𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐛 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤

Chapter Three: Ridiculous Redhead

"Impending death. You're kidding me, right hon?" Mom laughed. We were washing the dishes after a quick dinner, and I happened to mention what Alice had said. "I would never joke about death. Besides, this all started happening after meeting the tribe."

"Darling, you aren't possibly saying what I think you are, are you?" She looked at me curiously. I raised a brow, confused at her reaction. "I'm just saying that maybe meeting Billy's son wasn't the best idea."

"He's a nice boy." Mom didn't know what a boy was, because that boy was 6'9 with the most beautiful face I'd ever seen on a man. "I don't know what happened, but I was so out of it."

"You are saying what I think you are, cara."

"What are you thinking?"

"What you are saying."

"What did I say?"

"What you said."

Mom shrugged with a smile and prepared to leave the kitchen. I finished drying the last of the plates, her words still on my mind. Everyone seemed to know what was going on except for me. 

I hated being left in the dark, but I was going to find out. Mom's a pretty heavy sleeper, so getting out wouldn't be a problem. 

Finding the book would be a problem.

***

La Push was extremely scary in the dead of the night. The forest was mysteriously twisting into different horrifying forms that wouldn't look the same in daylight. Not to mention that Victoria could be here, anywhere. 

"Lumos."

Getting out of hex arrest took a lot of begging, crying, and negotiating, but it was worth it. I couldn't survive long without magic—I'd been dependent on it since birth. My mother used magic to push me out of her—she had had enough after seven months. 

A shadowy figure was visible towards the end of the forest. It could have been a loner—humans hiding out or camping. It also could've been Victoria or one of her henchpeople. All I could think about was that it was coming closer and I was frozen in my place, holding a stick that produced light. That would not be fun to explain.

The figure started to hurry and pretty soon it was running—exceptionally fast. Mumbling curses to myself, I started to run in the opposite direction, far away from where I was headed. For a moment, I thought I was gonna make it. After that adrenaline high passed, I discovered that I was being tackled to the ground by my chaser.

"It is 3.00 in the morning, and the sun is going to rise in a few hours. I am doing my job and looking for that ridiculous redhead while you are wasting your time, pranking me?" his voice grumbled in my ear. My face was red hot—I was blushing so brightly I was glad the sun wasn't up. 

I looked up at his annoyed face with an irritated expression of my own. "I was actually on my way to see how guys were doing. You know, in case you guys needed any extra ammo."

"We don't—and even if we did, I doubt you would be the first person we'd call."

"No one asked you, Nancy." I tried to push him off, but he wouldn't budge. He rolled his eyes and got up, lifting his body from mine. "I am taking you home, no questions asked."

"What's your favorite color?" I grinned innocently. 

"Blue—no. No questions asked."

***

"Protego Diabolica."

Mumbling the protective charm, I waved my wand around the Swan residence. Jasper looked around, inspecting the house for any changes. "Is Bella in the house?"

"No, Jacob took her to Sam's house after their fight this morning," I replied to him as he stopped his movements. I didn't mind it until he grabbed my wrist, forcing me to stop too. "What's wrong, Jas?"

"Nothing too alarming, Lina, but there is someone else in the house." I wasn't sure about what to say to him. There was someone inside Bella's house, but the house looked empty. Edward mentioned that Charlie would be home after his shift, but other than that we weren't really sure about anything.

Jasper grabbed hold of a tree branch, offering me his hand as we jumped through Bella's window. "If this wasn't important I would have never jumped through a window like a petty thief."

Jasper walked around Bella's room to get a scent, instantly moving towards the door. "Wait, they'll see us coming if you barge in like that."

"If it's Victoria, she'll run away, but you're right. We need a guise."

"Silencio."

Jasper led us out of Bella's ridiculously purple room and into the rest of the house. We were being extremely careful as to not announce our presence to the intruder when I heard it.

A sniff. 

Whatever it was, it had found us and was ready to escape. Jasper followed closely behind as the prowler rushed out of the house and into the wilderness. Charlie was peacefully asleep on the couch—he must have not been the target. 

I rearranged the house back to its original state with a flick of my wand, silently closing the door so Charlie wouldn't wake up. Jasper jogged back from the forest, not likely to have caught the person. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened my mom's contact, texting her about the incident.

'smthg happened. call house meeting w cullens ASAP!'

*** 

"Sonorus."

"I'm not going into the fact that you kept me muted for like an hour, but I also know that whatever happened today was a warning. We need to take this seriously—evaluate all safety measures that need to be taken and use the best possible way to protect Bella and her family. We know Victoria isn't above going to Florida and hurting Renée."

"The scent disappeared about five miles south of Bella's house." Jasper and Emmett entered the house again with more bad news. They were followed by Edward and Bella, the former rushing into the house angrily. "I'm assuming all of you know."

"We were there first," I sighed. Bella was confused and scared—she didn't know who I was and couldn't process that someone had been in her house. "Maybe, we should introduce ourselves to Bella."

My mother's words brought me back to reality. "It's wonderful to meet you Bella—I am Alina Clairmont and this is my mother, Elaine Clairmont. We are...old friends."

"It's nice to meet you." Bella's meek voice sounded. 

"It's neither the Volturi nor nomads—so we keep looking. We'll also take shifts guarding Bella at her house." Carlisle's words visibly upset Bella and Rose. "Another protection detail?"

As Carlisle attempted to talk to Rose, Bella spoke. "No, she's right. You can't protect me, watch my dad, and search for the intruder."

"And for Victoria," Rose interrupted her, adding to Bella's point. "And keep yourselves fed."

"I'm not leaving you here defenseless." Edward was determined to do anything to protect his mate, but there was nothing he could do about it. "Well, I not gonna let you starve. And I wouldn't be unprotected, I have..."

I felt Edward's body tense near me as Bella's voice trailed off. "What?"

The wolves.