PROLOGUE:

Jacob's POV- note: this will be the ONLY Jacob POV in the book.

Two Months Ago...

I wasn't sure why I went to Bella's crazy ass sister's wedding to the fortune telling bloodsucker. Maybe I was curious. Maybe I was a masochist. All I know, is that afterwards I felt sick. That I had to retreat to the forest where I had to fight the hot taste, as a red haze washed over my eyes and a trail of warmth slid down my back, leaving me wrestling to keep my shape together while my body tried to shake apart.

They'd both been so happy. So overwhelmingly happy. And Hermione's face had started to flicker in my mind, until it was Bella standing there, Bella laughing and crying and so, so in love, looking so, so beautiful in white.

But I'd coped. I'd managed to keep myself together. That was, until I'd heard the conversation between a young man, a few years older then me, with red hair, talking to Harry. "Best bit about this whole situation is that Alice isn't going to change Hermione." He'd grumbled. My whole body had stiffened at that. "Be nice, Ron." Harry had sighed. "What?" the redhead, Ron, had then protested, "You did DADA with me-there's a reason there aren't more vampires. Changing muggles is bloody difficult- the vampires kill 'em more often then not."

That's when I'd left- it was either that or phase in front of everyone.

I tried shoving the words away, but they were still there, scratching themselves into my brain, the pain of it so strong that I could barely breathe.

It didn't matter so much that Bella'd chosen someone else over me. That agony was nothing at all. That agony I could live with for the rest of my stupid, too long, stretched out life.

But it did matter that she was giving up everything- that she was letting her heart stop and her skin ice over and her mind twist into some crystallized predator's head. A monster. A stranger.

I would have thought there was nothing worse than that, nothing more painful in the whole world.

But, if he killed her...

Again, I had to fight the rage. Maybe it would be good to let the heat change me into a creature who could deal with it better. A creature with instincts so much stronger than human emotions. An animal who couldn't feel pain in the same way. A different pain. Some variety, at least.

But I couldn't, because right now there would be others running, patrolling, and for once I just wanted to be alone. I cussed Leah under my breath, wishing she'd shared with the rest of us how she blocked us from her thoughts.

I had to believe that Bella would survive. But that required trust- a trust I didn't want to feel, a trust in that bloodsucker's ability to keep her alive.

She would be different, and I wondered how that would affect me. Would it be the same as if she had died, to see her standing there like a stone? Like ice? When her scent burned in my nostrils and triggered the instinct to rip, to tear...

How would that be? Could I want to kill her? Could I not want to kill one of them? I sat there, in the forest, until the night had almost turned to day.

Going home was probably a bad idea, but I was hungry and I couldn't think of another plan. I made a face as I pulled my arm through the retarded sling and grabbed my crutches. If only Charlie hadn't seen me tat day and spread the word of my 'motorcycle accident'. Stupid props. I hated them.

Billy was still asleep when I walked into the house. I wished he wasn't. Because then maybe he would have gotten rid of the letter, sitting oh-so conspicuously on the door-matt.

I couldn't stop myself, couldn't help stooping down and yanking it up. It was a thick, ivory envelope, made of some stiff, heavy paper. Expensive. Too fancy for Forks. The card inside was the same, too done-up and formal. Bella'd had nothing to do with this. There was no sign of her personal taste in the layers of see-through petal-printed pages. I'd bet she didn't like it at all.

I ignored the invitation, my eyes instead being drawn to the thick ivory paper folded in half with my name handwritten in black ink on the back. I didn't recognize the handwriting, but it was as fancy as the rest of it. For half a second, I wondered if the bloodsucker was into gloating.

And then I flipped it open.

Jacob,

I'm breaking the rules by sending you this. She was afraid of hurting you, and she didn't want to make you feel obligated in any way. But I know that if things had gone the other way, I would have wanted the choice.

I promise I will take care of her, Jacob. Thank you- for her- for everything. Edward

I was running before I registered I was moving, my clothes strewn out behind me like a trail of crumbs- as if I wanted to find my way back. It was almost too easy now to phase. I didn't have to think. My body already knew where I was going and, before I asked it to, it gave me what I wanted.

I had four legs before the invitation hit the ground, and I was flying.

The trees blurred into a sea of black flowing around me. My muscles bunched and released in an effortless rhythm. I could run like this for days and I would not be tired. Maybe, this time, I wouldn't stop.

But I wasn't alone.
So sorry, Embry whispered in my head.

I could see through his eyes. He was far away, to the north, but he had wheeled around and was racing to join me. I growled and pushed myself faster.

Wait for us, Quil urged. He was closer, just starting out from the village. Leave me alone, I snarled.

I could feel their worry in my head, try hard as I might o drown it in the sound of the wind and the forest. This was what I hated most- seeing myself through their eyes, worse now that their eyes were full of pity. They saw the hate, but they kept running after me.

A new voice sounded in my head.
Let him go. Sam's thought was soft, but still an order. Embry and Quil slowed to a walk.

If only I could stop hearing, stop seeing what they saw. My head was so crowded, but the only way to be alone again was to be human, and I couldn't stand the pain.

Phase back, Sam directed them. I'll pick you up, Embry.
First one, then another awareness faded into silence. Only Sam was left. Thank you, I managed to

think.

Come home when you can. The words were faint, trailing off into blank emptiness as he left, too. And I was alone.

So much better. Now I could hear the faint rustle of the matted leaves beneath my toenails, the whisper of an owl's wings above me, the ocean- far, far in the west- moaning against the beach, Hear this, and nothing more. Feel nothing but speed, nothing but the pull of muscle, sinew and bone, working together in harmony as the miles disappeared behind me.

If the silence in my head lasted, I would never go back. I wouldn't be the first to choose this form over the other. Maybe, if I ran far enough away, I would never had to hear again...

I pushed my legs faster, letting Jacob Black disappear behind me.