You’d only just stepped inside the Cullen house when a sharp sting stopped you; a paper cut on your finger.

Before you could blink, Jasper’s eyes darkened, a barely contained hunger pulsing beneath the surface. Alice’s gaze sharpened too, her breath catching as she stepped closer.

“No,” Alice whispered, but her fingers were already gently touching your bleeding skin.

She lifted her finger with blood on it, bringing it to her nose, inhaling softly. “Carlisle,” she said quietly, almost like a warning.

Jasper’s body tensed, a low growl escaping him as he lunged forward.

“Jasper, stop!” Emmett and Edward grabbed him, pulling him back as he struggled, wild and desperate.

Alice kept her hand steady, her eyes calm but shining with something fierce. “He can’t help it,” she murmured. “Not with fresh blood so close.”