When Duke had left for the day and I was left with Darius, I was glad. The tension was brewing to unimaginable heights, suffocating me. I stood out in the fresh air, taking it in, making the most of the freedom.

The air in the woods was crisp, unpolluted and clear, I inhaled it deeply into my lungs, perceiving it as a detox for my insides.

"You seem happy today" Darius commented as he sat on a small wooden bench on the patio.

I was standing a few meters in front of the house, my hands in my jeans pockets as I looked up at the large lanky trees that blocked the heat of the sun.

Somehow a beanie had gotten tossed into my suitcase. I wasn't sure I'd seen it before, but it came in great use to keep my ears warm around my loose hair.

"That a bad thing?" I asked, staring up at the blue skies surrounding the leafy tree tops

"It's just strange, you don't seem too bothered about what's to possibly come"

"I am bothered, but that doesn't mean I'm going to rock in a corner and pull my hair out" I shrugged, turning my head to look at his furrowed expression

"How will we know when and if something happens back home?" I asked, closing my eyes as the tops of the trees ruffled with wind, sending in a ray of warm sunshine

"We won't, not until Duke turns up here wanting to take my place in case they track you"

"So we're practically blind" I sighed, the trees returning to block the precious suns warmth

"Practically" He repeated in defeat

"Doesn't that bother you? Duke said you weren't a good fighter" I smiled, turning back to walk towards the patio he was sitting on

"Neither of those things bother me" He smiled back as he propped his feet up on the patio railing

I leaned against a wooden beam holding the patio roof up and folded my arms across my chest

"I assume you had a good night's sleep, I'm surprised though, I thought you were afraid of the dark?" He raised his eyebrows at me, suspecting

I looked down at the ground shuffling my feet while forcing back a smile. I must have looked like a teenage girl who'd just admitted to her best friend that she had a crush.

When I returned my gaze back to his face, he was also smiling, but it slowly disappeared and turned into a straight line.

"Just be careful Rosalie" He warned, staring at me

I looked back down at the floor again, any form of a smile gone

"Duke's a good guy, but he's also dangerous. He's a vampire above all, killing you within a second of concentration loss is always a possibility" He continued as I watched him cautiously

"I know that" I mumbled

"I don't mean to scare you Rosalie, but I think you have the right to know..." He started, trailing off, continuing as he leaned forward his hands clasped together

"Anna's scars..." I automatically knew what he was going to say

"I already know about that, she told me" I cut him off from replaying the scene

"Yes, but he hasn't told you anything about them, has he?" He continued, making me crease my eyebrows. Why did it matter who told me?

"He should have told you about it himself. Before, after, either way, it would have been the right thing to do" He continued

"Maybe he's just waiting for the right time, I mean, there is a lot of other important things to deal with at the moment" I scoffed, looking at my feet, realising I was defending Duke

"Hasn't stopped him from doing whatever you two did last night that's made you so happy today?" He raised an eyebrow at me "Look, I'm not trying to drag you down, or tell you that what the both of you are doing is wrong, I just don't want to see someone else get hurt because of his loose control" He tried, giving me a soft expression

"I understand, and thank you" I smiled "But just so you know, nothing actually happened..." I trailed off. I wondered what he thought had gone down last night..

He gave me a strange look, something I was unable to describe

"It's none of my business what happened anyway" He sighed before getting up and walking into the house

I stood where I was for a moment, biting my lip as I thought about what he had said.

I hoped that once all of this was over, Duke could and would open up to me about anything and everything, even the ugly parts of his past.

Darius reappeared from the front door again, snapping me from my thoughts. He had a toolbox in his left hand.

"Let's let a little frustration out" He smiled, winking at me as he walked past me, down the stairs and towards the woods

I turned around and watched with confusion.

Carefully and curiously I ran to catch up with his retreating figure.

"What do you mean?" I asked, puffing as I caught up alongside him

He shrugged, smiling smugly.

I was starting to think that Darius wasn't such a bad guy that everyone made him out to be. As I got to know him, he was just as sweet and charming as any of the other vampires, besides Grant of course.

I didn't say anything but just tagged along until we stopped in the middle of a few trees. He looked up, and then back down at me.

"Perfect" He continued to smile as he dumped down the toolbox, lifting its lid open to reveal its contents

I gave him a questioning look at the sight of two axes inside the box

He picked one up and smiled at me again, then turned his attention towards the small tree

"Go on then, we don't want you freezing to death tonight before Duke gets back do we?" He asked, filling in the blanks.

Of course.

We were cutting fire wood.

Surely he could have just snapped the tree into shreds with his bare hands, I thought.

I walked towards the box and hauled the heavy object out, stepped towards the tree.

"Ladies first?" He gestured, smiling

I smiled back before swinging with as much force as I could into the trees trunk.

My arms vibrated as the axe became lodged in the thick trunk.

Darius laughed as he took a swing towards it, clear away from me and my side.

Of course his swing sliced through with ease, looking identical to a slow motion baseball swing that hit perfectly.

I gave a laugh, and tugged on my axe to pull it free. I was such a weakling.

Once it was dislodged I swung again as Darius watched, clearly amused.

Within about half an hour the tree was looking close to toppling down after most of Darius's swings had severed it. Mine had done nothing but created small gashes.

"Stay over there, one more hit and it's going to fall right down to your left" Darius instructed as he pointed to an area aside the tree

I did as I was told, not particularly wanting to be squished by a tree when there were far more serious things out for my blood, literally.

I watched in a blur of speed as Darius took one more forceful swing, colliding heavily with the tree as it cracked and creaked, slowly leaning. Quickly it gained speed and it fell.

Within the blink of an eye, Darius had silenced its fall, standing beneath it as it was about to land. He effortlessly held it up, before easing it down onto the ground separating us with its long brown branches.

Darius rubbed his hands together dusting off the leaves and debris as he smiled proudly at me. I shook my head as I laughed and moved towards the tree, lifting a leg over to sit on it.

"What now?" I asked crossing my legs as he picked the axe up again and threw it over his shoulder

"Well you can help me cut it up or just sit while I do it within..." He trailed off, looking at an invisible clock on his wrist "About a minute"

I rolled my eyes, "Go ahead, I suck at it anyway" I laughed as I got up and moved to sit against a tree behind him

It literally did take him about a minute.

I watched him bring the axe high above his head, throwing it back down with unbelievable force, nearly cutting through with one hit.

About five minutes later, all that was left of the entire tree were small pieces of wood.

I felt a little mean to be destroying something that gave me my oxygen, but that was life, cruel and punishing.

I helped Darius carry the logs to the side of the house where a steel tray holder lay against the wall for firewood. We walked back and forth for about fifteen minutes transferring what he'd cut up.

I had to admit, it was nice being outside, being productive, I seemed to forget about the circumstances. Such a mundane experience had meant so much to me, oddly enough.

Darius and I picked up the last few logs. I held one in each arm as Darius held one and the toolbox.

"That was... fun" I spoke as we reached the house

"I'm glad" He smiled

I tossed one log after the other into the large pile, feeling a quick sting of pain as it shot through my hand.

Looking down, I noticed a splinter.

I winced and held my hand out in front of myself examining the long angry piece of wood protruding in and out my palm.

"What did you do?" Darius asked, taking in my pained expression

"Just a splinter" I told him, holding my palm up for him to see.

His face suddenly turned serious "Ouch" He began poking the area

I withdrew it from him and poked it a few times myself. Together we trailed back into the house.

Darius disappeared to the kitchen while I sat on the sofa still prodding and examining the stick in my hand. It would be easy to yank it out, and I prepared myself by pinching the end.

Just as I was about to pull it out, the door burst open, snapping my gaze up, my fingers slipped and knocked the splinter into my hand further.

I hissed in pain as Darius emerged around the kitchen corner, ready to attack.

We quickly relaxed at the sight of Duke, who stood in the doorway frantically looking in between us

My body tensed back up as I saw the expression on his face. He was angry, his eyes coal black, his clothes were covered in dust. I pushed my injured hand aside as Darius walked towards Duke

"It's started" Duke told him, his expression stern as he stared at me full of concern.

My heart began to beat erratically and my breathing became deep and uncontrollable. I knew immediately what he had meant. They were looking for me. The long awaited war had begun.

"How many?" Darius was instantly switched into alert mode, his face tense as he stared at his brother.

"About ten of them attacked the house. We took them out within a few minutes, but it was close. We were distracted and one of them got a grip on Seth"

I was suddenly right beside the brothers

"Is he okay?" I asked, frantic that someone had been hurt or killed

"He's okay, he's fine" He assured me, turning back to Darius "Some of them were stronger than we had prepared for. It makes me question just who else he's recruited" Duke continued only looking at his brother

"You should go, inform father. I'll stay here. Riley said he'd contact me if more of them came" He continued still not looking at me as he instructed his brother what to do

Darius nodded and took a quick glance at me before disappearing from the home.

I immediately turned to Duke "So everyone's okay?" I asked, wanting to make sure.

He nodded "They are fine"

He was staring at the wall behind me, avoiding me

"What are we supposed to do now?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips, wincing as I remembered my hand

"What did you do?" Duke asked, ignoring my question as he took a hold of my hand

"Nothing, it's just a splinter" I shrugged, wanting to get straight back down to the plan

"So what do we do now?" I repeated

He ignored me, focused down with narrow eyes on my palm

"How did you get this?" He asked, examining it with gentle fingers, again ignoring my question

"Darius and I were cutting firewood" I explained

He pulled me by the wrist towards the dining room where he urged me to sit on the table so he could 'fix' it.

I did as I was told while he stood closely in front of me

"It's going to hurt" He spoke, pinching the very tip

"Story of my life" I sarcastically threw before turning my head away, ready for the pain

It was quick but it still hurt.

I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Gone" He sighed as I turned my head back to examine it

There was now a tiny amount of blood seeping from the end where it had entered. My eyes shot up to Duke, worried about how he'd react

"Can you please tell me what we are going to do now, instead of ignoring me?" I pushed this time wanting an answer

He stepped into the kitchen and opened a cupboard, pulling out a tissue as he returned to my side. He pushed it against my palm to stop the flow.

Angrily, I pulled away from his helping hand and closed my fist to hold it in place.

"I don't know just yet Rosie, okay?" He was angry as he spoke, leaning his arms on either side of me on the table, his head low, exhausted.

"Awesome" I groaned sarcastically.

I leaned my head back touching the back of it to my neck as I sighed.

-

For the rest of the day I lay on the sofa, quiet as Duke mostly paced. I didn't bother saying anything to him, there was no point.

I laid motionless falling in and out of light sleep as the day finally drew to a dark end.

Duke eventually stopped pacing and pulled his phone from his pants pocket, slamming it down on the coffee table beside me. I just stared at him, then to the phone.

He was waiting for Riley's call, news that more vampires had attacked. I sat up and realized that it was close to pitch black in the room.

"It's getting dark" I mumbled, trying to give away a hint to Duke. I needed him to light some candles or start the fire.

I expected him to ignore me like he had majority of the day, but instead his brain caught hold of what I was suggesting. He moved towards the fireplace, quickly lighting it, flames dancing to life, adding light and warmth to the room within minutes.

I sighed and laid back down, anticipating whatever was to happen next.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait long.

Duke walked towards me and I watched as he perched himself down on the edge of the sofa I was lying on, beside my waist.

He looked down at me, meeting my gaze as I remained silent.

"I'm sorry I'm being so blunt, there is a lot on my mind" He explained, finally letting me in

"I understand" I nodded

Finally, he gave me a small smile and his hand found mine folded on my stomach. It rest on top of mine, the cold feeling nothing but similar to warmth. His thumb ran smooth circles around my skin as his eyes stayed on mine.

"Hopefully it'll soon be all over" He whispered, smiling weakly

"I hope so" I smiled back

Our eyes made their all too tempting connection. His face was soft and he edged forwards towards my face. I waited eagerly for him to copy what had happened a few nights ago. Only this time, I hoped it would end a little better.

He was edging dangerously close, his face mere inches from mine as my heart began its usual erratic activity. My breathing stopped and I braced myself as his nose brushed against the side of mine.

Within what seemed like forever, his lips were on mine, lightly touching

I was bravely about to make the first push with my lips, when a sudden shrill ringing and vibrating sound echoed through the room, snapping his face away from mine.

I near cursed out loud as Duke jumped up grabbing his phone and pressing it to his ear.

I sighed and sat up, remembering we were in the middle of a war.

"Slow down Seth. What the hell happened?" Duke demanded angrily "Seth. Seth? Tell me what's going on!" He shouted, almost crushing the phone in between his fingers

Duke's face turned to immediate panic as he snapped his head towards me. I stood up and walked closely beside him, hoping to catch what I could hear being screamed on the other end. I stood on my toes and held my ear near Duke's hand

"They're here. I have to be quick, but I heard what they were thinking... more recruits attacking... I read his mind... they know... they know where you are... They're on their way... I have to go help..." Suddenly, the line went dead and I stepped away staring at Duke's face in a panic

His eyes returned coal black as he slammed the phone back down on the table and grabbed me by the hand pulling me back to his side.

"They're coming" He half growled, snaking a protective arm around my waist.

My heart began to furiously beat loudly again, this time for an entirely different reason.

There was confirmation that Ryde, Dodge and god knows who else was now on their way to us.

"Can't we leave?" I rushed out "Can't we run?"

"There's no time" Duke shot back as we stared at the front door, awaiting my fate

I wasn't sure how long we were waiting, standing the way we were for what felt like years. Anticipating the moment the grim reaper would knock, enter through the door holding up a piece of paper, pointing to my name with a skeletal finger.

Within what was probably only minutes, Duke's body beside me turned stiff and his arm around me held on tighter.

His eyes were intent on the door, quickly pulling me towards the dining room.

He let go of my arm and gently pushed and gestured for me to hide under the table.

I did as I was told and crouched down underneath it, pulling my legs up to my chest. I watched his angry black eyes take one last glance at me before there was a loud crack, the door splitting into two