The Tree That Almost Fit Author’s Note: This is one of five Christmas short stories featuring Bella and Jasper. Each story is a standalone piece that may or may not connect to the others. They are meant to be enjoyed as individual holiday moments. Thank you for reading!
Continue reading →Bella squinted through the rain-lashed windshield. There was something in the road. Something tall and dark and absolutely not supposed to be there.
She slammed on the brakes.
The figure didn’t move. Just stood there, rain streaming down what she now realized was a tuxedo. A very expensive, very wet tuxedo.
She rolled down her window. “Are you okay?”
The stranger turned. Golden eyes met hers, filled with more pain than she’d ever seen.
“No,” he said quietly. “But I’m hoping to be.”
Best decision she ever made, hitting that brake.
Bella knelt beside the Christmas tree and opened the brown paper parcel. Inside sat a wooden box sealed with a wax star. When she lifted the lid, twenty-five small envelopes lay nestled inside, each marked in elegant script: December 1… December 25.She unfolded the first letter, and her breath caught at the familiar handwriting. “You once believed you were unworthy of love. You were wrong. “It was signed with a single letter: J.A pressed snowdrop flower fell into her palm, delicate and impossible. After four years of silence, Jasper Whitlock had found his way back.
Continue reading →When Edward Cullen leaves Bella broken in the woods, Paul Lahote is the one who carries her home.
Months later, Bella is healing. Building a real life in La Push with Emily, Leah, and the pack. Then Paul imprints on her—right as she’s defending herself from Jacob’s dangerous obsession.
But Paul is different. He doesn’t try to save her or control her. He just stays. Old-fashioned dating. Rebuilding her truck together. Teaching her she’s worth staying for.
Until Alice Cullen arrives on Christmas night: Edward thinks Bella is dead and he’s going to Italy to end his life. Only Bella can stop him.
Now Bella must choose between the vampire who left her and the wolf who stayed.
A story about healing, choosing yourself, and learning the difference between being saved and saving yourself.
“I dare you to kiss Jasper. Under the blood moon. Right now.”
The words hung in the October air, impossible to take back. Bella looked at Jasper across the firelit meadow, her heart pounding. The crimson moon bathed everything in otherworldly light.
“Your choice,” Jasper said quietly, his Southern drawl soft. “Always your choice.”
She crossed the distance between them and kissed him.
The world exploded in silver and gold light. Magic surged, binding them together as crescent moon marks appeared on their wrists. The bond formed, unbreakable and divine.
Some dares change everything.
His Dangerous Waltz –
The moment their eyes met across the crowded ballroom, Bella felt something fundamental shift in the universe. Jasper Whitlock moved toward her with the fluid grace of a predator, devastatingly elegant in his perfectly tailored tuxedo, commanding attention from every person in the room. When he extended his hand for the waltz, his Southern drawl was velvet over steel.
“Miss Swan, I believe this dance belongs to me.”
The music began, and as he swept her onto the dance floor, Bella realized her carefully controlled life had just collided with something infinitely more dangerous—and infinitely more intoxicating.
The Harley hummed beneath us as we left Forks, each mile carrying me farther from Edward’s suffocating plans and closer to something that felt like freedom. The salt air filled my lungs, sharp and clean, washing away months of silence. Wrapped around Jasper’s waist, I realized how natural it felt—how right. His voice crackled through the helmet speakers, low and warm. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked as the Pacific spread out before us like a promise. For the first time in months, I could breathe. For the first time in forever, I wanted more.
Continue reading →“Bella,” he said, his voice rough with emotion, “I’ve lived a long time, and I’ve seen what forever looks like. Centuries passing like seasons, decades blending into memory, time stretching endlessly ahead without purpose or meaning. But none of it meant anything until I met you. You’ve reminded me what it feels like to hope. To breathe. To belong somewhere. You’ve taken a hundred and sixty years of existence and made them feel like they were all just preparation for loving you. You’re not just my mate. You’re my reason. My anchor. The thing that makes eternity feel possible instead of endless.”
Continue reading →The first time I saw you, you were arguing with your hair in the rear view mirror. I thought: there’s someone who fights back.
I stared at the letter in my hands, reading Jasper’s careful handwriting through tears I couldn’t stop. Edward had left me feeling broken and unworthy, but these words… these words suggested someone had been watching, seeing strength where I’d only felt failure.
You never needed protecting. You needed someone to believe you could protect yourself.
For the first time in months, I felt like I could breathe. Someone had been listening all along.
