It was not a good time to be left alone. Seconds after Jacob was out of sight, I was hyperventilating. I dragged myself into the cab of the truck, and mashed the locks down at once. It didn't make me feel any better.
Victoria was already hunting me. It was just luck that she hadn't found me yet–just luck and five teenage werewolves. I exhaled sharply. No matter what Jacob said, the thought of him coming anywhere close to Victoria was horrifying. I didn't care what he could turn into when he got mad. I could see her in my head, her face wild, her hair like flames, deadly, indestructible…
But, according to Jacob, Laurent was gone. Was that really possible? Edward–I clutched automatically at my chest–had told me how difficult it was to kill a vampire. Only another vampire could do the job. Yet Jake said this was what werewolves were made for…
He said they were keeping a special eye on Charlie–that I should trust the werewolves to keep my father safe. How could I trust that? None of us were safe! Jacob the very least of all, if he was trying to put himself between Victoria and Charlie… between Victoria and me.
I felt like I might be about to throw up again. A sharp rap on the truck's window made me yelp in terror–but it was just Jacob, back already. I unlocked the door with trembling, grateful fingers.
"You're really scared, aren't you?" he asked as he climbed in. I nodded. "Don't be. We'll take care of you–and Charlie, too. I promise." "The idea of you finding Victoria is scarier than the idea of her finding me," I whispered. He laughed. "You've got to have a little more confidence in us than that. It's insulting." I just shook my head. I'd seen too many vampires in action. "Where did you go just now?" I asked. He pursed his lips, and said nothing. "What? Is it a secret?" He frowned. "Not really. It's kind of weird, though. I don't want to freak you out." "I'm sort of used to weird by this point, you know." I tried to smile without much success.
Jacob grinned back easily. "Guess you'd have to be. Okay. See, when we're wolves, we can… hear each other."
My eyebrows pulled down in confusion.
"Not hear sounds," he went on, "but we can hear… thoughts–each other's anyway–no matter how far away from each other we are. It really helps when we hunt, but it's a big pain otherwise. It's embarrassing–having no secrets like that. Freaky, eh?"
"Is that what you meant last night, when you said you would tell them you'd seen me, even though you didn't want to?"
"You're quick."
"Thanks."
"You're also very good with weird. I thought that would bother you."
"It's not… well, you're not the first person I've known who could do that. So it doesn't seem so weird to me."
"Really?… Wait–are you talking about your bloodsuckers?"
"I wish you wouldn't call them that."
He laughed. "Whatever. The Cullens, then?"
"Just… just Edward." I pulled one arm surreptitiously around my torso.
Jacob looked surprised–unpleasantly so. "I thought those were just stories. I've heard legends about vampires who could do… extra stuff, but I thought that was just a myth." "Is anything just a myth anymore?" I asked him wryly.
He scowled. "Guess not. Okay, we're going to meet Sam and the others at the place we go to ride our bikes."
I started the truck and headed back up the road.
"So did you just turn into a wolf now, to talk to Sam?" I asked, curious.
Jacob nodded, seeming embarrassed. "I kept it real short–I tried not to think about you so
they wouldn't know what was going on. I was afraid Sam would tell me I couldn't bring you."
"That wouldn't have stopped me." I couldn't get rid of my perception of Sam as the bad guy. My teeth clenched together whenever I heard his name.
"Well, it would have stopped me," Jacob said, morose now. "Remember how I couldn't finish my sentences last night? How I couldn't just tell you the whole story?"
"Yeah. You looked like you were choking on something."
He chuckled darkly. "Close enough. Sam told me I couldn't tell you. He's… the head of the pack, you know. He's the Alpha. When he tells us to do something, or not to do something–when he really means it, well, we can't just ignore him."
"Weird," I muttered. "Very," he agreed. "It's kind of a wolf thing." "Huh" was the best response I could think of.