✧

Mia has read the same grimoire over and over in hopes of finding a possible explanation as to why she's struggling to use her magic. Her headaches have gotten significantly worse and casting spells has gotten harder. Whenever she gets remotely close, she ends up extremely weaker to the point she passes out.

It's an everyday occurrence to head to the attic for research. Despite spending late hours of the night reading the same text, no answers have been found. She's left further in the dark and it's worrying her not knowing how to prevent this from becoming worse.

The most important part of herself is fading and if she ever were to lose her magic, she would be nothing more than ordinary. She'd become a floater amongst the crowd, an insignificant bypasser, and someone meant to be casted into oblivion. Losing her powers would be the beginning of the end and while there are greater problems in the world, she can't bother feigning any care at the moment.

It's getting darker and Mia's struggling to keep her eyelids open. Not getting much sleep thanks to her nightmares has left her weary to the point not even energy drinks or coffee are enough. She knows it'd probably be best to just face the night, but she's terrified of seeing her father and Edward again.

If she stays awake, she won't see them.

Now with her mother working late at the station, Mia takes advantage of looking through her spell books. She flips through the pages and reads over the same words, but nothing is enough to ease the turmoil in her mind.

Instinctively, Mia reaches for her necklace – the one Edward had gifted her for her birthday. She feels pathetic for continuing to wear it, but her damned heart insists on holding on to it. In spite of everything he said, she still loves him, but she also hates him. It's such a strange combination that leaves her confused on how these feelings could be felt at the same time.

If anything, she would rather feel nothing but hatred for him, but those months of happiness make it harder to forget. It wasn't real to him, but it was real to her. If she had known their relationship would have ended in betrayal, maybe she would have chosen a different path, but deep inside, she knows it wouldn't make a difference.

She fell for him quicker than falling asleep and she hates herself for it. Letting her guard down had been her destruction. Just take a look at her now. She could possibly lose her magic and there's nothing she can do to prevent it.

Sighing heavily, Mia clutches onto the necklace tighter and without thinking, she removes it from her neck and tosses it across the attic. The metal clinks against the floor and a part of her is tempted to go after it, but she shuts that part down. She's not allowing herself to cave to these feelings anymore. She needs to move on, but the thing is, she's not certain if she'd be able to.

Just as she begins returning to her research, banging on her front door disrupts her attention. She heads downstairs and looks through the peephole, not expecting to see a distraught Bella standing under the pouring rain. Wasting no time, she ushers her in and pulls her in for an embrace when seeing her downcast expression. "What happened, Bells?"

"Jacob broke up with me," Bella cries into her shoulder and Mia's heart drops at her confession. "He was acting distant for the past few days, so I went to check up on him. When I saw him, he was an entirely different person. He cut off his hair and got a tattoo and even joined Sam's group."

Mia's suddenly reminded of what Billy said to Sam on Halloween night. He was worried Jacob might phase due to Victoria roaming around. Sam claimed he would take care of him if that happened, so this could possibly be the reason.

"He also knows about you and the Cullens-"

"Wait, what?" Mia hands her a towel as they head to her room. She tries not to worry about Jacob knowing about her secret, but with death eaters roaming around, having more people know about her would be the most dangerous thing.

Bella paces around her room as she runs her hands through her hair, "Somehow, Sam figured out that the Cullens are vampires and that you're a witch. Jacob believed everything he said and claimed that he's breaking up with me for my protection, but what is he protecting me from?"

As much as Mia wishes to express her suspicions on why this could have happened, she's afraid of wrecking everything. Maybe she's wrong about this and the reason for this break up could have been about anything else. Not everything has to have a correlation to the supernatural, but it doesn't mean she won't stop thinking about the possibility.

"I'm so sorry this happened, Bells," Mia reassures her, holding her tighter and ignoring the coldness from her damp clothes. She had been in this exact position at the Cullen house and Bella was there for her through everything. Even when she didn't deserve it, she always stuck through and offered her comfort through every step of the way. "Everything will be okay."

"Aren't you worried that he knows about you?" Bella questions through her tremulous voice, wondering why Mia isn't freaking out about her secret being discovered.

"I'll worry about that later," she brushes off her comment, choosing not to give it much thought when right now, her friend needs her. "But all I care about right now is you, so if you want to cry, yell, or destroy things, I'm here for whatever you need."

Bella turns quiet for a moment before she glances at the bat on the far corner. "I'm really tempted to destroy his house, but that would mean seeing him again, and I don't think I can."

"Give it some time. Like the saying goes, time heals all wounds."

Not that Mia believes it. Even if it's been a while since Edward's departure, she can't forget the pain he caused. Time does not heal all wounds, but she can't let Bella believe it doesn't get any better.

What type of friend would she be if she did otherwise?

However, Bella knows her like the palm of her hand to know it's far from what she believes. "I know you hate that saying, but I do appreciate you trying."

Mia gnaws at the inside of her cheek, regretting offering advice that she doesn't even follow. "Well, we're different people, so you might be able to handle your break up way better than I did."

"I don't know. I think you handled it pretty well," Bella jokingly says, playfully nudging her on the shoulder.

She scoffs, "I destroyed their home. If they do come back, it will be the greatest shocker."

"It's not like they didn't deserve it."

Mia hands her some clothes and plops herself on the bed. She wants to believe that what she did was justifiable, but this guilt prevents her from doing so. She destroyed their belongings that held sentimental value, like their graduation caps. All those years of enduring high school no longer hold any record, and while she wishes to ignore her remorse, she can't pretend there isn't any.

"Are you going to try to talk to Jake again?" Mia asks, but Bella frowns at the mention of him and buries her face into a pillow.

"Can we not talk about him? I- I just can't deal with it right now," she admits, sighing heavily and staring up at the ceiling.

Mia follows her request, seeing as she understands exactly what she's going through. It hurts to speak about Edward or even hear anyone mention him, so she empathizes with Bella's situation. She wonders what more to say, but something is telling her that Bella appreciates the silence. Something she also understands.

"Charlie is proposing to your mom," Bella suddenly blurts out and Mia's body runs cold at the revelation, causing her to turn to her with widened eyes and mouth slightly agape.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I saw him take a ring with him this morning and a change of clothes," she explains, unable to contain her excitement at the prospect of becoming family with her best friend. "It was a tux and he only wears it on special occasions."

Instant joy is felt at her mother getting a second chance of love. After what Dimitri put her through, Isobel deserves to be happy and Mia couldn't be more grateful that this move led her mother back to Charlie. It makes everything worth it and she seriously hopes that she accepts, so that way, she and Bella could officially become sisters.

"Does that mean you and I are going to be forced to share rooms?" Mia asks, both of them laughing at imagining how crowded they'd be in the small house.

"We're lucky there's a spare bedroom, so I'll be saved from your snoring," Bella teases and she scoffs in disbelief at her accusation.

"I do not snore. I'm a silent sleeper," Mia defends, but can't prevent from wishing she could sleep soundlessly again. Now she just wakes up in a cold sweat and in the most extreme cases, she awakens screaming as if she was being murdered.

Bella is quick to notice her mind went elsewhere, "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answers far too quickly, enough to reveal her dishonesty. "No need to worry, Bells."

"We're about to be sisters soon, so get used to it."

While Mia is looking forward to such a future, she's also afraid of what it may bring. Anyone that gets remotely close to her is at risk. She's being sought after like a reward and with a war about to start, she's terrified of losing those she cares most about.

If anything were to happen to them, she would never be able to forgive herself.

A momentary silence comes between them and maybe it's feeling safe for the first time, but a vulnerability becomes her. "I think I'm losing my magic," Mia confesses, her voice low and tremulous, "And I'm scared I won't be able to prevent it. Without it, I'll become ordinary and not worth anything, but... in a way, I'm also relieved. If I don't have my magic, I won't become the monster everyone expects me to be. I won't become the thing that drove Edward and his family away."

In spite of finally knowing the previous months were nothing but lies, a part of her longs to return to the safety of such deception. She was happy living under ignorance and for the first time, she understands ignorance is bliss. Even if she now knows her feelings weren't ever reciprocated, she longs to return to its comfort.

Everything was simpler and everything she ever wanted. Now, she's at risk of losing everything.

How could her life have become such a tragedy?

Mia glances to the side and she comes to realize she had been speaking to a sleeping Bella all this time. She's slightly relieved, but she also can't deny having wished for someone to listen to her. Dealing with this secret is suffocating and while confiding in someone has never led her to anything good, she can't ignore how much she needed someone to hear her.

Well, maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Opening her heart has only brought deception and heartbreak, so maybe, keeping everyone in the dark is the safest thing.

At least she will spare herself from any betrayal.

Or maybe, this is nothing but a curse.

__________________

With the holidays being over, Isobel and Charlie started their wedding preparations. It's been a chaotic past couple of weeks and after deliberation, the merry couple decided on waiting until after the wedding to officially move in.

As much as Mia is extremely happy for her mother, she can't prevent from feeling overwhelmed. She's not in the mood to be all lovey dovey, especially when her heart hasn't fully healed, so she makes sure to steer clear of the happy couple to avoid ruining everything.

Which brings her to the forest, where Mia decided to visit for a change of scenery. Her first instinct was to head to La Push, but that meant being near the ocean and dealing with this new irrational fear she's developed. Hiking to the meadow seemed like the lesser of two evils and while she's afraid of all the memories rushing back, she needs a sense of familiarity.

Everything is changing and change isn't something she deals with quite well.

As she pushes through an assortment of branches, Mia recognizes the familiar path and the sound of the nearby creek. Faint sunlight peeks through the clouds, but the gloomy weather insists on winning this round. It turns quieter the higher up she goes and while it's foolish to have come here with a rogue vampire roaming around, she can't bother feigning any care for Victoria anymore.

Vampires trying to kill her are the least of her concerns, so instead of panicking over it, she places her worries on the most important issues. She wants to attempt her magic out in nature as she believes that maybe being around the trees will help clear her head. Being confined to her bedroom hasn't worked for her, so her hope lies within this hike.

The meadow finally comes to sight, but her optimism falters into heartache when noticing all the beautiful flowers and vibrant grass are no longer present. Anything outside the meadow is a bright green, but in this specific area, nothing but browns and parched flowers are present.

The sight of her field of dreams having gone to ashes causes all the memories to rush back. Having danced under the rain with Edward, kissing him under the willow tree, talking about their future, confiding in each other about their secrets, and making the promise of remaining together, are now pounding against her head in a rhythmic pattern.

Mia tries to prevent the pain from consuming her and clutches onto her chest as if it were her lifeline. She doesn't want to keep hurting over someone who isn't worth it, but this love has weakened her and made her adamant on continuing to call his name. It's unbearable to love him, especially when he had lost his love for her in an instant.

Why can't she stop loving him?

"Mia," a voice greets her from afar.

Her face pales when recognizing the person standing before her. He's slightly far from her, but close enough to bring her unsettlement. His blood red eyes are a bearer of danger and his ominous smile evokes a sense of foreboding.

"Laurent," Mia maintains her voice calm and steady, but becomes startled when he now stands a couple feet in front of her.

"I didn't expect to find you here," Laurent nonchalantly says, but the insincerity in his voice gives away that this is anything but a casual encounter. "I went to visit the Cullens, but the house is empty and destroyed."

Mia maintains her expression stoic and focuses on keeping her heart rate steady. She can't afford to let him know just how unnerving his presence is. Vampires delight in fear, so she's not willing to grant him the satisfaction.

"I'm surprised they left you behind," Laurent paces around her and she begins running through various defensive spells just in case he decides to attack. "Aren't you sorta of, umm, a pet of theirs?"

"I'm no one's pet," Mia didn't intend on raising her voice, but being viewed as someone's long lost puppy is the last thing she's willing to allow anyone to do. "Especially theirs. Just because I'm a witch, it doesn't mean I'll follow their orders or anyone else's."

He softly chuckles, "Do the Cullens visit often?"

Her instinct tells her to lie and to make him believe she wasn't left deserted by the family. Anything to ensure he doesn't believe he has a chance at reclaiming the territory. Considering his previous coven had no respect for human life, she can only imagine how gruesome the town would become if other vampires moved here.

"They do..." her voice fades into an unnerved silence when noticing Dimitri standing by the trees. She waits for him to make a move, but he remains in place as if knowing his presence is more than enough to torment her. He simply smiles in a sinister way and observes them as if the two of them had just become his greatest entertainment.

Laurent notices and follows her line of sight. She expects him to grow wary at another's presence, especially at someone as skilled in magic as Dimitri, but he remains pacific, almost like he doesn't care for the curious watcher.

Forcing herself to glance away, Mia averts her focus back to Laurent, "I'll tell them that you stopped by, but you should be careful since Edward is very protective and might take this visit the wrong way."

Laurent remembers how prepared Edward had been in obliterating him and his previous coven for going after her, but it's noticeable that things have changed since he's no longer around her like before. "But, he's far away, isn't he?"

Her body turns cold at her lie being caught, but she refuses to give up. "It doesn't matter. I can take good care of myself," she tilts her head at him and folds her arms across her chest. "Magic, remember?"

He turns quiet and simply paces around as if hunting his prey.

"Why are you here?"

Laurent gazes into the trees, "I came as a favor to Victoria."

"Victoria," Mia feels like a fool for not having considered this, but she doesn't understand why he's working with her now. He betrayed his coven last year to help them, so it seems odd that Victoria would choose to send him for her biddings. "Well, it would have been great to see her. It's been a while since I've been honored with her presence."

He's surprised at how calm she's being, but if anything, he's also impressed by her lack of fear. "She'll be coming soon, so be awaiting her visit."

"You didn't fully answer my question," she reminds him. "Why did she send you instead?"

"She asked me to see if you were still under the protection of the Cullens," Laurent explains as he continues to circle around her.

Mia glances into the trees one more time, but is left on edge when Dimitri is no longer present. She should be relieved, but not knowing his location is worse considering he did follow his word in killing her. Well, he attempted to, but either way, her father did keep his promise.

"Victoria feels it's only fair to kill Edward's mate, given he killed hers," Laurent emphasizes the last word, expressing the importance of how grave James' death had been. "An eye for an eye."

Mia scoffs at such a thought. Edward doesn't give a damn about her and would be more than glad if she were to vanish from the face of the earth. He and his family would be safe from the monster she's becoming, so Victoria's belief has to be the most humorous thing she's ever heard.

"Wow," she simply says, astonished by the vampire's plan. "Did she really expect James not to die after threatening my life and going after my friend? Not to mention how stupid he was for making a deal with a dark wizard. His death was inevitable and was bound to happen very soon. Edward just helped speed up the process, so if she wants to come after me, then I'll be waiting."

Laurent becomes more impressed by her. He's never met a human so calm about their imminent death or appear like they're mocking their soon-to-be murderer. It's frightening yet also astounding.

"And if Edward were to find out about this, he'll kill you as well," she lies as she knows that threatening him could possibly work. Laurent had abandoned his coven when learning she was a witch, so maybe, he'll do the same now.

"I don't think he will," Laurent is unbothered by her threat and at this point, she's not even surprised. "After all, how much could you mean to him if he left you here unprotected?"

It's not something she doesn't know already, but hearing it still hurts. Laurent is right. Edward couldn't care less about her and won't be affected by her death, so Victoria's revenge will go to complete waste.

"Victoria won't be happy about me killing you," Laurent sighs heavily and glances down as if deliberating on whether to move forward or not. "But I can't help myself. You are so mouthwatering."

Mia discreetly reaches for her wand, but her heart drops when realizing she left it at home. This means she has to perform wandless magic, which is the method that is the most challenging and the one that weakens her the most. She's not certain if she'd be able to defend herself, but it doesn't mean she's not willing to try.

"As much as I appreciate that compliment, I just need you to tell me one thing," she masks her worry by deflecting it into a question and hopes he doesn't notice. "You helped us before, so why are you doing this now?"

Laurent now stands in front of her, his hands reaching for her face in an attempt to calm her down. "I am doing you a kindness, my dear Mia. Victoria plans on killing you slowly, painfully. Whereas I'll make it quick. I promise. You will feel nothing."

Mia watches him as he takes a step back to prepare himself. He seems to believe she's surrendered, but all this time that he's been pleading his clemency, she's been preparing herself to offer him the fight he had run away from. He's a fool to believe she'll go down easily and even if her powers have been failing her, it doesn't mean she won't go down trying.

Laurent raises his hand and takes a step back, a smile appearing at finally getting the chance to kill her. She closes her eyes to make him believe she's surrendering and just when she senses the attack about to occur, she glances up at him and offers a conniving smirk.

Before he gets a chance to brace himself for the impact, an invisible force sends him crashing into the trees and leaving him trapped in place. The remaining grass, the leaves, and a few branches begin flying into the wind. He tries to fight back, but Mia focuses and uses her entire strength to keep him in place. She walks up to him at a leisure pace and despite the pain starting to weaken her, she forces herself to move forward and give him what he deserves.

"Let... me go," Laurent demands, his bloodthirsty eyes burning hotter than the pits of hell.

Mia stops a couple feet from him, "Gladly."

Just when Laurent drops to the ground, she wields her magic to crash him into one of the nearby boulders. He glares at her with an insatiable rage and lunges toward her, but Mia had anticipated his attack from a mile away. With both her hands, she extends her power and pushes him back to the ground.

A sudden ringing pounds against her head and makes the pain extend to her body. A drop of blood escapes her nose, but she wipes it in an instant to prevent him from using it against her. She needs to focus and place her entire strength in this fight. If not, it would signify that she's nothing but a weakling that needs protection. She's not making him believe that the Cullens are her strength when it's far from it. She only needs herself and by winning against him, she'll be proving herself right.

"I was offering you mercy and this is how you repay me?!" Laurent glares at her with a vindictive look and attempts his attack once more, but suddenly feels a burning sensation coursing through his veins.

"Do you feel that? That's your insides boiling," Mia walks closer to him, delighting herself at the vampire crumbling before her. "I don't need Edward or anyone to fight for me, because guess what? I'm a witch, who has the power to decide whether you live or die."

Laurent writhes on the ground uncontrollably, his painful yells becoming louder and combining with the breeze. He's never felt this type of agony before and a part of him is regretful for having decided to go against a witch, but it's too late now as he's being forced to face the consequences of his actions.

"Stop!" he pleads, but she continues using all her strength against him. He wasn't offering her mercy by killing her. He was only satisfying his desire that he had been forced to repress, so she wasn't willing to offer him the clemency he wasn't going to offer her either.

The remaining of the meadow starts transforming in a darker color. The browns darken and the surrounding trees begin losing their foliage and branches. A few tree logs burst into flames as the wind became more tempestuous. She tries keeping Laurent in place, but her focus is disrupted when attempting to put an end to the fire.

The enraged vampire holds her in a tight grip. His blood thirsty eyes burn a hole into hers as she tries using her magic against him. She gasps for breath and closes her eyes in hopes of finding any leftover strength, but just when she opens them again, it's no longer Laurent holding her.

It's now her father shoving her into a tree the same way he did back at the lake. She considers that this can't be real. It's something her mind is haunting her with now that she's losing her strength. She tries pushing him off, but his eyes are burning with the fire of all the stars, determined to fulfill his promise of granting her to the grim reaper's hands.

"Do you think you can threaten me and come out alive?!"

Laurent's voice is enough to awaken her from this nightmare. Dimitri is no longer standing before her and she's now recovered the strength to fight back. She focuses on one specific spell, urging the magic to extend to her exterior. The pain coursing through her body has become unbearable, but dying at the hands of a vampire is not how her life would end. She's not dying that easily, especially by someone who's the epitome of cowardice.

Mia's gaze hardens the more he attempts to resist, but she doesn't permit him to continue having control of her. An invisible force jams into his chest, sending him crashing into the middle of the field. Her headache becomes significantly worse and blood continues trickling down her nose. She tries ignoring it, but Laurent notices how much strain using her magic is causing her. Refusing to allow him to use it against her, she chooses on using the torture curse against him before he can attack.

However, when she begins heading in his direction, Dimitri now stands a couple feet behind Laurent. He tilts his head at her and offers that ominous smirk of his that sends shivers down her spine. Her heartbeat starts running a mile a minute as everything around her begins fading into a blur. She tries controlling her heavy breathing, but it becomes worse when his voice starts perforating her eardrums.

"It's no wonder Edward abandoned you," Dimitri calmly says through an apathetic look, his words cutting deeper than any knife ever did. "You're losing the one thing that makes you extraordinary, so how can you expect him or anyone to love you? You're becoming weaker through every spell and it's sooner than later that you'll become nothing but useless."

Mia trembles with anger, refusing to let his words get to her, but the broken part of her can't prevent from believing him. She and Edward became closer after she helped him keep his secret by obliviating Jessica. Their secrets are the thing that bonded them, so was it truly an honest love from the start? Maybe it's the reason as to why he stopped loving her and realized she's nothing but a liability.

"You're not real," she whispers to herself, but Dimitri is now standing beside her.

His presence looms over her shoulder as he whispers into her ear, "Keep saying that to yourself, but I will be here for as long as you breathe. I will shadow you for an eternity and nothing you do will stop me."

Despite wanting to believe he's not really here, the fear he evokes in her makes her crumble like a child. She can't hide under the covers anymore or ask her mother to get rid of the monsters under her bed, because the monster is the man that's supposed to protect her. It's the man that should remove her uncertainties and ensure her well being above all, but she was given a monster for a father, and nothing will change it.

"Stop!" Mia finally snaps, causing the forest to shake with an extreme force and destroy the last remaining parts of the meadow.

Every last ounce of her strength had escaped through her angered yell and now that it's gone, an empty feeling expands from her chest all the way to the rest of her body. A loud ringing ricochets throughout her ears, worsening her headache and causing the blood to flow from her nose much freely.

Laurent grips onto his head as if her magic brought him pain. He tries escaping from the invisible force, but it isn't until she sinks to the ground when he's liberated from its chains. A smile rises from the corner of his lips and he wastes no time in using her weakness as an advantage. He stands up and prepares himself to finalize his mission, but the sound of leaves crackling catches his attention.

Mia tries searching for any leftover strength, but no magic protrudes from her palms. There's absolutely nothing left in her. She's beyond terrified that this fight was the instigator and her impulsivity had been the final straw.

Without her magic, she's nothing. She'd become the shell of a person she once was, so she closes her eyes and accepts this is the end of the line for her. She waits for him to put an end, but nothing happens at her expectancy.

"I don't believe it," Laurent whispers as he takes a few steps back away from her, causing her to glance up and wonder what made him so unsettled.

Growling comes from the trees and a black wolf emerges from the shadows. Its steps are slow and menacing, causing Laurent to become attentive of this new disruption. More wolves come out of the bushes and stand behind its leader. The pack snarl their teeth and move forward in the vampire's direction. None of them take their gaze away at a now terrified Laurent, who wastes no time in sprinting in the opposite direction.

Mia recognizes the wolves are the same ones she saw on Halloween night, but they're more now. She watches as they run after him, but a brown wolf with a hint of auburn in its fur stops beside her, disrupting her attention. When she looks into its eyes, a sense of familiarity consumes her. Security, comfort, and understanding are gathered within them, the qualities she recognizes belong to one person, but before the puzzle is able to be resolved, the wolf glances away and follows the rest of the pack.

Laurent stops halfway to the end of the meadow. He waits until the wolves are closer before using his entire strength to launch the first attack. The black wolf lands a couple feet from her, but as if the impact of the vampire's fist hadn't hurt, it quickly stands up and charges at the enraged vampire.

Mia glances down at the parched grass, attempting to ignore the sound of the wolves ripping Laurent to shreds. She wants to move, to escape this place, and learn if her impulsivity cost her everything, but she remains frozen in place. There's no more strength and nothing within her to make her move forward, so all she does is focus on the feeling of grass in her fingertips.

Her blood feels like it's burning and an intense pressure makes itself present in her head. A tingling sensation expands throughout her body. It's such a foreign feeling that leaves her stranded like a sailor lost at sea. She searches for the compass, but it's sunk into the ocean and deserted her in the emptiness.

She's alone.

If she couldn't save herself, how would others be able to?

There's no use for anything anymore, so Mia glances at the wolves one last time until the world around her fades into darkness.