He was running. So fast that to a regular human he would have been little more than a gray blur. But it was still too slow for him to escape the beasts that were chasing after him. It had been a mistake for him to come back to Forks.
He had thought it would be nothing more than a spying mission. Had the Cullens been there he might have tried to resist longer. He had put in a great amount of effort in trying to be content with animal blood, but Irina and her family had been at it longer. He had been hungry and she had been alone, defenseless. The Cullens were no longer there to protect her and without them Victoria would have been much crueler than him.
She would have died painlessly at his hands. He thought he was doing her a service. But fate seemed to favor the Cullen's pet. Destiny seemed to have sent the beast that were chasing him, punishing him for even thinking of hurting the human child after promising Irina he would never hurt one again. He had been among them for such a short time, yet she had called to him like the most appealing blood.
She brought out something he never thought he would find again after the death of his beloved human wife before his changing. He loved her and could not help but see her anguish face in his mind as he thought of her finding out about his fate. He fought and clawed with all his strength, but his hands that should have slipped threw their flesh like butter, would not catch and rip as he had intended.
His last conscious thoughts were not about his own pain, but of the pain of his beloved Irina.
His voiceless lips uttered one less sentence before the flames engulfed him.
"I'm sorry Irina. So sorry."
The fire blazed on and he knew no more.