Breaking Dawn

The wedding day arrived with white tents and flowers everywhere. Bella Swan stood in her mother's wedding dress, feeling the weight of every choice that had brought her here. She was about to marry Edward Cullen, a vampire. And tonight, she would remain human for their honeymoon before giving up her humanity forever.

The clearing behind the Cullen house had been transformed. Alice, Edward's sister with a gift for seeing the future, had spent months planning. White lights hung from the trees. Chairs lined up in careful rows. And at the end of the aisle, Edward waited—pale, beautiful, and impossibly still.

Bella walked toward him, and for a moment, everything else disappeared. "He loved me," she thought. "He wanted me. I was his." When she reached him, she saw a deep joy in his golden eyes that reflected her own.

But the wedding was more than just two people in love. It was a fragile gathering of enemies. Vampires stood on one side of the reception. Werewolves from the Quileute tribe stood on the other. The Denali clan, another family of vampires who refused human blood, had traveled to attend. Seth Clearwater, a young wolf who had befriended the Cullens, moved between both groups, proving that the ancient hatred between their kinds didn't have to last forever.

Bella moved through the crowd, hugging each guest. She was grateful for Seth's presence. He had bridged a gap she never thought could be crossed. But seeing him also made her chest ache. Jacob Black, her best friend, was missing.

Jacob had disappeared into the Canadian wilderness after learning about her engagement. Bella's father had posted missing person flyers all over town. Only Bella knew the truth: Jacob had fled in his wolf form, unable to face her choice. She had chosen Edward. She had chosen to become a vampire. And Jacob, who loved her, couldn't bear to watch.

Then, during the reception, Edward sensed something. He guided Bella to the edge of the dance floor, near the forest. And there, in the darkness, Jacob was waiting.

He had come. For one last dance. For one last look at her human face.

They moved together on the edge of the light. Jacob told her she was still his best friend. He asked when her transformation would happen. And when Bella told him she planned to have her honeymoon first—to experience sex with Edward while still human—something snapped inside him.

"You can't have a real honeymoon with him while you're still human," Jacob said. "It's too dangerous."

Bella told him it was none of his business. Jacob grabbed her arms, hard. She cried out. Edward intervened. Two wolves emerged from the forest, standing between them. Seth restrained Jacob, who kept yelling, kept raging, until finally they all disappeared back into the trees.

Bella apologized to Edward, blaming herself. But Edward's face was troubled. "Perhaps Jacob is right," he said. "I am wrong for trying to sleep with you while you're human."

She made him promise to stop thinking about it. But the damage was done. The wedding night, which should have been pure joy, now carried the weight of Jacob's anger and Edward's guilt.

The reception continued. Bella hugged Seth, grateful for his friendship. She hugged Billy, Jacob's father, who had come despite everything. She danced with her father, Charlie, who had no idea what his daughter was about to become. And she wondered what would happen when the Cullens broke their treaty with the Quileute tribe.

That treaty stated that the Cullens could make no new vampires. Bella was about to become one, willingly. She hoped their new friendships would allow them to forgive her.

The wedding ended. Bella and Edward left for their honeymoon. But the tension lingered. Jacob's outburst had revealed something deeper than jealousy. It had revealed the fundamental danger of their situation. A human and a vampire, trying to love each other in a body that could break.

As Bella flew toward Isle Esme, she thought about everything she was giving up. Her humanity. Her relationship with Jacob. Her ability to grow old, to have children, to live a normal life. But she also thought about Edward's face at the altar, and she knew: this was what she wanted. This was her choice.

The question was whether her choice would destroy everything she loved.

What happens when love demands more than you ever expected to give? And what happens when the body you're willing to sacrifice refuses to cooperate with your plans?