Evelyn watched the intruders approach them through the gap between Carlisle and Esme's shoulders, wrapping her free hand around Jasper's arm and pressing her cheek against his bicep as she shifted slightly behind him. He tensed under her warm touch, but he didn't move. The blood pounding in her ears made it difficult to focus, and her fingers twitched from the adrenaline that was pumping through her veins. She hoped that the intruders wouldn't be able to hear it, but she knew that was unlikely.

The three nomadic vampires came to a stop in front of the Cullens, allowing Evelyn to clearly see their features. The man in the front, who she assumed must be the leader, seemed friendly enough in his demeanor, but the other two made her skin prickle in trepidation. The fiery-haired woman reminded her of a fox, and Evelyn noticed her eyes darting back and forth between the faces of the Cullen family. She seemed anxious or almost afraid of something, and by the way she was standing Evelyn could tell that she was prepared to run at the first sign of trouble. The other man truly scared her the most; his eyes were hard and predatory, and she watched as his gaze took in each and every one of the vampires around her. He took his time, as if he had nothing to be afraid of despite being severely outnumbered. Her throat tightened as she recognized the jacket of Waylon Forge concealing his porcelain skin. So these were the vampires who have been murdering innocents.

The leader grinned, raising his fist and revealing the baseball that they had been using for the game. "I believe this belongs to you," he spoke, his voice soothing and smooth. He tossed the ball to Carlisle with what Evelyn knew must be unimaginable strength. "I am Laurent, and this is Victoria," he nodded towards the woman, "and James." Neither one spoke, but Evelyn kept her eyes on James, who had tilted his head curiously as he observed the Cullens. Her fingers tightened on Jasper's arm as the intruder's crimson eyes slid over her, but she did not move.

"I am Carlisle, and this is my family." Carlisle gestured generally around him, careful not to draw any attention to a specific person. "I'm afraid your hunting activities have made something of a mess for us."

Laurent raised his eyebrows in surprise, crimson eyes flashing. "Our apologies. We did not realize the territory had been claimed." Somehow, Evelyn could tell that they were in fact not apologetic at all. She fought back a scowl as she continued to watch Laurent.

"Yes, well, we maintain a permanent residence nearby." Evelyn knew that Carlisle was trying to be polite, but even she could detect the edge in his voice, serving as a warning to the nomadic vampires.

"Really?" Laurent looked incredulously at James, who paid him no attention. Evelyn saw that he was intently watching Edward, who had an angry glare on his face as he held Bella protectively. "Well we won't be a problem for you anymore. We were just passing through."

"The humans were tracking us, but we led them east. You should be safe." Evelyn's attention flickered to Victoria as she spoke, and she noticed that she had relaxed significantly. She didn't like the dismissive tone she used when speaking about humans; it was difficult to remember that not all vampires were like the Cullens. She knew these three likely had little to no regard for human life, and the thought of them noticing her or Bella made her heart beat even louder in her ears. She squeezed Bella's hand again more to comfort herself rather than her friend. Jasper remained still as a statue under her touch, his muscles taut with the tension she could feel emanating from his body. She didn't dare look at his face, afraid of what she would see.

Jasper's mind was laser-focused, intent on creating a calm atmosphere around them to avoid a fight. He was sifting through the intruders' emotions while also trying to shield Bella, Evelyn, and Alice from James, who Jasper knew to be the real leader of the group. He focused on making them seem unimportant and mundane; he knew that they would most likely be looking at Emmett as the most threatening enemy, anyway. He guessed that Edward knew Laurent was not the leader by now, and he also knew that Edward would have also identified James as the most direct threat to Evelyn and Bella's safety.

"Excellent," Carlisle responded, though there was no enthusiasm in his voice.

Despite Carlisle's obvious reluctance, Laurent's face lit up in a smile, flashing his impossibly white teeth. "So? Could you use three more players?" He shook his head as he watched the Cullens eye each other warily. "Oh come on, just one game?"

Carlisle sighed, however he maintained his polite and friendly tone. "Alright, sure. Why not?" He glanced sideways at Edward, a brief warning in his eyes. "A few of us were just leaving. You three can take their places. We'll bat first."

He tossed the baseball he had been holding with incredible strength towards the dark-skinned vampire, but Victoria snatched it out of the air before Laurent could move.

"I'm the one with the wicked curveball," she said haughtily, a smug smile on her pale pink lips. Evelyn heard Emmett's booming laugh beside her; the sudden sound made her jump.

"Oh, I think we can handle that," he challenged, his usual good-natured grin lightening the tense atmosphere significantly. The Cullens all joined in with laughter, and Evelyn plastered her best attempt at a smile on her face.

"We shall see," crooned Victoria as she and Laurent turned to make their way to the outfield. The Cullens began to disperse, and suddenly Jasper's iron grip was on Evelyn's arm as he began to pull, no, drag her towards the Jeep they had arrived in. He was holding her so tightly that she felt the circulation in her arm cutting off, and she knew that she would probably have bruises the next morning. Evelyn glanced back over her shoulder, noticing that James had not moved. Instead, he and Edward were engaged in an intense stare as Edward began to pull Bella in the direction of the Jeep.

Suddenly, a breeze rippled through the clearing, gentle as falling snow. The shift in the air would have been insignificant in any other circumstance, but as the soft wind swept over Evelyn and Bella like gentle fingers combing through their hair, their scents were carried across the clearing directly towards James.

The blond vampire inhaled deeply, his crimson eyes narrowing as he focused on the two human girls. "You brought snacks."

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion; Jasper shoved Evelyn hard, pushing her behind him as he took a defensive stance in front of her. Edward did the same with Bella, and Evelyn watched, frozen, as the rest of the Cullens surrounded her and Bella to protect them. The other two vampires had flashed to James' side in an instant, leaning forward into predatory crouches and baring their sharp teeth. Evelyn retreated further behind Emmett and Jasper, terrified of the way that James was staring at her. Her heart pounded in her ears, making her head ache, and she didn't have to look at her hands to know that they were shaking. She felt like a helpless animal staring at a predator that was abut to kill her, and she was suddenly reminded of the fear she had felt when Jasper had looked at her the same way all those months ago. The thought did not make her feel better.

"The girls are with us," Carlisle spoke, amazingly calm despite the extreme tension in the air and the threatening stance he was in. "I think it would be best if you leave."

The three nomads did not move; James' eyes flickered from Evelyn to Bella, then to Edward, who had just slightly positioned himself to block Bella from his view. She watched James tilt his head as if in innocent confusion, before his gaze turned to her again. Evelyn felt Jasper tense in front of her, and she shut her eyes when a low, menacing growl erupted from the back of his throat. It was a feral, animalistic sound, and she knew immediately that she never wanted to hear it again.

Laurent, suddenly aware of how outnumbered they were, raised his hands slowly in surrender. "I can see that the game is over. We'll go now." Still, James refused to move.

"James," Laurent continued, a clear warning in his voice.

Slowly, the blond vampire rose, his eyes on Edward as he wrapped his arm around Victoria and allowed her to lead them back towards the forest. Somehow, Evelyn knew that it was no where close to being over. This was much, much too easy. None of the Cullens moved until Carlisle relaxed after they were well hidden by the thick of the trees.

"Get them out of here. Now," He said, not bothering to hide the concern in his voice or on his face.

Jasper was at Evelyn's side immediately, wrapping a strong arm around her shoulders and pulling her body tight against his. Without a word, he began leading her back to the Jeep, probably pulling a lot harder than he should have, but Evelyn let him. It was as if her feet had disconnected from her brain; she wouldn't have been able to move if she wanted to. She knew something was terribly wrong by the way Jasper was holding her. There was absolutely no way that this danger was gone; she knew that James would come after them again by simply looking into his eyes. She had seen an intensity that she had never seen anywhere before, and it wasn't hard to guess what his intentions would be.

When they reached the Jeep, Jasper pulled Evelyn into the backseat with him as Edward and Bella took the front. Evelyn watched as Edward aggressively tried to fasten the multitude of harnesses and seatbelt buckles for her, but Bella, who she knew was just as terrified as she was, was not having it.

"Okay, I've got it! I'm alright!" She shouted, and Edward slammed the door with enough force to shake the car before instantly reappearing in the driver seat. Evelyn instinctively grabbed Jasper's hand, squeezing it tightly as Edward revved the engine and wildly whipped the car around. He pulled her across the seat towards him, wrapping a protective arm around her and rubbing her arm in an attempt to comfort her. It didn't work.

"So what? Now he's coming after us?" Bella asked, panic painfully clear in her voice. Evelyn swallowed, feeling like she was going to vomit any minute. She was mostly confused in the clearing, but now, as Edward drove like a mad man through the trees and she realized the gravity of their current situation, all she could feel was fear.

"Listen to me, James is a tracker; the hunt is his obsession," Edward explained, his words escaping through gritted teeth. "I read his mind -- our reactions in the field set him off." His eyes flickered to Jasper's in the rearview mirror for the briefest moment before they returned to the road. "We've just made this his most exciting game ever... He's never going to stop."

Evelyn swallowed hard as she stared at Edward through the mirror. "What are we going to do?" She didn't like how high her voice sounded, or the pained look in Edward's eyes as he met her gaze.

"We have to kill him," Jasper spoke up from beside her, as if the idea were completely normal. "Rip him apart and burn the pieces."

Bella's eyes widened as she stared helplessly at Edward. "Where are we going?"

"Away from Forks," Edward said, not bothering to look at her. "We can get a ferry to Vancouver--"

Evelyn sat up, incredulous. "We can't just leave, Edward! What about my aunt? Our houses will be the first place he'll look!"

"That's exactly why you can't go home!" Edward snapped, his eyes blazing. "Don't you see the danger you're in?"

"But my dad is there!" Bella exclaimed, suddenly angry. "We can't just leave them to die."

"It doesn't matter!"

"Yes, it does, Edward!" Evelyn snapped, leaning forward onto the center console. "I'm not leaving Marie to be their next meal!" She felt Jasper trying to pull her back onto the seat, but she swatted his hands away.

"They could get killed because of us," added Bella, her voice rising in anger and disbelief that Edward was okay with leaving their families at the mercy of James, Victoria, and Laurent.

"Evelyn, just let us get you guys out of here first, and then -- " Jasper started, but Bella cut him off with a fierce glare.

"No! I am not leaving Charlie. We have to go back!" She looked between Jasper and Edward, her eyes pleading. "Look, we can figure out a way to lead the tracker away somehow, I don't know, but we have to do something!"

Edward looked at Jasper through the mirror again, and they both knew that Evelyn and Bella were right; they couldn't leave Marie and Charlie unprotected. It was no use trying to force the girls to leave their families, either; they both knew that would be impossible. Once they reached the highway, Edward jerked the wheel to the left towards Forks, the skin on his knuckles stretched taut on the wheel and his jaw set.

As they sped down the empty road towards Bella's house, Evelyn leaned back into Jasper's chest, her heart and mind racing wildly. She knew there was very little she could do to make things better, and she hated not feeling in control. She was angry at James and the nomads for putting them in this situation, and afraid for the Cullens, Bella, Charlie, and Marie. In that moment she would have given anything to make it all go away.

Sensing the emotional turmoil inside of her, Jasper wrapped one arm around her, pulling her closer as he rested his other hand on her thigh. Once again, he wished he could use his abilities to calm her, but he knew that simply holding her was the best thing he could do. Evelyn shivered involuntarily as she felt him lean down close to her ear, his cool breath tickling her neck.

"Please don't be afraid, Ev. I'm not going to let them hurt you or Marie," he breathed. Evelyn didn't speak, but she reached down and grabbed the hand that was on her leg, squeezing it tightly.

Evelyn closed her eyes, relaxing at the smooth sound of Jasper's voice. Even amidst all of the fear and uncertainty surrounding them now, she was grateful that she and Jasper had found each other the way they did. She knew that he would do everything in his power to protect her; he was the strongest person she had ever known, and she knew that he would stay strong for her through this, too, no matter what happened to them.

She could only hope she could be strong, too, for both his sake and everyone else she had come to love over the past couple of months.