Antonio bounced on his heels, his hands shoved into his pockets as he stood in the middle of the meadow. He stared at the ground, trying to calm his nerves as he waited for Edward to show up.

His gaze snapped up into the woods as footsteps registered in his hearing.

His eyebrows furrowed in surprise as Edward stepped out into the clearing, followed closely by Isabella.

His eyes held uncertainty as he looked back at Edward, knowing without a doubt Edward knew what he was thinking.

"Whatever happens, good or bad, she won't tell anyone. You have my word, I promise," Edward said, finally coming to a stop in front of Antonio.

"Can someone tell me what we're doing here?" Bella spoke up for the first time, looking between her husband and their new cousin.

Edward looked over at Antonio, responding to Bella after he nodded.

"Anton has a theory. He wanted to test it out. The only problem is that he has no idea what will happen. He didn't want to be near anyone while testing it, but I wanted to be here just in case it affects him too much."

Bella remained quiet for a moment before her face suddenly lit up in realization.

"Oh! And I'm here for the shield, right? To make sure none of us actually get hurt?"

Edward and Antonio nodded their head at the same time, though Antonio wasn't looking at either of them. He still stood with his hands in his pockets, looking down at the ground as he kicked a rock back and forth in an attempt to block out his anxiety.

Truth be told, Antonio didn't want to do this. Not at all. But he needed to know. It would help him better understand what his gift really was, as well as how to properly control it.

Taking a deep breath, Antonio stepped back a few paces and gave Edward a stiff nod.

"I'm just going to let it build, and then I'm going to let it go. I'm sorry if this hurts, you might want to back up a little bit more."

Edward returned the nod, backing up a little bit more with Bella's hand intertwined with his own.

Letting out a slow breath, Antonio unlaced his gloves and slid them off, letting them fall to the ground. He then pulled off his shirt, knowing that everything was about to become extremely hot.

Finally, he let it build. It started in his palms like usual, before slowly snaking its way up along his forearms. As it grew, he watched it run through his veins in a deep, dark color. He thought it was black, but he couldn't be very sure as he couldn't focus on it.

As it reached the top of his arms, he felt it work its way up through his spinal cord. He calmed his breathing, keeping it slow and steady as he closed his eyes. 

It worked its way through his throat, wrapping itself around his airways. He felt panic start to rise at the lack of air, but he fought against it.

He wanted to do this. He'd be damned if he let his past stop him from accomplishing something in his current life. Something that could be this beneficial.

He felt it rising. It was like boiling water, about to flow over the top of the pot. With one last breath, he removed the lid. 

It happened instantly. He was blown backward, off of his feet as the burst of bioelectricity cut through the air.

He groaned in pain as his head smacked against a sharp rock, spots filling his vision as he gasped for air. He rolled onto his side as he coughed, his lungs sucking in as much air as they could as he clutched onto his ribs, curling into a ball.

Within mere seconds, Edward and Bella were by his side.

Edward sat him up, keeping his hand on Antonio's shoulder to keep him upright.

Antonio continued to cough, wheezing as he hugged himself tightly. He was hunched over as he sat, his head tucked down between his knees.

"W-what just h-happened?" He wheezed out as he gasped in big breaths of air, trying to get it back to normal.

Edward stayed silent for a few seconds as he shared a look with his mate. 

"I think," he started, "That you just proved your theory partially correct."

Edward then stood back up, grabbing Antonio under his arm before tugging him up as well.

Antonio staggered a bit before he regained his footing, trying to breathe only through his nose to slow down his breathing.

Bella picked up his gloves and his shirt before coming back over, hooking one of Antonio's arms over her shoulder as Edward got his other.

They made their way back through the woods, heading toward the house as Antonio attempted to get all of his energy back. 

It surprised him, no longer feeling the ball of energy stuck inside him like it usually was. And by some miracle, he didn't feel the need to feed. His mind felt the clearest it had been in a long time, yet he was too drained to form a single thought as they walked back into the house.

Their strange arrival caught the attention of a few of the vampires as Edward helped hold Antonio up on his feet. Rosalie appeared out of nowhere, Emmett straight on her heels.

Her hand lightly brushed against Anton's cheek, her posture relaxing mildly as he leaned into it. 

Emmett sent Edward a sharp glare as he stepped forward to stand next to his wife.

"What happened?" He asked, an undecipherable tone in his voice.

Bella was quick to answer as her husband helped Anton over to the couch.

"Practice," she said, setting down his gloves and his shirt next to him. "Edward needed a shield this time, so I went along. You didn't miss much. Where's Renesmee?"

Rosalie no longer seemed to be focused on the conversation as she stared at Anton, her brows furrowed in confusion. She answered regardless, but it seemed to be an absent-minded response.

"The mutt stole her again. As usual."

Without another word, Rosalie headed over to the couch to sit down next to Antonio.

His head was leaned back against the couch with his eyes closed. His chest was rising and falling in slow breaths, as he had gotten them under control on the way back. Regardless, he looked as if he was sleeping.

That's not what had Rosalie's attention, though. She leaned down, unaware of her husband's confused stare. Tentatively, she placed her head against his chest.

She jerked back in a sudden motion, her eyes blown wide in shock. 

Antonio suddenly opened his eyes, sending her a bewildered look at her weird actions.

Rosalie immediately waved Emmett over, taking his hand the second he came over.

"Tell me I'm not crazy," she breathed out, placing Emmett's hand on the left side of Antonio's chest.

Emmett's reaction was much the same as Rosalie's, though his confusion is much more prominent.

A faint noise suddenly reached Antonio's ears, causing his jaw to instantly drop.

How the hell did he have a heartbeat?