POV: Jasper
The trail wasn't fresh.
But it was desperate.
Fear soaked into the snow like heat.
Not the sharp, clean fear of a predator chasing prey —No.
This was small.Human-like.Panicked.
And broken.
"It's him," Alice whispered beside me."I know it."
Bella moved quietly at my other side, steps light but urgent.
I glanced at the faint prints leading through the trees.Not quite human prints.Too light for a vampire's.
Hybrid.
And young.
Very young.
I inhaled, letting the cold air drag the scent deeper.
Pain.Cold.Weakness.
And beneath it —something else.
Something twisted and jagged.
Alice touched my arm gently.
"How bad?"
"Worse than you think," I murmured.
And I didn't mean his body.
I meant his mind.
Whatever the Volturi had done to him…had left splinters.
We moved faster.
Snow thickened around us, the wind picking up until it howled through the branches.
Bella tugged her hood tighter.
"Are we close?" she asked, voice tight.
Alice's eyes fluttered — not seeing a vision, but feeling the pull of one.
"Yes," she whispered."Oh, Bella… we're very close."
A few steps more—
And then I felt it.
A burst of emotion so violent it nearly knocked me to my knees.
Pain.Terror.Loneliness so deep it had teeth.And—
Hope.
Pure, raw, trembling hope.
I staggered.
Alice caught my elbow instinctively.
"Jasper?!"
"He's… he's terrified," I breathed."And exhausted. And trying to hide it. God— he's trying so hard to hide it…"
Bella swallowed.
"Where is he?"
I pointed toward a cluster of bent spruce trees.
"He's right past there. He's—"
A soft, broken sound cut the air.
A cough.A gasp.
A whimper.
Alice was the first to move.
POV: Alice
I found him kneeling in the snow.
Small.Hunched.Arms wrapped around himself, shaking violently.
Black hair plastered to his forehead.Clothes torn.Lips cracked with cold.
His eyes lifted slowly when he sensed us.
Not hostile.
Not defensive.
Just…
tired.
So tired.
I froze.
"It's you," he whispered.
His voice was thin, hoarse.Not from cold — from crying.
He knew me.Or at least… recognized me.
My heart clenched.
I stepped closer.
"Yes," I said softly."It's me."
Bella appeared at my side, breath catching.
"Oh God," she murmured. "He's just a kid."
Jasper stayed back a few feet — probably because the emotional storm around Lucian was enough to drown anyone.
Lucian flinched at the sound of Jasper's breath.
"I'm sorry," he said instantly, panic spiking.His hands flew up in a gesture of surrender."I didn't mean to— I-I won't run— I won't— I'm good— I'm good—"
Oh.
The Volturi had trained him like this.
Conditioned him to fear consequences for every breath.
Bella dropped to her knees in the snow without hesitation.
"Hey, hey— it's okay."She reached slowly toward him."You're safe. No one here will hurt you, sweetheart."
Lucian stared at her hand like he didn't know what to do with kindness.
His breathing hitched.
"I can leave if you want—" he whispered.
"No," Alice said quickly.The word ripped out of her."You came to us."
Lucian's lips trembled.
"Yes," he whispered."I… I saw you."
Jasper stepped closer now, cautiously.
The surge of fear in Lucian hit me like a physical blow.
But Jasper lowered his voice to the gentlest tone I'd ever heard from him.
"We're not the Volturi," he said calmly."No one here will punish you."
Lucian blinked.
Then blinked again, slower.
He was struggling to stay upright.
"You don't… belong to them anymore," Bella said firmly.
His lower lip shook.
"I don't belong," he whispered.A single tear froze on his cheek."Anywhere."
My heart shattered.
I moved.
Slow, careful, deliberate.
I knelt in front of him and reached out — touch light, barely there — brushing his frozen knuckles with my fingertips.
He gasped.
A sound of shock.Of recognition.Of relief.
The exact same sound he'd made in the vision.
"You're real," he breathed.
"So are you," I whispered.
His eyes rolled, vision blurring.
He was fainting.
"Jasper—" I said sharply.
"I've got him."
Jasper moved forward just in time to catch Lucian as his body tipped sideways.
Lucian sagged into his arms, too exhausted to fight, too cold to think.
His head fell against Jasper's shoulder.
Breathing shallow.Heartbeat fluttering like a trapped bird.
Jasper grimaced at the emotional storm soaking through him.
"God… this kid's been through hell."
Bella touched Lucian's cheek, jaw trembling.
"We take him home," she whispered."We take him home right now."
I ran a hand gently through Lucian's hair.
He didn't react.
Didn't wake.
But his lips parted, and he murmured with the last scrap of consciousness he had:
"Don't leave me…"
My throat tightened.
"I won't," I promised.
And I meant it.