❝ 𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 ❞ ʲᵃˢᵖᵉʳ ʰᵃˡᵉ ( EN )

☇ 𝟯𝟭

Alice was sitting quietly in the Cullen living room, an open book resting on her lap, when the vision struck her like a lightning bolt. Her body tensed violently, and the book fell to the floor, its pages crumpling with a sharp sound. Her eyes widened, turning glassy, and she suddenly brought her hands to her head as though trying to fend off the vision, but it was too late. A piercing scream tore from her throat, so loud and raw that it echoed through the house like a terrifying warning. "No!"

The Cullens rushed to her side immediately, fear etched onto their faces. The calm of the living room shattered in an instant, replaced by frantic chaos. Jasper was the first to kneel in front of her, gripping Alice's shoulders tightly. His usually composed expression burned with a panic he struggled to contain. "Alice, what did you see?!" His voice was hoarse, almost a whisper, but filled with desperate urgency.

Alice was gasping for air, her breath ragged, as though she had run for miles. "Théodora... she..." Her voice broke, unable to utter the words that haunted her. "Maria found her... she's dying, Jasper. Oh God, she's alone!"

Silence fell over the room like a guillotine. Jasper staggered back a step, his features contorted in disbelief and terror. His fingers curled into fists, the knuckles whitening under the strain. "But... how?" His voice trembled, laced with a quiet fury that simmered beneath the surface. "She was supposed to be watched!"

Edward, who had stayed back, closed his eyes, his brow furrowed with intense concentration. His face twisted in pain, as if he were searching for answers in vain. "With everything that happened last night... no one took the morning shift." His words landed like a grim sentence, heavy with guilt, and the silence that followed was almost unbearable.

The tension was palpable, each member of the Cullen family feeling the crushing weight of their mistake, their negligence. Jasper clenched his teeth, his chest rising and falling unevenly, his gaze distant, lost in the horrifying images of what Théodora might be enduring at that very moment. His hands trembled slightly, and he felt a cold fury rising within him, mingled with a fear unlike anything he had ever experienced.

"No time for regrets now," Carlisle interjected firmly, his authoritative tone piercing through the thick atmosphere. His sharp gaze swept over his family. "We need to find her. Fast."

In a fraction of a second, the Cullens were in motion, united by a singular goal. Carlisle and Esme led the way, their figures blending into the darkness of the forest surrounding the house. Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and Alice followed closely behind, their steps quickening until they were nothing more than fleeting shadows weaving through the trees. Fallen leaves crunched underfoot, and the light rain mingled with the dense mist rising from the ground.

The icy wind whipped across Jasper's face, but he paid it no mind. His thoughts were consumed by one thing: Théodora. The rage, mixed with fear, drummed in his chest like a war cry, gnawing at his insides. Branches clawed at his skin, but he felt no pain, his focus entirely on finding her. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, but he refused to let go.

"Hold on, Théodora," he muttered through gritted teeth, battling the anxiety threatening to swallow him whole. "Please, hold on."

Each step he took seemed to draw him closer to an inevitable truth, one he refused to accept. The air was heavy with tension, almost suffocating, and Jasper's breath misted in the cold air with every exhale. The forest stretched endlessly before them, vast and silent, but deep down, he knew there was no time to waste. Théodora's life depended on them, and he wouldn't let anyone—especially Maria—take her away from him. The scent of her blood...

They arrived in the clearing, and the sight before them left them frozen, horror sinking into their veins like icy poison. The blood calling, the hunger screaming... The morning mist clung to the trees, giving the scene an otherworldly, dreamlike quality, but the brutal reality laid out before them was undeniable. Théodora's body lay on the ground, twisted unnaturally, like a broken doll discarded carelessly. Don't think about her blood, don't think... Her torn clothes hung in tatters, revealing deep gashes and dried blood staining her skin. Her hair was tangled with mud and dead leaves, and her face, usually so vibrant, was contorted with unbearable pain, her features drawn and smeared with dirt. The smell of her blood... so close, so tempting...

Jasper was the first to rush to her side, his heart pounding erratically. Hold back... don't give in to the thirst... He fell to his knees beside her, his trembling hands hesitating to touch her. He reached out, only to pull back immediately, horrified by the sight of blood soaking her arms and legs. So close... so irresistible... no, it's Théodora! Her fingers, with nails broken and bloodied, were evidence of her struggle, of clawing desperately at the earth to escape the agony consuming her. Jasper felt a lump rise in his throat, his vision blurring as he fought to suppress his panic. "No... not now," he whispered, his voice shaking, choked by the horror eating away at him. "Not her."

The pain in his words was palpable, every syllable a repressed cry of distress, an echo of his own shattered heart. He could feel the thirst, the inner beast roaring at the sight of the blood, but he fought against it with every ounce of strength he had. She is not your prey... she is the one you must protect... Because this was Théodora. Because he couldn't lose her.

Carlisle approached quickly, his expression grave but resolute. Kneeling beside Théodora, his expert fingers searched for a pulse, checked her breathing, and gently brushed aside strands of hair matted with mud and blood. "She's still alive," he announced, his voice tense but laced with palpable relief. Yet the shadow in his eyes betrayed his worry. "But she's in critical condition. We need to get her to the hospital. Now."

Jasper stood abruptly, ready to scoop her into his arms, but an overwhelming wave of rage surged through him, paralyzing him for a moment before it erupted like a volcano. He struck the ground with his fists, the force creating deep cracks in the earth. His roar tore through the forest, a mix of pain, fury, and despair that shattered the surrounding silence. "This is my fault!" he bellowed, his voice ripping through the air like thunder. "I should have protected her!"

Edward darted forward, grabbing his shoulders in a desperate attempt to calm him. "Jasper, calm down!" he yelled, but Jasper wrenched away violently, his wild gaze burning with a dangerous light.

Emmett, larger and stronger, stepped in, gripping Jasper's shoulders firmly and forcing him still. "Stop it, Jasper! Losing it won't help!" His voice was hard, but there was an undertone of compassion, of understanding. "We need to save her, now!"

Jasper stared at him, his fists still clenched, his muscles taut as a bowstring, before his shoulders sagged, crushed under the weight of his guilt and despair. He collapsed to his knees, pressing his hands against his face as silent sobs shook his body. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice a broken breath. "I'm so sorry..."

Esmé watched the scene unfold. She approached Jasper with slow, hesitant steps, then wrapped him in a maternal embrace, rocking him gently as she would a child. "We'll save her," she murmured softly, her voice carrying an unyielding determination. "But we need to hurry."

With infinite care, Carlisle lifted Théodora as if she were made of porcelain. He wrapped her in his jacket, his gaze filled with tenderness and compassion, as though he were shielding this fragile body from any further harm. He turned to the other Cullens, his face marked with a gravity none of them had ever seen before. "Let's go," he commanded firmly.

Jasper rose to his feet, his legs trembling, his gaze locked on Théodora's face, half-hidden by Carlisle's jacket. His heart clenched at the sight of her closed eyelids, her pale lips, the faint breaths that barely lifted her chest. Each step he took behind Carlisle felt like an insurmountable effort, as if he were dragging an invisible weight that threatened to break him with every passing moment.

As they left the clearing, the mist closed around them, and the trees seemed to lean forward, enveloping them in a silent embrace. The forest was steeped in an eerie stillness, as if it too held its breath in the wake of the tragic scene. But Jasper paid no attention to the surroundings. All that mattered, all that existed for him in this moment, was Théodora.

As they moved on, Jasper's heart tightened even further. The image of Théodora lying on the ground would haunt him forever. But he clung to a single thought, a single glimmer of hope: he wouldn't let her go. Not this time.