The afternoon sun in Port Angeles was muted behind thick clouds, but it cast just enough gray-gold light over the small coastal town to make the storefronts look charming and alive. Bella walked ahead with Jessica and Angela, who were buzzing with excitement as they browsed window displays for prom dresses.
Bella, however, wasn't paying attention. Her thoughts kept returning to Edward—the van crash, the impossible way he moved, and the way he'd denied it all like she was imagining things. She didn't believe him, not really. Something strange was happening. And she was determined to figure it out.
"Earth to Bella?" Jessica called. "You even looking at these dresses?"
Bella blinked. "Yeah. Sorry. Just thinking."
Angela gave her a knowing smile but didn't pry.
Eventually, they split up for a bit—Jessica pulled Angela into a shop to try on dresses, leaving Bella wandering alone. She stepped into a bookstore but found nothing of use there. Restless, she drifted into the fading light of the evening, not realizing she was walking deeper into a quieter part of town—until she noticed the footsteps behind her.
That's when the tension began to build...
In the deep woods east of Olympic National Park, three shadows moved through the trees with unnatural speed. Laurent walked with his usual grace, golden eyes scanning for scents. Victoria slunk beside him, fiery hair trailing behind like smoke.
But it was James who was focused, his eyes locked on a trail not even Laurent had noticed yet.
"The town smells... interesting," James said, his voice like gravel coated in honey. "New blood."
Laurent frowned. "We should be cautious. The Cullens have territory here."
James grinned. "Even better."
Victoria said nothing, but her smile mirrored his.
They were getting closer.
[Port Angeles — Nightfall…]
Bella realized too late that the streetlights had thinned, and she was no longer surrounded by families and couples. The bookstore was blocks behind her, and now the sidewalks were emptier... but not empty.
The group of men stepping into her path looked casual at first glance, but something in their posture set her nerves on fire.
"Hey, you lost, sweetheart?" one of them asked, grinning too widely.
She turned, heart pounding—but another pair of footsteps echoed behind her.
Panic threatened to rise—
And then, like lightning splitting a stormcloud, headlights sliced through the dusk. A silver Volvo screamed to a stop beside her.
"Get in," Edward Cullen growled, throwing the passenger door open.
Bella didn't think—she just obeyed. The moment the door slammed shut, the Volvo peeled away. Edward's jaw was locked tight, his eyes darker than she'd ever seen.
"I should go back," he muttered. "Rip their—"
"Edward," Bella said, her voice shaking. "Don't."
[Meanwhile…]
They sat under the arbor in near silence. The glow from the lamplight above cast a soft gold against Rosalie's pale skin. Aiden leaned back, one leg stretched out, eyes on the stars as if trying to remember the sky before things got complicated.
"You're quiet," Rosalie said.
"So are you," he replied.
Rosalie hesitated. She was probing—feeling out his reactions, testing the edges of his knowledge. "You saw what Edward did. That should have terrified you."
"It didn't," he said. "It confirmed something."
"What?"
"That there's more to all of you. And maybe I don't want to know all of it."
She tilted her head. "Most people can't help themselves. Curiosity is poison."
Aiden turned to her. "So is obsession."
A beat passed. Then something softened between them. The honesty of his words—the boundaries he didn't cross—pulled her in closer than any prying ever could. A flicker of vulnerability lit her expression, like something fragile buried beneath decades of cold.
"If I told you the truth," Rosalie said, her voice barely above a whisper, "you'd never see me the same way again."
"I already don't," Aiden replied. "That's the point."
He leaned a little closer, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear with surprising gentleness. She didn't flinch. For someone who once believed herself untouchable, she found his touch oddly grounding.
"Whatever you are," he murmured, "it didn't stop you from walking with me."
And for a second, she didn't feel like a predator. She felt like a woman.
[Far away in the woods…]
The wind was thick with scent as the three nomads crouched on a ridgeline overlooking Forks.
"They're here," James said, nostrils flaring. "The Cullens."
"Of course they are," Laurent said, frowning. "We've known that for days."
"Territory's just lines," Victoria muttered, her voice low and venomous. "And lines get crossed."
"They'll come for us," Laurent warned. "If we start something."
James smiled, his sharp teeth catching moonlight. "Then let's give them something worth chasing."
The game was beginning.