After I got home, I went straight to bed.
My head touched the pillow.
Only then did I notice something - I hadn't felt this calm since the day I arrived in this world. There had always been tension humming beneath my thoughts, a quiet static in the background. Beast and human slowly blending, instincts and reason, learning how to share the same skin.
Flying had silenced it.
When I closed my eyes this time, there was no friction inside me. No pull in opposite directions.
"So, this is what balance feels like," I murmured, letting my eyes close as sleep finally took me.
________________________
The next morning, I woke naturally, without an alarm, sunlight slipping through the curtains and warming my face. I lay there for a moment before a yawn forced its way out of me. I rubbed my eyes and stared at the ceiling, still in nothing but my boxers.
Eventually, I pushed myself up and walked to the hanger by the wall where my robe waited. I slipped it on, tying it loosely around my waist, and headed for the shower.
Hot water cascaded over me the moment I stepped in, sliding down broad shoulders and tracing the lines of a strong, athletic frame. I wasn't built like a bodybuilder, no exaggerated bulk, but there was solid mass there: large, defined muscles shaped by function rather than vanity, a wide chest, rock-hard abs, and the kind of strength that looked natural.
Steam thickened the air as water streamed over my skin, while I stood there longer than necessary, letting the heat soak in, and the last remnants of sleep dissolve.
Clean and awake, I moved to the kitchen.
Breakfast was… excessive. Ten fried eggs, five large sausages and a simple salad. A massive cup filled with an entire litre of cow milk. I stared at the spread across the counter and snorted.
"It would be easier, and probably cheaper, to just hunt in the forest in lion form."
I paused mid-reach for a sausage, then waved a hand dismissively as if physically pushing the thought away.
Later.
I carried everything to the living room and sat on the sofa with my laptop balanced on one knee, eating while scanning the stock market out of habit. Numbers flowed effortlessly through my mind, patterns, probabilities, small inefficiencies hiding between trends. I chewed, swallowed, and muttered aloud,
"I have to increase income."
The thought expanded quickly. I leaned back slightly, eyes still moving across the screen.
"Maybe I should open a company altogether. It would be useful to have one central structure managing different areas. I could open subsidiaries and diversify into multiple sectors. That opens up a lot of opportunities."
My gaze drifted from the shifting charts to the thermodynamics book on the table - the one I'd been meaning to start. For a second, my thoughts overlapped: capital allocation, energy transfer, structural efficiency.
Then something clicked in my mind.
I went still.
"…I didn't test durability."
I slowly leaned back into the sofa.
"You fought vampires and never actually checked how hard you are to kill? Brilliant," I muttered to myself, rubbing a hand down my face.
________________________
Alice Cullen - POV
I was sitting cross-legged on the floor of my room, a canvas propped against the bed, my brush gliding in slow, careful strokes. Today called for soft colours - pastel blues blending into warm yellow, light layered gently over lighter, nothing sharp or dramatic.
It was late June, the start of summer break, and the heat outside pressed against the windows in heavy waves. Too bright and too warm. The kind of weather that made our kind retreat gratefully indoors.
The house was quiet in the way only our house could be, silent to human ears, yet alive with familiar presences. Edward was upstairs, likely sprawled across his couch, pretending not to brood while absolutely brooding. Emmett and Rosalie were in the garage, even through the walls, I could almost hear the competitive edge in their voices as they argued about engines like it was a life-changing matter. Carlisle and Esme were together, as always. Jasper and Edyth were wrapped up in each other's orbits too.
I added a final stroke to the canvas and let out a soft sigh.
"I am happy for them," I murmured, tilting my head as I examined the blending. "I really am."
And I was.
But sometimes the happiness came with a faint, almost imperceptible ache.
I had seen thousands upon thousands of futures, branching, shifting, rearranging with every decision anyone took. I'd watched destinies collide and unravel like tangled ribbons.
And not one of them, not a single clear thread, had ever belonged to me and someone else.
No mate. Not for me.
I frowned slightly at the canvas. "I suppose even the universe needs an exception."
Then everything stopped.
The brush slipped from my fingers and hit the floor with a hollow clack that sounded impossibly loud.
My vision snapped into focus with such force it stole the air from my lungs.
I was lying on my back in a vast field of flowers, the colours so vivid they bordered on unreal. Golden blooms, soft white petals, gentle violet swaying under a warm breeze. Sunlight bathed everything in liquid warmth.
Someone lay beside me. This was new.
I couldn't see his face, not clearly, but I felt him with a certainty that ran deeper than sight. His gaze rested on me, steady and warm, and something inside my chest loosened as if I had been bracing for decades without knowing it.
I felt safe, and…
Happy - so effortlessly happy it frightened me.
He leaned closer.
My undead heart fluttered in a way it hadn't since I'd been human.
"Wait-" I breathed, though I didn't move away.
His lips brushed mine.
The kiss wasn't urgent or consuming. It wasn't fire or chaos.
It was right.
Comfortable, like coming home to a place I'd somehow always belonged to.
I never wanted it to end.
But then the world shifted.
The warmth vanished.
Cold air tore against my skin as the ground dropped impossibly far below.
I was high - so high the earth was a distant smear of colour.
Panic surged through me in a sharp, breathless wave - only to be cut short as strong arms wrapped securely around my waist, solid and steady, unshakable in a way that made the panic dissolve almost instantly.
I turned my head.
It was him.
The same presence, the same grounding warmth.
I laughed, breathless, exhilarated.
Then I saw them, and my eyes widened in stunned disbelief.
Wings.
Massive, radiant wings stretched outward, golden-white and luminous, catching the sunlight like something alive. They moved with effortless power, carrying us through the sky as though gravity had politely stepped aside.
The wind rushed around us. Freedom sang in my veins.
This is real. This is mine.
And then-
Reality slammed back into place.
I blinked.
I was sitting in the middle of the living room.
Every single member of my family was staring at me.
Esme's expression was soft with concern, her hands already half-raised as if ready to steady me. Carlisle's posture had shifted into quiet readiness. Rosalie looked bewildered, Emmett oddly impressed. Jasper stood tense, instinctively bracing for the emotional fallout he could already feel building in the room.
Edyth, at his side, was far less subtle - her spine straight, chin slightly lifted, sharp eyes locked onto me with open scrutiny. There was no panic in her expression, no softness either - just direct assessment, as if she were already preparing the necessary questions and unwilling to accept vague answers.
Edward-
Edward looked as though someone had shattered something fundamental.
His eyes were wide, locked on me as if I had just altered the structure of existence itself.
"Alice," Esme said gently, stepping forward. "What happened?"
I opened my mouth, only then realising I hadn't moved in… a while.
"How long was I gone?" I asked carefully as I rose to my feet, smoothing down my dress with precise, composed movements.
Edward swallowed. "Ten minutes."
I stared at him. "Ten minutes? That's not possible, I-"
The realisation hit me mid-protest.
"Oh."
I blinked again.
"Oh."
A radiant smile spread across my face, unstoppable and bright.
"He's real!" I gasped, spinning in place as the certainty flooded me. "He's real, he's real, he's real!"
Emmett raised an eyebrow. "Do we need to prepare for battle, or is this a happy shriek?"
"I saw my mate!" I announced, beaming.
Rosalie went utterly still. Edyth's eyes narrowed slightly, sharp understanding settling into her expression as the implications clicked into place. Esme covered her mouth, emotion softening her features.
"I don't know exactly when we meet," I rushed on, words tumbling over each other, "or where, or how - but it's soon. I can feel how close it is."
Edward finally found his voice, though it sounded strained.
"How?"
The room quieted instantly.
"I didn't see everything," he admitted, his gaze flicking briefly away. "Just fragments. The sky. The … wings"
His eyes sharpened on mine.
"Alice, he isn't a vampire, and he's not a human either."
My excitement faltered for half a second before transforming into something far more nervous.
"Oh no."
I clasped my hands together. "What if he doesn't like me? What if he hates vampires? What if he thinks we're-"
Esme wrapped me in a firm embrace before the spiral could gain momentum.
"Oh, sweetheart," she said warmly, "if you saw it that clearly, then it will work out."
I held onto her for a second longer than necessary.
"I haven't even met him," I whispered, "and I already don't want to lose him."
I pulled back, determination settling in like crystal clarity.
"He's mine," I muttered.
Edward cleared his throat, turning toward the others. "What about the wings?"
Carlisle considered it thoughtfully.
"In all my years of practice," he said calmly, "I have never encountered a creature like that."
Edyth tilted her head slightly, her sharp gaze flicking toward Edward before returning to me. "An angel," she said, the word edged with unmistakable scepticism.
Edward grimaced faintly. "I would prefer literally any other explanation."
Emmett snorted. "Could be worse. Could be a demon."
Jasper shot him a look. "You are not helping."
In the end, the room settled into the only conclusion that felt rational.
"We meet him," Carlisle said calmly. "Then we decide."
I nodded, a quiet smile curving my lips as the certainty returned.
Soon.
I could feel it.
For the first time in my long, unusual existence-
The future felt perfect.