Edward's POV

I lifted him gently into my arms. He was so light it made my heart ache. He should weigh more than this and his skin was not the beautiful bronze that was his Native American heritage. His heart beat was so weak, I had to strain my ears to hear it. Fear struck me as I wondered if I were too late. The thought made me hold him tighter for fear he would drift away with the wind.

"Edward, we should get going. It isn't good for him to be out here." Jasper could feel what I was going through. He had since this whole mess started. That's one reason why he wanted to come with me to find Jacob. The other reason was that he was afraid of what would happen to me if I didn't make it in time. I was afraid of that too.

We ran. I made sure not to jostle Jacob, which wasn't hard with my vampire grace. As we blurred past tall trees whose age had to surpass mine, I could not help but be amazed at the beauty of our surroundings. The moonlight illuminated the layers of snow through brakes in the dense trees causing it to sparkle. It was the kind of natural beauty that drew me in and I wondered if that was the same reason Jacob had ended up here.

I knew the boy was drawn to nature. He thrived there, it was a part of him. Maybe he subconsciously hoped this lonely, majestic beauty of a forest would save him. But Jacob was so far gone I wasn't even sure if I could save him. I berated myself for not noticing what was happening to him over the last year or so, but how could I have?

o0o0o

He had acted strangely when Bella and I had met him after our return from Volterra. I did not peg him for being the type to run away. But what had really struck me was his thoughts at the time. It was confusing and I could not understand anything. As if he were not thinking of anything in particular or he was purposely scrambling his thoughts to keep me out. When he had fallen to his knees I felt something must be wrong and worry struck me. I did not think my sudden concern for him was strange, rather I thought it was because he was an innocent kid and a very good friend of Bella's. I never thought there would be another reason.

The next time I actually interacted with Jacob was at Bella's graduation party. I had seen him in passing several times before but had not had a conversation or anything with him. The newborn army growing in Seattle had been occupying my mind. I was not happy to see the shifter and his friends until he expressed his desire to help fight the newborns. My family, Bella, and the Quileutes gathered to discuss the impending fight. As I listened to their conversation about working together, I found myself focusing on Jacob and his thoughts. There was something different about the boy. He was quieter and his thoughts seemed to be muddled and foggy as if he were purposely trying to keep them from me.

My curiosity peaked when I noticed that Jacob deliberately avoided making eye contact with me. He would look in my direction, never looking in my eyes or up at my face and then quickly look away. Everything in me told me to ignore his strange behavior, but I felt drawn to the mystery and I wanted to learn more.

I followed the three shifters out of Carlisle's office after we had made plans to meet with the pack and discuss strategy and through the crowded first floor where the party was in full force. "Jacob." I did not raise my voice over the music blaring for the next room, knowing that Jacob's hearing was almost as good as mine. He stopped and his friends stopped with him. He turned slightly in acknowledgement, but did not turn around completely to look at me. "Can I speak to you?" He turned then and looked at me. His expression was confused and seemed to have a bit of reluctant anger mixed in with it. His friends turned with him clearly not intending to leave his side. "Alone?" I reiterated. The two boys flanking Jacob looked at me and then at Jacob. He still had his eyes on me when he made a small but noticeable nod and then turned to continue walking toward the door. His friends, whose names I did not know, stayed where they were as I walked past them. Their minds were filled with thoughts of joining the girls on the dance floor and finding the table with the refreshments.

I followed him outside the house and into the trees where Jacob knew no one would hear us and where I was sure he felt more comfortable. He stopped and turned around to look at me. His eyes seemed to bore into me with a look I could not quite place at the time. I was struck by how intense his eyes were and I wondered if that was one of the many features that attracted Bella to him. I stood there trying to listen to his thoughts, but like before all I got was a jumble of fuzzy images and words I could not understand.

He raised his eyes and gestured when I did not speak for a while. "What did you want?" Nothing seemed simple with this kid, I thought to myself. I had noticed the tone in his voice and it had caught me off guard. He seemed upset, but not angry or impatient.

"I just wanted to make sure you are alright. You don't seem the same since the last time I spoke to you." I really was a bit worried about him, although I did not understand why. Maybe it was because I was afraid of what would happen to Bella should something happen to him. He did not seem as bullheaded and he almost never looked me in the eye which, frankly, irritated me.

"I'm fine."

"You know, with my entire family and your pack fighting together this really will be an easy fight. I'm sure of it. You have no need to worry." His muddled thoughts became clear enough for me to make out the idea that he was very worried for one person in particular, but I could not tell who and naturally, I assumed it was Bella.

"I will give my life before I let anything happen to Bella." My words were an attempt to ease his mind, but the thoughts I got from him, though foggy and confusing again, conveyed fear and a hint of desperation. Several different expressions crossed his face so quickly only my sharpened, un-human eyes could catch them until he settled on a scowl with his lips pursed together like he was trying to keep something from escaping.

"No need to be all heroic and make Bella love you that much more. I'm sure you're right, this fight will be easy and I doubt anyone will have to die. So if we're done with this heart to heart, I kinda got things I gotta do." He turned around and I stopped him before he could run off.

"Wait!" I held out my hand. "Let's call a truce for now, for Bella's sake and the sake of our families." Jacob hesitated before he took my hand in a firm shake. His hand felt so warm and inviting, I felt like my cold vampire body was going to melt at the touch. It was exhilarating and slightly intoxicating the feeling I felt. I held on tighter, staring at our two joined hands with wonder and excitement.

I felt Jacob tug a little and I looked up into his face. He looked questioningly at me and I let go. Jacob slowly lowered his hand down to his side and I did the same. Then he turned and ran into the forest. As I watched him go, I could not help but feel apprehensive about the upcoming gathering my family was planning with Jacob's pack.

o0o0o

At the time, I did not put too much thought into the hand shake with Bella in so much danger. But now, as I ran with Jacob in my arms, the sensation I felt when I shook his hand was foremost in my mind. If I had been paying more attention, if I had listened to that nagging feeling in the back of my mind, then we might not have been here in Northern Canada in the middle of the night.

"Edward." Jasper had not spoken in a few hours. He was being considerate of my desire to think and deal with my feelings. So when he spoke I was a little startled, I had almost forgotten he had been running beside me this entire time. "I think we should stop somewhere. I doubt it would be a good idea to run all the way to Washington with Jacob in this condition. Plus we can call Carlisle and assess the situation."

I nodded. The cold night air was definitely not good for a man as sick as Jacob and Carlisle would definitely be able to give us more information on his condition. Giving Sam Uley a call and letting him know we found his pack brother would be a good idea as well. We veered left slightly, the smell of human blood and the sounds of cars alerting us to a town about five miles to the south east.

We found a motel just on the outskirts of a small town. It may have been about the same size as Forks. I waited in the line of trees while Jasper went to get a room way in the back. It was one of those seedy motels where every room was entered from a door on the outside. We did not want to draw attention and my carrying a large, naked man would definitely be suspicious. Jasper motioned for me to follow him around to the very last door. It was past the street lights. Shrouded in dark and suited our needs well.

Jasper flipped the lights on as I walked in. I lay Jacob down, covering him up with the comforter, on the full sized bed that sat in the middle of the room. Then I sat down next to him on the edge and looked at his pale, unexpressive face and I felt as though I was experiencing my fear and pain for the first time. It was a weight on my shoulders and mind that I had not been expecting to hit me like an angry werewolf. I put my head in my hands and wept tearlessly as Jasper comforted me with a hand on my shoulder.

Author's Note: Hi guys! Thank you for reading. I am sorry my update has taken so long but I am having a hard time getting my story exactly the way I want it. I plan to update more often from now on though. Anyway, please feel free to review and tell me what you think so far!