Thunder cracked overhead, splitting the sky as torrential rain battered the thick canopy of trees. Rosalie moved like a ghost through the forest, her limbs blurring with supernatural speed. Mud and leaves flew in her wake. Bella's scent clung to her jacket like a cruel trap, and she cursed herself for agreeing to play decoy. She had volunteered—insisted—because Edward needed time, and Bella needed safety. But this? This was suicide.
Behind her, James followed.
Not like the Cullens.
He didn't charge like a predator.
He stalked.
Every so often, Rosalie would hear it—the low thrum of his feet brushing the forest floor, a quick rustle of bark, the faint sound of breathing even the rain couldn't drown out. It was enough to set her teeth on edge.
She pivoted, launching herself up a ravine wall, leaping over fallen branches and downed trunks, trying to throw him off her trail. But James was relentless. Her borrowed jacket might as well have been soaked in blood for how strongly it radiated Bella's scent.
Rosalie remembered what happened before they left.
The living room of the Cullen house buzzed with quiet urgency. Suitcases were half-packed, drawers pulled open, plans being whispered between family members in quick, clipped tones. The air was tense—not just because of the threat James posed, but because no one wanted to say what they were all thinking.
Bella stood near the fireplace, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.
Rosalie was the first to break the uneasy stillness.
"This is insane," she snapped, pacing across the room like a caged animal. "I've done more than enough. I don't see why I have to be dragged into this."
"You're not being dragged," Edward said evenly, though his tone was clipped with tension. "You're part of this, whether you like it or not. Especially now."
Rosalie turned to face him, golden eyes glowing. "Why? Because you decided to play hero with Bella and now James wants her blood?"
"No," Edward said flatly. "Because if he catches our scent again, and realizes who she was with, Aiden becomes a target too."
At the mention of his name, Rosalie stilled.
Carlisle stepped forward calmly. "We can't take chances. If James circles back, Forks isn't safe for any of us. But especially not for the ones who can't defend themselves."
"He's not just some fragile human," Rosalie snapped. But her voice lacked bite now.
"He's not a vampire either," Jasper said, his quiet drawl carrying weight. "And I can feel it—Rosalie, you're scared. For him. Aren't you?"
Rosalie shot him a glare, but her silence said everything.
Emmett, sitting on the arm of the couch, glanced up from strapping a duffel bag shut. "I don't trust that tracker freak any more than the rest of you. But if Aiden gets caught in this, it won't just be James we'll have to deal with."
"I've seen it," Alice murmured from the corner, her voice distant. "There are futures where he dies, and Rosalie... you don't recover from it."
That made the room go still.
Rosalie looked like she'd been slapped.
She opened her mouth, but Carlisle spoke before she could.
"If we go forward with this plan," he said gently, "We all have to be committed. As a family. If Aiden is important to you, then this isn't just about protecting Bella anymore."
Edward nodded. "He doesn't even know how close he is to all this. He didn't choose it. But he's caught in it now."
Rosalie's fists clenched at her sides.
Finally, she said—quietly, but with iron in her voice, "What do you want me to do?"
Alice looked up from the window, eyes momentarily flashing back to normal. "We split up. Bella goes with me and Jasper and Elise. Edward, Rosalie and Carlisle... you run interference. Take Bella's jacket. Let him follow the wrong scent."
Emmett stood and wrapped a reassuring arm around Rosalie's shoulders. "You and Edward are the best runners we've got. You know that."
"Me and Esme will watch Charlie House"
Rosalie didn't look at anyone. But she nodded.
Then she said, softly, "If something happens to him, Aiden…I'll never forgive you, Edward."
"I won't let that happen," Edward said without hesitation.
Carlisle looked between them all. "Then it's decided. Let's move.
Rosalie gritted her teeth, ducked low, and sprinted across a stream to mask the trail, hoping it would give her just enough time to double back. She didn't look back—not out of confidence, but because she knew he would be there, closer than he had any right to be.
She pushed harder.
Somewhere in the distance, lightning struck a tree, the thunder rolling like the roar of a giant.
James was enjoying this.