Chapter twenty-eight

"I'm going to fail, I know it!" I whined for what seemed like tenth time today, throwing my arms in the air and plopping down on Edward's bed.

Edward sighed, getting up from the couch. He sat next to me, putting an arm around my shoulders. "You won't fail Bella," he said quietly into my ear. "You just have to have a little more faith in yourself."

"Well, I don't have any," I mumbled, burying my face into his neck.

He kissed the side of my head and slightly pulled away to look down at me. "Well, I do," he said, smiling. "You will now go downstairs and wait for Toby and the other man from the Congress. Alice says they'll be here in a few minutes."

I groaned, but Edward stood up, pulling me gently to my feet. "Okay, I'm going," I said with a dramatic sigh. He rolled his eyes but lowered his head to kiss me, muttering "Good luck" against my lips.

Today was the day of my Apparition exam and I was trembling with nerves. In the past week I was practicing every day, including the weekend, which made me fall asleep every night before ten. Even though Toby and Edward, and the whole family in fact, were positive I could do it, I knew that my nerves would probably make me fail.

At least the Cullens wouldn't be watching.

We'd decided to do the exam in the clearing where the Cullens met with James and Victoria. The place was about ten miles from here, so Edward had taken Toby there yesterday so he would be able to apparate there with me and the man from the Congress.

When I made my way downstairs, Alice was standing by the window in the living room, bouncing on her feet expectantly. The only other person in the room was Jasper, who was sitting in an armchair, reading. He glanced up at me, grinning.

"Good luck, Bella," he said with a wink just as a very familiar sound of someone Apparating came from the outside. I could see Toby standing in the Cullen backyard with a middle-aged man, who was dressed in a very official looking black robes with a grey fur around his neck.

"Come on, Bella," Alice said, tugging at my arm. "You're going to be fine."

"Have you seen it?" I asked her sceptically.

"Well, I can't see it clearly because you're too stressed and unable to make normal decisions," she muttered, sounding annoyed with me. Suddenly, though, her face cleared, and she beamed at me. "But I have a hunch that we're going to celebrate tonight!"

Alice hugged me and then I turned around, putting on my jacket. With a long sigh I walked out to meet Toby.

The man from the Congress, who introduced himself as Mr. Redwyne, was a complete opposite of Toby. While Toby was very easy-going and laidback person, who was almost always cheerful and making jokes, Mr. Redwyne looked strict and didn't waste time with a friendly conversation. After the introduction he asked Toby to take us to the clearing right away.

With a last glance at the house I grabbed one of Toby's arm, while Mr. Redwyne grabbed the other, and we turned on the spot. A few seconds later we were in a large clearing that was surrounded by a dense forest. Luckily, the sky was clear today, and even though it was still pretty cold, I was glad that it wasn't raining for a change.

Toby started to walk around the clearing, marking spots I was supposed to land. I heard Mr. Redwyne clear his throat so I turned to face him.

"Miss Swan," he said in a very formal tone, peering into a leather bound notebook in his hand. "As you know, you are required to answer a few theoretical questions before proceeding to the practical part of the exam."

I nodded. I was prepared for the theory. It was the practical part I was worried about.

The questions turned out to be even easier than I'd thought. Most of the answers I knew from the handbook Toby had lent me and the rest I figured out by practicing. When I finished the last answer, Mr. Redwyne nodded approvingly, scribbling something into his notebook.

"Very well," he said, looking up at me for the first time. "It seemed you are well prepared." He looked around and nodded to himself. "Mr. Jackson has the practical part ready so we can begin."

I looked up, finding Toby standing at the far end of the clearing. There was a big fiery number one floating in the air beside him. When I looked around, I could see four more numbers scattered around the clearing.

"To pass the exam, you must successfully complete a series of jumps from number one up to number five. Points will be taken down for missing the spot and splinching. Do you have any questions?"

I shook my head. It seemed pretty clear to me.

"You can start whenever you're ready."

I took several deep breaths to calm myself down and with my eyes closed turned on the spot.

"Congratulations, Bella!"

I opened my eyes for the last time to see Toby's beaming face that was just a few feet from me. I still felt a little faint from all the jumps I'd just made so it took me a moment to realize what had happened.

"I did it," I said weakly, a huge relief spreading through my body.

"Yes, you did it," Toby said. He crossed the short space between us, grabbing my hand. "Are you okay? You did great. Even Roger was impressed."

"Roger?" I said, confused and Toby laughed, pointing at Mr. Redwyne who had his nose buried in his notebook again, looking as stoic as ever. I let out a breathless laugh, suddenly feeling giddy. "I did it!"

Toby laughed again and started pulling me towards Mr. Redwyne who had finally raised his head.

"Congratulations, Miss Swan," he said, again in his formal tone. "You will receive your certificate and a licence in a week. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a very important appointment at the Congress. Tobias will take you back home." And without as much as a smile he turned on the spot and was gone.

"Is he always like this?" I asked with a frown, still staring at the spot Mr. Redwyne had been standing a few seconds ago.

"Yeah. He takes his job very seriously," said Toby with a chuckle. "Now, I'm sure the Cullens are impatient to see you."

As soon as my feet touched the ground I found myself in a pair of strong arms. I was lifted in the air and before I could even open my eyes or take a breath, my mouth was attacked by familiar cold lips. I let out a breathless laugh but eagerly returned the kiss.

"I knew you'd do it," Edward murmured against my lips after a minute or so, finally putting me down.

I giggled, finally aware of the loud cheering and whistling around us. Looking around, I saw the rest of the Cullen family standing a few feet from us, beaming. Then I noticed another person who I hadn't expected to be here.

"Dad? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at work…" I said with a slight frown.

Charlie rolled his eyes at me and took a few steps toward us. "I couldn't really concentrate," he said, shrugging. "Congratulation, Bells." He hugged me nearly as tightly as Edward.

We then moved back to the house, where we celebrated a little with Charlie. Toby excused himself, saying he had to go back to work but would be back later to pick up Sarah. I had to tell them all about the exam, even though I knew Alice had been watching me and they all knew everything.

That night Charlie ordered pizza so I wouldn't have to cook. While we ate, I had to tell him, yet again, about my exam.

After dinner, just as I was cleaning the plates, Charlie cleared his throat behind me. It was a clear sign that he wanted to talk about something. I wiped my hands and turned around, raising my eyebrows.

"Jacob called when you were doing the exam," he said after a few seconds of silence. "You should give him your number."

"What did he want?"

Charlie shrugged. "Just talk to you I guess. He said you'd promised to hang out with him or something."

"Yeah, I'll call him later," I murmured, barely suppressing a yawn. I was exhausted. "Well, if you don't need anything, I'm going to bed."

Charlie just smiled and stood up. He walked to the fridge to grab a beer and shuffled to the living room.

When I stepped into my room, after a long hot shower, Edward was already there. He smiled when he saw me and immediately took me in his arms, hugging me as tight as he could without hurting me. Then he lowered his head and gave me a long, deep kiss that almost made my head swirl.

"Are you tired?" he murmured against my lips.

"Hmm… yeah," I breathed out, my eyes still closed.

"Too bad," he said, sounding amused, which made my eyes open again. "I thought we could have a little private celebration."

"Oh." Suddenly, I felt fully awake. "You know, I'm not that tired."

"Really?" Edward smirked, but started pulling me toward the bed. I barely had time to put the Muffliato spell on the door before he sat down, leaning against the headboard, and pulled me to him. I straddled his thighs and he started kissing me again, his hands running up and down my back.

After a few minutes, he rolled us over, so he was hovering over me, still dropping light kisses all over my face. His lips then moved down to my throat and I felt his right hand slipping under my t-shirt. His touch was cold, I hadn't had time to warm him up, so I shuddered at first, but then I quickly got used to it. It even felt good against my skin that felt blazing under his touch.

When he suddenly pulled away, I was afraid that it was too much for him, but Edward only smiled, tugging at the hem of my t-shirt.

"May I take your t-shirt off?" he whispered, his almost black eyes fixed on my face.

I just nodded, not trusting my voice right now. He sat up on his knees and started slowly removing my t-shirt. Unlike the first time, I didn't feel embarrassed – well, at least not too much, my face still heated up, but I didn't feel the urge to cover myself up. Edward tossed the t-shirt on the floor, and sat back on his heels, his eyes running up and down my naked body. I still had my pants on, and he didn't push me to take them off.

"So beautiful," Edward whispered, raising his hand to touch me again. When his forefinger touched my belly and started running up, goose bumps spread across my skin. He stopped, frowning. "Maybe you should warm me up."

"No," I managed to choke out, my voice hoarse, "I like it."

He gave me a dubious look but then just shrugged, lowering down to lay on his side, facing me, his hand still on my stomach. After a moment's hesitation, his finger continued his journey up, stopping at my left breast. I held my breath as he brushed his finger across my nipple, moving then to the other one. I watched his face, waiting for any sign of it being too much for him but so far he looked okay, except for his now jet black eyes. He smiled, closing the little distance between our faces so he could kiss me. We kissed for a long while, his hand resting on my breast.

After some time, I felt Edward's hand sliding down my body until he reached the edge of my pyjama pants. He stopped there, pulling his face away a little, and looked right into my eyes.

"I'd like to try something," he murmured. I loved these words, they always made me giddy with anticipation and excitement. Given the position of his hand, it wasn't hard to guess what he wanted to try this time. His fingers were slowly tracing the hem of my pants.

Even though I was excited, I couldn't help but feel nervous. My heart was pounding so loud, that I could feel it in my throat. Of course, it made Edward question his idea, which didn't really surprise me. "Maybe it wasn't the best idea," he murmured, pulling away his hand.

"No!" I blurted out, grabbing his hand, and trying to keep it in place. "I want you to… do it." My face was blazing now but I was determined to keep him from changing his mind. "It's just… I'm nervous, that's all."

"So am I," he admitted with a sheepish smile. "Are you sure?" When I nodded fervently, he chuckled, but then his face turned more serious. "If I hurt you – "

"I'll tell you, I promise." I could barely suppress my eagerness now, trying to push his hand down my body where I wanted it to be.

"Thank you," he said, clearly amused by my impatience. "Try not to move too much, please."

I nodded and he smiled, kissing me again, while his hand slowly slid under my pyjama pants and my underwear.

Trying not to move turned out to be quite a challenge because as soon as his cold fingers slid between my legs, I nearly jumped out of the bed. His fingers froze immediately. "Too cold?" he murmured.

"Yes… no…" I shook my head, trying to sound somehow coherent. I couldn't decide if I'd jerked my hips because of his cold touch or because of the wave of pleasure it caused. "Just… don't stop."

Edward gave me a small smirk but did as I asked. At first, his moves were hesitant, slow, exploring. Soon he grew more confident, clearly responding to my reactions. I really tried not to move but it was impossible. I couldn't control my hips as they started moving up against Edward's hand, seeking the relief I needed so desperately. I could already feel it wouldn't take long for him to get me over the edge.

Edward's lips brushed across my ear, whispering, "Let go, sweetheart." His words and his low, velvet voice made me lose even the last shreds of selfcontrol I'd still somehow possessed. A wave of pleasure hit me, so strong that if Edward hadn't had me pinned to the bed, I'd have fallen to the floor. He kissed me again to muffle the cries that escaped my throat. I couldn't control my body that kept thrashing under him until the last wave of my climax faded.

I don't know how long I lay there with my eyes closed, feeling completely satiated and relaxed. Probably just minutes but it felt like forever. It wasn't until I felt Edward's lips on my temple that I finally opened my eyes.

I was met with Edward's very smug face, that was just inches from mine. I wanted to roll my eyes at him, but I felt suddenly so tired, that it seemed to be too much work.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked, but he obviously couldn't wipe the wide grin off his face. It made me laugh.

"Yeah," I said lazily, but then sobered up, closely searching his face. "Are you?"

He blew out a breath before answering. "Yes." Then he grinned again. "Though, it wasn't easy to stay in control with all those sounds you were making. I'm surprised Charlie didn't burst through the door even with the muffling spell on it…"

I wanted to swat his arm, but I couldn't move. My whole body felt like it was made of jelly.

"But you did stay in control," I murmured.

"I did," he said, wrapping me in the comforter and then he lay on it, separating our bodies. I frowned but was too tired to complain, my eyes closing on their own accord. "You have no idea how sexy you were…" were the last words I heard before falling asleep.

Next morning, after I'd gotten to the Cullen house, and the others had left for school, I decided to call Jake. I knew from Charlie, who'd finally gotten in touch with Billy again a few days before, that the wolves didn't go to school due to their still very unstable control of their transformation, so I took the opportunity of not having to watch Edward's disapproving looks and dialed Jake's number that I'd gotten from my dad.

Jacob was happy to hear from me, and I couldn't help but smile at his cheerful voice. I'd sort of missed it the past few months to be honest. We arranged to meet in the afternoon at a place called the First Beach in La Push.

I knew I couldn't go to La Push without letting Edward know. Well, technically I could – I was an adult, and he couldn't stop me anyway – but I didn't want to do things behind his back. And I was sure he would have freaked out as soon as my future disappeared from Alice's visions. Since I still had the phone in my hand, I sent him a message with my afternoon plans.

His reply was instant.

Just be careful, please. E.

I will. I love you. B.

Since I didn't have a car and Charlie was at work, Esme offered to drive me to the Quileute borders. We had to take little Sarah with us, but Esme assured me that it wasn't a big deal and that they could make use of it and go to Port Angeles to get Sarah some new clothes. I was sure Toby wouldn't be very pleased with Esme spending money on his daughter, but I knew better than trying to talk her out of it.

The streets of Forks were almost deserted at this time of day, but I still lowered myself in my seat in Esme's car, in case someone would pass by and recognized me. I also pulled a hood over my head, which made Sarah giggle in the back seat.

I'd texted Jake, asking him to wait for me at the border line, so I was happy to see him already there. He was leaning against his car, dressed only in a pair of jeans and long sleeved shirt, even though it was still pretty cold.

Just as I was about to open the door, I felt Esme's hand on my arm. I turned around to see her worried face.

"Please, Bella, be careful," she said quietly. "It would kill Edward if something happened to you and I would never forgive myself for driving you here."

"I know, Esme. I promise I'll be fine," I assured her with a smile. I knew I would be fine, and I had my wand in my pocket if something went wrong.

"Alright," Esme said with a sigh. "Just let any of us know when you're ready to go home."

I nodded, stepping out of the car. Jake grinned as soon as he saw me, but he still eyed Esme's car warily. He relaxed as soon as Esme drove away.

I made my way to Jake, stopping about five feet from him.

"Hey, Bella!" he said with a wide smile.

"Hi, Jake." I smiled back, shoving my hands into the jacket pockets. Then my eyes wandered to his car. "You're not going to turn into wolf while driving, right?" I asked catiously.

He rolled his eyes at me, opening his door, gesturing for me to get in. "Don't be ridiculous. I have really good selfcontrol. Only Sam is better," he said proudly.

Now I rolled my eyes at him and without a word walked to the passenger door.

As soon as we were both in the car, Jake took a breath and groaned. To my surprise, he quickly opened the window, sticking his head out.

"What are you doing?" I asked, frowning in confusion.

Jake turned to me, his head still half outside. "Sorry, Bella, but… you stink," he said with a grimace.

That hurt.

"What the hell, Jake?"

He took a deep breath, leaned over me, and opened my window as well. Then he straightened up and started the car before finally answering. "Their scent - mostly his - is all over you," he explained with another grimace. "It's awful – two sweet and… ugh."

I glared at him but sniffed at my hair. All I could smell was my shampoo and a very faint scent of Edward. He always liked burying his face in my hair. But he definitely didn't stink. I sighed, crossing my arms to keep myself warm, since the wind was now blowing from both sides right at me.

After a few moments, Jake finally relaxed.

"So, you have some sort of enhanced sense of smell?" I asked, trying to ignore the cold wind.

"Yeah," Jake said with a grin. "And hearing too…We're also stronger and bigger and faster than average human and we heal fast. It's kind of awesome!"

I chuckled at his enthusiasm. He kept talking about all the cool things he could do as a wolf, so the journey passed quickly and soon we were parked in a small grassy parking lot surrounded by trees.

"… and when we're in the wolf form, we can read minds of the whole pack," he was saying as we walked down the narrow path that led to the beach. "It's useful when we're apart and need to communicate but most of the time it's kind of annoying, you know?"

I followed him, trying to watch my feet so I wouldn't end up tumbling down the slope. "Yeah, Edward said something about it…" I mumbled.

Jake didn't say anything to that. Once we were on the sand, he started leading me towards the cluster of boulders and rocks that were on the other side of the small beach. I walked behind him, keeping a few steps between us.

"There was a child in the car with you," he said suddenly after a few minutes of silence, turning his head to look at me. "Who was it?"

"Oh, that was little Sarah, Toby's daughter," I explained.

"Who's Toby?"

"My teacher." I told him about Toby – how I met him and how he'd been teaching me to defend myself and also about my apparition lessons.

"Appa – what?" Jake frowned, confused, as he sat on one of the boulders. I eyed the rocks, that were wet from the ocean water and rain, and sighed, pulling out my wand. I drained a boulder that was a few feet from Jake and sat down, aware that Jake's eyes followed my every move.

"Apparition," I said after I sat down, ignoring his stare. "It's basically teleporting only we call it apparition."

"Wow," Jake breathed out incredulously. "Why didn't you teleport here then?"

I chuckled. "I just passed my exam yesterday. I still don't have a licence," I said with a shrug.

He rolled his eyes at me. "People drive cars without a licence all the time, Bella."

"Well, this is not a car." I frowned, staring on the sand under my feet for a few seconds. "I guess I could have done that, but the cop's daughter in me wouldn't allow it," I added, lifting my eyes back to Jake.

He grinned but then became more serious again. "Speaking of Charlie," he said, blowing out a breath, "he knows about all of this, doesn't he?" He waved toward me, raising his eyebrows.

I laughed. "That I'm a witch? Of course he does."

He gave me another eyeroll. "About you and Cullen. About what he is, I mean. He wasn't surprised to hear about vampires."

"He knows," I said quietly.

Jake was quiet for a few moments. "When I was at your place before Christmas… did he already know?"

"Yes."

"How did he find out? And how did you? Did Cullen tell you?" Then his forehead wrinkled. "Wait, you said you'd already known…"

I sighed. "Yeah, I learned about vampires at school."

"And Charlie?"

With another sigh, I told him about James and Victoria and how we'd had to tell Charlie to make sure he was safe.

Jake listened, staring at the ocean before us, not interrupting me. After I finished he stayed quiet for a few more minutes before turning his eyes to me.

"And Charlie's okay with it? With you dating a blood –" he stopped, glancing at me, before correcting himself, "I mean, a cold one?"

I gritted my teeth briefly but then decided to let it go. "Yeah. He knows Edward can protect me better than he ever could."

Jake tilted his head, narrowing his eyes at me. "I don't get it, Bella. How does it work?" He saw my confusion and explained. "Your relationship with Cullen. I'm trying to imagine it, but I can't. You can't even kiss!"

"Of course we can kiss," I blurted out but then froze at the sight of Jacob's disgusted face.

"Seriously? What about his fangs?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Jake. You know he doesn't have fangs."

"But he's all cold and just… ugh…" He shuddered with disgust.

"I can warm him up, that's not a problem."

"But he's strong, he can still hurt you."

"He would never do that."

Jake screwed his face, looking like he couldn't decide whether to ask something or not. "Do you… ugh, have you… you know… done it?" It wasn't hard to guess what he meant.

I felt my face heat up. "That's none of your business, Jake," I snapped but seeing his expression I made myself calm down. "But no, we haven't," I added, frowning.

He seemed to relax slightly, but then his face grew confused again.

"He's immortal. You know that, right?" he asked slowly. I wished he'd stop this interrogation.

"Yes," I said quietly, dreading the direction this was heading.

"Are you immortal too?"

"No. We live longer than muggles – I mean, non-magical people – but I'm not immortal, no."

"I don't get it," he said again. "What's the point of this relationship? You don't sleep together, and I doubt you can without him killing you anyway. He doesn't age, but you do and at some point you will die. There is no future for the two of you."

I stared at him, thinking about what to say to that. I was sure that telling him my plans for the future wouldn't be the best idea. Not now, anyway. I didn't want to risk him getting angry and turning into wolf.

"Well, that's between Edward and me to decide what we'll do," I said slowly, choosing my next words carefully. "Right now, there is the war in Britain and until it's over, it's really hard do make any plans for future."

He nodded and his gaze moved to the ocean again. The next few minutes we were silent, the only sound was the waves breaking against the rocks around us.

"You said he protects you," Jake said suddenly, making me jump. He turned his head back to me and I nodded, wondering what he was getting at. "What if there was someone else, who could do it? Protect you I mean. Someone you could have a real relationship with?"

I exhaled sharply, quickly losing my patience. Then I reminded myself to not snap at him and took a deep breath. "I'm not with him just because he can protect me, Jake," I said, hopefully in a calm voice. "I love him."

He snorted, shaking his head. I glared at him, my lips pressed in a tight line. He put up his hands when he saw my expression and his next words poured out in a rush.

"You can love someone else too. You don't have to stay with your first boyfriend, Bella. You have other options. All you have to do is look around you. And maybe you wouldn't have to look very far." He murmured the last sentence, so I wasn't sure I heard him right, but his face told me that I had.

"You're talking about yourself, aren't you?"

His eyes shot to me at once, but then he just shrugged, not bothering to deny it. "What if I am? I'm not a child anymore, Bella. I might be fifteen, but I look and feel much older. I can be good for you. We could stay here in La Push, the pack would protect you. You could have the life he wouldn't be able to give you."

I chuckled. "Looks like you have it all planned." Then I sighed, shaking my head. "Sorry, Jake, but I just don't feel that way about you. Even if I didn't stay with Edward, I don't think I would be with you."

"But… if you got to know me better – "

I stood up, still shaking my head. "I'm really sorry, but no. I like you, I really do, but only as a friend."

Jake stood up as well, looking right into my eyes for a few seconds. Then he shrugged, chuckling. "Well, if you get tired of Cullen, you know where to find me."

I sighed out in relief. "I'll keep it in mind." Checking my watch, I realized that it was getting quite late. "I should go." Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I texted Edward to pick me up at the border line.

On the way back to the car, Jake told me about Amelia's visit in the reservation last week. She'd brought some papers they all had to sign, promising they wouldn't tell anyone about the existence of the wizarding world. To my surprise, they somehow persuaded her to include the elders of the tribe in on the secret.

"So your dad knows?"

"Yeah," Jake said, beaming at me. "And Sue too. She's now in the tribe council in Harry's place."

"That's great, Jake." I grinned at him, happy that I wouldn't have to hide anymore.

"Next time you can teleport right into our kitchen," he said with a laugh.

When we arrived at the borderline, no one was waiting for me. Or at least, that was what I thought. As soon as Jake got out of the car, his head snapped towards the trees on the other side of the road. I turned around, squinting into the dense forest, but couldn't see anything.

A few seconds later Edward emerged from the trees, his eyes fixed on Jacob. Without a second thought, my feet started walking to him, but Jake grabbed my arm, startling me. When he saw my reaction, he put up his hands, smiling apologetically.

"Sorry. I just thought maybe we could hug, or something," he suggested with a grin, but his eyes were glinting mischievously.

"I don't know, Jake…" I mumbled, taking a step back.

"Oh, come on! Like I'd ever hurt you." He rolled his eyes and opened his arms, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

I laughed. "Okay, fine."

His arms were around me then, huge, and too warm for my taste. Soon he let go of me, but his smile was wide which was a little suspicious.

"Bye, Bella." He waved and quickly got in the car. He drove away before I could even react, his hand waving from the window.

I turned around again, my eyes finding Edward automatically. He was still standing in the same spot, leaning against a tree, his arms crossed across his chest. He smiled slightly as I walked to him, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Hi," I said, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Hello." He briefly pulled me against him, but then took my hand and started walking into the forest, pulling me behind him.

"Um… where's your car?" I asked, confused, trying to keep up with him and not trip over roots or rocks.

"I ran."

"I can't walk all the way to your house, Edward," I protested.

He slowed down, looking down at me. "I'll carry you." Then he stopped suddenly, making me run right into his chest. "Sorry," he mumbled, steadying me.

"Is everything okay?"

"Of course," he said but ran his hand through his hair. I raised my eyebrow questioningly and he sighed. "I don't like seeing you so close to Jacob," he finally admitted.

"I kept my distance all the time," I said. "The hug was the only time I was so close to him." I frowned, still not sure why Jake had insisted on it.

"You know why he wanted to hug you, don't you?"

"Um… to say goodbye?"

"No. To get his scent all over you," he said through gritted teeth.

"And that is bad why exactly?"

He tugged at my hand gently and we started to walk again. "The wolf scent isn't very pleasant to us," he explained, wrinkling his nose.

"So you mean I stink?" I was starting to feel a little pissed at Jake.

Edward glanced sideways at me, smiling sheepishly.

I sighed exasperatedly, shaking my head. "I'm gonna turn him into a cockroach next time I see him," I grumbled.

Edward laughed. "Please, do that." Then he stopped again, crouching before me. "Come on, Amelia is supposed to come see us in thirty minutes. She has some news."

"What news?" I asked excitedly, climbing on his back.

"You'll see," he smirked. "But first you're going to take a shower and burn your clothes."