Far from the restless chaos at the lonely bus stop, the world here breathed slower, thick with the scent of pine resin and damp earth, the mountain's ancient pulse steady beneath a sky veiled in mist.
At the edge of a jagged cliff, where craggy rocks fell away into shadowed forest, a tall figure stood statuesque against the biting wind.
Emmett Cullen.
His broad frame was cloaked in dark fabric that whipped and snapped as the gusts tugged at it. His skin was dark, warm-toned like aged mahogany, glowing faintly in the moonlight.
But it was his eyes, golden and piercing, aglow with an unearthly fire, that marked him as something beyond mortal.
Like a god surveying his domain, he gazed out over the vast sea of trees that stretched endlessly below, their dark canopy pulsing with unseen life.
The silence was almost holy.
Until a sudden rustle sliced through the stillness, a sharp crack of breaking branches like a gunshot in the quiet night. Emmett's head snapped back toward the sound; muscles coiled like a panther.
From the shadows emerged a blur, moving fast, barely a wisp against the night air.
Before it hit the ground, Emmett's long arm shot out, snatching the figure up with effortless strength. The movement was fluid, almost graceful, a predator's reflex, honed through years of power and control.
He cradled the limp form against his chest.
In his arms was Elise De'Voe, short, fragile, a stark contrast to his towering presence. Her mocha brown skin seemed almost to drink in the pale moonlight, giving her an ethereal glow.
Long, wavy black hair spilled like dark silk over her shoulders, tangled and damp from the chase.
Her eyes, deep and unyielding black pools, fluttered open and shut as she trembled in his grasp, overwhelmed and exhausted.
"Rosalie," Emmett's voice rumbled low, dark with frustration and concern. "What did you do this time?"
From the shadows behind him stepped Rosalie, tall and statuesque, her golden hair catching the moon's glow like molten metal.
Towering at six-foot-one, she moved with an effortless grace, dressed casually in well-fitted jeans and a crisp blouse that contrasted sharply with the wildness of the forest around them.
Even under the moon's pale light, she radiated a cold, almost unnatural beauty, her skin fair and flawless as if untouched by the earth's grime or hardship.
Her gaze was sharp, calculating, a predator's smirk playing at the corner of her lips as she crossed her arms.
"Me? Nothing," she replied, voice sharp as a blade. "Ask her what went wrong," she said, nodding toward Elise.
Emmett rocked the young woman gently, like a father soothing a frightened child, but the fury in his golden eyes burned hot.
His love for Rosalie was tempered with wariness, she was reckless, prone to reckless action with little thought for consequences.
"Elise," Emmett murmured, brushing a trembling hand down the girl's cheek, "tell me what happened."
The fragile girl's voice was barely a whisper, cracked with fear and shame.
"I couldn't help it… I tried to stop… but he smelled like fire, like temptation. Like something I've never known. The hunger, it was unbearable."
Emmett's eyes narrowed, a storm gathering beneath his calm exterior.
"You almost killed a human?"
The words were sharp, rolling across the cliffside with a thunderous weight.
Elise nodded, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't want to… I swear. I fought it. But he was perfect. Like a dream I couldn't escape."
Rosalie's gaze hardened, her eyes narrowing into slits as she stepped closer to Emmett.
"Why didn't you bring her home after? Why let this happen out here?"
Emmett's jaw clenched. "I asked her to call it off. To come back. You know how dangerous this place is for them."
Rosalie scoffed, a laugh bitter and cold.
"First, what good would that have done? She would've screamed the entire way back until she saw you, and that's the last thing we need."
"And second," she added, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper, "she's not my responsibility. Not my mate, not my burden. I'm not her keeper."
Emmett's eyes darkened. "You've no right to cast her off like that."
Rosalie's smile vanished, replaced by icy steel. "Right? Right is survival. Discipline. Something you should learn."
She jabbed a manicured finger into his chest, her voice venomous.
"I was seconds from losing control myself. I kept us safe. You should be thanking me."
Before Emmett could respond, a voice drifted from the trees like a cool breeze.
"You two need to work on your volume," came the smooth, amused tone. "I heard everything from halfway across the forest."
From the shadows stepped a man walked out, their cousin, tall and lithe, his tousled dark hair as wild as the woods.
Edward Cullen.
His eyes glowed with the same golden fire, cool and calculating beneath porcelain skin that gleamed softly in moonlight.
Edward's gaze flicked to Elise, nodding in approval. "I'm impressed. Most would've snapped long before that. Good job, El."
Elise gave a faint, grateful smile but remained pressed close to Emmett.
"Edward," Rosalie snapped, her tone sharp as a whip. "You're supposed to be the calm one, but she almost killed a human."
Edward shrugged, a lazy smirk curling his lips. "I know. And honestly? I probably would've done the same. No offense, Elise."
"None taken," Elise murmured softly.
Edward glanced back toward the forest, eyes thoughtful.
"Was it La Tua Cantante?"
The question made Rosalie's brow furrow in confusion.
"No, I don't think so," she answered slowly. "Even I felt it. He was something else… more tempting."
"It was new," Elise added quietly. "Something different. If he'd been that, I'd have lost it completely."
Emmett's expression darkened with the weight of experience.
"You're still adjusting. The hunger rewires you, turns your instincts upside down. You have to learn control."
The others murmured in agreement, a heavy silence settling over the group.
Edward's voice cut through the quiet, reminding them sharply, "As long as we don't kill or turn any humans, the treaty holds. No reason to worry about other covens, for now."
Rosalie stepped forward, eyes hard and commanding.
"We should head back. Carlisle will want to know what happened."
With that, Edward melted back into the forest like a shadow, silent and unseen.
Before following, Rosalie paused and turned to the others.
"There's a group of bobcats just beyond that ridge. Go feed."
Her gaze sharpened, frost lacing her tone.
"But hear me clearly—"
She turned, eyes blazing like winter steel.
"If any of you risk exposing us to humans again, I'll kill you myself."
Her words hung heavy in the cold night air.
Elise whispered a soft "Thank you, Rosalie," but the woman was already gone, swallowed by the black woods.
Elise looked up at Emmett, her face a portrait of anguish and doubt.
"I tried, Emmett. I really tried. But it was stronger than me."
Emmett brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, a rare tenderness softening his features.
"I know. You don't have to say more."
Together, the siblings slipped into the embrace of the trees, the hunt unfinished, the night still young, and the forest around them pulsed with secrets and shadows, ancient and eternal.