feel kinda stupid.You sound stupid, too.Think he can hear us?We were less than a mile out now. think so. Hey, Edward. If you can hear me band the wagons, bloodsucker. Youve got a problem.Weve got a problem, Seth corrected.Then we broke through the trees into the big lawn. The house was unnoticeable, but not empty. Edward stood on the porch between Emmett and Jasper. They were snow white in the pale light.Jacob? Seth? Whats going on?I slowed and then paced back a a couple of(prenominal) steps. The smell was so sharp through this nose that it felt like it was honestly burning me. Seth whined quietly, hesitating, and then he fell back behind me.To answer Edwards question, I let my mind run over the confrontation with Sam, moving through it backward. Seth thought with me, filling in the gaps, showing the scene from another angle. We stopped when we got to the partabout the abomination, because Edward hissed furiously and leaped off the porch.They want to kill Bella? he sn arled flatly.Emmett and Jasper, not having heard the first part of the conversation, took his inflectionless question for a statement. They were right next to him in a flash, teeth exposed as they moved on us.Hey, now,Seth thought, climb away.Em, Jazz not theml The others. The pack is coming.Emmett and Jasper rocked back on their heels Emmett turned to Edward while Jasper kept his eyes locked on us.Whats their problem? Emmett demanded.The same one as mine, Edward hissed. But they have their own plan to handle it. Get the others. omen Carlisle He and Esme have to get back here now.I whined uneasily. They were separated.They arent far, Edward said in the same inanimate voice as before.Im going to go take a look,Seth said. Run the western perimeter.Will you be in danger, Seth? Edward asked.Seth and I exchanged a glance.Dont think so,we thought together. And then I added, But maybe I should go. Just in caseTheyll be less likely to challenge me,Seth pointed out. Im just a kid to them .Youre just a kid to me, kid.Im outta here. You need to coordinate with the Cullens.He wheel and darted into the darkness. I wasnt going to order Seth around, so I let him go.Edward and I stood facing each other in the dark meadow, i could hear Emmett muttering into his phone. Jasper was watching the place where Seth had vanished into the woods. Alice appeared on the porch and then, after staring at me with anxious eyes for a long moment, she flitted to Jaspers side. I guessed that Rosalie was inside with Bella. Still guarding her from the wrong dangers.This isnt the first time Ive owed you my gratitude, Jacob, Edward whispered. I would never have asked for this from you.I thought of what hed asked me for earlier today. When it came to Bella, there were no lines he wouldnt cross. Yeah, you would.He thought about it and then nodded. I hypothesize youre right about that.I sighed heavily. Well, this isnt the first time that I didnt do it for you.Right, he murmured.Sorry I didnt do an y good today. Told you she wouldnt take care to me.I know. I never really believed she would. ButYou had to try. I get it. She any better?His voice and eyes went hollow. Worse, he breathed.I didnt want to let that word sink in. I was grateful when Alice spoke.Jacob, would you mind substitution forms? Alice asked. I want to know whats going on.I shook my head at the same time Edward answered.He needs to stay linked to Seth.Well, then would you be so kind as to tell me whats misadventure?He explained in clipped, emotionless sentences. The pack thinks Bellas become a problem. They see potential danger from the from what shes carrying. They feel its their duty to remove that danger. Jacob and Seth disbanded from the pack to warn us. The rest are planning to attack tonight.Alice hissed, leaning away from me. Emmett and Jasper exchanged a glance, and then their eyes ranged across the trees.Nobody out here,Seth reported. Alls quiet on the western frontThey may go around.Ill make a loop .Carlisle and Esme are on their way, Emmett said. Twenty minutes, tops.We should take up a defensive position, Jasper said.Edward nodded. Lets get inside.run perimeter with Seth. If I get too far for you to hear my head, listen for my howl.Iwill.They backed into the house, eyes flickering everywhere. beforehand they were inside, I turned and ran toward the west.Im still not finding much,Seth told me.take half the circle. Move fast we dont want them to have a chance to gyp past us.Seth lurched forward in a sudden die of speed.We ran in silence, and the minutes passed. I listened to the noises around him, double-checking his judgment.Hey something coming up fasthe warned me after fifteen minutes of silence.On my way fall in your position dont think its the pack. It sounds different.Seth But he caught the approaching cause to be perceived on the breeze, and I read it in his mind.Vampire. Bet its Carlisle.Seth, fall back. It might be someone else.No, its them. I recognize the sce nt Hold up, Im going to phase to explain it to them.Seth, I dont think But he was deceased.Anxiously, I raced along the western border. Wouldnt it be just peachy if I couldnt take care of Seth for one freaking night? What if something happened to him on my watch? Leah would whit me into kibble.At least the kid kept it short. It wasnt two minutes afterwards when I felt him in my head again.Yep, Carlisle and Esme. Boy, were they surprised to see me Theyre probably inside by now. Carlisle said thanks.Hes a good guy.Yeah. Thats one of the reasons why were right about this.Hope so.Whyre you so down, Jake? Ill bet Sam wont work on the pack tonight. Hes not going to launch a suicide mission.I sighed. It didnt seem to matter, either way.Oh. This isnt about Sam so much, is it?I made the turn at the end of my patrol. I caught Seths scent where hed turned last. We werent going any gaps.You think Bellas going to die anyway,Seth whispered.Yeah, she is.Poor Edward. He must be crazy.Literall y.Edwards name brought other memories boiling to the surface. Seth read them in astonishment.And then he was howling. Oh, man No way You did notThat just plain oT sucks rocks, Jacob And you know it, too I cant believe you said youd kill him. What is that? You have to tell him no.Shut up, shut up, you idiot Theyre going to think the pack is comingOopsHe cut off mid-howl.I wheeled and started loping in toward the house. Just keep out of this, Seth. Take the whole circle for now.Seth seethed and I ignored him.False alarm, false alarm,I thoughtas I ran at hand(predicate) in. Sorry. Seth is young. He forgets things. No ones attacking. False alarm.When I got to the meadow, I could see Edward staring out of a dark window. I ran in, wanting to be authoritative he got the message.Theres nothing out there you got that?He nodded once.This would be a lot easier if the communication wasnt one way. Then again, I was kinda glad I wasnt in his head.He looked over his shoulder, back into the hous e, and I saw a shudder run through his whole frame. He waved me away without looking in my direction again and then moved out of my view.Whats going on?Like I was going to get an answer.I sat very still in the meadow and listened. With these ears, I could almost hear SetlYs soft footfalls, miles out into the forest. It was easy to hear every sound inside the dark house.It was a false alarm, Edward was explaining in that dead voice, just repeating what Id told him. Seth was upset about something else, and he forgot we were comprehend for a signal. Hes very young.Nice to have toddlers guarding the fort, a deeper voice grumbled. Emmett, I thought.Theyve done us a swell service tonight, Emmett, Carlisle said. At great personal sacrifice.Yeah, I know. Im just jealous. Wish I was out there.Seth doesnt think Sam will attack now, Edward said mechanically. Not with us forewarned, and lacking two members of the pack.What does Jacob think? Carlisle asked.Hesnot as optimistic.No one spoke. Th ere was a quiet dripping sound that I couldnt place. I heard their low breathing and I could separateBellas from the rest. It was harsher, labored. It hitched and broke in strange rhythms. I could hear her heart. It seemed too fast. I paced it against my own heartbeat, but I wasnt sure if that was any measure. It wasnt like I was normal.Dont touch her Youll wake her up, Rosalie whispered.Someone sighed.Rosalie, Carlisle murmured.Dont start with me, Carlisle. We let you have your way earlier, but thats all were allowing.It seemed like Rosalie and Bella were both talking in plurals now. Like theyd formed a pack of their own.I paced quietly in front of the house. Each pass brought me a little closer. The dark windows were like a TV set running in some dull waiting room it was impossible to keep my eyes off them for long.A few more minutes, a few more passes, and my fur was brushing the side of the porch as I paced.I couldsee up through the windows see the top of the walls and the ce iling, the unlit chandelier that hung there. I was tall enough thatall I would have to do was stretch my neck a little and maybe one paw up on the edge of the porch.I peeked into the big, open front room, expecting to see something very similar to the scene this afternoon. But it had changed so much that I was confused at first. For a second I thought Id gotten the wrong room.The glass wall was gone it looked like metal now. And the furniture was all dragged out of the way, withBella curled up awkwardly on a narrow bed in the affection of the open space. Not a normal bed one with sound off like in a hospital. Also like a hospital were the monitors strapped to her body, the tubes stuck into her skin. The lights on the monitors flashed, but there was no sound. The dripping noise was from the IV plugged into her arm some fluid that was thick and white, not clear.She clotted a little in her uneasy sleep, and both Edward and Rosalie moved in to hover over her. Her bodyjerked, and sh e whimpered. Rosalie smoothed her hand across Bellas forehead. Edwards body stiffened his back was to me, but his expression must have been something to see, because Emmett wrenched himself between them before there was time to blink. He held his hands up to Edward.Not tonight, Edward. Weve got other things to worry about.Edward turned away from them, and he was the burning man again. His eyes met mine for one moment, and then I dropped back to all fours.I ran back into the dark forest, running to join Seth, running away from what was behind me.Worse. Yes, she was worse.