𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬. sam uley

𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

Sam knows there's something wrong as soon as Sage leaves the window upstairs.

He glances at Seth, who is also frowning, before turning to Edward. "Does she do this a lot?" he asks, the need to hunt her down and make sure she's okay burning through him like a hot stake.

Edward shrugs. "Carlisle explained some of it, but I don't know. He said that she has these days where everything becomes too much. Where she needs to escape or something." He happily adjusts the book he's reading with Reneesme so she can see better.

"It doesn't happen much, does it?" Sam is standing at the window overlooking the direction that Sage just ran off to. He's got great vision for a shapeshifter, but the fog is making it difficult to make out which way she went. His leg bounces as Elis bounds over. Maybe he'll have to run after her. Just to make sure she's truly okay.

"No," Elis answers him, Edward caught up in his book once more. "I think this is the third or fourth time. She usually comes back after she hunts and apologizes for being disrespectful, so she should be home soon."

"We've told her many times, though," Rosalie pipes up from Emmett's lap, "that she didn't need to apologize for needing alone time. Heavens know we're too much to handle sometimes."

"That's what makes us so great, babe." Emmett presses a kiss to Rosalie's cheek, and she grimaces away from it with a laugh. "Sage loves our unbearableness. She's told me."

"There's only so much someone who's been isolated for so long can take though," Leah points out, coming over to intertwine her fingers with Elis's with a smile on her face.

Sam watches them with a distant look. Before, he would have snarled at the act, bitterness and jealousy coiling in him until he had to force it out with harsh words. Now, it doesn't hurt him or make him feel the resentment he once did. It's still unusual, seeing her with someone that's not him, but Sam thinks it's gotten better, and now he only thinks of Sage, who has run from the house like someone escaping prison. Sam really doesn't like the fog that's coating the ground.

"She'll be back, soon, though," Seth comments, but it sounds unsure, and he's still frowning, and Sam can't help the pit of unease that blossoms in him.

Minutes later, Edward perks his head up, finished with the book, and curses. Bella gives him a sharp glance for his language, but she seems concerned, and everyone stands at attention as he continues to listen to whatever he heard. He places Reneesme on the ground, and she automatically goes over to Jacob, sitting beside him as her father stands rigid as a statue.

After a few moments, he looks stricken. "No. They're here. They have her."

"Who, Edward?" Bella asks. "What do you hear?"

"The Volturi. They've got Sage."

Sam growls, but everything in him falls to pieces. "What do you mean? Whose got her?"

Edward stammers, and that's unusual because he is always sure of his answer. He runs a hand through his hair. Everyone stares at him, awaiting his reply. Sam is shaking visibly.

"I was listening to her thoughts. . . To make sure that she didn't go anywhere too far or do anything drastic," he explains. "I wanted to make sure that she was okay, and then—then she got attacked and she's thinking things like, 'Felix. Jane. Danger. Please help.' And I thought maybe she was mistaken, but I can hear their thoughts, too. They're here to get her. To take her back to Volterra."

Sam doesn't listen to anymore. He runs towards the door, slams it open and then shifts mid-jump. His four paws pound on the ground as he follows Sage's scent into the woods, a howl escaping his lips as he calls for his pack.