The forest was silent.
Only the sound of wind moving through the tall pines followed them as the blue-eyed man carried Jenny deeper into the woods. His movements were impossibly fast, yet perfectly steady, as if the frozen ground beneath them meant nothing to him.
Jenny barely felt the cold.
Shock and confusion had taken its place.
Within seconds they reached a massive tree rising far above the others. Without slowing, the man leapt upward, landing gracefully on a thick branch nearly thirty feet above the ground.
Jenny gasped softly.
From that height the entire village stretched below them, glowing with scattered lights in the darkness.
For a long moment neither of them spoke.
The man studied her face carefully, as though searching for something lost.
"You remember nothing, do you?" he finally asked.
His voice was calm but heavy.
Jenny shook her head slowly.
"I don't even remember my own life," she said quietly. "Only the forest… and those eyes."
She hesitated.
"Your eyes."
Something strange passed across his expression.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
Before he could respond, another figure appeared beneath the tree.
Edward.
He stood in the snow below them, his face tense.
"James," he said sharply. "Put her down."
The blue-eyed man—James—did not move.
For a moment the forest seemed to hold its breath.
Then James jumped down from the tree, landing silently on the frozen ground with Jenny beside him.
Edward's gaze immediately moved to her.
"You should not be here," he said.
Jenny looked between the two men.
"I think it's too late for that," she replied.
Edward sighed quietly.
"Come with me," he said.
They walked deeper into the forest until they reached a small house hidden among the trees. The building looked old but well kept, its wooden walls darkened by years of winter storms.
Edward opened the door.
Warm light spilled out from inside.
Jenny stepped in slowly.
The house felt strangely familiar.
A fire burned softly in the fireplace. A wooden table stood near the center of the room, surrounded by chairs. Shelves lined the walls, filled with old books and glass bottles.
Jenny's heart began to beat faster.
"I've been here before," she said quietly.
Edward nodded.
"Yes," he said.
"For months."
Jenny stared at him.
"That's impossible."
Edward's expression remained serious.
"You didn't wake up in the forest by chance," he said.
"You were taken there."
Jenny felt a chill run through her body.
"Why?"
Edward hesitated.
The silence in the room grew heavier.
Finally he spoke.
"Because forgetting was safer than remembering."
Jenny's confusion only deepened.
"What does that mean?"
Edward looked at James.
James stepped forward slightly, his blue eyes fixed on Jenny.
"You deserve to know the truth," he said.
Edward closed his eyes briefly, as if accepting something he had been trying to delay.
When he opened them again, his voice had changed.
Quiet.
Heavy.
"We are not like you, Jenny."
Jenny frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Edward's gaze met hers.
"We are vampires."
The word seemed to echo through the room.
Jenny stared at him in disbelief.
For several seconds she said nothing.
Then she let out a small laugh.
"You're joking."
Neither of them smiled.
The silence that followed made her stomach tighten.
"You're serious," she whispered.
James leaned against the wall, watching her carefully.
"We don't feed on humans," he said calmly.
Jenny looked at him sharply.
"That's supposed to make this better?"
Edward stepped closer.
"My family has trained ourselves to survive on animal blood," he explained.
"We don't hunt people."
Jenny's thoughts raced.
Her mind struggled to process what she was hearing.
"Then Bella…" she said suddenly.
"You attacked her."
Edward shook his head immediately.
"No."
His voice was firm.
"That wasn't us."
"Then who?"
Edward's expression darkened.
"Another vampire."
He paused before continuing.
"Her name is Victoria."
Jenny felt the room grow colder.
"The priest said something yesterday," she said slowly. "He said 'they are back.'"
Edward nodded.
"There are others like us," he said. "But they do not share our restraint."
James spoke quietly from the corner.
"They hunt humans."
Jenny felt fear rising inside her chest again.
"Why are they here?"
Edward's eyes moved toward the dark window.
"Because of you."
Jenny stared at him.
"Me?"
Edward walked slowly toward the fireplace.
"This village has been safe for decades," he said. "But a few weeks ago Victoria appeared."
He turned back toward her.
"And she began searching for someone."
Jenny's voice trembled.
"Who?"
Edward looked directly at her.
"You."
The word hung in the air like a shadow.
Jenny shook her head.
"That doesn't make any sense."
Edward continued quietly.
"You arrived here months ago. Injured and barely alive."
James stepped forward.
"You were hiding."
"Hiding from what?" Jenny asked.
Edward hesitated again.
"From your past."
Jenny's frustration grew.
"You keep saying that, but no one will explain anything."
James watched her closely.
"There's something different about you," he said.
Jenny frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Edward answered instead.
"Your blood."
Jenny's eyes widened.
"My blood?"
Edward nodded slowly.
"It draws them."
The room fell silent.
Jenny felt her pulse quicken.
"So Victoria attacked Bella because of me?"
Edward didn't respond.
The answer was already clear.
Jenny sank slowly into one of the chairs.
"This is insane," she whispered.
James moved closer.
"Maybe," he said quietly.
"But it's the truth."
For a moment no one spoke.
The crackling fire was the only sound in the room.
Finally Edward straightened.
"We will deal with Victoria," he said firmly.
"But until then, Jenny stays here."
Jenny looked up.
"Here?"
Edward nodded.
"You'll be safer."
Jenny looked at James.
He gave a small, reassuring smile.
"I'll keep you alive," he said lightly.
Despite everything, Jenny felt a small laugh escape her.
"Comforting."
James shrugged.
"I try."
Edward grabbed his coat.
"I'm going back to the village," he said.
"Bella needs to be watched."
Jenny stood.
"Is she going to be okay?"
Edward paused at the door.
"Yes."
Then he left.
The door closed quietly behind him.
Jenny turned toward James.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then James walked toward the kitchen.
"You're hungry," he said.
Jenny blinked.
"How do you know?"
James opened a cabinet.
"You faint every time you skip a meal."
Jenny frowned.
"That's oddly specific."
James smirked slightly.
"Because you've done it before."
Jenny leaned against the table.
"So we knew each other?"
James nodded.
"You've been living here for months."
Jenny tried to imagine it.
But her mind remained blank.
"You cooked for me?" she asked.
James began preparing food.
"Only after the first time you fainted."
Jenny watched him quietly.
Something about him felt strangely familiar.
Comfortable.
As if she had trusted him before.
Later that night Jenny finally fell asleep in one of the rooms upstairs.
Hours passed.
Outside, snow began to fall again.
James sat downstairs reading quietly.
A sudden noise broke the silence.
Glass shattered upstairs.
Jenny screamed.
James was already moving.
Edward burst through the door at the same moment.
They raced upstairs together.
The bedroom door was locked.
James kicked it open.
The sight inside made them freeze.
Victoria stood in the center of the room.
Her red hair fell around her pale face like fire.
Her eyes burned with hunger.
Jenny stood calmly in front of her.
Too calm.
"Hello again," Victoria said softly.
Her gaze remained fixed on Jenny.
"I've been looking for you."
James moved instantly.
Victoria turned to attack him—
But suddenly she staggered.
Her body trembled violently.
Her eyes rolled back.
Then she collapsed onto the floor.
Unconscious.
Edward stepped forward quickly.
He examined her briefly.
"She's weakened," he said.
He lifted her easily over his shoulder.
"Stay with James," he told Jenny.
"Do not leave this house."
Jenny nodded slowly.
Edward carried Victoria out into the night.
The door closed behind him.
Jenny turned toward James.
"So," she said quietly.
"You're a vampire."
James smiled faintly.
"And somehow that's not the strangest thing happening tonight."
Jenny looked toward the dark forest outside the window.
A strange feeling stirred deep inside her chest.
Something was coming.
Something far worse than Victoria.
And somewhere in the darkness, the past she had forgotten was beginning to wake.