When we finally returned to the house, Edward excused himself to talk to Esme about something. I found Miranda sitting on the porch swing, absently pushing herself back and forth.

"Hey," I greeted her. "Done with the fashion show already?"

She grinned at me. "Alice has pretty good taste, but after two hours, I had to call it a day. Who needs this much clothing?"

"Only Alice," I agreed. "Good thing she makes so much money on the stock market."

"Yeah, really," she hesitated, lowering her voice. "I do feel a little strange about her spending it on me, though."

"I feel the same," I admitted. "I don't think I deserve to be rich just because Edward and I fell in love. But Alice has been trying to convince me that I'm part of the family in my own right, not just her brother's girlfriend, and so it's my money too. I'm sure she'd say the same to you."

"I know she says I'm one of the family now–and I believe her–but it's all… a lot."

"I know what you mean."

"I'm glad to have a family, I really am, but there are so many of them. I'm the odd one out." Now that Miranda had started, she seemed to have a lot to get off her chest. "And it would be nice to have some privacy occasionally, even just in my own head."

I nodded. "Want to go for a run with me? We could get away from it all for a bit."

"Sure." She jumped to her feet. "What are you going to do if we encounter any humans?"

It was a good question. If I were going with Edward or Alice, their powers could help me avoid any possible temptations; Jasper or Emmett would at least be able to wrestle me down if I caught wind of anyone. But it might not be safe–for the humans–if Miranda and I went out alone.

"I'll hold my breath the whole time," I decided. "You've got enough self control not to go running after someone just because you catch a scent, right?" She nodded. "Then you can redirect us long before we intersect their path."

We took off into the forest. Even after days of running to get here, I hadn't gotten used to how good it felt: the powerful feeling of my muscles pushing against the ground, the rich sensations of my toes in the dirt, and the precise control I had over every movement. When I started pulling ahead of Miranda, I launched myself into the air and somersaulted, landing perfectly on my feet.

She smiled at my antics and cartwheeled toward me. I caught her hands as she reached me and pulled her into a final flip over my head. She laughed in delight.

After jogging for twenty minutes, we ended up sitting by a stream, dipping our toes in the icy water. Miranda ran a circuit around our position and confirmed that there were no humans nearby, which meant I could safely breathe and talk.

"Edward asked me to marry him," I said without preamble. Even though I had only known Miranda for a few days, she felt like the easiest one to talk to about this–I worried that Edward's siblings would resent me for my noncommittal answer to their brother.

"That was fast," she commented.

"Right?" I exclaimed. "We just got back together earlier today!"

"Did he say why he was asking so soon?"

"He doesn't want to get physical until we've tied the knot," I grumbled. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's started to believe he might have a soul, but I wish he had more modern notions about what might tarnish his purity."

Miranda laughed. "I can see why he wants to get you to the altar right away, then."

"Yep, it's quite a motivator," I said glumly.

"You're not ready for it," she inferred.

"Getting married at eighteen seems crazy to me. I'm not that kind of girl. Where I come from, anyone who did that would be the talk of the town–they'd all assume I was pregnant."

"Huh. Things must have changed a lot since my time," Miranda observed. "It certainly wasn't unusual then… most women would be pleased to have secured a man at your age." She paused for a moment. "Lesbianism also wasn't considered acceptable back when I was human. It didn't even occur to me that I might be one. I wonder if Joham realized at some point that that was what was 'wrong' with me… if that's why he was so cruel to me."

"How could he blame you for that? It's part of who you are," I said vehemently.

She shrugged, a long and hopeless gesture.

"Do you think my orientation will bother Edward? Since he's so traditional?" she wondered.

"Not at all," I assured her. "He doesn't expect anyone else to uphold Puritan values–just himself." Then it occurred to me to ask, "Does it bother you? Now that you know?"

"No. I've long since given up on following the virtues I was raised with–Joham and I weren't married, for example. I didn't feel that human morality made sense for vampires. It changes every few decades, anyway."

I thought about that. "You're right. Maybe I shouldn't be thinking about what marriage means to the humans I knew–just what it would mean to Edward and me."

"Mmm," Miranda agreed. She skipped a stone across the stream in front of us. It bounced once, twice, thrice to the other side.

"So what's on your mind?" I queried.

"Where to start?" She laughed dryly. "I'm nervous about this vegetarianism thing, for one," she confessed. "Jasper says it will be much harder for me than for you, since I've spent so many years hunting humans. Apparently it's easiest if you never slip up."

"Do you even want to be vegetarian?" I asked, curious. "Alice just kind of assumed you would."

"Yes," she said confidently. "I never liked watching my prey suffer. I tried to make it as quick as possible. When I was with Joham, I would let him kill them while I slowed their perceptions down, so it was even more painless.

"I'm going to try to do that with animals, too," she added. "No living creature should have to experience the agony of a slow death. But animals don't have hopes and dreams for the future… snuffing out a human life is a whole different thing. I wish I'd known before that there was another option."

For a moment, the only sound was the gurgling of the brook.

"You really don't like killing, do you?" I observed. "Were you upset that I destroyed Victoria?"

"A little bit," she said. "It's irrational–I know she would have killed you if she could. And it certainly solved my blackmail problem."

"Why did you help her, anyway?" I had to ask. "You could have turned on her as soon as the fight started. Edward would certainly have won with your help."

"Victoria told me that she wanted revenge on the vicious, brutal vampire who had killed her mate unprovoked," Miranda recounted. "She made it sound like we were going up against someone who would kill me before asking questions. I wasn't sure whether to believe her, but it matched many of my experiences with vampires down south." She wriggled her feet in the stream, dislodging a few stones from the bank and watching them plop into the water. "Besides, I had long suspected that Victoria had some kind of gift for escaping sticky situations. If I'd made a plan to backstab her, she might have seen through me and run off–taking the blackmail with her."

I nodded. We sat quietly for another minute, enjoying the light of the setting sun glittering off our skin.

Miranda broke the silence. "You might want to think carefully about whether to develop your talent," she warned me. "You might think a shield is purely defensive. But so many vampires have abilities–at least, among the small fraction who survive their first decade, which is heavily skewed toward the talented ones–that a defense against other powers is a huge advantage in a fight. If people know you can do that, they'll all want you to help resolve their conflicts. Having a gift is more trouble than it's worth," she concluded bitterly.

"The Cullens wouldn't use me like that," I objected. "They don't start fights. If they ever need help for some reason, I want to be able to protect them."

She kicked another rock into the stream. "They're good people," she agreed. "But are they the only ones who will ever be able to influence you? When you have power, people want power over you. You become a tool."

I thought again of the favor I owed to Laurent. I really needed to discharge that obligation sooner rather than later–before I became powerful enough that anyone might ask dangerous favors of me. The situation with Irina seemed harmless enough, assuming I could fix it–but if I couldn't, I would owe him something else in the future. I had been planning to solicit Miranda's assistance with that. But how could I ask her to use her ability for me, after the speech she'd just given?

"A gift is a gift," I said firmly. "You were just telling me about the good that you've done with your power–helping your victims feel less pain. Maybe someday, you could use it to help Carlisle with patients who are having unpleasant procedures. Or not–whatever you want to do with it. We're not going to let people use you anymore."

She smiled gratefully at me. "What if I want to do something completely frivolous with it?"

"What do you have in mind?"

The smile turned mischievous. "How mad would Emmett be if Rosalie beat him in a sparring match?"

When we returned to the house, Edward raced to meet me outside. He picked me up, bridal style, and swung me around twice. "I missed you," he said, dazzling me with a crooked smile.

I reached up to capture his lips with mine. My arms snaked around his neck, and I lost myself in the sweet bliss of his caresses. Miranda ignored us, entering the building and searching for Rosalie.

"Where were you?" I asked him.

"Consulting with Esme on a project," he answered in between kisses. "Missing you every minute."

Alice chose that moment to interrupt us. "Bella, I've put your shopping bags in the upstairs bedroom to the northwest. You'll be sharing that space with Edward."

"Mkay." I didn't bother looking away from him.

"We have two weeks left on our vacation rental. After that, we'll be returning to our longer-term house in Ithaca, New York. It'll be a shorter swim for you this time–only about a thousand miles from Norway to Greenland. Edward, am I correct in assuming you'll want to run with Bella, so I don't need to buy a plane ticket for you?"

"Indeed." His thumb continued tracing my cheek. When would Alice shut up and leave us alone again?

"I'm going to set up cell phones for both of you, so you can get in contact with us if you encounter any problems along the way. Bella, do you mind if I use the last name Cullen when I set yours up? There's a missing person alert out for Bella Swan."

"Shoot!" I scrambled out of Edward's arms. "I have to call Charlie."

He followed me into the house, where Alice obligingly handed me her cell phone. "You're going to need to practice your voice," she warned. "You don't sound the same anymore."

I tried to make my ringing tones sound duller and hoarser. "Like this?"

"No, more like this," Alice said, using an uncanny imitation of my human voice. "And be sure to speak slower and louder–human ears can't keep up with us."

I modulated my pitch to match hers. "Is this any better?"

Once she declared me passable at impersonating myself, I dialed my house. Charlie was usually home by this time of night, but no one picked up, so I tried the police station next.

"Chief Swan speaking," a gruff voice answered.

"Dad! It's me, Bella. I'm so sorry I forgot to call you," I stammered, focusing on keeping my voice right.

"Bells!" I could hear the relief in his tone. "Where have you been, young lady?"

I'd told him I was going to stay with Renee–but I'd told her I was going on a backpacking trip, and they must have compared notes by now. I was in huge trouble no matter what, so I might as well tell the approximate truth.

"I ran into Alice, and she brought me to stay with the rest of her family. It turns out Edward was every bit as miserable without me as I was without him. For complicated reasons, they couldn't stay in Forks, so I'm going to live with them instead."

There was a heavy pause. Then Charlie asked, disbelieving, "You ran away from home to live with the boy who dumped you?" I flinched.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I know it's not like me. But we're both so much happier now," I pleaded with him to understand.

"You come home right this minute, Isabella," he demanded. "That boy is no good for you. Do you have any idea how worried Renee and I have been? You are grounded until you're at least forty."

This was even harder than I'd imagined. Edward wrapped his arms around me supportively.

"I promise, I'm fine. I'll call Renee next. But I'm not coming back to Forks, Dad."

"The hell you're not!" he stormed. "You have three months left of high school! You can't drop out now."

"I'm eighteen. It's my decision." I forced my voice to remain steady. "'Bye, Dad."

"Wait! Have you heard from Jacob?"

"No, why?"

"He's gone missing too. I was hoping that wherever you two were, you would at least be together. I'll have to call Billy and tell him the bad news…"

My eyes went wide in horror. Had Victoria gotten to him, before she changed course to find Edward? Or was there a more innocent explanation?

In my panic, I hardly remembered to speak at a human speed. "Thanks for telling me. Gotta go." I hung up before he could reply.

I dialed Billy's number next. My hand was shaking so badly that it took me three tries to get the sequence right. As it rang, I paced back and forth. For once in your life, pick up, I pleaded with Billy silently.

My wish was granted. "Hello?" his gravelly voice answered.

"It's me, Bella. Charlie told me that Jacob is missing."

Billy could tell immediately from my voice that something wasn't right. "What have you done?" he shouted.

"I did what I had to," I hissed. "I would be a vampire snack by now if I'd stayed in Forks."

"Charlie will–"

"Don't even think about telling Charlie. You know poking around in the supernatural can only get him in trouble."

There was a short silence. "Fine. But I'll be telling the Council of Elders about this," he spat.

I rolled my eyes. "Noted. Now what's up with Jacob? Is he off on some wolf mission, or is he in trouble?"

I prayed that he wouldn't ask how I knew about the wolves. I had told Edward and Alice that Billy was my source for knowing that Victoria was after me, and I could easily be caught in the lie.

"What's it to you, leech?" he retorted coldly.

"He's my best friend!" I answered, stung.

"Not anymore."

"Maybe I'm not his best friend anymore, but he damn well is mine. Do I have to come back to Forks to find out what happened?"

"I suppose you might as well know, since it's your fault," Billy gritted out. "Three days ago, when Charlie realized you were missing, Jake went looking for you alone. He thought he had a decent chance of following your scent. But yesterday, he found an unfamiliar vampire instead."

I gasped in horror. There was no way Jacob–my happy, sarcastic, carefree Jacob–could have survived an encounter with a vampire.

"The bloodsucker won the fight, but for whatever reason, he didn't deal the killing blow. The pack saw him drag Jacob off somewhere to the north."

"They saw it? If they were there, why didn't they help?" I exclaimed.

"They saw it telepathically, through Jacob's eyes." Billy clarified impatiently. Oh, well that explained everything. Did every supernatural species have weird mind powers? Weren't shape-shifting wolves mystical enough on their own? "They can't see anything anymore, so he must be in human form now, unless…" The unspoken alternative lay heavy in the air.

"Are they going to rescue him?" I demanded.

Billy's voice was thick with sadness. "Sam thinks it's a diversion. He doesn't want to send the whole pack away, leaving La Push undefended. And splitting the pack in half would be even worse–two wolves isn't enough to reliably take on a vampire."

I was incensed. "They can't just do nothing!"

He didn't reply.

"Fine. I'm coming straight back, and I'll find Jacob."

2024-11-27 A/N: next chapter will be up this weekend. Have a great Thanksgiving!