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James stood there with the knife buried in his chest, unmoving, his gaze fixed on Nate as if trying to understand what had just happened. A few clumsy steps backward made the floor creak beneath his boots while his eyes, once filled with cruel amusement, now brimmed with disbelief.
With a sharp gesture, James grabbed the knife's handle and yanked it out of his own chest. There was no blood, only a dry sound, almost like stone cracking, before the blade clattered to the floor with a metallic ring that echoed through the empty studio.
The vampire stayed still, so motionless that for a moment, Nate, his breath ragged and pain throbbing in every broken rib, thought he would fall.
But James took a step forward.
And another.
His voice came out hoarse, with a slight tremor of rage that fractured it.
"If I were human… that would have killed me."
And he started walking toward Nate with steady steps.
Across the studio, Bella, her face soaked in tears and her back pressed against the wall, watched in panic as James advanced on Nate. A scream caught in her throat as her eyes darted desperately for an escape, for something she could do.
Her hands closed around her backpack, which had fallen beside her during the chaos. Without thinking, with a trembling cry, she lifted it and hurled it at James with all her strength.
It struck his shoulder, making him turn his head for just a second as the backpack bounced to the floor with a dull thud.
James slowly turned his head toward Bella, his icy eyes locking onto her with an intensity that made her take a step back.
"I'll kill her first."
His voice was a whisper laced with hatred as he turned, leaving Nate behind while he started toward Bella, each step of his boots echoing across the wood like an omen.
Nate, his vision blurred from the pain, reached out a desperate hand but couldn't keep it raised. A harsh cough rattled from his throat as he struggled to stay on his feet, a thin line of air escaping his lips with every burning breath.
James leaned forward slightly, preparing to lunge at Bella, his silhouette blocking the light streaming through the broken windows.
Then the crash came.
A roar of shattering glass filled the studio as the windows exploded inward into a rain of glittering shards, falling like rain as two figures burst through in a blur of shadows and speed.
Edward arrived first, a cry of pure fury ripping from his throat as he slammed into James, driving him with brutal force into a nearby mirror that shattered in a shower of splinters.
Alice landed with lethal grace a few steps away, her dark, dilated eyes fixed on Nate, who could barely stay standing with a hand pressed to his side. For a second, instinct made her want to run to him, but the scent of blood burned in her throat, forcing her to stop with a shudder.
A low growl rumbled in her chest as she turned with fury toward James.
James, after crashing into the mirror, rose swiftly, shaking the glass from his clothes. His face, once impassive, now twisted into a savage smile as his gaze flicked between Edward and Alice.
In a low voice, heavy with eager hatred, he murmured,
"The prey that got away… and the greatest challenge I've ever had…"
A broken, dry laugh escaped his throat as if it pained him to contain the dark excitement rising in him.
"I couldn't ask for more."
And then, in a blink, he launched himself at Edward and Alice, unleashing the true hunt in that room littered with shattered mirrors and crystal dust.
Edward intercepted him, his hands closing around James's throat as he drove him into a wall. James retaliated, raising a fist that struck Edward's side with a dull crack, forcing him to let go.
Alice moved like a flash, grabbing James from behind to break his balance, but James spun with a roar, hurling her into one of the ballet bars, which snapped with a burst of splintering wood.
Bella, on the floor, watched it all with wide eyes, her fingers digging into the floorboards as fear froze her in place.
And Nate, each breath a reminder of his frailty, pressed a trembling hand to the ground, his eyes fixed on James, his mind burning with a single thought:
James cannot leave here alive.
James moved with such speed that his figure was a blur, striking with lethal precision that Edward barely managed to block. Each clash of fists and forearms produced a dull crack that vibrated through the walls, making the glass shards on the floor tremble.
Alice moved like a flicker around him, searching for openings. She managed to land quick kicks into James's ribs, spinning with feline agility before dodging counterstrikes that cut through the air like whips.
But James did not relent.
He broke through Edward's guard with a brutal punch that drove him back several steps, slamming him into a mirror that was already cracked, shattering it with a burst of glittering shards. Edward growled, lunging forward again with a hook aimed at James's face, which James barely deflected with a shoulder shift before retaliating with a knee to Edward's stomach that doubled him over momentarily.
Alice appeared behind James in a blink, trying to grab his arm to twist it, but James spun with such violent speed that he caught her by the neck and threw her against a ballet bar, which broke under her weight with a snap of splintering wood.
Bella screamed as she saw Alice hit the floor, surrounded by dust and wood splinters.
Nate, gasping, each breath like a knife in his ribs, braced a trembling arm against the floor, trying to stand. A wave of dizziness blurred his vision, and for a moment, his knees buckled.
"Nate!" Bella screamed, running toward him with tears streaming down her face. She knelt down, wrapping an arm around his waist to help him stay upright as he pressed a bloodied hand to her shoulder.
His eyes fell on the knife on the floor, catching the light among the mirror fragments.
Nate let out a groan of pain as he bent down to grab it, feeling his pulse pounding in his temples as the cold metal became stained with his blood. He knew he couldn't do much… but he couldn't just stand by.
The battle raged on.
Edward lunged at James, both of them crashing into a wall that groaned under the impact. James laughed with a growl, grabbing Edward by the throat and lifting him off the floor, his fingers digging into his skin like claws.
Alice reappeared beside James, kicking the back of his leg, forcing him to release Edward for a second. Edward landed on his feet, delivering a punch to James's jaw that snapped his head to the side as Alice clung to his arm, trying to restrain him.
James roared, an animalistic sound, trying to shake Alice off, but Edward lunged again, grabbing the other arm. It was a brutal struggle, each using all their strength to keep him pinned.
James dropped to one knee for a moment, only to surge up again, lifting Edward off the ground as Alice tried to hold him down, veins bulging in their necks from the effort.
The studio was a chaos of glass, dust, and splinters, light streaming through the broken windows illuminating the battle like a war stage.
Bella, with trembling hands, held onto Nate as he struggled to breathe. Her gaze fell on Alice and Edward, who were slowly forcing James's knees back down until he was kneeling, each gripping an arm, pulling with all their strength as James thrashed with snarls, his face twisted with rage, his neck straining like steel cables.
Nate tightened his grip on the knife.
"Let me…" he said hoarsely, pulling away from Bella with a staggering step.
Bella tried to hold him back, but he broke free, dragging one foot after the other, leaving drops of blood on the floor as he approached, each step a burning agony in his side.
James looked up, his eyes burning with rage and confusion, trying to wrench free from Edward and Alice while still kneeling. His growls were primal, every muscle in his body trembling with the effort.
"No…!" James roared, trying to raise an arm, but Alice and Edward forced it down, their grip like iron.
Nate stood before him, the knife raised, his arm trembling as every nerve screamed for him to stop, but his will burned hotter than the pain.
James opened his mouth to spit out another threat, but there was no time.
With a scream of fury, Nate drove the knife into his forehead.
The blade pierced James's marble-like skin with a dull crack, sinking in up to the hilt.
James's eyes flew wide open, unseeing, as his breath caught. His lips parted as if to speak, but no sound came out. His body shuddered, every muscle seizing for a final moment before falling completely still.
The studio fell into a heavy silence, broken only by Nate's ragged breathing as he took a few steps to the side and collapsed to the floor.
James remained on his knees, the knife protruding grotesquely from his forehead, his eyes unfocused on nothing, his body frozen like a broken statue.
Alice slowly released his arm, her gaze fixed on James's empty face.
Edward, his expression hardened, gripped James's head with both hands, preparing to twist and tear it off in one clean motion.
Then the sound of footsteps echoed from the entrance.
Victoria stepped in slowly, her red eyes blazing with horror and fury as she took in the scene.
For a moment, everything froze.
Victoria did not move, paralyzed, her breath ragged as her fiery red hair glowed in the light.
The knife remained lodged in James's forehead, his body unmoving, Edward holding his head with clear intent to decapitate him.
"James…" Victoria whispered, her voice cracking, a whisper turning into a roar of pain.
A heart-wrenching scream tore from her lips as her red hair fell over her face, hiding the fury burning behind each venomous sob.
Pain transformed into pure rage.
With a shriek of fury, Victoria rose in a flash of fire and lunged at Edward, her nails turned to claws, her face twisted by hatred.
Nate felt the world spin, his vision a sea of dark spots, but he forced every cell in his mind to scream in desperation, focusing a single thought on Edward:
"Do it now!"
Edward's golden eyes flicked to Nate for an instant, understanding.
Without hesitation, with a savage roar, Edward twisted his hands violently on James's head and ripped it off.
A sickening crack filled the room as James's head separated from his body, his dead eyes still open, the knife grotesquely jutting from his forehead.
Victoria froze, her eyes wide, a broken moan escaping her throat as she saw Edward throw the head to the floor while James's lifeless body slumped with a dull thud.
"NOOOOO… NOOO!" Victoria screamed, collapsing to her knees, trembling with fury as venom pooled at her lips.
And in that instant, like a lightning strike, she launched herself at Edward, ignoring everyone else.
Edward intercepted her with a forearm block, but her momentum carried her forward, her claws tearing at Edward's clothes, leaving shallow marks on his stone skin. Edward growled, stepping back while countering with a punch to Victoria's ribs, making her spit venom.
Alice tried to grab her from behind, but Victoria spun with vicious speed, slashing Alice's face with her sharp nails. Alice barely managed to push herself back.
Victoria turned again to charge at Edward, her eyes brimming with almost animalistic hatred.
Nate, watching from his position, felt every heartbeat like a whip against his broken ribs, but he narrowed his eyes, forcing his mind to focus on Victoria, reading her, predicting her next move, filtering every murderous impulse in her burning aura.
"Now, to the left!" Nate thought desperately of Edward.
Edward moved a second before Victoria swung her right claw, dodging by inches and countering with a brutal punch to her stomach, sending her crashing into a mirror that shattered behind her.
Victoria immediately rose, murderous fury in her eyes, her lips twisted in a rictus of hate.
"Don't get distracted, hold the right!" Nate thought again, gasping.
Edward intercepted a strike aimed at his neck, catching Victoria's arm and slamming her to the ground with a harsh thud, breaking several floorboards.
Victoria screamed in rage, kicking and clawing as Edward pinned her down, trying to tear her arm off.
Alice recovered and joined in, grabbing Victoria's other wrist tightly as her body arched with fury, moving like a wild animal.
For a moment, Victoria managed to free her hand from Alice's grip, driving her nails into Edward's shoulder, leaving a trail of marks as she tried to sink her fangs into his neck, roaring with hatred.
With a shout of fury, Edward punched Victoria in the face, sending her flying several feet back, crashing against the wall, falling among debris and glass shards.
Victoria slowly got back up, staggering, her breathing fast, each exhale a hiss of venom as her chest heaved desperately.
She clenched her teeth, ready to lunge again… but she stopped.
Her gaze shifted for a second, as if she could see something no one else could.
Rage turned to frustration.
Victoria looked up at Edward and Alice, a strangled cry in her throat, her face transformed into a portrait of pure hatred.
And then, with a roar of desperation, Victoria spun on her heel and shot toward the broken window, disappearing in a blur of red hair and fury, fleeing the scene.
Silence spread like a shroud over the room, broken only by the sound of shattered glass and Bella's ragged breathing as she moved closer to Nate, helping him stay upright while blood soaked through his clothes.
At that moment, two new figures burst through the shattered door: Rosalie and Carlisle, their eyes scanning the scene urgently.
Carlisle's gaze filled with horror as he saw Nate covered in blood, pale and trembling.
"Nate…" Carlisle murmured, quickly moving to check his wounds.
Nate felt the adrenaline drain away, the threat momentarily gone, his eyes clouding as he let himself fall completely to the floor.
Bella tried to hold him up, tears streaming down her face as she murmured his name.
"It's… over…" Nate managed to whisper with a faint thread of voice as darkness swallowed him.
And finally, he passed out, leaving the chaos and pain behind for a moment of unconsciousness.