2. You could run from someone you feared, you could try to fight someone you hated. All my reactions were geared toward those kinds of killers – the monsters, the enemies. When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved? (Bella)
3. It was still considered rude to stare at people, wasn’t it? Didn’t that apply to me anymore? (Bella)
4. I was going without a lot of things these days, like Pop-Tarts and shoelaces, to avoid spending time in public. (Bella)
5. Personally, I didn’t get it. But then, I was just proud I could distinguish between the symbols for Toyota, Ford, and Chevy. This car was glossy black, sleek, and pretty, but it was still just a car to me. (Bella)
6. Body armor. Four thousand pounds of body armor. And missile-proof glass? Nice. What had happened to good old-fashioned bulletproof? (Bella)
7. Virtual indestructibility was just one of the many perks I was looking forward to. The best parts about being a Cullen were not expensive cars and impressive credit cards. (Bella)
8. The phrase “bite my head off” was not entirely a figure of speech when it came to Leah. (Bella)
9. Stop fidgeting, Bella. Please try to remember that you’re not confessing to a murder here. (Edward)
10. Wait till he hangs his gun up! (Bella)
11. Edward grimaced, and I knew it was in objection to the word okay. He probably would have used something more like wonderful or perfect or glorious. (Bella)
12. I wanted to elbow Edward in the ribs, but I knew that move would only give me a bruise. I’d told Edward that people would immediately jump to this conclusion! What other possible reason would sane people have for getting married at eighteen? (His answer then had made me roll my eyes. Love. Right.) (Bella)
13. The ultimate doom: telling Renée. Early marriage was higher up on her blacklist than boiling live puppies. (Bella)
14. You make your own kinds of mistakes, and I’m sure you’ll have your share of regrets in life. But commitment was never your problem, sweetie. You have a better chance of making this work than most forty-year-olds I know. My little middle-aged child. Luckily, you seem to have found another old soul. (Renee)
15. No one dressed by me ever looks like an idiot. (Alice)
16. Go to your happy place, Bella. It won’t take long. (Alice)
17. You’d think I was shoving bamboo splinters under your nails. (Alice)
18. Sometimes it was so easy to forget that I was kissing a vampire. (Bella)
19. I opened my eyes and found his open, too, staring at my face. It made no sense when he looked at me that way. Like I was the prize rather than the outrageously lucky winner. (Bella)
20. Bachelor parties are designed for those who are sad to see the passing of their single days. I couldn’t be more eager to have mine behind me. So there’s really no point. (Edward)
21. How different it would be when he didn’t need to worry about me anymore. What would he do with all his free time? He’d have to get a new hobby. (Bella)
22. I’ve been waiting a century to marry you, Miss Swan. (Edward)
23. I clutched him closer for one second and then released him. I didn’t have a prayer of winning a tug-of-war with Emmett. (Bella)
24. If you don’t send Edward out, we’re coming in after him! (Emmett)
25. Jasper? What do vampires do for bachelor parties? You’re not taking him to a strip club, are you? (Bella)
26. I’ve only allotted so much time to make you stunning, Bella – you might have taken better care of my raw material. (Alice)
27. No one will dare to call you plain when I’m through with you. (Alice)
28. Deep breaths, Bella. And try to lower your heart rate. You’re going to sweat off your new face. (Alice)
29. Bells, we’re up to bat. (Charlie)
30. Don’t let me fall, Dad. (Bella)
31. I tried to comprehend, through the film of tears blinding me, the surreal fact that this amazing person was mine. (Bella)
32. One scorching hug stood out from all the others – Seth Clearwater had braved the throng of vampires to stand in for my lost werewolf friend. (Bella)
33. We took turns shoving cake in each other’s faces; Edward manfully swallowed his portion as I watched in disbelief. I threw my bouquet with atypical skill, right into Angela’s surprised hands. Emmett and Jasper howled with laughter at my blush while Edward removed my borrowed garter – which I’d shimmied down nearly to my ankle – very carefully with his teeth. With a quick wink at me, he shot it straight into Mike Newton’s face. (Bella)
34. I feel just horrible, leaving you to cook for yourself – it’s practically criminal negligence. You could arrest me. (Bella)
35. Stop blubbering, Bella. You’ll ruin your dress. It’s just me. (Jacob)
36. Yeah – the party can start. The best man finally made it. (Jacob)
37. I tell you, if I could get rid of the voices in my head, being a wolf would be about perfect. (Jacob)
38. Insanity is probably easier than sharing a pack mind. Crazy people’s voices don’t send babysitters to watch them. (Jacob)
39. Alice is an unstoppable force of nature. (Bella)
40. I’d been so glad to see Jacob here. I knew the sacrifice it had taken him. And then I’d ruined it, turned his gift into a disaster. I should be quarantined. (Bella)
41. You’re monopolizing the bride. Let me dance with my little sister. This could be my last chance to make her blush. (Emmett)
42. You’re awfully small to be so hugely irritating. (Edward)
43. Oh well, I thought to myself. He was a vampire, after all. Maybe we were going to Atlantis. (Bella)
44. I’m sure you’d like a human minute or two… It was a long journey. (Edward)
45. Did my skin burst into flames? I had to look down to check. Nope, nothing was burning. At least, not visibly. (Bella)
46. I was freaking out because I had no idea how to do this, and I was afraid to walk out of this room and face the unknown. Especially in French lingerie. I knew I wasn’t ready for that yet. (Bella)
47. I wouldn’t use the word beautiful. Not with you standing here in comparison. (Edward)
48. Fire and ice, somehow existing together without destroying each other. More proof that I belonged with him. (Bella)
49. Stop acting like I’m not a monster for having agreed to this. (Edward)
50. Why am I covered in feathers? (Bella)
51. You… bit a pillow? Why? (Bella)
52. Do not say the word fine. If you value my sanity, do not say that you are fine. (Edward)
53. I was perfectly happy. Totally and completely blissed out. Now – well, I’m sort of pissed actually. (Bella)
54. That. That right there is why I’m angry. You are killing my buzz, Edward.(Bella)
55. Did you expect this, Bella? Were you anticipating that I would hurt you? Were you thinking it would be worse? Do you consider the experiment a success because you can walk away from it? No broken bones – that equals a victory? (Edward)
56. I can’t ignore the evidence, Bella. Or your history of trying to let me off the hook when I make mistakes. (Edward)
57. We’re just lucky it was the pillows and not you. (Edward)
58. You are making me insane, Bella. (Edward)
59. You are so human, Bella. Ruled by your hormones. (Edward)
60. You haven’t said a word in your sleep since we got here. If it weren’t for the snoring, I’d worry you were slipping into a coma. (Edward)
61. In this dream that was both new and old, I simply had to protect the unknown child. There was no other option. At the same time, I knew that I would fail. (Bella)
62. Do you want me to sing to you? I’ll sing all night if it will keep the bad dreams away. (Edward)
63. How much trouble am I in? (Bella)
64. The pillows all appear to have survived. (Bella)
65. You seem to be extraordinarily unobservant when your attention is otherwise involved. (Edward)
66. You look so guilty – like you’ve committed a crime. (Edward)
67. So you seduced your all-too-willing husband. That’s not a capital offense. (Edward)
68. If I don’t have a better sense of equilibrium in my next life, I’m demanding a refund. (Bella)
69. Sex was the key all along? Why didn’t I think of that? I could have saved myself a lot of arguments. (Edward)
70. I don’t know… I’ve already mangled the headboard in the other room beyond repair – maybe if we limit the destruction to one area of the house, Esme might invite us back someday. (Edward)
71. Are you trying to pass this illness off as PMS? (Edward)
72. The phone kept ringing. I wished Edward would answer it – I was having a moment. Possibly the biggest of my life. (Bella)
73. I’m a little worried about Edward… Can vampires go into shock? (Bella)
74. Surprising, absolutely. Astonishing, even. But wrong? No. So why was Edward so furious? He was the one who had actually wished out loud for a shotgun wedding. (Bella)
75. This child, Edward’s child, was a whole different story. I wanted him like I wanted air to breathe. Not a choice – a necessity. (Bella)
76. I wished I could speak Portuguese, or that my Spanish was less rudimentary, so that I could try to thank this woman who had dared to anger a vampire just to check on me. (Bella)
77. All this mandatory love-at-first-sight was completely sickening! (Jacob)
78. I wondered – would a bullet through my temple actually kill me or just leave a really big mess for me to clean up? (Jacob)
79. Bella was either coming back one of them, or not coming back. Either way, a human life had been lost. And that meant game on. (Jacob)
80. You missed the party. Princess theme. She made me wear a crown, and then Emily suggested they all try out her new play makeup on me. (Quil)
81. It was hard being around imprinted people. No matter what stage they were in – about to tie the knot like Sam or just a much-abused nanny like Quil – the peace and certainty they always radiated was downright puke-inducing. (Jacob)
82. I honor my pack. I do what’s best for them. (Sam)
83. Huh – I wondered if Sam would consider my death provocation. Probably say I got what I deserved. Wouldn’t want to offend his bloodsucker BFFs. (Jacob)
84. Ugh. Reeking vampires. (Jacob)
85. If there was such a thing as a safe vampire, it was the strangely gentle leader. (Jacob)
86. They were all here, all together, but that was not what froze me where I stood and had my jaw dropping to the floor. It was Edward. It was the expression on his face. I’d seen him angry, and I’d seen him arrogant, and once I’d seen him in pain. But this – this was beyond agony. His eyes were half-crazed. He didn’t look up to glare at me. He stared down at the couch beside him with an expression like someone had lit him on fire. His hands were rigid claws at his side. (Jacob)
87. I didn’t want to see this, didn’t want to think about this. I didn’t want to imagine him inside her. I didn’t want to know that something I hated so much had taken root in the body I loved. (Jacob)
88. I didn’t want to kill girls… even vampire girls. Though I might make an exception for that blonde. (Jacob)
89. I’m not ready for you to kill me yet, Jacob Black. You’ll have to have a little patience. (Edward)
90. This was the face a man would have if he were burning at the stake. (Jacob)
91. Jeez, she was running true to form. Of course, die for the monster spawn. It was so Bella. (Jacob)
92. Did you ever notice that she’s exactly as strong as a normal hundred-and-ten-pound human girl? How stupid are you vamps? Hold her down and knock her out with drugs. (Jacob)
93. Maybe he should have thought about all this before he knocked her up with the life-sucking monster. (Jacob)
94. Even you, Jacob Black, cannot hate me as much as I hate myself. (Edward)
95. You know her, Jacob. You connect to her on a level that I don’t even understand. You are part of her, and she is part of you. (Edward)
96. I wondered if he was really going crazy. Could vampires lose their minds? (Jacob)
97. I don’t care about anything but keeping her alive. If it’s a child she wants, she can have it. She can have half a dozen babies. Anything she wants. She can have puppies, if that’s what it takes. (Edward)
98. I couldn’t think about what he was suggesting. It was too much. Impossible. Wrong. Sick. Borrowing Bella for the weekends and then returning her Monday morning like a rental movie? SO messed up. So tempting. (Jacob)
99. Make Bella see sense? What universe do you live in? (Jacob)
100. Where is this psycho crap coming from? Are you making this up as you go? (Jacob)
101. I couldn’t believe I was even thinking about this. Bella would punch me – not that I cared about that, but it would probably break her hand again. (Jacob)
102. The moment Bella’s heart stops beating, I will be begging for you to kill me. (Edward)
103. I felt like – like I don’t know what. Like this wasn’t real. Like I was in some Goth version of a bad sitcom. Instead of being the A/V dweeb about to ask the head cheerleader to the prom, I was the finished-second-place werewolf about to ask the vampire’s wife to shack up and procreate. Nice. (Jacob)
104. Over my pile of ashes. (Rosalie)
105. I’m not going to lie, Bells. You’re hideous. (Jacob)
106. Did you know that ‘I told you so’ has a brother, Jacob? His name is ‘Shut the hell up.’ (Bella)
107. To talk some sense into you. There’s a battle that’s lost before it starts. (Jacob)
108. I did know this – every second I spent with her was only going to add to the pain I would have to suffer later. Like a junkie with a limited supply, the day of reckoning was coming for me. The more hits I took now, the harder it would be when my supply ran out. (Jacob)
109. Is dementia one of your symptoms? (Jacob)
110. I’m not saying things will work out easily, Jake. But how could I have lived through all that I’ve lived through and not believe in magic by this point? (Bella)
111. If she hadn’t looked so fragile I would’ve been screaming. As it was, I did growl at her. (Jacob)
112. If you think that imprinting could ever make sense of this insanity… Do you really think that just because I might someday imprint on some stranger it would make this right? Tell me what the point was then, Bella! What was the point of me loving you? What was the point of you loving him? When you die, how is that ever right again? What’s the point to all the pain? Mine, yours, his! You’ll kill him, too, not that I care about that. So what was the point of your twisted love story, in the end? If there is any sense, please show me, Bella, because I don’t see it. (Jacob)
113. You’re dying for nothing, Bella! Nothing! (Jacob)
114. Emergency vampirization. (Jacob)
115. I realized I needed her to stay alive, in some form. In any form. (Jacob)
116. Oh, I hadn’t heard the great news. A bouncing baby boy, huh? Shoulda brought some blue balloons. (Jacob)
117. Shut up, Bella. You can spout this crap to your bloodsucker, but you’re not fooling me. (Jacob)
118. Please, Jacob. You think I should kill my baby and replace it with some generic substitute? (Bella)
119. I told you he was going crazy. Literally, Bells. (Jacob)
120. I wish I could explain it to you right so that you would understand. I can’t hurt him any more than I could pick up a gun and shoot you. I love him. (Bella)
121. Why do you always have to love the wrong things, Bella? (Jacob)
122. I’m not going to hang around and watch you die, Bella. (Jacob)
123. I almost went back. I almost turned around and fell down on my knees and started begging again. But I knew that I had to quit Bella, quit her cold turkey, before she killed me, like she was going to kill him. (Jacob)
124. You will not be cruel to him, Leah. Bella’s sacrifice is a heavy price, and we will all recognize that. It is against everything we stand for to take a human life. Making an exception to that code is a bleak thing. We will all mourn for what we do tonight. (Sam)
125. There was fear in the pack, not so much for self but for the whole. We couldn’t imagine that we would all make it out alive tonight. Which brothers would we lose? Which minds would leave us forever? Which grieving families would we be consoling in the morning? (Jacob)
126. No one could dispute the Alpha’s decision – except for me. I hadn’t earned anything. But there were things that had been born in me, things that I’d left unclaimed. I’d never wanted to lead the pack. I didn’t want to do it now. I didn’t want the responsibility for all our fates resting on my shoulders. Sam was better at that than I would ever be. But he was wrong tonight. And I had not been born to kneel to him. The bonds fell off my body the second that I embraced my birthright. (Jacob)
127. This isn’t about them. This is about Bella. She has never been the one for you, she had never chosen you, but you continue to destroy your life for her! (Sam)
129. Do you belong to a coven now, Jacob? (Sam)
130. How did everything get messed up and twisted so that I was here now, all alone, an unwilling Alpha, cut off from my brothers, choosing vampires over them? (Jacob)
131. Wait up. My legs aren’t as long as yours. (Seth)
132. I didn’t follow you because I was after a promotion. (Seth)
133. You want me to be all doom and gloom, or just shut up? (Seth)
134. Wouldn’t it be just peachy if I couldn’t take care of Seth for one freaking night? What if something happened to him on my watch? Leah would shred me into kibble. (Jacob)
135. This would be a lot easier if the communication wasn’t one way. Then again, I was kinda glad I wasn’t in his head. (Jacob)
136. Nice to have toddlers guarding the fort. (Emmett)
137. It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? I’m joining your crappy little renegade pack. The vampires’ guard dogs. (Leah)
138. Wanna race, O fearless leader? (Leah)
139. Shut up, Jacob. Oops, I’m sorry – I mean, shut up, most high Alpha. (Leah)
140. You think I’m just going to sit home while my little brother volunteers as a vampire chew toy? (Leah)
141. What is it with you Clearwaters? Why can’t you leave me alone? (Jacob)
142. Bella is already a daughter to me. A beloved daughter. (Carlisle)
143. I’ve seen vampire venom work miracles, but there are conditions that even venom cannot overcome. Her heart is working too hard now; if it should fail… there won’t be anything for me to do. (Carlisle)
144. The girl looked like she only had hours left, and she had to be in pain, but she was making jokes. So Bella. Trying to ease the tension, make it better for everyone else. (Jacob)
145. So, who’s going to catch me a grizzly bear? (Bella)
146. I’m not here as a donor, Bells. (Jacob)
147. Well, I’m starving, so I’ll bet he is, too. Let’s go for it. My first vampire act. (Bella)
148. Edward stayed, holding Bella’s hand. His face was dead again. He didn’t seem to have the energy to keep up even that little hint of hope he’d had before. They stared into each other’s eyes, but not in a gooey way. It was like they were having a conversation. Kind of reminded me of Sam and Emily. (Jacob)
149. Don’t blame me for this one. Your vampire was just picking snide comments out of my head. (Jacob)
150. You’re scared of Leah, but you’re best buds with the psychopath blonde? (Jacob)
151. She understands that you’re gonna die and she doesn’t care, s’long as she gets her mutant spawn out of the deal. (Jacob)
152. She glared at Edward’s hand like she might take a snap at it. I wished she would. I bet Edward wouldn’t take that sitting down, and I’d love to see Blondie lose a limb. (Jacob)
153. Does this screw my total? Or do we start counting after I’m a vampire? (Bella)
154. Jeez, how did anyone stand living with him? It was really too bad he couldn’t hear Bella’s thoughts. Then he’d annoy the crap out of her, too, and she’d get tired of him. (Jacob)
155. Great, now I was the court jester. (Jacob)
156. I gritted my teeth. She was allowed to kill herself for a monster, but I wasn’t allowed to miss a few nights’ sleep to watch her do it? (Jacob)
157. Despite my best efforts, I’ve seen you naked before – doesn’t do much for me, so no worries. (Leah)
158. That is easily the freakin’ grossest thing I’ve heard in my life. Yuck. If there was anything in my stomach, it would be coming back. (Leah)
159. Mom dropped him a lot when he was a baby. (Leah)
160. I took the clothes gingerly between my teeth – ugh – and carried them back to the trees. Just in case this was some joke by the blond psychopath and I had a bunch of girls’ stuff here. Bet she’d love to see the look on my human face as I stood there naked, holding a sundress. (Jacob)
161. Edward seemed to be in agreement with my thoughts – we were on the same wavelength so much lately it was crazy. (Jacob)
162. How much blood would it take to keep her going? At some point, would they start trotting in the neighbors? (Jacob)
163. Where’s the flood, mutt? (Rosalie)
164. You know how you drown a blonde, Rosalie? Glue a mirror to the bottom of a pool. (Jacob)
165. I snorted. Vampire mother hen – bizarre. (Jacob)
166. Vampires get headaches? (Jacob)
167. About time. The chainsaw impersonation was getting a little tired. (Rosalie)
168. What’s for breakfast? O negative or AB positive? (Jacob)
169. This was the problem with hanging out with vampires – you got used to them. They started messing up the way you saw the world. They started feeling like friends. (Jacob)
170. Alice wants you, too. She says she’s tired of hanging out in the attic like a bat in the belfry. (Seth)
171. And, just like before, Bella’s face lit up like a kid’s on Christmas morning. Like I’d brought her the greatest gift ever. It was so unfair. (Jacob)
172. Thanks, anyway, Alice, but I don’t think I’d want to eat something Blondie’s spit in. I’d bet my system wouldn’t take too kindly to venom. (Jacob)
173. Enjoy, mongrel. (Rosalie)
174. It had once probably been a big mixing bowl, but she’d bent the bowl back in on itself until it was shaped almost exactly like a dog dish. I had to be impressed with her quick craftsmanship. And her attention to detail. She’d scratched the word Fido into the side. Excellent handwriting. (Jacob)
175. Hey, do you know what you call a blonde with a brain? A golden retriever. (Jacob)
176. Let me guess, someone around here used to cut hair in a salon in Paris? (Jacob)
177. So… um… what’s the, er, date? You know, the due date for the little monster. (Jacob)
178. Why do you want me here? Seth could keep you warm, and he’s probably easier to be around, happy little punk. But when I walk in the door, you smile like I’m your favorite person in the world. (Jacob)
179. It feels… complete when you’re here, Jacob. Like all my family is together. I mean, I guess that’s what it’s like – I’ve never had a big family before now. It’s nice. But it’s just not whole unless you’re here. (Bella)
180. I’ll never be a part of your family, Bella. (Jacob)
181. I’m not a bloodsucker, so maybe I’m missing something, but Charlie seems like kind of a strange choice for her first meal. (Jacob)
182. Of course there were no survivors. Giving birth in the middle of a disease-infested swamp with a medicine man smearing sloth spit across your face to drive out the evil spirits was never the safest method. (Rosalie)
183. Silently, I lifted my doggy bowl off the floor. Then, with a quick, powerful flip of my wrist, I threw it into the back of Blondie’s head so hard that – with an earsplitting bang – it smashed flat before it ricocheted across the room and snapped the round top piece off the thick newel post at the foot of the stairs. (Jacob)
184. You. Got. Food. In. My. Hair. (Rosalie)
185. I’m not going to forget this, dog. (Rosalie)
186. S’not so hard to erase a blonde’s memory. Just blow in her ear. (Jacob)
187. Wouldn’t want our precious parasites taking unnecessary chances. (Leah)
188. I think you make a good Alpha. Not in the same way Sam does, but in your own way. You’re worth following, Jacob. (Leah)
189. Wow, this is going to sound bad. But, honestly, it will be easier to deal with your pain than face mine. (Leah)
190. I know it’s going to be bad for you, Jacob. I understand that – maybe better than you think. I don’t like her, but… she’s your Sam. She’s everything you want and everything you can’t have. (Leah)
191. I wasn’t born a compassionless shrew. I used to be sort of nice, you know. (Leah)
192. What’s wrong with going out and falling in love like a normal person, Leah? Imprinting is just another way of getting your choices taken away from you. (Jacob)
193. I understand why your blond vampire is so cold – in the figurative sense. She’s focused. She’s got her eye on the prize, right? Because you always want the very most what you can never, ever have. (Leah)
194. I’d been planning to take off and get some Z’s, but the chance to ruin Rosalie’s morning seemed too good to pass up. (Jacob)
195. Ew. Someone put the dog out. (Rosalie)
196. I have killed a hundred times more often than you have, you disgusting beast. Don’t forget that. (Rosalie)
197. Someday, Beauty Queen, you’re going to get tired of just threatening me. I’m really looking forward to that. (Jacob)
198. It… the baby likes the sound of your voice. (Edward)
199. As he stared at them, his face was not frightened or angry or burning or any of the other expressions he’d worn since their return. He was marveling with her. (Jacob)
200. You have the most beautiful voice in the universe. Who wouldn’t love it? (Bella)
201. In that moment, I knew that I was alone. All alone. I wanted to kick myself when I realized how much I’d been counting on that loathsome vampire. How stupid – as if you could ever trust a leech! Of course he would betray me in the end. (Jacob)
202. Nice girl who knew cars. Wow. I stared at her face harder, wishing I knew how to make it work. C’mon, Jake – imprint already. (Jacob)
203. I stared at Edward, feeling sort of like my eyes might pop out of their sockets. Underneath that disbelief, I could see right away that this was the critical factor. This was what had changed Edward – that the monster had convinced him of this love. He couldn’t hate what loved Bella. It was probably why he couldn’t hate me, either. There was a big difference, though. I wasn’t killing her. (Jacob)
204. I want your permission to deviate from what we agreed to in our treaty with Ephraim. I want you to grant us an exception. I want your permission to save her life. You know I’ll do it anyway, but I don’t want to break faith with you if there is any way to avoid it. We never intended to go back on our word, and we don’t do it lightly now. I want your understanding, Jacob, because you know exactly why we do this. I want the alliance between our families to survive when this is over. (Edward)
205. Crazy how easy it was, walking through the dark with a vampire right beside me. It didn’t feel unsafe, or even uncomfortable, really. It felt like walking next to anybody. Well, anybody who smelled bad. (Jacob)
206. Rose’ll catch me if I trip over my feet. Which could happen pretty easily, since I can’t see them. (Bella)
207. You stay with me now, Bella! Do you hear me? Stay! You’re not leaving me! Keep your heart beating! (Jacob)
208. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men… But there was nothing there, just me, just him. Working over a corpse. Because that’s all that was left of the girl we both loved. This broken, bled-out, mangled corpse. We couldn’t put Bella together again. (Jacob)
209. Of course it would want blood. What else would you feed the kind of monster that would brutally mutilate its own mother? It might as well have been drinking Bella’s blood. Maybe itwas. (Jacob)
210. Why should I let him get away from what he’d done? Wouldn’t it be more fair – more satisfying – to let him live with nothing, nothing at all? (Jacob)
211. Everything inside me came undone as I stared at the tiny porcelain face of the half-vampire, half-human baby. All the lines that held me to my life were sliced apart in swift cuts, like clipping the strings to a bunch of balloons. Everything that made me who I was – my love for the dead girl upstairs, my love for my father, my loyalty to my new pack, the love for my other brothers, my hatred for my enemies, my home, my name, my self – disconnected from me in that second – snip, snip, snip – and floated up into space. I was not left drifting. A new string held me where I was. (Jacob)
212. The gravity of the earth no longer tied me to the place where I stood. It was the baby girl in the blond vampire’s arms that held me here now. Renesmee. (Jacob)
213. Her tiny face was so absolutely perfect that it stunned me. She was even more beautiful than her father. Unbelievable. Impossible. (Bella)
214. I had done it. Against the odds, I had been strong enough to survive Renesmee, to hold on to her until she was strong enough to live without me. (Bella)
215. It was harder not to answer this voice, but I stayed paralyzed. I knew that the pain in his voice now was nothing compared to what it could be. Right now he only feared that I was suffering. (Bella)
216. She’s going to be dazzling. (Alice)
217. Edward didn’t answer, but Alice’s words gave me hope that maybe I didn’t resemble the charcoal briquette I felt like. It seemed as if I must be just a pile of charred bones by now. Every cell in my body had been razed to ash. (Bella)
218. Oh. Of course. Edward wouldn’t feel cold to me. We were the same temperature now. (Bella)
219. Jasper and Emmett were in the front to protect the others, as I had assumed. What I hadn’t grasped immediately was that I was the
danger. (Bella)
220. He smiled the kind of smile that would have stopped my heart if it were still beating. (Bella)
221. Don’t panic, love. You’re just a bit stronger than I am for the moment. (EDward)
222. I was stronger than Edward. I’d made him say ow. (Bella)
223. It was like he’d never kissed me – like this was our first kiss. And, in truth, he’d never kissed me this way before. It almost made me feel guilty. Surely I was in breach of the contract. I shouldn’t be allowed to have this, too. (Bella)
224. You’ve been holding out on me. (Bella)
225. Now it’s your turn to not break me. (Edward)
226. Let’s hunt, Bella. (Edward)
227. You promised I could be there the first time! What if you two run past something reflective? (Alice)
228. I stared at the beautiful woman with the terrifying eyes, looking for pieces of me. There was something there in the shape of her lips – if you looked past the dizzying beauty, it was true that her upper lip was slightly out of balance, a bit too full to match the lower. Finding this familiar little flaw made me feel a tiny bit better. Maybe the rest of me was in there, too. (Bella)
229. I was rather hoping that I’d be able to hear your mind, now that it is more similar to my own. And here I am, as frustrated as ever, wondering what could possibly be going on inside your head. (Edward)
230. I guess my brain will never work right. At least I’m pretty. (Bella)
231. Bella, you have never been merely pretty. (Edward)
232. We have all eternity, and you’re worried about the time it would take to walk to the back door? (Bella)
233. Right. I was the monster now. I had to keep away from scents that might trigger my wild side. From the people that I loved in particular. Even the ones I didn’t really know yet. (Bella)
234. And I was very conscious of my family behind me, watching silently. Mostly silently. Emmett had already chuckled under his breath once. One mistake, and he’d be rolling on the floor. Then the jokes about the world’s only clumsy vampire would start. (Bella)
235. That was quite graceful – even for a vampire. (Edward)
236. It was the first time anyone had ever applied the word graceful to me in my entire life… or, well, existence anyway. (Bella)
237. I’m not laughing at you, Bella. I’m laughing because I am in shock. And I am in shock because I am completely amazed. (Edward)
238. You shouldn’t be able to do any of this. You shouldn’t be so… so rational. You shouldn’t be able to stand here discussing this with me calmly and coolly. And, much more than any of that, you should not have been able to break off mid-hunt with the scent of human blood in the air. Even mature vampires have difficulty with that – we’re always careful of where we hunt so as not to put ourselves in the path of temptation. Bella, you’re behaving like you’re decades rather than days old. (Edward)
239. What wouldn’t I give to be able to see into your mind for just this one moment. (Edward)
240. Oops. I didn’t mean to tackle you like that. Are you okay? (Bella)
241. The only parents in the world who don’t need sleep, and our child already sleeps through the night. (Edward)
242. Jacob isn’t suffering. Though I might be willing to change his condition. (Edward)
243. I gotta say it, Bells. You’re a freak show. (Jacob)
244. Wath yourself, mongrel. (Edward)
245. Maybe I’m hoping she’ll get irritated and rip your head off. (Edward)
246. Huh. I can see what everyone’s been going on about. You stink, Jacob. (Bella)
247. Jacob just kept grinning. This made me feel hopeful that things were going to be right between us, the way they hadn’t been for so long now. Maybe now I could truly be his friend, since I disgusted him enough physically that he couldn’t love me the same way as before. Maybe that was all I needed. (Bella)
248. We’ll take care of you, Bella. Don’t worry, we’ll be ready. None of us would risk Renesmee. I think you’ll be surprised at how entirely she’s already wrapped us all around her little fingers. She’ll be perfectly safe, no matter what. (Edward)
249. Did ya get in a couple of good swipes? (Emmett)
250. Just because I understand, it doesn’t mean I won’t throw you out, Jacob. Bella’s doing extraordinarily well. Don’t ruin the moment for her. (Edward)
251. I’ll help him toss you, dog. I owe you a good kick in the gut. (Rosalie)
252. Edward, I don’t want to hurt you, so please let go of me. (Bella)
253. You stupid mutt! How could you! My baby! (Bella)
254. I’ve held her all of one time, and already you think you have some moronic wolfy claim on her? She’s mine. (Bella)
255. How dare you imprint on my baby? Have you lost your mind? (Bella)
256. You said we belonged in each other’s lives, right? That we were family. You said that was how you and I were supposed to be. So… now we are. It’s what you want. (Jacob)
257. You think you’ll be part of my family as my son-in-law! (Bella)
258. Stop her, Edward. She’ll be unhappy if she hurts him. (Esme)
259. She hasn’t gone for his throat even once. (Carlisle)
260. Run away while you still can. (Bella)
261. You nicknamed my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster? (Bella)
262. Edward was still apologizing, and I didn’t think that was either fair or appropriate. After all, Edward hadn’t tried to rip Jacob’s head off – Jacob, who wouldn’t even phase to protect himself – and then accidentally broken Seth’s shoulder and collarbone when he jumped in between. Edward hadn’t almost killed his best friend. (Bella)
263. Bella, love, no one is judging you. You’re doing so well. (Edward)
264. I tried to erase the anger from my system entirely, but it was hard, knowing that Jacob was outside with Renesmee right now. Keeping her safe from me, the crazed newborn. (Bella)
265. I mean, at least you didn’t bite me or anything. That would’ve sucked. (Seth)
266. Lucky thing Ness – Renesmee’s not venomous. ‘Cause she bites Jake all the time. (Seth)
267. I wish treating humans were this instantaneously gratifying. (Carlisle)
268. Jacob, I thought, despite myself. Though that yearning was both vanished and defined – and I was vastly relieved that it was – he was still my friend. Someone who knew the real me and accepted her. Even has a monster. (Bella)
269. Thirstiness was way down the list right now. Besides, Renesmee smelled good in a very non-food way. (Bella)
270. Renesmee smiled her brilliant smile, and her memory eyes did not leave Jacob through all the following mess. I tasted a new flavor to the memory – not exactly protective, more possessive – as she watched Jacob. I got the distinct impression that she was glad Seth had put himself in front of my spring. She didn’t want Jacob hurt. He was hers. (Bella)
271. It’s just because he tastes better than the rest of us. (Edward)
272. For a tiny space, I was disappointed. What? No magic visions, no formidable offensive abilities like, oh, shooting lightning bolts from my eyes or something? Nothing helpful or cool at all? (Bella)
273. I know – I’ll play you for it. Rock, paper, scissors. (Alice)
274. She has never been set down in her entire life. She’s going to be the most spoiled half-vampire in existence. (Alice)
275. I wasn’t afraid of hitting a tree; the tree would be the only one getting hurt in that scenario. (Bella)
276. You’re giving me a house for my birthday? (Bella)
277. Edward had always thought that he belonged to the world of horror stories. Of course, I’d known that he was dead wrong. It was obvious that he belonged here. In a fairy tale. And now I was in the story with him. (Bella)
278. I sighed. My baby, the sea serpent. Maybe there was no help for it. Well, I wasn’t giving in. (Bella)
279. We’re going to tell Alice that I ran right to the clothes. We’re going to tell her I spent hours in there playing dress-up. We’re going to lie. (Bella)
280. He had the most beautiful, perfect body in the world and I had him all to myself, and it didn’t feel like I was every going to find a point where I would think, Now I’ve had enough for one day. I was always going to want more. And the day was never going to end. So, in such a situation, how did we ever stop? It didn’t bother me at all that I had no answer. (Bella)
281. So it’s still standing? I would’ve thought you two had knocked it to rubble by now. What were you doing last night? Discussing the national debt? (Emmett)
282. The more time he spends here, the less chance there is that we’ll ever get the smell out. (Rosalie)
283. I’m sure you’ll ace your classes… apparently there’s nothing interesting for you to do at night besides study. (Emmett)
284. Look at you! You need me to show you how to use your closet. (Alice)
285. That’s just a theory, mongrel. You think we should test it out on Charlie? Did you consider the physical pain you’re putting Bella through, even if she can resist? Or the emotional pain if she doesn’t? I suppose what happens to Bella no longer concerns you! (Edward)
286. He’s brave. Brave as you are. Didn’t pass out or throw up or anything. I gotta say, I was impressed. You should’ve seen his face when I started taking my clothes off, though. Priceless. (Jacob)
287. You have thirty seconds to tell me every single word before I give Renesmee to Rosalie and rip your miserable head off. Seth won’t be able to stop me this time. (Bella)
288. Jeez, Bells. You didn’t used to be so melodramatic. Is that a vampire thing? (Jacob)
289. After a few minutes, he asked, real quietly, if you turned into an animal, too. And I said, ‘She wishes she was that cool!’ (Jacob)
290. Bella, things are different with us now, but you’ll always be my best friend, and I’ll always love you. But I’ll love you the right way now. There’s finally a balance. We both have people we can’t live without. (Jacob)
291. If I don’t kill Charlie tonight, I’ll consider forgiving you for this. (Bella)
292. I’m actually holding her so that my hands aren’t free to kill you, Jacob. (Bella)
293. No, I don’t care if you bite Jacob. That’s fine. (Edward)
294. As far as Charlie knows, you’re the most repulsive monster of us all. (Edward)
295. You gonna make me a grandpa so young? (Charlie)
296. ‘Bout time somebody scored around here. (Emmett)
297. Sturdy if good. She’ll need to be tough, surrounded by all this craziness. Prettiest baby I ever saw, including you, kid. Sorry, but it’s true. (Charlie)
298. I’m not even sure she’s really a vampire, let alone a newborn. She’s too tame. (Emmett)
299. It’s a little dense, don’t you think, to antagonize the strongest vampire in the house? (Edward)
300. Emmett, how do you feel about a little bet? (Bella)
301. You. Me. Arm-wrestling. Dining room table. Now. (Bella)
302. You gonna back down so easy, little sister? Not much wild about you, is there? I bet that cottage doesn’t have a scratch. Did Edward tell you how many houses Rose and I smashed? (Emmett)
303. Tell me you didn’t let go a bit on your first run, dog. (Edward)
304. Freaky Bella. (Jacob)
305. What an amazing creature she is. (Edward)
306. He was both dazzling and dazzled. (Bella)
307. I’m not my pack’s nanny. (Jacob)
308. Jacob was more a child than Renesmee sometimes. (Bella)
309. When I returned, I would take Jacob’s side. He should come with us. He had as big a stake in this as any of us – his entire life was at stake, just like mine. (Bella)
310. The Amazon offered a change from our normal quarry. Jaguars and panthers, for example. Emmett had a whim to wrestle with an anaconda. (Bella)
311. My first illogical thought was that Alice was playing some joke on us. Because there was no way that Alice could have dropped the vase by accident. I could have darted across the room to catch the vase in plenty of time myself, if I hadn’t assumed she would get it. And how would it fall through her fingers in the first place? Her perfectly sure fingers… I had never seen a vampire drop anything by accident.
Ever. (Bella)
312. I felt not like stone but ice. For the first time since I’d been reborn a vampire, I felt cold. (Bella)
313. After all, the Cullens were in league with werewolves. From Irina’s point of view, maybe this meant nothing was beyond us… (Bella)
314. Was this the limit, then? I’d had more happiness than most people ever experienced. Was there some natural law that demanded equal shares of happiness and misery in the world? Was my joy overthrowing the balance? (Bella)
315. It’s over. We’ve all been sentenced to die. (Bella)
316. Emmett cussed loud enough that Jacob lurched to his feet with a growl. In the yard, his growl was echoed by his pack. My family was already a blur of action. (Bella)
317. Don’t get your family slaughtered for pride. (Carlisle)
318. I’m not going down without a fight. (Emmett)
319. We would fight, they would fight, and we would all die. (Bella)
320. I was the only person in the world who could lie to Edward. Was that what Alice wanted from me? Her last request? (Bella)
321. The whole imprinted-werewolf-gives-the-object-of-his-imprinting-whatever-she-wants thing was getting old pretty fast. (Bella)
322. Did vampires ever do anything absentmindedly? (Bella)
323. Edward, will you teach me how to fight? (Bella)
324. He froze, and then his eyes swept over me with a deep significance, like he was looking at me for the first or last time. (Bella)
325. Would you leave me unable to defend myself? (Bella)
326. I will try to teach you what I can, but please don’t make me think about you sacrificing yourself as a diversion… (Edward)
327. I have to learn everything. As much as you can possibly cram into my head in the next month. (Bella)
328. For Alice. It’s the only thanks I can give her now for the last fifty years. (Edward)
329. Edward, no matter how many friends you gather, we can’t help you win. We can only die with you. (Tanya)
330. A very talented family. A mind reader for a father, a shield for a mother, and then whatever magic this extraordinary child has bewitched us with. (Eleazar)
331. Ironic. Aro sent me all over the world searching for such anomalies, and you simply stumble across it by accident and don’t even realize what you have. (Eleazar)
332. Anyone who tries to touch me drops like a human that’s been Tasered. It only downs him for a second, but that’s long enough. (Kate)
334. Abstaining from human blood makes us more civilized – lets us form true bonds of love. (Eleazar)
335. From what I saw of his thoughts last spring, Aro’s never wanted anything more than he wants Alice. (Edward)
336. If Aro wanted me to do something – anything – all he had to do was threaten Edward and I would comply. And vice versa. (Bella)
337. Of course, Jacob got more surly with each new addition. He kept his distance when he could, and when he couldn’t he grumbled to Renesmee that someone was going to have to provide an index if anyone expected him to keep all the new bloodsuckers’ names straight. (Bella)
338. Looking at you that way, analyzing you as a target. Seeing all the ways I can kill you… It just makes it too real for me. (Edward)
339. Emmett was more than willing to help, though his teaching felt to me a lot like revenge for all the lost arm-wrestling matches. If I could still bruise, I would have been purple from head to toe. (Bella)
340. Now my hands were free, and if Kate wanted to keep her hands attached to her wrists, she’d better keep her distance. (Bella)
341. They say you can put a vampire flat on his back. (Garrett)
342. Well, well, Carlisle. You have been naughty, haven’t you? (Stefan)
343. There was no way Jacob would voluntarily miss an afternoon with Renesmee sans bloodsuckers. (Bella)
344. Edward had gotten around to revealing my after car; as he’d suspected, I had not been capable of showing the appropriate enthusiasm. Sure, it was pretty and fast, but I liked to run. (Bella)
345. Say what you want, I still think Dracula One and Dracula Two are creep-tacular. (Jacob)
346. She looks like… Well, she looks like a freaking supermodel, that’s what she looks like. Rocking body, pale as a sheet, dark brown hair almost to her waist, needs a good night’s sleep – any of this sound familiar? (Max)
347. I’m not really a fan of drugs, and neither is my husband. Just say no and all that. (Bella)
348. So this man knew Jasper, not Alice. Knew him, and seemed afraid of him, too. (Bella)
349. The only reason Renesmee would need a forger was if she was running. And the only reason Renesmee would be running was if we had lost. (Bella)
350. I heard the music before I was out of the car. Edward hadn’t touched his piano since the night Alice left. Now, as I shut the car door, I heard the song morph through a bridge and change into my lullaby. Edward was welcoming me home. (Bella)
351. You could always count on werewolves to be buzzed about a coming fight, no matter how suicidal. (Bella)
352. I gave you life. You’re wasting it. (Amun)
353. No matter the outcome, word will spread. It’s time our world saw the Volturi for what they’ve become. They’ll never fall if everyone believes this nonsense about them protecting our way of life. (Stefan)
354. Apparently, I’m a hot commodity. It appears I have to win the right to be free. (Benjamin)
355. We stand with Carlisle. And we fight with him. (Tanya)
356. The packs will fight with the Cullens. We’re not afraid of vampires. (Jacob)
357. Stupid leeches. Think they’re so superior. (Jacob)
358. They’ll be shocked when the infants save their superior lives, won’t they? (Edward)
359. What if your trust in me is the reason that we fail? (Bella)
360. For one half second, I wondered what it would feel like to put my hand in the fire. What it would feel like when I burned… (Bella)
370. Edward and I had not had a last grand scene of farewell, nor did I plan one. To speak the word was to make it final. It would be the same as typing the words The End on the last page of a manuscript. So we did not say our goodbyes, and we stayed very close to each other, always touching. Whatever end found us, it would not find us separated. (Bella)
371. If any of the wolves stood with us, the Volturi would be sure to search out the rest. They had gambled their entire species on this stand. And we were going to lose. (Bella)
372. Truly, Carlisle, nothing would please me more than to preserve your life today. (Aro)
373. The shield blew out from me in a bubble of sheer energy, a mushroom cloud of liquid steel. It pulsed like a living thing – I could feel it, from the apex to the edges. (Bella)
374. I never dreamed of the existence of such a thing in all my centuries. What an addition to our histories. (Aro)
375. Interesting company you keep. (Demitri)
376. You look good. Immortality suits you. (Felix)
377. They’re committed to protecting human life, Aro. That makes them able to coexist with us, but hardly with you. Unless you’re rethinking your lifestyle. (Edward)
378. So much to discuss. So much to decide. If you and your furry protector will excuse me, my dear Cullens, I must confer with my brothers. (Aro)
379. The Children of the Moon have been our bitter enemies from the dawn of time. We have hunted them to near extinction in Europe and Asia. Yet Carlisle encourages a familiar relationship with this enormous infestation – no doubt in an attempt to overthrow us. The better to protect his warped lifestyle. (Caius)
380. You breed mutants here. (Caius)
381. So the Cullens sided with the shape-shifters against our own kind – against the friend of a friend, even. (Casius)
382. It was one thing to know that death was coming with fierce, unstoppable speed; it was another thing to watch it happen. (Bella)
383. I have witnessed the bonds within this family – I say family and not coven. These strange golden-eyed ones deny their very natures. But in return have they found something worth even more, perhaps, than mere gratification of desire? (Garrett)
384. I came to witness. I stay to fight. (Garrett)
385. Edward’s and Jacob’s faces were almost identical masks of horror, despite the fact that one of them was an animal. (Bella)
386. I love you, too, Jake. You’ll always be my best man. (Bella)
387. Goodbye, Jacob, my brother… my son. (Edward)
388. Edward took my hand. He knew that he was included. When I said my fate, there was no question that I meant the two of us. We were just halves of the whole. (Bella)
389. If we live through this, I’ll follow you anywhere, woman. (Garrett)
390. His face glowed with an expression of triumph that I didn’t understand – it was the expression an angel of destruction might wear while the world burned. Beautiful and terrifying. (Bella)
391. Aro, would you ask Jane to stop attacking my wife? (Edward)
392. I get to stay with you? (Renesmee)
393. Happiness expanded like an explosion inside me – so extreme, so violent that I wasn’t sure I’d survive it. (Bella)
394. I couldn’t speak anymore. I lifted my head and kissed him with a passion that might possibly set the forest on fire. I wouldn’t have noticed. (Bella)
395. They’ve been seriously shaken; their confidence is shattered. But, yet, I’m sure they’ll recover from the blow someday. And then… I imagine they’ll try to pick us off separately. (Edward)
396. Try to find Alistair and tell him what happened. I’d hate to think of him hiding under a rock for the next decade. (Carlisle)
397. Hard to feel confident when you’re surrounded by horse-sized wolves. (Emmett)
398. So there are real werewolves? With the full moon and silver bullets and all that? (Bella)
399. Real. Does that make me imaginary? (Jacob)
400. This was about my acting skills? (Bella)
401. I missed you, too, Bella. So forgive me, and try to be satisfied with being the superhero of the day. (Alice)
402. I guess things are going to be kind of boring now, aren’t they? (Jacob)
403. You are fairly ideal in every way. (Bella)
404. But most significant in this tidal wave of happiness was the surest fact of all: I was with Edward. Forever. (Bella)
405. A night for celebrations. (Edward)
406. Now you know. No one’s ever loved anyone as much as I love you. (Bella)
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