"Kill them?" Edward echoed, the words tearing from his throat in a mix of disbelief and absolute fury. He stepped in front of Bella, his golden eyes blazing. "You have no idea what you are talking about. You are a human, Mame. You don't hunt James. He hunts you! I am not risking her life on your suicidal delusions!"
"It's not a delusion if I can back it up," Mame said, his voice flat, his stance perfectly relaxed despite the lethal tension in the air.
"I won't let you dictate her safety!" Edward snarled. In a flash of unrestrained anger and supernatural speed, Edward lunged. He didn't mean to kill Mame, but he intended to physically throw the boy out of the way, to grab Bella and run.
A week ago, Mame wouldn't have even seen the movement. It would have just been a blur of pale skin and wind.
But Mame was Rank B now. The world around him had slowed down.
As Edward closed the distance, Mame didn't try to match his raw speed or block the impact. Instead, he stepped cleanly inside Edward's guard. Using the vampire's own furious momentum against him, Mame hooked his foot behind Edward's ankle, pivoted his hips, and drove the heel of his palm directly into Edward's chest.
The impact sounded like a cannon firing.
Edward was violently redirected. His feet flew out from under him, and he crashed back-first into the muddy earth with enough force to shatter the bedrock beneath the soil. A shockwave of displaced water and mud exploded outward.
Jasper and Emmett instantly dropped into combat crouches, deep snarls ripping from their chests, but Carlisle threw his hands out, bodily blocking his adopted sons. "Hold!" Carlisle roared.
Mame stood perfectly still, looking down at the stunned vampire in the crater. He hadn't even broken a sweat.
"I'm not the same as I was last time , Edward," Mame said, his voice carrying a cold, crushing weight. "Don't mistake my patience for weakness."
"Mame...?"
The small, trembling voice broke the silence.
Mame turned his head. Bella had stepped out from behind the Jeep, her brown eyes wide with absolute shock. She looked at the crater, then at the impossibly fast Cullen family, and finally at her brother—who had just effortlessly floored a monster.
"You knew," Bella breathed, the pieces finally snapping together in her mind. The garlic, the gasoline, the "early vacation," the brutal bruises. "Mame... you knew what they were this whole time?"
The cold, hardened mask on Mame's face finally slipped. He looked at his sister, the system's [Narrative Anchor], and let out a heavy sigh, the Willpower (Rank A) aura retracting slightly.
"Yes, Bells," Mame admitted softly. "I knew."
He glanced back down at Edward, who was slowly getting to his feet, his face a mask of complete shock. "And honestly, the only reason he is still standing right now is because of my friendship with his sister."
Edward froze, his golden eyes darting to Alice.
Mame turned away from Edward, dismissing him entirely, and walked over to where Alice was standing near Jasper. She was staring at Mame, her eyes wide, processing the sheer, impossible reality of a human overpowering a vampire.
Mame stopped in front of her. His posture softened, losing its combat-ready edge.
"Alice," Mame said, his voice dropping to a sincere, quiet register. "I need to apologize to you. In the classroom the other day... I lashed out. I had too much on my mind, I knew what was coming, and I threatened you unreasonably. You didn't deserve that. I'm sorry."
Alice blinked. The intense, terrifying dread she had felt from him all week suddenly evaporated. In her mind's eye, the blank static was still there, but she finally understood why. She had felt Victoria's terror today. She knew Mame wasn't a monster; he was just a brother who had turned himself into a weapon because he was terrified for his family.
A small, genuine smile slowly broke across her pixie-like features.
"I accept your apology, Mame Swan," Alice said, her melodic voice returning to its usual bounce. She crossed her arms, her golden eyes glinting with a sudden, mischievous light. "But... threatening a vampire with ancient hunter lore is a serious offense. You're going to have to make it up to me."
Mame raised an eyebrow. "Make it up to you?"
"Yes," Alice declared, pointing a delicate finger at his chest. "You are coming with me on two—no, three—shopping sprees to Seattle. And you are carrying all the bags. No complaints allowed."
Mame stared at her, completely bewildered. He had just declared a shadow war against three lethal trackers, flipped a vampire into the mud, and broken his human limiters... and she wanted him to hold her shopping bags?
He looked at the tiny, smiling vampire, the absurdity of the situation finally breaking the tension in his chest.
"Okay," Mame said, a faint, genuine laugh escaping him. "Okay, Alice. Three shopping sprees. Deal."
He turned back to the rest of the coven, his face hardening once more as he looked at Carlisle. "Now that that's settled... we have three trackers who think they are the apex predators of this forest. Let's show them they're wrong."
The heavy silence that followed Mame's declaration was broken by a soft, troubled sigh.
Carlisle stepped forward, moving between Mame and the rest of his family. The ancient doctor's face was lined with a deep, pacifistic sorrow, but his golden eyes were firm.
"Mame, we cannot just hunt them down and slaughter them," Carlisle said, his melodic voice carrying a heavy, diplomatic authority. "We do not kill our own kind. We are not executioners. Laurent and Victoria may just be following James's lead. If we escalate this to a full-blown war, we risk drawing the attention of... older, far more dangerous laws. We must find a way to deter him without turning this forest into a bloodbath."
"Deter him?" Mame repeated, his voice dangerously soft. "Carlisle, I respect you, but you're blinding yourself to the reality of what a tracker is. You saw his eyes. He didn't look at Bella like she was a person. He looked at her like she was the ultimate trophy. If you let him leave this clearing alive, he will never stop."
"There are other ways," Esme interjected gently, placing a hand on Carlisle's arm. "We can hide her. We can move."
"And run for the rest of her life?" Mame shot back, his Rank\ B density making his voice carry like a physical force. "No."
Behind Mame, Bella wrapped her arms tightly around her stomach, shivering violently. The rain had soaked through her thin jacket, but the cold she felt was entirely internal. She looked between Edward, Carlisle, and Mame, her mind fracturing under the weight of it all.
"Mame... stop," Bella whispered, her voice trembling. "Kill them? War? What are you even saying? Yesterday I was worried about my Biology grade, and now... you're talking about murder."
Mame's rigid posture faltered. He looked back at Bella, the terrifying, supernatural edge of his aura pulling back. He saw the sheer, unadulterated fear in her wide brown eyes. She wasn't ready for this. She had just learned that monsters existed, and in the same breath, she was learning her adopted brother was built to destroy them.
"Bella," Mame said, his voice softening, "I know it's a lot. But I promised Dad I'd protect you. I promised myself. I can't let—"
A sudden, sharp gasp cut through the clearing.
Everyone turned. Alice had frozen mid-step. Her delicate hands flew to her temples, her golden eyes widening as they instantly glazed over with the blinding light of a vision. She swayed, her knees buckling slightly.
Jasper was at her side in a microsecond, his arm wrapping securely around her waist to keep her upright. He sent a wave of calm into her mind, his own face contorting with concern.
"Alice?" Jasper asked, his voice a low, urgent rumble. "What happened? Did you have another vision? Is it the trackers?"
Alice blinked rapidly, the glassy sheen fading from her eyes as the present rushed back in. She looked terrified, but as her focus returned, her gaze bypassed Edward and Carlisle entirely. She looked straight at Mame.
"Yes," Alice breathed, her voice shaking slightly. "But... it's..."
Mame crossed his arms, his enhanced mind instantly cross-referencing the fractured meta-knowledge he still held from his past life. He knew how James operated. He knew the tracker liked to play games, to isolate his prey, and to use human leverage.
"Let me guess," Mame interrupted, his voice dropping to a flat, icy calm. "It's about James. He's not running away to reconsider. He's trying something right now. He's splitting off from the other two, isn't he?"
Alice stared at him, her jaw dropping slightly. "How... how did you know that? He just changed his mind. He's sending Victoria and Laurent north to lay a false trail. He's doubling back toward town."
Edward cursed violently, his hands pulling at his bronze hair. "He's going after Charlie. He knows she'll go home."
Soft Chime.
[Narrative Shift Detected]
Enemy Tactic: Divide and Conquer.
Target: Chief Charlie Swan.
Objective: Secure the perimeter.
Mame dismissed the window, his eyes locking onto Edward with a lethal, absolute focus. The argument about pacifism was officially over.
"He's going to the house," Mame stated, turning his back on the Cullens and walking toward Bella's idling red truck. He threw the driver's side door open. "Carlisle, you can hold onto your morals if you want. But if that pale freak sets one foot on my porch while my father is inside..."
Mame looked over his shoulder, his dark eyes entirely devoid of mercy.
"...I'm going to rip his head off."
"Stay here," Mame ordered, his voice brooking no argument. He turned his back on the brooding bronze-haired vampire and looked directly at the rest of the coven.
"Alice, Jasper," Mame commanded, his tone leaving no room for debate. He then looked at the coven's matriarch, his expression softening just a fraction but retaining its iron edge. "Esme. Protect Bella. Keep her here, keep her surrounded, and do not let her out of your sight until I take care of this."
Esme nodded immediately, her eyes wide but resolute as she instinctively pulled a trembling Bella closer to her side.
But Edward couldn't accept it. His desperate need for control, his obsession with Bella's safety, and his bruised pride all flared at once. He couldn't let a human—even an anomalous one—take the lead against a lethal tracker.
"You are not doing this alone!" Edward snarled.
In a blur of motion, Edward lunged. He reached out with a pale, rock-hard hand to grab Mame by the shoulder, fully intending to use his supernatural speed to pin the boy against the truck and take the keys by force.
He underestimated his opponent. Again.
Mame's Rank B agility ignited, processing Edward's attack in real-time. Instead of trying to match the vampire in a contest of sheer, immovable force, Mame relied on flawless, brutal tactics. He stepped cleanly inside the arc of Edward's reach. Dropping his center of gravity, Mame seized Edward's extended wrist and the lapel of his jacket.
With perfect mechanical leverage, Mame turned his hips, using Edward's own reckless, supernatural momentum against him. Mame added a calculated, explosive surge of his own enhanced strength at the exact apex of the pivot, seamlessly throwing the vampire over his shoulder.
Edward was launched backward like a bronze-haired missile.
Emmett stepped forward, bracing his massive frame. He caught his brother mid-air, but the sheer kinetic force of the throw pushed Emmett back a full foot, his heavy boots carving deep trenches into the wet mud before he finally stabilized them both.
A stunned, breathless silence fell over the clearing.
Emmett stared over Edward's shoulder at Mame, his jaw slack in absolute shock. Emmett was the muscle of the coven, and he knew exactly how much force that throw required. Mame hadn't just used clever leverage; the sheer physical power behind it was staggering. Mame was still human, but in that brief clash, he had exhibited the raw strength of an average vampire.
Mame stood by the open door of the truck, his chest heaving. A thick, dark vein throbbed visibly against his forehead, a physical manifestation of the absolute rage that had been building inside him for weeks. He glared at Edward, who was untangling himself from Emmett's grip, his golden eyes wide with shock.
"You have crossed the line so many times now, Edward," Mame growled, his voice vibrating with a lethal, barely contained fury. "If you ever try to put your hands on me to stop me again... you are going to lose a finger. Or something much more vital."
Edward froze, staring up at the boy who had just shattered every rule of their reality.
Mame didn't wait for a response. He climbed into the driver's seat, slammed the door, and threw the truck into gear. The engine roared, tires spinning out in the mud before violently finding traction. The heavy red Chevy tore out of the clearing, plunging into the darkening woods.
[System Notice: Host is approaching the hunting grounds.]
He left the stunned vampires behind. It was time to spring the traps.
The roar of the red truck's engine faded into the heavy rain, leaving the clearing in a profound, ringing silence.
Emmett finally released Edward, stepping back and looking at the deep gouges his boots had torn into the mud. He rubbed his jaw, letting out a low, disbelieving whistle.
"Okay," Emmett muttered, staring at the empty path where Mame had vanished. "Someone please tell me I wasn't the only one who felt that. That wasn't just judo. That kid just hit with the force of a Mack truck."
Edward stood frozen, his eyes fixed on the tree line. He flexed his wrist where Mame had grabbed him. The skin wasn't bruised—vampire flesh didn't bruise—but the phantom sensation of a grip as unyielding as iron still lingered.
Bella, still huddled under Esme's protective arm, looked wildly between the faces of the Cullens. Her mind was spinning, trying to process the impossible physics she had just witnessed.
"What... what just happened?" Bella asked, her voice trembling over the sound of the rain. "I know he's been working out, but... Edward is a vampire. Mame shouldn't be able to just throw him like that. Right?"
Carlisle stepped forward, his brow deeply furrowed in scientific and historical bewilderment. He looked at the mud, analyzing the trajectory and the force required for the throw.
"You are correct, Bella," Carlisle explained, his melodic voice laced with an unprecedented layer of confusion. "As you know, our kind possesses strength and speed that vastly exceed human limitations. When Edward lunged, he was utilizing a fraction of that supernatural kinetic energy. For a human to not only intercept that speed, but to possess the physical density required to redirect it..."
Carlisle gestured toward the deep trenches Emmett had carved into the earth. "To throw Edward with enough force to push Emmett backward... it means Mame's physical strength is approaching our baseline."
"But how?" Rosalie demanded, stepping out from the shadows, her arms crossed defensively. "He's human. I can hear his heart beating. He isn't a shape-shifter from La Push, and he certainly isn't a Child of the Moon. It's biologically impossible."
"Unless..."
Jasper stepped forward, his usually calm, southern drawl tight with a sudden, chilling realization. He looked at Alice, and then turned his intense gaze toward Carlisle. The empath remembered the absolute, crushing void of conviction he had felt radiating from Mame in the cafeteria, and the ancient title Mame had used as a threat.
"The Successor of Helsing," Jasper said quietly, the name hanging in the damp air like a ghost.
Edward snapped out of his daze, turning to Jasper. "It's a myth, Jasper. A bedtime story meant to scare fledglings."
"Is it?" Jasper countered, his eyes narrowing. "Look at the evidence, Edward. He knows what we are. He knows our weaknesses. He isn't afraid of us. And now, he just exhibited physical strength that defies every biological law of humanity. He didn't just claim the title. He is the Successor."
Alice gasped softly, her hands flying to her mouth. "That's why my visions go blank around him. He's an anomaly. The rules of our world... they don't apply to him."
The coven fell silent again, the terrifying implications settling over them like the heavy Forks fog. They had spent centuries believing they were the apex predators of the night. But now, they realized that the human boy who had just driven off to hunt a lethal tracker wasn't prey at all.
He was the hunter they had been warned about in the dark.
"He's going after James," Edward suddenly realized, his voice dropping into a desperate panic. "He's going to the house to fight him alone."
The heavy rain continued to pour, washing away the mud where Edward had been thrown.
As Edward, Emmett, and Jasper tensed, ready to sprint after Mame, Carlisle held up a hand to pause them for one final second. He turned his golden eyes to Bella, who was still trembling violently against Esme's side.
Carlisle's expression softened into one of absolute, fatherly reassurance. He stepped closer, his voice carrying a calming, melodic authority over the storm.
"Do not fear for yourself, Bella," Carlisle said, making sure she heard every word. "We will protect you here. Esme, Rosalie, Alice, and I will not let anything breach this clearing until we know the danger has passed. You are under the protection of this coven, and no harm will come to you."
Esme tightened her arm around Bella's shoulders, giving a firm, supportive nod. "He's right, sweetheart. You are completely safe with us."
Bella swallowed hard, looking at the ancient doctor and the fiercely protective matriarch. She gave a small, shaky nod. "Okay. Just... please make sure Mame doesn't get himself killed."
Edward's jaw tightened. He looked at the tire tracks leading into the dark woods. "We won't."
Carlisle looked at his three sons, his expression tightening with the heavy burden of leadership and his centuries-old vow to preserve life.
"Go," Carlisle commanded gently. "But listen to me closely. Do everything in your power to stop Mame from killing James, just as you must stop James from killing Mame or Chief Swan. We are not executioners. Step in, show our strength, and deter the tracker. Force him away from Forks. We protect this family, but we must try to resolve this without crossing that line if there is any other path."
Edward, Jasper, and Emmett exchanged a brief, heavy look. They knew deterring a lethal tracker who had already caught the scent was nearly impossible, and stopping an enraged, $Rank\ B$ anomaly like Mame might be just as hard. But they gave their father a curt nod.
The three vampires didn't hesitate. They vanished into the tree line, a blur of bronze, dark, and blonde motion in the rain, leaving Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Alice standing as an impenetrable wall of marble around Bella.