When I had kissed Edward, it always felt like an electric current was running through our lips, awakening every nerve in my body. But with Jacob, it was subtler, something that built up. It was warm and comfortable, but got more intense as time went on. Seconds, hours, days…I couldn't have told you how long that kiss lasted, but when it ended Jake's hand was in my hair and mine were around his neck, and I was feeling disheveled and awkward and confused. But when I looked back into his brown face, and saw his smile slowly spread, displaying his bright teeth, something else filled me.

Happiness.

"Did that really just happen?" Jacob asked.

I laughed. "Yeah, it did."

His smile filled up his face. When had I seen him so happy? "Well, what took ya so long?" He asked.

I shrugged, not wanting to go into it, and knowing he didn't truly care. I took a deep breath, because I wasn't feeling quite myself. The throbbing in my chest was no longer of pain, but of excitement.

Jacob pulled me close, into a bear hug. A wolf hug, I suppose. He was so warm and welcoming…I had nearly forgotten about my cliff-diving incident, about the burning in my throat, about Harry…

"Oh, Harry," I moaned, sitting up straight. "I need to get inside."

Jacob nodded, becoming somber again. I began to prepare myself, to think of what would make things easier on Charlie. Jacob opened the door, and cold wind blew in.

"OH!" Jake said, sounding as if he'd been punched in the gut. "Holy crap!"

"What?" I asked, starting to get out.

"Stay," he told me, gesturing for me to close my door. "It's a vampire."

My intake of breath was loud in the silence of the street, a silence I now distrusted. "How can you tell?"

His face turned into a sneer. "I can smell it. Get back in!"

Slowly, I took my seat again, closing the door after me. He was muttering to himself as his eyes went back and forth over the street. He got all the way out of the car to look better, and that's when I saw that his body was shaking, tremors starting to roll down his spine. He turned back to me and saw my face. It must have been a sight to see, if it reflected anything close to the fear that was taking over my body.

Jake got back into the truck, and started the engine. It roared to life, and I bit my lip.

Seeing my worry, Jacob put his arm around me, and I leaned into him. It felt so natural…I wondered why I hadn't chosen this path before. Then again, I'd had plenty on my mind, plenty to sort through.

As Jacob turned the car around and began driving off, pushing the gas pedal far enough down that my old truck began groaning, I looked up at his face. It had turned hard and calculated-this was Wolf Jacob. In his mind he was probably going over vampire-killing methods or thinking of all the different ways Sam might order them to catch Victoria. The thought of her being in my house started filling me with even more dread…slowly my body iced over, with Jacob's warmth only feebly protecting me. Thank God Charlie hadn't been home. If he had…I shuddered.

"Hey," Jacob said, his face softening. He had felt my shiver. "It'll be alright. We got you covered, and Charlie'll be in La Push for a while anyway-we'll figure out a way to drag things out. Once we get back on the rez I'll drop you off and phase to let everyone know…" He trailed off, thinking again.

He drove me to his house, and got out of the car. The curtains to all the windows were drawn. I thought of Billy in there, grieving.

"Will you be alright here?" Jacob asked me. I nodded, even though I didn't feel like I'd be alright at all. "Okay," he said. "I'll get back to you, but it might be a while. Sam will probably want to go while the trail is fresh."

Again, I nodded. Slowly I got out of the truck. Jacob came around to my side and took my wrist. He leaned in, kissed my forehead, and muttered, "I'll be back."

Then he turned and disappeared into the trees.

The dread for myself turned into anxiety for him and the other wolves. They'd caught Laurent, but still…I didn't see how they could all come out of a fight with Victoria. My chest began to ache again. Curling my arms around my body, I went into the Black's house.

Billy was in the living room. The TV was on quietly, but he wasn't paying any attention to it. His face was downward, but he looked up when he heard me come in. His eyes were shiny with sadness.

"Bella…?" He asked.

"Victoria…at my house. Jake's letting the pack know."

Billy's eyes widened, and he nodded. Then his head drooped back down, and I realized I couldn't stand being in here.

"I'll be outside," I told him, and then walked out of the small house.

I wasn't sure where I wanted to go. Not the beach-not after I went cliff-jumping. I turned and went to Jacob's garage. The Rabbit was in there, along with the motorcycles. I stepped carefully around the metal scraps and tools lying on the floor, opened the passenger seat of the Rabbit, and sat down. I thought of all the time I'd spent in this car before it was finished…and after. I remembered the movie Jacob drove us to, of Mike getting the stomach flu. 'You should hold out for someone with a stronger stomach,' Jake had said. 'Someone who laughs at the gore that makes weaker men vomit.'

And then we'd had the talk about us. The talk I'd thought would always ring true…but look at me now. I'd chosen Paris, after my Romeo had walked away effortlessly. The edges of the hole began to burn…I hugged my chest, cursing. I hoped I had done away with that hole when I kissed Jacob. I should have known better. How naïve, to think that a simple kiss would make everything better, that I could heal a broken organ with a Band-Aid.

Once I'd gotten control of myself, I thought of Jacob. I thought of the smile he'd had in my truck, of the warmth of his body that was now mine, that I now owned in my own personal way.

Though I had already napped on Jacob's couch and there was fear lurking beneath my skin, I was tired. Tired enough that I fell asleep in the seat of Jacob's car, dozing with a smile on my face.