The Twilight Saga Collection part 1(233)

Seeing Jacob like that—innocent and vulnerable in sleep—had stolen all my revulsion, dissolved all my anger. I still couldn’t turn a blind eye to what was happening, like Billy seemed to, but I couldn’t condemn Jacob for it either. Love didn’t work that way, I decided. Once you cared about a person, it was impossible to be logical about them anymore. Jacob was my friend whether he killed people or not. And I didn’t know what I was going to do about that.

When I pictured him sleeping so peacefully, I felt an overpowering urge to protect him. Completely illogical.

Illogical or not, I brooded over the memory his peaceful face, trying to come up with some answer, some way to shelter him, while the sky slowly turned gray.

“Hi, Bella.”

Jacob’s voice came from the darkness and made me jump. It was soft, almost shy, but I’d been expecting some forewarning from the noisy rocks, and so it still startled me. I could see his silhouette against the coming sunrise—it looked enormous.

“Jake?”

He stood several paces away, shifting his weight from foot to foot anxiously.

“Billy told me you came by—didn’t take you very long, did it? I knew you could figure it out.”

“Yeah, I remember the right story now,” I whispered.

It was quiet for a long moment and, though it was still too dark to see well, my skin prickled as if his eyes were searching my face. There must have been enough light for him to read my expression, because when he spoke again, his voice was suddenly acidic.

“You could have just called,” he said harshly.

I nodded. “I know.”

Jacob started pacing along the rocks. If I listened very hard, I could just hear the gentle brush of his feet on the rocks behind the sound of the waves. The rocks had clattered like castanets for me.

“Why did you come?” he demanded, not halting his angry stride.

“I thought it would be better face-to-face.”

He snorted. “Oh, much better.”

“Jacob, I have to warn you—”

“About the rangers and the hunters? Don’t worry about it. We already know.”

“Don’t worry about it?” I demanded in disbelief. “Jake, they’ve got guns! They’re setting traps and offering rewards and—”

“We can take care of ourselves,” he growled, still pacing. “They’re not going to catch anything. They’re only making it more difficult—they’ll start disappearing soon enough, too.”

“Jake!” I hissed.

“What? It’s just a fact.”

My voice was pale with revulsion. “How can you...feel that way? You know these people. Charlie’s out there!” The thought made my stomach twist.

He came to an abrupt stop. “What more can we do?” he retorted.

The sun turned the clouds a slivery pink above us. I could see his expression now; it was angry, frustrated, betrayed.

“Could you...well, try to not be a...werewolf?” I suggested in a whisper.

He threw his hands up in the air. “Like I have a choice about it!” he shouted. “And how would that help anything, if you’re worried about people disappearing?”

“I don’t understand you.”

He glared at me, his eyes narrowing and his mouth twisting into a snarl. “You know what makes me so mad I could just spit?”

I flinched away from his hostile expression. He seemed to be waiting for an answer, so I shook my head.

“You’re such a hypocrite, Bella—there you sit, terrified of me! How is that fair?” His hands shook with anger.

“Hypocrite? How does being afraid of a monster make me a hypocrite?”

“Ugh!” he groaned, pressing his trembling fists to his temples and squeezing his eyes shut. “Would you listen to yourself?”

“What?”

He took two steps toward me, leaning over me and glaring with fury. “Well, I’m so sorry that I can’t be the right kind of monster for you, Bella. I guess I’m just not as great as a bloodsucker, am I?”

I jumped to my feet and glared back. “No, you’re not!” I shouted. “It’s not what you are, stupid, it’s what you do!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He roared, his entire frame quivering with rage.

I was taken entirely by surprise when Edward’s voice cautioned me. “Be very careful, Bella,” his velvet voice warned. “Don’t push him too far. You need to calm him down.”

Even the voice in my head was making no sense today.

I listened to him, though. I would do anything for that voice.

“Jacob,” I pleaded, making my tone soft and even. “Is it really necessary to kill people, Jacob? Isn’t there some other way? I mean, if vampires can find a way to survive without murdering people, couldn’t you give it a try, too?”