“Is there anything else I can do for you?”

I froze for a tenth of a second, surprised by the offer. I could tell Edythe and Carine were surprised, too. But there was something more I wanted.

“If…,” I began. “Will you ever tell Jules about any of this?” I looked at the enormous wolves flanking Bonnie. “Or will it always be a secret?”

I didn’t understand the look that crossed her face now. “Jules will know soon enough.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, if she can know about me, can you tell her that I’m happy? It’s not so bad, this whole vampire thing.”

Bonnie shuddered. “I’ll tell her what you said.”

“Thanks, Bonnie.”

She nodded, then she looked at the tall girl carrying her and jerked her chin back the way they’d come.

As they turned, I saw a tear escape the corner of her eye. The wolves backed away from us, too.

I hoped it wasn’t the last time I would see Bonnie. I hoped that when Jules was in on the secret, I would be allowed to see her, too. Or at least talk to her again. I hoped that maybe someday the wolves would see that the Cullens were heroes, too.

Bonnie’s car drove away. The wolves melted into the trees. I waited until Edythe was done listening to their departure.

“Tell me everything,” I said.

She smiled. “I will when we get home—so I don’t have to repeat all of it. There was a lot.” She shook her head, like she was amazed.

We started running. Not so fast as before.

“Huh. Actual werewolves. This world is even weirder than I thought,” I said.

“Agreed,” Edythe said.

“That’s right—you thought there weren’t werewolves here anymore. That must have been kind of a shock.”

“They weren’t the most shocking thing I saw tonight.”

I looked at her, then at Carine. Carine smiled like she was in on some joke.

“I mean, I knew you were special, Beau, but that was something else back there. Jessamine’s not going to believe it.”

“Oh. But…” I stared at her. “You said you knew I could do this.”

She dimpled. “Well, I was pretty sure the wind would hold steady.”

Carine laughed, then she exchanged a glance with Edythe. She sped up as Edythe slowed. In a second, we were alone.

I kept pace with Edythe, and stopped when she stopped. She put her hands on either side of my face.

“It’s been a long day. A hard one. But I want you to know that you’re extraordinary, and I love you.”

I pulled her tight against me. “I can handle anything as long as you’re with me.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck. “Then here I will stay.”

“Forever,” I said.

“Forever,” she agreed.

I leaned down until my lips found hers.

Forever was going to be amazing.

AFTERWORD

We meet again, gentle reader.

I know it’s a lot, to expect you to read both a foreword and an afterword, but there are a few things I wanted to say that I couldn’t include in the beginning without spoiling the fun of your read.

So, obviously, I have cheated. I did not stay true to the original story in the conclusion of my swap, and I am not sorry. It was exciting, and I very much enjoyed writing the alternate ending.

But let me be quick to say, the fact that Beau becomes a vampire has nothing at all to do with the fact that he is a boy, not a girl. This change also does not mean that I prefer it to the original or think that the original was “wrong.” This has always just been the big what if?, and I wanted to see what it would feel like if Twilight had been the end of the story. If, like Beau, Bella had left the airport just five minutes earlier.

There’s a lot of happiness in Beau and Edythe coming together, in taking away the stumbling block between them, so much earlier. But there’s also great sadness. As a human, Bella had to endure a lot more pain than Beau did, but in the end I know she would tell you it was all worth it. Beau will be fine—more than fine, he’ll be very happy—but he’ll always have the one big regret. Bella was able to put her house in order, and she’s confident she got the best version of the story.

So that is the end of Beau and Edythe’s story. You are free to imagine the rest—when, where, and how they get married… what Victor might try in order to get revenge… what Beau and Jules will say to each other when they meet again… if Beau and Royal ever become friends… whether the Volturi led by Sulpicia are a more benign, less corrupt organization (I think so).…

I hope you’ve enjoyed a different look at Twilight that really isn’t very different at all (except for the end, which I don’t apologize for).

Again, thank you for everything you’ve meant to me in the last ten years.

Thank you!

Stephenie

P.S. I didn’t make a playlist for this one as I usually do, because the music I’m listening to now didn’t exist in 2005, when the story begins, and that felt off. But if you are interested, the “sound track” inside my head for this one is basically three albums: Royal Blood by Royal Blood, Seeds by TV on the Radio, and 2.0 by Big Data.

For my big sister, Emily,

without whose enthusiasm this story might still be unfinished.

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,

thou shalt not eat of it:

for in the day that thou eatest thereof

thou shalt surely die.

Genesis 2:17

PREFACE

I’D NEVER GIVEN MUCH THOUGHT TO HOW I WOULD DIE—THOUGH I’D had reason enough in the last few months—but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.

I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me.

Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something.

I knew that if I’d never gone to Forks, I wouldn’t be facing death now. But, terrified as I was, I couldn’t bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it’s not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.