“THAT HAD TO BE THE LONGEST PARTY IN THE HISTORY of the world,” I complained on the way home.

　　Edward didn’t seem to disagree. “It’s over now,” he said, rubbing my arm soothingly.

　　Because I was the only one who needed soothing. Edward was fine now — all the Cullens were fine.

　　They’d all reassured me; Alice reaching up to pat my head as I left, eyeing Jasper meaningfully until a floodof peace swirled around me, Esme kissing my forehead and promising me everything was all right, Emmettlaughing boisterously and asking why I was the only one who was allowed to fight with werewolves. . . .

　　Jacob’s solution had them all relaxed, almost euphoric after the long weeks of stress. Doubt had beenreplaced with confidence. The party had ended on a note of true celebration.

　　Not for me.

　　Bad enough — horrible — that the Cullens would fight for me. It was already too much that I would haveto allow that. It already felt like more than I could bear.

　　Not Jacob, too. Not his foolish, eager brothers — most of them even younger than I was. They were justoversized, over-muscled children, and they looked forward to this like it was picnic on the beach. I could nothave them in danger, too. My nerves felt frayed and exposed. I didn’t know how much longer I could restrainthe urge to scream out loud.

　　I whispered now, to keep my voice under control. “You’re taking me with you tonight.”

　　“Bella, you’re worn out.”

　　“You think I could sleep?”

　　He frowned. “This is an experiment. I’m not sure if it will be possible for us all to . . . cooperate. I don’twant you in the middle of that.”

　　As if that didn’t make me all the more anxious to go. “If you won’t take me, then I’ll call Jacob.”

　　His eyes tightened. That was a low blow, and I knew it. But there was no way I was being left behind.

　　He didn’t answer; we were at Charlie’s house now. The front light was on.

　　“See you upstairs,” I muttered.

　　I tiptoed in the front door. Charlie was asleep in the living room, overflowing the too-small sofa, andsnoring so loudly I could have ripped a chainsaw to life and it wouldn’t have wakened him.

　　I shook his shoulder vigorously.

　　“Dad! Charlie!”

　　He grumbled, eyes still closed.

　　“I’m home now — you’re going to hurt your back sleeping like that. C’mon, time to move.”

　　It took a few more shakes, and his eyes never did open all the way, but I managed to get himoff thecouch. I helped him up to his bed, where he collapsed on top of the covers, fully dressed, and started snoringagain.

　　He wasn’t going to be looking for me anytime soon.

　　Edward waited in my room while I washed my face and changed into jeans and a flannel shirt. Hewatched me unhappily from the rocking chair as I hung the outfit Alice had given me in my closet.

　　“Come here,” I said, taking his hand and pulling him to my bed.

　　I pushed him down on the bed and then curled up against his chest. Maybe he was right and I was tiredenough to sleep. I wasn’t going to let him sneak off without me.

　　He tucked my quilt in around me, and then held me close.

　　“Please relax.”

　　“Sure.”

　　“This is going to work, Bella. I can feel it.”

　　My teeth locked together.

　　He was still radiating relief. Nobody but me cared if Jacob and his friends got hurt. Not even Jacob andhis friends. Especially not them.

　　He could tell I was about to lose it. “Listen to me, Bella. This is going to be easy. The newborns will be completely taken by surprise. They’ll have no more idea that werewolves even exist than you did. I’ve seenhow they act in a group, the way Jasper remembers. I truly believe that the wolves’ hunting techniques willwork flawlessly against them. And with them divided and confused, there won’t be enough for the rest of us todo. Someone may have to sit out,” he teased.

　　“Piece of cake,” I mumbled tonelessly against his chest.

　　“Shhh,” he stroked my cheek. “You’ll see. Don’t worry now.”

　　He started humming my lullaby, but, for once, it didn’t calm me.

　　People — well, vampires and werewolves really, but still — people I loved were going to get hurt. Hurtbecause of me. Again. I wished my bad luck would focus a little more carefully. I felt likeyelling up at theempty sky: It’s me you want — over here! Just me!

　　I tried to think of a way that I could do exactly that — force my bad luck to focus on me. It wouldn’t beeasy. I would have to wait, bide my time. . . .

　　I did not fall asleep. The minutes passed quickly, to my surprise, and I was still alert and tense whenEdward pulled us both up into a sitting position.

　　“Are you sure you don’t want to stay and sleep?”

　　I gave him a sour look.

　　He sighed, and scooped me up in his arms before he jumped from my window.

　　He raced through the black, quiet forest with me on his back, and even in his run I could feel the elation.

　　He ran the way he did when it was just us, just for enjoyment, just for the feel of the wind in his hair. It was thekind of thing that, during less anxious times, would have made me happy.

　　When we got to the big open field, his family was there, talking casually, relaxed. Emmett’s booming laughechoed through the wide space now and then. Edward set me down and we walked hand in hand towardthem.

　　It took me a minute, because it was so dark with the moon hidden behind the clouds, but I realized thatwe were in the baseball clearing. It was the same place where, more than a year ago, that first lightheartedevening with the Cullens had been interrupted by James and his coven. It felt strange to be here again — as ifthis gathering wouldn’t be complete until James and Laurent and Victoria joined us. But James and Laurentwere never coming back. That pattern wouldn’t be repeated. Maybe all the patterns were broken.

　　Yes, someone had broken out of their pattern. Was it possible that the Volturi were the flexible ones inthis equation?

　　I doubted it.

　　Victoria had always seemed like a force of nature to me — like a hurricane moving toward the coast in astraight line — unavoidable, implacable, but predictable. Maybe it was wrong to limit her that way. She had tobe capable of adaptation.

　　“You know what I think?” I asked Edward.

　　He laughed. “No.”

　　I almost smiled.

　　“What do you think?”

　　“I think it’s all connected. Not just the two, but all three.”

　　“You’ve lost me.”

　　“Three bad things have happened since you came back.” I ticked them off on my fingers. “The newbornsin Seattle. The stranger in my room. And — first of all — Victoria came to look for me.”

　　His eyes narrowed as he thought about it. “Why do you think so?”

　　“Because I agree with Jasper — the Volturi love their rules. They would probably do a better jobanyway.” And I’d be dead if they wanted me dead, I added mentally. “Remember when you were trackingVictoria last year?”

　　“Yes.” He frowned. “I wasn’t very good at it.”

　　“Alice said you were in Texas. Did you follow her there?”

　　His eyebrows pulled together. “Yes. Hmm . . .”

　　“See — she could have gotten the idea there. But she doesn’t know what she’s doing, so the newbornsare all out of control.”

　　He started shaking his head. “Only Aro knows exactly how Alice’s visions work.”

　　 “Aro would know best, but wouldn’t Tanya and Irina and the rest of your friends in Denali know enough?

　　Laurent lived with them for so long. And if he was still friendly enough with Victoria to be doing favors for her,why wouldn’t he also tell her everything he knew?”

　　Edward frowned. “It wasn’t Victoria in your room.”

　　“She can’t make new friends? Think about it, Edward. If it is Victoria doing this in Seattle, she’s made alot of new friends. She’s created them.”

　　He considered it, his forehead creased in concentration.

　　“Hmm,” he finally said. “It’s possible. I still think the Volturi are most likely . . . But your theory — there’ssomething there. Victoria’s personality. Your theory suits her personality perfectly. She’s shown a remarkablegift for self-preservation from the start — maybe it’s a talent of hers. In any case, this plot would put her in nodanger at all from us, if she sits safely behind and lets the newborns wreak their havoc here. And maybe littledanger from the Volturi, either. Perhaps she’s counting on us to win, in the end, though certainly not withoutheavy casualties of our own. But no survivors from her little army to bear witness against her. In fact,” hecontinued, thinking it through, “if there were survivors, I’d bet she’d be planning to destroy them herself. . . .

　　Hmm. Still, she’d have to have at least one friend who was a bit more mature. No fresh-made newborn leftyour father alive. . . .”

　　He frowned into space for a long moment, and then suddenly smiled at me, coming back from his reverie.

　　“Definitely possible. Regardless, we’ve got to be prepared for anything until we know for sure. You’re veryperceptive today,” he added. “It’s impressive.”

　　I sighed. “Maybe I’m just reacting to this place. It makes me feel like she’s close by . . . like she sees menow.”

　　His jaw muscles tensed at the idea. “She’ll never touch you, Bella,” he said.

　　In spite of his words, his eyes swept carefully across the dark trees. While he searched their shadows, thestrangest expression crossed his face. His lips pulled back over his teeth and his eyes shone with an odd light— a wild, fierce kind of hope.

　　“Yet, what I wouldn’t give to have her that close,” he murmured. “Victoria, and anyone else who’s everthought of hurting you. To have the chance to end this myself. To finish it with my own hands this time.”

　　I shuddered at the ferocious longing in his voice, and clenched his fingers more tightly with mine, wishing Iwas strong enough to lock our hands together permanently.

　　We were almost to his family, and I noticed for the first time that Alice did not look as optimistic as theothers. She stood a little aside, watching Jasper stretching his arms as if he were warming up to exercise, herlips pushed out in a pout.

　　“Is something wrong with Alice?” I whispered.

　　Edward chuckled, himself again. “The werewolves are on their way, so she can’t see anything that willhappen now. It makes her uncomfortable to be blind.”

　　Alice, though the farthest from us, heard his low voice. She looked up and stuck her tongue out at him. Helaughed again.

　　“Hey, Edward,” Emmett greeted him. “Hey, Bella. Is he going to let you practice, too?”

　　Edward groaned at his brother. “Please, Emmett, don’t give her any ideas.”

　　“When will our guests arrive?” Carlisle asked Edward.

　　Edward concentrated for a moment, and then sighed. “A minute and a half. But I’m going to have totranslate. They don’t trust us enough to use their human forms.”

　　Carlisle nodded. “This is hard for them. I’m grateful they’re coming at all.”

　　I stared at Edward, my eyes stretched wide. “They’re coming as wolves?”

　　He nodded, cautious of my reaction. I swallowed once, remembering the two times I’d seen Jacob in hiswolf form — the first time in the meadow with Laurent, the second time on the forest lane where Paul hadgotten angry at me. . . . They were both memories of terror.

　　A strange gleam came into Edward’s eyes, as though something had just occurred to him, something thatwas not altogether unpleasant. He turned away quickly, before I could see any more, back to Carlisle and theothers.

　　“Prepare yourselves — they’ve been holding out on us.”

　　“What do you mean?” Alice demanded.

　　 “Shh,” he cautioned, and stared past her into the darkness.

　　The Cullens’ informal circle suddenly widened out into a loose line with Jasper and Emmett at the spearpoint. From the way Edward leaned forward next to me, I could tell that he wished he was standing besidethem. I tightened my hand around his.

　　I squinted toward the forest, seeing nothing.

　　“Damn,” Emmett muttered under his breath. “Did you ever see anything like it?”

　　Esme and Rosalie exchanged a wide-eyed glance.

　　“What is it?” I whispered as quietly as I could. “I can’t see.”

　　“The pack has grown,” Edward murmured into my ear.

　　Hadn’t I told him that Quil had joined the pack? I strained to see the six wolves in the gloom. Finally,something glittered in the blackness — their eyes, higher up than they should be. I’d forgotten how very tall thewolves were. Like horses, only thick with muscle and fur — and teeth like knives, impossible to overlook.

　　I could only see the eyes. And as I scanned, straining to see more, it occurred to me that there were morethan six pairs facing us. One, two, three . . . I counted the pairs swiftly in my head. Twice.

　　There were ten of them.

　　“Fascinating,” Edward murmured almost silently.

　　Carlisle took a slow, deliberate step forward. It was a careful movement, designed to reassure.

　　“Welcome,” he greeted the invisible wolves.

　　“Thank you,” Edward responded in a strange, flat tone, and I realized at once that the words came fromSam. I looked to the eyes shining in the center of the line, the highest up, the tallest of them all. It wasimpossible to separate the shape of the big black wolf from the darkness.

　　Edward spoke again in the same detached voice, speaking Sam’s words. “We will watch and listen, butno more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control.”

　　“That is more than enough,” Carlisle answered. “My son Jasper” — he gestured to where Jasper stood,tensed and ready — “has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, how they are to be defeated.

　　I’m sure you can apply this to your own hunting style.”

　　“They are different from you?” Edward asked for Sam.

　　Carlisle nodded. “They are all very new — only months old to this life. Children, in a way. They will haveno skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty. Ten for us, ten for you — itshouldn’t be difficult. The numbers may go down. The new ones fight amongst themselves.”

　　A rumble passed down the shadowy line of wolves, a low growling mutter that somehow managed tosound enthusiastic.

　　“We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary,” Edward translated, his tone less indifferentnow.

　　Carlisle smiled. “We’ll see how it plays out.”

　　“Do you know when and how they’ll arrive?”

　　“They’ll come across the mountains in four days, in the late morning. As they approach, Alice will help usintercept their path.”

　　“Thank you for the information. We will watch.”

　　With a sighing sound, the eyes sank closer to the ground one set at a time.

　　It was silent for two heartbeats, and then Jasper took a step into the empty space between the vampiresand the wolves. It wasn’t hard for me to see him — his skin was as bright against the darkness as the wolves’

　　eyes. Jasper threw a wary glance toward Edward, who nodded, and then Jasper turned his back to thewerewolves. He sighed, clearly uncomfortable.

　　“Carlisle’s right.” Jasper spoke only to us; he seemed to be trying to ignore the audience behind him.

　　“They’ll fight like children. The two most important things you’ll need to remember are, first, don’t let them gettheir arms around you and, second, don’t go for the obvious kill. That’s all they’ll be prepared for. As long asyou come at them from the side and keep moving, they’ll be too confused to respond effectively. Emmett?”

　　Emmett stepped out of the line with a huge smile.

　　Jasper backed toward the north end of the opening between the allied enemies. He waved Emmettforward.

　　“Okay, Emmett first. He’s the best example of a newborn attack.”

　　 Emmett’s eyes narrowed. “I’ll try not to break anything,” he muttered.

　　Jasper grinned. “What I meant is that Emmett relies on his strength. He’s very straightforward about theattack. The newborns won’t be trying anything subtle, either. Just go for the easy kill, Emmett.”

　　Jasper backed up a few more paces, his body tensing.

　　“Okay, Emmett — try to catch me.”

　　And I couldn’t see Jasper anymore — he was a blur as Emmett charged him like a bear, grinning while hesnarled. Emmett was impossibly quick, too, but not like Jasper. It looked like Jasper had no more substancethan a ghost — any time it seemed Emmett’s big hands had him for sure, Emmett’s fingers clenched aroundnothing but the air. Beside me, Edward leaned forward intently, his eyes locked on the brawl. Then Emmettfroze.

　　Jasper had him from behind, his teeth an inch from his throat.

　　Emmett cussed.

　　There was a muttered rumble of appreciation from the watching wolves.

　　“Again,” Emmett insisted, his smile gone.

　　“It’s my turn,” Edward protested. My fingers tensed around his.

　　“In a minute.” Jasper grinned, stepping back. “I want to show Bella something first.”

　　I watched with anxious eyes as he waved Alice forward.

　　“I know you worry about her,” he explained to me as she danced blithely into the ring. “I want to showyou why that’s not necessary.”

　　Though I knew that Jasper would never allow any harm to come to Alice, it was still hard to watch as hesank back into a crouch facing her. Alice stood motionlessly, looking tiny as a doll after Emmett, smiling toherself. Jasper shifted forward, then slinked to her left.

　　Alice closed her eyes.

　　My heart thumped unevenly as Jasper stalked toward where Alice stood.

　　Jasper sprang, disappearing. Suddenly he was on the other side of Alice. She didn’t appear to havemoved.

　　Jasper wheeled and launched himself at her again, only to land in a crouch behind her like the first time; allthe while Alice stood smiling with her eyes closed.

　　I watched Alice more carefully now.

　　She was moving — I’d just been missing it, distracted by Jasper’s attacks. She took a small step forwardat the exact second that Jasper’s body flew through the spot where she’d just been standing. She took anotherstep, while Jasper’s grasping hands whistled past where her waist had been.

　　Jasper closed in, and Alice began to move faster. She was dancing — spiraling and twisting and curling inon herself. Jasper was her partner, lunging, reaching through her graceful patterns, never touching her, likeevery movement was choreographed. Finally, Alice laughed.

　　Out of nowhere she was perched on Jasper’s back, her lips at his neck.

　　“Gotcha,” she said, and kissed his throat.

　　Jasper chuckled, shaking his head. “You truly are one frightening little monster.”

　　The wolves muttered again. This time the sound was wary.

　　“It’s good for them to learn some respect,” Edward murmured, amused. Then he spoke louder. “Myturn.”

　　He squeezed my hand before he let it go.

　　Alice came to take his place beside me. “Cool, huh?” she asked me smugly.

　　“Very,” I agreed, not looking away from Edward as he glided noiselessly toward Jasper, his movementslithe and watchful as a jungle cat.

　　“I’ve got my eye on you, Bella,” she whispered suddenly, her voice pitched so low that I could barelyhear, though her lips were at my ear.

　　My gaze flickered to her face and then back t............