The silence in the room lasted only a few seconds.
But to the Cullens, it felt longer.
Mame stood just inside the doorway of the Cullen house, rain-damp jacket still on his shoulders, trying very hard to look relaxed while his heartbeat thundered in his chest.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
He forced his breathing to stay steady.
If something about this place was wrong, he wasn't going to show it.
Not yet.
Esme Cullen stepped forward first.
Her smile was warm and welcoming, the kind that made a house feel like a home rather than a museum.
"We're very glad you came," she said gently.
Mame nodded politely.
"Thanks for having me."
He glanced around the living room again.
Tall ceilings.
Glass walls.
Soft lighting reflecting off pale wooden floors.
"…Seriously though," he added, looking around again, "this place is beautiful."
Carlisle Cullen smiled faintly.
"Thank you."
He stepped forward slightly and extended a hand.
"I'm Carlisle."
Mame shook his hand.
"Mame Swan."
"I know," Carlisle replied kindly. "Charlie has spoken about you."
Mame chuckled softly.
"That's either good or very concerning."
Carlisle's smile widened slightly.
"Mostly good."
Esme stepped beside Carlisle.
"And I'm Esme."
Mame nodded politely again.
"Nice to meet you."
His heartbeat finally began to slow slightly as the conversation settled into something normal.
Still fast.
But manageable.
Esme gestured toward the house.
"You're welcome here anytime."
Mame glanced around again, clearly impressed.
"Honestly, I'd probably get lost in here."
Emmett laughed from across the room.
"First time I walked in I thought it was a hotel."
Rosalie rolled her eyes.
Mame looked back at Carlisle and Esme.
"Seriously though," he said. "It's amazing."
Carlisle inclined his head slightly.
"We're glad you like it."
But the room still felt… off.
Mame noticed it again.
Everyone was watching him.
Not openly staring.
But paying attention.
More than normal.
He looked around at them one by one.
Alice.
Jasper.
Rosalie.
Emmett.
Edward.
Then back to Carlisle.
"…Okay," Mame said slowly.
The room went a little quieter.
He scratched the back of his neck.
"Can I ask something?"
Carlisle nodded calmly.
"Of course."
Mame gestured lightly toward the group.
"So… why are you guys looking at me like that?"
Rosalie raised an eyebrow.
"Like what?"
Mame shrugged.
"Like I'm about to jump out of my skin or something."
Emmett choked on a laugh.
Alice bit her lip to keep from smiling.
Jasper's head tilted slightly again.
Carlisle answered carefully.
"You seem a little… tense."
Mame blinked.
"Tense?"
He looked down at himself briefly.
"…Do I?"
Emmett nodded immediately.
"Yeah, man. Your heartbeat sounds like you just ran a marathon."
The room froze.
Mame slowly looked up.
"…You can hear my heartbeat?"
Alice laughed lightly.
"Good hearing."
Mame stared at her for a second.
Then slowly nodded.
"…Right."
He rubbed the back of his neck again.
"Well."
He shrugged.
"Guess it's just first time meeting the Cullen parents."
Emmett grinned.
"Fair."
But Edward didn't smile.
Because something about that explanation didn't sit right.
Mame Swan wasn't just nervous.
His instincts were reacting.
And the human standing in their living room could feel the danger in the room—even if he didn't understand why.
(Earlier – Edith)
The car ride back to the house had been quiet.
Too quiet.
Edith Cullen sat in the back seat, perfectly still, her eyes fixed on the dark forest sliding past the window.
She hadn't spoken the entire drive.
Not because she didn't have anything to say.
Because she was concentrating.
Hard.
In the front seat, Alice Cullen kept teasing Mame about being a "modern Cinderella," while Jasper Hale drove calmly through the winding forest road.
Mame responded with the same dry frustration he always used with Alice.
Normal conversation.
Normal human breathing.
Normal heartbeat.
Except for one problem.
Edith could hear it.
Every beat.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Human hearts were always noticeable to a vampire.
But Mame's had something… different.
Not sweeter.
Not stronger.
Just present.
Loud in a way that made it hard to ignore.
She kept her eyes on the passing trees, forcing herself to focus on the darkness outside.
Don't think about it.
Don't listen to it.
Just ride.
But when they reached the Cullen house, everything changed.
The moment Mame stepped out of the car—
His heartbeat surged.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Fast.
Too fast.
Her head snapped slightly toward the sound before she could stop herself.
Inside the house, the others were reacting to it with concern.
To Edith, the sound hit differently.
The scent of human blood carried faintly in the air already.
But when his pulse jumped—
The scent intensified.
Warm.
Alive.
Her throat burned instantly.
She turned her face slightly away as Mame stepped toward the front door.
Inside the house, the others greeted him.
Carlisle speaking.
Esme welcoming him.
Normal conversation.
But Edith barely heard it.
All she heard was the heartbeat.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Faster.
And with every beat, the scent grew stronger.
Her control tightened like a vice.
Don't move.
Don't breathe.
Don't look.
But the thirst was already building.
The same pull she had felt before.
The same one that had forced her to keep her distance from Mame at school.
His blood.
Something about it called to her.
Not the way Bella's blood did to Edward.
But close enough to be dangerous.
She clenched her hands together silently.
Across the room, Edward Cullen noticed immediately.
His eyes flicked toward her.
He could see the tension in her shoulders.
He knew exactly what she was hearing.
The heartbeat.
Edith stood slowly.
No one else in the room noticed.
Everyone was focused on Mame speaking with Carlisle and Esme.
But Edith moved quietly toward the hallway.
Step by step.
Her breathing shallow.
The burning in her throat growing sharper.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
She reached the hallway and turned toward the basement stairs.
The door closed softly behind her.
The moment she was alone, she moved faster.
Down the stairs.
Into the cool darkness below the house.
The storage room was already stocked.
Carlisle always made sure of that.
Animal blood bags were stored neatly in refrigerated containers along the wall.
Edith grabbed one immediately.
Her hands moved faster now.
The plastic tore open easily.
She drank quickly.
The cold animal blood filled her mouth, dulling the burning in her throat just enough to slow the instinct clawing inside her.
After a moment she leaned against the counter, closing her eyes.
The thirst eased slightly.
Not gone.
But manageable.
She exhaled slowly.
"…Better."
Upstairs, Mame's heartbeat still echoed faintly through the house.
But now it no longer felt like a threat.
Just a reminder.
She wiped the last drop from her lips and straightened.
Soon she would have to go back upstairs.
Back into the room.
Back near the human whose heartbeat she could still hear clearly through the floor above.
But for now—
She needed one more minute to regain control.
Edith stood in the basement for a moment, letting the cold animal blood dull the burning in her throat.
The worst of it had passed.
Her control had returned—mostly.
She wiped her mouth carefully and placed the empty bag aside.
"Alright," she murmured quietly.
Upstairs, she could still hear it.
Mame's heartbeat.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Slower now.
But still strong.
Still human.
Still warm.
She turned toward the stairs.
One step.
Two.
Halfway up—
The scent reached her again.
Stronger now.
The open space of the house carried it more clearly through the air.
Warm blood.
Fast heartbeat.
Human.
Her throat ignited instantly.
The burning came back twice as strong.
Edith froze on the step.
"…No."
Her hands tightened on the railing.
Above her, the heartbeat echoed through the floor.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Too close.
Too loud.
Her control slipped.
Just for a second.
She turned sharply and moved back down the stairs before the instinct could take over.
Faster this time.
The basement door shut quietly behind her again.
She went straight for the refrigerator.
Another blood bag.
Then another.
Then another.
The plastic tore easily as she drank quickly, forcing the cold animal blood down her throat again and again.
The burning dulled.
Returned.
Dulled again.
She drank more.
By the time she stopped, nearly the entire stock Carlisle had stored was gone.
The room was silent except for the faint hum of the refrigeration unit.
Edith leaned both hands on the counter and closed her eyes.
Her breathing slowed.
Her control returned.
Slowly.
"…That's new," she muttered quietly.
Usually one bag was enough.
Tonight had taken almost everything.
Above her, she could still faintly hear Mame speaking with Carlisle and Esme.
His heartbeat had finally slowed.
Normal again.
Edith straightened and wiped the last trace of blood from her lips.
The thirst was gone now.
Or at least quiet.
She looked toward the staircase again.
"…Okay."
This time, when she climbed the stairs, she was certain of one thing.
If Mame Swan stayed in this house much longer…
She was going to have to be very careful.
Upstairs, the conversation continued.
Carlisle Cullen and Esme Cullen stood near the center of the living room speaking calmly with Mame, who had finally begun to settle slightly now that the initial tension had passed.
His heartbeat had slowed.
Still faster than normal.
But no longer racing.
Mame glanced around the room again.
Tall ceilings.
Glass walls.
Forest stretching endlessly outside.
"…You guys really built this place out here," he said, impressed again.
Carlisle nodded.
"We enjoy the quiet."
Mame chuckled softly.
"Yeah, I can see that."
Behind him, Emmett Cullen leaned against the wall watching with open curiosity while Rosalie Hale remained nearby, arms folded.
Alice Cullen sat lightly on the edge of the couch while Jasper Hale stood beside her.
And a few steps away, Edward Cullen watched everything carefully.
Mame looked around again.
Then frowned slightly.
"…Wait."
Alice tilted her head.
"What?"
Mame gestured toward the room.
"Where'd Edith go?"
The room went very still.
Mame rubbed the back of his neck slightly.
"She was here a minute ago."
Alice glanced briefly toward Edward.
Edward answered immediately.
"She must have stepped out."
Mame blinked.
"Stepped out?"
Edward nodded calmly.
"She gets car sick sometimes after longer drives."
Emmett nearly coughed trying to hide a laugh.
Edward continued smoothly.
"It happens occasionally."
Mame raised an eyebrow.
"…Car sick."
"Yes."
Alice smiled politely, backing the story.
"The roads out here can be rough."
Mame looked toward the hallway where Edith had disappeared earlier.
Then slowly nodded.
"Huh."
He shrugged.
"Hope I didn't say something weird."
Rosalie snorted quietly.
"Unlikely."
Emmett grinned.
"You've said a lot of weird things."
Mame shrugged.
"Fair."
He leaned slightly against the back of the couch.
"But I swear she bolted out of here pretty fast."
Edward kept his expression calm.
"I'm sure she'll be back in a moment."
Mame nodded slowly.
"Alright."
But something about it still felt strange.
He glanced once more toward the hallway.
Then shook his head and looked back toward the room.
"Anyway," he said casually.
"I think we should probably talk."
The atmosphere in the room shifted slightly.
Edward met his gaze.
"Yes," he said quietly.
"I think we should."