"That had to be the longest party in the history of the world."
"It's over now," Edward said, his voice a soothing murmur.
Beau was the only one who needed soothing. Edward was fine now. All the Cullens were fine now. Jacob's solution had the entire family relaxed, almost euphoric after several weeks of stress. Doubt had been replaced with confidence. The party ended on a note of true celebration.
Not for Beau.
Bad enough—horrible—that the Cullens had to fight for him. It was even worse that Jacob and his friends were now involved.
What was he supposed to do, sit back and watch them all die?
"You're taking me with you tonight."
"Beau, this is an experiment. I'm not sure if it will be possible for all of us to . . . cooperate. I don't want you in the middle of that."
"If you won't take me, then I'll call Jacob. If Jacob doesn't take me, I'll drive to Seattle."
Edward's eyes flashed with anger. Finally, after a tense minute of silence, he nodded.
They were at Charlie's house now. "See you upstairs."
If Charlie had plans to wait up, he failed. Beau found him snoring on the sofa. It took a few minutes to coax him up the stairs and into bed. He never woke up all the way; Beau was sure he wouldn't remember any of it in the morning.
Beau folded his chinos and put the loafers back into his closet. The temperature outside cooled enough to warrant a hoodie. He'd have to rescue his dress shirt and the sport coat from the cruiser tomorrow.
"Come on," Beau said, leading Edward to the bed.
The boys curled up the way they always did, but Beau forced his eyes to stay open. He wasn't going to let Edward sneak off without him.
"This is going to work, Beau. I can feel it."
"Okay."
"Listen to me, Beau. It's going to be easy. We're going to take the newborns completely by surprise. They'll have no more idea that werewolves exist than you did. With the horde divided and confused, there won't be enough for the rest of us to do. Someone may have to sit out."
Edward started humming his lullaby, but for once, it didn't calm Beau.
People he loved were going to get hurt because of him. Beau wished he could get between the two sides, as he did tonight at the party.
Maybe there was a way to do that. He would have to wait, bide his time . . .
Before long, it was time to go. Edward ran them both to the meeting place, an activity that usually made Beau happy. But tonight it felt like they were hurtling toward certain death.
The Cullens were already there. Emmett's booming laugh echoed through the wide space every few minutes.
It took a minute, but when his eyes adjusted, Beau realized they were in the same clearing chosen for the baseball game. It was the same place where, more than a year ago, that first lighthearted evening with the Cullens had been interrupted by James and his coven.
Being here again felt strange. It was as if this gathering wouldn't be complete until the nomads arrived. Yet two of the three were dead. The pattern wouldn't repeat. Maybe all of the patterns were broken.
Someone had broken out of their pattern. Was it possible that the Volturi were the flexible ones in this equation?
Beau doubted that.
Victoria was the variable here—a force of nature. She was like a hurricane moving toward the coast: unavoidable but predictable. Maybe it was wrong to limit her as such. She had to be capable of adaptation.
She was more than capable—Victoria was downright talented. Beau thought back to that day in English class, when Edward finally told him about the clash at the boundary line.
Emmett and Jasper nearly had her, but Victoria seems to have some instinct for evasion. She escaped right down the Quileute boundary line as if she were reading it from a map.
"You know what I think?"
That made Edward laugh. "If only I did. What are you thinking?"
"I think it's all connected. Not just the two, but all three."
"You've lost me."
"Three major things have happened since we got back to Forks," Beau said, his voice growing more confident as he spoke. "First, the newborns in Seattle. Then there was the stranger in my room. Last but not least, we have Victoria."
Edward's eyes narrowed as he thought. "It does seem like more than a coincidence, even with your bad luck."
"Think about it: Laurent spent time in Denali. He could have learned more about Alice's gift and passed the information along to Victoria. I know for a fact they kept in touch. He told me as much in Mississippi."
"But it wasn't Victoria in your room."
"She can't make new friends? Her entire coven has been wiped out. Why not answer that by making a coven three times the size of yours?"
Edward was gazing out at the trees now. "She is a nomad . . . it's possible she heard about newborn armies over the years. Vampires operate by word of mouth. They trade war stories like human soldiers do."
"Didn't you track her to Texas? She could have gotten the idea there. But she doesn't know what she's doing, so the newborns are out of control."
Edward wasn't used to being bested by a riddle. Beau's idea seemed to be gaining steam in his mind.
"I still think the Volturi are most likely . . . but there's something to your theory. It suits her personality perfectly. She's shown a remarkable gift for self-preservation. This plot puts her in no danger from us if she sits safely behind the line. The newborns will wreak their havoc with heavy casualties on our side. If there were survivors, she'd have to destroy them herself so they don't bear witness against her. Still, she'd have to have at least one friend who was a bit more mature. No fresh-made newborn left your father alive . . . "
Edward suddenly embraced him, pulling Beau closer to his chest.
"You're very perceptive today. It's impressive."
"Maybe I'm just reacting to this place. Remembering her here . . . it makes me feel like she's here now. Like she's watching me all the time."
"She'll never touch you."
Beau watched Edward's expression change as his eyes swept over the trees. It had a wild and fierce quality now, more animal than human.
"What I wouldn't give to have her that close. Victoria, and anyone else who's ever thought of hurting you. To have the chance to end this myself. Finish it with my own hands this time."
Beau shivered at the longing in his voice. It was a confrontation he would do anything to prevent.
They were close enough to the family for Beau to see them clearly. Alice wasn't her usual, cheerful self; she was pacing back and forth in the same place, just as she had done in his room before the ceremony.
"What's wrong with her?"
Edward chuckled. "The werewolves are on their way, so she can't see anything that will happen now. It makes her uncomfortable to be blind."
Alice, though the farthest away, heard what he said and scowled.
"Hey," Emmett greeted them. "Are you practicing, too, Beau?"
"Don't give him any ideas."
Carlisle was focused on the task at hand. "When will our guests arrive?"
"A minute and a half. I'm going to have to translate. They don't trust us enough to be in their human forms."
That caught Beau's attention. "They're coming as wolves?"
Jacob was the only wolf he had ever seen transform. Both times had been shocking. Beau couldn't imagine how it would feel to see the entire pack in one place, but he had less than a minute to get used to the idea.
"Prepare yourselves—they've been holding out on us."
"What do you mean?" Alice hissed.
"The pack has grown."
Something glittered in the blackness after he fell silent. It was the eyes of the wolves, higher up than they should be. The pack were as tall as horses, rippling with muscles and fur.
Carlisle took a slow, deliberate step forward. "Welcome."
"Thank you," Edward responded in a strange, flat tone. He had already slipped into interpreting for Sam. "We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control."
"That is more than enough," Carlisle answered. "My son Jasper has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, how they are to be defeated. I'm sure you can apply this to your own hunting style."
The eyes of the wolves came to rest on Jasper. It reminded Beau of the people flocking to the Swan table at dinner. Like Charlie, Jasper had knowledge that many did not.
"They are different from you?"
"They are all very new—only months old to this life. Children, in a way. They will have no skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty. The numbers may go down; the new ones fight amongst themselves."
A rumble passed down the shadowy line of the wolves. Enthusiasm? Fear? Beau couldn't tell the difference.
"We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary," Edward said on Sam's behalf.
"We'll see how it plays out."
Beau—and the pack—learned the horde would arrive in four days.
Jasper asked Emmett to stand in as the newborn, as his fighting style was the closest to one. Emmett didn't take offense; in fact, he grinned.
"I'll try not to break anything."
Beau tried to follow along with the match. Emmett and Jasper were impossibly quick, but Jasper soon had the upper hand, his teeth an inch from his brother's throat.
"Again," Emmett insisted, his smile gone.
"In a minute. I want to show Beau something first."
Beau watched Alice take Emmett's place. He needn't have worried about her; Beau knew better than anyone what Alice was like in a fight.
She didn't disappoint him. Every time Jasper launched himself at her, she moved. Beau soon realized she was using her gift. Jasper made a decision on how to attack and she danced away—spiraling, twisting, curling. Jasper lunged, reaching through her graceful steps, but never touched her.
It was all so choreographed. Beau was fascinated. The two of them moved with deadly precision.
Finally, Alice laughed. She landed on Jasper's back out of nowhere, pressing her lips to his neck.
"Gotcha."
"You are truly one frightening little monster."
Edward stepped forward to take his turn, his movements lithe and watchful as a jungle cat. Alice took his place at Beau's side, her tiny hand digging into his arm.
Her voice was so low he could barely hear it. "I have my eye on you, Beau."
Beau kept his gaze on the fight, unable to move from this spot. Alice wanted to make sure he heard her threat.
"I'll warn him if your plans get more defined. It doesn't help to put yourself in danger. Do you think we'll all stop and give up if you die? We're still going to war. You can't change that, so just be good, okay?"
Beau grimaced.
"I'm watching," she repeated.
Edward and Jasper's match ended in a draw. Everyone took a turn against him until the sky began to lighten.
Sam requested that the pack have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the coven's scents. Carlisle agreed, though much of his family was instinctively tense.
A russet-brown wolf Beau knew to be Jacob drew nearer to him. His muzzle fell open, pulling back over his teeth. It might have been a frightening expression, had his tongue not lolled out into a wolfy grin.
Beau laughed.
The pack began to back away then, their business concluded. Two wolves remained at the edge of the trees, watching Jacob closely. Beau was sure they were Quil and Embry.
Beau felt a lump forming in his throat as he watched them. They wanted to protect their friend, who was now alone in a clearing full of vampires.
Edward was having a one-sided conversation with Jacob. "I've not quite figured out all the details yet."
The Jacob-wolf grumbled sullenly.
"It's more complicated than that. Don't concern yourself; I'll make sure it's safe."
"What are you talking about?" Beau asked.
"Just discussing strategy."
Jacob suddenly bolted for the forest. He was back in a flash, clothed and human this time, jogging to return to where Beau and Edward stood.
"Okay, bloodsucker. What's so complicated about it?"
"I have to consider every possibility. What if someone gets by you?"
Jacob snorted at this idea. "Fine, leave him on the reservation. We're making Collin and Brady stay behind anyway. He'll be safe there."
"Are you talking about me?"
"I just wanted to know what he plans to do with you during the fight," Jacob said helpfully.
"Do with me?"
"You can't stay in Forks, Beau," Edward pointed out. "They know where to look for you there. What if someone slipped by us?"
Beau followed this thought to its logical conclusion: they would go to his house next. "What about my dad?"
"He'll be with mine," Jacob assured him. "If Billy has to commit a murder to get him there, he'll do it. Probably won't take that much. It's this Saturday, right? There's a game."
"This Saturday?" Beau repeated. "There goes your graduation present."
Edward smiled. "It's the thought that counts. You can give the tickets to someone else."
"Angela and Ben," Beau said at once. "That gets two people on my list out of town."
Edward touched his cheek. "You can't evacuate everyone. Hiding you is just a precaution. I told you, we'll have no problem now. There won't be enough of them to keep us entertained."
"Then why not keep him in La Push?"
"He's been back and forth too much; he's left trails all over the place. Alice only sees very young vampires coming on the hunt, but their creator is much more experienced. This could all be a distraction for him—or her."
Beau thrust his hands in his pockets. Victoria was the culprit, he was sure of it.
"Beau has to be hard to find, just in case. I'm not taking any chances."
Jacob gestured to the trees all around them. "So hide him here. There's a million possibilities—places either one of us could get to in a few minutes, if necessary."
"His scent is too strong and, combined with mine, especially distinct. Even if I carried him, it would leave a trail. Our trace is all over the range, but in conjunction with Beau's scent, it would catch their attention. We're not sure exactly which path they'll take, because they don't know it yet. If they crossed his scent before they found us . . . "
Both of them grimaced.
"You see the difficulties."
"There has to be a way to make it work," Jacob muttered. He looked like The Thinker, one fist under his chin as he mulled it over.
Beau was trying to hide a yawn. He failed.
"I need to get you home, you're exhausted. Charlie will be waking up soon."
"Wait a second," Jacob blurted out. "My scent disgusts you, right?"
"Hmm, not bad." Edward was two steps ahead. "It's possible. Jasper?"
Jasper looked up at his call. He approached them with Alice in tow, who looked once again frustrated.
"Okay, Beau." Jacob jerked one thumb over his shoulder. "Come on."
"You must be joking."
"Not in the slightest."
Burning with humiliation, Beau reluctantly climbed up Jacob's back until the younger boy could hold him up under his thighs.
The two didn't go far; Jacob made a wide arc and returned to the clearing from a different direction. Once they drew nearer to the Cullens, Beau scrambled off him, eager to return to Edward's side.
"Well?"
"As long as you don't touch anything, Beau, I can't imagine someone sticking their nose close enough to that trail to catch your scent. It's almost completely obscured."
Alice agreed with her mate. "A definite success."
The experiment had inspired Edward: Beau would lure the newborns to the clearing with a false trail. Once there, Alice saw one group following a new trail to the Cullens, and the other . . . it all went dark.
"Not a chance," Edward said suddenly.
"I know, I know," Jasper said quickly, appeasing his brother for whatever idea passed through his mind. "I didn't even consider it, not really."
"Consider what?" Beau was getting angrier by the minute. Decisions were being made without his input, as usual.
"I very briefly had an idea for you to be in the clearing," he explained. "It would drive the newborns insane. They wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything but you. Picking them off would be truly easy."
Beau leapt at the chance to be useful. "That doesn't sound half—"
"No," Edward said in a voice that rang with finality. Even Jacob, ever snarky toward him, kept quiet.
"You're right, of course," Jasper told him. Then he turned to Alice. "Best two out of three?"
Jacob stared after the couple in disgust.
"Jasper views things from a military perspective," Edward told them both. "He looks at all the options—it's thoroughness, not callousness."
Jacob just snorted.
"I'll bring him here on Friday afternoon to lay the false trail. You can meet us afterward and take him to a place I know. It's completely out of the way, and easily defensible, not that it will come to that. I'll take another route there."
"And then what? Leave him with a cell phone?"
"Do you have a better idea?"
Jacob was suddenly smug. "Actually, I do."
"Oh . . . not bad at all."
Jacob turned to Beau. "We tried to talk Seth into staying behind with Collin and Brady. He's still too young, but he's stubborn and resisting us. So I thought of a new assignment for him: cell phone."
"Benchwarmers," Beau said under his breath.
Edward continued as if Beau hadn't spoken. "As long as Seth is in wolf form, he'll be connected to the pack. Distance isn't a problem?"
"Nope."
"Three hundred miles? That's impressive."
Jacob was flattered. "That's the farthest we've ever gone to experiment. Still clear as a bell."
Beau wasn't listening anymore. He was reeling from the knowledge that little Seth Clearwater was already a werewolf, too. He couldn't have been more than fifteen. His enthusiasm at the bonfire suddenly took on new meaning . . .
"It's a good idea." Edward seemed reluctant to admit it. "I'll feel better with Seth there, even without the instantaneous communication. I don't know if I'd be able to leave Beau there alone. To think it's come to this—trusting werewolves."
"Fighting with vampires instead of against them!"
"Well, you still get to fight against some of them," Edward said reasonably.
Jacob just smiled.
Beau didn't remember getting home. When he woke up, the alarm clock told him it was two o'clock in the afternoon.
"Edward?"
He found him in the rocking chair. "Are you really awake this time?"
Beau yawned. "Yeah. Have there been a lot of false alarms?"
"You've been very restless."
Edward followed him to the kitchen. Beau kept it simple today, just a couple of Pop-Tarts in the toaster. He was just starting on one of them when the other boy cleared his throat.
"I had a very interesting conversation with Alice this morning."
Beau couldn't imagine what changed since they saw her in the clearing. "Oh?"
"She thought it had been settled, but apparently not. Is there something you'd like to talk to me about?"
His dreams had been so vivid. There was the one where he convinced Seth to lead him to the battle. Another featured Beau behind the wheel of Big Red, driving east, searching for the horde on his own.
The last—and most manageable—had already been shot down.
"I like Jasper's idea."
Edward groaned.
"I want to help," Beau insisted. "I have to do something."
"It wouldn't help to have you in danger."
"You can't keep me away. I'm not going to hide out in the forest while you all take risks for me."
Edward was trying very hard not to smile. "Alice doesn't see you in the clearing, Beau. She sees you stumbling around lost in the woods. You won't be able to find us; you'll just make it more time consuming for me to find you afterward."
"That's because Alice didn't factor in Seth Clearwater. If she had, she wouldn't have been able to see anything at all. It sounds like Seth wants to be there as much as I do. Probably won't be too hard to persuade him."
"That might have worked . . . if you hadn't told me. Now I'll just ask Sam to give Seth certain orders. Much as he might want to, Seth won't be able to ignore that kind of injunction."
Beau smiled politely. "Why would Sam give those orders if it would help us win?"
"Maybe you're right," Edward said after taking a moment to compose himself. "But I'm sure Jacob would be all too eager to give those same orders."
"What do you mean?"
"Jacob is second-in-command. Did he not tell you that? His orders have to be followed, too."
Beau didn't know because Jacob never told him. Foiled, he housed both Pop-Tarts in a matter of seconds.
"I got a fascinating look into the pack's mind last night," Edward was saying. "It was better than a soap opera. I had no idea how complex the dynamic is with such a large pack. The pull of the individual against the plural psyche . . . absolutely fascinating."
It was fascinating, but Beau was still smarting over his failed attempt at a coup, so he said nothing.
"Jacob's been keeping a lot of secrets."
"Sort of like you, I'd imagine."
Edward ignored him. "For instance, did you notice the smaller gray wolf last night?"
"Yeah."
"They take all of their legends very seriously. Turns out there are things that none of their stories prepared them for."
Beau couldn't resist. He joined Edward at the table—taking the farthest seat away, of course.
"They always accepted that it was the direct grandsons of the original wolf who had the power to transform."
"Someone who isn't a direct descendant transformed?"
"She is a direct descendant, all right."
"She?"
"She knows you. Her name is Leah Clearwater."
Things he noticed on the night of the bonfire were making much more sense now. He thought back to what Jacob had said about the pack mind:
"I forget what it's like, not having everyone know everything all the time. Having a quiet, private place inside my head."
"Poor Leah. Why didn't Jacob tell me about her?"
"She's making life exceedingly unpleasant for the rest of them. I'm not sure she deserves your sympathy."
"What do you mean?"
"It's hard enough for them, having to share all their thoughts. Most of them try to cooperate. When one member is deliberately malicious, it's painful for everyone."
Beau wasn't ready to give up. "She has reason enough."
"Oh, I know. The imprinting compulsion is one the strangest things I've ever witnessed in my life, and I've seen some strange things."
Edward shook his head in wonder.
"The way Sam is tied to his Emily is impossible to describe—or should I say, her Sam. It reminds me of A Midsummer Night's Dream, with all the chaos caused by the fairy love spells . . . like magic. It's very nearly as strong as the way I feel about you."
"Poor Leah," he repeated. "But what do you mean, malicious?"
"She's constantly bringing up things they'd rather not think of. Like Embry."
"What about him?"
"His mother moved down from the Makah reservation seventeen years ago, when she was pregnant with him. She's not Quileute. Everyone assumed she'd left his father behind with the Makahs. But then he joined the pack."
"Yeah, so?"
"So, the prime candidates for his father are Quil Ateara Sr., Joshua Uley, or Billy Black, all of whom were married at that point, of course."
Edward was right—it was exactly like a soap opera.
"Now Sam, Jacob, and Quil all wonder which of them has a half-brother. They'd all like to think it's Sam, since his father was never much of a father. But the doubt is always there. Jacob's never been able to ask Billy about that."
Beau was wrong. That was a worse fate than being eternally bound to an ex. While devastating, Leah could find love again someday. But when it came to Embry . . .
Joining a pack meant getting brothers-at-arms out of the deal, but a blood brother, after a lifetime of being an only child . . . Edward succeeded in distracting him, Beau knew.
"How did you get so much in one night?"
"The pack mind is mesmerizing. All thinking together and then separately at the same time. There's so much to read!"
He sounded regretful, like a reader who put down a good book just before the climax.
"Fascinating stuff. Almost as fascinating as you are when you're trying to distract me. I have to be in that clearing, Edward."
His expression had become polite again. "No."
Beau let his eyes fall to the table. "I'm starting to understand how pissed off you were in 1918. Not being able to go to war sucks."
The minutes ticked by in silence.
It was frustrating. Beau was used to being a cut above other humans from a physical standpoint, but when compared to vampires and werewolves, he was completely out of his league.
"She told me you made another decision."
"What's that?" Beau mumbled.
A hand tilted his chin up. Edward was standing over him, golden eyes thoughtful.
"She said you've chosen Dartmouth. She sees us there in the fall."
It was true.
Beau had flung that plan at Jacob in anger, but as the hours passed, the idea had settled into the back of his brain like it lived there all along. Somehow it felt right, even if this meant delaying his change by several months. With his transformation already ruled out prior to the battle, and by pushing it off until later in the year, Beau now had the time to make proper goodbyes.
His final summer as a human . . . a chance to experience the best season for the last time.
"Yeah," he said at last. "I did decide that."
Edward traced one finger across Beau's lip. "Did you make that decision to placate me?"
"No, I did it because you were right. It's a human experience. Once I make the transformation, I'll never be this way again. It will be an adventure, one I want to take with you."
Beau said it all without malintent. The plan just made sense—he could see that now. There would be no mysterious disappearance right after graduation, no cataclysmic event designed to disguise his true fate. Beau and Edward would need to develop a compelling reason to explain his absence to his family sooner or later, but that was tomorrow's problem. Today they had to deal with the newborn horde.
Something shifted in Edward's eyes. "Will it make you happy if I stayed behind?"
Beau wasn't sure if he heard him correctly. "What?"
"Someone needs to put an end to your tricks. I figure if I do it, you'll stop."
"You want to be a benchwarmer like me?"
Edward shrugged. "Maybe not in those terms, but yes."
"But . . . what about everyone else? They can't fight without you."
"Trust me, Emmett will be thrilled. So will the Quileute boys."
Beau wandered to the sink while Edward spoke with Alice on his cell phone. There was nothing in there to wash, but he didn't want Edward to see his shaking hands.
This solution delighted him, of course, but that was the problem. He was delighted—and guilty.
The horde already had the advantage by numbers alone. Now, without Edward, the good guys were down a powerful fighter. Would it be enough to influence the outcome of the battle?
Beau shivered as Edward's arms encircled him from behind.
"What's the matter?"
"I can't ask you to choose me over your family."
"You didn't ask me to." Edward turned Beau around until they were face-to-face. "This is my decision."
"But, I—"
Edward silenced him with a kiss. "It's called a compromise. That's what a man does for the one he loves."
"What did I compromise on?"
"You stopped planning a coup," Edward reminded him. "And you decided to go to Dartmouth."
"I didn't do those things to make you sit out the battle."
Edward was earnest now. "I know. But you heard my point of view about that, so I decided to hear yours. You can't fight, and you can't be on the battlefield, but you can be with me."
When he put it that way . . .
Before Beau could form a reply, Alice was coming through the door with a sour expression on her face.
"You're going to miss all the fun."
"Hello, Alice," Edward greeted her, before giving Beau a kiss goodbye. "I'll go work this out with the others, rearrange things."
He left the other two in a silent kitchen. Beau wished she wasn't a vampire so he could offer her something to drink. Anything to break this uncomfortable silence.
"I'm sorry," Beau said. "I know it will be more dangerous for you now."
"You worry too much, Beau. You're going to go prematurely gray."
"Then why are you upset?"
"Edward is such a grouch when he doesn't get his way. I'm just anticipating living with him for the next few months. I suppose if it keeps you from going insane, it's worth it. But I do wish you could control the pessimism, Beau. It's so unnecessary."
"Would you let Jasper go without you?" Beau demanded.
"That's different."
"Sure it is."
Alice pointed to the staircase. "Go clean yourself up. Charlie will be home in fifteen minutes, and if you look this crappy, he's not going to let you out again."
Charlie found them both at the kitchen table exactly fifteen minutes later. Alice sat in Edward's usual place, which seemed to make Charlie's day.
"Howdy, Alice! How are you, hon?"
"I'm fine, Charlie, thanks."
"I see you finally made it out of bed, sleepyhead," Charlie said to Beau as he took a seat, before turning back to his favorite Cullen. "Everyone's talking about that party of yours. I'll bet you've got one heck of a clean-up job ahead of you."
"It was worth it. We all had a great time."
"Where's Edward?" Charlie asked. "Is he helping clean up?"
He was looking at Alice, so he missed Beau's scowl.
"No," Alice sighed. "He's off planning the weekend with Emmett and Carlisle."
"Hiking again?"
"Yes. They're all going, except me," Alice said, one hand under her chin. "We always go backpacking at the end of the school year, sort of a celebration, but this year I decided I'd rather shop than hike. Not one of them will stay behind with me. I'm totally abandoned."
Charlie fell for it hook, line, and sinker. "Alice, honey, why don't you come stay with us? I hate to think of you all alone in that big house."
Something smashed Beau's foot under the table. "Ow!"
"What?" Charlie asked.
"Um, I stubbed my toe," Beau explained. "Er, Dad, we don't really have the best accommodations here. I bet Alice doesn't want to sleep on my floor . . . "
"Well . . . maybe Beau should stay up there with you until your folks get back."
"Oh, would you, Beau? You don't mind holding my shopping bags, do you?"
He understood her game now. "Not at all."
"When are they leaving?" Charlie wanted to know.
"Tomorrow."
"When do you want me?" Beau asked, rubbing his foot.
"After dinner, I guess. You don't have anything planned for Saturday, do you? I want to get out of town to shop, and it will be an all-day thing."
"Not Seattle," Charlie said at once.
"Oh, of course not Seattle," Alice agreed at once. "I was thinking about Olympia. Thank you for suggesting this, Charlie. I always feel safer with Beau around—he's so protective of me. I'm sure he learned it from you."
A dark flush was spreading across Charlie's face. "Oh, I don't know about that."
"Don't be so modest, Dad," Beau grinned.
"I, uh . . . " Charlie hurried to the kitchen drawer where they kept the menus. "Who wants pizza?"
With one easy conversation, Alice cleared Beau's schedule for the battle.
Edward returned a short time later, accepting Charlie's wishes for a nice trip in stride. He claimed they were leaving early in the morning and thus couldn't stay for pizza.
Alice went with him. Beau suspected she had seen the results of Edward's decision in Florida.
Beau excused himself soon after they left.
"You can't be tired already."
"A little."
"No wonder you like to skip parties. It takes you so long to recover."
Upstairs, Edward was lying across his bed.
"What time are we meeting the wolves?" Beau asked, climbing in to join him.
"In an hour."
"That's good. Jake and his friends need to get some sleep."
"Not as much as you do," Edward pointed out.
Beau ignored him. "Did Alice tell you that she's kidnapping me again?"
"Actually, she's not."
Beau was confused. "But we just got Charlie onboard."
"I'm the only one with permission to hold you hostage, remember? Alice is going hunting with the rest of them. I don't need to do that now."
"You're kidnapping me?"
Edward nodded.
Beau thought about that for a moment. No Charlie listening downstairs, checking on him every so often. No houseful of wide-awake vampires with their intrusively sensitive hearing.
Just Beau and Edward . . . really alone.
"Is that all right?" Edward asked.
"Oh, sure. But why didn't Alice tell Charlie you were leaving tonight?"
Edward laughed.
Beau was more relaxed by the time they arrived at the clearing. He still felt guilty about Edward staying behind, but in many ways, it made him less afraid. He could see past the battle now.
Only Jacob, Quil, and Embry showed up to watch the training session this time. They stood as silent sentinels while Jasper and Emmett conducted practice drills. Eventually, Jacob made his way over to where Beau and Edward stood.
"Jacob," Edward greeted him.
Jacob ignored him, his dark eyes on Beau. A low whimper escaped his muzzle.
"I'm fine," Beau answered. "Just worried, you know."
"He wants to know why."
Jacob growled—not a threatening sound, an annoyed sound—and Edward's lips twitched.
"What?"
"He thinks my translations leave something to be desired. What he actually thought was, 'That's really stupid. What is there to be worried about?' I edited, because I thought it was rude."
"There's plenty to be worried about," Beau told them both. "Like a bunch of stupid wolves getting themselves hurt."
Jacob barked a laugh.
Edward sighed. "Jasper wants help. You'll be okay without a translator?"
"I'll manage."
Beau sat down on the ground. Jacob followed, putting his head down on his paws. Without thinking about it, Beau ran one hand down the fur of Jacob's wide neck. A humming noise followed his touch.
"You know, I never had a dog. I always wanted one, but Renée's allergic to them."
Jacob sniffed. Beau understood he took offense to being placed in the same category as a household canine.
"Aren't you worried about Saturday at all?"
The brown eyes rolled to the heavens.
"I wish I had your confidence," Beau replied.
Then two sat back to watch the killing games under the light of the hazy moon.