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I　heard　Edward　speaking　Portuguese　again。　Arguing　again。　His　voice　got　closer；　and　I　heard　him　grunt　in　
exasperation。　Then　I　heard　another　voice；　low　and　timid。　A　woman's　voice。　

He　came　into　the　kitchen　ahead　of　her　and　went　straight　to　me。　He　wiped　the　tears　from　my　cheeks　and　
murmured　in　my　ear　through　the　thin；　hard　line　of　his　lips。　

〃She's　insisting　on　leaving　the　food　she　brought—she　made　us　dinner。〃　If　he　had　been　less　tense；　less　
furious；　I　knew　he　would　have　rolled　his　eyes。　〃It's　an　excuse—she　wants　to　make　sure　I　haven't　killed　
you　yet。〃　His　voice　went　ice　cold　at　the　end。　

Kaure　edged　nervously　around　the　corner　with　a　covered　dish　in　her　hands。　I　wished　I　could　speak　
Portuguese；　or　that　my　Spanish　was　less　rudimentary；　so　that　I　could　try　to　thank　this　woman　who　had　
dared　to　anger　a　vampire　just　to　check　on　me。　

Her　eyes　flickered　between　the　two　of　us。　I　saw　her　measuring　thecolor　in　my　face；　the　moisture　in　my　
eyes。　Mumbling　something　I　didn't　understand；　she　put　the　dish　on　the　counter。　



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Edward　snapped　something　at　her；　I'd　never　heard　him　be　so　impolite　before。　She　turned　to　go；　and　the　
whirling　motion　of　her　long　skirt　wafted　the　smell　of　the　food　into　my　face。　It　was　strong—onions　and　
fish。　I　gagged　and　whirled　for　the　sink。　I　felt　Edward's　hands　on　my　forehead　and　heard　his　soothing　
murmur　through　the　roaring　in　my　ears。　His　hands　disappeared　for　a　second；　and　I　heard　the　refrigerator　
slam　shut。　Mercifully；　the　smell　disappeared　with　the　sound；　and　Edward's　hands　were　cooling　my　
clammy　face　again。　It　was　over　quickly。　

I　rinsed　my　mouth　in　the　tap　while　he　caressed　the　side　of　my　face。　

There　was　a　tentative　little　nudge　in　my　womb。　

It's　okay。　We're　okay；I　thought　toward　the　bump。　

Edward　turned　me　around；　pulling　me　into　his　arms。　I　rested　my　head　on　his　shoulder。　My　hands；　
instinctively；　folded　over　my　stomach。　

I　heard　a　little　gasp　and　I　looked　up。　

The　woman　was　still　there；　hesitating　in　the　doorway　with　her　hands　halfoutstretched　as　if　she　had　been　
looking　for　some　way　to　help。　Her　eyes　were　locked　on　my　hands；　popping　wide　with　shock。　Her　mouth　
hung　open。　

Then　Edward　gasped；　too；　and　he　suddenly　turned　to　face　the　woman；　pushing　me　slightly　behind　his　
body。　His　arm　wrapped　across　my　torso；　like　he　was　holding　me　back。　

Suddenly；　Kaure　was　shouting　at　him—loudly；　furiously；　her　unintelligible　words　flying　across　the　room　
like　knives。　She　raised　her　tiny　fist　in　the　air　and　took　two　steps　forward；　shaking　it　at　him。　Despite　her　
ferocity；　it　was　easy　to　see　the　terror　in　her　eyes。　

Edward　stepped　toward　her；　too；　and　I　clutched　at　his　arm；　frightened　for　the　woman。　But　when　he　
interrupted　her　tirade；　his　voice　took　me　by　surprise；　especially　considering　how　sharp　he'd　been　with　her　
when　she　wasn't　screeching　at　him。　It　was　low　now；　it　was　pleading。　Not　only　that；　but　the　sound　was　
different；　more　guttural；　the　cadence　off。　I　didn't　think　he　was　speaking　Portuguese　anymore。　

For　a　moment；　the　woman　stared　at　him　in　wonder；　and　then　her　eyes　narrowed　as　she　barked　out　a　
long　question　in　the　same　alien　tongue。　

I　watched　as　his　face　grew　sad　and　serious；　and　he　nodded　once。　She　took　a　quick　step　back　and　
crossed　herself。　

He　reached　out　to　her；　gesturing　toward　me　and　then　resting　his　hand　against　my　cheek。　She　replied　
angrily　again；　waving　her　hands　accusingly　toward　him；　and　then　gestured　to　him。　When　she　finished；　he　
pleaded　again　with　the　same　low；　urgent　voice。　

Her　expression　changed—she　stared　at　him　with　doubt　plain　on　her　face　as　he　spoke；　her　eyes　
repeatedly　flashing　to　my　confused　face。　He　stopped　speaking；　and　she　seemed　to　be　deliberating　
something。　She　looked　back　and　forth　between　the　two　of　us；　and　then；　unconsciously　it　seemed；　took　a　
step　forward。　

She　made　a　motion　with　her　hands；　miming　a　shape　like　a　balloon　jutting　out　from　her　stomach。　I　started　



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—did　her　legends　of　the　predatory　blooddrinker　include　this？　Could　she　possibly　know　something　
about　what　was　growing　inside　me？　

She　walked　a　few　steps　forward　deliberately　this　time　and　asked　a　few　brief　questions；　which　he　
responded　to　tensely。　Then　he　became　the　questioner—one　quick　query。　She　hesitated　and　then　slowly　
shook　her　head。　When　he　spoke　again；　his　voice　was　so　agonized　that　I　looked　up　at　him　in　shock。　His　
face　was　drawn　with　pain。　

In　answer；　she　walked　slowly　forward　until　she　was　close　enough　to　lay　her　small　hand　on　top　of　mine；　
over　my　stomach。　She　spoke　one　word　in　Portuguese。　

〃Morte；〃she　sighed　quietly。　Then　she　turned；　her　shoulders　bent　as　if　the　conversation　had　aged　her；　and　
left　the　room。　

I　knew　enough　Spanish　for　that　one。　

Edward　was　frozen　again；　staring　after　her　with　the　tortured　expression　fixed　on　his　face。　A　few　
moments　later；　I　heard　a　boat's　engine　putter　to　life　and　then　fade　into　the　distance。　

Edward　did　not　move　until　I　started　for　the　bathroom。　Then　his　hand　caught　my　shoulder。　

〃Where　are　you　going？〃　His　voice　was　a　whisper　of　pain。　

〃To　brush　my　teeth　again。〃　

〃Don't　worry　about　what　she　said。　It's　nothing　but　legends；　old　lies　for　the　sake　of　entertainment。〃　

〃I　didn't　understand　anything；〃　I　told　him；　though　it　wasn't　entirely　true。　As　if　I　could　discount　something　
because　it　was　a　legend。　My　life　was　circled　by　legend　on　every　side。　They　were　all　true。　

〃I　packed　your　toothbrush。　I'll　get　it　for　you。〃　

He　walked　ahead　of　me　to　the　bedroom。　

〃Are　we　leaving　soon？〃　I　called　after　him。　

〃As　soon　as　you're　done。〃　

He　waited　for　my　toothbrush　to　repack　it；　pacing　silently　around　the　bedroom。　I　handed　it　to　him　when　I　
was　finished。　

〃I'll　get　the　bags　into　the　boat。〃　

〃Edward—〃　

He　turned　back。　〃Yes？〃　

I　hesitated；　trying　to　think　of　some　way　to　get　a　few　seconds　alone。　〃Could　you。。。　pack　some　of　the　
food？　You　know；　in　case　I　get　hungry　again。〃　

〃Of　course；〃　he　said；　his　eyes　suddenly　soft。　〃Don't　worry　about　anything。　We'll　get　to　Carlisle　in　just　a　



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few　hours；　really。　This　will　all　be　over　soon。〃　

I　nodded；　not　trusting　my　voice。　

He　turned　and　left　the　room；　one　big　suitcase　in　each　hand。　

I　whirled　and　scooped　up　the　phone　he'd　left　on　the　counter。　It　was　very　unlike　him　to　forget　things—to　
forget　that　Gustavo　was　ing；　to　leave　his　phone　lying　here。　He　was　so　stressed　he　was　barely　himself。　

I　flipped　it　open　and　scrolled　through　the　preprogrammed　numbers。　I　was　glad　he　had　the　sound　turned　
off；　afraid　that　he　would　catch　me。　Would　he　be　at　the　boat　now？　Or　back　already？　Would　he　hear　me　
from　the　kitchen　if　I　whispered？　

I　found　the　number　I　wanted；　one　I　had　never　called　before　in　my　life。　I　pressed　the　〃send〃　button　and　
crossed　my　fingers。　

〃Hello？〃　the　voice　like　golden　wind　chimes　answered。　

〃Rosalie？〃　I　whispered。　〃It's　Bella。　Please。　You　have　to　help　me。〃　

BOOK　TWO　

Jacob　

And　yet；　to　say　the　truth；　reason　and　love　keep　little　pany　together　nowadays。　

William　Shakespeare　

A　Midsummer　Night's　Dream　

Act　III；　Scene　i　

PREFACE　Life　sucks；　and　then　you　die。　

Yeah；　I　should　be　so　lucky。　

8。　WAITING　FOR　THE　DAMN　FIGHT　TO　START　ALREADY　

〃Jeez；　Paul；　don't　you　freaking　have　a　home　of　your　own？〃　

Paul；　lounging　across　my　whole　couch；　watching　some　stupid　baseball　game　on　my　crappy　TV；　just　
grinned　at　me　and　then—real　slow—he　lifted　one　Dorito　from　the　bag　in　his　lap　and　wedged　it　into　his　
mouth　in　one　piece。　

〃You　betterVe　brought　those　with　you。〃　

Crunch。　〃Nope；〃　he　said　while　chewing。　〃Your　sister　said　to　go　ahead　and　help　myself　to　anything　I　
wanted。〃　

I　tried　to　make　my　voice　sound　like　I　wasn't　about　to　punch　him。　〃Is　Rachel　here　now？〃　




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It　didn't　work。　He　heard　where　I　was　going　and　shoved　the　bag　behind　his　back。　The　bag　crackled　as　he　
smashed　it　into　the　cushion。　The　chips　crunched　into　pieces。　Paul's　hands　came　up　in　fists；　close　to　his　
face　like　a　boxer。　

〃Bring　it；　kid。　I　don't　need　Rachel　to　protect　me。〃　

I　snorted。　〃Right。　Like　you　wouldn't　go　crying　to　her　first　chance。〃　

He　laughed　and　relaxed　into　the　sofa；　dropping　his　hands。　〃I'm　not　going　to　go　tattle　to　a　girl。　If　you　got　
in　a　lucky　hit；　that　would　be　just　between　the　two　of　us。　And　vice　versa；　right？〃　

Nice　of　him　to　give　me　an　invitation。　I　made　my　body　slump　like　I'd　given　up。　〃Right。〃　

His　eyes　shifted　to　the　TV。　

I　lunged。　

His　nose　made　a　very　satisfying　crunching　sound　of　its　own　when　my　fist　connected。　He　tried　to　grab　me；　
but　I　danced　out　of　the　way　before　he　could　find　a　hold；　the　ruined　bag　of　Doritos　in　my　left　hand。　

〃You　broke　my　nose；　idiot。〃　

〃Just　between　us；　right；　Paul？〃　

I　went　to　put　the　chips　away。　When　I　turned　around；　Paul　was　repositioning　his　nose　before　it　could　set　
crooked。　

The　blood　had　already　stopped；　it　looked　like　it　had　no　source　as　it　trickled　down　his　lips　and　off　his　
chin。　He　cussed；　wincing　as　he　pulled　at　the　cartilage。　

〃You　are　such　a　pain；　Jacob。　I　swear；　I'd　rather　hang　out　with　Leah。〃　

〃Ouch。　Wow；　I　bet　Leah's　really　going　to　love　to　hear　that　you　want　to　spend　some　quality　time　with　her。　
It'll　just　warm　the　cockles　of　her　heart。〃　

〃You're　going　to　forget　I　said　that。〃　

〃Of　course。　I'm　sure　it　won't　slip　out。〃　

〃Ugh；〃　he　grunted；　and　then　settled　back　into　the　couch；　wiping　the　leftover　blood　on　the　collar　of　his　
tshirt。　〃You're　fast；　kid。I'll　give　you　that。〃　He　turned　his　attention　back　to　the　fuzzy　game。　

I　stood　there　for　a　second；　and　then　I　stalked　off　to　my　room；　muttering　about　alien　abductions。　

Back　in　the　day；　you　could　count　on　Paul　for　a　fight　pretty　much　whenever。　You　didn't　have　to　hit　him　
then—any　mild　insult　would　do。　It　didn't　take　a　lot　to　flip　him　out　of　control。　Now；　of　course；　when　I　
really　wanted　a　good　snarling；　ripping；　breakthetreesdown　match；　he　had　to　be　all　mellow。　

Wasn't　it　bad　enough　that　yet　another　member　of　the　pack　had　imprinted—because；　really；　that　made　
four　of　ten　now！　When　would　it　stop？　Stupid　myth　was　supposed　to　be　rare；　for　crying　out　loud！　All　this　
mandatory　loveatfirstsight　was　pletely　sickening！　



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Did　it　have　to　be　my　sister？　Did　it　have　to　be　Paul？　

When　Rachel'd　e　home　from　Washington　State　at　the　end　of　the　summer　semester—graduated　
early；　the　nerd—my　biggest　worry'd　been　that　it　would　be　hard　keeping　the　secret　around　her。　I　wasn't　
used　to　covering　things　up　in　my　own　home。　It　made　me　real　sympathetic　to　kids　like　Embry　and　Collin；　
whose　parents　didn't　know　they　were　werewolves。　Embry's　mom　thought　he　was　going　through　some　
kind　of　rebellious　stage。　He　was　permanently　grounded　for　constantly　sneaking　out；　but；　of　course；　there　
wasn't　much　he　could　do　about　that。　She'd　check　his　room　every　night；　and　every　night　it　would　be　empty　
again。　She'd　yell　and　he'd　take　it　in　silence；　and　then　go　through　it　all　again　the　next　day。　We'd　tried　to　
talk　Sam　into　giving　Embry　a　break　and　letting　his　mom　in　on　the　gig；　but　Embry'd　said　he　didn't　mind。　
The　secret　was　too　important。　

So　I'd　been　all　geared　up　to　be　keeping　that　secret。　And　then；　two　days　after　Rachel　got　home；　Paul　ran　
into　her　on　the　beach。　Bada　bing；　bada　boom—true　love！　No　secrets　necessary　when　you　found　your　
other　half；　and　all　that　imprinting　werewolf　garbage。　

Rachel　got　the　whole　story。　And　I　got　Paul　as　a　brotherinlaw　someday。　I　knew　Billy　wasn't　much　
thrilled　about　it；　either。　But　he　handled　it　better　than　I　did。　'Course；　he　did　escape　to　the　Clearwaters'　
more　often　than　usual　these　days。　I　didn't　see　where　that　was　so　much　better。　No　Paul；　but　plenty　of　
Leah。　

I　wondered—would　a　bullet　through　my　temple　actually　kill　me　or　just　leave　a　really　big　mess　for　me　to　
clean　up？　

I　threw　myself　down　on　the　bed。　I　was　tired—hadn't　slept　since　my　last　patrol—but　I　knew　I　wasn't　
going　to　sleep。　My　head　was　too　crazy。　The　thoughts　bounced　around　inside　my　skull　like　a　disoriented　
swarm　of　bees。　Noisy。　Now　and　then　they　stung。　Must　be　hors；　not　bees。　Bees　died　after　one　sting。　
And　the　same　thoughts　were　stinging　me　

again　and　again。　

This　waiting　was　driving　me　insane。　It　had　been　almost　four　weeks。　I'd　expected；　one　way　or　another；　
the　news　would　have　e　by　now。　I'd　sat　up　nights　imagining　what　form　it　would　take。　

Charlie　sobbing　on　the　phone—Bella　and　her　husband　lost　in　an　accident。　A　plane　crash？　That　would　be　
hard　to　fake。　Unless　the　leeches　didn't　mind　killing　a　bunch　of　bystanders　to　authenticate　it；　and　why　
would　they？　Maybe　a　small　plane　instead。　They　probably　had　one　of　those　to　spare。　

Or　would　the　murderer　e　home　alone；　unsuccessful　in　his　attempt　to　make　her　one　of　them？　Or　not　
even　getting　that　far。　Maybe　he'd　smashed　her　like　a　bag　of　chips　in　his　drive　to　get　some？　Because　her　
life　was　less　important　to　him　than　his　own　pleasure。。。　

The　story　would　be　so　tragic—Bella　lost　in　a　horrible　accident。　Victim　of　a　mugging　gone　wrong。　
Choking　to　death　at　dinner。　A　car　accident；　like　my　mom。　So　mon。　Happened　all　the　time。　

Would　he　bring　her　home？　Bury　her　here　for　Charlie？　Closedcasket　ceremony；　of　course。　My　mom's　
coffin　had　been　nailed　shut。。。　

I　could　only　hope　that　he'd　e　back　here；　within　my　reach。　




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Maybe　there　would　be　no　story　at　all。　Maybe　Charlie　would　call　to　ask　my　dad　if　he'd　heard　anything　
from　Dr。　Cullen；　who　just　didn't　show　up　to　work　one　day。　The　house　abandoned。　No　answer　on　any　of　
the　Cullens'　phones。　The　mystery　picked　up　by　some　secondrate　news　program；　foul　play　suspected。。。　

Maybe　the　big　white　house　would　burn　to　the　ground；　everyone　trapped　inside。　Of　course；　they'd　need　
bodies　for　that　one。　Eight　humans　of　roughly　the　right　size。　Burned　beyond　recognition—beyond　the　help　
of　dental　records。　

Either　of　those　would　be　tricky—for　me；　that　is。　It　would　be　hard　to　find　them　if　they　didn't　want　to　be　
found。　Of　course；　I　had　forever　to　look。　If　you　had　forever；　you　could　check　out　every　single　piece　of　
straw　in　the　haystack；　one　by　one；　to　see　if　it　was　the　needle。　

Right　now；　I　wouldn't　mind　dismantling　a　haystack。　At　least　that　would　be　something　to　do。　I　hated　
knowing　that　I　could　be　losing　my　chance。　Giving　the　bloodsuckers　the　time　to　escape；　if　that　was　their　
plan。　

We　could　go　tonight。　We　could　kill　every　one　of　them　that　we　could　find。　

I　liked　that　plan　because　I　knew　Edward　well　enough　to　know　that；　if　I　killed　any　one　of　his　coven；　I　
would　get　my　chance　at　him；　too。　He'd　e　for　revenge。　And　I'd　give　it　to　him—I　wouldn't　let　my　
brothers　take　him　down　as　a　pack。　It　would　be　just　him　and　me。　May　the　better　man　win。　

But　Sam　wouldn't　hear　of　it。　We're　not　going　to　break　the　treaty。　Let　them　make　the　breach。　Just　
because