Jasper stood silently on the wooden balcony of the Cullen house, the forest stretching out before him in a blur of mist and evergreen.

The dawn air was cool against his skin—not that the vampire felt the cold.

His honey-blond curls stirred slightly in the breeze, though his amber eyes were fixed on something far beyond the trees. Thoughts weighed heavy this sunrise. The quiet never truly was, not with the emotions of a restless world humming at the edge of his mind.

Arms crossed, posture still, he looked every bit the soldier—and yet, something softer lingered in his expression, just beneath the surface.