All Bark, No Bite [Jacob & Edward]

19.5

Jacob's not sure how they got her on the phone. All he knows is about twenty hours after he and Leah's conversation, he's having a phone thrust into his hand by a very serious looking Alice. He takes the time to clear his throat before speaking.

"Hello?"

There is rustling and some sniffling on the other end before she speaks.

"Jacob." It's definitely Bella. Her voice is shaky and she seems frazzled even through the phone. He grabs for one of the pillows off of the bed and places it in front of him.

"Where are you, Bella?" He gets straight to the point, trying to seem assertive even though he's rubbing his stomach out of sheer nervousness. This may be his only chance at getting answers and getting Edward back to normal. He can hear the sound of wind coming through the speaker and she moves around before hearing her uneven breathing again.

"I can't say." She hisses through gritted teeth, and for a second Jacob can feel his heart go from his throat to his sinking stomach. She's still mad at him. This is going to be difficult. Jacob rubs a specific spot where the baby is kicking a bit harder than usual.

"Why not?" He tries not to be upset. He doesn't want it to leak through in his voice.

"It's not safe." He hears her mumble. He can hear the sound of a door shutting, hear the sound of her footsteps. Then, she hangs up and Jacob feels like he's going to lose his breakfast.

He looks up at Alice who is frowning, but she isn't looking at Jacob and she doesn't even seem like she was listening to their conversation. She's actually looking at Leah who looks shocked.

Leah turns toward the door and, a few seconds later, Jacob can hear her rushing down the stairs.

Twenty minutes later, he's perched on the sofa staring at a very disheveled looking Bella. He has a blanket tugged over him, but he's very aware that she's very aware of his stomach.

"What happened?" Leah asks, her voice threatening even when asking such a basic question.

"I went to the Volturi. I asked for help, they sent me to a witch and she put a hex on Edward and Jacob." She admits, not really looking at Jacob, but choosing to instead participate in the staring contest that Leah had initiated, "I didn't think anything would happen. The terms were that nothing would occur unless there was an actual bond formed..."

She glances over at Jacob for a brief moment before looking back over to Leah.

"I didn't think anything was going to happen."

Jacob's not even sure how to feel about the confession. He's not sure if she thought Edward was going to change his mind. Maybe she didn't think he was actually feeling anything for Jacob. He was just confused...or maybe she thought Jacob would never let it happen.

"Do you know what kind of hex it is?" Leah continues, not bothering to entertain the statement.

"She didn't say and no, I don't know how to fix it." She admits, looking between everyone who'd gathered around the sofa.

No one even seems to be surprised by the information.

There are some footsteps as Carlisle steps out of his office and into the crowd.

"I think I have some sort of clue." He speaks up. His voice sounds tired like he was up talking all night.

"I called a couple of my colleagues and I got some information about the hex," He pulls out a textbook and runs his eyes and finger over something that's probably highlighted, "Says here that the mating ritual has to be completed."