Jacob met the other werewolf's attack head-on. Their angry snarls echoed like thunder off the trees.
The black and white scraps - the remains of Jacob's clothes - fluttered to the ground where he'd disappeared.
"Jacob!" I screamed again, staggering forward.
"Stay where you are, Bella," Sam ordered. It was hard to hear him over the roar of the fighting wolves. They were snapping and tearing at each other, their sharp teeth flashing toward each other's throats. The Jacob-wolf seemed to have the upper hand - he was visibly bigger than the other wolf, and it looked like le was stronger, too. He rammed his shoulder against the gray wolf again and again, knocking him back toward the trees.
"Take her to Emily's," Sam shouted toward the other boys, who were watching the conflict with rapt expressions. Jacob had successfully shoved the gray wolf off the road, and they were disappearing into the forest, though the sound of their snarls was still loud. Sam ran after them, kicking off his shoes on the way. As he darted into the trees, he was quivering from head to toe.
The growling and snapping was fading into the distance. Suddenly, the sound cut off and it was very quiet on the road.
One of the boys started laughing.
I turned to stare at him - my wide eyes felt frozen, like I couldn't even blink them.
The boy seemed to be laughing at my expression. "Well, there's something you don't see every day," he
snickered. His face was vaguely familiar - thinner than the others... Embry Call.
"I do," the other boy, Jared, grumbled. "Every single day."
"Aw, Paul doesn't lose his temper every day," Embry disagreed, still grinning. "Maybe two out of three."
Jared stopped to pick something white up off the ground. He held it up toward Embry; it dangled in limp strips from his hand.
"Totally shredded," Jared said. "Billy said this was the last pair he could afford - guess Jacob's going barefoot now."
"This one survived," Embry said, holding up a white sneaker. "Jake can hop," he added with a laugh.
Jared started collecting various pieces of fabric from the dirt. "Get Sam's shoes, will you? All the rest of this is headed for the trash."
Embry grabbed the shoes and then jogged into the trees where Sam had disappeared. He was back in a few seconds with a pair of cut-off jeans draped over his arm. Jared gathered the torn remnants of Jacob's and Paul's clothes and wadded them into a ball. Suddenly, he seemed to remember me.
He looked at me carefully, assessing.
"Hey, you're not going to faint or puke or anything?" he demanded.
"I don't think so," I gasped.
"You don't look so good. Maybe you should sit down."
"Okay," I mumbled. For the second time in one morning, I put my head between my knees.
"Jake should have warned us," Embry complained.
"He shouldn't have brought his girlfriend into this. What did he expect?"
"Well, the wolf's out of the bag now." Embry sighed. "Way to go, Jake."
I raised my head to glare at the two boys who seemed to be taking this all so lightly. "Aren't you worried about them at all?" I demanded.
Embry blinked once in surprise "Worried? Why?"
"They could hurt each other!"
Embry and Jared guffawed.
"I hope Paul gets a mouthful of him," Jared said. "Teach him a lesson."
I blanched.
"Yeah, right!" Embry disagreed. "Did you see Jake? Even Sam couldn't have phased on the fly like that. He saw Paul losing it, and it took him, what, half a second to attack? The boy's got a gift."
"Paul's been fighting longer. I'll bet you ten bucks he leaves a mark."
"You're on. Jake's a natural. Paul doesn't have a prayer."
They shook hands, grinning.
I tried to comfort myself with their lack of concern, but I couldn't drive the brutal image of the fighting werewolves from my head. My stomach churned, sore and empty, my head ached with worry.
"Let's go see Emily. You know she'll have food waiting." Embry looked down at me. "Mind giving us a ride?"
"No problem," I choked.
Jared raised one eyebrow. "Maybe you'd better drive, Embry. She still looks like she might hurl."
"Good idea. Where are the keys?" Embry asked me.
"Ignition."
Embry opened the passenger-side door. "In you go," he said cheerfully, hauling me up from the ground with one hand and stuffing me into my seat. He appraised the available space. "You'll have to ride in the back," he told Jared.
"That's fine. I got a weak stomach. I don't want to be in there when she blows."
"I bet she's tougher than that. She runs with vampires."
"Five bucks?" Jared asked.
"Done. I feel guilty, taking your money like this."
Embry got in and started the engine while Jared leapt agilely into the bed. As soon as his door was closed, Embry muttered to me, "Don't throw up, okay? I've only got a ten, and if Paul got his teeth into Jacob..."
"Okay," I whispered.
Embry drove us back toward the village.
"Hey, how did Jake get around the injunction anyway?"
"The... what?"
"Er, the order. You know, to not spill the beans. How did he tell you about this?"
"Oh, that," I said, remembering Jacob trying to choke out the truth to me last night. "He didn't. I guessed right."
Embry pursed his lips, looking surprised. "Hmm. S'pose that would work."
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Emily's house. She's Sam's girlfriend... no, fiancee, now, I guess. They'll meet us back there after Sam gives it to them for what just happened. And after Paul and Jake scrounge up some new clothes, if Paul even has any left."