I stared at his face

    We grinned at each other for a second, and then his face clouded over.
    “You know that day, when I brought the bike over . . . I’ve been wanting to ask you something,” he said
slowly. “But also . . . not wanting to.”
    I held very still — a reaction to stress. It was a habit I’d picked up from Edward.
    “Were you just being stubborn because you were mad at me, or were you really serious?” he whispered.
    “About what?” I whispered back, though I was sure I knew what he meant.
    He glared at me. “You know. When you said it was none of my business . . . if — if he bit you.” He
cringed visibly at the end.
    “Jake . . .” My throat felt swollen. I couldn’t finish.
    He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Were you serious?”
    He was trembling just slightly. His eyes stayed closed.
    “Yes,” I whispered.
    Jacob inhaled, slow and deep. “I guess I knew that.”
    I stared at his face, waiting for his eyes to open.
    “You know what this will mean?” He demanded suddenly. “You do understand that, don’t you? What will
happen if they break the treaty?”
    “We’ll leave first,” I said in a small voice.
    His eyes flashed open, their black depths full of anger and pain. “There wasn’t a geographic limit to the
treaty, Bella. Our great-grandfathers only agreed to keep the peace because the Cullens swore that they were
different, that humans weren’t in danger from them. They promised they would never kill or change anyone
ever again. If they go back on their word, the treaty is meaningless, and they are no different than any other
vampires. Once that’s established, when we find them again —”
    “But, Jake, didn’t you break the treaty already?” I asked, grasping at straws. “Wasn’t part of it that you
not tell people about the vampires? And you told me. So isn’t the treaty sort of moot, anyhow?”
    Jacob didn’t like the reminder; the pain in his eyes hardened into animosity. “Yeah, I broke the treaty —
back before I believed any of it. And I’m sure they were informed of that.” He glared sourly at my forehead,
not meeting my shamed gaze. “But it’s not like that gives them a freebie or anything. There’s no fault for a
fault. They have only one option if they object to what I did. The same option we’ll have when they break the
treaty: to attack. To start the war.”
    He made it sound so inevitable. I shuddered.
    “Jake, it doesn’t have to be that way.”
    His teeth ground together. “It is that way.”
    The silence after his declaration felt very loud.
    “Will you never forgive me, Jacob?” I whispered. As soon as I said the words, I wished I hadn’t. I didn’t
want to hear his answer.