 Like I said before, 
when Sam gives an order, the pack simply isn't able to ignore it. Jacob was very careful to 
think of other things when he was near me. Of course, after last night that's all out the 
window." 

"I can't believe it. Leah Clearwater!" Suddenly, I remembered Jacob speaking of Leah and 
Sam, and the way he acted as if he'd said too much - after he'd said something about Sam 
having to look in Leah's eyesevery day and know that he'd broken all his promises. . . . Leah 
on the cliff, a tear glistening on her cheek when Old Quil had spoken of the burden and 
sacrifice the Quileutesons shared. . . . And Billy, spending time with Sue because she was 
having trouble with her kids . . . and here the trouble actually was that both of them were 
werewolves now! 

I hadn't given much thought to Leah Clearwater, just to grieve for her loss when Harry had 
passed away, and then to pity her again when Jacob had told her story, about how the 
strange imprinting between Sam and her cousin Emily had broken Leah's heart. 

 

And now she was part of Sam's pack, hearing his thoughts . . . and unable to hide her own. 

I really hate that part,Jacob had said.Everything you're ashamed of, laid out for everyone to 
see. 

"Poor Leah," I whispered. 

Edward snorted. "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, 
make it easier. When even one member is deliberately malicious, it's painful for everyone." 

"She has reason enough," I mumbled, still on her side. 

"Oh, I know," he said. "The imprinting compulsion is one of the strangest things I've ever 
witnessed in my life, and I've seen some strange things." He shook his head wonderingly. 
"The way Sam is tied to his Emily is impossible to describe - or I should sayher Sam . Sam 
really had no choice. It reminds me ofA Midsummer Night's Dream with all the chaos caused 
by the fairies' love spells . . . like magic." He smiled. "It's very nearly as strong as the way I 
feel about you." 

"Poor Leah," I said again. "But what do you mean, malicious?" 

"She's constantly bringing up things they'd rather not think of," he explained. "For example, 
Embry." 

"What's with Embry?" I asked, surprised. 

"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." 

"So?" 

"So the prime candidates for his father are Quil Ateara Sr., Joshua Uley, or Billy Black, all of 
them married at that point, of course." 

"No!" I gasped. Edward was right - this 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." 

"Wow. 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 faintly regretful, like someone who'd had to put down a good book just before 
the climax. I laughed. 

"The pack is fascinating," I agreed. "Almost as fascinating as you are when you're trying to 
distract me." 

His expression became polite again - a perfect poker face. 

"I have to be in that clearing, Edward." 

"No," he said in a very final tone. 

A certain path occurred to me at that moment. 

It wasn't so much that I had to be in the clearing. I just had to be where Edward was. 

Cruel,I accused myself.Selfish, selfish, selfish! Don't do it! 

I ignored my better instincts. I couldn't look at him while I spoke, though. The guilt had my 
eyes glued to the table. 

"Okay, look, Edward," I whispered. "Here's the thing . . . I've already gone crazy once. I 
know what my limits are.And I can't stand it if you leave me again. " 

I didn't look up to see his reaction, afraid to know how much pain I was inflicting. I did hear 
his sudden intake of breath and the silence that followed. I stared at the dark wooden 
tabletop, wishing I could take the words back. But knowing I probably wouldn't. Not if it 
worked. 

Suddenly, his arms were around me, his hands stroking my face, my arms.He was 
comfortingme. The guilt went into spiral mode. But the survival instinct was stronger. There 
was no question that he was fundamental to my survival. 

"You know it's not like that, Bella," he murmured. "I won't be far, and it will be over 
quickly." 

"I can't stand it," I insisted, still staring down. "Not knowing whether or not you'll come 
back. How do I live through that, no matter how quickly it's over?" 

He sighed. "It's going to be easy, Bella. There's no reason for your fears." 

"None at all?" 

"None." 

 

"And everybody will be fine?" 

"Everyone," he promised. 

"So there's no way at all that I need to be in the clearing?" 

"Of course not. Alice just told me that they're down to nineteen. We'll be able to handle it 
easily." 

"That's right - you said it was so easy that someone could sit out," I repeated his words from 
last night. "Did you really mean that?" 

"Yes." 

It felt too simple - he had to see it coming. 

"So easy thatyou could sit out?" 

After a long moment of silence, I finally looked up at his expression. 

The poker face was back. 

I took a deep breath. "So it's one way or the other. Either there is more danger than you want 
me to know about, in which case it would be right for me to be there, to do what I can to 
help. Or . . . it's going to be so easy that they'll get by without you. Which way is it?" 

He didn't speak. 

I knew what he was thinking of - the same thing I was thinking of. Carlisle. Esme. Emmett. 
Rosalie. Jasper. And . . . I forced myself to think the last name. And Alice. 

I wondered if I was a monster. Not the kind that he thought he was, but the real kind. The 
kind that hurt people. The kind that had no limits when it came to what they wanted. 

What I wanted was to keep him safe, safe with me. Did I have a limit to what I would do, 
what I would sacrifice for that? I wasn't sure. 

"You ask me to let them fight without my help?" he said in a quiet voice. 

"Yes." I was surprised I could keep my voice even, I felt so wretched inside. "Or to let me be 
there. Either way, so long as we're together." 

He took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly. He moved his hands to place them on either 
side of my face, forcing me to meet his gaze. He looked into my eyes for a long time. I 
wondered what he was looking for, and what it was that he found. Was the guilt as thick on 
my face as it was in my stomach - sickening me? 

His eyes tightened against some emotion I couldn't read, and he dropped one hand to pull out 

 

his phone again. 

"Alice," he sighed. "Could you come babysit Bella for a bit?" He raised one eyebrow, daring 
me to object to the word. "I need to speak with Jasper." 

She evidently agreed. He put the phone away and went back to staring at my face. 

"What are you going to say to Jasper?" I whispered. 

"I'm going to discuss . . . me sitting out." 

It was easy to read in his face how difficult the words were for him. 

"I'm sorry." 

Iwas sorry. I hated to make him do this. Not enough that I could fake a smile and tell him to 
go on ahead without me. Definitely not that much. 

"Don't apologize," he said, smiling just a little. "Never be afraid to tell me how you feel, 
Bella. If this is what you need . . ." He shrugged. "You are my first priority." 

"I didn't mean it that way - like you have to choose me over your family." 

"I know that. Besides, that's not what you asked. You gave me two alternatives that you 
could live with, and I chose the one thatI could live with. That's how compromise is 
supposed to work." 

I leaned forward and rested my forehead against his chest. "Thank you," I whispered. 

"Anytime," he answered, kissing my hair. "Anything." 

We didn't move for a long moment. I kept my face hidden, pressed against his shirt. Two 
voices struggled inside me. One that wanted to be good and brave, and one that told the 
good one to keep her mouth shut. 

"Who's the third wife?" he asked me suddenly. 

"Huh?" I said, stalling. I didn't remember having had that dream again. 

"You were mumbling something about 'the third wife' last night. The rest made a little sense, 
but you lost me there." 

"Oh. Um, yeah. That was just one of the stories that I heard at the bonfire the other night." I 
shrugged. "I guess it stuck with me." 

Edward leaned away from me and cocked his head to the side, probably confused by the 
uncomfortable edge to my voice. 

 

Before he could ask, Alice appeared in the kitchen doorway with a sour expression. 

"You're going to miss all the fun," she grumbled. 

"Hello, Alice," he greeted her. He put one finger under my chin and tilted my face up to kiss 
me goodbye. 

"I'll be back later tonight," he promised me. "I'll go work this out with the others, rearrange 
things." 

"Okay." 

"There's not much to arrange," Alice said. "I already told them. Emmett is pleased." 

Edward sighed. "Of course he is." 

He walked out the door, leaving me to face Alice. 

She glared at me. 

"I'm sorry," I apologized again. "Do you think this will make it more dangerous for you?" 

She snorted. "You worry too much, Bella. You're going to go prematurely gray." 

"Why are you upset, then?" 

"Edward is such a grouch when he doesn't get his way. I'm just anticipating living with him 
for the next few months." She made a face. "I suppose, if it ke