The transition from the blinding, baked asphalt of Phoenix to the eternal, suffocating grey of Forks was jarring.
As Charlie's police cruiser pulled into the driveway of the Swan residence, a cold, heavy drizzle was already falling, coating the windshield in a familiar layer of Pacific Northwest misery. Charlie threw the car into park and immediately rushed around to the passenger side, his brow furrowed with deep, paternal anxiety as he helped Bella out of the seat.
Bella moved carefully, her right arm secured in a heavy sling and thick white bandages wrapped securely up to her elbow. She was still weak, her face pale against the dreary backdrop of the Washington woods, but she managed a reassuring smile for her father.
"I've got it, Dad," Bella said gently as Charlie hovered, treating her like she was made of spun glass. "It's just a few stairs."
Mame climbed out of the backseat, pulling the hood of his oversized jacket up against the rain. He grabbed their duffel bags from the trunk, his jaw tightening as the simple weight of the canvas pulled at his micro-fractured wrists and bruised shoulders. He was still strictly operating at a Rank E human baseline. Without his kinetic enhancements, the damp cold of Forks seeped right into his bones, making his joints ache with a dull, persistent throbbing.
"Let me get those, Mame," Charlie offered quickly, reaching for the bags.
"I've got them, Charlie," Mame replied smoothly, forcing his posture to remain perfectly straight through sheer, unfiltered Willpower. He couldn't let the Chief of Police see how utterly wrecked his body was. "Just focus on getting Bells inside before she catches a cold on top of everything else."
Charlie nodded, placing a protective hand on Bella's uninjured shoulder as he guided her up the front steps. "I still can't believe a stray dog got into that old studio. Animal control in Phoenix must be a joke. I should make some calls down there."
"It's fine, Dad, really," Bella insisted, casting a quick, nervous glance over her shoulder at Mame. "Mame chased it off. It could have been worse."
"Well, I'm just glad you're both home," Charlie grumbled, unlocking the front door. "This house is too damn quiet without you two."
Settling back into their life in Forks was a slow, grueling process.
For Bella, the days were defined by physical recovery. She spent most of her time on the couch or in her room, reading and resting. And, as Mame noted with persistent, simmering irritation, spending time with Edward Cullen. The vampire was a constant, statuesque fixture in the Swan house, always lurking near Bella, though he was careful to maintain a respectable, Mame-approved distance whenever the older brother entered the room.
For Mame, the weeks were a different kind of torture.
He had started from absolute zero. Every afternoon, while Charlie was at the station and Bella was distracted, Mame retreated to the freezing, damp garage. He started lifting the rusted dumbbells he had abandoned months ago. The first week, he could barely press forty pounds without his chest screaming in agony. His Rank E muscles tore easily, his stamina was pathetic, and he found himself gasping for air after a simple two-mile run through the woods.
But he didn't stop. He pushed through the mundane, human pain with a cold, relentless fury. He knew the Volturi were out there. He knew Victoria was nursing a grudge. He couldn't afford to stay crippled.
By the time the calendar flipped to the middle of May, Mame had managed to claw back a fraction of his normal human strength, though the supernatural system stats remained locked away.
It was a Friday evening. The air outside was unseasonably dry, the setting sun casting a rare, pale light through the living room windows.
It was the night of the Spring Prom.
Neither Bella nor Mame had any intention of going. Bella was still nursing her healing arm and detested dances on a good day. Mame, who viewed high school social events as a bizarre and unnecessary form of psychological torture, was perfectly content to spend the night icing his knuckles on the couch. Both of them were dressed in faded sweatpants and oversized t-shirts, watching a muted baseball game with Charlie.
Then, a knock echoed from the front door.
Charlie frowned, setting his beer on the coffee table. "Expecting anyone?"
"No," Bella said, looking up from her book.
Mame pushed himself off the couch, his human instincts flaring. He walked to the window, pulling the curtain back just a fraction.
Parked in the driveway was a beat-up Sentra. Standing on the front porch, looking incredibly nervous and holding a slightly wilted corsage, was Tyler Crowley.
Mame stared. Tyler was wearing a rented, ill-fitting tuxedo.
"You have got to be kidding me," Mame muttered, entirely bewildered.
Before Charlie could even stand up, the front door opened from the outside. But it wasn't Tyler who stepped in. It was Edward Cullen, looking devastatingly flawless in a tailored, classic black tuxedo, his golden eyes flashing with a mixture of amusement and firm resolve.
"Edward?" Bella gasped, dropping her book. "What are you doing? And what are you wearing?"
"I was just intercepted on the porch," Edward said smoothly, stepping fully into the living room and leaving the door cracked open.
Mame walked over to the door and looked out. Tyler Crowley was standing on the porch, looking up at Edward with a mixture of confusion and profound intimidation.
"I... I'm here to pick up Bella," Tyler stammered, holding up the sad corsage. "For the prom. I told her I'd make up for the van accident, you know? I wanted to surprise her."
Edward didn't raise his voice, but the terrifying, velvet smooth authority of a predator slipped into his tone. "That is very considerate of you, Tyler. However, Bella is unavailable this evening. She is attending the prom with me."
Tyler blinked, his eyes darting from Edward's designer tuxedo to the quiet, glaring human brother standing in the doorway. Tyler swallowed hard, his survival instincts finally kicking in. "Oh. Okay. Uh... have a good night, then."
Tyler practically sprinted back to his car, peeling out of the driveway.
Mame closed the door, turning to look at Edward. "We aren't going to the prom, Edweird. Look at us. We are wearing sweatpants. Bella is in a cast."
"I rented a car," Edward replied calmly, a small, triumphant smirk playing on his lips. "And you are both going."
"Like hell I am," Mame scoffed, crossing his arms.
"Oh, you definitely are!" a bright, musical voice sang out.
The back door of the kitchen flew open, and Alice Cullen burst into the house like a glittering, designer tornado. She was carrying three massive garment bags, her pixie face lit up with a terrifying, absolute determination.
"Alice!" Bella panicked, trying to sink deeper into the couch cushions. "No! I am not going to a dance!"
"Edward, handle your girlfriend," Alice commanded, tossing one of the garment bags at the vampire. She immediately locked her golden eyes on Mame. "And you. Shower. Now."
"I am not going to a high school dance, Alice," Mame warned, holding his ground. "I don't have my stats right now, but I will still throw a lamp at you."
"Throw all the lamps you want," Alice laughed, blurring across the room so fast Mame's mortal eyes couldn't track her. She shoved a heavy garment bag into his chest. "I bought this for you in Phoenix. You are going to wear it, and you are going to like it. Now march, or I will dress you myself."
Mame's eyes widened in sheer horror. Knowing Alice was entirely capable and unhinged enough to follow through on that threat, Mame grabbed the bag and retreated up the stairs, grumbling violently under his breath.
For the next hour, the Swan household was subjected to a hostile takeover.
Alice worked with terrifying efficiency. When Bella finally emerged from her bedroom, she looked stunning. Alice had done her hair and makeup to perfection, pulling her dark hair back to highlight her face. She was wearing a deep, twilight-blue French-style dress, the cascading fabric cleverly designed to incorporate her bandages without making them look like a medical burden.
A few minutes later, Mame trudged down the stairs.
He was scowling, but the transformation was undeniable. The suit Alice had purchased during their manic Phoenix shopping spree was a masterpiece—a sharp, tailored charcoal two-piece that fit him perfectly, paired with a dark, open-collar shirt. It hid his remaining bruises completely and gave him the polished, dangerous aesthetic of a young hitman.
"I look like a glorified waiter," Mame grumbled, pulling at the cuffs.
"You look incredibly handsome," Alice corrected cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "Now, let's go! Your rides are waiting!"
"Rides? Plural?" Mame raised an eyebrow as they headed for the front door.
They walked out onto the porch. Parked at the curb was a sleek, rented silver sedan.
But as Mame looked past Edward, who was carefully helping Bella down the front steps, his heart did a strange, completely human stutter.
Standing on the sidewalk, leaning casually against the passenger side of the rented car, was Edythe Cullen.
She looked absolutely breathtaking. Her bronze hair was swept back, her pale, flawless skin glowing in the fading evening light. She was wearing a stunning, elegant dress that mirrored Edward's classic aesthetic, and her golden eyes locked onto Mame the second he stepped onto the porch. A slow, knowing, highly amused smile spread across her lips.
Mame stopped dead in his tracks. His jaw slackened slightly, his brain completely short-circuiting as he stared at the gorgeous, immortal girl waiting for him.
Beside him, Alice let out a loud, chiming laugh. "Surprise! You didn't think I'd let you go alone, did you?"
Mame closed his mouth, desperately trying to reboot his stoic demeanor, but a faint, betraying flush crept up his neck.
Before he could process the ambush, the screen door slammed open behind him. Charlie stepped out onto the porch. He was wearing his standard flannel, but he had purposefully adjusted his stance. His police badge was highly visible, pinned to his belt right next to his holstered, heavy-duty service weapon.
Charlie locked his eyes on Edward. The Chief of Police wasn't smiling.
"Listen to me very carefully, Cullen," Charlie growled, his hand resting casually but purposefully on his belt, inches from the gun. "You drive safe. You take care of my daughter. And you have her back here by midnight. Exactly midnight. Do we understand each other?"
Edward, to his credit, maintained perfect, respectful eye contact. "I understand completely, Chief Swan. She will be perfectly safe."
Mame, snapping out of his Edythe-induced stupor, looked at Charlie's gun, looked at Edward, and burst out laughing. It was a genuine, loud bark of amusement that echoed across the damp lawn.
"You tell him, Dad!" Mame yelled enthusiastically, pointing at the vampire. "Shoot him if he's even a minute late! I'll help you bury him in the backyard!"
"Mame!" Bella gasped, absolutely mortified, her face turning as red as a tomato. "Dad, stop it!"
"Just doing my job, Bells," Charlie grunted, though the corners of his mustache twitched with a suppressed smile. He looked at Mame, giving him a firm nod. "You keep an eye on them, son."
"Always do, Charlie," Mame smirked, adjusting his jacket.
He walked down the steps, shaking his head in amusement, and made his way toward the silver car where Edythe was waiting. The immortal girl's golden eyes sparkled with mischief as he approached.
"A woodchipper and a shallow grave?" Edythe purred softly, her voice a magnetic, teasing melody. "You Swans certainly have a flair for violent threats."
Mame let out a long, exhausted sigh, but a reluctant smile finally broke through his scowl. He opened the car door for her.
"You have no idea," Mame muttered. "Now get in the car before I change my mind and go back to my sweatpants."
As they drove away toward the high school, leaving Charlie standing guard on the porch, Mame looked out the window at the dark, passing trees of Forks. He was human, he was crippled, and he was currently on his way to a high school dance with a family of vampires. The narrative was completely broken, but for the first time in weeks, Mame Swan actually felt like he could breathe.
The sleek, rented silver sedan glided silently over the wet, rain-slicked asphalt of Forks.
Inside the car, the atmosphere was a bizarre mix of high school awkwardness and supernatural tension. Edward was in the driver's seat, one hand resting casually on the wheel, while Bella sat in the passenger seat, her cast resting on her lap as she nervously adjusted the hem of her blue dress.
In the backseat, Mame sat next to Edythe. The physical proximity was jarring. Even through the tailored fabric of his charcoal suit, he could feel the ambient, unnatural cold radiating from her marble-like skin. He kept his gaze directed out the window at the passing pines, the silence between them stretching just a little too long.
"So," Mame suddenly broke the quiet, his voice a low, dry murmur that wouldn't carry over the soft hum of the car's engine. He turned his head, his dark eyes locking onto her golden ones. "Are you going to run away from me again tonight?"
Edythe completely froze.
The playful, teasing smile that had been dancing on her lips instantly vanished. Her posture went entirely rigid, her hands folding neatly but tensely in her lap. She remembered the early days in Forks, the moments she had bolted into the trees the second his presence became too overwhelming, or the scent of his blood too sharp.
Mame watched her freeze, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "What? Did you not read my mind and see I was going to ask that?"
Edythe blinked, the tension easing slightly as she realized he was testing her. She shook her head, a soft, musical sigh escaping her lips.
"I don't do that," Edythe replied quietly, her gaze dropping to his hands for a fraction of a second before meeting his eyes again. "I trained very, very hard to stop passively reading minds. It's overwhelming, and frankly, it's an invasion of privacy. I only hear what I actively try to listen to."
Mame let out a quiet, appreciative hum. He leaned his head back against the leather headrest, shooting a highly pointed, deliberate glare at the back of the driver's seat.
"Well," Mame drawled, making sure his voice was just loud enough for vampire hearing. "If only Edweird was like that, maybe he wouldn't be so entirely insufferable."
In the driver's seat, Edward's shoulders stiffened. He didn't turn around, but his knuckles briefly turned bone-white against the steering wheel. Bella, oblivious to the telepathic warfare, just smiled out the windshield.
Edythe covered her mouth, suppressing a very undignified, highly amused snort.
"But seriously," Mame asked, his tone shifting back to that cold, grounded sincerity. He looked at the immortal girl sitting next to him. He was a Rank E human now. If she lost control, he had no system, no speed, and no heavy blade to stop her. "You really aren't going to run this time?"
Edythe's golden eyes softened. The amusement faded, replaced by an ancient, predatory, but absolute discipline.
"No, Mame," Edythe whispered, the melodic cadence of her voice sending a strange, purely human shiver down his spine. "I can control myself. I promise. I won't run... as long as you don't bleed."
Mame let out a dry, rattling chuckle, wincing slightly as the movement pulled at his taped ribs. "I'll do my best to keep my blood on the inside tonight. No promises, though. I am notoriously fragile these days."
The Spring Prom was being held in the Forks High School gymnasium, and it was exactly the kind of neon, tulle-draped nightmare Mame had anticipated.
The theme seemed to be a generic "Monte Carlo" casino night, complete with cheap cardboard dice taped to the walls and a disco ball throwing fractured light across the sweaty, awkward teenage masses. The DJ was playing a bass-heavy pop song that rattled the bleachers, and the air smelled aggressively of cheap cologne, hairspray, and anxiety.
"This," Mame deadpanned as they walked through the double doors, "is my personal hell. If the Volturi walk in right now, I might just thank them."
"Oh, stop complaining," Alice appeared out of nowhere, looking like a high-fashion model who had accidentally wandered into a middle school dance. She grabbed Jasper's hand, practically dragging the stoic, battle-scarred empath out onto the dance floor. "It's a party! Have fun!"
Mame watched them go, shaking his head. He looked over to see Edward carefully spinning Bella under the disco ball, keeping his movements slow and fluid to accommodate her cast. Bella was blushing furiously, but she was smiling—a real, unburdened smile that made Mame's heavily bruised chest ache with a sudden, fierce relief.
She was safe. They were home.
"It really is awful, isn't it?" Edythe commented, stepping up beside him. She was looking around the gym, taking in the chaotic human spectacle with a look of polite, amused fascination. "The heart rates are erratic, the hormones are overpowering, and the punch looks like it might actually be toxic."
"I told you," Mame said, leaning against the folded bleachers to take the weight off his aching legs. "Sweatpants. The couch. We could have been watching baseball."
Edythe turned to him, the chaotic lights of the disco ball reflecting in her golden eyes. She stepped just a fraction closer, invading his personal space with that terrifying, magnetic grace.
"But then I wouldn't have gotten to see you in a suit," Edythe purred softly.
Mame stared at her. His Rank B stats were gone, his titles were deleted, and his body was a patchwork of agonizing bruises. He was mortal, broken, and starting over from absolute zero. But standing there in the loud, awful gymnasium, with an immortal predator smiling at him in a twilight-blue dress, Mame felt the heavy, suffocating weight of the past month finally begin to lift off his shoulders.
He let out a long, slow breath, closing his eyes for a second as the tension bled out of his jaw.
"Yeah," Mame muttered, a genuine, relaxed smile finally breaking through his stoic mask. "I guess it isn't a complete disaster."
He held out his bruised, human hand. Edythe looked at it, her smile widening, and placed her cold, marble fingers into his palm. As they walked out onto the terrible, crowded dance floor, Mame Swan finally let himself drop the hunt, if only for one night.
The suffocating heat and thumping bass of the gymnasium eventually grew to be too much.
From the edge of the dance floor, Mame kept a vigilant, hawkish eye on his sister. When he saw Edward carefully guiding Bella toward the side exit, slipping out into the cool, damp night air of the school parking lot, Mame's protective instincts flared immediately.
He didn't say a word. He just tapped Edythe's shoulder and tipped his head toward the doors. The immortal girl offered a knowing, highly amused smile, and the two of them slipped out of the gym just seconds behind them.
The crisp, rain-washed air of Forks was a welcome relief from the aggressive scent of teen cologne. Mame stepped out from under the awning, his hands tucked into the pockets of his tailored trousers. He was about to close the distance between himself and Edward when a tall, broad-shouldered figure stepped out from the shadows of the parking lot, intercepting Bella and the vampire.
Mame stopped, his dark eyes narrowing. It was Jacob Black.
The Quileute teenager had grown considerably since Mame had last seen him down at La Push. He looked uncomfortable in a plain dress shirt, the rain lightly misting his long dark hair, but his expression was set with a stubborn, nervous determination.
Mame and Edythe hung back near the brick wall of the school, close enough to hear every word over the quiet hum of the night.
"Jacob?" Bella asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "What are you doing here?"
Edward stepped slightly in front of Bella, his posture perfectly rigid, his golden eyes locked onto the boy. Jacob visibly swallowed, intimidated by the flawless, statuesque predator, but he stood his ground.
"My dad sent me," Jacob muttered, crossing his arms to ward off the chill. He looked directly at Bella. "He paid me twenty bucks to come crash your prom and deliver a message. He wanted me to warn you, Bella."
"Warn me about what?" Bella asked, her brow furrowing.
"He said to tell you that the Quileutes are watching," Jacob recited, his voice thick with a mix of teenage awkwardness and inherited tribal duty. "He knows what... who you're with. He says you need to break up with him. Right now. Before it's too late."
Bella's face hardened, her protective streak flaring up to match her brother's. "Jacob, tell Billy thanks for the concern, but it's none of his business who I hang out with."
Jacob sighed, looking miserable. "I told him you'd say that. I'm just the messenger."
Before Jacob could turn back to his rusted truck, his dark eyes drifted past Edward and landed on the figures standing near the gym doors. He recognized Mame immediately, but then he saw the pale, breathtakingly beautiful girl standing beside him, her arm brushing against his charcoal suit jacket.
Jacob's eyes widened. He marched over, the damp asphalt crunching under his sneakers.
"My dad said the warning goes for you, too, Mame," Jacob said, his voice dropping an octave as he tried to project authority. He gestured nervously toward Edythe. "He said you should know better after spending time with Sam and the guys. You need to stay away from her."
Mame stared at Jacob. He was standing completely still, his hands in his pockets, projecting the absolute, stoic calm of a hunter, even if his body was currently as fragile as glass.
"Tell Billy he's misreading the situation, Jacob," Mame said, his voice flat and entirely deadpan. "We don't have that kind of relationship."
"He is entirely correct," Edythe chimed in smoothly, her golden eyes innocent, though a wicked, teasing amusement danced in their depths. "We are merely chaperoning the event. Strictly platonic."
Jacob looked back and forth between the two of them. He wasn't entirely convinced—not with the way Edythe was standing just a fraction of an inch into Mame's personal space—but the blank, unyielding stare Mame was giving him made the younger boy's courage completely evaporate.
"Right. Well. Message delivered," Jacob muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets. He cast one last, uneasy look at the vampires before turning on his heel and jogging off toward the dark end of the parking lot.
As the taillights of Jacob's truck faded into the night, Mame let out a heavy sigh, the dull ache in his ribs reminding him of the physical toll of his mortality.
He looked over to where Edward and Bella were standing. The interruption had clearly rattled Bella, and Edward was leaning in close, speaking to her in a soft, low murmur, trying to soothe the anxiety Billy's message had sparked.
Mame took a step forward, fully intending to ruin the romantic moment.
Edythe stepped gracefully into his path, her cool hand resting lightly against the lapel of his charcoal suit jacket. "Give them a minute, Mame. They need some space."
Mame frowned, his dark eyes flicking from Edythe to Edward. He knew she was right. Bella needed a moment to breathe, and constantly hovering wasn't going to help her feel normal.
"Fine," Mame muttered aloud.
But internally, Mame took a deep breath, marshaling his Rank A Willpower, and projected his internal monologue with the volume turned all the way up, aiming it directly at the mind-reader across the parking lot.
I am giving you exactly five minutes of space, Edweird, Mame yelled in his mind, the telepathic threat ringing like a bell. If you try anything—and I mean ANYTHING—I will find a way to shoot you. I don't care if I have to melt down the family silverware to make the bullets. Keep your hands where I can see them.
Across the lot, Edward subtly flinched. He didn't turn around, but he slowly, deliberately took half a step back from Bella, keeping his hands carefully folded behind his back.
Mame smirked, satisfied.
"Come on," Mame said, gesturing for Edythe to follow him as he moved toward a covered walkway a few dozen yards away. "We'll stand over here."
He stopped under the awning, leaning his aching back against the brick wall. From here, they were far enough away to give Bella the illusion of privacy, but Mame had a perfectly clear, unobstructed line of sight to the vampire and his sister.
Edythe leaned against the brick beside him, crossing her arms as she followed his gaze.
"You know," Edythe murmured, a soft, melodic laugh woven into her words, "you are going to make his eternity absolutely miserable."
"That," Mame replied, his eyes never leaving Edward, "is the only reason I let him live."