"Here," Jacob said to Bella. He held out the bag of salt-and-vinegar chips he'd half-consumed in the five minutes since he'd opened them.

Bella turned from looking out her window and set her sunken-in, black-ringed eyes on the chips, then on Jacob. "No."

Jacob nodded and pulled the chips to his chest. "Sure. Okay." He gestured to the convenience bag at his feet. "Want anything?"

Bella's chapped lips mouthed "No," and she returned to gazing out the window.

Jacob sighed, and Leah, who sat in front of him in the passenger seat, glanced over her shoulder at him and Bella. She cocked an eyebrow, and Jacob shrugged. Leah withdrew her attention from Jacob and focused on Seth; the one driving the Honda Odyssey (Jacob had chuckled at the SUV's name. Seth had joined him, and Leah had muttered about them being morons).

Brother and sister shared a long moment. Jacob had been with his pack members for almost two centuries and could sense the Clearwaters' concern that they wouldn't express to Bella. They didn't have the history that Jacob had with Bella, but they had always liked her, and Leah had loved Demeter the moment she'd met the Olympian. Seeing the gods like they were (Bella withdrawn, and Demeter passed out; draped across her charge's lap), had all three shifters on edge.

The Clearwaters' silent communication ended, and the SUV filled with an uncomfortable, pregnant air that clearly unsettled all but Demeter. What made it all worse was that, in the past, Bella and the Black pack used to joke and talk like the best of friends. To spend time with each other had been a pleasure instead of a chore.

The blame for the change in their relationship couldn't all be put on Bella's concern for her guardian. Against the good counsel of Leah and his own common sense, Jacob had pursued a romantic relationship with Bella six decades ago when they'd all lived in Lavenham, England. It hadn't been a terrible relationship (Jacob felt, and was sure Bella agreed, they'd made many fun memories), but it'd been doomed from the start. Athena had created shifters to protect mortals from vampires when she'd realized Zeus had abandoned the world, and the need to hunt and kill vampires never failed to override every other desire or plan a shifter had.

Though he'd tried his hardest, Jacob hadn't been able to override his central purpose, and he'd left Lavenham in the middle of the night without warning. Months later, he'd returned to apologize and correct his mistake, but the damage had been done. Jacob had been Bella's first relationship, and, while she'd never confessed this, he knew he'd broken her heart. Because of this, because of his guilt, the Black pack hadn't been around Bella and Demeter in decades.

Seth and Leah hadn't hesitated to aid the gods when Cornflower had called and asked them, but Jacob wondered if they now regretted it on some level. He wouldn't be upset with them if they did. To a degree, Jacob did, though he'd never go back on his word.

Luckily, it didn't take them long to reach Forks, Washington.

Seth drove them through one of the smallest towns Jacob had ever seen. To blink, it'd be missed. Part of Jacob enjoyed the size—made it easier to watch over. But he had dealt with his fair share of the type of tiny-minded people that often populated towns like Forks, though this was a new century. Fear of what lurked in the dark had significantly diminished. Plus, the stories of shifters didn't run as rampant in the USA as they did in Europe.

Life in Forks shouldn't be too terrible.

Leah gave Seth the directions to Bella's and Demeter's new home. Soon, the SUV was parked in an uneven, broken driveway beside a large, faded white house on the edge of town. The paint peeled and the wood on the front porch had warped. Jacob made a note to get new planks and nails as soon as possible because it didn't look like the porch would hold much longer.

The house had many windows, all dirty, and the two on the second floor that faced the street had giant cobwebs in them. The lawn hadn't been mowed in weeks. The trees lining the left side of the house needed to be clipped back.

Seth turned off the SUV and looked at Leah. "You sure this is the place?"

Leah showed him the picture Cornflower had printed out for them. "Yeah, it matches."

Seth whistled through his teeth. "Wow...This place is—"

"Fine," Jacob stressed; his voice heavy with an unstated warning.

Seth sucked in his cheeks as he gazed back at Bella. "It is." The next second, he crawled out of the SUV.

Leah reached for her door handle. "I'm going to check out the inside," she told Jacob. "I want to...make sure it's...safe. Free of—"

A firm shake of Jacob's head cut off her words.

Leah swallowed hard. "I'm just going to leave." She followed her brother.

Jacob folded down the top of his chip bag and set them aside. He touched Bella's shoulder. "Hey."

Bella glanced at him. "Demeter's not going to get better here."

"I—We'll clean it up. The house has a good skeleton. It's just been abandoned too long."

A glimmer of tears in Bella's eyes caught the weak sunlight. "What..." Her voice had gotten thick and scratchy. "What if she doesn't make it?"

"Demeter's not going to die."

Jacob didn't know if he spoke the truth. He'd never seen any god as bad off as Demeter currently was, and he didn't know how to help her if she got worse. Jacob did want to get a hold of Athena to seek her advice, but he didn't tell Bella this. Lately, even Athena had gone silent. Something big was happening, or the Olympians thought something might occur. Jacob didn't want to worry Bella further or give her false hope.

"But...if she does, you're not going to be alone," Jacob added.

A hint of anger added color to Bella's pale cheeks. "Because you'll be here?"

The heat of her question stung, but Jacob swallowed the pain. He knew he more than deserved it. "Yes. We're not going anywhere. Not until you reach godhood."

"But what about...your nature?"

Jacob didn't like uttering what he did next, but he'd never lied to Bella, and he didn't want to start now. "We're not going to be in Forks for years like we were in Lavenham. It's easy to control ourselves for a few months."

Bella bit her lip and stared at Jacob for a minute. Then she swallowed hard and gestured at Demeter. "Help her with me. Please."

Without comment, Jacob jumped to action.