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WHEN I WOKE UP IN THE MORNING, IT WAS VERY bright - even inside the tent, the sunlight hurt , as Jacob had predicted Jacob was snoring lightly in my ear, his arms still wrapped around me

I pulledof the cold hed in his sleep; his arhtened unconsciously

I squir to lift aze evenly His expression was calm, but the pain in his eyes was unconcealed

"Is it any warmer out there?" I whispered

"Yes I don’t think the space heater will be necessary today"

I tried to get to the zipper, but I couldn’t free th Jacob ain

"Some help?" I asked quietly

Edward smiled "Did you want me to take his aret et heat stroke"

Edward unzipped the sleeping bag in a swift, abruptthe icy floor of the tent

"Hey!" he co open Instinctively, he flinched away froht knocked the breath out of one I felt the impact as Jacob flew into one of the tent poles and the tent shuddered

The growling erupted fro in front of me, and I couldn’t see his face, but the snarls were ripping angrily out of his chest Jacob was half-crouched, too, his whole body quivering, while growls ruh his clenched teeth Outside the tent, Seth Clearwater’s vicious snarls echoed off the rocks

"Stop it, stop it!" I yelled, scra aardly to put myself between them The space was so small that I didn’t have to stretch far to put one hand on each of their chests Edrapped his hand around my waist, ready to yank me out of the way

"Stop it, now," I warned hi slowed, but his teeth were still bared, his eyes furiously focused on Edward Seth continued to growl, a long unbroken sound, a violent background to the sudden silence in the tent

"Jacob?" I asked, waiting until he finally dropped his glare to look at me "Are you hurt?"

"Of course not!" he hissed

I turned to Edward He was looking at ry "That wasn’t nice You should say sorry"

His eyes widened in disgust "Youyou!"

"Because you dumped him on the floor! He didn’t do it on purpose, and he didn’t hurt lare at Jacob with hostile eyes "My apologies, dog"

"No hare to his voice

It was still cold, though not as cold as it had been I curled ain He took the parka off the floor and wrapped it over the top of my coat

"That’s Jacob’s," I objected

"Jacob has a fur coat," Edward hinted

"I’ll just use the sleeping bag again, if you don’tinto the down bag "I wasn’t quite ready to wake up That wasn’t the best night’s sleep I ever had"

"It was your idea," Edward said impassively

Jacob was curled up, his eyes already closed He yawned "I didn’t say it wasn’t the best night I’ve ever spent Just that I didn’t get a lot of sleep I thought Bella was never going to shut up"

I winced, wondering what ht have come out of

"I’lad you enjoyed yourself," Edward murmured

Jacob’s dark eyes fluttered open "Didn’t you have a nice night, then?" he asked, sht of my life"

"Did it make the top ten?" Jacob asked with perverse enjoyment

"Possibly"

Jacob smiled and closed his eyes

"But," Edent on, "if I had been able to take your place last night, it would not have hts of lare He sat up stiffly, his shoulders tense

"You knohat? I think it’s too crowded in here"

"I couldn’t agreemyself a bruise

"Guess I’ll catch up on my sleep later, then" Jacob made a face "I need to talk to Sarabbed the door’s zipper

Pain crackled down ed in my stomach as I abruptly realized that this could be the last tiht the horde of bloodthirsty newborn va down his arers could find purchase

"Please, Jake? Won’t you stay?"

"No"

The as hard and cold I knew ave away my pain, because he exhaled and half a smile softened his expression

"Don’t worry about me, Bells I’ll be fine, just like I always a to let Seth go in ht" He snorted

"Be careful -"

He shoved out of the tent before I could finish

"Give it a rest, Bella," I heard him mutter as he re-zipped the door

I listened for the sound of his retreating footsteps, but it was perfectly still Nofar away on theelse Jacob ainst Edward’s shoulder We were quiet for a long tier?" I asked

"Alice told Sam it should be an hour or so," Edward said, soft and bleak

"We stay together No ht

"I know," I said "I’m terrified for them, too"

"They kno to handle theht "I just hate ain with the fun My nostrils flared

He put his ared, and then he kissed my forehead

As if there was any way to avoid that "Sure, sure"

"Do you want ers alongwas still frosty

"Maybe not right now," he answered hi his hand away

"There are other ways to distract me"

"What would you like?"

"You could tell ested "I’uess"

I shook hts I don’t know about A century of thehts have happened since I met you"

"Really?"

"Yes, really - and by quite a wide ht for a ht be the saht The night you stayed"

"Yes, that’s one of mine, too Of course, you were unconscious for ht," I rereed

My face got hot as I wondered again what Iin Jacob’s arms I couldn’t remember what I’d dreamed about, or if I’d dreaht?" I whispered , and I winced

"That bad?"

"Nothing too horrible," he sighed

"Please tell me"

"Mostly you said reed cautiously

"Near the end, though, you startedsome nonsense about ’Jacob, my Jacob’" I could hear the pain, even in the whisper "Your Jacob enjoyed that quite a lot"

I stretched e of his jaw I couldn’t see into his eyes He was staring up at the ceiling of the tent

"Sorry," I murmured "That’s just the way I differentiate"

"Differentiate?"

"Between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Between the Jacob I like and the one who annoys the hell out of htlyhome from Italy"

He frowned

"Is that not one of yours?" I wondered

"No, it is one of mine, actually, but I’m surprised it’s on your list Weren’t you under the ludicrous iuilty conscience, and I was going to bolt as soon as the plane doors opened?"

"Yes" I smiled "But, still, you were there"

He kissed hed at the iht after Italy," I continued

"Yes, that’s on the list You were so funny"

"Funny?" I objected

"I had no idea your dreams were so vivid It took me forever to convince you that you were awake"

"I’m still not sure," I muttered "You’ve always seemed more like a dreauess your first place?"

"No - that would be two nights ago, when you finally agreed to marry me"

I ht about the way he’d kissed ed my mind "Yesit does But with reservations I don’t understand why it’s so important to you You already had ained enough perspective to really appreciate the answer, I will explain it to you"

"I’ll remind you to explain - in a hundred years"

"Are you warh?" he asked suddenly

"I’m fine," I assured him "Why?"

Before he could answer, the silence outside the tent was ripped apart by an earsplitting howl of pain The sound ricocheted off the bare rock face of the mountain and filled the air so that it seared froh e because I’d never heard such a tortured cry before Fanized the sound and understood theas perfectly as if I’d uttered it myself It made no difference that Jacob was not human when he cried out I needed no translation

Jacob was close Jacob had heard every e’d said Jacob was in agony

The howl choked off into a peculiar gurgled sob, and then it was quiet again

I did not hear his silent escape, but I could feel it - I could feel the absence I had wrongly assumed before, the empty space he left behind

"Because your space heater has reached his limit," Edward answered quietly "Truce over," he added, so low I couldn’t be sure that was really what he’d said

"Jacob was listening," I whispered It wasn’t a question

"Yes"

"You knew"

"Yes"

I stared at nothing, seeing nothing

"I never proht fair," he reminded me quietly "And he deserves to know"

My head fell into ry with me?" he asked

"Not you," I whispered "I’m horrified at reed bitterly "I should save y to torment Jacob some more I wouldn’t want to leave any part of hi"

"Do you think thatback tears, and this was easy to hear in my voice "Do you think I care whether it’s fair or whether he was adequately warned? I’ hi louder, more hysterical "I’htly aroundwith ainst his aro find him"

"Bella, he’s already miles away, and it’s cold"

"I don’t care I can’t just sit here" I shrugged off Jacob’s parka, shoved s felt numb "I have to - I have to" I didn’t kno to finishthe sentence, didn’t knohat there was to do, but I unzipped the door anyway, and cli

There was less snow than I would have thought after the fury of last night’s storm Probably it had bloay rather than lancing off the snow that lingered and stabbing at my unadjusted eyes The air still had a bite to it, but it was dead calher

Seth Clearwater was curled up on a patch of dry pine needles in the shadow of a thick spruce, his head on his paws His sand-colored fur was alainst the dead needles, but I could see the bright snow reflect off his open eyes He was staring at ined was an accusation

I kneas following me as I stumbled toward the trees I couldn’t hear hi rainbows that danced ahead of me He didn’t reach out to stop me until I was several paces into the forest shadows

His hand caught nored it when I tried to yank o after hi yourself lost wouldn’t help anyone, regardless"

I twisteduselessly