beauty from pain | R.H

| chapter twenty-one |

The Cullens, minus Carlisle, Rosalie, and Evie, sit around the lounge thinking of the newest member of their family. None of them knows what to do or say about what happened or whether it will happen again.

All they knew was that Geneviève's old friend was not a positive influence in her life.

"I knew he felt off..." Jasper growls, thinking of the British vampire he had tried to track down no long after they calmed his soul sister down. She was now on a run with Carlisle to clear her thoughts. "His emotions were just... dark."

Alice rubs her mate's back, knowing he hates getting hit with negative emotions that overwhelm him.

Edward nods in agreement. "I know what you mean; when I read his thoughts, all I could see were the memories he had of the two of them killing and feeding. It was pure chaos."

Amber leans into Emmett's arms as she looks at her siblings, her golden eyes shining. "Well, what can we do? It's not like we can force Geneviève to cut ties with him".

The five of them stood lost, not knowing how to fix this and move forward in order to help their newest sister. Emmett frowned as he looked around. "Where's Rose?"

Rosalie carefully steps into the deeper woods behind the Cullen house. She follows the scent she'd locked onto, knowing it belonged to the British vampire who had temporarily turned their world upside down.

She was determined that it would be temporary; she wouldn't let this man cause trouble for her mate.

Stepping into the clearing, she saw the back of Geneviève's friend Nathaniel, who was alone. He smirked at her as he looked over his shoulder at her, almost as if he had been waiting.

Nathaniel turns with a smug grin. "So you're my girl's mate?" He says the word with such acidity that Rosalie flinches. "You know someone like Geneviève deserves better than you..."

Rosalie grits her teeth when she hears his words. "You mean someone like you?" she hisses, trying to keep her calm. "I saw how you looked at her, like she hung the moon... the same way I look at her."

The British vampire says nothing as he watches the blonde, who continues talking, "But the difference between us? I care about her. Not because she's some great partner in crime. You care about the chaos you can cause, and I care about healing her from that chaos..."

Nathaniel laughed mockingly at her, but it was empty of anything except anger and frustration. They stood watching each other, both in love with the same person.

"She's my soulmate; we're made for each other in every sense of the word," Rosalie says softly, trying to appeal to any humanity the other vampire might have left in him.

"That's the thing, darling. She's with you because 'fate' told her to be, but do you really think she would have chosen you if that soul bond hadn't locked the two of you together?" Nate mocks as he approaches Rosalie, who can't answer his question.

"I've known her for seventy years. I know everything about her. I was there almost from day one of her being a vampire." He hisses in Rosalie's ear as he circles her. "So what makes you think I will let you take her from me?

Rosalie freezes as she hears not only the threat in his tone but also the promise in his future actions, and then she starts to think. She had managed to track Nathaniel out to this clearing when Jasper himself couldn't.

Nate had been standing in the clearing waiting...

With a sinking feeling, Rosalie realized that she didn't track him; he lured her out here with the intent to kill her. To get rid of her so he could take Geneviève back.

"Do you know what happens when a soulbond is broken?" Rosalie whispers shakily. "If you kill me, do you know what it will do to Geneviève? She'll become feral. Yes, you'll get a killing partner back, but she'll never be happy. It will kill her slowly, but it will happen."

For a moment, the woods were silent, with only wolf howls in the distance, but the two vampires didn't give it much thought as they kept their eyes trained on each other.

"She'll have me; that's all she needs," Nate states with a cold finality, which seals Rosalie's fate as he lunges at her, and she lets out a blood-curdling scream.

Alice's eyes open as she lets out a shaky gasp, and a venom tear rolls down her cheek. Jasper is holding on to her with concern at her emotions as she whispers one word, "Rosalie..."