Prologue

The ocean far beneath me crashed violently against the cool cliff face upon that which I stood, thin frozen arms wrapped tight around my torso as though holding my seams from bursting. My skin, porcelain on a warmer day, seemed to glow a transparent alabaster, a labyrinth of veins below the surface pulsating in time with the rolling waves beneath me, my whole being ripped into life with a shiver borne upon an icy wind. I swayed, my weight easily thrown by the strong gusts that blew in from the horizon, catching myself as the rocky granules beneath my bare feet rolled, fueling my imbalance. I waited, lingered in a hope that his voice would come, ease through the grumble of the brewing storm to calm me, to preserve me, to save me.

Another fierce gust from the west and I knew my fate was sealed, and that it was no one but myself who had sealed it for me. I had to take the plunge, he had grown accustom to my game, knew that unless there was a legitimate threat that he could continue to walk the shadows of my memory in silence. But I need him far too much to walk away now.

Hot tears of resolution stung my wide brown orbs as I shrugged off my insulated jacket, the very garment I had once compare to a bio hazard suit in its protective bulkiness, exposing myself to the arctic chill that was so associated with La Push, the cotton of my sweatshirt barely nullifying its icy sting. I stole myself against fear as I approached the cliffs edge, daring not to peer down at the raging water that crashed violently against the rocks as I inhaled; slowly, deeply, taking one step after the other towards the ledge, my pace matching the deafening thrum of my heart beat until I could walk no more and the solid rock beneath me cut away.

I was falling, this much I knew, but the sharp whistle of the air rushing past me as I plummeted towards what could very well be my watery grave was irrelevant. I heard him now, his voice a strangled tenor, my name choked in his throat as he watched me fall, heard me fall, and most importantly, fell with me.

"Bella!"

My numbed fingers curled gently, my hand slipping into his icy clutch as I hit the crashing waves, plunging into darkness.


Disclaimer:: All trademarked characters of 'Twilight' belong to Ms Stephanie Meyer and, by extention, Summit Entertainment.