I wished that I knew better than to be afraid; my best friend was in there somewhere, after all. But all I could feel was horror, and I stared open-mouthed, backing away from the giant wolf and the blond woman. The wolf – Jake? – was growling, sounds like a chainsaw erupting from deep in his throat as he crouched in defense, and the woman seemed to be doing the same except in a human form, although I knew by now that she wasn't human. How could she be?

My suspicion was confirmed in the split second she decided on flight rather than fight, turning and running away like a bullet from a gun. She was a blur and disappeared around a corner in under a second, and Jake sped after her nearly just as quickly, without even a glance back at me.

How long did I stand here for?

I seemed to wake up after what felt like hours of staring at the spot where I'd last seen Jacob, my Jacob, in wolf form running after the woman. I couldn't even ask questions. I wanted to know what had happened, sure, but really the only thing I had to know was that he was okay. I wanted him to turn back into a human and laugh at this like it was normal. I wanted him to shake me awake, asking me if I was having a bad dream.

I finally glanced around, looking at the place where Jacob had…what did I even call it? Transformed? His clothes were in shreds on the ground, but I knelt to pick them up anyway, even gathering the torn remains of his shoes. A glint of metal flashed in the reflected moonlight and I flinched, then realized what it had come from. The keys to the Rabbit.

I zipped up my jacket and shoved the fabric strips into its pockets, holding the keys in between my fingers like Wolverine just in case anyone else got violent tonight. Wolverine, really, Bella? I asked myself, shuddering from fear rather than the cold.

I walked slowly and with painful steps back to the parking lot where the Rabbit was, almost expecting to see Jake behind the wheel again, smiling proudly. It was empty, and I clenched my teeth, not realizing until I inhaled shakily that I was crying. I touched my face, dirt from the ground of the alley rubbing off onto my cheek, and hastily wiped the water and muck off onto my jeans.

I didn't know what I could do besides wait; if I drove around, I could get lost, and then be in an even worse situation. Go inside somewhere and ask for a phone, maybe? But who would I call? And better yet, what would I say? I tried to imagine a phone call to Charlie or Billy telling them that Jacob had turned into a giant wolf then raced off after a scary predator woman.

Waiting proved to be much more difficult than driving around; every time I saw something move in the corner of my eye, I would jump, sometimes start to scream, cling to the seat in terror. There was never any sign of a huge wolf, though, nor did I see my Jacob as a human anywhere. The blond woman was a ghost, too. I immediately assessed every blond that came within seeing distance, searching for her without any idea what I would have done had she appeared. Nonetheless, they both remained gone, and I got more and more panicky by the second.

"I can't take this anymore," I mumbled after another eternity, starting the Rabbit and starting to drive it around the parts of Port Angeles I knew relatively well. The dark streets were all empty of wolves. I ventured further out, passing through places I wouldn't normally go, and even ones I had never seen. Nothing. My Jacob was gone, as was the woman he chased off. Where could they even be?

I decided to drive home when I saw that Jake's gas was getting low and I was too scared to get out and stand at the pump. I felt like a horrible, disgusting person, having just seen what I'd seen and then returning to Forks like nothing had happened, but what could I do? I couldn't sit around in Port Angeles all night, waiting for some sign of him. How did I even know he was ali—

No, Bella. Do not think like that.

The drive home was even more painful and terrifying than the drive around Port Angeles, and I didn't realize until I was in my driveway that I should have taken the Rabbit back to Jake's and driven my truck home. How would I have explained to Billy that his son was missing, though? I didn't have any thoughts that weren't horrified questions, continuously worrying. Where was Jacob? Was he okay? What was I going to do if he wasn't? And what if he was?

It took me a whole minute to get my legs out of the car and onto the ground, the muscles shaking and stiff; it took another minute of standing to be ready to walk to the front door. I put every ounce of focus in moving forward, making it to the front steps and taking my time climbing them so I stayed conscious. My Jacob was gone. Was he okay? How could I leave him like that? What was I going to do?

I unlocked the front door with shaky hands and stepped inside the house, hearing distant sounds from the TV in the living room. One step forward, another, another. Don't fall over, Bella. You can do it.

What even was my goal? Call Billy? Tell my dad what had happened so he could get a search party assembled to look for a large russet wolf, who was actually Jacob?

Was he okay?

I passed the living room and Charlie saw me, having heard me come in. "Hey, Bells," he said, sounding far too cheerful to be real. How could he be that happy with the pain and fear and agony that was raging inside me at this very moment? "Have fun? I didn't hear the truck, did Jake drop you off?"

Was he okay?

I didn't say anything, continuing my trek to the kitchen. I could call Billy. Maybe he would know why Jacob had turned into a giant wolf.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm not sure if you made plans with anyone else tonight and forgot, but that Mike Newton kid has called about a thousand times."

That was it. The hold I had on my consciousness broke.

Everything was black.

"I don't know what he did to her, but I swear to God, Billy—"

I heard silence, wondering why my dad sounded so angry. "I don't care! She's driving his car, all alone, passing out as soon as she walks in the door—" He cut off again.

"You think she did something to him? Have you seen your son, Billy?"

"Sam Uley?" Charlie asked after another quiet moment, confusion bleeding through the anger in his voice. "Why would he be there?" Another pause. "Don't you hang up on me, Billy, my daughter—"

Silence, and then a sound like the phone was slammed back onto its hook. "Dammit!"

I had gathered enough information to know that my dad seemed to think Jacob had done something to hurt me, and I staggered upward, noticing he had lay me out on the couch. The blanket he'd placed over me fell to the floor and almost tripped me in my hurry to get to the kitchen.

"Dad?" I asked, seeing him standing near the counter, his face turning all shades of red as he pounded on the phone's number keys. I tried to assess whether it was broken or not from being slammed against its hook, but didn't have time to before he put it to his ear.

"Go lie down, Bella. You need rest, you look horrible."

"No, Dad." I shook my head, but agreed that I needed rest, sitting down at the table. "How long has it been?"

"Since?"

"Since I got home."

"Under an hour. It took me about eleven tries to reach Billy, and when I finally did, he hung up, the bastard." It was rare to hear my father use language like this, and to see him this angry. "Do you want to tell me what happened, or do you need to rest some more? You should really sleep, Bella."

"I can't sleep." Was Jacob okay? "What did Billy say?"

"I asked him where the hell his kid was, and he said he didn't know, he thought he was still out with you. I said he sure isn't, that you'd come home a mess and had fainted right in the hallway, and he said he didn't know why that'd be. He asked if you'd said anything, probably trying to figure out a story for Jacob." I flinched at his name, feeling the urge to vomit and faint again. "I said no, just that you had passed right out and obviously Jacob did something to you because you had his car and it's not like he would have just let you take home the car he finished building yesterday—"

"Dad." His accusations of my Jacob were only making me sicker, making me feel worse. "Jacob didn't do anything to me. I'm worried about him, though."

"Why?" Charlie looked confused, some of the red bleaching from his face.

"In Port Angeles…" What could I even say? What did you say to someone when you had just seen your friend turn into a wolf?

"Yeah?" Charlie had held the phone to his ear for a very long time while we had been talking, and he seemed to give up on waiting for an answer, starting to punch numbers again fiercely.

"I just – Charlie, stop." Crap, I wasn't supposed to call him Charlie. He looked surprised, but stopped what he was doing, hitting the end call button on the phone.

"Bella, just tell me what happened. Or do you – do you want me to get a different officer here? A f-female one?" He was scared Jacob had violated me, I realized. He was offering to get me a female officer so I would feel more comfortable talking about it.

"No, Dad, Jacob didn't do anything to me. He didn't do anything wrong." I was very stern when I said it, summoning every last bit of strength I had left in me to force into those words. "Okay?"

"Okay." He looked like he believed me, but he was still confused. "What happened, then? Why did you faint?"

"I – I haven't eaten much. What time is it?" I glanced around, finding the clock on the stove. It was nearly ten. How long had I spent in Port Angeles, afraid for Jacob's life?

"Why do you have his car? Where is Jacob?" he asked. Was Jacob okay? Was Jacob okay? My eyelids grew heavy, and I didn't know how much more I could take before I passed out again. Stay awake, Bella, I ordered myself, needing to be strong. I had to find Jacob. I shouldn't have left him.

Before I could answer, the phone rang in Charlie's hand, and he looked at in disbelief, putting the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

Even more confused, he pulled the phone back and stared down at it. He appeared to be contemplating what to do, and then held it out to me. "Sam Uley wants to talk to you."

"Who is that?" It was my first time ever hearing the name Sam Uley, and I had heard it twice tonight.

"I've only ever heard good things about him, he's pretty important to the elders on the reservation. I guess." Charlie still didn't know how to feel about the situation, but I needed any chance I could get to find out if Jacob was okay, and stood to take the phone. Did Sam somehow know what had happened to Jacob? I had to hold onto the table for support, only further freaking Charlie out.

"I'm fine, Dad," I said, moving my hand to the counter so I was still stable. I grabbed the phone from his hand and put it to my ear. "This is Bella."

"Bella, my name is Sam. I'm glad you got home safe." Already, I was torn; he sounded so sure, so firm, which was comforting. At the same time, I was scared that he knew I hadn't been home. Billy would have told him, right?

But somehow, I didn't think that was how he knew.

"Hi." I didn't know what to say, and he realized that, continuing on.

"I'll just start by saying that Jacob is okay. All I can tell you right now is that he's safe, we have him, and he will be just fine."

I felt like a million pounds was lifted from my shoulders. Under the relief, there was more exhaustion. I was ready for today to be over, but I needed to talk to my Jacob. "Is he there? Can I talk to him?"

"No, sorry, Bella. He's not coming home tonight."

"Oh." I didn't know why that sentence was so ominous, or why it brought the pit right back in my stomach. "Did you – have you talked to him?"

"Yes." He said nothing else, and I was waiting for him to continue telling me information, but it appeared he had run out.

"Well where is he? When can I see him?"

"We're not quite sure when you can see him. We do need to see you, though. Do you think you could come to the reservation tonight?"

What the heck was Sam Uley playing at? I wasn't allowed to talk to or see Jacob, but they wanted me to come to the reservation? Speaking of, who was "we"? We this, we that…

"I want to see Jacob." I tried to instill in my voice the same firmness Sam had, but only sounded pouty at best, and changed tactics. "Do you know what happened tonight?"

There was a very brief silence, and then a very low "yes."

"Everything?"

"Yes." This time the answer was stronger, almost angry. As if he were frustrated that I didn't believe him. "Bella, we would really like for you to come to the reservation as soon as you can."

I was quiet for a while, contemplating. If Sam really did know everything, as he claimed, then maybe he knew why my Jacob had turned into a wolf. What the blond woman had to do with anything. What Jacob had meant by smelling something bad, why Jacob had heated up to a thousand degrees. He was always warm, but that…

"I'll come. But you have to let me see Jacob."

"I can't allow that."

"Allow it?" I demanded, suddenly no longer exhausted but incredibly furious. "You don't control me, and you don't control my Jacob."

"Your Jacob?" Sam's voice was softer, sympathetic; I realized I had said "my" aloud at the same time that he spoke again, not giving me room to make excuses for myself. "We can arrange something as soon as tomorrow morning. But I'm sorry, Bella, it's not safe for either of you to be around each other tonight."

"I'm not going to hurt him."

He had the nerve to laugh at me. "I know that."

"Jacob wouldn't hurt me."

"On purpose."

"I stood next to him while he—" I started, but Charlie's confused expression cut me off. "Fine. I'm going." I slammed the phone on the hook how my dad had, putting my face in my hands and feeling my eyes burn. No crying. Just get to Jacob.

"They want me to go to the reservation," I whispered into my palms. "Jacob got really sick, that's why I'm so worried, I didn't know how to help him." The excuse spilled out of me easily, and I wondered how in my state of mind I had come up with it. "I have to go see him. They won't let me see him tonight, but they'll let me tomorrow."

"You're not going down there." Charlie's arms were crossed, his expression angry again. "Especially not if that boy was sick. I don't buy any of this, Bella."

"Dad, please." I looked at him in desperation, in fear, showing half of the misery I was feeling – and he softened, his arms drooping down and then falling.

"I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not."

"Isabella Marie Swan, I do not want my daughter—"

"Trust me and trust Billy, please, Dad. I'm begging you." I pleaded with my face again, and this time won, a frown the last piece of disapproval he held onto.

"Call me when you get there and as many times as you can tonight. Tell me when you're going to sleep. Call me when you wake up."

"I'll do what I can."

"Are you in any state to drive? Let me drive you."

"Don't worry, Dad. I'm not going to let anything get in the way of me seeing Jacob." And I meant it. Not stupid Sam Uley, with his bossy attitude and use of plural pronouns. Not the fact that Jake had turned into a wolf. Nothing.

"Do what I said, Bella."

"Okay. Love you, Dad." I turned and walked out of the house, the keys to the Rabbit and the shreds of my Jacob's clothes still in my jacket pocket. Before I started the engine, I pulled out a long, thin strip from his blue shirt and tied it clumsily around my wrist. I breathed him in, the scent of him on his clothes. My Jacob was okay. I was going to see him. Everything was going to be fine.

It seemed like every light had been turned off on the reservation as I weaved the Rabbit through it. It had taken me ten minutes to get here, speeding down the jet black roads through the drizzling rain. I pulled up to Jacob's house, parking the Rabbit in his shed and climbing out. I breathed in the scent of him on my wrist again, needing strength to endure the next hours of my life.

I walked in the front door without knocking. I knew before I stepped into the living room that it would be crowded, as always; two large, burly, and shirtless russet men were standing, Billy seated in his wheelchair in its normal spot by the loveseat. They were facing the door as I entered, each gazing at me stonily. Chills rose on my arms.

I hadn't thought that coming to the reservation was something to fear until this moment.

"Where is he?" I asked immediately, examining the strangers. Surely, one of them was Sam Uley. "Who are you?"

"Bella, this is Sam, who you talked to, and Paul Lahote." Paul's last name rolled off Billy's tongue, obviously native. He had gestured to them as he said their names, and I was surprised I hadn't picked Sam out upon first glance; he looked so much more confident, much more impressive. "They know what happened to Jacob, and they're here to help."

"Do you know what happened to Jacob?" I asked him angrily, trying to figure out how on earth Billy could be so serene if he really had been told details.

"Yes." He looked… proud, almost. I tried to link his behavior the past couple of days with tonight – had he somehow known that Jacob was going to turn into a wolf? Was this planned? Was that why Billy had warned Jacob to stay away from me? Not for Jacob's safety, but for my own?

Well, a bit too late now.

"So, then… what happened to Jacob?" I turned my pleading gaze to the other tall men, clenching my teeth. It didn't feel right to be in Jake's house without him. I threaded my fingers through the scraps of fabric in my pocket for support, resisting the urge to breathe their scent in.

"Well, Bella, I don't know what you've been told about the Quileutes," Sam began, his tone the same as it had been on the phone: stern, firm, safe. "But we are a native tribe who are descended from spirit warriors. I can't do the story justice, and we don't have time anyway. I will tell you what you need to know, though."

I waited, clenching my jaw again, trying to figure out what he could say. Was this normal, then, for Quileute boys to turn into wolves? Was that because they were descended from so-called spirit warriors?

"A very long time ago, our tribe encountered an enemy that hurt our people. We called them the cold ones. You saw one tonight, actually. They drink blood and have incredible strength, speed, and agility. Some of them are even gifted with extra talents. The woman you encountered tonight had one. She was able to control you physically, making you incapable of movement by looking into your eyes."

"I – I remember." I had thought Jake and me were simply frozen by fear. Apparently this woman had caused it.

"One of our ancient chiefs shared a body with a wolf on a very important spirit journey and he passed the ability to transform into a wolf to his sons and grandsons. Later, it was discovered that only in our wolf forms were we able to hurt and even kill the cold ones. After spending centuries protecting the tribe from the cold ones in wolf form, it has become such that the scent of them hurts our noses, and if we are in a certain age range, exposure to them will even trigger certain genes. The genes that cause us to transform into wolves, as our ancestors did."

I didn't have anything to say, listening open-mouthed to his story. How could this be true? Cold ones, spirit journeys, Quileute boys turning into wolves. I wouldn't have believed it on any other night.

But I had stood and watched as my Jacob had turned into one of the giant wolves that Sam was talking about.

And so I believed.

"In cases such as mine and Paul's, slow and distant exposure, along with age, led to our changes. In Jacob's case, his transformation was caused by proximity to the cold woman. Luckily for him, his direct bloodline to the original chief who became a wolf gave him strength he might not have had otherwise, and he was able to defeat the cold woman and come out unharmed."

I was frozen again. Jacob, my Jacob, sweet, innocent, safe Jacob…

Had "defeated" the cold woman?

Only in our wolf forms were we able to hurt and even kill the cold ones.

I thought Sam was still talking, but couldn't tell. Did my ears work?

Jacob had defeated her. He had been in his wolf form, he had chased after her. Sam didn't say she got away. If she was a cold one, a blood drinker, a murderer, then it would be unlikely for her to get "defeated" and then be allowed to go free. No, the only option was that my Jacob had killed her.

"Bella? Are you okay?" a voice asked, very close to me, and I saw a russet colored chest and felt scalding hands touch my arms, my immediate thought that my Jacob had come back. Maybe he was waking me up from this nightmare after all.

I was quickly snapped back to reality when I looked up, however, seeing Sam Uley's concerned face over a foot above mine. I stepped back hastily, hitting the wall with one of my shoulders but not feeling any pain. Could I even speak? Jacob was sixteen, he had just turned sixteen. How had he killed that woman?

My previous frenzied question resurfaced: was he okay?

"Bella, listen to my voice," Sam said, and I tried to follow his directions, focusing on the low, growling tones of his words. "Jacob is completely and one hundred percent safe."

"Why can't I see him? I need to see him," I breathed, not sure if I had even made a sound.

Sam understood. "He can't be trusted not to turn while he's close to you. Any strong emotion can cause our shape change. If he sees you, the pain and confusion he has experienced tonight could cause him to become a wolf and possibly do you harm."

"He didn't cause me any harm the first time he changed into a wolf in front of me," I snapped, backing up again so I was in the doorway. Sam Uley's heat was uncomfortable, not safe like Jacob's. "I want my Jacob."

A smile pulled at the lips of everyone in the room. Was I a joke to them? "You'll get your Jacob, Bella. We can't ask him to stay away from you now." I tried to figure out what he meant by that; was it because I'd seen him change? Because I was in the know? "Give him adjustment time."

"Where is he?"

"We aren't going to tell you."

"When can I see him?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"I'm going to sleep, then." I turned and left the living room, not wanting them to see me struggle any longer. Instead of going out the front door, I stumbled down the hallway to Jacob's room, sliding into the tight space and closing the door loudly behind me. I clicked the lock but didn't know if it would even keep out people who could turn into wolves.

I looked down at his bed, around his room. Everything looked the same as it had the last time I'd seen it, his laundry basket still too full and his bed untidy. I straightened out the sheets and comforter even though I was going to sleep there, picking up stray dirty clothes and putting them in the basket. I opened his closet, taking out one of Jacob's sweatshirts and laying it on the bed; I unzipped my jacket and folded it carefully, keeping the shreds in the pockets, and then tugged the sweatshirt over my head.

The smell of Jacob was all around me now, and it dimmed the nervous pain in my stomach. I lay in the bed and pulled the covers over me, inhaling deeply over and over. Jacob, my Jacob, would be okay. I would see him tomorrow and everything would be fine.

I hope.

Jacob and I were running, but his strides were much longer than mine, and he was ahead of me before we had even been moving for a few seconds. He stopped in place and turned to me, his carefree face twisting in pain, his arms circling himself as he began to shake.

"Jacob?" I asked, slowing until I was in front of him and reaching out for him. His skin was like touching a hot pan, nearly scalding me, and I yanked my hand back, trying to figure out some other way to help him.

"Back away, Bella," he growled, but his voice didn't sound human anymore; he was growing, his shape changing, his face and arms and legs all elongating, his russet skin growing long, shaggy fur.

And then, as in the alley, my Jacob was a wolf in front of me. Except this time, he wasn't growling and crouching to pounce at the terrifying blond woman.

No, Jacob was going to attack me.

I opened my eyes and lay frozen, my heartbeat pounding in my ears, my blood racing. It took me a while to realize I wasn't breathing, and when I inhaled, it shuddered, tears beginning to fall down my face and onto Jacob's pillow.

"It was just a dream," I murmured to myself, circling my arms around my stomach how I had just seen Jacob do, holding myself in one piece. It didn't feel like a dream, though. It felt like Jacob really did want to kill me, that the reason I wasn't allowed to see him was because he was a threat. Were the boys who changed into wolves still themselves in their wolf forms? Would Jacob recognize me, or would I smell good enough that the next time I saw him change, he would try to hurt me?

I sat up in Jacob's bed, the covers falling to my lap. It was still dark outside, but not as pitch black as it had been when I'd arrived; did that mean it was morning?

Standing, I ran my fingers through my tangled hair and swallowed painfully. I was thirsty, probably a little dehydrated. When was the last time I had had anything to drink? At the restaurant. Bella Swan would be the first person to get dehydrated and die in the rainiest part of the U.S.

I padded to the kitchen, the house eerily still and empty, and pulled a glass from a cabinet, filling it with water from the tap and peering out the window above the sink. The front yard was empty save for my monstrous truck. Where did Sam and Paul go? Probably back to Jacob, I realized. Sam had said something about his and Paul's "changes"? So they were wolves, too? Was that why they were the ones helping him, because they knew how he was feeling?

I drank the first glass of water and poured a second one, sipping at it and wondering what I could do besides wait. I knew I would never get back to sleep. Watch TV, maybe? I could at least attempt to divert my focus to something other than stress.

I flipped through channels and settled on Food Network, lying as well as I could on the small loveseat, and stared mindlessly at the TV, watching the colors playing on the bare walls as the sun slowly began to fill the room. What time was it now? I searched for a clock. Nearly eight in the morning.

Almost on cue, Billy came into the living room, looking far too cheery for the occasion. "Morning, Bella. How'd you sleep?"

"Not well. When can I see him?"

Billy ignored my rudeness, looking thoughtful. "Sam said he would come get you sometime this morning, he wasn't specific."

"Great." I tossed the remote onto the armchair next to him and left the room, going into the bathroom and searching for an unopened toothbrush. Might as well make use of the time I still had, right? I found where the towels were and locked the bathroom door, jumping in the shower and washing yesterday's desperation off with the dirt. I was going to see Jacob. Everything was going to be okay.

I put my bra, underwear, and jeans from yesterday back on, but swapped my shirt for Jacob's sweatshirt, his scent somehow still calming even though I was now afraid he might try to kill me as a wolf. I brushed my hair through with my fingers and braided it to the side, hoping that my outfit and hair looking moderately okay would distract from the dark circles of worry under my eyes.

Several minutes after I had officially deemed myself ready to go, a knock sounded on the front door, and I raced to get it, wondering if it would be Jacob. I was disappointed to see Sam, but still happy about what his presence meant.

He seemed to know the sweatshirt didn't belong to me, considering it was huge, and smiled a little bit before backing up a step and holding his arm out. "Ready to go?"

"Yes," I breathed, feeling my heartbeat start to pick up again. "Where are we going?"

"We should take your truck," Sam said.

"No, we're going to take the Rabbit. Jake will want to see it's all in one piece." I took the keys from my pocket and dangled them on my finger for him to see, and he nodded, turning toward the shed.

Sam drove, considering I had no idea where we were going and he didn't tell me; when we finally pulled up in front of a small, very quaint cottage, I was thoroughly shocked. This whole thing was seeming more and more like a fairy tale by the minute.

"This is my fiancée Emily's house. Jacob stayed here. Emily knows…quite a bit about the wolves." His face twisted in some unknown pain, but his voice was saturated with the utmost love and adoration, and I was somehow happy for him, despite everything.

"Who is a wolf?" I asked dumbly, climbing out of the rabbit clumsily. "You and Paul are, right?"

"Me, Paul, Jacob, and another boy named Jared make up the current pack."

I flinched at his casual use of the word "pack," but continued with Sam to the front door, admiring the tiny flowerbeds outside the cottage. He didn't knock before turning the knob and walking in, moving back for me to go in first.

My eyes scanned for Jacob through the whole front hallway and continued their desperate search as we walked past the kitchen and then into a living room, and Sam motioned for me to sit down, but I shook my head. He didn't respond in any way, leaving me alone.

I wrung my hands together and nervously played with the scrap of fabric I had retied on my wrist after my shower; this felt too formal, like a visitation with an abusive parent. I tried not to be worried that Jacob would hurt me, wanting to give him the support of being the only one who believed he wouldn't, but my dream was still fresh in my mind. Jacob, as a wolf, turning on me and "defeating" me as he had the blond woman.

I didn't hear anyone approach before Sam filled the doorway, and then he had come through it, leaving an opening behind for the boy following him to come in.

I felt like I hadn't seen Jacob in years, and stood frozen as I drank him in: his russet skin, his bare chest, his long hair tied back messily, his eyes sleepy and aged a few decades. I couldn't move, couldn't run to him as I desperately wanted to. All I could do was stare, wondering how on earth I had watched him turn into a wolf.

Jacob seemed frozen too, his eyes widening the longer he looked at me and his chest stilling as he stopped breathing. That was what unfroze me, I thought; the fact that he wasn't breathing. I hastily wiped my tears from my face and bolted to him, throwing my arms around his neck and feeling his searing hot, crushing arms circle around me in return.

"Jacob," I whimpered in his ear, almost involuntarily; his arms tightened around me in response, and I felt lifted higher off the ground, forgetting the heat, and the pain, and last night's worry. My Jacob was here, and he was okay, and he wasn't a wolf – at the moment.

"Glad you're okay, Bells," he whispered in response, and I buried my face in his neck, wondering if he cared that I was crying on him. "I'm so sorry."