Charlie’s eyes grew round with horror. He strode quickly to me and grabbed the tops of my arms.
“Are you okay?”
My head bobbed in a weak nod.
“Tell me what happened.”
“They didn’t pay any attention to me. But after they were gone, I ran away and I fell down a lot.”
He let go of my shoulders and wrapped his arms around me. For a long moment, he didn’t say anything.
“Wolves,” he murmured.
“What?”
“The rangers said the tracks were wrong for a bear—but wolves just don’t get that big....”
“These were huge.”
“How many did you say you saw?”
“Five.”
Charlie shook his head, frowning with anxiety. He finally spoke in a tone that allowed no argument. “No more hiking.”
“No problem,” I promised fervently.
Charlie called the station to report what I’d seen. I fudged a little bit about where exactly I’d seen the wolves—claiming I’d been on the trail that led to the north. I didn’t want my dad to know how deep I’d gone into the forest against his wishes, and, more importantly, I didn’t want anyone wandering near where Laurent might be searching for me. The thought of it made me feel sick.
“Are you hungry?” he asked me when he hung up the phone.
I shook my head, though I must have been starving. I hadn’t eaten all day.
“Just tired,” I told him. I turned for the stairs.
“Hey,” Charlie said, his voice suddenly suspicious again. “Didn’t you say Jacob was gone for the day?”
“That’s what Billy said,” I told him, confused by his question.
He studied my expression for a minute, and seemed satisfied with what he saw there.
“Huh.”
“Why?” I demanded. It sounded like he was implying that I’d been lying to him this morning. About something besides studying with Jessica.
“Well, it’s just that when I went to pick up Harry, I saw Jacob out in front of the store down there with some of his friends. I waved hi, but he...well, I guess I don’t know if he saw me. I think maybe he was arguing with his friends. He looked strange, like he was upset about something. And...different. It’s like you can watch that kid growing! He gets bigger every time I see him.”
“Billy said Jake and his friends were going up to Port Angeles to see some movies. They were probably just waiting for someone to meet them.”
“Oh.” Charlie nodded and headed for the kitchen.
I stood in the hall, thinking about Jacob arguing with his friends. I wondered if he had confronted Embry about the situation with Sam. Maybe that was the reason he’d ditched me today—if it meant he could sort things out with Embry, I was glad he had.
I paused to check the locks again before I went to my room. It was a silly thing to do. What difference would a lock make to any of the monsters I’d seen this afternoon? I assumed the handle alone would stymie the wolves, not having opposable thumbs. And if Laurent came here...
Or...Victoria.
I lay down on my bed, but I was shaking too hard to hope for sleep. I curled into a cramped ball under my quilt, and faced the horrifying facts.
There was nothing I could do. There were no precautions I could take. There was no place I could hide. There was no one who could help me.
I realized, with a nauseous roll of my stomach, that the situation was worse than even that. Because all those facts applied to Charlie, too. My father, sleeping one room away from me, was just a hairsbreadth off the heart of the target that was centered on me. My scent would lead them here, whether I was here or not.
The tremors rocked me until my teeth chattered.
To calm myself, I fantasized the impossible: I imagined the big wolves catching up to Laurent in the woods and massacring the indestructible immortal the way they would any normal person. Despite the absurdity of such a vision, the idea comforted me. If the wolves got him, then he couldn’t tell Victoria I was here all alone. If he didn’t return, maybe she’d think the Cullens were still protecting me. If only the wolves could win such a fight....
My good vampires were never coming back; how soothing it was to imagine that the other kind could also disappear.
I squeezed my eyes tight together and waited for unconsciousness—almost eager for my nightmare to start. Better that than the pale, beautiful face that smiled at me now from behind my lids.
In my imagination, Victoria’s eyes were black with thirst, bright with anticipation, and her lips curled back from her gleaming teeth in pleasure. Her red hair was brilliant as fire; it blew chaotically around her wild face.
Laurent’s words repeated in my head. If you knew what she had planned for you....