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A/N: Thanks everyone for reviewing this one! I'm hoping to get this one finished in the next week or two—I've got vacation time coming up =) Please review!
What is he doing here? I couldn't stop from snarling again.
"Easy," the bloodsucker said again in a pacifying voice. "I mean you no harm. I just wanted to talk to you."
I thought about it. Sam balked.
No way. No way are you phasing right now!
It's just for a minute. He just said he wanted to talk. And I've got you guys backing me up. I was curious as to what he had to say. I had a feeling it had something to do with Bella. I wouldn't let him near her. She was mine, and it was going to stay that way. I heard the vampire make a surprised noise, and remembered that he could hear everything I was thinking. I snarled. Bad enough to be in the presence of a reeking parasite; it was a little too much to know that this one could read my thoughts as well. I didn't think he was prepared for the possessive way I viewed Bella. It wasn't that she wasn't allowed to be her own person—but it was my job to take care of her. No one was taking her away from me.
Sam. I'm phasing. Watch my back. I trotted into the woods, phasing back to my human self and pulling on the shorts that had been tied around my left leg. I cautiously walked back to the bloodsucker, wrinkling my noise in disgust at the smell. I heard Sam growl, obviously displeased with my actions.
"You don't exactly smell like roses, either," he murmured in response to my disgust. I looked him in the eyes.
"What do you want?" I half-growled at him. He raised his hands up, a surrendering gesture.
"I don't want a scene. If possible, I would like to avoid having Bella know I'm here." This surprised me. I was sure he'd come to take her back. He shook his head. The mind reading thing was gonna get real old, real fast.
"I just wanted to check on her. I know about the imprinting." Of course he did. "I also know that Bella doesn't know. You should tell her."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, lemme just sit her down and tell her that I'm in love with her, and she's bound to me by some ancient werewolf tradition. I'm sure she'll take that real well."
He smiled slightly. "She does well with the supernatural."
He seemed a little too relaxed to me. Had he found someone better, then? Again, he was shaking his head.
"I could never replace Bella."
"Then why are you so calm? I thought you loved her."
His upper lip curled slightly, revealing the monster he was. "I do. I just recognize the fact that she's safe with you… safer than she would have been with me."
I was surprised. The tone in his voice left no room for doubt; he loved her, still. He cared about her safety. I found it slightly difficult to believe that he would just let her go like that, though.
"I was just checking up on her. I caught wind of Alice's thoughts, and knew about what had happened between you and Bella. I didn't mean to intrude."
My eyes narrowed. "You're really not going to try to take her?" Not that he would succeed.
He shook his head, and I could see the sadness in his eyes. I felt pity for him. I knew what it was like to love Bella, after all. I knew how it felt to think she would never be with me. It was a terrible pain.
I sighed. "I'm sorry." I could tell he knew I meant it. He nodded in thanks.
"May I see her?" he asked hesitantly. He really was leaving it up to me. I weighed my options. He wasn't a threat. I was certain of that now. I don't know what it was—any other vampire, besides his sister, I would have flipped out. But this one… something just told my senses that everything would be fine. I nodded stiffly. I heard the pack grumble a bit in surprise. I didn't care. It was my decision.
"I'm gonna phase. Wait for me to go to her." He nodded in agreement again.
"Thank you," he murmured softly. I quickly lopped back to the trees, yanking my shorts off quickly. As soon as I phased, I heard the tumult of voices.
You're being an idiot, Jacob. Sam's was the loudest of them all. I ignored everyone else—Sam was the one who's opinion mattered.
No, I'm not. Can you honestly believe he'll hurt Bella? Besides, if you want to get technical, he's not doing anything wrong. We're still inside the Forks boundary line—this is their territory.
Doesn't make it right, Sam argued. We shouldn't be putting people's lives at stake this way.
I rolled my eyes. I wouldn't be doing it if I thought any harm would come of it.
We started trotting back toward Bella's house. I could sense the bloodsucker running with us—we picked up the pace. Didn't want the leech to think he was faster than we are.
We reached Bella's house relatively quickly, and I phased back to human again. I crept over to the side of her house, climbing the tree that was right outside her window. I heard Bella's soft breathing, as well as Charlie's louder snores. The other bloodsucker was here as well, downstairs on the couch. I pulled myself up onto the window sill, aware that the leech was right behind me.
We crept silently into her bedroom. I wasn't sure how much I liked this; having him this close was a little too much for me. But again, I understood. I glanced at the book on Bella's bedside table: Romeo and Juliet. I had never seen the intrigue of the book—seemed pretty depressing to me. But she did say she liked the classics.
"Jane Austen's her favorite," the bloodsucker murmured softly.
I looked at the bloodsucker's face. He looked very sad, but also, in a way, happy. He looked back up at me, hearing my thoughts.
"I'm glad she's safe," he whispered, much too low for Bella to be woken by the sound of his voice. "Thank you for that, Jacob." I nodded. There wasn't much to say.
Bella shifted in her sleep, rolling onto her stomach more. She mumbled a little incoherently. "Mmmm… Jacob," she muttered, pulling her arm under her pillow. My heart jumped at the sound of my name from her lips as she slept. She dreamt of me?
I glanced at the vampire again, and wasn't surprised to see the pain on his face. Then he smiled, just a little. He looked over at me.
"She loves you," he said softly. "Take care of her, Jacob."
I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. I had every intention of taking excellent care of her.
"What changed?" I asked him, still not quite understanding what was going on.
He shook his head. "Nothing. I still love her. But I left for a good reason, Jacob. She's not safe with me. I could easily lose control with her, or one of my brothers or sisters could. She's very fragile." I could tell something was bothering him as he said this. I thought better of asking about it.
"She could really have a change to be happy with you, Jacob. I want her to have that. I want her to be safe. And I know you won't allow anything to hurt her." He was right about that.
He sighed. "As much as I love her… this is what she needs. She deserves happiness. If I can give her that by staying away and letting her continue to fall in love with you…" He shrugged. "I'd gladly pay that price." We were silent for a few moments.
Then Edward chuckled. "My sister is getting impatient. I should go see her." He turned to walk out of Bella's room and downstairs, moving silently. I looked at Bella for another moment, stepping forward to gently tuck her mahogany-colored hair behind her left ear. Then I followed downstairs.
Alice nodded her head in my direction, her way of greeting me. Then she looked back at her adopted brother.
"How long?" she asked.
"I'm leaving now. I just came to check up." He grinned slyly. "You didn't see me coming."
She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't paying much attention. I've been focused on Bella." She looked irritated.
Edward gasped slightly in surprise. "…Interesting."
I sighed. "I don't know how people stand to be around you," I complained to Edward. Alice chuckled, understanding what I meant. Good. This was getting frickin' annoying.
"He was taken slightly aback at the revelation that I can't see you, and even more so at the fact that because Bella's life is so intertwined with yours now, I can't see her either."
"How strange," Edward murmured, deep in thought. He seemed to snap out of it, realizing that people were still standing there. He looked at Alice expectantly.
"I suppose you'll be staying here for awhile," he said, not really asking a question. Alice nodded.
"Bella wants me to stay for a few days. Besides, I'm still trying to convince the mutt here to fess up," she said, tossing her head in my direction. I rolled my eyes.
"No one's going to give me a break on this one, are they?" I asked rhetorically, annoyed. Really, what business was it of theirs, anyway?
"She deserves to know," Alice said gently.
"I'm afraid of what she'll say," I admitted. "What if she doesn't want me to be imprinted on her? It would be like taking her choice away from her—because I'm in love with her, she has to be in love with me too. It's not fair."
Edward looked at me sympathetically. "She cares about you. I think if you explain it just right, she'll be okay with it."
I snorted. "Great. Now if I could just figure out which was is just right, I'd be fine."
Alice chuckled a little. "You'll figure it out. You better hurry though, before she gives up on you and starts looking elsewhere." I growled at this, disgusted by the thought. My Bella being interested in anyone else was an enraging thought.
Edward sighed. "I better get going. Knowing my luck she'll wake up in the middle of the night and find me here." He looked up at me, then stepped toward me, slowly so as not to scare me, I supposed. He surprised me by sticking out his hand.
"We'll be seeing each other again. I'll try to make it a point to stay out of your business, though," he said, smiling slightly. I stared at his hand for a moment, then took It, ignoring the freezing cold temperature of his skin.
Thank you, I told him. I saw him nod slightly, removing his hand from my grip.
"See you at home, Alice," he said, hugging her. He walked to the door, pulling it open—and froze.
"Edward?" Alice asked, concern in her voice. I saw Edward's nostrils flare. His head turned lightning-fast, looking at me with a murderous glint in his eyes.
"Victoria is in Forks."