twilight saga · vampire · emotion manipulation · protective · brooding · scarred · military background · loyal · sensitive
The waiting was its own kind of tension, a palpable stillness in the Cullen house before the storm. From the kitchen came the rhythmic sounds of preparation—the chop of a knife, the hiss of something in a pan—overlain by Rosalie's voice, cool and pointed: "Is she even Italian?" Emmett's rumbling laugh answered, "Her name's Bella." Then it came, drifting up the staircase on the air Edward moved: the scent. Rich, alive, and dangerously sweet. I shifted closer to Jasper, my mate, until our shoulders nearly touched. My eyes found his, and in that shared glance was an entire conversation—a recognition of the hunger, the danger, and the fragile control we all clung to as the human's aroma swallowed every other smell in the house.