Crescent • A Twilight Story

A Little Persuasion

I watched her and Duke under the moonlit sky, saw her shiver in his arms. He kissed her again, openly. Deeply. And she seemed so happy, curling into him as if he was the safest place for her in the world.

And I supposed he was.

Heading off toward my car, I spotted some of the guys coming out of the gym. They sized me up, bumbling over as if to cause a scene.

I held out my hands in surrender, the ring of my keys dangling from my middle finger. "Don't want to cause any trouble."

"That's too bad." A figure emerged from shadow, a rustling behind them in the wood.
"To be honest, I was expecting trouble."

I glanced over to Duke across the way, standing in front of his truck and blocking Rory behind him.

She clung to his arm, the wind carrying her scent toward us.

"I take it my sister is dead? She hasn't checked in for weeks." It dawned on me then, as a light from the parking lot arced across his face. The features were nearly identical to the girl who had attempted to change and kill Rory.

He sniffed at another gust, twisting his body toward them. "How interesting."

"We did all we could." Harry said, coming alongside with the others.

His eyes flashed angrily, as if marking Harry as a target. He turned back to Rory, grinning as Duke blocked her again from view.

"It's quite alright. I'm here to rescue you from the big, bad wolf."

"She's not going anywhere with you." Duke snapped.

"I think you'll find she is." Something charged for them off the side.

Duke pushed her back and changed, letting out a howl as the rest of us did as well.

I raced to where they were, tackling the taunting leader. He swung around me, teeth sinking into my shoulder.

Harry took him from behind, aiming for his head. His teeth snapped into nothingness as he slipped from our grasp.

The male darted toward Rory, Fuller blocking him as she tried to get into his truck. With a kick, the wolf was sent flying across the parking lot. The others cornered Duke from her, Harry and I attempting to flank the male.

He snatched Rory and ran. We chased them into the woods, a couple other vampires appearing.

I stayed on Rory, as they headed for a cliff.

The cliff from my vision.

His arms wrapped around her, inhaling her scent with a sigh.

"He's so possessive of you, is he not?" A tear rolled down Rory's cheek. Duke halted beside me, snarling.

"And it appears he's not the only one." She glanced toward me, her brows pinched together.

She squirmed as he inched back, closer to the edge.

"I'll be wanting one." A shot whirled, Duke shoving me out of the way. He landed on the ground with a thud.

"No!" Rory screamed as they kicked him off the cliff, two more vampires diving after.

"To show you what sort of gentlemen I am," His hand glided along her thigh, and I jerked. He took another step back. "I'll leave this mutt with a piece of advice." I had no choice but to pause since they were right on the edge. "Your very existence is the downfall of your family. You won't be able to escape or hide.

"So enjoy what little time you have left. It will be gone sooner than you think."

He moved to step off, Littlesea jumping toward them. It was enough to break them a part, but neither were there.