"Don't tempt me too far, wolf. My patience isn't that perfect."
Jacob whispered a laugh. "I'd rather not move just now, if you don't mind."
Edward started humming to himself, louder than usual - trying to drown out Jacob's thoughts, I assumed. But it was my lullaby he hummed, and, despite my growing discomfort with this whispered dream, I sank deeper into unconsciousness . . . into other dreams that made better sense. . . .
Chapter 23. MONSTER
WHEN I WOKE UP IN THE MORNING, IT WAS VERY bright - even inside the tent, the sunlight hurt my eyes. And I was sweating, as Jacob had predicted. Jacob was snoring lightly in my ear, his arms still wrapped around me.
I pulled my head away from his feverishly warm chest and felt the sting of the cold morning on my clammy cheek. Jacob sighed in his sleep; his arms tightened unconsciously.
I squirmed, unable to loosen his hold, struggling to lift my head enough to see. . . .
Edward met my gaze evenly. His expression was calm, but the pain in his eyes was unconcealed.
"Is it any warmer out there?" I whispered.
"Yes. I don't think the space heater will be necessary today."
I tried to get to the zipper, but I couldn't free my arms. I strained, fighting against Jacob's inert strength. Jacob muttered, still fast asleep, his arms constricting again.
"Some help?" I asked quietly.
Edward smiled. "Did you want me to take his arms all the way off?"
"No, thank you. Just get me free. I'm going to get heat stroke."
Edward unzipped the sleeping bag in a swift, abrupt movement. Jacob fell out, his bare back hitting the icy floor of the tent.
"Hey!" he complained, his eyes flying open. Instinctively, he flinched away from the cold, rolling onto me. I gasped as his weight knocked the breath out of me.
And then his weight was gone. I felt the impact as Jacob flew into one of the tent poles and the tent shuddered.
The growling erupted from all around. Edward was crouching in front of me, and I couldn't see his face, but the snarls were ripping angrily out of his chest. Jacob was half-crouched, too, his whole body quivering, while growls rumbled through his clenched teeth. Outside the tent, Seth Clearwater's vicious snarls echoed off the rocks.
"Stop it, stop it!" I yelled, scrambling awkwardly to put myself between them. The space was so small that I didn't have to stretch far to put one hand on each of their chests. Edward wrapped his hand around my waist, ready to yank me out of the way.
"Stop it, now," I warned him.
Under my touch, Jacob began to calm himself. The shaking slowed, but his teeth were still bared, his eyes furiously focused on Edward. Seth continued to growl, a long unbroken sound, a violent background to the sudden silence in the tent.
"Jacob?" I asked, waiting until he finally dropped his glare to look at me. "Are you hurt?"
"Of course not!" he hissed.
I turned to Edward. He was looking at me, his expression hard and angry. "That wasn't nice. You should say sorry."
His eyes widened in disgust. "You must be joking - he was crushing you!"
"Because you dumped him on the floor! He didn't do it on purpose, and he didn't hurt me."
Edward groaned, revolted. Slowly, he looked up to glare at Jacob with hostile eyes. "My apologies, dog."
"No harm done," Jacob said, a taunting edge to his voice.
It was still cold, though not as cold as it had been. I curled my arms around my chest.
"Here," Edward said, calm again. He took the parka off the floor and wrapped it over the top of my coat.
"That's Jacob's," I objected.
"Jacob has a fur coat," Edward hinted.
"I'll just use the sleeping bag again, if you don't mind." Jacob ignored him, climbing around us and sliding into the down bag. "I wasn't quite ready to wake up. That wasn't the best night's sleep I ever had."
"It was your idea," Edward said impassively.
Jacob was curled up, his eyes already closed. He yawned. "I didn't say it wasn't the best night I've ever spent. Just that I didn't get a lot of sleep. I thought Bella was never going to shut up."
I winced, wondering what might have come out of my mouth in my sleep. The possibilities were horrifying.
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Edward murmured.
Jacob's dark eyes fluttered open. "Didn't you have a nice night, then?" he asked, smug.
"It wasn't the worst night of my life."
"Did it make the top ten?" Jacob asked with perverse enjoyment.
"Possibly."
Jacob smiled and closed his eyes.
"But," Edward went on, "if I had been able to take your place last night, it would not have made the top ten of the best nights of my life. Dream about that."
Jacob's eyes opened into a glare. He sat up stiffly, his shoulders tense.
"You know what? I think it's too crowded in here."
"I couldn't agree more."
I elbowed Edward in the ribs - probably giving myself a bruise.
"Guess I'll catch up on my sleep later, then." Jacob made a face. "I need to talk to Sam anyway."
He rolled to his knees and grabbed the door's zipper.
Pain crackled down my spine and lodged in my stomach as I abruptly realized that this could be the last time I would see him. He was going back to Sam, back to fight the horde of bloodthirsty newborn vampires.
"Jake, wait -" I reached after him, my hand sliding down his arm.
He jerked his arm away before my fingers could find purchase.
"Please, Jake? Won't you stay?"
"No."
The word was hard and cold. I knew my face gave away my pain, because he exhaled and half a smile softened his expression.