me to say one more thing. . . .

I waited. When he finally spoke again, he was whispering. Ican be noble, Bella. Im not going to make you choose between us. Just be happy, and you can have whatever part of me you want, or none at all, if thats better. Dont let any debt you feel you owe me influence your decision.

I pushed off the floor, shoving myself up onto my knees.

Dammit, stop that! I shouted at him.

His eyes widened in surprise. No  you dont understand. Im not just trying to make you feel better, Bella, I really mean it.

Iknow you do, I groaned. What happened to fighting back? Dont start with the noble self-sacrifice now! Fight!

How? he asked, and his eyes were ancient with their sadness.

I scrambled into his lap, throwing my arms around him.

I dont care that its cold here. I dont care that I stink like a dog right now. Make me forget how awful I am. Make me forget him. Make me forget my own name. Fight back!

I didnt wait for him to decide  or to have the chance to tell me he wasnt interested in a cruel, faithless monster like me. I pulled myself against him and crushed my mouth to his snow-cold lips.

Careful, love, he murmured under my urgent kiss.

No, I growled.

He gently pushed my face a few inches back. You dont have to prove anything to me.

Im not trying to prove something. You said I could have any part of you I wanted. I want this part. I wantevery part. I wrapped my arms around his neck and strained to reach his lips. He bent his head to kiss me back, but his cool mouth was hesitant as my impatience grew more pronounced. My body was making my intentions clear, giving me away. Inevitably, his hands moved to restrain me.

Perhaps this isnt the best moment for that, he suggested, too calm for my liking.

Why not? I grumbled. There was no point in fighting if he was going to be rational; I dropped my arms.

Firstly, because itis cold. He reached out to pull the sleeping bag off the floor; he wrapped it around me like a blanket.

Wrong, I said. First, because you are bizarrely moral for a vampire.

He chuckled. All right, Ill give you that. The cold is second. And thirdly . . . well, you do actually stink, love.

He wrinkled his nose.

I sighed.

Fourthly, he murmured, dropping his face so that he was whispering in my ear. Wewill try, Bella. Ill make good on my promise. But Id much rather it wasnt in reaction to Jacob Black.

I cringed, and buried my face against his shoulder.

And fifthly . . .

This is a very long list, I muttered.

He laughed. Yes, but did you want to listen to the fight or not?

As he spoke, Seth howled stridently outside the tent.

My body stiffened to the sound. I didnt realize my left hand was clenched into a fist, nails biting into my bandaged palm, until Edward took it and gently smoothed my fingers out.

Its going to be fine, Bella, he promised. Weve got skill, training, and surprise on our side. It will be over very soon. If I didnt truly believe that, I would be down there now  and youd be here, chained to a tree or something along those lines.

Alice is so small, I moaned.

He chuckled. That might be a problem . . . if it were possible for someone to catch her.

Seth started to whimper.

Whats wrong? I demanded.

Hes just angry that hes stuck here with us. He knows the pack kept him out of the action to protect him. Hes salivating to join them.

I scowled in Seths general direction.

The newborns have reached the end of the trail  it worked like a charm, Jaspers a genius  and theyve caught the scent of the ones in the meadow, so theyre splitting into two groups now, as Alice said, Edward murmured, his eyes focused on something far away. Sams taking us around to head off the ambush party. He was so intent on what he was hearing that he used the pack plural.

Suddenly he looked down at me. Breathe, Bella.

I struggled to do what he asked. I could hear Seths heavy panting just outside the tent wall, and I tried to keep my lungs on the same even pace, so that I wouldnt hyperventilate.

The first group is in the clearing. We can hear the fighting.

My teeth locked together.

He laughed once. We can hear Emmett  hes enjoying himself.

I made myself take another breath with Seth.

The second group is getting ready  they arent paying attention, they havent heard us yet.

Edward growled.

What? I gasped.

Theyre talking about you. His teeth clenched together. Theyre supposed to make sure you dont escape. . . . Nice move, Leah! Mmm, shes quite fast, he murmured in approval. One of the newborns caught our scent, and Leah took him down before he could even turn. Sams helping her finish him off. Paul and Jacob got another one, but the others are on the defensive now. They have no idea what to make of us. Both sides are feinting. . . . No, let Sam lead. Stay out of the way, he muttered. Separate them  dont let them protect each others backs.

Seth whined.

Thats better, drive them toward the clearing, Edward approved. His body was shifting unconsciously as he watched, tensing for moves he would have made. His hands still held mine; I twisted my fingers through his. At least he wasnt down there.

The sudden absence of sound was the only warning.

The deep rush of Seths breathing cut off, and  as Id paced my breaths with his  I noticed.

I stopped breathing, too  too frightened to even make my lungs work as I realized that Edward had frozen into a block of ice beside me.

Oh, no. No. No.

Who had been lost? Theirs or ours? Mine, all mine. What wasmy loss?

So quickly that I wasnt exactly sure how it happened, I was on my feet and the tent was collapsing in ragged shreds around me. Had Edward ripped our way out? Why?

I blinked, shocked, into the brilliant light. Seth was all I could see, right beside us, his face only six inches from Edwards. They stared at each other with absolute concentration for one infinite second. The sun shattered off Edwards skin and sent sparkles dancing across Seths fur.

And then Edward whispered urgently, Go, Seth!

The huge wolf wheeled and disappeared into the forest shadows.

Had two entire seconds passed? It felt like hours. I was terrified to the point of nausea by the knowledge that something horrible had gone awry in the clearing. I opened my mouth to demand that Edward take me there, and do it now. They needed him, and they neededme. If I had to bleed to save them, I would do it. I would die to do it, like the third wife. I had no silver dagger in my hand, but I would find a way 

Before I could get the first syllable out, I felt as if I was being flung through the air. But Edwards hands never let go of me  I was only being moved, so quickly that the sensation was like falling sideways.

I found myself with my back pressed against the sheer cliff face. Edward stood in front of me, holding a posture that I knew at once.

Relief washed through my mind at the same time that my stomach dropped through the soles of my feet.

Id misunderstood.

Relief  nothing had gone wrong in the clearing.

Horror  the crisis washere.

Edward held a defensive position  half-crouched, his arms extended slightly  that I recognized with sickening certainty. The rock at my back could have been the ancient brick walls of the Italian alley where he had stood between me and the black-cloaked Volturi warriors.

Something was coming for us.

Who? I whispered.

The words came through his teeth in a snarl that was louder than I expected. Too loud. It meant that it was far too late to hide. We were trapped, and it didnt matter who heard his answer.

Victoria, he said, spitting the word, making it a curse. Shes not alone. She crossed my scent, following the newborns in to watch  she never meant to fight with them. She made a spur-of-the-moment decision to find me, guessing that you would be wherever I was. She was right. You were right. It was always Victoria.

She was close enough that he could hear her