The rain had stopped, but the weight of what just happened pressed on Bella like a mountain. She sat by the fire Jacob had started—barely breathing, eyes locked on the flames.
Inside her, Lucian had quieted… but not fully.
She could still feel him.
Not just as a presence, but as a mind.
A soul.
And now… a will.
---
Jacob paced near the edge of the camp, Fang of the First Flame in hand, watching the trees. Watching the shadows. Since Edward's visit, the woods had gone deathly still.
Even the birds were silent.
"I never thought he'd try to talk you down," Jacob muttered, voice low. "Thought he'd come for blood."
Bella looked up. "He didn't need to. He's already planning worse."
Jacob's fists clenched. "He's going to run to the Volturi, isn't he?"
She nodded.
"Then we don't wait."
Bella turned her eyes toward him—glowing faintly, inhuman, but still hers.
"You're not afraid?"
Jacob looked her dead in the eyes.
"I'm terrified."
He walked to her and sat beside her, letting the crackle of fire fill the space between them. He rested a hand gently over hers—then over her belly.
"We've already made the impossible," he said quietly. "Now we protect it. No matter what."
Her breath hitched, heart swelling with emotion.
"You're a good father," she whispered.
He smiled, but it was tired. "Hope he thinks so."
---
That night, the forest remained silent.
Jacob slept with his back against a tree, the blade across his lap.
Bella lay curled on the ground, wrapped in pelts, staring at the stars… until her eyes drifted closed.
---
And then she was not in the forest anymore.
She stood in a dreamscape of silver mist and ash-black trees.
A soft glow illuminated the horizon, pulsing gently like a heart.
Footsteps echoed behind her.
She turned.
And standing there—small, childlike, no older than five—was a boy with raven-black hair, pale skin, and one golden eye and one blood-red eye.
His expression was curious. Calm. Powerful.
"Lucian," she whispered.
He nodded, lips not moving.
> "You found me."
Bella's breath trembled. "Is this… real?"
> "Not yet. But soon."
He walked up to her, and the mist coiled around his feet like it obeyed him.
> "I wanted you to meet someone."
Bella blinked. "Who?"
The world rippled.
And from the trees emerged a girl—barefoot, older than Lucian by a few years, with long black curls, amber eyes, and a crescent moon birthmark glowing faintly on her wrist.
Bella's breath caught.
Lucian looked between them.
> "She's always been there. In my dreams. I think… she's my tether."
The girl didn't speak, but she smiled at Lucian with warmth that pierced the mist.
Bella stepped closer, unsure. "What's her name?"
Lucian tilted his head.
> "She doesn't have one yet."
The girl stepped forward—and gently touched Bella's hand.
It felt warm. Human.
And in that moment, Bella knew.
This girl wasn't just some figment.
She was real.
Somewhere.
Waiting.
Connected to Lucian through fate or magic or something beyond both.
> "Keep him safe," the girl whispered—her first words—and the dream shattered.
---
Bella shot upright with a gasp.
Jacob jolted awake. "What?!"
She blinked fast. "I saw him. I saw Lucian. He's grown… inside the dream."
Jacob's brows furrowed. "What do you mean grown?"
"He looked five. Maybe six. And he wasn't alone."
Jacob sat up straighter.
"He showed me… a girl."
He stilled.
Bella met his gaze.
"She's his future. His balance. And if the Volturi find her first—"
"They'll use her against him," Jacob finished.
Bella nodded. "We need to find her before they do."
---
Miles away, in a small village outside of Alaska…
A young girl shot upright in bed, sweat running down her neck.
Her name wasn't known yet. Her identity hidden even from herself.
But she had the mark.
A crescent moon glowing on her wrist.
She touched it, confused.
"I saw… his eyes."
She stepped off her bed, walked to the window, and stared into the night.
And for the first time, whispered a name she shouldn't have known.
"…Lucian."