Discover Twilight

chapter xvii

Across the clearing movement causes the leaves to rustle, we both freeze until we see Jake emerge from the trees. Jake meets my eyes and he stops moving, with a look of amazement and confusion on his face.  Maybe it was because he didn't expect to see me or maybe it was because he didn't think we'd be here, but the look was questionable. Then my brother and his gang step out from the tree line and into the clearing, half-clothed and their movements almost synchronized. Inexplicably Paul stops dead in his tracks and falls to his knees, as if gravity had failed him, looking pissed beyond belief but held a smaller softer expression in his eyes, that never left my face. Sam looks to him, his face showing only fury, smacking him and Jake upside their head, spitting something into their ears that made Paul blush. A blush I saw from across the field under the cover of moonlight. Paul's expression quickly hardens into fury when he sees Bella.

Excruciating pain spreads from the pit of my stomach at the sight of Sam and his gang of "do gooders", making my temperature rise rapidly and my hands start to shake uncontrollably. I pull my jacket violently over my head to cool down by the February air, leaving me in my sports bra and jeans, earning a look from Sam and Paul as if to tell me to put it back on but I don't give a flying fuck what either of them thinks at this point.

"What the hell have you done?!" Paul yells at Jake about Bella and I, taking his eyes off me and onto his companion.

Jacob looks at every single one of us with pleading eyes before scoffing at the hothead snapping at him, "I didn't tell her anything. You'd know if I did. Kota would be going off in Spanish like she does when she's mad."

Paul looks directly at Bella, avoiding to look in my direction which makes my anger start to increase, snarling at the nearly seven foot tall sixteen year old, "She's here, isn't she?"

Sam steps forward, getting Bella and my attention, "Bella, there's nothing to see here. You should go home."

That pushes me over the edge. The fact that he doesn't even acknowledge my presence but his little friends are more than happy to acknowledge me, as if I'm the punch line of a joke. I throw my jacket at my truck making it clatter on the windshield, "And what Sam? Am I nonexistent to you now? You know what, I'm so done with you. Fuck you."

Bella touches my stomach to pull me back from advancing on the 5 guys that are truly double my size but immediately retracts her hand as if she'd touched a hot stove, "Not until we know what you did to Jacob."

Paul looks at me then to Sam with concern in his eyes before they quickly flicker back to unadulterated hatred, advancing on Bella, "What we did?!" 

Jacob and I move in front of Bella protectively, facing Paul. Sam looks at me with kind, sad eyes, "Kota, you need to calm down before something happens. You two, calm down." Sam looks to Paul and Jake ordering them to calm down but none of us back down. 

Jacob looks over his shoulder to Bella, turning his dark eyes back to Sam, "Sam, she knows things about the bloodsuckers. She's been on the inside. She can help."

Paul scoffs, "Like a leech lover's gonna help us."

I look at Paul, the anger bubbling within me making me want to pounce at him. He sees this and shifts uncomfortably under my glare, almost looking guilty. Did he just call Bella a leech lover and what the Hell did Jacob mean by bloodsuckers, and why does my gut want to hate them? Clearly whatever it meant made Jacob angry because he steps to Paul growling, "Watch what you call her."

The fact that I'm pissed about basically everything, especially what's going on, makes me start shaking throughout my whole body, Embry sees this and hits Sam's shoulder, yelling, "Get a grip, guys."

But Paul and Jacob, too, are so angry that their bodies begin to shake like I was, nearly convulsing. Bella says something but none of us hear it. All I want to do is tear into Paul for being an ass, Jake for ignoring me, and Sam for abandoning me and not being there when I needed him. Paul is chest to chest with Jake, "All you care about is her."

"Paul, back off. Kota, calm down." Sam commands in his deep voice, which Paul ignores pushing against Jacob's chest again making him fall onto me, "And she doesn't give a crap about you."

Jacob looks at me, his eyes flashing with anger, helps me up and pushes Paul hard, making him fly backward. I snicker through my clenched jaw when Paul rises, outraged, throwing his head back in a growl, vibrating violently. Jared laughs, "Too late."

Jacob pushes me backward making me crash hard onto the dirt and dead grass as Sam screams, "Bella, Dakota get back!"

Paul falls forward beside me but halfway to the ground there's a loud RIIIP and Paul explodes into silver-gray fur, becoming a massive wolf crouched and ready to spring. Bella, horrified, grabs Jacob's arm, "Run, Jacob!"

I race to her hearing a loud POP in my ears and the heat that had been radiating all over my body increase until it suddenly ceased as I crouch in front of her, feeling slightly taller. Jacob dives headfirst into the air with another sharp RIP, shreds of cloth blast into the air, he lands on the ground as a gigantic russet-brown wolf, charging at the Paul-wolf. I stand in front of Bella protectively growling at the two wolves that crash into each other, snarling and their teeth flash at each other's throats. I don't take my eyes off the flying furry figures that are attacking each other hearing Bella stumble backward and I hear someone screaming my name and for the boys/wolves as they fight deeper and deeper into the darkness until they disappear into the wood.