Twilight: The Long Second Life of Bree
Based on the characters and situations created by Stephenie Meyer
What if: Edward had died in the battle at the end of Eclipse... but Bree had survived?
This is a work of fan fiction. I make no claim whatsoever to own any of the characters or the setting. They are the property of Mrs. Meyer, the original author.
Thanks to Mrs. Meyer for creating such memorable characters. This story is written all in good fun.
1
The silence after the battle was deafening. The Cullens moved with quiet efficiency, their pale faces drawn with grief. I stood apart, my arms crossed, trying to look anywhere but at the burning remains of Victoria's army. Beside them lay Edward Cullen, the golden boy, their leader. The one who had saved me and given me a chance. His body lay still, unmoving, like a marble statue shattered in a garden.
Carlisle's hand rested on my shoulder. "You're safe now," he said, his voice kind but distant. He had too much on his mind—too much pain weighing him down. He'd just lost his son.
Safe. That word didn't mean anything anymore. Not when I could feel the Volturi's presence like shadows pressing against my skin. Not when the grief of the golden-eyed family pulsed around me, thick and choking.
I had never spoken to Bella Swan before. Not really. She was Edward's human. The untouchable one. Her scent wafted over to me even now, sweet and maddening, like nothing I'd ever smelled before. My throat burned, the monster in me clawing at my self-control. I was thirsty, and she smelled absolutely delicious.
I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my palms. I wasn't going to lose it. Not here. Not now. There had been enough death. Enough murder. Enough lies.
Bella sat crumpled in the grass, her face buried in her hands. Her sobs were quiet but relentless, a soft, broken sound that cut through me. I remembered crying as a human, but this was different. There was something raw and endless in her grief. It wasn't fair. She didn't deserve this.
None of them did.
It was my fault. If I'd been stronger, faster—if I hadn't been so afraid—maybe I could have stopped Victoria before she got to Edward and they'd fought the battle in which they'd both died. Maybe Edward wouldn't have died saving us all from her and her army.
My feet moved before I knew what I was doing. I crossed the clearing, my eyes locked on Bella. The others watched me, tense, ready to intervene if I lost control.
I knelt beside her, my movements slow and deliberate. "Bella?" My voice came out soft, almost a whisper.
She looked up, her face streaked with tears. Her eyes widened when she saw me, confusion flickering through her pain.
I hesitated, my throat still burning from her scent. "I'm Bree," I said, swallowing hard. "I—" My voice cracked. "I'm so sorry."
Her gaze softened, and for a moment, she didn't seem to care that I was a vampire—a predator who wanted nothing more than to sink my teeth into her neck. She just saw me. Another lost soul.
I leaned in cautiously, my movements tentative, and wrapped my arms around her. Her warmth seeped into me, grounding me, drowning out the hunger. "I'm sorry I couldn't save him," I whispered.
Bella froze for a second, and I thought I'd made a mistake. But then her arms came around me, clinging to me like I was the last thing keeping her from falling apart.
"It's not your fault," she murmured, her voice muffled against my shoulder. I was a vampire, she was human, but somehow Bella saw me as a teenager, just three years younger than she was. But it was my fault. Yes, I'd been in over my head, but it wasn't fair that her boyfriend had died and I'd survived. Not that I wanted to die, but I didn't have anyone. Edward had a girlfriend and a family who loved him.
I held her, the burn in my throat fading as something else swelled inside me. Compassion. She shouldn't have to comfort me. She was the one who had lost him.
"I'll try to be better," I said, barely audible. "I'll do better. For him."
She pulled back just enough to look at me, her tear-streaked face close to mine. "Thank you," she said, her voice breaking. "Thank you for being here."
For the first time, I felt like I had something to live for.
The Cullens didn't speak much as the sky darkened. They moved around quietly, clearing the battlefield and tending to whatever business vampires have after losing one of their own. I stayed near Bella, not really knowing what else to do.
She wasn't what I expected. I'd heard whispers about her back in Victoria's army. A fragile human. A liability. Someone to be used, discarded, or devoured. But Bella wasn't any of those things. Even now, as grief practically radiated off her, she was steady. She didn't wail or scream like I thought humans did when their worlds fell apart. She just sat there, her hands folded tightly in her lap, her brown eyes staring at nothing.
Somehow, in the middle of it all, she still found room to care.
"Are you okay?" she asked, looking over at me.
I blinked, taken off guard. "Am I…?" The question caught in my throat. I hadn't thought about how I felt, not really.
She waited patiently, her gaze soft and open.
"I'm fine," I said quickly, though the words felt hollow. My throat still burned, my body was tense from hunger, and guilt sat heavy in my chest. Guilt that I had not run away sooner. Guilt that I hadn't been able to stop the battle from happening. Guilt that I hadn't been able to warn Victoria's targets when I figured out she'd been lying to us about them. But Bella didn't need to hear all that. She had enough to deal with.
Her lips curved into the faintest hint of a smile—tired and fragile, but still there. "You don't have to lie," she said. "Not with me."
I looked away, embarrassed. This girl had just lost the love of her life, and she was trying to comfort me.
"You're… different," I said finally, not sure how else to put it.
Bella tilted her head. "Different how?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. It's just—most humans don't—" I stopped myself before I could say something offensive, but Bella just gave me a curious look, like she was actually interested in what I had to say.
"Most humans don't care about vampires," I admitted. "Not the way you do."
Her eyes softened, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of understanding in them. "Edward always said I was too trusting," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
The sound of his name made her wince, and I hated myself for bringing it up. But she didn't pull away. If anything, she seemed to settle deeper into the moment, like letting herself feel the pain was part of her process.
"Do you want to go inside?" I asked awkwardly, gesturing toward the Cullen house in the distance.
She hesitated, glancing over at the others. Carlisle and Esme were speaking in low voices, their faces drawn and serious. Alice sat on a boulder with Jasper beside her, both of them unnervingly still. Rosalie and Emmett stood near the edge of the forest, their silhouettes sharp against the fading light.
"I don't know," Bella said finally. "It feels wrong to leave."
I didn't really know what to say to that, so I just sat beside her. The silence stretched between us, not exactly comfortable but not unbearable either.
Over the next few hours, I learned more about Bella than I ever thought I would. She didn't talk much, but when she did, it was different from anything I'd experienced before. She spoke carefully, like her words mattered, and she listened just as intently.
I didn't get it at first. Why everyone was so obsessed with her. Why Victoria was so driven to kill her that she'd created dozens of monsters. Why the Cullens had risked all their lives to protect her. Why Edward had been willing to give up everything for her. But the longer I stayed close to her, the more it made sense. She wasn't like anyone I'd ever met—human, vampire, or otherwise.
Even grieving, she had this way of making you feel seen. Like you weren't just a problem to be solved or a mistake to be fixed. Like you mattered.
It was unsettling.
Maybe that was why, when she rested her head on my shoulder that night, I didn't move away.