“Like the stuff about the mind-reading bloodsucker,” he continued, oblivious to my reverie. “That’s the kind of thing we need to know about. That really sucks that those stories are true. It makes everything more complicated. Hey, do you think this Victoria can do anything special?”
“I don’t think so,” I hesitated, and then sighed. “He would have mentioned it.”
“He? Oh, you mean Edward—oops, sorry. I forgot. You don’t like to say his name. Or hear it.”
I squeezed my midsection, trying to ignore the throbbing around the edges of my chest. “Not really, no.”
“Sorry.”
“How do you know me so well, Jacob? Sometimes it’s like you can read my mind.”
“Naw. I just pay attention.”
We were on the little dirt road where Jacob had first taught me to ride the motorcycle.
“This good?” I asked.
“Sure, sure.”
I pulled over and cut the engine.
“You’re still pretty unhappy, aren’t you?” he murmured.
I nodded, staring unseeingly into the gloomy forest.
“Did you ever think...that maybe...you’re better off?”
I inhaled slowly, and then let my breath out. “No.”
“’Cause he wasn’t the best—”
“Please, Jacob,” I interrupted, begging in a whisper. “Could we please not talk about this? I can’t stand it.”
“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I said anything.”
“Don’t feel bad. If things were different, it would be nice to finally be able to talk to someone about it.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I had a hard time keeping a secret from you for two weeks. It must be hell to not be able to talk to anyone.”
“Hell,” I agreed.
Jacob sucked in a sharp breath. “They’re here. Let’s go.”
“Are you sure?” I asked while he popped his door open. “Maybe I shouldn’t be here.”
“They’ll deal with it,” he said, and then he grinned. “Who’s afraid of the big, bad wolf?”
“Ha ha,” I said. But I got out of the truck, hurrying around the front end to stand close beside Jacob. I remembered only too clearly the giant monsters in the meadow. My hands were trembling like Jacob’s had been before, but with fear rather than rage.
Jake took my hand and squeezed it. “Here we go.”
14. FAMILY
I COWERED INTO JACOB’S SIDE, MY EYES SCANNING THE forest for the other werewolves. When they appeared, striding out from between the trees, they weren’t what I was expecting. I’d gotten the image of the wolves stuck in my head. These were just four really big half-naked boys.
Again, they reminded me of brothers, quadruplets. Something about the way they moved almost in synchronization to stand across the road from us, the way they all had the same long, round muscles under the same red-brown skin, the same cropped black hair, and the way their expressions altered at exactly the same moment.
They started out curious and cautious. When they saw me there, half-hidden beside Jacob, they all became furious in the same second.
Sam was still the biggest, though Jacob was getting close to catching up with him. Sam didn’t really count as a boy. His face was older—not in the sense of lines or signs of aging, but in the maturity, the patience of his expression.
“What have you done, Jacob?” he demanded.
One of the others, one I didn’t recognize—Jared or Paul—thrust past Sam and spoke before Jacob could defend himself.
“Why can’t you just follow the rules, Jacob?” he yelled, throwing his arms in the air. “What the hell are you thinking? Is she more important than everything—than the whole tribe? Than the people getting killed?”
“She can help,” Jacob said quietly.
“Help!” the angry boy shouted. His arms begin to quiver. “Oh, that’s likely! I’m sure the leech-lover is just dying to help us out!”
“Don’t talk about her like that!” Jacob shouted back, stung by the boy’s criticism.
A shudder rippled through the other boy, along his shoulders and down his spine.
“Paul! Relax!” Sam commanded.
Paul shook his head back and forth, not in defiance, but as though he were trying to concentrate.
“Jeez, Paul,” one of the other boys—probably Jared—muttered. “Get a grip.”
Paul twisted his head toward Jared, his lips curling back in irritation. Then he shifted his glare in my direction. Jacob took a step to put himself in front of me.
That did it.
“Right, protect her!” Paul roared in outrage. Another shudder, a convulsion, heaved through his body. He threw his head back, a real growl tearing from between his teeth.