A hiss of breath fell from between Bella's lips as the nerve endings in her finger ignited like the fuse of a firework. The sensation traveled through her body as the pain quickly subsided into a dull throb. Her eyes traveled to the papercut, the envelope holding the card still held delicately within her fingers as a small droplet of ruby red blood bubbled up from within the minute crevice.
Fireworks burst around her in that moment as chaos erupted within the home of Carlisle and Esme Cullen. The world shifted around her, movement too quick for her eye to fully catch until it was too late. The table to the left of her shattered the force of the impact, splinters flying into her hair as two bodies tangled in a heated scuffle. To the right, doors slammed and cracked as others fled from the room, desperate to escape the inevitable pull they felt from the single drop of blood balanced on her finger.
More movement to her left—a window breaking, the shattered table left splintered on the ground, as someone was thrown through the glass and towards the line of trees. Others followed after, the crunch of glass evident beneath heavy footfalls, until she was left alone with the one person she'd expected first to flee.
Compared to the others, he was the picture of calm as he stood before her, hands tucked into the pockets of his denims, the sleeves of his sweater rolled to his forearms. The cluster of scars surrounding his neck and creeping along his jaw were visible in the bright afternoon light, nearly shimmering as he took a step forward. His eyes were dark, clouded over with lust or hunger, Bella couldn't tell but the golden hue had dimmed to a muddy brown and she wondered, just for a moment, what colour his eyes had been before he'd been turned.
The envelope in her hand fluttered to the floor, barely brushing against the rug beneath her feet before he was mere inches away. Her eyes flicked once between the vampire standing before her and the droplet of blood upon the tip of her finger. With care, it seemed, he took her hand and lifted it, letting the ruby droplet brush against his lips before his tongue darted out to taste the forbidden nectar.
Bella's breath hitched.
The anguished cry of his name echoed through the house, doing little to break the trance by which she found herself held captive.
Strong hands grasped her waist, gingerly sliding over her back until she was pressed forward, her warm body pliant against a cold, marbled chest. Her head tilted almost involuntarily as his nose brushed along the curve of her throat and over her jaw, and she felt the smoothness of his lips posed just over the fluttering point of her pulse.
"Jasper," she whispered.
"Happy Birthday, Isabella."
The sound of her name upon his lips was the last thing she heard before the fuse sparked and fire lit through her veins as his sharp teeth pierced her skin.