Bella twitched but didn't wake up.
"Dumb blonde," I muttered.
Rosalie turned her head slowly, and her eyes were blazing.
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"You. Got. Food. In. My. Hair."
That did it.
I busted up.I pulled away fromBella so that I wouldn't shake her, and laughed so hard that tears ran
down my face. From behind the couch, I heard Alice's tinkling laugh join in.
I wondered why Rosalie didn't spring. I sort of expected it. But then I realized that my laughing had
woken Bella up, though she'd slept right through the real noise.
"What's so funny?" she mumbled.
"I got food in her hair," I told her, chortling again.
"I'm not going to forget this, dog," Rosalie hissed.
"S'not so hard to erase a blonde's memory," I countered. "Just blow in her ear."
"Get some new jokes," she snapped.
"C'mon, Jake. Leave Rose alo—" Bella broke off mid-sentence and sucked in a sharp breath. In the
same second, Edward was leaning over the top of me, ripping the blanket out of the way. She seemed to
convulse, her back arching off the sofa.
"He's just," she panted, "stretching."
Her lips were white, and she had her teeth locked together like she was trying to hold back a scream.
Edward put both hands on either side of her face.
"Carlisle?" he called in a tense, low voice.
"Right here," the doctor said. I hadn't heard him come in.
"Okay," Bella said, still breathing hard and shallow. "Think it's over. Poor kid doesn't have enough room,
that's all. He's getting so big."
It was really hard to take, that adoring tone she used to describe the thing that was tearing her up.
Especially after Rosalie's callousness. Made me wish I could throw something at Bella, too.
She didn't pick up on my mood. "You know, he reminds me of you, Jake," she said—affectionate
tone—still gasping.
"Do not compare me to that thing," I spit out through my teeth.
"I just meant your growth spurt," she said, looking like I'd hurt her feelings. Good. "You shot right up. I
could watch you getting taller by the minute. He's like that, too. Growing so fast."
I bit my tongue to keep from saying what I wanted to say—hard enough that I tasted blood in my
mouth. Of course, it would heal before I could swallow. That's what Bella needed. To be strong like me,
to be able to heal…
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She took an easier breath and then relaxed back into the sofa, her body going limp.
"Hmm," Carlisle murmured. I looked up, and his eyes were on me.
"What?" I demanded.
Edward's head leaned to one side as he reflected on whatever was in Carlisle's head.
"You know that I was wondering about the fetus's genetic makeup, Jacob. About his chromosomes."
"What of it?"
"Well, taking your similarities into consideration—"
"Similarif/es?" I growled, not appreciating the plural.
"The accelerated growth, and the fact that Alice cannot see either of you."
I felt my face go blank. I'd forgotten about that other one.
"Well, I wonder if that means that we have an answer. If the similarities are gene-deep."
"Twenty-four pairs," Edward muttered under his breath.
"You don't know that."
"No. But it's interesting to speculate," Carlisle said in a soothing voice.
"Yeah. Just fascinating"
Bella's light snore started up again, accenting my sarcasm nicely.
They got into it then, quickly taking the genetics conversation to a point where the only words I could
understand were the the's and the ands. And my own name, of course. Alice joined in, commenting now
and then in her chirpy bird voice.
Even though they were talking about me, I didn't try to figure out the conclusions they were drawing. I
had other things on my mind, a few facts I was trying to reconcile.
Fact one, Bella'd said that the creature was protected by something as strong as vampire skin, something
that was too impenetrable for ultrasounds, too tough for needles. Fact two, Rosalie'd said they had a plan
to deliver the
creature safely. Fact three, Edward'd said that—in myths—other monsters like this one would chew
their way out of their own mothers.
I shuddered.
And that made a sick kind of sense, because, fact four, not many things could cut through something as
strong as vampire skin. The half-creature's teeth—according to myth—were strong enough. My teeth
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were strong enough.
And vampire teeth were strong enough.
It was hard to miss the obvious, but I sure wished I could. Because I had a pretty good idea exactly
how Rosalie planned to get that thing "safely" out.
16. TOO-MUCH-INFORMATION ALERT
I took off early, long before sunrise was due. I'd gotten just a little bit of uneasy sleep leaning against the
side of the sofa. Edward woke me when Bella's face was flushed, and he took my spot to cool her back
down. I stretched and decided I was rested enough to get some work done.
"Thank you," Edward said quietly, seeing my plans. "If the route is clear, they'll go today."
Tillet you know."
It felt good to get back to my animal self. I was stiff from sitting still for so long. I extended my stride,
working out the kinks.
Morning, Jacob,Leah greeted me.
Good, you're up. How long's Seth been out?
Not out yet,Seth thought sleepily. Almost there. What do you need?
You think you got another hour in you?
Sure thing. No problem.Seth got to his feet right away, shaking out his fur.
Let's make the deep run,Itold Leah. Seth, take the perimeter.
Gotcha.Seth broke into an easy jog.
Off on another vampire errand,Leah grumbled.
You got a problem with that?
Of course not. I just love to coddle those darling leeches.
Good. Let's see how fast we can run.
Okay, I'm definitely up forthat/
Leah was on the far western rim of the perimeter. Rather than cut close to the Cullens' house, she stuck
to the circle as she raced around to meet me. I sprinted off straight east, knowing that even with the head
start, she'd be
passing me soon if I took it easy for even a second.
Nose to the ground, Leah. This isn't a race, it's a reconnaissance mission.
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I can do both and still kick your butt
I gave her that one. / know.
She laughed.
We took a winding path through the eastern mountains. It wasa familiar route. We'd run these mountains
when the vampires had left a year ago, making it part of our patrol route to better protect the people
here. Then we'd pulled back the lines when the Cullens returned. This was their treaty land.
But that fact would probably mean nothing to Sam now. The treaty was dead. The question today was
how thin he was willing to spread his force. Was he looking for stray Cullens to poach on their land or
not? Had Jared spoken the truth or taken advantage of the silence between us?
We got deeper and deeper into the mountains without finding any trace of the pack. Fading vampire
trails were everywhere, but the scents were familiar now. I was breathing them in all day long.
I founda heavy, somewhat recent concentration on one particular trail—all of them coming and going
here except for Edward. Some reason for gathering that must have been forgotten when Edward brought
his dying pregnant wife home. I gritted my teeth. Whatever it was, it had nothing to do with me.
Leah didn't push herself past me, though she could have now. I was paying more attention to each new
scent than I was to the speed contest. She kept to my right side, running with me rather than racing
against me.
Were getting pretty far out here,she commented.
Yeah. If Sam was hunting strays, we should have crossed his trail by now.
Makes more sense right now for him to bunker down in La Push,Leah thought. He knows we're giving
the bloodsuckers three extra sets of eyes and legs. He's not going to be able to surprise them.
This was just a precaution, really.
Wouldn't want our precious parasites taking unnecessary chances.
Nope,I agreed, ignoring the sarcasm.
You've changed so much, Jacob. Talk about one-eighties.
You're not exactly the same Leah I've always known and loved, either.
True. Am I less annoying than Paul now?
Amazingly… yes.
Ah, sweet success.
Congrats.
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We ran in silence again then. It was probably time to turn around, but neither of us wanted to. It felt nice
to run like this. We'd been staring at the same small circle of atrail for too long. It felt good to stretch our
muscles and take the rugged terrain. We weren't in a huge hurry, so I thought maybe we should hunt on
the way back. Leah was pretty
hungry.
Yum, yum,she thought sourly.
It's all in your head,I told her. That's the way wolves eat. It's natural. It tastes fine. If you didn't
think about it from a human perspective—
Forget the pep talk, Jacob. I'll hunt I don't have to like it
Sure, sure,I agreed easily. It wasn't my business if she wanted to make things harder for herself.
She didn't add anything for a few minutes; I started thinking about turning back.
Thank you,Leah suddenly told me in a much different tone.
For?
For letting me be. For letting me stay. You've been nicer than I had any right to expect, Jacob.
Er, no problem. Actually, I mean that. I don't mind having you here like I thought I would.
She snorted, but it was a playful sound. What a glowing commendation!
Don't let it go to your head.
Okay— if you don't let this go to yours.She paused for a second. / think you make a good Alpha.
Not in the same way Sam does, but in your own way. You're worth following, Jacob.
My mind went blank with surprise. It took me a second to recover enough to respond.
Er, thanks. Not totally sure I'll be able to stop that one from going to my head, though. Where did that
come from?
She didn't answer right away, and I followed the wordless direction of her thoughts. She was thinking
about the future—about what I'd said to Jared the other morning. About how the time would be up soon,
and then I'd go back to the forest. About how I'd promised that she and Seth would return to the pack
when the Cullens were gone___
/ want to stay with you, she told me.
The shock shot through my legs, locking my joints. She blew past me and then put on the brakes.
Slowly, she walked back to where I was frozen in place.
/ won't be a pain, I swear. I won't follow you around. You can go wherever you want, and I'll go
where I want. You'll only have to put up with me when we're both wolves. She paced back and forth
in front of me, swishing her long gray tail nervously. And, as I'm planning on quitting as soon as I can
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manage it… maybe that won't be so often.
I didn't know what to say.
I'm happier now, as a part of your pack, than I have been in years.
I want to stay, too,Seth thought quietly. I hadn't realized he'd been paying much attention to us as he ran
the perimeter. / like this pack.
Hey, now! Seth, this isn't going to be a pack much longer.I tried to put my thoughts together so they
would convince him. We've got a purpose now, but when… after that's over, I'm just going to go
wolf. Seth, you need a purpose. You're a good kid. You're the kind of person who always has a
crusade. And there's no way you're leaving La Push now. You're going to graduate from high
school and do something with your life. You're going to take care of Sue.
My issues are not going to mess up your future.
But —
Jacob is rightLeah seconded.
You're agreeing with me?
Of course. But none of that applies tome. / was on my way out anyway. I'll get a job somewhere
away from La Push. Maybe take some courses at a community college. Get into yoga and
meditation to work on my temper issues… And stay a part of this pack for the sake of my mental
well-being. Jacob— you can see how that makes sense, right? I won't bother you, you won't
bother me, everyone is happy.
I turned back and started loping slowly toward the west.
This is a bit much to deal with, Leah. Let me think about it, 'kay?
Sure. Take your time.
It took us longer to make the run back. I wasn't trying for speed. I was just trying to concentrate enough
that I wouldn't plow headfirst into a tree. Seth was grumbling a little bit in the back of my head, but I was
able to ignore him. He knew I was right. He wasn't going to abandon his mom. He would go back to La
Push and protect the tribe like he should.
But I couldn't see Leah doing that. And that was just plain scary.
A pack of the two of us? No matter the physical distance, I couldn't imagine the… the intimacy of that
situation. I wondered if she'd really thought it through, or if she was just desperate to stay free.
Leah didn't say anything as I chewed it over. It was like she was trying to prove how easy it would be if
it was just us.
We ran into a herd of black-tailed deer just as the sun was coming up, brightening the clouds a little bit
behind us. Leah sighed internally but didn't hesitate. Her lunge was clean and efficient—graceful, even.
She took down the largest one, the buck, before the startled animal fully understood the danger.
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Not to be outdone, I swooped down on the next largest deer, snapping her neck between my jaws
quickly, so she wouldn't feel unnecessary pain. I could feel Leah's disgust warring with her hunger, and I
tried to make it easier for her by letting the wolf in me have my head. I'd lived all-wolf for long enough
that I knew how to be the animal completely, to see his way and think his way. I let the practical instincts
take over, letting her feel that, too. She hesitated for a second, but then, tentatively, she seemed to reach
out with her mind and try to see my way. It felt very strange—our minds were more closely linked than
they had ever been before, because we both were trying to think together.
Strange, but it helped her. Her teeth cut through the fur and skin of her kill's shoulder, tearing away a
thick slab of streaming flesh. Rather than wince away as her human thoughts wanted to, she let her
wolf-self react instinctively. It was kind of a numbing thing, a thoughtless thing. It let her eat in peace.
It was easy for me to do the same. And I was glad I hadn't forgotten this. This would be my life again
soon.
Was Leah going to be a part of that life? A week ago, I wouldve found that idea beyond horrifying. I
wouldn't've
been able to stand it. But I knew her better now. And, relieved from the constant pain, she wasn't the
same wolf. Not the same girl.
We ate together until we both were full.
Thanks,she told me later as she was cleaning her muzzle and paws against the wet grass. I didn't bother;
it had just started to drizzle and we had to swim the river again on our way back. I'd get clean enough.
That wasn't so bad, thinking your way.
You're welcome.
Seth was dragging when we hit the perimeter. I told him to get some sleep; Leah and I would take over
the patrol. Seth's mind faded into unconsciousness just seconds later.
You headed back to the bloodsuckers?Leah asked.
Maybe.
It's hard for you to be there, but hard to stay away, too. I know how that feels.
You know, Leah, you might want to think a little bit about the future, about what you really want to do.
My head is not going to be the happiest place on earth. And you'll have to suffer right along with me.
She thought about how to answer me. Wow, this is going to sound bad. But, honestly, it will be
easier to deal with your pain than face mine.
Fair enough.
I know it's going to be bad for you, Jacob. I understand that— maybe better than you think. I don't
like her, but… she's your Sam. She's everything you want and everything you can't have.
I couldn't answer.
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/ know it's worse for you. At least Sam is happy. At least he's alive and well. I love him enough
that I want that. I want him to have what's best for him. She sighed. I just don't want to stick
around to watch.
Do we need to talk about this?
I think we do. Because I want you to know that I won't make it worse for you. Hell, maybe I'll even
help. I wasn'tborn a compassionless shrew. I used to be sort of nice, you know.
My memory doesn't go that far back.
We both laughed once.
I'm sorry about this, Jacob. I'm sorry you're in pain. I'm sorry it's getting worse and not better
Thanks, Leah.
She thought about the things that were worse, the black pictures in my head, while I tried to tune her out
without much success. She was able to look at them with some distance, some perspective, and I had to
admit that this was helpful. I could imagine that maybe I would be able to see it that way, too, in a few
years.
She saw the funny side of the daily irritations that came from hanging out around vampires. She liked my
ragging on Rosalie, chuckling internally and even running through a few blonde jokes in her mind that I
might be able
to work in. But then her thoughts turned serious, lingering on Rosalie's face in a way that confused me.
You know what's crazy?she asked.
Well, almost everything is crazy right now. But what do you mean?
That blond vampire you hate so much—/ totally get her perspective.
For a second I thought she was making a joke that was in very poor taste. And then, when I realized she
was serious, the fury that ripped through me was hard to control. It was a good thing we'd spread out to
run our watch. If she'd been within biting distance…
Hold up! Let me explain!
Don't want to hear it I'm outta here.
Wait! Wait!she pleaded as I tried to calm myself enough to phase back. C'mon, Jake!
Leah, this isn't really the best way to convince me that I want to spend more time with you in the future.
Yeesh! What an overreaction. You don't even know what I'm talking about
So whatare you talking about?
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And then she was suddenly the pain-hardened Leah from before. I'm talking about being a genetic
dead end, Jacob.
The vicious edge to her words left me floundering. I hadn't expected to have my anger trumped.
I don't understand.
Youwould, if you weren't just like the rest of them. If my "female sfu/T—she thought the words with
a hard, sarcastic tone— didn't send you running for cover just like any stupid male, so you could
actually pay attention to what it all means.
Oh.
Yeah, so none of us like to think about that stuff with her. Who would? Of course I remembered Leah's
panic that first month after she joined the pack—and I remembered cringing away from it just like
everyone else. Because she couldn't be pregnant— not unless there was some really freaky religious
immaculate crap going on. She hadn't been with anyone since Sam. And then, when the weeks dragged
on and nothing turned into more nothing, she'd realized that her body wasn't following the normal patterns
anymore. The horror—what was she now? Had her body changed because she'd become a werewolf?
Or had she become a werewolf because her body was wrong? The only female werewolf in the history
of forever. Was that because she wasn't as female as she should be?
None of us had wanted to deal with that breakdown. Obviously, it wasn't like we could empathize.
You know why Sam thinks we imprint,she thought, calmer now.
Sure. To carry on the line.
Right. To make a bunch of new little werewolves. Survival of the species, genetic override. You're
drawn to the person who gives you the best chance to pass on the wolf gene.
I waited for her to tell me where she was qoinq with this.
If I was any good for that, Sam would have been drawn tome.
Her pain was enough that I broke stride under it.
But I'm not There's something wrong with me. I don't have the ability to pass on the gene, apparently,
despite my stellar bloodlines. So I become a freak— the girlie-wolf—good for nothing else. I'm a
genetic dead end and we both know it.
We do not,I argued with her. That's just Sam's theory. Imprinting happens, but we don't know why.
Billy thinks it's something else.
I know, I know. He thinks you're imprinting to makestronger wolves. Because you and Sam are such
humongous monsters— bigger than our fathers. But either way, I'm still not a candidate. I'm… I'm
menopausal. I'm twenty years old and I'm menopausal.
Ugh. I so didn't want to have this conversation. You don't know that, Leah. It's probably just the
whole frozen-in-time thing. When you quit your wolf and start getting older again, I'm sure things
will… er… pick right back up.
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/might think that— except that no one's imprinting onme, notwithstanding my impressive
pedigree. You know, she added thoughtfully, if you weren't around, Seth would probably have the
best claim to being Alpha — through his blood, at least. Of course, no one would ever consider
me…
You reallywant to imprint, or be imprinted on, or whichever? I demanded. What's wrong with
going out and falling in love like a normal person, Leah? Imprinting is just another way of getting
your choices taken away from you.
Sam, Jared, Paul, Quit… they don't seem to mind.
None of themhave a mind of their own.
You don't want to imprint?
Hell, no!
That's just because you're already in love withher. That would go away, you know, if you imprinted.
You wouldn't have to hurt over her anymore.
Do you want to forget the way you feel about Sam?
She deliberated for a moment. / think I do.
I sighed. She was in a healthier place than I was.
But back to my original point, Jacob. I understand why your blond vampire is so cold— in the
figurative sense. She's focused. She's got her eyes on the prize, right? Because you always want
the very most what you can never, ever have.
You would act like Rosalie? You would murder someone— because that's what she's doing,
making sure no one interferes with Bella's death— you would do that to have a baby? Since when
are you a breeder?
I just want the options I don't have, Jacob. Maybe, if there was nothing wrong with me, I would never
give it a thought.
You would kill for that?I demanded, not letting her escape my question.
That's not what she's doing. I think it's more like she's living vicariously. And… if Bella askedme to help
her with
this…She paused, considering. Even though I don't think too much of her, I'd probably do the same
as the bloodsucker.
A loud snarl ripped through my teeth.
Because, if it was turned around, I'd want Bella to do that for me. And so would Rosalie. We'd both do
it her way.
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Ugh! You're as bad as they are!
That's the funny thing about knowing you can't have something. It makes you desperate.
And . that's my limit Right there. This conversation is over.
Fine.
It wasn't enough that she'd agreed to stop. I wanted a stronger termination than that.
I was only about a mile from where I'd left my clothes, so I phased back to human and walked. I didn't
think about our conversation. Not because there wasn't anything to think about, but because I couldn't
stand it. I would not see it that way—but it was harder to keep from doing that when Leah had put the
thoughts and emotions straight into my head.
Yeah, I wasn't running with her when this was finished. She could go be miserable in La Push. One little
Alpha command before I left for good wasn't going to kill anybody.
It was real early when I got to the house. Bella was probably still asleep. I figured I'd poke my head in,
see what was going on, give 'em the green light to go hunting, and then find a patch of grass soft enough
to sleep on while human. I wasn't phasing back until Leah was asleep.
But there was a lot of low mumbling going on inside the house, so maybe Bella wasn't sleeping. And then
I heard the machinery sound from upstairs again—the X-ray? Great. It looked like day four on the
countdown was starting off with a bang.
Alice opened the door for me before I could walk in.
She nodded. "Hey, wolf."
"Hey, shortie. What's going on upstairs?" The big room was empty—all the murmurs were on the
second floor.
She shrugged her pointy little shoulders. "Maybe another break." She tried to say the words casually, but
I could see the flames in the very back of her eyes. Edward and I weren't the only ones who were
burning over this. Alice loved Bella, too.
"Another rib?" I asked hoarsely.
"No. Pelvis this time."
Funny how it kept hitting me, like each new thing was a surprise. When was I going to stop being
surprised? Each new disaster seemed kinda obvious in hindsight.
Alice was staring at my hands, watching them tremble.
Then we were listening to Rosalie's voice upstairs.
"See, I told you I didn't hear a crack. You need your ears checked, Edward."
There was no answer.
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Alice made a face. "Edward's going to end up ripping Rose into small pieces, I think. I'm surprised she
doesn't see that. Or maybe she thinks Emmett will be able to stop him."
"I'll take Emmett," I offered. "You can help Edward with the ripping part."
Alice half-smiled.
The procession came down the stairs then—Edward had Bella this time. She was gripping her cup of
blood in both hands, and her face was white. I could see that, though he compensated for every tiny
movement of his body to keep from jostling her, she was hurting.
"Jake," she whispered, and she smiled through the pain.
I stared at her, saying nothing.
Edward placed Bella carefully on her couch and sat on the floor by her head. I wondered briefly why
they didn't leave her upstairs, and then decided at once that it must be Bella's idea. She'd want to act like
things were normal, avoid the hospital setup. And he was humoring her. Naturally.
Carlisle came down slowly, the last one, his face creased with worry. It made him look old enough to be
a doctor for once.
"Carlisle," I said. "We went halfway to Seattle. There's no sign of the pack. You're good to go."
"Thank you, Jacob. This is good timing. There's much that we need." His black eyes flickered to the cup
that Bella was holding so tight.
"Honestly, I think you're safe to take more than three. I'm pretty positive that Sam is concentrating on La
Push."
Carlisle nodded in agreement. It surprised me how willingly he took my advice. "If you think so. Alice,
Esme, Jasper, and I will go. Then Alice can take Emmett and Rosa—"
"Not a chance," Rosalie hissed. "Emmett can go with you now."
"You should hunt," Carlisle said in a gentle voice.
His tone didn't soften hers. "I'll hunt when he does," she growled, jerking her head toward Edward and
then flipping her hair back.
Carlisle sighed.
1
same second. Esme flitted to Alice's side.
Carlisle put his hand on my arm. The icy touch did not feel good, but I didn't jerk away. I held still, half
in surprise, and half because I didn't want to hurt his feelings.
"Thank you," he said again, and then he darted out the door with the other four. My eyes followed them
as they flew across the lawn and then disappeared before I took another breath. Their needs must have
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been more urgent than I'd imagined.
There was no sound for a minute. I could feel someone glaring at me, and I knew who it would be. I'd
been planning to take off and get some Z's, but the chance to ruin Rosalie's morning seemed too good to
pass up.
