To my credit, I was only freaking out a little bit.

I kept trying to rack my brain. What could I have done differently? How was I supposed to get out of this with my freedom intact? Where do I go from here? Salem was certain to come knocking, Pryde was now my familiar, my father was gone to find another, and there was a potential war that could be ignited between us and the Cullens.

So no, I couldn't sleep that night. It was spent scouring over different spell books and grimoires that my father had gained over the course of his very long life.

It seemed just my luck that the one time I needed my father most, he was gone. (I inwardly sighed, remembering Avatar.) I knew I should have skipped school.

I needed advice, but not the advice I knew Pryde would provide.

There was only one person I wanted to talk to… But I wasn't an idiot. There is no way I would be allowed to go there alone. The only option was for him to come to me.

"Pryde," I called softly. I knew he'd hear my summons no matter how quietly I called him.

He all but materialized next to me, a handmade cigarette between his lips as he eyed my desk. He pulled a drag before the cigarette disappeared out of sight, probably as to not drop any ash on the precious books. He blew out slowly, lips rounded as the smoke took on the form of an Asian dragon, long and ferocious as it wiggled through the air. It stole my thoughts for a moment, watching as it wrapped around me affectionately. It's head rubbed against my cheek before dispelling with a sickly sweet scent that lingered.

"You have been busy," he observed, absently picking at a page as he flipped it over.

"Yes. I had a favor to ask."

He raised a brow at that. "A favor?" he parroted, lips quirking. "What a way to ask when my every action is in your hands."

I frowned. I didn't like feeling like I owned him. I had known him since I was a child; the idea that I could command him to do my bidding was a source of discomfort. Such a prideful creature should never have to listen to the orders of someone like me.

"I would like for our relationship be more of a partnership—rather than a master and servant."

He smiled, a rare thing, but it didn't reach his eyes. Somehow, I could tell that he didn't entirely believe me. "Very well.. what is your wish, then? Speak it."

"I want to speak with Jasper."

He gaze turned thoughtful as he eyed me. "As you cannot very well go into a den of vampires, are you asking me to fetch him?"

"You know him better than I do, I think. Do you think he would come?"
His small smile turned sly, "For you? Indeed, I believe he would."

I tried not to read much into his words, I really did. That didn't stop the part of me that wanted to hope, however. I let out a small sigh. He was mated, I reminded myself. No one could really blame me, though. Vampires were far too attractive for their own good and I was only human. Didn't hurt that he was the most pleasant out of all of them.

I looked up and noticed my familiar was nowhere to be found. I supposed he'd already gone to complete his task of retrieving Jasper Hale. Trusting Pryde to get Jasper safely through all of the wards, I made my way downstairs to make myself a cup of hot cocoa, not bothering to go easy on the whipped cream.

The house is presently quiet without Charlie there to live in it with his football playing obnoxiously from the den. Every minute that passed without him returning home made me uneasy, thousands of scenarios running through my mind of every bad thing that could happen. Had Salem gotten to him first? He is a magistrate, the leader over the magistrates. No one but the Supreme and her advisers were higher ranking than he. Had he been born a woman, it's very likely that my father would have become a supreme. That scenario was only slightly better than the one I was currently facing.

Sprinkling cinnamon on top, I turned and leaned against the kitchen counter. I was taking in the intoxicating aroma when it hit me: the feeling of something very dark and very dead approaching my home. Vampire.

And it wasn't Jasper.

.

Deciding that I would focus later on the fact that I could tell it wasn't Jasper later—maybe when I would worry about the shattered mug of hot cocoa on my kitchen floor. I raced up the stairs, magic sizzling in my veins as I checked the wards' integrity. I had thirty seconds at most before it would be at my doorstep and my wards would give me an added minute at the least. That's assuming it could manage to get through it.

If. If is good.

But also life-threatening.

I tore into my room, banging an arm in the process, and reached my desk in record time. The wards were weak—the cause most likely my father's absence. It wouldn't be so terrifying if Pryde was here! How long does it take to pick someone up? (Long enough since he had to deal with the other Cullens.. probably.)

The grimoire that I needed was buried under other books and I created yet another mess in my haste, priceless books dumped around me on the floor. Words swam as I flipped through pages, so painfully aware that the unknown vampire—and it had to be someone I had never met before—was stalking my home, looking for a way in. I could feel it circling, feel the bloodlust in the air.

It wanted me.

I let out a soft breath, calming myself as the spell seemed to appear on the page.

It was a spell I'd skimmed over hours before and while I had never attempted it before—much less anything from its school of magic—I knew I could do it. And hopefully Pryde will feel me borrowing some of his magic and come back running. Or flying. Whatever.

I took several more calming breaths before my lips wrapped around the foreign language as if I had been born to speak it.

"Locoem... Contagaris."

Warmth instantly seized me, surging from my chest down every limb until I was comfortably insulated before it turned into an unpleasant heat. The spell was wrecking havoc from the inside, while the outside looked as if it had come straight from the Disney version of Cinderella, complete with the sparkles and ivory ropes of magic that spiraled around me. Swirling, twirling, coiling. Wrapping me until all I could see was white light, my mind barely having time to regret what I had obviously done wrong until it just.. disappeared. In it's place was my perfect clone, staring at me with worry.

"This is your plan?" Her voice was slightly shrill as her hands found her hips in a priggish stance.

Oh gods, that was my voice? Did I really sound like that?

"Not a lot I can do at last moment!" I griped at my clone, deciding she wasn't my 'perfect' clone. She seemed like a more teenaged, more bratty version of me.

"So, I get to die for you, huh?" she sneered.

I rubbed my face, my mental countdown nearing zero as I felt the vampire's ire. They didn't care to be shut off from their prey.

"Ugh, you're so annoying. Hurry up and finish the transmutation, then," Bella-bitch ordered snarkily.

I rolled my eyes as I pulled on my magic, worried by how much a simple illusion spell had drained me. Pryde wasn't here for me to use his magic, leaving me even more vulnerable. I flipped a few pages before I found the spell I needed, memorizing the incantation before reaching out and grasping my clone's hand. I felt nothing—she wasn't really there, after all. Had I spent more mana, I might have been able to give her more heat. As it was, she would just barely have enough heat to her for the vampire to follow her. Which was all I needed. To buy myself some time.

"Silortia Feliaro," I murmured quietly, emerald flashes surging between our fingers. The transmutation would allow her to run faster—hopefully at a speed that might rival a vampire.

I looked up at my clone, her sneer throwing me off.

"I'll go run him off. Make sure you keep yourself safe."

At least she wasn't a complete jerk. I nodded, blinking once. She was in front of me one moment and gone the next, leaving a gust of air in her wake.

I didn't take a second to mourn my clone, instead shoving myself into my closet and slamming the door behind me. It was a tight fit, shoved in with all the shoes, coats, and random articles of clothing. I held out my hand, grunting as I pulled on my remaining mana to quickly erect a barrier. Abjuration magic—protection. The one thing I was definitely good for.

My preparations complete, there was really nothing else I could do except to wait. I didn't know how I felt about this being my last day alive if this vampire managed to get to me, and much less about dying in my sad excuse for a closet. Hugging my legs to my chest, I waited.

I could feel my clone running, could feel the sensation of the vampire giving chase. If I closed my eyes, I could almost see it...

…

..

.

And suddenly I could see it, feel it. I was running, shoving my legs under me. I ran instinctively in the direction of Pryde—if only I could get to him, everything would be fine. I reached out for him, screaming for him in my mind.

Save me. I screamed.

But the vampire was gaining, as if the hunt was what he was made for, his sinister laughter making my ears ring, promising pain and death.

I ran over uprooted trees, dodging roots and holes, and he was following me like it was child's play, toying with me.

And then I could feel them. Pryde and Jasper, racing for me. I could feel Jasper's emotions, jumbled and confusing, as he seemed to be trying to reach for me. But I didn't have my mana in this body, this copy of myself.

No abjuration magic to save me from the monster chasing me.

Pain shredded into my shoulder as I was suddenly slammed into the unforgiving ground, my screams cut off as teeth ripped into my back.

The sensation slammed me back into my own body, the scream clawing its way out of my throat as my fingers clawed at the back of my shirt. It burned more than the time I had burnt myself with the stove, the time I played with fire, and the time I broke my arm all at once.

I looked down at my hand as it shook in the dim, paling at the sight.

Blood.

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update, guys! Writer's block is a harlot. So here's a short chapter to get me back into it!

(Also, if there is anything you guys want to see [since I'm making this for you], let me know! Random scenes that can help me with getting chapters out.)

We'll be diverging from the original book here, so I hope you're all ready for it!

As always, see you next time!

Evelyn