Ash Over Seas

“It’s about time,” Paul grumbled to Jacob as he quickly phased back and began pulling on his jeans. The older boy was clearly not pleased with having to run ten extra minutes of patrol in the pouring rain because his replacement was late.

Jacob rolled his eyes. “Give it a rest, I was having dinner with my Dad.”

Paul snorted. “You were home? Bullshit, you were probably off swapping spit with your girlfriend.”

Jacob’s fingers curled themselves into fists and he glared down at the older boy. “Shift with me if you don’t believe me, asshole. I was at home.”

“Whatever, man,” Paul laughed, shaking his head as he disappeared through the trees, probably off to go spend time with Rachel. Jacob mentally gagged at the thought of what they would get up to together.

Hey, Jake! Came Seth’s cheerful voice as Jake tied his clothes to his ankle and shifted.

Hey, Seth. How’s it been?

He quickly scanned through the younger boy’s thoughts to see that they hadn’t picked up on anything interesting so far. He sighed, just another long, rainy night of nothing.

Where are you right now? He asked as he began to make his way toward the boy.

Inner route. I can take the outer if you want, Seth offered.

Jake shook his head. Nah, I’ll take the outer one. I could use the extra running right now, and you’ve been out here longer than I have.

Okay, man, Seth complied.

Jacob picked up his pace, easily finding the well-worn, muddy path of La Push’s outer perimeter. He began trotting along it, keeping his nose close to the ground and his ears perked for any unusual sounds. It was harder to hear over the splattering of the rain on the leaves above.

Everything was routine, dull almost, until he passed the border near the Cullen’s property and got a strong whiff of approaching vampire. His hair raised and he let out a low growl, mentally signaling Seth to get there fast.

Within several minutes, his eyes were greeted with a small, elegant woman approaching quickly with terrified eyes.

“Jacob!” Alice cried as she came to a halt abruptly outside the border. Her hair was soaking wet and plastered to her face but she didn’t seem to care.

Jacob’s heart stopped and he quickly phased to his human form, not even caring about his clothes as he rushed forward to meet her.

“What is it? What did you see?” he demanded harshly as he gripped her shoulders in a death lock.

Alice’s lip trembled and she shook her head. “It’s him. That vampire, he’s back! I couldn’t see him, he was… everything was blank and then he was just there! Jacob, he’s already gotten into her room, you have to hurry!”

Jacob didn’t need telling twice. He quickly whipped around and vaulted into the air, feeling his body change mid stride as his paws hit the ground with force.

Seth, get the rest of the pack NOW. Tell them the leech is back and he’s got Colby with him, Jake demanded, the icy feeling of panic twisting through his stomach as the words sunk in.

A loud, anguished howl ripped through the air and his paws pounded against the earth, pure terror pushing him to run faster than he ever had in his life. Soon he was joined by the voices of his companions, but he ignored their sympathetic remarks and snapped at them to focus on the job at hand.

He darted through the forests, making it to Forks in record time and quickly finding her scent in the air. It was weak through the rain, but he held onto any trail that he could find.

Jake, you go and find Colby, get her out of the cold and away from the vampire as soon as you can, Sam ordered, as the scent grew stronger. Jared, Leah and I will look out for him and take care of him when we can. Seth, stay back with Embry and keep running the borders.

What about her family? Asked Quil, bringing up the rear of the group. Do they know what’s happened?

Why don’t you go alert them in case they haven’t, Sam suggested. Meet us out here when you're done.

Quil agreed and quickly veered off in the direction of the Woodbury’s home.

“JACOB!” he heard a shrill cry and his stomach turned over in his gut.

He continued running, holding his head low for speed and her scent hit him like a ton of bricks. He vaulted over a low hill and came to a skidding stop as he saw Colby’s wet, muddy frame crumpled in a puddle below.

He phased immediately, falling to his knees beside her as he pulled her into his arms and tried to listen for her breathing.

“Colby! Colby, can you hear me?” he shouted, quickly pressing his fingers under her jaw for a pulse. He let out a sigh of relief when he quickly found one, but it was weak. He pulled her easily into his arms and stood.

“Don’t think you're getting away with that,” a crisp voice spoke from behind him. Jacob whipped around quickly to see one of the blonde twins that had accompanied Cormac before.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he spat, hatred boiling in his veins.

The blonde cackled, low and sharp. “Are you dogs really that stupid? I’m here with Cormac, but he’s a little distracted by your foolish companions. I’m here for the girl. You're not taking her with you.”

“Oh, and I suppose you're going to try to stop me?” Jacob snarled, cradling Colby close as he slowly backed away.

The beautiful woman smirked and bared her teeth. “I have orders to bring her back with me. Of course I’m going to stop you. You really think a pup like you is any match for three of us? One bite and I’ll have you writhing on the ground, begging for death,” she hissed dangerously, licking her red painted lips.

“Fuck you,” he spat, but he knew that she was in fact dangerous, and that he was going to have to set Colby down if he had any chance of defeating her.

He hardly had time to think as the blonde launched herself toward him, and he nearly dropped his imprint as a large, matted ball of black fur blurred in front of his eyes.

Jacob stumbled back as the large fox collided in midair with the vampire, and the two went tumbling to the ground, taking out several trees.

A feral snarl ripped from Atticus’s throat, and the boy’s amber eyes shot a piercing gaze at Jacob. He motioned with his nose for the boy to run, before being tackled once more by his opponent.

Jacob didn’t hesitate in securing Colby into his arms and taking off through the trees.

The only thing on his mind was getting her to safety.

Thanks to Alice, the Cullen’s were ready when Jacob arrived and all doors were whisked open for him as he carried the comatose girl abruptly into Carlisle’s home office.

“Jacob, I’m going to need you to wait downstairs while I take care of this,” Carlisle instructed, ignoring the shifter’s indignant snarl.

“No, I will not fucking wait downstairs! This is my imprint we’re talking about and you expect me to just sit down there and WAIT? She’s on the brink of death for fuck’s sake and you just—“

“Jacob I will not be able to think clearly while you are here pacing and freaking out,” said Carlisle as he quickly began placing heating pads on Colby’s frame, and securing her down to the table.

“I don’t fucking care, I’m not—“

“Jake,” a soft voice called from the doorway and he turned to look into Bella’s sympathetic, golden eyes. They no longer caused his heart to flip anxiously, but they conveyed a sincerity that told him Carlisle was right, and as much as it pained him, he knew deep down that Colby would have a better chance at surviving if the doctor could concentrate.

“Come on,” she urged with an outstretched hand and he reluctantly walked toward her, and followed her down to the living room, where Colby’s younger siblings had already gathered. Pan lay resting in Artemis’s arms as Esme relayed soothing words into their ears.

Jacob resigned himself to pacing furiously across the room, listening intently for any sound changes from the upper stories.

It was several minutes later when Atticus burst through the front door, sopping wet and breathing heavily as he searched the faces in the room.

“Colby,” he gasped, his sharp eyes falling on Jacob as he shuffled forward.

“She’s upstairs,” Jacob murmured tightly. “Carlisle won’t let anyone up. The vampires, did you…?”

“They're finished,” Atticus muttered coldly, hatred burning behind his eyes. “Your pack is waiting for you on the border when you return. They wanted to give you some space.”

“Thank you,” said Jacob quietly.

Atticus just nodded and collapsed onto the couch next to his siblings, his head falling into his hands as his raven black hair swished in front of his face.

Hardly a soul flinched when, once again, the front door blew open and several bodies piled through. The head of the group was none other than Henry Woodbury, whose eyes were wild and more vulnerable than Jacob had ever seen. It sent a chill down his spine to see such a collected man in such a state of panic.

“Where is she?” he demanded, his vicious eyes raking over every face in the room.

Esme stood to greet him, placing her hand on his arm lightly.

“She is upstairs with Carlisle,” the caramel-haired vampire said. “I think it would be best if you stay here until he is finished.”

Henry shook his head, and his eyes pinched in the corners, as if he would cry if he were able. “No, please, I need to be in there. This is really it and I’ve been such a fool to ignore her so. I need to see her before it’s too late. Please understand.”

Esme hesitated, and nodded. Colby’s father disappeared up the stairs in a flash. Jacob opened his mouth to protest, but slowly shut it when the words just wouldn’t come out. He closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing as he wiped his palms on his jeans.

He continued pacing.

A small tug on his pant leg brought him from his trance and he looked down, surprised to see Pan Woodbury staring at him with piercing emerald eyes. Jacob knelt down so that he was at eye level with the small boy and the two waiting in silence for several moments until it was broken.

“’S gonna be okay,” the boy murmured quietly, clasping his hands in front of him.

Jacob’s heart clenched affectionately, and his eyes softened as he gave the boy a weak smile and ruffled his hair.

“Thanks, Pan,” he whispered.

And for some reason, with that small exchange, Jacob felt a little tug of hope.