The motel room was quiet except for the steady rhythm of rain tapping the windows. Bella lay curled against Jasper, his fingers tracing lazy circles along her spine. She felt more alive in these stolen moments than she ever had under Edward’s careful, suffocating love. “You ever think we were meant to crash into each other like this?” she whispered. Jasper smirked, brushing his lips against her temple. “Darlin’, I don’t believe in fate—but I sure as hell believe in you.” Outside, thunder…

# Blood Sucker Meets Blood Suckers Maurice the Mosquito thought tonight would be like any other hunting expedition. Find humans, extract blood, repeat. But the pale figures gathered around the bonfire aren’t ordinary prey. When Maurice’s quest for a meal leads him to the Cullen family of vampires, his tiny world is turned upside down. After multiple failed attempts, one lucky bite of Emmett Cullen’s impenetrable skin introduces vampire venom into Maurice’s system. Suddenly, he’s experiencing a transformation no mosquito was ever meant to…

The chains rattled first, metal scraping against marble. Then came the scent—venom, blood, something burned. They dragged him in. Shackles dug into raw wrists, his broad shoulders scarred and bruised. Honey-blond hair hung in filthy tangles, but it was his black, empty eyes that made Bella’s breath catch. “Major Whitlock,” Aro purred, “your new charge has arrived.” The vampire in chains didn’t bow. He just stared. Then—he laughed. “Babysit a human?” His voice was gravel and steel. A slow, cruel smile curved his lips. “Oh, darlin’… you have no idea…

The storm rolled in like a drunk cowboy loud, angry, and demanding attention. Bella stood behind the bar, the polished wood cool beneath her palms, the neon glow from the beer signs casting red and blue ghosts across the walls. The door creaked open, and with it came a man who carried the night in his step—broad-shouldered, golden-eyed, and soaked from the rain. “Evening, ma’am,” he drawled, tipping his hat with an old-world grace. “Might I come in?” Something in his voice—like velvet and thunder—made her…

The scent of Bella’s blood still lingered in my mind, a haunting reminder of how quickly control could slip away. I sat in the darkness of my study, hands clenched into fists, replaying the moment over and over. One paper cut—that’s all it had taken to unleash the monster I’d spent decades trying to contain. The house was quiet now, too quiet. Edward had taken Bella home, and the rest of the family had scattered to their own corners, their emotions a turbulent mix…

The ring on my finger felt like a shackle. “You’re being unreasonable, love,” Edward’s voice held that particular tone that made my teeth clench. He stood by my desk, perfect and immovable as a marble statue. “Angela’s birthday party is simply too risky right now.” “Too risky?” I spun from my bookshelf. “It’s at her house, Edward. With her family. Just a small gathering of friends—friends I barely see anymore because there’s always some reason why it’s ‘not safe.'” “The situation with Victoria…”…