All Bark, No Bite [Jacob & Edward]

22

Jacob can visibly see when the smell hits Edward's nose. His pupils dilate and his nostrils flare as he whips around in search of the source. About a second later, he hoists Jacob up without warning and rushes back into the house, locking the door behind them. He carefully tips Jacob over onto the couch and Edward's eyes immediately go towards the window. Jacob's not sure he's ever seen him like this before. He looks like he's about to start hunting. 

Esme isn't at the stove anymore. She's not in the kitchen at all. Instead, Jacob's pack is also searching the windows in different areas. 

"She's awake," Seth answers Jacob's unspoken question, "and she is not happy."

The smell was strong, thick in the air. She must have lost a lot of blood, is still losing a lot of blood, enough to pool. He wasn't stupid enough to hope that she was just going to drop dead, not with the witch at her side.

"We need to get you upstairs." Edward huffs before tugging Jacob up, he doesn't bother with trying to be gentlemanly and waiting for Jacob to slowly make his way up the stairs. Edward doesn't seem to have the patience as he scoops Jacob up and quickly climbs the staircase two at a time. Jacob is shoved back into the room, where Green Eyes is waiting for him. He settles himself back on the bed. If he wasn't shaking in his boots, he'd find some humor in the situation. Instead, he follows what his instincts are telling him and starts digging into the pile of clothes on the bed. Once he gets to the bottom, sides of the hole sufficiently built up, he burrows into the center and just lays there curled in a ball.

Even in his fear, he thought that maybe they'd dodged her and the conflict would be saved for another day. That's before he hears the loud clattering of what sounds like pots of and pans hitting the floor. There is some yelling and then louder sounds. Some of it sounds like the crumbling of large furniture. More screaming. He closes his eyes and tries to focus on something else, but he can hear their thoughts. She's inside the house. 

If there was a time for crying and fainting, it's not now. Now is the time for improvising. What can he do? W h a t  c a n  h e  d o ? 

He can't run. Even in his wolf form, it's a bit too much weight to try to make a run for it. He doesn't want to risk fighting. He subconsciously runs a hand over his belly. He could hide. Hide and block out his scent. He looks around at the pile of clothes that was covered in about twelve different people's scents. Right idea, wrong place. He climbs out of the hole and stumbles over to get the clothes basket, shoving every item on the bed into it. 

He eventually catches Green Eyes watching him, curiosity prevalent in her stare.

"C'mon," He calls over his shoulder before quietly slipping out of their room to sneak into one of the rooms down the hall, laundry basket in tow. He should breathe, but he can't help but hold it in out of fear of being heard as he slips into a room Edward had shown him on their little mini tour of the house. He closes the door quietly behind him before quickly working to get the ladder down that leads into the attic. He can hear himself breathing heavily now, but this is the most moving he's done in months. He carries the basket by the handle as he climbs the ladder, making sure to hold on tight. as he made his way up. Once he was inside with the opening closed, he started spreading out the clothes over the entrance, only stopping to take a breath and look over at Green Eyes who is now stooping in a corner of the attic. 

"You should rest." She informs him. So, he lowers himself down next to a box and pulls his legs up closer to his chest the best he can and he just sits and waits.

While he's doing that, Green Eyes is moving what looks to be a very heavy piece of furniture on top of the little latch door. 

Jacob can't hear the noise as clearly now, but based off of the thoughts of everyone else, the danger level hasn't lowered. He can see, through them, Bella standing in front of Edward. He can see her hunched over, glaring at him. She's pale, her clothes covered in blood and she looks to be barely standing. They haven't taken her down yet, though. She's lunging and screaming and he sees sparks flying from her fingers as she swipes at Edward specifically. They're trying to talk with her, reason with her in some way that'll get her to calm down, but Jacob has a sneaking suspicion that they aren't talking to Bella.