NEW - Prologue

I found myself hidden in the forest shadows once again.

Watching. Waiting. For Her.

This has been my life for many years now. Some would look at me and call me pathetic and accuse me of a wasted existence. They would never understand that I am exactly where I was destined to be. Happily fulfilling a promise made long ago.

I like to imagine our lost loved ones are looking down on me now filled with pride. Joyous in the fact that I have honored my promise - protected her, kept her safe all these years.

The only regret in my life is that I couldn't do the same for all of them. Those loved ones still with me, constantly remind me that it wasn't my fault, there was nothing more I could have done. They want me to move on from the past. But to move on would mean to leave her, to stop watching over her, stop protecting her.

To do that would mean all the lives lost were for nothing.

As I stand here in dark shadow, I hear the all-to-familiar sounds of hoof beats making their way up the path that just skirts the edge of the tree line. Within a few seconds, her glorious scent will assault my nose. I will close my eyes and breath in deeply, allowing the smell and taste of her to overwhelm my senses. I open my eyes just as she is coming into view.

There she is, what I have patiently been waiting for. My Bella.

I take a step back further into the darkness of the shadows to ensure she won't see me. She rounds the curve in the path slowly, leading her horse on foot by the reins. They come to a stop near her favorite spot. She unbridles the horse so the beast could freely graze.

I used to believe the sixteen year old girl I met some ten years ago was the most beautiful creature I had ever or would ever lay eyes upon. I didn't realize then how wrong I had been. The woman before me now surpassed that girl by leaps and bounds. From her face now etched with the faintest of laugh lines, her thick dark glittering hair with just a hint of platinum strands, her body curving perfectly. The woman before me elicits desires the young girl I once knew never could.

"Alright old girl, you made it up the hill. I'm so proud of you," she gently speaks to the horse while stroking her nuzzle. Her voice penetrates my very being even after all these years.

It has been sometime since she has been able to ride her favorite companion. I can only imagine how much Bella must miss that. But the old horse was nearing the end and its back swayed downward unable to support a rider. I worry constantly about how Bella will react to the loss of her dearest friend. I take a measure of comfort in knowing that she will not be alone when the horse's time comes. She has a family now that will help her through the loss.

I sometimes think back to those early days of watching over her, her ever-present guardian. She would come riding up the path firmly seated on the horse's back. Her long, dark tresses flowing in the wind behind her. Those days were hard. She still had her youth then, but her eyes betrayed the fact that she had already lived a lifetime's worth of suffering. The sadness was etched into her face and possessed her entire body. Her only reprieve from the pain were those days when she would ride her only companion to the top of this hill.

She would spend countless hours on this hill, staring out over the horizon while the horse grazed. I missed her smile more than anything else. So many times, I considered betraying my promise, making myself known, hoping that when she saw me, she would rush into my arms instead of running away. She would allow me to take away her pain, to comfort her. Often, I would find that I had unconsciously lifted my leg preparing myself to take that first step towards her only to place my foot back firmly in its spot.

That was always the difference between her and I…she was the braver one.

Her smile did return after a couple of years. It was a small smile that never did quite reach her eyes, but I was thankful that she seemed to slowly be finding her way out of the darkness. It was then that I decided I could leave her to go searching for the vampire that had caused this entire mess and finish him once and for all.

I did eventually return, to take back up my sentry in the shadows. Watching her, protecting her. I was not prepared for the crushing heartache that laid in store for me though.

In the three years I was gone, Bella had met a local man, Mike Newsome, and started a family of her own. Her family brought her a measure of comfort and peace. Seeing her smile finally reach her eyes, her soul, helped to alleviate my own pain just a bit. Time was moving forward for her, as it's supposed to be.

For a time, I watched her with her family from the shadows, always from the shadows. I watched her through the windows of her farmhouse playing with her son, laughing with her husband, all those intimate moments that make a family. Eventually, my own family forced me to come to my senses. They insisted that I needed to stop torturing myself and give her the privacy she needed. I limited myself to only watching from the spot where I stand in now.

Bella rarely misses a sunset from atop this hill. It is her quiet time away from her family. Just her and her horse until the light fades into darkness. Sitting here bathed in the last vestiges of the day's light, she closes her eyes and allows her mind to wonder. Here she can let her walls down, allow the memories to flow in for a time. I wish more than anything that I could read her thoughts during these precious moments.

I watch her in awe as different emotions play out across her face. Sometimes happiness and contentment, sometimes sadness and anger, always longing. I allow myself to imagine that it is me she longs for in those private moments. Sometimes, I close my eyes and picture what it would be like to reach out across the space between us and take this woman into my arms. My lips on her skin, hers on mine. Her touch sending tingles through my body, my touch eliciting moans of ecstasy from her mouth.

Blackness begins to creep towards her over the hill top. A sense of dread creeps over me. Our time together is over, for now.

Bella rises from her spot and prepares the horse for the journey home as she has done countless times before. Once she is a safe distance away, I will make my way back to my own home nearby where I will patiently wait for tomorrow.

Good night, my Bella.

The Prologue is new to the story. That's not to say the idea of it is new. I have always known how the story would end. That's typically, how I write. I have an ending in mind and I create the pages leading up to it. Set a goal, work towards it…that's how I operate. When I started the story in 2009, I was trying to cram this EPOV together with a BPOV for the ending. Revisiting my story now, I thought it better to separate the two with one being the Prologue. The new prologue does give away a lot but it doesn't give away the ultimate ending so it should work…don't give up on the story now, you will get an HEA I Promise. This one defintely doesn't end on the same note as my other story "Second Chances". Let me know what you think.