Summer 1933

A week had passed before she ventured back to the meadow. Despite Ephriam's warnings, she was on Carlisle's land. She had every right to be there when she pleased. Again, she lay among the flowers, contentedly soaking in the few rays of sun peeking through the clouds.

Footsteps caught her attention, and she sat up slightly to see who it was. Spotting Edward, Rosalie lowered her head back to the bed of overgrown grass and wildflowers underneath her.

"You're here," Edward said as he approached her.

"I enjoy this space." She glanced up to find him staring down at her. Edward smirked as he studied her disheveled appearance. Her hair was a wild mess around her, and her feet were bare and filthy. "A far cry different from the Rosalie Hale you knew?" She wiggled the toes of her dirt-blackened feet at him.

To her surprise, he grinned at her and chuckled. "You are enjoying yourself and experiencing a different way of living. That is not a bad thing. Rosalie Cullen is not an unwelcome development."

Before she could stop herself, she thought, You're damned right.

Edward laughed. "I like this particular Rosalie," he admitted. A moment later, he scoffed and shook his head in disbelief, realizing the truth in his words. "Well, I'll be damned."

The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. Edward Cullen could convey a thousand emotions with the same handsome smirk. As she tilted her face toward the sky, he said, "I will leave you to your sunshine."

Rosalie watched after him as he walked away. He is in a pleasant mood today. Perhaps they were finally becoming accustomed to each other after all.

Eventually, the clouds reclaimed the sky, and the wind picked up. Rosalie fled for the house and away from another coming storm.

As she approached the house, angry voices drew her attention. She perched on a high limb overhanging the driveway and searched for their owners as a knot of anxiety bloomed in her stomach.

Edward stood not ten feet away from a trembling Ephriam. Each man leaned forward, their shoulders raised from tension as if each expected the other to attack.

"This is private property," Edward snarled. " You are welcome to leave."

Ignoring any risk to her safety, Rose dropped to the ground and rushed to stand between them. In a blink, Edward wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her out of Ephriam's reach.

"He's dangerous," Edward snapped.

Rose batted away his hand on her abdomen and shoved him off. Let go and calm down! He is no threat.

Barely a whisper, Edward hissed, "You could not be more wrong."

Her hands gripped her hips in aggravation as Rosalie lifted on her toes to meet his gaze head-on. I implore you, Edward. Leave him be! Though Ephriam's appearance was unexpected, Rose was happy to see him. He has only been kind so far, despite knowing what we are.

Edward's scowl became a bitter sneer. He glanced down at her full figure and back to her face in disgust as if she were no more than a common whore.. "You seek his company now. Understood."

She clenched her teeth hard enough that the shrill scrape of razor-sharp enamel was audible as her temper flared. Don't you dare look at me like that, Edward Masen! Why does it upset you so much for me to make a friend? He is their future leader. Wouldn't you prefer them to be peaceful?

Lord, give me strength. This man! Ignoring Edward's unnecessary hostility, Rosalie turned toward a trembling Ephriam and whispered, "Why are you here?"

Edward grumbled something about peas in a pod and stomped toward the house.

"He is not like you," Ephriam whispered, watching Edward walk away. "His eyes are not red, but I see no soul in them."

"Edward isn't bad, Ephriam," she said. "He's not the most pleasant person to live with, but he is not a threat to your people."

Curiously, he asked, "How old is he?"

"Seventeen. Edward turned during the World War. He wanted to be a soldier but wasn't old enough to enlist. The Spanish Influenza claimed his family. His mother begged Carlisle to save her son from her deathbed. She figured out that something was different about him, something that kept Carlisle from catching the same illness that claimed everyone else."

There was a slight edge to his voice as Ephriam asked, "Is he your lover?"

The bluntness of his question stunned her. " Not at all. Whatever gave you such an idea?"

Ephriam hummed. "He is very possessive of you."

"Wanting to protect is just part of who he is," she defended. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see that you were safe," he whispered. "You have not been in the forest. I was not sure if your family remained here."

She could not help but smile at his admission. "I need to go into the house now."

Ephriam looked around cautiously before asking, "Will you meet with me tonight? After the storm passes?"

Rosalie stepped back. "Why?"

"Only to speak. I wish to know more of you," Ephriam said, reaching out to touch her cold cheek with his hand. "I want you to know me."

Rose held very still as his palm pressed against the curvature of her jaw and gasped at the sensation. The heat of his hand warmed her cold cheek and jaw. It was lovely. She leaned into it involuntarily, nearly closing her eyes before stepping out of his reach. The breakaway from his touch left her wanting, aching in a way she did not understand. She'd been well-acquainted with the last man who treated her so tenderly, and he had turned on a dime. This man was a stranger, one not even truly human. Still, she wanted to go.

"I am not sure that I should," she admitted. Was Edward right? Was she seeking his company now? Something about him certainly drew her in.

"You should," he whispered and turned to walk away from her.

Rosalie Hale, you will be playing with fire if you go. Ignoring her own common sense, she asked, "Where?"

"You know where I will be," he said.

"I cannot promise to be there," she said. Ephriam turned to smile at her again and stepped into the trees.

Rose headed for the house, expecting to hear Edward banging his anger away on the piano. She wondered at the silence as she stepped into the foyer.

"I don't bang the piano," he answered her thought.

Rosalie glanced up to find him sitting in the far right corner of the sitting room directly opposite the door. She could see the crease of his furrowed brow through the spindles on the delicately carved staircase between them. He reminded her of her father when he waited to reprimand her for something. The usually bright room was dim and hazy under the gray-green light accompanying the storm.

She turned her back to him to shut the front door. Are you waiting for me?

"I was." He was toe to toe with Rosalie in the blink of an eye, lowering his voice as he said, "I can't stop you from befriending him, but you should know that friendship isn't what he wants."

Immediately defensive, she fought the urge to flinch at his sudden proximity. It was odd, considering Ephriam's touch only a few minutes earlier was tolerable. Pleasant, even. So why did Edward, who she knew well, make her nervous with his usual moody, controlling behavior? It was something to consider. She asked, "Why are you telling me this? Is this your attempt at warning me?"

"Yes." His answer was blunt, devoid of emotion. She slowly became aware of her unnecessary but rapid breath, the increasingly familiar human-like twinge of panic in her chest, and the trembling in her hands.

And then, with sudden clarity, she realized he had struck his mark. Rose seethed as he sat on the stairs, casually crossing one leg over the other.

Do you intentionally try to unsettle me? To make me fearful of the one person I have met since my death when you know what I went through? You son of a-

Cutting off her mental tirade, he soothed, " I have my reasons, Rosalie."

Rosalie felt angry enough to shed tears if her body allowed it. Instead, the venom in her eyes burned, and she tried to blink away the irritation. Trying to understand Edward's motives, she asked, "Do you see bad intentions in Ephriam's mind?"

"No. But I believe you know what that person will become soon."

Rose glared at him. Don't you dare insult him, Edward! You don't know him either. He doesn't deserve it.

Edward's face softened as she lowered herself to the stairs beside him to relieve her shaking legs. One horrible experience instilled a permanent, easily triggered fear, and her so-called brother had just used it against her. Didn't he understand what a betrayal that was? Roslie wished her relationship with her new brother would improve somehow - that he didn't try to manipulate her to enforce his control. Perhaps Ephriam's observation was more astute than she wanted to admit. Edward didn't want her as he had when she was human, but he was possessive of her either way.

Edward's face fell as he listened to her thoughts and lowered his gaze to her filthy feet on the bright, clean floor. He surprised her again as he impulsively reached over to cup the back of her head and placed a feather-light kiss on her temple. It was something Carlisle often did, a gesture she'd grown quite fond of. Rosalie found it oddly comforting at that moment, despite coming from Edward.

"I'm sorry, Rose. I truly didn't think through how such an implication might affect your trust in me. I simply wish you to be safe and wary of him," Edward soothed. "If you begin this now, I fear it will only break your heart after his first change. Your nature won't allow you to be together when that happens. You should know that before you decide how close to him you want to be."

Rosalie scoffed and said, "You make it sound like you're afraid I'll fall in love with him."

Tentatively, Edward prodded, "Aren't you? You think of him constantly, you know? I can hear it. You're attracted to him, at the very least."

" I am merely curious about him," she argued.

He chuckled and teased. "If you insist."

What was this? He wasn't yelling at her or demanding that she stay away. Edward was cautiously warning her with genuine concern.

"If he changes for the first time while you are nearby, he could accidentally kill you. Please consider that as well before you decide. I know we are very different people, and I have already been too much a part of your disappointments in this life. Rose." He reached to squeeze her hand, adding, "Please be cautious."

"I will," she said, staring across the room as she focused on her feelings, trying her best and failing to decipher them. "It is all so strange. I know everything you say is true. I want to know more about Ephriam. I cannot tell you the way it feels. I can't even explain it to myself."

"Infatuation," he said, smirking. "I understand it well." Edward reached up to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"You dislike him," Rose said knowingly. His reactions to Ephriam's presence had shown as much.

"I do not know him any more than you do."

"And how would you treat him if we were all human?"

He scoffed. "I would never bless such a union."

"Union?" Rose barked out a loud, abrupt laugh. "I don't intend to marry him. I'm not sure I want to marry, ever. Not after Royce …"

"I do," he interrupted. "Someday. When I find the one who suits me."

"Let's hope it's soon," she teased.

"It just might be," he said as he stood and abruptly walked away.

What has gotten into him today? His mood swings left her reeling worse than her mother's at times. Rose shook her head and walked toward her room.

She bathed to kill time as the rain poured, scrubbing the dirt and debris from her hair, nails, and feet. She readied herself automatically, slipping into pale undergarments and a simple, light blue button-up dress. She brushed her hair until it shone like silk, hanging long and straight down her back. The tiniest hint of rouge brought some color to her face, though it was pointless when it wouldn't be noticeable in the dark of night. She considered shoes for a brief moment and then dismissed them. She would likely have a mud-soaked hem when she returned to the house. There was no point in ruining her shoes. The stain would never come out of the white leather.

Rose paced on the front porch afterward, contemplating whether she should meet Ephriam.

Although the clouds were moving on and the sky was clearing, a dense fog shrouded the forest floor. Despite enhanced vampire vision, Rose could barely see further than twenty feet in front of her between the approaching new moon and fog.

The door shut softly behind her as someone stepped out onto the porch. The tale-tell sounds of Edward's particular stride were immediately distinguishable. Rosalie wished Ephriam's approach was even half as recognizable.

Edward stared into the foggy black forest, frowning. "Do you intend to go?"

She asked, "Are you still worried?"

He seemed pleasantly surprised as she stepped closer and grasped his hand. I don't want to keep fighting with you. If you truly wish to be my brother, you must prove it.

Edward's face split with a wide genuine smile as he gently returned the affectionate gesture, threading his fingers between hers. "I am worried, and I wish you trusted me. I care about your feelings and your safety. Is that not what a brother does?"

"It is what a friend does," she answered. "A brother loves unconditionally. He fights for and not against his sibling's happiness. A brother does not intentionally wound or force his will. I can be a sister to you if you can be a brother to me."

Edward chuckled at her bluntness and said, "Have we come to an agreement, then?"

"I suppose," she said, biting back a smile. She stared across the treeline again, wondering if Ephriam was already waiting for her.

"I worry the inability to see far in front of you could make you vulnerable."

"You worry incessantly, Edward."

Edward ignored the remark and said, "His kind has been here much longer. They know the land well."

Rose asked, "You still think he would ambush me?"

"No. I truly saw no intent to harm or deceive you, Rose. That does not mean his brothers aren't out there looking for us. Destroying us is what they believe they are born to do." He leaned against the porch railing and continued, "His thoughts are loud like yours. And quick. He is intelligent despite his simplicity. He seems diplomatic and open-minded. Peaceful to a fault. He will make a good leader for his people, even if he doesn't want the responsibility."

Rosalie sighed sadly. "There really would be no point in becoming friends with him now, would there?"

"I cannot say," Edward said. "That decision remains up to you. I know what I would do, but you and I are different people."

"We certainly are," she said, chuckling. "Do you find it as preposterous as I do to feel so drawn to a perfect stranger?"

"Not at all."

Unlike she would have done only weeks before, she did not shrink away from his touch as he again reached up to touch her hair. Edward eased a strand away from her face and tucked it behind her ear before ghosting his fingertips along her jaw.

"After all, you were a perfect stranger to me once, too."

He turned and strolled back into the house, leaving her to her thoughts. The gesture was reminiscent of the charm displayed when she first met him. The smiles and intimate touches he snuck her way were plentiful when her blood still called to him, and she was more susceptible to his flirtations.

Refusing to overthink it and create unnecessary tension, she pondered yet again whether meeting Ephriam was wise. Finally, she grew frustrated, climbed the nearest tree, and discovered she could see well once she climbed high enough. With that added uncertainty out of the way, she was heading for Ephriam without another conscious thought.

Rose hopped through the trees as fast as her vampire legs could carry her, afraid she would turn back if she stopped now. She jumped higher and farther than ever before, avoiding the fog-blinded forest floor wherever possible. Droplets spilled from trembling leaves in her wake, leaving a trail of falling water behind her like breadcrumbs.