Disclaimer—I don't own anything but this loosely based plot. Edward does not belong to me *sigh* It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer. I don't own any of the songs used either. No copyright infringement intended. Please don't sue me!
Prologue – My Heart, His Heart
Life is like a mean machine
It made a mess outta me
It left me caught between
Like an angry dream I was stranded, I was stranded
And I'm steady but I'm starting to shake
And I don't know how much more I can take
This is it now
Everybody get down
This is all I can take
This is how a heart breaks
You take a hit now you feel it break down
Make you stay wide awake
This is how a heart breaks
(Rob Thomas – This is how a Heart Breaks)
I could stand here forever. Frozen like the statue I knew I could be. I could just let time wash over me until it no longer existed—until I no longer existed in my mind. But of course that was a selfish idea, one that could never really work. Not if I was going to go through with this. I would forever be broken at heart. The call for my soul mate never answered. But I had already spent so much time accepting this idea I was used to the pain it brought.
But I was not going to let his soul mate die like this. They were all fighting to protect her, against the hordes of monsters that were both us and yet nothing like us. Victoria really had lost her mind hadn't she? Maybe even if James hadn't loved her, she had loved him. I guess I would probably do the same in her position, if someone had killed Edward.
Okay now that it was possible there was no actual question about it. But I don't think Victoria could tell the difference between me and her any longer. Or maybe it was simply that I was no longer Edward's soul mate. Never was honestly—but I often avoided thinking this. She had no reason to want to kill me anymore. Just her.
And I was going to protect her at all costs, even if they didn't know it yet.
I stood at the edge of the field, watching the blurs fly. It didn't seem fair really. All this fighting just didn't make any sense. It should have ended a hundred years ago with the last ending beat of my heart. Or in the very least they should be after me. My bad luck apparently hadn't worn off even in my vampire state. Behind me I could feel the only three vampires I trusted as they assessed the situation—or one of them I trusted, the other two I could never be sure about. Would they wait until the battled tapered off and finish off those that survived, or would they follow me in?
I could clearly see my past family, flying and dodging attacks best they could. Clothes were torn off or in tatters. I couldn't help but hold my breath even if I didn't need it. I could lose this all over again, even if it never belonged to me in the first place. Miles behind us I could hear the screeching and metallic sound of tearing. My currently family, my pack, they were fighting off whatever monsters they could sink their teeth into. I could lose them too, if we didn't act fast.
And then there was her. Lying on the ground completely in shock and fear. I couldn't blame her. This was all over the desire to kill her. I couldn't silence the very monster core in me to just let that happen. My decision could easily turn the tide of this little war. But it was Edward's constant presence that reminded me why I was doing this. He was trying to position himself in front of her. To get to her, protect her. And he couldn't.
"It's time. You either follow or you don't. Your choice." And I stepped out into the field in a blur. Stopping to stand before her, staring down at her blue eyes at her shock. And then I turned to face the onslaught that I knew was coming from my sudden appearance in the field.