Moonless Night

Prologue

Rosalie

I gazed down at Renesmee lovingly as I bottle fed her some O-Negative, trying (and failing) to recall a happier moment in my excruciatingly long existence. I couldn't believe what a miracle she was. A sudden pang of worry for her mother and what was happening upstairs shot through me, but I quickly shook it off and refocused my attention on the little angel nestled in my arms. She cooed softly, and the sweet sound brought the biggest smile to my face. I knew in that moment that I would risk anything to keep her out of harm's way.

Minutes later, I stiffened at the sudden smell of dog wafting in from the living room doorway, my arms tightening protectively around the baby as I narrowed in on Jacob. My brows furrowed in confusion as I saw his stance shift. His jaw slacked and fists unclenched as he sank to his knees, his eyes remaining glued to the bundle in my arms. Realization dawned on me as I looked down at my niece, whose tiny face had turned to look at him as well. Horror and panic crept over me; he had imprinted on Renesmee.

I growled quietly, shifting Renesmee so that she was pressed to me tighter and out of his view. She deserved so much more than a life that was forcibly tied to that dog. My mind worked quickly, formulating a plan. I bit my lip, considering her parents. Bella wouldn't make it through; I could hear a very faint, slow heartbeat, but it was stuttering and wouldn't last much longer. Without Bella here, there is no way that Edward would be able to care for her properly, I reasoned to myself. Determination set in my features and I took an unnecessary breath, knowing what I had to do.

Without a second glance in the dog's direction, I leapt through the glass of the window, making sure that none of the glass shards touched Renesmee, and darted off into the woods. I used the element of surprise to my advantage, and it allowed me to get several miles away unfollowed. However, I knew that I would be tracked eventually, both by my family as well as the wolves, so I found my way to the nearest riverbank and leapt into the knee-deep water, continuing to run. This way, our scents would be impossible to trace and no one would find us.

My dead heart panged as I realized who I had left behind, seemingly without a second thought. Emmett. I briefly thought about attempting to contact him once we had reached a safe enough destination, but I shook it off, knowing that he wouldn't approve of what I was doing. But what I was doing was right. I was protecting her. I was giving her a chance to live a life without having to be surrounded by wolves and danger. I looked down at her again, a sad smile forming on my face as I realized she had fallen peacefully asleep in my arms. This was for the best.

I spent most of the day like this, switching from various bodies of water to wooded areas of land, until I decided I had gone far enough. At that point, I headed toward the nearest road, found a small motel shortly after, and checked in for a night, using some of the cash I had in my wallet so that it would be untraceable.

When I settled us into the room for the night, I started to plan what would have to come next. First thing tomorrow, I would go to the blood bank, acquire some blood for Renesmee, and then my next stop would be the bank. I would have to transfer some of my funds into a new account. Then I would have to work on procuring a new identity for myself. Renesmee didn't need one yet, as I was unsure of how she would grow and advance in the time to come. If the rate of Bella's pregnancy was any indication, Renesmee's accelerated aging could become a serious, but confusing problem. I guess I would just have to play it by ear.

Over the course of the day, my phone had been ringing like crazy. This was not surprising. First Emmett, then Alice, Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper had called me, then it looped for a while as they all took turns until finally it was only Emmett that refused to stop calling. No calls from Edward, but that was to be expected, given his loss. I couldn't answer. I could not bear the guilt it would cause to speak to any of them, especially Emmett, but I knew that they would be able to use my phone to trace our location, and I couldn't risk that.

However, the need to speak to Emmett, to hear his voice, to convince him to be with me here, was becoming unbearable. Every time my phone belted out his personalized ringtone, which was at about 10 minute intervals, my heart ached so much more. I hadn't gone more than a few hours without speaking to him or seeing him in decades.

I looked down at my phone as it started up again, "Emmett" flashing across the screen, and it felt like air was caught in my throat as it tightened. My shoulders shook and my eyes stung, but no tears fell, true to my vampiristic nature. Unable to take it anymore, my finger hesitated over the green answer button before I threw my phone against the wall, watching the screen shatter and blacken as it clattered to the floor. Luckily, I hadn't thrown it hard enough to damage the wall or wake the baby. I looked over at her, bundled up and sleeping peacefully in the middle of the motel bed. I sighed, wondering what kind of life we would have.

I thought back to the moment I'd made my decision, and the image of Jacob falling to his knees as he looked up at Renesmee. There had practically been stars in his eyes; it was disgusting. I shuddered, my mouth hardening into a thin line. The question of whether or not I had truly done what was best for her nagged at me. Upon further thought, I realized that the answer was yes. I had definitely made the right choice for her because now she would have a chance, a real choice of when and with whom she fell in love, and she would not be stuck with some kind of sick obligation or betrothal in a weird, animalistic, Native American ritual. She deserved more than that, and now she would have it.

Thankfully, she was too young to know the difference and would remain ignorant to the existence of wolves. I knew eventually I would have to figure out a way to tell her about herself and about vampires, which would require me to figure out more information about her…species…as well as come up with a plausible story to give her someday that she would accept without too many questions.

It would be hard, learning to exist without my patchwork, immortal family as well as learning to raise a child, let alone such a unique child, but I believed that it would be worth it. Maybe my ever-growing love for my darling niece would eventually help me to forget the hole in my heart, or at least help to overshadow my grief.

AN: Alright, so there's the prologue. As you must know if you're reading this, it's an entirely new take on the story I started years ago. I'm slowing it down and paying more attention to detail. My goal is to give this story life…and to steer away from the melodramatic, soap opera-like tone that the original four chapters I'd posted had. I hope y'all like it. Please leave me some feedback on what I can do to improve, if you like/dislike it so far, and maybe something you'd like to see in future chapters. I'm very interested in hearing my readers' opinions, even if you hate it. Just be kind in the way you word it because I AM human and I do have feelings. Thanks for reading!

~Damon'sHumanity