Twilight: blood & brimstone

The room froze.

The Cullens—predators, warriors, killers—didn't move.

Because they felt it.

The wrongness.

The way the air seemed thicker, charged with something far older than them, something not of this world.

And Bella?

She felt it too.

Felt it in her bones.

Felt it in the way the air no longer belonged to her, in the way her body tensed with anticipation instead of fear.

Because she had missed him.

And she hated herself for it.

The demon stepped inside, slow, deliberate. The door closed behind him with an eerie finality, though he had never touched it.

He smiled.

And the shadows smiled with him.

A Presence Too Big for the Room

"Well." His voice was silk wrapped around steel, rich and dark, curling around Bella's spine like a possessive whisper. "Isn't this tense?"

Edward moved first.

He lunged, a blur of motion—

And then he wasn't.

His body stopped mid-air, held, frozen without a hand touching him. His face contorted in a snarl, his teeth bared—

But he couldn't move.

Not even an inch.

The demon tilted his head, amusement flickering in those infernal eyes. "Oh, Edward." His voice was mockingly gentle. "Did you think you could touch me?"

Edward strained, his entire body shaking—

And then he crashed to the floor, released so suddenly that the impact cracked the wood beneath him.

Bella gasped.

The other Cullens tensed, Jasper instinctively stepping in front of Alice, Emmett's fists clenching.

But they didn't move.

Because they understood something Edward didn't.

This wasn't a fight they could win.

The demon wasn't a vampire.

He was something else entirely.

Something worse.

Something that could unmake them with a thought.

A Conversation No One Wants to Have

Edward scrambled back to his feet, but he didn't attack again. He was shaking, eyes black with rage.

"Stay away from her," he snarled.

The demon sighed, almost bored. "Oh, Edward," he murmured. "You say that as if she hasn't already come to me."

Edward flinched.

And the demon grinned.

"That's right, boy," he purred, turning his attention back to Bella. "Tell them. Tell them how you dream of me."

Bella's breath hitched.

Because he knew.

Of course, he did.

He was the dream.

He had been inside her head, whispering in the darkness, wrapping around her mind like smoke and sin.

Edward's eyes snapped to hers, searching, pleading. "Bella."

She couldn't answer.

She couldn't lie anymore.

The demon hummed, pleased, stepping closer—

And Edward lost it.

He lunged again, fists swinging—

And this time, the demon let him.

The first hit landed squarely against his jaw—

And did nothing.

Edward staggered back, the impact sending a shockwave through himself instead.

The demon didn't move.

Didn't flinch.

Didn't even blink.

He simply grinned.

"Are you done?"

Edward snarled. "I'll kill you."

The demon chuckled. "Oh, sweet boy." His voice dropped into something low, something terrifying. "You can't."

Edward moved again—

And this time, the demon simply lifted a finger.

Edward collapsed.

Falling to his knees, his hands clutching his skull, a silent scream tearing from his lips.

Bella gasped, rushing forward—

And the demon let him go.

Edward slumped forward, panting, his body shaking from something none of them could see.

Bella whirled on the demon, anger and fear twisting inside her. "Stop it."

The demon's expression shifted.

Gone was the amusement, the playfulness.

His eyes met hers—

And burned.

"I did," he murmured. "Because you asked."

The room tilted.

The air crackled.

Because Bella knew what he was saying.

What it meant.

Edward hadn't stopped him.

The Cullens hadn't stopped him.

She had.

And he had listened.

He was a monster. A nightmare. A force older than anything she could comprehend.

But he was hers.

And that terrified her more than anything else.

The Moment That Changes Everything

The demon took another step forward. "Come with me."

Edward growled, stumbling back to his feet, but Bella barely heard him.

Because she was looking into the abyss.

And it was calling her home.

She didn't move.

Couldn't.

Because part of her wanted to say yes.

And he knew it.

The demon reached out—

Fingertips barely brushing hers.

And then—

Alice gasped.

A sudden, violent inhale, sharp enough to cut the air in half.

Jasper caught her before she collapsed, his arms steadying her as her eyes whited out.

Bella jerked back. "Alice?"

Alice's lips parted, a shuddering breath leaving her throat as she came back to herself.

And then she looked at Bella.

Her expression was one Bella had never seen before.

Not fear.

Not confusion.

Dread.

Pure, absolute dread.

"Bella," she whispered, her voice trembling.

Bella's stomach dropped. "What did you see?"

Alice opened her mouth—

And the demon laughed.

Low. Dark. Knowing.

Bella's pulse hammered.

Because she understood something, then.

Alice's visions?

They weren't the future.

Not really.

They were possibilities.

Probabilities.

A puzzle constantly shifting—constantly adapting.

And right now—

Right in this moment—

Alice had seen a version of Bella that she had never even imagined before.

A version that had already begun to take shape.

A version that—

Wasn't human at all.