Thirsty…

Water.

My eyes fluttered open. A black fog clouded my vision, but as the moments passed, it slowly subsided, and I was able to see clearly. I was in my room, but it was nighttime, and my door was shut. I turned to glance at the alarm clock on my bedside table, and gasped out in pain.

It was then that I realized everything hurt. It felt as though someone had pried open my skull and shoved a brick inside it. My limbs felt heavy, like they'd been stiff for days. For all I knew, they might have been. I noticed my breathing was fairly shallow, and when I tried to take a deep breath, pain stabbed at my chest like needles. I tried to flex my fingers. More pain slid up my arms.

Keeping my head very still, my eyes flickered sideways to the alarm clock. Two-thirty in the morning. What day was it? How long had I been out?

Then, with a rush of terror, I remembered what had happened before I blacked out. Horrible snarling…Jacob being thrown into me…Edward's terrified cry when he saw what happened to me…

Just then, the door opened. It would have been too soft for a human's ears, but my perceptive hearing let me know that Charlie was about to enter. Sure enough, he peeked inside to check on me.

"Hey, Dad."

My voice was rough and hoarse.

"Thirsty?" he guessed.

I nodded, and then wished I hadn't. The brick inside my head shifted, so that my brain felt like it was pounding against my skull. "I'll go get you some water," Charlie said. I waited, being as still as I could, and a few moments later, Charlie returned with a glass in hand.

He had to help me drink, as I couldn't lift my head. When I'd finished sucking down the entire glass, he offered to go get more, which I declined. Then he asked me, "You must be feeling awful now."

"Mm-hmm."

"You must have hit your head pretty hard."

I suddenly realized that what had really happened, and what Charlie thought happened, were two very different stories. In order to learn what Charlie thought he knew, I took my head injury to my advantage and played dumb. "What happened?"

"Jake said you fell of your bike while you were ramping. I didn't know you could ride over ramps," he added.

"Apparently, I can't," I answered, trying to make a joke of it. He chuckled.

"I thought I told you not to do stunts like that," he chastised. "This is the kind of thing that can happen."

I sighed—painfully—and promised I wouldn't do it again. Because, for one, I hadn't done it in the first place, and two, I didn't know whether I'd ever be on good terms with Jacob again.

His face softened, and he patted the covers over my stomach.

"Hey, Ch—Dad?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

"How long have I been out?"

He was quiet for a minute while he thought, and then answered, "Almost three days."

I gasped, wincing from the pain, but I no longer cared about that.

He frowned and said, "You need to relax, and get some sleep. When you get your voice back, you can holler if you need anything." He winked. "Good night, Bells."

"Night, Dad."

I tried to look tired as he got up to leave the room. When the door closed, however, I let panic take over.

Three days. My memory flashed back to the day I'd talked to Embry and Jared at Sam's house.

"The vampires that have been making their way toward Forks were…dormant for awhile. We've been keeping tabs on them. We followed their scent about twenty miles south of Forks. They've been hanging around there for awhile, but now they've started up again, and they'll be here soon."

"How soon?"

"Two, maybe three days."

What if the vampires were already here? What if my pack was in danger at this very moment? And what about Edward?

Completely ignoring the searing pain that shot down my spine, I used my arms to push myself out of bed. I was surprised that I was in so much pain; werewolves healed quickly. Edward must have delivered a very powerful blow.

I knew I couldn't jump out the window in my condition. I also knew that if I tried to sneak out the front door, Charlie would hear, because he surely hadn't gone back to sleep yet. So I was left to wait…

…and wait…

………………………

It was a quarter past three when I finally emerged outside my house. My limbs felt like jelly under my weight, and my head still contained the brick, but I forced myself to go anyway. I had to see Jacob, now.

I was too weak to transform, and I knew my truck's blaring engine would wake Charlie in an instant. The thought of walking all that distance, trying to bear the pain I was going through now, was nearly impossible. Hopelessly I sank to the ground. Tears brimmed my eyes; I needed to be strong now, I needed to find Jacob. I couldn't break down now.

"Don't cry, little wolf."

Wonderfully cool, familiar fingertips brushed tears from my cheek, just like that very first time. "Edward," I whispered, throwing my arms around his neck. It was amazing, how immediately calm I felt when he was there. He embraced me gently, holding me against his chest and kissing the top of my head. A sharp pain crept up my side, making me wince. Noticing my pain, he withdrew.

"No!" I protested, taking his hands at least. "Where did you—how—?"

"There's not very much time," he said, his voice low. "The vampires have reached Forks. They're aware of our presence, and of yours."

"How many are there?" I asked anxiously.

"Six. Three males, three females."

While six was more than I'd hoped for, I relaxed slightly. "Only six against your family and mine?" I said. "They won't stand a chance."

He shook his head sadly. "Their powers are unlike anything I've ever seen, anything even Carlisle has ever seen. Two of them are elementals—they control earth and fire."

"What?" I gasped, trying not to wince again.

He nodded. "The other four have mixed powers. One of them has a power similar to Jasper's—he can manipulate emotions, and in a battle, that's a powerful weapon. He could destroy your will to fight, your will to do anything."

"And the others?" I asked quietly.

"We don't know about them yet," he admitted. "Emmett and I have been spying on them, trying to figure it out. We're not sure they have powers," he added, "but it's better to be safe than sorry."

I sighed, leaning into his chest again. "What about Jacob?"

He stiffened slightly. "Jacob…is fine. Somehow, you received the worse of my attack. Bella…I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for that."

I looked up at his eyes, which were black as the sky above us. "Please don't feel bad."

He smiled grimly. "I just want you to heal soon."

"I will," I assured him. "Our kind heals very quickly."

"Your alpha—Sam—wanted us to leave for good," he said. "But once we learned about the arrival of the new vampires, we promised to your pack that we would help defend against them. It took a lot of persuading on Carlisle's part," he added, "but in the end, Sam agreed that it would be better to join forces."

"But…Jacob, he saw us in the tree," I said.

Edward sighed. "He had every intention of telling that to Sam. But he knew that if Sam figured that out, he would have definitely banished us, and your pack would be left to try and fend off the new vampires alone. Jacob finally decided that it would be better…not to say anything."

My heart went out to Jacob then. He had kept our secret, and even if it was for the good of the pack and not for me, he had still kept it.

"When will we fight?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"You will not be fighting," he clarified. "We will meet the vampires in a little less than two days' time, before they have a chance to go on their killing spree."

I was indignant. "I will absolutely be fighting!"

"Bella," he sighed, pushing me away, but keeping my hands in his. "You're still healing."

"I'll be fine," I said. "What good is being a werewolf if you can't fight off the nasty bloodsuckers?" I grinned.

He rolled his eyes, kissed my forehead, and said, "You are so insane."

He drew me in again, wrapping his arms carefully around me, and I was pleased to discover that this was relatively painless. The night was alive around us; crickets and cicadas hummed soft melodies, and an owl hooted serenely from a high oak tree. I glanced up to see that the sky was starry, a rare occurrence in this little town. We sat together, his arms wrapped around me, for an immeasurable time.

And for once, my life was peaceful.

"Edward," I sighed after awhile.

"Hmm?"

I kissed his chest. "I think…I'm in love with you."

He paused, then lifted a hand to touch under my chin, lifting up my head so we could kiss. This time, I didn't hesitate or feel guilty. On the contrary, this felt very right, exactly the way it should be.

"I love you too, Isabella."