"Bella!"

I looked up from my book, Wuthering Heights, to see Jacob bounding over to me, a huge grin on his face. It was infectious; I grinned back.

"Did you have fun with Paul?" I teased, putting my bookmark in and setting the book down on the little table in Jacob's yard. I had found the set, two old chairs and a tiny table, at a yard sale, and I bought them for his house because I loved sitting outside with the bracing breeze from the ocean washing over me. It was calming.

"Ha ha," he said, rolling his eyes. He leaned down to kiss me, his lips meeting mine perfectly. We fit together like a matched set, knowing how each other's lips moved in sync. I breathed in his woodsy smell and felt dizzy. He pulled back, still beaming. "Paul wishes he had as much fun as we do." I laughed, and he sat beside me. He grabbed my hand, our arms dangling in the space between the chairs.

"Has Quil gotten faster than you yet?" I asked, watching him. He was glistening with a slight sheen of sweat from running.

"Hell, no!" he laughed, his head lolling to the side to look at me. "Nobody is faster than me!" I rolled my eyes.

"Sure, sure," I said. He squeezed my hand. "There's still a few hours left until sunset. Did you want to do anything else?" He perked up.

"Actually, yeah, there is," he said. I looked at him questioningly, but he smirked silently back. "Come on." He tugged me up, keeping my hand in his, and we walked into the forest. When we were deep enough, he stopped, letting go of my hand. I turned instinctively, knowing he was going to phase, so that he could have the privacy of taking off his shorts. When he phased, the air shimmered slightly, and I turned around to face my favorite red-brown wolf. He pulled his lips back in a grin, dipping his head so I could touch his muzzle.

He made a soft barking kind of sound, and then he bounded off into the trees, sniffing the ground. It looked like he was searching for something. I stood patiently, watching him. He came back with a large stick held in his mouth, and he trotted over to where I stood. He placed it gently down onto the ground in front of me, nudging it a little with his nose. When he was satisfied, he went back for another stick. He did this until he had laid down enough sticks to spell out a word, a sloppy 'hey' in the grass. I laughed, peals of giggling that rang through the forest. He sat in front of me, head tilted, exuding happiness.

"Nice trick, Jake," I applauded, reaching out for his head again. Before I could touch him, though, a low ripping snarl emerged from the forest behind us. I froze, and instantaneously, Jake was crouched down to attack. I tried to shrink into myself, terrified of what I had heard. It was not a wolf; it sounded more like an angry mountain lion. Jake shook his head slightly, encouraging me to run back to his house. I couldn't move, couldn't leave him. If it was an animal, he could get hurt. If it was something else…

He growled, the vicious sound tearing from deep inside him, and I was terrified. His tail flicked to the left, and I warily followed his motion. From the trees emerged two more wolves, one smaller and grey (Embry) and the other dark brown (Quil). I instantly felt myself relax. Beside them, Paul was in human form, walking in a pair of black shorts and looking around wildly. Jacob growled deeply, and Paul looked right at me.

"I'm taking you to Emily's," he said, "and they'll find whatever this is." I nodded numbly, reaching out to touch the fur on Jacob's back. He twitched under my hand. Paul ran over to me and scooped me up in his arms. While Jake, Quil, and Embry ran off deeper into the forest, Paul jogged with me in the other direction to Emily's.

I was petrified. Normally, animal noises didn't scare me. When Jake and I would go out running, sometimes we heard bears roaring, but with him, I felt safe. This noise, though was something else entirely. It was familiar in a way, but I couldn't place it. The sound sent shivers rolling down my spine despite Paul's warmth, so similar to Jacob's. He ran in silence, barely jostling me. I wondered where Jacob was, what he had found.

When we got to Emily's, Paul put me down gently, holding my shoulder to make sure that I was steady before letting go. I glanced up at him, and he was looking down at me in the strangest way. I ignored it.

"Thank you, Paul," I said, smiling at him. He smiled back, but that odd look was still in his eyes. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but he went inside ahead of me before I could. I followed him in.

We only had to wait about fifteen minutes before Jake threw the front door open. He only had eyes for me; he immediately locked onto me and rushed over, pulling me into a crushing hug.

"Jake," I spluttered. "Air!" He loosened his grip, but he didn't let go. He kissed the top of my head, quietly moving me back and forth. The door opened again, and Sam came in with Quil and Embry following behind. He gave Emily a quick peck on the cheek before turning back to me.

"We searched the woods, but we couldn't find anything," he reported, watching me. "The sound was no doubt a vampire, but we found nothing besides the Cullens' old scents." I was petrified. If Jake hadn't been holding me, I would surely have collapsed. I knew that this would never be perfect. The Volturi had come for me. Victoria had sent a friend to finish the job. I was trying not to hyperventilate.

"Shh, honey, it's okay," Jake whispered, running his hands through my hair. I tried to calm down, but I couldn't find my resolve. I glanced up at Jacob, and the fear in my eyes was enough for him to pick me up gently and take me outside. Once away from the rest of the pack, I let myself fall apart. I fell to the ground, my knees scraping against the dirt, and breathed so heavily that I couldn't tell if air was even getting into my lungs. Jake picked me up and held me vertically against his chest, my arms around his neck. He was so tall that my feet didn't come close to touching the ground.

"It's all right, you're all right," he repeated, his voice low and in my ear. I listened to it and let it relax me. I slowed my breathing down and focused on the even rising and falling of his chest. I tried to match his breathing, and it worked. I felt better.

"Jake, I'll never be safe," I said quietly, glad that his arms were still around me to hold me against the fresh wave of panic that splintered through me. He shook his head violently.

"You are absolutely safe with us, Bells," he said definitively. "We'll protect you from anything that might be out there." I felt jittery, and I squirmed out of Jacob's embrace. I set my feet down on the ground and began to pace.

"Sam said that you could only smell the Cullens," I said, my mind whirling, "which is weird because any vampire would leave a scent. And that was way too loud of a sound to have been very far away. No, it was definitely right behind us. So why could you not tell who it was? I just don't-" Jacob pressed his lips to mine, cutting me off mid-sentence. I was surprised by the sudden contact, my feet still wanting to pace back and forth but my face held tightly in Jacob's grip.

"Please slow down," he said, breaking away and leaning his forehead against mine. Our noses skimmed each other lightly. "You're going to give yourself a heart attack worrying like this."

"But Jake, how can I not worry?" I cried, throwing my hands up and starting to pace again. "Something, a vampire of all things, is after me again! This is never going to stop! I'll have to run for the rest of my life and somehow one of them will still get me!" I stopped, covering my face with my hands, still shaking. Jake stood a foot away, watching me. I took a few deep breaths, trying to compose myself. He reached out a hand, waiting for me to take it. When I did, I instantly felt better. It was like his calmness flowed out of his hands and into me. I felt my tense muscles begin to unwind.

"We'll figure it out," he said, smiling. I couldn't return the smile, but I held his hand tightly anyway.

"We have no reason to believe that it was here for you, but Jake has graciously volunteered to watch over you tonight," Sam said back inside his house, a hint of sarcasm peppering his words. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I'll scout out the woods tonight," Paul piped up, standing from the chair he had sunken into earlier. "If I catch even a whiff of a new vamp, I'll let you know." Sam nodded.

"That takes care of it all, then," he said, a note of finality in his voice. "Jacob, why don't you take Bella home? It's getting late." He agreed, and we left quietly.

He drove my truck while I sat in the passenger's seat, curled up beside him. I felt better, knowing that he was there. I was so curious, trying to figure out what had snuck up on us earlier. How had Jake not heard it? Why didn't it leave a trail for them to follow? The questions swirled in my head and blocked out the panic, at least temporarily, as I wondered. We were parked in front of Charlie's house before I had time to worry. He cut the engine and stared at me, his eyes unfathomable.

"What?" I demanded. He shook his head, his usual bouncy demeanor returning.

"Nothing," he lied. I wanted to call him out on it, but I didn't want to push him. "I was just thinking about how annoying it is to have to sneak in and out of your house every night." I narrowed my eyes. This hadn't been where I thought his train of thought was leading.

"Well, then stop coming," I challenged, petulant. He rolled his eyes at me.

"That's not what I meant," he snapped back. "I meant that I wish I didn't have to sneak, emphasis on the 'sneak'." I thought about it for a second. I'd graduated high school, and at 18, it wasn't unheard of to live on my own. That had been my plan, before life with Jacob had gotten in the way.

"I didn't realize it bothered you," I admitted, looking at my hands. He cupped my chin and pulled it up to face him. His smile was radiant, beautiful; it reflected off the copper in his skin like silk.

"It was just a thought, honey," he said, running his hand along my jaw. I closed my eyes, leaning slightly into his touch. The warmth was soothing.

"Will I see you tonight?" I asked. He laughed, throwing his head back. I was, apparently, hilarious.

"Don't you remember what Sam said?" he reminded me. "I volunteered to keep watch on you tonight." He leaned over and kissed me, sending a wave of joy down to my toes. We got out of the truck

"I'll see you in a few hours," he called, walking into the woods towards La Push. I saw a flash of his vast shoulders before he disappeared. I went inside, made small talk with Charlie about Jacob's progress (played down for his benefit), and went up to my room. I flopped onto my bed, stretching my fingers out to occupy the entire space. I fished my phone out of my pocket and hit one of the numbers on my speed dial, the only one I ever called. It only rang once before her beautiful voice was suddenly angry with me.

"Isabella Marie Swan!" she chided. I breathed, reveling in the gracefulness of Alice's voice. It had been a few days since I'd last called her, and she was obviously upset. "I am not happy with you right now!" I sighed, cupping the phone.

"I'm sorry, Alice," I apologized, hoping that I sounded remorseful. "I've been really busy here, and now that Jake can run again, he's been spending a lot of time with the pack and I've been holding down the fort." She made a tiny sound of annoyance.

"So while he's gone, and you have more than ample time to call your best friend, you'd rather ignore my texts?" she asked, still upset. I cursed internally for mentioning how often he was gone.

"I won't let it happen again," I allowed. It was the best I could do, under the circumstances. "I'll call you every night." She laughed.

"How's everything with the pups?" she asked, and I could hear music playing in the background. I wondered where she was.

"Everyone's fine," I replied, staring at my ceiling. "Leah has been gone for…almost two weeks now, though."

"She still won't come back?" Alice asked in amazement. "I would never have imagined that she could stay away for this long. What about her mom? What about Seth?"

"She's just being selfish, now that Sam and Emily's wedding is coming up."

"Well, she shouldn't worry everyone else because she's upset." Alice, always the selfless one. I smiled at her voice. It really was great to talk to her.

"Tell me about Denali. How's the Alaskan summer?"

"That's what I've been trying to talk to you about!" she sang, her voice dipping like a melody. "We left Denali. We're trying our luck on the east coast."

"Where?"

"Maine." I felt a pang at the thought. She was so far away. I missed her terribly, though I tried to never let it show, especially not to her. "It's a small fishing town right on the water. It's beautiful, but it's too sunny for my taste." I smiled.

"You know, you can be honest and finally admit that you miss Forks," I teased. She was quiet for a moment.

"Of course we miss Forks," she said quietly. I was suddenly aching, the loss of my family opening the hole in my chest wide. "But Carlisle didn't want to put Edward through that anymore." Another stab of pain with his name. I could see his face, pleading with Carlisle to leave Forks, begging him to get away from me, from the pain that we shared.

"I thought he wasn't with you all anymore," I said, less of a question than a statement. "Without him, you can move back, and he would be fine on his own. It's not the same without you here." I immediately regretted the slip as soon as it was out; admitting my pain to Alice was absolutely forbidden, a terrible crime. I hated to have her know how I missed them. I didn't want her to know that I wasn't fine-just-fine.

"Bella," she said softly, her voice trailing over what she couldn't bear to say.

"Let's talk about something else," I said quickly, trying to change the subject. "Apparently, there was a vampire in La Push today." I knew I would get her attention with that. She was almost screeching.

"Bella, why didn't you call me immediately?" she cried, her voice so high that it hurt my ears. "I can't believe that you went an entire conversation without mentioning that! What did the wolves find? Was there any trace?" Her words blended together, suddenly too fast for me to make out. I waited for her to stop before interrupting.

"Alice, that's why I was calling you," I said, trying to sound calm. "I just didn't want to get you worked up."

"Too late for that, Bella!" she shrieked. I heard her put her hand over the phone and begin speaking, far too fast to make out the words. I tried to call her name back into the phone to get her attention, but she wasn't listening. I could tell, from the murmurs of other voices, that she was telling her family about the visitor. The phone crackled for a moment.

"Hello, Bella," Carlisle said smoothly. I had to wrap my arms around my torso to stop the pain from tearing at me.

"Hi, Carlisle," I answered, in what I hoped was a composed tone.

"Did the wolves smell anything distinctive?" he asked. "If there is any chance that it was a member of the Volturi, we'd have to return to help smooth over the situation." I sighed, rubbing my forehead. I was afraid of this kind of reaction, with Alice giving me no time to explain.

"Do you mind if I tell you what happened before you all make plans to run back over here? I don't think it's the Volturi, but I'm still not sure who it could be."

"Of course," Carlisle said, relaxing. "Go ahead."

"Jacob and I were in the forest, and we heard this awful…snarl, is the best way I can explain it. So he and a few of the other wolves went to figure out what it was, because they said it was a sound that only a vampire could make. But when they came back, they said they found nothing besides your old trails. We were all really confused. I think Sam thinks we imagined things, although he was too nice to admit it to our faces." Carlisle was quiet for a moment, a contemplative silence.

"And they were sure that there were no scent trails besides ours? I've never heard of a vampire who left no scent…" He trailed off, still thinking. I heard his voice talking to someone on the other end of the line, his tone soothing and reassuring.

"If you wanted, I could have Jake call you and explain everything for himself," I suggested.

"If it's not too much trouble," Carlisle answered immediately. "I would appreciate hearing the story from him, as he was one of the wolves who followed the sound." I heard Alice's light voice on the other end, and Carlisle chuckled. "Alice would like to speak to you again." I smiled.

"It was really great to hear from you," I said, hoping that I wasn't overstepping by admitting it to him. I missed Carlisle, with his calming presence and wisdom, more than I had thought I would.

"I very much enjoy hearing that you are doing well, Bella," he said, sounding so suddenly sad that it nearly snapped my heart in half. I had to compose myself before I could put the phone back to my ear.

"Bella, I just can't believe that your life is so interesting without us!" she was saying, exasperated. "The most that we've done here is learned how to fish!" The thought of Emmett, huge and impatient, sitting quietly with a fishing pole was enough to set me off, and I was laughing with Alice, her laugh twinkling.

"It is odd, though," she said pensively. "Perhaps he could have hidden in one of our old scent trails? But surely the wolves would have been able to smell an unfamiliar scent among familiar ones."

"I'm not sure, Alice."

"In any case, I'm glad you're safe. Knowing that you have Jacob puts me at ease when I worry about how many ways you could kill yourself." I rolled my eyes, and we were both quiet. She knew what was coming, and though I could barely bring myself to say the words, I always asked, every time.

"So," I said quietly. The torrential downpour of pain inside of me picked up, preparing. "Have you heard from Edward?" I set it off; the fire that was so often held at bay began to consume me. I was aflame, aching in every inch of myself. I wanted to rip myself out of my skin, if only to stop the burning.

"He's well," she replied, her typical answer. "Although…" The silence that came after that was heavy. I ached to know more, wanted some snippet of information that would tell me how he was, but I was afraid of how it would hurt.

"What?" I braced myself.

"Something strange happened the other day. His future suddenly disappeared." I felt my breath hitch in my throat, so tight that I felt lightheaded. I instantly felt tears spring into my eyes. If his future disappeared, he was gone. Alice heard my change and immediately put on a soothing voice. "Bella, he's fine. He's all right. I spoke with him just yesterday. Everything is fine." I tried so hard to compose myself, lying down on my side, curling my legs up in front of me. I willed her to continue, and my silence prompted her.

"He's been gone for a few weeks, but that you knew. He was in Europe until about a week ago. Then, I saw him coming back to the states. When his plane landed in Los Angeles – at night, of course – his future suddenly disappeared. I hadn't been watching him closely, but when he vanished, I was terrified. I called him immediately, and he answered like it was any other day. He had no idea why I couldn't see him, but he assured me he was fine and just trying to keep himself occupied by travelling. It frightened me, Bella. Perhaps my visions are fading…" She grew quiet, but I couldn't answer. My mouth was so dry that I could barely move my tongue.

"He's in California?" I managed, trying to keep my voice calm. She made a noise of agreement, careful to estimate my reaction.

"Would you be opposed to me coming back to Forks?" she asked suddenly. "I'm still worried about this vampire you and Jacob heard. I want to investigate for myself, if that's all right."

"Alice of course!" I cried. The hole in my chest closed up, and I was suddenly bouncing around my room. The thought of seeing Alice again was wonderful. "I would be so happy if you came! Jake won't mind, he always liked you, and you could stay for a few days and god Alice I miss you so much and-"

"Bella, take a breath," she said, laughing. "I'll be there by tomorrow afternoon." I relaxed instantly, calmed by the thought of her coming, really truly coming. I hadn't seen her in what felt like years.

"Call me when you land," I said, joyous.

"To think that I would fly when I could instead drive my Porsche is madness!" she said, a smile in her voice. I sighed happily.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Alice," I breathed.

"Stay out of trouble until I can get there," she teased, and then she was gone. I held the phone gently, impatiently waiting for the next day.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Jacob asked, sitting on my bed with an old novel in his hands. Summer reading homework, he had said with a grimace.

"Alice is coming to visit tomorrow," I sang, still elated. I couldn't sit still; I bounced around my room, putting away clothing and tidying anything that was out of place. He watched me silently.

"Is…is she bringing anyone with her?" I stopped, turning to face him. It was obvious what he was asking. I appreciated that he avoided the direct question, knowing the pain his name caused me.

"She's coming alone," I answered softly. "She wanted to take a look at the woods where we heard the vampire, if that's all right with Sam."

"He shouldn't have a problem with it," he said. "Though I think he thinks we were both hearing things."

"I knew it!" I cried, pointing at him. "I said the same thing to Alice!" He chuckled, playing with the pages on the book that he hadn't opened since he arrived.

"How are the rest of the blood- I mean Cullens?" he amended, shying away from my glare at his condescending term for them.

"They're good," I said. "I talked to Carlisle, which was nice."

"I was hoping to talk to him before he left, but I never got the chance," Jake said, almost regrettably. "I never really thanked him."

"Oh, that reminds me," I said, turning back from my bookshelf. "Carlisle actually wanted you to call him. He wanted to hear the story from you." Jacob smiled and I tossed my phone to him. "He should be in the contacts," I said, but Jake already had the tiny phone to his ear.

"Hi Carlisle, it's Jacob Black," he said kindly. "It's great to finally talk to you again. I wanted to say thanks again for how much you helped me out after the big fight. You were great, for both me and the rest of the pack…" His voice faded away as I tuned him out. I was too focused on reorganizing my room for Alice's arrival.

My mind drifted back to the snarl in the woods. I tried to remember exactly what it sounded like; at the time, its familiarity had terrified me more than the thought of the unknown. Where had I heard the sound before? I still couldn't place it. I was too distracted, admittedly, with Alice's revelation that Edward was so close. All this time I had believed him to be thousands of miles away. In reality, he was only a few states from me.

I yearned for him, and though I couldn't admit it to Jacob or even Alice, I could let the desire for him spill from me in the privacy of my own thoughts. I was always safer inside of myself, where I could keep the pain secured. In my head, I was free to crave his touch, his cool skin, his breathtaking kiss. I was incomplete without him; but, then again, I would be incomplete without Jacob, as well. It was a horrible trade-off, having to choose one over the other, and after trying so hard to resist him for so long, I let him in. His face, his memory, flooded me at night. I heard him in the whisper of the wind outside. I felt him in the cool breeze from my open window. I saw him in the few pictures I had of him, looking at them hungrily when Jacob fell asleep each night. I no longer cried at night. Rather, I broke down and spent my nights with him.

My days with Jacob; my nights with Edward. I was torturing myself.

"Bells!" Jacob said, dragging out the word. I shook my head, freeing myself from the fantasy, and turned back to him. He was holding out my phone for me. I tucked securely back into my pocket.

"What did Carlisle think?" I asked, only half curious.

"Probably the same thing he told you," he said, reclining back into my bed. He tucked his hands behind his head, getting comfortable. I was still lost in my world with Edward, and unthinking, I floated back to organizing my closet.

"Alice told me the strangest thing," I said. I didn't realize I was about to say it until it was already out. "She said that she couldn't see Edward anymore in her visions. She said his future just…disappeared." I heard the low grunt that emanated from Jake's throat, but I couldn't focus on him. I was disgusted with myself; how had I brought that up in front of him? My chest ached.

"I thought that only happened around the wolves," he said gruffly. He rolled over, the bed springs creaking. He mumbled something that I couldn't hear. Suddenly, my mind was a hundred miles from my room, roving through my own memories and finally remembering the snarl from the woods.

Edward's future disappearing, the wolves only being able to smell the Cullens' trails…it all finally made sense. The lost memory, hazy from sleep and surprise, was suddenly clear: the peak, Edward and Jacob, Jake rolling on top of me by accident, Edward throwing him off, the snarls ripping from his chest. Low, ripping snarling. The noise from the forest and the noise from the peak were the same.

I was floating, lost, gone.

Edward?