I was slumped over a mug of coffee the next morning, dark circles hanging like bags under my eyes. I hadn't slept much after my nightmare from last night, and the sleep that I did get was uneasy and qualified as dozing at best.

"You know what I think you need?" Bella asked, sitting down beside me.

"What?"

"A girl's day. Just us. No nightmares, no vampires. Just you, me, and the beach," Bella said.

"Thursday is supposed to be sunny," Alice called, her lips in a childish pout. "Though I do wish I could come."

"Sorry, Alice. Humans only. What do you think, Rowan?" Bella asked.

I nodded slowly. "That sounds nice."

"Good," Bella said, smiling.

"I was thinking we could go out for bridesmaid dresses today," Alice said, plopping down on my other side.

I groaned. "I just got back, Alice. Don't you already know what Bella is going to choose anyway?"

"No. You know that's not how it works. Once we get there, though, I will," she said brightly.

"It's up to Bella," I said, taking a long drink of my coffee. It was too early to deal with hyperactive vampires.

"Maybe it would be best to get it over with. And I only want to go to La Push," Bella said, sounding reluctant.

Alice beamed. "That I can work with. Finish breakfast and we can go."

"At least give them time to breathe, Alice. You'll have plenty of time to shop today," Esme scolded, setting omelets down in front of Bella and I. "Here you go, girls. I hope it's good."

"Esme, your cooking never disappoints," I said, taking a bite. "It's delicious as always."

"Agreed," Bella said. We ate breakfast under Alice's impatient eye, and as soon as we were finished she was pushing us back towards my room.

"Oh, I don't have any clothes," Bella said worriedly.

"I grabbed some from your house last night, once I saw you decided to stay the night," Alice said brightly. "They're on Rowan's dresser."

"Oh. Thanks, Alice," Bella said, shooting her a smile.

I shut my door when we reached my room and tossed Bella her clothes. "So has Edward chosen a best man yet? He hasn't told me anything about the wedding."

"Yes, he asked Carlisle over a month ago," Bella said.

I grinned. "How did Emmett and Jasper take it?"

"Oh, they gave him a hard time about it, but I don't think they really minded," she said. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask you... will you be my maid of honor?"

"Of course I will, Bella! I'd be honored," I said, beaming.

She looked relieved. "Good."

"So what did Alice say when you made the decision to make me maid of honor?" I asked as I pulled a shirt over my head.

"She pouted a bit, but she understood," Bella said.

"Who are your other bridesmaids?"

"Alice, of course, and Rosalie," Bella said.

I was surprised by her choice in Rosalie, but didn't mention it. Rose had been much warmer towards Bella ever since I pointed out that it was hypocritical that she was against Bella's change but for my own.

"That's nice," I said with a smile.

"Yeah. You'll be walking down with Carlisle, that way Alice and Rosalie are with Jasper and Emmett, respectively," Bella said. "As long as you're comfortable with that."

I glanced back at her, my voice garbled by the toothbrush currently in my mouth. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. I just was worried that you wouldn't be," Bella said with a shrug. I strongly suspected the question had something to do with witnessing my nightmare from last night.

"Well, I appreciate the consideration," I said, spitting out toothpaste.

"Yeah, of course," Bella said as Alice poked her head inside my bedroom.

"Are you two done yet?" she asked, flopping down on my bed.

I rolled my eyes. "So impatient. But I'm ready as long as Bella is."

"I am," Bella confirmed, and we were off.

There were two decent dress shops in La Push, and we spent a ridiculous amount of time in both, especially considering Bella ended up deciding on the first bridesmaid dress that we tried on. Said dress was a light, flowing, purple thing that contrasted nicely with my hair and eyes.

"That was tedious," I said as we walked back inside. Rose and Alice were carrying the dresses and were going to store them away for safekeeping.

"Agreed," Bella said. "Sorry it took so long, especially since I decided on the first one anyway."

I grinned at her. "No worries."

"What time did you want to go to La Push on Thursday?" Bella asked.

I let out a grunt as I stretched out on the couch. "I can meet at your house and we can head there around ten, if you'd like? I can pack us lunch."

"That sounds good," Bella agreed.

"I'll have to talk to my guard about it, though," I said, screwing my eyes shut. I already knew about how well that conversation was going to go.

"Don't worry, they'll say yes," Alice said, shooing away my legs so she could sit. "I wish I could see what you do down there, but with the wolves..."

"We'll be fine, Alice. Between the pack and my guard, I don't think any stray vampires will slip by," I said, intertwining my fingers behind my head.

"I suppose you're right. I just hate having blind spots," Alice sighed.

I smiled. "It is dreadful being normal, isn't it?"

"Oh, shush!" she said, smacking me lightly. "I would talk to your guard sooner rather than later. It's not raining right now."

"Oh, alright," I said, pushing myself to my feet. "Might as well get it over with."

"Atta girl," Alice said.

"Good luck," Bella called as I walked out of the room.

I met the guard just inside the forest. "Santiago! Alec! Jane! I need to talk to you!"

"Ah, so she remembers our existence," Santiago drawled as the three appeared in front of me.

I rolled my eyes at him. "It's been a day, don't be so dramatic. And I'm sure I'd interact more if you added me to the guard's group chat."

"It's the guard's group chat for a reason, queenliness," Santiago said, smirking. "What's up?"

"As much as I'd love to flatter you with a purely social call, I actually came to tell you that Bella and I are visiting La Push on Thursday," I said.

Jane let out a puff of air. "Again? What is so great about those mutts?"

"We're not going down there because of the pack, Jane. We're going to the beach, taking a day just to be human," I said.

"Couldn't you wait until Demetri and Felix arrive?" Alec suggested.

"What's the big deal? It's not like we won't be there," Santiago said.

I had forgotten that he didn't know about the treaty between the pack and the Cullens. "Vampires aren't allowed on La Push, and I'd rather not start a fight. The peace between the shapeshifters and my family is already tenuous as it is, so you'll have to stay on this side of the border."

"There's no way in hell I'm letting you go, then," Santiago said, crossing his arms. "We can't protect you there. It is our job to make sure you are safe, and we can't do that if you're ten miles away on land that we're not allowed to enter."

"I'm not asking for your permission, Santiago," I retorted, mirroring his body language. "I appreciate the concern, however. The wolves run regular patrols on the border, and you'll do essentially the same thing. Nothing can reach me there, not between you and the pack."

"It worked before, Santiago," Alec said. "Though I would prefer to wait for Felix and Demetri, as it gives us the most numbers."

"They won't be here until Saturday at the earliest, and the next day that it isn't supposed to rain is Bella's wedding. It's Thursday or never," I said. "I know this isn't ideal, but this is probably the last time Bella will be able to go down there, since she's supposed to be changed after the honeymoon."

"After the honeymoon?" Santiago asked, eyebrows shooting up. "Interesting choice. Regardless, I can't support this little excursion of yours."

"I'm not asking you to support it, but I would like you to respect my decision," I said. Santiago scowled, glaring at the empty air behind me. "Please?"

His scowl deepened, but he nodded. "Very well. We'll run patrols along the borders. But I want you to check in every couple hours or so. I don't want to take any chances."

"Deal," I said instantly, grinning. "Thanks, guys."

"Of course, my queen," Jane said. "We hope you enjoy your visit there."

"I think I will. Someday I want to go to a proper beach, in the tropics," I said wistfully.

Alec cocked his head. "I have no doubt the masters would take you if you asked, my queen."

I hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe one day, Alec."

"Did you need anything else, my queen?" Jane asked. "We heard what happened last night. Santiago almost came barging in, but Edward beat him to it."

"I'm fine, Jane. Thank you for asking. It's just..." I trailed off with a shrug.

"We understand," Santiago said. There was a peculiar gleam in his eye, an emotion I couldn't quite identify, but I knew he was telling the truth. They understood.

-:-

"It's beach day!" I cheered as Bella climbed into Edward's Volvo. I had borrowed it to drive us down to La Push.

Bella smiled. "Let's do it!"

"Are you going to swim?" I asked as we drove. Unlike my family, I drove the speed limit, meaning the drive would take a little under half an hour.

"Maybe," Bella said, craning her head to see the sun peeking through the clouds. "It looks like the day is going to be nice."

"For once," I said. "Turn on some music, I brought my CDs so we don't have to listen to Edward's classical music the whole drive down."

Bella laughed and picked out a burnt CD that Emmett had given me of the 80's one hit wonders. We sang along to the music, albeit badly, the rest of the way, and it didn't seem very long until I was parking by the beach.

"Think we'll run into any of the wolves?" I asked as I grabbed my beach towel and the picnic basket that Esme had provided for me.

"Probably. They spend a good amount of time here. But Jacob hasn't been talking to me. According to Billy, he left after he got the wedding invitation," Bella said with a grimace.

"He had to know it was coming. I mean, did he expect that you'd suddenly change your mind and fall in love with him, instead?" I asked. "Jacob doesn't seem like a bad person, but he strikes me as a 'my way or the highway' type of guy, you know?"

"Maybe he is. I feel like we don't even know each other anymore," Bella said, setting down her things in the soft sand. I did the same before we kicked off our shoes and walked down to the cool water. "Sometimes I wish things were simpler. Normal."

"Do you regret falling in love with Edward?" I asked. "I mean, looking back, would you have chosen the easier option? Fall for a human, get married, have two-point-five kids?"

Bella smiled slightly as she stared out at the water. "No, never. I love Edward. And no one ever said that love was easy."

"You've got that right," I said, skipping a stone across the water. It hopped three times before sinking into the waves. "You know, I've really got you to thank for meeting the kings."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. If you and Edward hadn't fallen in love, then Ed never would have left, never gone to Italy, and who knows how long it would have been before I met them otherwise?"

"Do you think, if none of that had happened, you would end up meeting them anyway?" Bella asked.

"I'd like to think so. I mean, we're like soulmates, right? We're meant to be together, like you and Edward. But who knows?" I asked, shrugging.

"Yeah. Who knows," she repeated softly.

"I think the conversation has gotten a little too serious," I said, splashing her with water. "We're here to have fun, not contemplate the universe."

"I'm going to get you for that, Rowan Cullen!" Bella exclaimed, looking down at her wet shorts. I laughed, half-running through the knee deep water as she chased after me.

"You'll have to catch me first!" I yelled in response, shrieking as she tackled me and we both fell into the cool water. We came up laughing and sputtering, and I blinked away the salt water from my eyes. "I don't think that's playing fair, Bells!"

"You started it!" Bella said, laughing and trying to dodge as I splashed her again. We did this for a while, until the breeze picked up and it became too chilly to stay in the water. We wrapped our towels snugly around us and I spread out the blanket that Esme gave us to sit on.

"We're going to catch pneumonia at this rate," I said, shivering and wringing out the water from my t-shirt.

"If I'm sick for my wedding, I'm blaming it on you," Bella said, eyes sparkling with mirth.

I grinned at her. "You do that."

The pack joined us down at the beach later that evening, around five, and Sam started a driftwood fire. Bella and I were still damp from our unexpected swim and appreciated the warmth that dried our clothes.

"So, Cullen," Sam said, crossing his arms to look more intimidating, "does your family know anything about the unfamiliar vampire scents we're picking up around our border?"

"They're just visitors. Don't worry, they know to stay off your land," I said. "They're of no threat to you."

Sam reluctantly nodded as more of the pack arrived. "You two have anything to eat?"

"Not for dinner," Bella said. "Sam, have you... heard from Jake?"

"Not recently. He's fine, Bella. We'd know if he wasn't," Sam said, tossing me a pack of hotdogs. "Lucky for you, we brought food."

"Thanks," I said, surprised. Other than the glares from Paul, the rest of the pack seemed perfectly civil - well, as civil as a pack of teenaged, shape-shifting wolves could be. Bella and I stayed until well after the sun dipped down over the horizon and I sent Esme and Santiago texts saying I'd be late back.

"You think we should get going soon?" Bella asked. I checked the time on my phone, which showed that it was getting close to eleven.

"Probably. I'll go warm the car up. I'm freezing anyway," I said, rubbing away the goosebumps on my arms. I had grown used to the Italian heat in the time I had spent there.

"You guys about to head out, Cullen?" Jared asked me, his arm wrapped securely around his imprint's shoulders.

"Just about. Thanks for the food, and the fire. Take your time, Bells," I said, giving them a friendly wave as I threw my towel over my shoulder and walked back up the beach. The night was clear and stars twinkled overhead. Crickets chirped in the forest and I navigated easily through the dark to the car.

I tossed my towel in the backseat, knowing Edward would complain that I got sand in his car later. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled and I glanced around, feeling like I was being watched, but there were only two cars in the lot, and both were empty.

I shook my head and opened the driver's side door, turning on the engine and leaning against it as I waited for the heat to become properly warm. I watched the fire that crackled merrily in the distance, figures moving around the fire. It didn't look like Bella had moved to leave yet, and I yawned. I had been having nightmares nearly every night since I had gotten back. Gravel crunched a few feet behind me, and I turned, expecting to see a few stragglers from the pack.

As it was, reality was much worse. The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion. I saw the baseball bat as it swung towards my head out of the corner of my vision and the darkness as it gathered around me. I smelt the salty ocean breeze as it whispered past my skin, tasted the sea salt that still clung to my lips, and heard the shouts of laughter from where the pack was still gathered around the fire.

Then time snapped back into place, the bat made contact with the side of my skull, and my world dissolved.

Edited 4/19/2021