Fighting Fate

He could smell the leech, the sickly sweet smell was invading his nostrils. The bloodsucker was too close to the line. Growling, he leapt into the clearing, halting dead in his tracks.

All he could see was Hunter's long brown hair, pushed to the side, the curly haired leech's head buried in the crook of her neck.

"I can't," he whispered, his stupid voice making the hair on the back of Jacob's neck raise. "You're my singer."

"I'm going to die soon," Hunter responded, stepping away from the large vampire. "Please, just kill me, put me out of my misery." The large one looked torn between doing what Hunter wanted, and being selfish and changing her. Jacob had had enough. He launched himself through the clearing, one paw hitting Hunter, the other tearing across Emmett's chest with a loud screeching sound. But nothing could drown out the sound of Hunter's screams. She was bleeding, from three long scratches across her face.

"Fuck," Emmett swore. He was fighting with himself, but he knew she had to get to Carlisle. As more wolves appeared, Emmett scooped Hunter into his arms. "I'm in control, I'm going to take her to Carlisle. She'll be safe, I promise." And he vanished, carrying Jacob's bleeding imprint.

What did you do this time? Sam exploded. Images flashed through Jacob's head, replaying the scene. He couldn't form words. Son of a bitch! He ran off after Emmett, but not before ordering Jacob to stay away from Hunter until he got over his stupid issues. Seth followed Sam, worry etched in his every thought. This was the second time Jacob had hurt Hunter this week, and this... This would scar. Forever. By the time they reached the Cullen house, everyone except Carlisle and Emmett were outside.

"She is hurt badly," Edward said, eyes closed. "Carlisle put her under and is stitching her face. It hurt too much for her to be awake right now." It looked like it pained him to be in her head. "Yes, it does. She believes Jacob hurt her on purpose." Seth whined, then ran into the trees, coming back buttoning his shorts. Without looking at anyone, he went inside, darting up the stairs. He found the trio easily, in a room set up to look like a hospital room. Hunter's face was painful to look at. Carlisle had already stitched the first two lines, and was working on the third. The claw marks ran diagonally across Hunter's face, starting just over her right eyebrow and ending at the left side of her chin.

"We don't know yet, but she might never see out of her right eye again," Carlisle murmured. The eye in question was swollen shut. "From what I could tell when I pried her eye open, her eyelid took the brunt of it, but eyelids are not the thickest piece of skin." Seth winced. "She'll be staying here for a few days, I still need to check on her ribs, and I want her no where near Jacob for a while, while she heals emotionally."

"I'll stay here with her," Seth offered. "She'll want a friend, and I'm her best friend. Besides, Sam would probably kill me if I let her stay alone in a house of vampires." A growl from the front yard confirmed his suspicions.

"All right," Carlisle agreed, finishing the last stitch. "Make sure when she wakes up, tell her what happened. She might panic a little." He left, carrying a pile of bloody gauze.

"This is my fault," Emmett grunted, still clutching Hunter's hand. "I found her... I finally found my singer, and she has to be a wolf's imprint." He squeezed Hunter's hand gently, then got up and left. Seth took Emmett's place beside Hunter, warming up her freezing hand. "You should know, Seth, she was coughing." Emmett had come back. "She's getting sick. If Jacob keeps denying her, she'll die soon." He left again, leaving Seth to wonder how much longer he had with his friend.