Chapter Text
[1]
“They found a body in the woods?”
“Yep, just this morning.” Jack said, absentmindedly flipping through the pages of the book in his hands. He shrugged before placing it on the counter and pushing it towards her. “Sheriff says animal attack. Probably some hiker that wandered too far and met a mountain lion that wandered too close. Happens sometimes.”
“Do they know who it is?” Swan grabbed the book and skimmed the title before placing it in a paper bag. “That’s going to be ten dollars and 60 cents.”
Jack humed, nodding his head and taking out his wallet. “Nope. It’s no one from town at least, everyone’s well and accounted for.” He slapped a ten and a five on the counter. “Keep the change, lord knows I’ll be back in a couple days anyway.”
Swan laughed, a light laugh that chimed throughout the room. She ignored the way Jack’s cheeks turned a slight pink at the sound. “I expect no less from my favorite customer, I’ll see you soon Jack.”
The man chortled as he headed for the door, waving behind him as he left. “Thanks again Swan.” He turned to face her on his way out, his back propping the door open. A cold breeze flowed in that made him shiver. “Still think that’s a funny name.”
“So I’ve heard.” She waved him out the door. “Bye, Jack.”
He chortled again as he left. Swan smiled while she watched him walk by the window until he was out of sight, and only then allowed her expression to change. A frown quickly formed on her face and dark gold eyes narrowed in thought. She lightly tapped her nail against the metal lining the edges of the counter, the sound consistent and melodic as it echoed in the room.
Basin is a small town. Only a two hour drive from Portland and surrounded by woodland. It’s cloudy for most of the year, especially now that it’s December, and has a population under 5,000. When Swan first came upon it she thought it perfect. She bought a small home on the outskirts of town and opened an even smaller used bookstore in the center. Swan Song Books didn’t see many customers but she didn’t need that. It gave her something to do inside during the day and the freedom to come and go as she pleased, which was much more important.
When she first arrived she quickly integrated herself into town. That was important too, she learned. Swan was a beautiful woman, too beautiful some of the more cautious towns folk might think. Combined with her youth, 22 as far as anyone knew, that can lead to some thinking she’ll bring nothing but trouble. However, they quickly learned that Swan was a strange girl, quiet and nice and always in that little dusty bookstore of hers, and that’s just the way she liked it. Nice and shy kept you a friendly but barely noticed presence in town, and barely noticed was what she needed to stay as long as she could. Barely noticed kept people from noticing just how strange she actually was. She was just the beautiful little bookworm who was thankfully too shy to know how to use said beauty.
Except for some idle chit chat here and there she was mostly left alone. The only person who actively went out of their way to see her was Jack Miller. Jack was a broad man. Middle-aged and scruffy and able to finish any book in two days, no matter the size. His heart sped up whenever he saw her and as far she knew she was the only one in town who could make his skin flush even the slightest pink. He was her best and sometimes only customer. Fortunately, he was also brothers with one of the deputies in town, which meant that this body in the woods was more than just some dark rumor.
Swan cursed aloud. This happened a few times across the years, but she was hoping Basin would remain quiet and untouched during her time there. She could imagine what the corpse looked like, shredded and bloody and torn apart. It would only be logical to think it was an animal attack, but Swan knew things the locals didn’t.
She knew there were no mountain lions within 70 miles of town, or any other animal that could maul a human for that matter. She knew there were other things in the world that could. Things that weren’t animals but could be just as viscous and much more deadly. She knew because she was one of those things too. Swan stopped her light tapping, leaving a new dent in the metal lining, and as she glided to the door and flipped the open sign to close she knew what she needed to do.
There was another vampire in her territory, and she couldn’t have that.
[2]
Swan never felt territorial before she was turned. There is a certain aggression to the feeling, a type of righteous anger that she wasn’t capable of then; and as she raced through the thicket of trees and brush she felt that anger rush through her body. There was a chance that whoever killed that hiker left as soon as they got their fill. There was an even bigger chance that they didn’t, content to stick around for a few more meals before moving on. Swam didn’t care much either way, though a part of her felt saddened over that hiker’s death, but she’d seen this happen too many times before.
One animal attack was a rare occurrence, but a series of them brought unwanted attention. Hunting parties and curious law enforcers and small town paranoia made it hard to remain ‘barely noticed’.
There was no scent for her to track, no heartbeat or rushing of blood through veins for her to listen for. Most of all tracking was not her talent, but thankfully she did have a gift. As she sprinted across the snowy terrain Swan let her mind extend outside of her body, taut and tense like a rubber band stretched too far. She let it extend further and further and let the connection get tighter and tighter and as she did she felt her awareness grow. She felt the bubble reach its limit, stretched as far as it could go and kept running.
Then she felt it. A dim presence to the north that set her teeth on edge. She felt that certain type of aggression that only rises when two predators meet. Another vampire. This was a part of the land around Basin she’d never been before. She’s only 50 miles out of town, jogging distance for someone like her. She preferred to go much further when she hunted, as far from any type of civilization or popular trails she could get, not willing to risk any human spotting her while she fed. So, as she moved through the dark she was only surprised by what she found as she approached her target.
It’s a house. She imagined that once it was elegant and modern, but now the light wood exterior was ragged and slightly green with mossy growth. The large windows of the house were tinted with dust, and she can see one was completely shattered, only jagged pieces of glass left lining the window frame. The steps leading to the front door were decrepit, the bottom step completely snapped in half and a body laid in the middle of it.
The body was unnaturally pale, legs and arms spread awkwardly in odd angles. Its head was missing, but there was no blood. As Swan stepped closer she saw the skin at the base of where the head used to be was cracked like shattered stone. A dead vampire, unburnt and undisposed of.
Her brow furrowed. When she set out on her little mission she was not expecting this. Was it a fight over territory between nomads? It would not be the first she’d come across. Confused, she looked at the front door of the house. The door was open and unbroken, almost inviting, and as she extended her mind again she felt the same presence from before inside. Swan bit her lip, hesitating. She could leave, she thought, go back to Basin and hope whoever they were decided this area wasn’t worth the trouble and move on.
Swan looked back down at the body. If they were willing to kill for this territory, she imagined they didn’t have any intention of leaving anytime soon, and she couldn’t risk the chance of more dead hikers or worse, townsfolk. Swan walked up the stairs, stepping over the corpse, and entered.
The inside of the house was barren. Dust caked the hardwood floors. Nothing hung on the walls that were now an off white color. It looked completely abandoned, as if no one had ever lived here. As Swan moved silently through the entryway she felt a pang of familiarity and heartache that she quickly shook off. This was not the time for memories. Something about empty houses she supposed.
She wondered if the person who killed the hiker was already left decapitated just outside, or if they were waiting for her in this house - and waiting they must be. There was no way that whoever was in the house didn’t know she was here. She stalked through what must have been the living room, her body ready to spring into action, and kept her mind expanded.
A figure rushed down the stairs to her left, too fast for her to see. Swan was not the fastest or the strongest, she knew this, and combat was also not one of her talents, but that did not mean she didn’t have any advantages. She snapped her shield back towards her, forming it as a tight bubble around her and her assailant, and the moment the figure should have tackled her through the living room wall she dodged. The attacker paused before swiping at her head and she ducked under the hit before twisting her body aiming a kick for their abdomen. Her foot connected and the body flew across the room straight through one of the large windows.
The glass shattered and flew across the room, some of the shards bouncing off her skin. Her mind raced, hyper aware of everything around her as she stomped towards the broken window. The sky was completely dark now, the stars and the full moon the only thing illuminating the scene.
The figure was now in the yard, crouched with their head down and heels digging into the snow.
“Look, I don’t want to fight but if you don’t leave I will.” Swan said, stepping through the window outside. “I don’t know who you and your friend over there are but you’ve caused enough trouble. If you don’t want to end up like them, find somewhere else to eat.”
The stranger stood and Swan prepared herself for another attack, but they didn’t move. They only stood there as if frozen in place and as she stalked closer to the figure she could finally make out what they looked like. They were male, young in appearance with disheveled pale blonde hair and paler skin. He was dressed smart but had obviously struggled in his fight with the dead vampire on the front steps. He wore a torn white button down and ripped black slacks and she could see that a chunk of his right forearm had been bitten off through the sleeve.
Later she’ll wonder why it took her so long to realize. Maybe it was shock, or denial, or the fact that she’d never seen him look so unkempt before. When she knew him he was always so well put together, not a single hair out of place. Dark gold eyes, just like hers, stared back at her wide with shock. His mouth opened but nothing came out, and for the first time she saw him at a loss for words.
Silence echoed as they struggled with what to say, both trying to come to terms with who was standing before them.
“Bella?” There was surprise and a slight awe to his tone. He whispered the name but he might as well have yelled it. She stood frozen, still too shocked to do anything. He took a step forward and she took a step back.
Bella let out a shuddering breath, unnecessary but comforting in its normalcy.
“Carlisle.”