(Jacob POV)
I let the throttle go as I started down the Cullen driveway on my bike, safe from the pack for the moment. No way they'd come this close just to stop me, too risky. If I stayed human until the last second, Sam couldn't throw Alpha compulsion at me through the bond.
All I had to do was confirm Bella wasn't human anymore.
Then I could shift and take Edward apart.
Simple plan. Clean. Except none of it felt clean.
Would the pack be angry if the Cullens killed me? Or would they call it justice and move on? I didn't get Sam anymore. We killed vampires. That was the deal. That was what we were.
I squeezed the brakes in front of the too-perfect house and stared at my bike for half a second, considering whether to just let it tip over. I wasn't coming back for it.
But… no. That felt wrong. Like littering.
So I dropped the kickstand and left it standing there like a dumb little sign that said I was here.
It was almost insulting how far I made it without anyone stopping me. Surely the leech could hear my thoughts from inside. Surely his sister could read them if she wanted to. Did they really think I wasn't a threat?
Or worse, did they think I was here for Thomas and Leah?
That would be hilarious if it wasn't about to get people killed.
I stopped at the door and stared at it.
Knock? Or kick it in?
I pictured Esme's face…warm, polite, impossibly mom, and decided I didn't want to be the idiot who kicked in her front door on principle.
So, I knocked.
One sharp rap.
Hi. I'm here to see if the girl you stole is dead yet. If she is, I'm killing your son.
Yeah. I was doing great.
The door opened.
Carlisle stood there, calm and careful, like he wasn't looking at a bomb with a fuse.
"I am here to see Bella," I said, and my voice didn't shake. I was proud of that.
Carlisle's expression tightened, just a little. "I'm sorry, Jacob. Bella isn't in any condition to come to the door right now."
"Then let me in," I said. "I'll see her where she is."
He hesitated. "I don't think…"
A voice from inside cut him off.
Soft. Thin. Barely there.
"It's okay… let him in. There is no reason to hide it from him."
My stomach dropped.
It was Bella's voice.
But it wasn't right.
Not stronger. Not brighter. Not anything like what I'd expected if she'd been changed.
Carlisle stepped aside slowly. "Jacob… she isn't well. Please…try to stay calm."
I didn't answer.
Because for the first time since I'd hit the driveway, I wasn't thinking about killing Edward.
I was thinking about what the hell had happened to Bella.
Carlisle stepped aside, and I went in.
The house smelled wrong.
Not just vampire…vampire I expected. This was something else layered over it. Sharp, metallic, and fresh enough that my stomach tightened on instinct.
Then I saw her.
Bella was on the couch, propped up with pillows like someone had tried to make her comfortable without knowing how. Her face was too thin. Her skin looked tight over her cheekbones. Her eyes were huge in her head, and the way she held herself…careful, guarded, made my chest lock up.
She wasn't a vampire.
She looked like a human who'd been hollowed out from the inside.
Edward was there, sitting too close and not close enough at the same time. Like he couldn't decide whether to hold her or keep his hands off in case he broke something.
Rosalie was nearby. That surprised me. I knew Bella. And if you asked me, Bella was slightly afraid of the too-perfect vampire. At least more than any other Cullen.
Bella's mouth twitched when she saw me. It was a real smile, so real that it hurt to see the shine in her eyes.
"Jacob," she said again, quieter. "Hi."
My brain stuttered.
Because I came here ready to kill Edward.
And Bella was… this.
I didn't move farther in. I didn't take my eyes off her.
"What did you do to her?" My voice came out low and ugly.
Edward's head snapped toward me. His eyes were flat and dangerous. "Nothing."
I laughed once, sharp. "Nothing? She looks like she's dying."
Bella flinched like that hurt more than it should've.
"Jake," she said, and there was a warning in it. Weak, but still Bella. "Don't."
Carlisle closed the door behind me softly. Not trapping me, just keeping the house quiet.
"Jacob," Carlisle said, calm. "She is unwell. But this is not the result of any bite."
My gaze cut to him. "Then what is it?"
No one answered right away.
Bella's hand moved, slowly, carefully, down to her stomach.
It wasn't a dramatic gesture. It wasn't for attention. It was reflex. Protection.
My heart dropped through my ribs.
"No," I said. I didn't mean to say it out loud.
Bella's eyes held mine. "Yes."
The room went still.
My hands curled into fists so hard my knuckles ached. I couldn't find words that didn't turn into a snarl.
Edward's voice was too controlled. "She's pregnant."
I took one step forward without realizing it. "That's impossible." My mind was trying to make sense of the timing.
Bella's jaw set. "Apparently not."
I looked at her again, really looked. Too thin. Skin gray. Breathing careful. The way she held herself like moving wrong would cost her.
And then the smell clicked.
Blood.
Not vampire scent. Human blood. Fresh. Close.
My eyes snapped to the tubing near her arm.
"What is that?" I asked.
Bella's fingers tightened on the blanket. "It's supposed to help."
Edward answered instead, and every word sounded like it hurt to say. "She can't keep food down. Carlisle's trying everything."
Carlisle's voice stayed level. "We're stabilizing her as best we can."
Rosalie lifted her chin. "And we're not letting anyone hurt the baby."
I whipped my head toward her. "Of course. If only you cared half as much about the mother."
Edward stood. "Let's take this outside, Jacob."
Yes. Finally. Something sensible.
Bella reached for him. "Edward, please…"
He gave her a tight smile. "We'll be right back. We just need a minute away so we can be honest with each other without it affecting you. I promise, love."
She nodded like she believed him.
Great. I could at least make him a liar before this was over.
My body felt lighter at the thought of the fight…until a new thought punched through.
Damn it.
How the hell am I supposed to burn him if I'm in wolf form?
Before I could chase that problem any further, I made the mistake of looking Bella in the eyes.
"Behave," she insisted. "And then come back."
I didn't answer. Promises weren't on the table today, at least not this one.
I looked away and followed Edward toward the door.
On the way out, my eyes flicked to the kitchen. Thomas and Leah were there, Edythe at the island with them. Something about the scene felt… off. Not bad. Just not what my brain expected.
I didn't stop to figure it out.
I was here for one reason.
Edward.
Edward led me down the porch stairs and a good way down the driveway. Far enough that even a vampire's ears couldn't hear us and relay the words to Bella.
When he stopped, he didn't turn around right away.
When he finally faced me, the anger I expected wasn't there. Not really. Not the kind I could punch. Not the kind I could hate.
His eyes were wild, but not with rage.
With panic.
"With everything you've ever wanted to do to me," he said, voice low, "put it away until later. Not now."
I barked a laugh, sharp and ugly. "You're not going to tell me you're too busy while you let her die in there."
His jaw tightened like it hurt. "I'm not letting her die."
"Then end it," I snapped. "End the thing that's killing her."
Edward flinched at that, just a fraction, but it wasn't because the words were cruel. It was because they were his words, too, living in his head already.
"I can't," he said. "Not if she won't let me."
"Then make her," I growled. "You're the vampire. You're the monster. You're the one who always thinks he knows better."
His eyes flashed. "Don't."
The single word came out like a warning, but it wasn't aimed at me.
It was aimed at himself.
I stared at him for a beat, waiting for the lecture. Waiting for the superiority.
It didn't come.
Instead, his shoulders dropped, barely, but enough that I felt the shift. Like he'd been holding up a wall and finally realized it wasn't protecting anyone.
"I need you," he said, and his voice went flatter, more controlled, like saying it out loud tasted wrong. "I need you to talk to her."
I blinked. "What?"
Edward's hands curled into fists at his sides. He didn't step closer. He didn't threaten me. He looked… trapped.
"She will listen to you," he said, and there was something sick behind it, hope, mixed with guilt. "She won't listen to me. She won't listen to Carlisle. She won't listen to anyone in that house who isn't helping her keep that…thing."
My lip curled. "So force her."
His jaw clenched so hard it looked like it hurt.
"I can't."
That wasn't what I expected. Not from him.
"You won't," I corrected.
His eyes snapped to mine, sharp. "I can't."
He said it like it was a confession.
"Rosalie would tear me apart before I got near her," he said, voice low. "And if she didn't, Esme would. Carlisle wouldn't stop them. Alice and Jasper wouldn't either…not because they want the baby, but because they won't let me take Bella's choice away."
He swallowed once, like the words were hard to keep down.
"And Thomas," he added, almost like it cost him. "He'd stop me too. So would Edythe. So would Leah. Everyone in that house… they're not on the baby's side, Jacob. They're on Bella's."
That landed wrong in my chest. Because it was true. Because I'd seen it: the way they circled her without touching her. The way nobody raised a voice at her, even when they were terrified.
Edward's gaze dropped for a second, then lifted again.
"I don't get to override her," he said. "Not anymore. Not after everything."
His voice roughened, and I realized, too late, that this wasn't him trying to win an argument.
This was him trying not to drown.
"So if she won't listen to me," he said, "I need someone she will listen to. I need you to say the words I can't make her hear."
I stared at him like he'd grown another head. "You want me to convince her to kill your kid."
His eyes flinched at the word kid. Like it scraped him raw.
"I want you to convince her to live," he snapped…then the anger fell out of him as fast as it came. "I want her to have a chance."
He dragged in a breath he didn't need.
"You think you hate me," he said, voice quieter now. "You think you want me dead. Fine. Stand in line."
His eyes went distant for half a second, and when he looked back, the grief in them was worse than the rage.
"I did this to her," he said. "I put this inside her. I'm watching her break, and I can't fix it, and I can't make her stop."
His hands trembled once before he forced them still.
"And the worst part?" he whispered, like the truth had claws. "Part of me is glad she wants it. Because it means she doesn't hate me. Because it means she still loves me while I'm destroying her."
I didn't have an answer to that. Not a smart one. Not a cruel one. Nothing.
Edward's eyes sharpened again, the desperation returning.
"Talk to her," he said. "Tell her you'll give her what she wants. Tell her…" His mouth twisted. "Tell her anything. Promise her a future. Promise her a different baby. Promise her you."
My stomach turned. "You want me to offer her that?"
"I want her alive," he said, brutally. "I want her breathing. I want her heart beating tomorrow."
He took a step back, like he'd said too much. Like he couldn't stand how low he'd just gone.
"And if she won't be convinced," he finished, voice almost blank, "then I want it over. I want you close enough to kill me if she dies."
His last words hit me like that newborn and his overly friendly hug. I felt crushed all over again. Here was the… leech that took the girl I loved and put her in danger time and time again. And now, when he didn't see a way to save her, he was asking me to grant him that last mercy. To end his suffering.
My chest began to burn. Not the burn of the wolf, but the burn of finally having a way to do what I truly wanted.
"Edward, I will promise you this. If Bella dies from this… You will live. I will fight to protect your very life for as long as I draw breath. You… You pathetic piece of stone… Will forever be Bella's tombstone. The living monument to the girl you killed. Here walks Edward Cullen… Isabella Swan's executioner. That is the promise I make to you today."
I turned my back on him and walked back to the house in what I know will be a wasted effort to change the mind of a girl I couldn't make love me enough to save her from the very thing that will eventually kill her.