I sneak away from our grand house, my heels making no noise on the crunchy carpet of leaves. No one saw me go. Or so I think.
Emmett jumps in front of me, a silly boyish grin on his face. "Scared you, didn't I?" he asks. I have to crack a smile. We're vampires. About as scary as it gets.
"Why'd you leave? Bella doesn't smell that bad," he remarks as we speed toward the forest. I roll my eyes. "The werewolves were kind of bothering me."
"Ah. Yeah, not a great move on Bella's part," Emmett agrees.
"What do you mean?" I turn to him, trusting myself to stay calm whatever his reply is.
"Well, she invited them. Remember? Her and the big kid are close. Edward doesn't like it," Emmett says absentmindedly.
"I should have known," I growl. Emmett chuckles.
"Rose, lighten up. And, where exactly are we…going?" he says, looking around us for the first time.
"I don't know. Just…away. I don't want to watch Bella make goo-goo eyes at Edward when he fights those dogs."
Emmett nods and we run in silence, the wind whistling past us. Finally, I stop and grab his arm. Something's wrong.
"I smell a different scent. It's one of us, but no one I've ever…seen…before," I say, walking in one direction and switching paths a few seconds later.
"So it's not Victoria…and Laurent is dead. Could this rogue vampire be from Seattle? In the news there was some crap about serial killers on the loose. Jasper told me that the others think they're newborn vampires, ravaging the city. I bet it's one of them."
"Close to our house," I whisper. "Close to Bella. Does Edward know?"
"I thought you didn't care about Bella," Emmett said, crossing his muscly arms.
"I don't, not really. I do care about Edward, though. If Bella was killed, he would feel terrible for not protecting her. I don't want him to go back to the Volturi."
"You're right," Emmett agrees. "But I think Bella's funny."
"Okay, Emmett, now's not the time to talk about Bella. Edward's going to have a fit if he finds out that the newborn got close to the house. I think we should follow the scent and take care of it ourselves," I say, staring into the darkness of the trees.
Emmett smiles. "That's the spirit, Rose. We can finish off the newborn and nobody needs to know."
We're already moving again by the time our conversation is done. I knew Emmett would agree to hunting down the newborn because he's always itching for a fight. I mean, it's two against one. Both of us are strong. There's no way this newborn can beat us.
Emmett and I race each other, pausing to catch the scent of the vampire every few seconds. Soon the sky begins to darken, and the scent is stronger. Emmett isn't joking or laughing anymore, serious about what we're doing. I admire him for that.
"Dammit, Rose, I forgot. We were supposed to meet Edward, Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, Esme, and the werewolves at the clearing ten miles north of the Hoh forest ranger station."
"We have to keep going. We're so close. Everyone will understand. Edward will understand."
Emmett nods. "Yeah, we've probably already missed most of it. Anyway, it's not long before we catch that newborn. It's traveling so slow, we're probably already near it." He laughs sinisterly.
The scent of the newborn gets thicker, until we're so consumed by it that I can't even think straight. Emmett leads me off the trail and we walk at a human pace. The newborn could be anywhere.
At a certain point, I turn to Emmett. "I smell more of us now. Not just one. In fact…" A few paces forward, and I'm standing in the clearing ten miles north of the Hoh forest ranger station. Five pairs of vampire eyes, six pairs of werewolf eyes, and one pair of human eyes lock on mine.
"Rosalie! Emmett! Decided to join us?" Carlisle's warm voice invades my mind. I'm losing the scent. Emmett takes my hand and bends down to speak rapidly and quietly to me. However, he cannot stop Edward from hearing his thoughts.
As I stare at Edward's cold, granite face, he shakes his head infinitesimally. No hunting newborns? Well, no problem. After all, it's his girlfriend we're protecting. But I know as soon as I think these words that I will not give up until the hunt is over.
As Emmett and I walk casually toward the queue of vampires, the werewolves lean toward us, wrinkling their noses in disgust. I'm confused by their actions. The smell of our kind is usually repugnant to them.
"What is it?" Alice asks the werewolves loftily as I take my place beside my family. She has noticed the oddity too.
"I don't know. The stench is coming from over there," Edward translates the wolves' talk. We immediately look to the wolf who must have spoken—one of the smaller ones points its filthy tail to the underbrush fifteen yards away from where Emmett and I entered the clearing. Immediately, the biggest wolf gallops over to see what is causing the pack's discomfort.
"Vampire," I hear Edward spit before the wolf lunges into the underbrush. Suddenly, it all fits into place. The smell of the newborn was worse to the werewolves than the smell of us older vampires. And, while Emmett and I were tracking the newborn, it was tracking Bella.
The rest of the werewolf pack hurries forward to help, along with Carlisle, Esme, Alice, and Jasper. Edward stays back, clutching Bella. It was definitely a stupid idea to bring a human to a strategic meeting consisting entirely of werewolves and vampires.
I see the werewolves converge on the newborn and back away, whimpering. What's happening? Carlisle and Esme back away just a second before Alice and Jasper fall to the ground. I hear a thud beside me and know Emmett is out too. I'm the only one left standing, unaffected.
I crouch next to Emmett and watch as the newborn rises to its feet, turning around to face me. My body stiffens—I utter a small sound of disbelief. No. He's dead. After he'd left me abandoned in the street, his lovely bride Rosalie all torn up, I'd made sure he would never speak a single word ever again. And now, after all I've been through, my worst nightmare has come true. Royce King is a vampire.
Wait…that can't be right. I thought I'd killed Royce back when I was eighteen. So, he couldn't be a newborn if he was bitten on the verge of death that fateful night. I don't understand. Just then, I catch a sudden movement out of the corner of my eye. Edward is speeding toward the trees with Bella on his back, moving swiftly. I can't help but scream at him in my head for leaving me here, basically alone, with this lunatic.
"Lovely Rose," Royce says, striding toward me and stopping five feet away. "I made a mistake. Let us be together now. Forever." He holds his granite hand out to me.
I step back. "Never. Emmett is mine. I am his."
"Rose, I didn't come here looking for the silly human. I came to Forks looking for you."
"Why were you tracking Bella, then? Why weren't you tracking me?"
"Dearest Rose, I was actually tracking your family. I thought you'd be with them, you see. Obviously not." Royce casts a disgusted look at Emmett, still on the ground.
"How are you…alive?" I ask. Being a vampire isn't technically being alive, though. I'd much rather be a human…
"Ah, we've come to that. Let me tell you a secret, Rosalie." Royce inches closer to me, but I take a few steps back in response. We are now at the middle of the clearing. I was better off closer to Emmett and the others.
"The secret, Rose, has to do with the person you killed years and years ago in that prison cell. Well, let me tell you…that person wasn't me."
I let it all sink in. So I'd terrified and murdered an innocent human? Someone Royce had tricked into taking his place? I clutch my stone arm. The agony…I have tried so hard not to be a monster. Royce laughs, a horrifying, throaty sound.
Suddenly, I lash out. He jumps back, surprised, and I rip his hair back so that his neck is exposed.
"Now that you've finished your storytelling, I think I have something I need to do," I hiss. He stares at me with his ruby red eyes, mouth curving down.
"Now, Rose, you wouldn't hurt me. We're meant for each other!"
"You wish." I rip Royce's head back to his shoulders and growl, "Release them. Whatever you did to them…make it stop." Royce, hoping I will spare his life, lifts his curse on Emmett, Alice, Jasper, Esme, Carlisle, and the werewolf pack. I hear them shake themselves and slowly stand up, disoriented.
"Fetch!" I call, pushing Royce toward the wolves. They immediately come to their senses and grab Royce. Alice looks at me questioningly. No wonder she couldn't see what was going to happen at the meeting. It had to do with the wolves…
As the werewolves drag a screaming Royce into the woods, Emmett runs to me and squeezes my hand, so hard he surely would have broken my fingers if I were mortal. I gaze at him, almost happy that he wasn't conscious to see Royce come to life.
I quickly explain everything to my family. Edward will know what happened when I see him again—he'll be rummaging through my mind, pilfering every detail he can get.
Alice nods, Jasper is quiet, Carlisle thinks, Emmett growls, and Esme pats my shoulder. The werewolves have disappeared. We didn't get much talk of strategy in tonight, but dawn is breaking.
And I, Rosalie Hale, am freed of my worst nightmare.