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 someone 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 myfault!” “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
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