Prologue: My Space Heater

It was warm, at least. I supposed, in the end, as his too-warm temperature eclipsed all the cold of the storm, I didn't really mind after all. My consciousness was floating in a warm limbo between relief and embarrassment, and I was careful not to let it lean too far one way or another.

"Jealous, bloodsucker?" Jacob teased again. I could feel icy disapproval emanating from Edward as he carefully kept his distance. Maybe for once I could understand how his self-control, which was usually so impeccable around me, might slip. Jacob was being so unnecessarily irritating.

"Of course I am," Edward said. At least he was being honest, even though it didn't really matter; Jacob didn't need to be a private eye detective to know the truth. "Quite frankly, it's all I can do not to tear out your throat right now. You're very lucky Bella is here."

"If Bella weren't here, neither would I," Jacob pointed out, making a point of rubbing his cheek against my hair. "As it turns out, things are working very well for me." I considered reprimanding him, but he was so warm...

"Stupid pup," Edward muttered, quite uncharacteristically. Then, suddenly, he jumped to his feet, head bent so he was just brushing the roof of the tent. I couldn't see him, but I could picture the expression on his face; intent, listening to something other than Jacob, whose body had tensed against me. "Seth?" he called out after a moment.

A loud growl sounded from outside, followed by a high-pitched yelp that went trailing into the distance.

Edward gasped. "No, Seth! Get back here!" I heard the tent flap unzip in a quick, loud buzz; then, without bothering to inform either Jacob or me what was going on, Edward ghosted out the opening and practically flew out of sight.

Cold, icy air flowed in through the open flap, but none of it touched Jacob or me. "What's going on?" I managed to murmur. Jacob jerked in surprise - he'd thought I was asleep.

"I don't know, Bella," he responded, stroking my hair. I could feel the tension in his movements. "I can't phase...I dunno what's going on. Must be something big, for the bloodsucker to go streaking off like that." His voice, harsh with tension, betrayed what he wasn't saying - he wanted badly to follow Edward and Seth.

"You want to go after them," I said. It wasn't a question.

"No." I knew he was lying, and I felt guilty for keeping him here. But Edward had left - and with him in danger, I couldn't possibly let Jacob go after him. "I won't leave you, Bella," he promised, and that wasn't a lie.

Even though every fiber of my being was protesting against what I was about to say, I had to say it. "Go, Jacob. Just for a minute, so you can phase and figure out what's going on."

He hesitated; that in itself was a significant gauge of how worried he was. "I can't leave you alone..."

"I'll be fine, Jacob," I lied, even though all of my cells were bracing for the relentless cold that would come after he was gone. "Just for a minute."

Jacob sighed, but I could feel his relief. "Thanks, Bella." He unzipped the sleeping bag and wriggled out, cursing as soon as he touched the cold floor. "Shit, that's cold!"

"Thought you were a space heater," I teased, even though cold air was already filling the empty space in the sleeping bag.

"I am," he said immediately, getting to his feet. "Just the shock." His black eyes glinted with worry as he looked down at me. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I'm FINE," I repeated. "GO, Jake."

With a last regretful glance back, he climbed out through the tent flap, zipping it up carefully after him. A few minutes passed before I heard the telltale explosion of the phase - and then a long, loud howl of pure fury.

"JAKE!" I screamed, unable to tell whether he was in pain or not.

The moments felt like hours as I struggled vainly to escape the sleeping bag - the zipper was stuck. About that same time was when the shivering started - again, I was freezing cold. Then all of the breath escaped my chest in a relieved whoosh as the tent flap unzipped and Jacob's face appeared through the gap.

But the relief vanished as I realized his eyes were wild with pain and guilt. "Sam's in trouble - I've got to go - " He was panting like he was still in wolf form, and I could tell he wanted badly to phase again. The black depths cleared for a moment, just a split second, and his voice was agonized. "I'm so sorry, Bella - I - I can't - "

"Jacob," I cried, reaching out for him, even as my white skin blistered with cold. It was the wrong thing to do - the pain on his face intensified. An agonized growl erupted from his chest as his whole body shook.

"I promise, Bella," he said fiercely, grabbing both my hands and holding them in the vicelike grip I knew so well. "I promise...I swear I'll come back. And Bella, if I don't...I'll always, always love you."

I felt like I couldn't speak - sudden feeling erupted in me, my mind clearing suddenly as I realized that I knew. "Me too, Jake," I whispered, squeezing his hands weakly. "Me too."

"Goodbye," he hissed roughly, and then he was gone.

It felt like hours. Hours upon hours, crossing into days, then weeks, then years...years of shivering and cold and fear and pain and memory of his agonized face. The tears freezing on my face in twin streaks as I thought of them. My Edward, my Jacob...out there in the storm and battle...fighting to save me, and only me, as I huddled alone and maybe froze to death in this little prison cell.

And then, a voice.

"Bella?"

But it wasn't either of the ones I had been waiting for. Little Seth Clearwater unzipped the tent and pushed his way through the opening, looking very relieved to see me curled up in a shivering ball in my sleeping bag, still alive in a sense. "Bella? Are you okay?"

My throat felt like pebbly gravel and I wasn't sure if I could speak. I now realized that the storm had dimmed down a little; it wasn't so cold anymore, and my shivering had toned down a bit. Seth's comfortable werewolf body temperature helped, too. Finally I managed to cough out something close to normal human speech. "Where's Jacob and Edward?"

Seth looked uneasy. Like this was a question he didn't want to answer. "They're still fighting," he muttered finally, staring at his bare feet.

"Still fighting?" I was stunned. "But...it's been so long..."

He now looked surprised. "Only an hour..."

I'd miscounted time in my dreadful state. But, still, a whole hour.

"Why aren't you with them?" I demanded hoarsely. "Why aren't you fighting?" I knew it was unfair, that none of this was Seth Clearwater's fault, but he was one less fighter for our side.

"They made me come back to see if you were okay." His voice was still low and shameful. "They didn't want me fighting anyway. Leah gets to fight, but not me."

"Is Sam all right?" The last thing I remembered clearly was Jacob saying something about Sam in trouble.

Seth carefully averted my gaze, staring first up at the ceiling, then at each wall of the tent. "He's hurt," he muttered unwillingly.

"How badly?" At least it wasn't Jacob or Edward. I reprimanded myself quickly for thinking something like that. Sam Uley was the last person the werewolves could afford to lose.

"Not too bad. Your bloodsucker doctor is looking after him."

Carlisle and Sam were both out of the fight? No wonder it was taking so long. How could we win now? My head swam and I struggled to focus on other things. "Are Jacob and Edward okay?"

"They were all right when I left. But I've got to phase to know for sure." His eyes strayed longingly back out into the storm.

I nodded fiercely. "Phase, then. I've got to know they're okay."

Seth gave me a grateful glance. "All right." He turned back toward the tent flap, his gaze straying back to me. "Stay here, okay? They'll kill me if you leave."

"I will," I promised, waving. Maybe it was a little too enthusiastic; he sent me a suspicious look, but then ran back out into the storm. Moments later I heard the telltale ripping of fabric.

Crawling out of my sleeping bag, I picked up the parka that lay on the floor of the tent. The solid layer of ice had melted, whether in Jacob's or Seth's heat, I couldn't tell. Shaking off the worst of the water, I put it on. It helped almost immediately, though of course it was still cold.

I had lied to Seth. There was no way I was going to stay here any longer, with not only Jacob and Edward in danger, but Sam Uley as well. If I had to pull a third-wife sacrifice, I would. It didn't matter to me any more. And maybe the run through the forest would warm me up.

Seth was already gone when I poked my head cautiously out of the tent flap. I could only see for a little ways through the swirling blizzard of ice and snow. Again my teeth started chattering of their own accord, but at least I wasn't nearly as cold as earlier in the night.

But which way would I go?

If I had been a vampire or a werewolf, I could have followed Seth's trail, but I was only a weak, helpless human. The snow had long since covered up any tracks. I blinked furiously, wiping snow from my face, staring through the relentless white. "JACOB! EDWARD!" I shouted, but the wind whipped my voice away like a rag doll. I could barely hear myself.

But then something rose above the howling wind, something loud and plaintive, filled with pain and fear. A wolf's howl.

"JACOB!" I called again, and staggered blindly through the storm.

I never knew how I managed to keep going. Every time I felt like I had to stop, like there was no possible way I was going in the right direction, I heard another sound - a howl, a snarl, even a hideous cracking sound that sounded like a million trees breaking. Once I thought I even heard Emmett's familiar roar over the wind, or Alice's high yowling.

And finally, finally, I reached the clearing.

It was a nightmare. A massacre. At first I only saw the scattered white chunks and spots of red trailing across the snow - undoubtedly werewolf blood, since vampires didn't bleed - and then I could make out the vague, blurred shapes of my friends. The first person I saw was Jasper, at the forefront of the fight, expertly ripping newborns to pieces. Then I saw Alice and Esme fighting back-to-back in a spinning circle, slashing out at anything that came near.

But there were so many newborns.

Even with my limited skill on the battlefield, I could see that we were on the defensive. Even Carlisle, his fair face twisted in fury, was slowly backing up until he was level with Alice and Esme - swiftly dodging an attack that connected thunderously with a tree, he shot between the two females to slice at the feet of another newborn. Emmett was giving bearlike roars of fury as he swung this way and that, brunt strength clashing with that of the newborns. Rosalie was a few yards away - I watched as she sped toward him, leaped onto his back, and defended the rear.

Wait - if Carlisle was here, fighting, where was Sam Uley?

Then I saw the enormous, black, huddled shape at the edge of the clearing in a pool of blood. When Seth had told me that Carlisle was looking after Sam, I had assumed that he had taken him back to the reservation, out of harm's way. But Carlisle wasn't taking care of him, and Sam...did that mean he was dead?

And where was Edward?

The wind changed course - I barely noticed as my hair started blowing into my face rather than back. Then I realized that the new breeze was carrying my scent straight down into the clearing. All at one time, like an army of robots, the newborns looked up simultaneously, and so did my vampire family.

"NO!" someone screamed, and I realized it was Alice. She and Esme soared over to the snow to me at the same time, taking identical defensive positions on either side of me. "What the hell are you doing here, Bella?" Alice demanded furiously. Esme was too busy fending off a ravenous newborn, his face twisted with hunger, to add anything.

"I...Jacob said...Sam..." I couldn't explain myself clearly enough. Changing the topic quickly, I asked with equal fervor, "Where's Edward?"

"Edward?" Alice repeated, shock crossing her perfect features. "He's supposed to be with you!"

"No, Alice, he left! He...he came here to fight...something...about Sam..." I let my gaze flicker toward the huddled black mass at the edge of the clearing. Alice didn't bother to look - she knew what I was looking at.

"He never showed up!" Esme cried, thrusting the newborn vampire away with such force that he flew halfway across the clearing, to be dealt with swiftly by Emmett and Rosalie. "What...what about Seth and Jacob?"

Words died on my tongue. Neither Esme or Alice knew anything. "What's going on?" I asked dully. It seemed the only reasonable question to ask in this sort of situation.

Esme bit her lip. Of course it didn't bleed. Her honey-blond hair was encrusted with snow and her pale skin looked even whiter than usual. "Edward and Seth were supposed to stay with you. The plan was that Jacob would stay for a bit, and then go to the Quileutes and fight. Where did they go, Bella?"

"I don't KNOW!" I wailed, exhaustion and cold threatening to overcome me. Alice caught me before my knees hit the ground and helped me stand upright, her topaz eyes wide with fear. "Seth - Seth went running off and Edward went after him. He thought I was safe with Jake...but Jake...something...Sam..." I took a deep breath, forcing myself to make sense. "Jake went outside to phase and see what was going on. He said Sam was in trouble...and he left...but shouldn't he have come here? And then Seth came back...he said Jacob and Edward were fighting...and he left to phase...and I came here."

Alice shook her head angrily, her spiky black hair standing out in a contrasting halo around her perfect face. "Jeez, Bella! Why'd you come here? Why'd you leave - " She whirled around and struck out with a pale arm, sending a newborn stumbling back into Esme's fatal grip.

"Alice, can you see anything?" I asked desperately. "Where's Jacob and Edward?"

Alice closed her eyes for a moment as Esme defended all three of us. A moment later she opened them. "I can't see them. Edward - Edward must be mixed up with the wolves. Hang on, Bella - Bella, stay!"

I wasn't even sure how I'd gotten there, but I was standing at the edge of the trees. Alice was standing next to me in less than a second, and her high voice pealed out across the clearing. "JASPER!"

Jasper was suddenly there, his tawny hair caked with snow, topaz eyes still wild with the fury of battle. Esme ran back into the clearing to take his place in the fray. "Bella?" he croaked with surprise when he spotted me. "Oh, no - Bella, you've got to get out of here!" Even as he spoke I could tell that his heightened war senses were catching up to him as he strained away from me, biting his lip so sharply I almost expected to see blood.

Alice grabbed my shoulders and pulled me around to face her. Over my shoulder she hissed something so fast to Jasper I couldn't understand it. Almost immediately, an unnatural calm began to flood through me. I wanted to glare at Jasper, but of course I couldn't rustle up enough mutiny to do so. "Bella," Alice said urgently, "if Jasper's like this, imagine how much worse the newborns will be."

I knew she was right - already the newborns were darting up the hill toward us. Jasper was almost invisible as he flitted in a defensive line in front of me and Alice. At least the newborns were distracted as Rosalie, Esme, Carlisle, and Emmett attacked them from the sides and behind. Who knew - Jasper's plan had come into play after all.

"Alice, you've got to fight!" I yelled at her, trying to shove her towards the newborns. It was like pushing on a stone wall. "They need you!"

Alice's eyes were shut tight. The expression on her face was very calm and focused. After an eternity she opened them and looked at me. "Edward's not with the wolves anymore."

My focus shifted immediately. "Where is he, Alice?" I shouted, trying to shake her. Needless to say, it didn't work. "What's going on?"

"He's coming here," Alice said bluntly.

"Is he okay? Is he hurt? Is he alone? Is he coming to get me or to fight?" The questions poured out of my mouth like water. Alice winced at the hysterical tone in my voice.

"He's - "

But she never got to answer. Above the loud, grisly growls and snarling coming from the vampires, a long, loud wolf howl emanated from the woods. And out into the clearing exploded the Quileute pack.

At their head was one of the people I wanted to see more than anything else - Edward. His sparkling skin glistened in the wintry sunlight as he ghosted across the snow, cutting down newborns in his wake. But why had Alice said he wasn't with the wolves? The Quileutes poured out into the clearing behind him, reducing the odds in our favor within seconds.

Where was Jacob?

The werewolves were moving fast, but nowhere in their midst could I spot the familiar reddish-brown hue of my friend's fur. Dread sank in again as I realized it wasn't over. It wouldn't be over until I found Jacob.

In just a few moments, the newborns were gone. Glistening white chunks were strewn over the snow. Out of nowhere, Embry and Quil were walking in their human forms with torches in their hands - where had they come from? In minutes the clearing was ablaze.

"Bella."

I turned slowly to gaze up at his angel's face. "EDWARD!" Throwing my arms around him, I didn't care that he was just as cold as the snow. I didn't care that my shivering started up again just about when I touched him. I didn't care that once again, my relieved tears were freezing on my face. I was just so, so glad that he was there.

It seemed an eternity before I could bring myself to pull away. "Wh-wh-where's J-Jacob?" I stuttered. Edward moved forward as if he wanted to put his hand on my shoulder, but drew back at the last moment. The expression in his topaz eyes was suddenly impossible to bear.

"Where's Jacob?" I repeated.

His self-control vanished as he crushed me to his stone chest again. "Oh, Bella..."

"EDWARD!" I shouted through blinding tears. "WHERE'S JACOB?"

"Bella, I'm sorry..."

"Jacob," I whispered.

And the blackness took me.