Second Chappie of the Day…Been working on it since I posted the first. Reviewer shout out coming next.

Wind was whipping through my tangled hair.

If I closed my eyes, and ignored the scalding temperature Jacob's skin was at, I could almost pretend that he was Edward.

Jake wasn't as careful as Edward was though, and several outlying branches and sticks scraped my skin. I would've been cold if it weren't for his heat, seeing as I hadn't changed out of my pajamas, a t-shirt and cotton pants, and the werewolf underneath me failed to suggest more suitable attire.

This had an absurd amount of potential to be an embarrassing situation.

I glanced up, only to be hit in the face with a low hanging leaf. I buried my face back into Jake's shoulder and imagined he was Edward some more.

"Bella," Edward's voice called to me.

I laughed into Jake's back. My hallucinations had come sooner this time. Last time, it took a few months at least. I even heard swift footsteps falling beside us.

"Bella!" the voice called again. I could hear it infinitely more clearly because the wind had ceased whooshing through my ears. Jacob had stopped running.

"What are you doing here?" he growled.

Jacob could hear it, too? I glanced over.

Well, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Or more angel in this case, I guess.

I peaked over Jake's head and saw the same face I'd seen in the frying pan a few hours ago. The noodles and sauce hadn't done him justice.

This night in Forks was unusually clear, no clouds to block the moon. Its white beams fell through the canopy in streams and dappled the forest floor in pale light.

Edward was a god. The moon had a similar effect on him that the sun did, only more subtle. Instead of sparkling like a diamond, he glowed.

Abercrombie and Fitch was missing a fantastic model in him.

I leapt from Jake's back and ran for him.

He caught me before I slammed into his granite body, and instead, gently held me to him. I felt him bury his nose in my hair, smelling me.

"Missed me?" he joked casually.

I nodded, "I saw you in a frying pan."

He chuckled, "Is that a yes?"

I smiled, "That's a heck yes."

"I missed you, too," he whispered.

My head rose to look at him. His eyes were black, smoldering under the surface. Purple shadows were underneath them. "Are you okay?" I asked.

A small, sad smile touched his lips. "Just fine."

I touched his cheek, "You know I don't believe that for a second."

Behind me, Jacob cleared his throat.

I didn't look at him. Removing my Edward-starved vision from said vampire would be insane.

"What's going on here, leech?" Jacob finally said when neither Edward nor I responded to him.

At last, Edward sighed and looked at him. "I suppose I do owe you an explanation," he said.

His eyes still retained that heart-wrenching sadness. I'd do anything to remove it.

"Follow me," he said, grabbing my hand and leading us deeper into the forest.

After a few minutes of walking silently through the cool night air, we arrived at an abandoned campground. The woods here were loaded with them.

Five rather long logs were arranged around the remains of an old campfire.

Edward and I sat opposite from Jacob. We were still holding hands.

"Jacob," the vampire addressed the werewolf, "If at any point during this conversation, I start acting strangely, you are to grab her and run. Understood?"

I felt like we were back to square one, the square in which Edward couldn't trust himself to be around me. It was the worst square of them all, beating out square dancing and Piccadilly square and all the irritating ones from Geometry class with ease.

Jacob, I could tell, was offended at being talked to like a child, but he nodded anyways.

"Good," Edward said, "Now, Josius is going to try to take Bella. You and the pack need to protect her. It's her only chance." The intensity in his tone was incredible, "He can't physically manipulate your actions, some natural werewolf defense, but he can disrupt the frequency between your thoughts. You won't be able to communicate with each other."

Jake nodded.

This didn't make any sense to me. "But what would he want me for?" I asked.

Edward looked at me, but remained silent. He kissed my forehead.

Jacob had looked away and grabbed a stick when he did this and was tracing patterns in the sand and ash.

I growled at Edward, "Why can't I know?"

"Because nothing is going to happen to you," he said fiercely.

"That's what you said last time," I told him, unintentional ice injected into my voice. He flinched. "Why can't I at least know what I'm up against?"

His hand lifted and he ruffled his hair.

"He's just mad because he can't protect you," Jake said, a smug smirk on his lips.

"Shut up, dog," Edward growled.

Jake's grin got smugger, if that was possible.

"Please, Edward," I begged.

He sighed in defeat, before looking at Jacob. "Jake, you must promise something."

"After you hear what I'm going to tell you, you must promise to reconsider our pact. Carlisle did save your life after all."

Well, that was not how I was expecting the conversation to begin.

"A pact is a pact," Jacob snorted.

"Jake, just do it," I told him, exasperated.

"Fine," he grumbled.

Then he added something unexpected and disturbing, "So that murder in the newspaper – that was you?"

Edward winced and his mouth tightened into a line.

A/N: Cliffie…tehehehe…I missed Edward too much not to write about him for long. I HATE JOSIUS…SO FRICKIN MUCH…I'VE CREATED A MONSTER