The sky is a dark and murky grey, the gathering clouds threatening rain. Alice said there would be a storm. Perfect. I smile across at Bella as we drive to the playing field. She returns the smile with a kind of curiosity and something else. Apprehension? It's so frustrating not being able to hear her thoughts. Bella hates the rain. And sports. But I want her to see a vampire baseball game, to show her that we still have a human side, an ability to enjoy a great American pastime.

As we step out of the car, I hear the first rumble of thunder. It reverberates around the open field, a warning of the oncoming storm.

"It's time." Alice says.

Emmet and Jasper take their positions around the field. Rosalie steps up to bat first, Carlisle and Jasper behind her. I leave Bella with Esme, I tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear and lightly touch her face.

Alice bowls the ball to Rosalie who strikes it through the air with a crack as loud as the thunder that rumbles overhead. The storm gets wilder as the game continues, the wind whipping the tops of the trees.

I hear the thoughts of our uninvited guests before they approach. I can smell their vampiric scent mixed with the smell of earth and blood. I rush to Bella's side. I pull her hair loose from the band she wears so that it falls around her shoulders. It'll barely mask her scent, but I have to do something.

As the vampires appear in the clearing, I recognise one of them. He wears a jacket but his chest is bare, just like he wore it when I knew him before. I met him almost fifty years ago, he was part of the group Annabelle got tangled up in, the brother of the vampire she was dating when we met. He was a young vampire back then, but his thirst for human blood was unlike any vampire I had met before.

When Annabelle first told me that she had a vampire boyfriend, she could barely look me in the eye. She knew what I was of course, but she knew that I was different, that my family was different. Annabelle never told me how she got mixed up with a vampire in the first place, but she said that once he saw her, he wouldn't let her go. His name was Sebastian. He was the ringleader of the group. He had an unusual ability, the ability to be human. His body could change colour so that it resembled the hue of human skin, he could breathe and his heart would thump in his chest. He could stop the sparkle of his skin in the sun light, making it easier for him to blend in. It was all just a glamour of course, a trick to lure unsuspecting humans. By the time Annabelle realised what he was, it was too late. She was his and he told her that if she ever tried to leave him, he would send his brother to find her.

He wanted to turn her, but he was waiting until she was eighteen so it wouldn't draw as much attention when she made her excuses and disappeared. It took me a while to convince her to break up with him. We were just friends then, but I offered her my protection, I told her she would be safe with me and my family. Annabelle was horrified at the thought of our coven getting involved, at the possibility of us getting hurt, but eventually, after much persuasion, she agreed.

She asked him to meet her outside of school, hoping he wouldn't cause a scene with so many people around. I watched from a distance, ready to defend her if he attacked. He took the news without a word, walking away from her like he didn't care, but I heard his thoughts, he wouldn't let her go that easily. It would only be a matter of time before he came for her.

The next day at school, Annabelle was elated, like a weight had been lifted. I revelled in her joy, but I couldn't help wondering when we would hear from Sebastian again.

I didn't have to wait long. As we left school that day, I heard the screech of tyres and I saw a flash of red as the car mounted the pavement. I pushed Annabelle out of the way and jumped on to the bonnet. As I drove my fist through the windscreen and grabbed Sebastian's neck, I thought about how strange it was that he would try to hurt Annabelle the way a human would. I assumed that when he came for her, he would bite her, try to drain her or turn her.

I pulled him from his seat and through the windscreen as the car crashed into a nearby tree. We were both thrown from the vehicle but I landed lightly on my feet, still holding Sebastian. He was still alive but there was a deep crack around his pale neck and his eyes were half closed. I let go of him and he crumpled into a heap on the ground.

I rushed to the car now wrapped around the tree, a few people stood around staring, looking perplexed. The whole thing probably happened too quickly for them to see. I scanned the ground looking for Annabelle. I found her lying a few metres away from the car. She groaned as I turned her over, a deep welt on her head and a ribbon of scarlet snaking down her face. I clamped a hand over my mouth and nose, trying not to breathe in the scent of her blood. I realise then what Sebastian's intention was, he would hurt her enough to make her bleed, then he would let me finish the job.

Carlisle and Alice were suddenly at my side.

"I'll take her, Edward. Alice will help you deal with Sebastian."

Carlisle lifted Annabelle into his arms and sped away.

Alice and I went to where I'd left Sebastian, but he was gone.

Back home, I waited outside of Carlisle's study while he patched Annabelle up. I rested my forehead against the cool, exposed brick and closed my eyes. It was happening again. I'd saved her once, the next time she would die. Alice appeared behind me and rested a hand on my shoulder.

"Change her, Edward."

I shook my head.

"I can't, she doesn't want that, she never wanted that."

"She's Isabella, Edward, your Isabella. It's the only way you can be together forever."

"If it's too true, that Annabelle is Isabella reincarnated, then I won't take that gift away from her."

Alice sighed.

"It's not a gift, it's a burden. She'll keep coming back and each time she'll die. I've seen it."

Just then, the study door opened and Carlisle stepped out into the hall.

"You can go in now."

I stepped into the room, the smell of antiseptic still lingered in the air, barely covering the sweet smell of blood. Alice was hot on my heels, but I closed the door, leaving her outside In the hall.

"Edward." Annabelle's voice was so quiet, it was barely more than a whisper. She was lying on the sofa, a neat square of gauze taped to her head, covering the wound.

"Edward, I'm so sorry."

I rushed to the sofa and knelt down beside her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for."

Tears formed in her eyes, threatening to fall. Her dark blue eyes, so much like Isabella's, looked almost black in the dim light of the study.

"I knew he would never let me go. He'll keep going until he kills both of us."

"Sh. Don't think about that now. You're safe. We'll deal with Sebastian."

"No, Edward, this is my problem. I won't let you put yourself in danger."

I lifted her hand to my face, feeling the warmth of her skin against my cheek. I kissed the palm of her hand and then linked my fingers through hers.

"I'll take care of you, always."

The thunder cracks overhead again, I look into Bella's eyes. She's scared.

"I shouldn't have brought you here. I'm so sorry."

I turn to face the trio of vampires, shielding Bella from their view. James spots me, he says nothing but he fixes me with a stare, cocking his head to one side, studying me. Suddenly his lips twist into a mocking smile and something inside of me snaps. He remembers. I hear it in his thoughts. In his mind I see Annabelle's final moments, I watch her take her last breath. I grit my teeth and I clench my fists at my sides. He won't find out the connection, he can't know that Bella is Annabelle, another reincarnate. He'll hunt her to the ends of the earth. The breeze ruffles the trees around us and my chest tightens in horror as it lifts Bella's hair from her face, blowing her scent In James' direction. He raises his nose to the air and looks suddenly triumphant.

"You brought a snack."