Sequel: Midnight ›
Status: Moved from of my accounts on Q!Zilla
Take it Back, Jacob Black.
Nineteen
Jacob
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A sigh left my lips for the fourth time tonight. It was one o'clock in the morning and I hadn't been able to sleep. With Ryder out there, possibly in pain, I couldn't fathom the idea of sleeping. No, I vowed, I wouldn't sleep until I found her. I wouldn't do anything that would take my attention away from her. Run a hand through my now shaggy hair, I stood up and went out into the hallway. I paused, not entirely sure about what I was doing. I walked down the hallway and out the front door.
If what her mother said was true...then she could be in so much pain right now. She's probably confused and frustrated...and that stupid leech could be torturing her...I felt a vaguely familiar stinging in my eyes and my throat began to close up. I inhaled sharply when I realized I was crying.
Resigned and feeling somewhat defeated, I slumped against a tree and buried my face in my hands. She may be angry with me, but I couldn't help but want to see her again. To pull her close, kiss her...Just hold her. That was it. If she didn't want a relationship, we didn't have to have one...but I had to hold her. Touch her to make sure she wasn't a figment of my imagination. That she – this angel sent from the Creator – was real. She was my imprint, and she was made for me. Sculpted from the same clay. I was sure...and it tore me up to think she could be in pain. “Jacob...” I didn't bother looking up to see who had spoken, I knew the voice immediately.
Leah sat down beside me and put her hand on my arm, “She's fine, you know,” She whispered, “Ryder is strong, Jacob, she won't let anything keep her down.”
I looked up then and Leah gasped. “Yeah, she's strong..but she's around a leech and it's almost time for her to-”
“I know, Jake, I know. Once it's through, she'll be even stronger. If we haven't found her, she will fight them off and come back home. Back to La Push.”
I shook my head, wanting to believe it but I just couldn't. I sighed and, attempting to quit sobbing long enough to breathe, leaned my head back against the tree.
Leah smiled sadly, “You're both in love with each other.” She stated. It was partially true. I loved Ryder. Whether or not the feeling was mutual was an entirely different story. I didn't bother arguing with Leah. If there's one lesson I learned from watching people interact...it was that the woman was always right..even if she wasn't. She stood up, “Let's go find your woman, Black.”
“How?” I asked acerbically.
She rolled her eyes, “Look at the letters,” She said, helping me up. We ran to Sam's house where we'd kept the evidence. The lights were on so we went in quietly, knowing that Emily was probably asleep. We grabbed the box and Sam gave us a stare of disbelief.
“Jake, I understand how you must be feeling but-”
“No, Sam, you don't. You've never had Emily taken from you while you had to watch. You never had Emily tell you she didn't want to be with you. You don't understand anything.” I said slowly, quickly flipping through the letters.
“Jacob, she's been missing for almost a week-”
“I don't care, dammit. I'm not going to sleep. I'm not going to eat. Not until I make sure she's safe.” I snapped, picking out a couple letters that had some descriptions of various places he spoke of taking her. I could feel my blood boil in veins at the intimate letters he wrote her. The things he said...things he knew...
My stomach twisted and became queasy and there was this pit in my chest at all the things he knew about her. Things he spoke of doing...
I was overjoyed by the fact she was repulsed, but I was still pissed. She was mine and I was hers and there were no other people. At all. I'd made sure of that when Gabriel joined the pack. First time he phased he was having some thoughts about her that he shouldn't and, well, the scar on his calf was enough to prove my point.
Leah and I scanned through the letters containing possible locations until Leah gasped, pulling three letters out and laying them side by side. “Look, Jake. All of these are talking about a mountain near Snoqualmie.”
“Do you know how long it would take to scout out West Tiger?” Sam asked incredulously, scratching the stubble on his chin.
I glared, “Who the fuck cares? We're going. Tonight.”
Ryder
My heart thudded against my ribcage and I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. I had been sick all day and no one had bothered to come in. I was getting restless and tired of sitting here in this stupid bed all day. It'd been six days and every day I lost a little bit of myself. I stood up, forcing my bones to quit shaking.
I was about to collapse when I landed on something worse than the floor. I landed in the arms of my stalker, Lucian. He lifted me up into his arms. I didn't bother trying to stop him. He rarely let me walk anywhere when he didn't keep me locked in that room. He sat me down at a table made of finely carved and varnished wood and placed a bowl of honeysuckle in front of me with a fork. I stared at it. I'd refused to eat anything since I've been here, and my body didn't like that too much.
I guess that's the reason I felt so sick and so weak. I was starving. After the third day, though, I didn't feel all that hungry anymore. Just thirsty. Incredibly thirsty. I licked my dry and cracked lips to moisten them and pulled my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. “Christina, you need to-”
I squeezed my eyes shut and attempted to tune him out. I could hear him breathing. Each breath was louder and more rugged. I whimpered, “What do you want with me anyway?”
“I want to protect you!” He shouted emphatically, as if I'd lost my mind to even ask such a thing. “You asked me to protect you! Why do you pretend that never happened?”
My mind went numb momentarily as I realized what his problem was. Not only was he not human, he wasn't mentally sound. He was a sociopath. That was great. Just freaking great. Karma must really hate me. I kept quiet. I'd watched the crime shows enough to know you don't challenge a crazy person unless you want to be chopped into tiny pieces and fed to the alligators.
Lucian sighed, piercing a piece of honeysuckle with the fork and lifted it to my mouth. I clenched my teeth together and mashed my lips together. His eyes flashed with anger and he flipped the table over, letting out a feral hiss. “You ungrateful little bitch! I saved you from them. You needed me!”
Something inside me snapped and I stood up, knocking over my chair in the process. “I don't need you. I don't need anyone.” ..Besides Jacob... “I don't know what the fuck you've been smoking, but I don't even know you!”
“Did that stop you from agreeing to go on a date with that mutt of yours? Did it?!” He grabbed me by the throat and I thrashed, pulling my arm back and letting it snap forward. My fist connected with his jaw and he cursed, his grip loosening just enough for me to slip to the floor. I coughed and spluttered as I scrambled to the door of the cabin and fought for breath.
I could hear rushing water and prayed that Lucian wouldn't be able to in it. In the books, it said evil couldn't cross running water...Perhaps it would work, or maybe it would just piss him off. I raced as fast as I could with weak limbs and a frantic heart. I pushed myself up the steep slope and back down the other side. My eyebrows jerked into my hair at the rushing creek in front of me.
“Come back, you little whore!” Lucian's voice wasn't winded at all, but he was angry and closing ranks. I took a risk and did a dive from the bank straight to the middle of the creek. Lucian was still coming. I could feel it, feel him. He was closing in and I was stuck with nowhere to run.
[/b[
A sigh left my lips for the fourth time tonight. It was one o'clock in the morning and I hadn't been able to sleep. With Ryder out there, possibly in pain, I couldn't fathom the idea of sleeping. No, I vowed, I wouldn't sleep until I found her. I wouldn't do anything that would take my attention away from her. Run a hand through my now shaggy hair, I stood up and went out into the hallway. I paused, not entirely sure about what I was doing. I walked down the hallway and out the front door.
If what her mother said was true...then she could be in so much pain right now. She's probably confused and frustrated...and that stupid leech could be torturing her...I felt a vaguely familiar stinging in my eyes and my throat began to close up. I inhaled sharply when I realized I was crying.
Resigned and feeling somewhat defeated, I slumped against a tree and buried my face in my hands. She may be angry with me, but I couldn't help but want to see her again. To pull her close, kiss her...Just hold her. That was it. If she didn't want a relationship, we didn't have to have one...but I had to hold her. Touch her to make sure she wasn't a figment of my imagination. That she – this angel sent from the Creator – was real. She was my imprint, and she was made for me. Sculpted from the same clay. I was sure...and it tore me up to think she could be in pain. “Jacob...” I didn't bother looking up to see who had spoken, I knew the voice immediately.
Leah sat down beside me and put her hand on my arm, “She's fine, you know,” She whispered, “Ryder is strong, Jacob, she won't let anything keep her down.”
I looked up then and Leah gasped. “Yeah, she's strong..but she's around a leech and it's almost time for her to-”
“I know, Jake, I know. Once it's through, she'll be even stronger. If we haven't found her, she will fight them off and come back home. Back to La Push.”
I shook my head, wanting to believe it but I just couldn't. I sighed and, attempting to quit sobbing long enough to breathe, leaned my head back against the tree.
Leah smiled sadly, “You're both in love with each other.” She stated. It was partially true. I loved Ryder. Whether or not the feeling was mutual was an entirely different story. I didn't bother arguing with Leah. If there's one lesson I learned from watching people interact...it was that the woman was always right..even if she wasn't. She stood up, “Let's go find your woman, Black.”
“How?” I asked acerbically.
She rolled her eyes, “Look at the letters,” She said, helping me up. We ran to Sam's house where we'd kept the evidence. The lights were on so we went in quietly, knowing that Emily was probably asleep. We grabbed the box and Sam gave us a stare of disbelief.
“Jake, I understand how you must be feeling but-”
“No, Sam, you don't. You've never had Emily taken from you while you had to watch. You never had Emily tell you she didn't want to be with you. You don't understand anything.” I said slowly, quickly flipping through the letters.
“Jacob, she's been missing for almost a week-”
“I don't care, dammit. I'm not going to sleep. I'm not going to eat. Not until I make sure she's safe.” I snapped, picking out a couple letters that had some descriptions of various places he spoke of taking her. I could feel my blood boil in veins at the intimate letters he wrote her. The things he said...things he knew...
My stomach twisted and became queasy and there was this pit in my chest at all the things he knew about her. Things he spoke of doing...
I was overjoyed by the fact she was repulsed, but I was still pissed. She was mine and I was hers and there were no other people. At all. I'd made sure of that when Gabriel joined the pack. First time he phased he was having some thoughts about her that he shouldn't and, well, the scar on his calf was enough to prove my point.
Leah and I scanned through the letters containing possible locations until Leah gasped, pulling three letters out and laying them side by side. “Look, Jake. All of these are talking about a mountain near Snoqualmie.”
“Do you know how long it would take to scout out West Tiger?” Sam asked incredulously, scratching the stubble on his chin.
I glared, “Who the fuck cares? We're going. Tonight.”
Ryder
My heart thudded against my ribcage and I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. I had been sick all day and no one had bothered to come in. I was getting restless and tired of sitting here in this stupid bed all day. It'd been six days and every day I lost a little bit of myself. I stood up, forcing my bones to quit shaking.
I was about to collapse when I landed on something worse than the floor. I landed in the arms of my stalker, Lucian. He lifted me up into his arms. I didn't bother trying to stop him. He rarely let me walk anywhere when he didn't keep me locked in that room. He sat me down at a table made of finely carved and varnished wood and placed a bowl of honeysuckle in front of me with a fork. I stared at it. I'd refused to eat anything since I've been here, and my body didn't like that too much.
I guess that's the reason I felt so sick and so weak. I was starving. After the third day, though, I didn't feel all that hungry anymore. Just thirsty. Incredibly thirsty. I licked my dry and cracked lips to moisten them and pulled my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. “Christina, you need to-”
I squeezed my eyes shut and attempted to tune him out. I could hear him breathing. Each breath was louder and more rugged. I whimpered, “What do you want with me anyway?”
“I want to protect you!” He shouted emphatically, as if I'd lost my mind to even ask such a thing. “You asked me to protect you! Why do you pretend that never happened?”
My mind went numb momentarily as I realized what his problem was. Not only was he not human, he wasn't mentally sound. He was a sociopath. That was great. Just freaking great. Karma must really hate me. I kept quiet. I'd watched the crime shows enough to know you don't challenge a crazy person unless you want to be chopped into tiny pieces and fed to the alligators.
Lucian sighed, piercing a piece of honeysuckle with the fork and lifted it to my mouth. I clenched my teeth together and mashed my lips together. His eyes flashed with anger and he flipped the table over, letting out a feral hiss. “You ungrateful little bitch! I saved you from them. You needed me!”
Something inside me snapped and I stood up, knocking over my chair in the process. “I don't need you. I don't need anyone.” ..Besides Jacob... “I don't know what the fuck you've been smoking, but I don't even know you!”
“Did that stop you from agreeing to go on a date with that mutt of yours? Did it?!” He grabbed me by the throat and I thrashed, pulling my arm back and letting it snap forward. My fist connected with his jaw and he cursed, his grip loosening just enough for me to slip to the floor. I coughed and spluttered as I scrambled to the door of the cabin and fought for breath.
I could hear rushing water and prayed that Lucian wouldn't be able to in it. In the books, it said evil couldn't cross running water...Perhaps it would work, or maybe it would just piss him off. I raced as fast as I could with weak limbs and a frantic heart. I pushed myself up the steep slope and back down the other side. My eyebrows jerked into my hair at the rushing creek in front of me.
“Come back, you little whore!” Lucian's voice wasn't winded at all, but he was angry and closing ranks. I took a risk and did a dive from the bank straight to the middle of the creek. Lucian was still coming. I could feel it, feel him. He was closing in and I was stuck with nowhere to run.