Chapter Three

    I was relaxing on my bed, wallowing in my misery listening to musique when something scraped against my window. I jumped and stifled a scream. It was dark outside and long shadows cast eerie shapes on my walls. I pulled off my head phones and scooted slowly off my bed. I could still hear D.H.T‘s Listen To Your cœur, coeur playing. How ironic. I creeped toward my window, preparing for something scary. I looked around. Nothing. I opened it and leaned my head out. Only darkness. I felt scared. My cœur, coeur started pounding. I tried to breathe deeply but I felt like the blackness was trying to work its way down into my lungs, slowly suffocating me. I quickly slammed my window and collapsed on my bed, clutching my throat and trying to breathe. The blackness went deeper and deeper down my throat. I distantly herd my dad calling for me. It seemed so far away.
“ Mika? I’m home!” My dad burst into my room only to stop in horror at the sight of me trying to breathe.
“ Mika! What’s wrong? Honey?” He knelt down suivant to me, not understanding what was wrong with me.
“ I. Can’t. Breathe.” I could only mouth the words.
“ Wait a minute! I’m going to go get someone!” Dad ran out the door. My vision was starting to get fuzzy. I thought I heard a loup howl and I glanced through the window. A very dark face stared back. A flash of white showed in the darkness and then disappeared. I squinted and tried to focus but my vision was slowly going black. Suddenly my door flew open, so hard it seemed like my mur shook as the door hit it.
“ Mika!” Jacob’s voice was frantic. My eyes felt like they were going to pop out. He should look at the face in my window. I shakily pointed toward the window.
“ Face.” I managed to croak. He turned to the window.
A snarl ripped out of him and if I wasn’t already petrified, I would have been scared. He got to the window in one stride and shoved it open. I heard the glass creak. He better not break my window. I felt the constricting feeling ease slightly. Another slow growl was rumbling in his chest but suddenly the blackness was gone and I could breathe. I gasped like I had just surfaced from water. My head was pounding. I breathed in and out. Again and again.
Suddenly, I was picked up and held, cradled like a baby.
“ Its ok, Mika. You’re going to be fine now.”
I leaned into Jacob’s warm chest and gasped.
“ Shh…its ok.” He stroked my hair.
“ Can toi hear me?” He asked gently.
I managed to nod.
“ Did toi see the face?”
I nodded again.
“ I have to get toi to the Cullen’s. Your dad knows you’re with me. We have to go now.” He set me down on the lit and opened my dresser and grabbed a duffel bag from nearby. He shoved clothes items into the bag without paying attention.
“ Um toi didn’t get me any…”
He cut my off. “ Alice with have anything toi need.”
I blinked in surprise.
“ Lets go.” He grabbed the bag and my hand and pulled me outside to his Rabbit. I almost laughed. How did he fit in this little classic car? His sober, stormy face made my laugh die in my throat.
When we were speeding down the road towards Forks, I finally broke the silence.
“ Jake?”
He looked over at me and met my eyes.
“ Mika, toi had no idea how scared I was when I smelled that filthy bloodsucker. I got in there as fast as I can.”
“ Bloodsucker?” I murmured.
“ I never thought that they would find you.” He continued without seeming to hear me.
“ She had to be from Africa. None around here has that kind of power that I know of.”
My brain felt like it was mush. None of this was making sense.
    I tried to concentrate. I thought back to all that my dad had told me. The Quileutes were protectors, descendants of loups that were the guardians of the tribe. Some had the ability to shape shift into loups even now. Well, I already knew that was true. But in the past, what had they been protecting the people from? The Cold Ones. What had Jacob called it? A Bloodsucker? My cœur, coeur stuttered and paused and then resumed, pounding frantically.
“ Vampires.” There was barely any noise behind it. I just formed the words with my mouth. But Jacob heard.
“ Yeah. I thought Quil told toi already. The Cullen’s are the vegetarian type. They only hunt animals. But there are others that aren’t.”
“ The person at my house was a Vampire?” I asked quietly.
“ Yeah. But I didn’t recognize its smell. That’s why I was so mad.”
We lapsed into silenced again.
We passed through Forks and continued into the dark woods. The Rabbit’s tires squealed as it slid into a long winding driveway, reveling a big white mansion.
“ Wow.” I breathed.
Jacob didn’t reply, just jumped out of the car. I followed as he marched up to the huge door.
It opened before he was able to knock, revealing a beautiful woman.
“ Jacob?” Her voice was smooth and comforting. She had dark hair and motherly looking.
“ Esme. We need to talk to everyone now.” Jacob snapped and stepped through the door.
“ toi must be Mika.” She smiled revealing shiny white teeth. Now that I paid attention, she was pale and had the same pale purple shadows under her eyes like Alice did.
“ Mika, Esme Cullen. Esme, Mika Malone.” Jacob introduced quickly and headed toward another room.
“ Its so nice to meet you! Alice has told us about you.” Esme a dit and smiled. I tried not to be scared. Jacob wouldn’t let anything happen to me.
“ Its nice to meet you, too. Um, I‘m so sorry to impose. Jake just gabbed me and drug me here.”
“ Its no problem at all. I don’t understand. Alice didn’t see anything. She can usually see others even when they‘re on the pack‘s land.”
“ See?” I asked, slightly puzzled.
“ Oh. Of course. toi don’t know about us ou our gifts. Please come in and I’ll introduce toi to everyone.”
I followed her into a huge living room, where five other vampires stood, along with Jacob.
“ Everyone. This is Mika Malone.” Esme a dit in a clear chiming voice.
“ Hi again Mika!” Alice chirped. I glanced at her. She still looked amazing.
“ Hi.” I replied softly. Of course all of these people were beautiful too. I looked at the tall, lean vampire suivant to Alice. He had slightly long blonde hair and golden eyes. Now that I mentioned it, everyone in the room had golden eyes, besides me and Jacob. Hmm… Must be a vamp thing.
“ Mika this is Jasper!” Alice introduced me.
“ Nice to meet you, Mika.” Jasper a dit in a cool voice.
“ Same here.” I stuttered. I saw Alice gently nudge Jasper. He met my eyes and a peace settled over me. Huh. That was weird. I wasn’t nervous anymore. Maybe that was what Esme had a dit about gifts.
“ This is Rosalie and Emmett.” Esme continued and motioned toward the other couple. Rosalie was blonde, with a killer body and extremely good looks. I wanted to shrink back. I was an ugly caneton in this room of elegant swans. I glanced, no, plus like stared at the hulking Emmett. He was huge, muscled and tall, with dark hair and a easy grin.
“ It’s nice to meet toi Mika.” Emmett replied and gently bumped into Rosalie.
“ Yeah. Same here.” She a dit reluctantly.
“ Thanks. Its nice to meet toi guys too.” I answered shyly.
“ And last of all, this is my husband Carlisle.” Esme’s voice was warm with obvious admiration when she introduced him.
“ It so good to meet you, Mika. We thank toi for coming.” The strikingly good looking man walked over and shook my hand. His skin was cold and smooth.
“ Um, no problem.” I answered, mesmerized as I stared into his golden eyes.
“ Please. Have a seat. We need to discuss this immediately. Maybe it will help Alice.” Carlisle a dit and motioned me toward the stark white couch. Jacob came over and sat suivant to me, draping a warm arm around me.
“ Will toi please tell us what happened?” Carlisle asked gently.
“ Well, I heard a noise outside my window and I thought it might have been Jacob messing around. I opened my window and stuck my head out. There was nothing I could see, but then it was like I felt something.” I looked down, embarrassed. There was no way they were going to believe me.
“ Please go on, Mika.” Carlisle said.
I tried to concentrate. “ Its weird but I felt like I could feel the darkness. It was like it surrounded me and went down my throat and up my nose. I started choking and I couldn’t breathe. It was like it was suffocating me.”
I trailed off and looked around to gage their reactions.
They all looked sympathetic, well, all except Rosalie, but I expected that was normal.
“ When did it stop?” Carlisle asked.
“ After Jacob came in. That’s when it went away and I could breathe again.”
Carlisle seemed puzzled. “ I don’t understand. Could toi see anything?”
“ Only for a few seconds. Then it went black.” I answered, shuddering at the thought. Jacob felt me shiver and pulled me closer. I looked up in time to see Alice grin. Something triggered my memory.
“ Oh! I saw a face. I think it smiled and then it was gone.”
Carlisle and Esme exchanged looks.
“ What did the face look like?” Esme asked.
“ It was dark. Almost as dark as the blackness around it. It had very shiny white teeth. Seeing Alice smile was what reminded me.”
Everyone was quiet for a moment.
“ Jake, did toi get a good smell of it?” Carlisle asked finally.
“ Oh yeah. I could smell it two miles away. It reeked.” Jacob a dit with a slight quiver. I leaned into him and the shakes subsided a little.
“ Not as bad as you, I bet.” Rosalie smirked.
“ Yeah whatever Blondie. toi smell just about the same. toi burn my nose.” Jacob answered back. Emmett chuckled.
I must have looked confused. “ vampires and loups garous naturally repel each other.” Carlisle explained.
“ We’ve been enemies for as long as we have existed. It takes a lot of control for Jacob not to shape shift and rip us to shreds.” Carlisle a dit calmly.
I felt my pulse quicken. Everyone in the room turned and looked at me. Stupid enhanced hearing.
“ Nah. toi guys aren’t that bad. Well, except you, Blondie.” Jacob replied.
“ Ugh!” Rosalie screeched and grabbed an ornate vase off of a near table. She hurled it at inhuman speed toward Jacob’s head. He caught it neatly without spilling one drop of water.
“ toi know toi like me.” Jacob a dit back sweetly and threw it back. Emmett intercepted it and placed it back onto the table.
“ Lets go, Rose.” He a dit smiling and gently guided her out of the room.
Carlisle was back on subject.
“ I’ve only heard of this kind of power coming from Africa. I’ll do some research and let toi know. But in the meantime, I don’t want Mika to be left alone.”
Jacob smiled and pulled me even closer. I rested my head on his broad shoulder.
“ That won’t be a problem.” He replied. Suddenly it was like someone had called for everyone’s attention. Everyone (except me) snapped their heads around and looked at the front door. par the time I looked, it was slowly opening and three figures came in.
“ Edward! Bella! Nessie!” Alice exclaimed.
“ I didn’t see toi guys coming!” She giggled and danced over to hug all of them. Edward was tall and beautiful, looking like a god with messy bronze hair and a beautiful face. The girl, who I was assuming was Nessie, was gorgeous. She had bronze ringlet curls hanging down to her waist and warm brown eyes. She had a great body, just like Rosalie. They way her eyes sought out Jacob made me stiffen with jealousy. I felt bad not liking her when I didn’t even know her. I saved the worst for last. I slowly met the eyes of the girl who had broken my Jacob’s heart.