"Who are you?!" I stared at the stranger before me.
My mind raced at the possibilities of who this person was, they hadn't been anyone I met during my human life or my after life. I know I had lived a long time but this wasn't a face I was familiar with. This person was new. But the way their eyes peered into my very own, in a sense that they knew me made me wonder how. There wasn't any malicious intent as far as I could tell. Curiosity laced in his crimson eyes as the stranger and I circled each other in the small clearing of the forest. I had just recently gotten back from my hometown after a couple weeks. I figured Bella would be... her usual. Not better but not worse at least. Last I left her, she did start going out albeit making stupid decisions here and there. But what teenager wouldn't? Let alone one who was heartbroken.
What I didn't expect to find a few miles away from the Cullen household was another vampire roaming around the area. He recently fed, I was suspicious of where he had though. If it was anywhere near this location I should get rid of him. I couldn't allow vermin like that to feed on a town I was inhabiting.
"I am Laurent. I was just passing through." His dark complexion gleamed under the high sun. That had obviously been a lie. A cricket chirped not too far from where we stood as I waited for what he'd say next. He wasn't anyone I had met before but to reveal my connection with the Cullens would be foolish of me. No longer did I have the safety in numbers or the Cullens or my mate to help defend me if I were in a rut. If this guy was a threat, I didn't want to expose myself.
Survival was always my number one priority; ever since that day I woke up by the riverbank.
"I didn't realize this territory was still occupied." He spoke slowly in attempt to gauge me. I stared past half lidded eyes. I chose my next few words carefully.
"Still?" I quizzically asked with my head cocked to the side. Playing ignorant to who used to be here was my best bet. Clearly, this man was associated with the Cullens somehow. "I was just passing through myself." A small smirk fell on his lips.
"I find that hard to believe." Laurent chuckled as he advanced closer to me. Instinctively, I stepped back from where I stood. "You still haven't introduced yourself."
"Sage."
"Hm." There was a certain glint in his eyes that I couldn't place a finger on. He knew something.
"What's your business here." I crossed my arms over my chest, no longer in the mood for games.
"As I said," His hand was placed on his chest. "I am just passing through. I am doing a favor to an old friend of mine before I head home." The smirk on his face never faltered and I never wanted to punch someone in the face more than this moment. It's been decades since I've had to encounter another vampire on my own. Back when I was a nomad, the fear of losing my own life never occurred to me. I never cared for the consequences and often jumped into trivial mind games with several ones I've met. There were some like James, who were good company to keep for a short while. And other whose malicious intent was far too great for me to handle. Most were so blood thirsty I couldn't stand to even be near them. Thinking back, I was more reckless than I realized and thank whatever was out there for keeping me alive. If this was the old Sage, I would've pinned him down and demanded answers. But now knowing there were greater vampires out there with powers that out rank me; I became cautious.
"Must be some friend for you to come all this way." Forks was a small town, who would've had business here?
"Ah, this is my parting gift for Victoria." At the mention of her name, I quickly reacted.
That was the name of the woman who had killed my dear friend Ferguson.
Instantly, Laurent's head was buried into the damp soil of the forest. My hand gripped his neck as my nails dug into the skin. With my other hand, I tightly held his wrists in place, while both my knees caught onto his ankles. The chance for escape was narrow at the way I held him. Fury and despair coursed through my body at the thought of this man being associated with the killer of someone dear to me. All reason faded from my body and rage filled me to the very core.
"Where is she." I spoke through gritted teeth, my fangs bare as I hissed in his ear. The tight position he was in didn't falter from the look on his face. Frankly, his grin was still present as he laughed into the dirt. He didn't seem to care that he was basically eating grass as I buried him deeper into the Earth.
"Yet another vampire she has angered." Laurent scoffed, not fighting back. "Are part of the Cullen coven?"
"Not anymore." I sneered.
"And I no longer associate with Victoria. So would you mind getting off so I can explain?" There were moments of silence as I contemplated on my next action. This guy was clearly not to be trusted. He had a relationship with that woman, and James for the matter! "If it sways your decision, I was the one who warned the head of the house about Victoria and James when they were after that Bella girl." I squinted my eyes at the recollection of Edward mentioning this to me briefly. I grunted as I eventually came off of him. "Thank you." He dusted himself off and fixed the dreads that were caught in his mouth.
"I used to travel with James and Victoria. We did so for decades. I had grown accustomed to their blood thirsty antics and powerful personas." Laurent explained as he stared right into my eyes. His aura held no ill intent as he continued his story. He brought up how he grew tired of them after dealing with James's childish games when he dragged Bella into it. And how his last straw with Victoria was dismembering a male vampire who had only come to reason with them. She hadn't even given him a chance to fight back before she murdered him in cold blood. The revelation made my body burn with newfound rage that I would take out on this woman the moment I found her. "I don't know where she is. But she did call me awhile ago. She asked if I can check to see if the girl, Bella, was still under the Cullens care."
My hand immediately went back to his neck at the mention of the human. His body was pressed against the trunk of the tree with such a force that the birds nestled on their branches flew off in a rush. I squeezed him so tightly that the skin began to crack around him.
"Bella is under my care. And if that bitch wants to come and attack; you can let her know I'll be waiting." I menacingly glared at the vampire before me. Laurent's lips parted uncomfortably as he clawed my hand briefly before realizing it was partly useless. I only gripped even tighter at his expense, his red eyes bulging. "And if you ever feed on these grounds again... I'll end you."
"Heh.. I can ass...ure... you." Laurent choked out as. "I don't plan on intervening. I was merely doing her one last favor." There was a hint of confusion that lasted in a blink of an eye. An uncertain feeling popped up for a brief moment but I resonated with this. At the moment, I dropped him to the floor again.
"You left someone you love." My eyebrows were knit in confusion as I watched his skin regenerate while he stood on his feet. He was conflicted within himself but it was that brief moment that reminded me how I felt. "You're tired of the life you now have after you left those two..." It was akin to my own feelings when I first met Jasper.
"I think... I think I love Irina." The name rang bells in my ears and immediately I put two and two together. "But their way of life is confusing to me." Laurent himself didn't understand why he felt compelled to tell this girl what was going on. But something inside him felt it was the right choice to make. "
"You met with the Denali coven." I concluded, arms crossed over my chest as I stared into him. A small part of me used my powers to persuade him by amplifying the feelings that he already felt. He needed a small push to release the pent up emotions that swirled inside him. And I wanted to give him that. "I was like you... before I met them. Confused. Angry I had to stay in one place for my life and feeding on animals. It was different."
"It's a dissatisfying way to live." Laurent scrunched his nose up in disgust, unable to fathom how long they could've survived that way. "Yet you are no longer with them."
"It's for other reasons I chose to end my relationship with the Cullens." I snapped back, not wanting to give him the wrong idea. Sure I had ran away a few times but I had a mate I kept coming back to. "If you love Irina, you should at least give her a chance." I had met our sister coven a handful of times and they were the sweetest people had the pleasure of meeting. "Don't abandon everything you could have with her just because you're confused."
"When will you forgive me?" Jasper's words crossed my mind as the old memories came rushing back in an instant.
"You could have a great life with her if you just give it a chance."
🎈
Meeting with Laurent was a cathartic experience. We only spoke for several minutes but the encounter was enough to make me contemplate just how truly happy Jasper had made me. Despite the pain he caused, I could've done a better job at staying with him especially when times were tough. I cursed myself several times, wondering what the point of visiting Gatlinburg in the first place was for.
I had first gone in hopes to bury everything that reminded me of Jasper away. Not that I had taken anything in the first place but emotionally bury everything within me. I had visited my old home and spent numerous hours by my parent's grave. For awhile it felt like they were the only family I had left, despite them being dust for decades upon decades. It was comforting to read their names etched on a tombstone and remember all the fond memories. I sobbed for hours wondering where I went wrong and why the relationship I harbored with Jasper was so difficult. When things between the two of us were so beautiful and so amazing in the first half of our lifetime together.
But alas, it was all a fairy tale that ended all too quickly.
We would never get the wedding we promised each other. We would never exchange vows in front of the people that mattered the most to us. What more is that I didn't even know where he was. Despite my keeping in contact with Rosalie and Emmett; the entire coven was scattered. From my understanding, Carlisle and Emmett were somewhere in England, Rosalie and Emmett were in the Germany, and the whereabouts of Edward, Alice, and Jasper were unknown to them all. They had parted ways after their first week at a family home in England. And neither have really kept in contact since.
Not that I were to cave and try to find him alone. The thought of them fooling around while I was still alive made my skin crawl. I missed the physical intimacy that we had. I missed being touched and cared for by another being. He was the fourth lover in my life, the other two being vampires I only used for a moment in my afterlife. The thought of finding another lover had crossed my mind but that was selfish of me. There was a part of me that wanted to hop onto the next attractive vampire I would find but I wasn't emotionally ready. I couldn't rush something like that and there was still a string that connected me to my ever loving mate who was a distance away with another woman.
I pinched the bridge of my nose as I continued to walk across the clearing. I had let Laurent go in hopes that our conversation would pique his interest on another life more. But that certainly didn't mean I trusted to leave when he announced he would. He did come here under the pretense of assisting Victoria as one final goodbye; I couldn't just let that slide.
I had patrolled around the house and the other homes several miles away. I made sure to stay clear from the borders as I went about my day, seemingly lost in my own thoughts. My mind filtered between the happiness Jasper and I had to moments between him and Alice that further etched into my brain. He looked so happy with her in the brief moment we were back here together. It made me wonder if his feelings for me were artificial.
What brought me back down to reality were the snarls of several beasts and the foul stench of a wet dog that hadn't showered in days. Clearly they were after something from the sounds of the paws running across the clearing that wasn't too far from where I stood. The faint and very familiar smell of the vampire I had just met filled my nostrils.
With an aggravated eye roll, I decided against my better judgement to follow the trail. The natural hatred and rivalry that shapeshifters and vampires had with each other only made me want to assist the idiotic man I had just met. Only to peeve off the mutts that we shared land with. It wasn't like he was on their territory, he must've almost fed on an unsuspecting human.
I sped as quickly as I could and honestly in the nick of time. A black beast came for him while another tried to come from behind and I pushed him down just in time. The ones who were about to attack stood in their place and growled at me. I stared at the current situation I was in. There were at least five shapeshifters before me, the one from the other week was there as well. I glared at them all and snarled back in retaliation to their vicious greetings towards me. I briefly caught sight of the human who got away; Bella. Her sweet aroma filled my senses, it was no wonder Laurent was enticed to kill her.
"I knew I couldn't trust you." I buried my foot deeper on this neck and pushed up against his chin as I remained crouched and ready to attack any shifter that came for me "Leave him to me you dumb mutts. He clearly didn't kill anyone." Though if they hadn't shown up, Bella would've surely been his meal. The dogs were too simple minded though. I could feel their anger towards me and I emitted the same energy. Bella probably provoked him anyway. "I said leave him to me." My tone and my stance were unwavering as I glared back at the beasts. This idiot needed to repent and have a good chance at a life with Irina. Plus I wanted to piss of the shifters out of fun. "He's new to the lifestyle. And none of you mongrels would understand just how sweet Bella's scent is."
This caused one to growl and launch himself towards me. It was a larger brown one who glared right into my eyes. His snout nearly touched my face as his hot breath coated the air. They seemed to be communicating telepathically on their next move. I could sense that they were unsure of whether or not to trust me either, and I used my powers to sway them over. With much reluctance, they sauntered off; mentally defeated.
Once I declared they were miles away, I stomped Laurent on the for being a jack ass. I had just let him off and he did his own thing. Why were all men like this? I couldn't even accept the gratitude he tried to give me. Instead, I scolded him and told him he was either going to live his life with Irina and the Denali coven, or die by my hand.
[A/N: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO TIE TOGETHER I PROMIIIISE.
This I swear to youuuuu. Thank you guys for all your continued love and support! Sorry been going through a weird existential crisis again and had a hard work week. So many revelations and I realized how horrible some people could be haha. But yeah I finally got another chapter out and it's over 2.5k words! I'm trying my best to give more substance in the chapters.
Any]