KIDNAP ATTEMPT

  Rosalie moved like a phantom through the dense forest, her steps soundless against the damp earth. The dark golden hues of her eyes flickered uhe moonlight as she tracked a herd of deer through the shadows. Hunger cwed at her insides, her throat burning like it had bee abze. She knew she o feed, but the very idea of drinking human blood repulsed her. Even feeding from blood bags made her uneasy. The fear of losing herself, of being something untrolble, was a nightmare she couldn’t shake. Carlisle had phat fear within her long ago, ae everything, his words still lingered in the recesses of her mind. That's why it had taken her so long to feed, her ability to make a decisioed her until now. The hunger is g at her, pushio hunt the old way.

  She inhaled sharply, trying to focus. The st of warm, pulsing blood filled her senses, but it wasn’t human. It was an animal. Her mate, Isabel, had told her the truth—animal blood made her weaker. Her senses dulled, her strength waned, aually, death for a vampire like her was dangerous. But what other choice did she have? If she refused to feed, the thirst would drive her mad.

  Anh left her lips as she crouched low, ready to poun a buck grazing a few feet ahead. But then—

  A shift in the wind. A st—ohat made her entire body stiffen.

  She wasn’t alone.

  Rosalie straightened, her golden eyes narrowing as she turned her head slightly. The presence of others slithered around her like an invisible rope tightening. She should have noticed them sooner, but her hunger had dulled her senses more than she’d realized.

  Carlisle. Edward. Jasper.

  Her former .

  She let out another breath, this one slow and measured, preparing herself for what was ing. Her throat ached, but she ig. Now was not the time to be distracted by hunger.

  “This is private property,” she said, her voice hoarse but firm. “What the hell do you want?”

  Edward smirked, his bronze hair gleaming uhe moonlight as he stepped forward. He ositioht, Jasper to her left, and Carlisle in front of her. They were boxing her in.

  “We’re here to kill you, of course,” Edward said smoothly, his tone casual, as if he were discussing the weather.

  Rosalie sighed again. Frustration would be the theme of the night. She had expected something like this, but she had hoped—foolishly—that they would leave her alone.

  “Where is Isabel?” Jasper asked, his Southern drawl barely masking the mali his voice.

  Rosalie ughed, though it hurt to do so. Her throat burned, and her body ached from hunger, but she refused to show weakness.

  “This isn’t funny,” Carlisle said as he stepped closer, his grip tightening around something in his hand. It gleamed in the dim light. A knife.

  Rosalie arched an eyebrow. “And what exactly do you pn to do with that?” she asked, her tone ced with amusement. “You know you ’t hurt me with it.”

  Edward took a step forward, his smirk widening. “Are you sure about that?”

  Jasper moved a fra of an inch closer, his body coiled like a spring, ready to strike. They weren’t here to talk. They were here to take her by force.

  “Just e with us willingly,” Edward said, his voice deceptively gehe knife isn’t for you. It’s for Isabel.”

  A growl rumbled from Rosalie’s chest, low and menag. “If you hurt my mate, I swear I will tear you apart.”

  Jasper lunged, grabbing Rosalie’s arms and log them behind her ba a vice-like grip. She struggled, but the hunger had drained her strength, making her weaker than usual.

  Carlisle stepped forward, his expression unreadable as he lifted the knife. “You’re ing with us,” he said. “Isabel will have no choice but to follow. Then, she will meet her end.”

  A growl, deep and filled with pure rage, shattered the tension in the air.

  “Are you sure of that?”

  The voice sent chills down Rosalie’s spine, but this time, they were not from fear.

  Isabel.

  She moved like a wraith through the darkness, her demon silhouette form barely visible against the derees. Her icy blue eyes glowed, locked onto Carlisle with murderous i. The air around her was thick with power, an unseen force pressing against their chests like an oning storm.

  Jasper flinched his grip on Rosalie momentarily loosening. It was all the opening she needed.

  With a snarl, she twisted in his grasp, smming her elbow into his ribs. Jasper grunted, stumbling back as Rosalie spun, her fist eg with Edward’s jaw. The crack of bone echoed through the night as he staggered, clutg his face.

  Carlisle raised the knife, but before he could strike, Isabel was there.

  Faster than any of them could react, she grabbed his wrist, twisting it until the bde cttered to the ground. Carlisle let out a pained gasp, his usual calm posure fracturing as Isabel’s grip tightened.

  “You think you take my mate from me?” Isabel’s voice was deadly quiet, her eyes burning. “You think you kill me?”

  Carlisle tried to wrench free, but Isabel was stronger. Her nails dug into his skin, drawing blood, her lips curling ba a snarl.

  Jasper recovered quickly, ung himself toward Isabel, but Rosalie was faster. She intercepted him mid-air, smming him into the ground with enough force to leave a crater in the dirt. Jasper groaned, struggling to get up, but Rosalie was relentless. Her fists came down again and again, fueled by rage and desperation. Not even her huopped her from putting Jasper in his pce.

  Edward rushed forward, his face twisted with fury, but Isabel turned her attention to him. With a flick of her wrist, she sent him flying backward, his body crashing through the trees with the siing ch of breaking wood.

  Carlisle, now free from Isabel’s grasp, took a step back, his face pale. For the sed time, fear flickered in his eyes.

  “This isn’t over,” he hissed.

  Rosalie stood beside Isabel, her breathing heavy, her fists ched. “You’re right,” she said, her voiwavering. “It’s not.”

  Carlisle, Jasper, and Edward exged ghey khey had lost this fight, for now. Without another word, they disappeared into the darkness, their figures fading into the night.

  Rosalie let out a slow breath, her body trembling from exhaustion and adrenaline. She turo Isabel, who was still watg the trees where they had vanished, her icy blue eyes glowing.

  “You came for me,” Rosalie whispered, her voice raw with emotion.

  Isabel turned, her expression softening. She reached out, cupping Rosalie’s fa her hands. “Always.”

  Rosalie closed her eyes, leaning into Isabel’s touch. The fear, the huhe exhaustion—it all faded in that moment.