Twilight part 3-eclpise( i cut the story because of the character exceeding)2

“I don’t think that ’s funny. ”

“I’m only laughing because you ’re close, ” I told him. “But he ’s going to be here Saturday, so it doesn ’t
matter. ”

“Will he be feeding there in Forks, then? ” Jacob asked cuttingly.

“No.” I didn ’t let myself get irritated with him. I wasn ’t that far from being as angry as he was. “He left
early. ”

“Oh. Well, hey, come over now, then, ” he said with sudden enthusiasm. “It’s not that late. Or I ’ll come
up to Charlie ’s.”




“I wish. I ’m not at Charlie ’s,” I said sourly. “I’m kind of being held prisoner. ”

He was silent as that sunk in, and then he growled. “We’ll come and get you, ” he promised in a flat
voice, slipping automatically into a plural.

A chill slid down my spine, but I answered in a light and teasing voice. “Tempting. I have been tortured
— Alice painted my toenails. ”

“I’m serious. ”

“Don’t be. They ’re just trying to keep me safe. ”

He growled again.

“I know it ’s silly, but their hearts are in the right place. ”

“Their hearts!” he scoffed.

“Sorry about Saturday, ” I apologized. “I’ve got to hit the sack ” — the couch, I corrected mentally — “
but I’ll call you again soon. ”

“Are you sure they ’ll let you? ” he asked in a scathing tone.

“Not completely. ” I sighed. “’Night, Jake. ”

“See you around. ”

Alice was abruptly at my side, her hand held out for the phone, but I was already dialing. She saw the
number.

“I don’t think he ’ll have his phone on him, ” she said.

“I’ll leave a message. ”

The phone rang four times, followed by a beep. There was no greeting.

“You are in trouble, ” I said slowly, emphasizing each word. “Enormous trouble. Angry grizzly bears are
going to look tame next to what is waiting for you at home. ”

I snapped the phone shut and placed it in her waiting hand. “I’m done. ”

She grinned. “This hostage stuff is fun. ”

“I’m going to sleep now, ” I announced, heading for the stairs. Alice tagged along.

“Alice, ” I sighed. “I’m not going to sneak out. You would know if I was planning to, and you ’d catch me
if I tried. ”

“I’m just going to show you where your things are, ” she said innocently.

Edward’s room was at the farthest end of the third floor hallway, hard to mistake even when the huge
house had been less familiar. But when I switched the light on, I paused in confusion. Had I picked the
wrong door?

Alice giggled.




It was the same room, I realized quickly; the furniture had just been rearranged. The couch was pushed
to the north wall and the stereo shoved up against the vast shelves of CDs — to make room for the
colossal bed that now dominated the central space.

The southern wall of glass reflected the scene back like a mirror, making it look twice as bad.

It matched. The coverlet was a dull gold, just lighter than the walls; the frame was black, made of
intricately patterned wrought iron. Sculpted metal roses wound in vines up the tall posts and formed a
bowery lattice overhead. My pajamas were folded neatly on the foot of the bed, my bag of toiletries to
one side.

“What the hell is all this? ” I spluttered.

“You didn ’t really think he would make you sleep on the couch, did you? ”

I mumbled unintelligibly as I stalked forward to snatch my things off the bed.

“I’ll give you some privacy, ” Alice laughed. “See you in the morning. ”

After my teeth were brushed and I was dressed, I grabbed a puffy feather pillow off the huge bed and
dragged the gold cover to the couch. I knew I was being silly, but I didn ’t care. Porsches as bribes and
king-sized beds in houses where nobody slept — it was beyond irritating. I flipped off the lights and
curled up on the sofa, wondering if I was too annoyed to sleep.

In the dark, the glass wall was no longer a black mirror, doubling the room. The light of the moon
brightened the clouds outside the window. As my eyes adjusted, I could see the diffused glow highlighting
the tops of the trees, and glinting off a small slice of the river. I watched the silver light, waiting for my
eyes to get heavy.

There was a light knock on the door.

“What, Alice? ” I hissed. I was on the defensive, imagining her amusement when she saw my makeshift
bed.

“It’s me,” Rosalie said softly, opening the door enough that I could see the silver glow touch her perfect
face. “Can I come in? ”



7. UNHAPPY ENDING

ROSALIE HESITATED IN THE DOORWAY, HER BREATHTAKing face unsure.

“Of course, ” I replied, my voice an octave high with surprise. “Come on in. ”

I sat up, sliding to the end of the sofa to make room. My stomach twisted nervously as the one Cullen
who did not like me moved silently to sit down in the open space. I tried to come up with a reason why
she would want to see me, but my mind was a blank on that point.

“Do you mind talking to me for a few minutes? ” she asked. “I didn ’t wake you or anything, did I? ” Her
eyes shifted to the stripped bed and back to my couch.

“No, I was awake. Sure, we can talk. ” I wondered if she could hear the alarm in my voice as clearly as I




could.

She laughed lightly, and it sounded like a chorus of bells. “He so rarely leaves you alone, ” she said. “I
figured I ’d better make the best of this opportunity. ”

What did she want to say that couldn ’t be said in front of Edward? My hands twisted and untwisted
around the edge of the comforter.

“Please don ’t think I ’m horribly interfering, ” Rosalie said, her voice gentle and almost pleading. She
folded her hands in her lap and looked down at them as she spoke. “I’m sure I ’ve hurt your feelings
enough in the past, and I don ’t want to do that again. ”

“Don’t worry about it, Rosalie. My feelings are great. What is it? ”

She laughed again, sounding oddly embarrassed. “I’m going to try to tell you why I think you should stay
human — why I would stay human if I were you. ”

“Oh.”

She smiled at the shocked tone of my voice, and then she sighed.

“Did Edward ever tell you what led to this? ” she asked, gesturing to her glorious immortal body.

I nodded slowly, suddenly somber. “He said it was close to what happened to me that time in Port
Angeles, only no one was there to save you.” I shuddered at the memory.

“Is that really all he told you? ” she asked.

“Yes,” I said, my voice blank with confusion. “Was there more? ”

She looked up at me and smiled; it was a harsh, bitter — but still stunning — expression.

“Yes,” she said. “There was more. ”

I waited while she stared out the window. She seemed to be trying to calm herself.

“Would you like to hear my story, Bella? It doesn ’t have a happy ending — but which of ours does? If
we had happy endings, we ’d all be under gravestones now. ”

I nodded, though I was frightened by the edge in her voice.

“I lived in a different world than you do, Bella. My human world was a much simpler place. It was
nineteen thirty-three. I was eighteen, and I was beautiful. My life was perfect. ”

She stared out the window at the silver clouds, her expression far away.

“My parents were thoroughly middle class. My father had a stable job in a bank, something I realize now
that he was smug about — he saw his prosperity as a reward for talent and hard work, rather than
acknowledging the luck involved. I took it all for granted then; in my home, it was as if the Great
Depression was only a troublesome rumor. Of course I saw the poor people, the ones who weren ’t as
lucky. My father left me with the impression that they ’d brought their troubles on themselves.

“It was my mother ’s job to keep our house — and myself and my two younger brothers — in spotless
order. It was clear that I was both her first priority and her favorite. I didn ’t fully understand at the time,
but I was always vaguely aware that my parents weren ’t satisfied with what they had, even if it was so




much more than most. They wanted more. They had social aspirations — social climbers, I suppose you
could call them. My beauty was like a gift to them. They saw so much more potential in it than I did.

“They weren ’t satisfied, but I was. I was thrilled to be me, to be Rosalie Hale. Pleased that men ’s eyes
watched me everywhere I went, from the year I turned twelve. Delighted that my girlfriends sighed with
envy when they touched my hair. Happy that my mother was proud of me and that my father liked to buy
me pretty dresses.

“I knew what I wanted out of life, and there didn ’t seem to be any way that I wouldn ’t get exactly what I
wanted. I wanted to be loved, to be adored. I wanted to have a huge, flowery wedding, where everyone
in town would watch me walk down the aisle on my father ’s arm and think I was the most beautiful thing
they ’d ever seen. Admiration was like air to me, Bella. I was silly and shallow, but I was content. ” She
smiled, amused at her own evaluation.

“My parents ’ influence had been such that I also wanted the material things of life. I wanted a big house
with elegant furnishings that someone else would clean and a modern kitchen that someone else would
cook in. As I said, shallow. Young and very shallow. And I didn ’t see any reason why I wouldn ’t get
these things.

“There were a few things I wanted that were more meaningful. One thing in particular. My very closest
friend was a girl named Vera. She married young, just seventeen. She married a man my parents would
never have considered for me — a carpenter. A year later she had a son, a beautiful little boy with
dimples and curly black hair. It was the first time I ’d ever felt truly jealous of anyone else in my entire life.
”

She looked at me with unfathomable eyes. “It was a different time. I was the same age as you, but I was
ready for it all. I yearned for my own little baby. I wanted my own house and a husband who would kiss
me when he got home from work — just like Vera. Only I had a very different kind of house in mind. . . .
”

It was hard for me to imagine the world that Rosalie had known. Her story sounded more like a fairy tale
than history to me. With a slight shock, I realized that this was very close to the world that Edward would
have experienced when he was human, the world he had grown up in. I wondered — while Rosalie sat
silent for a moment — if my world seemed as baffling to him as Rosalie ’s did to me?

Rosalie sighed, and when she spoke again her voice was different, the wistfulness gone.

“In Rochester, there was one royal family — the Kings, ironically enough. Royce King owned the bank
my father worked at, and nearly every other really profitable business in town. That ’s how his son, Royce
King the Second ” — her mouth twisted around the name, it came out through her teeth — “saw me the
first time. He was going to take over at the bank, and so he began overseeing the different positions. Two
days later, my mother conveniently forgot to send my father ’s lunch to work with him. I remember being
confused when she insisted that I wear my white organza and roll my hair up just to run over to the bank.
” Rosalie laughed without humor.

“I didn ’t notice Royce watching me particularly. Everyone watched me. But that night the first of the
roses came. Every night of our courtship, he sent a bouquet of roses to me. My room was always
overflowing with them. It got to the point that I would smell like roses when I left the house.

“Royce was handsome, too. He had lighter hair than I did, and pale blue eyes. He said my eyes were like
violets, and then those started showing up alongside the roses.

“My parents approved — that’s putting it mildly. This was everything they ’d dreamed of. And Royce




seemed to be everything I’d dreamed of. The fairy tale prince, come to make me a princess. Everything I
wanted, yet it was still no more than I expected. We were engaged before I ’d known him for two
months.

“We didn ’t spend a great deal of time alone with each other. Royce told me he had many responsibilities
at work, and, when we were together, he liked people to look at us, to see me on his arm. I liked that,
too. There were lots of parties, dancing, and pretty dresses. When you were a King, every door was
open for you, every red carpet rolled out to greet you.

“It wasn ’t a long engagement. Plans went ahead for the most lavish wedding. It was going to be
everything I ’d ever wanted. I was completely happy. When I called at Vera ’s, I no longer felt jealous. I
pictured my fair-haired children playing on the huge lawns of the Kings ’ estate, and I pitied her. ”

Rosalie broke off suddenly, clenching her teeth together. It pulled me out of her story, and I realized that
the horror was not far off. There would be no happy ending, as she ’d promised. I wondered if this was
why she had so much more bitterness in her than the rest of them — because she ’d been within reach of
everything she ’d wanted when her human life was cut short.

“I was at Vera ’s that night, ” Rosalie whispered. Her face was smooth as marble, and as hard. “Her little
Henry really was adorable, all smiles and dimples — he was just sitting up on his own. Vera walked me
to the door as I was leaving, her baby in her arms and her husband at her side, his arm around her waist.
He kissed her on the cheek when he thought I wasn ’t looking. That bothered me. When Royce kissed
me, it wasn ’t quite the same — not so sweet somehow. . . . I shoved that thought aside. Royce was my
prince. Someday, I would be queen. ”

It was hard to tell in the moonlight, but it looked like her bone white face got paler.

“It was dark in the streets, the lamps already on. I hadn ’t realized how late it was. ” She continued to
whisper almost inaudibly. “It was cold, too. Very cold for late April. The wedding was only a week
away, and I was worrying about the weather as I hurried home — I can remember that clearly. I
remember every detail about that night. I clung to it so hard . . . in the beginning. I thought of nothing else.
And so I remember this, when so many pleasant memories have faded away completely. . . . ”

She sighed, and began whispering again. “Yes, I was worrying about the weather. . . . I didn ’t want to
have to move the wedding indoors. . . .

“I was a few streets from my house when I heard them. A cluster of men under a broken streetlamp,
laughing too loud. Drunk. I wished I ’d called my father to escort me home, but the way was so short, it
seemed silly. And then he called my name.

“‘Rose!’ he yelled, and the others laughed stupidly.

“I hadn ’t realized the drunks were so well dressed. It was Royce and some of his friends, sons of other
rich men.

“‘Here’s my Rose! ’ Royce shouted, laughing with them, sounding just as stupid. ‘You’re late. We ’re
cold, you ’ve kept us waiting so long. ’”

“I’d never seen him drink before. A toast, now and then, at a party. He ’d told me he didn ’t like
champagne. I hadn ’t realized that he preferred something much stronger.

“He had a new friend — the friend of a friend, come up from Atlanta.

“‘What did I tell you, John, ’ Royce crowed, grabbing my arm and pulling me closer. ‘Isn’t she lovelier




than all your Georgia peaches? ’

“The man named John was dark-haired and suntanned. He looked me over like I was a horse he was
buying.

“‘It’s hard to tell, ’ he drawled slowly. ‘She’s all covered up. ’

“They laughed, Royce like the rest.

“Suddenly, Royce ripped my jacket from my shoulders — it was a gift from him — popping the brass
buttons off. They scattered all over the street.

“‘Show him what you look like, Rose! ’ He laughed again and then he tore my hat out of my hair. The
pins wrenched my hair from the roots, and I cried out in pain. They seemed to enjoy that — the sound of
my pain. . . . ”

Rosalie looked at me suddenly, as if she ’d forgotten I was there. I was sure my face was as white as
hers. Unless it was green.

“I won’t make you listen to the rest, ” she said quietly. “They left me in the street, still laughing as they
stumbled away. They thought I was dead. They were teasing Royce that he would have to find a new
bride. He laughed and said he ’d have to learn some patience first.

“I waited in the road to die. It was cold, though there was so much pain that I was surprised it bothered
me. It started to snow, and I wondered why I wasn ’t dying. I was impatient for death to come, to end
the pain. It was taking so long. . . .

“Carlisle found me then. He ’d smelled the blood, and come to investigate. I remember being vaguely
irritated as he worked over me, trying to save my life. I ’d never liked Dr. Cullen or his wife and her
brother — as Edward pretended to be then. It had upset me that they were all more beautiful than I was,
especially that the men were. But they didn ’t mingle in society, so I ’d only seen them once or twice.

“I thought I ’d died when he pulled me from the ground and ran with me — because of the speed — it felt
like I was flying. I remembered being horrified that the pain didn ’t stop. . . .

“Then I was in a bright room, and it was warm. I was slipping away, and I was grateful as the pain began
to dull. But suddenly something sharp was cutting me, my throat, my wrists, my ankles. I screamed in
shock, thinking he ’d brought me there to hurt me more. Then fire started burning through me, and I didn ’t
care about anything else. I begged him to kill me. When Esme and Edward returned home, I begged
them to kill me, too. Carlisle sat with me. He held my hand and said that he was so sorry, promising that
it would end. He told me everything, and sometimes I listened. He told me what he was, what I was
becoming. I didn ’t believe him. He apologized each time I screamed.

“Edward wasn ’t happy. I remember hearing them discuss me. I stopped screaming sometimes. It did no
good to scream.

“‘What were you thinking, Carlisle? ’ Edward said. ‘Rosalie Hale? ’” Rosalie imitated Edward ’s irritated
tone to perfection. “I didn ’t like the way he said my name, like there was something wrong with me.

“‘I couldn ’t just let her die, ’ Carlisle said quietly. ‘It was too much — too horrible, too much waste. ’

“‘I know,’ Edward said, and I thought he sounded dismissive. It angered me. I didn ’t know then that he
really could see exactly what Carlisle had seen.




“‘It was too much waste. I couldn ’t leave her, ’ Carlisle repeated in a whisper.

“‘Of course you couldn ’t,’ Esme agreed.

“‘People die all the time, ’ Edward reminded him in a hard voice. ‘Don’t you think she ’s just a little
recognizable, though? The Kings will have to put up a huge search — not that anyone suspects the fiend, ’
he growled.

“It pleased me that they seemed to know that Royce was guilty.

“I didn ’t realize that it was almost over — that I was getting stronger and that was why I was able to
concentrate on what they were saying. The pain was beginning to fade from my fingertips.

“‘What are we going to do with her? ’ Edward said disgustedly — or that ’s how it sounded to me, at
least.

“Carlisle sighed. ‘That ’s up to her, of course. She may want to go her own way. ’

“I’d believed enough of what he ’d told me that his words terrified me. I knew that my life was ended,
and there was no going back for me. I couldn ’t stand the thought of being alone. . . .

“The pain finally ended and they explained to me again what I was. This time I believed. I felt the thirst,
my hard skin; I saw my brilliant red eyes.

“Shallow as I was, I felt better when I saw my reflection in the mirror the first time. Despite the eyes, I
was the most beautiful thing I ’d ever seen. ” She laughed at herself for a moment. “It took some time
before I began to blame the beauty for what had happened to me — for me to see the curse of it. To
wish that I had been . . . well, not ugly, but normal. Like Vera. So I could have been allowed to marry
someone who loved me, and have pretty babies. That ’s what I ’d really wanted, all along. It still doesn ’t
seem like too much to have asked for. ”

She was thoughtful for a moment, and I wondered if she ’d forgotten my presence again. But then she
smiled at me, her expression suddenly triumphant.

“You know, my record is almost as clean as Carlisle ’s,” she told me. “Better than Esme. A thousand
times better than Edward. I ’ve never tasted human blood, ” she announced proudly.

She understood my puzzled expression as I wondered why her record was only almost as clean.

“I did murder five humans, ” she told me in a complacent tone. “If you can really call them human. But I
was very careful not to spill their blood — I knew I wouldn ’t be able to resist that, and I didn ’t want any
part of them in me, you see.

“I saved Royce for last. I hoped that he would hear of his friends ’ deaths and understand, know what
was coming for him. I hoped the fear would make the end worse for him. I think it worked. He was
hiding inside a windowless room behind a door as thick as a bank vault ’s, guarded outside by armed
men, when I caught up with him. Oops — seven murders, ” she corrected herself. “I forgot about his
guards. They only took a second. ”

“I was overly theatrical. It was kind of childish, really. I wore a wedding dress I ’d stolen for the
occasion. He screamed when he saw me. He screamed a lot that night. Saving him for last was a good
idea — it made it easier for me to control myself, to make it slower —”

She broke off suddenly, and she glanced down at me. “I’m sorry, ” she said in a chagrined voice. “I’m




frightening you, aren ’t I?”

“I’m fine, ” I lied.

“I got carried away. ”

“Don’t worry about it. ”

“I’m surprised Edward didn ’t tell you more about it. ”

“He doesn’t like to tell other people ’s stories — he feels like he ’s betraying confidences, because he
hears so much more than just the parts they mean for him to hear. ”

She smiled and shook her head. “I probably ought to give him more credit. He ’s really quite decent, isn ’t
he?”

“I think so. ”

“I can tell. ” Then she sighed. “I haven ’t been fair to you, either, Bella. Did he tell you why? Or was that
too confidential? ”

“He said it was because I was human. He said it was harder for you to have someone on the outside who
knew.”

Rosalie ’s musical laughter interrupted me. “Now I really feel guilty. He ’s been much, much kinder to me
than I deserve. ” She seemed warmer as she laughed, like she ’d let down some guard that had never been
absent in my presence before. “What a liar that boy is. ” She laughed again.

“He was lying? ” I asked, suddenly wary.

“Well, that ’s probably putting it too strongly. He just didn ’t tell you the whole story. What he told you
was true, even truer now than it was before. However, at the time . . . ” She broke off, chuckling
nervously. “It’s embarrassing. You see, at first, I was mostly jealous because he wanted you and not me.
”

Her words sent a thrill of fear through me. Sitting there in the silver light, she was more beautiful than
anything else I could imagine. I could not compete with Rosalie.

“But you love Emmett . . . , ” I mumbled.

She shook her head back and forth, amused. “I don’t want Edward that way, Bella. I never did — I love
him as a brother, but he ’s irritated me from the first moment I heard him speak. You have to understand,
though . . . I was so used to people wanting me. And Edward wasn ’t the least bit interested. It frustrated
me, even offended me in the beginning. But he never wanted anyone, so it didn ’t bother me long. Even
when we first met Tanya ’s clan in Denali — all those females! — Edward never showed the slightest
preference. And then he met you. ” She looked at me with confused eyes. I was only half paying
attention. I was thinking about Edward and Tanya and all those females, and my lips pressed together in
a hard line.

“Not that you aren ’t pretty, Bella, ” she said, misreading my expression. “But it just meant that he found
you more attractive than me. I ’m vain enough that I minded. ”

“But you said ‘at first. ’ That doesn ’t still . . . bother you, does it? I mean, we both know you ’re the most
beautiful person on the planet. ”




I laughed at having to say the words — it was so obvious. How odd that Rosalie should need such
reassurances.

Rosalie laughed, too. “Thanks, Bella. And no, it doesn ’t really bother me anymore. Edward has always
been a little strange. ” She laughed again.

“But you still don ’t like me, ” I whispered.

Her smile faded. “I’m sorry about that. ”

We sat in silence for a moment, and she didn ’t seem inclined to go on.

“Would you tell me why? Did I do something . . . ? ” Was she angry that I ’d put her family — her
Emmett — in danger? Time and time again. James, and now Victoria . . .

“No, you haven ’t done anything, ” she murmured. “Not yet.”

I stared at her, perplexed.

“Don’t you see, Bella? ” Her voice was suddenly more passionate than before, even while she ’d told her
unhappy story. “You already have everything. You have a whole life ahead of you — everything I want.
And you ’re going to just throw it away. Can’t you see that I ’d trade everything I have to be you? You
have the choice that I didn ’t have, and you ’re choosing wrong!”

I flinched back from her fierce expression. I realized my mouth had fallen open and I snapped it shut.

She stared at me for a long moment and, slowly, the fervor in her eyes dimmed. Abruptly, she was
abashed.

“And I was so sure that I could do this calmly. ” She shook her head, seeming a little dazed by the flood
of emotion. “It’s just that it ’s harder now than it was then, when it was no more than vanity. ”

She stared at the moon in silence. It was a few moments before I was brave enough to break into her
reverie.

“Would you like me better if I chose to stay human? ”

She turned back to me, her lips twitching into a hint of a smile. “Maybe.”

“You did get some of your happy ending, though, ” I reminded her. “You got Emmett. ”

“I got half. ” She grinned. “You know that I saved Emmett from a bear that was mauling him, and carried
him home to Carlisle. But can you guess why I stopped the bear from eating him? ”

I shook my head.

“With the dark curls . . . the dimples that showed even while he was grimacing in pain . . . the strange
innocence that seemed so out of place on a grown man ’s face . . . he reminded me of Vera ’s little Henry.
I didn ’t want him to die — so much that, even though I hated this life, I was selfish enough to ask Carlisle
to change him for me.

“I got luckier than I deserved. Emmett is everything I would have asked for if I ’d known myself well
enough to know what to ask for. He ’s exactly the kind of person someone like me needs. And, oddly
enough, he needs me, too. That part worked out better than I could have hoped. But there will never be
more than the two of us. And I ’ll never sit on a porch somewhere, with him gray-haired by my side,




surrounded by our grandchildren. ”

Her smile was kind now. “That sounds quite bizarre to you, doesn ’t it? In some ways, you are much
more mature than I was at eighteen. But in other ways . . . there are many things you ’ve probably never
thought about seriously. You ’re too young to know what you ’ll want in ten years, fifteen years — and
too young to give it all up without thinking it through. You don ’t want to be rash about permanent things,
Bella. ” She patted my head, but the gesture didn ’t feel condescending.

I sighed.

“Just think about it a little. Once it ’s done, it can ’t be undone. Esme ’s made do with us as substitutes . . .
and Alice doesn ’t remember anything human so she can ’t miss it. . . . You will remember, though. It ’s a
lot to give up. ”

But more to get in return, I didn ’t say aloud. “Thanks, Rosalie. It ’s nice to understand . . . to know you
better.”

“I apologize for being such a monster. ” She grinned. “I’ll try to behave myself from now on. ”

I grinned back at her.

We weren ’t friends yet, but I was pretty sure she wouldn ’t always hate me so much.

“I’ll let you sleep now. ” Rosalie ’s eyes flickered to the bed, and her lips twitched. “I know you ’re
frustrated that he ’s keeping you locked up like this, but don ’t give him too bad a time when he gets back.
He loves you more than you know. It terrifies him to be away from you. ” She got up silently and ghosted
to the door. “Goodnight, Bella, ” she whispered as she shut it behind herself.

“Goodnight, Rosalie, ” I murmured a second too late.

It took me a long time to fall asleep after that.

When I did sleep, I had a nightmare. I was crawling across the dark, cold stones of an unfamiliar street,
under lightly falling snow, leaving a trail of blood smeared behind me. A shadowy angel in a long white
dress watched my progress with resentful eyes.

The next morning, Alice drove me to school while I stared grumpily out the windshield. I was feeling
sleep-deprived, and it made the irritation of my imprisonment that much stronger.

“Tonight we ’ll go out to Olympia or something, ” she promised. “That would be fun, right? ”

“Why don ’t you just lock me in the basement, ” I suggested, “and forget the sugar coating? ”

Alice frowned. “He’s going to take the Porsche back. I ’m not doing a very good job. You ’re supposed
to be having fun. ”

“It’s not your fault, ” I muttered. I couldn ’t believe I actually felt guilty. “I’ll see you at lunch. ”

I trudged off to English. Without Edward, the day was guaranteed to be unbearable. I sulked through my
first class, well aware that my attitude wasn ’t helping anything.

When the bell rang, I got up without much enthusiasm. Mike was there at the door, holding it open for
me.

“Edward hiking this weekend? ” he asked sociably as we walked out into the light rain.




“Yeah.”

“You want to do something tonight? ”

How could he still sound hopeful?

“Can’t. I’ve got a slumber party, ” I grumbled. He gave me a strange look as he processed my mood.

“Who are you —”

Mike’s question was cut short as a loud, growling roar erupted from behind us in the parking lot.
Everyone on the sidewalk turned to look, staring in disbelief as the noisy black motorcycle screeched to
a stop on the edge of the concrete, the engine still snarling.

Jacob waved to me urgently.

“Run, Bella! ” he yelled over the engine ’s roar.

I was frozen for a second before I understood.

I looked at Mike quickly. I knew I only had seconds.

How far would Alice go to restrain me in public?

“I got really sick and went home, okay? ” I said to Mike, my voice filled with sudden excitement.

“Fine, ” he muttered.

I pecked Mike swiftly on the cheek. “Thanks, Mike. I owe you one! ” I called as I sprinted away.

Jacob revved his engine, grinning. I jumped on the back of his seat, wrapping my arms tightly around his
waist.

I caught sight of Alice, frozen at the edge of the cafeteria, her eyes sparking with fury, her lip curled back
over her teeth.

I shot her one pleading glance.

Then we were racing across the blacktop so fast that my stomach got lost somewhere behind me.

“Hold on, ” Jacob shouted.

I hid my face in his back as he sped down the highway. I knew he would slow down when we hit the
Quileute border. I just had to hold on till then. I prayed silently and fervently that Alice wouldn ’t follow,
and that Charlie wouldn ’t happen to see me. . . .

It was obvious when we had reached the safe zone. The bike slowed, and Jacob straightened up and
howled with laughter. I opened my eyes.

“We made it, ” he shouted. “Not bad for a prison break, eh? ”

“Good thinking, Jake. ”

“I remembered what you said about the psychic leech not being about to predict what I’m going to do. I ’
m glad you didn ’t think of this — she wouldn ’t have let you go to school. ”




“That ’s why I didn ’t consider it. ”

He laughed triumphantly. “What do you want to do today? ”

“Anything! ” I laughed back. It felt great to be free.



8. TEMPER

WE ENDED UP ON THE BEACH AGAIN, WANDERING AIMlessly. Jacob was still full of himself
for engineering my escape.

“Do you think they ’ll come looking for you? ” he asked, sounding hopeful.

“No.” I was certain about that. “They ’re going to be furious with me tonight, though. ”

He picked up a rock and chucked it into the waves. “Don’t go back, then, ” he suggested again.

“Charlie would love that, ” I said sarcastically.

“I bet he wouldn ’t mind. ”

I didn ’t answer. Jacob was probably right, and that made me grind my teeth together. Charlie ’s blatant
preference for my Quileute friends was so unfair. I wondered if he would feel the same if he knew the
choice was really between vampires and werewolves.

“So what’s the latest pack scandal? ” I asked lightly.

Jacob skidded to a halt, and he stared down at me with shocked eyes.

“What? That was a joke. ”

“Oh.” He looked away.

I waited for him to start walking again, but he seemed lost in thought.

“Is there a scandal? ” I wondered.

Jacob chuckled once. “I forget what it ’s like, not having everyone know everything all the time. Having a
quiet, private place inside my head. ”

We walked along the stony beach quietly for a few minutes.

“So what is it? ” I finally asked. “That everyone in your head already knows? ”

He hesitated for a moment, as if he weren ’t sure how much he was going to tell me. Then he sighed and
said, “Quil imprinted. That ’s three now. The rest of us are starting to get worried. Maybe it ’s more
common than the stories say. . . . ” He frowned, and then turned to stare at me. He gazed into my eyes
without speaking, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

“What are you staring at? ” I asked, feeling self-conscious.

He sighed. “Nothing. ”




Jacob started walking again. Without seeming to think about it, he reached out and took my hand. We
paced silently across the rocks.

I thought of how we must look walking hand and hand down the beach — like a couple, certainly — and
wondered if I should object. But this was the way it had always been with Jacob. . . . No reason to get
worked up about it now.

“Why is Quil ’s imprinting such a scandal? ” I asked when it didn ’t look like he was going to go on. “Is it
because he ’s the newest one? ”

“That doesn ’t have anything to do with it. ”

“Then what ’s the problem? ”

“It’s another one of those legend things. I wonder when we ’re going to stop being surprised that they ’re
all true?” he muttered to himself.

“Are you going to tell me? Or do I have to guess? ”

“You’d never get it right. See, Quil hasn ’t been hanging out with us, you know, until just recently. So he
hadn ’t been around Emily ’s place much. ”

“Quil imprinted on Emily, too? ” I gasped.

“No! I told you not to guess. Emily had her two nieces down for a visit . . . and Quil met Claire. ”

He didn ’t continue. I thought about that for a moment.

“Emily doesn ’t want her niece with a werewolf? That ’s a little hypocritical, ” I said.

But I could understand why she of all people might feel that way. I thought again of the long scars that
marred her face and extended all the way down her right arm. Sam had lost control just once when he
was standing too close to her. Once was all it took. . . . I ’d seen the pain in Sam ’s eyes when he looked
at what he ’d done to Emily. I could understand why Emily might want to protect her niece from that.

“Would you please stop guessing? You ’re way off. Emily doesn ’t mind that part, it ’s just, well, a little
early. ”

“What do you mean early?”

Jacob appraised me with narrowed eyes. “Try not to be judgmental, okay? ”

I nodded cautiously.

“Claire is two, ” Jacob told me.

Rain started to fall. I blinked furiously as the drops pelted my face.

Jacob waited in silence. He wore no jacket, as usual; the rain left a spatter of dark spots on his black
T-shirt, and dripped through his shaggy hair. His face was expressionless as he watched mine.

“Quil . . . imprinted . . . with a two-year-old?” I was finally able to ask.

“It happens. ” Jacob shrugged. He bent to grab another rock and sent it flying out into the bay. “Or so the
stories say. ”




“But she ’s a baby,” I protested.

He looked at me with dark amusement. “Quil ’s not getting any older, ” he reminded me, a bit of acid in
his tone. “He’ll just have to be patient for a few decades. ”

“I . . . don’t know what to say. ”

I was trying my hardest not to be critical, but, in truth, I was horrified. Until now, nothing about the
werewolves had bothered me since the day I ’d found out they weren ’t committing the murders I ’d
suspected them of.

“You’re making judgments, ” he accused. “I can see it on your face. ”

“Sorry,” I muttered. “But it sounds really creepy. ”

“It’s not like that; you ’ve got it all wrong, ” Jacob defended his friend, suddenly vehement. “I’ve seen
what it ’s like, through his eyes. There ’s nothing romantic about it at all, not for Quil, not now. ” He took
a deep breath, frustrated. “It’s so hard to describe. It ’s not like love at first sight, really. It ’s more like . . .
gravity moves. When you see her, suddenly it ’s not the earth holding you here anymore. She does. And
nothing matters more than her. And you would do anything for her, be anything for her. . . . You become
whatever she needs you to be, whether that ’s a protector, or a lover, or a friend, or a brother.

“Quil will be the best, kindest big brother any kid ever had. There isn ’t a toddler on the planet that will be
more carefully looked after than that little girl will be. And then, when she ’s older and needs a friend, he ’ll
be more understanding, trustworthy, and reliable than anyone else she knows. And then, when she ’s
grown up, they ’ll be as happy as Emily and Sam. ” A strange, bitter edge sharpened his tone at the very
end, when he spoke of Sam.

“Doesn’t Claire get a choice here? ”

“Of course. But why wouldn ’t she choose him, in the end? He ’ll be her perfect match. Like he was
designed for her alone. ”

We walked in silence for a moment, till I paused to toss a rock toward the ocean. It fell to the beach
several meters short. Jacob laughed at me.

“We can’t all be freakishly strong, ” I muttered.

He sighed.

“When do you think it will happen for you? ” I asked quietly.

His answer was flat and immediate. “Never.”

“It’s not something you can control, is it? ”

He was silent for a few minutes. Unconsciously, we both walked slower, barely moving at all.

“It’s not supposed to be, ” he admitted. “But you have to see her — the one that ’s supposedly meant for
you.”

“And you think that if you haven ’t seen her yet, then she ’s not out there? ” I asked skeptically. “Jacob,
you haven ’t really seen much of the world — less than me, even. ”

“No, I haven ’t,” he said in a low voice. He looked at my face with suddenly piercing eyes. “But I ’ll never




see anyone else, Bella. I only see you. Even when I close my eyes and try to see something else. Ask
Quil or Embry. It drives them all crazy. ”

I dropped my eyes to the rocks.

We weren ’t walking anymore. The only sound was of the waves beating against the shore. I couldn ’t
hear the rain over their roar.

“Maybe I’d better go home, ” I whispered.

“No!” he protested, surprised by this conclusion.

I looked up at him again, and his eyes were anxious now.

“You have the whole day off, right? The bloodsucker won ’t be home yet. ”

I glared at him.

“No offense intended, ” he said quickly.

“Yes, I have the whole day. But, Jake . . . ”

He held up his hands. “Sorry,” he apologized. “I won’t be like that anymore. I ’ll just be Jacob. ”

I sighed. “But if that ’s what you ’re thinking . . .”

“Don’t worry about me, ” he insisted, smiling with deliberate cheer, too brightly. “I know what I ’m doing.
Just tell me if I ’m upsetting you. ”

“I don’t know. . . .”

“C’mon, Bella. Let ’s go back to the house and get our bikes. You ’ve got to ride a motorcycle regularly
to keep it in tune. ”

“I really don ’t think I ’m allowed. ”

“By who? Charlie or the blood — or him?”

“Both. ”

Jacob grinned my grin, and he was suddenly the Jacob I missed the most, sunny and warm.

I couldn ’t help grinning back.

The rain softened, turned to mist.

“I won’t tell anyone, ” he promised.

“Except every one of your friends. ”

He shook his head soberly and raised his right hand. “I promise not to think about it. ”

I laughed. “If I get hurt, it was because I tripped. ”

“Whatever you say. ”

We rode our motorcycles on the back roads around La Push until the rain made them too muddy and




Jacob insisted that he was going to pass out if he didn ’t eat soon. Billy greeted me easily when we got to
the house, as if my sudden reappearance meant nothing more complicated than that I ’d wanted to spend
the day with my friend. After we ate the sandwiches Jacob made, we went out to the garage and I helped
him clean up the bikes. I hadn ’t been here in months — since Edward had returned — but there was no
sense of import to it. It was just another afternoon in the garage.

“This is nice, ” I commented when he pulled the warm sodas from the grocery bag. “I’ve missed this
place.”

He smiled, looking around at the plastic sheds bolted together over our heads. “Yeah, I can understand
that. All the splendor of the Taj Mahal, without the inconvenience and expense of traveling to India. ”

“To Washington ’s little Taj Mahal, ” I toasted, holding up my can.

He touched his can to mine.

“Do you remember last Valentine ’s Day? I think that was the last time you were here — the last time
when things were still . . . normal, I mean. ”

I laughed. “Of course I remember. I traded a lifetime of servitude for a box of conversation hearts. That ’s
not something I ’m likely to forget. ”

He laughed with me. “That ’s right. Hmm, servitude. I ’ll have to think of something good. ” Then he
sighed. “It feels like it was years ago. Another era. A happier one. ”

I couldn ’t agree with him. This was my happy era now. But I was surprised to realize how many things I
missed from my own personal dark ages. I stared through the opening at the murky forest. The rain had
picked up again, but it was warm in the little garage, sitting next to Jacob. He was as good as a furnace.

His fingers brushed my hand. “Things have really changed. ”

“Yeah,” I said, and then I reached out and patted the back tire of my bike. “Charlie used to like me. I
hope Billy doesn ’t say anything about today. . . . ” I bit my lip.

“He won ’t. He doesn ’t get worked up about things the way Charlie does. Hey, I never did apologize
officially for that stupid move with the bike. I ’m real sorry about ratting you out to Charlie. I wish I hadn ’
t.”

I rolled my eyes. “Me, too.”

“I’m really, really sorry. ”

He looked at me hopefully, his wet, tangled black hair sticking up in every direction around his pleading
face.

“Oh, fine! You ’re forgiven. ”

“Thanks, Bells! ”

We grinned at each other for a second, and then his face clouded over.

“You know that day, when I brought the bike over . . . I ’ve been wanting to ask you something, ” he said
slowly. “But also . . . not wanting to. ”

I held very still — a reaction to stress. It was a habit I ’d picked up from Edward.




“Were you just being stubborn because you were mad at me, or were you really serious? ” he whispered.

“About what? ” I whispered back, though I was sure I knew what he meant.

He glared at me. “You know. When you said it was none of my business . . . if — if he bit you. ” He
cringed visibly at the end.

“Jake . . .” My throat felt swollen. I couldn ’t finish.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Were you serious? ”

He was trembling just slightly. His eyes stayed closed.

“Yes,” I whispered.

Jacob inhaled, slow and deep. “I guess I knew that. ”

I stared at his face, waiting for his eyes to open.

“You know what this will mean? ” He demanded suddenly. “You do understand that, don ’t you? What
will happen if they break the treaty? ”

“We’ll leave first, ” I said in a small voice.

His eyes flashed open, their black depths full of anger and pain. “There wasn ’t a geographic limit to the
treaty, Bella. Our great-grandfathers only agreed to keep the peace because the Cullens swore that they
were different, that humans weren ’t in danger from them. They promised they would never kill or change
anyone ever again. If they go back on their word, the treaty is meaningless, and they are no different than
any other vampires. Once that ’s established, when we find them again —”

“But, Jake, didn ’t you break the treaty already? ” I asked, grasping at straws. “Wasn’t part of it that you
not tell people about the vampires? And you told me. So isn ’t the treaty sort of moot, anyhow? ”

Jacob didn ’t like the reminder; the pain in his eyes hardened into animosity. “Yeah, I broke the treaty —
back before I believed any of it. And I ’m sure they were informed of that. ” He glared sourly at my
forehead, not meeting my shamed gaze. “But it ’s not like that gives them a freebie or anything. There ’s no
fault for a fault. They have only one option if they object to what I did. The same option we ’ll have when
they break the treaty: to attack. To start the war. ”

He made it sound so inevitable. I shuddered.

“Jake, it doesn ’t have to be that way. ”

His teeth ground together. “It is that way. ”

The silence after his declaration felt very loud.

“Will you never forgive me, Jacob? ” I whispered. As soon as I said the words, I wished I hadn ’t. I didn ’t
want to hear his answer.

“You won ’t be Bella anymore, ” he told me. “My friend won ’t exist. There ’ll be no one to forgive. ”

“That sounds like a no,” I whispered.

We faced each other for an endless moment.




“Is this goodbye then, Jake? ”

He blinked rapidly, his fierce expression melting in surprise. “Why? We still have a few years. Can ’t we
be friends until we ’re out of time? ”

“Years? No, Jake, not years. ” I shook my head, and laughed once without humor. “Weeks is more
accurate. ”

I was not expecting his reaction.

He was suddenly on his feet, and there was a loud pop as the soda can exploded in his hand. Soda flew
everywhere, soaking me, like it was spraying from a hose.

“Jake!” I started to complain, but I fell silent when I realized that his whole body was quivering with
anger. He glared at me wildly, a growling sound building in his chest.

I froze in place, too shocked to remember how to move.

The shaking rolled through him, getting faster, until it looked like he was vibrating. His shape blurred. . . .

And then Jacob gritted his teeth together, and the growling stopped. He squeezed his eyes tight in
concentration; the quivering slowed until only his hands were shaking.

“Weeks,” Jacob said in a flat monotone.

I couldn ’t respond; I was still frozen.

He opened his eyes. They were beyond fury now.

“He’s going to change you into a filthy bloodsucker in just a few weeks!” Jacob hissed through his teeth.

Too stunned to take offense at his words, I just nodded mutely.

His face turned green under the russet skin.

“Of course, Jake, ” I whispered after a long minute of silence. “He’s seventeen, Jacob. And I get closer
to nineteen every day. Besides, what ’s the point in waiting? He ’s all I want. What else can I do? ”

I’d meant that as a rhetorical question.

His words cracked like snaps of a whip. “Anything. Anything else. You ’d be better off dead. I ’d rather
you were. ”

I recoiled like he ’d slapped me. It hurt worse than if he had.

And then, as the pain shot through me, my own temper burst into flame.

“Maybe you ’ll get lucky, ” I said bleakly, lurching to my feet. “Maybe I’ll get hit by a truck on my way
back.”

I grabbed my motorcycle and pushed it out into the rain. He didn ’t move as I passed him. As soon as I
was on the small, muddy path, I climbed on and kicked the bike to life. The rear tire spit a fountain of
mud toward the garage, and I hoped that it hit him.

I got absolutely soaked as I sped across the slick highway toward the Cullens ’ house. The wind felt like it
was freezing the rain against my skin, and my teeth were chattering before I was halfway there.




Motorcycles were too impractical for Washington. I would sell the stupid thing first chance I got.

I walked the bike into the Cullens ’ cavernous garage and was unsurprised to find Alice waiting for me,
perched lightly on the hood of her Porsche. Alice stroked the glossy yellow paint.

“I haven ’t even had a chance to drive it. ” She sighed.

“Sorry,” I spit through my rattling teeth.

“You look like you could use a hot shower, ” she said, offhand, as she sprang lightly to her feet.

“Yep.”

She pursed her lips, taking in my expression carefully. “Do you want to talk about it? ”

“Nope.”

She nodded in assent, but her eyes were raging with curiosity.

“Do you want to go to Olympia tonight? ”

“Not really. Can ’t I go home? ”

She grimaced.

“Never mind, Alice, ” I said. “I’ll stay if it makes things easier for you. ”

“Thanks, ” she sighed in relief.

I went to bed early that night, curling up on his sofa again.

It was still dark when I woke. I was groggy, but I knew it wasn ’t near morning yet. My eyes closed, and
I stretched, rolling over. It took me a second before I realized that the movement should have dumped
me onto the floor. And that I was much too comfortable.

I rolled back over, trying to see. It was darker than last night — the clouds were too thick for the moon
to shine through.

“Sorry,” he murmured so softly that his voice was part of the darkness. “I didn ’t mean to wake you. ”

I tensed, waiting for the fury — both his and mine — but it was only quiet and calm in the darkness of his
room. I could almost taste the sweetness of reunion in the air, a separate fragrance from the perfume of
his breath; the emptiness when we were apart left its own bitter aftertaste, something I didn ’t consciously
notice until it was removed.

There was no friction in the space between us. The stillness was peaceful — not like the calm before the
tempest, but like a clear night untouched by even the dream of a storm.

And I didn ’t care that I was supposed to be angry with him. I didn ’t care that I was supposed to be
angry with everyone. I reached out for him, found his hands in the darkness, and pulled myself closer to
him. His arms encircled me, cradling me to his chest. My lips searched, hunting along his throat, to his
chin, till I finally found his lips.

Edward kissed me softly for a moment, and then he chuckled.

“I was all braced for the wrath that was going to put grizzlies to shame, and this is what I get? I should




infuriate you more often. ”

“Give me a minute to work up to it, ” I teased, kissing him again.

“I’ll wait as long as you want, ” he whispered against my lips. His fingers knotted in my hair.

My breath was becoming uneven. “Maybe in the morning. ”

“Whatever you prefer. ”

“Welcome home, ” I said while his cold lips pressed under my jaw. “I’m glad you came back. ”

“That ’s a very good thing. ”

“Mmm, ” I agreed, tightening my arms around his neck.

His hand curved around my elbow, moving slowly down my arm, across my ribs and over my waist,
tracing along my hip and down my leg, around my knee. He paused there, his hand curling around my
calf. He pulled my leg up suddenly, hitching it around his hip.

I stopped breathing. This wasn ’t the kind of thing he usually allowed. Despite his cold hands, I felt
suddenly warm. His lips moved in the hollow at the base of my throat.

“Not to bring on the ire prematurely, ” he whispered, “but do you mind telling me what it is about this bed
that you object to? ”

Before I could answer, before I could even concentrate enough to make sense of his words, he rolled to
the side, pulling me on top of him. He held my face in his hands, angling it up so that his mouth could
reach my throat. My breathing was too loud — it was almost embarrassing, but I couldn ’t care quite
enough to be ashamed.

“The bed? ” he asked again. “I think it ’s nice. ”

“It’s unnecessary, ” I managed to gasp.

He pulled my face back to his, and my lips shaped themselves around his. Slowly this time, he rolled till
he hovered over me. He held himself carefully so that I felt none of his weight, but I could feel the cool
marble of his body press against mine. My heart was hammering so loudly that it was hard to hear his
quiet laughter.

“That ’s debatable, ” he disagreed. “This would be difficult on a couch. ”

Cold as ice, his tongue lightly traced the shape of my lips.

My head was spinning — the air was coming too fast and shallow.

“Did you change your mind? ” I asked breathlessly. Maybe he ’d rethought all his careful rules. Maybe
there was more significance to this bed than I ’d originally guessed. My heart pounded almost painfully as
I waited for his answer.

Edward sighed, rolling back so that we were on our sides again.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Bella, ” he said, disapproval strong in his voice — clearly, he understood what I
meant. “I was just trying to illustrate the benefits of the bed you don ’t seem to like. Don ’t get carried
away.”




“Too late, ” I muttered. “And I like the bed, ” I added.

“Good.” I could hear the smile in his voice as he kissed my forehead. “I do, too.”

“But I still think it ’s unnecessary, ” I continued. “If we ’re not going to get carried away, what ’s the point? ”

He sighed again. “For the hundredth time, Bella — it’s too dangerous. ”

“I like danger, ” I insisted.

“I know.” There was a sour edge to his voice, and I realized that he would have seen the motorcycle in
the garage.

“I’ll tell you what ’s dangerous, ” I said quickly, before he could move to a new topic of discussion. “I’m
going to spontaneously combust one of these days — and you ’ll have no one but yourself to blame. ”

He started to push me away.

“What are you doing? ” I objected, clinging to him.

“Protecting you from combustion. If this too much for you. . . . ”

“I can handle it, ” I insisted.

He let me worm myself back into the circle of his arms.

“I’m sorry I gave you the wrong impression, ” he said. “I didn ’t mean to make you unhappy. That wasn ’t
nice. ”

“Actually, it was very, very nice. ”

He took a deep breath. “Aren’t you tired? I should let you sleep. ”

“No, I’m not. I don ’t mind if you want to give me the wrong impression again. ”

“That ’s probably a bad idea. You ’re not the only one who gets carried away. ”

“Yes, I am, ” I grumbled.

He chuckled. “You have no idea, Bella. It doesn ’t help that you are so eager to undermine my
self-control, either. ”

“I’m not going to apologize for that. ”

“Can I apologize? ”

“For what? ”

“You were angry with me, remember? ”

“Oh, that. ”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong. It ’s much easier to have the proper perspective when I have you safely here.”
His arms tightened around me. “I go a little berserk when I try to leave you. I don ’t think I ’ll go so far
again. It ’s not worth it. ”




I smiled. “Didn ’t you find any mountain lions? ”

“Yes, I did, actually. Still not worth the anxiety. I ’m sorry I had Alice hold you hostage, though. That was
a bad idea.”

“Yes,” I agreed.

“I won’t do it again. ”

“Okay,” I said easily. He was already forgiven. “But slumber parties do have their advantages. . . . ” I
curled myself closer to him, pressing my lips into the indentation over his collarbone. “You can hold me
hostage any time you want. ”

“Mmm, ” he sighed. “I may take you up on that. ”

“So is it my turn now? ”

“Your turn? ” his voice was confused.

“To apologize. ”

“What do you have to apologize for? ”

“Aren’t you mad at me? ” I asked blankly.

“No.”

It sounded like he really meant it.

I felt my eyebrows pull together. “Didn ’t you see Alice when you got home? ”

“Yes — why? ”

“Are you going to take her Porsche back? ”

“Of course not. It was a gift. ”

I wished I could see his expression. His voice sounded as if I ’d insulted him.

“Don’t you want to know what I did? ” I asked, starting to be puzzled by his apparent lack of concern.

I felt him shrug. “I’m always interested in everything you do — but you don ’t have to tell me unless you
want to. ”

“But I went to La Push. ”

“I know.”

“And I ditched school. ”

“So did I.”

I stared toward the sound of his voice, tracing his features with my fingers, trying to understand his
mood. “Where did all this tolerance come from? ” I demanded.

He sighed.




“I decided that you were right. My problem before was more about my . . . prejudice against
werewolves than anything else. I ’m going to try to be more reasonable and trust your judgment. If you
say it ’s safe, then I ’ll believe you. ”

“Wow.”

“And . . . most importantly . . . I ’m not willing to let this drive a wedge between us. ”

I rested my head against his chest and closed my eyes, totally content.

“So,” he murmured in a casual tone. “Did you make plans to go back to La Push again soon? ”

I didn ’t answer. His question brought back the memory of Jacob ’s words, and my throat was suddenly
tight.

He misread my silence and the tension in my body.

“Just so that I can make my own plans, ” he explained quickly. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to
hurry back because I ’m sitting around waiting for you. ”

“No,” I said in a voice that sounded strange to me. “I don’t have plans go back. ”

“Oh. You don ’t have to do that for me. ”

“I don’t think I ’m welcome anymore, ” I whispered.

“Did you run over someone ’s cat?” he asked lightly. I knew he didn ’t want to force the story out of me,
but I could hear the curiosity burning behind his words.

“No.” I took a deep breath, and then mumbled quickly through the explanation. “I thought Jacob would
have realized . . . I didn ’t think it would surprise him. ”

Edward waited while I hesitated.

“He wasn ’t expecting . . . that it was so soon. ”

“Ah,” Edward said quietly.

“He said he ’d rather see me dead. ” My voice broke on the last word.

Edward was too still for a moment, controlling whatever reaction he didn ’t want me to see.

Then he crushed me gently to his chest. “I’m so sorry. ”

“I thought you ’d be glad, ” I whispered.

“Glad over something that ’s hurt you? ” he murmured into my hair. “I don’t think so, Bella. ”

I sighed and relaxed, fitting myself to the stone shape of him. But he was motionless again, tense.

“What’s wrong? ” I asked.

“It’s nothing. ”

“You can tell me. ”




He paused for a minute. “It might make you angry. ”

“I still want to know. ”

He sighed. “I could quite literally kill him for saying that to you. I want to.”

I laughed halfheartedly. “I guess it ’s a good thing you ’ve got so much self-control. ”

“I could slip. ” His tone was thoughtful.

“If you ’re going to have a lapse in control, I can think of a better place for it. ” I reached for his face,
trying to pull myself up to kiss him. His arms held me tighter, restraining.

He sighed. “Must I always be the responsible one? ”

I grinned in the darkness. “No. Let me be in charge of responsibility for a few minutes . . . or hours. ”

“Goodnight, Bella. ”

“Wait — there was something else I wanted to ask you about. ”

“What’s that? ”

“I was talking to Rosalie last night. . . . ”

His body tensed again. “Yes. She was thinking about that when I got in. She gave you quite a lot to
consider, didn ’t she?”

His voice was anxious, and I realized that he thought I wanted to talk about the reasons Rosalie ’d given
me for staying human. But I was interested in something much more pressing.

“She told me a little bit . . . about the time your family lived in Denali. ”

There was a short pause; this beginning took him by surprise. “Yes?”

“She mentioned something about a bunch of female vampires . . . and you. ”

He didn ’t answer, though I waited for a long moment.

“Don’t worry, ” I said, after the silence had grown uncomfortable. “She told me you didn ’t . . . show any
preference. But I was just wondering, you know, if any of them had. Shown a preference for you, I
mean. ”

Again he said nothing.

“Which one? ” I asked, trying to keep my voice casual, and not quite managing. “Or was there more than
one?”

No answer. I wished I could see his face, so I could try to guess what this silence meant.

“Alice will tell me, ” I said. “I’ll go ask her right now. ”

His arms tightened; I was unable to squirm even an inch away.

“It’s late, ” he said. His voice had a little edge to it that was something new. Sort of nervous, maybe a little
embarrassed. “Besides, I think Alice stepped out. . . . ”




“It’s bad,” I guessed. “It’s really bad, isn ’t it? ” I started to panic, my heart accelerating as I imagined the
gorgeous immortal rival I ’d never realized I had.

“Calm down, Bella, ” he said, kissing the tip of my nose. “You’re being absurd. ”

“Am I? Then why won ’t you tell me? ”

“Because there ’s nothing to tell. You ’re blowing this wildly out of proportion. ”

“Which one? ” I insisted.

He sighed. “Tanya expressed a little interest. I let her know, in a very courteous, gentlemanly fashion, that
I did not return that interest. End of story. ”

I kept my voice as even as possible. “Tell me something — what does Tanya look like? ”

“Just like the rest of us — white skin, gold eyes, ” he answered too quickly.

“And, of course, extraordinarily beautiful. ”

I felt him shrug.

“I suppose, to human eyes, ” he said, indifferent. “You know what, though? ”

“What?” My voice was petulant.

He put his lips right to my ear; his cold breath tickled. “I prefer brunettes. ”

“She’s a blonde. That figures. ”

“Strawberry blonde — not at all my type. ”

I thought about that for a while, trying to concentrate as his lips moved slowly along my cheek, down my
throat, and back up again. He made the circuit three times before I spoke.

“I guess that’s okay, then, ” I decided.

“Hmm, ” he whispered against my skin. “You’re quite adorable when you ’re jealous. It ’s surprisingly
enjoyable. ”

I scowled into the darkness.

“It’s late, ” he said again, murmuring, almost crooning now, his voice smoother than silk. “Sleep, my Bella.
Dream happy dreams. You are the only one who has ever touched my heart. It will always be yours.
Sleep, my only love. ”

He started to hum my lullaby, and I knew it was only a matter of time till I succumbed, so I closed my
eyes and snuggled closer into his chest.



9. TARGET

ALICE DROPPED ME OFF IN THE MORNING, IN KEEPING with the slumber party charade. It




wouldn ’t be long until Edward showed up, officially returning from his “hiking ” trip. All of the pretenses
were starting to wear on me. I wouldn ’t miss this part of being human.

Charlie peeked through the front window when he heard me slam the car door. He waved to Alice, and
then went to get the door for me.

“Did you have fun? ” Charlie asked.

“Sure, it was great. Very . . . girlie. ”

I carried my stuff in, dumped it all at the foot of the stairs, and wandered into the kitchen to look for a
snack.

“You’ve got a message, ” Charlie called after me.

On the kitchen counter, the phone message pad was propped up conspicuously against a saucepan.

Jacob called, Charlie had written.

He said he didn ’t mean it, and that he ’s sorry. He wants you to call him. Be nice and give him a break.
He sounded upset.

I grimaced. Charlie didn ’t usually editorialize on my messages.

Jacob could just go ahead and be upset. I didn ’t want to talk to him. Last I ’d heard, they weren ’t big on
allowing phone calls from the other side. If Jacob preferred me dead, then maybe he should get used to
the silence.

My appetite evaporated. I turned an about face and went to put my things away.

“Aren’t you going to call Jacob? ” Charlie asked. He was leaning around the living room wall, watching
me pick up.

“No.”

I started up the stairs.

“That ’s not very attractive behavior, Bella, ” he said. “Forgiveness is divine. ”

“Mind your own business, ” I muttered under my breath, much too low for him to hear.

I knew the laundry was building up, so after I put my toothpaste away and threw my dirty clothes in the
hamper, I went to strip Charlie ’s bed. I left his sheets in a pile at the top of the stairs and went to get
mine.

I paused beside the bed, cocking my head to the side.

Where was my pillow? I turned in a circle, scanning the room. No pillow. I noticed that my room looked
oddly tidy. Hadn ’t my gray sweatshirt been draped over the low bedpost on the footboard? And I would
swear there had been a pair of dirty socks behind the rocking chair, along with the red blouse I ’d tried on
two mornings ago, but decided was too dressy for school, hanging over the arm. . . . I spun around
again. My hamper wasn ’t empty, but it wasn ’t overflowing, the way I thought it had been.

Was Charlie doing laundry? That was out of character.




“Dad, did you start the wash? ” I shouted out my door.

“Um, no, ” he shouted back, sounding guilty. “Did you want me to? ”

“No, I got it. Were you looking for something in my room? ”

“No. Why?”

“I can’t find . . . a shirt. . . . ”

“I haven ’t been in there. ”

And then I remembered that Alice had been here to get my pajamas. I hadn ’t noticed that she ’d
borrowed my pillow, too — probably since I ’d avoided the bed. It looked like she had cleaned while
she was passing through. I blushed for my slovenly ways.

But that red shirt really wasn ’t dirty, so I went to save it from the hamper.

I expected to find it near the top, but it wasn ’t there. I dug through the whole pile and still couldn ’t find it.
I knew I was probably getting paranoid, but it seemed like something else was missing, or maybe more
than one something. I didn ’t even have half a load here.

I ripped my sheets off and headed for the laundry closet, grabbing Charlie ’s on the way. The washing
machine was empty. I checked the dryer, too, half-expecting to find a washed load waiting for me,
courtesy of Alice. Nothing. I frowned, mystified.

“Did you find what you were looking for? ” Charlie yelled.

“Not yet.”

I went back upstairs to search under my bed. Nothing but dust bunnies. I started to dig through my
dresser. Maybe I ’d put the red shirt away and forgotten.

I gave up when the doorbell rang. That would be Edward.

“Door,” Charlie informed me from the couch as I skipped past him.

“Don’t strain yourself, Dad. ”

I pulled the door open with a big smile on my face.

Edward’s golden eyes were wide, his nostrils flared, his lips pulled back over his teeth.

“Edward?” My voice was sharp with shock as I read his expression. “What —?”

He put his finger to my lips. “Give me two seconds, ” he whispered. “Don’t move. ”

I stood frozen on the doorstep and he . . . disappeared. He moved so quickly that Charlie wouldn ’t even
have seen him pass.

Before I could compose myself enough to count to two, he was back. He put his arm around my waist
and pulled me swiftly toward the kitchen. His eyes darted around the room, and he held me against his
body as if he were shielding me from something. I threw a glance toward Charlie on the couch, but he
was studiously ignoring us.

“Someone ’s been here, ” he murmured in my ear after he pulled me to the back of the kitchen. His voice




was strained; it was difficult to hear him over the thumping of the washing machine.

“I swear that no werewolves —” I started to say.

“Not one of them, ” he interrupted me quickly, shaking his head. “One of us. ”

His tone made it clear that he didn ’t mean a member of his family.

I felt the blood empty from my face.

“Victoria? ” I choked.

“It’s not a scent I recognize. ”

“One of the Volturi, ” I guessed.

“Probably. ”

“When? ”

“That ’s why I think it must have been them — it wasn ’t long ago, early this morning while Charlie was
sleeping. And whoever it was didn ’t touch him, so there must have been another purpose. ”

“Looking for me. ”

He didn ’t answer. His body was frozen, a statue.

“What are you two hissing about in here? ” Charlie asked suspiciously, rounding the corner with an empty
popcorn bowl in his hands.

I felt green. A vampire had been in the house looking for me while Charlie slept. Panic overwhelmed me,
closed my throat. I couldn ’t answer, I just stared at him in horror.

Charlie ’s expression changed. Abruptly, he was grinning. “If you two are having a fight . . . well, don ’t let
me interrupt. ”

Still grinning, he put his bowl in the sink and sauntered out of the room.

“Let’s go,” Edward said in a low hard voice.

“But Charlie! ” The fear was squeezing my chest, making it hard to breathe.

He deliberated for a short second, and then his phone was in his hand.

“Emmett, ” he muttered into the receiver. He began talking so fast that I couldn ’t understand the words. It
was over in half a minute. He started pulling me toward the door.

“Emmett and Jasper are on their way, ” he whispered when he felt my resistance. “They ’ll sweep the
woods. Charlie is fine. ”

I let him drag me along then, too panicked to think clearly. Charlie met my frightened eyes with a smug
grin, which suddenly turned to confusion. Edward had me out the door before Charlie could say anything.

“Where are we going? ” I couldn ’t stop whispering, even after we were in the car.

“We’re going to talk to Alice, ” he told me, his volume normal but his voice bleak.




“You think maybe she saw something? ”

He stared at the road through narrowed eyes. “Maybe.”

They were waiting for us, on alert after Edward ’s call. It was like walking into a museum, everyone still
as statues in various poses of stress.

“What happened? ” Edward demanded as soon as we were through the door. I was shocked to see that
he was glowering at Alice, his hands fisted in anger.

Alice stood with her arms folded tight across her chest. Only her lips moved. “I have no idea. I didn ’t see
anything. ”

“How is that possible?” he hissed.

“Edward,” I said, a quiet reproof. I didn ’t like him talking to Alice this way.

Carlisle interrupted in a calming voice. “It’s not an exact science, Edward. ”

“He was in her room, Alice. He could have still been there — waiting for her. ”

“I would have seen that. ”

Edward threw his hands up in exasperation. “Really? You ’re sure? ”

Alice ’s voice was cold when she answered. “You’ve already got me watching the Volturis ’ decisions,
watching for Victoria ’s return, watching Bella ’s every step. You want to add another? Do I just have to
watch Charlie, or Bella ’s room, or the house, or the whole street, too? Edward, if I try to do too much,
things are going to start slipping through the cracks. ”

“It looks like they already are, ” Edward snapped.

“She was never in any danger. There was nothing to see. ”

“If you ’re watching Italy, why didn ’t you see them send —”

“I don’t think it ’s them, ” Alice insisted. “I would have seen that. ”

“Who else would leave Charlie alive? ”

I shuddered.

“I don’t know,” Alice said.

“Helpful. ”

“Stop it, Edward, ” I whispered.

He turned on me, his face still livid, his teeth clenched together. He glared at me for half a second, and
then, suddenly, he exhaled. His eyes widened and his jaw relaxed.

“You’re right, Bella. I ’m sorry. ” He looked at Alice. “Forgive me, Alice. I shouldn ’t be taking this out on
you. That was inexcusable. ”

“I understand, ” Alice assured him. “I’m not happy about it, either. ”




Edward took a deep breath. “Okay, let ’s look at this logically. What are the possibilities? ”

Everyone seemed to thaw out at once. Alice relaxed and leaned against the back of the couch. Carlisle
walked slowly toward her, his eyes far away. Esme sat on the sofa in front of Alice, curling her legs up on
the seat. Only Rosalie remained unmoving, her back to us, staring out the glass wall.

Edward pulled me to the sofa and I sat next to Esme, who shifted to put her arm around me. He held one
of my hands tightly in both of his.

“Victoria? ” Carlisle asked.

Edward shook his head. “No. I didn ’t know the scent. He might have been from the Volturi, someone I ’
ve never met. . . . ”

Alice shook her head. “Aro hasn ’t asked anyone to look for her yet. I will see that. I ’m waiting for it. ”

Edward’s head snapped up. “You’re watching for an official command. ”

“You think someone ’s acting on their own? Why? ”

“Caius ’s idea,” Edward suggested, his face tightening again.

“Or Jane’s . . . ,” Alice said. “They both have the resources to send an unfamiliar face. . . . ”

Edward scowled. “And the motivation. ”

“It doesn ’t make sense, though, ” Esme said. “If whoever it was meant to wait for Bella, Alice would have
seen that. He — or she — had no intention of hurting Bella. Or Charlie, for that matter. ”

I cringed at my father ’s name.

“It’s going to be fine, Bella, ” Esme murmured, smoothing my hair.

“But what was the point then? ” Carlisle mused.

“Checking to see if I ’m still human? ” I guessed.

“Possible, ” Carlisle said.

Rosalie breathed out a sigh, loud enough for me to hear. She ’d unfrozen, and her face was turned
expectantly toward the kitchen. Edward, on the other hand, looked discouraged.

Emmett burst through the kitchen door, Jasper right behind him.

“Long gone, hours ago, ” Emmett announced, disappointed. “The trail went East, then South, and
disappeared on a side road. Had a car waiting. ”

“That ’s bad luck, ” Edward muttered. “If he ’d gone west . . . well, it would be nice for those dogs to
make themselves useful. ”

I winced, and Esme rubbed my shoulder.

Jasper looked at Carlisle. “Neither of us recognized him. But here. ” He held out something green and
crumpled. Carlisle took it from him and held it to his face. I saw, as it exchanged hands, that it was a
broken fern frond. “Maybe you know the scent. ”




“No,” Carlisle said. “Not familiar. No one I ’ve ever met. ”

“Perhaps we ’re looking at this the wrong way. Maybe it ’s a coincidence . . . , ” Esme began, but stopped
when she saw everyone else ’s incredulous expressions. “I don’t mean a coincidence that a stranger
happened to pick Bella ’s house to visit at random. I meant that maybe someone was just curious. Our
scent is all around her. Was he wondering what draws us there? ”

“Why wouldn ’t he just come here then? If he was curious? ” Emmett demanded.

“You would, ” Esme said with a sudden, fond smile. “The rest of us aren ’t always so direct. Our family is
very large — he or she might be frightened. But Charlie wasn ’t harmed. This doesn ’t have to be an
enemy. ”

Just curious. Like James and Victoria had been curious, in the beginning? The thought of Victoria made
me tremble, though the one thing they seemed certain of was that it had not been her. Not this time. She
would stick to her obsessed pattern. This was just so
meone else, a stranger.

I was slowly realizing that vampires were much bigger participants in this world than I ’d once thought.
How many times did the average human cross paths with them, completely unaware? How many deaths,
obliviously reported as crimes and accidents, were really due to their thirst? How crowded would this
new world be when I finally joined it?

The shrouded future sent a shiver down my spine.

The Cullens pondered Esme ’s words with varying expressions. I could see that Edward did not accept
her theory, and that Carlisle very much wanted to.

Alice pursed her lips. “I don’t think so. The timing of it was too perfect. . . . This visitor was so careful to
make no contact. Almost like he or she knew that I would see. . . . ”

“He could have other reasons for not making contact, ” Esme reminded her.

“Does it really matter who it was? ” I asked. “Just the chance that someone was looking for me . . . isn ’t
that reason enough? We shouldn ’t wait for graduation. ”

“No, Bella, ” Edward said quickly. “It’s not that bad. If you ’re really in danger, we ’ll know. ”

“Think of Charlie, ” Carlisle reminded me. “Think of how it would hurt him if you disappeared. ”

“I am thinking of Charlie! He ’s the one I ’m worried about! What if my little guest had happened to be
thirsty last night? As long as I ’m around Charlie, he ’s a target, too. If anything happened to him, it would
be all my fault! ”

“Hardly, Bella, ” Esme said, patting my hair again. “And nothing will happen to Charlie. We ’re just going
to have to be more careful. ”

“More careful? ” I repeated in disbelief.

“It’s all going to be fine, Bella, ” Alice promised; Edward squeezed my hand.

And I could see, looking at all of their beautiful faces one by one, that nothing I could say was going to
change their minds.

It was a quiet ride home. I was frustrated. Against my better judgment, I was still human.




“You won ’t be alone for a second, ” Edward promised as he drove me to Charlie ’s. “Someone will
always be there. Emmett, Alice, Jasper . . . ”

I sighed. “This is ridiculous. They ’ll get so bored, they ’ll have to kill me themselves, just for something to
do.”

Edward gave me a sour look. “Hilarious, Bella. ”

Charlie was in a good mood when we got back. He could see the tension between me and Edward, and
he was misinterpreting it. He watched me throw together his dinner with a smug smile on his face.
Edward had excused himself for a moment, to do some surveillance, I assumed, but Charlie waited till he
was back to pass on my messages.

“Jacob called again, ” Charlie said as soon as Edward was in the room. I kept my face empty as I set the
plate in front of him.

“Is that a fact? ”

Charlie frowned. “Don’t be petty, Bella. He sounded really low. ”

“Is Jacob paying you for all the P.R., or are you a volunteer? ”

Charlie grumbled incoherently at me until the food cut off his garbled complaint.

Though he didn ’t realize it, he ’d found his mark.

My life was feeling a lot like a game of dice right now — would the next roll come up snake eyes? What
if something did happen to me? It seemed worse than petty to leave Jacob feeling guilty about what he ’d
said.

But I didn ’t want to talk to him with Charlie around, to have to watch my every word so I didn ’t let the
wrong thing slip. Thinking about this made me jealous of Jacob and Billy ’s relationship. How easy it must
be when you had no secrets from the person you lived with.

So I would wait for the morning. I most likely wasn ’t going to die tonight, after all, and it wouldn ’t hurt
him to feel guilty for twelve more hours. It might even be good for him.

When Edward officially left for the evening, I wondered who was out in the downpour, keeping an eye
on Charlie and me. I felt awful for Alice or whoever else it might be, but still comforted. I had to admit it
was nice, knowing I wasn ’t alone. And Edward was back in record time.

He sang me to sleep again and — aware even in unconsciousness that he was there — I slept free of
nightmares.

In the morning, Charlie left to go fishing with Deputy Mark before I was up. I decided to use this lack of
supervision to be divine.

“I’m going to let Jacob off the hook, ” I warned Edward after I ’d eaten breakfast.

“I knew you ’d forgive him, ” he said with an easy smile. “Holding grudges is not one of your many talents.
”

I rolled my eyes, but I was pleased. It seemed like Edward really was over the whole anti-werewolf
thing.




I didn ’t look at the clock until after I ’d dialed. It was a little early for calls, and I worried that I would
wake Billy and Jake, but someone picked up before the second ring, so he couldn ’t have been too far
from the phone.

“Hello? ” a dull voice said.

“Jacob?”

“Bella! ” he exclaimed. “Oh, Bella, I ’m so sorry! ” he tripped over the words as he hurried to get them
out. “I swear I didn ’t mean it. I was just being stupid. I was angry — but that ’s no excuse. It was the
stupidest thing I ’ve ever said in my life and I ’m sorry. Don ’t be mad at me, please? Please. Lifetime of
servitude up for grabs — all you have to do is forgive me. ”

“I’m not mad. You ’re forgiven. ”

“Thank you, ” he breathed fervently. “I can’t believe I was such a jerk. ”

“Don’t worry about that — I’m used to it. ”

He laughed, exuberant with relief. “Come down to see me, ” he begged. “I want to make it up to you. ”

I frowned. “How?”

“Anything you want. Cliff diving, ” he suggested, laughing again.

“Oh, there’s a brilliant idea. ”

“I’ll keep you safe, ” he promised. “No matter what you want to do. ”

I glanced at Edward. His face was very calm, but I was sure this was not the time.

“Not right now. ”

“He’s not thrilled with me, is he? ” Jacob’s voice was ashamed, rather than bitter, for once.

“That ’s not the problem. There ’s . . . well, there ’s this other problem that ’s slightly more worrisome than
a bratty teenage werewolf. . . . ” I tried to keep my tone joking, but I didn ’t fool him.

“What’s wrong? ” he demanded.

“Um.” I wasn ’t sure what I should tell him.

Edward held his hand out for the phone. I looked at his face carefully. He seemed calm enough.

“Bella? ” Jacob asked.

Edward sighed, holding his hand closer.

“Do you mind speaking to Edward? ” I asked apprehensively. “He wants to talk to you. ”

There was a long pause.

“Okay,” Jacob finally agreed. “This should be interesting. ”

I handed the phone to Edward; I hoped he could read the warning in my eyes.




“Hello, Jacob, ” Edward said, perfectly polite.

There was a silence. I bit my lip, trying to guess how Jacob would answer.

“Someone was here — not a scent I know, ” Edward explained. “Has your pack come across anything
new?”

Another pause, while Edward nodded to himself, unsurprised.

“Here’s the crux, Jacob. I won ’t be letting Bella out of my sight till I get this taken care of. It ’s nothing
personal —”

Jacob interrupted him then, and I could hear the buzz of his voice from the receiver. Whatever he was
saying, he was more intense than before. I tried unsuccessfully to make out the words.

“You might be right —,” Edward began, but Jacob was arguing again. Neither of them sounded angry, at
least.

“That ’s an interesting suggestion. We ’re quite willing to renegotiate. If Sam is amenable. ”

Jacob’s voice was quieter now. I started chewing on my thumbnail as I tried to read Edward ’s
expression.

“Thank you, ” Edward replied.

Then Jacob said something that caused a surprised expression to flicker across Edward ’s face.

“I’d planned to go alone, actually, ” Edward said, answering the unexpected question. “And leave her
with the others. ”

Jacob’s voice rose in pitch, and it sounded to me like he was trying to be persuasive.

“I’ll try to consider it objectively, ” Edward promised. “As objectively as I ’m capable of. ”

The pause was shorter this time.

“That ’s not a half-bad idea. When? . . . No, that ’s fine. I ’d like a chance to follow the trail personally,
anyway. Ten minutes . . . Certainly, ” Edward said. He held the phone out to me. “Bella? ”

I took it slowly, feeling confused.

“What was that all about? ” I asked Jacob, my voice peeved. I knew it was juvenile, but I felt excluded.

“A truce, I think. Hey, do me a favor, ” Jacob suggested. “Try to convince your bloodsucker that the
safest place for you to be — especially when he leaves — is on the reservation. We ’re well able to
handle anything. ”

“Is that what you were trying to sell him? ”

“Yes. It makes sense. Charlie ’s probably better off here, too. As much as possible. ”

“Get Billy on it, ” I agreed. I hated that I was putting Charlie within the range of the crosshairs that always
seemed to be centered on me. “What else? ”

“Just rearranging some boundaries, so we can catch anyone who gets too near Forks. I ’m not sure if
Sam will go for it, but until he comes around, I ’ll keep an eye on things. ”




“What do you mean by ‘keep an eye on things ’?”

“I mean that if you see a wolf running around your house, don ’t shoot at it. ”

“Of course not. You really shouldn ’t do anything . . . risky, though. ”

He snorted. “Don’t be stupid. I can take care of myself. ”

I sighed.

“I also tried to convince him to let you visit. He ’s prejudiced, so don ’t let him give you any crap about
safety. He knows as well as I do that you ’d be safe here. ”

“I’ll keep that in mind. ”

“See you in a few, ” Jacob said.

“You’re coming up? ”

“Yeah. I ’m going to get the scent of your visitor so we can track him if he comes back. ”

“Jake, I really don ’t like the idea of you tracking —”

“Oh please, Bella, ” he interrupted. Jacob laughed, and then hung up.



10. SCENT

IT WAS ALL VERY CHILDISH. WHY ON EARTH SHOULD EDward have to leave for Jacob to
come over? Weren ’t we past this kind of immaturity?

“It’s not that I feel any personal antagonism toward him, Bella, it ’s just easier for both of us, ” Edward
told me at the door. “I won’t be far away. You ’ll be safe. ”

“I’m not worried about that.”

He smiled, and then a sly look came into his eye. He pulled me close, burying his face in my hair. I could
feel his cool breath saturate the strands as he exhaled; it raised goose bumps on my neck.

“I’ll be right back, ” he said, and then he laughed aloud as if I ’d just told a good joke.

“What’s so funny? ”

But Edward just grinned and loped off toward the trees without answering.

Grumbling to myself, I went to clean up the kitchen. Before I even had the sink full of water, the doorbell
rang. It was hard to get used to how much faster Jacob was without his car. How everyone seemed to
be so much faster than me. . . .

“Come in, Jake! ” I shouted.

I was concentrating on piling the dishes into the bubbly water, and I ’d forgotten that Jacob moved like a
ghost these days. So it made me jump when his voice was suddenly there behind me.




“Should you really leave your door unlocked like that? Oh, sorry. ”

I’d slopped myself with the dishwater when he ’d startled me.

“I’m not worried about anyone who would be deterred by a locked door, ” I said while I wiped the front
of my shirt with a dishtowel.

“Good point, ” he agreed.

I turned to look at him, eyeing him critically. “Is it really so impossible to wear clothes, Jacob? ” I asked.
Once again, Jacob was bare-chested, wearing nothing but a pair of old cut-off jeans. Secretly, I
wondered if he was just so proud of his new muscles that he couldn ’t stand to cover them up. I had to
admit, they were impressive — but I’d never thought of him as vain. “I mean, I know you don ’t get cold
anymore, but still. ”

He ran a hand through his wet hair; it was falling in his eyes.

“It’s just easier, ” he explained.

“What’s easier? ”

He smiled condescendingly. “It’s enough of a pain to carry the shorts around with me, let alone a
complete outfit. What do I look like, a pack mule? ”

I frowned. “What are you talking about, Jacob? ”

His expression was superior, like I was missing something obvious. “My clothes don ’t just pop in and out
of existence when I change — I have to carry them with me while I run. Pardon me for keeping my
burden light. ”

I changed color. “I guess I didn ’t think about that, ” I muttered.

He laughed and pointed to a black leather cord, thin as a strand of yarn, that was wound three times
below his left calf like an anklet. I hadn ’t noticed before that his feet were bare, too. “That ’s more than
just a fashion statement — it sucks to carry jeans in your mouth. ”

I didn ’t know what to say to that.

He grinned. “Does my being half-naked bother you? ”

“No.”

Jacob laughed again, and I turned my back on him to focus on the dishes. I hoped he realized my blush
was left over from embarrassment at my own stupidity, and had nothing to do with his question.

“Well, I suppose I should get to work. ” He sighed. “I wouldn ’t want to give him an excuse to say I ’m
slacking on my side. ”

“Jacob, it ’s not your job —”

He raised a hand to cut me off. “I’m working on a volunteer basis here. Now, where is the intruder ’s
scent the worst? ”

“My bedroom, I think. ”




His eyes narrowed. He didn ’t like that any more than Edward had.

“I’ll just be a minute. ”

I methodically scrubbed the plate I was holding. The only sound was the brush ’s plastic bristles scraping
round and round on the ceramic. I listened for something from above, a creak of the floorboard, the click
of a door. There was nothing. I realized I ’d been cleaning the same plate far longer than necessary, and I
tried to pay attention to what I was doing.

“Whew! ” Jacob said, inches behind me, scaring me again.

“Yeesh, Jake, cut that out! ”

“Sorry. Here —” Jacob took the towel and mopped up my new spill. “I’ll make it up to you. You wash,
I’ll rinse and dry. ”

“Fine. ” I gave him the plate.

“Well, the scent was easy enough to catch. By the way, your room reeks. ”

“I’ll buy some air freshener. ”

He laughed.

I washed and he dried in companionable silence for a few minutes.

“Can I ask you something? ”

I handed him another plate. “That depends on what you want to know. ”

“I’m not trying to be a jerk or anything — I’m honestly curious, ” Jacob assured me.

“Fine. Go ahead. ”

He paused for half a second. “What’s it like — having a vampire for a boyfriend? ”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s the best. ”

“I’m serious. The idea doesn ’t bother you — it never creeps you out? ”

“Never.”

He was silent as he reached for the bowl in my hands. I peeked up at his face — he was frowning, his
lower lip jutting out.

“Anything else? ” I asked.

He wrinkled his nose again. “Well . . . I was wondering . . . do you . . . y ’know, kiss him? ”

I laughed. “Yes.”

He shuddered. “Ugh. ”

“To each her own, ” I murmured.

“You don ’t worry about the fangs? ”




I smacked his arm, splashing him with dishwater. “Shut up, Jacob! You know he doesn ’t have fangs! ”

“Close enough, ” he muttered.

I gritted my teeth and scrubbed a boning knife with more force than necessary.

“Can I ask another one? ” he asked softly when I passed the knife to him. “Just curious, again. ”

“Fine, ” I snapped.

He turned the knife over and over in his hands under the stream of water. When he spoke, it was only a
whisper. “You said a few weeks. . . . When, exactly . . . ? ” He couldn ’t finish.

“Graduation, ” I whispered back, watching his face warily. Would this set him off again?

“So soon,” he breathed, his eyes closing. It didn ’t sound like a question. It sounded like a lament. The
muscles in his arms tightened and his shoulders were stiff.

“OW!” he shouted; it had gotten so still in the room that I jumped a foot in the air at his outburst.

His right hand had curled into a tense fist around the blade of the knife — he unclenched his hand and the
knife clattered onto the counter. Across his palm was a long, deep gash. The blood streamed down his
fingers and dripped on the floor.

“Damn it! Ouch! ” he complained.

My head spun and my stomach rolled. I clung to the countertop with one hand, took a deep breath
through my mouth, and forced myself to get a grip so that I could take care of him.

“Oh, no, Jacob! Oh, crap! Here, wrap this around it! ” I shoved the dish towel at him, reaching for his
hand. He shrugged away from me.

“It’s nothing, Bella, don ’t worry about it. ”

The room started to shimmer a little around the edges.

I took another deep breath. “Don’t worry?! You sliced your hand open! ”

He ignored the dish towel I pushed at him. He put his hand under the faucet and let the water wash over
the wound. The water ran red. My head whirled.

“Bella, ” he said.

I looked away from the wound, up to his face. He was frowning, but his expression was calm.

“What?”

“You look like you ’re going to pass out, and you ’re biting your lip off. Stop it. Relax. Breathe. I ’m fine. ”

I inhaled through my mouth and removed my teeth from my lower lip. “Don’t be brave. ”

He rolled his eyes.

“Let’s go. I’ll drive you to the ER. ” I was pretty sure I would be okay to drive. The walls were holding
steady now, at least.




“Not necessary. ” Jake turned off the water and took the towel from my hand. He twisted it loosely
around his palm.

“Wait, ” I protested. “Let me look at it. ” I clutched the counter more firmly, to hold myself upright if the
wound made me woozy again.

“Do you have a medical degree that you never told me about? ”

“Just give me the chance to decide whether or not I ’m going to throw a fit over taking you to the hospital.
”

He made a face of mock horror. “Please, not a fit! ”

“If you don ’t let me see your hand, a fit is guaranteed. ”

He inhaled deeply, and then let out a gusty sigh. “Fine. ”

He unwound the towel and, when I reached out to take the cloth, he laid his hand in mine.

It took me a few seconds. I even flipped his hand over, though I was sure he ’d cut his palm. I turned his
hand back up, finally realizing that the angry pink, puckered line was all that was left of his wound.

“But . . . you were bleeding . . . so much. ”

He pulled his hand back, his eyes steady and somber on mine.

“I heal fast. ”

“I’ll say, ” I mouthed.

I’d seen the long gash clearly, seen the blood that flowed into the sink. The rust-and-salt smell of it had
almost pulled me under. It should have needed stitches. It should have taken days to scab over and then
weeks to fade into the shiny pink scar that marked his skin now.

He screwed his mouth up into half a smile and thumped his fist once against his chest. “Werewolf,
remember? ”

His eyes held mine for an immeasurable moment.

“Right, ” I finally said.

He laughed at my expression. “I told you this. You saw Paul ’s scar.”

I shook my head to clear it. “It’s a little different, seeing the action sequence firsthand. ”

I kneeled down and dug the bleach out of the cabinet under the sink. Then I poured some on a dusting
rag and started scrubbing the floor. The burning scent of the bleach cleared the last of the dizziness from
my head.

“Let me clean up, ” Jacob said.

“I got this. Throw that towel in the wash, will you? ”

When I was sure the floor smelled of nothing but bleach, I got up and rinsed the right side of the sink with
bleach, too. Then I went to the laundry closet beside the pantry, and poured a cupful into the washing
machine before starting it. Jacob watched me with a disapproving look on his face.




“Do you have obsessive-compulsive disorder? ” he asked when I was done.

Huh. Maybe. But at least I had a good excuse this time. “We’re a bit sensitive to blood around here. I ’m
sure you can understand that. ”

“Oh.” He wrinkled his nose again.

“Why not make it as easy as possible for him? What he ’s doing is hard enough. ”

“Sure, sure. Why not? ”

I pulled the plug, and let the dirty water drain from the sink.

“Can I ask you something, Bella? ”

I sighed.

“What’s it like — having a werewolf for a best friend? ”

The question caught me off guard. I laughed out loud.

“Does it creep you out? ” he pressed before I could answer.

“No. When the werewolf is being nice, ” I qualified, “it’s the best. ”

He grinned widely, his teeth bright against his russet skin. “Thanks, Bella, ” he said, and then he grabbed
my hand and wrenched me into one of his bone-crushing hugs.

Before I had time to react, he dropped his arms and stepped away.

“Ugh, ” he said, his nose wrinkling. “Your hair stinks worse than your room. ”

“Sorry,” I muttered. I suddenly understood what Edward had been laughing about earlier, after breathing
on me.

“One of the many hazards of socializing with vampires, ” Jacob said, shrugging. “It makes you smell bad.
A minor hazard, comparatively. ”

I glared at him. “I only smell bad to you, Jake. ”

He grinned. “See you around, Bells. ”

“Are you leaving? ”

“He’s waiting for me to go. I can hear him outside. ”

“Oh.”

“I’ll go out the back, ” he said, and then he paused. “Hold up a sec — hey, do you think you can come to
La Push tonight? We ’re having a bonfire party. Emily will be there, and you could meet Kim . . . And I
know Quil wants to see you, too. He ’s pretty peeved that you found out before he did. ”

I grinned at that. I could just imagine how that would have irked Quil — Jacob’s little human gal pal
down with the werewolves while he was still clueless. And then I sighed. “Yeah, Jake, I don ’t know
about that. See, it ’s a little tense right now. . . . ”




“C’mon, you think somebody ’s going to get past all — all six of us? ”

There was a strange pause as he stuttered over the end of his question. I wondered if he had trouble
saying the word werewolf aloud, the way I often had difficulty with vampire.

His big dark eyes were full of unashamed pleading.

“I’ll ask, ” I said doubtfully.

He made a noise in the back of his throat. “Is he your warden, now, too? You know, I saw this story on
the news last week about controlling, abusive teenage relationships and —”

“Okay!” I cut him off, and then shoved his arm. “Time for the werewolf to get out! ”

He grinned. “Bye, Bells. Be sure you ask permission.”

He ducked out the back door before I could find something to throw at him. I growled incoherently at
the empty room.

Seconds after he was gone, Edward walked slowly into the kitchen, raindrops glistening like diamonds
set into the bronze of his hair. His eyes were wary.

“Did you two get into a fight? ” he asked.

“Edward! ” I sang, throwing myself at him.

“Hi, there. ” He laughed and wrapped his arms around me. “Are you trying to distract me? It ’s working. ”

“No, I didn ’t fight with Jacob. Much. Why? ”

“I was just wondering why you stabbed him. Not that I object. ” With his chin, he gestured to the knife on
the counter.

“Dang! I thought I got everything. ”

I pulled away from him and ran to put the knife in the sink before I doused it with bleach.

“I didn ’t stab him, ” I explained as I worked. “He forgot he had a knife in his hand. ”

Edward chuckled. “That ’s not nearly as fun as the way I imagined it. ”

“Be nice. ”

He took a big envelope from his jacket pocket and tossed it on the counter. “I got your mail. ”

“Anything good? ”

“I think so. ”

My eyes narrowed suspiciously at his tone. I went to investigate.

He’d folded the legal-sized envelope in half. I smoothed it open, surprised at the weight of the expensive
paper, and read the return address.

“Dartmouth? Is this a joke? ”




“I’m sure it ’s an acceptance. It looks exactly like mine. ”

“Good grief, Edward — what did you do?”

“I sent in your application, that ’s all. ”

“I may not be Dartmouth material, but I ’m not stupid enough to believe that.”

“Dartmouth seems to think that you ’re Dartmouth material. ”

I took a deep breath and counted slowly to ten. “That ’s very generous of them, ” I finally said. “However,
accepted or not, there is still the minor matter of tuition. I can ’t afford it, and I ’m not letting you throw
away enough money to buy yourself another sports car just so that I can pretend to go to Dartmouth next
year.”

“I don’t need another sports car. And you don ’t have to pretend anything, ” he murmured. “One year of
college wouldn ’t kill you. Maybe you ’d even like it. Just think about it, Bella. Imagine how excited
Charlie and Renée would be. . . . ”

His velvet voice painted the picture in my head before I could block it. Of course Charlie would explode
with pride — no one in the town of Forks would be able to escape the fallout from his excitement. And
Renée would be hysterical with joy at my triumph — though she ’d swear she wasn ’t at all surprised. . . .

I tried to shake the image out of my head. “Edward. I ’m worried about living through graduation, let
alone this summer or next fall. ”

His arms wrapped around me again. “No one is going to hurt you. You have all the time in the world. ”

I sighed. “I’m mailing the contents of my bank account to Alaska tomorrow. It ’s all the alibi I need. It ’s
far enough away that Charlie won ’t expect a visit until Christmas at the earliest. And I ’m sure I ’ll think of
some excuse by then. You know, ” I teased halfheartedly, “this whole secrecy and deception thing is kind
of a pain. ”

Edward’s expression hardened. “It gets easier. After a few decades, everyone you know is dead.
Problem solved. ”

I flinched.

“Sorry, that was harsh. ”

I stared down at the big white envelope, not seeing it. “But still true. ”

“If I get this resolved, whatever it is we ’re dealing with, will you please consider waiting? ”

“Nope.”

“Always so stubborn. ”

“Yep.”

The washing machine thumped and stuttered to a halt.

“Stupid piece of junk, ” I muttered as I pulled away from him. I moved the one small towel that had
unbalanced the otherwise empty machine, and started it again.




“This reminds me, ” I said. “Could you ask Alice what she did with my stuff when she cleaned my room?
I can’t find it anywhere. ”

He looked at me with confused eyes. “Alice cleaned your room? ”

“Yeah, I guess that ’s what she was doing. When she came to get my pajamas and pillow and stuff to
hold me hostage. ” I glowered at him briefly. “She picked up everything that was lying around, my shirts,
my socks, and I don ’t know where she put them. ”

Edward continued to look confused for one short moment, and then, abruptly, he was rigid.

“When did you notice your things were missing? ”

“When I got back from the fake slumber party. Why? ”

“I don’t think Alice took anything. Not your clothes, or your pillow. The things that were taken, these
were things you ’d worn . . . and touched . . . and slept on? ”

“Yes. What is it, Edward? ”

His expression was strained. “Things with your scent. ”

“Oh!”

We stared into each others eyes for a long moment.

“My visitor, ” I muttered.

“He was gathering traces . . . evidence. To prove that he ’d found you? ”

“Why? ” I whispered.

“I don’t know. But, Bella, I swear I will find out. I will. ”

“I know you will, ” I said, laying my head against his chest. Leaning there, I felt his phone vibrate in his
pocket.

He pulled out his phone and glanced at the number. “Just the person I need to talk to, ” he murmured, and
then he flipped it open. “Carlisle, I —” He broke off and listened, his face taut with concentration for a
few minutes. “I’ll check it out. Listen . . . ”

He explained about my missing things, but from the side I was hearing, it sounded like Carlisle had no
insights for us.

“Maybe I’ll go . . . , ” Edward said, trailing off as his eyes drifted toward me. “Maybe not. Don ’t let
Emmett go alone, you know how he gets. At least ask Alice keep an eye on things. We ’ll figure this out
later. ”

He snapped the phone shut. “Where’s the paper? ” he asked me.

“Um, I ’m not sure. Why? ”

“I need to see something. Did Charlie already throw it out? ”

“Maybe. . . .”




Edward disappeared.

He was back in half a second, new diamonds in his hair, a wet newspaper in his hands. He spread it out
on the table, his eyes scanning quickly across the headlines. He leaned in, intent on something he was
reading, one finger tracing passages that interested him most.

“Carlisle ’s right . . . yes . . . very sloppy. Young and crazed? Or a death wish? ” he muttered to himself.

I went to peek over his shoulder.

The headline of the Seattle Times read: “Murder Epidemic Continues — Police Have No New Leads. ”

It was almost the same story Charlie had been complaining about a few weeks ago — the big-city
violence that was pushing Seattle up the national murder hot-spot list. It wasn ’t exactly the same story,
though. The numbers were a lot higher.

“It’s getting worse, ” I murmured.

He frowned. “Altogether out of control. This can ’t be the work of just one newborn vampire. What ’s
going on? It ’s as if they ’ve never heard of the Volturi. Which is possible, I guess. No one has explained
the rules to them . . . so who is creating them, then? ”

“The Volturi? ” I repeated, shuddering.

“This is exactly the kind of thing they routinely wipe out — immortals who threaten to expose us. They
just cleaned up a mess like this a few years ago in Atlanta, and it hadn ’t gotten nearly this bad. They will
intervene soon, very soon, unless we can find some way to calm the situation. I ’d really rather they didn ’t
come to Seattle just now. As long as they ’re this close . . . they might decide to check on you. ”

I shuddered again. “What can we do? ”

“We need to know more before we can decide that. Perhaps if we can talk to these young ones, explain
the rules, it can be resolved peacefully. ” He frowned, like he didn ’t think the chances of that were good.
“We’ll wait until Alice has an idea of what ’s going on. . . . We don ’t want to step in until it ’s absolutely
necessary. After all, it ’s not our responsibility. But it ’s good we have Jasper, ” he added, almost to
himself. “If we are dealing with newborns, he ’ll be helpful. ”

“Jasper? Why? ”

Edward smiled darkly. “Jasper is sort of an expert on young vampires. ”

“What do you mean, an expert? ”

“You’ll have to ask him — the story is involved. ”

“What a mess, ” I mumbled.

“It does feel that way, doesn ’t it? Like it ’s coming at us from all sides these days. ” He sighed. “Do you
ever think that your life might be easier if you weren ’t in love with me? ”

“Maybe. It wouldn ’t be much of a life, though. ”

“For me,” he amended quietly. “And now, I suppose, ” he continued with a wry smile, “you have
something you want to ask me? ”




I stared at him blankly. “I do?”

“Or maybe not. ” He grinned. “I was rather under the impression that you ’d promised to ask my
permission to go to some kind of werewolf soirée tonight. ”

“Eavesdropping again? ”

He grinned. “Just a bit, at the very end. ”

“Well, I wasn ’t going to ask you anyway. I figured you had enough to stress about. ”

He put his hand under my chin, and held my face so that he could read my eyes. “Would you like to go? ”

“It’s no big thing. Don ’t worry about it. ”

“You don ’t have to ask my permission, Bella. I ’m not your father — thank heaven for that. Perhaps you
should ask Charlie, though. ”

“But you know Charlie will say yes. ”

“I do have a bit more insight into his probable answer than most people would, it ’s true. ”

I just stared at him, trying to understand what he wanted, and trying to put out of my mind the yearning I
felt to go to La Push so that I wouldn ’t be swayed by my own wishes. It was stupid to want to go hang
out with a bunch of big idiot wolf-boys right now when there was so much that was frightening and
unexplained going on. Of course, that was exactly why I wanted to go. I wanted to escape the death
threats, for just a few hours . . . to be the less-mature, more-reckless Bella who could laugh it off with
Jacob, if only briefly. But that didn ’t matter.

“Bella, ” Edward said. “I told you that I was going to be reasonable and trust your judgment. I meant that.
If you trust the werewolves, then I ’m not going to worry about them. ”

“Wow,” I said, as I had last night.

“And Jacob’s right — about one thing, anyway — a pack of werewolves ought to be enough to protect
even you for one evening. ”

“Are you sure? ”

“Of course. Only . . . ”

I braced myself.

“I hope you won ’t mind taking a few precautions? Allowing me to drive you to the boundary line, for
one. And then taking a cell phone, so that I ’ll know when to pick you up? ”

“That sounds . . . very reasonable. ”

“Excellent. ”

He smiled at me, and I could see no trace of apprehension in his jewel-like eyes.

To no one ’s surprise, Charlie had no problem at all with me going to La Push for a bonfire. Jacob
crowed with undisguised exultation when I called to give him the news, and he seemed eager enough to
embrace Edward ’s safety measures. He promised to meet us at the line between territories at six.




I had decided, after a short internal debate, that I would not sell my motorcycle. I would take it back to
La Push where it belonged and, when I no longer needed it anymore . . . well, then, I would insist that
Jacob profit from his work somehow. He could sell it or give it to a friend. It didn ’t matter to me.

Tonight seemed like a good opportunity to return the bike to Jacob ’s garage. As gloomy as I was feeling
about things lately, every day seemed like a possible last chance. I didn ’t have time to procrastinate any
task, no matter how minor.

Edward only nodded when I explained what I wanted, but I thought I saw a flicker of consternation in his
eyes, and I knew he was no happier about the idea of me on a motorcycle than Charlie was.

I followed him back to his house, to the garage where I ’d left the bike. It wasn ’t until I pulled the truck in
and got out that I realized the consternation might not be entirely about my safety this time.

Next to my little antique motorcycle, overshadowing it, was another vehicle. To call this other vehicle a
motorcycle hardly seemed fair, since it didn ’t seem to belong to the same family as my suddenly
shabby-looking bike.

It was big and sleek and silver and — even totally motionless — it looked fast.

“What is that?”

“Nothing, ” Edward murmured.

“It doesn ’t look like nothing. ”

Edward’s expression was casual; he seemed determined to blow it off. “Well, I didn ’t know if you were
going to forgive your friend, or he you, and I wondered if you would still want to ride your bike anyway.
It sounded like it was something that you enjoyed. I thought I could go with you, if you wished. ” He
shrugged.

I stared at the beautiful machine. Beside it, my bike looked like a broken tricycle. I felt a sudden wave of
sadness when I realized that this was not a bad analogy for the way I probably looked next to Edward.

“I wouldn ’t be able to keep up with you, ” I whispered.

Edward put his hand under my chin and pulled my face around so that he could see it straight on. With
one finger, he tried to push the corner of my mouth up.

“I’d keep pace with you, Bella. ”

“That wouldn ’t be much fun for you. ”

“Of course it would, if we were together. ”

I bit my lip and imagined it for a moment. “Edward, if you thought I was going too fast or losing control
of the bike or something, what would you do? ”

He hesitated, obviously trying to find the right answer. I knew the truth: he ’d find some way to save me
before I crashed.

Then he smiled. It looked effortless, except for the tiny defensive tightening of his eyes.

“This is something you do with Jacob. I see that now. ”




“It’s just that, well, I don ’t slow him down so much, you know. I could try, I guess. . . . ”

I eyed the silver motorcycle doubtfully.

“Don’t worry about it, ” Edward said, and then he laughed lightly. “I saw Jasper admiring it. Perhaps it ’s
time he discovered a new way to travel. After all, Alice has her Porsche now. ”

“Edward, I —”

He interrupted me with a quick kiss. “I said not to worry. But would you do something for me? ”

“Whatever you need, ” I promised quickly.

He dropped my face and leaned over the far side of the big motorcycle, retrieving something he had
stashed there.

He came back with one object that was black and shapeless, and another that was red and easily
identifiable.

“Please?” he asked, flashing the crooked smile that always destroyed my resistance.

I took the red helmet, weighing it in my hands. “I’ll look stupid. ”

“No, you’ll look smart. Smart enough not to get yourself hurt. ” He threw the black thing, whatever it
was, over his arm and then took my face in his hands. “There are things between my hands right now that
I can’t live without. You could take care of them. ”

“Okay, fine. What ’s that other thing? ” I asked suspiciously.

He laughed and shook out some kind of padded jacket. “It’s a riding jacket. I hear road rash is quite
uncomfortable, not that I would know myself. ”

He held it out for me. With a deep sigh, I flipped my hair back and stuffed the helmet on my head. Then I
shoved my arms through the sleeves of the jacket. He zipped me in, a smile playing around the corners of
his lips, and took a step back.

I felt bulky.

“Be honest, how hideous do I look? ”

He took another step back and pursed his lips.

“That bad, huh? ” I muttered.

“No, no, Bella. Actually . . . ” he seemed to be struggling for the right word. “You look . . . sexy. ”

I laughed out loud. “Right. ”

“Very sexy, really. ”

“You are just saying that so that I ’ll wear it, ” I said. “But that ’s okay. You ’re right, it ’s smarter. ”

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest. “You’re silly. I suppose that ’s part of
your charm. Though, I ’ll admit it, this helmet does have its drawbacks. ”

And then he pulled the helmet off so that he could kiss me.




As Edward drove me toward La Push a little while later, I realized that this unprecedented situation felt
oddly familiar. It took me a moment of thought to pinpoint the source of the déjà vu.

“You know what this reminds me of? ” I asked. “It’s just like when I was a kid and Renée would pass me
off to Charlie for the summer. I feel like a seven-year-old. ”

Edward laughed.

I didn ’t mention it out loud, but the biggest difference between the two circumstances was that Renée and
Charlie had been on better terms.

About halfway to La Push, we rounded the corner and found Jacob leaning against the side of the red
Volkswagen he ’d built for himself out of scraps. Jacob ’s carefully neutral expression dissolved into a
smile when I waved from the front seat.

Edward parked the Volvo thirty yards away.

“Call me whenever you ’re ready to come home, ” he said. “And I’ll be here. ”

“I won’t be out late, ” I promised.

Edward pulled the bike and my new gear out of the trunk of his car — I’d been quite impressed that it
had all fit. But it wasn ’t so hard to manage when you were strong enough to juggle full-sized vans, let
alone small motorcycles.

Jacob watched, making no move to approach, his smile gone and his dark eyes indecipherable.

I tucked the helmet under my arm and threw the jacket across the seat.

“Do you have it all? ” Edward asked.

“No problem, ” I assured him.

He sighed and leaned toward me. I turned my face up for a goodbye peck, but Edward took me by
surprise, fastening his arms tightly around me and kissing me with as much enthusiasm as he had in the
garage — before long, I was gasping for air.

Edward laughed quietly at something, and then let me go.

“Goodbye,” he said. “I really do like the jacket. ”

As I turned away from him, I thought I saw a flash of something in his eyes that I wasn ’t supposed to see.
I couldn ’t tell for sure what it was exactly. Worry, maybe. For a second I thought it was panic. But I was
probably just making something out of nothing, as usual.

I could feel his eyes on my back as I pushed my bike toward the invisible vampire-werewolf treaty line to
meet Jacob.

“What’s all that? ” Jacob called to me, his voice wary, scrutinizing the motorcycle with an enigmatic
expression.

“I thought I should put this back where it belongs, ” I told him.

He pondered that for one short second, and then his wide smile stretched across his face.




I knew the exact point that I was in werewolf territory because Jacob shoved away from his car and
loped quickly over to me, closing the distance in three long strides. He took the bike from me, balanced it
on the kickstand, and grabbed me up in another vice-tight hug.

I heard the Volvo ’s engine growl, and I struggled to get free.

“Cut it out, Jake! ” I gasped breathlessly.

He laughed and set me down. I turned to wave goodbye, but the silver car was already disappearing
around the curve in the road.

“Nice,” I commented, allowing some acid to leak into my voice.

His eyes widened in false innocence. “What?”

“He’s being pretty dang pleasant about this; you don ’t need to push your luck. ”

He laughed again, louder than before — he found what I ’d said very funny indeed. I tried to see the joke
as he walked around the Rabbit to hold my door open for me.

“Bella, ” he finally said — still chuckling — as he shut the door behind me, “you can ’t push what you don ’
t have. ”



11. LEGENDS

“ARE YOU GONNA EAT THAT HOT DOG? ” PAUL ASKED JAcob, his eyes locked on the last
remnant of the huge meal the werewolves had consumed.

Jacob leaned back against my knees and toyed with the hot dog he had spitted on a straightened wire
hanger; the flames at the edge of the bonfire licked along its blistered skin. He heaved a sigh and patted
his stomach. It was somehow still flat, though I ’d lost count of how many hot dogs he ’d eaten after his
tenth. Not to mention the super-sized bag of chips or the two-liter bottle of root beer.

“I guess, ” Jake said slowly. “I’m so full I ’m about to puke, but I think I can force it down. I won ’t enjoy
it at all, though. ” He sighed again sadly.

Despite the fact that Paul had eaten at least as much as Jacob, he glowered and his hands balled up into
fists.

“Sheesh. ” Jacob laughed. “Kidding, Paul. Here. ”

He flipped the homemade skewer across the circle. I expected it to land hot-dog-first in the sand, but
Paul caught it neatly on the right end without difficulty.

Hanging out with no one but extremely dexterous people all the time was going to give me a complex.

“Thanks, man, ” Paul said, already over his brief fit of temper.

The fire crackled, settling lower toward the sand. Sparks blew up in a sudden puff of brilliant orange
against the black sky. Funny, I hadn ’t noticed that the sun had set. For the first time, I wondered how
late it had gotten. I ’d lost track of time completely.




It was easier being with my Quileute friends than I ’d expected.

While Jacob and I had dropped off my bike at the garage — and he had admitted ruefully that the helmet
was a good idea that he should have thought of himself — I’d started to worry about showing up with
him at the bonfire, wondering if the werewolves would consider me a traitor now. Would they be angry
with Jacob for inviting me? Would I ruin the party?

But when Jacob had towed me out of the forest to the clifftop meeting place — where the fire already
roared brighter than the cloud-obscured sun — it had all been very casual and light.

“Hey, vampire girl! ” Embry had greeted me loudly. Quil had jumped up to give me a high five and kiss
me on the cheek. Emily had squeezed my hand when we ’d sat on the cool stone ground beside her and
Sam.

Other than a few teasing complaints — mostly by Paul — about keeping the bloodsucker stench
downwind, I was treated like someone who belonged.

It wasn ’t just kids in attendance, either. Billy was here, his wheelchair stationed at what seemed the
natural head of the circle. Beside him on a folding lawn chair, looking quite brittle, was Quil ’s ancient,
white-haired grandfather, Old Quil. Sue Clearwater, widow of Charlie ’s friend Harry, had a chair on his
other side; her two children, Leah and Seth, were also there, sitting on the ground like the rest of us. This
surprised me, but all three were clearly in on the secret now. From the way Billy and Old Quil spoke to
Sue, it sounded to me like she ’d taken Harry ’s place on the council. Did that make her children
automatic members of La Push ’s most secret society?

I wondered how horrible it was for Leah to sit across the circle from Sam and Emily. Her lovely face
betrayed no emotion, but she never looked away from the flames. Looking at the perfection of Leah ’s
features, I couldn ’t help but compare them to Emily ’s ruined face. What did Leah think of Emily ’s scars,
now that she knew the truth behind them? Did it seem like justice in her eyes?

Little Seth Clearwater wasn ’t so little anymore. With his huge, happy grin and his long, gangly build, he
reminded me very much of a younger Jacob. The resemblance made me smile, and then sigh. Was Seth
doomed to have his life change as drastically as the rest of these boys? Was that future why he and his
family were allowed to be here?

The whole pack was there: Sam with his Emily, Paul, Embry, Quil, and Jared with Kim, the girl he ’d
imprinted upon.

My first impression of Kim was that she was a nice girl, a little shy, and a little plain. She had a wide face,
mostly cheekbones, with eyes too small to balance them out. Her nose and mouth were both too broad
for traditional beauty. Her flat black hair was thin and wispy in the wind that never seemed to let up atop
the cliff.

That was my first impression. But after a few hours of watching Jared watch Kim, I could no longer find
anything plain about the girl.

The way he stared at her! It was like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. Like a collector finding
an undiscovered Da Vinci, like a mother looking into the face of her newborn child.

His wondering eyes made me see new things about her — how her skin looked like russet-colored silk in
the firelight, how the shape of her lips was a perfect double curve, how white her teeth were against
them, how long her eyelashes were, brushing her cheek when she looked down.




Kim ’s skin sometimes darkened when she met Jared ’s awed gaze, and her eyes would drop as if in
embarrassment, but she had a hard time keeping her eyes away from his for any length of time.

Watching them, I felt like I better understood what Jacob had told me about imprinting before — it’s
hard to resist that level of commitment and adoration.

Kim was nodding off now against Jared ’s chest, his arms around her. I imagined she would be very
warm there.

“It’s getting late, ” I murmured to Jacob.

“Don’t start that yet,” Jacob whispered back — though certainly half the group here had hearing
sensitive enough to hear us anyway. “The best part is coming. ”

“What’s the best part? You swallowing an entire cow whole? ”

Jacob chuckled his low, throaty laugh. “No. That’s the finale. We didn ’t meet just to eat through a week ’
s worth of food. This is technically a council meeting. It ’s Quil ’s first time, and he hasn ’t heard the stories
yet. Well, he ’s heard them, but this will be the first time he knows they ’re true. That tends to make a guy
pay closer attention. Kim and Seth and Leah are all first-timers, too. ”

“Stories? ”

Jacob scooted back beside me, where I rested against a low ridge of rock. He put his arm over my
shoulder and spoke even lower into my ear.

“The histories we always thought were legends, ” he said. “The stories of how we came to be. The first is
the story of the spirit warriors. ”

It was almost as if Jacob ’s soft whisper was the introduction. The atmosphere changed abruptly around
the low-burning fire. Paul and Embry sat up straighter. Jared nudged Kim and then pulled her gently
upright.

Emily produced a spiral-bound notebook and a pen, looking exactly like a student set for an important
lecture. Sam twisted just slightly beside her — so that he was facing the same direction as Old Quil, who
was on his other side — and suddenly I realized that the elders of the council here were not three, but
four in number.

Leah Clearwater, her face still a beautiful and emotionless mask, closed her eyes — not like she was
tired, but as if to help her concentration. Her brother leaned in toward the elders eagerly.

The fire crackled, sending another explosion of sparks glittering up against the night.

Billy cleared his throat, and, with no more introduction than his son ’s whisper, began telling the story in
his rich, deep voice. The words poured out with precision, as if he knew them by heart, but also with
feeling and a subtle rhythm. Like poetry performed by its author.

“The Quileutes have been a small people from the beginning, ” Billy said. “And we are a small people still,
but we have never disappeared. This is because there has always been magic in our blood. It wasn ’t
always the magic of shape-shifting — that came later. First, we were spirit warriors. ”

Never before had I recognized the ring of majesty that was in Billy Black ’s voice, though I realized now
that this authority had always been there.




Emily ’s pen sprinted across the sheets of paper as she tried to keep up with him.

“In the beginning, the tribe settled in this harbor and became skilled ship builders and fishermen. But the
tribe was small, and the harbor was rich in fish. There were others who coveted our land, and we were
too small to hold it. A larger tribe moved against us, and we took to our ships to escape them.

“Kaheleha was not the first spirit warrior, but we do not remember the stories that came before his. We
do not remember who was the first to discover this power, or how it had been used before this crisis.
Kaheleha was the first great Spirit Chief in our history. In this emergency, Kaheleha used the magic to
defend our land.

“He and all his warriors left the ship — not their bodies, but their spirits. Their women watched over the
bodies and the waves, and the men took their spirits back to our harbor.

“They could not physically touch the enemy tribe, but they had other ways. The stories tell us that they
could blow fierce winds into their enemy ’s camps; they could make a great screaming in the wind that
terrified their foes. The stories also tell us that the animals could see the spirit warriors and understand
them; the animals would do their bidding.

“Kaheleha took his spirit army and wreaked havoc on the intruders. This invading tribe had packs of big,
thick-furred dogs that they used to pull their sleds in the frozen north. The spirit warriors turned the dogs
against their masters and then brought a mighty infestation of bats up from the cliff caverns. They used the
screaming wind to aid the dogs in confusing the men. The dogs and bats won. The survivors scattered,
calling our harbor a cursed place. The dogs ran wild when the spirit warriors released them. The
Quileutes returned to their bodies and their wives, victorious.

“The other nearby tribes, the Hohs and the Makahs, made treaties with the Quileutes. They wanted
nothing to do with our magic. We lived in peace with them. When an enemy came against us, the spirit
warriors would drive them off.

“Generations passed. Then came the last great Spirit Chief, Taha Aki. He was known for his wisdom,
and for being a man of peace. The people lived well and content in his care.

“But there was one man, Utlapa, who was not content. ”

A low hiss ran around the fire. I was too slow to see where it came from. Billy ignored it and went on
with the legend.

“Utlapa was one of Chief Taha Aki ’s strongest spirit warriors — a powerful man, but a grasping man,
too. He thought the people should use their magic to expand their lands, to enslave the Hohs and the
Makahs and build an empire.

“Now, when the warriors were their spirit selves, they knew each other ’s thoughts. Taha Aki saw what
Utlapa dreamed, and was angry with Utlapa. Utlapa was commanded to leave the people, and never use
his spirit self again. Utlapa was a strong man, but the chief ’s warriors outnumbered him. He had no
choice but to leave. The furious outcast hid in the forest nearby, waiting for a chance to get revenge
against the chief.

“Even in times of peace, the Spirit Chief was vigilant in protecting his people. Often, he would go to a
sacred, secret place in the mountains. He would leave his body behind and sweep down through the
forests and along the coast, making sure no threat approached.

“One day when Taha Aki left to perform this duty, Utlapa followed. At first, Utlapa simply planned to kill




the chief, but this plan had its drawbacks. Surely the spirit warriors would seek to destroy him, and they
could follow faster than he could escape. As he hid in the rocks and watched the chief prepare to leave
his body, another plan occurred to him.

“Taha Aki left his body in the secret place and flew with the winds to keep watch over his people. Utlapa
waited until he was sure the chief had traveled some distance with his spirit self.

“Taha Aki knew it the instant that Utlapa had joined him in the spirit world, and he also knew Utlapa ’s
murderous plan. He raced back to his secret place, but even the winds weren ’t fast enough to save him.
When he returned, his body was already gone. Utlapa ’s body lay abandoned, but Utlapa had not left
Taha Aki with an escape — he had cut his own body ’s throat with Taha Aki ’s hands.

“Taha Aki followed his body down the mountain. He screamed at Utlapa, but Utlapa ignored him as if he
were mere wind.

“Taha Aki watched with despair as Utlapa took his place as chief of the Quileutes. For a few weeks,
Utlapa did nothing but make sure that everyone believed he was Taha Aki. Then the changes began —
Utlapa ’s first edict was to forbid any warrior to enter the spirit world. He claimed that he ’d had a vision
of danger, but really he was afraid. He knew that Taha Aki would be waiting for the chance to tell his
story. Utlapa was also afraid to enter the spirit world himself, knowing Taha Aki would quickly claim his
body. So his dreams of conquest with a spirit warrior army were impossible, and he sought to content
himself with ruling over the tribe. He became a burden — seeking privileges that Taha Aki had never
requested, refusing to work alongside his warriors, taking a young second wife and then a third, though
Taha Aki ’s wife lived on — something unheard of in the tribe. Taha Aki watched in helpless fury.

“Eventually, Taha Aki tried to kill his body to save the tribe from Utlapa ’s excesses. He brought a fierce
wolf down from the mountains, but Utlapa hid behind his warriors. When the wolf killed a young man
who was protecting the false chief, Taha Aki felt horrible grief. He ordered the wolf away.

“All the stories tell us that it was no easy thing to be a spirit warrior. It was more frightening than
exhilarating to be freed from one ’s body. This is why they only used their magic in times of need. The
chief ’s solitary journeys to keep watch were a burden and a sacrifice. Being bodiless was disorienting,
uncomfortable, horrifying. Taha Aki had been away from his body for so long at this point that he was in
agony. He felt he was doomed — never to cross over to the final land where his ancestors waited, stuck
in this torturous nothingness forever.

“The great wolf followed Taha Aki ’s spirit as he twisted and writhed in agony through the woods. The
wolf was very large for its kind, and beautiful. Taha Aki was suddenly jealous of the dumb animal. At
least it had a body. At least it had a life. Even life as an animal would be better than this horrible empty
consciousness.

“And then Taha Aki had the idea that changed us all. He asked the great wolf to make room for him, to
share. The wolf complied. Taka Aki entered the wolf ’s body with relief and gratitude. It was not his
human body, but it was better than the void of the spirit world.

“As one, the man and the wolf returned to the village on the harbor. The people ran in fear, shouting for
the warriors to come. The warriors ran to meet the wolf with their spears. Utlapa, of course, stayed
safely hidden.

“Taha Aki did not attack his warriors. He retreated slowly from them, speaking with his eyes and trying
to yelp the songs of his people. The warriors began to realize that the wolf was no ordinary animal, that
there was a spirit influencing it. One older warrior, a man name Yut, decided to disobey the false chief ’s
order and try to communicate with the wolf.




“As soon as Yut crossed to the spirit world, Taha Aki left the wolf — the animal waited tamely for his
return — to speak to him. Yut gathered the truth in an instant, and welcomed his true chief home.

“At this time, Utlapa came to see if the wolf had been defeated. When he saw Yut lying lifeless on the
ground, surrounded by protective warriors, he realized what was happening. He drew his knife and raced
forward to kill Yut before he could return to his body.

“‘Traitor, ’ he screamed, and the warriors did not know what to do. The chief had forbidden spirit
journeys, and it was the chief ’s decision how to punish those who disobeyed.

“Yut jumped back into his body, but Utlapa had his knife at his throat and a hand covering his mouth.
Taha Aki ’s body was strong, and Yut was weak with age. Yut could not say even one word to warn the
others before Utlapa silenced him forever.

“Taha Aki watched as Yut ’s spirit slipped away to the final lands that were barred to Taha Aki for all
eternity. He felt a great rage, more powerful than anything he ’d felt before. He entered the big wolf again,
meaning to rip Utlapa ’s throat out. But, as he joined the wolf, the greatest magic happened.

“Taha Aki ’s anger was the anger of a man. The love he had for his people and the hatred he had for their
oppressor were too vast for the wolf ’s body, too human. The wolf shuddered, and — before the eyes of
the shocked warriors and Utlapa — transformed into a man.

“The new man did not look like Taha Aki ’s body. He was far more glorious. He was the flesh
interpretation of Taha Aki ’s spirit. The warriors recognized him at once, though, for they had flown with
Taha Aki ’s spirit.

“Utlapa tried to run, but Taha Aki had the strength of the wolf in his new body. He caught the thief and
crushed the spirit from him before he could jump out of the stolen body.

“The people rejoiced when they understood what had happened. Taha Aki quickly set everything right,
working again with his people and giving the young wives back to their families. The only change he kept
in place was the end of the spirit travels. He knew that it was too dangerous now that the idea of stealing
a life was there. The spirit warriors were no more.

“From that point on, Taha Aki was more than either wolf or man. They called him Taha Aki the Great
Wolf, or Taha Aki the Spirit Man. He led the tribe for many, many years, for he did not age. When
danger threatened, he would resume his wolf-self to fight or frighten the enemy. The people dwelt in
peace. Taha Aki fathered many sons, and some of these found that, after they had reached the age of
manhood, they, too, could transform into wolves. The wolves were all different, because they were spirit
wolves and reflected the man they were inside. ”

“So that’s why Sam is all black, ” Quil muttered under his breath, grinning. “Black heart, black fur. ”

I was so involved in the story, it was a shock to come back to the present, to the circle around the dying
fire. With another shock, I realized that the circle was made up of Taha Aki ’s great — to however many
degrees — grandsons.

The fire threw a volley of sparks into the sky, and they shivered and danced, making shapes that were
almost decipherable.

“And your chocolate fur reflects what? ” Sam whispered back to Quil. “How sweet you are? ”

Billy ignored their jibes. “Some of the sons became warriors with Taha Aki, and they no longer aged.
Others, who did not like the transformation, refused to join the pack of wolf-men. These began to age




again, and the tribe discovered that the wolf-men could grow old like anyone else if they gave up their
spirit wolves. Taha Aki had lived the span of three old men ’s lives. He had married a third wife after the
deaths of the first two, and found in her his true spirit wife. Though he had loved the others, this was
something else. He decided to give up his spirit wolf so that he would die when she did.

“That is how the magic came to us, but it is not the end of the story. . . . ”

He looked at Old Quil Ateara, who shifted in his chair, straightening his frail shoulders. Billy took a drink
from a bottle of water and wiped his forehead. Emily ’s pen never hesitated as she scribbled furiously on
the paper.

“That was the story of the spirit warriors, ” Old Quil began in a thin tenor voice. “This is the story of the
third wife ’s sacrifice.

“Many years after Taha Aki gave up his spirit wolf, when he was an old man, trouble began in the north,
with the Makahs. Several young women of their tribe had disappeared, and they blamed it on the
neighboring wolves, who they feared and mistrusted. The wolf-men could still read each other ’s thoughts
while in their wolf forms, just like their ancestors had while in their spirit forms. They knew that none of
their number was to blame. Taha Aki tried to pacify the Makah chief, but there was too much fear. Taha
Aki did not want to have a war on his hands. He was no longer a warrior to lead his people. He charged
his oldest wolf-son, Taha Wi, with finding the true culprit before hostilities began.

“Taha Wi led the five other wolves in his pack on a search through the mountains, looking for any
evidence of the missing Makahs. They came across something they had never encountered before — a
strange, sweet scent in the forest that burned their noses to the point of pain. ”

I shrank a little closer to Jacob ’s side. I saw the corner of his mouth twitch with humor, and his arm
tightened around me.

“They did not know what creature would leave such a scent, but they followed it, ” Old Quil continued.
His quavering voice did not have the majesty of Billy ’s, but it had a strange, fierce edge of urgency about
it. My pulse jumped as his words came faster.

“They found faint traces of human scent, and human blood, along the trail. They were sure this was the
enemy they were searching for.

“The journey took them so far north that Taha Wi sent half the pack, the younger ones, back to the
harbor to report to Taha Aki.

“Taha Wi and his two brothers did not return.

“The younger brothers searched for their elders, but found only silence. Taha Aki mourned for his sons.
He wished to avenge his sons ’ death, but he was old. He went to the Makah chief in his mourning clothes
and told him everything that had happened. The Makah chief believed his grief, and tensions ended
between the tribes.

“A year later, two Makah maidens disappeared from their homes on the same night. The Makahs called
on the Quileute wolves at once, who found the same sweet stink all through the Makah village. The
wolves went on the hunt again.

“Only one came back. He was Yaha Uta, the oldest son of Taka Aki ’s third wife, and the youngest in the
pack. He brought something with him that had never been seen in all the days of the Quileutes — a
strange, cold, stony corpse that he carried in pieces. All who were of Taha Aki ’s blood, even those who




had never been wolves, could smell the piercing smell of the dead creature. This was the enemy of the
Makahs.

“Yaha Uta described what had happened: he and his brothers had found the creature, who looked like a
man but was hard as a granite rock, with the two Makah daughters. One girl was already dead, white
and bloodless on the ground. The other was in the creature ’s arms, his mouth at her throat. She may have
been alive when they came upon the hideous scene, but the creature quickly snapped her neck and
tossed her lifeless body to the ground when they approached. His white lips were covered in her blood,
and his eyes glowed red.

“Yaha Uta described the fierce strength and speed of the creature. One of his brothers quickly became a
victim when he underestimated that strength. The creature ripped him apart like a doll. Yaha Uta and his
other brother were more wary. They worked together, coming at the creature from the sides,
outmaneuvering it. They had to reach the very limits of their wolf strength and speed, something that had
never been tested before. The creature was hard as stone and cold as ice. They found that only their
teeth could damage it. They began to rip small pieces of the creature apart while it fought them.

“But the creature learned quickly, and soon was matching their maneuvers. It got its hands on Yaha Uta ’s
brother. Yaha Uta found an opening on the creature ’s throat, and he lunged. His teeth tore the head off
the creature, but the hands continued to mangle his brother.

“Yaha Uta ripped the creature into unrecognizable chunks, tearing pieces apart in a desperate attempt to
save his brother. He was too late, but, in the end, the creature was destroyed.

“Or so they thought. Yaha Uta laid the reeking remains out to be examined by the elders. One severed
hand lay beside a piece of the creature ’s granite arm. The two pieces touched when the elders poked
them with sticks, and the hand reached out towards the arm piece, trying to reassemble itself.

“Horrified, the elders set fire to the remains. A great cloud of choking, vile smoke polluted the air. When
there was nothing but ashes, they separated the ashes into many small bags and spread them far and
wide — some in the ocean, some in the forest, some in the cliff caverns. Taha Aki wore one bag around
his neck, so he would be warned if the creature ever tried to put himself together again. ”

Old Quil paused and looked at Billy. Billy pulled out a leather thong from around his neck. Hanging from
the end was a small bag, blackened with age. A few people gasped. I might have been one of them.

“They called it The Cold One, the Blood Drinker, and lived in fear that it was not alone. They only had
one wolf protector left, young Yaha Uta.

“They did not have long to wait. The creature had a mate, another blood drinker, who came to the
Quileutes seeking revenge.

“The stories say that the Cold Woman was the most beautiful thing human eyes had ever seen. She
looked like the goddess of the dawn when she entered the village that morning; the sun was shining for
once, and it glittered off her white skin and lit the golden hair that flowed down to her knees. Her face
was magical in its beauty, her eyes black in her white face. Some fell to their knees to worship her.

“She asked something in a high, piercing voice, in a language no one had ever heard. The people were
dumbfounded, not knowing how to answer her. There was none of Taha Aki ’s blood among the
witnesses but one small boy. He clung to his mother and screamed that the smell was hurting his nose.
One of the elders, on his way to council, heard the boy and realized what had come among them. He
yelled for the people to run. She killed him first.




“There were twenty witnesses to the Cold Woman ’s approach. Two survived, only because she grew
distracted by the blood, and paused to sate her thirst. They ran to Taha Aki, who sat in counsel with the
other elders, his sons, and his third wife.

“Yaha Uta transformed into his spirit wolf as soon as he heard the news. He went to destroy the blood
drinker alone. Taha Aki, his third wife, his sons, and his elders followed behind him.

“At first they could not find the creature, only the evidence of her attack. Bodies lay broken, a few
drained of blood, strewn across the road where she ’d appeared. Then they heard the screams and
hurried to the harbor.

“A handful of the Quileutes had run to the ships for refuge. She swam after them like a shark, and broke
the bow of their boat with her incredible strength. When the ship sank, she caught those trying to swim
away and broke them, too.

“She saw the great wolf on the shore, and she forgot the fleeing swimmers. She swam so fast she was a
blur and came, dripping and glorious, to stand before Yaha Uta. She pointed at him with one white finger
and asked another incomprehensible question. Yaha Uta waited.

“It was a close fight. She was not the warrior her mate had been. But Yaha Uta was alone — there was
no one to distract her fury from him.

“When Yaha Uta lost, Taha Aki screamed in defiance. He limped forward and shifted into an ancient,
white-muzzled wolf. The wolf was old, but this was Taha Aki the Spirit Man, and his rage made him
strong. The fight began again.

“Taha Aki ’s third wife had just seen her son die before her. Now her husband fought, and she had no
hope that he could win. She ’d heard every word the witnesses to the slaughter had told the council. She ’
d heard the story of Yaha Uta ’s first victory, and knew that his brother ’s diversion had saved him.

“The third wife grabbed a knife from the belt of one of the sons who stood beside her. They were all
young sons, not yet men, and she knew they would die when their father failed.

“The third wife ran toward the Cold Woman with the dagger raised high. The Cold Woman smiled,
barely distracted from her fight with the old wolf. She had no fear of the weak human woman or the knife
that would not even scratch her skin, and she was about to deliver the death blow to Taha Aki.

“And then the third wife did something the Cold Woman did not expect. She fell to her knees at the
blood drinker ’s feet and plunged the knife into her own heart.

“Blood spurted through the third wife ’s fingers and splashed against the Cold Woman. The blood drinker
could not resist the lure of the fresh blood leaving the third wife ’s body. Instinctively, she turned to the
dying woman, for one second entirely consumed by thirst.

“Taha Aki ’s teeth closed around her neck.

“That was not the end of the fight, but Taha Aki was not alone now. Watching their mother die, two
young sons felt such rage that they sprang forth as their spirit wolves, though they were not yet men. With
their father, they finished the creature.

“Taha Aki never rejoined the tribe. He never changed back to a man again. He lay for one day beside
the body of the third wife, growling whenever anyone tried to touch her, and then he went into the forest
and never returned.




“Trouble with the cold ones was rare from that time on. Taha Aki ’s sons guarded the tribe until their sons
were old enough to take their places. There were never more than three wolves at a time. It was enough.
Occasionally a blood drinker would come through these lands, but they were taken by surprise, not
expecting the wolves. Sometimes a wolf would die, but never were they decimated again like that first
time. They ’d learned how to fight the cold ones, and they passed the knowledge on, wolf mind to wolf
mind, spirit to spirit, father to son.

“Time passed, and the descendants of Taha Aki no longer became wolves when they reached manhood.
Only in a great while, if a cold one was near, would the wolves return. The cold ones always came in
ones and twos, and the pack stayed small.

“A bigger coven came, and your own great-grandfathers prepared to fight them off. But the leader spoke
to Ephraim Black as if he were a man, and promised not to harm the Quileutes. His strange yellow eyes
gave some proof to his claim that they were not the same as other blood drinkers. The wolves were
outnumbered; there was no need for the cold ones to offer a treaty when they could have won the fight.
Ephraim accepted. They ’ve stayed true to their side, though their presence does tend to draw in others.

“And their numbers have forced a larger pack than the tribe has ever seen, ” Old Quil said, and for one
moment his black eyes, all but buried in the wrinkles of skin folded around them, seemed to rest on me. “
Except, of course, in Taha Aki ’s time, ” he said, and then he sighed. “And so the sons of our tribe again
carry the burden and share the sacrifice their fathers endured before them. ”

All was silent for a long moment. The living descendants of magic and legend stared at one another
across the fire with sadness in their eyes. All but one.

“Burden, ” he scoffed in a low voice. “I think it ’s cool.” Quil ’s full lower lip pouted out a little bit.

Across the dying fire, Seth Clearwater — his eyes wide with adulation for the fraternity of tribal
protectors — nodded his agreement.

Billy chuckled, low and long, and the magic seemed to fade into the glowing embers. Suddenly, it was
just a circle of friends again. Jared flicked a small stone at Quil, and everyone laughed when it made him
jump. Low conversations murmured around us, teasing and casual.

Leah Clearwater ’s eyes did not open. I thought I saw something sparkling on her cheek like a tear, but
when I looked back a moment later it was gone.

Neither Jacob nor I spoke. He was so still beside me, his breath so deep and even, that I thought he
might be close to sleep.

My mind was a thousand years away. I was not thinking of Yaha Uta or the other wolves, or the
beautiful Cold Woman — I could picture her only too easily. No, I was thinking of someone outside the
magic altogether. I was trying to imagine the face of the unnamed woman who had saved the entire tribe,
the third wife.

Just a human woman, with no special gifts or powers. Physically weaker and slower than any of the
monsters in the story. But she had been the key, the solution. She ’d saved her husband, her young sons,
her tribe.

I wish they ’d remembered her name. . . .

Something shook my arm.

“C’mon, Bells, ” Jacob said in my ear. “We’re here.”




I blinked, confused because the fire seemed to have disappeared. I glared into the unexpected darkness,
trying to make sense of my surroundings. It took me a minute to realize that I was no longer on the cliff.
Jacob and I were alone. I was still under his arm, but I wasn ’t on the ground anymore.

How did I get in Jacob ’s car?

“Oh, crap!” I gasped as I realized that I had fallen asleep. “How late is it? Dang it, where ’s that stupid
phone? ” I patted my pockets, frantic and coming up empty.

“Easy. It ’s not even midnight yet. And I already called him for you. Look — he’s waiting there. ”

“Midnight? ” I repeated stupidly, still disoriented. I stared into the darkness, and my heartbeat picked up
when my eyes made out the shape of the Volvo, thirty yards away. I reached for the door handle.

“Here,” Jacob said, and he put a small shape into my other hand. The phone.

“You called Edward for me? ”

My eyes were adjusted enough to see the bright gleam of Jacob ’s smile. “I figured if I played nice, I ’d
get more time with you. ”

“Thanks, Jake, ” I said, touched. “Really, thank you. And thanks for inviting me tonight. That was . . . ”
Words failed me. “Wow. That was something else. ”

“And you didn ’t even stay up to watch me swallow a cow. ” He laughed. “No, I’m glad you liked it. It
was . . . nice for me. Having you there. ”

There was a movement in the dark distance — something pale ghosting against the black trees. Pacing?

“Yeah, he ’s not so patient, is he? ” Jacob said, noticing my distraction. “Go ahead. But come back soon,
okay?”

“Sure, Jake,” I promised, cracking the car door open. Cold air washed across my legs and made me
shiver.

“Sleep tight, Bells. Don ’t worry about anything — I’ll be watching out for you tonight. ”

I paused, one foot on the ground. “No, Jake. Get some rest, I ’ll be fine. ”

“Sure, sure, ” he said, but he sounded more patronizing than agreeing.

“’Night, Jake. Thanks. ”

“’Night, Bella, ” he whispered as I hurried into the darkness.

Edward caught me at the boundary line.

“Bella, ” he said, relief strong in his voice; his arms wound tightly around me.

“Hi. Sorry I ’m so late. I fell asleep and —”

“I know. Jacob explained. ” He started toward the car, and I staggered woodenly at his side. “Are you
tired? I could carry you. ”

“I’m fine. ”




“Let’s get you home and in bed. Did you have a nice time? ”

“Yeah — it was amazing, Edward. I wish you could have come. I can ’t even explain it. Jake ’s dad told
us the old legends and it was like . . . like magic. ”

“You’ll have to tell me about it. After you ’ve slept. ”

“I won’t get it right, ” I said, and then I yawned hugely.

Edward chuckled. He opened my door for me, lifted me in, and buckled my seat belt around me.

Bright lights flashed on and swept across us. I waved toward Jacob ’s headlights, but I didn ’t know if he
saw the gesture.

That night — after I ’d gotten past Charlie, who didn ’t give me as much trouble as I ’d expected because
Jacob had called him, too — instead of collapsing in bed right away, I leaned out the open window while
I waited for Edward to come back. The night was surprisingly cold, almost wintry. I hadn ’t noticed it at
all on the windy cliffs; I imagined that had less to do with the fire than it did with sitting next to Jacob.

Icy droplets spattered against my face as the rain began to fall.

It was too dark to see much besides the black triangles of the spruces leaning and shaking with the wind.
But I strained my eyes anyway, searching for other shapes in the storm. A pale silhouette, moving like a
ghost through the black . . . or maybe the shadowy outline of an enormous wolf. . . . My eyes were too
weak.

Then there was a movement in the night, right beside me. Edward slid through my open window, his
hands colder than the rain.

“Is Jacob out there? ” I asked, shivering as Edward pulled me into the circle of his arm.

“Yes . . . somewhere. And Esme ’s on her way home. ”

I sighed. “It’s so cold and wet. This is silly. ” I shivered again.

He chuckled. “It’s only cold to you, Bella. ”

It was cold in my dream that night, too, maybe because I slept in Edward ’s arms. But I dreamt I was
outside in the storm, the wind whipping my hair in my face and blinding my eyes. I stood on the rocky
crescent of First Beach, trying to understand the quickly moving shapes I could only dimly see in the
darkness at the shore ’s edge. At first, there was nothing but a flash of white and black, darting toward
each other and dancing away. And then, as if the moon had suddenly broken from the clouds, I could see
everything.

Rosalie, her hair swinging wet and golden down to the back of her knees, was lunging at an enormous
wolf — its muzzle shot through with silver — that I instinctively recognized as Billy Black.

I broke into a run, but found myself moving in the frustrating slow motion of dreamers. I tried to scream
to them, to tell them to stop, but my voice was stolen by the wind, and I could make no sound. I waved
my arms, hoping to catch their attention. Something flashed in my hand, and I noticed for the first time
that my right hand wasn ’t empty.

I held a long, sharp blade, ancient and silver, crusted in dried, blackened blood.

I cringed away from the knife, and my eyes snapped open to the quiet darkness of my bedroom. The first




thing I realized was that I was not alone, and I turned to bury my face in Edward ’s chest, knowing the
sweet scent of his skin would chase the nightmare away more effectively than anything else.

“Did I wake you? ” he whispered. There was the sound of paper, the ruffling of pages, and a faint thump
as something light fell to the wooden floor.

“No,” I mumbled, sighing in contentment as his arms tightened around me. “I had a bad dream. ”

“Do you want to tell me about it? ”

I shook my head. “Too tired. Maybe in the morning, if I remember. ”

I felt a silent laugh shake through him.

“In the morning, ” he agreed.

“What were you reading? ” I muttered, not really awake at all.

“Wuthering Heights,” he said.

I frowned sleepily. “I thought you didn ’t like that book. ”

“You left it out, ” he murmured, his soft voice lulling me toward unconsciousness. “Besides . . . the more
time I spend with you, the more human emotions seem comprehensible to me. I ’m discovering that I can
sympathize with Heathcliff in ways I didn ’t think possible before. ”

“Mmm, ” I sighed.

He said something else, something low, but I was already asleep.

The next morning dawned pearl gray and still. Edward asked me about my dream, but I couldn ’t get a
handle on it. I only remembered that I was cold, and that I was glad he was there when I woke up. He
kissed me, long enough to get my pulse racing, and then headed home to change and get his car.

I dressed quickly, low on options. Whoever had ransacked my hamper had critically impaired my
wardrobe. If it wasn ’t so frightening, it would be seriously annoying.

As I was about to head down for breakfast, I noticed my battered copy of Wuthering Heights lying
open on the floor where Edward had dropped it in the night, holding his place the way the damaged
binding always held mine.

I picked it up curiously, trying to remember what he ’d said. Something about feeling sympathy for
Heathcliff, of all people. That couldn ’t be right; I must have dreamed that part.

Three words on the open page caught my eye, and I bent my head to read the paragraph more closely. It
was Heathcliff speaking, and I knew the passage well.

And there you see the distinction between our feelings: had he been in my place and I in his,
though I hated him with a hatred that turned my life to gall, I never would have raised a hand
against him. You may look incredulous, if you please! I never would have banished him from her
society as long as she desired his. The moment her regard ceased, I would have torn his heart out,
and drank his blood! But, till then — if you don’t believe me, you don’t know me — till then, I
would have died by inches before I touched a single hair of his head!

The three words that had caught my eye were “drank his blood. ”




I shuddered.

Yes, surely I must have dreamt that Edward said anything positive about Heathcliff. And this page was
probably not the page he ’d been reading. The book could have fallen open to any page.



12. TIME

“I HAVE FORESEEN . . . , ” ALICE BEGAN IN AN OMINOUS tone.

Edward threw an elbow toward her ribs, which she neatly dodged.

“Fine, ” she grumbled. “Edward is making me do this. But I did foresee that you would be more difficult if
I surprised you. ”

We were walking to the car after school, and I was completely clueless as to what she was talking about.

“In English? ” I requested.

“Don’t be a baby about this. No tantrums. ”

“Now I’m scared. ”

“So you’re — I mean we’re — having a graduation party. It ’s no big thing. Nothing to freak out over.
But I saw that you would freak out if I tried to make it a surprise party ” — she danced out of the way as
Edward reached over to muss her hair — “and Edward said I had to tell you. But it ’s nothing. Promise. ”

I sighed heavily. “Is there any point in arguing? ”

“None at all. ”

“Okay, Alice. I ’ll be there. And I ’ll hate every minute of it. Promise. ”

“That ’s the spirit! By the way, I love my gift. You shouldn ’t have. ”

“Alice, I didn ’t!”

“Oh, I know that. But you will. ”

I racked my brains in panic, trying to remember what I ’d ever decided to get her for graduation that she
might have seen.

“Amazing, ” Edward muttered. “How can someone so tiny be so annoying? ”

Alice laughed. “It’s a talent. ”

“Couldn ’t you have waited a few weeks to tell me about this? ” I asked petulantly. “Now I’ll just be
stressed that much longer. ”

Alice frowned at me.

“Bella, ” she said slowly. “Do you know what day it is? ”




“Monday? ”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes. It is Monday . . . the fourth. ” She grabbed my elbow, spun me halfway
around, and pointed toward a big yellow poster taped to the gym door. There, in sharp black letters, was
the date of graduation. Exactly one week from today.

“It’s the fourth? Of June? Are you sure? ”

Neither one answered. Alice just shook her head sadly, feigning disappointment, and Edward ’s
eyebrows lifted.

“It can’t be! How did that happen? ” I tried to count backwards in my head, but I couldn ’t figure out
where the days had gone.

I felt like someone had kicked my legs out from under me. The weeks of stress, of worry . . . somehow
in the middle of all my obsessing over the time, my time had disappeared. My space for sorting through it
all, for making plans, had vanished. I was out of time.

And I wasn ’t ready.

I didn ’t know how to do this. How to say goodbye to Charlie and Renée . . . to Jacob . . . to being
human.

I knew exactly what I wanted, but I was suddenly terrified of getting it.

In theory, I was anxious, even eager to trade mortality for immortality. After all, it was the key to staying
with Edward forever. And then there was the fact that I was being hunted by known and unknown
parties. I ’d rather not sit around, helpless and delicious, waiting for one of them to catch up with me.

In theory, that all made sense.

In practice . . . being human was all I knew. The future beyond that was a big, dark abyss that I couldn ’t
know until I leaped into it.

This simple knowledge, today ’s date — which was so obvious that I must have been subconsciously
repressing it — made the deadline I ’d been impatiently counting down toward feel like a date with the
firing squad.

In a vague way, I was aware of Edward holding the car door for me, of Alice chattering from the
backseat, of the rain hammering against the windshield. Edward seemed to realize I was only there in
body; he didn ’t try to pull me out of my abstraction. Or maybe he did, and I was past noticing.

We ended up at my house, where Edward led me to the sofa and pulled me down next to him. I stared
out the window, into the liquid gray haze, and tried to find where my resolve had gone. Why was I
panicking now? I ’d known the deadline was coming. Why should it frighten me that it was here?

I don’t know how long he let me stare out the window in silence. But the rain was disappearing into
darkness when it was finally too much for him.

He put his cold hands on either side of my face and fixed his golden eyes on mine.

“Would you please tell me what you are thinking? Before I go mad? ”

What could I say to him? That I was a coward? I searched for words.




“Your lips are white. Talk, Bella. ”

I exhaled in a big gust. How long had I been holding my breath?

“The date took me off guard, ” I whispered. “That ’s all. ”

He waited, his face full of worry and skepticism.

I tried to explain. “I’m not sure what to do . . . what to tell Charlie . . . what to say . . . how to . . . ” My
voice trailed off.

“This isn ’t about the party? ”

I frowned. “No. But thanks for reminding me. ”

The rain was louder as he read my face.

“You’re not ready, ” he whispered.

“I am,” I lied immediately, a reflex reaction. I could tell he saw through it, so I took a deep breath, and
told the truth. “I have to be. ”

“You don ’t have to be anything. ”

I could feel the panic surfacing in my eyes as I mouthed the reasons. “Victoria, Jane, Caius, whoever was
in my room . . . ! ”

“All the more reason to wait. ”

“That doesn ’t make any sense, Edward! ”

He pressed his hands more tightly to my face and spoke with slow deliberation.

“Bella. Not one of us had a choice. You ’ve seen what it ’s done . . . to Rosalie especially. We ’ve all
struggled, trying to reconcile ourselves with something we had no control over. I won ’t let it be that way
for you. You will have a choice. ”

“I’ve already made my choice. ”

“You aren ’t going through with this because a sword is hanging over your head. We will take care of the
problems, and I will take care of you, ” he vowed. “When we ’re through it, and there is nothing forcing
your hand, then you can decide to join me, if you still want to. But not because you ’re afraid. You won ’t
be forced into this. ”

“Carlisle promised, ” I mumbled, contrary out of habit. “After graduation. ”

“Not until you ’re ready,” he said in a sure voice. “And definitely not while you feel threatened. ”

I didn ’t answer. I didn ’t have it in me to argue; I couldn ’t seem to find my commitment at the moment.

“There. ” He kissed my forehead. “Nothing to worry about. ”

I laughed a shaky laugh. “Nothing but impending doom. ”

“Trust me. ”




“I do.”

He was still watching my face, waiting for me to relax.

“Can I ask you something? ” I said.

“Anything. ”

I hesitated, biting my lip, and then asked a different question than the one I was worried about.

“What am I getting Alice for graduation? ”

He snickered. “It looked like you were getting us both concert tickets —”

“That ’s right! ” I was so relieved, I almost smiled. “The concert in Tacoma. I saw an ad in the paper last
week, and I thought it would be something you ’d like, since you said it was a good CD. ”

“It’s a great idea. Thank you. ”

“I hope it ’s not sold out. ”

“It’s the thought that counts. I ought to know. ”

I sighed.

“There ’s something else you meant to ask, ” he said.

I frowned. “You’re good.”

“I have lots of practice reading your face. Ask me. ”

I closed my eyes and leaned into him, hiding my face against his chest. “You don ’t want me to be a
vampire. ”

“No, I don’t,” he said softly, and then he waited for more. “That ’s not a question, ” he prompted after a
moment.

“Well . . . I was worrying about . . . why you feel that way. ”

“Worrying? ” He picked out the word with surprise.

“Would you tell me why? The whole truth, not sparing my feelings? ”

He hesitated for a minute. “If I answer your question, will you then explain your question? ”

I nodded, my face still hidden.

He took a deep breath before he answered. “You could do so much better, Bella. I know that you
believe I have a soul, but I ’m not entirely convinced on that point, and to risk yours . . . ” He shook his
head slowly. “For me to allow this — to let you become what I am just so that I ’ll never have to lose
you — is the most selfish act I can imagine. I want it more than anything, for myself. But for you, I want
so much more. Giving in — it feels criminal. It ’s the most selfish thing I ’ll ever do, even if I live forever.

“If there were any way for me to become human for you — no matter what the price was, I would pay it.
”




I sat very still, absorbing this.

Edward thought he was being selfish.

I felt the smile slowly spread across my face.

“So . . . it’s not that you ’re afraid you won ’t . . . like me as much when I ’m different — when I ’m not
soft and warm and I don ’t smell the same? You really do want to keep me, no matter how I turn out? ”

He exhaled sharply. “You were worried I wouldn ’t like you? ” he demanded. Then, before I could
answer, he was laughing. “Bella, for a fairly intuitive person, you can be so obtuse! ”

I knew he would think it silly, but I was relieved. If he really wanted me, I could get through the rest . . .
somehow. Selfish suddenly seemed like a beautiful word.

“I don’t think you realize how much easier it will be for me, Bella, ” he said, the echo of his humor still
there in his voice, “when I don ’t have to concentrate all the time on not killing you. Certainly, there are
things I ’ll miss. This for one . . . ”

He stared into my eyes as he stroked my cheek, and I felt the blood rush up to color my skin. He
laughed gently.

“And the sound of your heart, ” he continued, more serious but still smiling a little. “It’s the most significant
sound in my world. I ’m so attuned to it now, I swear I could pick it out from miles away. But neither of
these things matter. This,” he said, taking my face in his hands. “You. That ’s what I ’m keeping. You ’ll
always be my Bella, you ’ll just be a little more durable. ”

I sighed and let my eyes close in contentment, resting there in his hands.

“Now will you answer a question for me? The whole truth, not sparing my feelings? ” he asked.

“Of course, ” I answered at once, my eyes opening wide with surprise. What would he want to know?

He spoke the words slowly. “You don ’t want to be my wife. ”

My heart stopped, and then broke into a sprint. A cold sweat dewed on the back of my neck and my
hands turned to ice.

He waited, watching and listening to my reaction.

“That ’s not a question, ” I finally whispered.

He looked down, his lashes casting long shadows across his cheekbones, and dropped his hands from
my face to pick up my frozen left hand. He played with my fingers while he spoke.

“I was worrying about why you felt that way. ”

I tried to swallow. “That ’s not a question, either, ” I whispered.

“Please, Bella? ”

“The truth? ” I asked, only mouthing the words.

“Of course. I can take it, whatever it is. ”

I took a deep breath. “You’re going to laugh at me. ”




His eyes flashed up to mine, shocked. “Laugh? I cannot imagine that. ”

“You’ll see, ” I muttered, and then I sighed. My face went from white to scarlet in a sudden blaze of
chagrin. “Okay, fine! I ’m sure this will sound like some big joke to you, but really! It ’s just so . . . so . . .
so embarrassing!” I confessed, and I hid my face against his chest again.

There was a brief pause.

“I’m not following you. ”

I tilted my head back and glared at him, embarrassment making me lash out, belligerent.

“I’m not that girl, Edward. The one who gets married right out of high school like some small-town hick
who got knocked up by her boyfriend! Do you know what people would think? Do you realize what
century this is? People don ’t just get married at eighteen! Not smart people, not responsible, mature
people! I wasn ’t going to be that girl! That ’s not who I am. . . . ” I trailed off, losing steam.

Edward’s face was impossible to read as he thought through my answer.

“That ’s all? ” he finally asked.

I blinked. “Isn’t that enough? ”

“It’s not that you were . . . more eager for immortality itself than for just me? ”

And then, though I ’d predicted that he would laugh, I was suddenly the one having hysterics.

“Edward! ” I gasped out between the paroxysms of giggles. “And here . . . I always . . . thought that . . .
you were . . . so much . . . smarter than me! ”

He took me in his arms, and I could feel that he was laughing with me.

“Edward,” I said, managing to speak more clearly with a little effort, “there’s no point to forever without
you. I wouldn ’t want one day without you. ”

“Well, that ’s a relief, ” he said.

“Still . . . it doesn ’t change anything. ”

“It’s nice to understand, though. And I do understand your perspective, Bella, truly I do. But I ’d like it
very much if you ’d try to consider mine. ”

I’d sobered up by then, so I nodded and struggled to keep the frown off my face.

His liquid gold eyes turned hypnotic as they held mine.

“You see, Bella, I was always that boy. In my world, I was already a man. I wasn ’t looking for love —
no, I was far too eager to be a soldier for that; I thought of nothing but the idealized glory of the war that
they were selling prospective draftees then — but if I had found . . . ” He paused, cocking his head to the
side. “I was going to say if I had found someone, but that won ’t do. If I had found you, there isn ’t a
doubt in my mind how I would have proceeded. I was that boy, who would have — as soon as I
discovered that you were what I was looking for — gotten down on one knee and endeavored to secure
your hand. I would have wanted you for eternity, even when the word didn ’t have quite the same
connotations. ”




He smiled his crooked smile at me.

I stared at him with my eyes frozen wide.

“Breathe, Bella, ” he reminded me, smiling.

I breathed.

“Can you see my side, Bella, even a little bit? ”

And for one second, I could. I saw myself in a long skirt and a high-necked lace blouse with my hair
piled up on my head. I saw Edward looking dashing in a light suit with a bouquet of wildflowers in his
hand, sitting beside me on a porch swing.

I shook my head and swallowed. I was just having Anne of Green Gables flashbacks.

“The thing is, Edward, ” I said in a shaky voice, avoiding the question, “in my mind, marriage and
eternity are not mutually exclusive or mutually inclusive concepts. And since we ’re living in my world for
the moment, maybe we should go with the times, if you know what I mean. ”

“But on the other hand, ” he countered, “you will soon be leaving time behind you altogether. So why
should the transitory customs of one local culture affect the decision so much? ”

I pursed my lips. “When in Rome? ”

He laughed at me. “You don ’t have to say yes or no today, Bella. It ’s good to understand both sides,
though, don ’t you think? ”

“So your condition . . . ? ”

“Is still in effect. I do see your point, Bella, but if you want me to change you myself. . . . ”

“Dum, dum, dah-dum, ” I hummed under my breath. I was going for the wedding march, but it sort of
sounded like a dirge.

Time continued to move too fast.

That night flew by dreamlessly, and then it was morning and graduation was staring me in the face. I had
a pile of studying to do for my finals that I knew I wouldn ’t get halfway through in the few days I had left.

When I came down for breakfast, Charlie was already gone. He ’d left the paper on the table, and that
reminded me that I had some shopping to do. I hoped the ad for the concert was still running; I needed
the phone number to get the stupid tickets. It didn ’t seem like much of a gift now that all the surprise was
gone. Of course, trying to surprise Alice wasn ’t the brightest plan to begin with.

I meant to flip right back to the entertainment section, but the thick black headline caught my attention. I
felt a thrill of fear as I leaned closer to read the front-page story.

SEATTLE TERRORIZED BY SLAYINGS

It’s been less than a decade since the city of Seattle was the hunting ground for the most prolific serial
killer in U.S. history. Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, was convicted of the murders of 48 women.

And now a beleaguered Seattle must face the possibility that it could be harboring an even more
horrifying monster at this very moment.




The police are not calling the recent rash of homicides and disappearances the work of a serial killer. Not
yet, at least. They are reluctant to believe so much carnage could be the work of one individual. This
killer — if, in fact, it is one person — would then be responsible for 39 linked homicides and
disappearances within the last three months alone. In comparison, Ridgway ’s 48-count murder spree
was scattered over a 21-year period. If these deaths can be linked to one man, then this is the most
violent rampage of serial murder in American history.

The police are leaning instead toward the theory that gang activity is