Chapter Text
Quick, heavy footsteps echoed throughout the dense pines of the forest surrounding the Quileute reservation. A couple dozen paws pounded across the rich, northwestern soil in the direction of the treaty line that divided the reservation’s land from that of the surrounding areas.
“Haha, catch me if you can!”
“Seth, this is not the time for fun and games.”
“Aw, come on Sam. Today’s gonna suck. Just let the kid enjoy himself while he can.”
"We’re not here to have fun. I know none of you want to be here for this, but I think it’s important we learn all we can about what we're about to go up against.”
“None of us would be going up against anything if it weren’t for lover-boy over here.”
“Paul, enough. This has nothing to do with Jacob. Now quiet, we are almost there.” They heard the rumble of a dying engine as they entered a small clearing within the dense foliage. Conveniently enough, this clearing ran closely along the treaty line - making it one of the only neutral grounds for the Cullens and wolves to meet and discuss the events that were about to transpire with the newborn vampire army.
As the wolves pushed through the brush, they saw the whole Cullen family, as well as Bella, looking up at them from the ground below. The pack had all agreed that they would be remaining in their wolf forms throughout this entire process. Despite having to work with them, most of the wolves had little to no trust in the vampires. Edward, having heard these thoughts running unanimously throughout the pack's mind, explained this sentiment to the rest of his family.
“They came, that’s all that matters,” Carlisle stated firmly. He looks at Edward, “Will you translate?”
Paul and Jared step forward to flank Sam, causing Edward to hesitate before nodding in confirmation. Paul looks over and notices Jacob standing off to the side near Bella. They’re both staring at each other, and Paul rolls his eyes when Bella awkwardly greets his pack-brother. Paul nudges Sam, causing the older male to growl lowly at the russet-colored shifter. Jacob huffs and turns away from Bella, making his way back to his brothers’ sides.
“Welcome,” Carlisle starts. “Jasper has experience with newborns, so he will show us how to defeat them.”
Sam looks towards Edward.
"How are these newborns different from regular vampires?”
The mind reader repeats the question to his family. The wolves listen intently as Carlisle and Jasper explain how newborns work. The same thoughts of how ridiculous this all sounds ring collectively through the pack’s mind, yet somehow this was all real, so they made sure to pay close attention to everything the two blond males were saying.
“Now the two most important things to remember are, first, never let them get their arms around you. They’ll crush you instantly. Second, never go for the obvious kill. They’re expecting that. And you will lose…”
“As if.”
“Embry.”
“Sorry Sam…”
The pack watches as, one-by-one, the Cullens go up against each other. As Carlisle and Edward are coming to the end of their sparring session, a similar feeling of unease settled deep into the bones of each member of the pack. They all tense - looking around at one another as their hair stands on end and questions began firing rapidly amongst each other. None of them knew what this feeling was. Even Sam, the oldest of this generational pack, didn't recognize what was happening to trigger this intense fight-or-flight feeling within him.
He took a moment to absorb this feeling before sending out a warning growl to the non-canine members of their group. Edward was the first to stop moving, his attention drawn to Sam’s sharp eyes. His focus narrowed in on the chaotic thoughts flowing between the pack member's minds.
“Everybody, stop,” Edward held up a hand. The rest of his family stopped short, looking at him in concern. There was a small moment of tense silence. Carlisle was the one to step forward, placing a firm hand on his son’s shoulder. “What’s wrong my boy?”
The feeling started to intensify, causing the pack to immediately go into defense. Sam growled lowly at the unsettled feeling spreading rapidly amongst his pack members. He looks to Edward, “I thought you said we had time before they came.” Edward’s brows drew together in confusion. “We should have time. Alice didn’t-”
“Didn’t what? Edward?” Bella shook his arm, her eyes alight with panic. She had no clue what was going on, but it didn't sound good.
Edward looked at Alice. “Have you seen any other visions?” Her eyes widened. She shook her head, “No, as far as I know we should still have some time.”
“But then-”
The darkened forest was suddenly illuminated in all directions, causing everybody to turn in an attempt at protecting their eyes from the harsh light. The air was silent, not a sound to be heard for miles. Even the normal sounds of nature that sand through the wooded Olympic Peninsula came to a halt in that moment. That was all before a resounding Thud! sounded in the distance, not too far from their current location. The pack members moved towards the sound out of instinct, only to be stopped by a sharp shake of their alpha’s head. “It was on their side of the treaty.”
“What the hell was that?” Emmett was the first to ask aloud.
"I don’t know, but it sounded concerning” Carlisle looked at the wolves. “Would you be willing to cross the line with my permission? If the army came sooner than expected, we could use all the help we could get.” Sam thought about it for a second before consulting with the rest of his pack.
“Let’s just do it Sam. It has to be the red-headed leach!"
“Yeah, come on. I’m ready to rip off some vampire heads!”
If Sam could sigh, he would. If he had a choice in this whole matter, he wouldn't let his pack get involved in this at all. It was too dangerous, especially for the younger ones who were newer to phasing. However, knowing what kind of devastation an army of super-strength vampires with no control could do to a city like Forks, he had no choice other than to get involved. Jacob and the other members like to blame the Swan girl for their involvement in this mess, but while that may be true in some sense of the matter, their job as spirit warriors is to protect the people of this land from whatever threat may come their way.
He looked at Edward and nodded for them to lead the way. The vampires take off in the direction the sound came from, and Sam lead the way for the pack to follow. Where they’re led to is another wooded area a few miles north from the city of Forks. As they approach the area, they see some tell-tale signs of a struggle: fallen trees and ruined bushes that all surround a deeply indented drag mark in the ground. The pack take turns sniffing around, not smelling any signs of leaches. Leah, however, is the one with the strongest sense of smell and is the only one to pick up on another scent in the air.
“Sam, there's blood.”
Sam stiffens. He's not the only one either. Edward's eyes snap towards his brother. “Jasper, it might be best to walk away for a bit while we check this out.” Jasper’s jaw clenched before he nodded and disappeared in the opposite direction.
Sam turned to his pack-mates. “Quil, take Seth and go stand look-out please.” It was a flimsy excuse, but they all knew there was a likely possibility that they had just stumbled across the latest victim of a leach attack, and none of them wanted their youngest member to witness what could potentially be a very gruesome scene.
Once everybody that needed to leave was gone, the remaining pack members moved forward, closely followed by the rest of the Cullens. The drag mark went down a small hill, ending in a ditch that was covered in a collection of thick, green vegetation. Sam was the first one to move over the hill, and therefore was the first to push his head through the bush to see what had causes such a commotion.
His eyes widened and his stomach dropped. “Guys, they’re alive. And they’re still human.”