It's Our Last Chance to Feel Again

JACOB

Oh for the love of- When do you think those stinkin' newborns are coming? I can't stand looking at the Cullens any longer! Paul complained.

Not to mention it's just plain awkward. It's so quiet, and we're just staring at each other, Eztli put in.

Embry frowned. Does anyone else feel like killing that blonde parasite? She's been glaring at us for the past few minutes and the stench is killing me- Oh geez.

I laughed. Lucky me, I get to stay on the hill where the air is nice and unpolluted, and wait for Seth who, by the way, is taking a really long time.

Shut up. You'll join us soon, Embry mumbled.

Yeah, but I won't need to stare at them, and I won't have to deal with that blonde bimbo.

Whatever. I'm getting the—

"Oh... My God," I heard a voice pant from the minds of the many wolves who were at the clearing.

How was it that the voice sounded extremely famil-

No. No, no, no. No!

What the fuck?!

It couldn't be her.

Is someone behind us?

She couldn't have been that stupid to have snuck into the woods.

Who the hell is that?

I squeezed my eyes shut in a vain attempt to keep the image of Katherine standing in the clearing that was now on every wolf's mind from reaching my mind. I didn't want to believe that...

No. She wouldn't have.

But she did. She was there. Standing right behind Quil and Eztli.

Guess that means Jake's able to think of her again, Embry thought, trying to lighten up my anger.

"What is she doing here?!" The blonde Cullen shrieked, and for the first (and last) time in my life, I agreed with her.

How the fuck did she get there?! Shit, I don't even want to know. Get her to leave before one of the parasites go crazy! Seth, can you please run faster?

I uh, I think she might have followed us, Quil nervously thought.

What?! How? Why didn't you... You should've smelt her scent!

Quil, who was unable to answer, looked to Eztli for help. The wind was blowing against us, Jake. It must've carried her scent away.

Great. My imprint has athletic skills and is obviously a ninja, but she's not smart enough to figure out that... Oh fuck. Seth!

I'm almost there just give me a few more seconds.

Waiting for Seth to arrive, I watched in pain as Katherine stood face-to-face with the leeches who were obviously beginning to feel the thirst for human blood. Why on earth did my imprint have to be so stupid?!

"Where's Jacob?" I heard her demand, and I immediately got on all fours.

Did she just ask for me?

Well done, Sherlock, Leah jeered with a roll of her eyes, which the rest of the pack mirrored, but I promptly pushed it aside.

Why would Katherine follow Eztli and Quil into the woods just to ask where I was? It couldn't be because...

No. She couldn't have figured it out. She thought I was part of a cult even when the answer had been so clearly spelled out for her. She couldn't have been smart or quick enough to realise.

Could she?

Maybe she's secretly some sort of genius! Embry put in, eager to make someone laugh.

A secret genius who follows huge wolves into the woods? Yeah, right, I retorted.

Hadn't I told Uncle Jack to order her to stay at home?!

Embry rolled his eyes. Duh. She's looking for you. Of course she's going to follow the wolves. It's secret genius code: Follow the werewolves into the woods so that you may find the werewolf you're looking for.

You know Embry, I think your sense of humor is going down the drain. You're not that funny anymore, Quil joked, poking fun at the silence that stretched on.

Can you guys just stop trying to make us laugh? For God's sa- Katherine is in the clearing. She's right there, and she's not supposed to be, I practically yelled, shutting both Embry and Quil up.

Lighten up, Jake. They were only trying to help, Jared defended.

I know they are. But would you be laughing if that was Kim standing there? Shit, can someone just get her out of the woods? The damn leeches are there and I don't want-

Shut up, Jake. She's talking, Paul interrupted, and I immediately pushed my worries aside so that I could listen to every word she said.

"If you're trying to scare me off, it's really not working. Kill me if you will, I frankly don't care. But if you so much as touch a single strand of fur on Jacob, or any of the other wolves, I will make sure that you'll suffer for..."

Is she defending us? Eztli asked, his bewilderment felt by every other wolf.

Dude, yeah. She is, Jared gaped.

Seth nodded his head impressively. Wow.

Great. So she came to the woods to defend us. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? And couldn't she have found a better way to threaten the Cullens? I complained, still angry that Katherine was in the woods.

Why did she have to be so stubborn?! Why couldn't she just have stayed home? Did she really hate her life so much that she wanted to kill herself?

Jacob, I think you should be proud, man. She doesn't even know that she's your imprint, and she's risking her life to stand up for you. I mean, it's dumb and all, but it's pretty hardcore too. I don't see why you're so mad, Quil timidly spoke up.

Of course I'm proud of her! If I were wearing pants, I'd be peeing in them. I could even die from happiness right now. But the fact that she's standing in a clearing with a bunch of vampires, waiting for more bloodthirsty parasites who don't care for animal blood to come trumps the fact that she's defending me, or well, us. She could die, and I think that's a pretty valid reason for me to be mad.

He's um, he's got a point, Embry thought.

I saw the pack huddle together closer at that, forming some sort of protection for Katherine, and I slumped back down to the ground, only to sharply get back up upon hearing the blonde bimbo growl.

Did she just growl at Katherine? I clarified, anger coursing through every cell.

Um, kind of, Quil whispered.

That fucking bitch! Not caring that Seth was still on his way to the hill, I took off in the direction of the clearing as fast as I could. I'd be damned if I let a bloodsucker intimidate my Katherine.

I suppose my intention of being her strong pillar wasn't needed, because I soon heard Katherine speak, sounding completely unaffected. "Well 'raaah' to you too. So you've got fangs and a need to drink my blood. Big whoop. I've got blood flowing through my every vein which makes you so weak you can't even control yourself."

Did she just say 'raah'? Eztli asked, smiling from the absurdity of it all.

You know, she's got a point there. Katherine's a weapon! Embry laughed, and I couldn't help the happy grin that sent my tongue rolling down the side of my mouth.

Of course I was still pissed that Katherine was stupid and stubborn enough to follow Quil and Eztli into the woods. Of course I was still worried that newborns would arrive and kill her before I could even think about losing her. And of course I thought she was completely insane for speaking back to an angry parasite. But she wasn't letting that leech scare her, and her standing her ground made me pick up my pace.

Katherine continued on, obviously on a roll, "I've got the ability to feel my heart break, to feel it slowly mend, to feel the pain when it starts to beat really fast around Jacob."

No fucking way.

Jake, I think she knows, man! Embry shouted, excitement bouncing in every word.

Come on, Jake. Get here already! Quil cheered.

Paul, who was clearly happy for me but was too ashamed to show it, smirked. Guess this means we won't have to deal with Jake's rants anymore.

So happy that I thought my heart was going to explode, I began running at a pace I never once thought I could. Sam I know you asked me to wait for Seth and all, but I've just really got to-

Jacob, it's fine. Seth's reaching the hill soon, so you might as well get down now, anyway.

"Plus I've got the werewolves on my side. And as I recall, they were made to destroy you," Katherine chided confidently.

You know, she's got a lot of confidence in us, Seth pointed out.

Yeah. That's kind of... Nice, Jared agreed.

And she does have a point. We were made to kick vampire butt, Eztli added.

Wow. Nice confidence boost. Oh geez, look at the blonde Cullen! She looks like she wants to punch someone. Guess Katherine hit a soft spot, huh.

It's nice to see that leech get all defensive by what Katherine said. She's clearly scared, Sam laughed.

Did... Did Sam just laugh? Quil asked.

Okay something's wrong with Sam. Guys! We're losing our alpha! Embry continued, mentally picturing himself as a human dramatically holding a hand to his forehead.

Sam rolled his eyes, Shut up, I'm fine. I'm just really glad Katherine came to the clearing. After all that depressing thoughts, it's nice to remember that people back in La Push trust our ability to keep them safe. And now that you guys are back to being cocky and arrogant, we won't be too busy doubting ourselves and we can concentrate on killing the newborns.

I beamed with pride at that. Who's got the best imprint?

Paul snorted. Weren't you just complaining about how dumb and stubborn she was?

Yeah, well what she lacks in brains, she makes up in courage, I thought defiantly, Therefore making her the best imprint ever.

Looking at the image of a freaked out Katherine from the pack's minds, I rolled my eyes. Stop looking at her like that, Sam. You're scaring her.

No, I'm not. If anything, I'm making her feel immensely proud of herself. I'm being grateful, Jake. No one gets scared of gratitude.

Apparently my imprint does.

Still think you've got the best imprint? Paul laughed.

Beats my sister, I retorted, receiving a growl and a bunch of threats from Paul.

Focus, Sam reminded, his voice ringing in my ears.

Well, nice Sam is gone. It's back to grouchy old Sam now, Jared sighed with a sympathetic shake of his head.

"So since it's going to happen whether or not I like it, I'll just say this: Don't you dare turn your backs on the wolves. Don't you fucking dare do anything to harm them. I meant what I said about making you pay," Katherine finished off dramatically.

You think the vampires are freaked? Jared asked.

Paul rolled his eyes. Of course they are, Jared. Wouldn't you be freaked if a girl who's no older than 17 ran up to you all sweaty, with a hair that's messy as hell and began threatening you?

Shut up, Paul. She looks perfect, I growled, sticking my snout in the air.

I didn't care much for Paul's retort. All I could focus on was the loose dirt below me flying in all directions as I dug my paws into the ground and roughly pushed off in a rhythmic pattern. I needed to reach the clearing. I needed to see Katherine. I needed to see if she had finally figured out that she was my imprint.

I turned sharply, narrowly avoiding knocking the small tree over, and began running on a new route that would lead me to the clearing faster.

That route was harder, naturally, as it was dense with trees that stood close together and required sharp dodges from me, but I pressed on. I wasn't going to let something as silly as trees come in my way. I was going to continue on until I reached the clearing.

I kept my concentration hard on my surroundings, making sure that if I wasn't moving at a constant speed, I was going faster and not slowing down. And it was all going well. Until a stench so familiar reached my nose.

Aw, fuck no.

Guys! I smell the newborns!

They can't seriously be-

TRUST ME WHEN I SAY I CAN FUCKING SMELL THEM! I roared, every happy feeling gone and in it's place, a deeper fustration and anger at my imprint's folly.

I could honestly never catch a break. Just when I thought Katherine had finally figured things out, she had to be threatened with death.

Okay okay, we believe you. Geez, Paul replied defensively.

We can't smell them yet so that's a good sign. Quil, get her to climb on your back and take her to La Push, Sam ordered.

Quil? I demanded, Why Quil?

Are you for real? You can't honestly be jealous at a time like this, Leah scolded.

I'm not jealous, I just don't see why it has to be Quil and not, I don't know. You. I mean you're a girl. She'd trust you, I mumbled.

She wouldn't even know I'm a girl, Jacob. Get a grip, She sassed.

Sam, who was obviously more understanding than Leah, explained, I'm choosing Quil because he's the nearest to her. I would've chosen you, but you're not here, are you?

Fine. I still don't like it so much. I grumbled.

So am I going to bring her to La Push or what? Quil asked.

Yes. Get her on your back n- Shit.

Sam's swear caused the blood to drain from my face. No. Don't tell me...

We've got their scent and- Wow, do they stink, Jared flinched.

"Someone take her away as quickly as possible!" I heard the doctor yell.

No no no! Fuck! QUIL! GET HER TO LA PUSH NOW! I roared.

I'm trying, I'm trying! But I can't get her on my back without talking to her.

Just... I don't know, nudge her!

I am, but she's just asking a bunch of questions. And she asked for you which — I know — is irrelevant. But i just thought I'd let you know, anyway.

Okay um, thanks. Nudge her harder! I don't care if she falls to the ground — just don't hurt her — get her on your back!

I'm trying! But damn it, she's stubborn as hell. She's not moving at all she's just- Oh fuck.

I saw, with fear dotting my every pore, the newborns with their ugly as hell red eyes through the minds of the pack and immediately picked up my pace, not caring that my paws were hurting from the amount of pressure I was applying on it.

I couldn't let her slip away from me. Not like that. With determination powering me, I felt myself gain speed. The wind slapped me, and I felt it pull me back with all its strength. But I remained steady.

Katherine couldn't die. She wouldn't die. Not while I was still alive.

---

I continued to run with all that I had physically, pushing myself faster and further with every pound of my paw. I couldn't afford to get distracted by the thoughts of the fight than ran through my head. I couldn't afford to get distracted by anything. I knew I had to keep running, and that was what I was going to do.

It was hard, obviously, to keep my mind off the fight that was going on. I wanted to see if Katherine was okay. I needed to see if Katherine was okay, but I was pushing everything aside. I wouldn't slow myself down needlessly. I had to reach Katherine as soon as I possibly could.

Hey man, don't worry. I'm sticking close to Katherine and making sure no leeches get close to her, Cullen or not. You just get here as soon as you can, I heard Quil tell me, and I mentally thanked him before fixating my eyes on the path ahead of me.

I knew what I had to do to keep her safe, and I was sure as hell going to do it. I had promised myself I'd keep her alive, and I wasn't going to break it.

Mid-stride, I focused hard and soon felt my bones realigning themselves along my body so that I was now able to stand on my two feet. Quickly pulling on my sweats, I continued on my run, undeterred.

Growing up, when I had watched movies on World War II, I had always thought it strange why the soldiers would keep a picture of their mother or wife or child with them as they marched forth. I never understood why they wanted to weigh themselves down with the pressure of having to stay alive for the people back home. I had always been under the impression that when going to war, you had to clear your mind and focus on your life and the lives you were going to take during the fight.

However, as I approached my own war, I found myself understanding why some soldiers had clutched a picture of their beautiful wife as they shot their enemy down. It wasn't about staying alive for their family. In fact, it was quite the opposite: It was about knowing that if you died, you would've died for a cause, for someone who would miss, love and thank you for doing what you did.

Thinking about the fight and only the fight made it seem like nothing more than a game in which the penalty for losing was death. And even though death was never pleasurable, dying for yourself in battle seemed like a selfish way to go.

But if I kept my mind on Katherine, on Billy, on La Push, this fight would mean so much more than just a fight. It would mean my defending what I stood for. It would mean my defending what I believed in. It would mean that I had something back home that kept me going. And if I were to lose, I wouldn't just be losing my life, I'd be losing my family, and my family would be losing me. If I were to die, I would have died for my family, and I would've died on my family.

That, I realised, was the more honourable way to go. To die fighting for the things that kept you going, that gave you life, seemed like a proper way to leave this world.

And so, it was with that knowledge that I marched (or ran) to the clearing with Katherine in the palm of my hand.

---

Without hesitation, I boldly entered the clearing, clenching my fist shut. I was doing this for Katherine, and that knowledge kept my heart beating, kept my mind racing, and kept my courage rallying.

Fully expecting a messy and on-going fight, I was surprised to see a huge fire that was feeding on the many broken, pale, lifeless bodies, and a considerably small number of newborns.

Scanning the clearing, I realised that there was something going on that was causing the newborns to scream in excitement and pain. Immediately thinking that it was Katherine, I charged to where the newborns stood, before stopping short.

"Kat?" I asked, confused.

She didn't look up, but kept her gaze down on the ground, her body crumpled over a piece of cloth.

Panic washed over me for a second, before I realised that Katherine couldn't have been dead- She was still in one piece and had no blood spilling.

Instead of walking over to where Katherine was, I took a good look around the clearing, trying to grasp what was really going on.

However, nothing I saw helped me to find out what had happened. All I knew was that the Cullens were fighting far from where most of the newborns stood, and the pack was attacking the group of newborns who were all too distracted to fight back.

I felt the wind blow against me, and I smelt the scent it carried: Blood. Frowning, I took another look around. Katherine hadn't been bleeding. In fact, she seemed to be in better condition than some of the wolves. Taking another long look at the distracted newborns, I finally figured that there was another human in the woods.

But who? Who had so daringly bled? Who had-

It hit me then, as I took a closer look at Katherine and the ragged cloth she laid on. That piece of cloth was from the pair of slacks. Slacks the pack wore. I mentally counted the wolves present, to see if there were any missing, but reached a total of twelve, which was the number of wolves that were present before the fight started.

My frown burrowed deeper before it raised in understanding. Taking in Katherine's crumpled and lifeless body position and the Cullens uncomfortable facial expressions, my eyes widened in pained realisation.

Ryan Cox was dead.