9. MEETING

Bella and Jacob separated so that they both could eat. Jacob would scrounge what he could, and Bella would take a turn at hunting game instead of Homo sapiens. They would return to the same spot after they had each dined el fresco, spend another night in the forest, and then travel north.

That was the plan, anyway.

But as Jacob returned from stealing some havarti cheese and pumpernickel bread out of a local kitchen, he froze mid-step and mid-chew. The leaves above his head rustled in a summer breeze, and he whirled his head around, scanning the brush and undergrowth of the forest.

"Hello, Jacob," said a familiar voice, and within an instant, Jacob was no longer alone. It was suddenly a party of four.

Jacob cast away the bread and cheese, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as he towered over the intruders. "Edward, Alice, Jasper. What the hell do you all want?"

Edward sensed she had been there, and recently. Jacob's reaction to seeing them only proved this point. He was hiding her. Instinctively, Edward moved into the crouched, attack stance, his eyes never straying from his target.

Alice, blind to the future in Jacob's presence, was unwilling to allow the boys to come to blows. She shot a telling glance at Jasper, who quickly put all his strength into calming the love-stricken warriors. The ferocious mood diffused slightly, but if looks could kill, both Jacob and Edward would have dropped dead on the spot.

"Where is she, Jacob?" Edward asked, his jaw clenched and tight.

"Who?" Jacob replied, preferring to play dumb with the leeches.

"You know who. Bella," Edward said, his raging golden eyes never straying from Jacob's impassive face.

"Bells? Haven't seen her. You know, you really should keep better tabs on your girlfriends, Bloodsucker. But, I couldn't blame her if she took off."

Edward ignored the spoken remarks, and decided to attack Jacob's thoughts instead, but with little success. "Can you stop saying the twelve times tables in your head?! We know she's here. I'd know her scent anywhere."

Jacob grinned nastily, but something eerily silent exchanged between the two. Edward winced, and swallowed hard.

Concerned, Alice asked, "Edward, what is it?" Unwilling to utter a reply, Edward simply shook his head.

"Enjoyed that, did you?" Jacob said viciously. "I know I sure did."

In a flash that was all rage and snarls, Edward lunged at his adversary. Alice and Jasper instantly caught him, however, much to Jacob's disappointment as much as Edward's.

"No, seriously!" Jacob thundered, calling to them. "Let him go! Let's have this out, Edward, you and me! The last one standing gets Bella. What's the matter? Too noble and self-righteous to kill a human?! I promise I'll have no regrets killing you!"

Jasper looked as though he were merely bored, and turned to Edward's murderous face, thinking, This is a waste of time. Perhaps Bella has already left him.

"No," Edward replied to Jasper. "She's close."

"I'll go," Alice said, about to take off.

"No!" Edward said, grabbing her hand. "She'll think we're trying to trap her. She must come of her own accord."

"But Edward," Alice said, shaking her head. "She'll just run again."'

"Not this time," Edward assured. "She'll know I'm here."

All the while, Jacob had been screaming bloody murder, enraged that the three were speaking in whispers, ignoring him. "Did you hear what I said, Leech?! Come on! Fight me!"

Edward broke free of Alice and Jasper's grasp, rounding on Jacob. "Yes, I heard you!" he roared, his voice full of vim and passion. "I have the benefit of listening to both your poisonous speech and thoughts, but I won't fight you, Jacob!"

"Coward," Jacob spat, his bare chest heaving.

"No, wise. Even when you scream your thoughts at me, shove intimate moments in my face, you betray yourself."

Utterly bewildered, Jacob said, "What are you talking about?"

For the first time since his arrival, Edward seemed to melt into despair, letting down his iron-clad guard. "I know who'll she'll chose, Jacob. After all that I've done to her...I don't know why she'd choose me. You're right. She's better off with you."

Jacob didn't know what to say. "Right. So...go."

"We can't," Jasper said. "The Volturi are coming. They want to meet Bella. You can't run from this. They'll wonder why Bella isn't with her maker."

The word 'maker' made Jacob sneer, as though he had just smelled something foul. "I can take care of Bella."

"This isn't up for negotiation," Edward snarled. "Bella's safety is foremost. She may be immortal, stronger than the rest of us combined, but she can't hide from the Volturi. No one can."

Scowling, Jacob said, "So, what next then?"

"We wait."