er, or a friend, or a brother. 

"Quil will be the best, kindest big brother any kid ever had. There isn't a toddler on the 
planet that will be more carefully looked after than that little girl will be. And then, when 
she's older and needs a friend, he'll be more understanding, trustworthy, and reliable than 
anyone else she knows. And then, when she's grown up, they'll be as happy as Emily and 
Sam." A strange, bitter edge sharpened his tone at the very end, when he spoke of Sam. 

"Doesn't Claire get a choice here?" 

"Of course. But why wouldn't she choose him, in the end? He'll be her perfect match. Like 
he was designed for her alone." 

We walked in silence for a moment, till I paused to toss a rock toward the ocean. It fell to the 
beach several meters short. Jacob laughed at me. 

 

"We can't all be freakishly strong," I muttered. 

He sighed. 

"When do you think it will happen for you?" I asked quietly. 

His answer was flat and immediate. "Never." 

"It's not something you can control, is it?" 

He was silent for a few minutes. Unconsciously, we both walked slower, barely moving at 
all. 

"It's not supposed to be," he admitted. "But you have tosee her - the one that's supposedly 
meant for you." 

"And you think that if you haven't seen her yet, then she's not out there?" I asked skeptically. 
"Jacob, you haven't really seen much of the world - less than me, even." 

"No, I haven't," he said in a low voice. He looked at my face with suddenly piercing eyes. 
"But I'll never see anyone else, Bella. I only see you. Even when I close my eyes and try to 
see something else. Ask Quil or Embry. It drives them all crazy." 

I dropped my eyes to the rocks. 

We weren't walking anymore. The only sound was of the waves beating against the shore. I 
couldn't hear the rain over their roar. 

"Maybe I'd better go home," I whispered. 

"No!" he protested, surprised by this conclusion. 

I looked up at him again, and his eyes were anxious now. 

"You have the whole day off, right? The bloodsucker won't be home yet." 

I glared at him. 

"No offense intended," he said quickly. 

"Yes, I have the whole day. But, Jake . . ." 

He held up his hands. "Sorry," he apologized. "I won't be like that anymore. I'll just be 
Jacob." 

I sighed. "But if that's what you'rethinking . . ." 

"Don't worry about me," he insisted, smiling with deliberate cheer, too brightly. "I know 

 

what I'm doing. Just tell me if I'm upsetting you." 

"I don't know. . . ." 

"C'mon, Bella. Let's go back to the house and get our bikes. You've got to ride a motorcycle 
regularly to keep it in tune." 

"I really don't think I'm allowed." 

"By who? Charlie or the blood - orhim ?" 

"Both." 

Jacob grinnedmy grin, and he was suddenly the Jacob I missed the most, sunny and warm. 

I couldn't help grinning back. 

The rain softened, turned to mist. 

"I won't tell anyone," he promised. 

"Except every one of your friends." 

He shook his head soberly and raised his right hand. "I promise not to think about it." 

I laughed. "If I get hurt, it was because I tripped." 

"Whatever you say." 

We rode our motorcycles on the back roads around La Push until the rain made them too 
muddy and Jacob insisted that he was going to pass out if he didn't eat soon. Billy greeted 
me easily when we got to the house, as if my sudden reappearance meant nothing more 
complicated than that I'd wanted to spend the day with my friend. After we ate the 
sandwiches Jacob made, we went out to the garage and I helped him clean up the bikes. I 
hadn't been here in months - since Edward had returned - but there was no sense of import to 
it. It was just another afternoon in the garage. 

"This is nice," I commented when he pulled the warm sodas from the grocery bag. "I've 
missed this place." 

He smiled, looking around at the plastic sheds bolted together over our heads. "Yeah, I can 
understand that. All the splendor of the Taj Mahal, without the inconvenience and expense 
of traveling to India." 

"To Washington's little Taj Mahal," I toasted, holding up my can. 

He touched his can to mine. 

 

"Do you remember last Valentine's Day? I think that was the last time you were here - the 
last time when things were still . . . normal, I mean." 

I laughed. "Of course I remember. I traded a lifetime of servitude for a box of conversation 
hearts. That's not something I'm likely to forget." 

He laughed with me. "That's right. Hmm, servitude. I'll have to think of something good." 
Then he sighed. "It feels like it was years ago. Another era. A happier one." 

I couldn't agree with him. This was my happy era now. But I was surprised to realize how 
many things I missed from my own personal dark ages. I stared through the opening at the 
murky forest. The rain had picked up again, but it was warm in the little garage, sitting next 
to Jacob. He was as good as a furnace. 

His fingers brushed my hand. "Things have really changed." 

"Yeah," I said, and then I reached out and patted the back tire of my bike. "Charlieused to 
like me. I hope Billy doesn't say anything about today. . . ." I bit my lip. 

"He won't. He doesn't get worked up about things the way Charlie does. Hey, I never did 
apologize officially for that stupid move with the bike. I'm real sorry about ratting you out to 
Charlie. I wish I hadn't." 

I rolled my eyes. "Me, too." 

"I'm really, really sorry." 

He looked at me hopefully, his wet, tangled black hair sticking up in every direction around 
his pleading face. 

"Oh, fine! You're forgiven." 

"Thanks, Bells!" 

We grinned at each other for a second, and then his face clouded over. 

"You know that day, when I brought the bike over . . . I've been wanting to ask you 
something," he said slowly. "But also . . . not wanting to." 

I held very still - a reaction to stress. It was a habit I'd picked up from Edward. 

"Were you just being stubborn because you were mad at me, or were you really serious?" he 
whispered. 

"About what?" I whispered back, though I was sure I knew what he meant. 

He glared at me. "You know. When you said it was none of my business . . . if - if he bit 
you." He cringed visibly at the end. 

 

"Jake . . ." My throat felt swollen. I couldn't finish. 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Were you serious?" 

He was trembling just slightly. His eyes stayed closed. 

"Yes," I whispered. 

Jacob inhaled, slow and deep. "I guess I knew that." 

I stared at his face, waiting for his eyes to open. 

"You know what this will mean?" He demanded suddenly. "You do understand that, don't 
you? What will happen if they break the treaty?" 

"We'll leave first," I said in a small voice. 

His eyes flashed open, their black depths full of anger and pain. "There wasn't a geographic 
limit to the treaty, Bella. Our great-grandfathers only agreed to keep the peace because the 
Cullens swore that they were different, that humans weren't in danger from them. They 
promised they would never kill or change anyone ever again. If they go back on their word, 
the treaty is meaningless, and they are no different than any other vampires. Once that's 
established, when we find them again -" 

"But, Jake, didn't you break the treaty already?" I asked, grasping at straws. "Wasn't part of it 
that you not tell people about the vampires? And you told me. So isn't the treaty sort of 
moot, anyhow?" 

Jacob didn't like the reminder; the pain in his eyes hardened into animosity. "Yeah, I broke 
the treaty - back before I believed any of it. And I'm sure they were informed of that." He 
glared sourly at my forehead, not meeting my shamed gaze. "But it's not like that gives them 
a freebie or anything. There's no fault for a fault. They have only one option if they object to 
what I did. The same option we'll have when they break the treaty: to attack. To start the 
war." 

He made it sound so inevitable. I shuddered. 

"Jake, it doesn't have to be that way." 

His teeth ground together. "Itis that way." 

The silence after his declaration felt very loud. 

"Will you never forgive me, Jacob?" I whispered. As soon as I said the words, I wished I 
hadn't. I didn't want to hear his answer. 

"You won't be Bella anymore," he told me. "My friend won't exist. There'll be no one to 

 

forgive." 

"That sounds like ano, " I whispered. 

We faced each other for an endless moment. 

"Is this goodbye then, Jake?" 

He blinked rapidly, his fierce expression melting in surprise. "Why? We still have a few years. 
Can't we be friends until we're out of time?" 

"Years? No, Jake, not years." I shook my head, and laughed once without humor. "Weeksis 
more accurate." 

I was not expecting his reaction. 

He was suddenly on his feet, and there was a loudpop as the soda can exploded in his hand. 
Soda flew everywhere, soaking me, like it was spraying from a hose. 

"Jake!" I started to complain, but I fell silent when I realized that his whole body was 
quivering with anger. He glared at me wildly, a growling sound building in his chest. 

I froze in place, too shocked to remember how to move. 

The shaking rolled through him, getting faster, until it looked like he was vibrating. His 
shape blurred. . . . 

And then Jacob gritted his teeth together, and the growling stopped. He squeezed his eyes 
tight in concentration; the quivering slowed until only his hands were shaking. 

"Weeks," Jacob said in a flat monotone. 

I couldn't respond; I was still frozen. 

He opened his eyes. They were beyond fury now. 

"He's going to change you into a filthy bloodsucker in just a fewweeks !" Jacob hissed 
through his teeth. 

Too stunned to take offense at his words, I just nodded mutely. 

His face turned green under the russet sk