Ghost of Ourselves (Twilight X Reader)

°Bodyguard°

A bodyguard is a person specifically employed to protect a single individual, often a high-profile person like a celebrity or politician, from potential threats.

The peaceful afternoon shatters when Sam suddenly goes rigid, his head snapping toward the forest. Paul and Jared immediately mirror his posture, like soldiers responding to an unheard alarm. There's something almost canine in their alertness, their bodies coiled with sudden tension.

A look passes between them—ancient and wild—before Sam gives a nearly imperceptible nod.

"Stay with her," he commands Embry and Seth, his voice carrying an authority that seems to vibrate in the air. Then he, Paul, and Jared sprint into the trees with impossible speed, disappearing so quickly it seems like the forest simply swallows them.

"Where are they—" I start to ask, but Embry's warm hand finds mine, squeezing gently.

"Probably thought they saw something interesting to track," he says too casually, though his eyes keep scanning the treeline. "Hey, Seth, why don't you show her those rock formations you were talking about?"

Seth, despite his obvious desire to join the others, immediately brightens. "Oh yeah! There's this amazing spot where you can see these really old petroglyphs. The stories say our ancestors carved them during their spirit walks, and—"

Emily catches my eye as Seth rambles on, her expression carefully neutral. She knows exactly what's happening, I realize. She's watched this scene play out before.

A distant sound reaches us—something between a growl and thunder—and both Embry and Seth tense. Seth's cheerful monologue about rock formations doesn't falter, but his eyes dart to the trees, and Embry's hand tightens almost imperceptibly around mine.

"Maybe we should head back," Emily suggests smoothly. "It looks like rain coming in."

The sky is perfectly clear, but no one questions her.

The walk back feels different—faster, more purposeful. Embry and Seth maintain their positions on either side of me, while Emily brings up the rear. Their casual formation isn't casual at all, I realize. They're boxing me in, protecting all angles.

A flash of red through the trees catches my eye—too vibrant to be natural, moving too fast to be human. Embry sees me notice and immediately launches into a story about local wildlife, his voice just a little too loud, his hand on my back guiding me to face forward rather than toward the trees.

"Did you see something?" I ask quietly.

"Just birds," Seth jumps in quickly. "Lots of cardinals in these woods. Super red, super fast. Right, Embry?"

"Right," Embry agrees, but his jaw is tight. "Hey, tell her about that time you tried to catch a salmon with your bare hands."

Seth launches into what's clearly a well-practiced distraction story, but I notice how both boys keep scanning the forest, how they sometimes tilt their heads like they're listening to something beyond human hearing.

The tension doesn't leave their shoulders until we're back in the reservation proper, crossing some invisible boundary that seems to hold meaning. A howl echoes in the distance—long and triumphant—and both Embry and Seth relax slightly.

"Sounds like they found whatever they were tracking," Emily says casually, but there's relief in her voice.

As we reach the parking area, I catch Embry and Seth having one of those silent conversations supernatural creatures seem so fond of. Something passed through these woods—something that made ancient protectors sprint into action, something that required me to be guarded and guided away.