The ride to La Push was tense and filled with the quiet whispers of Lyra on the phone, Jacob only catching little bits of the conversation through surges of enhanced hearing. Lyra was informing Sam of the situation so he would be on his way when she got there. She also explained things swiftly to her Papa in hope that Michael would come help to.
When they reached Jacob's house, the boy immediately jumped out of her car before she could even fully put it in park. She quickly followed, calling as she hurried after him, "Jake!" She noticed how much he was shaking and froze.
The front door creaked open. "Jacob, is that you?" Billy called out curiously as he wheeled himself out onto the porch. When the older man saw his son, he immediately said, "Lyra, get back and call Sam."
"I already did." She explained as she slowly backed away from her cousin, "Sam and the others will be here soon. Papa, too."
"Sam?!" Jacob roared, "Why the hell would you call Sam Uley and his cult?!" If he'd been shaking out of anger before, he was nearly convulsing from it now.
Lyra scowled and took a step forward, frustration clouding her judgement. "I'm just trying to help, Jacob!" She snapped.
"I don't want your help!" Jacob shouted in her face, "I don't-" His words were cut short as a cry of agony spilled from his throat and Lyra watched in horror as Jacob's back arched painfully, his arms and legs snapping; until suddenly, he was replaced with a large blur of russet brown fur. Without thinking, Lyra's hands swung out in front of her, eyes glowing red as she used her telekinesis, barely stopping him from clawing her across her chest. She released him back on the ground and he immediately took off for the woods, her following right behind him in a blur of red.
She chased him through the woods, Jacob moving surprisingly fast for his first time phasing. Lyra leapt from the ground, tackling her cousin to the ground and rolling into a clearing, where the rest of the pack found them. She was able to keep her hold on the wolf, despite his desperate attempts to try and get her off of him. "Jake, calm down." Lyra told him as he continued to push her away, "It's me! It's me." Jacob's thrashing slowed as he met her eyes, realizing that it was his cousin holding onto him, "I know things are scary but I promise everything will be okay." Jacob calmed down further as Lyra gently petted his muzzle before moving away from him altogether after Sam nudged her back.
***
"I really don't think this is a good idea." Lyra expressed as she pulled her jacket tighter around her frame, climbing over a fallen log in the woods as she followed behind her friend, a dark foreboding feeling filling her core. Bella had been down in the dumps for the past week, ever since she'd finally seen Jacob when she went out to his house and he told her off.
Lyra wasn't too happy about it, knowing Bella was hurt, but she understood why Jacob had to do it. However, she couldn't tell Bella that; as part of the pack, it was her job to protect their secret, even though she wasn't affected by Sam's alpha command.
"You didn't have to come with me." Bella pointed out as she swiped a branch out of her face, causing it to rebound and smack Lyra in the face. Lyra grimaced before swiping it so hard it broke off all together.
"Yeah, but the last time you were in the woods, you got lost and passed out." Lyra responded, her voice tinted with concern, ignoring what just happened, "I didn't want you to come here alone."
Bella glanced at her, hurt visible in her eyes, and then turned away again. "Last time was different." She explained quietly.
"I know." Lyra told her softly, and they walked in silence for a couple minutes, "Where is this place again?"
"Just past the foliage." The brunette gestured toward the throngs of trees about twenty feet ahead of them, "It's just a little meadow, nothing special, but..."
"But the memories you have there are." Lyra finished, causing Bella to nod, thankful that her friend understood. Lyra sighed softly as she felt compelled to share, "I know how it feels... There's this tree behind my house Emmett and I always hung out in, but I just haven't had the heart to go see it. Hurts too much knowing that he is too far away to be there with me."
When they got to the small clearing, Lyra allowed Bella a few moments while she grabbed a water bottle from the backpack she brought with her. It was unnaturally quiet, and at first Lyra didn't think anything of it, but when she felt a tight feeling in her core pulling her in the opposite direction of the meadow, she tensed, a sense of foreboding falling over her.
"Bella, we should head back soon." She began, turning to look at her friend, but then her eyes widened as she caught sight of a familiar dark-skinned vampire, some ways from them. Bella frowned at the look on Lyra's face, turning around and gasping when she noticed the nomad as well.
"Bella and Lyra." He drawled, his bare feet pressed into the dead grass beneath them.
"Laurent." Bella breathed in surprise.
Laurent moved closer, his gaze drifting over Lyra's features before settling on Bella, the one who seemed a little less apprehensive at the moment. "You seem... pleased to see me." He told her.
Next to Bella, Lyra's entire body ignited with warning as it thrummed in her chest. Laurent didn't have good intentions and her intuition was warning her. The banshee moved closer to her friend, preparing to do whatever she had to stop the vampire from reaching her friend.
"I almost believed none of it had happened." Bella admitted.
The vampire chuckled darkly. "What an odd thing to say." When Bella just stared at him, he advanced toward them further, "I didn't expect to find you girls here. I went to visit the Cullens, but the house is empty. I'm surprised they left you both behind."
"They didn't." Lyra replied curtly, lying straight through her teeth. By this time, Bella had caught onto the bad vibes emanating from Laurent, and her fingers clasp around Lyra's hand out of nervousness.
Laurent smirked. "No?" He didn't believe her, "Still, I'm surprised. Aren't the two of you sort of like... pets to them?"
"You could say that." Bella mumbled.
"Do the Cullens visit often?"
Bella hesitated, but Lyra didn't. "All the time." She told him, "In fact, they call and check in on us daily."
"Yeah," The brunette beside her spoke up, "We'll tell them you stopped by. But, um... We probably shouldn't tell... Edward, or Emmett." She glanced over at Lyra, but the banshee didn't notice; she was staring Laurent down, her gaze sharp as she analyzed his behavior, "'Cause they're pretty protective. They might misinterpret this little get together."
And still, that damned smirk didn't leave Laurent's face. "You'd be right," he told Bella, "if they were here... but they're far away, aren't they?"
Lyra's jaw clenched as Bella stiffened beside her. "Why are you here?" The copper-haired girl asked, avoiding Laurent's question.
"I came as a favor to Victoria," He admitted, "She asked me to see if the two of you were still under the protection of the Cullens. Victoria feels it's only fair to kill Edward's mate, given he killed hers... An eye for an eye."
"And, she wants to kill me because I killed James." Lyra stated.
"And, because you've been a thorn in her side since." Laurent added with a slight shrug.
"They'd know who did it." Bella pointed out almost desperately, "And all of them would come after you."
Laurent considered this briefly before shaking his head. "I don't think they will. After all, how much could you mean to them if they left you here unprotected."
She's not unprotected. She has me, Lyra wanted to snap, but held her tongue, not wanting to antagonize Laurent before she is sure she'll have back up.
The vampire sighed, "Victoria won't be happy about me killing you..." He told Bella, "But I can't help myself— you're simply mouthwatering."
"Please don't." Bella begged. "I mean, you helped us-"
A gasp escaped both of their lips as Laurent suddenly appeared right in front of them, reaching out his hands as if to comfort her. He shushed her softly, "Don't be afraid; I'm doing you a favor. Victoria plans on killing you slowly, painfully... where as I'll make it quick. You won't feel anything."
Lyra pushed Bella back, shoving her way between them. "If you fucking hurt her," She threatened, "I swear to God, you'll be digging your own fucking grave."
Laurent chuckled. "Oh, you have such a way with words." He admired almost tauntingly, "However, my darling Lyra, I would have to disagree."
Lyra raised a brow before her eyes began to glow a bright red as her powers came forward, causing Laurent to lower his guard for a moment due to his surprise. Lyra glared at Laurent before flicking her wrist, blasting Laurent back with a telekinetic push. "Bella! Run!" She called, bracing her feet against the ground as she prepared to use the Banshee's Wail. Bella took Lyra's advice and backed up into the woods, but she stayed close enough to watch Lyra.
Laurent charged at Lyra, his hand clawing her cheek just hard enough, leaving a slight cut oozing red and black blood, before Lyra opened her mouth and let out the Wail, the sound piercing Laurent's ear drums as he went flying backwards towards the trees. Lyra heard a familiar howl following the attack and smirked. Laurent began to charge at her again, but she dodged each attack he threw at her as she was ever so slightly faster than him.
A snap of a branch sounded off to the left of the fighting duo. They stopped and looked to see what was coming. "I don't believe it." Laurent breathed to himself.
Growling came from the trees and Lyra saw Sam's wolf form, emerging from the underbrush. The rest of the pack soon was visible through the shadows. As Lyra turned back to the vampire, the pack stalked closer. Lyra smirked and stated, "Run."
Laurent's eyes widened as he noticed the glint in her eyes. He immediately spun on his feet and ran across the clearing to get away from the wolves. Sam and the others sprang into action, following after him. Lyra stood with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face as she watched the wolves chase him.
Lyra watched as Laurent turned around and hit Sam, sending him all the way across the clearing landing right in front of her. Sam recovered quickly and took off back towards the vampire. Lyra growled and used her telekinesis to hold Laurent still. With Laurent unable to move, the wolves pounced on him, ripping him apart and leaving a mess for Lyra to help clean up with the matches in her backpack.
***
Bella ran into the house and into the kitchen. Lyra sighed and followed her best friend.
Before Lyra could stop her, Bella was already blurting to Charlie about the Wolves. "Wolves?" Harry asked, exchanging a look with Lyra, "Are you sure about that, Bella?"
"Yeah, we just saw them!" Bella exclaimed, "They were after— something. Right, Lyra?"
"Bella-" Lyra tried, but she didn't quite know what to say, and Charlie was already informed nevertheless.
"Alright, well... Harry," Charlie said, turning to his friend, "Would you mind going hunting? Get some of your guys together?"
Harry was annoyed, though it seemed only Lyra noticed, "Sure, yeah, I'll-I'll just..." He waved, almost dismissively, before storming out of the house.
Lyra scurried after him, "Harry!"
"What the hell happened out there, Lyra?" The man asked, his voice a hushed whisper as he opened his driver's door.
She cleared her throat. "There... there was a vampire, and I was trying to protect Bella when the boys rushed in there, trying to save me." She admitted, "But please don't be mad at Bella. She doesn't know-"
"Yeah, well any of those boys could be killed because of her ignorance."
"No, they won't." Lyra told him firmly, shaking her head, "It'll be fine, we'll just- I mean, you'll know what areas you guys will be... hunting in that day, so if we let them know ahead of time, they'll know where to avoid."
Harry sighed deeply, climbing into his car, "Maybe you're right. I just hope no one gets hurt."
So do I, Lyra thought to herself as Harry closed his door and drove away, So do I.
***
Bella laid beside Lyra, the ginger finally sleeping without running off God knows where in the dead of night, meanwhile Bella was wide awake. The brunette examined Lyra's beautiful face and her fingers gently ran along her jaw. Lyra was one of a kind and Bella wished that she could- Her attention was caught by the clinking of something hitting her window. Knowing Victoria was back, Bella sat up slowly, a nervous feeling filling her stomach.
She slowly made her way to the window as a few more clinks sounded. "Bella!" She heard Jacob whisper-yell, causing her to relax slightly as she opened the window.
"Oh, you scared me." Bella told him, leaning against the windowsill, "What the hell are you doing?"
"Back up, I'm coming up." Bella did as she was told while watching Jacob do some pretty fancy maneuvers to get into the room.
His feet hit the floor with a thunk and Bella quickly shushed him, gesturing to Lyra's sleeping form. Jacob winced slightly, mouthing a small apology towards his cousin, who was smirking slightly with her back to them, not wanting them to know that she was wide awake and had been since the first rock hit the window.
"Hey." Jacob said awkwardly to Bella before scrambling to apologize, "Look, I'm sorry." He took a step forward, only to be met by Bella's fist gently hitting his abs.
"For what?" She asked.
"I wish I could explain, but I literally... can't." He sighed deeply as he paced for a moment, his eyes catching the dream catcher he gave her briefly before turning back to Bella, "Have you ever had a secret you couldn't tell anyone? One that wasn't yours to share?" Bella raised a brow as Jacob leaned against the foot of her bed, "Well, that's what it's like for me. But worse. You have no idea how tight I'm bound."
"I hate this." Bella told him, grabbing a handful of his now-cropped hair, "I hate what they've done to you."
Jacob gently took her arm out of his hair and held it out in front of him, examining the bite-shaped scar on her wrist. Bella covers it with her hand, causing Jacob to look up at her. Anger began to run through him as he thought of the vampire that had harmed her and he began to speak again, voice raising slightly, "I mean, the killer part is you already know." Bella furrowed her brows in confusion and Jacob lowered his voice again, "Bella, do you remember when we walked on the beach at La Push? The st-" Something stopped him from finishing the sentence, causing Lyra the eavesdropper to frown slightly at the effect Sam's command had over Jacob.
"The story." Bella finished for him, "The story about...the cold ones."
Jacob nodded in confirmation, however it was clear that it hurt him, "I guess I understand why that's the only part you remember." Jacob moved away from her and over to her dresser, looking at something to distract him from his heart breaking.
"There's gotta be something... that you can do." Bella tried.
"No. I'm in it for life."
"Maybe we should just get out of here for a while. We'll just leave. Just you and me."
"You'd do that?"
Bella hesitated before answering honestly to one of her best friends, "I would do it for Lyra."
Lyra's brain stalled at Bella's words but her ears picked up on the quiet growl that left Jacob's mouth and the feeling of his eyes on her back before he went back to his broody reply to Bella, hiding the hurt and jealousy he felt, "It's not something I can just run away from, Bella." He turned to look at the brunette, "But I would run away with you. If I could." Jacob sighed and walked towards Bella, "I gotta go. They'll start wondering where I am." He turned to face her, "Come here." He hugged her tightly, "Please. Try to remember. It'd be so much easier if you knew."
"I'll try. But, Jake..." She trailed off as she saw Jacob moving towards the window, "Jake, what are you doing?" He climbed up on the windowsill, "Wait, Jake." He jumped out the window and landed on his feet, not a single bone breaking or fracturing at the impact, causing Bella to gasp. Jacob took off into the woods Bella as breathed his name.
"Well, that was interesting." Lyra stated as she sat up in bed, causing Bella to jump in surprise.
"Jesus Christ, Lyra! I thought you were-"
"Sleeping?" Lyra smirked, "I've been awake since the first pebble hit the window. Like I'd ever miss one of Jake's angsty monologues."
"You know, it's rude to eavesdrop." Bella told her, crossing her arms. Lyra shrugged in response, however there was a mischievous glint in her eyes that made Bella blush as she remembered what she said about being willing to runaway with Jacob for Lyra, "Shut up." Bella told Lyra as she laid down on the bed beside the ginger.
"I didn't say anything." Lyra replied, laying back down.
"Well, shut up anyways." Bella snapped back as she rolled over into Lyra's arms.
"Whatever you say, Bells."