In the same second, Jacob was running across the road straight for the monster.

"Ah – he's going for a fight instead," Emmett grinned.

"No," Esme sighed.

"But..." Edward began, looking worried.

"Don't worry, if Bella was endanger from any of the other wolves, I doubt that he would have attacked like that," Carlisle reasoned.

Edward looked like he wanted to believe his father, but at the same time he was obviously still nervous.

"Jacob!" I screamed.

Mid-stride, a long tremor shivered down Jacob's spine. He leaped forward, diving headfirst into the empty air.

With another sharp tearing sound, Jacob exploded, too. He burst out of his skin – shreds of black and white cloth blasted up into the air. It happened so quickly that if I'd blinked, I'd have missed the entire transformation. One second it was Jacob diving into the air, and then it was the gigantic, russet brown wolf – so enormous that I couldn't make sense of its mass somehow fitting inside Jacob – charging the crouched silver beast.

"He seems to be quite in control of himself," Edward muttered, looking relieved by his display of control. "I wouldn't have thought it was possible for them to change so easily when they were that young."

"I thought it was harder not to change when they were young," Jasper mused.

"It is...but he has to fight his nature a lot to keep himself in control when he's talking to Bella," Carlisle said. "I imagine that will make him mature faster than the others."

Jacob met the other werewolf's attack head-on. Their angry snarls echoed like thunder off the trees.

The black and white scraps – the remains of Jacob's clothes – fluttered to the ground where he'd disappeared.

"Jacob!" I screamed again, staggering forward.

"Stay where you are, Bella," Sam ordered. It was hard to hear him over the roar of the fighting wolves. They were snapping and tearing at each other, their sharp teeth flashing toward each other's throats. The Jacob-wolf seemed to have the upper hand – he was visibly bigger than the other wolf, and it looked like he was stronger, too.

"Hmm...I wonder if it's the way newborns are for us, or if he's just naturally stronger," Carlisle mused.

"I think it's the latter. I don't know why being new wound make them stronger...I would think that they would get stronger the longer they are wolves actually," Edward said.

He rammed his shoulder against the gray wolf again and again, knocking him back toward the trees.

"Take her to Emily's," Sam shouted toward the other boys, who were watching the conflict with rapt expressions. Jacob had successfully shoved the gray wolf off the road, and they were disappearing into the forest, though the sound of their snarls was still loud. Sam ran after them, kicking off his shoes on the way. As he darted into the trees, he was quivering from head to toe.

The growling and snapping was fading into the distance. Suddenly, the sound cut off and it was very quiet on the road.

One of the boys started laughing.