When the big night finally arrived, Bella found to her relief that preparing for the prom wasn't quite as nightmarish as she had feared, which she attributed to the fact that Alice's attention was divided between her and Bo (of course, Bo was perfectly capable of getting ready for a formal event by herself, but Bella suspected that she let Alice help her to spare her sister the full brunt of the diminutive vampire's efforts, and was deeply grateful for her sacrifice).
"It's a good thing you turned out to have healing powers," Alice remarked as she put the finishing touches on Bella's hair. "Otherwise you might still be in a cast, and then you couldn't have worn this."
As she looked down at the strapless, form-fitting sheath of black silk encasing her body, Bella could only agree. Her dress fanned out into a flare of trailing ruffles just above the knee, where its stark blackness was dramatically punctuated by a splash of crimson in the form of a rosette similar to the one draped over her right shoulder, so her mobility wasn't as severely impeded as it could have been, but she wouldn't have wanted to try moving around in it if she was already hobbled with a bulky cast.
"Of course I had another dress in mind for you if you hadn't been able to heal in time," Alice chattered on, "but after we found out what you are, somehow it didn't seem fitting for a succubus."
"Are there right and wrong dresses for succubi? Wait… What do you mean, you had another dress in mind if I'd still had my cast on? I didn't even agree to go with Edward until last week!"
"Oh, Bella, you don't think he would have let you miss something as important as your junior prom, do you?" Alice asked with a trilling laugh. "But I had an idea that you might be difficult, so I told him that getting you there might require a stealthier approach. I'm so glad you decided to be reasonable."
Bella sputtered in outrage at the notion that her best friend and the love of her life may have been concocting some kind of contingency plan to trick her into going to the prom if she hadn't agreed to go willingly, but before she could press Alice for the details of this nefarious scheme, Alice's bedroom door opened and Kenzi poked her head in.
"Are you almost done here?" she demanded through a mouthful of Cheetos. "We're gonna be late."
Alice gave a sigh that was barely audible even to Bella's preternaturally enhanced ears, the merest whisper of breath escaping through her lips, but tactfully refrained from complaining about Bella's, Bo's, and Dyson's decision to attend Jacob's initiation ceremony before going on to the prom. Instead she asked teasingly, "Since when have you been concerned with punctuality?"
Kenzi finished chewing her snack and noisily crumpled the empty foil bag before answering. "Since never, but JB's pretty psyched about the whole thing, and we did promise to show up and support. Besides, I'd hate for you guys to miss the big dance."
Ignoring the blatant sarcasm in that final statement, Bella bit down on the insides of her cheeks to keep from smiling. Kenzi and Jacob had spent a fair amount of time together over the last week – mostly in Forks, which was more neutral territory than La Push or the Cullens' house and offered plenty of public spaces where Bo and Dyson could discreetly monitor their interactions – and while there was still no indication of burgeoning romance, they seemed to be developing a closer friendship. The fact that Jacob had recently earned an affectionate nickname, as well as Kenzi's obvious reluctance to disappoint him, felt like the most positive signs yet, but Bella didn't want to appear too happy about it for fear of scaring Kenzi off.
"Well," she said in her best nonchalant tone, "I think Alice is finally finished torturing me, so let's go." She pushed herself off the stool in front of Alice's vanity and moved toward the door as fast as she could manage, her gait still somewhat restricted by her dress, though she was quickly adjusting to it. Before she could make her escape, however, Alice called out for her to wait, freezing her in her tracks. Fighting down a surge of dread – surely there was nothing more that even the most manic fashionista could do to her – she turned around. "Yes, Alice?"
The tiny vampire held up a white lace wrap patterned with roses outlined in vivid scarlet that matched the rosettes adorning Bella's dress. "You'll need something on your arms at La Push; it's going to be windy up on the cliffs where they're holding the ceremony. I would tell you to try not to mess up your hair too much, but I can see that it'll be fine – that's why I used extra setting spray."
Relieved that she wasn't being summoned back for any final tweaks to her hair or makeup, Bella said, "Thanks, Alice. I know it probably didn't seem like it with all my complaining, but I really do appreciate everything you did to make tonight special for Edward." Whenever her impatience with her friend's fussing over her became nearly unbearable, Bella had gritted her teeth and reminded herself that she was doing it for him.
"No problem – you're even more fun to work on now that you've got that great succubus complexion." Alice draped the wrap over her shoulders, taking care to arrange it perfectly, then gave Bella a quick, careful hug. "See you at the prom!"
###
By the time she reached the top of the elegant curving staircase that was the primary means of communication between the upper and lower levels of the Cullens' house, Bella was almost walking normally again, only to find that the stairs presented a whole new challenge. She navigated them cautiously while gripping the banister and hoping her mincing steps would be taken for the dramatic slow walk of someone making a grand entrance, because Edward, Dyson, and Bo (who of course looked breathtakingly gorgeous in a glittering gold dress with one long sleeve and no sleeve at all on the other side, and high slits in both sides of the skirt, while the guys were impressively debonair in their tuxedoes) were waiting at the bottom for her to do just that, along with Carlisle and Esme. Even Charlie had come over for the occasion, saying he couldn't miss such a significant milestone in his daughter's high school career.
Renée had also requested that he send pictures, so Bella was forced to pose with Edward, with Charlie, with Bo and Dyson (and Kenzi when Bo dragged her into the frame for a group photo, ignoring her protests). At last, Charlie decided that the occasion had been sufficiently documented, and they were able to make their escape.
Edward drove them to the edge of the reservation – despite Dyson's repeated assurances that the Cullens weren't so bad as he turned down offers from various members of the tribe to let him stay with them rather than being forced to sleep under the same roof as the despised 'cold ones', the Quileutes remained adamant that no made vampire would ever set foot on their land – then turned the wheel over to Dyson for the rest of the trip.
"Don't worry about me," he said with a smile that barely even seemed forced when Bella objected to leaving him by the roadside. "You know the cold doesn't bother me, and you need the car more than I do. Alice would murder me if I allowed any harm to come to your dress, or Bo's, and I couldn't blame her. As beautiful as you are tonight, it would be criminal to let anything spoil it."
As it turned out, they still had to walk a short distance, since the road ended before they reached the cliffs, but they managed it well enough; in fact, Bella noted with some amusement that Kenzi's stiletto-heeled boots gave her more trouble on the rocky terrain than she herself had in her slightly lower heels.
Jacob met them as they neared the roaring bonfire, greeting Kenzi with an exuberant hug, which she allowed and even returned, before turning to Bella with a somewhat sheepish look. He had called her on Wednesday to apologize for his outburst after she informed him of her reunion with Edward – when she pressed the issue, he had even expressed some regret for his harsh words about her mate's species – but this was the first time they had met face to face since that fateful day.
"Hey, Bella. Thanks for coming."
"Of course I came. You don't think I'd miss this just because you're an idiot, do you?" She softened her own harsh words with a playful tone and a grin; irrational hatred of made vampires aside, she really did like Jacob and hoped to continue their friendship, but she couldn't pretend his tribe's attitude toward Edward's family and his unquestioning acceptance of it didn't grate on her.
He took the rebuke without comment – even though Kenzi and even Dyson had attested that the Cullens were actually pretty cool, he couldn't help feeling that their existence was just too unnatural, the fact that they had been humans who essentially died and came back as something else, something definitely not human but not like any other breed of fae either disturbing on a bone-deep level that was impossible to ignore or deny, but he didn't want to fight about it just then.
Instead he played the gracious host, leading his guests to the larger group gathered around the bonfire and introducing them to everyone they didn't already know. Kenzi had already met most of the pack – Jacob's best friends, Embry and the younger Quil Ateara, greeted her with particular enthusiasm – and Dyson had become well-acquainted with the elders as well as several of the younger wolves, all of whom were rather fascinated by the shifter from outside their community, so it was mainly girls that they were meeting for the first time tonight.
Most of the female shifters in attendance were the wolves' mates, so they welcomed Bo and Kenzi into their circle as fellow imprints, though their respective species caused a great deal of curiosity; they had never met a succubus before, and while they did know plenty of humans, a wolf imprinting on one was unheard of.
There was one girl, however, who made no effort at all to socialize with them, or anyone else for that matter. With no adoring mate by her side, she sat alone at the fringes of the crowd, watching the pre-ceremony mingling with an odd expression which at first glance appeared to be a bitter scowl, but if you looked closer, there were well-hidden hints of another emotion in her eyes…something almost like wistfulness, or perhaps regret. Kenzi thought she knew who this girl must be, so as soon as she was able to extricate herself from the imprints' club, she made her way over and plopped down beside her. "Hey. Not feeling the party vibes, huh?"
"No, I'm wallowing in my status as the pack pariah, except solitary brooding is harder to do with someone buzzing around me like a gnat. Go away."
Well, Jake clearly didn't exaggerate Wolf Girl's snark level. Oddly enough, Kenzi wasn't put off by the girl's frosty attitude; just like with Rosalie and Emmett, it was nice to meet someone capable of going head to head with her. Besides, she always did have a soft spot for outsiders and rejects. "It's Leah, right? The one and only wolf chick?"
"Yes, and you're the human imprint."
"Actually, I just go by Kenzi these days."
Leah received this information with an eloquently disdainful look which said clearer than any words that she couldn't care less what Kenzi called herself. "So why are you talking to me? Shouldn't you be over there, hanging all over your mate?"
"He's not my boyfriend," Kenzi said automatically, denial having become almost a knee-jerk reaction after a week of enduring Emmett's teasing. "I mean, sure, I like him, but I never asked for this!"
"Nobody ever asks for imprinting to screw up their lives, but when it does, everyone goes along with it in the end. Even if they try to fight it at first, that never lasts long," Leah said bitterly. "You'll give in too, eventually, just like the rest of them – after all, it's destiny. That's what they keep telling me, anyway."
A retort about how no freaky fae magic was going to dictate her destiny was on the tip of Kenzi's tongue – if she did end up with Jacob one day, it would be because she wanted to, not because some mystical force pushed her into it – but before she could get it out, Dyson joined them.
"I know you haven't had the best experiences with imprinting so far-"
"You know? My so-called 'brothers' didn't waste any time airing all our dirty laundry to the outsider, did they? That's just great." Not that she expected anything else; she had been a topic of gossip among the tribe since the day of her first change, with everyone speculating on why she had become a wolf instead of a cute little fox like her mother, and whether her freakiness was the reason Sam had imprinted on her cousin instead of her, his long-time girlfriend.
"-But don't give up," Dyson continued, ignoring her complaints. "It took me more than a thousand years to find my mate, but she was worth waiting for."
Leah's eyes widened slightly – she'd known their visitor was older than any wolf anyone in her tribe had ever met before but hadn't realized exactly how long he'd been around – but she quickly covered her surprise, refusing to be impressed. "Yeah, well, waiting a thousand years might be worth it if you get a hot succubus in the end," she scoffed with a sour look at Bo, whose gold dress glittered in the firelight, setting off the shimmering highlights in her dark hair to great effect, "but I'm pretty sure that's not in the cards for me."
"Maybe not," Dyson acknowledged, privately agreeing that he had gotten luckier than most wolves in regard to his imprint, "but that doesn't mean there isn't someone out there for you."
"What is this, a tag team pep talk? I don't need-"
Leah was interrupted at that moment by the elders calling the gathering to order; Kenzi drifted off to get closer to the center of the action, Dyson went to rejoin Bo, and Leah was left to ponder the bitter irony of what had just transpired. She had frequently wished the pack could've been a little more accepting, offered just an iota of understanding or sympathy for how she got screwed over when Sam found his soulmate in Emily…but now, when the newcomers actually did try to be nice to her, it mostly just weirded her out.
Shaking her head ruefully, she tried to force those thoughts out of her mind – whatever strange impulse had caused the lone wolf and the human imprint to approach her, she was certain they saw the error of their ways now – and did her best to focus on the speech Billy was delivering, even though it was the same one all the elders took turns giving each time a new shifter joined the ranks of the adult fae, about the tribe's history and the gifts and responsibilities that came with gaining access to one's inner animal.
"Jacob Black," he finished at last, "as you have come into your full inheritance as a son of the Wolf Spirit, you are now considered an adult in our tribe. Having been brought up in our ways and taught our laws, it is now your right and your duty to make the choice each fae must face when they come of age: whether to align yourself with the Light or the Dark. Are you prepared to choose your side?"
"I am," Jacob answered confidently. "I choose the Light."
"Your choice has been recorded," Billy said over the applause that followed Jacob's declaration. "This concludes the Gathering ceremony."
"Great! Let's break out some brews!" Kenzi called out, to cheers and shouts of agreement from the rowdier pack members, while the more well-behaved ones just laughed.
Bo, however, was not remotely amused. "That's it?!" she demanded with a mix of incredulity and indignation. "He doesn't have to fight any underfae like I did? What the hell?"
"That's the old way of doing it," Dyson explained. "Nowadays, most initiations are a lot tamer."
"So the Ash and the Morrigan dusted off some outdated tradition from the Dark Ages just for me? How is that fair?!"
"Their rationale was that, because you hadn't been raised as one of us, you needed to prove that you were worthy of a place in our society." There was a note of skepticism in Dyson's voice, though, as if he thought there was more to it than what the fae leaders had been willing to say out loud.
"Uh-huh. And the fact that I wasn't raised as a fae, that I slipped through the cracks and lived among humans for more than twenty years without them having a clue was pretty embarrassing for them, wasn't it?" Bo recalled. "So I'm guessing it would've been super convenient if one of the underfae they brought out for that gladiator death match had managed to kill me, right? No more succubus with unexplained origins equals no huge scandal."
"That would have been the least problematic outcome from their perspective," Dyson agreed, "especially since you went on to reject both factions."
"Of course it would," Bo groused. "Why bother trying to fix the holes in your system when you can just sweep your screwups under the rug?"
###
Her outrage lasted all the way to Forks High, but when she, Dyson, Bella, and Edward walked into the gym (they had left Kenzi in La Push to enjoy the shifters' after party, with Jacob's assurances that he wouldn't let her fall off a cliff if she drank too much) and she took in the decorations, upbeat music, and overall celebratory atmosphere, she felt her mood lifting in spite of herself.
"Can I get you a glass of punch, or some cookies?" Dyson offered, determined not to let the reminder of how unfairly the fae world had treated her right from the start cast a pall over her whole evening.
"No thanks; let's make our rounds like good little chaperones, and then I want to dance."
Luckily, the students of Forks weren't inclined to make trouble, so chaperoning them didn't require a great deal of effort. Within minutes, Bo and Dyson were on the dance floor, where she worked off her remaining tension with some fast-paced footwork. Eventually, however, the music slowed, the lighting softened, and she found herself relaxing into his arms as they settled into a much more intimate rhythm.
"Well, is prom everything you hoped it would be?"
"I guess. I'm sure it'd be different if it was the prom I was supposed to go to when I actually was a senior with graduation and college to look forward to and I was here with Kyle…if Kyle was still alive… I thought tonight could somehow make up for what I missed out on all those years ago, but you can't change the past no matter what you do to make up for it."
"No, you can't change the past. You can make new memories, though."
"That's true." Bo moved closer, resting her head on his shoulder as they swayed gently together. "And I'm glad I'm making them with you. I'll always regret what I did to Kyle, and I think I loved him – at least, what we had was my idea of love at the time – but if he was alive today… I hope his life would've turned out great if he'd gotten the chance to grow up, and I'd want him to be happy, but I don't know if I'd still want to be with him. The future I thought I would have with him when I was eighteen…it just seems like a dream now."
"You've changed a lot since then. It's only natural that what you want out of life would change too."
"Assuming I know what I want," she said with a small laugh. "Sometimes it still feels like yesterday that I couldn't imagine any future beyond where I would run next after I inevitably drained another scumbag, and there's still so much I don't know about the fae world, where I fit into it… And it looks like there are some people who still think I don't belong at all…"
Dyson's arm tightened slightly around her waist, as if to provide the anchor she had been missing for so long. "They're wrong," he said firmly. "You do belong. You have a family now."
"I know; that's the one thing I am sure of." Her head shifted on his shoulder, her chin angling up so she could meet his eyes. "I might not have any idea where I'll be in a hundred years, or fifty years, or hell, even next year, but whenever I think about my future now, I know I want you in it."
Silence fell between them as she let her head drop back to its previous position, and Dyson felt no urge to break it. Nothing more needed to be said anyway, as far as he was concerned; in all the centuries he'd wandered the earth – searching for her, though he hadn't realized it until the Norn made him see what he had almost lost without ever knowing he had found it – he had seen the world change so much that he had pretty much given up on trying to guess what the future might hold…except when it came to her. Whatever came next, he would always need her in his life – and if she felt the same, that was enough.
###
While Bo fumed as they left La Push, Bella was quieter than usual and seemingly distracted, and unlike her sister, she didn't lighten up when they arrived at the prom. Even greeting her human friends and Edward's siblings failed to pull her out of whatever funk had gripped her, so he took her outside in the hope that she might open up in a more private setting. Luckily, with the prom committee having gone all out in decorating some outdoor spaces as well as the gym and strains of music filtering out through the open doors (it would have been faint to human ears, but Edward and Bella could hear it just fine), the area their stroll took them to wasn't totally bereft of atmosphere.
"I know you're not overly fond of it, but is one dance too much to ask?"
"No, of course not," Bella said guiltily, aware that she hadn't exactly been the best prom date so far. Shrugging off Alice's gauzy shawl in order to free her arms, she wrapped them around Edward's neck, grateful that the music currently playing was appropriate for a slow dance. She might not know any actual dance steps, but she thought she could manage some rhythmic swaying. "I'm sorry I've been so stuck in my head all night; I've just been thinking."
"May I ask what you've been thinking about?"
"Jacob."
"Should I be worried?" Edward asked lightly. "If you're thinking about another man while you're at the prom with me…"
"About his initiation, silly," Bella said impatiently, meeting his teasing smile with a mock glare before turning serious again. "Why haven't I had one?"
"You can if you want to. It's not required just yet; traditionally, young fae are allowed to wait until they come of age, though there are exceptions," Edward explained. "For example, shifters usually choose their side soon after their first change, as you saw with Jacob, and since my kind typically have no knowledge that fae even exist prior to being bitten, we're allowed a year from the date of our transformation to learn about the world we've been inducted into before aligning ourselves with either faction."
"But since I'm not a shifter or a made vampire, I can wait until I turn eighteen?" Bella verified.
"Correct."
"Good – that gives me till September to figure out what I'm going to do."
"What's to figure out? You're not considering going Dark, are you?" Edward didn't say this like he actually believed it was a real possibility, but there was genuine curiosity in his voice.
"Definitely not. I could never be Dark…but the Light aren't perfect either. Those fae cops in Seattle might've stepped in to stop the human trafficking operation once the evidence was laid out for them, but they knew Hunter was trouble for a long time before that; they just didn't bother to do anything about him until his girlfriend, who was also fae, filed a complaint. Then there's all the stuff they've put Bo through – as if making her fight creatures she didn't even know existed five minutes ago to prove she 'belonged' in fae society wasn't bad enough, they also tried to pin our mother's attempted coup on her and locked Dyson up for weeks to try and make him turn on her even though he's one of them and he didn't do anything wrong…!"
Her rant petered out as she ran out of steam and peered up at Edward with a self-conscious look, wondering if he thought she was overreacting. Her fears appeared to be unfounded, though; Edward definitely looked taken aback at the vehemence with which she'd stated her opinion on the matter, but not dismissive.
"I didn't realize you felt so strongly about it, but you're right; the Light Fae have certainly perpetrated their share of injustices as well. May I ask what you intend to do about it, though? When the time comes, will you follow Bo's example and refuse to join either side?" He tried to phrase it as a simple inquiry, not wanting her to feel that he was attempting to influence her decision, but he couldn't completely hide his apprehension. Bo might have been able to get away with declaring herself unaligned simply because her actions were so unprecedented that the fae leaders hadn't known how to respond in the moment, but surely they had made adjustments since then to discourage others from emulating her reckless defiance. If anyone else, let alone her sister, tried to do what she had done, he was afraid to think of how they would respond.
"I wish I had the guts to tell them all where to stick it like she did, but I'm not sure if I do," Bella replied, hunching her shoulders slightly at what she clearly saw as an admission of cowardice. "They've obviously been out to get her ever since, and I don't think I could live like that, always looking over my shoulder. I don't want her to think I'm a spineless conformist, though."
Edward nearly laughed out loud with relief but, seeing that the prospect of Bo's disapproval caused her a great deal of anxiety, quashed the impulse. "I'm sure she won't," he said instead. "Bo loves you very much, you know, and only wants what's best for you. As much as she values personal freedom, she should understand if you want to make different choices than she did."
"I guess," Bella agreed, though she sounded dubious, and her troubled expression remained.
In an effort to distract her from her gloomy thoughts, Edward pointed in the direction of the school. "Look, here she comes now."
Sure enough, Bo and Dyson were walking toward them, arm in arm. "There you are," she called out as they approached. "We've been looking all over for you. Everything okay?"
"Fine," Bella answered, quickly smoothing out her expression. "We just thought it'd be a shame to let these outdoor decorations go to waste since it doesn't look like there's anyone else around to enjoy them. Guess it's too cold outside for the humans."
"Except that one," Dyson remarked, gesturing at a distant figure who was standing alone, well beyond the lighted areas designated for the promgoers. "I wonder what she's doing out there by herself."
"Maybe she had a fight with her date," Bo suggested, frowning. "Should we go check on her? We are supposed to be chaperoning this shindig, after all."
At that moment, however, the full moon emerged from behind a cloud bank, bathing the grounds in silvery light and illuminating the girl's deathly pale skin just as the wind shifted, carrying her scent to them and revealing – at least to Edward's and Dyson's supernaturally sensitive noses – that this was no heartbroken high school student.
"Vampire!" Dyson snarled, his fangs and claws extending automatically.
"Not just any vampire – it's Victoria!" Edward exclaimed. She had been careful to keep her mind quiet enough that, with his attention focused on his conversation with Bella, he hadn't noticed her lurking in the shadows, but when he focused his telepathic senses on her, her thoughts came through loud and clear. "She's been watching us all night! Bo, take Bella inside and stay there; Dyson, come with me!"
He took off at top speed, with Dyson on his heels; the wolf didn't know who Victoria was, but Edward's reaction made it plain that she wasn't a friend. Bo wasn't so quick to follow Edward's instructions – just because she wasn't as fast or strong as wolves and vampires, who hunted their prey in more conventional ways than she did, it didn't mean she was totally useless – but when she turned to Bella and saw that her sister's face had gone ashen, her slender frame racked with shivers that Bo didn't think were due to the chilly night air, she decided that taking her inside might be a good idea after all.
Retrieving Bella's shawl, Bo wrapped it around the younger girl's quivering shoulders and led her into the warm, noisy, crowded gym. Once inside, she steered Bella to the refreshments table, hoping a sugar infusion might help if she was going into shock. "Here, have some punch."
Bella reached for the cup Bo held out to her, only to realize her hand was trembling too badly to hold it steady. "I can't – I'll spill it."
"What's the matter, Bella?" Alice asked as the four members of the Cullen family who were still in the gym gathered around her and Bo.
"Where're Edward and Dyson?" Emmett added.
"What happened to make you so upset?" was Jasper's contribution to the barrage of questions, while Rosalie just watched the scene unfolding before her with a slight frown, unsure of exactly how concerned she should be.
"Our dates ditched us to chase after some redhead," Bo told them, "so we came in here to drown our sorrows."
This explanation was met with astonished disbelief from the four vampires.
"What kind of redhead could make those two run off and leave you?" Emmett demanded, looking bewildered and rather indignant on the girls' behalf.
"The vampire kind – not a friendly, judging by the way Edward freaked when he saw her." Bo paused to take a sip of punch and watch their reactions as the news sank in. From the way their faces fell, she got the feeling they all knew exactly who she was talking about. "So what's the deal with this Victoria chick anyway?"
###
Edward and Dyson pursued Victoria through several miles of forest, but despite the fact that they had her outnumbered and knew the area better than she did, the redhead somehow managed to stay one step ahead, evading every attempt at trapping her between them, until at last they were forced to give up the chase.
Dyson turned away from the riverbank where her trail went cold – she had obviously used the swiftly flowing water to obscure her scent – with a frustrated growl, lip curling back over his long, wickedly sharp wolf's teeth and fur bristling with irritation, to address his hunting partner. Now that we've run her out of your coven's territory, care to explain who that was and why you were so hellbent on catching her?
"Her name is Victoria," Edward answered curtly, fighting his own feelings of helpless fury at her escape and fear over the potential consequences of their failure to subdue her. "She was with the tracker who targeted Bella, though at the time I thought James was the bigger threat. I only saw Victoria as his helper, so I didn't pay as much attention to her as I should have – which is why I didn't realize she was in love with James. Now that he's dead, she wants revenge."
Then why didn't she attack you right here? She wouldn't have stood a chance against both of us- Dyson punctuated this assertion with another low, menacing growl -but two on one are the best odds she could've hoped for now that you know she's after you.
"Because she doesn't want to kill me. I took the love of her life from her, forced her to live without him, so she's decided it would be more appropriate to subject me to the same fate. She wants Bella."
Well, she won't get her, Dyson vowed. Bo would be devastated if anything happened to her sister, which was reason enough for him to protect Bella – with his life, if need be – but he would do it for Bella herself too. Although she wasn't as brashly assertive as Bo and Kenzi, he could see that she had the same strength of character, even if she showed it in her own quiet, subtle way. Then there was Edward; even though part of him still balked at calling the vampire a friend, Dyson didn't want to see him lose his mate. He wouldn't wish that on anyone.
Having picked up these thoughts as they tumbled through the wolf's mind, Edward managed to push down his negative emotions enough to offer him a grateful smile. "Thank you. I suppose we should get back and let everyone know what's happened; there's nothing more we can do here."
I'll say this much, Dyson commented as they turned around and began running back toward Forks, prom turned out to be a lot more exciting than I expected.
As you've probably surmised from the description, I envisioned a different prom dress for Bella than the one in the movie. The dress itself was nice enough, but the sweater? For the prom? I'm pretty sure no self-respecting succubus would wear a sweater to any formal event, so if you'd like to see what I had in mind while writing this, the link is on my profile. Edward's suit from the movie was fine, so I left it alone, and Bo's and Dyson's outfits were meant to be the ones they wore in 5x08.
Of course, Victoria crashing the prom was where the movie ended, so… There will be an epilogue to wrap up this story, then we'll move on to the sequel. Sorry if this seems abrupt; I thought it would take more chapters to get here, but the ending kind of sneaked up on me, especially since I've been distracted with the glitch the site's been experiencing throughout February regarding disappearing updates. Still, at least the admins have finally acknowledged they're aware of the problem, so here's hoping it'll get fixed sooner rather than later.