AN: Hey guys, sorry about the long hiatus. My muse has a habit of running off and making me wonder when it will return from the war. But I finally got this chapter done after working on it off and on for more than a year, so I figured I'd share it. :)

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In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity

- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

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CHAPTER TWENTY: COUNTER-LOGICAL

Despite Jacob's obvious desire to not have an audience as he assumed his birthright, the three remaining Cullens, Aro and I could not help but crowd in front of the tall, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the front yard after he left the room. While I clung fiercely to Aro's side—still a bit shaken from Jacob's angry, parting words—we all watched with bated breath as my former friend stormed down the front steps, across the gravel driveway, and into the surrounding grass. None of our eyes left his russet-skinned figure for even a moment as he plodded methodically back over to that spot where he had burst from the trees only a few hours ago. We needed to observe every moment of what was about to transpire. Because in the awful scenario that Jacob screwed this up somehow…

Well, we would need to be ready to take on the entire pack. Immediately.

I shuddered and clung tighter to the silky lapels of Aro's black tailored suit coat as Jacob drew closer to the distant treeline. I didn't want to think about having to fight the pack. Though their relationship with the Cullens, and by extension me, had always been a bit strained, I'd always seen the majority of their members in a positive light.

I've never quite liked Sam, even from the start, for the way he sometimes controlled Jacob, and the other wolves with his position, and his reluctance to see even the most civilized of vampires as full persons. But the rest of the pack was alright. Quil and Embry were good friends of Jacob and generally good-natured, fun-loving kids. Paul and Jared were a bit older, more serious, but still, ultimately, I believed, good people. Leah was mostly just hurt by Sam's rejection—something which made her a rather sour person to be around, though I hardly faulted her for it. And Seth, ever since he'd fought alongside the Cullens during the newborn's attack, had been nothing but our biggest advocate. If, a little bit of an irritating, chatterbox of one. And he was the youngest of them all—the most innocent, in my eyes.

The one I would hate to fight the most.

And with my current newborn strength, I realized as I gazed out the long windows that if it did come down to a battle, I couldn't fallback on my human frailty to claim exemption anymore. I would be expected to fight alongside the others. To defend my child and the others protecting her with everything I had.

Even if that meant crushing a reluctant Seth's ribs beyond repair beneath my fingers.

I shuddered against Aro's lean frame and sought to banish the horrid image from my eyes. Hopefully, there would be no need for Seth and I to face off in the first place. Hopefully Jacob's "claiming of his birthright" would go off without a hitch, and Sam would never find out about Nessa, or Aro or me, and therefore never feel the need to rally his troops against us.

Hopefully.

After several long minutes of the five of us—the three Cullens, Aro and myself—waiting, pressed against the glass, Jacob finally reached the place where he'd landed in front of Edward earlier today. When he got there, he paced back and forth across the spot for a while, tracking his bare, bronze feet through the grass between the broken aspen branches so many times I was worried he was going to wear a hole in the ground. I wasn't sure what he was doing, but he looked nervous as he paced, switching his gaze back towards the forest apprehensively every now and then. As though he feared once he phased, someone else might come bursting out of it.

The three golden-eyed figures around me tensed a little as they watched Jacob storm angrily over that piece of earth, over and over again. They all seemed to agree that my former friend's behavior was hardly a comfort. And as it persisted, even Aro narrowed his eyes at the worrisome sight.

Though, just as we were all starting to get anxious that Jacob wasn't going to go through with it after all suddenly Jacob stopped. And unceremoniously shucked off his sweatpants.

As he hefted the garment over his shoulder into a lush gathering of ferns, I automatically squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to invade Jacob's privacy too much by seeing him completely naked. (I doubted he would appreciate that, given our recent falling out). And when I opened my eyes again, a tall, russet-brown wolf replaced the nude figure that had been standing in the grass just moments before.

I knew most of the action was going to happen inside Jacob's head—within the strange, mental network that the pack wolves shared. But still, it was strange to watch, while clinging for dear life onto Aro's side, as Jacob assumed a "sitting" position in the grass in his wolf form and shut his enormous, dark eyes. I'd expected the confrontation to be a little more exciting, even if it was basically invisible.

And I was even more surprised as Jacob's eyes snapped open only a few seconds later—not in alarm, or anger or fear, but simply in completion—before his furry body immediately began to shrink back into human form.

I looked away again, once his human hands started fumbling in the surrounding bushes for his discarded pants. But I honestly hadn't expected it to be so quick. Nor, so entirely without a struggle.

The three Cullens also seemed to mirror my astonishment as they witnessed the momentous event come to such a swift conclusion. But Aro hardly seemed fazed at all as Jacob adjusted the pantlegs of his grey sweats and started walking back towards us. Rather, he wore an expression that suggested this was what he had known was going to happen all along—that this was why he'd felt it was safe to trust Jacob with so much of the truth.

As Jacob ambled back toward the Cullen home, his steps a lot calmer than before, I didn't relinquish my grasp on Aro's clothing. But I did relax a great deal myself when I registered this, and the fact that the man beside me had been anticipating it. Aro's unparalleled ability to understand Jacob, his intentions, and his potential, despite having barely met him, gave me great confidence.

Having absolutely no desire to have been caught staring, once they saw that Jacob was coming back this way, the Cullens disbanded from their position around the living room windows immediately. Aro and I didn't budge, figuring it was pointless to hide our curiosity. But the others, instead of hovering in front of the glass, chose to plop back down into their previous seats in the square of beige couches surrounding the coffee table, and act as though nothing had happened.

Though, in actuality, their "acting as though nothing had happened" was more conspicuous than openly staring would have been. For as soon as Carlisle took a seat, he immediately fished his manila folder full of pregnancy notes off of the table's glossy glass surface, and started idly flipping through the pages, in a way that was too hasty, even for a vampire, to be actually reading. Emmett grabbed the television remote and quickly flicked on the nearest sports channel, though he hardly paid the onscreen players any mind. And Rosalie twirled her wavy blonde locks around her fingers, and whistled a not-quite-casual-enough tune while staring pointedly up at the ceiling.

As Jacob strode back up to the front door, and peered through the long windows at the scene, one of his eyebrows lifted skeptically.

I fought not to heave a sigh as I watched the three Cullens spectacularly fail to look like they hadn't just been nosy. They really shouldn't have bothered.

Since the others were too preoccupied in trying to make it look like they hadn't been looking, Aro was the one to open the front door and let Jacob back in. "Were there any complications?" he asked the towering teenager as soon as he crossed the threshold. There was a hint of curiosity in the ancient's voice, and an undercurrent of fear.

Jacob relieved us all by shaking his head. "It was surprisingly easy," he confessed, clearly taken aback. "I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. All I had to do was think 'I want to embrace my birthright' and then suddenly—boom—" Jacob made a dramatic gesture with his hands "—no more connection to Sam, or any of the others."

Both of my eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really, it was that simple?"

Jacob nodded vigorously. "Yeah. It was… kinda weird at first, actually," he admitted, looking a bit like he was still struggling to believe it had actually happened. "Ever since February, since I first phased, I've always felt that connection—that damned loyalty to Sam in my head. Even if it was just in the background," he told us, obviously irritated with that fact. "Sometimes it was just a string, other times it was a shackle. But when I accepted my heritage, suddenly all of that weight just—poof—fell away."

Jacob looked down at his hands, like they were unfamiliar without that weight—those invisible shackles binding him to Sam. But his expression was far from disturbed. Instead, he wore a look of incredible glee.

"I'm… I'm…" he struggled to articulate, still straining with disbelief. "I'm free."

Jacob abruptly looked up, his dark eyes glowing with admiration towards Aro. "Thank you," he said, sounding utterly sincere. Like Aro had just given him the greatest gift he could ever receive, and he was somewhat baffled that a red-eyed stranger could be so magnanimous.

Aro shook his head to dismiss what he saw as unwarranted flattery, "No, thank you, young Jacob," he offered instead with equal admiration. "Your act may have just saved our lives."

I nodded quickly in agreement. And soon after Emmett and Carlisle mirrored my motion.

As Jacob moved to shake Aro's hand, entirely of his own volition, to give the man another helping of his extreme gratitude, Rosalie suddenly tilted forward on the couch and cut into the conversation. Her voice was cold, and filled with suspicious worry.

"Those dogs—other wolves—" she corrected herself, upon seeing Jacob's annoyed glare, "—they didn't hear anything? Suspect anything?"

Jacob shrugged, as though the fact confused him a bit too. "Not yet," he told everyone. "I'm sure someone will figure it out eventually," he added with a hint of warning. "But no one else was phased at the time, and we're never linked up when in human form," he reminded us. "Until they see me as a wolf and can't hear me, they probably won't think anything's different."

I guess we'll just have to deal with that when or even if it happens.

Rosalie nodded once, in reluctant acceptance of Jacob's words. As she leaned back onto the couch and resumed staring up at the ceiling, pretending no one else existed, Carlisle set down his stack of pregnancy-related notes and smiled at the teenager standing amidst us. "You've done us a great favor, Jacob."

Jacob flushed, looking abashed. He swatted a dismissive hand in the doctor's direction. "Nah, it was nothing, Doc," he deflected, before pointing toward the black-clad man at my side. "Thank your Volturi friend for suggesting it," Jacob told Carlisle jubilantly. Then he suddenly seized on of Aro's pale hands and shook it gratefully while beaming.

The sight was a little off-putting, actually. I hadn't seen Jacob this happy about anything in months. So clearly, what Aro had allowed Jacob to do for himself, meant a lot to my old friend.

"You're… really happy about this," I observed aloud, my keen eyes raking dubiously over Jacob's gushing figure.

Had being tethered to Sam really been so awful that simply to be free of him was a cause to celebrate? I wondered as I looked him over. If that was the case, then I pitied Jacob for having put up with it as long as he had.

Jacob looked caught off guard for a second. Apparently he hadn't been expecting me to notice.

He extricated himself from Aro's chilly grasp, composed himself and looked back at me. "Yeah, I… I really am," he said, still beaming like everything was finally right in the world. "It's great, you know, not to have other people in my head."

Aro and I shared conspiratorial looks. We both decided it was probably best not to tell him that Aro had been in his head just a few seconds ago.

"Ah," Jacob sighed rapturously, as though he still couldn't fully believe he'd been given such an incredible gift. "I cannot possibly thank you enough—" he told Aro, "—for telling me I could do that!"

Aro flashed him a dazzling smile and gave the tiniest of bows. "My pleasure."

"If there's anything else, anything at all that I can do for you…" Jacob went on to tell Aro, surprising us all with how eager he sounded to fulfill the ancient's every desire, now that he was free from Sam's influence.

At first, my breath hitched. I was worried that Aro, given his position of power and the rather generous offer Jacob was making, might take advantage of my old friend. That he might compel him into his service, or something else equally unnerving.

But instead of doing any such thing, Aro made another dismissive gesture, "I require nothing of you other than that you protect the secrets we have chosen to share with you," he explained, sounding a bit weary of the shape-shifter's effusive praise. "That you do everything in your power to prevent Sam and the others of learning about the existence of dear little Nessa."

Jacob bobbed his head enthusiastically. "Of course," he promised immediately.

"Though," Aro suddenly interjected, tapping his chin in thought, "We should at the very least come up with a consistent story to tell in regards to Isabella," he decided, pausing to glance down at where I was still clinging fiercely to his expensive Italian suit jacket.

His eyes then flickered over to where Carlisle sat, "The clever story you have concocted about her being treated in an international wellness facility will not hold forever," Aro warned the doctor.

Carlisle nodded once, knowingly and somberly. "No, it will not."

Jacob sighed in exasperation, "Most of the pack already doesn't buy it," he informed us. "Though, they've decided to reserve judgment until they get concrete proof."

Emmett bristled at the word. "Judgment?"

Jacob sighed again, "Yeah, Sam agreed to allow Bella to be bitten in order to be turned into a vampire. But if he thinks Edward killed her…" He trailed off.

Carlisle, who bobbed his head in understanding, finished Jacob's sentence. "He's going to see that as a breach of the treaty."

Jacob nodded somberly. "Exactly."

We were all quiet for a moment as we pondered the gravity of the situation we were in. Then, after pursing his lips in thought for quite some time, Aro decided to add his thoughts. "Hmm, so we must then come up with an excuse that makes the pack think Isabella is, indeed alive, while at the same time giving her human family and friends the closure they need," he concluded. "That does rather make things more complicated."

Rosalie, who was only looking out for herself at this point, stiffened at the word. "Complicated how?" she asked with an edge to her voice that I didn't like.

Aro gave her a brief disparaging glance before he deigned to explain to all of us. "Typically, when a gradual loss of contact prior to the transformation is not possible, I simply suggest a faked death. It's a rather clean cut from one's mortal life," he gave as one obvious pro.

But then his expression soured. "However, in this situation I am not so sure that is the best route, given the conclusions the pack may jump to. And the danger that may place Carlisle and his coven in."

Carlisle nodded. "Yes, that does make things more difficult."

"We might still be able to fake her death," Jacob suggested. "I just need some kind of proof I can bring back to the pack to show that it's just a ruse for the humans. A photo, a video…"

"Photos can be faked," Carlisle reminded us. "A short video would be most convincing."

I blinked once, still processing what the men around me were saying. "Wait… so I don't get to say goodbye to Charlie?"

Aro, who looked sympathetic to my plight, sighed. "I am afraid that would be too suspicious, my dear," he told me with obvious reluctance. "It is unlikely, in your newborn state that you could bear to be near him without harming him," he reminded me—a point I had to concede was very true, given my treatment of the hiker on the cliffs. "And even if you could manage it… one look at you, and your father would know that you are different. Perhaps he would not immediately guess the truth. But there is always a risk. And I am sure you would not want to jeopardize him like that."

"No, I wouldn't," I sighed in resignation. But I still couldn't help the venomy tears that pricked the inside corners of my eyes at the thought of never really getting closure with my father.

Rosalie scoffed. "Oh don't go crying on us now. You knew this was part of the bargain—part of what you were giving up, to become immortal."

I sniffed. "Eventually, yeah…" I agreed. "I just… I thought we would have longer. That Edward and I could go off to college somewhere and just… sort of gradually lose contact." That had been the original plan—one I now realized I was surprisingly attached too. "I didn't think I would have to make Charlie think I was dead." I shivered at the thought. "To think I was alive somewhere in the world, probably having a family and living out a normal, fulfilled human life—that's what I wanted him to think."

Rosalie snorted. "Well, it looks like you'll just have to adapt," she said in a snide tone. "But don't you see now, why I didn't want this life for you? Why I tried to warn you off while you still had a chance?"

Well, yeah I can sort of understand, I thought. But most of the things I don't like about my new vampirism are things we had no way of anticipating. I mean, we had no idea that I wasn't going to have the stomach for animal blood. And there was no way to predict that I would have to be transformed in the midst of emergency—a miraculous vampire-hybrid birth—and not sometime in the not-so-distant future, while Edward and I were off at college, and I'd already given Charlie my goodbyes.

But even all this, was beside the point.

"But my death is going to devastate Charlie," I complained.

Rosalie huffed. "He'll live."

"But—!" I started to say back, at the same time Rosalie was starting to say "Deal with it!"

Though Carlisle held up two hands to silence us both.

"Bella," He said, looking to me. "Aro, Jacob and I will do our best to come up with an explanation that causes the least harm to your father. And Rosalie," his golden gaze switched to his surrogate daughter. "Our decision has no bearing on you, so please refrain from making this any more painful than it has to be."

Rosalie harrumphed, but leaned back in hear seat, petulant and silent.

…

Jacob stayed at the Cullen house for the rest of the afternoon. I was worried when lunchtime came around that he wouldn't have anything to eat. But as it so happened, the kitchen was still well stocked from when the family of vampires had been accommodating a human me. Carlisle found the ingredients necessary for some grilled cheese sandwiches, and Aro—to everyone's surprise—tied on an apron and offered to help.

Aro making sandwiches for a werewolf was a really funny picture—something I normally would have wanted to see. But I didn't stay in the kitchen to watch. I was still rather upset with Jacob's earlier, cruel words. I couldn't stand to be near him right now. The pain, as I remembered them, was too much.

I'm no longer interested. You've made your choice.

So I busied myself by rifling through some of the old pregnancy books still amassed in a pile on the floor next to the couches in the living room. I hadn't touched them in weeks—not since Aro had arrived, at least. And I had almost completely forgotten the little note Alice had left for me—a note that I found being used as a bookmark in one of the thicker books.

I pulled it out again, my new, enhanced eyes skimming over the words, hoping they might have new meaning. But as I paused to actually read everything that was written there—something I must not have done the first time—my eyes bulged.

Hey, this is Alice. Sorry to leave on such short notice, but Jasper and I can't stay be here when the Volturi come. You know how badly Aro wants my powers, after all. And it's better not to tempt him. We'll be back as soon as we can. Please don't worry about us, and try to stay safe. I'll be looking out for your futures, especially Bella's and keep you updated if I can. But it's hard to see with the fetus' future tied so tightly to Bella's. Hopefully I see something good soon, but no promi—

Okay, now that Bella has stopped reading, I'll say this to our visitor. Watch your back. They're coming.

I let the note flutter to the floor, devastated. It landed, face down, revealing again that it was written on the back of the cover page of The Merchant of Venice. And suddenly, I had an idea.

I wasn't sure why it hadn't occurred to me before. But the rest of the book was sitting, relatively untouched in the Cullen's reasonably vast library. I was out of the living room and into a little reading nook toward the back of the house in a flash. And my supernaturally enhanced eyesight found what I was looking for in record time as it flicked across the titles.

There! The Merchant of Venice.

I plopped myself in front of the cedar bookcase, and with trembling fingers, plucked the title off the shelf. I flipped it automatically open to the first page. Or rather, opened the cover and saw the ragged edges of the torn out first page, and the second page—the first page of chapter one—resting behind it.

There was another note, crammed in the margins, written in Alice's same, sloppy ink scrawl.

If you're reading this, the first thing I want you to do is relax. That means this is one of the good futures. You've survived the pregnancy! Congratulations! You'll have to tell me later if it's a boy or a girl. I still can't see them properly for some reason.

Anyway, as happy as that all is, unfortunately the drama isn't over just yet. Aro's absence in Volterra is creating a power vacuum, and without Chelsea's power to bind everyone together, the Volturi is dissolving into warring factions. Soon, one will make a bid for the throne. And once they've secured Volterra, they'll send Demetri for Aro. To get rid of the competition.

It won't be pretty. They'll be a fight for sure. Okay, now breathe, Bella, breathe. I can see you're hyperventilating now. But don't worry. I've got a plan. I'm sorry for having to do things this way. But I'm trying my best to save your skin, alright?

I tried to follow Alice's instructions. But even though I still needed to breathe—for the moment, at least, while the painless venom in my veins still crept slowly toward my last remaining organs—I was finding it difficult to keep my inhales and exhales even. My breath came in sudden, ragged gasps, that shook my whole body.

Alice foresaw a fight? Someone from the Volturi was going to come try and off Aro?

It was so much to take in. And my heartrate was already doing something funky—speeding up in preparation for the completion of my transformation maybe? But as it spurred on by instinct, I flipped hastily to the next page, wondering if there was more.

I shouldn't have been surprised that there was.

You turned the page! This is very good. Your chances of survival went up about thirteen percent! I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but I spent as much time as I could tracing out all the possible futures, and believe me, the ones that branch out from this point are so much better than the others.

Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent. I wish I could tell you more, but unfortunately that reduces your chances. So, I'm sorry. But I'll have to keep my exact tactics a secret.

However, I do want to tell you this. Aro is a good man. Your future with him looks promising. He may not have been my first choice—I was still holding out hope that Edward would stop being a blockhead and decide to change you himself—but I think Aro will be good for you.

Don't let my prejudices against the Volturi hold you back from happiness. I may be happiest keeping Aro as far away from me as possible. But you're not me. And no matter what anyone else says—and I mean anyone—you deserve to be happy.

So stop stringing that man along and tell him how you feel, dammit!

I swallowed at Alice's last injunction. She wanted me to tell Aro how I really felt?

Well I guess that resolved the question of whether Alice supported or opposed our relationship. Alice was in favor—and that boded well. After all, Alice always knew best.

But how did I really feel? In these past few weeks everything had happened so fast I wasn't sure I knew anymore. While I held the book open to the third page in my trembling hands, I tried to parse out the few things I was certain about.

I didn't love Edward. Those feelings were dead and gone. Extinguished. Forever.

And there was a surprising lack of a gaping hole left by his absence this time. I was hurt, sure. But I no longer felt like a moon that had lost its planet and was spiraling listlessly, trying in vain to follow its old orbit, in the vast, cold void of space. I wasn't some satellite, anymore, only tethered to this universe by something bigger and more important than my own life. I was my own person, trying—however unsuccessfully—to pursue my own life. My own goals.

I didn't love Jacob either. Hurtful words aside, he would never be more to me than just a friend. Maybe in some alternate universe where vampires and werewolves didn't exist we could end up together. But in our current universe, I was already changing into a vampire. And that pretty much limited my potential dating pool to others who were already undead.

But did I love Aro? Was that what this new feeling was? The security I felt in his arms? The strange sense like I was finally home? Even when that made no sense whatsoever? After all, why should a three-thousand year old vampire who made a routine habit of killing people feel like home? And what on earth did that say about me?

Could that be what love really was? Not just a surface lust—although that was certainly there too—but a deeper feeling of belonging? A deeper feeling of being needed? And having it be me—not my blood, not my humanity, not my immunity to telepathy—but myself, my personality, my pure being, that was what Aro was seeking after?

I closed the book in my hands, and tucked it under one arm. Alice had probably left me more notes for a later time. Then I went back to reasoning it out.

I knew Aro loved me. That was indisputable. After everything he'd done, everything he'd risked just to be here—even Carlisle, the most reluctant to allow it, had been forced to see that Aro's intentions towards me weren't malicious. That he genuinely cared.

But did I love him back? That was the question that haunted me for a while now.

I knew Aro didn't fault me for not reciprocating his feelings right away. After all, he had all of Edward's memories to get to know me—almost a whole year's worth. And I only had, at most, a week.

So he wasn't in any rush for my confession. He was willing to wait until I was ready. And I wasn't completely adverse to the idea of getting to know him better, of possibly, eventually falling deeper in love. I was interested enough to give him a shot.

But was that enough?

I gripped my temples in both hands in frustration. Urgh. I did not need to worry about this right now. Not when Alice was predicting some kind of inter-Volturi civil war.

So with one last lingering look at the little reading nook—a cozy space lined floor-to-ceiling with cedar bookcases, stuffed to the point of overflowing with books—I stepped out into the hallway. Then back into the living room. All the while, still carrying The Merchant of Venice under my arm.

I was surprised to find Jacob standing there, in nothing but a pair of dingy grey sweatpants, looking around the room while scratching his head. Like he was searching for something. His intelligent dark eyes flickered over the empty couches confusedly for a moment. And his bronze nose twitched, suddenly catching a new scent. Once that burned his nose, if the way he wrinkled it was any indication.

Jacob whipped around suddenly then. And drank me in—hair still damp from my recent bath, and all-black ensemble—with warm, hopeful eyes.

"Oh good," he said, sounding relieved. "I was beginning to worry that you'd ran off."

I quirked an eyebrow at him "Ran off?"

"I came to apologize," he said.

I stared at him blankly. "I thought you meant what you said," I asserted, trying to keep the hurt out of my voice.

"Oh God, Bella, no," Jacob effused. "I'm such an idiot. I'm so sorry about what I said earlier, so please just hear me out, okay?"

I gave him a skeptical look. Then shrugged. What the Hell. It wasn't like anything he said could hurt any worse.

"I realized after thinking it over that I wasn't being fair," Jacob began, urging me to take a seat. Which I did, settling in to the couch opposite him. "I mean… hell, when I first phased, I nearly killed someone too," he admitted, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "If Sam wasn't already there, waiting for it to happen…"

Jacob trailed off and shuddered.

I blinked at him in astonishment. This was a big thing for Jacob to admit.

"So I'm a big damn hypocrite," Jacob went on, berating himself. "And even though romance is clearly out of the question, maybe we can still be friends?" he asked with a note of pleading. "It's okay if you don't want to. Me and my stupid, impulsive mouth, mucking everything up," he allowed, disparaging himself again. "This is just—" Jacob gestured to my entire figure—my new, vampire figure. "—different for me, okay?"

I nodded. "I'll… I'll consider it," I told him. That was all I could promise for now. The hurt was still fresh.

Jacob, to my relief, seemed think this was enough. He leaned back against the couch cushions casually. "Cool."

There was a beat of silence.

"So…" Jacob said changing the subject, "Other than being a total stud, and a vampire—which seems to be your type—what's so great about your new boyfriend?"

I laughed. It was like we were old friends again.

Then I decided to explain. "He's… extremely understanding. And… accommodating."

Jacob pulled a face. "What are those supposed to be like… euphemisms for something?" he said with a saucy wink.

"What? No!" I blurted out, flushing with embarrassment.

Jacob was acting like Emmett 2.0, suspecting everything was an innuendo.

"Aro just accepts me for who I am and doesn't try to pressure me into anything," I explained. "I don't know if you heard the whole story about Edward but—"

"That he's a total dickhead who ran away from you pretty much immediately after knocking you up?" Jacob interjected with an acidic tone.

"Well, yeah, there's that…" I weakly acknowledged.

"And you're positive that Count Dracula over there," Jacob gestured over his shoulder toward the kitchen, where Aro and Carlisle were discussing what props to use in the faking of my death, "—is nothing like that, that he won't… you know… vamoose…" Jacob made a dispersing motion with his hands.

I chucked at Jacob's quirky phrases and nicknames, and shook my head. "He's given up so much already just to be here for me. Important things. And Carlisle trusts him," I added to bolster his case.

"Yeah, well, he trusted the last guy too," Jacob pointed out. "And we all know how that turned out."

I frowned. "Did they tell you about what Edward is… that he's… not exactly a normal vampire?"

Jacob snorted. "Look Bella, I already know about his mind-reading thing. Cat's been out of the bag on that one for a while."

"No I mean… did they tell you he was an incubus?" I pressed.

I wasn't sure how much I'd missed while I was perusing Alice's clues. But I figured, since the two cooks were still chatting in the kitchen about how to handle my transition out of mortal life, that Jacob—while he'd been eating—must have had some conversation with the two vampires.

"Oh," Jacob said with a look of disturbed comprehension. "That." He swallowed and looked at the floor awkwardly. "Um, yeah I think your knight in black armor mentioned something about that. He didn't go into a ton of detail, just something about how Edward is sick in the head, and that sickness made him really averse to the idea of you becoming like him."

Jacob bit his tongue to hold back his agreement with Aro's words. Then he continued. "He talked about it kind of like he thought Edward was some kind of Grade-A pervert. The real nasty kind." Jacob made a face. "But I could have told you that."

I winced a bit.

"Sorry, too harsh?" Jacob asked.

"No, it's just true," I snarled. "And I feel kind of stupid for not seeing it before when it apparently was so obvious to everyone else."

"Hey, hey, don't beat yourself up about it, okay," Jacob encouraged with a placating gesture. "You do that a lot," he observed. "But you don't need to. Edward is the douchebag, not you. You've done nothing wrong."

I grimaced. "Besides killing a man?"

To my surprise, Jacob didn't even flinch when I brought it up. "Hey," he began gently. "Carlisle's right. Accidents don't count."

A lump got caught in my throat. "And if… if in the future…" I stammered. "…If it isn't an accident?"

Jacob shuddered. "God, I don't know Bella. I don't know," he told me honestly, suddenly unwilling to meet my gaze. "I've never known a human-drinking vampire personally before. It was so much easier when they were just this… over-the-top somewhat imaginary enemy. You know, the kind of evil that kicks puppies, and eats babies for fun. Not like… real, compassionate people who are kind, and helpful and…"

He trailed off, frustration etching his face. He wasn't quite saying this the way he wanted to.

"I mean, take you, for instance," Jacob decided to start over with that. "I've known you for years now. And you don't even want to hurt people, it just sorta… happened."

It felt surprisingly good to hear Jacob say that. To admit that he didn't blame me for the hiker's death. It made the weight on my shoulders ease up a bit.

"And even the Count, over there," Jacob jabbed a finger back towards the kitchen, at Aro. "God, I don't even want to think about how many people he must have killed. Carlisle said he was what… two-thousand?"

"Three," I corrected.

"Three-thousand?" Jacob whistled in amazement. "And they hunt what, every two weeks right?"

I nodded. "Give or take."

Jacob started doing the math mentally before he gave up and just shook his head. "That's… I mean…"

I sighed. "I know."

"…More than a million?" Jacob guessed.

At this devastating assertion, I tried to do the numbers too. And my vampire brain, I was delighted to discover was a lot better at mental math than my human mind had been. Fifty-two-weeks to a year, divided by two (since Aro only fed every two weeks), times three-thousand years, was seventy-eight-thousand.

So the number of people Aro had killed for their blood was high, yes. And that wasn't even counting the number he had killed for other reasons. But even then, his death-count still couldn't be as many as Jacob was thinking.

"Not quite," I said in Aro's defense.

"Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating…" Jacob allowed. "But my point is, that used to be enough. That abstract idea of those bloodsuckers being responsible for so many deaths. That abstract idea of a monster." Jacob made a vague, distorted shape in the air to convey his meaning.

"But that man… Aro, or whatever his name is," Jacob went on. "Urgh, it's almost infuriating. He's so… nice." He said that like it was a bad thing. "And then he just had to go and put the cherry on top by giving me probably the best gift anyone could ever give me—the gift of my freedom—without really asking much in return."

Jacob made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat.

"I mean, he just wants me to keep my mouth shut, and I can do that…"

Jacob sighed. "I just don't know what to think anymore," he confessed. "The logical part of my brain says I should still kill him. That killing him would be a mercy to all those people he's going to hunt in the future. But now I feel kind of like I owe him. And… well, you really seem to like him, and I'd hate to see you unhappy."

I perked up at that last bit. "Really?"

"Yeah, really," Jacob asserted, surprising himself a little bit. "I guess I really am just a masochist. Always putting you first. Even when it hurts." He grumbled in a self-deprecating way. "I really wanted to be the one, you know, to make you happy. To live out the rest of our pathetic lives fixing up old motorbikes and taking risky joyrides on the cliffs…."

He explained this with a faraway dreamy look in his eyes. I watched him sadly for a moment until the fantasies faded from Jacob's view.

"Gah," he gagged, swatting the memories away. "I wanted it so much it made me crazy," he said with clenched fists, "And that made me do screwy things that only drove you further away—like our first kiss."

I blanched a bit as I remembered that. It wasn't a good memory.

"And it's still doing screwy things to me," he said with a hint of anger—though it was only directed at himself. "God, I'm just like Leah, getting all messed up over someone who doesn't love me back…" he spat with evident disgust. "And I got angry at you because I let that—" Jacob growled in frustration "—insecurity get to me. Because deep down I've always known that I'm not the right fit. I tried so hard to be the one. But like Leah discovered, you just can't fight fate. Sam has his Emily, and you've got your vampire…. It just makes more sense that way."

My eyes widened, surprised at Jacob's sudden wisdom. Where had this Jacob been at the wedding?

"And… I guess I can live with that," Jacob said with a deep, reluctant sigh. "As long as your new vampire actually deserves you and doesn't ditch you at the first sign of trouble."

As far as caveats went, that one was perfectly reasonable. And I was pretty sure Aro could live up to those expectations. I wouldn't have put my faith in him otherwise.

"He wouldn't," I assured Jacob.

Jacob didn't sound convinced. "Yeah, well, if he does, just holler and I'll make sure he regrets it."

I frowned as I watched a bright, cheeky smile split Jacob's face. But it only lasted a second. Then his face turned profoundly apologetic. Which was silly, because I was the one who should be apologizing.

"I am sorry though, for how this all turned out," I said firmly. "I wanted to tell you sooner… but…"

Jacob made a dismissive gesture. "Nah, I get it. You had a baby to protect," he said, his expression full of understanding. "Couldn't exactly bring me in the loop when I was still with Sam. I don't even want to think about what kind of asinine plan he'd come up with once he figured out that the Cullens have learned to breed." Jacob shuddered. "He'd probably freak out and just mindlessly attack."

I nodded grimly. "Yeah, that's what Aro thinks too."

Jacob scratched his head. "And I'm having a really hard time finding anything to fault with your new guy. Edward was a self-important sleazeball, but this guy? He's supposed to be like this all-powerful-king-dude, and yet I haven't seen him act even half as lordly." Jacob snorted. "He helped Carlisle grill me a cheese sandwich, for heaven's sake! A vampire! Cooking!" he exclaimed as if it was the most preposterous thing in the world.

I giggled. It was pretty silly.

"He's almost too perfect," Jacob grumbled, before his face scrunched up a bit. "Well, aside from the whole murdering-people thing."

I fidgeted nervously. It always came back to that, didn't it?

There was another awkward beat of silence. Then Jacob sighed and looked wistfully out one of the long windows. "Man, Bella, I want to keep in touch for a while, but I've gotta admit it still hurts to see you happy with someone that isn't me. Maybe I just need to imprint on a girl—at least then, I wouldn't have to keep messing things up between us."

I blinked rapidly in surprise. "I thought you hated imprinting?"

Jacob's face warped with obvious disgust. "I do," he stressed. "Turns perfectly rational men into sappy, love-slaves overnight. Quil doesn't even notice other girls anymore. And Claire just barely turned three." He shuddered. "I don't really want that, and yet I would take that, just to not hurt so badly, you know?"

I nodded. I could understand that. Wanting to trade the greater pain for a lesser one. I'd felt like my whole life—and especially since I had become embroiled in the world of vampires—I was constantly deciding between one pain or another:

Choose to let James kill me, or live with the pain of knowing he'd killed my mother. Choose to run to Volterra on what was probably a suicide mission, or live, knowing that I'd let Edward die. Choose to force Edward to stay out of the newborn fight to protect me knowing that it would lessen the Cullens' chance of victory, or leave myself vulnerable to Victoria's attack. Choose to risk my life to give birth to a vampire's child, or live and let them die.

My choices—all of my choices—were always sadistic ones. So I could understand where Jacob was coming from.

"I bet Leah would choose that too," Jacob added, since we were talking about her too. "So she wouldn't have to think about Sam anymore."

"I'm so sorry Jacob," I blubbered feeling miserable for them both. "You deserve so much better than me."

Jacob grumbled irritably. "Yeah, as if I should be so lucky…"

"Of course you should be! You're a great guy, Jake!" I emphasized.

"Thanks, Bella," Jacob said warmly.

There was another beat of silence then. But it was a companionate silence. So I didn't mind much.

Unfortunately, it couldn't last.

"So, when are you planning on moving out?" Jacob asked, twiddling his thumbs nervously in his lap.

I sighed. "Aro and I haven't discussed it yet, but I was thinking as soon as my transformation is finished."

Jacob eyed me speculatively, probably checking for any signs that I was still human. "Wait, you're not finished?"

"Not yet." I pointed to my chest. "My heart's still beating," I told him. "Though, Carlisle thinks it'll stop by tomorrow morning."

"But," Jacob looked me up and down incredulously, "Shouldn't you be, you know, screaming bloody murder, or something?"

I laughed. That was the normal reaction humans had to vampire venom. But since when did I ever do things the normal way?

"No," I informed him. "Apparently because I've had venom in my system before, my body's reacting differently this time. The venom doesn't hurt."

Jacob regarded me quizzically. "Huh. Well that's odd."

"Yeah, it's never happened this way before." I shrugged. "I guess I'm just a freak."

Jacob shrugged too. "I hate to break if to you, but that's not exactly news…"

I almost rose indignantly out of my seat. "Hey!"

"Kidding! Kidding!" Jacob said, throwing up two hands in mock-surrender. His face was stretched wide with a cheeky grin. A grin I kinda wanted to wipe off his face. But he beat me to the punch. As soon as I settled back into the cushions of my couch, all the mirth drained from his face, and his sunny voice turned somber again.

"But in all seriousness, where will you go?"

I was surprised by how automatic my response was. "To Italy, probably," I told him, seeing no immediate reason to lie. "Aro's been away from the Volturi for a long time. He needs to go back soon anyway."

I left out the part about us possibly walking into a war-zone. Jacob didn't need to worry any more than he already did.

Jacob nodded like he should have thought of this himself. "Right. And you'll be taking Nessa too, of course."

I nodded. "Of course."

I wasn't sure why, but when I mentioned this, Jacob looked panicky all of a sudden. "Is there any way… any way I could come with you?"

This totally threw me for a loop.

"What? Why?" I blurted out. "And what would Billy think? And the others?" I hurried to remind him.

Where was this rash decision to follow me coming from?

I mean, I knew Jacob was a lot more happy-go-lucky and go-with-the-flow than the meticulous planners the Cullens and the Volturi were. But to run away to a foreign country on a total whim?

It wasn't like Jacob had the excuse I'd had last spring, when I'd ran off to Volterra without warning to save Edward. As far as he knew, no one's life was in danger.

Unless, his wolfy instincts tipped him off somehow?

I eyed Jacob critically. And he fidgeted uncomfortably under my hard, crimson gaze.

"You're right, you're right, it's a stupid idea," he said, turning away and flushing with embarrassment. "I just… I dunno. I feel… drawn to follow you guys for some reason. I can't explain it, really. It just feels like… like gravity. Like I need to be there. For something important? You know?"

The look in Jacob's eyes was utterly sincere. And full of hopeful desperation. He wanted to come with us alright. Pretty badly it seemed. But I just couldn't understand why.

"Jacob, you're not making any sense," I told him, begging him to realize how preposterous he sounded. "What could there possibly be for you in Volterra? There's just going to be more vampires—more that aren't like the Cullens. And most of them probably won't like you, even if you don't comment on it. I mean… you're supernatural too… but I don't think they're going to miss the whole 'sworn enemies' vibe you werewolves give off sometimes."

I wrinkled my nose in distaste. I wasn't even a full-vampire yet, and the smell coming off of Jacob's skin already instinctively repelled me. It was something pungent and wet—distinctly inedible. And it raised alarm bells under my skin that I didn't even know I had until he'd triggered them.

Alarm bells that were telling me his kind was designed to tear my kind apart.

Jacob's hopeful face fell. "You're right." Then he clapped a hand over his forehead like he was running a fever. "Clearly I'm going crazy."

"You're not crazy," I assured him.

I was confident of that much at least. He wasn't frothing at the mouth. Yet.

"But after we leave, just go home Jacob. Your family, your friends… they need you."

Jacob looked uncertain, like he was still somewhat convinced that whatever pull he was feeling toward Italy was more important. But then, with a reluctant nod, he relented.

"If you say so…"

"I mean it," I stressed. "I'll visit when and if I can. But please, don't make Billy worry. He's been through enough, wouldn't you say?"

Jacob chuckled at this. "Yeah, you're right. He'd hate it if I just went running off again."

…

Jacob stayed until sundown, spending a bit more time chatting amiably with Aro about me—which was a novel sight. He also talked to Carlisle, mostly about Edward and how it sucked that things had to turn out with him the way they did—though I knew, as much as Jacob feigned empathy with Carlisle's loss, that he was secretly glad Edward was gone. Then at last, when the final rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon, he finally decided to heed my advice and go back home to Billy.

I watched him sprint off into the black forest through the long windows in the Cullen's living room with a mix of emotions. On the one hand, I was happy that he had a family he could go back to—unlike me. And I was also happy for his sake that I wouldn't be around as much to confuse his poor feelings. Maybe in my absence, he could finally move on. Find a girl who would complete him, just as surely as Esme completed Carlisle.

But on the other hand, I was also sad to be away from him. I was greedy, I discovered. I wanted to have my cake and eat it, as the expression went. To love someone else, and keep Jacob as my friend.

But maybe that was a cruel thing to want. Maybe it was kinder to not see him very much. To let him form other attachments. Healthier ones than the pain I kept foisting on him.

When Jacob's tawny, muscled body disappeared completely, I turned away from the glass, and flung my arms almost instantly around Aro. He stiffened, clearly not expecting me to grab him so suddenly. But his arms came around me quickly, pulling me closer into his hard, lean chest. And he deposited a small kiss in my now-completely-dry hair.

"He is a dear friend to you, I can tell," Aro observed in soft, dulcet tones. "But please try not to mourn. Him, I am certain, you may see again."

The unspoken assertion behind Aro's words—unlike Charlie—stabbed into my heart with full force. And I buried my head deeper into Aro's chest, and clung onto him even tighter.

I heard something pop. Then Aro gasped in pain.

I recoiled instantly, as though burned. Then began frantically looking Aro over, trying to see the damage.

Aro rubbed carefully up and down his back, wincing, like my hug had someone wounded his spine. Which was preposterous. He was a vampire. But to lend credence to that theory, a soft "Ow," escaped his lips.

"What's wrong?" I blurted out, growing more stressed by the minute.

"Nothing major," Aro assured me, straightening a moment later. Though he was still wincing. "You simply embraced me a little too…. enthusiastically."

"Enthusiastically?" I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"You are stronger than me for the moment, remember?"

Comprehension dawned on me suddenly. I am not human anymore. I am a newborn vampire. I am stronger than him. I can hurt him.

"Whoops. Sorry," I apologized sheepishly.

Aro shook his head dismissively. "No matter, in another moment, I should be fully healed."

I heard a faint pop sound as his spinal column realigned itself. Then Aro released a hearty sigh. "There, all better."

I whistled quietly in amazement. I'd seen the La Push pack's enhanced healing factor in action on more than one occasion, but—and thank the stars for this, I'd never seen any of the Cullens hurt—so I wasn't sure how theirs matched up until now. And now that I had, I was thoroughly impressed. It had taken Jacob hours to recover the bones he'd broken during the battle with Victoria's newborn army. And here Aro was recovering from a dislocated spine in seconds.

Aro smiled, glad to have provided some entertainment. And suddenly, despite the lingering dregs of guilt in my system from having caused him harm, I found it impossible to look away.

There was something mesmerizing about the way his eyes reflected the stars shining through the living room windows that made me want to stare at them forever. Something entrancing about how his inky black hair spilled over the shoulders of his coat that made me want to run my fingers through it. Something especially fine tonight about the chiseled edge of his jaw, the elegant sweep of his black eyebrows,the long, aristocratic planes of his nose, the soft curve of his lips—two very kissable lips…

And it wasn't just his looks. There was a spicy aroma coming off his skin too, drawing me closer…

"Bella?" Aro said, breaking me out my musings. I realized then that I'd mindlessly shifted two steps closer to him—a fact he hadn't missed. "You are looking at me like you want something from me," he stated rather bluntly. "If there is anything I can provide, you need only ask."

My cheeks burned with heat as I came to my senses, and I tore my eyes away from him bashfully. "I'm not sure I should…"

"Why ever not?" Aro cut in, genuinely confused.

"Because what I want… I shouldn't want," I declared. At least not yet.

Aro frowned slightly and crossed his arms. He was clearly not pleased with my cryptic answer. "Well, what is it that you want, my dear? I can hardly say whether or not I agree if I do not know what you are referring to."

He had a point. So I took a deep breath and decided I might as well tell him the truth. There wasn't any reason to keep secrets from him, after all.

"I meant to tell you back when we first discovered the venom was spreading. Before Renata called," I began. "But then we got distracted and…" I shook my head. I was going off on a tangent. "Well anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I decided something then. And I still feel it now."

Aro gave me a bewildered, sidelong glance. "I still do not follow…."

I swallowed and clenched my fists. Ugh, why does this have to be so hard? Just say it!

"I… I want you, Aro."

Aro blinked in total surprise. Whatever he'd been expecting me to say, this was not it.

And at first I was worried that I had spoken amiss. That I had jumped the gun, and I should have just waited a bit longer. But before I could even attempt to formulate a half-way-plausible backpedal, Aro's baffled complexion melted into something that more closely resembled awe.

"You mean, you want me..." Aro made a loose gesture to his entire figure, "…in a sexual manner?"

He sounded like he couldn't quite believe it. He wanted it to be true—that much was obvious from the way he was staring at me, and unconsciously moistening his lips. But he didn't want to misinterpret my words. He wanted explicit confirmation before he did anything further.

I blushed as I imagined what might happen if I were to simply say "yes". I had a sneaking suspicion that he might throw me onto the nearest couch with enough force to break it, literally tear off my clothes, and try to give me what I wanted then and there—with absolutely no regard for the Cullens milling around just a few rooms away.

Or maybe that was just my hormones talking.

But either way, I wasn't ready for that. Not emotionally, at least. So instead, I said, "Well, I was thinking we'd start with a kiss…"

"Naturally…"

"But…" I stipulated—and this was where things got messy… "I'm still technically married to Edward—"

Aro rolled his eyes and groaned. He was obviously tired of this line of thinking. "Is not marriage traditionally until death do us part? And did not Edward say that you were, in a fashion, dead to him?"

"Well, yes…" I reluctantly allowed. "But Edward and I switched that line for 'as long as we both shall live' which is a little different."

"Hmmm, yes I suppose that does make it a bit less straightforward if we're being overly pedantic," he huffed. "But he obviously does not see his ties to you as still binding, so there is no need for you to be trapped by them."

I opened my mouth to protest. "But legally—"

Aro cut me off. "Are you going to let human laws hold your heart hostage forever?"

"I…" I had to think about that one for several minutes. Aro had a point. "I guess not…" I decided at last. "And you?"

"My affections remain unchanged," he assured me. "I would follow you to the ends of the earth, if you wished it."

My lips quivered hungrily. And my toes wiggled in my boots. That was quite a promise. And it only made the thought of kissing him so much more tempting. But was it really fair to let myself do that when our emotions were still so far from equal about one another? What if I changed my mind in a month or two? Would he think I had led him on?

"I still don't know if it would be right," I told him honestly. "I mean, I still figuring this out, and I don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" Aro scoffed. "Your increased strength should not make kissing that dangerous."

I laughed a little at the idea. Then one of my hands reached up to ghost over his unbeating heart. "I meant here…." I told him as I traced lazy lines over his suit coat.

Aro reached down after a moment to encase my hand in his. Then, as his thumbs brushed lightly over my skin and I marveled at how warm and soft they were, he sighed. "Bella, for once in your life would you give yourself the indulgence of being selfish?"

I stared up at him blankly. "What?"

"You are constantly putting other people first, my dear," he said as though it was endearing, but a little exasperating. "First your mother, then Edward, then the other Cullens, then Jacob, then your daughter—even when her life threatened to take yours."

I opened my mouth to say something in my defense. But Aro held a finger to my lips and kept going. "And while your noble compassion is certainly appreciated, have you ever once done anything simply for yourself? Because you wanted it? Not because it would make anyone else happy? Or because it was the 'right' thing to do?"

"I… I…"

Aro was right. I hadn't. Not since I was very young, anyway. I hadn't really been able to be selfish growing up. My mother Renee—bless her heart—was such a scatterbrain I always had to be the adult in the house. The one who remembered when the bills were due, the one who cooked dinner, the one who scheduled regular doctor's appointments… I'd even had to buy my own birthday presents most years, so I'd never had room to be selfish, even if I'd wanted to be.

So after more than fifteen years of giving, I was finding it legitimately difficult to take.

I frowned.

"There is nothing wrong with having personal desires, my dear," Aro placated, raising his hand to affectionately caress my chin. "If you want to kiss me… then by all means, cease holding onto this imagined obligation you have to Edward, and kiss me," he urged, tugging my face significantly closer to his.

My breath hitched in my throat. I could feel his cool breath blowing against my mouth now. And boy did I want to...

"You know I am more than willing," he purred, angling his head ever so slightly to the side and pressing even closer, so there were only millimeters between our lips.

My heart jumped in my chest. And my hormones decided suddenly that my rational brain was fired.

Damn it all to hell.

I flung my arms around his neck and closed the tiny gap between us suddenly. He made the softest sound of surprise as my lips collided with his—a sound that was quickly muffled by my enthusiastic kissing. Then he began to return the gesture with equal fervor.

One of my hands grabbed a fistful of the silken hair covering his nape, and the other slid down to grip his shoulder, like I was clinging to it for dear life. He sucked hard—much harder than Edward had ever dared—on my lower lip, eliciting a gasp from me and a sudden weakening of my knees. His own hands reached to steady me automatically—like he knew in advance what kind of effect his kisses usually had on people—and he took my open mouth as an invitation to plunder it with his tongue.

I made some rather undignified noises, then. And I tried to retaliate—to make him as weak-kneed as I was. But he was so good at this, and I was so out of practice, and I still needed to breathe…

I pulled back suddenly after what couldn't have been longer than a minute, gasping for air. And Aro, who of course wasn't winded at all, looked like he was ready to give me some space. To conclude our make-out-session, step back, and let me breathe.

But I wasn't having any of that. Not yet.

So, I seized him roughly by the collar, and yanked him back to me. Aro made no protest, in fact he growled in delight as I started ravishing his lips again. A sound that made my spine tingle, and something a bit lower stir with excitement. We kissed some more then, just as passionately and aggressively as before—I was certain had I still been completely human, my lips would be bleeding. I had to pound on his chest a few times to remind him to let me breathe. But he figured it out quickly, falling into the rhythm of lips crashing together and apart. And the longer we kissed, the more I felt the electricity in my veins shoot south, until I began to wish Aro's lips would move south too….

I wasn't thinking very rationally at this point, so I indicated as much in the least subtle way possible. I undid the buttons of his blazer as quickly as I could, spreading it open, and fumbled for the buttons of his shirt.

Aro's lips broke from mine unprompted then. And his hands reached down to stop mine.

I frowned. Why do my boyfriends always try to stop me before we get to the fun part?

"Bella, wait," Aro panted, sounding strangely out of breath all of a sudden—though I knew that couldn't be the case. He swallowed. "There is no need to rush into this."

I pouted. "You said you wanted me."

If Aro could have blushed, he would have been beet red. "And that I do," he assured me in a husky voice that was doing my nether regions a lot of favors. "But I fear I may want you too much," he clarified. "If we were to do this tonight… I would invariably surrender myself to you. Completely," he explained. "And there is a high likelihood you would do the same, given your, erm…." He tried to phrase this delicately. "…rather emotional state right now. And I do not believe you are ready yet to become my mate."

I sighed and released Aro's shirt. "No. You're right."

Damn him for being so darn reasonable all the time. But he's right. I don't want to do anything I might regret. We need more time before we make that kind of commitment.

Aro reached out to tenderly stroke my cheek and smiled. "Perhaps later then?"

I winked at him. "Perhaps."