15. First Strike

     “I suppose I can begin with what we were up to while you and Jacob were dealing with Tanya and Irina. The rest of us were heading toward McKinley; Irina was with us at first. Kate had remembered Tanya saying that she was going to hunt on McKinley for the Dahl sheep that live on the slopes.” Kate nodded in agreement.

“Jasper and I have hunted Grizzly on McKinley before so we knew we’d find them there. We searched for Tanya for a long while before hunting, and finally decided we should commence the hunt and look again for her afterwards. It wasn’t too hard to find enough game. Jasper, Alice and I found Grizzly, Eleazar, Kate and Irina took a few caribou. After we had finished, Irina said she thought it might be wise for her to go back to the lodge and see if Tanya had returned while we were out. After parting company with Irina, we continued looking for Tanya for about an hour. I didn’t want to be away from you any longer, so I decided to return to the Lodge, while the rest of them continued to look.

     When I got within a couple of miles of the lodge, I could hear the fight between Jacob and Tanya. I could hear Jacob’s thoughts and knew he was fighting Tanya. I ran as fast as I could, and within a minute, I was in the garage. Jacob was holding his own he was in wolf form. I was able to read his thoughts though.”

I looked at Kate and Eleazar, then back at Edward, and asked, “Do they know about Jacob?”

“Yes, there was really no way around that Bella.” I nodded.

“Jacob told me what direction he thought you had gone. He told me there was another vampire, and I knew you were in trouble Bella.” His face gave away the pain he was suffering from the memory of what had happened to me. I smiled to comfort him, and held his hand. He went on.

     “I’ll let Jacob tell you about his fight with Tanya when you see him.” He looked at Eleazar, Carmen and Kate; they only smiled and nodded. I could see a hint of sadness on their faces.