Mame did not fall back asleep.
He stayed on his back for a long time, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the images from the dream to settle into something that made sense.
They didn't.
Every time he tried to hold one, it slipped away like water through his fingers.
A forest.
Bella running.
Cold stone towers rising against a dark sky.
Cloaked figures with red eyes watching from above.
Wolves running across snow.
And that one feeling that stayed stronger than the rest.
A hunt.
He exhaled slowly and pushed himself upright.
The clock on his bedside table glowed faintly in the darkness.
2:03 AM.
"Great," he muttered quietly.
His head still felt strange—not painful anymore, but heavy, like his thoughts were wrapped in fog.
Mame rubbed the back of his neck and tried again to piece together what he had seen.
Not dreams.
That was the first thing he understood.
They had felt wrong for that.
Dreams drifted. Changed. Slipped between nonsense and memory.
Those images had been too clear.
Too focused.
Too real.
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"This world…" he murmured.
The words felt familiar even before he finished the thought.
He knew it.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, behind the haze and the missing memories, something recognized the place he was standing in.
Forks.
Bella Swan.
The name surfaced again like it had before.
Not new.
Not surprising.
Just… remembered.
And with it came a quiet certainty that settled into his chest.
Bella was important.
Not just to Charlie.
Not just to the town.
Important to something bigger.
The images from the dream flickered again.
Bella running through the forest.
Something chasing her.
Red eyes.
Mame frowned slightly.
"Someone," he said softly.
Not Edward.
The figure in the dream had felt different.
Colder.
Hungry in a way that made his stomach tighten.
Red eyes.
A hunter.
He leaned back slowly, letting the thought settle.
"If those were memories…" he said under his breath.
Then the rest of the thought followed naturally.
"…they might be things that are going to happen."
The idea did not scare him.
It just made the world feel heavier.
More complicated.
Because every fragment of those dreams had one thing in common.
Bella was always there.
At the center of it.
Mame looked toward the wall that separated their rooms.
Bella slept quietly on the other side, completely unaware that something about her life was tangled up in things far bigger than Forks High School.
He rubbed his temples again.
"Alright," he murmured.
If the dreams meant anything—
Then two things were already clear.
First.
Edward Cullen was not normal.
Mame had felt that the moment he sat at the Cullen table.
The way Edward watched people.
The way the entire family moved.
The way none of them ate.
Something about them did not follow the same rules as everyone else.
Second.
There was someone else.
Someone with red eyes.
Someone who hunted.
Someone who would eventually come to Forks.
And somehow Bella would be involved.
Mame exhaled slowly.
"Guess I'll need to keep an eye on that," he said quietly.
Sleep clearly wasn't coming back tonight.
He swung his legs off the bed and stood, walking quietly across the room.
The floorboards creaked softly beneath his steps, but the house remained still. Charlie's faint snoring drifted up from downstairs. Bella's room was silent.
Mame moved to the window and pushed the curtain aside slightly.
The forest behind the Swan house stretched out into darkness.
Tall trees.
Mist drifting between trunks.
Moonlight slipping through branches in pale silver lines.
Forks always looked peaceful at night.
But now he couldn't stop thinking about the dream.
About something moving through forests like this one.
Hunting.
He leaned one shoulder against the window frame and scanned the tree line.
Nothing moved.
Just wind shifting leaves.
He was about to step away when something caught his eye.
A shadow.
It slipped between two trees at the edge of the forest.
Fast.
Too fast.
Mame froze.
The movement had been silent.
No snapping branches.
No footsteps.
Just a shape passing through the darkness like it belonged there.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to focus.
The forest returned to stillness.
Nothing moved again.
No sound.
No second glimpse.
Mame stayed at the window for a long moment.
Watching.
Waiting.
Eventually he let the curtain fall back into place.
"…Maybe just an animal," he said quietly.
But the thought didn't convince him.
Not completely.
Outside, the forest remained silent.
And somewhere beyond the trees, something had been moving through the night.
Mame stood at the window a few seconds longer.
The forest had gone completely still again.
No movement.
No sound.
Just the slow drift of mist between the trees and the quiet whisper of wind through branches.
But the feeling from a moment ago hadn't faded.
Someone had been there.
He was sure of it.
Mame stepped away from the window and looked toward the hallway.
Bella's room was across from his.
Dark.
Quiet.
Still asleep.
He rubbed the back of his neck again.
"…Yeah," he murmured.
If someone had been watching the house, there was no way he was going back to bed.
He moved quietly across the room and opened his closet.
The metal bat leaned against the corner where he had left it after cleaning the garage.
He picked it up and tested the weight in his hand.
Solid.
Reliable.
Not ideal, but good enough.
Next he grabbed the hunting knife Charlie kept in a drawer downstairs. He slipped the sheath onto his belt and tightened it at his waist.
Protection.
Just in case.
Mame paused for a moment, listening to the house again.
Charlie's faint snoring continued downstairs.
Bella hadn't moved.
Good.
He stepped quietly down the stairs, careful to avoid the worst of the creaky boards, and slipped out through the back door.
Cold air greeted him immediately.
Forks at night always carried a damp chill, the kind that settled into clothes and stayed there. The ground was soft beneath his shoes as he stepped off the porch and moved toward the tree line.
He kept the bat low at his side.
Not raised.
Not threatening.
Just ready.
The forest behind the Swan house wasn't dense right away. A small stretch of yard separated the house from the first line of trees.
Mame stopped near the edge of the grass.
From here he could see Bella's window above him.
That's where the shadow had been.
Right here.
He paced slowly across the area, scanning the ground, studying the trees.
Nothing obvious.
No footprints.
No broken branches.
But something felt off.
He crouched slightly, studying the darker patch of forest directly beneath Bella's window.
Someone could stand there easily.
Hidden in the shadows.
Watching the house.
Watching her.
Mame straightened slowly, eyes narrowing.
"…Not happening," he muttered.
He began pacing the edge of the tree line, bat resting loosely against his shoulder.
The forest stretched deeper beyond the first row of trees, the road visible through gaps in the branches behind him.
Still nothing.
Wind moved the leaves.
Mist drifted slowly across the ground.
For a moment he wondered if he had imagined it.
Then—
Movement.
A blur exploded from the trees to his left.
Mame barely had time to react.
A shadow shot past him faster than his eyes could properly follow, crossing the road in a single impossible motion before vanishing into the forest on the opposite side.
Gone.
Just like that.
No sound.
No footsteps.
Just speed.
Mame spun toward where it had disappeared, bat already raised slightly.
The road was empty.
The trees on the far side stood silent.
Nothing moved again.
He stared into the darkness for several seconds, breathing slow and steady.
Whatever that had been—
It hadn't been human.
Not moving like that.
Not that fast.
Mame lowered the bat slowly.
Then he snorted softly and shook his head.
"Yeah," he said under his breath.
"You better run."
He glanced toward the forest where the shadow had vanished.
"You bitch."
The night stayed quiet.
No answer.
No second movement.
Just the steady whisper of wind through the trees.
After a moment, Mame rested the bat against his shoulder again and looked back toward the house.
Bella's window was still dark.
Still safe.
For now.
He stood there a little longer, watching the forest on both sides of the road.
Then finally turned and headed back toward the house.
But sleep wasn't coming tonight.
Not after that.
Mame didn't move right away.
The road was empty again.
The trees across the street stood perfectly still, branches barely shifting in the slow wind. Whatever had crossed the road had vanished completely into the forest beyond.
Too fast.
Too quiet.
Mame rested the metal bat across his shoulder and kept watching the tree line.
Seconds passed.
Then minutes.
Nothing else appeared.
The mist thickened slightly near the ground, drifting lazily between the trunks. Every now and then the wind moved the leaves just enough to make shadows shift.
But nothing moved like that again.
No blur.
No second figure.
Just forest.
Mame let out a slow breath.
"…Alright."
He stayed there a little longer anyway, eyes scanning the dark between the trees, waiting to see if whatever it was would circle back.
It didn't.
Eventually the cold began to settle through his hoodie, and he glanced back toward the house.
Bella's window remained dark.
The curtains hadn't moved.
No lights had turned on.
Good.
Mame lowered the bat and started walking back across the yard.
He slipped quietly through the back door and closed it behind him without making a sound.
The house was still.
Charlie's faint snoring drifted up from downstairs again.
Bella hadn't moved.
Everything looked exactly the same as it had before he went outside.
But something had definitely been out there.
Mame leaned the bat against the wall near the stairs and rubbed his neck again.
Sleep was definitely not happening now.
Not with that thing moving around the forest.
Not with those dreams still sitting in the back of his mind.
He checked the time again.
2:41 AM.
"…Great."
He considered going back to bed.
Then shook his head.
No point.
Instead he grabbed the bat again and headed quietly toward the garage.
The lights stayed off.
He knew the layout well enough now that he didn't need them.
The small training area Charlie kept near the back wall waited in the shadows—weights stacked neatly, a bench press, and enough open floor space to move without knocking into anything.
Mame set the bat down and rolled his shoulders slowly.
If he wasn't going to sleep, he might as well do something useful.
He started with push-ups.
Slow.
Controlled.
Each movement careful enough that the floor didn't creak too loudly.
After that came squats.
Then pull-ups on the metal bar mounted near the rafters.
The routine was quiet and steady, built more for discipline than noise. Every movement was deliberate, breathing slow and controlled so the house stayed silent.
Time passed without him noticing.
His thoughts drifted between sets.
The dreams.
The red eyes.
The blur that had crossed the road.
And the strange certainty that the forest around Forks was hiding more things than it should.
Eventually faint gray light began to creep through the small garage window.
Morning.
Mame finished another set of pull-ups and dropped lightly back to the ground.
That's when the door behind him opened.
Charlie stood in the doorway, half awake and wearing his usual early-morning expression of someone who trusted coffee more than people.
He blinked once.
Then twice.
"Mame?"
Mame looked over, slightly out of breath but otherwise calm.
"Morning."
Charlie stared at him for a moment.
"You know it's barely five, right?"
Mame nodded.
"Yeah."
Charlie glanced at the weights, the pull-up bar, then back at him.
"What are you doing up this early?"
Mame grabbed a towel and wiped the back of his neck.
"Couldn't sleep."
Charlie grunted softly, stepping further into the garage.
"Nightmares?"
Mame hesitated just long enough to be noticeable.
"Something like that."
Charlie studied him for another second, then nodded.
"Happens sometimes."
He reached over and flicked on the light, squinting slightly as the brightness filled the room.
"Just don't break anything before breakfast," he added.
Mame smiled faintly.
"No promises."
Charlie shook his head and headed toward the kitchen.
The house was waking up.
And somewhere out in the forest beyond the road, something that moved faster than a human had been watching the Swan house during the night.
Mame went back to training after Charlie left the garage.
Push-ups.
Pull-ups.
A few slow sets with the weights.
Nothing loud. Nothing that would shake the house awake. Just steady movement to burn off the restless energy still sitting in his chest.
Outside, the sky slowly shifted from deep gray to the pale washed-out color Forks called morning.
He had just finished another set when the garage door opened again.
Charlie stepped in, now fully awake and holding a mug of coffee.
He leaned against the doorframe and watched Mame for a moment.
"That's enough."
Mame lowered the weight and set it back on the rack.
Charlie nodded toward the house.
"Go get ready for school," he said. "Breakfast will be ready soon."
Mame grabbed the towel again and wiped his neck.
"Yes, sir."
Charlie snorted softly.
"Don't start that."
Mame smiled faintly and headed back inside.
The shower was quick.
Hot water helped loosen the tightness in his shoulders, though the memory of the night still lingered in the back of his mind.
The shadow.
The speed.
The dreams.
None of it had answers yet.
He dried off, got dressed, and headed downstairs.
Charlie already had breakfast on the table.
Nothing complicated.
Eggs. Toast. Coffee.
Mame sat down and started eating immediately, the quiet kitchen filled with the small sounds of morning.
Halfway through his plate, footsteps came down the stairs.
Slow.
Heavy.
Bella appeared in the doorway a moment later.
Her hair was slightly messy, her eyes half open, and she moved like someone who had not fully convinced her body that waking up had been a good idea.
She stopped when she saw Mame at the table.
Then looked at his plate.
Then back at him.
"You're already eating?"
Mame glanced up.
"Morning."
Bella pulled out a chair and sat down slowly.
"You're almost done."
Mame nodded.
Bella blinked at him a few times, still waking up.
"Why are you up so early?"
Charlie answered from the stove before Mame could.
"He's been up since before five."
Bella turned slowly toward Mame.
"Five?"
Mame shrugged.
"Couldn't sleep."
Bella frowned slightly.
"Why?"
He picked up another piece of toast.
"Just woke up."
Bella studied him for a moment, clearly trying to decide if that answer made sense.
Eventually she sighed and rubbed her eyes.
"I hate mornings."
Charlie placed a plate in front of her.
"You'll survive."
Bella stared at the eggs like they had personally offended her.
Mame finished his breakfast and leaned back slightly.
Outside, the sky had fully brightened into the dull gray Forks called daylight.
Another school day waited.
And somewhere beyond the trees behind the house, something that moved faster than a human had passed through the forest during the night.